Science and Education Software

Itsourtree Home Edition 1.01

2009-08-20T09:56:00.000-07:00

Many people feel a special attraction for genealogy. I understand that: tracking your origins and see who and where you come from can be very exciting. And now it's even easier with software tools like Itsourtree Home Edition.

With Itsourtree Home Edition you can create a complete genealogical tree, though I must warn you this task is going to take a while. Not only because Itsourtree Home Edition can handle loads of data for each person you add – which is good – but also because it may be a bit confusing to use at first – which is not that good.
It took me a while to discover, for example, that you create the tree by entering the ancestors of the first person you add, and not the other way round (entering descendants to that first person) which is how every genealogy tool I've tried so far usually works.

Despite this learning curve, once you get the knack of the program you start realizing how good Itsourtree Home Edition is. Each entry in the tree is highly detailed, featuring all the information you may need: birth date, marriage, siblings, children and also special areas for personal notes and photos.

These data can be formatted for printing, and Itsourtree Home Edition also lets you generate several sorts of lists and statistics, but unfortunately I couldn't find any way to print the tree as an actual tree. At least you can export data to XML and CSV.

Itsourtree Home Edition may not be as intuitive as other genealogy tools, but it's definitely a complete app with which you can trace back your personal history.

Languages:

English

OS requirements for Itsourtree:

OS: Win98/98SE/Me/2000/XP

Download Itsourtree

OpenUniverse 1.0

2009-08-19T15:15:00.000-07:00

If you're a big fan of the Solar System and staring into Space through your telescope, then you'll absolutely love OpenUniverse.

Open Universe is an exciting project that brings the Solar System to you - in realtime. Most similar programs simulate or recreate the solar system from static models but this program attempts to show you exactly what is going on at any one time. The program existing in a former state as Solar System Simulator (Ssystem) launched in 1997 and has expanded and advanced so much, that it's now come to encompass the entire universe. The word "Open" has been added to to encourage open source users to improve and enhance the project. This is a million times better than the Space Exploration option on Google Earth with highly detailed images of Earth and the planets. For example, you view the Earth from the Sun, zoom in and out and even zoom in on stars. It labels everything too so no more looking up in the sky and wondering what that constellation is. The graphics are not exactly brilliant - it's a bit block and some of the stars look like blobs of white ink. However as a learning tool, it's a brilliant little resource.

For space exploration fans and those that are trying to teach other about the Universe, OpenUniverse is an exciting and powerful project.

Languages:

English

OS requirements for OpenUniverse:

OS: Win95/98/2000/NT/XP

Minimum requirements:

Graphics Card compatible with OpenGL

Free Download

Pregnancy Calculator 2.72

2009-08-18T15:11:00.000-07:00

Trying to get pregnant can sometimes be like playing snooker in the dark. You never know when you're going to eventually hit the bullseye during that all important ovulation period. Pregnancy calculator helps you plan the optimum time not only to conceive, but also for the important milestones in your pregnancy.

For example, once you've entered your personal data, Pregnancy Calculator can predict the probable date of conception, the start date of the second and third trimesters and even the date that offers the best survival rate for your baby. It also calculates the dates that most babies may arrive between and more obvious things that you should know anyway - like how many weeks and days you are pregnant and how many weeks and days you have left until that special day. All this is accompanied by a few baby sound effects and options to print the most important data.

For those that really like to hit the nail on the head, you can even tell Pregnancy Calculator on which day you want the baby to be born (useful if you are trying to give birth around a major holiday or event), and it will advise you on exactly what day you'll need to have a shot at conceiving. Much of what this program offers most parents to be should be able to calculate anyway but if you have busy lives or are bad with dates, it could make the process a while lot more fun.

Languages:

English

OS requirements for Pregnancy Calculator:

OS: Win95/98/98SE/Me/2000/NT/XP

Pros

Optimises your chances of getting pregnancy
Calculates all manner of dates connected to your pregnancy
Helps you put a date on the birth of your child

Cons

Could take the romance out of the pregnancy process

Free Download

Stellarium Portable 0.10.2

2009-08-17T15:16:00.000-07:00

Stellarium is a popular open source astronomy application that enables you to gaze at stars from the comfort of your own home. And now with Stellarium Portable you can put the whole universe in your pocket.

Stellarium Portable offers the same tools, options and functionality as its desktop version, only with this one you can install it on any USB device and use it on any PC without leaving traces on the system. The only requirement is that the host PC needs to be powerful enough to render the maximum quality.

With Stellarium Portable you'll be able to look at the sky from any location in the World, which means you can check the different star constellations visible from different areas in the world. The program also lets you add extra information to the image, such as a grid with parallels and meridians, constellation art based on mythological figures and cardinal points, among others.

While Stellarium Portable doesn't include highly-detailed imagery and makes traveling from one point to another a bit confusing sometimes, it's also a very interesting app – as long as you like astronomy. And if not, it also works great as an entertainment for coffee break.

Stellarium Portable is a pocket-sized free planetarium that will please all astronomy fans out there.

Languages:

English

OS requirements for Stellarium Portable:

OS: Win98/98SE/Me/2000/XP/Vista

Free Download

ESBCalc Pro 6.2.3

2009-08-16T15:09:00.000-07:00

ESBCalc is a Win32 Scientific Calculator with Infix Notation, Brackets, Scientific Functions, Memory, Optional Paper Trail, Result History List, Customisation of the Colours & Fonts used, Customisation of the Hints, and more.

Functions include Trigonometric, Hyperbolic, Logarithmic - Base 10, Base 2 & Natural - and many more. Now includes Prefix Function support so that Log (1.3) can be entered as log 1.3 rather than as 1.3 log which is the default behaviour. Looks best with Windows XP in 800x600 (or better) and 32-bit colour. Now with improved Large Font Support.

Languages:

English

OS requirements for ESBCalc:

OS: Win98/98SE/Me/2000/NT/XP

Download ESBCalc

ohmiGene Lite 2.21

2009-08-15T09:56:00.000-07:00

Managing your genealogy can be a daunting task. ohmiGene lets you create new family members and connect them together. We liked how you can set whether a profile is private or public, add pictures and create unions between people. The program also has an advanced search to browse members by many categories like sex, birth, death or unions. Results will appear in the list view on the left. ohmiGene also lets you import and export GEDCOM genealogy files.

The interface is confusing and stuffed with small icons, making it difficult to get to grips with the program. It did take us a while to understand how to create new members and form unions. We were also disappointed to learn that the program limits you to 500 members for your genealogy.

ohmiGene offers advanced features to manage your genealogy but feels a little bit counter-intuitive.

Languages:

English

Limitations:

Limited to 500 people

OS requirements for ohmiGene:

OS: Win2000/XP/2003
Download ohmiGene

AllerCalc 2.11

2009-08-14T15:00:00.000-07:00

AllerCalc, previously know as VersaCalc, is an advanced calculator which allows you to perform complex scientific calculations that other calculators can't handle.

The calculator works with a rotating screen that stores your last calculations and results. It supports more than forty functions including algebraic, transcendental, trigonometrical, hyperbolic and financial. Chances are that if you can't solve a mathematical equation with this calculator, then you won't be able to solve it with anything.

AllerCalc also includes different options that allow you to choose the sources, format (general or scientific) and select the number of decimals to visualize. You can even make metric conversions and much much more. A powerful calculator for that need some serious mathematical power.

Languages:

English

OS requirements for AllerCalc:

OS: Win95/98/98SE/Me/2000/NT/XP

Pros

Very powerful
Possible to calculate complex equations
Calculates in metric and imperial measurements

Cons

Doesn't have any instructional information

Download AllerCalc

Kalkulator 2.50

2009-08-13T13:11:00.000-07:00

The Mother of all Calculators, a Swiss Army knife for scientists and engineers. Perhaps the most capable scientific/engineering calculator for Windows. On one hand, this is a calculator: it evaluates expressions with more than 100 functions (trig/inverse, log/exp, statisical distributions, Euler, conditional, user-defined). Expressions are entered in the customary algebraic notation, and then simply calculated. After computing the value, an expression can be modified or corrected, and recomputed at will.

