Car Insurance for Women Information

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The Truth About best car coverage rates We all know that many people are not comfortable with car coverage, but it is a mandatory fact in most of the states. Those states in which it is not required there also people want to avoid the complications arises in a car accident.

The fact is here we are discussing is out to save most of your money while shopping for auto coverage. You can take certain steps in order to get the maximum coverage with the lowest possible rates while buying your auto policy. It will need some time to see the results.

Before purchasing your car policy you can calculate how much money you can sell out in the case of an accident. This money is called deductible and if you raise your deductible this will result in lower policy rates which will save you money. Your company will pay the price when damages during an accident on course higher than the deductible mentioned in the policy.

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Cheap Car Insurance Whatever Your Age

Sometimes we got some problem with age in on Car Insurance Issue , I hope this article below will answer our problem , and me actually very helpful with this.

It's a stereotypical image of a 40-year-old man to turn to a super-fast sports car to help soften the blow of a rapidly disappearing youth - the problem is this will normally mean higher car insurance premiums too. car insurance quote cheap car insurance online car insurance car insurance rate car insurance New research from a car insurance comparison website has delved into the nation's driving habits - examining the cars that are most popular among certain age groups. According to the survey, a Porsche is the 'mid-life crisis car' of choice - its average owner is typically 39 years old. However, the survey also highlighted that not all of us feel the need to splash the cash on our motoring when we hit middle age - Nissans, Hondas and Toyotas, generally perceived as safe and reliable cars, are most widely owned by drivers in their late 30s. So how does this affect our car insurance premiums? Well there's a lot to be said for avoiding the fast and flashy. Insurers look into the perceived purpose of a vehicle and if you're likely to be racing up the highway, your car insurance premiums will be higher as a result. A safer, more reliable car may not turn heads but it will leave you with more money in your pocket. Contrary to popular belief however, green cars are not necessarily an insurance solution. The Toyota Prius - the world's most popular hybrid car - is most regularly driven by 50-year-olds. However, car insurance premiums for this vehicle can remain high as hybrid cars are comparatively new to the market and have heightened repair costs. So if you want to make car insurance savings, the message is keep it small, and keep it conventional. car insurance quote cheap car insurance online car insurance car insurance rate car insurance.

Taken from : http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alex_Gregory

OpenOffice.org (Windows) 2.4.1

OpenOffice.org is both an open-source product and a project. The product is a multiplatform office productivity suite. It includes desktop applications such as a word processor, a spreadsheet program, a presentation manager, and a drawing program, with a user interface and feature set similar to those of other office suites. OpenOffice.org also works transparently with a variety of file formats, including those of Microsoft Office. Localizations of OpenOffice.org are available in 27 languages, with more being constantly added by the community. OpenOffice.org runs on Solaris, Linux (including PPC Linux), and Windows. Written in C++ and with documented APIs licensed under the LGPL and SISSL open-source protocols, OpenOffice.org allows any knowledgeable developer to benefit from the source.

A credible rival to MS Office, OpenOffice.org includes powerful applications for making text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, diagrams, and databases, as well as HTML and XML documents. Not only does it let you edit basic documents, such as letters and faxes, it also handles equations and complex and multipart documents with bibliographies, reference tables, and indexes.

The interface is similar to that of MS Office, and even advanced Office users will find almost everything they're used to: templates, collaborative features (versions, recording changes), macros, and even a programming language. OOo, as it's known, lets you open and save documents in formats as diverse as MS Office formats, PDF, HTML, and XML. It can also import files from those formats, as well as WordPerfect and others. However, it normally saves files in the open-standard Oasis OpenDocument XML format, for maximum compatibility with other applications.

The latest versions of OpenOffice have seen a spurt of growth in the extensions available for the program. These include templates for professional writers, an export tool for bidirectional functionality with Google Docs, blog publishing, and others. Blog publishing assistance especially strikes us as a natural area for word processing to grow toward.

Microsoft Office 2007

The 2007 Microsoft Office system has evolved from a suite of personal productivity products to a more comprehensive and integrated system. Building on the familiar tools that many people already know, the Microsoft Office system includes programs, servers, services, and solutions designed to work together to help address a broad array of business problems.

At the core of the Microsoft Office system are the Microsoft Office suites, which deliver the core desktop productivity tools. New features in these programs enhance how employees can work with one another, partners, and customers, and how organizations capture and use information. In addition to the core desktop editions, the 2007 release includes new programs, servers, and services that build on the productivity software skills your employees already possess. Used together, the Microsoft Office system can help you address business needs ranging from personal productivity management to complex project management.

The ambitious, ground-up rebuild of Microsoft Office Standard 2007 presents drastically different interfaces and new file formats. The new Office looks so unlike its predecessors, it's likely to spark intense love-hate responses from users. This upgrade isn't for everyone: If you're patient, eager to try the latest tools, and willing to relearn most of what you already know about Office, then you may relish the challenge.

Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 can produce more polished documents and presentations, and Outlook's new scheduling abilities make it a handier communications hub. Professionals who want to impress clients and co-workers with attractive reports, charts, and slide shows will find this a worthy upgrade.

It offers complex features that you can't yet find elsewhere, but also falls short in key areas. Inter-application integration isn't as thorough as we'd hoped, and there's no one-click way to collaborate with others on an edit without buying more software. Despite its bevy of Windows Live and Office Live services, Microsoft chose not to build a bridge to the Web for all Office users. A growing number of competing tools are simpler, cost less or are free, and handle the same core features.

(Direct Guide) Students Loan Consolidation

Sometimes students loans makes you feel crazy. Why it have to ? You take the loan for your future, your bright future…Make it Easy and Start to ejoy it with few tips here :

THINGS BEFORE YOU DECIDE CONSOLIDATION !!!

Here are things to consider when deciding whether consolidation is right for you:

• THE INTEREST RATES OF EACH LOAN THAT YOU WANT TO CONSOLIDATE

  • The interest rate for a Direct Consolidation Loan is based on the weighted average of the interest rates of the loans that you consolidate. It is fixed for the life of the loan and cannot exceed 8.25 percent. If a Direct Consolidation Loan would offer a lower rate than your current loans, you may want to consolidate.

• HOW MUCH YOU CAN AFFORD TO PAY EACH MONTH

  • If you are having trouble meeting your monthly payments, have exhausted your deferment and forbearance options, and want to avoid default, consolidation may be right for you. If you consolidate, you may reduce your monthly payment amount by extending your repayment period.

• HOW MUCH YOU’RE WILLING TO PAY OVER THE LONG TERM

  • If you extend your repayment period through consolidation, the total amount you pay over the life of your loan will be higher.

• HOW MANY PAYMENTS YOU HAVE LEFT ON YOUR LOANS

  • If you are close to paying off your student loans, it may not be worthwhile to consolidate.

• WHAT YOUR CURRENT LENDERS OFFER

  • Check with the lenders who currently hold your loans to determine whether they can offer terms and repayment plans that meet your needs better than a Direct Consolidation Loan.

Tired of not knowing who holds your loans, how much you owe or who to call for help? Do you want to save time and money?

The Answer May Be A Direct Consolidation Loan

A Direct Consolidation Loan allows you to combine one or more of your federal education loans into a new loan that offers several advantages.

• NO MINIMUM OR MAXIMUM LOAN AMOUNTS OR FEES

  • Direct Consolidation Loans do not exclude anyone based on the size of their loan debt! In addition, consolidation is FREE.

• ONE LENDER AND ONE MONTHLY PAYMENT

  • With only one lender to deal with and one monthly bill, you will find it easier than ever to manage your debt. The Department of Education is the lender and this will never change.

• FLEXIBLE REPAYMENT OPTIONS

  • Direct Consolidation Loans provide four convenient and hassle-free ways to repay your loans, including an income-contingent repayment plan. The repayment plans are designed to meet the different and changing needs of borrowers. With a Direct Consolidation Loan, you can change your repayment plan, in most cases, at any time.

• LOWER INTEREST RATE

  • If you consolidate while in school or during your grace period you may receive a lower interest rate. This saves you money! In-school consolidations are only offered with a Direct Consolidation Loan.

• GRACE PERIOD

  • If you qualify for a consolidation loan while you are in school, you may receive a 6-month grace period before repayment begins.

• A SECOND CHANCE FOR BORROWERS IN DEFAULT

  • You can consolidate your defaulted loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan. Although consolidation will not remove the default from your credit report, consolidation will limit further collection costs, reinstate your Title IV eligibility and help you rebuild your credit rating.

WHAT IS THE INTEREST RATE?

The interest rate for a Direct Consolidation Loan is the weighted average of the interest rates on the loans being consolidated, rounded to the nearest higher one-eighth of one percent. The rate is fixed for the life of the loan and cannot exceed 8.25 percent.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?

BORROWERS OUT OF SCHOOL
Borrowers who have loans in repayment or in the grace period who:

• Have at least one Direct Loan or

• Do not have a Direct Loan, but have at least one FFEL Program loan and are unable to obtain a Federal Consolidation Loan from a FFEL Program lender, or

• Do not have a Direct Loan, but have at least one FFEL Program loan and are unable to obtain a Federal Consolidation Loan from a FFEL Program lender with acceptable income-sensitive repayment terms.

BORROWERS IN SCHOOL

If your loans have not yet entered the grace period or repayment period, you are eligible for a Direct Consolidation Loan if you:

• Consolidate at least one Direct Loan or FFEL Program loan that has never been in repayment, or

• Do not have a Direct Loan, but attend a Direct Loan school and consolidate at least one FFEL Program loan that has never been in repayment.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9.0 Professional

ScanSoft announced a merger with Nuance Communications, a company focused on providing various technologies to customer call centers. And now, more than a year later, the combination has unveiled version 9 of the famous speech-recognition product—an app that's even more powerful than its predecessor.

