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Software Reviews

by thinavila

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.

PhraseExpress Autotext
  • Freeware
  • Win2000/XP/2003/Vista

qleft  Nagware  qright

PhraseExpress Autotext version 5.0.44
  • Interface: 3
  • Features: 4
  • Ease of use: 5
  • Value: 4
  • Overall: 4

It is an excellent program,and I have rated it so. However, it has a built in system of calculating how much money it is saving for you by auto-entering phrases, and when this number hits $20 it starts throwing screens at you asking you to buy the program as it thinks you are a commercial user. It would have been OK if this screen only hit you once a day or so, but it keeps popping up every few minutes and you have to wait for 5 seconds it you want to say "No" to buying it. If you choose "Yes", you are taken to their website, where a message comes asking you not to buy anything now, as they are soon going to release the new version of this software.

    Review date: Jan 25, 2008

Yankee-Clipper
  • Freeware
  • WinWin (All)

qleft  One of the best, but tough on the beginner  qright

Yankee-Clipper version 1.0
  • Interface: 3
  • Features: 5
  • Ease of use: 2
  • Value: 5
  • Overall: 4

This is one of the best clipboard utilities that I have come across, but someone using it for the first time will have to spend some time familiarising himself or herself with the various features it offers. Reading the helpfile and trial-clicking on the various buttons is an absolute must, as intuitive clicking will not let you make full use of the program's potential. This is one region where the software still has to improve, but hey, it is FREE

    Review date: Dec 10, 2004

Adobe Photoshop
  • Free Trial ($649.00)
  • Win98/ME/2000/XP

qleft  Maybe the best, but beyond me!  qright

Adobe Photoshop
  • Interface: 3
  • Features: 5
  • Ease of use: 1
  • Value: 3
  • Overall: 3

I tried this image editor for a while on my computer. It seemed that it could do magic with images, but the program was so complex that I was unable to do much more than simple edit functions. The help files are extensive, but presume a lot of knowledge on the part of the user. On the whole, a great tool for a professional (who would probably already have bought it), but a strict no-no for a beginner unless he already has a tutorial at hand. Amateurs should try Photo Filtre or Rahman Imager, both available at this site. Another problem for the casual user is that it takes a lot of disk space and requires a lot of memory to start up.

    Review date: Oct 06, 2004

FreeRAM XP
  • Freeware
  • Win2000/XP

qleft  Stopped my computer from hanging  qright

FreeRAM XP version 1.40
  • Interface: 3
  • Features: 3
  • Ease of use: 4
  • Value: 5
  • Overall: 4

This piece of freeware stopped my computer from hanging regularly, and never gave any trouble all the time I used it. A definite must for you if you dont have a bucket-full of memory installed!

    Review date: Oct 06, 2004

PDF SpeedUp
  • Freeware
  • WinWin (All)

qleft  Does it job very well  qright

PDF SpeedUp version 1.0
  • Interface: 3
  • Features: 3
  • Ease of use: 5
  • Value: 5
  • Overall: 4

It only claims to speed up the starting of Acrobat reader, and this it does very well. However, I don't know whether you will wind up in problems if you do need the plugins which this program prevents from starting. So far, I have not had any problems, but I am not a heavy user of Acrobat documents.

    Review date: Jul 13, 2004

Flash Optimizer
  • Free Trial ($99.95)
  • WinWin (All)

qleft  Unviewable flash  qright

Flash Optimizer version 1.25
  • Interface: 3
  • Features: 1
  • Ease of use: 3
  • Value: 1
  • Overall: 2

I downloaded the shareware version, which does not allow you to save the Flash files that are compressed. Therefore, you cannot check whether the compressed files are any good.

    Review date: Jul 03, 2004

PicoZip
  • Free Trial ($24.95)
  • WinWin (All)

qleft  Cannot beat the best  qright

PicoZip version 2.8
  • Interface: 2
  • Features: 4
  • Ease of use: 3
  • Value: 1
  • Overall: 3

This is a commendable attempt by its creators, but does not match the versatility of Winzip, or the price of Zipgenius (Free). Though it does all that a compression-decompression utility does, there is no point in downloading it unless you want to compress files into some special format such as RAR or ACE, which are not independently supported by its competitors.

