Advanced Windows Care is an excellent software and free for personal use. It can Scan and Remove Spywares, Prevent Spyware from installing on your PC, Search and Fix Registry entries and values, Optimize your system, Control and Optimize Startup items, Erase your Surfing traces and Clean up Junk files from hard disk. Additional Tools like memory optimizer, startup manager and disk manager are also provided.

Avast Antivirus

Antivirus = Bloatware. This is the equation which most of us have in mind. After all, these softwares are biggest memory consumers. But have you ever heared of light antivirus. If not, this is the one and that too free. It is pretty fast and consumes very less memory. It provides all round protection from viruses. It is perhaps the only antivirus with support for skins. Yes, you read it right, you can easily skin it. And by skins, I do not mean the just changing colors like some other softwares, the skins change whole the interface. Just see the screenshots above, they show the skinability of Avast! First one is Avast's Default interface and second is a Skin Downloaded from avast.com.

CCleaner

Advanced Windows Care will automatically fix registry issues for you but what if you are left with a nasty installer? Many times, uninstalling a program does not remove all the data from registry and you are left with the program still showing up in the Add/Remove Programs. CCleaner can help you at such times. It can Run Uninstallers, Rename Entry and Remove junk Entries. Additionally, it can clear you history, optimize registry and manage Startup Items.

IOBit Smart Defrag

PC slowness is mostly caused due to fragmentation. You have to manually defrag the drives using Windows Defrag and this takes too much time. It would be nice if you had a software that could automatically defrag your hard disk! So, here is IOBit Smart Defrag. It is free or personal use and automatically defrags your hard disk when the computer is idle. Manual defrag is also available and you can schedule a defrag. It is an install and forget solution to end your problems.

1. Mozilla Firefox 3

   When it comes to prevention, no program can spare the user more virus/spyware/identity theft headaches than Firefox. This popular open source web browser comes loaded with built-in anti-phishing, anti-hijacking, anti-spyware, and anti-anything else that sounds scary features. In addition, Firefox can be tweaked enough to satisfy the fussiest power user, but it also comes with a clear, easy to follow interface that even a newbie can follow.

2. FileHippo.com Update Checker

   The free UpdateChecker is small, lightweight, and fast. Weighing in at about 100kb, this nifty program will keep you up to date with all your software in just one click. Activating the utility will direct you to a filehippo.com webpage listing all the updates available for your programs. Just click and download the updates you want. Run this baby once a month and you will never have to worry about being left out of the newest features or security updates.

3. CCleaner

   For clearing out the junk, nothing beats CCleaner. Fast and thorough this program will search out temporary files, useless folders, cookies, and the like and nuke them with just one click. It will do the same for your registry, but users are advised to use the built-in backup function before sweeping the registry….just to be safe!

4. Spybot - Search & Destroy

   The industry standard for spyware detection, this power utility can take a long time to scan, especially on an older system, but you will rest secure knowing that your computer is clean of malware. It also sports options for erasing user tracks, real time protection, and a comprehensive startup program cleaner that lets you know exactly what's going on when you start your system.

5. Auslogics Disk Defrag & Registry Defrag

   These two programs meet and expand upon the functionality of Window's built-in defrag utility. Fragmentation is inevitable in Windows, and defragmenting every few weeks is essential to keeping your system running smoothly. These two programs are faster than their Window's counterpart, inform you exactly how much you've improved performance, and take care of the registry to boot. I would also like to recommend Auslogics BoostSpeed 4, which although it costs $30USD, offers the defrag tools, as well as a disk cleaner and scores of Window's tweaks.

6. avast! Antivirus

   The best free antivirus out there, in my opinion, avast! is thorough and unobtrusive. It updates itself and consumes minimum system resources, all the while offering your PC excellent protection. You will probably forget it's even installed until one day it pops up a warning that you just downloaded a virus and asks you what to do.

7. Revo Uninstaller

   A vast improvement over the Windows uninstaller, Revo loads quicker and does a more thorough job. In addition to running the program's uninstaller, Revo searches for post-uninstall remaining files and registry entries and lets you delete them, reducing system clutter. Revo also offers a user track wiper and a junk files cleaner.

