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Skype
by tiaw I get the sense that Skype has grown a lot since the above description was written. It is now used widely around the world as a cheap (and often free) tool for making phone calls to people either a few miles down the road, or several thousand miles across the world. Features include voice calls (it's main focus), webcam chat ... and IM. It is also possible to buy certain packages which let you have free monthly calls to certain countries, or groups of countries. These deals are largely inexpensive, and provide much better value for money than regular telephone operators, especially if you are in regular contact with someone abroad. The IM and webcam services offer an alternative when you'd rather just see the person, or send text messages, although I rarely use these. But what about the quality and reliability? To be honest, rather mixed in my opinion. Granted, my internet provider is not too great, but Skype too has an awful habit of cutting me off calls at no notice. Other problems include big silent gaps in conversations and large periodic distortions. Often the call won't even connect. I know I shouldn't be complaining about something that essentially offers free calls, but even so I expected a bit better from Skype - given all the hype. Their range of deals and options are impressive and on paper very useful. But they need to convert that into sustained reliability. People may want free calls - but they will often end up paying if it means they can actually sustain a conversation. Often times I've been trying to talk to my girlfriend on Skype - who lives abroad, and we've just had to give up and use the regular phone instead. This is frustrating especially if you've already purchased a package. Overall, promising features, but improvement needed. Read the complete review |
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Auslogics Disk Defrag
by davidbrentforPM You might not think it but humans are a lot like computers. "Oh what, because as time goes on we get smaller just like computers seem to be doing too?". No, I mean - "oh, because when we've got two or more processes going at once we're liable to crashing (especially on Windows/with customer services)?". No! Well yes, ... but that's not what I meant. I meant that we're both good at reading things and processing them in our brain (or in our processor...), but when those things are in order, it gets a whole lot easier for us both. Taking the human example; we are able to read words with their letters jumbled up, as long as the first and last letters are in their correct positions. Now taking the computer example; they are able to open your files casually and smoothly a lot of the time, although whilst it may seem it, these files are often all over the place in little bits (I'll explain in more detail later on); that is, unless you take action! If these bits of files are in order, then it makes it easier for the computer to find them and hence allows it to open the file more quickly. So, what can sort out all our files and bits of files into order and bring speedy opening times to us as a result? I'll tell you what: Auslogics Disk Degrag (DD). A defragger (that's short for defragmenter) is an essential system utility in my book; so essential in fact, that Windows are kind enough to throw one in with your operating system. Only thing is, it's not very good; it's slow, it's unhelpful, it's boring, it's minimalistic - fine, it's pretty crap. Auslogics has come up with something that is very much the opposite. A leading piece of software for its kind, DD claims to be 'intelligent', 'compact', and 'fast'. Sounds like me. Available for download from all good online download sources, DD (for Windows, XP to 7) weighs in at a ridiculously tiny 2.16mb. It's a feather, if that. Installation is just as light, and with only one little advertisement for one of Auslogic's other products, it's quick, simple, and done in seconds; just like it should be. You can launch on Finish, so all in all you should be running the programme within about one minute from downloading it. In fact scrap that: I just timed it and it took less than twenty seconds; truly sensational. It's safe to say that I am in awe. Let's not jump to conclusions just yet though, for we've not seen the programme itself. It looks OK. That's a very vague statement, I know, but it's really difficult to evaluate. There's certainly nothing much wrong with it; your main interface is large and clear with sections split up tidily and tabs used effectively, whilst you've got a blue left-hand side bar which includes two buttons - one for the main interface (which is for some reason titled 'list of disks' - suppose it kind of rhymes) and another for 'Auto-Defragmentation' (a scheduler). These buttons are a little small and it took me a while to realise they were actually buttons and not graphics that were part of the somewhat indecisive design. You've also got your conventional toolbar running along the top of the window which does seem to question the point of that left-hand side bar (with its two lonely buttons). Certainly a very confusing design. Maybe they're going through a transitional period or something, who knows? Now, on to the main game: defragmenting. Towards the top of your main interface you have your hard drives listed, along with details and statuses. Firstly, pick your drive(s). Secondly, I recommend analysing your hard drive before you get defragmenting. It's not as clear as it could be, but the option to analyse is hidden underneath a single 'Defrag' button (why they couldn't provide multiple buttons I don't know). So, hit analyse, and your interface will suddenly come to life! Before we analyse though, I did say I'd explain this defragmenting malarkey a bit more, so I shall. Now, whilst it doesn't appear like it to us, files will often be in lots of little bits that all over the shop (of your hard drive...). Now of course to open the file the computer needs all the little bits; but if they're all over the place, then inevitably it is going to take longer to open said file. So by bringing all of the little bits together in order, the computer can access them far more efficiently. Bizarrely, I'd like to take my lounge as an example. When it's particularly messy, it is fair to say that the time it takes me to find the Radio Times is probably nearing one minute; the remote controls, at least five minutes. When we tidy the lounge though, we can easily find everything, so the process of checking when Match Of The Day starts, to grabbing the remote control and hitting '1' is reduced considerably in length, and thus becomes far more efficient. Back to the analysis! The middle third of the interface is a chart which maps out your hard drive, and this shows what files are fragmented, not fragmented, unmovable etc. This will develop as files are being scanned, and these files are detailed in the progress section (the bottom third), which is under the 'general' tab (why it's called 'general' I do not know - why not call it 'Status'. I think this programme needs to rethink its titles). This includes a handy progress meter and also details how many files are fragmented; all very useful indeed. Done, and the results are in. Thankfully it's not like those annoying television contests where they pointlessly build up the 'tension' before cutting to a break and then deciding to not tell you until next week anyway - no, they break the news when it finishes, good or bad. Depending on when you last performed a disk defragmentation (if ever), your results will vary from 'this disk does not need defragmenting', to 'below is the list of one or more disks which require defragmentation'. The annoying thing is, the former will be stated even if you've got a good amount of fragmentation building up (say 4%), which is irritating because it's a bit misleading. Perhaps the sentence could be re-worded into more of a recommendation than a statement. Nevertheless, having let the fragmentation on my hard drive build up over the last couple of weeks, I am now being told to take action! Yay? In your second tab in the bottom third of the interface you have a big ol' list of the fragmented files - for reference, you know? So, you've seen the damage and are ready to defragment; but there are two options: 'defrag' and 'defrag & optimise'. What's optimise? Help! 'Unlike simple defragmentation, 'Defrag & Optimize' mode applies several optimization techniques' (it goes on to list). Basically, it's considerably longer but does further help your computer to open its files quickly and efficiently. For your first scan though, I'd go with just 'defrag' - when you've got the time you can do some optimising. When you hit 'defrag' the disco in the centre of interface will resume, with colours flashing around very merrily indeed. I must say that I love the design of the hard drive map; each individual square block will vary in colour depending on its status, and as well as a legend beneath you also have little dialogue boxes which appear beside the boxes upon them being highlighted. The progress bar in the bottom tab indicates what percentage of the job is done as well as time taken, but isn't able to supply you with any predictions for when the process will be completed. Probably just as well, because it'd undoubtedly be way off anyway. Scan speeds are quick and certainly competitive with other leading defraggers, though regular scanning will of course reduce this considerably. You've also got some handy defrag features bundled in there too. Auto-defrag is a fantastic feature which allows for ongoing defragmenting throughout the time that your computer is on. You can set DD to come into action when your computer is idle, and easily adjust the length of time that the programme will wait before kicking in. You can even manage the CPU levels, setting the defragger to pause if levels exceed your set value. Finally you've got a handy shut-down feature which can be implemented on any scan, should you wish your computer to be shut down for you upon your scan completing; very handy indeed, and a welcome sight before my eyes! If you were wondering what lay within that third tab then I'm afraid it's nothing special. Rather, some system scans (none of which you can take direct action over) which try to convince you that getting their 'Boost Speed' product is the solution to the nightmare that is your computer. Of course, it's hardly surprising, but at the same time it's not very well received by myself, either. In terms of accessibility, it's all fine, with memory consumption being more than manageable, rarely peaking 40k. Ongoing scans do begin to sap memory though, but not substantially, and shouldn't really reach much higher than 50k. The help section shouldn't really need referring to, but what's there is useful and it's clearly displayed and structured. Why the internal programme link to the help section goes to the Auslogics Support Contents page (which lists all of its products), instead of straight to the Disk Defrag contents, I do not know. A bit silly really. Finally, updates can be easily made via the help menu, linking you to a page on their website which will inform you of any updates available. There doesn't appear to be automatic updates, which I really don't mind. Overall, I think Auslogics Disk Defrag is a great little utility, and a very handy one too. With defragmenting being such an essential part of computer management, it's important to have an efficient defragger that will effectively get the job done. With a clear and well explained interface, an easily operated set of controls, and some useful scheduling features, I struggle to see where you can go wrong with this piece of software. Now to just find an equivalent for my lounge... Read the complete review |
