It should be noted up front that this method only covers software that is registered in Add/Remove in Windows. Other software (like PuTTY or JkDefrag which are standalone executables) won’t show up in a list like this. But if it’s in Add/Remove, it will.

Why would you want to do this?

There are several good reasons:

• You plan on upgrading from XP to 7 and need a complete list of all your software for reinstallation after 7 is installed.
• You’re going to buy another computer and want to clone it as close as possible to your old computer the manual way; this requires a complete installed-app list.
• You plan on doing a backup of all your installed software and want a nice simple list to make this process easier.

I’m sure you can think of a few more. The ability to generate a list like this will come in quite handy from time to time.

What versions of Windows should this work on?

This is known to work in XP, Vista and 7. As far as Win2000, I haven’t tested it because I don’t have it – but if you do have that, feel free to test and post in a comment below whether it worked or not.

How it’s done

This is yet another instance where we’re going to go to the good ol’ command line to get things done.

In XP: Start, Run, type cmd, press Enter.

In Vista/7: Windows logo, type cmd in search box, right click cmd in list above, Run as Administrator.

When the black Command Prompt window appears, type the command:

MKDIR C:\MyList

..and press Enter.

(Note: Don’t put a space in the folder title. Type as MyList and not My List)

Then type:

wmic

..and press Enter.

In XP, you will probably get a notice that states "wmic is being installed" if you’ve never run this command before. Should this occur, just wait a moment or two while it installs itself.

There is no such notice in Vista/7.

Your command prompt will change to:

wmic:root/cli>

Next what we will do is create a simple text file in the root of C that we can open with Notepad when generated.

Type the following command and press enter:

/output:C:\MyList\list.txt product get name,version

Pay strict attention to the slashes and spacing. /output is a forward slash. C:\MyList.. and so on uses backslashes. Also note that name,version has no spaces between those words separated by the comma.

The time it takes to create this list depends how much stuff you have installed, but it shouldn’t take longer than 1 minute to complete. During this time your hard drive light will be active while the list is being written.

When finished, a new line will appear that simply states:

wmic:root\cli>

At that point, type:

exit

..and press enter.

This is what your Command Prompt window should look like to this point in Vista/7:

In XP it would look something like this:

At this point, type (again):

exit

..and press Enter. The Command Prompt window will close.

Now we have to open our newly created text file to see what’s in there.

Click Start (or Windows logo), Run, type C:\MyList and click OK. It will look like this:

A Windows Explorer window will open. The only file there should be list or list.txt. Double-click the text file to open it. You should see something like this:

From here you can examine the list, then when finished close Notepad. The list file can then be copied or moved anywhere you like, or left as is.

Important note:

If you want to go thru this process periodically on the same PC, you can skip the "MKDIR C:\MyList" on the second time and each instance after that as you will have already created that folder previously (that is unless you delete it.) Any old list.txt file will be overwritten with the new one.

I received a question in the PCMech Premium area that asked if Windows 7 will have an improved Add/Remove that will completely uninstall programs compared to the way XP does it. My answer was an easy no, and I explained why. In this article I go into detail on that.

First I’ll say programs that leave crap behind is definitely not a Windows-only thing. On the Mac it’s more or less required to have App Zapper. In Linux there’s BleachBit. In other words, no OS is safe from crap left behind by third-party programs.

The question however is: Why does this happen in the first place?

There are three basic answers.

Answer 1: The more stuff the program "hooks" into, the more difficult it will be to uninstall.

In the question I received originally, the cited example was Adobe Reader. This software is notorious for leaving a lot of junk behind because of all the stuff it hooks into.

On install, Reader is a standalone program. But on an "express" install it will hook itself into Internet Explorer, and Firefox and possibly Microsoft Office. That’s a lot of stuff Reader got its claws into, and therefore the more difficult it will be to get out.

Answer 2: Not closing programs before uninstall (error on user’s part).

You know how many programs state, "Please close all your applications before installing [this]." The exact same is correct for uninstalling as well. Some programs are "smart" enough to say, "Hey! You! Close your stuff before uninstalling so I can get out of here safely!" However many programs don’t do this.

Example: Java.

The vast majority of us use Java only in the web browser. If the browser is running while you do your uninstall, chances are high something will screw up.

Answer 3: Crappy code.

If a third-party program installs bad, it will uninstall bad. Crap code is crap code, plain and simple, and no operating system can magically fix that.

Things you can do when things screw up with the uninstall of a program

Install it again to uninstall it again

Although this sounds ridiculous, this does work the vast majority of the time. You install something, decide you don’t like it and go to uninstall it. The uninstall procedure gives an error. Uh-oh. So you run a "cleaner" program to get rid of it. That didn’t work either. Are you now stuck with it for life?

No.

Installing the program again will usually fix whatever problem it had, allowing you to uninstall it properly the second time.

Close all programs first

Close the browser(s). Close your anti-virus temporarily. Close anything else you have open. All of it. Do it whether you feel you need to or not. After that, then uninstall.

Using a cleaner? Reboot after uninstall of a program before running it.