8. PeerGuardian

   A massive database of harmful IP addresses, PeerGuardian was originally designed to protect file sharers. However, this program is also a wonderful tool for blocking spyware and ad-related IPs.

So there you have it! Run these 8 simple tools monthly and your computer should last forever. Well, maybe not forever, but it will definitely last at peak performance until your next upgrade - be it months or years from now.

Private places where it is usually forbidding to install a video camera such as; women's or men's bathrooms, private dressing rooms and even in private homes are being compromised by absolute strangers. The scary part about it is that we have no clue if this is happening to us, too.

Now, we have tools to fight back and protect our privacy from the prying eyes of total strangers and government agencies. Yes, there are some utterly incredible counterspy tools, gadgets and software that can help you reclaim your freedom and protect your privacy from being stolen.

Counterspy Tools (Indoor - Outdoor Use)

Some video cameras and recording devices have gotten so tiny that they can be planted just about anywhere and everywhere, so how do you know when you are being watched when you think that you are alone? The answer is simple, you do what the spies would do and that is to sweep the place for hidden video cameras and recording bugs.

Spy Exchange & Security Center

The Spy Exchange & Security Center carries a complete line of counterspy gadgets and products that the average person can use to detect hidden electronic devices that are being used to invade your personal privacy. The antispy products that this company carries are not toys and should not be used in banks, casinos or in government office buildings, because you could be breaking the law using these devices in these types of places.

Pro Extreme LaserScan Hidden Camera Detector/Locator

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Get ready to sweep an area for hidden video cameras of all kinds up to 50ft away with pinpoint accuracy. Not even pinhole hidden video cameras goes unnoticed as the Pro Extreme LaserScan Hidden Camera detector/locator can expose the most well hidden pinhole video cameras on the market using its lasers to scan the area from top to bottom.

Spy Gadgets

While hidden video cameras are seemingly everywhere that we go anymore, there are similar tools used to spy on the average person, too. Listening devices and micro digital recorders can be hidden anywhere and nearly in anything, so be careful what you say, because there could be total strangers recording every word. The Spy Gadget website offers counterspy gadgets, so you can fight and take your life back.

Portable Wireless Camera (Audio) Jammer

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This counter surveillance tool can be used to jam any audio recording device normally used to record private conversations and hidden out of plain sight.

StarTech Outlet Inc

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Stop worrying about strangers or government agencies from spying on your every move or word that you say when you visit StarTech Outlet Inc, because this website offers some extremely powerful countersurveillance tools available to professional sweep teams. So, when you get serious about protecting your privacy, then you can find some of the best antispy tools available on the market on this website.

Advanced Telephone Analyzer

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Get instant results at the touch of a button. The company claims, “Instantly detect telephone eavesdropping, wiretaps on telephones and RF room bugs using this computer controlled telephone analyzer.” Stops the spies dead in their tracks.

Antispy Protection (Protect Your Internet Privacy)

There are many clever ways to track private individuals surfing the Internet or visiting their favorite websites. Some websites install a tracking cookie or spyware into a visitor's harddrive, so to track their activity while visiting their website. Other secretive individuals may attempt to infect your computer with Trojan horse viruses to gain illegal access to your computer's harddrive or personal files. Government agencies might try to intercept your outgoing or incoming emails, Instant Messages, and even what you are downloading or the sites that you are choosing to visit. So, now is a good time to take steps to protect your privacy and keep unwanted intruders away.

Arovax SmartHide

This is the prefect internet program for people who want to surf the web with complete anonymity. SmartHide protects your IP address by hiding it and secures all of your computer protocols through encrypting your movements when surfing the Internet. So, the next time you don't want to worry about who might be lurking around when you are surfing the Internet, checkout SmartHide, so you can hide in plain sight. SmartHide offers both a free program and a paid upgrade program that is designed to protect your computer and your Internet activities even more than the free program version is designed to do.

The Cloak

Surf the Internet anonymous using the free cloaking application that The Cloak provides you. Unfortunately, “the Cloak” may not be available in all parts of the world, because some universities and governments have purposely blocked this program from being used. That should be a good indicator that this program works good enough to be blocked by fearful governments and universities around the world.