Nuance calls Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 "the first desktop speech-recognition solution to truly remove the time needed to train the software and still deliver results." That's not far from the truth. I tested Dragon 9 with training and without, and the difference was minimal. With training, it was 95 percent accurate or more. Without, it was at least 90 percent accurate. And correcting the mistakes the app does make is a breeze.

The other cool thing is that Dragon 9 automatically integrates with all sorts of popular Windows applications, including all Microsoft Office apps, Microsoft Outlook, Internet Explorer, Corel WordPerfect, Mozilla's Firefox browser, and more. Open the floating DragonBar, open Microsoft Word, and you're ready to dictate.

Make no mistake, however: Dragon 9 is far from flawless. It can put a serious drain on older systems. In fact, my biggest complaint is that the app often slowed my machine to a crawl—even though the 1.2-GHz Pentium M processor and 512MB of memory slightly exceeded Dragon 9's minimum requirements.

Also, high accuracy rate may not kick in until you spend at least some time getting used to the product. Dictation is definitely a skill, and if you've never done it before, you may find it a bit tougher at first than you had expected. But if you've used speech recognition in the past, you'll need only a few minutes to install the app and get down to hard-core dictation. And if you want better accuracy, training doesn't take long. You can run through the whole process in less than an hour.

I installed the product in about 10 minutes and then went through the entire training process. This involves a volume test, a test of the PC's sound system, and then about 15 minutes of dictation. To me, this was actually enjoyable. For 15 minutes, I had an excuse to read Lewis Carroll out loud. Once that was done, I let Dragon 9 scan my e-mail messages and Word documents to learn my particular vocabulary. This took an extra half hour. I've got quite a few Word documents.

The app then offers an incredibly slick set of video tutorials that walk you through almost every aspect of the product. And as you learn about each feature, these tutorials make it easy to try them out on the DragonPad, the app's bundled word processor. If you're a beginner, I highly recommend going through each tutorial. It'll take only another 15 to 20 minutes to finish them all.

eCipher Pro

Public-key infrastructure (PKI) cryptography has been around for more than 30 years, but only recently have consumers gotten its benefits. PGP Desktop brought PKI within reach of Joe User. SecureZIP 12.1 automated the somewhat arcane process of obtaining a digital certificate and managing a public-key repository. Voltage Security Network (VSN) eliminated the digital certificate and key repository, instead generating keys from e-mail addresses using a proprietary algorithm. Can it get any simpler than that? Well, yes. Essential Security Software's eCipher Pro lets you send secure e-mail to any recipient without ever having to think about the sophisticated mechanisms that make it possible. The trouble is, eCipher's pricing seems out of line with that of the competition, even given this enviable simplicity.

Like SecureZIP and Voltage's SecureMail, eCipher integrates with Microsoft Outlook to make sending secure messages easy. A small toolbar added to the Compose window offers access to eCipher's options. Once you choose "Send Secure" a number of digital rights management options control just what the recipient can do with the received message. You can prevent copying to the clipboard, printing, saving, or forwarding the message, and you can request a delivery receipt. When you click the regular Send button, eCipher encrypts the message and sends it on its way. Simple!

I did note one little problem. In the several days I worked on this review, on many of the secure e-mail messages I sent, I checked the "Delivery Receipt" box, yet I never got a delivery receipt. Apparently the feature had a problem, because at the last minute, ESS pulled it. The facility will show up in the next version.

If you prefer an e-mail client other than Outlook, you'll have use for eCipher's rich-text message editor, invoked from the program's desktop toolbar. Here, too, you can check boxes to limit what the recipient can do with the message and to request a delivery receipt. The editor includes a spell-check option and lets you insert pictures. It does resize any pictures larger than 600 by 600 pixels, but you can always send a bigger picture as an attachment. Strangely, the familiar shortcuts Ctrl-B, Ctrl-I and Ctrl-U for bold, italic, and underline don't work; you have to invoke the full font-change dialog to apply these styles. While SecureMail can't encrypt a message that contains an embedded picture or includes Bcc'd recipients, eCipher has no such limitations.

By default, eCipher sends mail using your system's defaulte-mail client, whatever that may be. That isn't appropriate if your main e-mail goes through a Web-based account, so there's an option to configure eCipher for certain types of accounts such as Gmail, AOL, and Yahoo! Mail Plus. As long as your mail provider publishes the SMTP address and port number that third-party programs use for sending mail, eCipher can probably handle it. If you use a provider like MSN/Hotmail or Yahoo! Free that doesn't permit this kind of access, you'll have to configure eCipher to save each secure message as a file and then manually attach it to a message.