You install a program. That program hooks itself into many things. You uninstall that program. However the OS still thinks you have it installed because of the currently loaded session. So you reboot. On the newly established session, the OS then "knows" it’s completely gone. At that point, then you run the cleaner program and not before.

Does the program use add-ons or plugins?

As great as add-ons/plugins are, they can leave behind a ton of junk. Firefox is a good example of this. The uninstall process does not remove all those add-ons you put in there, nor does it remove any configuration files specifically for those add-ons. You need to first uninstall all that stuff before removing the browser program itself.

Avoid upgrading programs if the versions are too far apart

Let’s say that for whatever reason you’re running an ancient version of OpneOffice, version 1. You see version 3.1 and decide it’s a good idea to upgrade.

Not really.

Were you at OO version 2, then I’d say go ahead with the upgrade. But from version 1, no. Too old. Chances are high something will mess up.

What happens with old versions of software is that the new versions that are significantly ahead release-wise will usually not install "clean", thereby causing problems later.

General rule of thumb: If the program in question is two major releases ahead concerning the version number, you’re better off uninstalling the old, and performing a from-scratch install of the new (unless the program in question is specifically supports an upgrade from something two releases or greater behind).

What’s the worst program you had a hard time getting rid of?

Were you able to uninstall it, or is it still there? Do you think it was your error, or do you recommend people stay away from X program like the plague? Let us know in the comments.

IRC is one of those things that either you get or you don’t. You probably know IRC as chat rooms. But if you said that to a diehard IRC user, he or she would give you a dirty look or two because "chat room" is a term originally popularized by AOL. And to be technically correct, IRC has no chat rooms. They’re called channels. Maybe that’s a nerdy nit-picky thing, but it wouldn’t be the internet without nerds getting ticked off over minutia like that.

The best app for IRC depends on what OS you’re using. IRC is best used with a true client rather than the web-based way (like Mibbit, which seems to get increasingly banned on many IRC servers these days, hence the reason I don’t use nor recommend it).

On Windows, the best IRC client is mIRC. It’s been around seemingly forever (even as far back as the Windows 3.1 days) and has proven time and time again to be a solid, stable chat app.

On Mac OS X, the IRC app used most is Colloquy. Were I using OS X I would use that and nothing else for IRC purposes. It is the best for the Mac, no question. And you can even go mobile with it.

On Linux, XChat is the best. I have tried several different IRC apps over the years with Linux, but time and time again I keep going back to XChat whenever I’m using a Linux distro.

Platform independent IRC applications (works in any OS):

• Chatzilla – A Firefox add-on.
• Pidgin – Primarily an instant messaging client but also does IRC. Note for Mac users: Adium uses the same backend Pidgin does and also does IRC the same way.

Do you use IRC?

If you do, what’s your OS and preferred IRC app of choice? Let us know in the comments.

More people these days are getting away from instant messenger programs and using the in-browser way, because there really isn’t too much reason to use an IM app these days. Years ago a large chunk of the IM functionality was provided by the application, but that’s not the case anymore. You can do voice, webcam, manage your buddy/contact list and just about everything else right from the browser.

With web-based IM you have from-service and multi-protocol.

Multi-Protocol

The one most people know is Meebo. It has a fantastic interface and is super-easy to set up and use. However there’s also eBuddy,ILoveIM, IMhaha, IMUnitive, KoolIM, mabber, MSN2Go, radiusIM and Wablet.

Needless to say you’ve got a lot of choice.

Do you have a review of one of the above? Leave a comment. I haven’t had the time to test all the above, so if you’ve got a few moments to spare, let us know what you think of one or more of the above.

From-Service

These are web-based versions of IM from the service providers themselves.

Yahoo: http://webmessenger.yahoo.com/
Windows Live: http://messidog.live.com or http://webmessenger.msn.com
AIM: http://www.aim.com/aimexpress.adp

Here are the rating from best to worst:

Best: AIM

AIM has updated their web interface and said honestly it’s the best there is. Flash-based, smooth animations, no weirdness with extraneous pop-ups (other than just one for the IM window itself), in-window tabbed conversations, familiar friendly sounds – this one has got the works. If you use AIM you will take to this like a fish to water.

Good: Yahoo

This looks very similar to the Yahoo Messenger app itself. However the problem is that it takes up the whole browser and I could not find any way to "detach" the IM. But other than that this is a solid performer. It has tabs, very friendly interface and a simple clean design. If you use Yahoo Messenger you’ll definitely want to try this.

Worst: Windows Live

Where Microsoft excels with it’s Windows Live Messenger client, their web messenger is a joke. It’s absolutely awful. The "messidog" address almost never works. You’ll get "An error has occurred" and be left flat on attempt to login.

The other address does work, but the interface looks like MSN Messenger 7. That’s bad. Bear in mind the current client is version 2009 (version 9). It’s also plagued with pop-up warnings left and right. This is a web messenger designed for 2002, not 2009. I have no idea why Microsoft keeps such a horrible web IM around like this. They’ve made such a huge effort to make all the Live services better and more friendly but haven’t touched the IM portion whatsoever. Very strange.

You’re far better off just using one of the multi-protocol services above.

