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Belarc Advisor - Inventory your PC hardware and software SecureIt Pro - Lock your desktop Virtual Drive 2000 - Access CD-ROMs without the CDs Support-Works PC Audit - Audit your computer Lens - Magnify an area of your desktop PC Magazine's FontViewer - View all your fonts at once CDex - Turn CD tracks into .wav or .mp3 files WebWalks - A password protected Internet Browser SocketWatch - Synchronize the time clock of your local computer with standard Internet time Offline CD Browser - Create images of your data CDs PC Magazine's Icon Lock - Lock down your Desktop arrangement Childproof - Childproof your computer SOS Kid Proof - Kid Proof your PC WinZip8 - Allows you to compress and uncompress files Adobe Acrobat Reader - Allows you to read PDF files Dimension 4 - What Time Is It, Really Visual Basic 5.0 Runtime - The VB5 runtime files Visual Basic 6.0 Runtime - The runtime files for VB6 VB5 Runtime Disconnector - Avoid VB5 runtime conflicts Runtime's System Info - Retrieve system information Trumpet Winsock - Connect to the Internet (for windows 3.1) Musicmatch Jukebox - Create MP3 files, play music, and more Irfan View - View/edit images & play multimedia files Digital Camera Enhance - Clean up crummy photos for free DLSuperCX - Compare folders and files Directory Compare - Compare and sync folders, manage files Beyond Compare - Easily compare files and folders Eudora - Get the best in email for free PlanBee - Track and map Websites as you surf
Utilities 01-18-2001 Inventory your PC hardware and software Company: Belarc, Inc. Version: 4.1 Size: 542.36 KB Requirements: Windows 9x, NT, 2000, or Me Purchase Information: Free Belarc Advisor audits a PC's installed software and hardware and then reports its findings in your Web browser. This single-user demo version provides a decent preview of the complete program, giving you a good summary of hardware and software on a given PC. The report, which is delivered relatively quickly, shows your PC's processor, cache, memory, memory modules, BIOS, bus clock, etc. -- along with installed and connected hardware. It also lists software installed on the PC, with a click-through to each program's file location. No Internet connection is required, but at the conclusion you can click through to the author's site for additional information. Personal use of Belarc Advisor is free. A licensed version of an expanded edition, BelManage (available for audition and purchase), can collect data in a client/server or intra-Internet environment, or even using a "walk-around method," where you collect data on a floppy disk. That version also can collect and report data in a database-friendly format. Reviewed on Jan 17 2001.
01-17-01 Lock your desktop Company: Quantrix Corporation Version: 4.58 Size: 935.76 KB Requirements: Visual Basic 5.0 Runtime and Windows 95, 98, or NT Purchase Information: Free SecureIt Pro is a system tray utility you can use to secure your desktop when you step away from your computer. It's secure, easy to use, and -- best of all -- free. Just enter a user name, a password, and select Lock to hide and deny access to your desktop to anyone without the proper password. You can set the program to launch automatically with Windows, lock your desktop from the system tray, log access attempts, and apply a custom background image. When enabled, SecureIt Pro even allows visitors to your PC to leave messages for you. Enable cold-boot protection and disable your boot keys to apply maximum protection that's difficult to get around. For safety's sake, SecureIt Pro offers a custom back door, keydisk support, and a host of other options. Reviewed on Oct 06 2000.
01-05-01 Access CD-ROMs without the CDs Company: Far Stone Technology Inc. Version: 6.01 Size: 6.62 MB Requirements: CD-ROM drive and Windows 9x, NT, 2000, or Me Purchase Information: Shareware: Free to try, $39.95 if you decide to keep it. Virtual Drive 2000 is an impressive CD-ROM emulator -- optimized for home and personal use -- that lets you run or play CD-ROM games and applications without having to put the actual CDs in the drive. Capable of running up to 23 virtual CD drives, this application creates new drive letters accessible through Explorer like any other drive. When you launch the program and insert a disc into the drive, clicking on Build VCD transfers the contents of the CD to a virtual file that can be compressed to save space. The built-in Rapid Cache Manager optimizes the CD-ROM speed and caching capabilities of the virtual and standard drives. Drag-and-drop support makes inserting, ejecting, or adding VCD files even easier than before. And if you're a gamer at heart, this emulator even supports the latest games such as Flight Simulator 2000, NBA Live 2000, Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun, Age of Empires 2, and Dungeon Keeper 2. A network version called Virtual Drive Network Edition is also available in our library. Reviewed on Jan 11 2001.
