One of my favorite little features in Windows 7 is the shortcut key combination that hides all the open windows except for the one you are working on. It's a great way to clear out the extra window clutter. Also, Wave invites.

Your computer's data is very critical and losing it can can occur due to variety of reasons. A complete (or even partial) backup of your system is always a good idea. SBackup is a tool that'll help you backup and restore data on your Ubuntu machine with utmost ease.

Finally another Friday has arrived and you're sick of dealing with your IT department because they never fix anything. Today take a look at Server Quest II which is a fun game from Microsoft's TechNet that puts you in the roll of an IT professional.

Do you like having the Progress Bar to monitor webpage loading but prefer to keep the Status Bar hidden? Now you can easily move the Progress Bar to your tabs with the Tab Progress Bar extension.

Google Wave is all the rage these days, probably in large part because you need to be invited to participate in the preview version. Want an invite? We've got 20 of them to give away.

BitLocker is a hard drive encryption utility in Windows 7 and Vista, unfortunately it's only available in Ultimate and Enterprise editions and not in XP at all. Today we take a look at TrueCrypt, which is a free utility that will encrypt your entire hard disk in Windows, Mac, and Linux systems.

One of the things we hate most is all the free software applications scamming less knowledgeable users by trying to sneak extra toolbars or other software onto their computer. Sadly, the practice is getting even more common, and we're going to rant about it.

Is your brand new computer full of garbage and trial software? Have an older computer that could use a good cleaning? PC Decrapifier can help make the process as quick and painless as possible.

If you are sick of iTunes or Windows Media Player because they're bulky and won't play certain formats, then it's time to look for another player. Today we take a look at Foobar2000 which is light on system resources, extremely configurable, and plays several types of music format.

Are you looking for a way to easily change your desktop background periodically throughout the day? Today we look at using the desktop slideshow feature in Windows 7 that will automatically change the wallpaper at different time intervals.

You have your new Windows 7 system up and running, but suddenly you realize some things are not running as smoothly as they once did. Today we take look at using the hidden but useful advanced system tools in Windows 7 to troubleshoot a problem.

Wanting an unobtrusive way to keep sticky notes on your desktop? Then “A Note” just might be the program that you have been looking for.

Looking for a quick and easy way to convert your photos into a flash slideshow for your website? Now you can with Photo Flash Maker Free.

If you're moving from XP to Windows 7, you might need some help with the changes to the Start Menu. Here we have put together a list of some useful tips that will help you take control and master the Start Menu in Windows 7 and Vista.

If you're moving from XP to Windows 7, you probably know that keeping the OS and other software updated is very important for patching security holes and improving performance. Today we take a look at methods to keep your software and hardware up to date.

Have you ever felt really frustrated with webpages that are a non-stop series of “Next” links? Now you can combine all those pages into a single one with PageZipper.

Have you been looking for a way to display the Status Bar in Firefox only when you need it? Now you can start enjoying that auto-hide goodness with the autoHideStatusbar extension.

Have you ever noticed that you normally can't enable Aero in a Windows 7 or Vista virtual machine? The latest VMware Player beta lets you do just that, and we've got a full walk-through on how to accomplish it.

If you've ever installed a program and suddenly found certain file types opening with it instead of what you had before, it can be confusing and annoying. Today we take a look at how you can control which applications are opening certain file types on you computer.

Have you ever wanted a vertical bookmarks toolbar instead of a horizontal one? Then consider your wish granted with the Vertical Bookmarks Toolbar extension for Firefox.

The latest Firefox beta integrates much more fully into Windows 7, adding support for Aero Peek-enabled tabs, an enhanced Ctrl+Tab, and more. We'll show you how they work, and how to enable or disable them.

Rather than give you some great tip in the weekly roundup today, we're going to point out all the new stuff around here that you might have missed since you never leave your feed reader. Also, we've got more great geek links for you.

If you're moving from XP to Windows 7 you might be wondering what app to get for making DVD's. Windows DVD Maker is already included, and lets you author a DVD quickly with custom menus, scene selections, or add your digital photos with music.

It doesn't happen a whole lot these days, but sometimes you might run across a website that requires you to have Real Player to play media content on a page. Today we take a look at Real Alternative, which lets you check out the media content without installing the obnoxious bloat.

Since it's Halloween weekend we thought we would bring you a collection of cool Halloween themed desktop wallpaper you can use to get into the spirit.

Do you only need occasional “easy access” to the Menu Bar in Firefox but want it hidden the rest of the time? Then you can enjoy the best of both worlds with the Hide Menubar extension for Firefox.

The new search feature in Windows 7 has been enhanced greatly in this version of Windows, and by default it saves recent searches. If you are annoyed by this and want to turn it off, we will show you how using Group Policy Editor.

Tired of the System Restore feature in Windows 7 using up way too much of your drive space? You can easily tweak it with a simple slider bar, you just need to know where to look.

Are you tired of small text areas in web forms and wish that you could simply make them bigger? Say goodbye to those small text areas with the Textarea++ extension for Firefox.

One annoyance you may not like about Windows is when it highlights newly installed programs which is enabled by default in XP, Vista, and Windows 7. Today we will take a look at disabling it in all three versions of Windows.

The new version of Windows seems to be a lot for stable than previous releases, however you never know when a malfunction might occur. Today we take a look at an option in Windows 7 that lets you create a System Repair disc in case you need to boot from it to recover your OS.

One item that seems like you should be able to easily pin to the Taskbar in Windows 7 is Windows Update, but unfortunately it's not. With a bit of work however, we can get it pinned to the Taskbar or Start menu and here we will show you how.

Looking to add new toolbar buttons that are not included in the default set? Then you will certainly enjoy the variety of buttons that are available with the Toolbar Buttons extension for Firefox.

Guitar Tracks Pro USB provides a complete recording solution with the included Cakewalk UA-1G USB audio interface. Compact and portable, the UA-1G has a special ¼” guitar input with optimized settings for recording guitar. While high quality converters and super-low latency ensure you’re getting the best sound possible.

If you're worried that some of your old but trusty software applications won't run on Windows 7, Microsoft solves the issue with XP Mode. Today we bring you an overview of XP Mode by looking at how to install it, what it looks like, and determining if you system can run it.

Do you find searching through your browser’s history frustrating because the default History Menu & Manager are not as intuitive as you need? Now you can make that history easier to search through with the History Submenus extension.

If you regularly search for a certain group of files in Windows 7, saving searches is a great way to access them more quickly. Here we'll take a look at how to share and organize searches in Windows 7.

If you've been playing around with the new Themes feature in Windows 7, you might have noticed that the themes can also change out your icons and mouse cursors—but if you don't want to allow that, there's a simple tip to make them behave.

BitDefender Total Security 2010 provides the ultimate proactive protection for your PCs, without slowing them down.

Aero Peek is one of the more useful new features in Windows 7... just move your mouse to the taskbar for half a second, and everything else hides so you can see the desktop or application window. But why does it take half a second?