What’s your take? App or Web?

Have IM web apps come far enough to make you give up your IM client or are there specific features that keep you "local", so to speak? Let us know.

CPU-Z is a freeware application for Windows that is as easy as it gets when it comes to getting quick – and useful – system information about your computer.

Let’s take a look (see screenshot below):

Above is a screen shot taken from my older Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop. On the first tab, CPU, you’re told what kind of processor you have, it’s socket type, supported instruction sets and a whole lot more.

Above is the Mainboard tab. This will tell you who made your motherboard, the model, chipset and so on.

Above is the Memory tab. You’re told what type of RAM you have, its size, channels and other information.

The SPD tab will give you information on RAM based on what slot its in – and will even give you the manufacturer information of the RAM (even if they differ from slot to slot).

This is a cool free little app that’s sometimes necessary to have to answer quick questions like:

• Who made my motherboard?
• What family of processor do I have?
• Who made my RAM?
• What’s my overall speed (core, bus, etc.)?

This is definitely a handy app.

You can get it here: http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

And yes it is periodically updated to support the newest/latest/greatest processors.

What is a "cloud" application?

It’s any application that has the power of a desktop (as in installed locally to your computer) app – except it’s all on the web.

You probably use cloud apps already and probably didn’t even realize it. Do you use Gmail, Yahoo! Mail or Hotmail? That’s all in the cloud.

But this is about Photoshop, the famous high-priced image editor.

Except this one is free – and it’s still Photoshop.

Photoshop Express is an Adobe product available here:

https://www.photoshop.com/express/landing.html

As with most cloud apps it does require you to register an account in order to use it.

Here’s a quick overview. (Click each image to enlarge)

Above: The sign-in screen. If you don’t have an account you can sign up from there.

Above: The landing page. I have no images in here yet so I click the "Upload Photos" button at the top left.

Above: I cancel the upload on purpose because – LOOK AT THAT ON THE LEFT – there a Flickr login (as well as Photobucket and Picasa too!) Nice. I choose Flickr since I use that already.

Above: I’ve validated my Flickr account and loaded in an image – direct from Flickr. Very cool. Now I can start editing.

Above: I chose the "Crop and Rotate" tool and selected a portion of the image.

Above: I clicked the top right green check arrow to see the edit I just made.

From here I can either continue editing, save it, do whatever I want, etc.

Seriously.. this is frickin’ cool.

This is what cloud apps are supposed to be like. Simple, friendly, powerful, and of course – free.

Adobe Photoshop Express is without a shadow of a doubt one of the best cloud apps I’ve ever used.

Try it out – you will love this.

Literally defined, a "killer application" a.k.a. a "killer app" is software that is revolutionary and popular (must be both).

In layman’s terms, a killer app is the software giving you the reason to use a computer (or possibly a specific computer) in the first place.

The history of killer apps basically have two generations, that being pre-internet and post-internet.

Pre-internet

In the days where personal computers didn’t connect to any outside networks (other than BBSes), there were two primary applications people used at home. The word processor and the spreadsheet application.

When most people think of word processing they think of Microsoft Word. However this was not the "big" word processing app back then. Most people at home used WordPerfect. And being that this was in DOS it looked rather terrible because there wasn’t any WYSIWYG. But it did work and work well. If not WordPerfect they used an app called Text in DeskMate.

The Apple Lisa (predecessor to the Macintosh) did in fact have a word processor with WYSIWYG called LisaWrite. However few people owned the Lisa machine because it was geared towards business customers and cost $10,000 for the system.

In the word of spreadsheets most people think of Microsoft Excel, but the killer app in pre-internet days was Lotus 1-2-3. On Apple systems as well as other 8-bit systems the popular spreadsheet app was VisiCalc.

A primary effort was put on publishing and home business in pre-internet times, because said honestly there wasn’t much else you could do with a personal computer unless you were a programmer.

Post-internet

The primary application, that being the killer app, in post-internet times is something you’re probably using right now – the web browser.

The web browser by itself does nothing. It literally is a software version of the yesteryear dumb terminal. Without internet connectivity it is useless. But with connectivity it is your gateway to the internet – just like a dumb terminal is useless without its connectivity.

There has been nothing introduced to computers since the web browser that qualifies as the application people use most on their computers from the moment they turn them on. It has even superseded word processing and spreadsheet applications as most-used.

When you think about it, is there an app you use more than a web browser? Probably not.

Additionally, all the spreadsheet’ing and word processing you do can be done via the web browser. This "dumb" software is the one tool you cannot possibly be without if you use a computer at all.

The future

What will the next killer app be? Hard to say.

But what is being said right now – and has been said for quite a while – is that web browsers are still rather terrible and desperately need to change.

Google Chrome is an example of what direction the internet might be heading towards. The direction it indicates is both cool and scary and the same time.

The cool part: It is a browser that works near-perfectly with services provided by the #1 web site in the world.

The scary part: It heavily leans towards a proprietary internet that shuts out other sites in one fell swoop. Granted, nothing works better than proprietary software – but that’s not what the internet is about.

It’ll be interesting, no doubt there.