WhatsApp for PC : Hands on and the (im)possibility of UWP app

WhatsApp announced their desktop apps for PC and Mac, which is nothing more than a web wrap of WhatsApp Web but with notifications directly in your computer.

Opening the app presents you with the same UI that you find in WhatsApp Web. The login process is also similar, you open WhatsApp in your phone and scan the QR code, voila ! All your chats are synced to your desktop.

The application has a set of options in the menu bar. Under WhatsApp menu you have "new chat", "new group", "Profile status" and "Log out" which are pretty obvious and useful. The "+" sign also allows you to start a new chat with your contacts.

Hotspot shield : Free VPN service

Browsing the web anonymously has become a hard to do thing. Using private browsing in browsers helps to do this but still the ISP,hackers and access the data transferred while browsing. Virtual Protocol Network (VPN) creates a virtual IP address for your PC and encrypt the data you send and receive, thereby making your browsing more secure. Unfortunately many of the VPN's available today come with a hefty price tag.There are some free ones but the best seems to be Hotspot shield free.

Hotspot shield free has all the features that a paid VPN has. It blocks tracking by changing the IP address   and also encrypts all the data transferred. But it does come with banner ads which shows up in every website,after all it's a free VPN. I have found it really useful and it does not slowdown the internet. If you buy the elite version then you will get a ad free experience as well as the option to change your virtual IP address location, the free version is locked to use the United States IP address. This tool will be very useful in public WiFi as it will protect your data against all the prying eyes.

You can download Hotspot shield free in your Windows,iOS,Mac OSX and android devices without paying a penny ! 

Download Hotspot Shield free

Ashampoo Burning Studio FREE : Review

Burning DVDs or CDs is a regular thing for most of the people but when it comes to free DVD burners there are small number of programs which do the work correctly. Also some free DVD burners offer advanced features in advanced UI which some users might find hard to use. Well here is a solution for all the problems,Ashampoo Burning Studio FREE is a well designed,user friendly and powerful DVD burning software which is available for free. 

The interface is combines user friendliness and all the features. You can move your cursor on the labels to see different options for burning your files to CD or DVD.

How to bring the classic Windows 7 file explorer features to Windows 8.1

If you have been using Windows 8.1 then you might find that some improvements made to the file manager is pretty annoying like the removal of libraries and the merging of removal devices with the local disks which makes hard to find the external devices.

So here is OldNewExplorer which brings all the Windows explorer features found in Windows 7.

Here is how the file explorer will look after running this tool in Windows 8.1.

Windows 8.1 RTM review

Windows 8.1 Review

Windows 8.1 has hit the world with full force and here is the review and look through of new features.It is more than a update to Windows 8, it has some features which will make you dump every other OS in the world.

Getting the users back with desktop

Windows 8.1 brings in a completely improved desktop which has the start button there. Windows 8 was more a controversial Windows version as it got rid of start button and menu. Windows 8.1 brings back the start button. Another useful feature for Windows 8.1 users is Boot to Desktop which will bring you to the desktop after booting rather than landing you on the colorful Start screen.

Start Screen and Modern UI apps

The start screen is improved with new tile sizes and more customization options. You can choose from the many given colors as your start screen background or even use your desktop background as start screen background. Skype,Windows Reading List,Help+Tips,Food&Drink,Health & Fitness which are the new preinstalled apps with Windows 8.1. Start screen as finally evolved and is more powerful and better.Also Modern UI apps can now automatically update in the background without any user interaction which comes very handy for users who don't want to mess with updates.You can also snap three different apps at the same time.

Search and Settings

When it comes settings which can be accessed via the modern UI , a lot has changed from the basic PC settings provided in Windows 8. PC settings in Windows 8.1 takes a long shot and is more or same as the control panel in the desktop mode. You can control your computer completely from the Modern UI PC settings

Search is another feature which has been revamped in this update. Search looks for everything that you want to find plus it searches the web and shows the results in a beautiful and elegant style.It even searches inside the image and text files which is seriously a good feature.

Windows Store 

The Windows store has been revamped with a completely new UI and better design which allows users to find more apps easily. You can search right away by selecting the search bar which is now visible and it also delivers suggestions in real-time as you type. You can manage your apps easily with the new navigation options. You can switch categories or check your apps... There is a lot done to Store making it one of the finest place to find your favorite apps. The Store is the home for more than 120,000 apps which includes the newly released facebook app,twitter,hulu,Netflix and more.

A fast and stable Internet explorer

The in house browser has got a major update making it version 11. IE 11 manages to outperform other browsers in many tasks and finally feels smooth,fast and stable. IE 11 in Modern UI gets many new features and options.The tabs are now placed at bottom attached with the address bar. Mouse users will appreciate the app bar which will open up the address bar and tabs. You can even give your address bar and tabs a home permanently in the bottom.

