A small update - some projects start rolling

More than 2 months since my last post, but I'll try not to make that the norm. Right now I've got some big posts waiting in the wings that I just can't seem to polish up and post, but once I get those out of the way I hope to be in a more regular posting habit. I'm trying to build up a decent body of posts before I start publishing this URL anywhere and actually get anyone reading.

In the meantime I'm pleased to say a couple of my projects have either gotten started, or taken an interesting turn recently. One of them I can't really say much about just yet, but it's going to be pretty cool for software publishers, and open source projects in particular. The other I haven't mentioned yet, but it's something I've wanted to do for a long time, a software benchmarking website currently found at http://www.3dspeedmachine.com/

Fixing Windows 7 - Part 1

Preamble:

As this is the first part of this series, and of my software recommendations/reviews, I thought I'd explain how I plan to approach these. As you will come to discover if you keep reading this blog, I have a rather long form style. To put it bluntly, I'm long winded, verbose. Hopefully some of you will like this, but I don't expect everyone to. So for the reviews I thought I would cut to the chase, putting the name of the software, its purpose, and the highlights of features right at the top. I invite you to read the rest of the post, which will explain my recommendation, but if all you're looking for are the highlights, you'll be able to get them right away. Let me know in the comments if you have any suggestions for how to improve the format.

Software: Free Commander (and other 3rd party file managers)

Function: File Manager

Replaces: Windows Explorer

Cost: Free

Why: If you dislike the Windows 7 file manager like I do, this allows you to go back to XP-style explorer, with more traditional (and useful) search functionality, dual-pane interface, and lots of other useful features.

*Update*: See below for some further comments after extended use of FreeCommander on Win7.