Black's Web

It's hard to stand out in the crowded field of defraggers, but Smart Defrag is able to do so with an unexpected twist.

Along with quick analysis and scans, Smart Defrag boasts an automated defragger that continually defrags the files that you use the most, and does it without becoming a persistent drag on your system resources. When running in the background, the program only eats up 14MB of RAM, so it's possible to run it smoothly on older machines.

Other solid features include a scheduler you can set up to defrag whenever you want and some customization features if you want the program to start when Windows loads or right before logging off. You also can set it to shut down your computer when it's done defragging your hard drives and partitions. Overall, if you would like a handy defragger with options for scheduling and more, this is a great defragger for both novices and more experienced users.

Tags: computer system

Windows only: Mount more than one Gmail account as a remote disk drive with free utility Gmail Drive Config. It works with Gmail Drive, which we've covered in the past. Yes, it's all very experimental, I did encounter some annoyances, and Google could probably make it all go poof with a few keystrokes from some command line prompt in Mountain View. Rest assured, you'll always be able to access any files added via mounted drives through Gmail proper. But I got two accounts set up and working as network storage in just a few minutes. Here's how.

Install Gmail Drive, if you haven't already. Check out our Advanced file and attachment management with Gmail post for details. Your Gmail account will show up as a mounted drive under My Computer in Windows Explorer, categorized as "Other" below any Network Drives.



Set up another Gmail account, if you haven't already. I signed out of my main Gmail account, and clicked Sign up for Gmail under the login box. I simply used my current username plus ".files" to create a Gmail account specifically for file storage. Be sure to set an alternate email address so you get a copy of your login details just in case.



Now download Gmail Drive Config from Convivea. It's a simple executable, so just click "Run" from the browser or double-click the gmail_drive file in your downloads folder.




It should show the initial drive you set up. Simply click Add Drive to add another by entering a new name for the drive and a different Gmail address.



The new drive will also appear under My Computer in Windows Explorer. Double-click it to enter the password. Rinse and repeat to add up 999 Gmail accounts.


Note: I tried to add a Gmail account for a Google Apps for Your Domain address with no luck. Not only did it not work, but even after much fiddling, I couldn't properly Edit or Remove the entry from the list of accounts in Gmail Drive Config. Also, when trying to remove an account, I was prompted with a dialog and system beep to close all instances of Explorer. Not a dealbreaker, just a little annoying. But at the current price, who's complaining? Gmail Drive Config is a free download for Windows.

Tags: gmail, online storage, computer system

Windows only: Free application MZ Ultimate Tweaker is a system modification tool that covers the gamut of system tweaks, putting everything from performance to display tweaks just a few clicks away. The application is very similar to the TweakUI Windows XP PowerToy. But apart from all the minor modifications it can make to your system, it also comes loaded with several useful utilities worth checking out.

Those utilities include an advanced shutdown scheduler, startup manager, services manager, and registry backup tool.

All of the utilities are available as separate downloads from the MZ Ultimate Tweaker web site, so if you just want an à la carte utility, you can grab it as a standalone. Utlimate Tweaker also includes a few snake-oil utilities promising to speed up your computer, so stick with the useful ones. Regardless, MZ Ultimate Tweaker gives quick and easy access to tons of worthwhile Windows modifications, so if you're a junkie for a good tweak, give it a look.

Tags: computer system