Activity for November 1

Review - Advanced SystemCare Free
3.4.0 (Nov 1, 2009)

Anyone that rates this at less than a 4 obviously has no idea what they're doing behind a computer, and probably should take up another hobby.
That being said, *ANY* program that claims to 'clean your registry' or 'immunize your computer against threats' - should have the contents of what it's recommending to be changed, scrutinized carefully.

I, along with thousands of other people that know what a computer is/does, have had absolutely NO problems with and of ASC's functions.
This is a perfect program, does what it says, and I find it impossible to rate it at anything less than a 5.

My only hope for Iobit, is that they won't let any of their softwares become bloated with add-ons. Perhaps a poll or vote on most-used add-ons would be in order?

Anyway, anyone experiencing problems with ASC needs to have their computer rights removed indefinitely, as they blatantly don't know what they're doing.

Good job, Iobit! Keep up the good work!
Review - BootRacer
2.0 Beta (Sep 29, 2009)

This has been available for quite a long time in VBS format without a GUI.
Now, if this program had a way of tracing the boot FILES and the time it takes to load them, then rearrange the files in the Prefetch or be able to cache them faster, then this program would be of some use.

As of now, the GUI is the only difference from what's been around for years.

Here's the code for the VBS file. Copy and paste it into a new Text document, save as (whatever file name) .VBS (making sure to change the file format to All Files)

Option Explicit
On Error Resume Next
Dim Wsh, Time1, Time2, Result, PathFile, MsgResult, MsgA, AppName, KeyA, KeyB, TimeDiff
MsgA = "Please close all running applications and click on OK."
KeyA = "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\RestartTime\"
KeyB = "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\RestartTime"
AppName = "Restart-Time"
Set Wsh = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
PathFile = """" & WScript.ScriptFullName & """"
Result = wsh.RegRead(KeyA & "Times")
if Result = "" then
MsgResult = Msgbox (MsgA, vbOKCancel, AppName)
If MsgResult = vbcancel then WScript.Quit
Wsh.RegWrite KeyA & "Times", left(Time,8), "REG_SZ"
Wsh.RegWrite KeyB, PathFile, "REG_SZ"
Wsh.Run "cmd /c Shutdown -r -t 00", false, 0
else
Wsh.RegDelete KeyA & "Times"
Wsh.RegDelete KeyA
Wsh.RegDelete KeyB
TimeDiff = DateDiff("s",Result,left(Time,8))
MsgBox "Your computer restarts in " & TimeDiff & " seconds", VbInformation, AppName
end if
wscript.Quit

Then, simply run it - it will restart your computer and tell you how fast it boots up.

Sorry Greatis Software - this is **pointless** without the ability to actually FIX the boot time problems!
Review - Memory Improve Master Free Version
6.1.2.169 (Sep 11, 2009)

Well, coolticker, this program is explicitly for Win 2000/XP/ME, none of which handled memory very well.
While it's true that no OS after XP ever needs anything like this program because of their memory handling and lack of RAM leaks (for the most part), this program still can be a useful tool for those antiquated systems that are a couple generations behind in their operating system and have less than a GB of RAM. (where freeing up resources actually *may* help the system run smoother - there's obviously no replacement for more or faster RAM, or for services tweaking to cut down resources in the first place)

This tool does what it says...but is bulky and not as fast as the old FASTDefrag that came out years ago.
There's no need for an extended GUI - just 2 buttons...1 for defragging RAM, and 1 for scheduling the process (either for amount of RAM used (%) or time-based)...along with a progress bar to show it's actually doing something.

But, that being said, these type of programs really are snake-oil. Although they don't actually do more harm than good, there's really no need to ever run a 'memory optimizer' program. Most any OS's from this century function just fine without third-party 'memory optimizing' and nowdays, isn't recommended or necessary at all - *especially* since Vista and Win7 handle memory completely differently than their predecessors.

Psychlone
Review - GMail Drive
1.0.14 (Aug 14, 2009)

Installs but doesn't show up on Windows7 x64 build 7201.

3 Stars as a mid-score until I can actually test the program.
Review - Rainmeter
1.0 (Aug 7, 2009)

Not sure why dhry would compare Rainmeter to TinyRESMeter, or to Rainlendar either.
TinyRESMeter isn't skinnable or user-configurable at all, and Rainlendar is a CALENDAR application...by the same author that gives us Rainmeter.
Rainmeter takes up literally 1/8 of the resources that Vista Sidebar takes up, is infinitely configurable to match every desktop on the planet and everyone's tastes, and has a multitude of 'skins' that serve completely different purposes - from resource monitoring i.e. CPU usage, temperatures, HDD access/freespace/used space, to nice weather 'widgets' (skins) to uTorrent control. (and everything in between) - literally, there's nothing that I've found that Rainmeter can't do that I wish it could - in fact, I think that MS should seriously think about putting Rainy on their payroll and integrate this into Windows 8. ...there's a significant modding community for Rainmeter that has many brilliant people working to make skins for everything a person could need.
Clearly, dhry has no idea what this software actually is or is capable of.

