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Software Reviews
by gusimio
The reviews and opinions below are posted by SnapFiles visitors. They do not necessarily reflect our opinion, and are solely based on the experience of individual users.
- Freeware
98/ME/2000/XP
Get this one! 
Audacity version 1.2.6
- Interface: 4
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 4
- Value: 5
- Overall:
The best free audio editor in my humble opinion.
Review date: Apr 22, 2008
- Freeware
- Win (All)
I agree with all previous reviewers
OpenOffice version 2.3.1
- Interface: 4
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 3
- Value: 5
- Overall:
You can't beat the features and the price for sure; however, there is a moderate learning curve associated with this software, so just be patient and read the help section if/when you get stuck.
Review date: Apr 21, 2008
- Freeware
- 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista
Works as intended
Stickies version 6.5a
- Interface: 4
- Features: 4
- Ease of use: 4
- Value: 5
- Overall:
My wife uses it to remind me of things that need to be done. Caution: Installing the "global hooks" option activates the hot key functionality and changes the way some key combinations work.
Review date: Apr 21, 2008
- Freeware
- 98/ME/2000/XP
One of the two best freebies
PhotoFiltre version 6.3.1
- Interface: 5
- Features: 4
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
Photofiltre and Photoscape are in a virtual tie for best free photo editors; however, each program does offer slightly different options in the area of "effects", so I have installed both and "use one or the other" as needed. You really can't beat this combination so get both!
Review date: Apr 21, 2008
- Freeware
- 98/ME/2000/XP/2003/Vista
One of the two best freebies
Photoscape version 3.0
- Interface: 5
- Features: 4
- Ease of use: 4
- Value: 5
- Overall:
Photoscape and Photofiltre are in a virtual tie for best free photo editors; however, each program does offer slightly different options in the area of "effects", so I have installed both and "use one or the other" as needed. You really can't beat this combination so get both!
Review date: Apr 21, 2008
- Freeware
- 98/ME/2000/XP/2003/Vista
Pros, cons, and general recommendations
RegSeeker version 1.55
- Interface: 3
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 3
- Value: 5
- Overall:
PROS: Nice feature set, displays each entry as either possibly safe (green) or possibly unsafe (red) to delete. CONS: Dangerous to use (as are all registry cleaners), benefits are negligible, not for novice use. GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS: Avoid registry cleaners in general as they will not (noticeably) increase your PC performance. More often, excessive startup entries, a full or fragmented hard drive, and/or inadequate memory resources (eg, not enough RAM) are the root cause of your problem. Speaking from experience, I have deleted thousands of "invalid" registry entries over time (using 5 different registry cleaners on a regular basis) and I have never been able to see a noticeable difference in my PC performance that was directly attributable to the deletion of those entries. In fact, my PC ran just as well when my registry size was 29,000KB as it does today (with a registry size of 14,500KB). So, I would look elsewhere to solve a PC slowdown problem.
Review date: Apr 21, 2008
- Freeware
- 2000/XP/2003/Vista
Perfect but intended for private networks
Wireshark version 0.99.8
- Interface: 4
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 3
- Value: 5
- Overall:
Do not use this (or any other tool) to monitor your network adapter that is connected to a "public" network or you will create a security breach that will leave your PC open to attack by malicious probes because it records all incoming probe/traffic messages (to a temp file), essentially bypassing the protection of your firewall. In my case, I almost became infected with the Win32.Slammer virus/trojan when I simply went to terminate the program after running it for about two hours; however, my Avast AV detected and blocked the infection (thank goodness). In summary, this program does it's job perfectly and my rating will reflect the program's functionality accordingly but, again, do not use it to monitor your incoming traffic from the internet.
Review date: Apr 12, 2008
- Freeware
- 2000/XP/Vista
Nice bandwidth monitoring package
BitMeter 2 version 3.5.5
- Interface: 4
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 3
- Value: 5
- Overall:
This utility monitors upload and download bandwidth usage separately. It also provides daily, weekly, and monthly stats and includes an ISP restriction trigger (user settable). There is too much more to mention so if you need a capable bandwidth monitor, then get this one!
