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Today’s Software
- BlackTop: instantly put your screen into power-saver mode
- GoGet: copy all files matching a rule to a new location
- SeaTools for Windows: measure drive quality with a number of tests
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About Windows Software of the Day
Windows has hundreds of thousands of programs. Because of this great volume and lack of a central store, software discovery (aka finding new and useful programs) is extremely difficult. With our Windows Software of the Day initiative, dotTech aims to change that. Everyday we post three programs, allowing our readers to discover new software, daily. Enjoy! [Subscribe to our Windows section to never miss an article: RSS Feed | E-mail]
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Software for June 11, 2012
BlackTop
Power saver mode saves a lot of energy and money: when screens are turned off, they use a mere fraction of the energy they do when they’re on. However, waiting for your screen to go black can be a real pain, as it can take as long as your computer pleases. (And don’t try to tell me it never changes! It always feels like it does.) With BlackTop, you can put your screen to power saver in just a matter of seconds by hitting Ctrl+Alt+B.
BlackTop is a very simple application. Other than providing a quick keyboard shortcut, there’s really not much else it does. It has a system tray icon, that’s it. If you’re looking for something to save you a little energy and perhaps a few cents of electricity, BlackTop is for you.
Price: Free!
Version discovered: v1.0
Supported OS: Windows unknown
Download size: 661KB
VirusTotal malware scan results: 32-bit: 0/42 | 64-bit: 0/42
Portability:
GoGet
Want to copy all files of a certain type from one folder to another? This can be quite useful if you’re looking to move all of your photos to one place, or need to transfer a messy music collection from one drive to another.
When you’re moving your files by extension, be sure to type an asterisk as shown in the examples, as otherwise it will look for files literally named .zip or .jpg, which will result in nothing happening. Also note that GoGet does not allow you to move, only copy files, which can be a bit annoying. Lastly, you shouldn’t make GoGet copy the files to a folder inside the folders it’s searching, as it’ll make two copies of each.
However, these little issues aside, GoGet can be quite useful for several tasks: want your music organized? Done! Need all of your photos spread across your Pictures folder organized in one place? I’d pay for something that’d do that. It’s quite useful if you think about practical applications for it.
Price: Free!
Version discovered: v1.1.0
Supported OS: Windows unknown
Download size: 674KB
VirusTotal malware scan results: 0/42
Portability: Requires installation
SeaTools
Is your hard drive on the fritz? Are you worried about losing critical data? First check the integrity of your drive with SeaTools, a free Seagate-provided utility to run a number of tests on your various USB and SATA hard drives.
Seagate definitely has an interest in keeping users of their products informed of the quality of their, and other’s, drives, as a dead drive is a negative impression on potential repeat customers. As such, this free tool of theirs can run a number of tests showing you exactly what state of life your drive is in. They’ve created a short tutorial showing how to run this tool:
As you can see, SeaTools is a nice and effective way to test your hard drive. It can run easy tests, hard tests, and a lot of tests in between. It also includes random miscellaneous features like checking antivirus status and quick access to various Microsoft tools.
Price: Free!
Version discovered: v1.2.0.6
Supported OS: Windows XP+
Download size: 20.1MB
VirusTotal malware scan results: 1/42
Portability: Requires installation
dotTechies: We have tested all the software listed above. However, Windows Software of the Day articles are not intended as “reviews” but rather as “heads-up” to help you discover new programs. Always use your best judgement when downloading programs, such as trying trial/free versions before purchasing shareware programs, if applicable.
