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Sometimes you just have to run a console app. Whether it's scripts that run during Windows startup, backup routines, or other tasks, they just don't have a nice, pretty GUI front-end, and since you really don't interact with them, there's no point in creating one. The problem is, you may be faced with a bunch of terminal windows that jump into and out of existence while this is all happening. At very least, this isn't pretty, and worse case, it can be rather disconcerting to see all this happening on your screen. You need a way to hide all these guys, so they can get their work done, but they stay out of your face.

HiddenStart may the the solution. This tool lets you run all the command line programs you want, but they all run in "hidden" windows, meaning that you don't have to deal with them. It's easy now to run batch files or other console applications without having to look at them. It supports a bunch of parameters that allow you to run things your way—hide console windows, run as other users (including Admin), show or suppress error messages, and more.

HiddenStart is a free Windows application.

Download HiddenStart

Did you ever have one of those long, involved telephone calls, where no matter how many notes you took along the way, you just know you didn't capture everything that was said? Kind of frustrating, to be sure.

CallGraph is a free tool that you can use to record your Skype calls automatically. Whether you make free Skype-to-Skype calls, or make or receive paid SkypeIn and SkypeOut calls, you can record them all. You can use your recordings to make sure you grabbed all the important information you covered during your conversation, or use them for recorded interviews to post to your blog or include in your podcast.

Remember that various jurisdictions have different rules about recording phone calls, and what you can do with those recordings, so be sure to check on how these may apply to you. And of course, common decency dictates that all parties being recorded be aware of the fact that a recording is being made, and that they give their consent to participate.

CallGraph is a free download for your Windows system. although they do have Linux and Mac versions on the drawing board. And of course, since it works with Skype, it's probably a good idea to have Skype installed on your system as well.

Download CallGraph

Pilots of some of the newer aircraft have come to depend on head-up displays. Rather than having to take their eyes off the world outside of their aircraft to look down at their instruments, pertinent data—altitude, airspeed, heading, etc.—are projected into the pilot's line of sight, so they can keep their "head up" while in flight. An application called Samurize lets you do the same with your Windows computer.

While you may not be flying your system through crowded or dangerous skies, you have things you're trying to keep track of while you work. You may have an eye on CPU load or memory usage, or you might be keeping track of a to-do list. Either way, you can have this data shown on-screen so you don't have to dig through a bunch of stray windows while you're trying to get your work done. You're sure to be more efficient when you can focus on the task at hand.

Samurize is a Windows application.

Download Samurize

Folks who are true devotes of the Macintosh just love their systems. Unfortunately, they're often a little intimidated when it comes to getting everything they can out of their Macs.

As it turns out, there are all kinds of ways that you can tweak your favorite system, if you can get over being afraid of getting down in the guts of it. Finder, Spotlight, the Dock, and more can be finessed into even better tools for you, if you just know how. One easy way to get in there and fine-tune your Mac is to use Deeper.

Deeper is a personalization utility for you and your favorite computer. With an easy-to-use GUI, it's simple to customize how your workspace looks and behaves. Rather than having to tediously edit preference files way down in the innards of the operating system, you can grab items from lists, click checkboxes, and safely tweak your Mac to your heart's content.

Deeper is a free download. It requires OS X version 10.4 or later.

Download Deeper

What do you use your Windows display for? Is your desktop just a dumping ground for your latest downloads? Is your screensaver just a place for your vacation pictures? Or does it serve as a source of inspiration, perhaps mixed with a touch of whimsy?

Wikiquote Screensaver lets you move your display into that latter category. Rather than just using your screen as an electronic junk drawer, you can grab some of your favorite quotes from Wikiquote. Choose individual quotes, or create and manage your own quote list. Whether it's inspiration, commentary, or anything else you're interested in, you can see it now as your screensaver. Since you can choose from English, German, or Italian quotes, you're bound to find something that flips your switch.

Wikiquote Screensaver is a Windows application. It also requires version 3.5 of the .NET Framework.

