Speed up Your Boot Time with Soluto.

Trust me when I say this program (or one like it) is way overdue. I am just glad it is here now and works like a dream. Let me start at the beginning. Soluto is a new FREE program, still technically in Beta. It is designed to help improve your boot-up time by telling you just what is going on during those few startup minutes.

After you install it and reboot your computer, it starts a timer going that you see in the lower left corner that tells you just how long your boot up sequence takes. After the boot is complete, it analyzes all the processes, then explains it to you.

The explanation comes in 3 sections…first the programs you can easily remove without any problems; second, the programs you can think about removing or delaying from the startup sequence; and finally those programs you can do nothing about.

Besides telling you what each program is from all three sections, it also tells you the actual time it takes for each program to load and in many cases, recommends what you should do. Then, you have the option of removing it from the boot sequence…or having it load later after booting is complete. This later option is unique to Soluto and makes the program a necessary addition to your computer.

You may have noticed that your computer boot time has gotten longer and longer since the day you brought your computer home. That is because all of us add new programs to our systems. Many of these new programs add additional items to your boot sequence without your knowledge, thereby increasing the boot time. Soluto puts you in the picture and lets you decide what you need and don’t need.

I used it on my three active computers and was able to shave a minimum of 30 seconds of my boot time. On my desktop, I actually knocked off a minute and a half, without losing any vital functionality. I love this program and heartily recommend you download it from their Web site. Also, there is a one minute and a four minute video you should watch to get a full explanation of the power of Soluto.

The good folks at Soluto call it, “Anti Frustration Software.” I agree that is exactly what it is! So download it today…I know you will thank me.

Get a Free Audio Book from Audible–No Strings

FREE Audiobook Giveaway at Audible.com

Audible is giving away a free audio book with no strings attached until July 2. No credit card is required. Choose from many great titles.

Is Google Gunning for Facebook with 'Google Me'?

Rumors have it that Google is building its own social networking site named "Google Me" that may be the company's attempt to unseat Facebook. Is it possible for the world's most popular search engine to wage war against the world's most popular social networking site? If speculations are true, there's a chance.

An iPhone wish list looks more like an Android feature list

What do iPhone users want most? According to the results of a survey released today, the top four things that U.S. iPhone users want most are already available from Google’s Android.

Office 2010 reduces ribbon pain

The ribbon UI introduced in Office 2007 met with rejection, dejection, and outright mutiny. Be of good cheer: Office 2010 isn't bad

Turn a USB Flash Drive Into Extra Virtual RAM

It's not hard to turn an extra USB stick lying around that's collecting dust into extra memory for your computer, allowing it to run speedier and manage more applications better.

New Microsoft Live Essentials Beta Now Available

Microsoft's Free Windows Live Essentials Beta Debuts

The new Windows Live Essentials beta will be available for public testing starting Thursday, according to Microsoft. A collection of free Web-oriented applications and services for Windows Vista and Windows 7 PCs.

First Look at Windows Live Essential Beta's New Social Features

Yesterday, Microsoft dropped the new Windows Live Essentials beta, adding tons of new publishing and web service options to their suite of consumer desktop applications. Here's a look what's changed in the beta and how the new apps stack up.

SkyDrive takes on the online-storage arena

Office 2010 marked Microsoft's aggressive entrance into the cloud-computing arena, and Sky Drive is a key component of the company's move to online services. Part of the new Windows Live service, SkyDrive offers generous (25GB) — and free — online data storage and simple collaboration.

Apple: Don't hold your iPhone 4 that way

Now that the iPhone 4 has been out for more than a day (at least in some parts of the world), it’s only logical that a number of bugs have popped up. It seems the biggest one has to do with reception. Apple’s response? It’s you’re probably holding the phone the wrong way.

Barnes & Noble Nook (Wi-Fi) E-Book reader review

For the moment, the Wi-Fi-only version of the Barnes & Noble Nook is the best e-reader you can buy for less than $150.

Big Numbers for Microsoft and Apple

Apple: 3 million iPads sold in 80 days

For those keeping score at home, that's 3 million in 80 days, and 1 million sold in the last 20 days alone. Apple announced after 60 days that it had sold 2 million of the touch-screen tablets. It took Apple 28 days to sell the first million.

150 Million Windows 7 Licenses Sold - 7 Copies A Second

Microsoft announced the incredible milestone on their Windows Team Blog, those 150 million sales figures, translate into approximately 7 copies of Windows 7 being sold each second! Oh the Irony! Windows 7 reached the 100 million mark only 2 months ago, so it appears sales are really beginning to pick up big time now for Microsoft.

