Microsoft Corporation is preparing to roll out Windows Vista in January 2007. Among many new improvements, users will discover an opportunity to apply the transparency effect to windows and desktop elements. However this feature is already present in Windows 2000/XP/2003 and can be made use of with the help of Actual Transparent Window 4.1!

Siberia, Russia -- (ReleaseWire) -- 09/05/2006 -- ACTUAL TOOLS today announces the release of version 4.1 of Actual Transparent Window, a low cost system add-on that delivers the transparency effect to Windows OS. Once installed, the program enables users to apply various see-through effects to windows and desktop elements like the taskbar or the "Start" menu. When a user clicks on a button located on the window's titlebar, the window becomes semi-transparent. It returns to full opacity and normal behavior with another click on the same button. The rate of transparency varies from 0% (transparent) to 100% (opaque) and can be set for each application window individually.

Why Use Transparency?
The transparency effect delivers style and added functionality to the Windows desktop. When you apply the see-through effect to Winamp or Windows Media Player, it looks much more incredible and stylish than without it. In addition to the aesthetic value, transparency can help you overcome the problem of partial blocking or complete window covering when your computer screen is too small or there are too many windows on the desktop. Semi-transparent windows or desktop elements do not obscure view and allow you to overlay windows. You can stack up windows one on the other and use the transparency to compare their content like diagrams, photos, images or make "carbon copies" of documents. For example, you can be typing text in Microsoft Word, while reading the relevant information in the Adobe Reader window beneath.

Version 4.1 of Actual Transparency Window delivers unique opportunities to handle the transparency level for windows. You can configure individual transparency settings for different states of a window (e.g. when it is opened, inactive, being dragged or resized or when a mouse cursor is floating over it) and different actions (e.g. a click on a titlebar button, a double-click on a titlebar, etc). The program also offers the "Ghost Window" mode. As the name implies, it can ghost a window so that it becomes "transparent" to mouse clicks (the clicks pass through to whatever is underneath). However a ghosted window continues to respond to keystrokes. A combination of transparency and ghost effects is ideal for monitoring windows, contact-lists in messengers, such as ICQ, MSN, AIM, and Yahoo. You can make them be always on top and be able to see what happens behind them.

The transparency effect is one of the many improvements in much-anticipated Windows Vista, which is scheduled for release in 2007. However this effect is already present in your current OS (Windows 2000/XP/2003) and can be brought to life with Actual Transparent Window. This software was recommended as a low cost add-on that delivers Vista's transparency feature by Scott Dunn in the article "Why Wait for Vista?" in PC World Magazine. So, those users who want to have a more stylish and productive Windows environment today, are invited to www.ActualTools.com to download a free evaluation copy of Actual Transparent Window.

For more information visit: http://www.actualtools.com/transparentwindow/

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation -- (ReleaseWire) -- 08/04/2006 -- Actual Tools, the leading innovator in desktop enhancement technologies, announces the release of version 4.1 of Actual Window Manager. New to this version is a full support for multiple monitors taking part in displaying Windows desktop.

Beginning with Windows 98, the popular OS has a support for multiple monitors. Sitting on a desk side by side or one on top of the other, monitors can be connected via several video cards or one card with several outlets. When the physical configuration of the monitors is set up, the OS allows users to stretch their desktop over several monitors and use it as you would on a bigger screen. You can move shortcuts and windows smoothly between the screens even though monitors may have different resolutions and color depths.

Version 4.1 of Actual Window Manager is unique thanks to its full support for multiple monitors, which are used to display a Windows desktop. After installation, the software allows users to select a monitor to display a particular window at its startup or move a window between the screens on the fly. Instead of dragging it from one place to another manually, users can do it with only one mouse click on the appropriate icon on the window's title bar. The precious addition to this is the ability to adjust window size in according to the target monitor's resolution so the window will always be visible in whole.