01-05-01 Audit your computer Company: Hornbill Systems Limited Version: 2.0 Size: 473.00 KB Requirements: Windows 9x, NT, 2000, or Me Purchase Information: Free Support-Works PC Audit Version 2.0 Personal Edition is a complete, easy to install, stand-alone inventory tool that provides detailed hardware, software, network and configuration information about your computer. PC Audit 2.0 Personal Edition is free for personal home or business use This program has not yet been reviewed
06-20-00 Magnify an area of your desktop Company: ABF Software Version: 1.31 Size: 508.23 KB Requirements: Windows 9x, NT, or 2000 Purchase Information: Free Magnify part of your screen up to 64 times with Lens. This freeware tool looks like an attractive magnifying glass with four small buttons (Zoom In, Zoom Out, Minimize, and Exit) on its handle. Its stay-on-top viewing area is a bit larger than similar utilities we've reviewed, plus it's skinnable. Just right-click anywhere in its interface to bring up a context menu. Reviewed on Jun 08 2000.
04-05-00 Block offensive Websites and graphics Company: PC Magazine Version: 1.2 Size: 1.07 MB Requirements: Windows 9x, NT, or 2000 Purchase Information: Free Browsing the World Wide Web is entertaining and educational. But some sites and images can be annoying or offensive. Sites may contain pornographic material, or display distracting images that impair your viewing of a Web page. CookieCop Plus lets you block unwanted Websites, or block just the graphics on a site. Blocked sites or graphics are replaced with the HTML page or bitmap of your choice. The CookieCop Plus Event Log lets you view every connection made while you are online, and every cookie passing to or from your computer. CookieCop Plus is an enhanced version of PC Magazine's CookieCop, which lets you automatically accept or reject cookies by site. Since the program runs as a proxy server, it can be used with virtually any browser. CookieCop Plus was written by Mark Sweeney, and first appeared in PC Magazine March 7, 2000 (v19n05). Source code is included.
07-15-98 View all your fonts at once Company: PC Magazine Version: 1.1 Size: 302.49 KB Requirements: Windows 9x or Windows NT 4.0 Purchase Information: Free Word processors and desktop publishing packages offer an abundance of snazzy-looking fonts, but they don't offer a simple way to browse through them. With FontViewer, you can browse all the fonts on your system at once, compare selected fonts to each other, and use a variety of filters to quickly find the font you want. FontViewer was written by Jake Richter, and first appeared in PC Magazine, 26 May 1998 (v17n10).
01-10-00 Turn CD tracks into .wav or .mp3 files Company: Albert L. Faber Version: 1.20 Size: 789.06 KB Requirements: CD-ROM drive, sound card, and Windows 95 or Windows 98 Purchase Information: Free CDex is a free app that can record digital audio tracks directly from compact discs, without going through your sound card (a process known as "ripping"). You can save tracks as CD-quality .wav files, or use CDex's built-in encoding library to convert them into the space-saving .mp3 format. CDex also supports third-party encoders for .mp3, .vqf, and .aac files. One especially nice touch: CDex can extract just partial tracks from compact discs. Other cool features include the ability to encode existing .wav files to .mp3 format; basic CD playing functions; and CDDB support. If you're looking for a totally free solution to CD ripping and MP3 encoding, CDex is a "must download." Note: Your CD-ROM drive must support digital audio extraction using Adaptec's ASPI library Manager. Reviewed on Mar 13 1999.
