PDFgear offers excellent tools at no cost, making it by far the best free PDF software. Is PDFgear safe? Nik Rawlinson reveals its best advanced features. PDFgear (www.pdfgear.com) is our favourite tool for editing PDFs. It’s got a clear, unfussy interface, makes short work of converting Word files to PDF (and vice versa) and – best of all – it’s free. … Read more
My 20-year-old music library is in a mess. In the past I’ve used both MediaMonkey (www.mediamonkey.com) and MusicBee (www.getmusicbee.com) to manage it, but after the arrival of Windows 11 just about everything is duplicated. What can I use to sort this out? Is there any duplicate song remover tools? Hugh Manuel You need a program dedicated to removing … Read more
Partitioning your hard drive lets you make optimum use of its space by storing different types of data in separate sections, but the partition manager in Windows (called Disk Management) is basic and confusing. Macrorit Partition Expert is a more sophisticated alternative, which packs lots of useful features into an easy-to-understand interface. The free version offers everything you need to … Read more
Deep dive: Hands-on with the new operating system Hot off the heels of the iOS 16 release and a slew of new hardware announcements, The launch of macOS Ventura brings dozens of new features designed to make our MacBooks iMacs, and Mac Studios even more powerful, including the cutting-edge Stage Manager. Read our macOS Ventura … Read more
This seventh release of Ubuntu Unity, version 23.04, was released on 20 April, 2023. The middle one of three interim releases leading to the next Long Term Support (LTS) release, this is also its second release as an Ubuntu official flavor. Read our Ubuntu Unity 23-04 Review. Written by Adam Hunt In terms of how this development cycle is proceeding, the news … Read more
We reviewed a version of the Huawei MateBook 14s in Issue 620, but back then it came with an 11th-generation Intel processor and Windows 10. This latest version has been updated by the Chinese manufacturer, and now comes with a 12th-generation Intel Core i7-12700H processor and Windows 11 installed, which makes it a much more attractive proposition. Read our Huawei MateBook 14s Review. … Read more
WizTree has long been my favourite program for discovering which files and folders are taking up the most room on your hard drive, so you can delete them to free up storage. It’s impressively fast, free for personal use and makes it easy to identify space hogs using its colour-coded ‘tree map’. Infor DRIVE SPACE ANALYSER https://diskanalyzer.com What … Read more
l’ve always hated how file-recovery programs claim to find lost photos, but then charge you to locate them. Is there software that actually does it all for free – with no sneaky hidden charges? Simon Lindsay There are several free photo-recovery tools, but our favourite is PhotoRec. It’s open-source, so is completely free with no hidden catches. It … Read more
Is it safe to use Microsoft’s new PC Manager tool? It aims to speed up your computer, but might actually make it slower. Read our Is it safe to use Microsofts new PC Manager tool. Microsoft’s PC Manager has finally launched. We first wrote about it in Issue 645, back in late 2022, after it arrived … Read more
We asked Nik Rawlinson to move out of his comfort zone and give this stripped-down version of Windows 11 a try. Read our Tiny11 Review. Tiny11 is a stripped-down version of Windows 11. Where the full-fat OS requires 4GB of RAM and 64GB of drive space, Tiny11 can manage with 2GB and 8GB respectively. It looks like the perfect … Read more
Hoping to recapture some of my lost youth, I decided to see if I remembered how to programme the ZX Spectrum (my first computer). Which is the best Spectrum emulator for Windows 11? Michael Cornell Try Spectaculator (www.spectaculator.com), available for Windows, iOS and Android. The Windows version has a free 30-day trial, after which it costs £ for the current edition, or £ to add lifetime … Read more
bit.ly/mail449 | Min requirements: Windows 7/8.1/10 File size: 10.5MB MailStore Home 11 Review – If you use a webmail service such as Gmail, you no doubt trust the provider to keep your messages safe. However, it makes sense to backup your emails from time to time, just in case disaster strikes. It’s also useful to have a … Read more