How HTML5 will change the Web

HTML5 will spawn richer, more sophisticated Websites while also easing development. Here are nine ways the impact of HTML5 will be felt.

Google Voice Open To All

Google on Tuesday said that Google Voice, its online voicemail and telecommunications service, is now open to everyone in the U.S. Launched in March 2009, Google Voice was previously available through invitation only.

A collection of alternative Web browsers trying to hold their own

Whether you are creating your own gaming Web site or simply checking out the latest Buzz Out Loud, trying to choose one of the dozens of Web browsers out there can be a massive waste of time. Among the big five of Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome, Safari, and Opera, there are still more than a dozen second-tier Web browsers that are trying to make a splash in cyberspace.

All the Microsoft Software You Can Eat for $199

I have three computers I currently use and I want to put Office Professional 2010 on all three…Price is $499 each so that is $1,500. I also want to put Windows 7 on my one laptop still running XP.  Price for Windows 7 Ultimate: $219. So that comes to over $1,700 for my purchases.

Except, I can now get all of these and more for $199 by joining Microsoft’s TechNet.  TechNet has been around for a while and it is for computer professionals and other folks who are into computers.  The Professional version of TechNet is $349 for the first year.  But just last week, Microsoft introduced the Standard Subscription for just $199 for the first year and $149 for every year after that if you wish to retain your membership.

But understand this…if you choose not to renew, your software does not expire, even if your membership does. Almost all Microsoft products are available to you with your membership at no additional cost.  Want Windows Home Server? It is there for you.

You are allowed 10 downloads of each product (only 2 for Home Server)…but since there are 3 versions of Office 2010, that means you can download 30 copies.  There are 10 versions of Windows 7 which means you can have up to 100 copies!  All for one low price of $199.  That is quite a bargain.

There are some restrictions, the main one being they can only be installed on your own computers at work or home, and you can’t run a business on them…they are for your evaluation of Microsoft software.

For more information, I recommend you read Paul Thurrott’s excellent article on the subject from his WinSuperSite blog…or just go direct to the Microsoft TechNet Website.  I am joining… are you?

PS: If you are not sure if you you want Office 2010, you can download a 60 day trial copy of it direct from Microsoft and see if it is worth it for you. I did and I really like it.  There are also some excellent tutorials of each of the Office products that are worth doing if you are considering a purchase.

The E-Book Reader Wars Escalate: Prices Crash

Barnes & Noble Offers Wi-Fi nook, Lowers 3G Price

Barnes & Noble is offering a Wi-Fi version of its nook e-reader for $149 and has lowered the price of the 3G nook to $199. A new software version for Barnes & Noble's nook also offers an "extra extra large" font size and the ability to jump to a specific page. Barnes & Noble is also emphasizing a lending option for nook e-books.

Amazon drops Kindle price to $189

Yes, the e-reader pricing wars are in full swing as Amazon has trimmed the price of the Kindle from $259 to $189. In case you're keeping score, that number is a whole $10 less than what Barnes & Noble is charging for the Nook 3G (with WiFi).

How to Rescue a Crashed PC

There's crashed... and then there's crashed. Here's the gamut of solutions for recovering your data and, perhaps, your whole system before it's too late.

Manage and Edit Photos Like a Pro

You've outgrown Picasa and iPhoto, so, what next? These pro-level photo workflow applications give photographers a way to organize and optimize large collections of images.

How to Improve Your Security When Using a Public Terminal

Using a hotel computer, one in an internet cafe or airport is a risky business. Public terminals are fine for general browsing and even (with a few precautions) collecting your email but when it comes to logging in to your bank account or making an online purchase they really should be avoided. We all know that but life doesn't always allow us to follow the rules; sometimes we simply have to use a public terminal to conduct a confidential transaction.

The Joys of InstaPaper

Ever browse the Web and discover interesting stories that you don’t have time to read? Happens to me all the time. I love to read but don’t always have time for it when I find those interesting articles.  And some are just exceedingly long and, to be honest, I don’t like reading long articles at my computer…although I’ve done it from time to time. Sound familiar?

Enter InstaPaper. This excellent Web site will save those long articles for you so you can read them later. After you join (free, of course), there is a “Read Later” button that you just drag up to the tool bar on your browser and it is installed. When you find an article you wish to read later, just click your button and it is saved for you.  Just keep clicking that button whenever you want and the stories will be added to your list.

When you are ready, go to the InstaPaper Web site to see your list. Click the “Unread” link on their site and your list pops right up.  Click on an article you want to read, and away you go. You can read the original article on the Web site, or just click the text only button to see it without all the other stuff on the web page.