Verison 3.3 What is WebWalks? It is a password protected Internet Browser which comes with several preset URL Address with the ability to add more. When using WebWalks the user only has access to the URL’s provided on the program. Published by Bratz-Utilities License: Free Note: This is a free program! The first time you use the program it will ask you to register, this is only to keep track of how many people will be accessing the web site. Requires: Windows Filesize: 1,156 KB Requirements Win 95/98 or Win NT, Disk Space Req'd 5 MB, System 120MhZ Pentium or better Other Software Needed Internet Explorer 3.02 or Netscape Navigator 3.02 or better Installation Comments: After the download is complete, using your Windows Explorer,you must go to the directory where you have saved the file We-Blocker and double-click on the Weblock.exe icon to begin the install process. Overall the program was easy to install and set up. Every step was very well documented. Use Comments: There were several warnings that not all sites were blocked. They warned you that many sites were being added daily. They also encourage you to submit sites that you found that are unacceptable. I first tried the infamous www.whitehouse.com and it was blocked. It sent me to their list of recommended sites. I next tried a site that was redirecting to a pornographic site, I was able to access it. I was also able to search for and get to bomb making instructions. I did appreciate how easy it was to block the sites I found. Also, when submitting a site to be blocked on their database, they said they would review it before removing it. For each individual user, you could select from 7 different categories for blocking. Overall Impression: Overall, I was impressed with this free product. It did fail to block me from objectionable sites, but I (as a parent and first time user) was fully warned that I would not be blocked from all sites. I appreciated the attitude that the program was there to help protect kids, not blow the whistle on them. It did keep a nice history log though, were I, as a parent, could check up on their activities. (comments are the reviewers)
Version Reviewed: 2.0 SocketWatch is one of the best clients available for helping you synchronize the time clock of your local computer with standard Internet time. One of the reasons SocketWatch stands above the competition is that the client handles everything for you, from placing itself in the Windows start-up group to automatically connecting to and disconnecting from the 'net using the Windows 95 Dial-up Networking utility. While the client can be run manually, SocketWatch is at its best when running by itself. Operating in the background, SocketWatch monitors for when you connect to the 'net and then automatically connects to a time server and synchronizes your clock once you are connected. SocketWatch also uses the time zone and daylight savings features of Windows 95 to further ensure that your computer's time remains accurate without the need for reconfiguring your settings each time a remote server is contacted. Perhaps its best feature, SocketWatch's Smart Server Search automatically scans through a list of more than 100 public access time servers and quickly finds the one that will give you the quickest and most accurate time synchronization. Because of its large database of time servers, rarely if ever is SocketWatch affected by the performance of a busy or inactive server. If you happen to have a Timex DataLink watch, SocketWatch will help keep it up to date as well -- whenever you download data to your watch, as long as SocketWatch has first sent its information to your computer, the correct time will also be sent to your watch. A final feature in SocketWatch allows the client to be run as a Windows traybar icon. Overall, at just $10, it would be hard not to recommend SocketWatch as a must-have 'net app -- this is one app that is definitely worth its weight in gold. Pros: Efficient and automatic synchronization of your computer's time clock with standard Internet time Cons: There are less expensive clients available, but none offers as many features as SocketWatch Date of Review: 8/11/97
01-08-01 Create images of your data CDs Company: Anders Petersson Version: 2.0.6 Size: 301.37 KB Requirements: Windows 9x or Me Purchase Information: Free Offline CD Browser is a very simple utility that catalogs the contents of CD-ROMs, removable hard drives, and floppy disks. It's free, easy to use, and is well worth a look if you don't want to bother with anything beyond the basics. You can catalog as many disks as you like, and explore your catalogs in an Explorer-style MDI interface. You're also given the option of password-protecting and encrypting your catalogs on an individual basis. File size and time/date stamps are also recorded. Offline CD Browser offers no context menus, file access, annotation, or archive support. Reviewed on Jan 07 2001.
09-24-99 Lock down your Desktop arrangement Company: PC Magazine Version: 1.1 Size: 862.06 KB Requirements: Windows 95, 98, or NT Purchase Information: Free Are you tired of people adding, deleting, renaming, and rearranging the icons on your Windows Desktop? Perhaps you're responsible for the computers in a school, a computer lab, or a store. Or maybe you share a home computer with your kids. IconLock lets you freeze desktop icons in the arrangement you choose without interfering with normal Windows operations. It also lets you quickly save and restore different desktop layouts. IconLock runs under Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT 4. Some features require the Windows Desktop Update. Under Windows NT, some features require Internet Explorer 5. IconLock was written by Mark Sweeney, and first appeared in PC Magazine August, 1999 (v18n14). The Visual C++ source code is included.
