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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

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

Flash is one of the greatest technologies on the Web, in my opinion, and I am sure that a lot of people agree with this. The bad part of the story is that you need a lot of study and good programming knowledge to fully unleash its power. Of course that sometimes you can solve things easier, using animated GIF files, for example. Today, I have here a very simple program that can assemble animations for your sites from still images, other animations or text, called Animation Workshop.





Setup



The last version of this program is 2.0, released on the 3rd of February. The shareware version has a really nasty nag, so it doesn't matter for how long you can use it, legally speaking. I am sure you won't stand it for more than a few days, anyway...

As you can see in the screenshots above, the installation is not really different from most Windows programs...or so it seems! The 15MB setup package should be easy for most of us to download and install, but what I didn't like is the length of the installation process. Enough to say that I had to click too many Next buttons, and nothing else.





Interface


Animation Workshop looks clean and very easy to use, as you can see in the screenshot to the left. In fact, it's too clean... just think about this - the menus from the main menu have only a few options each, and the toolbar isn't that rich in tools either. After seeing the main window of the program for the first time, only a question remains: "how powerful can be this program, if its interface is so basic?". Well, this is exactly the question I'll try to answer in the next chapter.





Features



The features of this program orbit around creating animations, but I wasn't expecting for this to be the only thing you can do. I thought it is normal to have an animation workshop that also allows you to edit images and objects, create new ones, import graphics... wait! That's it!



Importing graphics and setting options for each frame of the movie you are creating is the only thing you can do with this program. In fact, the idea is as it follows: you use another program for creating the content you'll merge into a movie, then import the files into Animation Workshop, then export your work. The good part is that you can import enough file formats, at least for beginners (I am sure that advanced web designers are not going to use this!), and one of the formats available for export is SWF (Flash file, if you didn't knew it by now).


At last, a warning! Don't press the About item from the Help menu if your speakers are on and somebody around is sleeping, or if you want to have a peaceful day... you're going to face the audio-nag when closing the program, anyway!





The Good



Animation Workshop is pretty easy to use and you don't need to spend much time learning it. It can export animations to Flash files.



The Bad



The price is huge, considering the features that this program (doesn't) have. There isn't much you can do with it, and you need additional software for creating the contents to import in Animation Workshop. At last, I'll say it again: the audio-nag is really annoying!


Conclusion


Animation Workshop is a really nice name, and I was expecting more from this program. Unfortunately, the only thing I like is the splash screen, but that doesn't make the program useful. Well, I don't want to bury it, so if you have the time and think this may help you, give it a try. Just hit the download link below... you know the rest!



Developer: Alchemy Mindworks Inc.

Price: 29.99$

Trial Link: Download

"No matter what you get, get something else than Windows Explorer!", that's what I always say. When talking about Vista's file manager, things are not different at all, at least for me, so you should get something better than that one also. If today's solution is really worth the change, that's what remains to be seen, because the first impression I got from Desktop Expert is not that great...


Setup

The last version of this program shows that Desktop Expert is still in its youth, being labeled 1.1. Its setup package has 1.8MB in size, and installing it is really easy, as I was expecting. The trial version of this 30$ program has limited features during the 30 days trial period and even a nag screen, and we'll see more about it a bit later.

Interface
To be honest, I don't like this program's interface. The icons on the toolbars look like they were meade by 3 different people, and the "X" icon is really ugly, just notice those jaggies! Also, the default interface layout looks too much like Windows Explorer, with a single file browsing window and nothing really special to it, as you can see in the screenshot above. These facts being given, at least it's not hard to find your way around, so we get an interface that doesn't look that good but it's easy to use. So far, so good. Neext!


Features

Now, where should I start? Take Windows Explorer, add two or three features - like two explorer windows side by side, some online help that starts with a typo of the program - "Desktop Expwerts" and a Tools menu that only links to some programs built into the operating system, like the command prompt, registry editor or drive cleaner, and you know what you can get from Desktop Expert.

I am not being mean, and I really don't want to, but look here - the File menu has two options, apart from Exit - Add New Tab and Add New Note, the Configuration area, as you can see in the last screenshot above, is like a desert, with only a few options to change. Should I say more? Just look at the screenshots and draw your conclusions! But first of all, I hope you'll read mine ...


The Good

There aren't many good things to mention about this program, but I can say at least that Desktop Expert is fast and pretty easy to use, because this is the truth.

The Bad

Considering the features present, and especially the absent ones, the price is huge. That says it all.

Conclusion

I usually advise you to try the programs I review, and decide, but this time, I won't do that. Only if you are bored to death, you can try to waste some time on Desktop Expert, but no matter the situation, don't buy it! Well, I am sorry about that... but you can try to buy it for your mother-in-law, especially if she doesn't like you!

Developer: DesktopMinds.com
Price: 30$
Trial Link: Download