But wait, there’s more. As I mentioned above, I don’t like reading long articles on my computer…I would much rather read it on my Kindle.  Much, much easier to read and I can do it anywhere, including out by the pool or in bed. With InstaPaper, I can do this. 

There is a button for the Kindle (and for other e-readers that use the EPub format). Just click it and your saved articles are downloaded to the electronic reader software on your computer (such as “Kindle for the PC”, or my favorite, “Calibre”). From that point, I just connect my Kindle to my computer via a USB cable and Calibre loads it on to my Kindle. Works like a charm. You can also load these articles on to your iPad, iPhone, Nook or any other e-reader.  And, happily, everything described here is FREE (except for the e-readers, of course).

Another feature of InstaPaper is they have a list of suggested articles on their Website that you might find interesting and you can grab those just as easily. For additional suggested articles that can also be saved to InstaPaper, checkout Longform.org.  Happy reading!!

Windows XP Users Vulnerable to Major Attack

Windows XP zero-day under attack; Use Microsoft's "fix-it" workaround

Just five days after Google researcher Tavis Ormandy released details of a critical vulnerability affecting Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, malware authors have struck, exploiting the flaw to plant malware on Windows machines.

Review: Microsoft Office Web Apps: Limited, mediocre, dismal

Is the era of desktop software over? With the general release of Office 2010 this week, Microsoft seems to be sending a mixed message. On the one hand, Office 2010 is the slickest, most feature-rich version of the suite to date. That's a clear challenge to Google, which offers a simpler, Web-based alternative to Office in the form of Google Docs. On the other hand, the simultaneous release of the Office 2010 Web Apps seems to vindicate Google's strategy by duplicating Office functionality on the Web. So which is it?

Office Starter 2010 drops the crapware, adds ads

The one Office 2010 version you probably haven’t seen is the elusive Starter edition. Microsoft hasn’t made review copies available to the press, but they did make the software available last week to partners who want to preinstall Office on new PCs for sale with Windows 7. I’ve had a chance to test a couple of new PCs with Office preinstalled. Here’s what you’ll see if you buy a new PC with this Office edition included.

Twitter: Sorry, but outages come with bigger improvement plan

There’s an old saying among traffic engineers about the traffic jams created by road construction projects that are intended to actually ease backups: “It’s gotta get worse before it can get better.” These days, that seems to also be the rule of thumb at Twitter.

Free Nitro PDF Reader Blows Away the Competition

Nitro PDF Reader (free) is the most powerful free PDF reading and creation tool you can find, performing many tasks usually only available in for-pay PDF tools. As a PDF reader, it's lighting fast.

Free WiFi Coming to Starbucks

Starbucks To Offer Free Wi-Fi at 6,700 U.S. Sites

Starbucks will be serving up a hot new treat: free Wi-Fi service at more than 6,700 locations. The move comes six months after Starbucks' competitor McDonald's began offering free Wi-Fi at 11,500 U.S. locations, along with a revamped coffee lineup. Starbucks also said customers will get free access to online content through its Wi-Fi.

Microsoft's Kinect for Xbox 360 at a glance

Kinect, which was formerly known by its code name Project Natal, is a motion control system that sits between the user and their Xbox and TV. The special sauce of the system is that it can both sense motion in 3D using 3D depth sensors and recognize user's speech, via a multi-array microphone. That means that it can react both to what a user does with any part of their body, and to their spoken commands. As a result, users can activate Kinect by waving their hand, and get things like game and movie playback to stop, pause, or resume with nothing more than a voice command.

FIFA World Cup 2010—3D, HDTV, Cell Phone & Web Viewer's Guide

We've compiled the best ways for all you soccer (football) fanatics to watch, listen or track all of the FIFA World Cup 2010 action—whether you're watching online, on your TV, using your phone, or something else.

12 Tips to Speed Up Windows 7 Tips, Solutions & How Tos

Sure, Windows 7 is much faster than slowpoke Vista, but there's still room for improvement. Here are a dozen tricks to that can make Windows 7 faster.

How To Permanently Delete Your Account on Popular Websites

We all have an increasing number of sites and online services we’re members of, and sometimes it all gets a little overwhelming. At times, we just need to delete our memberships to some sites, either in an effort to simplify our lives or just because we’ve grown tired of a particular site or service. What we often don’t realize when signing up for all these accounts, though, is how difficult it can be to permanently delete our accounts when we’ve had enough. Some require complicated, multi-step processes that can stretch over the course of days (or weeks). Others take less time, but still require multiple steps by the user.