In developing the multi-monitor support, engineers have expanded the list options that define the size of a window. Users can now specify the size of a window in percents from the current monitor (the one that currently displays a window) or from the entire virtual desktop. What's more, the program automatically positions a window with regard to a current monitor when the "Align window" option is used. There has been added an ability to quickly stretch a window over the desktop by right-clicking on any place on a window. A right-click on the standard Maximize titlebar button stretches a window over the entire virtual screen.

If you would like to know more about the multi-monitor support in version 4.1 of Actual Window Manager, you can read the article "How Can Actual Window Manager Help Multi-monitor Users?" which is located at http://www.ActualTools.com/articles/detail.php?ID=1103. You can also download an evaluation copy of AWM and see the advantages of the new version on your own. The download link is http://www.ActualTools.com/files/aimsetup.exe.

About Actual Tools
Actual Tools is a technology company that specializes in desktop enhancement applications for the Windows OS. The company was founded in 2001 by software engineer Michael Tretyakov. Providing innovative solutions and services, Actual Tools helps people, both home and corporate users, innovate and increase their computational efficiency. Actual Tools is the author of such top sellers as Actual Title Buttons, Actual Transparent Window, Actual Window Guard, Actual Window Menu, Actual Window Minimizer, and Actual Window Rollup. For more information about the company and its products, visit http://www.ActualTools.com/.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Please, let us know if you have questions or would like any additional information about Actual Window Manager 4.1. Contact Alexey Fadeyev at press@ActualTools.com.

Product page: http://www.ActualTools.com/windowmanager/
Download link: http://www.ActualTools.com/files/aimsetup.exe
E-mail: press@ActualTools.com
Web: http://www.ActualTools.com
Press: http://www.ActualTools.com/press/

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

An add-on for Microsoft Windows enables users to modify the priority for processes and tasks on the fly with only one click, allowing you to increase system performance and avoid crashes

Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation -- (ReleaseWire) -- 06/29/2006 -- Multitasking in Windows is a great technology that enables users to run more than one program at a time while having only one CPU. However it may also be a weakness. Too many running processes and tasks often reduce the processing power of your computer by consuming large amounts of CPU resources. Performance degrades to the point where your computer becomes extremely sluggish. So, what do we do? We raise and lower the process priority.

Changing the priority level allows you control how CPU resources are used. Windows provides six different priority levels, such as Low, Below Normal, Normal, Above Normal, High and Real-Time. By increasing the priorities for important programs and decreasing priorities for less important ones, users can make sure that the important process gets instant access to the CPU. This means it will be able to consume 100% of the CPU without being interrupted by less important processes, which leads to increased and more stable performance of an application.

Actual Window Manager is a Windows add-on that lets you tackle the too-many-applications-running problem with ease. After installation, it allows you to modify the priority of any application on the fly. Simply click on the Priority icon located on the titlebar of its window and select the required priority from the drop-down menu. You can do the same from the window menu. Priority can also be modified automatically in response to different events like an application launch, when a window is inactive or when it is minimized to the taskbar.

Let's say, for example, you need to make a backup copy of a DVD disk containing the life-critical data. DVD copying, as you know, is a very resource-intensive task that can make the computer sluggish. You launch a DVD converter like CloneDVD, click on the Priority icon on its titlebar and set the priority level as High. Now, the converter will get enough CPU resources to execute the task without any interruption or system failures. Besides, all other tasks will also be running in the background but will not cause any problems. Changing priority with Actual Window Manager turns into a one-click affair.

If you would like to know more about how to optimize your system performance without buying expensive hardware, you can read the article "How to make your computer work faster", which is located at http://www.ActualTools.com/articles/detail.php?ID=1096. Also, you can download an evaluation copy of Actual Window Manager and try changing the priority on your own. The download link is http://www.ActualTools.com/files/aimsetup.exe.