10 Minute Mail

Don't be giving your private email to just anyone who asks for it or requires it to join a social network or whatever. Your email should remain as private as you can keep it, because in the right hands your email can be used to send you Spam or even steal your online identity. 10 Minute Mail allows you to obtain a temporary email address so that you can use to join social networks, forums or just send an anonymous email without having to worry about your email privacy. The temporary email address will expire after 10 minutes, so that no trace of you ever being there is left behind.

Computer Security Measures (Protect Your Hard Drive & Files)

Computer hackers and government sneaks are lurking about and some of these spies are gaining access to private computers without the users ever realizing that their computer's security has been compromised. That is a scary thought, to think that there is even a remote possibility that a snoop could be easily gaining access to our personal information stored on our harddrive anytime they choose to. You can do something about it to stop them, but you will have to make the first move and the programs will do what they are designed to do - protect your privacy, so you can enjoy what you like doing.

Password Protect Folders

Protect your valuable personal computer folders that are stored on your computer's hard drive from potential hackers or government sneaks whom might be snooping around without you ever knowing that they are there. This program protects all types of files on most versions of MS Windows machines. The company offers a 30-day free trial version of Password Protect and after the free trial has expired, then the user has the option to pay for the full version (if Liked) or opt-out (if Not Liked).

FileDudes

FileDudes offers computer users serious about protecting their privacy a variety of Safehouse Hard Drive Encryption programs that you can download. Encrypting your most important files on your hard drive will make it that much harder for anyone not suppose to have access to your computer from stealing, deleting or copying any of your sensitive hard drive files. Government agencies do not like it when private individuals uses encryption programs, because it makes it that much tougher for their agents to access private computer networks and retrieve information, but you have the right to your privacy and protecting it by any means necessary is your right, too.

DataPicks

DataPicks is the most comprehensive resource of the Top PC security programs and applications available on the Internet. This website offers a wide selection of security and privacy programs that will help you better protect your computer from being compromised and your identity possibly being stolen by a hacker or identity thief. Also, you can pickup a free antivirus program as well especially if you need an updated version.

Identity Theft Protection (Online and Offline Protection)

Identity theft is on the rise around the world as new technology makes it easier for crooks to change identities at the drop of a hat. Identity thieves can apply for credit cards and purchase high dollar products and services in the names of their victims, and then causing a world of financial ruins for the innocent people like you and me. So, to prevent this from happening to you it is time to take some precautions and protect that unique thing that makes us - us, our identity.

LifeLock

LifeLock provides a service that helps safeguard your personal identity by monitoring all of the activity incorporated with your social security number and credit card transactions. If someone should ever try to steal your identity and try to open up credit card accounts using your social security number, then LifeLock will alert you and put a stop to these types of attempts quickly and securely. LifeLock even has a $1 million dollar service guarantee to backup their claims, if a member of theirs should ever have their identity stolen when using the LifeLock service. Now, that is confidence at its best!

Blue Chillies

Blue Chillies is a comprehensive website that offers a wide selection of identity theft protection programs and applications to protect your computer and online use from unwanted intruders and hackers. Some of the programs are absolutely free to download and other programs can be downloaded for a set price. There are a lot of choices to browse through, so to find exactly what you will need or want to customize your protection level of security.

Artmam.net

Artmam.net provides a comprehensive selection of security and identity theft prevention programs and resources that are designed to protect everything from your personal computer, laptop computers, iPods and much more. Since people are storing more and more personal information on their iPods and other handheld PDAs, it has become very important to secure these types of devices if they should ever fall into the wrong hands. This website provides the tools and connections needed to protect your privacy no matter what type of electronic device that you should choose to use.

 

 

Baselining

Baselining is the term used to describe the process of measuring specific elements of any given entity in order to determine many attributes of that entity in real-time. In the networking, communications and security worlds this means testing, listing and reporting procedures specifically tailored to provide greater insight into that entities capability.

Whenever baselining it is essential that we scrutinize specific parameters, attributes, performance and stability in isolation as well as a part of the whole. When measuring a parameter in isolation we gain insight into the various aspects of that parameter, which indicate the capabilities of the entity in regards to that parameter.