03-08-99 Childproof your computer Company: Renasoft Version: 2.1 Size: 990.30 KB Requirements: Windows 95, 98, or NT Purchase Information: Shareware: Free to try, $19.95 if you decide to keep it. Childproof is a security program that allows you to effectively restrict access to your computer. It allows you to establish "playgrounds" that contain only programs that you specifically add. An Explorer-style interface allows you to create new playgrounds and to drag and drop programs as you see fit. You can add password protection, load the selected playground when Childproof loads, and automatically load Childproof when Windows loads. When up and running, it replaces your desktop and disables your function keys. Childproof is effective, very easy to use, and includes ample documentation. Reviewed on Mar 10 1999.
03-10-00 KidProof your PC Company: Sterling Strategic Solutions, Inc. Version: 1.6.5 Size: 5.28 MB Requirements: Windows 95, 98, or NT Purchase Information: Shareware: Free to try, $29.95 if you decide to keep it. Kids Will Be Kids... Whether they're toddlers or teenagers, boys or girls, kids have a talent for getting into everything. So you set limits. Make rules. Teach. You put latches on all the cabinets ... Keep breakables out of reach ... You monitor the TV shows they watch and warn them about strangers... But if your kids use the Internet, it's like hanging a big "WELCOME" sign out for anyone and anything to come right in—and you might not like who shows up... And if they have free-run of your PC, you might come home to find that five years of Quicken files have been replaced with the newest release of DOOM. You've childproofed your home—doesn't it make sense to KidProof your PC?
Zip and unzip files with this great tool 12-14-00 Company: WinZip Computing, Inc. Version: 8.0 Size: 1.20 MB Requirements: Windows 9x, NT, 2000, or Me Purchase Information: Shareware: Free to try, $29 if you decide to keep it. WinZip has been the leading Windows-based archive utility for years -- and the 8.0 version continues this tradition. You'll still find the tight drag-and-drop and context menu integration with Windows Explorer; the choice of the WinZip Classic or Wizard interfaces; and built-in support for .zip, .tar, gzip, UUencode, XXencode, BinHex, and MIME formats (plus support for .arj, .lzh, and .arc files through external programs). The new Zip and Email feature compresses documents and folders and attaches the zip file to an email message without leaving Explorer. The Wizard can now create and update zip files, as well as extract and install from MIME and similar encoded files. An optional Explorer-style toolbar is now available in the WinZip Classic mode. When creating or updating an archive, WinZip automatically stores the same subfolders and folder information that Windows Explorer would use for a similar copy operation. Plus, WinZip's new automatic theme and screen saver installer makes setting up desktop themes and monitor protectors from Internet downloads a piece of cake. Reviewed on Apr 26 2000.
Read Adobe PDF files with this freebie 01-06-00 Company: Adobe Systems, Inc. Version: 4.05 Size: 5.42 MB Requirements: Windows 95, 98, or NT Purchase Information: Free The free Adobe Acrobat Reader enables you to view, navigate, and browse PDF files inside a Web browser or in a slick, standalone viewer. Why should you upgrade to the latest version of this "must have" utility? New features in version 4.0 include improved integration with Web browsers, faster and more reliable printing to both PCL and PostScript printers, and better support for longer and more-complex documents. You'll also find support for the latest version of the Acrobat file format (Adobe PDF 1.3); support for all versions of PostScript, including the new PostScript 3; better color handling, including support for ICC profiles; and compatibility with previous versions of Acrobat Reader. Plus, Asian font packs can be downloaded from the developer to enable you to view PDF files that contain Chinese, Japanese, and Korean fonts on non-Asian operating systems. (Of course, to create .pdf documents, you'll need to purchase the Acrobat program from Adobe or its resellers.) Reviewed on May 11 1999.
