Week 2 of 2006

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Greetings and Welcome! I'm glad you could stop by to take a look at my Picks for this week. The weather has been warm here in Colorado with temperatures in the 50's and 60's. Skiers, however, will have a great time higher up in the mountains where they're having a record year for snow. As always I've been keeping plenty busy looking at lots of software and picking some good products to tell you about. I hope you'll take the time to download and try them out for yourself. So, if you're ready, just relax and lets take a look.

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• Open Contacts
• Version: 2.7
• System Requirements: Windows 98/ME/NT/2000
• Get more info
• Download Open ContactsNOW!
• View a screenshot

Open Contacts, by Fonlow IT, is a contact manager that's a little bit different than others I've looked at. It's an address book, but it's also much more. For one, it can handle data in multiple languages. It also gives you a great deal of real flexibility when it comes to what information you're going to keep. The program gives you lots of different ways to link companies, departments, people and the like. With the ability to have links between both people and companies it makes it really easy to find, for example, people who work in one organization.

Open Contacts has an intuitive interface and I found it to be easy-to-use. It's perfect for users with all levels of experience and it would be of particular interest to businesses. What I liked most about the program is that it anticipated each person or companies need to keep different information, and to customize the program so that would be possible. Another slick feature is the ability to import information from other formats like CSV, Outlook and even vCard. And if that's not enough, you can even run the program on a USB keychain hard drive. So, if you're looking for a flexible way to manage contacts, companies, suppliers and lots more, take a good look at Open Contacts. It may be exactly what you're looking for.

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• Task Manager 2005
• Version: 2.5
• System Requirements: Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/2003/XP
• Get more info
• Download Task Manager 2005NOW!
• View a screenshot

Task Manager 2005, by Orbisoft.com,is a powerful yet easy-to-use task manager or Personal Information Manager (PIM) that has lots of excellent features. The program is flexible and lets you manage all of your tasks, appointments and lots more. And it's great not only for individuals, but for groups as well. In fact, you can have it print out a list of every project, task and job that's in the queue. Pretty slick. The program is simply loaded with cool features that you'll wonder how you got along without like automatic backup of your data, budgeting and the ability to pull in information from programs like Word or Excel. Heck, you can even include audio and video.

Task Manager 2005 can automatically schedule tasks for you and easily handles recurring tasks - a feature I really like. You can also monitor the progress that's being made on each task or job. You can generate reports and print them out. The program really provides a wide range of report formats so all your bases are covered. The program has lots of configurable options and features so the program works the way you want it to. The program comes with templates, excellent help and lots more. Very nicely done, check it out!

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• Irfan View
• Version: 3.98
• System Requirements: Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/2003/XP
• Get more info
• Download Irfan ViewNOW!
• View a screenshot

IrfanView, by Irfan Skiljan,has been one of my personal favorites for a number of years now. I've looked at countless programs that work with graphics, but for my needs this provides all the power I could ever want. It has so many features and functions that I can't begin to tell you about all of them. I will say that if you do anything with graphics images you need to check it out for yourself.

IrfanView can handle an impressive number of graphics file formats including JPG, GIF, PCX, BMP, TIF, AVI and lots more. Use it to put on a slideshow of your graphics images or view animated GIF files. You can easily preview files, resize them, sharpen the image, rotate them and more. Whenever I do screen captures I resize them and sharpen them with IrfanView. The program has numerous options that are configurable and I really like that. It's also very easy-to-use and has an intuitive user interface so it's perfect for users with all levels of experience.

IrfanView is simply loaded with features. You can do all kinds of special effects including things like emboss, blur, explosion and many more. You can do batch conversions of graphics files, extract icons from DLL files, and it also supports for drag-and-drop. On my systems I have it in my "Send To" menu so I can highlight a graphics file and send it right to IrfanView. And did I have to work to have this feature? No! It's one of the options. There are so many features and options that you really have to try this program to appreciate it. If you need to do anything with graphics this is the program you need to look at. A winner of both the Shareware Industry Award and the SIAF People's Choice Awards. For home users the program is absolutely free. Give it a try!

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• Add-Remove Plus 2004
• Version: 4.1
• System Requirements: Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP
• Get more info
• Download Add-Remove Plus 2004 NOW!
• View a screenshot

Add-Remove Plus 2004, by Aurelitec, Inc., is a neat utility that gives you a handy way to remove or uninstall programs. I first found it out of necessity. I'd installed an update to Internet Explorer under Windows 2000. Internet Explorer worked fine, but I came to find that most of the "Add/Remove Programs" section in Control Panel, was gone! I evaluate over 200 programs a week and I had to be able to uninstall them. In came Add/Remove Plus to save the day. After installing it I clicked on the handy desktop icon and there were all of the programs I'd installed. What a relief ... I could remove them after all! It totally removed the programs as well as removing them from the Add/Remove Programs listing.

Add/Remove Plus 2004 is the latest version of that program. In this version there's a nifty audit feature. What this feature does is let you either export or print a report of all the programs that have been installed on your computer. This is an excellent feature, especially for businesses or organizations like the military, that have lists of approved programs. Print out a report and you can quickly find out if something needs to be uninstalled!! The program shows you every program. And, if there's a problem with the installer of a program you'll find a yellow triangle beside it with an exclamation point. This is a really clever feature because it lets you find programs that are either partially uninstalled or have a bad uninstaller. What a great way to save wasted disk space. You'd never get this kind of information directly from Windows!

Add/Remove Plus 2004, by Aurelitec, Inc., is an extremely useful utility that works with all versions of Windows. And while I once used it out of necessity, I now use it by choice. It provides a quick and easy way to uninstall programs right from your desktop without marching off to the Control Panel. And, it provides features not found in Windows. Print reports of everything installed on your computer and find programs that have portions remaining that are wasting space! So, if you're looking for something to make uninstalling programs fast and efficient, look no further! Give Add/Remove Plus! 2004 a try -- I recommend it!

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• Live Wire by StuGroup
• Check itout!

Live Wire is an interesting game where you work to reconnect the power lines that were destroyed by a band of robots. Some robots will work with you to help you in your task, but the majority are against you so you have to be fast. Work to get the highest score possible and watch out for traps as you go. Each level has more details than the one before. So, if you like challenging games, check it out. My full review will be coming along shortly.

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• WordPerfect Mail by Corel Corporation
• Check it out!

WordPerfect Mail is a slick e-mail client from Corel, the folks that bring you products like CorelDRAW Graphics Suite, WordPerfect and more. WordPerfect MAIL is easy-to-use and has an intuitive interface. It also has a built-in calendar as well as a contact list, so you can keep on schedule. The program has a powerful search function, works to stop SPAM and more. Check it out and I'll get to my full review as soon as possible.

• PrintersBench Plus by Elk River Systems
• Check it out!

PrintersBench Plus is a slick tool for printing out tickets. Use the tickets for raffles, events and the like. You have control over the design and the program makes it easy. You can control the numbering of the tickets, use a variety of paper sizes and lots more. The program can also print out labels and forms. Lots of nice features including print logs, bar codes and templates that are included. So, take a look for yourself and see what you think.

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That's all I have time for this week. Right now it's 3:00 am and I'm waiting to see if my daughter Melaina is going to go into labor with her twins. I'll keep you posted. One thing you can count on is that I'll be back next week with more cool programs to tell you about. And I hope you'll try out my Picks for this week. All of them are excellent pieces of software. Have yourself a great week, a wonderful weekend and happy downloading.