When scrutinizing those same parameters from the perspective of multiple entity behaviors and interactions we are able to see the effects that other entities have upon the first entity's parameter. This way, we can quantify the “impact” that a given element has upon the whole.

From a network/security perspective, the parameters that we are interested in include physical connectivity, idle network utilization, normal network utilization, stress loaded network utilization, maximum network utilization, protocol usage, mean network throughput, underutilized network resources and network security events. Baselining and benchmarking test regimes must be customizable to suit these objectives as and when necessary.

Once collected it is time to structure and analyse the data. Do not forget to pay close attention to the relationships that may or may not exist between the various elements and entities involved during the testing and listing phases of your baselining suite.

You also need to pay close attention to the identification any anomalies, adverse conditions and results as well as any vulnerabilities and compatibility issues. With a baseline established, we can now use this information to perform assessment scenarios detailing the likely outcomes based upon our baseline data.

In addition, we can also extrapolate from our baseline to making assessments and “judgment calls” (not guesses) about the likely impacts factors such as changes to user behavior patterns and the effects that introducing new technologies into our network might have.

This will assist in the planning, timing and deployment of future upgrades such that when the time for an upgrade arrives not only can we identify it but we also have contingency plans ready regardless of scenario or a plan for all possibilities if you like. Now we can begin to look at the role that benchmarking has to play in this.

Benchmarking

Benchmarking is very similar to baselining but where baselining is more about networks and making comparisons of a system or network with itself benchmarking is about making comparisons between different systems.

Baselining will tell us that our network is not performing as it usually does or making deductive analysis that the network is coming under loads that considered to be stretching our network towards its upper end in terms of performance in servicing the needs of the network's users. In this way, we can say that an upgrade is necessary.

Benchmarking on the other hand will tell us the performance of one component relative to another. Do this by running a set of tests that produce definitive quantitative results on different components. We compare these two values one against the other.

If component one scores 88 and component two scores, 108 we can definitively say that component one is not performing as well as component two. For example benchmarking will enable us to determine which is the faster of two CPUs.

Normality

Benchmarking and baselining are tools that should be used in determining your “normal” state. Underestimating their value is a trap that we may all fall into from time to time. The objectives of these tools will vary from scenario to scenario, as will their installation, configuration and maintenance.

We will now look at some of the ways that we all can put these tools to good use.

Determination of “Normality”

The first thing that you should do is to benchmark and baseline your systems, networks, communications and security structures to learn what is “normal”. Here is a list of guidelines that will help you to design and build your own baselining and benchmarking test regimes.

1. Define Mission Objectives

   Clarify and decide on your objectives. In this way, you will be able to eliminate many tools as being unsuitable in this instance even though they may well be the ultimate tool for some other network. This alone does not mean they are suited to your requirements.

2. Research

   Always research the topic. Build a list of currently available tools. Not all are free but many very good tools are (e.g. Belarc Advisor and Everest). Determine the tools that are best for you. Bear in mind that you will not always run the entire test suite of tools every time. Don't forget the tools that came with your operating system and applications.

3. Tools

   Building your own suite of tools is of enormous benefit as this allows you to tailor your test suite to your current circumstances. Read the manufacturer's documentation to ascertain how to use the tool and for which situations that the tool has been built to test/benchmark.

4. Test Suite

   Use a set containing multiple tools (suite). Do not rely on just one tool. Continually evaluate your test suite. Regularly check for updates applicable to your test suite. Locate and evaluate new network, communications and security test technologies.

5. Repetition

   Plan and design your baselining, benchmarking and testing regimes such that they can run as a loop. This will allow you to run your test suite multiple times with as little direct input from you as possible.

6. Test Regularly

   Networks have a habit of changing. Many elements of networks, communications and security structures will evolve and adapt to new technologies and challenges. Heightened security levels are most sustainable when perpetually maintained.

7. Test Frequently

   By frequently conducting your test regime you will be able to get an “early warning” of impending doom. Your test regime is often one of the first indicators that a piece of hardware or software is about to break or that a new security threat exists.