Apple OS X 10.5.3 (Leopard)

After seven months with Apple's Mac OS X Leopard Version 10.5, I have three main things to say about it. First: Despite minor problems, it's by far the best operating system ever written for the vast majority of consumers, with dozens of new features that have real practical value—like truly automated backups, document and spreadsheet preview images in folders, and notes and to-do lists integrated into the mail program. Propeller-heads with IT know-how will no doubt hold up Linux as the better choice, and even Vista SP1 has some devotees somewhere, but, for the average user, Leopard is the most polished and easiest to use OS I've tested. Second: Leopard started out with a generous share of first-version glitches, but almost all of them have now been resolved. Finally, Leopard is extravagantly overdressed for the jobs that it's designed to do, and its pervasive eye-candy starts out looking dazzling but soon becomes distracting. Fortunately, from the beginning, the OS started out with options that let you put it on a low-eye-sugar diet, and the latest update has even more.

The first is by far the most important one. I found Leopard to be startlingly fast, brilliantly streamlined, and packed with conveniences and innovations. Leopard's rich set of built-in software runs faster than I imagined possible. The rebuilt Finder (the OS X counterpart of Windows Explorer) displays thumbnail or full-size previews of most standard file types—not only graphics images, but also videos, PDF and Word documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more.

Furthermore, A new Quick Look feature let me page through documents without waiting for them to open in an application. Even better, Quick Look is built with an open architecture, so third-party plug-ins are cropping up to display formats such as ZIP archives that the Finder doesn't preview automatically. The Cover Flow feature in the Finder lets you flip through preview images of documents the same way iTunes flips through album-covers. I expected this feature to be sluggish, but it isn't. While you're browsing through previews, pressing on the spacebar opens a document in its own application.

The new Spaces feature finally offers a multiple-desktop interface that actually works without getting in my way. The feature looks like the multiple desktop feature that's been available either as an add-on or built-in with all modern operating systems, but it actually sets up multiple groups of application windows (each group is a "space") which jump in and out of the desktop when you choose a "space" from a toolbar icon or by pressing a hotkey—but the dock and background icons remain the same for all groups.

Bangkok Dangerous

Story

Mercifully held back from advance screenings for critics, the creators of Bangkok Dangerous should have gone one step further and kept it from general audiences as well. In this lame remake of their own 1999 thriller of the same name, Hong Kong directors The Pang Brothers lose something in the translation as they put Nicolas Cage in the center of the action. This time, Cage is an anonymous hitman who makes a beeline from a job in Prague to Thailand so he can to do in several enemies of evil crime chieftain, Surat (Nirattisai Kaljaruek). Along the way he enlists a local street kid, Kong (Shahkrit Yamnarm), to help out and soon finds himself teaching him the tricks of the trade. Romance also rears its ugly head when he falls for a deaf girl (Charlie Yeung), who only complicates matters for the killer when Surat takes matters a step further than our hero is anticipating.

Acting
Cage seems to have lost his mojo in recent years, which would be the only explanation as to why this fine Oscar-winning actor would subject himself repeatedly to the likes of dogs such as Next, Ghost Rider and The Wicker Man. Now with this pointless remake of Bangkok Dangerous, he’s hit rock bottom, sleepwalking through the role. Cage just doesn’t have a handle on how to play this guy or engage the audience in any way, which is a shame since the exotic locale and basic premise could have held promise. Instead, the star is forced into silly subplots, including a nonsensical romance with a pharmacist played with one expression by the lovely Yeung. It’s hard to imagine this relationship since the pair appear to have zero chemistry on screen, and you have to wonder how she would ever be attracted to a guy with particularly bad hair. Yamnarm is OK in the contrived street tough role, who is mentored by Cage’s assassin-for-hire. The rest of the cast, mostly local actors, plays it by the book.

Direction
It’s not hard to figure out why the successful Pang Brothers directing team would want to revisit their own films for the American market since remakes of their other movies like The Eye and particularly Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-winning The Departed (derived from the Pang’s Infernal Affairs) have been quite successful. Unfortunately, Bangkok just doesn’t work--a by-the-numbers retread that’s ill-conceived as an action vehicle for Cage. His assassin has been unwisely shoehorned into the lead role while in the original it was the deaf mute girl. Apparently, no one thought it would be wise to put Cage in that scenario but by making him a standard movie hitman, they have diluted what made their own original premise work in the first place. Making matters worse, the technical aspects of the film are, to be kind, weak. Decha Srimantra’s washed-out cinematography fails to make use of the colorful locations and the major fight/chase sequences are poorly shot and executed. For a pure action film, there is surprisingly little compelling action. As the film’s advertising tagline suggests, “It’s all in the execution”. In this case it’s the “execution” that’s sorely lacking.

