Visual Controls Updated, Remove Third Party Control Panel Applets

The Windows control panel is one of the central hubs of the operating system. It links to administrative tools, lets you maintain your system or troubleshoot it. Third party applications can – and will – add their own icons to the control panel which in itself is not a big issue. Examples of programs that do that are Oracle’s Java, Adobe’s Flash Player, or Nvidia with its control panel.

When you uninstall those programs later, it can happen that their icons in the control panel stay behind. That’s only the icon then with no functionality attached to it anymore.

Visual Controls was created back in 2008 to give Windows users an option to remove third party control panel applets from the operating system again. You can use the software to remove leftover icons or to remove icons from existing programs that you do not want to appear in the control panel.

You can start the program right after you have unpacked it on your system. It requires the Microsoft .Net Framework 2.0 or higher to run, which is a given on the majority of operating systems it supports The new version is now fully compatible with Windows 7, and Vista, XP and even Windows 2000. The developer has improved compatibility with older versions of Windows as well in this release. Please note that Visual Controls requires administrative privileges to run.

The program lists all third party control panel applets in its interface once you have started the application.

Just uncheck the applets that you do not want to see anymore in the control panel, and click the apply button afterwards. Applets are listed in alphabetically order, another change in the new version. Once you hit the apply button you will notice that the selected items have been removed from the control panel. You can add them again at a later time by repeating the same steps.

The developer has added several command line arguments to the app which extend the functionality further. You can use the command –enable-global-mode to disable select control panel applets for all users of the system, and –disable-blacklist to display first party applets as well. Both options can be extremely useful for system administrators.

The developer has improved Visual Controls significantly. Better compatibility, and the command line options are especially noteworthy in this regards.

Manage Additional Control Panel Extensions
Display All Windows 7 Control Panel Tools At Once
Put Anything you want into the Control Panel
Quick Launch Control Panel Items From The Windows 7 Taskbar
Companel, Manage My Computer, Control Panel Items

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About the Author:Martin Brinkmann is a journalist from Germany who founded Ghacks Technology News Back in 2005. He is passionate about all things tech and knows the Internet and computers like the back of his hand. You can follow Martin on Facebook or Twitter.Author: Martin Brinkmann, Monday March 26, 2012 -
Tags:control-panel, windows software

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Windows 8 Consumer Preview to be Released [Updated]

The waiting and uncertainty are finally over and at long last all our questions will be answered as Microsoft are set to release the Windows 8 Consumer Preview (beta) later today during an event in Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress event.  The launch, which takes place at 3pm local time (2pm GMT, 9am EST, 6am PST) will see a download link go live sometime during the event and we’ll post that link here for you straight away, so stay with gHacks!

I’ve had a very full mailbag since September when the Developer Preview was released to much hype and publicity.  The questions, mainly coming from IT Pros have concerned their traditional ways of working.  They wanted to know if Metro was just going to be it as far as the interface was concerned or if they would be able to set the desktop as their default user interface.  Indeed I’ve already given a few talks to IT Pros and businesses on this subject and there are more still booked in for the next few months.

It’s not unexpected or unreasonable for people to be concerned, Microsoft have chosen the Mobile World Congress event at which to launch the beta.  This is the biggest annual trade show for companies displaying and showing off their latest mobile computing wares, which include tablets.  It’s very clear then that what people are going to see and hear today will be Metro, Metro, Metro as Microsoft have got a significant amount of catching up to do in the tablet marketplace, and are, effectively, putting all their eggs into one basket.

 

This doesn’t mean that Windows 8 won’t offer adequate features and an interface for the rest of the world, and we’ll find out later today what the situation is.  Personally I’ll be focusing on finding the answers to the questions people have been asking me the most, and “Can the desktop be set as the default interface” is at the very top of my to do list.  This will be the first thing I do and the first thing I look for.

Windows 8 Videos:

It is just one of a great many questions people have however.  These include how extra functionality is being built into Metro both in terms of mouse gestures and menu features for apps.  While many people are resistant to Metro, not just for only being able to run one or two apps on screen at any one time (not very useful on many large desktop screens these days) there are also a great many people very excited about it.

Suffice to say we’ll soon see what the real deal is, and if it’s even feature-locked and finished as we would expect it to be.  There have been many rumours flying around in the last couple of weeks about difficulties Microsoft was apparently having getting the beta ready in time.

As I said, we’ll let you know immediately the download is available.  Will you be getting it today?  Are you excited, indifferent or wanting to wait until you get more information?  Do you even care about downloading the beta?  Why not tell us here in the comments.

