July 1998

This section features the newest and hottest software programs released on the Internet.

By Kieran McNamee

One little gripe concerns the fact that the Complete Program Deleter is installed in your \windows and \windows\system directories. Added to this, when you want to uninstall the Complete Program Deleter you have to go through the aforementioned directories and delete any associated files manually.

If you use Windows Explorer primarily for file management, then there's not much advantage in ShrewdEX. If, on the other hand, you use the 'My Computer' for managing files you will definitely find this program helpful.

If desired, Nico's Commander will display the time and date on the title bar of the current application. It will also put an icon in the system tray that gives you instant access to any desktop icons, and if you like to shut down your PC in a hurry, a one-click shut-down icon in the system tray will do just that (but be careful not to accidentally click on this, as there is no prompt giving you the opportunity to change your mind).

When a DIR command is performed, Command Prompt Facelift displays the contents in its own special window, so there is no interaction with the DOS interface at all. The design is very intuitive and does not take up much space. An added feature is the ability to launch Web and FTP sites by typing in the address.

Along with the special Pointix Desktop Utilities and Office Utilities (which include things such as a calendar, alarm, and card file utility), I must also make special mention of the Pointix Scroll++ feature. Scrolling through documents and Web pages has never been easier. I think it's even better than Microsoft's mouse with the roller in the middle. All you have to do is hold down the right mouse button and it will scroll in the direction that your mouse was last pointing. It even has different scrolling speeds.

Other features include automatic notification of new email and an Internet search utility that can use one of the six top search engines. There is also a scratch pad for temporary storing of information such as Web addresses, as well as a note application where thoughts can be scribbled.

The AtomTime servers can be used or your own preferred time servers can be entered. The time from the time server can either be shown as the actual time of the server that you are using, GMT time, or your local time. Time updates can be configured to happen automatically.

Sim Fish 2 is a zany game that may even have you pondering the question of life . . . the least it will do is bring you an hour or so of wacky fun.

Setting up Buzof is simple. Just make the annoying message boxes appear, then use Buzof's crosshair to select the button that you would normally click to dismiss or minimise the offending window. Then Buzof will scan your desktop for the offending message boxes. The time between scans can be set by you, but one scan per second will ensure that any boxes will be no longer almost immediately after they have appeared.

The structure of your site can be easily visualised with the Explorer-style interface that is automatically updated as each link is checked. Linkbot can also create comprehensive HTML reports that summarise the findings into nine sections. This reporting feature is very impressive, as it allows you to draw conclusions that may not have been identified by looking at the interface.

There have been similar Internet-cache applications in New & Hot before and there will undoubtedly be others in the future. Any program that can reduce the time spent on downloading Web pages is always worth a try, Surf Express may be just the answer for improving your time spent online.

The demo version lasts for 30 days or 200 uses, whichever comes first. After your evaluation period you will no longer be able to save or print worksheets. If you don't already have a spreadsheet program, you could do worse than to purchase As-Easy-As for $US59.