8. Test Randomly

   Conduct randomly timed testing procedures will allow you to test your equipment under as wide a range of “normal” operating environmental conditions, loads and usage patterns as possible. It is impossible to predict every conceivable possibility so test frequently and you will pick up aberrant anomalies.

9. Penetration Testing

   Develop security oriented test regimes that include as many of the “hacker tools” that a hacker might employ in attempting to penetrate your security defenses. This way you can determine your state of readiness to defend against these threats at least.

10. Documentation

    As per usual always thoroughly document your procedures and develop appropriate training and testing Policies suited to your network and systems.

Well that is easy, you have viruses, worms, and spyware, eating away at your system, stealing your music files and sending them to nerdy little felons who nonetheless, have your possessions then you will ever get. But don't worry about them, as soon as you realize that your money is being spent in Taiwan to buy a new Neko doll, all of your bothering about your computer will be far from your mind. But wait, once again it is the evil of your computer that has lead to this theft of your identity.

All of this pretty much sucks haa?

Well have no fear, with a little money, Norton Antivirus can save the day,

But what if your sitting there saying to yourself “I don't have any money.”

Once again, there is a solution PC Tools Antivirus Free Edition™ 3.6, which is my personal pick, along with Ad-Aware SE Personal, also free, and full scans of your computer every week or so, you'll do just fine.

And don't forget to defrag your computer once a month to keep it running smoothly, but be warned, when scanning or defragging, leave your computer alone, it works faster and more effectively. Also, the first time you defrag your computer, which is preferably after you've downloaded and run the program you selected, it can take from a few minutes, to a few days. Yikes.

This tutorial will give you a good idea on how to create a simple ball and make it move across the screen, maybe you think that this is to simple for you, well when I first began I thought the same as you, however we all must start with the basics to progress to much bigger animation such as bone structures, ik handles and even vertex animation.

So to begin with open up maya 7 and let’s make a start,

I have drawn a arrow to the tool we will use to create a sphere quickly, first of all if you don’t see this tool bar I will show you why,

Make sure you have the polygons tool bar open and not one of the other tool bars, right now click the tool that the arrow points to this will create a sphere with what ever default settings your sphere options have, don’t worry if your sphere looks different to this one it doesn’t really matter for this tutorial.

Next step, lets make sure the animation setting are perfect for us, click the tool that the arrow points to below,

This is called the animation preference, it will open this pop up,

Now if your options don’t look like this don’t worry, we need to set it up, change the playback and the animation start/end to 25 we are only going to make this animation 1 second long, (now if you are in America set this to 30).

Make sure that the playback speed is set to real time [numbers], if your real time [25 fps] isn’t 25 do not worry we will set this up next.

Click where the arrow points to Setting and you should have a different screen facing you like the one below.

Change the time to PAL [25 fps] if you live in England or Europe if you live in America or else where change it to NTSC or your local setting that you know.

It is important that you do this every time you start an animation to make sure that the play back speed is perfect for your region, this is very important if you get a job in the industry.

Now click save and the box will go away, now in your time line located at the bottom of the screen, if you have something lie this going on,

1.04 we need to change it to one as it’s not a whole number, in the white box where the longer arrow points select the number and type in 1.0 to reset it back to 1, this as changed because we have changed the settings, but everything is back to normal now.

Select the ball and make sure the time line is on one still and press S, now if you look at your time line you should see that a blue line as appeared on the selected frame like below,

Click on the frame two and you should see something like the image next to it, if you don’t , reselect frame one, press S again, if no luck make sure you don’t have caps lock on and repress S it will work now.

Right now select frame 25 (or 30), once you’re in frame 30 select the ball and press W (making sure caps lock is not on) and move the ball to a new location, once you have moved it press S to create a animation frame.

Once again you will have a red line in frame 25 (or 30) this will tell you that both of these frames are animated, now time to watch the animation click on frame 1 and press the play button, and there you have it a simple move animation, now you know how to do this you can move on to bigger and better animations.

These are just a few of the many great applications out there for IT professionals and PC users alike. But these particular tools have made a huge impact on my everyday work. The list isn't perfect and it is always evolving, if you have any great tools that make a big difference in your daily routines please comment it, I am eager to hear your opinions.

