Picks: Reviews of AyaNova, STGThumb, Trellian Webpage, and Pixelshop.

AyaNova, by Ground Zero Tech-Works Inc. is a powerful work order and service management software that's perfect for a wide range of businesses. I first encountered AyaNova a number of years ago and the program has just gotten better and better. To me the impressive thing about it is that it can be used by such a wide range of businesses. Whether you're a plumber, have a lawn care business, or do computer repair work, AyaNova can help you to keep your business on track. I found the program to be quite intuitive and very easy-to-use so it's perfect for users with all levels of experience. You don't have to be a computer wizard in order to figure it out. If your business provides a service you can use AyaNova to schedule service, track it, and make sure it's completed in a timely fashion. The program is absolutely loaded with features which is one of the reasons it can be used by such a wide range of businesses. You can have automated work orders, generate reports, manage equipment, and much more. Optionally you can also link with other products like PeachTree and QuickBooks. Slick. On top of that you can even have a Web interface so your users can easily obtain service. AyaNova is really an impressive software product that might be useful for your business. Beautifully done and supported. I like it so well that I'm making it a Dr. File Finder Favorite and in 25 years of reviewing software there aren't very many of those. So, if your business provides a service take the time to check out AyaNova. I recommend it.

System Requirements: Windows 2000/2003/XP/Vista

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STGThumb, by Starglider Systems is a neat program that helps you to quickly create and HTML photo album. In working with it I was surprised to see how fast it was to create a nice-looking HTML album. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm graphically challenged and even I had a cool album put together in just minutes. If you have photos that are in different image formats STGThumb can convert them for you. It converts file to JPG format and it can convert quite a few formats including BMP, WMF, PNG, AVI, MPG, PCX, and more. Slick. I found the program to be very easy-to-use and work with. Pick out your photos, click a few buttons, make a few changes, and viola! You have an album. If you like you can add special effects to your photos to spice things up. Some of the effects I tried were emboss, drop shadow, and sharpen. You can even add watermarks if you like. STGThumb is fun and fast. Easy to work with and it gets the job done. I always like when a software program does what it advertises and does it well. So, if you've been wanting to put some of your photos into HTML albums and thought it would be too much trouble, think again. And take a look at STGThumb.

System Requirements: Windows 95/98/ME/2000/2003/XP/Vista

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Trellian Webpage, by Trellian Pty. Ltd. is a nice product for creating Web pages and it's absolutely FREE. The program interface is intuitive and it's really easy-to-use. You don't have to be a Web master to turn out a really nice Web page. In testing it out I found that it supports drag and drop so you can literally drag items to your Web page and drop them in place. I personally like that it utilizes split screen for page editing. That means that I can do the HTML code, but immediately see what it's going to look like in the other pane. Nice. Trellian Webpage has lots of nice features including support for Photoshop plugins, the ability to convert graphics images, a meta tag editor, the ability to import pages, and lots more. One cool feature lets you preview the page you're working on in different screen resolutions. That's a nice feature because what looks good at 640 x 480 might not look so good at a bigger screen resolution. Slick. I think Trellian Webpage is a great option for anyone who wants to create Web pages, but wants to keep the expenses down. So, if you've been wanting to get started on your Web page, give Trellian Webpage a try. You can't beat the price.

System Requirements: Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP

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Pixelshop, by Digitope Corporation is a cool tool for anyone who wants to create icons or cursors. The program makes it easy even for the graphically challenged to create icons that look good. You can use the program to pull in existing graphics you have and then convert them into icons. That's a great feature for someone like me who isn't very good at creating graphics. In testing it out I pulled in some cool graphics I have and then went through the process of turning those into cool icons. Pixelshop has support for the new Vista icons as well. Another cool feature is the ability to create what is called a favicon. These are the icons you see on some Web pages in the address bar. For example, if you look at the address bar while you're here on Tucows you should see a couple of cows right before the "http". With Pixelshop you can create a favicon for your own Web site and the program will give you the codes to put it in place. So, if you'd like to work with icons and cursors give Pixelshop a try. It may be just the solution you've been looking for.

System Requirements: Windows XP/Vista

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If you have a question on how to do something on the computer you can ask me and I'll review some software that will give you a solution to your problem. You can email me by clicking HERE You may not receive a reply, but all requests will be considered.