There ara also unit conversions, physical constants, computer math (binary, octal, hex), and function graphs included. For more advanced users, Kalkulator provides less trivial operations: numerical integration and differentiation, interpolaton (linear or cubic spline), statistics (mean, s.d., histograms, polynomial regression), column operations on stat data, polynomial roots, linear algebra (vector/matrix operations and systems of linear equations).

Hard-to-find features: systems of non-linear and differential (ODE) equations, multi-argument function extremum search and point or histogram fitting which includes an arbitrary function. Most importantly, advanced features don't obstruct the basic ones. You can use as much of Kalkulator's capabilities as you need, without being hampered by program capabilities you do not need. Disk save/restore, Help file and other niceties are also included.

Kalkulator has been evolving on various OS platforms for the last 15 years, being refined and polished through all this time, and its author has more than 25 years of active experience in numerical methods and software development.

Languages:

English

Recent changes in Kalkulator:

Unit conversion now uses definitions in an external file, which can be modified by the user to add new units or unit categories
Added user-defines physical constants from a file
Improved algorithm used to round graph limits
Balloon hints use the font as selected for the Preferences
Fixed documentation: wrong formula for histogram goodness of fit

OS requirements for Kalkulator:

OS: Win95/98/98SE/2000/NT

Download Kalkulator

GRAMPS 3.0.4

2009-08-12T09:54:00.000-07:00

Many genealogy or family mapping tools come at a price on involve expensive subscriptions to sites that promise to reveal who your Great Granddad was in 1508.

GRAMPS is a completely free tool however that helps you track your family tree. It allows you to store, edit, and research genealogical data and provides all of the functions you'd expect in a professional program. GRAMPS is extremely flexible allowing you to rearrange and manipulate all data events in the data base.

GRAMPS takes you through the mapping process step by step. First, it requires you to fill in the basics such as name, sex and date of birth are among the standard information. If you want to make it look more attractive, you can add photos, videos and link to external sites for more info on each individual member. GRAMPS can also create time-lines of your family's evolution and even create calendars of the most important events. You can export all of this data to PDF, SVG and ODT format which could be printed and made into a unique present or gift for a loved one.

If you're interested to learn more about your family tree, GRAMPS can help you compile one easily and it won't cost a penny.

Languages:

English

OS requirements for GRAMPS:

OS: Win2000/XP/Vista

Minimum requirements:

Python 2.5.1
GTK+ 2.10.11
pygtk 2.10.6
pygobject 2.12.3
pycairo 1.2.6
Download GRAMPS

Avogadro 0.9.4

2009-08-11T13:39:00.000-07:00

Avogadro is an application purely for scientists and students that have to draw three-dimensional molecular compositions that showing a molecule from every conceivable angle and perspective.

It works across platforms and is used in computational chemistry, molecular modeling, bio informatics, material science and other related areas. The aim has been to make 3D molecular manipulation as easy as possible and even if your not a scientists, it's quite entertaining just creating your own different coloured structures that look good. This can be done simply by using the mouse buttons and dragging the molecules on their three axis. Probably the best aspect of this program for those with some coding knowledge is that it can be easily extended and developed via plugins. Avogadro is based on Open Babel according to the developers and in future, will also offer scripting options. The main problem you'll find is that like with many open source collaborations, it is prone to bugs and errors so it may crash at any time.

An excellent scientific tool that allows flexibility for those that want to develop plugins but is easy enough for anyone to use.

Languages:

English

OS requirements for Avogadro:

OS: Win98/98SE/2000/XP

Pros

Easy to add plugins
Open source and free

Cons

Prone to bugs and crashes

Download Avogadro

Virtual Lab 6.2.2

2009-08-10T08:35:00.000-07:00

I was always fascinated by the science laboratory hours at school, when we had to use microscopes to literally discover new words, and test chemical compounds and the ways they react with eachother. I also remember how cool mercury was and how our incautious teacher had let us played with our hands in it, despite its toxicity. If you want to discover more about the micro-universe but you don't want to have the hassle of slides, drops of blood or samples of skins, give VirtualLab a try.

This application is funded by NASA and it is a digital microscope with many specimens you can easily download from the main page. You don't have to install anything, just click the thumbnail that attracts you most and the program take care of downloading it and make it available for you. Among the specimens available there are human blood cells, penicillin, pyrite, meteorite, lunar dust, yeast, dog liver and human kidney samples. Be careful though as some of the files are really big, more than 150MB and it will take ages to download them. This is because the images are really detailed and you can zoom in more than 150,000X. For some images then, you can also select a portion and have a 3D rendering in another window.

Looking at the downsides I found the technique you have to use to navigate through pictures pretty unusual, and I didn't like the fixed zoom. In fact, it is not possible to zoom in freely on an image, as there are just four fixed zoom levels you can choose from.

VirtualLab is a fascinating program with which you can efficiently discover the micro world thanks to 84 high-definitions. It's a pity there are some usability issues.

Languages:

English

OS requirements for Virtual Lab:

OS: Win98/98SE/2000/XP/Vista

Download Virtual Lab

Periodic Table 3.4

2009-08-09T15:02:00.000-07:00

Application containing all the elements of the Periodic Table along with images of the elements in their natural state.

Features include:

Detailed information on each element
Images for each element (126 images in total)
Glossary
Graphs of important element properties
Biographies for the element discoverers
Interactive display allows you to view the states of the elements at any temperature (from 0 - 6000k)
XP style support
Search the all of the element, biography and glossary pages.
Electron shell diagrams of each element
Atomic width diagram

Languages:

English

OS requirements for Periodic Table:

OS: Win98/98SE/Me/2000/XP

Download Periodic Table

ISPT Integral Scientist Periodic Table 3.12

2009-08-08T14:53:00.000-07:00

Integral Scientist Periodic Table is designed for professional chemists, educators, and students. The most complete program related to periodic table so far! The most important features are:

Data for 112 discovered and 6 theoretical elements
Six interactive periodic table styles: Modern, Bayley, Extended, Octet, Electron, Quantum 3D
Instant selection of an element and update of data.
Five detailed information screens: General, Physical, Chemical, Nuclear, Energy
98 element property & information fields
32 data fields display multiple values.
Graphical display of shells and orbitals
Comparison graphing of multiple properties
Property searching on multiple values
Element selection from any data screen
Searching by name, symbol or number
Custom design of printed reports

Languages:

English

Limitations:

15 day Trial Period

OS requirements for ISPT Integral Scientist Periodic Table:

OS: Win95/98/Me/2000/XP/2003

Download ISPT Integral Scientist

Model ChemLab 2.4

2009-08-07T08:47:00.000-07:00

Whether your challenge is to introduce new computer technology to your curriculum, or bring the lab experience to on-line students or a need for an alternative to dangerous, expensive or environmentally hazardous labs, then Model ChemLab is the classroom proven solution for you.

Model ChemLab originated from academic work in computer simulation and software design at McMaster University. It has continued to be developed with extensive input from educators interested in the possible application of computer simulations for classroom and distance learning.

Model ChemLab is a unique product incorporating both an interactive simulation and a lab notebook workspace with separate areas for theory, procedures and student observations. Commonly used lab equipment and procedures are used to simulate the steps involved in performing an experiment. Users step-through the actual lab procedure while interacting with animated equipment in a way that is similar to the real lab experience.

ChemLab comes with a range of pre-designed lab experiments for general chemistry at the high school and college level. Users can expand upon the original lab set using ChemLab's LabWizard development tools, thus allowing for curriculum specific lab simulation development by educators. These user designed simulations combine both text based instructions and the simulation into a single distributable file.

Languages:

English

Limitations:

Does not include all predesigned experiments
You cannot save experiments made

OS requirements for Model ChemLab:

OS: Win95/98/98SE/Me/2000/NT/XP/2003

Download Model ChemLab

World of Where 3.8.1

2009-08-06T08:01:00.000-07:00

If you have trouble getting your kids to learn their geography or you just want to test your knowledge, World of Where may be of interest to you. The program is extremely easy to use. Once you launch it, a world map appears and you can choose which continent you want to be quizzed on. Good to know however, the trial version only lets you navigate to Europe.