Review date: Apr 10, 2008
- Freeware
- 98/ME/2000/XP/2003/Vista
Didn't work for my purposes
ShaPlus Bandwidth Meter version 1.1
- Interface: 2
- Features: 1
- Ease of use: 3
- Value: 1
- Overall:
This utility does not differentiate between upload and download bandwidth usage... only the total bandwidth usage is provided. Also, I noticed the IE Flash option is turned "off" by default so I went to Adobe and my Flash installation wasn't recognized. After that, I uninstalled this utility and reinstalled Adobe Flash. Obviously, I cannot recommend this product for the reasons stated.
Review date: Apr 10, 2008
- Freeware
- 98/ME/2000/XP
One of the most useful programs
Convert version 4.10
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
One of the most useful programs you'll ever find... and free to boot!
Review date: Apr 09, 2008
- Freeware
- Win (All)
An essential add-on for OE
Spell Checker For OE version 2.1
- Interface: 3
- Features: 3
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
Even the best spellers mistype quite frequently and this little program will help you to catch most errors. I say most errors because the associated spell check dictionary is not always 100% accurate but neither is the one from MS Office.
Review date: Apr 09, 2008
- Freeware
- 2000/XP/Vista
What a nifty little calendar program
Rainlendar Lite version 2.3
- Interface: 4
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 3
- Value: 5
- Overall:
Too many goodies to describe, so my suggestion is to download it and try it for yourself. There is a slight learning curve required to learn all the things you can do with this little gem, so be patient and explore it thoroughly. The only caution I have about this program is to make sure you exit the program before playing any intensive games and/or running a video benchmark program.
Review date: Apr 09, 2008
- Freeware
- 2000/XP/2003/Vista
Tried it and i like it!
PDF-XChange Viewer version 2.036
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
This is now my PDF reader of choice and, in my opinion, v1.00 (initial release) is the best because later versions progressively find a way to remind you about upgrades.
Review date: Apr 09, 2008
- Freeware
- Win (All)
Simple, reliable, and uncomplicated
7-Zip version 4.42
- Interface: 4
- Features: 4
- Ease of use: 4
- Value: 5
- Overall:
No bells and whistles to complicate a simple task. It just does what it is supposed to do and it does it well.
Review date: Apr 09, 2008
- Freeware
- 98/ME/2000/XP
The best sys info tool available
AIDA32 version 3.93
- Interface: 4
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 4
- Value: 5
- Overall:
If you've tried WinAudit and were satisfied, then you'll absolutely love this utility! Check out the memory (RAM) and hard disk benchmarks that WinAudit lacks and you'll see why.
Review date: Apr 07, 2008
- Freeware
- 2000/XP
The best firewall out there bar none
Comodo Firewall version 3.0
- Interface: 4
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 3
- Value: 5
- Overall:
This firewall package does it all when installed with the associated defense software (also included in the download); however, it comes with a fairly steep learning curve. This program has an auto-learning cycle, where it asks you a bunch of questions (over time) and you have to answer them correctly. So, if you are not technically inclined, I would just install the firewall (and skip the defense software). However, if you are looking for maximum protection, you must install the complete package. Once done (w/auto-learning completed), your PC will be fully protected against incoming intrusions and outgoing exploits (e.g. leaks). Of course, you must also have a good antivirus program installed as well. However, if you don't have one yet, my recommendation would be to download the free Avast AV software which I personally have been using for over two years without instance. Right now, I would stay away from the Comodo AV because it is still in Beta.
Review date: Nov 24, 2007
- Freeware
- 98/ME/2000/XP
Absolutely essential
McAfee SiteAdvisor version 2.4.0 Build 6066
- Interface: 5
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
This is a 'must have' plug-in for all IE users.
Review date: Nov 24, 2007
- Freeware
- Win (All)
A little busy to be my default media player
MediaMonkey version 2.5.5
- Interface: 3
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 3
- Value: 5
- Overall:
An overall great product; however, the interface offers too many options for my taste. I just want to create a simple playlist and play it with a compact player (such as ALSong or Media Player Classic). The real benefit of this program lies in the utilities it offers. I use it primarily to extract mp3 files from any CD (using the highest quality extraction option) and then I transfer the resultant folder of MP3s to ALSong where I create my final playlists. If you like to be able to search your music collection by title, artist, year, genre, and much more, then this is the all-in-one program for you!
