Portable applications don't need any installation, so they don't add anything to your registry and they don't install any new services or drivers. To run the program, just double-click it. To uninstall the program, just delete the file(s) that make up the application.
Sadly, not all programs are available in portable form. But one way around this is to use an application virtualizer, and one that's new to me is Cameyo. You can get a pretty good idea of how it works by watching the 4-minute video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cuLYaYlo4k. To summarise, you first start Cameyo, then install the program you want, and configure it the way you like it. Then tell Cameyo to package the application you just installed, which will result in a single .EXE file. This is your packaged, virtualised, portable application, ready to use on your PC or on any other. Though it's always best to only use packaged apps under the same version of Windows that was used to create the package in the first place.
Cameyo is free, runs on all recent versions of Windows, and is a 5 MB download. You can get it from www.cameyo.com. Note that your antivirus software may report a problem with the download. The company is aware of this occasional tendency to create false alarms, and swears that the program is clean.
Email reminders are important and sometimes it is useful to send yourself reminders for birthdays, anniversaries and other important date.
EmailFuture allows sending emails in the future, to upto 10 years or even a few months in the future.
Do you ever use your laptop in bad lighting situations or where there is a lot of glare? The propensity of PC manufacturers for glossy screens can make reflections a real problem. Windows 7 comes with several themes that provide high contrast and make it easier to read screens in bad lighting. There are various ways to reach the settings but here is a quick keyboard shortcut. Simultaneously hold down the three keys:
left Shift + left Alt + PrtScn
The dialog box shown below will appear. This shortcut can be used as a toggle to turn a high-contrast theme on and off. Click “Yes” to change the theme to high contrast. Repeating the keyboard shortcut will return you to your original theme.
Windows 7 high contrast theme shortcut
Another way to access high-contrast themes
The standard Windows 7 comes with four high-contrast themes. The shortcut given above only toggles one of these, a black and white theme. To access all of the high-contrast themes, do the following:
1. Right-click an empty spot on the desktop
2. Click “Personalize”
3. Scroll down in the window that is under “Change the visuals and sounds on your computer”
4. Four high-contrast themes are listed at the bottom
5. Click the one you want to try
6. Don't forget which theme you are switching out of so you can return to it if you wish
There are some strange-sounding universities around. McDonalds has its famous Hamburger University, where trainees learn how to make burgers. And Cadex Electronics runs an online site called the Battery University, which you can find at http://batteryuniversity.com/.
The site contains hundreds of in-depth articles covering everything you ever wanted to know about all modern types of battery, as found in cell phones, laptops, smartphones and other devices. So if you want the definitive answer about the best way to charge your battery, or how to store it, or how it works, or simply how not to burn down your house while experimenting with batteries, this site is a great place to start. And they won't ask whether you want fries with it, either.