Dimension 4: What Time Is It, Really? Barry Simon If you have several PCs, you may have noticed that they rarely show exactly the same time. One will lose a few seconds a day while another will pick up a few seconds a day. That doesn't sound like much, but after a couple of months, your PCs can become separated by several minutes. Whether you're compulsive about what time it really is or want all your PC clocks to be synchronized, Thinking Man Software's freeware program, Dimension 4, Version 4.0, is the solution. The program synchronizes your computer's clock to your choice of Internet-based chronometers to within 0.05 second. Innovative and custom-configurable, Dimension 4 can be set to run hidden so that it resets your PC's clock each time you connect to the World Wide Web with a dial-up PPP connection. If you prefer, you can configure it to initiate a dial-up connection, reset the clock, and exit. If you have a PC that resides on a network with a TCP/IP Internet link, you can configure Dimension 4 to reset the clock periodically--every 24 hours, for example. Dimension 4 comes with a large number of SNTP (simple network time protocol) servers for you to connect to, from the Naval Observatory to the Center for Seismology; you can add additional ones. After you download this innovative piece of Internet-based software, you won't need to ask what time it is. Dimension 4, Version 4.0. Requires: 4MB RAM, 1MB hard disk space, Microsoft Windows 95 or Windows NT. SYNCHRONIZE YOUR WATCHES: Dimension 4, Version 4.0, allows you to set all the timekeeping options in a single panel.
12-29-98 The VB5 runtime files Company: Microsoft Corp. Version: 5.0 Size: 1.26 MB Requirements: Windows 95 Purchase Information: Free This is the VB5 runtime module, which includes the following files: Asycfilt.dll, Comcat.dll, Ctl3d32.dll, Msvbvm50.dll, Oleaut32.dll, Olepro32.dll, and Stdole2.tlb. A simple install program is included with the module, which is required to run any program written in the Visual Basic 5.0 programming language.
09-13-99 The runtime files for VB6 Company: Microsoft Corp. Version: 6.0 Size: 991.89 KB Requirements: Windows 95, 98, or NT Purchase Information: Free This is the VB6 runtime module. A simple install program is included with the module, which is required to run any program written in the Visual Basic 6 programming language.
06-23-98 Avoid VB5 runtime conflicts Company: Maquisistem Ltda Version: 1.0 Size: 1.85 MB Requirements: Visual Basic 5.0 and Windows 95, 98, or NT Purchase Information: Shareware: Free to try, $25 if you decide to keep it. VB5 Runtime Disconnector enables you to disconnect applications created in VB5 from Msvbvm50.dll, and make them run without installation. This helps you to avoid conflicts involving different versions of the VB5 runtime.
08-08-00 Retrieve system information Company: Runtime Software Version: 1.0 Size: 940.11 KB Downloads: 1,744 Requirements: Windows 95 or Windows 98 Purchase Information: Shareware: Free to try, $19 if you decide to keep it. Runtime's System Info offers an attractive interface that provides lots of hardware and configuration information regarding your computer. Processor, Bios, Video, Memory, Ports, Mouse, Keyboard, Modem, and more are readily available. The program retrieves detailed information regarding your fixed and removable drives, including geometry, sectors, size, and file system. It also provides a list that details registered software, and mirrors the Device Manager tab of the Control Panel System applet. You can easily send retrieved system information to your printer. Reviewed on Jul 20 2000.
02-03-97 Connect to the Internet Company: Trumpet Software International Version: 3.0d Size: 557.05 KB Requirements: Windows 3.1x Purchase Information: Shareware: Free to try, $25 if you decide to keep it. Registration benefits include: bulletin board support. Trumpet Winsock, which includes the Windows Sockets 1.1-compliant WINSOCK.DLL, is the type of TCP/IP protocol handler necessary for making a SLIP or PPP connection to the Internet. Such a socket is necessary for use of Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape, and similar World Wide Web browsers. This is a full installation package, including TCPMAN (the terminal control program for the socket) and startup lists of HOSTS, PROTOCOL, and SERVICES to provide lookup information for TCPMAN, as well as sample CMD scripts. In operation, WINSOCK.DLL is transparent, with the runtime Internet client providing the user's access control interface. The package is easy to install, well-documented, and has active support in its own Internet newsgroup. Version 3.0 is drastically different than version 2.1 but major changes include better on-line registration, on-line help and demand loading plus new scripting commands and an installer.