Review date: Sep 09, 2007
- Freeware
- 2000/XP/2003/Vista
It works!
Auslogics Registry Defrag version 4.0.4
- Interface: 4
- Features: 4
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
Does the same job as NTREGOPT. The only difference is this program has a nicer user interface.
Review date: Sep 08, 2007
- Freeware
- 98/ME/2000/XP/2003/Vista
A rare find
JPGVideo version 1.04
- Interface: 2
- Features: 2
- Ease of use: 4
- Value: 5
- Overall:
This is the only freeware program I could find that will actually (and successfully) combine a series of jpegs into an AVI movie. Cons: No provision to sync/add sound and user cannot apply a 29.97 fractional framerate. After use, a correction to the whole number framerate can be adjusted by several freeware programs such as AviDemux, Internet Video Converter, and/or Super Video Converter. Once the proper framerate is achieved, a sound file can simply be added by using Windows Movie Maker to merge the audio and video.
Review date: Sep 08, 2007
- Freeware
- 2000/XP
Taking forever
TVUPlayer version 2.3.2 beta 52
- Interface: 3
- Features: 1
- Ease of use: 3
- Value: 1
- Overall:
Since I only have a 768k (at best) dsl connection, the access to the stations was taking forever so I decided to uninstall it. For example, I clicked on one of the stations and, after downloading 80MB of data, I still could not gain access (i.e., watch tv).
Review date: Sep 06, 2007
- Freeware
- Win (All)
Nice interface and it does the job!
ALSong Live Lyrics MP3 Player version 1.52
- Interface: 4
- Features: 4
- Ease of use: 3
- Value: 5
- Overall:
This program had more than enough options for me to catalog and play my meager mp3 collection. The interface looks slick and the options are adequate (at least for me). The only knock I could find against this program is the music starts playing as soon as you open a playlist. In my case, this is slightly annoying because I like to prioritize songs in the playlist "BEFORE" I start listening to the music. However, I created a workaround by placing a "silent (dummy) MP3 file" at the top of the playlist to keep the program busy (repeating) until I am ready to click on the first real song. Does this annoyance sound trivial; it really is, so ignore it and download the program! You'll be glad you did.
Review date: Sep 06, 2007
- Freeware
- 2000/XP/2003/Vista
It does the job that others won't do
JkDefrag version 3.16
- Interface: 4
- Features: 4
- Ease of use: 4
- Value: 5
- Overall:
This little gem moves all of your programs to the front of the disk (which the XP default defrag program can't/won't do) for faster access and it also uses an optimization strategy when doing so. It also offers many command line parameters but I've found it works great just by clicking the executable and letting it run. Also, please read the associated documentation for a better understanding of the total process... and finally, it doesn't have to be installed to work. Highly recommended!
Review date: Sep 06, 2007
- Freeware
- 98/ME/2000/XP
You can't beat the price!
AviScreen Classic version 1.3
- Interface: 4
- Features: 5
- Ease of use: 4
- Value: 5
- Overall:
An excellent freeware utility with many options including settings for screen size, compression (quality), frame rate, and start-delay just to name a few. This one is definitely the best of the freeware bunch and may surpass many of the shareware versions as well.
Review date: Nov 12, 2006
- Freeware
- Win (All)
Does exactly what it is supposed to do!
IE Privacy Keeper version 2.7.3
- Interface: 5
- Features: 4
- Ease of use: 5
- Value: 5
- Overall:
Beware of those "all-in-one" cleaners. This utility works like a charm and is highly configurable too!
Review date: Jul 10, 2006
- Freeware
- Win (All)
So far so good...
avast! Home Edition version 4.7.844
- Interface: 3
- Features: 4
- Ease of use: 3
- Value: 5
- Overall:
Very nice for the price!
Review date: Jul 10, 2006
Create interactive Flash movies and tutorials to show how applications and systems work.