There are three types of quizzes: cities, countries and flags. You have no time limit and can skip a question if you don't know the answer. And if you're feeling really smart, you can decide to take on the world and have questions coming from any continent. With a quizz on the American States, World of Where is directed specifically towards US users. Try it out and see how much you know about geography.

Languages:

English, German, French, Italian

Recent changes in World of Where:

Added hint feature
Added Southern Ocean
Improved Preferences and Smart Test windows.
Use space bar (or menu) to switch to the political view of any physical map and vice versa.
Improved Japanese, German, Dutch, Spanish and Italian localisations (thanks Tetsuo, Johannes, Jean, Eduardo and Marco).
Fixed flags bug
Some spelling corrections
Intel compatibility to the Cantons of Switzerland

Limitations:

You can only use Europe's map

OS requirements for World of Where:

OS: Win98/98SE/Me/2000/NT/XP

Download World of Where

GeoEdu 1.31

2009-08-05T14:00:00.000-07:00

If you don't know your Libya from your Liberia, or your Berlin from your Brussels then GeoEdu is a neat way to brush up on your geography skills.

GeoEdu is an atlas, complete with geographic data from many different continents, countries, and oceans. It helps you to learn the people, language, size, and location of any country and its flag. GeoEdu is also useful for helping you learn what geographical terms refer to. For example, it helps you to learn the difference between a region and a dependency, a state and a country, and other basic terms that you need to be familiar with. In this way, it's suitable for both kids needing to learn more about the world, and adults who have forgotten a lot of elementary geography.

The most useful learning tool is the Quiz mode that allows you to test your knowledge. The developer claims that there are over 10,000 questions in there. You can pick from eight types of question and choose the countries that you want to focus on (although this trial only allows you to choose the American continent), and even select regions within each country. Most interesting are the 'Voyage' options, which allow you to physically take a journey across borders while learning and answering questions along the way.

While GeoEdu is an excellent learning application, technically it leaves a lot to be desired. I was constantly plagued by a 'The file cannot be modified' warning that popped up several times before I'd even configured the program - and similar error messages appeared while I was using it.

GeoEdu is an excellent learning tool, especially for teenagers and young adults, although it needs some technical bugs ironed out before it really impresses.

Languages:

English, French

Limitations:

Only allows you to play on American continent

OS requirements for GeoEdu:

OS: WinXP/Vista

Download GeoEdu

Google Earth 5.0.11337.1968 Beta

2009-08-04T14:09:00.000-07:00

Google's satellite imagery software has truly changed the way we look at the globe. The application lets you zoom in on any part of the world and for some places, observe from a few meters away.

Google Earth not only displaces satellite images but it also includes terrains and sometimes 3D reconstruction of buildings. You can look for directions and businesses, just like in Google Maps and pinpoint areas or draw on maps straight in Google Earth.

Google Earth includes a very wide, and constantly increasing library of layers, which you can add to the map to enrich your experience. You'll find all sorts of information, from historical landscapes to national parks, regions where you can find endangered species or tourist spots. Google Earth will also showcase more news related information such as forest fires or tsunamis.

But Google Earth is not limited to terrain, and with every new version, it adds new sources of satellite imagery and information about other areas in the world. Say you're really into stars; then you should turn to the Space mode and navigate among the constellations. Or, if you prefer exploring the seas, enable the Water surface option and learn all the secrets about oceans and marine creatures. What's more, the latest version lets you travel in time by providing you with a new Historical Imagery function that allows you to see the evolution of certain locations during the past few years.

Moving around in Google Earth is incredibly intuitive thanks to the multiple navigation tools. Some areas will show less information than others, and Google Earth is known to use up a substantial amount of bandwidth, but it remains a fascinating piece of software

Google Earth is as of yet an unequalled application. Browse around the world, zoom into streets, gaze at the stars or dive into the ocean. Millions of possibilities.

Languages:

English, Arabic, Czech, Dutch, Korean, Polish, Portuguese BR, Russian

Recent changes in Google Earth:

Historical imagery from around the globe
Ocean floor and surface data from marine experts
Simplified touring with audio and voice recording

About the license:

Some features not available

OS requirements for Google Earth:

OS: Win2000/XP/Vista

Minimum requirements:

Processor: 500 MHz
Memory: 128 MB
Video: 16 MB

Recommended requirements:

Processor: 2,4 GHz
Memory: 512 MB
Video: 32 MB

Download Google Earth

EniG. Periodic Table of Elements 2.11

2009-08-03T13:51:00.000-07:00

EniG. Periodic table of the elements contains the basic data about the elements in 7 languages (Croatian, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese). It visually shows the change in physical condition with the change of temperature. The language, the speed of temperature change and the exchange of elements can be adjusted in the configuration file.

The calculating module from the Chemistry Assistant program allows the fast calculating of mole mass compounds and has also been integrated in the Periodic Table. The program translates texts with chemical symbols or without them, entered in input line, into mathematical terms (it can be seen as ToolTip text) and calculates them.

The periodic Table can be incorporated into presentations, the change of temperature automatically started and the programme closed. The background color can be adjusted to match the color of the presentation slide.

Languages:

English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Portuguese BR

OS requirements for EniG. Periodic Table of Elements:

OS: Win95/98/98SE/Me/2000/NT/XP

Download EniG. Periodic Table of...

Serial Cloner 1.3

2009-08-02T09:58:00.000-07:00

DNA is the complex code that makes up the lifeform in all of us. Until now, it reading and writing it was a very specialised field but this program intends to bring it to the masses.

Serial Cloner is an application that allows you to read and write files DNA sequences that conform to the FASTA and pDRAW32 format. It is therefore an extremely powerful piece of software that will only be of interests to scientists and science-biology students. The program includes a whole host of mapping options such as genetic maps, fragment viewers and a virtual PCR. All the tools you need to analyze and manipulate your DNA sequences are available in a very simple and easy to read all-in-one-window. You can numerically select fragments and carry out calculations of peptides which I have no idea about but certainly look impressive. Obviously, the main aim of the program is to provide an easy way to clone DNA - a task which it does very well and mainly just using a graphical interface. Many of the program's tools will only be familiar to scientists and academics but there's also a web browser for the direct import of NCBI and EMBL entries.

A highly complex and powerful tool that could make your DNA cloning a lot easier and cheaper than in the lab.

Languages:

English

OS requirements for Serial Cloner:

OS: WinMe/2000/XP/2003/Vista
Download Serial Cloner

World Community Grid 5.10.45

2009-08-01T09:57:00.000-07:00

If you believe that worldwide improvements also come from personal choices and that no matter how small, an action combined with many others can make a difference, read on. You can really make a difference helping worldwide medical research.

Your computer is a useful computing source and can be used during moments of inactivity to elaborate data for research projects. Once it has processed a package of data it can connect to a centre to upload the results and download new material. If millions of people were doing so, the result would be to have a super-computer calculator's power, able to carry on an enormous amount of elaboration and simulation that otherwise would take years and years. This is the principle of distributed computing.

World Community Grid uses your computer for scientific-humanitarian projects. It runs a screen saver while elaborating data to conquer cancer, to fight AIDS, to study African climate change and so on. It doesn't affect your PC's performance as it works only when you are not working but your screensaver is. This programme is founded by IBM and collaborates with BOINC, an open source platform that works similarly for certain projects.

Start using this 'intelligent' screensaver and feel part of a scientific community that studies how to fight majors human diseases with the power of distributing computing.

Languages:

English

OS requirements for World Community Grid:

OS: Win98/98SE/Me/XP/Vista

Minimum requirements:

Free registration: Publisher's website
Download World Community Grid

Family Tree Builder 2.0.0.640

2009-07-31T09:59:00.000-07:00

Where do I come from? Who were my ancestors? Who comes before my great grandparents? Family Tree Builder has the answer to all these questions… and many more.

This comprehensive genealogy application enables you to build a complete family tree from scratch, featuring every single member of your family since the beginning of humankind – that is, if your own personal recordings reach that far in time.

Each family member has a highly detailed profile that includes all the basic data (name, date of birth, their relationship with the rest of the family) as well as other extra elements such as pictures, physical description and important facts and dates in their personal life.

Despite this huge amount of data, Family Tree Builder is really easy to use. It lets you browse the tree in several ways and also view or export it in a variety of formats. What's more, you can publish your family tree to your webpage right from the program. The program's only flaw, if any, is the compulsory registration in order to use it. But hey, it's free: what else can you ask for?