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Download Accelerator Plus
by davidbrentforPM Foreword: This product *is* still available for free download - just visit: http://www.speedbit.com/dap/ I'd like to think I was a patient person, somebody who waited for things in calm; I'm sure we'd all like to think this. I'd like my peers to think, "wow, he's a patient kind of guy", and I'm sure we'd all ... like this to be thought of us (apart from women, maybe). However, we are humans, and even if it doesn't necessarily come across too obviously in our actions, we're not the most patient of species. The train's a minute late - our day has been ruined, and so has our week. It's fair to say that snails and turtles and the sort must hate us with a passion. The solution? Avoiding the need to be patient; and thankfully, in the online side of things, this comes in the shape of Download Accelerator Plus. Great name isn't it? Not to be mistaken for some music festival crossed with a rubbish computer game and yet further crossed with a heavily advertised television package, either. No, of course not. Download Accelerator Plus (that's DAP for short - also not to be mixed up from the chap from N-Dubz) is a piece of software developed by Speedbit that, to put it simply, accelerates your downloads, plus some other wonderful features (that's what the plus is for, you see). How does it miraculously perform such a task? Allow me to explain. It's not magic, no. Say you were constructing an important alphabet jigsaw puzzle, but four pieces were missing when you put put it all together. Now Jigsaw Mania, where you got your Jigsaw from, only has pieces B and Q immediately available, and won't be getting pieces H and M for another week. However, Jigsaw Super-Duper can get you H and M immediately. So, naturally, you'd order from both and have it all in three days as opposed to waiting a week for Jigsaw Mania? Well, when you download a file in your browser it will be through one connection, so one source if you like. What this software does is split the file and seek it out from various connections. It can reach four connections easily, meaning that four smaller parts can be sent more quickly and then seamlessly form one file upon arrival. Does it work? Well, it claims to be able to easily reach speeds that are 200% quicker, sometimes up to 400%. That's like having your own pigeon delivering your letters. Of course claims are never conclusive, so I shall be exploring these bold words a little later. For now though, it's installation time! That is, if you're a Windows user (that's 2000 right up to 7, very nice indeed). Theoretically this should be your last period of impatience, for all downloads hereafter will be super fast like lightening! No, still not optimistic? Oh. Either way, 11.7mb is no mammoth to download (not that you can download mammoths), and you'll have it in seconds (52.52 seconds if you're downloading it from my household). The installation is ever so slightly annoying though... You'll be met with a window that includes an oddly mysterious looking graphic, that could have been pulled from some terribly fake MI5. I can look past this though; what I don't like is being asked to install an Internet toolbar. If I'd wanted to download one of them then I would have asked. What I do like is the range of 38 languages being available, albeit in basic translations. Installation itself takes 30 seconds or so, and you're then met with more pain. They try to convince you to buy two of their other products, and change your home page in their favour. Again, I'd have asked; leave me alone. Make sure you untick the home page box, and stay selected on the free version. They then give you the option to receive special offers and recommendations via email. Seriously? DAP recommends some things to us next, add-ons if you like. I've not installed them, though they could be useful depending on your needs, so it's a nice feature I suppose; albeit an unnecessary something-else to throw into the mountainous installation. They try to add desktop icons before finishing off, but do at least give an option which is very welcome indeed. Finally you are taken to a pointless online finish page, pointless because it's mainly taken up by yet more advertisements for their other products. Oh well. The installation is over. Goodness gracious me. You should note that you won't be prompted to restart your browser(s), something you'll need to do to install the DAP extension add-on. It's not a bar, but a key part of the download process I do believe. Well, they're not exactly going to throw some pointless thing in there are they? Needless to say, it was nice of them to tell us to restart our browsers. Not. The DAP main interface is a bit of a disaster area. Split into three tabs, you're met by the 'Internet' tab by default, which is basically an internal browser that looks and feels ten years out of date. It's also host to a home page (fileratings.com) that just comes across as being ever so dodgy, with ridiculously high download figures (5 million for the top charted), over double that of my good friend 'download.com' (1.6 million for the top charted). Indeed, Alexa (a web information company) gives 'fileratings.com' a