Favorite Files

1. Burrrn
2. Exact Audio Copy
3. foobar2000
4. K-Lite Codec Pack Full
5. K-Meleon
6. Klipfolio Personal Dashboard
7. Mozilla Firefox (v2) for Windows
8. Nero
9. NewsLeecher
10. Opera for Windows
11. QuickTime for Windows
12. Spybot - Search & Destroy
13. SpywareBlaster
14. Total Uninstall
15. ViRC
16. VLC (VideoLAN) for Windows

Recent Posts

1. 
   Review - Apple iTunes for Windows

   10.4.1.10 (Aug 27, 2011)

   It does a lot of things, that's for sure and it can't be faulted for being free and offering even free access to a lot of content.
   
   However, it is:
   
   - Bloated (I mean, 117MB for a mediaplayer / library controller)?
   - Very sluggish, even on a modern 4GHz quad-core with 12 GB of RAM and 3rd gen SSD
   - Installs a lot of annoying startup items and services, without asking or without need for them (I don't use iPod/iPhone/Apple devices, but support is force-installed for those)
   - The x64 version isn't really a x64 version at all
   
   So Apple needs to change their dev framework for Windows and refactor the code.
   
   After they do that, it might get 3 stars.

2. 
   Review - Total Uninstall

   5.9.3 (Jul 11, 2011)

   I have used my copy c. 1.5 years now.
   
   While being fairly happy with it in terms of performance, a couple of issues have prompted me to lower the rating.
   
   1) Lately it has not been performing very well (I'm using 5.9.2 on Win7 X64). If I install and uninstall using Total Uninstall an application still leaves stuff behind and detects these later. I don't have time to start digging now with Systeinternal Tools, but clearly some files on my C: drive (all monitored) is left behind by the uninstaller.
   
   2) The ability not to easily resolve uninstall conflict and control uninstall per app basis. This can lead to issues where I uninstall a later / newer file, installed by two different programs, when I use uninstall to remove one of them.
   
   Other than that and some UI issues (it could benefit from UX refactoring), it's a very decent program.
   
   I hope the author considers these issues for the next major update.

3. 
   Review - Google Chrome for Windows

   14.0.797.0 Beta (Jun 22, 2011)

   v. 14.0.797.0 Beta
   Reviewing this not as a pre-alpha beta, but as a functional software for everyday use:
   
   - crashes on HTTP post page reload is a MAJOR bug.
   
   People, if you are a normal user the version I'm reviewing is NOT ready for daily use, unless you are a masochist and never use HTTP POST pages ever.
   
   Also, I have 15+ years of experience in software projects (incl FOSS) and the Chrome version numbering logic is just silly. They up a major version number every time they add some lowly new features.
   
   Other than that (applies to all versions so far):
   
   1. No selections of install location (breaks OS UI/UX converntions). Bad
   2. No easy selection for multiople profile
   3. No easy selection (other than command line hacks) for cache/profile directory placement or size (esp. bad for SSD users)
   4. Missing really basic browser UI features like selection of link/style rendering
   5. Still calls home by default and doesn't openly say so (hidden in legalese and setting in chrome:flags)
   6. No granular control over JavaScript security or what is allowed to run
   7. No true UI customization (esp. for small screens like netbooks)
   8. No granular privacy control for history/visited URLs/cache/cookies/etc
   9. Automatic update checking is constantly broken on many builds
   10. Some really basic features have to be built by adding tons of add-ons, most of which are 3rd party supported (like getting a decent bookmarks menu and changing hidden flag/startup command line features)
   
   Otherwise fast, secure and swiftly improving browser from a great browser team.
   
   But people have made a gospel out of Chrome, while it's still miles behind of other browser (esp. Firefox and Opera) on so many areas it's not even funny.
   
   I just wish their marketing team and installer team would be fired. They are morons.

4. 
   Review - Klipfolio Personal Dashboard

   5.4 Build 5904 (Jun 14, 2010)

   The best and only one of it's kind.
   
   If you read/scan multiple feeds and want to aggregate feeds by content (not by site!), then this gem is a must-have.
   
   Been using for the past couple of versions and can't make this crash.
   
   I run this with 14 different windows, 5 different Klip types and more than 100 different feeds.
   
   A real time saver!

5. 
   Review - Adobe Flash Player for Windows (IE)

   10.1.53.64 (Jun 14, 2010)

   Updated to 10.1 (both ActiveX and other browsers). Running 3.6GHz Core i7 quad w/12GB of RAM on Win7 and Geforce 275...
   
   and videos are now tearing?
   
   Eh?? Adobe. What on earth is going.
   
   Flash is:
   
   - buggy
   - slow
   - a huge security hole
   - and now doesn't even work properly
   
   I can't wait for HTML5 to catch up and utterly kill Flash in years to come.

6. Comment - Will you buy Windows Phone 7?

   10.1.53.64 (Oct 8, 2010 - 9:01 AM)

   No. Reasons:
   
   - Next to zero 3rd party decent software, incl. a decent browser
   - UI is flashy, but not sure it really is meant for gettings things done
   - battery life is probably going to be mediocre, knowing WinCE core
   - no real multi-tasking (this is a real mobile computer, right?), no copy/paste, no flash, no memory card file system level access
   - has nothing *special*, nothing that differentiates it from the crowd that makes we want to get it
   - has a *very* shaky future. Will not buy into another MS product that fails as platform when I use it (WM6.5, anyone?)
   
   I'll watch and learn.
   
   Perhaps MS will have made it usable in two years. Till then, it's Android, iOS and perhaps MeeGo for me.

7. Comment - Adobe Preps Response to Microsoft XPS

   10.1.53.64 (Dec 15, 2006 - 12:01 PM)

   Whatever the industry standard in the future, I hope it becomes FULLY open, with lots of competition on the software the can open/edit/save/print/transform the particular document format.
   
   Any possible format that is proprietary to Microsoft or to Adobe, is something I'd rather not have.
   
   I mean, not have another proprietary format from them.
   
   Formats should be open.
   
   They can keep their software proprietary if they like, but document exchange format should be open to all.