Freeware World

Since I got my new iPhone 4 I’ve tried to make the most of it in every situation, using it not only as a phone, but also as a personal information manager, calendar, media player, pocket GPS, portable gaming device… and even as a shopping list. While grocery shopping may not be as fun as listening to music or watching YouTube videos, it’s still something you must do on quite a regular basis – and something your iPhone can help you with.

Here’s a list of five shopping list apps you can use on the iPhone, all of which can make domestic chores a bit easier on you. You’ll still have to carry the bags yourself, though.

ShopShop – This is a simple, straightforward shopping list app that doesn’t have as many options and configuration settings as the others in this list, but does what it says on the tin. It remembers items so that you don’t have to type them again, supports several shopping lists, and also lets you share lists by email and SMS.

Epicurious Recipes and Shopping List – This app is based on the popular food site Epicurious, which offers over 28,000 recipes from cookbooks, magazines and renowned chefs from all over the world. It lets you browse the entire recipe database and create interactive shopping lists based on what you want to cook.

ShoppingList – This nicely designed shopping list app is focused on simplicity. It saves recently and frequently used products, has support for multiple measurement units, lets you add personal notes to each product and can also divide products into different categories – for different types of items, or different shops.

Shopping List Free – Like the previous app, this one also lets you create categories to sort products and make your shopping faster and easier. You can also select items from a database and use different measurement units, from both US or metric systems. The interface design, in my opinion, is not as good as in the other apps.

Shopping List – With a clean, easy-to-use design, this app lets you create groups of items for easier management, and displays products in the order you usually get them. It also saves store locations and remembers where you buy products, so that you can filter your shopping list according to which store you visit.

Google Translate is a seriously useful tool but it can be annoying having to open a new tab every time you want to translate something. Easy Translator is a convenient desktop client that translates 58 languages and seems to be based on the Google Translate engine although the developers are a little more vague than that claiming that “Easy Translator employs the power of Internet machine language translation engines”.

Easy Translator is easy to use. Simply paste the text that you want to translate, select the languages you want to translate to and from, hit Translate and you’re done. There aren’t many other features apart from standard copy, paste and cut tools but there’s a print feature to print translations.

In test translations, Easy Translator produced the same results as Google Translate. What I really like about this tool is that when you copy the translation and paste it in somewhere else, it doesn’t include the original text attached to it, unlike Google Translate.

I suspect that for most languages, Easy Translate uses Google Translate as its main engine. However, it’s impossible to verify the accuracy of each translation. It’s not clear if there’s a text limit either although there doesn’t seem to be one. However, the more text you paste, the longer it takes Easy Translator to process it. Note that, unlike Google Translate, there’s also no auto-detect language feature for text that’s pasted in.

Google announced that they won’t continue developing Wave, but I can’t say I’ll miss it. I must admit that at the time that Wave was launched, I got caught in the hype around the new Google service and was desperately asking for an invite. Once inside, the question was “OK, so now what?”. And just a couple of weeks after the launch, I had forgotten about Wave.

Now that Wave has been discontinued, maybe it’s time to look for an alternative - an online communication tool to speed up and improve the workflow in collaborative projects. That is, if you really used Wave at all and need a replacement for it. Here are five Wave alternatives:

Shareflow - a group communication tool that eases sharing of documents, media files, ideas and more with a specific bunch of people. It features real-time chat, supports posts and replies via email and works from your mobile phone without having to install an app. You get 1 GB of free storage space, with Premium plans starting at $20/month for 5 GB.

Slatebox - More than a tool to exchange messages, Slatebox helps you create online mind maps and diagrams, and share them with collaborators, coworkers or students in no time. It works with all main browsers (Internet Explorer, Safari, Chrome and Firefox) and lets you embed maps anywhere - no Flash or other plug-ins requested.

Dabbleboard - A collaboration tool that’s centered around an online whiteboard. You can create mind maps, write text, insert arrows and predefined shapes, and even draw freehand. Dabbleboard offers a free, feature-limited version and also paid plans with more advanced functionality, starting at $8/month.

Microsoft Sharepoint - Microsoft’s contribution to online collaborative apps is Sharepoint, a tool intended to make group work easier. It helps you set up a website to share information with collaborators, generate reports to keep everyone up to date and work together on documents from start to finish.

Scribblar - A powerful tool for online communication with a bunch of interesting features: multi-user real-time whiteboard, live audio, embedded text chat, support to share images, and more. Scribblar is free, with a Pro version (including white label integration with your brand and logo) for $99/month.

Microsoft OneNote is an information gathering and collaboration application that many Windows users miss when they switch to Mac. For some it may even stop them from switching they rely on it so much. Of course, you can always run it in Parallels instead but this soon becomes annoying if you use it regularly. OneNote doesn’t come with Microsoft Office for Mac but the good news is there are some very good alternatives instead.

