Favorite Files

1. 7-Zip (32-bit)
2. TheSage's English Dictionary and Thesaurus

Recent Posts

1. 
   Review - RIOT - Radical Image Optimization Tool

   0.4.6 (Mar 2, 2011)

   Optimization quality is far inferior compared to what can be done by hand with the usual tools (e.g. PNGOut for uncompressed graphics)

2. 
   Review - Earth Alerts

   2011.1.0 (Jan 21, 2011)

   PRO:
   - no adware included
   - nice graphics
   - relays interesting reports
   
   CONTRA:
   - cryptic starting message about US locations
   - many locations cannot be chosen, but no assistance for choosing an available locations is given
   - cluttered and unintuitive interface
   - erratic behaviour once networc access is denied
   - relatively slow response
   - requires .NET
   - no link for uninstalling
   
   The idea of the project is promising, but it seems to be in a very early stage of development. With less erratic behaviour and more obvious usability improvements (many events like clicking on a map or a symbol could trigger an obvious response, choosing the location could be combined with a map or at least a list of possible choices), it could become a recommendable piece of software.

3. 
   Review - RIOT - Radical Image Optimization Tool

   0.4.1 (Jun 5, 2010)

   Useful idea, clean GUI, but not very effective yet: Strangely enough the use of PNGOut does not take filters into account and produces far from optimal results.

4. 
   Review - TTCalc

   0.9.1 (Apr 19, 2010)

   The program is an improvement of the calculator component with a clean interface and relatively small codesize.
   
   Main advantages:
   - parses formulae (keyboard is much easier to use than buttons)
   - support for user-defined variables and functions
   
   It would be nice if it could be extended to offer precise arithmetic for integers/fractions exceeding the range of a pocket calculator (13! should be 6227020800 instead of 6.2270208e+9).

5. 
   Review - Mozilla Firefox (v3.6) for Windows

   3.6 RC2 (Jan 18, 2010)

   Pro:
   - stable
   - open source
   - user-friendly
   - reasonably efficient (slower than Chrome, but faster than IE)
   - add-on concept allows individual trade-offs of simplicity and functionality
   
   Contra:
   - no preconfiguration for high privacy (e.g. preconfigured to send data to Google to obtain automatic search suggestions), no help for the technically naive user on privacy threats and settings related to privacy
   - misleading advertisement (suggesting you don't have to worry about security once you switch to Firefox, "100% Bio" ads in German language)
   - compatibility of add-ons with newer versions not yet solved

6. Comment - IE10: Don't cry for me, Windows Vista

   3.6 RC2 (Apr 16, 2011 - 5:23 AM)

   Windows 7 has two advantages over Windows XP: It manages user rights, and it will be supported much longer than XP. Otherwise, it needs a lot more memory, is a little bit slower, but worst of all it continues the trend of obfuscating the inner workings of the computer and treating the user as if he were an idiot whose decisions are based on synthetic emotions instead of clear facts.

7. Comment - Search wars: Microsoft outdoes Google's copying claim by alleging fraud

   3.6 RC2 (Feb 3, 2011 - 9:35 AM)

   Makes sense to me. Still, this IS copying, and a statement that has already been proven to be false ("We do not copy results from any of our competitors.") does not become true if you add an emphatic "Period. Full stop." Either Microsoft didn't care what kind of clicks they were counting, or they used Google results on purpose. In the first case, the behaviour is very naive and won't result in a good search quality, in the second case, which I expect to be more likely, copying results from competitors is an essential part in producing the own search results.
   
   Google is concerned because their work is copied; average users might be concerned about privacy issues.

8. Comment - Review: VirtualBox 4

   3.6 RC2 (Jan 10, 2011 - 5:51 PM)

   The article is well-written, but given the careful analysis, I find the rating 4/5 a little harsh. After all, the program is free, makes a stable impression (not at all what I would have expected from a program performing such a complex task) and easy to use, and the difficulties with USB interface and file sharing don't make it useless but only require the user to spend slightly more time (aquainting himself with file sharing and transferring the files to the host before communicating them via USB).

9. Comment - Adobe Reader faces its first genuine competition from a free alternative

   3.6 RC2 (May 27, 2010 - 8:08 AM)

   Why should it not be objective to stay away from adware? As long as there are good alternatives, I do not like to use a program that displays ad banners, either. It is a matter of trust and of respect to the customer, so I opt for software that does not forcefeed me advertisement. The decision to stay away from obtrusive software does not lack objectivity, it just shows that people have different sets of priorities.

10. Comment - Adobe Reader faces its first genuine competition from a free alternative

    3.6 RC2 (May 27, 2010 - 7:58 AM)

    Considering that Nitro is a 22MB (!) download, it seems a little presumptuous of O'Reilly to call Adobe's reader "bloated". I wonder why the article does not compare any other free alternatives, some of which (e.g. SumatraPDF) can hardly be called bloated, others (e.g. Foxit, XChange) also offer additional functionality compared to Adobe while sporting a smaller footprint than Nitro. What is so special about Nitro to be the first "genuine" competition to Adobe's reader?