It’s amazing how quickly manufacturers abandon support for older hardware devices. This is nowhere more evident than when it comes to scanners. The gradual shift from 32- to 64-bit computing threatens to leave even more perfectly serviceable scanners in the box marked “obsolete”, but there may be a future for your old machine yet – at a cost.

VueScan works with just about every computer out there, supporting Linux, Mac and all versions of Windows up to Windows 7. More importantly, it supports 1,500 flatbed and film scanners, even if drivers are no longer available for the computer you’re running. Consequently, it enables you to dust down your trusty old scanner and continue using it despite the manufacturer’s attempts to force an upgrade.

It’s incredibly simple to use, with a neat wizard-based approach to scanning for the novice, and an Advanced button for those with a bit more experience. The results are impressive, and it’s worth considering even if your scanner is currently supported by Windows. You can output to JPEG, TIF, PDF and even access OCR-capabilities for extracting text from scanned images – English is provided by default, download other language files from here. VueScan can also output your scan directly to your printer, effectively turning your existing equipment into a serviceable photocopying machine.

The trial version is fully functional, although watermarks are placed across any scanned images, so you’ll have to buy it before you can get the most out of it. A four-computer licence costs US$40 for the Standard Edition or US$80 for the Professional Edition.

Version 9 introduces both 32- and 64-bit builds, and promises to be faster and more responsive than previous versions. The user interface has also been revamped to make it easier to use, giving up more screen space for the scanner preview and consists of a single file, which can be copied on to USB flash drive for running as a portable application if you wish.

Version 9.5.81 (see complete changelog):

- Added support for Epson L485 and L486
- Added support for legal-size scans (14 inches)
- Fixed problem with some Canon DR-series scanners
- Improved scan speed with Fujitsu fi-6140Z
- Added support for auto-focus on Epson Expression 12000
- Fixed problem with some Fujitsu scanners on Windows- 

It’s amazing how quickly manufacturers abandon support for older hardware devices. This is nowhere more evident than when it comes to scanners. The gradual shift from 32- to 64-bit computing threatens to leave even more perfectly serviceable scanners in the box marked “obsolete”, but there may be a future for your old machine yet – at a cost.

VueScan works with just about every computer out there, supporting Linux, Mac and all versions of Windows up to Windows 7. More importantly, it supports 1,500 flatbed and film scanners, even if drivers are no longer available for the computer you’re running. Consequently, it enables you to dust down your trusty old scanner and continue using it despite the manufacturer’s attempts to force an upgrade.

It’s incredibly simple to use, with a neat wizard-based approach to scanning for the novice, and an Advanced button for those with a bit more experience. The results are impressive, and it’s worth considering even if your scanner is currently supported by Windows. You can output to JPEG, TIF, PDF and even access OCR-capabilities for extracting text from scanned images – English is provided by default, download other language files from here. VueScan can also output your scan directly to your printer, effectively turning your existing equipment into a serviceable photocopying machine.

The trial version is fully functional, although watermarks are placed across any scanned images, so you’ll have to buy it before you can get the most out of it. A four-computer licence costs US$40 for the Standard Edition or US$80 for the Professional Edition.

Version 9 introduces both 32- and 64-bit builds, and promises to be faster and more responsive than previous versions. The user interface has also been revamped to make it easier to use, giving up more screen space for the scanner preview and consists of a single file, which can be copied on to USB flash drive for running as a portable application if you wish.

Version 9.5.81 (see complete changelog):

- Added support for Epson L485 and L486
- Added support for legal-size scans (14 inches)
- Fixed problem with some Canon DR-series scanners
- Improved scan speed with Fujitsu fi-6140Z
- Added support for auto-focus on Epson Expression 12000
- Fixed problem with some Fujitsu scanners on Windows- 

Grammarly is a free Chrome extension which checks your spelling and grammar on Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, in web forms and just about anywhere else you type online.

Once installed, the system works automatically. Start typing in a supported textbox, Grammarly displays its icon in the bottom right of the box to show it's working, and problem words or phrases are immediately underlined in red.

It's a familiar idea, but Grammarly goes a lot further than some of the competition. Context-sensitive checking means the system doesn't just complain about spelling (theyre), it also knows when words are used incorrectly (go over they're). And the grammar checker moves beyond the basics to tackle very complex errors and issues.