Here are 5 of the best Mac alternatives to OneNote you can try.

OmniOutliner

A simple and easy to use note taking application that is flexible for creating, collecting, and organizing information. It’s ideal for student wanting to take-down lecture notes in a clear and organized manner or those who simply want to map their ideas and notes in a convenient way. OmniOutliner allows you to create hierarchies of main headings and sub-points that can be expanded and collapsed. This makes it ideal for brainstorming tasks, drawing-up plan of actions and mapping out ideas. However, OmniOutliner isn’t limited to hierarchies - it also supports multiple columns, smart check boxes and customizable popup lists that make your notes and plans look really professional.

Journler

Journler is a daily notebook and entry based information manager. It will mainly appeal to scholars, teachers, students, professors, scientists that need to connect the written word with the media most important to them. Journler features iLife integration, audio and video entries, extensive document importing and instantaneous searching and filtering, plus Mail, iWeb and Address Book integration, some blog platform integration and Spotlight support.

MacJournal

MacJournal started life as a simple diary entry application but now its a fully featured note taker and organizer that provides a decent alternative to OneNote. MacJournal organizes all your important information and helps chronicle your life faster and easier than ever before. MacJournal allows users to add any kind of content, PDFs, QuickTime movies, images, text and has most recently been updated with Smart Journals which allows specific criteria to be searched upon. The handy thing about MacJournal is that it even allows you to blog video to blogs on Blogger, WordPress, LiveJournal, MobileMe and more - ideal if you need to share your notes with others.

Evernote

The big plus of Evernote is that not only does it offer almost everything that OneNote does, but it also allows you to sync your data and notes over multiple devices including mobiles. EverNote is a simple application that allows you to copy and paste anything onto a clipboard that can handle almost everything you throw at it. This includes everything from simple text, to photos taken on your iPhone. If you see something you’d like to keep or read later, simple select it and then go to the EverNote icon in your toolbar and select “Paste to Evernote”. The only slight drawback is that you can’t add attachments to Evernote.

Circus Ponies Notebook

This is probably a last resort option as it is rather limited compared to OneNote but if you only need the most basic of note taking apps, the bizarrely named Circus Ponies Notebook might be of interest. Using a simple organizational tool such as Circus Ponies NoteBook can help you keep on top of tasks through a simple and easy to use notebook format. As you enter entries into NoteBook, much as you would in a real notebook, you can clip memos, add an attachment, check it or add flags to remind you when it’s due.

Circus Ponies NoteBook uses a system patented by the developer called “Multidex” which makes it easy to view all of your to do tasks in a glance. You can view them all in one go, separately, by category or by importance. You’re encouraged at all times to give context to your notes so that they mean a bit more than just “complete project assignment”. However, you’ll probably find it very inflexible compared to OneNote with how it will let you place items on a page.

BlackBerry: Sid Meier’s Civilization is an all-time classic strategy game in which you must build an empire by battling it out with rival armies. The fourth incarnation in the series now hits the BlackBerry, in the shape of Sid Meier’s Civilization IV: War of Two Cities. The aim of the game is to take command of rival cities by wiping out their soldiers, destroying their buildings and pillaging their resources

Windows: The Windows Registry is a core component of your system, so you better keep it in perfect shape! With Glary Registry Repair you can easily scan more than a dozen areas in the Registry and repair any problems you may find right on the spot. It’s easy to use, really fast and saves a backup copy of the Registry before changing anything.

Mac: WireTap Studio is a serious solution to record anything from your Mac. What used to be called WireTap Pro is still as reliable as ever, all in a small interface that lets you record, edit and save your audio in any format. WireTap Studio can both software and hardware sounds so long as you select the input source. There are two available in the interface. Just press the recording button to get started.

When I created my Twitter account three years ago, I did it only because I wanted to see what it was like and test Twitter-related software. Nowadays Twitter has become an important source of news and interesting links, and also a way to make friends – some of which I’ve met “in real life” afterwards.

Being such an increasingly valuable tool, needing a backup tool for it was only a question of time. There are lots of stuff on my Twitter account I’d like to save in a safe place, such as favorite tweets, direct messages and interesting links shared by your contacts. But how do you backup Twitter? Actually, there are a few ways to do it:

TwitterBackup

TwitterBackup is a simple, Java-based tool that saves a copy of your tweets in an XML file. It’s very easy to use, though the backup process can take a long time - depending on the number of tweets to backup - and it doesn’t include direct messages.

MKTwitter

MKTwitter is similar to the previous tool, but with an important difference: you can backup both your own tweets and also those written by other people, which you may find especially interesting. The backup is saved in an Access database file.