Shazou 2.1

The product called Shazou (pronounced Shazoo it is Japanese for mapping) enables the user with one-click to map and geo-locate any Web site they are currently viewing. Shazou was developed as a tool to improve the awareness for people surfing the Internet about where and who they are interacting with every click of the mouse. Shazou will show you the details that you need to make better decisions about what sites you want to register or purchase products.

RoboForm 6.9.9

RoboForm makes logging into Web sites and filling forms faster, easier, and more secure. RoboForm memorizes and securely stores each user name and password the first time you log into a site, then automatically supplies them when you return. RoboForm's powerful Logins feature eliminates the manual steps of logging into any online account. With just one click RoboForm will navigate to a Web site, enter your username and password and click the submit button for you.

Completing long registration or checkout forms is also a breeze. Simply click on your RoboForm Identity and RoboForm fills-in the entire form for you. You no longer need to remember all your passwords. You remember one Master Password, and RoboForm remembers the rest. This allows you to use stronger passwords, making your online experience more secure. RoboForm uses strong AES encryption for complete data security. Version 6.9.9 adds support for Firefox 3.0.

You can reduce the time you spend filling out Web forms and logging onto subscription sites with RoboForm. The version 6 update improved usability significantly and replaced the old, clunky autofill window with a less-obtrusive toolbar. If you don't like the standard toolbar placement, you can run it at the bottom of the browser instead. That's the standard placement for Mozilla-based browsers. The program uses encryption algorithms such as Blowfish and AES to protect your data and includes a password generator. You can set up multiple identities with different credit-card numbers, passwords, and contact information. The trial limits the tab instances on each identity to three, but you can make plenty of identities.

Our favorite feature is Login, which with one click will go to a Web page, fill in a form, and submit your information. The program handles check boxes and radio buttons and supports about 20 languages. The new Search field in the toolbar makes finding and accessing any information quick, and we appreciate support for hot keys. Besides returning matching logins and other RoboForm entries, the search box will offer to search Google, Yahoo, and the Merriam-Webster Dictionary for your term. RoboForm will save active Web users a lot of time.

Google Chrome 0.2.149.29

Google Chrome is a browser that combines a minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the Web faster, safer, and easier. Use one box for everything--type in the address bar and get suggestions for both search and Web pages. Thumbnails of your top sites let you access your favorite pages instantly with lightning speed from any new tab. Desktop shortcuts allow you to launch your favorite Web apps straight from your desktop.

Chrome is Google's attempt to make the browser disappear and to focus on the applications and pages users are viewing, rather than on the border with its tools. Some of Chrome's basic underpinnings are quite novel, but people will recognize other features as they exist in other, open-source browsers on the market today.

Currently only for Windows, Chrome is blazingly fast and is easily the quickest browser available. Based on Webkit, the same open-source engine that powers Apple Safari and Google's Android mobile platform, Chrome's interface is a drastic departure from other browsers. Instead of the traditional toolbar, Chrome puts its tabs on top. Moreover, the tabs are detachable: "tabs" and "windows" are interchangeable here. Detached tabs can be dragged and dropped into the browser, and tabs can be rearranged at any time. By isolating each tab's processes, when one site crashes, the browser does not.

Within each tab are individual controls, such as forward and back buttons. The search box and the address bar have been fused into a hybrid "Omnibox." The Omnibox includes not only suggestions for URLs culled from your browser's history, it also includes search suggestions from your search engine, and remembers site-specific search engine results. There's also Application Shortcuts, a feature that allows you to create desktop icons for Web-only applications, such as Gmail or Calendar. The stealth mode, Incognito, lets you surf without the history recording cookies.

Chrome lacks plug-ins, and there's the potential for high memory usage given that each tab is its own process. If you're addicted to Web apps and a need for speed, though, Chrome just might be the shine your browsing experience has been looking for.

Camfrog Video Chat 5.1.129

Camfrog Video Chat allows you to join real streaming video chat rooms where you can hear, see, and chat with many people at a time. Instant message a user to get to know them before you Webcam chat, and add them to your contact list. This videoconferencing software also works behind most firewalls and routers. Camfrog Video Chat allows multi-user videoconferencing where you can join a room with up to 1000 users and just click a user name to begin seeing someone. Press the 'talk' button to talk to the entire room with audio. The video chat rooms are hosted by broadband users who are running the Camfrog Video Chat Room Server software so any user can set up their own multi-user video conference for other users to join. No Webcam is required to see people, but some rooms might not allow users without Webcams. Camfrog Video Chat is optimized for broadband users so it has fast video.

Version 5.1.129 fixes a problem where some one-on-one video chat connections could become disconnected under certain circumstances.

If you're sick of hopping from one chatware program to another, looking for the perfect mix of video, audio, and text socializing, CamFrog might be what you're looking for.