About Actual Tools
Actual Tools is a technology company that specializes in desktop enhancement applications for the Windows OS. The company was founded in 2001 by software engineer Michael Tretyakov. Providing innovative solutions and services, Actual Tools helps people, both home and corporate users, innovate and increase their computational efficiency. Actual Tools is the author of such top sellers as Actual Title Buttons, Actual Transparent Window, Actual Window Guard, Actual Window Menu, Actual Window Minimizer, and Actual Window Rollup. For more information about the company and its products, visit http://www.ActualTools.com.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

New Actual Window Manager has a coupled Stay-on-Top and Rollup feature, ability to change priority status dynamically and unroll a window automatically when it becomes active

Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation -- (ReleaseWire) -- 06/06/2006 -- Actual Tools, a leading innovator in system enhancements technologies, has announced the release of Actual Window Manager 4.0, a suite of 40 tools to organize the desktop for convenient computing. The new version comes as a response to the requests and suggestions from Tablet PC owners who use Actual Window Manager as a productivity tool on their handheld computers. Many of them were inspired to adopt this software after it had been examined and recommended by Jeff Van West in his article "Actual Window Manager is Must-Have Software on a Tablet PC." Mr. West is the author of Tablet PC Quick Reference by Microsoft Press and a regular columnist on the Microsoft Expert Zone website.

Tablet PC owners know its pocket size is a real godsend especially if you often find yourself on the road and need a computer close at hand. However its small size often turns into its weakness when you have to multitask with more than one window at a time. Its small screen is not particularly good for it. Fortunately, you can use Actual Window Manager to overcome this weakness. Upon this tool's installation, you will gain an ability to handle windows in new ways - pin them on top of other windows, roll them up like blinds so that only the title bar is shown and make them semi-transparent. These new options are very good when you need to drag and drop data from one window to another, or need a quick peek at the window below the pinned one.

What's New in Version 4.0?
New options in Actual Window Manager 4.0 are aimed at making the use of Tablet PC even more effective and convenient for its owners. Now, the Rollup and Stay-on-Top controls are coupled together and applied to a window with a single tap. Rolled and pinned window doesn't get in the way, yet remains always at hand. Another good feature in version 4.0 is an ability to unroll a window automatically when it becomes active. This means you can start working with it immediately. A small screen size is not the only feature where Tablet PC fails to deliver. Compared to desktop computers, it has a low processing power. Therefore its owners will be pleased to be able to change the priority level for an application dynamically, giving more system resources and power to those applications which you are currently working with. Additionally, the engineers have optimized and increased the performance of Actual Window Manager itself.

Read more details about version 4.0 at http://www.ActualTools.com/windowmanager/
Read the article by Jeff Van West at http://www.ActualTools.com/reviews/detail.php?ID=934

Pricing and Availability
Actual Window Manager 4.0 runs under all Windows platforms and costs $39.95 (USD) for a single-user license. Discounts for volume buyers are available (please refer to http://www.ActualTools.com/windowmanager/order/). Registered customers are entitled to the unlimited functionality, free updates and lifetime technical support. Additional information on Actual Window Manager, a collection of tutorial articles and success stories, as well as a 60-day evaluation copy is available from http://www.ActualTools.com/.

About Actual Tools
Actual Tools is a technology company that specializes in desktop enhancement applications for the Windows OS family. The company was founded in 2001 by software engineer Michael Tretyakov. Providing innovative solutions and services, Actual Tools helps people, both home and corporate users, innovate and increase their computational efficiency. Actual Tools is the author of such top sellers as Actual Title Buttons, Actual Transparent Window, Actual Window Guard, Actual Window Menu, Actual Window Minimizer, and Actual Window Rollup. For more information about the company and its products visit http://www.ActualTools.com/.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Please, let us know if you have questions or would like any additional information about Actual Window Manager 4.0 for Tablet PC. Contact Alexey Fadeyev at press@actualtools.com to get more information. A registration key is available upon request to all editors considering a review.

Product page: http://www.ActualTools.com/windowmanager/
Direct download link: http://www.ActualTools.com/files/aimsetup.exe
E-mail: press@actualtools.com
Company website: http://www.ActualTools.com/
Press center: http://www.ActualTools.com/press/

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm