Monday, May 21, 2001		Downloads of the week

My vital agent is actually a vital tool for the Internet users as it keeps a track of Internet traffic. Normally broadband Internet connections are sometimes capped by the Internet traffic and the Internet charges are set in accordance to the traffic. So it is important to keep a track of the Internet traffic. This is equally good for the dial-up account users also, as they can know the performance of their Internet connection. It will help in knowing the exact download speed of the Internet connection. So, using this software a detailed analysis could be done to know which dial-up ISP connection is better. The working of this software is simple as it records each "transaction," whether they involve the Web, e-mail, DNS or FTP. My Vital Agent is feature-rich software and has a futuristic control panel, which tracks every step, making it a suitable diagnostic program for the ISPs and end-users alike. This software may thus also prove useful in troubleshooting related to Internet connectivity because its reporting features are capable of isolating errors. Therefore it helps in determining where the problem actually occurred and what was the reason for such a problem. Diagnosing the problem and pinpointing the fault is not the end of the story for this software as it can even suggest the solution for the problem also. It uses an animated interface, which is quite user-friendly and yet powerful. Moreover it also uses graphic interface to illustrate the pattern of Internet traffic and other such vital issues. Using this software you can also know the file transfer rate of your Internet connection and also the speed limit, which is actually important to judge the performance of your ISP. Normally, while surfing the Internet, we often forget the time spent on the Internet, which costs a lot to the surfers. Now you can afford to keep a track of time spent on the Internet, with the help of this software. Moreover it also records each online session to a log. This is thus a valuable software and can be downloaded free of cost from http://www.ins.com/software/index.asp

You may not be able to bring a dead object to life, but now you can certainly bring to life a static digital image using this wonderful program christened CrazyTalk. This program is for creative persons as it explores your creativity to add magic to the dull digital images by adding voice and sound. It uses TTS and speech synthesis technologies and enables the object in the picture to speak. Thus if you have a photograph of your near and dear ones, you can add your own dialogues, to make it more interesting. Using the included Expression editor, the program converts a piece of text into voice output. For making the image speak, simply type in text or copy and paste the text from other application. Now using this software you will be able to convert the text into voice. As said earlier this software explores your creativity and thus based on your creativity, you can put it to a number of uses like sending interactive messages, greeting cards and even your talking photo album. This program also allows you to import the images from other applications and customise them as per your creativity. Fitting Editor is doing this function, which is not included in the shareware version. Even then you would be able to customise the images stored in this program as sample images, which are a part of the download. This is an excellent program and using a simple interface it is user-friendly too. It boasts morphing technology that adds over 20 possible expressions and gestures to a CrazyPal. Thus for example, you can use expressions like laughing and crying to a static digital image. It may remind some persons of the old Monty Python cartoons. You can use the Expression Editor of this program to create all animation projects. However after finishing your project, you can export your work as a Bitmap, WAVE file or AVI video clip. This software can be downloaded from http://www.reallusion.com

With the e-commerce having become the buzzword in the cyber world, the world has gathered around you. You can shop in Paris, right from your desktop and at the same time buy books from the USA. This all is possible due to Internet shopping. Internet shopping is fast catching on in India as more and more persons are finding it convenient to shop on the Internet rather than going to the market. Max Manager is excellent software for Internet shoppers or online shoppers. It adds a lot of value to online shopping by managing your money as it keeps a track of all the purchases you’ve made online. While shopping on the Internet, this software automatically saves your receipts and keeps them in a record, which is easily accessible and can be retrieved on demand in a user-friendly form. It is simple to use and does not require any kind of training or practice. Moreover it also reduces a lot of work as it quickly recalls all your transactions that you’ve made in the past. Thus you may keep a tag on your online purchases and also manage the payment schedule as all payments are made on the Internet by using the credit cards. All you need to use this software is enter user name and password to a site where you made purchases and your database of transactions would be completed up-to-date. Keeping in mind the security and privacy, you can also direct this program to store data directly on your hard disk. This software provides easy access to most of the major online shopping sites across every major category. Thus you can shop as you normally do and this program will capture a full screen shot of your receipts. Your transaction would also be recorded in a consolidated register where it can be viewed. A must-have software for online shoppers and can be downloaded free from http://www.maxmanager.com

In this fast world of instant and online communication the most important program is the e-mail client. Though there are many e-mail clients available on the Internet, yet there are just handfuls that can be called complete. Most of them do not cater to the need of managing personal as well professional or business mail. However, PMMail 2000 Standard is a complete e-mail client, which you can use for personal as well as professional purposes. The best part is that despite its excellent features, it is easy to set up and equally easy to use due to the excellent migration function. The migration function helps in transferring all data from account settings to existing messages. It supports data transfer from all major e-mail clients including Outlook Express, Netscape mail, Eudora etc. After importing the messages from the e-mail clients, you can organise these messages into a user-defined folders and sub-folders, in any form you want.

This e-mail client also supports multiple e-mail account features also. This facilitates you in managing all your personal as well as business e-mail accounts, without bothering to configure and use separate e-mail accounts for separate mails. This program also has a powerful address book that helps in storing the addresses in an easy and manageable format. This program features its own filtering language that automatically organises messages as they arrive in your e-mail server and are directed straight to designated folder. Moreover it also supports all e-mail standards and allows you to process most of attachment protocols such as UUDECODE, MIME and even Mac’s Binhex standard. It can be downloaded from http://www.blueprintsoftwareworks.com