Windows10's market share is increasing slowly but steadily over time. This December ittouched 33% which means that over one-third of world's computers now arerunning Windows 10.
The Mac App Store is the place to look if you want to download free Mac apps. With so many free apps already installed on your Mac you might think that there’s not much more you need, but there.
Beit the fluent design, multiple desktops or return of the Start Menu, Windows 10has taken many right steps, but, also few wrong ones in areas of privacy andupdates. One area where Microsoft has done a commendable job is improving thenative apps.
Edge is now way better than IE, there is native PDF support through Edge, support for Multiple desktopsand the list goes on.
Now nobody has to hunt for an alternative app like a PDFreader or image editor as the built-in apps are more than enough for such basictasks.
However, there are still some parts of Windows 10 where we need improvement. Aspects of the OS with which users interact daily such as Windows Explorer, file operations(move/copy/rename), installing/uninstalling apps are still somewhat the same as before.
So, today we will talk about fifteen apps that will improve your Windows experience and help you in accomplishing daily tasks in a much quicker way.
1. Clover
Windows Explorer has got a design upgrade in Windows 10, but, functionality wise it's still the same. Clover is an app which adds the much-needed features to Windows Explorer. Tabs, Bookmarks, enhanced keyboard shortcuts are some of the highlights of the long list of features this app has.
Plus, it integrates seamlessly with Windows, so you will not notice any out of the place visual changes.
Qttabbar is another alternative app for Clover. It is much more powerful and offers a hugenumber of options to customize it as per your needs.
2. Unchecky
Our next app keeps a vigilant look at all the programs we install on our computers. Many of the freeware or shareware type programs often contain sneaky little tick boxes during installation which silently install the advertiser's app or make changes to your system like changing the default homepage, adding a toolbar or even changing the default browser.
While most such additional programs are just annoying and can be uninstalled easily, there are some potentially harmful ones too which can install a rootkit or keylogger. Unchecky saves you all this hassle by alerting you whenever any programs try to pull such a stunt and automatically unchecks any such check-boxes.
And it's simple to use. Just install it and let it run in the background. No need to mess with any settings.
3. Ditto
Ditto is an awesome clipboard manager for Windows 10 which supercharges the clipboard functionality. A clipboard manager is particularly useful for someone who works with a lot of text and documents.
It has happened to me many times, I copy a draft of an article from one app, close it, only to find out that it hasn't been copied after pressing Ctrl+V. And the real horror is realizing I haven't saved the draft anywhere.
Clipboard manager like Ditto saves all your copied text as Historyso one can easily find any particular bit of info even if they have overwritten or lost it. Other useful features include the ability to sync clipboards of two different PCs, a stats meter and of-course, keyboard shortcuts.
4. Everything Search
One of the parts of Windows 10 that has taken a nosedive compared to the previous version is the Search function. It's hit-and-miss for many users as it doesn't return the results expected and most of the time resort to web search through, yes, you guessed it, Bing. Very helpful indeed.
While you can fix the Search, Everything Search is a better app for this. Its response time to a search query is nearly instant and the results are pretty accurate as well. Plus you can run it without installation and has some really cool additional features.
It can search an external FTP server, you can exclude specific folders from search and even search a remote PC over the web.
5. Jdownloader 2
It's known to everyone that Windows doesn't have its own downloader app and the de-facto alternative to it is Internet Download Manager(IDM), which is a paid.The free alternative is Jdownloader 2, which performs same as IDM, has morefeatures and is open-source.
One unique feature of Jdownloader is the supportfor plugins which can do various things such as controlling it remotely over Web and solving captchas on its own.
It also supports premium accounts of many file-sharing sites so you can download without any limits. If you have time and patience to learn, you can automate JDownloader through Javascript too.
6. TreeSize
Ever wondered what is hogging storage space on your PC? You don't download a ton of things still you are running out of disk space. To solve this Windows 10 has Storage Sense feature is which frees up disk space periodically by deleting temporary and old files.
Lync web app mac os update. Improve user productivity.
You can tweak what it does by going to Settings>System>Storage>Storage Sense.
While the Modern Storage setting does visually show which folder is taking up the maximum space, you can't see individual files or do any operations. TreeSize shows you this info in much more detail including the number of files and sub-folders.
Plus, the directory-style menu is easier to understand than that of Windows 10. Finally, there are plentyof options to customize and filter how you want to view the storage data.
7. AnyDesk
Remote connection to a computer may not fare on the list of tasks an average user does often. However, it can be very useful in times when you need to help or get help for a problem. For remote connections, Windows Remote Desktop protocol is thesuperior to other solutions out there.
Though, it has a major limitation that it's available only on Pro edition of Windows. Plus to use it you need to fiddle with the IP addresses and host-names.
AnyDesk is the free app which comes close to the performance of Windows RDP and is simple to use like TeamViewer. It also has iOS, Android and Linux apps and even works cross-platform.
8. Speccy
If you have ever felt ill-informed when someone asks how much RAM your PC has or what processor it has, you can go to Control Panel>System and Security>System and find out.
