Category Archives: Downloads

Ei.cfg Removal Utility Lets You Use Any Product Key With Your Windows 7 Disc [Downloads]

Windows: Windows 7 install discs are edition-specific—if you've got a valid license key, you still need the right disc for installation. The ei.cfg Removal Utility, however, lets you create a new, universal installation ISO for Windows 7.

Although your Windows installation disc may say "Home Premium Edition," it still contains the other versions (such as Pro or Ultimate) on the disc—it just has a very small file called ei.cfg that tells the disc what version to install. The ei.cfg Removal Utility creates a new ISO of your install disc that ignores this file, thus letting you choose what edition you want when you start the installer.

While this tool is especially useful for computer technicians who have to install Windows a lot, it's also nice to have for those of us that tend to lose discs often—especially in this day and age of emailed product keys. Now, if you need to reinstall Windows but can't find your disc, you can just borrow a friend's—even if it's an edition that's different than yours. You just need let the installer know which edition matches your product key (Note: Your disc still needs to be the same kernel as your key (i.e. 32 or 64-bit).

The ei.cfg Removal Utility is a free download, Windows only, and requires a Windows 7 install disc to use. Thanks, Cody Ryan Harrod!


Also posted in Featured Windows Download, Installation, Installer, Installers, windows, windows 7 | Tagged | Comments closed

Namebench Helps You Find the Fastest DNS Server for Your Computer [Downloads]

Windows/Mac/Linux: Last week Google announced a free DNS service designed to speed up your browsing, but just because Google wants to be fast doesn’t actually mean they’re the best option for you. Namebench finds the fastest DNS server for your connection.

After you download and fire up namebench, just click the Start Benchmark button to test out a handful of free public DNS services, from Google Public DNS to OpenDNS to UltraDNS. Once started, the test took about 12 minutes to complete using the default settings. When it’s done, you’ll be presented with a handful of handy charts displaying the results of the tests.

(Click the image above for a closer look.)

You can see the results to my test in the screenshots above and below. From the looks of things, UltraDNS is the DNS that's going to do the most to speed up my connection. In fact, it claims UltraDNS will be 46% faster than Google Public DNS (the DNS server my computer was using when I ran the test)—so it looks like I may just be switching yet again.

(Click the image above for a closer look.)

Namebench is a free, open-source download, works with Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. If you give it a try, let’s hear what DNS server scores highest for you in the comments.

namebench [Google Code via Smarterware]


Also posted in Benchmarks, DNS, Featured Download, Linux, Mac OS X, Top, windows | Tagged | Comments closed

Ninite Helps You Upgrade To Windows 7 By Installing Up To 58 Great Apps At Once [Software]

Simply put, the Ninite installer is one of the easiest ways to get many of your favorite apps loaded up after that fresh Windows 7 upgrade.

It allows you to bulk install up to 58 popular Windows apps without having to sit there and click through those annoying pop up questions. Obviously, you want to keep the install time down—because things can go downhill while you wait. [Ninite via Lifehacker]


Also posted in apps, Bulk install, ninite, Software, windows 7 | Tagged | Comments closed

FotoSketcher Turns Your Photos into Paintings [Downloads]

Windows only: Freeware application FotoSketcher takes your photos and turns them into pencil drawings, oil paintings, or sketches—with impressive results for very little effort.

Using the application is easy enough—just launch it and drag a picture onto the interface, or open a new image from the File -> Open menu. Once you've pulled up the image, use the Edit -> Drawing parameters menu item to choose the filter you'd like to use, tweak the filter settings, and click the Draw it button to render the final drawing.

Readers will note that you can do the same thing from your fully licensed, totally legal copy of Photoshop, but for people without hundreds of dollars to spend, FotoSketcher produces some impressive results, easily, and for free. FotoSketcher is a free download for Windows only.

Also posted in digital images, Digital Photos, Featured Windows Download, Image Editing, Photos, windows | Tagged | Comments closed