If you don't have time to type a document, why not scan it and turn it into text instantly? Softi FreeOCR is a program that serves to interpret scanned documents and to turn them to editable text on your PC. If you have a lot of documents that you need to transfer to editable text, then this could save you hours of time.
Note that this program only detects English text. Softi FreeOCR, or rather Tesseract - the OCR motor that the program uses - only recognises English. However, you can add other languages by uploading them from the developer website and extracting the files to “the tessdata” folder which can be found within the program folder.
This is a decent attempt at a text reading program but unfortunately, it doesn't always read documents correctly and has trouble with small text. Nevertheless, it can capture the majority of a document which will save you time.

Languages:

English

OS requirements for Softi FreeOCR:

• OS: Win2000/XP

Pros

• Saves time by turning scans into text
• Very quick and easy to use
• Reads many text types

Cons

• Doesn't always read text correctly
• Limited language range

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Skype is probably the most popular VoIP client nowadays, and with this Portable version it only got easier to use! Just like its desktop counterpart, Skype Portable lets you have voice chats on your computer – just like telephone, only for free – and video chats as well, provided you have a webcam. Skype Portable also includes the standard IM functionalities (written conversations, emoticons, user avatars and so on).
Video calls are the main focus on Skype Portable. The program's interface has been clearly designed with video conferences on mind: it's been made wider so that video fits in perfectly with your written chat, your contact list and a toolbar to manage conversation.
The sound quality during our testing was perfect: loud and clear. Video quality was also impressive, all vivid and lag-free. There was also one nice detail, and that's the ability to see your own video image built-in on your contact's video, and you can also take a snapshot of your own image.
Other features in Skype Portable are a call quality feedback indicator, the ability to turn alerts off, the possibility to group contacts and a new feature called Video in mood, which lets you embed online videos from Metacafe and Dailymotion in your status message.
Skype Portable is just like the desktop version: clear interface design with main focus on video; crisp, clear video image and sound; easy to set up and use; and no installation required!

Languages:

English, Spanish, German, French, Catalan, Chinese Simp, Chinese Trad, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Euskera, Finnish, Gallego, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Portuguese BR, Russian, Swedish, Turkish, Portuguese PT

OS requirements for Skype Portable:

• OS: Win2000/XP/Vista/7 

Minimum requirements:

• Processor: 400 MHz
• Memory: 128 MB
• Free space: 15 MB
• Sound card, speakers and microphone
• Modem connection

Recommended requirements:

• Processor: 1,0 GHz
• Memory: 256 MB
• Free space: 30 MB
• Full-duplex sound card and headset
• Cable, DSL or equivalent broadband connection for video transmission 

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Google Chrome Portable 3.0.195.27 Rv2

It hasn't taken long for Google Chrome to be converted into a portable app so now you can execute it straight from a USB stick or portable drive with Google Chrome Portable (AKA Chromium).
Google Chrome Portable is still in beta version so bear in mind that you may experience some glitches and bugs although it seems pretty stable. Google Chrome Portable fits easily on a USB stick so you can take it anywhere. It features all the benefits of the main browser such one box for everything, thumbnails of your top sites and shortcuts for your apps.
When you type in the address bar you get suggestions for web pages and you can access your favorite pages very quickly from any tab via the top thumbnails feature. And like the main version, if one tab crashes, the browser still keeps going because each one works independently - a great little feature that's typically Google and should be taken up by all browsers as standard. In addition, Google Chrome Portable gives you plenty of options for shortcuts to your favorite web apps such as Google Reader to speed up your surfing.
If you've been blown away by Google Chrome and don't want to leave home without it, put Google Chrome Portable on your memory stick now.

Languages:

Spanish

Recent changes in Google Chrome Portable

• New V8 engine, which improves browser speed

OS requirements for Google Chrome Portable

• OS: WinXP/Vista

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WinUHA 2.0 RC1

File sizes have been a big issue in the world of computing since day one, and despite the fact that our hard drives are bigger than ever, large files are still a source of irritation for many. How many times, for instance, have you tried to send a movie clip to a friend only for the email to bounce back due to size restrictions imposed by the service provider? Usually in this case we turn to our old friends WinZip or WinRAR, but believe it or not, there is another compression format that produces smaller file sizes than these popular tools.
WinUHA provides a graphical interface for UHARC, a command-line application, which is proven to have the best compression ratio around, achieving rates of 10-20 percent better than RAR or ZIP. The original version is very slow and has no graphical interface, which prompted this developer to open up the format to the public at large.
The program doesn’t do a bad job either, operating in a very similar way to WinZip and, aside from an annoying donation screen, allows you to get down to business pretty quickly, adding files to the archive with a single click or by dragging them into the clearly laid-out directory window.
Once you’ve clicked to compress the selected files you start to realize the power of the UHARC format. We were very impressed that the program managed to shrink down files of 11.1Mb down to 7.1Mb, compared to 9Mb when we performed the same operation in WinZip. However, this high compression ratio comes at a cost – the speed. There’s no doubt that compressing with WinUHA is significantly slower than its major rivals, and unlike WinZip, you don’t get the option of tweaking the compression ratio to speed things up.
There’s not much else more to the program than the simple process of compressing and decompressing files and you won’t find many other options, other than basic settings for changing the interface. The high compression ratios should come in handy for sending email attachments, and as the size of the files you archive increases, you'll start to notice the its real benefit.

Languages:

English

OS requirements for WinUHA:

• OS: Win98/98SE/Me/2000/XP

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Paltalk 9.7

Paltalk isn't just the latest, greatest messenger or the most diverse and vibrant chat room community - it's the ultimate online communications tool, period. Paltalk enhances the traditional instant messaging and chat room functionality you know and love with state-of-the-art voice and video that you'll enjoy with all your senses. That's why Paltalk is the world's most popular voice and video chat service.
Whether you want to chat with friends or meet new ones, Paltalk is your one portal to all things talkative. Paltalk is compatible with MSN, AOL, Yahoo! and ICQ messengers, and connects you to a world of buddies. With Paltalk's easily-navigable, voice and video enabled chat room community, the world wide web feels more like a network of close friends. And now cyberspace really can be a good place to meet someone with PalPersonals, the best way to add more of those "special" Paltalk buddies to your list. So download Paltalk now for free to see, hear and be there with Paltalk.

Languages:

English

Notes:

Free but displays banners

OS requirements for Paltalk: 

OS: Win95/98/98SE/2000/XP

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