Monday, May 7, 2001		Downloads of the week

Quick Time is excellent multimedia application software from Apple, which is also the default program for many applications. It is feature-rich software and has been in use for a long time. Quick Time 5 is the latest version of this popular software and contains several components including a plug-in for the browser you are using and also a desktop player. Like other multimedia programs, this program is user-friendly and has Mac-like interface. Using this software you can play a lot of Quick Time movies available on the Internet right in your browser, though these files could also be downloaded to be viewed later using this player, as the bandwidth is a major problem in India that may hamper the uninterrupted playing of these files. This is actually a versatile program and supports a wide range of file formats. It may not play the files with .ra and .rm or the real player files, but has a support for other popular formats like AVI, BMP, GIFF, JPG, Macromedia Flash and Adobe PhotoShop files etc. These days a multimedia player is not complete unless it supports MP3 format. So this software also supports MP3 file format. The quality of the latest version does not end here as it also provides MPEG 1 playback. This software is not just all about playing multimedia files but it could a great tool for graphic designers also as it can play 360-degree virtual reality (VR) scenes. QuickTime has been extended to support media skins and its new music synthesiser supports DLS files and SoundFonts for richer audio. It also has an enhanced digital video codec and built-in support for Flash 4. However, the best feature of this program is that it is offered free and can be easily downloaded from www.apple.com

Have you ever faced the situation, when your most well preserved file is lost in your computer? This is a common problem with the computer users as the files, which are not attended in the recent past may get lost from the memory and when these files are recalled, then finding them is a burgeoning task. However, for all such problems there is a simple solution in the form of software called Agent Ransack. Do not be scared by the name as it ransacks your computer for hunting the information and locating it down for you. This is good file-finding utility and text-based information on your computer. Using this program you can do an extensive search including the folders and sub-folders within all local drives. Just like Windows’ standard Find File applet, you can simply enter in a file name or text string to locate items. However if you are well conversant with the file finding procedures then you can narrow down the results by filtering file sizes and dates. It is basically intelligent software and offers great flexibility to search files or folders. It is especially useful when you have to search for specific text as you can actually view files containing the text from within the program without having to manually load each one. The program has an excellent Expression Wizard, which generates strings, based on descriptions of what you’re looking for. The wizards takes care of all expression characters, simply enter in a series of strings and the number of occurrences. Overall it’s good software and can be downloaded from www.agentransack.com

The world is fast shrinking on a computer as the virtual world has gained a lot of prominence in the real world. Now almost every business house is available on the Internet. Thus in a way real world and virtual world has merged to quite an extent. Therefore the concerns, which used to be quite prominent in the real world, are also equally important in the virtual world. The biggest concern is however of security in both the worlds as in virtual world you are exposed to many security hazards. Just like a door and lock in the real world, there are firewalls in the virtual world or Internet. The firewall protects the computer from intruders. However till recently firewalls were not being used at the individual level due to the cost. Now even an individual PC user can have the security of a firewall economically. Especially with software like Sygate Personal Firewall the security is available free firewall for non-commercial users. You can use this firewall program to get corporate-grade protection for personal, stand-alone desktops. This program protects virtually every entry point into your PC, thus preventing unauthorised access through the Internet. It is an excellent tool for all PC users, who have to surf a lot and who often visit new sites. Moreover it is also a must have for the computer users who are on cable or DSL connection. Despite being high-end software, it is a user-friendly program and can be configured easily. The software includes a new rules-based and application-centric security engine that protects your PC virtually right since the installation. It features a graphic monitoring panel for viewing all inbound, outbound and blocked traffic. Living up to the expectation of being a watchdog for your PC, it can block the Trojan horse and other malicious codes as and when they try to get into your computer. You get an alert for any such attempted intrusion and thus can protect your PC. Thus overall this program is a must have for all PC users and can be downloaded from www.sygate.com