As for this release (1.0), it does everything that the prior versions did, only faster.
I personally use the HUD skin, along with a couple others on each of my computers, and this release didn't break a single skin or function.

Good Job Rainy, beta testers and devs! **Perfect program**

For those incapable of using a search engine, I've done the work for you.
Following are a couple really good sites detailing many, many skins, new functionality, new themes and new utilities that make Rainmeter the best overall monitoring utility available.
It's not just the picture you're seeing at the top of this page - it's SOO much more!

http://customize.org/rainmeter
http://www.skinbase.org/Skins/Rainmeter/412
http://browse.deviantart...ns/sysmonitor/rainmeter/
Comment - ATI seeks to break back into the GPU game with barrier-breaking cards
1.0 (Jun 27, 2008 - 1:01 PM)

^ How so? I've owned every ATi card since the 9500 Pro (including every version - i.e. Pro, XT, XTX) and have *never* had any problems. And, the same could be said about any of nVidia's cards as well...there are plenty of people that have had nothing but 'troublesome' cards along with nothing but perfect experiences from the Green corner...it's not just ATi buddy.
Not discounting that you have had issues before, but don't you think that your experiences might have been unique? After all, ATi wouldn't be in business at all if all they made was 'troublesome' cards...plus, if you do *any* amount of research, ATi owners are just as happy as nVidia owners.

I'm personally holding out for the 4870X2 card. I'll be getting 4 of them and hybrid-crossfiring all 4 of them on my M3A32-MVP. We'll talk then...

Psychlone
Comment - Microsoft Adds 26 Terabytes to Virtual Earth
1.0 (Jul 6, 2007 - 11:47 PM)

I have NO idea how they had satellite images in the 10's, but I just looked up my restaurant that I only live 2 blocks from, and everything West of our Main St. was fields. My house was built in 1912 and wasn't on the map, my restaurant was built in 1938 and it wasn't on the map. I said that everything West of Main St. was fields, right? Well, our University was founded in 1908, and there's nothing but fields where the University *should* be.
So, my big question is this: How is it even possible to have a map from 23 miles above that is possibly from 1908 or before? They didn't even have *airplanes* then, let alone the ability to take photos from that high!
I can zoom in to no closer than 300 yards, and I recognize the terrain, some of the oldest buildings that still stand on our 'Historic Downtown Main St.' are there, but most everything around Main St. is fields!!! I know I'm not in the wrong location...I've lived here for 35 years and know my town.

Google is at least showing maps of this area from the last decade.
Comment - ICANN Rejects '.xxx' Domain Again
1.0 (Mar 30, 2007 - 3:44 PM)

But wouldnt it be easier to block children from viewing porn if they ALL were mandated to change to the .XXX urls?

I guess that I just don't understand this, it seems that as a society, we'd rather our kids look at violence and sex through video games than actually teach them about it.

IMO, if *all* porn was to have a .XXX url, then it would make it easier on parents to block from their firewalls, etc...instead, it makes it look like our governing body is 'condoning' porn instead of 'corralling' it. - How stupid is THAT?

Just for your info, I'm not against porn, I'm against children viewing it.

Psychlone
Comment - Microsoft Closes Vista Upgrade Loophole
1.0 (Feb 1, 2007 - 11:17 AM)

I can see an issue here:
Many times when using the Repair Install of XP, it won't see that there's already an install of XP to repair, and leaves you hanging...so what happens when Vista can't see the MFT (or whatever is holding up the XP repair installs) - you won't be able to install your brand new Vista...that's what!

This may make sense to them because of the pirated copies of XP floating around out there, but for those of us who've actually purchased their products, I feel it's US who's being reprimanded...

So, get the FULL VERSION seems to be the common denominator throughout this thread...what it really comes down to is 'spend more money on the OS and it will *let* you do a clean install' - so if there's a REPAIR INSTALL on Vista at all, is it going to have the same problem???
Comment - Firefox Flaw a Hoax, Admits Speaker
1.0 (Oct 5, 2006 - 9:09 AM)

Dump your DNS by going to START > RUN then type in "CMD" without quotes, then type "IPCONFIG /FLUSHDNS" without quotes.