Hackers Get Personal Data from 114,000 iPad Users

AT&T Web site exposes data of 114,000 iPad users

A group of hackers exploited a hole in an AT&T Web site to get e-mail addresses of about 114,000 iPad users, including what appears to be top officials in government, finance, media, technology, and military. The leak could have affected all iPad 3G subscribers in the U.S., according to Gawker, which broke the story on Wednesday. Among the iPad users who appeared to have been affected were White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, journalist Diane Sawyer, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, movie producer Harvey Weinstein, and New York Times CEO Janet Robinson.

Suicide, stupidity, and the iPhone

iPhones are made in a Chinese factory where conditions are so bleak workers throw themselves out the window in despair. In central Africa, the mining of coltan, tungsten, and other minerals crucial to the manufacture of cell phones has fueled a series of bloody civil wars. And did I mention that smartphone users kill themselves and others by driving while talking and texting, and even those who don't risk shortening their attention span to that of a mosquito?

Microsoft Offers Web-based Office Applications for Free

Microsoft has quietly launched the beta version of its own free online suite of office programs. Called “Office Web Apps” it offers free online versions of Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft OneNote. Even better they are giving users 25 GB of free online storage to store their documents on Microsoft’s SkyDrive service.

What’s the Difference Between Viruses, Trojans, Worms, and Other Malware?

How much do you really know about viruses, spyware, scareware, trojans, and worms? Here's a helpful guide to understanding all the different types of malware.

Little-known beta apps enhance Gmail's usability

While there's much to like about Gmail, there's also much that's missing — such as multiple signatures, hierarchical tags, and the ability to embed pictures as part of your mail. You might be surprised to learn that Gmail actually does support those features, and about 50 more, in a beta program called Gmail Labs.

Google’s New Search and OneNote Make Their Web Debuts

Google's new search index Caffeine goes live

Google has finally released the awaited update to its search indexing technology, providing a jolt of Caffeine to the search industry. The company announced the release of its Caffeine indexing technology--which it has been testing for almost a year--in a blog post late Tuesday evening. "Caffeine provides 50 percent fresher results for web searches than our last index, and it's the largest collection of web content we've offered."

The OneNote Web App is Here

Like its Word, Excel, and PowerPoint counterparts, the OneNote Web App extends your Microsoft Office 2010 experience to the Web browser, where you can work with your notes, files, and documents in a central location that you can access from anywhere. You can use the OneNote Web App with a free Windows Live (a.k.a. SkyDrive) account or on a SharePoint 2010 site in your organization.

Lightroom 3 gets new core, features

Adobe Systems plans to release Photoshop Lightroom 3 late Monday, swapping in a new engine and bolting some significant new photography extras onto a user interface that largely remains the same.

Fixing the Internet would be easy -- if we tried

There's no escaping the fact that the Internet is a dangerous place, rife with malware and security holes that expose individuals and businesses to millions of dollars in losses to cyber criminals every day. Making the Internet safer should be a high priority throughout the world. Moreover, it wouldn't even be all that difficult, if the right people were to gather in a room to tackle the problem

SUPERAntiSpyware Portable Scanner

SuperAntiSpyware is a program that augments anti-virus programs like Microsoft Security Essentials. It is free and works very well. I’ve used it in my computer for some time. This new version works on a USB stick so I no longer have to have the program running in my Startup, saving memory. Give it a try.

Apple Unveils the New iPhone 4

iPhone 4 unveiled: gets HD video, LED flash, dual cameras

During a keynote address at WWDC today, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the next revision of the company's iconic iPhone hardware. Dubbed "iPhone 4," Jobs called the new iPhone model "the biggest leap since the original iPhone." He said that the new device has over 100 new features, but he detailed just eight of them during his presentation.

Adobe Warns of Critical Risks for Flash & Acrobat

Trouble's looming out there, says Adobe, in the form of a critical vulnerability that can cause your computer to crash or allow an attacker to take control of your system. The Adobe warning comes as no surprise. Symantec recently predicted that Adobe software, especially Acrobat Reader and Flash, will take top spot as a target for cybercriminals.

Panda adds heft to its Cloud AV

Exclusively available today from CNET Download.com, Cloud Antivirus 1.1 now more closely resembles a traditional antivirus program, at least in features offered, and includes a behavioral blocking engine that can protect users against generic nonbrowser exploits, new configuration options, and default deactivation of autorun in Windows.

How-To Photograph Tips: Summer Edition Round-Up

It’s finally summertime! So it’s time to break out that dusty digital SLR or point-and-shoot camera and hit the outdoors. There are plenty of lovely subjects to photograph outside, but sometimes there are some summery weather aspects that actually get in the way (i.e. bright sunlight). Here’s a round-up of some of our past how-to guides that could help while on your vacation photo shoots or at that Fourth of July barbecue.

