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EVEREST and Sandra are notorious applications that I always think about when it comes to checking the hardware and software components of a computer, and even when I have to benchmark a computer. Since I already mentioned them in a previous article, I couldn't leave things this way, so the time has come for the first one to get its own review. Ladies and gentlemen, prepare for EVEREST Ultimate Edition!


Setup

<-234x60 Half Banner - left->The current version of this software is 4.00, but EVEREST has a really long story behind and, I am sure of it, a long and prosperous future. Anyway, let's leave the history aside now. The setup package that you have to download has 7.7MB in size, and installing it is very easy, as you can see in the screenshots below. At last, you should know that the 30 days trial version also has some small limitations - you don't get all the data that the program can display available, but a text that reminds you that the version you have is a trial...

Interface

Formerly known as AIDA32, EVEREST inherits the interface of that program, and its main strong points are the same: ease of use and a nice layout, well organized. The menu bar, the toolbar and the work area, composed of a tree view pane, in the left side, and an info view pane, to the right. As you can see in the screenshot to the left, everything is very intuitive, so discovering this program's features should be easy for everyone...


Features

EVEREST Ultimate Edition has almost everything any computer user would like to know about its PC, and all the info and benchmarking features are grouped in 5 big categories: Hardware Information, Software Information, Security, Diagnostics and Reporting.

While most home users won't use the reporting features, I am sure that the diagnose features like the System Stability Test or the ability to check the voltages and temperatures in one's system will get used a lot.

Needless to say, the features from the Hardware Information brach in the treeview pane are outstanding, providing very detailed information about every little piece of hardware in your computer, but remember about the trial limitation... to know everything about your system, you'll have to pay almost 35$. Sounds like a fair deal, isn't it?


The Good

EVEREST Ultimate Edition is one of the highest peaks reached by the system information tools so far, being able to provide very detailed information about a computer, its components and their performance.

The Bad

When version 3 appeared, I was wondering when will I get a serious graphics benchmark built into this program. Now it's version 4, but the question remains the same...

Conclusion

I don't like it when I have to decide between two programs that I like very much, and in most cases I don't do it. Now, I have only revealed a small part of EVEREST Ultimate, because I am sure that if you didn't use it so far, you will try it, but if you're one of its users, you would laugh at my try. After all, this is not just another hardware information tool. All you have to do with it is grab it, and you won't let it go, that's a guarantee!

Developer: Lavalys Consulting Group Inc.
Price: 34.95$
Trial Link: Download

No matter what operating system you are using, most of the applications that you are currently using are going to be replaced one day by new ones, and this is called "evolution". Obviously, there's nothing special with it. The problem appears when you uninstall a program, and its tracks remain inside your computer. This is called usually "junk", and it's always better without it.

Apart from using a system cleaning suite, you can simply get a specialized uninstaller to make your life much easier and also have a faster and cleaner OS. Sounds good, isn't it? The helper I have today is called Add-Remove Master, an application coming from a small company called MMH Soft.


Setup

Add-Remove Master has been around for a while, since it has reached version 6.0, and this didn't happen with a jump from version 1.0 to 3, then to 6... The setup package has less than 3MB in size, so the download should happen pretty fast for everyone. The 30 days trial version that you can download using the link at the end of this article has no functional limitation, so you'll be able to work with all the features of this program. Since installing Add-Remove Program is very easy, as you can see in the screenshots below, let's take another step forward and talk about the interface, as usual...

Interface

Add-Remove Master looks good, there's no doubt about it. The layout of its main window makes it very easy to use the program, but the basic mode almost managed to make me bang my head into the wall. Why? I wasn't able to find the menu that would give me the chance to switch back to standard mode. Well, my bad, it was only an icon, not a menu. The manual of the program helped me find my way, so if you have any problems, don't forget to check the manual!


Features

After the program loads, a list with all items installed appears, including Windows updates, fixes and patches. Without them, I don't know how could I have 166 programs installed, as this software reports.

One of the things that I like is that when you right click an item from the programs list, depending on the program, you can get access to its install location, detailed information about it (size, publisher, version, display and registry name, and more) and direct access to the publisher and support web pages.

The tools included into Add-Remove Master can be found in the Tools menu, obviously. Included here are links to Windows' registry editor, components wizard and update tool, as well as its own Quick Clean Wizard, BHO's Manager, and MMH Cleaner (only available for the users of the registered edition).

Of course that all the above is not everything that this program can do, but I'll leave for you the pleasure of discovering the Report Wizard and those few other goodies that I didn't mention here.


The Good

Add-Remove Master is easy to use, fast and has a very good interface. The basic, standard and expert layouts enable each user to get what he wants. If you're in trouble, you can use the documentation to clear any foggy problem, because it's well done. At last, the 16$ price is a real bargain!