However, if they ask what frequency you RAM isrunning or what GPU it has, you will again go back to being ill-informed.
Knowing your PC's hardware helps in troubleshooting as well as gauging its capability for running certain apps and games. This way you don't go on sending angry emails to tech support stating that your new Dell AIO can't run PUBG on 4K because you don't know it has GT 1030.
Speccy provides detailed info of each component of your PC and also shows the temperatures of critical parts like CPU and GPU. Finally, you can also share the specs of your PC in text or INI format for genuine help with a problem or bragging rights.
9. Odrive
With Windows 8, Microsoft gave a lot of thrust to promoting OneDrive by integrating it natively with Windows and even offering the now-defunct unlimited cloud storage plan. OneDrive, as a cloud service is comparatively good, though there are many who use other cloud services like Google Drive and Dropbox.
However, adding a desktop app for each cloud service you use becomes cumbersome and Odrive is the app which solves this problem. An all-in-one universal sync client which supports over 20+ cloud services and allows you to finely control how and what files get synced.
10. ShareX
Taking a screenshot of Windows has long been done by the humble PrtScr button or the Snipping Tool which was introduced in Windows Vista. Recently, in the Windows 10 Creators Update, a new shortcut got added, Win+Shift+S.
Third party apps for taking screenshots are dime a dozen, however, ShareX is our favorite pick. The reason being, it's free, feature rich and can be useful to both a newbie or a pro user. Plus the automation features built in are really awesome. Want to add today's date to screenshot, have it numbered and upload to Gdrive?
You can do it. Want to add a black border and watermark to screenshot, upload it to Imgur and generate a short URL? You can do that too. Need I say more!
11. Smooth Video Playback
VLC is the undisputed king for video playback on Windows. It's simple to use, has plenty features and plays almost all video formats out there. Genealogy software for mac free download. Still, if you are a movie buff or like binge-watching your favorite TV shows, you will love SVP.
Smooth Video Playback or SVP 4 converts any video to 60 FPS and higher in real time. This makes the video appear more smooth and fluid, especially ones which involve a lot of action. Sadly, the free version of SVP 4 doesn't work with VLC and you will need to use(How-To) either MPC-BE or MPC-HC player.
However, if you fork out $15 for pro version, you get support for online videos, streaming over Chromecast and a bunch of other features.
12. X-Mouse Button Control
Windows settings for configuring mouse are limited to just switching mouse buttons and at best changing how the cursor looks like. If you yearn for more customization to match your Hotkey Game, XBMC(not to be confused with the media player) will give your mouse buttons multitasking superpowers.
With XBMC, you can configure what the mouse buttons and scroll wheel does in an application and add up to 10 layers to each app, which can be switched by a hotkey.
To put that into perspective, you can configure a three-button mouse to do 300 different things per application. And that's not counting scroll wheel!
13. BleachBit
Windows 10 has gotten a lot better at housekeeping by cleaning up after itself to prevent junk build up. Disk Clean-up does the job effectively by deleting all the temp and old files.
CCleaner has long been the alternative go-to app for this job, but, recently it was discovered to riddled with a malware which affected millions of users.
BleachBit is an open-source alternative which does the same thing and even overwrites the empty space so nothing can be recovered. It is also useful for cleaning files of a specific app like your browser, as opposed to Disk Clean-up which deletes everything.
14. Sizer
Windows 10 allows you to arrange open apps either side-by-side or stacked by right-clicking on Taskbar. Or you can resize them freely to arrange them as per your liking.
Sizer a free app which allows you to set custom sizes for each open windows(apps) and bind them to a hotkey. This way you can effectively divide your screen space, pixel-wise to arrange multiple apps like I have shown in the image above.
15. Teracopy
Initially, I wasn't going to include Teracopy to this list, as I always felt it didn't offer that much of an advantage over Windows copy. But, that changed when I gave the upgraded version a try on Windows 10.
While copying 37 GB of game files to my NAS server took Windows over 10 mins, Teracopy did it in under 8 mins.
Of course, how quickly files are copied and written is heavily dependent on a variety of factors like disk type, system load, network link etc, Teracopy speeds it up most of the times and doesn't hang if you cancel or pause the task. Further, it can also check the integrity of copied files by checking their checksums.
A Word About Contributions
Almost all the apps that are on the list have a portable version available, which makes it easier to test the app without installing it. And many of them are made by few small independent developers in their free time.
So, if you find any of the above apps particularly useful, consider donating or purchasing the pro version.
Because while drafting the list, I came across many other useful apps like ShapeShifter, PC-Decrapifier, and FileBot, which have been abandoned or gone completely paid due to lack of donations and time from the developer.
With that said, if you know or use any other such apps do share them through comments.
See Next: How to Post Instagram Stories Longer Than 15 Seconds on Android and iPhoneThe above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.Also See#windows 10
Did You Know
You can switch manually to the tablet mode in Windows 10.
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We’ve developed tools to help you guide how your students use devices and apps in the classroom, and give you valuable insight into each student’s progress as they work with them. So you can focus on what’s most important: teaching.
A home base for you and your students.