    Review date: Jul 03, 2004

DivX for Windows
  • Freeware
  • Win2000/XP/2003/Vista

qleft  Mp3 of video  qright

DivX for Windows version 5.11
  • Interface: 3
  • Features: 5
  • Ease of use: 3
  • Value: 5
  • Overall: 4

DivX lets you compress VCD files to nearly 50% of their original size, and DVD files to nearly 10-15% of the original size, letting you save a full length movie on a single VCD disc, for back up. However, you need a video converter such as Virtual Dub, to do this, as this download contains only the codec and the player. Installing the player is unnecessary, as any multimedia player will play DivX once the codec is installed. However the flip side is that the DivX files cannot be viewed on a VCD or DVD player, unless you re-convert them to another format.

    Review date: Jun 30, 2004

ePrompter
  • Freeware
  • Win2000/XP/2003/Vista

qleft  Get that mail on your desktop!  qright

ePrompter version 2.0 SR44
  • Interface: 3
  • Features: 4
  • Ease of use: 3
  • Value: 5
  • Overall: 3

This program lets you connect automatically to various email providers, such as Yahoo and Lycos, and download the unread mail in your inbox. The only hassle is the amount of time it takes to connect and get the mail. You could probably check all the mail accounts manually in the same time. However, if you are doing something else while this activity goes on in the background, give this program a shot.

    Review date: Jun 30, 2004

AllWebMenus Pro
  • Free Trial ($59.95)
  • WinWin (All)

qleft  Dont download it  qright

AllWebMenus Pro version 3.1.524
  • Interface: 3
  • Features: 2
  • Ease of use: 1
  • Value: 1
  • Overall: 2

Dont download this software if you plan to just try it out. The limitation in the trial version prevents you from saving any files created with the program, rendering it useless. It lets you create beautiful DHTML menus, but the size of the menu files is huge, and websites using these are unlikely to be visited by those with slow connections.

    Review date: Jun 30, 2004

Tracks Eraser Pro
  • Free Trial ($29.95)
  • WinWin (All)

qleft  Good software, but incomplete  qright

Tracks Eraser Pro version 5.0
  • Interface: 3
  • Features: 2
  • Ease of use: 3
  • Value: 2
  • Overall: 3

When you run this software, it seems to clean out an impressive amount of data from your computer, including Internet tracks and the index.dat file. However, if you run another program such as the System Mechanic immediately afterward, you will be amazed to see the amount of junk that was left behind. Get it only if you need to clean out the index.dat files and cannot find another software to do it.

    Review date: Jun 27, 2004

TweakNow PowerPack 2009
  • Freeware
  • WinXP/Vista/7

qleft  Learn hidden secrets of windows  qright

TweakNow PowerPack 2009 version 1.7.5.4
  • Interface: 5
  • Features: 4
  • Ease of use: 4
  • Value: 2
  • Overall: 4

This software lets you see and edit all those features that Microsoft should have left easily accessible, but have hidden away in some secret corner. It lets you do most of the tweaks that other software such as TweakXP gives, plus gives a RAM defragmenter and a system clean up utility. Definitely worth a try

    Review date: Jun 27, 2004

Norton AntiVirus
  • Free Trial ($49.95)
  • WinWin (All)

qleft  Gluttonous bloatware  qright

Norton AntiVirus version 2004 10.01.13.3
  • Interface: 5
  • Features: 3
  • Ease of use: 5
  • Value: 1
  • Overall: 3

I have a pIV 2.4 GHz system with 256MB RAM and video and sound cards. I tried to install the Norton antivirus software demo that I got with the Intel driver CD. Installation went fine, and the software worked well. However, boot up took over 2 minutes, and the computer tended to slow down considerably when running memory intensive tasks. Things have been fine once I uninstalled the software and started using AVG, which I had been using for my old system. It has picked up every virus that ever got into my system, uses less memory, and is free. On the other hand, you have to keep forking out money for the annual subscription of antivirus database files from Norton. My choice? Go for Norton if you have loads of memory, but plump for AVG otherwise!!

