Favorite Files

No favorite files added yet

Recent Posts

1. 
   Review - Meetro

   0.92 Beta (Jan 5, 2006)

   When I tried to install this program, it tried (according to my firewall) to open Outlook Express and the firewall process itself. I refused it permission to do either, and it seemed to install OK. It didn't try the same thing at program run, and once it was running, it looked promising. I would be interested to hear from the developer on why it attempts what it does during install. Unsatisfactory answers or no answers will leave me no option but to steer clear of it and advise all my friends to do the same. A shame, as I liked the tool itself.

2. 
   Review - One-click BackUp for WinRAR (OCB)

   2.14 Beta 2 (Dec 29, 2005)

   The tool looks as though it has some promise. I agree with bobad, though, that the use of an alternative archiver should at least be an option - how about the ability to work with different archivers via a setup file?
   
   The author makes some interesting claims in the overview too:
   
   "providing better file safety and secrecy"
   
   "Most home and corporate users have already switched from ZIP to RAR"
   
   "it was a handy backup shell utility that they all waited for"
   
   I would be interested in hearing the proof of these.

3. 
   Review - ZipGenius

   6 Beta 5 (Dec 20, 2004)

   bobad: I may be wrong, but I think the RAR format is proprietary.
   
   I have used this program for some time now... for me it gets the job done, and at the right price ;) The one occasion I have had to ask Matteo for assistance, his response was quick, helpful and courteous. A lot of paid-software companies should learn from his example.

4. 
   Review - ZTreeWin

   1.49.2i Beta (Jun 23, 2004)

   Rather than comparing this tool with the GUI-based tools available today, my rating reflects how this application does what it was designed to do, which is, to provide a powerful file manager (it does) for those familiar with XTree Gold (I am). Just this past weekend I used it to do something in 5 minutes which would have taken me considerably longer using a GUI-based tool (perhaps because I don't have or don't know the correct one, but that illustrates my point). I use GUI tools for most things, and wouldn't consider text-based applications in those areas any more. But for me, in a pinch, this tool comes through. And for that I am thankful.

5. Comment - OpenOffice.org: There's No Virus

   1.49.2i Beta (Jun 4, 2006 - 9:23 AM)

   Are we really at the point in computer security where we have to say the computing equivalent of "if you touch fire, you may get burned"? This is an analogy to the process from the days when home computing was relatively new, of being handed a diskette by a friend (or, for example, a sales person at a computer show) and being told to run the content of the diskette when you get back to your computer. People who did it without scanning for malware first took a risk, through ignorance or recklessness. Such people were labelled "stupid" when they caught something nasty. Why do people believe that the burden of responsibility moves now that such malware can be delivered electronically? It is the responsibility of the user to protect themselves, particularly if the vendor (the examples here being OpenOffice.org and Microsoft) has taken reasonable care to ensure that macros don't run without prompting. We should also not forget here that it is in the financial interest of certain companies to report "virus" sightings, even when the companies involved know well enough that what they are reporting is not a virus by definition.
   
   To me, some of the comments posted here smack of the nanny-state mentality that brought about the lawsuit McDonalds Corporation had to face because they didn't tell their customer that the coffee they were selling was hot.
   
   People who need this kind of wet-nurse approach to the use of what is now a commodity item like a microwave oven or a TV should perhaps consider whether possession of a computer is sensible for them.

6. Comment - Google Cries Foul Over IE7 Search Box

   1.49.2i Beta (May 2, 2006 - 2:18 PM)

   Maybe I should start a class action against M$, G**gle & Yah** for forcing me to look at their searches first when I use their free products. After all, I find it emotionally distressing! ;-)
   
   Would this one fly in the US? Anyone else with me? ;-)

7. Comment - McAfee Granted Wireless Update Patent

   1.49.2i Beta (May 2, 2006 - 2:11 PM)

   I would expect claim and counter-claim over this one... after all, a connection is a connection, whether wired or wireless, and replacing parts of a file isn't new either. I'm with a number of other posters here - the USPTO shoots itself in the foot again.

8. Comment - Microsoft: European Fine 'Excessive'

   1.49.2i Beta (May 1, 2006 - 12:28 PM)

   The fact that there is a Region 1 (or 2 etc. up to 6) is so that big companies (not, in this case, the one being pursued by the EU) can make me pay more for a product than it makes someone else pay. Interesting, too, that the company named in this lawsuit is able to make a "cut down" version of Windows for other markets, call it "Starter Edition" and sell it at a fraction of the price I paid. Yet it claimed that the things it was miraculously able to remove for some markets were impossible to remove for others.
   
   I am an EU (UK) citizen and I have been stuck by these tactics. Americans, wake up: so have you.
   Perhaps some of the patriotism or blind stupidity we have seen on these threads is just a little misplaced.

9. Comment - Gmail Gives Up, Adds Delete Button

   1.49.2i Beta (Jan 20, 2006 - 5:26 PM)

   Question is... does "Delete" really delete the mail? Or is Google just hiding *your* mail from *you*?
   
   (No Gmail account and grateful...)