Download Wikiquote Screensaver

Fast Blog Finder, as its name might suggest, is a tool to use to find blogs fast. Specifically, it's a search tool that will help you to quickly find blog posts on topics of interest to you. While it's presented primarily as a tool for self promotion—find a post, make a comment with a link pointing back to your site, collect link juice from that site through Google—it's worth more than that.

Fast Blog Finder helps you to locate blog posts that rank high in Google for your particular search terms. Once you find blogs you're interested in, it's easy to add them to your favorites list, so you can keep coming back for more. For the ones that really flip your switch, this tool has the ability to recommend posts to social media sites as well.

Fast Blog Finder is a Windows application. It runs under Windows NT/2000 or later.

Download Fast Blog Finder

Do you spend a lot of time and effort manipulating files on your PC? While Windows Explorer keeps you away from the command prompt, it's not too smart when it comes to copying, moving, and rearranging files on your system. If you go anywhere beyond basic file manipulation, it's going to come up short. You may need something with a bit more horsepower to take care of business.

FlexTk Express may be one answer for you. Rather than just flailing around, you can take control of your files and get real work done. Instead of just relying on file names, you can build classes that take into account file names, file types, modification dates, attributes, and more. You can even save often used combinations, making it easy to come back next week—or next year—and replicate the results of your organizational work. Once you have that, your life is going to be a lot easier, since you only have to create the classification scheme once, but you can keep using it forever.

FlexTk Express is a free Windows application. It runs under Windows 2000 or later. The publisher also offers paid versions that provide additional functionality.

Download FlexTk Express

You're busy, with a lot on your mind. You've got meetings to attend, phone calls to make, errands to run—all kinds of stuff to try to keep track of. You don't need a big-deal, high-powered tool like Outlook; you just want to upgrade from your current system of sticky-notes and scribbles on the back of an envelope. You need a task management tool that doesn't require a lot of care and feeding.

Check out MiniTask. It's a lightweight app that helps you keep track of your "to-do"s. It's easy to enter tasks, and with drag-and-drop reordering, you've got the flexibility you need to change things on the fly. Alarm timers help you to take care of business.

Not only is it small in terms of system resources; you can set it to be always on top, or to sit in the System Tray until you need it, keeping it out of your way.

MiniTask is a free download. It runs on both Mac and Windows machines. If it's not already on your system, you'll also need to install Adobe AIR.

Download MiniTask

How many times have you gone to check on something online, only to be required to set-up an account with the website? Usually this means giving out your email address. If this is someplace you're planning to return to again and again, you may want to go ahead and give them what they're looking for. Double check their privacy policy and hope for the best in terms on their not turning around and spamming you for the rest of your life. If you're going someplace for a one-time-only visit, you probably don't want to give them all that information. What you need is a disposable email address that doesn't tie back to you to get the job done.

GuerrillaMail is one place to go to get a short term email address. Go to their site, press the button, and you'll get an email address that you can use right now, but in 15 minutes it goes away. That's generally long enough to confirm your signup or to get you to that free downloadable white paper you're looking for. What it doesn't do is condemn you to a lifetime of junk email from people you really aren't interested in dealing with.

GuerrillaMail is a free online service. It should work with any modern web browser

Download GuerrillaMail

Where would we be without calendars? Whether it's scheduling events, paying bills, or counting down to the big day, we've just got to know when it's all going to happen. Now you can haunt the local office supply store and wait for the new shipments to arrive, or you can get a leg up on 2009 and save a bunch of money at the same time by checking out some free calendars.

Printable 2009 Calendars features free 2009 calendars that you can download, customize, and print. Calendars are available in PDF and Microsoft Word formats. Print out a simple calendar to hang on the wall, or customize your calendar with special dates–family vacation, reminders to clean out the downspouts, or anything else that you want to be sure to remember.

You can choose from plain old one-month-at-a-time calendars–grab an individual month or all twelve–or go nuts and get specialty calendars, like a wallet-size calendar, or several with all twelve months on a single page.

Want to really impress the neighbors? You can also grab your 2010 calendars, too.

Printable 2009 Calendars are all available for free. They're compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux systems, and require Adobe Reader (or another app that can open PDF files) or Microsoft Word, or another compatible word processing tool.

Download Printable 2009 Calendars