Week 22 of 2006

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Greetings and Welcome! I hope everyoneis having a great week. On this first day of June, I'm sure everyone isbusy. The voting for the annual SIAF People's Choice Awards cameto a close yesterday. I'd like to thank everyone for their activeparticipation. Tens of thousands of votes were cast for yourfavorite software programs. The results will be announced at the annualShareware Industry Awards banquet on July 15th. As usual, I've beenlooking at software trying to find the very best for this weeks Picks. Ihope you'll enjoy my choices for this week. So, if you're ready, sitback, relax, and lets take a look.

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• Quintura Search
• Version: 1.5
• System Requirements: Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP
• Get more info
• Download Quintura SearchNOW!
• View A Screen Shot

Quintura Search, by Quinturais a fascinating program that gives a whole new perspective to Internetsearches. It gives you a "visual" way to see your searches Ifound really interesting. Unlike a regular search that gives you pageafter page of results, Quintura Search gives your results aswhat's called a "cloud" of tags. By clicking on different tagsyou can refine and narrow your search. You can even save a search andshare it. When I first downloaded the program I spent hours just doingsearches and seeing how the program displayed the results. Excellent!

Don't misunderstand, Quintura Search utilizes some of the mostpopular search engines like Google, MSN Search, Yahoo, and others, to dothe searching. What's different and unique is the way the resultsare displayed to you. The program makes it easy to narrow down a searchbecause can remove individual "tags" with a mouse click. You can evenadd tags if you wish. The net result, in my opinion, is that you get theresults you want faster and more easily. The program is reallyeasy-to-use and has an intuitive user interface. It's perfect for bothnew and experienced users.

Quintura Search provides a different approach to Internetsearches and the results you get. The "cloud" of tags really simplifiesthe search process and makes it easier to find what you're looking for.By providing you with results in a "visual map" you can more easily seewhat you're looking for. I also like the fact that you can save yourresults and share them. I found the programs approach to searches, andresults, intriguing and extremely useful. So, it's not only a Pick, butalso a Dr. File Finder Favorite - andthose are few and far between. If you'd like to maximize your Internetsearches you owe it to yourself to try Quintura Search. Irecommend it highly!

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• WinXP Manager
• Version: 4.97.1
• System Requirements: Windows XP
• Get more info
• Download WinXP ManagerNOW!
• View A Screen Shot

WinXP Manager, by Yamicsoftis a slick utility that lets you "fiddle" with the settings of WindowsXP. It also help you to make your computer more efficient, and that's agood thing. All together, the program gives you about 30 tools that willhelp make your system more stable and more effective. So many functionsthat I can't cover them all, but I'll try to hit some of the highpoints. For one, it helps clean out all the junk that accumulateson your computer. It'll clean out Internet files, old files you don'tuse, and even has a function to find duplicate files. On top of that,there's also a Registry clean that goes in and finds useless entriesthat add bulk to the Registry. It removes the garbage and then rebuildsthe Registry so it's faster and more efficient. Slick!

WinXP Manager also provides the tools to optimize your computersmemory and performance. You can monitor the programs that load whenWindows starts and remove things that slow your computer down. Theprogram also has a "wizard" that helps you to optimize your computerwithout needing to be an expert. You can customize the way Windows looksand feels, improve the efficiency of your Internet connection, make yourcomputer more secure, and much more.

WinXP Manager is a powerful tool that both intuitive and easy-to-use. Users with all levels of experience can use the program to makeyour computer faster, cleaner, and safer. So, if you'd like to fiddlewith the setting of Windows XP, and have your computer run faster andmore efficiently, take a good look at WinXP Manager. It'smany cool tools in one package. Check it out.

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• Acronis Power Utilities
• Version: 2005
• System Requirements: Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/2003/XP
• Get more info
• Download Acronis Power UtilitiesNOW!
• View A Screen Shot

Acronis Power Utilities, by Acronisis another software package that has multiple tools in one program. That's right, it's actually four products in one. The PrivacyExpert Suite blocks pop-up advertising, while also detecting andremoving spyware. At the same time, it will remove all of your "tracks"that show what you've been doing on your computer. And it reallycleans up behind you because it doesn't just erase data, it overwritesit so it can't be recovered.

Acronis Power Utilities also includes the Acronis DiskEditor that gives you extended control over your hard disks. Withthis nifty tool you can recover things that were accidentally deleted,search your hard drive, and lots more. One very cool feature is that theprogram will work even if Windows won't, so you can boot from a disk orCD. Also included in the package is Acronis Migrate Easy, aprogram that simplifies the process of setting up a new hard drive or anew computer. The program copies everything, including theoperating system, from one hard disk to another. You don't have to worryabout settings, favorites, and so on. Really a slick process that makesit easy.

And if all this weren't enough, you also get Acronis RecoveryExpert which you can use if you can't boot your computer. Thismodule can get your computer up and running in no time. All in all, theAcronis Power Utilities are a high-powered package that's stillvery easy-to-use. Even new users will find the program intuitive. So, ifyou'd like privacy, the ability to perform tasks on your hard disk,recover from crashes, and more, take the time to look at the AcronisPower Utilities. You won't be disappointed, I recommend it!

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• QuickTime Player
• Version: 7.0
• System Requirements: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP
• Get more info
• Download QuickTime PlayerNOW!
• View A Screen Shot

QuickTime Player, by Appleis a full-featured multimedia player that's extremely easy-to-use. Theprogram can handle a wide range of both audio and video and it does animpressive job. One cool feature is that the program can automaticallydetermine what speed you're connected to the Internet at. Knowing thatthe program can give you the best possible quality when it comes tostreaming video. Nicely done.

QuickTime Player lets you speed up videos or slow them down,depending on what you need. I also noted that when I resized the screenthe scrolling was very smooth. Some players I've evaluated were jerky,but not QuickTime. At the same time the program also give you reallyexcellent audio. It can handle a wide range of music formats includingWAV, MP4, MOV, AIFF, and many more. You can actually have up to24 channels of audio which is enough to blow you away. QuickTimecan also take full advantage of surround sound. Slick.

QuickTime Player, by Apple, is a powerful tool that's incrediblyeasy-to-use, there's just no other way to put it. There a lot of powerunder the hood though, so don't let the slim interface fool you. Thisbaby can play your favorite movie in surround sound that will have yourcomputer shaking. So, if you'd like to have a true multimediaexperience, take a look at QuickTime Player. Perfect!

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• Acronis Privacy Expert Corporate by Acronis
• Check ItOut!

Acronis Privacy Expert Corporate is a slick program that's partof the Acronis Power Utilities that I reviewed above. Theprogram is a powerful tool for detecting and eliminating "spywareon your computer. It combats all manner of evil-doers including Trojanhorses, keyloggers, and even "rootkits". I'll get to my fullreview soon, but don't wait for me. Take a look for yourself.

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• Battlefield Cribbage by A Step Beyond Nowhere
• Check It Out!

Battlefield Cribbage is an interesting variation of the classicgame. This is one I just had to look at because I've been playingcribbage since I was 8 years old. Battlefield Cribbage takes theoriginal game to a new level and I found it fun. It's perfect for anyonewho already knows how to play Cribbage and even for those who don't. Onething I found is that the game involves more strategy than regularCribbage. So, check it out and I'll get to my complete review soon!

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Well, that's it for this week. I hope you'll give these Picks a try andsee how you like them. All of them are excellent products and well worththe download time. Once again I'd like to thank all of you whoparticipated in the SIAF People's Choice Awards voting. The winners will be posted here in mid-July afterthey've been announced. Have a great week. I'll be back next week withmore Picks to tell you about!

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