If you've decided to study your own personal history through your family ancestors, Family Tree Builder is the perfect software tool to help you out with this task.

Languages:

English, Spanish, Argentinean, Chinese Simp, Chinese Trad, Czech, Danish, Euskera, Finnish, Gallego, Greek, Italian, Russian

OS requirements for Family Tree Builder:

OS: Win95/98/98SE/Me/2000/NT/XP/2003/Vista
Download Family Tree Builder

The Quiz Press 2.1.4

2009-07-30T09:48:00.000-07:00

With one easy-to-use interface, The Quiz Press allows you to make your own quizzes that you can put on the web or print out for classroom use. Quizzes can include five different question types (Multiple Choice, Fill in the Blanks, Short Answer, True or False, and Cloze), and also allows for fully customizable titles.

Making a web based quiz is as easy as pressing a button. The Quiz Press automatically commands your web browser to let you experiment with your quiz. When you are ready to publish to the web it is just as easy. Just pick a name and place to save on your hard drive and then drag your quiz to your FTP site.

Features:

Make a quiz into an interactive web page
Make a quiz to print out
Unlimited Undo
Full editing support (change size, styles, and fonts)

Languages:

English

Limitations:

30 day Trial Period There is a 5 question limit

OS requirements for The Quiz Press:

OS: Win2000/XP/2003/Vista

Download The Quiz Press

WikiReader 1.2

2009-07-28T09:50:00.000-07:00

As Wikipedia becomes an increasingly popular reference tool, this program saves you time and trouble in looking up facts and figures.

If you regularly read articles from WikiPedia, WikiReader is just the ticket for you. WikiReader allows you to open WikiPedia articles from any Windows application. Just select the name of the relevant article using the mouse or keyboard, press the corresponding key combination and the text of the article is opened in a small window.

The icon of the program is easily located in the taskbar so you can click it at any moment. It is possible to manually open a specific article in the window of the program just by entering its name in the input field

Languages:

English

Recent changes in WikiReader:

One Click feature implemented
Article language can be selected in the main window now
Ctrl+F4 closes active tab
Minor bug fixes

Limitations:

20 day Trial Period 20 days

OS requirements for WikiReader:

OS: Win2000/XP/2003

Download WikiReader

Google Earth Pro 4.3

2009-07-27T08:09:00.000-07:00

Google Earth Pro is the professional version of Google Earth. It's downloaded upon registration on its website and adds some extra features to the free version. Do these additional functions make a difference? Let's dig a bit deeper.

Making use of a vast satellite imagery database –actually the same as the free version, Google Earth Pro displays locations from all over the world, enabling you to zoom in from the image of the whole planet to the streets of any capital city. As a Pro version user, you're supposed to enjoy a faster performance, but we couldn't really notice any difference.

Another interesting feature included in the Pro version is the ability to record videos with your movements around the world, which you can use to illustrate trips or even give directions. You can choose different resolutions, but record only in WMV format.

Technical support assistance, Premium print and a GID data importer are other additional capabilities of this Pro version. However, taking into account that both versions share the same image database, which in the end is Google Earth's biggest value, you may as well use the free version.

Languages:

English

Notes:

Requires free registration to gain access to a seven day trial: Click here
Sunrise feature
Enhanced building views
Improved navigational controls

Limitations:

7 day Trial Period

OS requirements for Google Earth:

OS: Win2000/XP

Minimum requirements:

Processor: Pentium 3 500 MHz
Memory: 128 MB
Video: 16 MB
Space available: 400 MB
Internet connection: 128Kbits/seg
Resolution: 1024x768

Recommended requirements:

Processor: Pentium 4 2,4 GHz
Memory: 512 MB
Video: 32 MB
Space available: 2 GB
Internet connection: 768 Kbits/seg
Resolution: 1280x1024 "32-bit true color"

Download Google Earth

Principal's Pal 1.2

2009-07-26T09:51:00.000-07:00

How much time do you spend creating a conflict-free schedule each year? If you are like most principals, the answer is several days or even several weeks. Principal's Pal is here to turn a stressfull and lengthy ordeal into a simple and fast process.

With Principal's Pal the process is divided into four simple steps that in many cases will take less than half an hour. When Principal's Pal has all the information it needs, you can sit back and relax as it does the hard work for you. A few moments later, you will be ready to print schedules to give to your staff and students.

Keeps teachers happy

Principal's Pal allows you to set a minimum time that each teacher has every day uninterrupted, which allows them to count on a time of the day to tackle a longer or more difficult lesson.

Conflict-free

Principal's Pal won't create a schedule that forgets to schedule a class for P.E., or schedules a class for Art when the teacher isn't available. It will even allow you to make sure that classes with too many students aren't scheduled for a special class that doesn't have enough room.

Easily updated

If something has changed, simply open up your original schedule with Principal's Pal and update the information. It will automatically create a new schedule for you.

Collaborative planning periods

A popular thing to do is to schedule special classes at the same time for teachers of the same grade level so that those teachers can collaborate. Principal's Pal will automatically do this for you.

Leaves time for more important things

Let's face it, being a school administrator is not an easy job, and time is always precious. Principal's Pal will give you several days or even weeks of your time back to you to do more important things.

Languages:

English

OS requirements for Principal's Pal:

OS: Win2000/XP

Download Principal's Pal

Country Codes 2.6.0

2009-07-25T08:05:00.000-07:00

Country Codes is a small database of country codes and additional information for more than 250 countries. It displays their location (continent), ISO 3166-1 Alpha 2-3 codes and ISO number as well as IDDD code and flag, NDD Code, Country Dialing Code, FIPS PUB 10-4 and TLD (Top Level Domain) code and the current time in the country, Distinguishing sign, IOC Code, ISO Currency Code and language abbreviation 3-char name.

The program provides checkboxes, that allow you to copy all or just selected information to the clipboard. In addition, it provides a handy link for each country that launches your browser with detailed information from the CIA World Fact Book and from the NationMaster website. It also provides options such as exporting to HTML file for printing or other uses.

You can even extract the name of country from numeric IP addresses using IP2Location database and program will automatically display the related information to that country. There is also a map of world showing you the content location of target country in world.

Languages:

English

Recent changes in Country Codes:

New option dialog
Interface improvments
Records updated and Bugs fixed

OS requirements for Country Codes:

OS: Win95/98/Me/NT

Download Country Codes

Arm Map Explorer 1.0

2009-07-24T12:47:00.000-07:00

With Arm Map Explorer you can:

Study physical and economic geography
Explore the Earth surface using dynamic interactive maps
View maps with a coordinate grid
View state capitals, large cities, international airports, world landmarks
Print and save map images

Arm Map Explorer recreates all the functionalities of Google Maps on your desktop and adds extras. Map Explorer lets you locate and view any place on the planet using dynamic interactive maps. These maps are draggable, meaning no need to click and wait for graphics to reload each time you want to view adjacent parts of a map. Viewing locations on maps in Map Explorer resembles the way you use a regular street map.

In addition to the features offered by Google Maps, Map Explorer allows you to view a map with a coordinate grid on it, get precise coordinates of any location on the map and move to a location based on specified coordinates. With the help of the object tree, you can instantly locate and view capitals of states, large cities, world landmarks, monuments, international airports and other locations. You can save a map as a file or print it to use on a trip. Map Explorer can help you study geography, both physical and economic. The program will display a satellite view of any location that you can zoom in and out and pan in any direction.

Languages:

English

OS requirements for Arm Map Explorer:

OS: Win98/98SE/Me/2000/NT/XP

Download Arm Map Explorer

ABC Kid Genius 2.13

2009-07-23T07:55:00.000-07:00

ABC Kid Genius helps you teach children the Alphabet, Numbers, Counting, Reading and Spelling using sound, pictures and video clips. Using the recognition method young children learn by watching auto rotating lessons.

Toddlers learn to use the keyboard. Children progress to type the alphabet. Includes Story reading, Flash words and Spelling. You can also create your own Spelling words using your pictures, voice and video clips. Can be set to UK English or US.

