Windows 8 Start Button Alternatives

If you really cannot live with Windows 8 not having a start button, don't panic.
Here are some of the best utilities for getting back the start button.

	Start8 ($4.99) http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/index.asp
	Classic Shell (FREE) http://classicshell.sourceforge.net/
	StartMenu8 (FREE) http://www.iobit.com/iobitstartmenu8.php
	Start Menu Reviver (FREE) http://www.reviversoft.com/start-menu-reviver/
	Start Menu X (FREE) http://www.startmenux.com/

Email PDF Files Directly To Your Kindle App

Did you know that every Kindle device and Kindle App has it's own email address, which you can use to send PDF files directly to it.  Apps are available for Windows, Macs, iOS & Android devices. You can only send from approved email address, which are managed at Amazon's website in: Your Account, Manage Your Kindle, Personal Document Settings, Approved Personal Document E-mail List.  See: www.amazon.com

Find The Largest Files On Your PC Quickly

WizTree is a small FREE portable app that finds the files and folders using the most disk space on your hard drive in a matter of seconds. Lists the top 1000 largest files or a standard tree view. Essential if you are thinking of upgrading your HD to a SSD. Due to the way WizTree check files, it only works on local NTFS format drives. Available for all versions of Windows, see: http://antibody-software.com

Find And Remove Duplicate Files

After a couple of years, it's amazing just how many copies of the same files you may actually have, which becomes a problem when you start to run out of disk space. AllDup is a FREE tool that helps you to find and remove duplicate files on your PC. Also available as a portable edition, see http://www.allsync.biz/alldup_help/alldup.htm

To specifically find duplicate photos, try VisiPics at http://www.visipics.info

Rent Adobe Photoshop When You Need It

As part of their Creative Cloud offerings, Adobe now lets you take out a subscription to an individual software package on a monthly or annual contract. Photoshop CS6 normally costs $699 or £660, so if you only need it for a specific project, why not rent it out $29.99 or £27.34 per month. The price drops to $19.99 or £17.58 if you sign up for a year. See: https://creative.adobe.com/plans

FREE All-In-One Cloud Storage Solution

LogMeIn has expanded their FREE cloud offering with cloud storage that lets you sync, share, collaborate and store unlimited versions of your files. It's biggest trick though, is the ability to sync your data securely between your computers (PC's & Macs), avoiding the cloud if you so choose. You get 5GB for FREE, with an extra 1GB per referral (up to 25GB). See: https://www.cubby.com/

FREE Easy To Install Apache Web Server

Apache Friends is a non-profit project which put together XAMPP, a FREE easy to install Apache distribution containing MySQL, PHP and Perl. All features are turned on, so it's ideal for test environments. Available for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and Solaris. See: http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html

Upgrading Your Computers Memory

You don't need to open up a computer any more to see how many memory slots you have free. The Crucial System Scanner automatically analyzes your computer memory and suggests what upgrade options you may have. Available for PCs and Macs, see: http://www.crucial.com/systemscanner/

Quickly Diagnose PC Issues for FREE

The antivirus firm Webroot has FREE System Analyzer utility, which quickly highlights areas that need attention on your PC and gives a detailed report on all aspects of hardware, OS and installed applications. Works like a portable app and doesn't require installation. See: http://www.webroot.com/gb/en/business/resources/analyzer

Searching Gmail

Searching for emails in Gmail by size, has always been a bit of a bugbear for me, but this is no longer the case. Google have now published all the advanced search parameters in a 'Searching Gmail' support page for everyone to see, at: http://support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=7190

Design Inspiration Blog

Designbeep is a design blog dedicated to web developers, bloggers, designers and freelancers. It's a massive site full of articles, tutorials, tools and resources for web and graphic design. See: http://designbeep.com/

FREE Website With No Adverts

Zoho, one of the first online productivity & collaboration companies is offering FREE websites that you can use with a custom domain and is totally ad-free. Web hosting is also included, together with unlimited storage and email support. See: www.zoho.com/sites

FREE Online Meetings

join.me is LogMeIn.com’s new screen sharing service. A free account gives you screen sharing for up to 250 viewers, with chat and internet calling features. Viewers can also be on Android or iOS (iPad or iPhone) via a free app. Existing LogMeIn accounts (free & pro) are also automatically valid join.me accounts. See: https://join.me/

Microsoft Office 365 Support Contact Numbers

Office365 support is only available to users with administrator privileges, but what do you do if they are not available.  Tracking down the telephone support number is quite difficult, the last thing you need when things aren't working. Click here to find the telephone support number for a particular country.

Managing A Windows Phone

Microsoft have a FREE portal for managing mobile phones running Windows Phone 7.5 or 8.  From the portal you can check your app purchase history and reinstall apps. You can even choose apps to install remotely, so setting up phones for colleagues and family is really simple.  The portal also includes a 'Find My Phone' feature, which lets you Ring, Lock or Erase your phone. See: http://www.windowsphone.com/

FREE Password Strength Checker

Check out this handy secure password checker which automatically checks the strength of any password, as well as advice to help you choose more secure passwords. See: https://howsecureismypassword.net/