The better Windows for better future is here !

I may sound a bit excited but I am not. Windows 8.1 gives the necessary treatment that every Windows 8 users need. One full year of advancement and improvements are delivered via the latest Windows.What's great is that Windows 8.1 is free for Windows 8 user. It puts in the best package of features in a very intuitive UI, making Windows 8.1 a great OS.It gives respect to desktop while it takes the Modern UI to next level.Touch it or use the traditional keyboard-mouse, Windows 8.1 is here for you.You must give Windows 8.1 a try and it will surely change what you think about Windows 8.

You must give Windows 8.1 a try and it will surely change what you think about Windows 8.

Internet explorer 11 review

I have been using Windows 8.1 which brings the latest Internet explorer 11 with it. Till now I am satisfied with the improvements made to IE 11. See what Internet explorer 11 has to offer..... I can recommend this browser for any inexperienced computer users who just want to enjoy the web completely.

Usability and Interface

Internet explorer 11 UI in desktop mode is intact with IE 10. It remains untouched and clean. Tabs are at top with address bar preceding it. You can go to home page by clicking the home button in the top right corner. You can also access the favorites and settings using star and gear button respectively.

The Modern UI version gets some changes in the interface part. The tabs are still placed in the bottom of the screen with address bar below the tabs bar. Address bar has a back button and reload, favorites manager and settings and also the flip ahead feature is now enabled by default. It also has a download manager which looks similar to the desktop version but with "Metro" feel.

Both the versions of IE 11 have a very smooth scrolling features which eases scrolling through websites. The browser overall seems very easy to use and is very stable than previous versions. This browser gives you a worry free web experience though it suffers from incompatibility with some websites. 

Performance and Security

The major changes in Internet explorer 11 is the support to new technologies which speed up the browser by a long shot. Internet explorer 11 generally feels faster than IE 10. WebGL support has been introduced in Internet explorer for the first time which gives visually immersive web experience.

	V8 JavaScript test	HTML 5 Test	SunSpider JavaScript
Internet explorer 11	12453	355	89.1ms
Google Chrome	15534	463	571.1ms

 As you can see Internet explorer competes well with Chrome in most aspects . It beats Chrome by a mile in SunSpider JavaScript test by completing the test in just 89.1ms while chrome takes 571.1ms. WebGL seems smooth and hardware accelerated 

IE 11 starts a lot faster than any browser, thanks to the deep integration and powerful hardware acceleration. Also the visited pages will be loaded faster because web-caching which will make the browser feel faster.

When it comes security IE stands tall. IE 11 manages to brings the same security features from IE 10 and improves them. Latest analysis show that IE 10 alone can manage to block 99% of the malware.IE 11 follows the same path.

Conclusion

The way Internet explorer has evolved and is really amazing. IE manages to keep up close competition with other browsers. Moreover Microsoft is updating IE in faster pace with yearly release. .It's faster due to the integration with Windows and it's hardware accelerated from the core. It's safer with its Smartscreen filter.Internet explorer is a solid browser which will please most of the users.



Windows 8.1 RTM : Store in action

Get to know Windows 8.1 store within minutes

Used Internet explorer 10 (desktop version) for a week

I used the latest version of internet explorer for a week under Windows 8.I used the traditional desktop version of the browser which looks very similar to IE 9.Here is my experience with IE 10.

 

 

 I can say that IE 10 starts very fast ,way faster than my Chrome. The UI seems familiar to the people who used IE9 but users from IE8 should learn a bit. For the past week I didn't use any other browser other than IE and it proved very good at most of the time. I used IE 9 on Windows 7 last year which was nice but IE 10 in Windows 8 takes a big lead in speed. In some cases it was even faster than Chrome and Firefox. The tab bar gets crowded a bit with many tabs open but I could easily solve it with the option "show tabs in a separate row" which is a welcome for users like me. I ran some basic tests like peacekeeper,Html5test and more.. IE 10 scored good but not the best out of the game. As a average user, I did not find any compelling problems to move off from IE. Yes it did hang up for a second or two but managed to do well mostly. I really liked the Autocomplete and spell check feature in IE 10 which automatically filled the details in relevant blanks and the spell check feature corrects the word order if you mistyped it. It is an awesome feature for a fast typist who may go wrong sometimes.

 

Overall, IE 10 gave me a really modern web experience. I would even recommend this browser if you are having problems with Chrome. IE has improved a lot since the old aged IE 6 or even IE 8.IE 10 seems the right choice for normal people who just wants to enjoy the web at it's fullest potential. 