1. LogMeIn

   I have to list this one first because I probably use it the most. LogMeIn is a remote system for your computer systems. Basically it works by installing a client on the computer you wish to be accessible, it will then associate itself with your account. When you login to your account on the website you will see that computer in your inventory list and whether or not it is available to connect. You will need administrator rights on the computer to log in. There are also some cool scripts that will automate the install for you so you don't even have to enter your account info every time you want to install it, which is great for mass deployment.

2. PsTools

   I have to say, this one has really came in handy on several occasions. Microsoft's PsTools is actually a collection of command line tools aimed at helping network administrators work remotely. Some of the most handy features are being able execute remote installs silently, view who is logged in to and shutting down a remote computer. Definitely worthy of a top 10 list.

3. Ultimate Boot CD

   One problem we are constantly faced with is dealing with computers that will no longer boot into their OS for whatever reason. The Ultimate Boot CD is a bootable CD that gives you several tools for diagnosing and repairing non bootable drives. It also includes features that allow you to recover deleted files, create NTFS volumes, scan the drives for viruses and clone disks. A definite must have.

4. Daemon Tools

   A good CD and DVD Emulation program. A must have if your like me and have everything in an .iso format. Actually it ranks up there with the best, and it's all free. One thing I especially like about it is how well it works with my virtual machines. It is compatible with 11 different image file types and comes in x86 or x64.

5. Firefox

   I know, I know, everyone already knows all about Firefox. The real deal is that the extensions that are available for Firefox is what makes it so valuable. Its flexibility allows me to configure it especially for my work environment.

6. AutoIT

   AutoIT is a simple automation tool for Windows apps. It uses mouse and keystroke emulation to automate task. You can use this to make a script or an install package. I use this for a few tedious tasks, one of which is setting up Outlook for a new user. The script is predefined with all the basic information and preferred settings. The other AutoIT script I use a lot is the package I made for LogMeIn free. The package is a full executable package that runs the install and fills in all the account information.

7. USB Apps - I, II

   Ok, I agree, this is somewhat vague, but there are too many to list. Instead I will direct you to some sites with all the portable USB freeware/open source apps you could ever want. There are tons of utilities for network and PC troubleshooting and repairing. These become especially handy when your out in the field doing a repair.

8. TrueCrypt

   Any computer use will agree that keeping your information confidential is always a concern. With TrueCrypt all those worries can be put to ease. TrueCrypt allows you to create an encrypted volume with any file name. So for example, you can call it winds.sys and hide it in some random folder where no one will ever suspect it. You can also configure the encryption to use a password, key file(s) or both. TrueCrypt supports some of the latest most advanced encryptions available. One great thing about TrueCrypt is you can create a volume small enough to carry on your USB drive and TrueCrypt is totally portable. You can run it directly from the USB drive itself. Another great feature is that you can mount the file to any drive letter you choose and drag and drop files into your mounted folder as you work, it encrypts on the fly. Definitely a must for anyone wanting security with mobility.

9. Synergy

   This app is particular useful to me. Synergy allows you to share a single keyboard and mouse across multiple computers using their own displays. This works across multiple operating systems too, which is great since I run Ubuntu on one and Windows on the other. I use this mainly when I am in the office and I have both my laptop and my desktop running. I am not sure what the maximum number of computers you can run at a time, but I have personally ran it using four different computers and one keyboard/mouse.

10. CCleaner

    Ccleaner is a freeware optimization and privacy tool. It is lightweight and a great tool for cleaning up all those unused temp files. It also features a great registry cleaning tool. The one thing I live about this tool is that it's such a small install, and its super fast.

1. Game Maker

   A very good and easy to use game creation program.
   For beginners, you can quickly and easily make a simple game such as platform-style(super Mario, mega man,etc), and for experienced programmers, there is a built-in programming language called GML, which will allow you to do a lot more things you can't do with drag and drop, such as more complicated games like puzzle-games(tetris,bejeweled,etc.), racing games.
   You can make any games you want to try to make.

2. Sploder

   I don't very much recommend this, but it is a useful site, yes a site that allows you to create your own flash games. Flash games are the games you see on game sites such as Mini Clip, New Grounds, etc. I don't recommend it because it is very limited.

