Too good to forget!
You don’t have to look far to find any number of research studies which point out the dangers of sitting down all day as we do our jobs in front of computer screens. And that’s not counting the rising number of people who suffer from RSI (repetitive strain injury) from doing the same kind of computing and mousing tasks day in, day out.
![Workrave – this free little program might just save your life [Freeware]](https://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/workrave.jpg)
Hands up if you have had a ‘lost phone’ moment sometime in the last three months. Yeah it’s easily done isn’t it, and it’s always at the most awkward moment, just when you’re leaving to catch that flight or pick up the elderly parent or something equally urgent.
![SMS Alarm – keep losing your phone while it’s on silent mode? Fear not. Install this and relax. [Freeware]](https://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/smsalarm-1.jpg)
We’re all subject to mood swings, no matter how old we are or where we live. Day to day, moment to moment there are things which continually affect our emotions, equilibrium and state of mind. It’s almost scary how random it all seems. But what if there was a way to work out why we feel like we feel, using nothing more exotic than our phone?
![EmotionSense – get in touch with the real you, with a little help from technology [Freeware]](https://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/emotionsense4.jpg)
You don’t have to live in an earthquake zone to appreciate the benefits of knowing if and when things are going to get a little hot and sticky at any time. And by things, we mean natural disasters. Just ask the European continent when the Icelandic – can’t pronounce or spell the name – volcano flipped out a few years back.
![Earth Alerts – live map of our planet’s natural hazards makes for compulsive viewing (+Freeware]](https://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/earthalerts2.jpg)
One of the big hassles with keeping your computer running fast and clean is the constant need to update your software. Old programs often do not operate as efficiently as the upgraded versions, and you’ll also miss out on cool new features when they’re introduced if you don’t stay up to date.
![OUTDATEFighter – keep your PC software updated with just a click [Freeware]](https://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/outdatefighter2.jpg)
In the past few weeks we have covered How I Double My Browser Productivity With Just 13 Free Browser Extensions and How to Double Your PC Productivity With Just 65 MB of Free Software. But in order to stay organized and keep on top of your daily work obligations (whether corporate or private) takes more than just good free software! It really helps to maintain an efficient process in the way you do things.
Work is easy right? All you’ve got to do is sit down, focus your attention and…hey wow there’s a pic of kittens. Oh and the world’s largest ball of spaghetti just got stolen, and whoa, J-Lo is shopping again…. Yep, work is easy, just as long as you don’t have other stuff getting in the way.
![Focus Booster – get things done by making time your slave [Freeware]](https://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/focusbooster.jpg)
Your humble web browser is rapidly becoming something wonderful, and nowhere is this so obvious as in the world of games and gaming. We’ve looked at HTML5 browser based games in the past and they finally seem to be getting somewhere in terms of sophistication and the fun factor.
There are many ways to scan old slides and film stock to convert to digital, but most of these involve some sort of expensive or cumbersome equipment. The dedicated scanners are great for doing the job, but they cost a fair bit, which can be a problem if you just want to do a conversion of a few precious memories.
![Helmut – turn your phone into a cool instant film scanner [Freeware]](https://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/helmut-1.jpg)
Stereograms are probably the earliest form of 3D image, discovered by some English dude in 1838. The images are actually more about depth perception than true 3D, but when you view them properly they can really be fun. The pleasure comes from finally seeing the hidden pattern, so the thrill is in the skill, if you see what I mean.
Yes it is impossible to beat Adobe Photoshop at image editing, simply because the product comes with a brilliant feature set which has taken decades to perfect. But there are times when you don’t need all the bells and whistles, and just a quick and dirty tool will do very nicely.
![Fotor – image editing for everyone…and we mean everyone [Freeware]](https://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/fotor.jpg)
For the past couple of weeks I’ve been playing a game called Ingress, developed by Google and currently being played in closed invite-only beta across the world. The game, which draws heavily on a kind of Matrix meets StarCraft science fiction styling, melds augmented reality with smartphones, computers and the kind of backstory that only a Hollywood scriptwriter could dream up.
If you regularly store or archive files to an online service like Dropbox as part of your day to day activities, then you’ll know that it’s not the most elegant system in the world. You need to either keep the service running permanently on your computer, or go through all that tedious login stuff.
Well there were two choices. Either Yahoo! had to ditch/sell Flickr, or the company needed to drastically remodel the ageing service to keep up with the times. Thankfully for those of us who are fans, the site has not been sold but instead has received a gorgeous update and more.
Recent research suggests that all this artificial light from our gadgets like tablets and smartphones could be disrupting our sleep patterns. Apparently the problem is that the light from these screens, especially when absorbed later in the evening or at night, can really upset our circadian rhythms and reduce our levels of melatonin.
![Twilight helps you sleep better by adjusting your melatonin levels [Freeware]](https://www.redferret.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/twighlight.jpg)
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