Enjoy your MP3, CD, WAV, MOD, and WMA tracks with superior audio quality and impressive visual effects. 02-07-01 Company: Team Sonique Version: v1.90 Size: 2.56 bytes OS: Windows 95/98/NT/2000 License: Free Sonique is an audio player capable of handling MP3 files, Microsoft Windows Media files, audio CDs, and more. It features a dynamic, windowless interface, complete with a fully animated menu systems. Additional features include a full-featured playlist editor; a variety of unique output visualization modes; plug-ins; a robust control set featuring pitch, jog, and shuttle; support for skins; a balance and amplification adjustment; and a 20-band equalizer with spline-based level adjustment. Sonique supports many audio formats, including WMA, MPEG, MP2, MP3, WAV, MOD, XM, IT, S3M, and CD audio. Version 1.90 updates the MP3 decoder to AE 4.8. It also includes processor optimizations, a new tag editor, full screen scaling, and various other improvements and bug fixes.
Musicmatch Jukebox Create MP3 files, play music, and more 01-06-17 Company: Musicmatch Corporation Version: 6.10.0165 Size: 10,096,847 bytes Requirements: speakers and/or headphones, Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 or later, SoundBlaster-compatible sound card, 32 MB RAM, Pentium 200, and Windows 9x, NT, 2000, or Me License: Free MusicMatch Jukebox is one of the best jukeboxes on the Internet -- and it's free! Use it to convert tunes from your favorite audio CDs to .mp3, .wav, or .wma format. Rip tracks digitally, or record them in real-time analog mode -- even through your sound card's line-in jack. Free, CD-quality Fraunhofer encoding lets you convert an unlimited number of .mp3 files up to 320 kps; .wma encoding is possible to 160 kps as well. MusicMatch Jukebox also provides integrated CD burning, a database with CDDB support, and a slick multimedia player with visualizations and skin customization. Recently added features include a Radio component that lets you create custom stations and hear CD-quality audio over broadband connections; an improved interface; an enhanced Music Guide; new visualizations; and much more. A $19.99 upgrade promises additional features, such as faster CD burning, display of cover art as wallpaper, and jewel case insert/Music Library printing. Reviewed on Aug 16 2000.
02-15-01 View/edit images & play multimedia files Company: Irfan Skiljan Version: 3.33 Size: 708.00 KB Requirements: Windows 9x, NT, or 2000 Purchase Information: Free If you do any work at all with graphics, you should have IrfanView on your hard drive. This fast, powerful, and totally free (for personal use) image viewer and multimedia player supports a ton of graphics formats, including multiple-image icons, animated .gif files, and multipage .tif files. IrfanView also lets you play audio CDs and many types of sound, animation, and movie files (including QuickTime formats). Its impressive feature set includes thumbnail creation, drag-and-drop support, fast directory viewing, a slide-show mode, and batch conversion. You'll also find screen capturing, cutting/cropping, image effects, .dll and .exe icon extraction, file management, support for plug-ins, and more -- all packaged in a small .exe file that requires no .dlls or runtime libraries. Plus, its slim main window won't hog your desktop. Make no mistake about it -- IrfanView is a true freeware gem. Commercial users will need to register it for a paltry $10. Reviewed on Feb 15 2001.
07-31-00 Clean up crummy photos for free Company: MediaChance Version: 1.1 Size: 524.77 KB Requirements: Windows 95, 98, or NT Purchase Information: Free Digital Camera Enhance is a free tool that helps you clean up your photos, whether you have a digital camera or not. With a push of a button, it automatically reduces noise, performs skin smoothing, and adjusts color balance. We thought it did an especially nice job on our problem test images, although we wish the program had minimize and maximize controls on its title bar. The program works best with pictures that were taken under poor lighting conditions. If an image is already fine, you won't see much of a difference. Sliders for Auto Balance, Midtones, Color, Enhancement Details, and De-noising let you make precise adjustments, with the difference clearly shown in the "Original" and "Result" panes. Digital Camera Enhance opens images in the .bmp, .jpg, .pcx, .png, .tga, .tif, .wmf, and .pax formats. Reviewed on Jul 10 2000.
10-27-00 Compare folders and files Company: Donald Ludlow Version: 1.4b Size: 413.85 KB Requirements: Windows 95 or Windows 98 Purchase Information: Shareware: Free to try, $29.95 if you decide to keep it. Compare files and folders with DLSuperCX. Using a variety of options, you can select individual files or folders to compare. The differences reported depend on a large number of preferences that determine how the files are processed. Special support for HTML, Delphi, C++, and Visual Basic files allows code comments to be ignored during the scan. Results can be printed or saved to a text or .rtf file. DLSuperCX is fairly easy to use and includes ample documentation. Reviewed on Apr 24 1998.
