Software you can use

You could write a book on all the different software programs out there that can be of use to the athletic trainer.  I am just going to cover a few that I use on a routine basis.

The first is PDFcreator. It is an open source program, which means it is a program that usually has been collaboratively developed and released to the public free of charge for use and personal modification.  If you do not have Adobe Acrobat, (not the reader version which is free) to turn any file into a pdf you can install PDFcreator and it will show up as another selection in your printer list.  Print the file to PDFcreator and you have your pdf file.  You can also combine different pdf files into one file.

A utility that I find indispensable is CCleaner.   CCleaner use to be called Crap Cleaner until they changed the name. A quote from the CCleaner website explains the software.

"CCleaner is our system optimization, privacy and cleaning tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Windows to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. Additionally it contains a fully featured registry cleaner."

The files that it removes are not integral to your computers working.  More than likely it will speed up your computer.  When you surf the web a lot you will accumulate all kinds tracking cookies.  These cookies communicate back to their source bits of information.  If you have enough of them your computer slows down as the amount of communication increase. It also empties your temporary internet files.  If you surf a lot this can up to gigabytes of data.

The ability to remotely log into you computer remotely from another computer is a godsend. I have two offices at my school and thereby two computers.  I also have one at home along with a laptop. Windows has a program called remote desktop connection. It can be found under Program -- Accessories -- Remote Desktop Connection.  With this program I have the ability to log onto any of my computers as long as they are turned on and have an internet connection.  I can continue to work on a project that I started on one of my office computers or email myself a file.  You can use this program from any Windows computer as long as you know the remote IP address of the computer you want to remote on to.  You may need to get your ITech people to help you set this up. There are limitations to this program, see this microsoft link. You can find your computers IP address by simply going to the website "whatismyipaddress".

If that does not work for you then try Team Viewer. This is another remote access program that is free to use as long as it is not used for commercial use.  This program allows you to do much more.  You can transfer files back forth between computers, do voice and video over the internet, and even do a remote reboot and be able to log back on.  I do not use this for work but do use it to remote into my parents computer and while talking with them over the phone correct any issues they may be having.  Both computers must have the software installed and the remote computer must be on and connected to the internet.

The last program I will speak about is YouTube Downloader. This program allows you to download You Tube videos and many other video sites by pasting the URL into the programs download box.  It will automatically download the video into a .flv (flash video file) The program then gives you the option of converting that file into a number of different video formats.  These include MOV, WMV, AVI and MPEG-4.  You can also convert just the soundtrack to a .MP3 file. This is great if you are looking for videos for a PowerPoint.  You can also use the converter by itself to convert videos you already have to another format.