global traffic rank of 25,075 - that is against a rank of 140 for 'download.com'. But the download figures... I know, I know, it's just not right. Let us move on. The third tab is 'FTP browser', something I'm not familiar with and can find little guidance on, which is disappointing. Why so many programmes can't explain their software comprehensively I'll never know. We'll focus on the first tab ('downloads'), and seemingly, the only useful one. The interface is clear with a horizontal toolbar and left-hand side bar keeping things tidy, whilst the main body is big enough to detail your downloads efficiently. Your main toolbar includes buttons that that consist of good quality graphics (I must admit that I was most surprised) whilst your left-hand side bar categorises the various statuses that your downloads can be at. No let-downs? Of course there are - advertisements in the right-hand side bar. As if there hadn't been enough already. A bit pathetic really. On to those claims of 200% and 400% increases. Now I tested these claims extensively and was very disappointed; but before you throw those claims back at DAP in anger I must say this: my Internet connection is rubbish. We were once promised an 8mb line upgrade, and they then said they couldn't give it to us because our line didn't support any greater than what we were on. With my speeds not able to physically reach any higher my tests are far from conclusive, so I challenge you to carry out your own! It's not all about the download speeds though; indeed, if it was, then this piece of software would be one of most pointless things ever to reach the hard drive of my computer. No, it's the way that this programme manages your downloads which impresses me. When you select a file to download from within your web browser, DAP pops up with its own little download box. It includes various options including where to download to and how, as well as scheduling options for downloads, such as 'schedule' and 'download later'. Scheduling is oddly placed in the 'Options' menu (why oh why?), and gives you the option to have a start and end time for downloads on selected days. It's a useful feature, though the accessibility of it really does need reconsideration. Furthermore, you can easily pick up those downloads that you thought were lost forever (that is, from when you were using this software). If your Internet connection is anything like mine then it'll occasionally get bored and decide to pop out (no pun intended) for a quick stroll. This is all very well, but when you've a gigabyte download on the go it can be rather frustrating. DAP makes easy work of it though, resuming downloads as if the connection was there all the time. I conveniently hit 'disconnect' on my Internet connection to test this feature whilst mid-way through a 40mb download from 'download.com'. It resumed perfectly, and the file worked perfectly. Splendid. I did find, however, that some broken downloads couldn't be resumed at all, whilst others would just restart. All of this seems to be again unexplained, which is rather annoying and actually quite confusing; just as I thought this software was going somewhere... That's the bulk of the software, though there a couple of other features included such as the ability to view download history, and even Tweet (on Twitter) about your most exciting downloads! There are other pointless features too, including the option to play sounds as various tasks begin, such as 'download success' and 'download failure'. Of course, no sounds are provided, you have to provide those yourself. Perhaps they want you to look online and download some tunes. In terms of accessibility it's a mixed story. On the one hand the memory consumption is nothing major, and is in fact quite good, rarely peaking 20k. The help section seemed to contain a good deal of information, but I could never seem to find what I was looking for. Whilst screen-shots were used to illustrate points more effectively the content was often a bit too basic, and even then failed to cover what I wanted to know! Finally, the unwelcome welcome. It sounds like a rubbish new music band, but it's DAP greeting you as you turn your computer on. An advertisement takes up the majority of the 'DAP Status' box, and they've even made room to include a figure of how many Facebook users 'like' Speedbit. Let me assure you, not one of those users is me. Overall, I feel disappointed. I've used this software for a month prior to reviewing it and thought it to be rather handy, and an efficient tool for downloading. However, carrying out this review has led me to believe otherwise, and with consistently poor performance in nearly all areas I can't quite put my finger on what led me to want to keep it. Indeed, re-reading this review I can see how my opinion seems to deteriorate as it goes on. Whilst download speeds are hard to increase with a terrible connection, I felt that they should have at least seen some sort of increase, but the fact is they didn't. Broken downloads cannot always be fixed, and when I compare DAP to the in-built download manager within Firefox I can see very little that goes in former's favour, which really is disappointing. Unfortunately, I think it's fair to say that Sylvester has caught Senor Gonzales on this occasion. I can't believe it. A flashing light bulb just began to display in my system tray, in the bottom right-hand corner of my screen. I thought my computer was going to tell me that it was about to blow up or something. No. It was Speedbit, telling me that the 'Springtime Sale' had only one day left. DAP: you don't even have that. Goodbye. Read the complete review |
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