Languages:

English

OS requirements for ABC Kid Genius:

OS: Win95/98/98SE/Me/2000/NT/XP/Vista

Download ABC Kid Genius

MapCapt 1.6

2009-07-22T14:13:00.000-07:00

Prepare maps for your holidays, your walking, your bike trips, your geocaching and then print them or use them with your GPS!

If you think that maps found on the Internet are either not precise, or cover small areas, MapCapt is for you!

This utility automatically scrolls, captures, assembles and saves maps (or other window content) from a Web page to a bitmap file, even if scrolling is controlled by custom controls. It can be used for example with maps.google.com, www.viamichelin.com, www.randmcnally.com, www.geoportail.fr...

Languages:

English

Recent changes in MapCapt:

Introduces the possibility to scroll maps that need the keyboard's arrow keys to be pressed.

Limitations:

Range of maps is limited

OS requirements for MapCapt:

OS: WinXP/Vista

Download MapCapt

Qedoc Quiz Maker 2.6.2

2009-07-21T08:02:00.000-07:00

High-end application for creating and modifying interactive learning content for playback on the Qedoc Quiz Player. Features include convenient and fast generation of training and testing material, flexible reusability of defined tasks, highly configurable and varied test types, exceptionally smart and interactive interfaces, easy publication and a true interactive WYSIWYG preview display.

Around 40 different questions types are available, including multiple choice, multiple response, matching, gapfills, sliders, mystery words, text response, text correction and more. Many of these question types include original Qedoc variations and developments of established educational testing methods. Each question type has additional configuration options, including layout control, HTML formating support, scoring, feedback, hints, and more.

Languages:

English

Recent changes in Qedoc Quiz Maker:

New question type: simple text entry with virtual user-definable keyboard. Text entry questions can be answered using only mouse-clicks. The user-definable keyboard is useful for extended or non-Roman scripts and is designed to help language-learning quizzes.
Fix to unicode support in Quiz Player.
Fix to data table imports (blank cells causing data loss).
Fix to marking of un-attempted questions.

OS requirements for Qedoc Quiz Maker:

OS: Win98/98SE/Me/2000/NT/XP

Minimum requirements:

Java Runtime Environment

Download Qedoc Quiz Maker

Melody Assistant 7.3.4

2009-07-20T08:12:00.000-07:00

Reading or writing music is one of the trickiest parts of being a professional musician but software like Melody Assistant can make your life considerably easier.

This program features a wide range of musical symbols that will enable you to create and tablatures including even complex scores such as Gregorian notation. You can input music through the mouse, computer keyboard or even an external MIDI keyboard. The program comes bundled with its own embedded software synthesizer (SoftSynth), which provides high quality output on basic sound cards, even without any external MIDI device, and includes hundreds of different instruments. In addition, you'll find a complete score editor, tablature calculation for miscellaneous string instruments, a chord diagram library for various instruments plus the possibility to allow visitors to view, transpose, play or print your scores. If you're completely new to composing music too, there's a host of very handy video tutorials on the developer website to help you get the most out of it.

Easy to use and with input possibilities from MIDI devices, Melody Assistant will help you write tablature and musical scores in no time.

Languages:

English

Melody Assistant supports the following formats:

MIDI, WAV, AIFF, MP3, OGG, TAB, ABC

Limitations:

8-second export trial
Watermark on output

OS requirements for Melody Assistant:

OS: Win95/98/98SE/Me/2000/XP/Vista

Download Melody Assistant

Guitar Chords 2.1

2009-07-19T14:31:00.000-07:00

Guitar Chords could save many guitar players time as it is a comprehensive database of the chords on your guitar and all their possible combinations.

Leaving aside the salmon-pink background, which is a little difficult to cope with, the way it works is that after pressing the Start button, you have to choose which type of chord you are looking for: Major & Minor, Augmented, Diminished Suspended, of 6th, of 7th and so on. At this point just click on the name of the note you want and view all the available combinations for creating that chord on the central window.

View the ‘How to read the chords’ sections if you have any problems understanding what ‘X 0 2 2 2 0’ means. This represents which cords you have to play, and where you have to put your fingers. That said, I’ve found it strange that the most common way to play chords is not the first solution available, but instead appears in the middle of a nearly endless list. I don’t really understand the logic behind this, although I hope there is one. If you want, you can also export the list of combinations as a text document by clicking on the Printable Format button.

Guitar Chords is a useful database of all the possible chords you can create with your guitar. It also features all the possible combination of notes you can use to create that chord, although, as the list is very long, it can be confusing to find the most common way to play a specific sound.

Languages:

English

OS requirements for Guitar Chords:

OS: Win98SE/Me/2000/XP

Download Guitar Chords

FastChords 4.1.0.0

2009-07-18T14:30:00.000-07:00

FastChords is designed to help you improve your piano playing skills with ease. It includes a calculator to show how each chord is played on the keyboard. You can use the staff to enter the melody notes, so there is no need to read music.

Listen to the song and let FastChords find the optimal chord configuration to simplify playing one chord after another. Print the result, put it next to the piano or keyboard, and you are ready to learn a new song!

Languages:

English

Limitations:

21 day Trial Period Limited printing capabilities

OS requirements for FastChords:

OS: Win2000/XP/Vista

Download FastChords

Guitar Guru 2.1.4.1

2009-07-17T08:22:00.000-07:00

This song-based learning software complements guitar tablature by providing additional, detailed instructions that guitar tab alone is unable to provide. Guitar Guru teaches guitarists of all skill levels how to play songs from a variety of genres.

Tools and features:

Virtual fret board displays proper fingerings in real-time
Detailed instructions for all guitar parts in a song
Adjustable playback/learning tempo
MIDI or CD-Synched Audio
Customizable display with additional guitar skins
Step-Through Playback Function
Delayed start option: Give yourself time to grab your guitar
Bass guitar support
Select MIDI playback instrument to match your preferred sound
Choose colored dots, numbers or dots and numbers to represent fingerings
Adjust tempo up to 300% without changing pitch (MIDI only)
Mute Button: The volume reset has been changed to an on/off toggle

Languages:

English

OS requirements for Guitar Guru:

OS: Win98/98SE/Me/2000/XP

Download Guitar Guru

Click MusicalKEYS 3.0.214

2009-07-16T09:15:00.000-07:00

Click MusicalKEYS will change your computer into a virtual music lab. With 128 musical instruments, you can play the best music of your choice. You can also save your favorites in the MIDI file format for free using the MIDI Converter utility.

Click MusicalKEYS can be used as an accompaniment just like electronic keyboards and it is also ideal for people who want to learn how to play tunes in musical instruments. You can also download tunes from your friends and send your favorites to them, so with Click MusicalKEYS, it is very easy and fun to use the computer as a musical instrument.

You don't need any experience about music staves and sheets. Click MusicalKEYS will do all the work.

Languages:

English

OS requirements for Click MusicalKEYS:

OS: Win98/98SE/Me/2000/XP

Download Click MusicalKEYS

MathWriter 4.3

2009-07-15T08:16:00.000-07:00

Schoolteachers and Lecturers will find MathWriter useful for producing notes,reports,and test papers. The program is designed so that an expression may be written on the screen, and then translated into a bitmap image of required size. The image may then be subsequently imported to a Microsoft Word document as a "picture" or incorporated into a Web Page as an Image.

Languages:

English

OS requirements for MathWriter:

OS: Win98/98SE/Me/2000/XP

Download MathWriter

Rapid Typing 2.8.5

2009-07-14T11:46:00.000-07:00

Rapid Typing is a fast and useful application that allows you to improve your typing skills, both in accuracy and speed. The interface is fairly clear, although maybe you will have to disable the aquarium animation set as default in the background as it can disturb you when concentrating on your exercises. You can do that, in the option menu, ticking the animation option and if you wish, choosing a background colour, although the white one, is probably the clearer.

When you start the session, simply type the letters you see on the screen, without looking at your keyboard. Exercises are increasingly difficult and test you on specific letters each time, until you are able to remember better what’s where.

If you don’t know which is the correct finger to use to press a letter, press the Show/Hide Virtual Keyboard button, on the far bottom of the main frame. You’ll get a representation of your hands, telling you with which finger you should use to press the key.
At the end of each session the program tells you how many mistakes you made and how fast you have been, showing you a graph of your improvements.