The chat rooms feature everything from music lessons to sign language to non-English chatting, and integrating video, audio, and text components are a great leap forward for chat communities since a Webcam is not a requirement. Be warned, though: There's also a slew of X-rated chat rooms--this is not a program that kids should use without supervision.

The interface should be familiar to anyone who has used any messaging software. You can create your own chat room and password-protect it, and the Contacts list has a section for favorite rooms and one-click contact adding, user searching, and profile management. New in Version 5 is high-resolution video support, interface tweaks, and the ability to send little "virtual gifts" to both friends and anonymous recipients that borders on the annoying.

Cautious users should note that the install includes several toolbars and a Weather Channel widget, which you can opt out of. Despite those drawbacks, if you're looking for a well-trafficked video chat program that serves a diverse community, CamFrog is cool place to land.

LimeWire 4.18

LimeWire is the world's fastest P2P file-sharing application for all types of computer files, including music, video, pictures, games, and text documents. Other features include dynamic querying, file previews during download, advanced techniques for locating rare files, and an easy, clean user interface.

LimeWire's new spam blocker gets rid of junk results, and automatic updates will keep you sharing faster than ever with the latest version. You can search for Creative Commons and Weedshare licensed files, and publish your own creative works with Creative Commons licensing. LimeWire continues its guarantee of no adware or spyware. Includes a built-in bittorent support. Version 4.18 may include unspecified updates, enhancements, or bug fixes.

From its start as a post-Napster clone to its leading role as the quintessential Gnutella client, LimeWire has been one of the highest-profile P2P applications. The 4.0 series further ups the ante with a combination of new features, an updated interface, and better all-around performance.

On the surface, the refined and zippier Java interface houses some snazzy new icons and a few new features, including a connection-quality meter and a button matrix for zeroing in on specific file types. The search interface now sports a progress bar, and file information--such as artist and album--is more clearly displayed. The improved network performance gave us considerably more search results than previous versions and a more reliable downloading experience (for a P2P client, that is). This latest version includes torrent support, and also feels more nimble despite its inherently resource-heavy Java-based foundation. We like the What's New feature, which lists files recently added to the network. The check box to filter out adult content also is a nice touch.

The new features and overall functionality make this by far the most mature version of LimeWire to date. Despite the typical performance flaws found in all file-sharing clients, this latest version continues to offer solid performance and good looks across the board.

The Incredible Hulk (New)

Story

Chronicled before in countless comic books, a ‘70s television series and, of course, Ang Lee’s critically lambasted 2003 big screen version, The Incredible Hulk remains one of Marvel’s treasured creations. The innate story revolves around scientist Dr. Bruce Banner, whose cells are poisoned by gamma radiation and who frequently unleashes his inner monster--the mean green machine known as the Hulk. Thankfully, this spruced-up version doesn’t waste a lot of time giving us the back story. Instead, it launches right into the problems at hand. Banner (Edward Norton), now forced to be apart from the love of his life Dr. Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) and living on the edges of society, is desperately looking for the antidote that will cure him of his unique rage. His immediate task, however, is avoiding the dogged pursuit of the U.S. military machine aiming--led by Betty’s father, General Ross (William Hurt)--to exploit his unique powers. This quest has led them all to the outskirts of Brazil, where Banner is on the loose. Ross employs the services of super-soldier Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) to do the deed, a job that leads to Blonsky’s own re-invention as The Abomination--and setting up the ultimate battle of battles when both are back in America.

Acting
Marvel Studios is on a roll when it comes to unique casting ideas this summer. First, they re-ignited 40-something Robert Downey Jr.’s career in an inspired idea to make him Iron Man--and now travel the unlikely route of putting Edward Norton, a fine actor not known for popcorn action fare, in the Bruce Banner part. Norton brings an urgency, wit and intelligence to the role that was sorely missing when Eric Bana took it on in Lee’s version. We really understand the anger raging within, and Banner’s determined desire to get rid of it. Just as in classic movie monsters like King Kong, there is great empathy for the monster that is unleashed in the form of the Hulk . Much of that is do to Norton’s smart take and dedication (he’s an uncredited co-writer) in creating this incarnation of Banner. He owns this role now. Whatever reported conflicts happened in production, the final results are worth it. Tyler’s Betty Ross is nicely played and full of the appropriate passion, while Tim Blake Nelson has some hilarious super-hyper moments as the scientist who may hold the key to Banner’s salvation. Hurt is properly authoritative and evil as the General out for Banner’s power. And finally Roth, scrappy and fierce as Norton’s main nemesis and his perfect match.