    Review date: Jun 27, 2004

System Mechanic
  • Free Trial ($49.95)
  • Win2000/XP/Vista/7

qleft  Great software  qright

System Mechanic version 4.0h
  • Interface: 4
  • Features: 5
  • Ease of use: 4
  • Value: 3
  • Overall: 4

This is a great software to keep Windows running smoothly. It does a complete periodic service of your software, ensuring that it does not lock up. Only one piece of advice- if you don't know what you are doing, don't use the "Delete duplicate files" function, or you may wind up without some essential system files. I wish the developers would fix this, so that it becomes idiot proof!!

    Review date: Jun 27, 2004

Registry Medic 2008
  • Free Trial ($29.95)
  • WinWin (All)

qleft  Dont download unless you buy it  qright

Registry Medic 2008 version 2.9
  • Interface: 3
  • Features: 4
  • Ease of use: 2
  • Value: 2
  • Overall: 3

This program finds a lot of registry errors and fixes them all right, but fixes only 5 errors at a time in the trial mode. You have to re-scan the computer each time, and this can be a pain if if finds 20-30 errors. There are other good software which offer full functionality for a limited period, and if you are only intending to try the software, give this one a skip.

    Review date: Jun 27, 2004

IrfanView
  • Freeware
  • WinWin (All)

qleft  Move over acd see  qright

IrfanView version 3.91
  • Interface: 4
  • Features: 5
  • Ease of use: 5
  • Value: 5
  • Overall: 5

Why would you want to pay for an image viewer, or put up with the vicissitudes of a shareware, when Irfan View is around? In addition to letting you view umpteen types of files, it also can do screen captures, image manipulation, image creation (including merging two or more files into a panoramic image), multimedia playback (requires additional downloaded plugins) etc. Definitely the Michael Jordan of the image viewing world!!

    Review date: Jun 20, 2004

RoboForm
  • Freeware
  • WinWin (All)

qleft  The best of the best  qright

RoboForm version 5.7.1
  • Interface: 5
  • Features: 4
  • Ease of use: 4
  • Value: 5
  • Overall: 5

Well, this is THE form filler to use, whether you are an IE fan or a Mozilla devotee. In case you are the latter, you will have to download the Netscape adapter in addition to the software. The only problem I have encountered so far is an inability to fill certain forms, such as those based on Flash (at the Macromedia homepage). I hope the developers keep up the good work.

    Review date: Jun 20, 2004

Avant Browser
  • Freeware
  • WinWin (All)

qleft  Excellent replacement for internet explorer  qright

Avant Browser version 9.02 Build 031
  • Interface: 4
  • Features: 5
  • Ease of use: 3
  • Value: 5
  • Overall: 4

Avant Browser is actually not a complete browser, but a new interface for IE. It adds practically everything you would want from a browser, such as multiple tabbed windows, ability to turn off images or flash, pop up blocker, easy cleaning of cache etc. My personal wish list would be the addition of a download manager capable of multi-threading. Go for it if you are used to the IE interface, but fed up with its limitations.

    Review date: Jun 11, 2004

ZipGenius
  • Freeware
  • WinWin (All)

qleft  Great freeware, but too large  qright

ZipGenius version 5.5.1.440
  • Interface: 3
  • Features: 5
  • Ease of use: 4
  • Value: 5
  • Overall: 5

The title sort of sums up my feelings about this bit of freeware. It does almost everything that Winzip does, without a nag-screen. The ability to create encrypted files is great. However, some menu items are available only by right clicking the archived item, and not from the toolbars, which can be difficult for a newbie. The size of the program can be a drawback for third-world users with slow downloads.

    Review date: Jun 11, 2004

Tanida Quiz Builder

Tanida Quiz Builder

Create educational quizzes in Flash format that can be distributed online or as standalone .EXE file.

Spytech SpyAgent

Spytech SpyAgent

A powerful monitoring solution to record PC activity, including keystrokes, email and more.

Demo Builder

Demo Builder

Create interactive Flash movies and tutorials to show how applications and systems work.