With Rapid Typing you can improve your typing speed and accuracy when using your keyboard with increasingly more difficult exercises. Although it’s very easy to use, it lacks of an initial explanation on how to position and move your fingers, so two-finger typers might have to look for an alternative training method.

Languages:

English, Chinese Simp

OS requirements for RapidTyping:

OS: Win2000/XP/Vista

Minimum requirements:

Memory: 64 MB
Download RapidTyping

Typing Assistant 4.4

2009-07-13T08:11:00.000-07:00

One thing that's probably saved thousands of keyboards and fingers is predictive typing innovations such as Typing Assistant.

Typing Assistant works by predicting words and even whole sentences before you've finished a line. It integrates seamlessly with most major word processing and desktop applications such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Notepad, UltraEdit, WordPad, ICQ Messenger, MSN Messenger and Yahoo Messenger. Typing Assistant learns unknown and recently typed words so that the next time you begin to type it the word, it will be suggested to you saving you thousands of keystrokes.

As you work, you'll see a Typing Assistant suggestion window open to show you the possible words you may want to type and then it automatically completes the sentence or words for you. It can also access your clipboard history contents for commonly cut and pasted items.

Although Typing Assistant is designed to make typing faster, it can be rather cumbersome to get used to. Often, you'll spend more time selecting which word you mean to type than typing the word itself. It's useful if it predicts large sentences but if not, it can get quite annoying as it tries to predict every single word you type.

Typing Assistant could be useful for those that have difficulty typing but for most people, it could prove more annoying than useful until you get used to it.

Languages:

English

Recent changes in Typing Assistant:

Fixed the bug that Typing Assistant will add a redundant space when AutoComplete in Microsoft Word.
Date/Time replacement for non-English language is available.
Mouse right click on the left side of suggestion window to show menu to change its dock style.
Show page turning tag at the bottom of suggestion window.
Multiple monitors are supported.
Quick Setting for skilled/unskilled typist is added.
When the suggestion window is shown, you can press Right/Left arrow key to quickly Show/Hide popup menu to edit the selected entry.
More characters are supported in Auto-Expand shorthand.
Some other optimizations and improvements.

Limitations:

21 day Trial Period

OS requirements for Typing Assistant:

OS: Win2000/NT/XP/2003/Vista
Download Typing Assistant

iPlayMusic 1.5.0.68

2009-07-12T08:09:00.000-07:00

As an aspiring guitar player myself, I'll take any help I can get at trying to improve my strumming and picking.

iPlayMusic is a user friendly guitar learning pack which aims to help even the most novice player come up to speed. However, note that this particular download is not actual learning software. It merely gives you access to pick and choose from the hundreds of tutorial videos and packs available from the iPlayMusic Download Store or updates any iPlayMusic packages you may have already installed.

Therefore, this software simply works as a standalone product that acts as a gateway to the rest of the developers products although there are a few free video tutorials and samples available from the Download Store. Everything else will cost you anything between .99 cents and $35. The basic tutorials are just that - unless you're a complete beginner, you won't want to learn too much about the mechanics of a guitar or how to play a G chord. However, the videos on sale look like truly comprehensive learning packages some with over 4 hours of videos complete with GarageBand and Acid projects, pre-encoded iPod videos, and special songs by famous artists not available in the Download Store. All come with split screens showing you the correct hand position, the lyrics and right posture.

If you want a gateway to a huge database of user friendly tutorials and beautifully presented learning videos, then iPlayMusic will have you rocking out in no time.

Languages:

English

OS requirements for iPlayMusic:

OS: WinXP/Vista

Download iPlayMusic

Electronic Piano 2.5

2009-07-11T14:29:00.000-07:00

Remember those old Casio keyboards that were so popular a few decades ago? Well, now they're back, at least in your PC.

Electronic Piano emulates one of those electronic musical keyboards on your computer, using each keystroke of your PC keyboard to produce a different sound. Just like the original instrument, this software app supports a wide range of different sound styles, enabling you to emulate almost anything from a piano to a guitar, including trumpet, bass, organ, harmonica, violin, cello and a lot more.

Of course, you'll also get the special effects section (typewriter, helicopter, applause, gun shot and so on) and finally the drums, with even a wider selection of sounds.

The program is really easy to use, as it displays the note chart on its interface so that you know what you're playing at all times. On the downside, the keyboard seems to have a slower response than expected, which makes the whole experience a bit disappointing. Also, I notice one note was out of tune, which is certainly not something I would expect from a music program, even if it's not a professional tool.

Electronic Piano is a simple, MIDI digital keyboard that lets you play some basic tunes on your PC. That said, don't expect professional output. This is just for fun.

Languages:

English, Spanish, Portuguese BR

OS requirements for Electronic Piano:

OS: Win98/98SE/Me/2000/XP
Download Electronic Piano

D'Accord Personal Guitarist 1.2

2009-07-10T08:21:00.000-07:00

D'Accord Personal Guitarist is the most complete software for guitar players. It has exclusive features that enables students and musicians to practice and improve their playing skills in an easier way than traditional tablatures.

The easy-to-use software is multi-instrument compatible. Electric and Acoustic Guitars, 4-string instruments like Banjo and Cavaquinho, 5-string instruments like bass and also customized instrument or tunings. It has the following main features:

Song Player

Enables you to learn how to play any song, by playing the sound and showing the lyric, chords and fingering on the virtual fretboard.

The software comes with more than 100 songs and exercises for you to learn! Scales, chords and much more: Arpeggios, Tremolos, Major, Minor, Chromatic, Pentatonic, Dorian, Locrian, Lydian, Phrygian, Picado etc!

You can also open any PG3,MIDI, GP3 or GP4 file and learn how to play using the song player performance. Create and publish your own music using the Song Editor! Just get the lyric, the chords, the rhythms and put it all together in a .PG3 file!

Chord Dictionary

Enables you to learn how to play each chord. The software plays the chord sound and shows the fingering, notation or intervals.

Instrument Tuner

Enables you to tune your instrument easily and with accuracy. It´s ready for Guitar, Bass, Banjo, Ukulele and other customized string instruments.

Metronome

Is very useful for learning or playing. It can be used to play in a pre-defined measure/BPM or to detect a desired tempo.

Languages:

English

Limitations:

10 tries

OS requirements for D'Accord Personal Guitarist:

OS: Win98/98SE/Me/2000/XP

Download D'Accord Personal Guitarist

TheSage English Dictionary 1.4.0

2009-07-09T14:47:00.000-07:00

TheSage's English Dictionary and Thesaurus is a professional software package that integrates a complete dictionary and a multifaceted thesaurus of the English language into a single and powerful language reference system. TheSage's English Dictionary and Thesaurus is used by tens of thousands of users from over 60 countries across the globe.

The Dictionary comprises:

More than 145,000 references with multiple detailed definitions (over 200,000).
A large collection of examples of usage (approx. 35,000).
Encyclopedic information (geographical, historical, political,...).
Academic knowledge (medicine, biology,... ).

The Thesaurus encompasses:

Synonyms, antonyms, hypernyms, hyponyms, meronyms, holonyms,...
Nearly 1,200,000 relationships between definitions.

The essential functionality includes the following:

Tabbed interface allowing multiple definitions and searches to be readily available.
Quick cross-referencing (any and all displayed words are clickable, triggering a lookup).
Standard and advanced wildcard search functionality.
Anagram search.
History and session record keeping.
Options that allow customization of the appearance of TheSage.
Copy to clipboard of all or part of the information displayed.

Languages:

English

OS requirements for TheSage English Dictionary:

OS: Win98/98SE/Me/2000/XP

Download TheSage English Dictionary

Dictionary Organizer Deluxe 2.7

2009-07-08T14:11:00.000-07:00

Dictionary Organizer Deluxe is a database management software that allows you to create your own dictionary, terminology or glossary books. Our software solution enables you to build and manage business glossaries, science terminology books, or personal dictionaries. For the database novice, Organizer's intuitive interface and ready-to-use database management solutions make it easy to set up and use.

