Custom resource cd

A computer's life cycle is about 3 years. That's what I hear anyway. We have some computers here (still working) that are over 5 years old. When we get new computers for users here there is a set of software that goes onto each machine. Acrobat Pro6, Acrobad Reader, In-Out Board, Outlook Messenger, printer drivers, fonts and more.

What I've done in the past is just install these softwares from a network "drive" called Software which, if you think about it, is where all the software is located. Makes sense.

Then I got the idea of creating a cd that has all that stuff on it already. I used to make photo web sites on a locale computer then burn the "site" to a cd and have it autorun when loaded into a cd drive. It was very handy when I wanted to send a bunch of pictures to a relative. they load the cd and up pops a web site that they can browse and see pics of my kids. That was about 10 years ago.

So that's what I did for my Resource CD.

First I needed a web template. There are some great sites that provide open source web templates such as Open Source Web Designs, freewebsitetemplates.com, Open Web Design and a great list at DesignVitality.com.

So I pick a nice CSS design from freecsstemplates.org and rework it to list all the software I need to install on a machine. I also add serial codes to the main "page" to make life easier.

Here's where i had some trouble. I wanted to be able to "run" programs from the html page. I didn't want to be asked where I want to save the file to. I just wanted it to run. After a while of searching the internet I found that all you have to do is rename the index.html file to index.HTA. This will open the file into a different window and allow you to run the files you want.

After I get it looking just the way I want I copy the autorun files from another cd and tweak them to point to the new index.hta file.

I made two versions. One has basic software that is on all the computers here. All the data fits easily on a cd. I made another version that has more software to choose from which needed a DVD to fit it all on to.

Try to download an ISO I made here.

UPDATE: link is broken. sorry.

ZipGenuis does almost everything with compression

You gotta have a compression app these days.  I've been using ZipGenius for years. With 

ZipGenius is the absolutely free software for Windows® that lets you compress files to almost any kind of archive. ZipGenius supports more than 20 compressed archive formats, including CD/DVD-ROM image files in ISO9660 standard. This is the file compression suite you were searching for: it is free and easy to use, plus it supports more than 20 formats of compressed archives, including RAR, ARJ, ACE, CAB, SQX, OpenOffice.org documents and the excellent 7-zip. ZipGenius now can precompress executable files going to be added to a ZIP archive through the UPX compressor.

ZipGenius I can right-click a file (zip or rar is what I deal with mostly) and select whatever I want to do with the contents.  This picture below is a screnschot of the options I have on my machine.

I can do the same with multiple selected files.

ZipGenius is fast and easy to use.  Once you try it you'll love it.

CDBurnerXP Pro is my cd burner of choice

I burn cds almost every day either at work or at home. I prefer CDBurnerXP for several reasons first of which is that it's free. It's also been very reliable.

CDBurnerXP is a free application to burn CDs and DVDs, including Blu-Ray and HD-DVDs. It also includes the feature to burn and create ISOs, as well as a multilanguage interface. Everyone, even companies, can use it for free. It does not include adware or similar malicious components.

Key Features

• burn all kinds of discs
• audio-CDs with or without gaps between tracks
• burn and create ISO files
• data verification after burning process
• create bootable discs
• multi-language interface
• bin/nrg → ISO converter, simple cover printing and much more!
• Operating Systems: Windows 2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista

Create Data-CDs/DVDs

• burn any Data on CD-R/CD-RW/DVD+R/DVD-R/DVD+RW/DVD-RW/DVD-RAM/BD/HD-DVD, including double layer mediums
• burn mp3-CDs to store many audio files on one single disc
• create bootable discs
• verify written Data automatically after burning process
• use either the internal browser to add your files or the intuitive Drop-Box to drag and drop files directly from any Windows Explorer window
• save your compilations for creation of backups
• burn on-the-fly and with buffer-underrun protections
• import previous (ISO 9660) sessions and edit existing file structure on CD/DVD
• quick- and full-erase disc
• copy data discs (possible copy-protection is not bypassed)
• retrieve recorder and disc information

