Microsoft released Windows Search 4.0 Preview. This is an improved version which has been optimized for better performance, includes a few more options and replaces the search engine that comes with Vista (it includes Windows Search 3.0 engine from factory).

For Windows XP users, thie release will upgrade their Windows Seach 3.0 installation if they have it installed. If not, Windows Search will install completely with all features.

For Vista users it will replace the default engine that shipped with Vista, according to the Windows Vista Team Blog. It also addresses bugs that users had reported before. You need Service Pack 1 installed before installing this release.

Microsoft published a KB (Knowledge Base) article regarding this release. Read it to find out more about it.

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This is one of my favorite freeware image viewers, if not the number one. Its fast at displaying pictures and has tons of features.

You can customize it by choosing among all the options it has. Can apply lossless transformations, which is great for digital photos because you can rotate them, either automatically or manually without any single loss of quality.

You can download it with an installer or in a zip file. I use the latter because i can set it to store all settings in an .ini file inside the program’s folder. This way, i make it portable or i can make an installer to use in unattended installations.

Supports various languages. Read about all the features.

Highly recommended.

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Comodo Firewall Pro is the best free firewall i have tested. I has a nice set of features, the interface is good and has options for everyone. I read also that it has passed some standard tests before so it can protect you against know network attacks.

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This is a really interesting approach to online applications. The vastly popular Photoshop now has its online version. Adobe is now accepting registration for its new application. It is free and is very promising.

Here is the news excerpt from Vnunet.

Adobe has released its Photoshop Express web-based imaging application as a public beta. Photoshop Express uses much of Adobe’s image editing technology and has been repurposed as a web-based application. Users can store up to 2GB of images online for free, make edits to their photos and share them online. Photoshop Express also allows users to download and upload photos from popular social networking sites like Facebook. The application provides ’standard edits’, such as removing blemishes and red-eye, converting to black and white, cropping and resizing.

Photoshop Express also offers tricks like Pop Color which selects an object in an image, mutes the background colour of the photo and allows the user to swap the object’s colour so that it “jumps off the page”. Sketch effects make photos look like drawings, and a Distort feature allows users to distort facial features or objects for a comical or artistic effect. Adobe said that even users with limited photo editing knowledge can simply select what looks best from a line-up of sample photos with visual hints showing different variations of the added effect. During the public beta period, Adobe will solicit user feedback on product features and functionality which will “continue to evolve over time”.

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There is a new version of Winamp. This media player finally has grow into a great media library manager now that there are many offerings, free or commercial that follows the trend of media libraries instead of the old winamp’s scope to be only a player.

Here’s the description of the Lite and Full versions, who are both free.

• The Full version plays MP3s, AAC, WMA, and more; Compatible with Winamp 2 Plug-ins; Full Support for classic and modern skins; Plays Videos; has a Powerful Media Library; Browse Internet Radio & TV Stations; Integrated Internet Music Videos & Songs; Bundled Visualizations; and Burn & Rip CDs.

• The Lite version plays MP3s, AAC, WMA, and more. It is compatible with Winamp 2 Plug-ins and has full support for classic skins.

For the latest changes, please read the version history.

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Mozilla released Firefox 2.0.0.13 today.

There is no changelog at this time. I will update this post with more info as soon as it is available.

Edit: Here are the release notes for this version.

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OpenOffice is an open-source office suite that includes alternatives to all Microsoft Office programs, like an spreadsheet, word processor, slide presentation program and other modules.

It lets you save your work as PDF, Office format, and the native OpenOffice files.

Its very useful and has a complete feature set that makes it a great alternative to Microsoft Office. Supports opening Office files also.

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If you have an iPod music player, you will enjoy this little freeware program.

Sharepod lets you copy music and video files between your iPod and your PC without having to install anything.
For example, you can put it on your iPod so you can copy files off your iPod to any computer, something the really annoying iTunes doesn’t let you do. You can even copy files from more than one PC to you iPod, which is really great.

It is very handy because you don’t need to install anything else to start copying files between iPods and PC’s. It supports playlists and its really easy to use.

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