Starfish Internet Utilities
Swagger round the Internet with a handy set of Web accessories hanging from your belt-like toolbar.
Starfish Internet Utilities gives you Control Center command of three essential applications: a Web bookmarking feature that can import from Internet Explorer, Netscape, as well as create shortcuts to your favourite programs, a usage monitor to tell you how long you've been online, and a handy zip utility.
Find your place
QuickMarks is the most apparent function of the Control Centre. It's essentially a bookmarking facility that presents you with icons for all your favorites or bookmarks. Starfish has included several other useful sites, in categories such as Search Engines, Shopping and News. Each category has its own tab, making it easy to find the one you want.
Internet Utilities defaults to large icons that can take over your monitor if you build up a large collection of bookmarks. The scroll buttons at either edge of the QuickMark area aid navigation, but it's a good idea to switch to smaller icons or turn off the text. You actually save time with smaller icons, because it is a lot easier to read the bookmark text.
Activating a site through QuickMarks automatically launches your browser, if you have not done so already, and takes you directly to the site. It's a neat solution when you have several open windows cluttering up your screen.
Internet newcomers still in the process of collecting useful sites will appreciate Starfish's helping hand. It has dedicated a small part of its Web site to downloadable QuickMark categories, complete with icons for each site. Check out the Starfish tab to take advantage of this service.
|
|
Internet Meter
Afraid that call charges are going to put you further into debt than most Third World countries? A second job might prevent bankruptcy, but you're better off trying some form of monitoring device so you know exactly how much time you're spending on-line.
Internet Meter doesn't tell you how much money you're blown, but it does let you know long you've been on-line during the current session, week and month. If you're on a low-user scheme that only entitles you to a few hour's Internet use each month, it can also tell you how many of your paid-for minutes remain.
Clicking the Call Log button produces a list of all the calls made, with information about the date, duration and usage (the percentage of the connection time actually used for transmitting data). Internet Meter also displays activity lights and a histogram for internal modem users so you can see what your modem is up to - a feature that's also useful if your external modem is buried beneath a mass of papers. Finally, there's a read-out showing the total number of kilobytes transferred in and out during the current on-line session. All these options are particularly useful if you want to see whether your kids are going on-line for minutes, hours or - frightening thought - days.
You can make room for more bookmarks by converting Internet Meter into a free-floating window, independent of the Control Centre. Simply right-click it, then select Position α Float.
Quick zipping
The QuickZip tools are a simple but useful addition to the Control Centre. There are two icons: one is for compressing files, and the other for extracting them from zip archives.
Compressing files is a doddle. Click on Zip, browse your hard disk for the files to be added, select a target location, archive name and the degree of compression to apply, then click the Zip button.
It's just as easy to unzip archives. Once you've selected the archive from which to extract files, click Open to bring up a second window displaying its contents. You can extract files using the menus, add to the archive, delete files and if necessary create a new folder for the files to be extracted to. Double-clicking on zip archives in Windows also activates QuickZip, even if the Control Centre is not running.
The finishing touches
You may be wondering what the little bank of icons on the left and right of Internet Meter are used for. These are the unassuming final touches to the program. On the left is a user-definable bank of icons for Windows functions such as computer shut-down, launching your browser, Find File, Control Panel and so on. On the right are the Customise button, Layouts (used to open a several applications at once), Quick Run (for entering DOS commands) and the About Startfish Utilities button.
- Jeremy Ford
Product Details
Contact: Roderick Manhattan Group
Phone: +44 (0) 181 875 4444
Fax: +44 (0) 181 875 4402
Web: http://www.rmg.co.uk/
E-mail: sales@rmg.co.uk
On-line support: http://www.rmg.co.uk/technical_support.htm
Price: As sold for £39 (including VAT).
Limitations: none.
Minimum System Requirements: Windows 95/98, 486/66MHz processor or faster, 8Mb RAM, 8Mb hard disk space, modem and internet connection.
Uninstall: Yes - Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel.
Installation
|
Click the icon to the left to install Starfish Internet Utilities. |