Direction
Young French director Louis Leterrier (Transporter 2) proves the perfect choice to finally make Hulk work on screen. His fast-paced, take-no-prisoners filmmaking style--mixed with his professed love of all things Hulk when he was growing up as a kid in Paris--have paid off handsomely. He clearly has a vision and moves this thing along like a freight train, almost a non-stop chase in the same spirit that powered last summer’s supreme sequel The Bourne Ultimatum. Not shackled with Ang Lee’s problems in creating a credible monster, Leterrier is the beneficiary of strong advances in CGI and the Hulk and Abomination are both state-of-the-art iconic visual effects. The ultimate “Godzilla vs Mothra”-style battle at the end is flawlessly pulled off and a marvel to watch (pun intended). Leterrier has achieved some of the best action sequences ever, but not at a human cost, which is really remarkable in a summer comic book blockbuster like this. At the center are recognizable people we can root for--and against--right up to the end of the breezy 104-minute running time when an unexpected cameo in the form of another comic book superstar makes a surprise appearance.

Hancock

Story

Hancock must have sounded great--at least on paper. Hancock (Smith) is the anti-superhero, a crime fighter with a bad attitude in contemporary Los Angeles who drinks way too much, dresses like skid row and doesn’t give a hoot what anyone thinks about him. Of course, since he can fly like Superman, stop a speeding train with his fist and take care of just about any badass gang member with his little finger, he is invaluable to the police. But the public hates him--so into his life comes PR wizard Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman), who is determined to remake Hancock into the image of a hero the city can embrace, including getting a spandex outfit. When Hancock comes over to Embrey’s house, his wife Mary (Charlize Theron) gets an immediate bad vibe about the guy. There’s good reason and therein lies the film’s big twist, which comes at the half-way point of the very tight 92-minute running time. To say much else about where the plot goes would put us in spoiler hell and for a movie so reliant on the sudden turn it takes you’ll just have to figure it out yourself.

Acting
They call the 4th of July “Big Willie Weekend” because Smith has been responsible for opening so many blockbusters during this time frame, including Independence Day, Bad Boys, Men In Black, among others. The movie-going public obviously loves him (so do we) and he’s coming off two strong recent performances in I Am Legend and The Pursuit of Happyness. On the surface, the role of Hancock--a complicated, reluctant superhero who is all ’tude-- fits right in with the rest of the resume, but despite the star’s best efforts Hancock comes off a little too contrived and affected. Will’s charisma is going to have to work overtime for eager audiences to completely buy this character. An abrupt tonal shift halfway through presents a strong challenge to Theron, who suddenly isn’t who she appears to be at first. Credit must go to this fine actress for making the awkward transition Mary Embrey seamless. And thank God for Jason Bateman, whose innate charm and ability to play comedy makes Ray, a guy in a REAL quandary--the most likeable of all the main stars as he is caught in a Twilight Zone of superhero antics.

Direction
Actor-turned-director Peter Berg (The Kingdom, Friday Night Lights) is all flash and style with Hancock. He moves his shaky camera right up into the stars faces and back again, awkwardly shifting the tone from comedy to maudlin drama and trying to ramp up a story that just doesn’t make a whole lot of narrative sense. Films about comic-book superheroes are a dime a dozen in the summer months, and audiences have shown they can easily suspend disbelief if they have a protagonist to root for. Berg’s failure here is to present Will Smith in such a way that we don’t care. The movie is full of botched opportunities, with the whole arc collapsing as the thin screenplay recklessly takes off in unexpected directions--including a ridiculous scene in which Hancock goes to prison (for no good reason) that gives new meaning to the term “butting heads.” Not only do sequences like this seriously challenge the viability of the film’s PG-13 rating, they test our patience for all its worth. Even though there are some nice special effects and its faults do not lie in our stars (we still love you, Will), Hancock does not set off the kind of fireworks you may have been expecting this Big Willie Weekend.

Get Smart

Story

Based on the iconic 1960s television series, created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, the new 2008 big-screen incarnation of the show smartly goes its own way, faithful in spirit, but charting a new course for Maxwell Smart and company. With Steve Carell in the lead, this Max is a likeable, reliable paper-pushing analyst for spy agency CONTROL, who dreams of one day of becoming a top agent out in the field himself. When CONTROL headquarters is attacked and nearly all the other agents identities are compromised, he gets his chance. The Chief (Alan Arkin) has no choice but to bench his number one, Agent 23 (Dwayne Johnson), in favor of Max, now Agent 86. Max teams up with Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway)--a far more competent and experienced agent--in order to thwart the terrorist plans of KAOS, lead by Siegfried (Terence Stamp) and his right-hand man Shtarker (Ken Davitian). This Get Smart is a full-out action-comedy with the emphasis on action. The actors make all the derring-do and wild on-screen antics totally believable.

