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Today’s Software
- ShiftN: re-angle architecture photography so buildings are straight
- Hosts File Updater: block ads and malware using the HOSTS file
- Wlipper: an extremely lightweight clipboard manager
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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 May 26, 2012
ShiftN
clIf you’re an avid amateur photographer like I imagine myself to be, you’ve probably noticed something about all of your photos of buildings: they’re not parallel. Yes, that’s right. Take a look at this random photo I found on Google Images, for example: the one on the left looks odd, while the one on the right looks much more like a normal building. (The order is reversed in the ShiftN photo to this paragraph’s right.)
Fix up your pictures with ShiftN. Simply load up a picture with the first button, correct it with the second button, and save it with the fifth button. You’re done! My test photo went from this angled mess to this still bad but better mess. If you spend time with your photos, I’m sure you can get even better results, too!
Price: Free!
Version discovered: v3.6
Supported OS: Windows XP+
Download size: 5.7MB
VirusTotal malware scan results: 0/41
Portability: Requires installation
Hosts File Updater
Ads are the scourge of the internet. They insidiously appear everywhere, tracking your every click and every possible viewing metric. Then, one day, along came the MVPS.org HOSTS file, promising to rid the land of this vile beast.
Perhaps ads aren’t that bad. They’re just a little annoying. However, they still feature a large amount of tracking and data collecting, which is enough to turn someone off of them. The MVPS HOSTS file is a nice way to stop them at the source, too — but installing it’s a pain.
Enter Hosts File Updater, stage left. This is a minuscule little program that offers all the difference in the world: install it, run it, and reboot and you’ll suddenly notice no more ads — no more tracking! No more spyware! It’s a great tool that has only one function, and it does it well.
Note: Hosts File Updater gets a very high score on VirusTotal. However, looking at the results and researching malware titles leads me to believe that HFU is simply a “PUA”: a potentially unwanted application. It is most likely classified as such because it directly modifies the HOSTS file, a critical system file that has the potential to mangle your network.
Price: Free!
Version discovered: v1.0
Supported OS: Windows all
Download size: 13KB
VirusTotal malware scan results: 27/41
Portability: Modifies system files — no installation required
Hosts File Updater Softpedia page
Wlipper
Clipboard management is always a pain. There’s a thousand tools out there that do everything a thousand and ten different ways, and each one has its pluses and minuses. Wlipper is one of those managers: it’s small, fast, and efficient, but there’s no image support.
Wlipper works in a very simple way. It monitors your clipboard, constantly saving any text entries along with any text formatting. When you want to use a clip, you just open the menu from the system tray and click on the entry. This copies it back into your Windows clipboard so that you’re able to use it again.
Wlipper’s not the most amazing clipboard manager — not by a long shot. However, what you see in that screenshot is it: it’s a single menu with a preferences option. That preferences option has all of four options. If you’re looking for simplicity, Wlipper’s definitely the tool for you.
Price: Free!
Version discovered: Build 3585
Supported OS: Windows with .NET
Download size: 42.3KB
VirusTotal malware scan results: 0/41
Portability: Entirely portable!
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.