Fortunately, none of this complexity is visible to the user. If there are no mistakes, you'll see nothing beyond the Grammarly icon. If there are problem areas, they're underlined in red, and hovering your mouse over them displays a pop-up with an explanation and some alternatives. Click one of these suggestions to replace the original text, or tweak it manually, and carry on typing.

Sign up for a free Grammarly account and "you will start to receive weekly emails with personalized insights and performance stats". Doesn't appeal? No problem, it's not compulsory, the extension will carry on working regardless.

When online you will encounter video which have been encoded using a variety of codecs. If you frequently watch different types of video you will generally have to have numerous different programs installed, each catering for different types of video - this can be an annoyance when you encounter a video for which you do not already have the required program or codec. Rather than waiting until the last minute, install the K-Lite Mega Codec Pack which includes a wide range of popular codecs or a number of different video formats.

As well as well known formats such as XviD, MPEG2 and DivX, the pack also includes audio codecs and a selection of alternative media players. Used in conjunction with each other, it is unlikely that you will encounter a video you are unable to play, and by using the alternative tools - such as Real Alternative - you can benefit from improved performance.

The codecs included in the pack can also be used when encoding your own videos and there are a number of handy tools which may well come in useful - such as a bitrate calculator, subtitling tool, video splitters and much more. The pack includes such a large number of tools and codecs, there is simply not space to cover them all in any details. Thankfully, it is not necessary to install all of the codecs at once if you do not need to - you can pick and choose the ones you need, adding others at a later date if necessary. There are a limited number of software installations that can be described as being essential, but this is one of them.

Note that this is the "Standard" version of the codec pack. 

Zoom Player is a fast, lightweight media player than can handle most types of audio and video files.

In part this is because the setup program installs much more than the player itself, though. It will also download and install components like FFDShow, Haali's Media Splitter, DirectVobSub, Gabest MPEG and Blu-ray splitter, FFMPEG core files and many other media-related components. And so if you've had problems with these or any similar tools, and you want to make sure Zoom Player doesn't disrupt your current system configuration, then be sure to choose a custom installation here. This will then allow you to choose which components you'd like to install, and which you really wouldn't.

Once set up, you can use Zoom Player to play CDs, DVDs and all the main audio and video formats (H.264, XVID, DIVX, DVD, FLV, WMV, QuickTime, MPEG 1/2/4, MP3, AAC, DTS, Dolby Digital, FLAC and many more), even in situations where other programs might fail. So it can play incomplete AVI files, for instance, and files that are locked by other programs.

A familiar interface then makes it easy to browse each file, move through individual tracks, DVD chapters and more.

And you also get extensive playlist support; a Playback History that lists all the files you've played recently; a Chapter Editor which allows you to store locations in particular media files - the most interesting parts of a video, say - and return to them in a speedy double-click; and many other useful features.

Please note, Zoom Player is also available in Pro and Max versions that add many other features, from integrated eMule/uTorrent file tracker, to Blu-ray playback, extensive command line support, HTML/ Flash/ QuickTime interactivity, Windows Media DRM support, and much more. Prices start from around $39.95 and you can find out more at the Inmatrix site.

See what's new in v13.7.1.

How many of the web sites that you visit are secure? We have all got into the habit of looking out for the padlock icon in the address bar that indicate we are visiting a secure site when making online payment and performing other tasks online, but many of us give little though to the matter when we are not parting with money. HTTPS Everywhere is a free extension that is available for Firefox and Chrome that can be used to ensure that you are always using a secure connection to visit sites.

You can improve your security when browsing the web by opting to visit the secure, encrypted version of a web site rather than the standard one. This usually involves little more than changing the http part of the URL to read https instead, but this is something that few people could be bothered with doing on an on-going basis. HTTPS Everywhere can do the hard work for you, automatically redirecting your web browser to a secure version of a web site whenever there is one available.

This is not an extension that is compatible with every web site that you may want to visit, but support is growing. It is not a magic solution that cures all privacy and security issues, but anything that helkps to improve things even a little is to be welcomed, and as this is so simple and unobtrusive to use, there’s certainly so hardship involved in having it installed to see what it can do for you.

It is possible to create your own additions to the tool by creating ‘rulesets’. These are simple little XML files that can be used to automatically redirect your web browser from the regular version of a web site to the secure version. Wildcards can be used to save having to write rules that are too complex and to cater for sites that make use of subdomains. Should you find that adding a ruleset causes a site to fails to function correctly, it is possible to temporarily disable it.

What's new in  2017.7.18 (see changelog for more info)

* Ruleset updates