The Bad

I don't like it at all when I encounter typos in programs, and this time I found some. Enough to mention "Uninsatll Information" in the Info menu... The last problem that comes into my mind is the fact that the basic interface layout misses access to the features enclosed by the Tools menu.

Conclusion

I am not crazy about cheap products, because in most cases, "cheap" and "good" can't be found in the same place. This time, we have an exception to that rule, at least in my opinion. Of course, to decide what's best for yourselves, all you have to do is spare some time to hit the download link below, install the program and try it on your computer, as I was saying earlier...

Developer: MMH Soft
Price: 16$
Trial Link: Download

After breaking the Monster Worldwide database last week, hackers have stolen 146,000 users personal information from usajobs.gov website.

Usajobs.gov is storing two million user’s names, mail addresses, phone numbers and social security numbers.
The latter can’t be compromised because they are encrypted in the database.

The government restricted access to the database until Monster, that runs the site on behalf of the government finishes cleaning the system.

According to Peter Graves, spokesman for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the site was compromised on July 20, after a subscriber submitted a fraudulent e-mail.

Usajobs.gov warns its users to “be on the alert for fraudulent email that advertises positions managing financial transactions, or cashing checks. These emails are attempting to engage job seekers in a money laundering or bad check scam.”

On August 30 Maxton company released version 2.0.3.4552 of Maxthon Internet browser.


Maxthon browser is based on the Internet Explorer engine and has many interesting features like Tabbed Browsing, Mouse Gestures, Maxthon Smart Acceleration, Magic Fill, Feed Reader, URL Alias, Utilities for adding shortcuts of programs in the browser, and start them with a single click, Ad Hunter, Web Sniffer which helps in finding the real URLs of FLV video file on those online video website, Screen Capture, URL Key, Web Bar, Super Proxy, Online Favorites Service, Undo List, Super Drag&Drop, and browser Anti-Freeze.

Changes in the latest version include:
- Link added to Online Favorites Recovery
- Added Prompt dialog when switching user
- Groups Menu's show/hide states will not be determined by whether user has Groups Data

Being given the later progress of optical storage devices, I can't think about a program for burning optical discs that can't handle Blu-Ray ones. Although I won't try to avoid programs that don't have this feature yet, it's always a pleasure to enocunter another full-featured burning program, and today we're talking about DiscJuggler, a software developed by Padus Inc.


Setup
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If you're interested in accurate numbers, than you should know that the latest version of DiskJuggler is labeled 6.00.140, and its setup package has exactly 10.1MB in size. I didn't count the number of setup screens you have to go through to install this program, but I can tell you there's no problem to be had with this part.

The only thing that I don't like is that once you install the program, the setup application asks you to restart your computer. Anyway, since every serious burning program comes with its own burning engine and the system must be restarted to load it, this is not something out of ordinary.


Interface
DiskJuggler doesn't have an interface that made me fall off my chair, but I must confess I like its looks very much. The main window has a very simple layout, with a menu bar, a toolbar and a wizard window that you see when opening the program. Anyway, before anything else, you will have to face a nag that can be seen in the picture to the left, showing the limitations of the demo version. Once you press the OK button, your journey can begin...


Features

As you can see in the first screenshot below, there are a lot of tasks that can be accomplished using DiskJuggler, from creating new disks and write copies to audio grabbing, but this one only in the registered version.

Once you create a task, you can easily add files to your compilation or set disk copy options without breaking a sweat, but I think that beginners may have to spend some time reading the manual to use DiskJuggler at full power. Anyway, since the manual is very detailed, all you need is a little time to spare.

If you want to talk about the advanced settings of this program, there's a lot to say, but I will cut an entire story to a single word: impressing. The Device Explorer allows you to get detailed information about the virtual and physical CD/DVD/Blu-Ray drives in your system, and the Options window is exactly as I was saying: impressive. Just open the Tools menu and pick the Options menu item to access it. This is it for now, the rest of the discovery work is up to you...


The Good

DiskJuggler is a lightweight disc burner with "heavy" features, being easy enough to use and competitively priced. At last, the documentation of this program is absolutely outstanding.

The Bad

I don't like the limitations of the demo version. I think that even an 8 hours fully featured demo would be better than this one that can't write more than 700MB of data on a disc, apart from other limitations. Also, it's funny to mention that DiskJuggler detected the maximum CD reading speed of my burner to be 63X, which is obviously not true.

Conclusion

Just like many other computer users, I got an OEM license for Nero when I purchased my retail DVD writer, and I'll stick to that for a while. Anyway, when the version I have will become obsolete, or I'll simply need a change, DiskJuggler is going to be amongst the top 3 possible choices.

Developer: Padus Inc.
Price: 49.99$
Trial Link: Download