Picks: TaskMerlin, Font Fitting Room, Images In Context, AccelClip, Timesheet Xpress, Offline Explorer Pro

• Images: In Context!
• Version: 1.6
• System Requirements: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/2003
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Images: In Context!, by Liquid Mirror Software, Inc. is a slick product that I first talked about in one of my "QuickPicks." The program is extremely easy-to-use and has a very intuitive user interface. That makes it perfect for users with all levels of computer experience. And, if you're like me and graphically challenged you won't have to worry about understanding terms like"raster" and "vector" and "bitmap." Just install the program and you're off to the races. Once installed it become a part of Windows Explorer and it puts a lot of power right at your fingertips. Look in the Explorer display and right-click on a graphic. Amazingly, you'll see the graphic right there in the context menu. Ahhh, but that's not all.Images: In Context! gives you lots of ways to manipulate and improve your graphics, like pictures.

Images: In Context! gives you over 70 functions that you can use on your photos. In honor of her birthday, I was clicking on a lot of pictures of my granddaughter, Cahlia. The program lets me do a wide range of things with a picture including rotating it, making it my desktop wall paper, convert it to another graphics format, and more. You can also utilize a huge number of special effects to enhance your pictures. These include things like blur, distort, sharpen, resize, and even copy the image to your Windows clipboard. Goof something up? No problem! Images: In Context! lets you undo and redo the last20 things you've done. So you can have the luxury experimenting without worrying about messing up your images. It's an impressive level of support for being able to undo operations you've made on graphics files.And, the program has some other nice features like being able to check for updates. That way you can be sure you always have the most current version. Slick!

Images: In Context! is a really clever utility that packs a lot of power under the hood. With this one program you can work with photos and resize, edit, remove "red-eye", correct the colors, sharpen, crop,and so much more. It gives you the ability to enhance and fix your digital photos and do it all right from Windows Explorer. If you click on multiple pictures at the same time you get even more options. You can rename all the photos, create a slideshow, do a batch file conversion,and even create a Web page with your pictures. This is one product you have to see to really appreciate. So, if you use Windows Explorerand you take digital photos, this may be the product for you. Enhance your photos and much more with just a few mouse clicks.Give it a try -- I recommend it!

• Font Fitting Room
• Version: 2.7.3.3
• System Requirements: Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP
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Font Fitting Room, by ApoliSoftis a really cool tool for working with all your fonts. I tested out the program with a nice variety of True Type Fonts, PostScript Type 1, OpenType, and some others. It handled all of them perfectly. You can use the program to both install and uninstall fonts. At the same time you can also use it preview fonts that are installed or not yet installed on your system. I found the program to be very intuitive and quite easy-to-use which makes it perfect for both new and experienced users.

Font Fitting Room not only lets you preview fonts, but also lets you alter how the preview looks. Change the font size, view it in color,see bold, underline, and more. Slick. Another cool feature is the ability to print out a listing of your fonts. I don't know, but for me that sometimes makes it easier to decide which font will work best for a particular project. Ahh, and for anyone using an LCD monitor, FontFitting Room a ClearType tuning function that will let fiddle with the settings.

Font Fitting Room is one of those nice, user-friendly products that does a job and does it well. The program is available in two flavors, Deluxe and Standard, but in this review I only looked at the Standard version. If you're into fonts this is a program you need to try. Check it out for yourself.

• Offline Explorer Pro
• Version: 4.1
• System Requirements: Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/2003/XP
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Offline Explorer Pro, by MetaProductsCorporation is a handy tool for downloading all of your favorite Web sites. And when I say Web sites, I don't just mean HTML pages. The program can and will download entire sites -- up to 500pages at one time! It's perfect for "grabbing" things that you want to browse later. Or save for later. And, if you wish you can also edit the pages you save. Very slick. And it's impressive just how fast Offline Explorer Pro is. I feel the user interface is quite intuitive and very easy-to-use, which makes it perfect for both new and experienced users.

Offline Explorer Pro gives you lots of options and lots of power to get the job done. You can have URL macros, a specific download directory, and even a display of the files awaiting download. And you also have the flexibility to exclude, or include, specific files,folders, and servers. You can do this strictly through the use of keywords! And the program handles anything that you throw at it because it supports all of the most common and popular "standards." It supports,for example, Macromedia Flash, cascading style sheets, Adobe Acrobat,XML, table of contents, RealMedia, and lots more. And that means that when go to browse Web pages you've downloaded, you get to see itall! Very nicely done!

Offline Explorer Pro, by MetaProducts Corporation, is a perfect tool for downloading Web pages for later use. The interface is user-friendly and intuitive. And it provides support for a dazzling array of standards currently in use on the Internet. The program is extremely fast, and gives you a range of configurable options. So, if you've been looking for a way to download Web pages so you can look at them later,this may be just what you've been looking for. I've looked at a number of similar programs, and this is the best I've seen. Take a good look for yourself! I recommend it!

• Timesheet Xpress
• Version: 8.0.0
• System Requirements: Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/2003/XP
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Timesheet Xpress, by Acksen Ltd.is available in several versions, but the one I looked at isfree! I have to say it's a slick program that lets you track your time and improve your productivity. The program allows you to color code tasks, but this free version only lets you use two colors. No sweat. I found I could assign time to various people or projects and keep track of the time I spent on each. There's even a "stop watch" function so you can keep track of how long you spend on the phone. Slick.

Timesheet Xpress Free has an intuitive user interface and I found it very easy-to-use. In my mind it's perfect for users with all levels of experience. I liked the fact that I could insert notes into any of my time entries. That's a handy feature to have. Speaking of handy features the program also provides reports that help you analyze how time is spent. If that weren't enough you can also export your reports and timesheets in a variety of formats including HTML, DOC, PDF, and more.Ahh, and you can also import date from comma-delimited CSV files. Nice.

Timesheet Xpress Free is a really full-featured time management program. It produces reports, helps you analyzed your time, imports,exports, and lots more. It's easy-to-use and the icing on the cake is that it's free! So, if you need to keep better track of your time take a look. It may be exactly what you need.

• TaskMerlin 1.3.0.1 by Interfathom
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TaskMerlin 1.3.0.1 is a nifty little program for managing tasks,to-do lists, and lots more. It has a nice interface yet it's very easy-to-use. I like the fact that you can keep notes because that lets you include extra information about the things you're working on. It also has a number of customizable features and I always like that. I'll get to my full review as soon as I can, but don't wait for me. Take a look for yourself.

• AccelClip 3.0 by Flexigen Software
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AccelClip 3.0 is clipboard extender and more. The program also lets you view a variety of file types, including Word, HTML, Excel, and lots more. You can put your clips into collections and use them any time you like. The program lets you have an unlimited number of clips and they can be printed, pasted into documents, and more. So, if you'd like to extend the functionality of the Windows clipboard, check it out.