Start8 review : Video

Here is what you will feel when you use the Start8 app in Windows 8. Hope you like it

IObit Driver booster

Updating your drivers is very important because it helps to keep your computer stable and fast.But doing it manually may be a big problem and time consuming.To make things easier and faster, here is a small tool called IObit Driver booster.

IObit Driver booster in action

As the name suggests, it scans your computer for outdated drivers and helps you update with a single click !.At default it starts with your computer and checks for drivers weekly.Interface is really simple and a novice user will find it easy to use. If something is found old , it will give pop up message to update that driver.It is still in the beta stage and may contain some bugs.But for me it was stable and updated a old driver.As a bonus it automatically creates a restore point before installing the new drivers which will come handy if something goes wrong.Overall it is a great piece of tool.

DOWNLOAD

Note : This software is in the beta stage which may be buggy or unstable.So use it in your own risk !

Windows 8 is awesome!

First I was skeptic over Windows 8.Most of the people and Blogs said to stay with Windows 7 for now.Braving myself, I just upgraded to Windows 8 pro from Windows 7 ultimate.Installation was zippy and was completed within 15 minutes.

Oh great! I was lead to Start Screen for the first time and it seemed lovely.Slowly I got my hands on the hot corners and The Charms bar came up and everything seemed fine.I clicked the desktop and saw the good old desktop on my screen with a new kind of theme applied.

Charms-search, share, change settings, and more

I love the Start screen because it keeps me updated with the power of live tiles. From news to sports and more, it has got everything you need to start with.The new app Store from Microsoft is awesome with all good apps in it.The in-built apps such as Video,Music,Reader,Weather,Mail are very useful and awesome..

Once you get used Windows 8. you will  love it. It's the fastest Windows ever, boots up within 6 seconds and shuts down in milliseconds.Here is a short video to get to know Windows 8 .

Wondershare player

Wondershare has just released their media player for Windows platform and the player is well worth to use because it starts up pretty fast and puts the video at your desktop within a second..

The player’s interface is well designed and looks modern..It is also compatible with Windows 8 which makes it a great choice for users who move to different computers.As said earlier it is very light and fast.It plays well with all formats of video including mp4,avi,mkv,flv,3gp………… It is very stable too .

If you are encountering any problems with your current media player then this player will help you out.It’s still a newbie to this media player world, let’s see what it is up to .

avast! internet security 8

Hi friends if you are using avast! antivirus then you should have known about the new version 8 and all the new features.But here is my experience with avast! internet security 8 which keeps me secure from all the viruses and other pesky things .........

Installation

The installation was zippy and easy.The single click installation keeps it easy for novice users while the advanced user can select custom install which provides full control over what's going to be installed.

The installation took just 3 minutes which is one of the fastest.After installation a quick scan was carried out which ensures the computer is clean.

User interface ( UI )

First let me talk about the user interface.You can see that everything is well organised and looks pretty modern and touch friendly.The settings are accessible from the top right corner where advanced users will find more options which provides granular control over the program.

Clicking on the scan button triggers quick scan immediately but you can change it to automatically trigger full scan when you click scan on the home tab.Other important features are also accessible form the home tab.
The features will be described later on this post.But for the UI part, avast! internet security steals me heart.It looks fantastic and easy on eyes.

Features 

avast! is well known for innovating new technologies for protection and version 8 does the same with a bunch of features but all of them to protect from all.The different shields keep you away from all the threats while the additional features like sandbox,Safezone,webrep,firewall,adblock,browser clean up and software updater give you the confidence of security.

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 The software updater in internet security automatically download's the update and installs in the background.
The user has only thing to do that is to click the fix button and viola within some minutes avast! internet security updates it.A great feature to avoid outdated software's in the pc also it helps your pc to avoid security problems

Click to enlarge

The Safezone provides a new virtual desktop where you can bank or do sensitive things safely.It also protects user's data from keyloggers.It is a virtual place with a browser made from the open source chromium project.

Click to enlarge

 The firewall keeps it simple and remains silent after the first popup.It allows advanced users to tweak the settings.The best part of the firewall is that it never show any pop ups and it auto-decides using the white list from avast!.

Click to enlarge

The browser clean up is a new feature version 8.It comes bundled with all the versions of avast!.It is one of the nice features from avast!.It removes the most stubborn toolbars,addons and extension which can not be removed manually.It does not remove the good addons like adblock,WOT etc...

Conclusion

avast! internet security provides top tier security.It is also awarded regularly by the leading testers.
So avast! internet security is one of the best antivirus.I recommend it personally.It has very nice UI and has got many features to protect you.

Let's start !!

Welcome !! :) 

Iam Ajey.I like to play with all the softwares I like.In fact I love to see them at their fullest potential !!

From browsers to antivirus,customizing Windows  etc......
Come on and comment If you want any software reviews and clear doubts ...............