Terminology Software Basic

Create definitions, and maintain your terms, phrases, and word items in a simple form

Terminology Software Detailed

Create definitions, and maintain your terms, phrases, and word items in as much detail as you want

Dictionary Software Basic

Create electronic dictionaries in a simple form

Dictionary Software Detailed

Create definitions, and maintain your words, phrases, word items in as much detail as you want

Translation Software Solution

Create definitions and translations for up to ten languages

Languages:

English

Recent changes in Dictionary Organizer Deluxe:

Various including:
New Save Record and Save Record Mode features. Save Record saves the current record without moving to another record. Save Record Mode is useful especially on a network in a multi-user environment when many users are accessing the same database.

Limitations:

30 day Trial Period

OS requirements for Dictionary Organizer Deluxe:

OS: Win95/98/98SE/Me/2000/NT/XP/2003

Download Dictionary Organizer Deluxe

Talking Translator Pro 1.9.2

2009-07-07T09:56:00.000-07:00

Talking Translator Pro is an easy to use 4 in 1 language utility which can translate text between 8 languages with 23 language sets, Find meanings of words, Read the contents of files and clipboard. It can also read the translations in its native language with proper accent using the in-built text-to-speech feature. You can easily edit and saves your translations and meanings in multiple formats. Also, text-to-speech engines in 12 languages are provided free.

Languages:

English

Recent changes in Talking Translator Pro:

Maintenance Release, Windows Vista Support
Windows XP SP2 Compatibility
Trial Period Increased to 30 Days

Limitations:

30 day Trial Period

OS requirements for Talking Translator Pro:

OS: Win95/98/98SE/Me/2000/NT/XP

Download Talking Translator Pro

Fast&Soft Metronome 4.0

2009-07-06T08:10:00.000-07:00

The program has been written in C, C++, and is using the timer of your system through an advanced algoritm. As a result this metronome is one of the most accurate available.

This program is freeware and can be distributed as it is; However two features (irregular meters and sound selection) are only available with a registration code.

Languages:

English

OS requirements for Fast&Soft Metronome:

OS: Win2000/NT/XP

Download Fast&Soft Metronome

Geometry Calculator 1.2

2009-07-05T08:13:00.000-07:00

There are Four sections to choose from; Circle, Area, Surface Area and Volume. For the calculations used in this program "Pi" has been rounded off to 10 decimal places.

Calculates and converts for area of triangles, trapezoids, circles and the surface area and volume of cubes, pyramids, cones, prisms, cylinders and spheres. There is also the option of converting the calculations to various units of metric and imperial measurements. Also there is a decimal imperial window to convert your values from and to decimal yards, feet, inches and fraction values to yards, feet, inches and fractions. Pick the area you need, put in the numbers then it is automatically done.

Languages:

English

OS requirements for Geometry Calculator:

OS: Win98/98SE/Me/2000/XP

Download Geometry Calculator

MidiPiano 1.8.3

2009-07-04T08:20:00.000-07:00

MidiPiano is a very simple and useful application, with which you can open MIDI files and play them in a virtual piano keyboard. It also allows you to record MIDI files by the virtual keyboard or using a MIDI IN device.

Here's that MidiPiano has to offer:

Supports MIDI IN/MIDI OUT devices
Simple to Play and Record MIDI file
Different color for tracks simulate hands
Supports 128 GM Patches selection
Supports customize keyboard layout
Supports plugins with user message

Languages:

English

OS requirements for MidiPiano:

OS: Win95/98/98SE/Me/2000/NT/XP/2003

Download MidiPiano

Master Key 5.4.5

2009-07-03T08:04:00.000-07:00

Master Key is the typing tutor that uses the standard OS interface wherever possible. Learn to type or improve your typing skills using our drills or any plain text files. Jump into the challenging ParaTyper game to keep it interesting and fun.

Languages:

English

Recent changes in Master Key:

Improved multiple monitor support for remembering window positions.
Keyboard display now automatically adjusts to system keyboard input choice for most common supported roman language keyboards.
Added Colemak keyboard support and drills. Keyboard layout download required.
Fixed some problems with handling drills with longer filenames.
Added 'Start Next Drill' or 'Retry This Drill' functionality (button) to History window.

OS requirements for Master Key:

OS: Win98/98SE/Me/2000/XP

Download Master Key

Microsoft Math 3.0

2009-07-02T09:13:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Math gives students tools, tutorials and instructions, all in one place! Its large collection of tools, tutorials, and instructions helps students learn mathematical concepts, while quickly solving math and science problems. Students see how to solve problems step-by-step – instantly! Microsoft Math works for many grade levels, studying subjects from basic math to calculus.

Top features include:

A full featured Graphing Calculator gives students extensive graphing and equation-solving capabilities, with large 2D and enhanced 3D color graphs to help them visualize problems and concepts.

Step-by-Step Math Solutions that guide students through problems in subjects from pre-algebra to calculus.

The Formulas and Equations Library has more than 100 common math equations and formulas to help students identify and easily apply the right equation.

The Triangle Solver is a graphing tool that students can use to explore triangles, and understand the relationship between different components to solve sides, angles, values and formulas.

The Unit Conversion Tool lets students quickly and easily convert units of measure including length, area, volume, weight, temperature, pressure, energy, power, velocity and time.

Ink Handwriting Support works with Tablet and Ultra-Mobile PCs, so students can write out problems by hand and have them recognized by Microsoft Math.

Languages:

English

Limitations:

30 day Trial Period Microsoft Math 3.0 is intended for United States-based users.

OS requirements for Microsoft Math:

OS: Win98/98SE/Me/2000/XP

Download Microsoft Math

Equation Illustrator V 2.3.2

2009-07-01T09:12:00.000-07:00

Equation Illustrator V has been designed to ease the difficult task of combining picture, vector graphics and complicated formatted text such as math equations in electronic and printed documents. A WYSIWYG interface keeps automation to a minimum and allows you to put what you want where you want it.

Languages:

English

Limitations:

Some drawing limitations after the 100 uses period

OS requirements for Equation Illustrator V:

OS: Win95/98/98SE/Me/2000/NT

Download Equation Illustrator V

TypingMaster Pro 7.0

2009-06-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

TypingMaster Pro for Windows is a personal typing tutor for learning professional touch typing skills. You will learn to type up to 4 times faster without errors and save dozens of valuable working hours every year. The new improved typing skills will help you get things done quicker.

TypingMaster's extensive, clearly structured study material covers the basics of touch typing, the numeric keypad, special marks and tips on ergonomics. Learning is supported by multi-form exercises, including graphical keyboard drills, timed texts, games and personalized review exercises.

Languages:

English

Notes:

Nominated at Shareware Industry Awards 2005 for Best Educational Program or Game

Recent changes in TypingMaster:

The brand new TypingMaster Pro 7 version introduces Optimal Learning features that accelerate learning and save time. The duration of each exercise is optimized according to your progress and weak spots are immediately eliminated with customized exercises. The unique Typing Satellite analyzes your typing in other programs for advanced analysis and training. As a result you will acquire better typing skills in less time. In addition the new version has numerous improvements like new Speed Building course, take-a-break reminder, detailed test reports and brand new TypingMaster look and feel.

Limitations:

Can be used on up to 10 workstations

OS requirements for TypingMaster:

OS: Win95/98/98SE/Me/2000/NT/XP/2003

Download TypingMaster

Jitbit Virtual Keyboard 1.59

2009-06-29T11:25:00.000-07:00

Jitbit VirtualKeyboard is an on-screen virtual keyboard. You can type text with your mouse, trackball, stylus (digital pen used by Tablet PC devices with a touch screen), or use it with a touch screen kiosk computer.

Whenever you are unable to use a physical computer keyboard. Virtual Keyboard also protects your confident data by preventing key-loggers and other remote keystroke trackers from spying your data. Enter your passwords, personal data, secret information safely with Jitbit Virtual Keyboard.

Languages:

English, Spanish, German, French

Recent changes in Jitbit Virtual Keyboard:

Multi-instance check
Transparency fix

Limitations:

14 day Trial Period

OS requirements for Jitbit Virtual Keyboard:

OS: Win98/98SE/Me/2000/NT/XP

Download Jitbit Virtual Keyboard

VTrain (Vocabulary Trainer) 5.1

2009-06-28T13:32:00.000-07:00

You can use it to learn any subject, provided it is expressed in terms of Questions & Answers. VTrain draws up a schedule of repetitions for each question ("flashcard"), so that it is retained with only 7 repetitions during the first year (and less thereafter).