The download is now live HERE, but please remember this is just a beta, so shouldn’t be considered finished and stable for everyday use!

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About the Author:Mike Halsey is a Microsoft MVP for "Windows Expert". He is also the author of Troubleshooting Windows 7 Inside Out from Microsoft Press and the Windows 7 Power Users Guide, a how-to guide for non-technical Windows users on how to get the best out of Microsoft's new operating system, with step-by-step and quick guides. You can follow Mike on Facebook, Twitter or on his own website The Long ClimbAuthor: Mike Halsey MVP, Wednesday February 29, 2012 -
Tags:beta, windows 8

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Dropbox Experimental Client Updated, New Web Interface

Dropbox is still working on the next version of their client application, and that version’s big new photo import feature. Dropbox yesterday have updated the experimental client build version to version 1.3.19. The version is available exclusively in the forum, where it can be downloaded for all support operating systems (except mobile clients). The new versions fix a number of issues, among them a fix for an autoplay issue under 64-bit versions of Windows Vista, and a general fix under Windows to support imports from SD cards with no name.

The new version, in addition to that, has seen performance improvements on all platforms. Especially the cpu usage has been reduced during imports. Photos furthermore show up correctly rotated on all platforms now.

Dropbox users who used the experimental build in the past to import photos into their account have received free storage space for that, up to a maximum of 5 Gigabytes. New users, who are using the photo import option for the first time will now only get a maximum of 3 Gigabytes of free space.

Dropbox employee David E. notes that previous users will still get up to 5 Gigabytes of free storage. Both receive the space in 500 Megabytes chunk whenever they import photos into their Dropbox account using the photo import feature. He also mentioned that Dropbox users will keep any additional storage space that they have earned during the beta.

Dropbox users who have already earned the maximum of five additional Gigabytes of storage space will not receive another 3 Gigabytes when they update and use the new client.

Some users are reportedly seeing a new web interface, while others are still seeing the old interface on the Dropbox website. At this point, it is not clear if Dropbox is A-B testing a new user interface, or if the company is rolling out a new interface to all users.

I noticed that it does not display free and used space information directly on the screen. You find the information with a click on your username in the upper right corner of the screen.

Are you seeing the new web interface already? If so, what’s your take on it?

Enjoyed the article?: Then sign-up for our free newsletter or RSS feed to kick off your day with the latest technology news and tips, or share the article with your friends and contacts on Facebook or Twitter. Increase Your Dropbox Space By 4.5 Gigabyte
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Dropbox Review and Invites About the Author:Martin Brinkmann is a journalist from Germany who founded Ghacks Technology News Back in 2005. He is passionate about all things tech and knows the Internet and computers like the back of his hand. You can follow Martin on Facebook or Twitter.Author: Martin Brinkmann, Friday February 24, 2012 -
Tags:dropbox

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YouTube Browse, Video Editor And Manager Updated

While closing some of the company’s lesser popular services, Google’s popular services such as Google+ or YouTube have received plenty of updates in the past. Google today announced that they have updated YouTube’s browse, video editor and video manager pages. Channels have moved into the focus on YouTube with recent updates, and the new browse pages reflects that. According to Google the updated page helps users “find even more great Channels on YouTube”.

The new browse page on YouTube divides contents into categories on the left side. You can now browse categories like gaming, science and technology, or sports more easily. Each page displays the most viewed videos at the top followed by popular videos and select channels

Here is is then possible to click on a specific video to watch that video on YouTube, or on a channel name to open that channel on the website. YouTube users and companies listed on the pages should benefit highly from the new exposure.

YouTube has improved the capabilities and look and feel of the site’s video editor. The video editor has received a visual overhaul, a “cool new timeline, easier clip trimming and a moving playhead”.

One interesting feature that is now available is the ability to join multiple uploaded videos into one. This is done by dragging and dropping the videos on the timeline. The video editor is a useful tool for basic or last minute video editing. On the downside, it does not come close to the functionality that desktop applications like VirtualDub provide.

Last December’s update of the Video Manager did not play well with many YouTube content producers. The new video manager resolves some of the issues that users had with the update. Likes and dislike statistics have for instance been re-added to the manager interface. Sorting videos by popularity has also returned.

The video manager furthermore has received a visual update, an improved “display of scheduled uploads and claimed videos”, and a search history.

You can read the announcement over at the official YouTube blog.