Acting
There is no question that Don Adams and Maxwell Smart are interchangeable. It’s almost impossible to imagine another actor in the role, which is why Steve Carell has made all the right choices, choosing to take his Max in a different direction. This is no imitation at all, but a fully fleshed out bumbling guy with dreams of his own. Carell is very funny trying to deal with gadgets out of his, er, control--using code language, getting his signals mixed up and trying to be a decent partner for the much smarter 99. Hathaway gets to act tough for the first time in her career and makes this 99 a bright woman who is obviously light years ahead of all her male colleagues. Both stars skillfully handle the considerable physical humor required here. After scoring in his surprise family hit The Game Plan, Dwayne Johnson continues to show his comic timing as the superstar agent who is grounded against his will. Stamp and Borat’s sidekick Davitian are amusing caricatures but stuck with rather one-dimensional, over-the-top villain roles. Arkin is perfectly cast as the beleaguered Chief, while James Caan as the U.S. President has little to do but does it well. Bill Murray’s cameo in a tree trunk just lays there.

Direction
Director Peter Segal’s experience working with comedians like Adam Sandler and Eddie Murphy clearly pays off here, as he guides Steve Carell to one of his best screen performances against daunting odds. People always have built-in expectations for pre-sold properties like a Get Smart, but Segal wisely uses the source material to make it work for two kinds of audiences: those who loved the TV series and those who have never heard of it. Key to the success of this adaptation is taking the characters and placing them in big action set pieces. What was an amusing weekly sitcom is now suddenly competing favorably with summer blockbusters, delivering stunt-filled sequence after stunt-filled sequence. In fact, there is almost too much action, but fortunately Carell and company know how to bring it down to earth at just the right moments. The screenplay by Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember catches the flavor of the old TV series, retaining much of what we loved--including Smart’s famous catch-phrases (“Missed it by THAT much!)--but craftily updating it for today’s more sophisticated movie-goers. They got the blessing of the show’s famous creators Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, who served as consultants. That can only be a good thing.

Batman : The Dark Knight

Story

After re-invigorating the Batman movie franchise by taking him back to his beginnings three years ago, director Christopher Nolan again tweaks the superhero movie genre and turns it on its ear with this riveting and brilliantly executed sequel. You could safely say this is The Godfather II of comic-book movies because at its dark heart it really plays like a crime movie, more L.A. Confidential than Iron Man. Joining a triumvirate to eviscerate crime in Gotham City, Batman (Christian Bale) teams with Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and crusading D.A. Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) to triumph over evil. But as a true anarchist, The Joker (Heath Ledger) is unleashed by the mob and determined to cause holy bat terror for no apparent reason other than his own enjoyment. Right from the beginning, Batman and his colleagues realize they are not dealing with any rational criminal and must use all their ingenuity to combat him. The film explores the extreme damage one determined person can have on an entire society, an apt analogy to the real world where local terrorists can create havoc beyond human belief. Things also get complicated when a love triangle develops between Batman’s alter-ego Bruce Wayne, Harvey Dent (who truly has a dark side ) and Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal).

Acting
Bale is back in a role that fits him like a glove--the perfect Batman and suave Bruce Wayne. Fans can also take comfort that Morgan Freeman, as scientist Lucius, and Michael Caine, as loyal butler Alfred, are both back along with Oldman whose role as Lt. Gordon has been considerably beefed up for the better. Eckhart’s complex turn as Dent is the most intriguing of all, as his eventual predicament sums up the film’s most salient point: There is a fine line between justice and revenge. Gyllenhaal does what she can to ratchet up Rachel (a role played originally by Katie Holmes)--Bruce Wayne’s true love, now romantically involved with Dent. But as good as this cast is--and it doesn’t get much better in the genre--The Dark Knight is Ledger’s film, a fitting finale for an all-too-short but enormously impressive career. The late actor took on the daunting task of filling Jack Nicholson’s shoes but makes his Joker one of the most memorable of all previous Batman baddies (and that includes Jack’s). It’s a fearless performance, bitingly alive and ironic--a clown on crack, as it were. This a movie villain that might even scare Hannibal Lecter. Ledger’s posthumous performance may be headed toward the bittersweet moment of a certain supporting Oscar nomination, if not the award itself.

Direction
Perhaps it’s the fact that Christopher Nolan got his feet wet directing small gems like Memento that The Dark Knight feels so intimate in its theme--even though the film itself is played on such a large scale. Nolan has created a dark, creepy Gotham City where anarchy reigns, justice is confused and the criminals and the crime fighters are seemingly interchangeable at times. Nolan’s boldest move has been to film six major action sequences in the IMAX format, giving this sequel a scope that few other movies out there have. He has also jettisoned the tired overuse of CGI trickery for good old-fashioned stunts--including a spectacular sequence in which a giant Big Rig is flipped, as well as numerous high-flying chases from Gotham to Hong Kong. There is also the addition of a new mode of transportation for Batman--the Batpod, a heavily armored two-wheeled all-purpose driving machine that makes the Batmobile look like a Honda. Ultimately though, Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with brother Jonathan Nolan, has more on his mind than mere gadgets and movie mayhem. The Dark Knight’s true power comes in the way this darkest of knights puts a mirror up to society and shows us we are all potentially on the eve of destruction--unless we summon the elusive will to stop it.