Wallpaper Master - Freeware! Keeping your desktop fresh everyday.

Wallpaper Master is a powerful and highly customizable desktop wallpaper manager and cycler. It will automatically change your background wallpaper with a huge range of options, and is great for indexing large collections of personal photos or any kind of image.

So, Who Has the Fastest Mobile Network?

The Fastest Mobile Networks 2010

This is it, the story you've been waiting for; the one that will tell you if your mobile network is delivering high-quality fast data speeds you've been craving. PCMag sent a team across the U.S. to test mobile broadband (3G and 4G) speeds in 18 cities. The results of this exhaustive report may surprise you.

Microsoft unveils Windows Live Essentials Wave 4

After unveiling what's next for the most popular Windows Live client application, Messenger, and the most popular Windows Live web service, Hotmail, Microsoft is now ready to zero in on (most of) the remaining client applications in the Windows Live Essentials suite.

Patch Tuesday heads-up: 10 bulletins, 34 flaws

Microsoft’s Patch Tuesday this month will be a big one: 10 bulletins fixing 34 vulnerabilities in Windows, Office and Internet Explorer. Three of the 10 bulletins will be rated “critical,” Microsoft’s highest severity rating.

Five small and essential apps to armor your PC

Firewalls and antivirus programs can't do all the work of safe computing — small, targeted utility apps that encrypt your files, keep your passwords safe, and clean up your PC add to your protection. I have five of these small security apps that I wouldn't want to do without. Chances are you could use them, too; if not now, then someday. What's even better — they're free.

10 useful Firefox-based apps

Here are 10 useful desktop programs that run on the open-source Web browser's native technology. All of these applications are free for you to download and use -- and only one is a Web browser.

How One Publisher is Screwing E-Book Readers

Penguin Group Declares War on Kindle Owners

Penguin Group Declares War on Kindle Owners with Bizarre Array of Exorbitant and Nonsensical Kindle Store Prices; Some Are 200-300% Higher; Many Exceed Paperback Prices.

Keep tabs on what Google knows about you

To view the information Google's servers store about you (or at least the amount the company is willing to fess up to storing), sign in to your Google account and scroll through the Google Dashboard.

New AT&T data plans for iPhones, iPads, more

AT&T has announced a new set of data plans, starting Monday, for smartphones and tablets (read: iPads) that appear to come cheaper than current plans. Although the changes might leave some people scratching their heads, I see more to like than dislike--such as iPhone tethering.

Netbooks vs. Tablets: How to Decide

Laptops and netbooks are optimized for content creation. But in any given day, content creation only takes up 25 percent of the time most people spend on computers. The other 75 percent is spent consuming content.

Best Free PDF Tools

Learn more about PDF creators and software that converts PDF files to other media. In this review, programs designed to combine merging, splitting and other capabilities in a single application are discussed under General Tools. Those designed for a more specific task are grouped under Specific Tools.

Hey Yahoo E-Mail Clients – A Surprise is Coming Your Way

Yahoo to turn subscribers' e-mail contact lists into social networking base

Over the next few weeks, its 280 million e-mail users will be able to exchange comments, pictures and news articles with others in their address books. The program won't expose a user's contact list to the public, as was done by Google through its social networking application, Buzz. But unless a user proactively opts out of the program, those Yahoo e-mail subscribers will automatically be part of a sweeping rollout of features that will incorporate the kinds of sharing done on sites such as Facebook and MySpace.

Navigate Facebook's new privacy paradigm

Once again, Facebook has changed its privacy settings. Like the last time this happened, today's improvements are still a mixed bag, but a better one: they are generally easier to use but not as simple as they could be. There are a couple of curve balls thrown in, too.

Old Computers Can Have New Uses

Windows 7 has ushered in a wave of new computer purchases, but that doesn't mean old machines should be dumped. A variety of new uses can create new life for your old machine. Creating a Windows Home Server or a software test bed are options. And, if you ever wanted to experiment with Linux, there's no better way than using an old computer.

Easy Online Backup Roundup

Backup that saves your files off-site is one cloud computing service everyone should consider. Here are a handful of our most recent online backup reviews.

Lifehacker Pack 2010: Our List of Essential Windows Downloads

We feature hundreds of different downloads every year at Lifehacker. If all you want is the best of the best, look no further than our annual Lifehacker Pack: One download that installs only our favorite, must-have Windows applications in a few clicks.