3. C++ (Dev C++)

   If you are up for the challenge, you can always go for doing c++. c++ is a programming language which most of todays commercial games are made out of. It can be very confusing though, but if you manage to create a game with it, it keeps it fast, and small in size.

4. Irrlicht

   Since I mentioned c++, I will mention Irrlicht, a free 3d graphics engine. I really like this engine because you can easily create 3d graphics with this engine.

5. Anim8or

   This is a free 3d modeler/animator. You can create 3d models such as the models you see in commercial games... Not that easily of course, but if you are interested, you may want to check this out. The GUI is very easy to use, and you can get started in no time.

6. Java

   Java is a very big programming language in today's market. It is the programming language used to create many games, including portable games such as games for cell phones, PDAs, etc. The quite famous game Runescape is also created in Java.

7. Gimp

   Gimp is a free commercial level painting software. It allows you to do many things such as creating banners quickly and easily using its plug-ins, transparency, creating animations (gif files), etc.

8. Python

   Python is a programming language aimed for beginners. Some great games has been made with it such as Frets on Fire, a guitar hero clone for the PC(I think its better than Guitar Hero.

There are many solutions to the slow computer system problem. Some range from no cost (but require your time) and some require a small investment and your speed is increased exponesially. Below are some options that you may look over and consider to speed up your slow P.C. It becomes a matter how much time or money one wants to sink into their present system and how much desire one has to maintain it.

• Try the defrag tool listed under accessories and system tools. Sometimes computers get bogged down with files that are out of order. Fragmented (part on one sector part on another) files are hard for your system to locate and to bring up hence the slowness of operation. I have heard it said (as a technician) that it takes hours to defragment a hard drive. My advice to this is having patience and letting your system go through the process. You'll be pleasantly surprised at the results of the defragmentation process.
• Try using registry fix application software. The software can be downloaded on a trial basis from numerous sites on the Internet. I will say in advance that some downloaded trial software will only make one aware of the problems and not correct them until the user registers (or purchases) the software. That being said it is a small investment for a tool that can make a great deal of difference in the slow computer dilemma. A decent registry fix program can be purchased for under $30 from a site or a computer store's software department. Fixing your registry can make a world of difference in regards to speed.
• Take programs out of the start menu of the computer. If you have over five icons in your taskbar that need to be loaded each time you start up, you may be in for some waiting. To do this use the “Run” option near your start button on your toolbar. In the run box, type “configsys”. You will see a box appear that shows you all of the programs in the start menu. Chose “selective start” and uncheck all of the programs that you do not need running when you first start your computer. DO NOT uncheck a program from the list if you do not now what it is or does. This could cause your computer to become more of a problem than the slow starts and slow shut downs.
• Take the time to use your add/remove programs tool in your control panel. Some programs are constantly running in the background and you may come across a program or two that you or no one else uses anymore. Removing unused programs not only makes the computer's hard drive less of a mess of allocations, but it frees up hard drive space as well.
• Consider upgrading your CPU (central processing unit) chip. This will be an investment of $100 or a bit more but the speed difference will be well worth it. The CPU handles all the information that you input into the computer and is a conduit for the hard drive. The faster the CPU, the faster your system. (After a costly upgrade like this, one must follow the above recommendations so that the investment is not in vain)
• Consider purchasing more RAM (random access memory) for your computer. Ram is not cheap but the upgrade allows your computer to multitask a faster rate and will make a very noticeable speed difference.
• Virus scan you computer on a regular basis. I have found that some of the major, more popular scanners allow “Backdoor Trogans” to enter you system. Go with a download of one of the free virus scanners (AVG or Avast) and thoroughly scan your computer for trogans and viruses. Don't forget to update the scanner before you begin this process.
• Remove the adware from your computer system. Adware is an insurmountable problem with the Internet these days. There are free adware removers online and you are at liberty to download them. Bare in mind that if you have ad-supported programs (such as some file sharing programs) they will not run properly with the ads removed. Run your adware removers and put the programs that you want left alone in the “exempt” list. .

These tips will have you running a quicker smother system if followed correctly. Be sure that you read the users guided to any programs that you may download to fix a slow computer very carefully before you implement them.