Software Reviews

Its system requirements are colossal! For something of no practical purpose whatsoever, it requires a minimum configuration of 1GHz CPU with 256 MHz RAM, AGP card with 32 MB VRAM. And even with that configuration, the programme seems to strut during motion. Not only that, it also has a tendency to hang up a lot. There are many times that the programme seems like a rushed job.

he trial version is a hefty download of 18 MB and if that's not enough, the time period for evaluation is just 7 days. A one-month trial period would have been more appropriate for the users to use their imagination and create some really wacky greetings and messages. CrazyTalk does go heavy on the wallet; it's $50 for the full version. The limited trial period should not keep you away from trying out this all fun software - go crazy with CrazyTalk.

+ Lucid and user-friendly interface, Innovative and fun filled, Very effective

- Limited trial period for proper evaluation, Expensive

I think it would be safe to say that anyone who has a PC at home does have a collection of pictures that he holds dear. Be it images downloaded from the Internet, images received through forwarded emails, photos from the scanner or digital camera, or even a desktop wallpaper collection. Chances are, that there are some useful images scattered all over your drive and the idea of sorting and categorizing them manually brings up a whole bunch of phobias in you. If this is the situation you're in right now then ACDSee may just be the thing for you.

Acronis True Image is fast, and very powerful. It's easily the best I have used till date and it makes disk imaging look much simpler and safe. The Windows support and ability to multitask while imaging is a great boon. Considering the customization and easy of use combined, it's a most sensible option for all those who can do without the scheduling feature. The software is a rock solid performer with maximum stability.

There are options for password protection where one can set a password, which provides a secure Imaging experience. The compression level can also be set as per choice, so if one has a monster drive/partition to back up, the compression level can be set to high and vice versa.

This software from Freeserif is a decent alternative to Adobe Photoshop. Although not up to the likes of Photoshop, this software is a feature-rich package, most of them taken directly from the big boss itself. But there are many tiny features present here, which are very helpful in many ways. Most of all, this version of this software is free and unlike Photoshop it is not system resource hungry. While Photoshop requires at least 128 MB of system memory to run, Photoplus loads in just a couple of seconds.

In terms of the overall package, the software is way behind Adobe Photoshop or even Paint Shop Pro, but is an ideal freeware for the less serious Adobe buffs. Maybe, this software can also turn out to be an ideal launching pad to Photoshop over a period of time.

This program is a must have for anyone who has bandwidth, or anyone who likes to measure the performance of his Internet connection. No other app that I've seen offers such a level of comprehensive control and monitoring abilities like NetLimiter. The only crib is that it's a 30-day trialware, after which you'll have to pay bucks to register it. NetLimiter is compatible with Win98/Win98 SE, WinME, Win2000 and WinXP. It's a 600 KB download, and worth every byte of your bandwidth.

Well, it's a fun thing to use. Those who don't have Windows XP, but want the looks, those who have XP, but want the Windows 2004 look, those who want to create their own new theme, this is an easy place to start.

Large number of basic elements: Forms, Pictures, Buttons of different types, Text Blocks, HTML objects, Input Boxes, and Menu lists including "Recent Programs" menu can be manipulated using the inbuilt Talisman editor. Wicked!

Creating a website can be quite a tricky job, especially if you're trying to compete with the millions of flash-looking sites out there. However, Namo WebEditor 6 Suite offers an easier, wizard-driven approach to generating such impressive looking online creations.

The Site Wizard has lots of different templates which cover all kinds of genres, such as personal and company websites or local community and hotel sites. A preview of your website's structure appears in the main part of the wizard, so you can get a feel for the site as a whole rather than as individual pages.

The next step is to select the theme for the new site. There are enough provided to satisfy most requirements and some include animated images. You can also preview how the whole website will look with each theme setting. At this point you can enter your details as the site author and then select your desired server for the website.

The Site Manager helps you keep track of the different pages you create and allows you to insert new pages. This also provides an easy way of logging all the different parts of your website and making sure you don't go over your megabyte space limit.

Editing the web pages is very easy and there is no need to learn HTML, although you can view this if you want. There is a split-screen option if you do want to edit the HTML code. However, formatting is mostly achieved through the different presets already in place, which ensures a consistent feel to the design.

Other tools include WebBoard, which enables you to start your own message boards or chat forums, and WebCanvas for creating graphics for your site.

This is a very powerful web design package with some simplified features. But the professional tools may appeal more to those with some experience of web design already.

Your computer's hard disk can be divided into partitions to make it easier to manage. HD Manager allows you to change and adjust these partitions to suit your purposes. Alternatively, if you have only one partition, you can use HD Manager to split it into two or more.

Why would you want to do this? Suppose you wanted to give Linux a try without upsetting your existing system, or wanted to create a separate space to store music or video clips. Normally you would have to wipe the whole disk and start again from scratch, but HD Manager allows you to rearrange things while leaving everything else as it is.

It has a simple enough menu system: you select the options you want, and tell it to apply the changes. Rebooting may be needed, in which case your partitions will be in place when the computer restarts.

In our tests it worked very well, being able to change the type of partitions, and combine, split and delete partitions.

Of course, there is always a risk of data loss, so you should always back up files before doing anything this technical, but if you find yourself needing to make changes to your hard disk, HD Manager is a good buy.

If you need to change your PC's display settings frequently, then perhaps running virtual desktops is the answer. Alternatively, virtual desktops can simply be a way of reducing the clutter on your PC by assigning a particular activity to each virtual desktop (i.e. graphics work). With ManageDesk it's possible to run up to four virtual desktops, each with their own settings (resolution, refresh rate, quick launch icons, wallpaper etc). Switching between desktops is simply a matter of selecting the relevant icon from the system tray. ManageDesk's windows management is pretty good, and it's possible to view every active application regardless of which desktop it's on. Individual desktops can be set to launch programs automatically on start-up, and numerous keyboard shortcuts ensure that everything can be done quickly.

Verdict: An extremely easy-to-use program that caters for all your virtual desktop needs.