Do you love hashes? I do! Well, they're helpful when it comes to checking the integrity of a file. That's the reason I created HashTools back in January of 2007, over 1 year ago. This latest release clears up some long-standing issues and adds some much needed features. The new feature I find most useful is the ability to drag and drop files into the HashTools interface. Another new feature that I find myself using quite frequently is the ability for HashTools to automatically load and compare a hash when checking a file. For example, if you are generating an MD5 hash for a file called "MyFile.iso", HashTools will check for a file called "MyFile.md5". If this file exists, it will be loaded and HashTools will compare the hash contained in this file against the generated hash. Maybe this is a feature that only I will find useful, but I hope at least one other person will too.

Check out HashTools today!

Two savvy DisplayFusion users have informed me that they discovered DisplayFusion while reading the June 2008 issue of PC Authority in Australia. Both were able to send me copies of the article and both received free DisplayFusion Pro licenses. I'd like to send out a big thanks to Ian Neale and Tim Burns for making this discovery, and I hope both are enjoying their complimentary licenses. If you would like to find out how you can take advantage of this great offer, just visit the In the News page for more information.

  

It brings me great joy to announce that for the second month in a row iTunes Sync has been bundled with a major print magazine. This month, iTunes Sync has found it's way into the June 2008 issue of PC Praxis!

Special DisplayFusion Pro Offer

If you would like to receive a free DisplayFusion Pro license visit the In the News page to find out just how easy it is!

I'm happy to announce that FileSeek v1.3 was released this week. This new version adds sortable columns, the ability to copy selected results from the grid via the right-click menu and the number of characters displayed in the preview pane is now configurable in the options menu. Also, a number of bugs have been fixed as well, like the right-click "Open" command not working sometimes. This version of FileSeek and it's installer are also fully signed for full Vista compatibility.

I urge everyone who is running an older version of FileSeek to download the new version today, and if you haven't tried FileSeek why not give it a try. You can either download an installer or an archive with only the .exe if you want to take it for a test drive before installing. Happy searching!

After 2 months of coding and testing I am very pleased to announce the release of DisplayFusion v2.1! This version represents a lot of hard work by a lot of people. It has a substantial number of new features and bug fixes - more than any of the previous releases. The interface has been cleaned up in a number of key areas, it now has full Windows Vista compatibility and is fully signed for friendlier Windows Vista UAC prompts.

You can take a look at the change log for the complete list of changes, but here are some of the bigger new features:

• Pro users can now auto-update without having to visit the website - DisplayFusion will download and install the new version automatically (after prompting you)
• Pro users can now have random Flickr images set as their desktop wallpaper - just specify the search settings to use and let DisplayFusion take care of it for you
• Added the ability to "snap" windows to the edges of your monitors - it can be configured to snap windows within a 1 to 100 pixel range
• DisplayFusion and it's installer are now fully signed using a certificate from a trusted CA - this means DisplayFusion now has full Windows Vista support and will work significantly better under Windows Vista

We can't forget about bug fixes and little changes. There are a pile of those as well - here are some of the highlights:

• Desktop Wallpaper preview window is now much faster when previewing changes
• Flickr image search has been enhanced and the Flickr Group Finder is much improved
• The "window spanning" hotkey now works much better, especially with Microsoft Office windows
• Now has all new high-resolution icons for the Desktop, Start Menu and System Tray
• No more 1 pixel gaps when applying a custom wallpaper is rare situations
• Maximized Window Dragging now works with virtually all Windows applications and is completely seamless

I would encourage everyone to upgrade to the latest version by visiting the DisplayFusion download page. Also, for only $10 you can unlock the full set of Pro features. Visit the version comparison page for more information on included features and how to order. Help support future DisplayFusion by purchasing a Pro license today!

The beta testers and I have worked as hard as we can to ensure that this release is as polished as possible, but if you experience any issues at all please feel free to contact me or visit the DisplayFusion Online Support page.

Thanks to everyone who helped make this release the best one yet!

Are you using the free version of DisplayFusion and want to try out some of the Pro features? Well, now you can! Just head over to the DisplayFusion Trial License page and fill out the unbelievably short form. My hard-working server will email you a 15 day trial license, and presto, you'll be a Pro user for 2 weeks. For a complete list of the features that DisplayFusion Pro has, check out the handy version comparison page. If haven't tried DisplayFusion yet and you have more than one monitor, what are you waiting for? Get in on the action today and give DisplayFusion a try right now!

It has been 5 long winter months since the last FileSeek release, but v1.2 is finally here. This release brings some much needed features and has turned into the only search application that I rely on to find things on my computer. FileSeek is lightning fast and supports Regular Expression matching to perform more complex searches. With FileSeek you can specify a list of patterns to include in the search, and a list of patterns to exclude. For example, you can include "*.jpg|*.gif|*.png" and then exclude "test*.*". This will include those 3 image filetypes, but it will ignore any files that start with "test". Pretty neat, eh?

I urge everyone who is running an older version of FileSeek to download the new version today, and if you haven't tried FileSeek why not give it a try. You can either download an installer or an archive with only the .exe if you want to take it for a test drive before installing. Happy searching!

I'm very pleased to mention (once again) that one of my applications has made it into a major print magazine. This month, iTunes Sync has found it's way into the May 2008 issue of PC World!

  

Here is a quick excerpt from the article:

This free Windows utility syncs any iTunes playlist to non-Apple players. Install iTunes Sync, fire up iTunes, and plug in your player. [...] Click the Sync button and sit back while your playlist breaks free of its iTunes shackles.

Special DisplayFusion Pro Offer

I'd like to send a big thanks out to Ron Palermo for bringing this article to my attention! Ron has received a complimentary DisplayFusion Pro license for letting me know about this article, and you can too. Visit the In the News page to find out more about this fantastic offer.

Just a quick word to send out a big thanks to the LifeHacker crew for putting DisplayFusion 2nd in their Top 10 Ways to Trick Out Your Desktop list. DisplayFusion has been covered by LifeHacker twice before, and both their reviews and the user's comments have always been positive. Here's an excerpt from today's article:

Dual monitors boost your productivity by simple virtue of the fact that they offer more screen real estate to get things done, but let's get real - who doesn't want to show off their side-by-side screen setups? Grab a copy of DisplayFusion, and easily split your epic/panoramic/super-cute wallpaper across two monitors.

If you are using DisplayFusion Pro and you are interested in helping me test the upcoming v2.1 release, I have now started final testing. Just drop me a line and I'll send you the download link. Please make sure to contact me using the same email address you used to register DisplayFusion, as this is a private beta currently only open to Pro users. This is just one of the many benefits to becoming a Pro user. I am planning to release the new version this weekend, unless any showstopping bugs are found, so any feedback you can provide this week would be fantastic. Thanks everyone!