Tweetake

Tweetake is an online application with which you can backup not only your tweets, but also your followers, favorites, direct messages.. or simply everything! It’s simple, fast and efficient. Backups are saved in CVS format.

TweetSheet

TweetSheet is an iPhone app that lets you download your past 3,200 tweets and search them straight away on your mobile device - iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad.

Windows: If you use iTunes to listen to music but your keyboard doesn’t have media keys, controlling the playback can be a pain - unless you use iTuner. This awesome iTunes plug-in not only lets you control the player with customizable keyboard hotkeys, but also displays a desktop notification with each new song and gives you access to ratings and lyrics.

iPhone: Want to remote control your computer from your iPhone? LogMeIn Ignition is an app for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad that lets you access your Windows or Mac OS X machine(s) while you’re away from base. And we don’t mean you can just see the files - the software actually displays your computer’s interface in real time and allows you to control it as if you were sat there!

Mac: Animations made with a couple of videos, pictures and music can really look great if you take the time to prepare them. PulpMotion gives you everything you need to prepare a stunning moving slideshow. It includes a number of visual themes you can choose from to start working with. The interface itself is very easy to handle working in a similar way to iMovie.

As you already know, having a PC without an antivirus is a really, really bad idea, so I’m presuming you all have one installed, right? Why then, you might ask, am I going to tell you about the best standalone virus apps? Surely they are surplus to requirements? Well, you might be helping out a friend with a virus problem, using a computer you don’t know or treating a specific problem that you’re not entirely confident your normal antivirus can deal with. Either way, here are some great apps for treating problems that your standard antivirus just can’t handle.

NoVirusThanks Malware Remover is the perfect app for a quick scan of a suspicious computer. A few clicks and this lightweight application will scan for malware such as trojans and worms. It won’t cause conflicts with other security apps you may have installed and, best of all, it’s really easy to use, meaning that even beginners can do some basic virus troubleshooting.

Stinger shouldn’t be used as an anti-virus application because there is a limited number of viruses it can detect. That said, Stinger’s “limited” range still covers over 3,000 nasties, which means that if you come face-to-face with a possible infection (say, a PC that has no antivirus installed), it’s a great first port of call.

VirusTotal Uploader is a desktop app from VirusTotal.com, a fantastic website that any computer user who knows anything about security probably already uses on a regular basis. This program lets you upload suspicious files directly to multiple antivirus engines, without having to open a browser and go to the website manually. You’ll still need the internet to view results, but if you check files on a regular basis, it makes the job much easier.

Hitman is a great app that acts as a second opinion for suspected viruses. If you’ve run your standard suite, a specific vaccine like Stinger and individually picked through your files and folders, but still can’t find the nasty that’s re-directing your homepage (or worse), this is the app you need. It has a number of features going for it that make it the best option when you’ve run out of virus-fighting ideas, the main ones being that it’s portable and doesn’t interfere with security apps you already have installed, meaning that you can run it whenever and wherever you like! Let’s hope you never need a last option, but if you do, Hitman should be it.

Want a quick way to translate those incomprehensible restaurant menus if you’re traveling abroad this summer? Then install ABBYY FotoTranslate on your phone.

The Symbian application allows you to translate words on the fly, simply by pointing your phone’s camera at the text and snapping the menu. Once the shot has been taken and FotoTranslate has scanned the image, the app allows you to tap any of the words that appear and get and instant translation. I’ve been testing it out for a while and have been very impressed with the accuracy of the app.

ABBYY FotoTranslate currently supports five different languages: French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish. You can also play around with the font size and adjust the display orientation. The software costs $34.99 and a one-day trial are available here.

iPhone: The official Twitter client for iPhone is probably the best you’ll find in the App Store. Tweets can be viewed, links opened, retweeted and replied to as usual. Swipe a tweet and a menu of icons appears giving you the full range of options. Writing a tweet is simple, and a menu can be opened to add hash tags, photos, users, video and more. The latest version fixes some bugs, improves security and adds support for iOS 4.0.

Windows: If you want to fully protect your system, Kaspersky Internet Security 2011 is an excellent choice. This comprehensive suite includes all the tools you need to stay safe from viruses, worm, hacker attacks, spam, phishing and other possible online threats. It also includes a sandbox environment to test apps safely, parental controls and a gaming mode.

Mac: Optimizers and tweaking software abound on Windows, but Mac users have far fewer choices to speed-up their system. That’s partly because Macs generally self-maintain better than PCs but if your Mac is slowing down, you might find running MacKeeper (now updated to version 0.9.4) helps breathe new life into it. MacKeeper is an all-in-one solution that includes hard drive cleaning tools as well as backup and shredding utilities.