02-02-01 Compare and sync folders, manage files Company: OMG Version: 2000.0.0.8 Size: 13.91 MB Requirements: Windows 9x, NT, or 2000 Purchase Information: Shareware: Free to try, $30 if you decide to keep it. Directory Compare for Windows is a powerful 32-bit file-management tool. This fine tool would be especially helpful when updating peer information in a network or workgroup, moving files between desktop and laptop computers, or creating and comparing test/development directories. Using a synchronized, split-column matching display with a full toolbar and right-click menus, it displays the contents of two folders side by side and lets you synchronize all folders and subfolders below, either manually or automatically. You can easily view, print, run, and filter files, as well as get statistical information. You can also copy, move, and delete files as needed. Other features include multilevel undo; user-definable layout, colors, fonts, and date and time formats; command-line support; and a fast, letter-by-letter file-list search engine. A 16-bit version is also available. Reviewed on Feb 05 2001.
01-30-01 Easily compare files and folders Company: Scooter Software Version: 1.9d Size: 791.51 KB Requirements: Windows 9x, NT, 2000, or Me Purchase Information: Shareware: Free to try, $30 if you decide to keep it. Beyond Compare lets you quickly see the differences in the recursive contents of two folders. It's highly configurable, easy to use, and an excellent way to compare folders. It displays two selected folders side by side and lets you view folder information a number of ways through filters. You can view all files, matching files, mismatched files, and so on, with differences color-coded so that you can spot them easily. You can synchronize, copy and move files from one folder to the other with ease, rename and delete files, and even apply time zone settings to one folder or another. Text files can be compared using the built-in side-by-side file viewer, which also uses color coding to highlight differences. Other features include fast comparison of binary files, print support, Clipboard support, and optional automatic backup. Reviewed on Jan 29 2001.
04-26-01 Get the best in email for free Company: Qualcomm, Inc. Version: 5.1 Size: 6.08 MB Requirements: Windows 9x, NT, 2000, or Me Purchase Information: Free Eudora old-timers and e-mail newcomers will both find plenty to like in this newest version of Qualcomm's Eudora for Windows. You'll still find the three registration options that let you use a limited version (Lite) for free, a full-featured program in sponsored mode with small ads displayed, or ad-free and totally enabled for a small registration fee. Great new features include a Mood Watch that warns you about the flame-potential of a message you are sending or receiving; a Eudora Sharing Protocol to support workgroup collaboration without a server on your network; an improved address book; and the ability to view and edit signatures in the composition window as you prepare e-mail. The popular e-mail client's expected effectiveness in dealing with multiple mailboxes, address books, and accounts is all here, along with a lot of additional messaging power. You'll find HTML text formatting for fancy message layouts and stationery, URL recognition, as well as inline images and support for file attachments. Eudora's time-tested interface will help newcomers to get started quickly, and old-timers will feel right at home. Earlier-version users will feel totally comfortable with virtually automatic updating and retention of all your existing settings, preferences, and mailbox organization. Reviewed on Sep 21 2000.
04-26-01 Track and map Websites as you surf Company: ThoughtShare Communications Version: 1.2.1.1a Size: 3.84 MB Requirements: Netscape 4.x or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.x or 5.x and Windows 9x, NT, 2000, or Me Purchase Information: Free When it comes to keeping track of your favorite Web sites, PlanBee makes browser bookmarks look positively Neolithic. With PlanBee, not only can you automatically bookmark any or all sites you visit, but you can bundle those sites into "buzPAKs," creating collections of related info. Use a visual map showing the sites, with an optional "BeeLine" travel route. Notes are offered in a separate window with multiple keyword search capabilities. Transform your buzPAKs into tours so that you can follow a predefined route through a series of sites -- you can add comments, notes, and even file attachments and customize your personal buzPAKs by filtering out ads or donning an alternative look via skins. Once you're satisfied with the result, you can reload and enjoy a buzPAK at any time and share it with other PlanBee users. Selected sample buzPAKs are available at the author's Web site. A tour and good documentation thoroughly answer your questions. Reviewed on Dec 06 2000.
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