The best way to learn is by doing and making. The Schoolwork app helps you and your students more effectively use the creative power of iPad. You can easily distribute and collect assignments, keep an eye on student progress in educational apps, and collaborate one on one with students from anywhere, in real time. It’s easy for students to use, too. Assignments automatically appear on their iPad, organized by due date and class. And Schoolwork helps you keep track of how everyone in class is doing — so you can tailor your teaching to the needs of each of your students.
- Easily share content with students
- Leverage the power of apps
- View students’ progress across all their work
- Tailor instruction to student needs
- Collaborate and provide instant feedback
Easily send out anything from announcements to assignments with Handouts.
Handouts are as easy to create and send as an email, and flexible enough to contain almost anything: web links, PDFs, documents, and even links to activities in apps. You can use them for announcements, reminders, or assignments. And your students can view Handouts across all their classes to keep track of everything they need to complete.
Assign an entire class — or an individual student — a Handout. Enter the recipient, date, description, and activity, and choose the optional request for return if you want the student to hand something in.
Once your handout is ready, just tap the arrow to send.
Some of the most useful educational materials are found within apps. But students, especially younger ones, often have a hard time finding those materials. Schoolwork makes it as easy as possible to direct students to the right place in the right app. First you can browse popular apps like Tynker, Duolingo, and GeoGebra to find content that fits your curriculum. Then you can select a specific app activity to share with students on a Handout. When students get the Handout with the activity you’ve chosen, they can go right to the activity with a single tap. It’s all made possible by a new developer framework called ClassKit. Many top educational apps are using ClassKit already, with even more on the way.
- GeoGebra 3D Calculator
- Kahoot!
- Journeys of Invention
- IXL
- Molecules by Theodore Gray
- Nearpod
- Incredible Numbers
- Lexia
Reading - GeoGebra Graphing Calculator
- Quizlet
Flashcards - Tynker: Coding for Kids
- Explain EDU
- Hopscotch
- Puppet Pals (School Edition)
- TinyTap
Tap to add an app activity, and you’ll get a list of all your available apps, highlighting those that support student progress.
Once you tap a supported app, you can browse a list of activities and view more detail on each.
Tap to add the selected app activity to your Handout. It’s that easy.
Schoolwork and the apps built to support it provide insight that’s never been possible before. When your school enables the student progress feature, you’ll get a snapshot of each student’s overall class performance, be able to check on students' app activities, and see how far they’ve gotten on assignments. It allows you to tailor your teaching to each of your students — whether they need an extra challenge or extra help. And because Apple cares deeply about privacy, this information is just between you and your students. We don’t look at it or use the information. Ever.
See how all of your students are doing across the Handouts you’ve assigned.
Tap into an individual activity to get a more detailed view of how each student is progressing.
Check in on students’ work to see how they’re doing across all of their Handouts and tailor your teaching to each student’s needs. You can even return work to a student and ask to try again.
Work in real time together, even when you’re not together.
When you use Pages, Numbers, or Keynote in Schoolwork, it takes just a few taps to collaborate with your students on their assignments and add written or verbal feedback directly to their documents — at any time, from anywhere. You can even use Apple Pencil on iPad to mark up Pages documents as easily as you do on paper.
Must Have Mac Apps 2020
Once IT gets you set up, you’re all set.
Schoolwork will be set up for you by your IT department using Apple School Manager. They’ll take care of keeping your class lists up to date as students move in and out of your class. If enabled by your IT department in Apple School Manager, you can now also create and manage your own classes.
Classroom
Keep your class fun and engaged. And focused.
The Classroom app turns your iPad — and now your Mac — into a powerful teaching assistant. It puts you in the driver’s seat of every iPad and Mac in class, so you can guide students through lessons and keep them focused on the task at hand. Classroom also makes it easy to share information — send and receive files with the entire class and individual students using AirDrop, or show student work on the big screen.
Make sure everyone is on task. And on the right screen.
View any student’s screen on your iPad or Mac. Classroom allows you to see every student’s screen at the same time and navigate individual students or the entire class to a web page, book, or app. You can also lock students into a single iPad app or mute audio on student devices, so students stay focused.
Watch the video about using AirPlay in ClassroomShow student work on the big screen.
Watch the video about using Screen View in ClassroomSee what students are working on.
Watch the video about using AirDrop in the Classroom appSave time and focus on teaching.
Privacy is built into everything we make.
Must Have Mac Apps
Teachers see all of the wonderful things created by their students. We don’t. All Apple products are built with an integrated approach to privacy and security — providing schools with devices, apps, and services that keep student work and personal information secure. And with Managed Apple IDs, the school controls student information and can choose to enable or disable apps and services such as iMessage, FaceTime, or student progress reporting with the Schoolwork app.
Must Have Mac Programs
Apple has received ISO 27001 and 27018 Certifications for implementing an Information Security Management System with measures for protecting PII in public cloud environments. We also meet the requirements of the new EU GDPR framework. In addition, Apple has signed the Student Privacy Pledge, further underscoring our commitment to protecting the information of students, parents, and teachers shared in our schools.