Create Audio-CDs

• create Audio-CDs from mp3, wav, ogg, flac and wma files
• add single or multiple tracks from existing audio-CDs directly to your new compilation without ripping tracks before (add cda-files)
• play audio-files with integrated audio player
• gapless audio-CDs supported (disc-at-once-mode)
• import M3U or WPL playlists
• support for ReplayGain
• import CUE sheets
• create mixed-mode discs

ISO features

• burn ISO files to CD
• create your own ISO files
• convert bin- and nrg-files to ISO
• save CDs/DVDs as ISO file to disc

Other features

• simple cover printing feature for data- and audio-discs
• LightScribe integration
• Command line version
• supports most IDE, USB, Firewire and SCSI drives
• integrated option to enable access to drive for restricted users
• multi-language interface
• online update
  

I've created ISOs, burned them, made DVDs, audio cds, data cds, data DVDs, erased rewritable cds and the list goes on. It just does the job and looks great doing it.

The main site is full of great resources and information. Here's the features, the screenshots, the awards, the downloads, the list of compatible drives and the shop.

Password manager KeePass

Keepass is a free tool to help you manage all the password in your life. Here's a better pitch from the main site.

Today you need to remember many passwords. You need a password for the Windows network logon, your e-mail account, your homepage's FTP password, online passwords (like website member account), etc. etc. etc. The list is endless. Also, you should use different passwords for each account. Because if you use only one password everywhere and someone gets this password you have a problem... A serious problem. The thief would have access to your e-mail account, homepage, etc. Unimaginable.

KeePass is a free open source password manager, which helps you to manage your passwords in a secure way. You can put all your passwords in one database, which is locked with one master key or a key file. So you only have to remember one single master password or select the key file to unlock the whole database. The databases are encrypted using the best and most secure encryption algorithms currently known (AES and Twofish).

Keepass has a HUGE list of features and because it's open source there are 3rd party plugins you can install to extend the functionality of the software.

Oh you want downloads? How about:
KeePass 1.14 (Windows Installer EXE)
KeePass 1.14 (ZIP Package)
KeePass for PocketPC and Smart Devices
KeePass for Linux / MacOS X (KeePassX)
KeePass for J2ME (Symbian, ...)
KeePass for BlackBerry
KeePass for PalmOS (Converter) (also see 2.x To KeyRing)
KeePass for PortableApps Suite™
KeePass 1.14 for U3 Devices
KeePass for Preinstalled Environments (PE)

Need it in another language? 42 languages!!

Screenshots

I suggest that if you aren't currently using a password manager that you download and use Keepass today!

Keeping clean with CCleaner

Keeping junk files out and caches clean is a must for all computers.

CCleaner is a freeware system optimization, privacy and cleaning tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. Additionally it contains a fully featured registry cleaner. But the best part is that it's fast (normally taking less than a second to run) and contains NO Spyware or Adware!

Cleans the following

Internet Explorer Temporary files, URL history, cookies, Autocomplete form history, index.dat.

Firefox Temporary files, URL history, cookies, download history.

Opera Temporary files, URL history, cookies.

Windows Recycle Bin, Recent Documents, Temporary files and Log files.

Registry cleaner Advanced features to remove unused and old entries, including File Extensions, ActiveX Controls, ClassIDs, ProgIDs, Uninstallers, Shared DLLs, Fonts, Help Files, Application Paths, Icons, Invalid Shortcuts and more... also comes with a comprehensive backup feature.

Third-party applications Removes temp files and recent file lists (MRUs) from many apps including Media Player, eMule, Kazaa, Google Toolbar, Netscape, MS Office, Nero, Adobe Acrobat, WinRAR, WinAce, WinZip and many more...

100% Spyware FREE This software does NOT contain any Spyware, Adware or Viruses.

You can even take an online tour here and there are plenty of reviews and awards to look at.

I install this on all the computers at work and run it at least once a week on them. This helps keep the internet caches from getting too large and bogging down the computer.

I suggest you install this on your machine and use it every week to keep your computer from getting out of shape.