Software to Ease The Pain

When you spend all day in front of a computer screen like I do, it's the little things that can make your day better. What might seem like a small annoyance at first can quickly spiral and cause frustration. That said here are a number of programs that I find can help easy the pain.

Slow performance

A lot of what goes on behind the scenes of your computer is best left that way. There are many files in many folders, but to go digging would undoubtedly break something. While you run your daily tasks, which in this case lets say your changing a desktop theme, moving a folder, installing a program etc., what your computer is doing is altering registry files that control the file system for your OS. Now if you do a lot of things on a daily basis, your registry can become a bit bloated. What Ccleaner can do is to clean unwanted files, broken links or missing references. Thus helping to speed up your computers file system, and speed up its responses. An added feature is also to clean the computer, a lot like the Microsoft Disk Cleanup, which cleans up both file and browser files for you. You can check and un-check options at your leisure during this option.

Keeping out the bad guys

This one goes hand in hand with security. What the folks at PeerBlock have done is to generate genuine peer lists of known computers and servers that have either been hacked or infected and can try to control your computer. While you have this software active, you are safely preventing your computer from being accessed while also preventing you computer from sending them anything either. With recent talks large BotNet activity, its wise to get yourself protected, and for free!

The demonPad

This one is a small annoyance fixer. Being a laptop user at home there was something that just began to grind my gears. I'd be happily browsing or writing up some bit of a post, and not long into my post I'd begin to jump and continue typing in the middle of previous text. (Damn thumbs!) I was inadvertently grazing the Touchpad and sending it off on a tangent. With TouchFreeze, this clever little bit of software jumps in and when ever it spots your typing, switches off the Touchpad and visa versa. Letting you get that trolling rant out in a oner!

Visual Subtlety

This one isn't such a big one but I think it deserves a bit of light anyway. My stock dell notifications for volume and screen brightness can be a bit too in your face especially if your watching a film or something. What you get with 3RVX is a stylish and customisable alternative. With a selection of skins bundled with it and settings for position and fade out its a perfect and subtle free bit of kit.

I love a good stretch.

I'm always reading articles about how bad it is for you to sit down for long periods, eye strain, RSI. You need to give your eyes a rest, you need to straighten up and you need to take breaks. Well introducing this handy little guy. A small notification, tweakable to your routine and a good way to remind yourself to have a good old Stretch. I swear you feel much better from a good stretch. A nice little feature for this notification is it either gives you health suggestions or your own custom message with every reminder. Perfect if you feel you need to give yourself that extra boost to get up!

Well that's a few of my personal favourites, but I'd be interested to hear what you use to ease your day that little bit at a time.

Mooch.