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About the Author:Martin Brinkmann is a journalist from Germany who founded Ghacks Technology News Back in 2005. He is passionate about all things tech and knows the Internet and computers like the back of his hand. You can follow Martin on Facebook or Twitter.Author: Martin Brinkmann, Friday January 27, 2012 -
Tags:youtube, youtube videos

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Virustotal Updated, Now Accepts 32 Megabyte Files

The Virustotal online virus scanning service is one of the services that I use on a regular basis. Whenever I find a great looking software in a “not so great” location, I use the service to check the software out before I execute it on my system. This is for instance the case when software authors host their files on file hosting sites, and not on their own web space.

The old Virustotal had a file size limit of 20 Megabyte which worked fine for most executables and setups, but not for all. If you encountered a single file that exceeded the 20 Megabyte limit, you could not use the service to scan it at all. The service had other issues that users encountered every now and then, like large queues or pages that were not loading properly.

The developers have recently updated the service website and virus scanning service that improves Virustotal considerably.

When you open the service’s homepage you will notice two of the changes right away.

The first is a new professional feel and look, the second that Virustotal now accepts file sizes of up to 32 Megabytes. That’s a reasonable 60% increase that should resolve the majority of “file size to big” issues that users encountered previously on the site.

Once you upload a file you will notice that the reporting interface has changed as well.

The url scanner is now supporting a total of 19 different scan engines that includes a mix of well known (Google Safebrowsing, Opera, Phishtank) and lesser known services. Some url scanning services provide additional information that are now also displayed in the scan results.

Virustotal has moved to Google’s App Engine Service which, according to the developers, speeds up the analysis significantly. Developers of third party apps now benefit from faster response times thanks to a public API update.

Virustotal has improved significantly thanks to the recent update. Especially the maximum file size increase needs to be mentioned in this regard.

Have you used the new version yet? If so, what is your impression of the service? (via Dottech)

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Metascan, A Virus Total Alternative To Scan Files Online About the Author:Martin Brinkmann is a journalist from Germany who founded Ghacks Technology News Back in 2005. He is passionate about all things tech and knows the Internet and computers like the back of his hand. You can follow Martin on Facebook or Twitter.Author: Martin Brinkmann, Sunday January 15, 2012 -
Tags:online virus scan, virustotal

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Remain Updated With Dish Tv News

Nowadays everyone is busy in the mad rat race in order to establish themselves in today's fiercely competitive world. People do not have time to read newspapers in order to remain updated with the latest news and developments taking place in the surroundings.

Some people do not even buy newspapers and often in this mad rush we tend to miss very important information and news and sometimes this proves to be very expensive for carrying out the daily activities. It would be a calamity if a parent misses some important information regarding school admissions and the child looses a year. Imagine the repercussions if an economist would not have known of the erstwhile economic crisis and would have acted like an imbecile in front of his colleagues. It would be catastrophic for a stock broker if he remains oblivious of the current economic scenario and the stock prices. Thus, it is very important to remain abreast of the latest developments in order to avoid the ignominy caused by ignorance.

Mostly, people find it very drab and boring to go through the newspaper. Sometimes, they don't get time to read the newspaper because they are very busy. DISH Network has arrived to solve this problem and pacify you. These channels bring the recent as well as important news and discussions regarding burning topics. This leaves no room for missing crucial news of the day. The DISH Network channels keep you well informed and up-to-date.

Most people think that they do not have the time to read the newspaper because they are too busy or it might be that you are not interested at all. Well, DISH Network is here at their service. With DISH Network TV they will get a wide variety of news channels which will update them about the current happenings across the world. These channels bring them the recent as well as the most important news of the day. So they really cannot miss anything that has happened throughout the day. Watching the news programs on different DISH Network channels will keep them informed and up-to-date.

If we have a glance over the different kinds of news that you will get from Dish TV then you are sure to go head over heels.

News from Politics- The people become aware of all the updates about the political events taking place in the country as well as the rest of the world. The news gives a fair idea about the political situation of the country and they can also learn about the policies at both the central and state levels.

News from the world of crime- It is possible to get the news regarding sensational crime news from around the world that will shake you with awe.

News from the world of entertainment- The viewers get to know about the latest gossips of your favorite celebrities that are loved by them.

Remain steady with finance- Stay up-to-date with information regarding stock exchanges and shares from DISH Network news channels.

News about climate- The viewers can get updates of natural calamities like earthquake, floods, tornadoes, avalanches, volcanic eruptions that occur on DISH Network. Also hourly updates are available.

News from sports- The sports enthusiasts will get ample information related to sports from the news channels.

If you want to stay well informed and updated about the current events and happenings around the world then DISH Network is waiting for you with its splendid news channels. Subscribe to lucrative DISH Network offers.

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