Reviews of System Explorer

1. 
   alekdavis

   Reviewing 1.6 Beta 1 (May 21, 2009)

   Very nice tool. I use it instead of the default Task Manager. Just a couple of gripes.
   
   As another reviewer mentioned, the menu structure is a bit unorthodox. I've never seen Main as the first menu option. Why not use standard terminology (File, Edit, View, Tools, etc)?
   
   Two rows of tabs look a bit weird.
   
   The Performance tab is screwed up: when resized, controls get overlapped. Also why does it not show second processor graph (for dual-processor based systems)? I would not mind it to look exactly like the corresponding tab of the built in Windows Task Manager.
   
   A bit more of white space (maybe 2-4 additional dialog units) between controls would make them more pleasing to the eyes; now they look a bit cramped. On the first run, when I clicked the Performance tab, the app hang, so I had to kill it.
   
   With the Replace Task Manager option checked, System Explorer does not launch Windows Task Manager from, the Utilities menu. How do I invoke the Windows Task Manager then?
   
   It would be nice if System Explorer could display system info: processor, graphics card, RAM, BIOS version, devices, etc.
   
   Also, it would be nice to be able to add a column with command line parameters to the Processes tab.
   
   I would not use the same app icon as the Windows Task Manager.
2. 
   mistercz

   Reviewing 1.6 Beta 1 (Mar 3, 2009)

   To:emanresU deriseD
   Thank you very much for your findings about UI...We will try to fix/improve it in next version.
   
   About Security Extension:
   We are using our own database of threats. Our database is young but now has over 314,000 items. Database will be bigger and give better results, but needs some time and enough System Explorer 1.6 users.
   
   Is Security Extension in SystemExplorer needed ?
   Exists many of antiviruses and antispyware SW, but I must say...our Security Extension is needed because our service detects more than 10 running threats every hour..
   
   Thank you for all your comments/suggestions.
   Best Regards,
   System Explorer Developer
3. 
   purell

   Reviewing 1.6 Beta 1 (Mar 1, 2009)

   Solid program, lots of useful information. Can be a bit buggy. All in all, a nice tool
4. 
   emanresU deriseD

   Reviewing 1.6 Beta 1 (Mar 1, 2009)

   It's maturing nicely, but the GUI needs work. The Esc key doesn't close subwindows (e.g. "File Details" or "Process Details"), the list filter is nice but... how do you clear it? The main window doesn't remember its maximized state between runs; and for kicks, try editing the System Explorer shortcut properties to start "Maximized". Then run it from the shortcut--watch what happens. (On my system, I get an all-black window with a title bar that covers everything, including the task bar.) The "Priority" column just lists basic priority class names such as "Normal" and "Below Normal", but those labels don't tell the whole story--a process actually has a priority class, and it's a number. Two processes could appear in SE at the same priority (e.g. "Below Normal"), yet actually be at different priority levels. Some column widths are forgotten between runs.
   
   For some reason, SE breaks with the convention of having a "&File" menu. So if you are inured to hitting Alt+f to open the "main" menu, you activate the list filter instead (and unless you know the secret of clearing that filter, you have to restart SE to clear it).
   
   The "Security" column is a nice touch, I guess, but its implementation sucks. I've got about 30 processes running right now, and only a handful of them are marked "Safe". The processes for well-known software titles such as miranda32.exe, uedit32.exe, and firefox.exe (can you believe that?) are marked "Unknown".
   
   SE offers to hide Microsoft and/or Windows processes, but it seems to have no way to verify digital signatures. I don't feel like using a hex editor to check, but I'm guessing all SE does is read the company/product information in the EXE files.
   
   And on. And on. And on.
   
   Because of all the GUI annoyances that I can't live with, I'm staying with Process Explorer for now, but I may keep SE because I like the "History" tab.
5. 
   Chocobito

   Reviewing 1.5 (Nov 8, 2008)

   Excellent freeware. I use this everyday. deserve five stars.

Discuss System Explorer

1. Mar 4, 2009 - 12:40 PM
   goldend

   Love this tool - wish there were an option to make the graphics go the 'opposite direction'...with older data scrolling off to the left.