VTrain also includes an editor that supports rich text, images, and sound recording. On-screen keyboards in 100 languages allow you to enter virtually any special character. In addition, you can download pre-made flashcards in 40 languages the program's website.

Finally, teachers can edit their VTrain lessons (decks of flashcards) over the school's local area network: the learning files of all students ("training cardfiles") are updated automatically by VTrain. VTrain is a must for serious learners.

Languages:

English

Limitations:

30 hours of use

OS requirements for VTrain (Vocabulary Trainer):

OS: Win2000/NT/XP

Recommended requirements:

A soundcard and microphone

Download VTrain (Vocabulary Trainer)

Smart Thesaurus English 1.0

2009-06-27T13:48:00.000-07:00

The smart thesaurus is a comprehensive lexical reference system for the English language: Access more than 145,000 related terms and 110,000 meanings, to improve your vocabulary and understanding. Animation and visualization techniques of state-of-the-art software make your journey through the English language to an extraordinary experience.

Features include:

Word Nets - Think in relationships

The smart thesaurus offers a deeper and more precise understanding of the English language: Look up a certain term and then follow a trail of related words, or find your words through their lexical relationship with other words and meanings.

Lexical Relationships - More than synonyms

The smart thesaurus supports more than synonyms: Discover broader and narrower terms, opposite terms, related nouns and verbs, and more.

Brainstorming - With more than 117,000 nouns

The smart thesaurus is more than a reference system: More than 117,000 terms inspire your creative processes.

Creativity and Learning - More effective through music

The smart thesaurus improves your creativity and learning through the power of music: Get inspired by a genius of Bach, Beethoven or others. Through an integrated MP3 player. Simply a click away.

Languages:

English

Limitations:

The test version can only be started 5 times.

OS requirements for Smart Thesaurus English:

OS: WinMe/2000/XP

Minimum requirements:

Processor: 450 MHz
Memory: 128 MB
Mozilla Firefox 1.0 or Internet Explorer
Flashplayer 7 or higher

Download Smart Thesaurus English

Google Translator 2.4

2009-06-26T09:57:00.000-07:00

Google translator allows to translate texts and web pages to and from several languages (English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Portuguese) by using the Google online translation services. This means that you obviously need to be connected to the Internet in order to use it.

This small app is very easy to use. It stays minimized on your system tray, without interrumpting your work. Then, whenever you need to translate any text string, just select it with your mouse and press the appropiate keyboard shortcut. You can set your own favorite key combination in the program's configuration menu.

The translated text can be shown up in a balloon-type hint box (if it's a short translation) or in a pop-up message window, if it's a longer one. The text can also alternatively be copied to the Clipboard right after being translated into the target language.

Languages:

English, German

OS requirements for Google Translator:

OS: Win98/98SE/Me/2000/NT/XP/2003/Vista

Download Google Translator

Ultimate Dictionary 1.0

2009-06-25T13:51:00.000-07:00

I use online dictionaries a lot in my daily work, so I'm always looking for new tools, gadgets and plug-ins that can make my dictionary addiction a bit lighter on me.

One of them is Ultimate Dictionary, a complete collection of dictionaries with which you can look up words right on your Windows desktop. Ultimate Dictionary includes a huge collection of dictionaries – hence the 158 MB installation file – that enable you to look up definitions, synonyms and translations to a bunch of different languages.

The program features a very simple, minimalist interface with two main areas: on the left side, you can choose to have either the list of available dictionaries or the list of word results as you search. On the right, you'll see words' definitions and/or translations. You can also enable the "Scan" mode in Ultimate Dictionary, which makes the dictionary follow the mouse and displays a pop-up window with the definition of the word right below the cursor.

Ultimate Dictionary is easy to use and performs very fast searches. You can also customize the order in which dictionaries appear, so that you can have your most frequently ones on top of the list. On the downside, the program still lacks some advanced features, such as the ability to add more dictionaries or to minimize the window to the System Tray.

With Ultimate Dictionary you can look up any word in more than 30 dictionaries at the same time, right from the desktop.

Languages:

English

OS requirements for Ultimate Dictionary:

OS: Win95/98/98SE/Me/2000/NT/XP/2003/Vista/7
Download Ultimate Dictionary

Vocabulary Wizard 6.7

2009-06-24T11:40:00.000-07:00

Vocabulary Wizard was designed for you, your friends, your students, and your children who prepare for English vocabulary-related examinations such as SAT, GRE, ACT, TOEFL, and so on. It gives you an efficient, fast, and easy way to study the words that may appear on these exams.

It has a built-in dictionary of more than 6,000 carefully chosen words that appear frequently on standardized tests. It plays 14,000 voice pronunciations to enhance your vocabulary power dramatically. It also has a 65,000 mini pop-up dictionary for your reference. You can edit the existing data and even add your own. Study words through multiple-choice questions, spelling exercises, and a flash-card slide show.

With customizable parameters such as Study Index, Check Mark, and Master Mark, the program helps you to concentrate on the specific words that might be difficult for you to learn. It has a voice recording feature, a Voice Question Test, a one-click pop-up dictionary, advanced GUI controls, and more.

Main Features:

More than 6,000 words provided for SAT, GRE, TOEFL exams.
More than 14,000 voice pronunciations included.
Right-click pop-up 65,000 words mini dictionary provided.
Easy-to-use selection of words to study in the Desk screen.
Various ways to study words
Feedback learning parameters: Study Index, Check Mark and Master Mark.
Content controls: Add, Edit, Delete text or voice data.
Exporting question-answer pairs on text files.
Printing word lists.

Languages:

English

Recent changes in Vocabulary Wizard:

14000 voice pronunciations included. Content backup/restore feature added.

OS requirements for Vocabulary Wizard:

OS: Win95/98/98SE/Me/2000/NT/XP/2003

Download Vocabulary Wizard

Google Translate Client 1.1.2.1

2009-06-23T09:55:00.000-07:00

If you speak English you shouldn't have any problem in understand most of the websites you browse on the Web. But English isn't the only language of the Internet.

For those web pages – or any other documents - written in other languages, you can use Google Translate Client: a small, simple desktop translating tool that makes use of the powerful Google engine to provide you with instant translations.

Google Translate Client supports more than 40 different languages, just like the original translating web app. The first time you run it the program will ask for your preferred target language, though you can also select the language pair every time you use it. There's even a special option to detect languages automatically!

Google Translate Client is very easy to use and features a basic configuration menu where you can select the action that triggers translation, as well as customize the window appearance.

Google Translate Client doesn't really offer any extra features compared to Google Translator online, but it's a handy way to have a powerful translating app always at hand.

Languages:

English

OS requirements for Google Translate Client:

OS: WinMe/2000/XP/2003/Vista
Download Google Translate Client

Web Translator 8.02

2009-06-22T09:55:00.000-07:00

Online translation tools have come a long way since the days when they could only translate a few words and very badly at that.

Nowadays, using the Internet, translation tools have improved immeasurably converting huge amounts of text into understandable versions in another language (depending on what language we're talking about of course). Web Translator is a fully featured online translation tool that helps you translate web pages, web sites, as well as words, sentences and documents into another language.

The languages currently supported by Web Translator are English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Korean and Japanese. It can translate from a diverse range of applications including Microsoft Word, Notepad, WordPad, Adobe Acrobat, Outlook Express, Outlook, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Frontpage and more. The user interface bizarrely though is only available in a few languages - English, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Italian and Japanese.

The interface is very rudimentary and in this test version, you can only translate short amounts of text but it's enough to give you an idea of accuracy. The problem is that it doesn't really deliver results that are better than free solutions such as Google's online translator in which case, it's probably not worth paying almost $40 for the full version.

If your language is not supported by other online translators then give Web Translator a go, otherwise you might find other free solutions do just as good a job.

Languages:

English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Portuguese BR

Limitations:

15 day Trial Period

OS requirements for Web Translator:

OS: Win95/98/98SE/Me/2000/NT/XP
Download Web Translator