Sunday, July 3, 2011

TuneUp Utilities 2011, Reviewed.

There are a few hard fast truths in life when it comes to computers. One such truth is that the more programs you install, the slower your system becomes. In fact, it's not just a law of computing - it's a big pain for PC users in every walk of life!

You can see evidence of this in late night television. Just pay attention to the number of late night infomercials for miracle software that will make your PC faster. In fact, one such piece of infomercial junkware is actually called My Faster PC! Other variations on this theme usually revolve around changing the order of the keywords or substituting similar terms... MyCleanPC or CleanMyPC etc.. you get the idea.

Those are nothing more than junk, sold to unsuspecting users in their moment of frustration and weakness.

A better solution to your slow PC problems is TuneUp Utilities 2011

Their motto is:


"Deactivation instead of installation"


Features


  • Fixes software problems and speeds up you PC.
  • Provides the tools to properly maintain up to 3 PCs.
  • New program deactivator with programs-on-demand technology.
  • Selectively turn off 70+ windows features that are not used on a daily basis.
  • Turbo Mode helps you get your PC to maximum speed.
  • User-friendly Start Center makes it easy to see your optimization status at a glance.
  • Includes over 30 intuitive optimization tools.

Description

TuneUp Utilities 2011 is a comprehensive suite of tools designed to automatically optimize Windows and make your PC run like new again. TuneUp can help you free up disk space and increase performance by up to 60%. It will also help you clean up Windows and solve numerous problems or the many annoyances common with Windows.

TuneUp features an easy to follow Optimization Report which outlines the maintenance that should be performed as well as the problems it will fix.

All of this can be set to run when your PC is idle. That means TuneUp will be busy working on your system only when you're not - no interruption in your schedule!



System Requirements

  • Windows XP (Service Pack 2 or higher), Windows Vista or Windows 7 (32- and 64-Bit)
  • Processor with at least 300 MHz, 256 MB RAM
  • Screen resolution at least 1024 x 600 pixels
  • Online version: min. 80 MB free hard disk space
  • CD version: min. 300 MB free hard disk space (and CD or DVD drive)
  • Internet Explorer 6 or higher

Why I love this product.

There are dozens of utilities on the market and hundreds of freeware and shareware utilities on the web that do a lot of what TuneUp does, but TuneUp packages all those disparate features into one easy to use program.

But that's just a nice thing to have. What really sets TuneUp Utilities 2011 apart from this crowd is its ability to deactivate, or disable other programs instead of uninstalling them.

This is the first utility I've seen that enables the user to selectively choose which programs run and which do not without uninstalling them. This means that you can try out different scenarios before you commit to removing the applications.

All too often people uninstall programs in the hope of improving performance or fixing some sort of crash only to find that it didn't help and they would have continued to use that program if they knew it wasn't contributing to the problem.

Also, TuneUp lets you put your PC into Turbo Mode to maximize performance. This is unlikely to be a long term solution for most users, as it disables many windows features and applications that the user might actually use, but it provides a way to test out the PC in a stripped-down, lean and mean sort of setting. If your PC is slow in Turbo Mode, then it's likely you need to upgrade your hardware and simple software tweaks aren't going to be enough.

On the other hard, you may discover that your PC is much faster, and that you can adjust your style to use less of what you have installed. You may have a new computer without having to actually buy one, and how nice would that be?

Tuneup Utilities 3-User

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

LapLink PC Mover Reviewed.

It's a little known fact that only  14 of the 66 possible upgrade scenarios detailed by Microsoft are supported by Windows 7. Worse yet - upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 7 is not one of those 14 supported!

So what's a PC user to do?

PCmover Windows 7 Upgrade Assistant

PC mover Windows 7 Upgrade Assistant, by Laplink, steps in to fill this gap left by Microsoft.

Besides being one of the best and easiest ways to  upgrade from XP to Windows 7, it may be one of the only ways.

PCmover Windows 7 Upgrade Assistant provides an easy to follow process to upgrade or migrate your applications and settings from any version of Windows 2000 and up.

Whether it's from one PC to another or on a single PC before and after a Windows 7 Upgrade, your programs, files and settings are transferred from your previous installation of Windows to your Windows 7 installation.


The only path to Windows 7 from XP.

As mentioned above, users who want to upgrade their existing Windows XP to Windows 7 really have no other way to do so without reinstalling (and re-registering and configuring) everything afterwards.

Take a look at this chart, detailing the supported upgrade paths from Microsoft

As you can see, the only way to upgrade from XP to Windows 7 without reinstalling everything is with a program like PCmover.

PCmover allows you to migrate your programs, settings and registration info in one easy to follow process without the original installation CDs  and serial numbers.

Why Microsoft chose to not support the most common upgrade paths like XP to Windows 7, Vista Home Premium to Windows 7 Professional and Vista 32-bit to Windows 7 64-bit is beyond me, but PCMover handles all of these.

Features.


PCmover Windows 7 Upgrade Assistant makes upgrading from any version of Windows (2000 and later) to Windows 7 easy.

Easy to follow process:
  1. Simply choose which applications you want to move to your upgraded PC
  2. Choose which folders you want and uncheck any file types that you don't want
  3. Follow the simple wizard to perform the upgrade
  4. All programs, files and settings remain as they were in your old operating system with one easy step

You choose the applications you want to have on your upgraded PC.You choose the folders and files to carry forward. You don't have to register, reinstall or re-enter serial numbers when you're done!

Pros

Laplink has a history of quality and reliability. PCmover Windows 7 Upgrade Assistant continues this history.

If instructions and precautions are observed, PCmover really will migrate your data from your old machine to your new, Windows 7 machine. It can save you hours of reinstalling hassle!

PCmover's user interface is simple and easy to follow, with familiar metaphors like Moving Van graphics and indicators to help make things easier to understand.

Cons

As easy as PCMover makes the process of migrating your existing applications and data to Windows 7, it's still a very complicated process. Here are a few tips to help you avoid some of the situations commonly at the heart of some of the bad reviews on the web:

  • Be sure to backup your data before running PCMover.
  • Read the manual before completing the process.

It's especially important to follow those 2 steps when doing an in-place upgrade to Windows 7 using PCmover. This is when you're upgrading your existing version of Windows on a single machine. It's a much more complex process and inherently more prone to problems. Observing all the instructions will reduce if not eliminate these problems.

It's also important to note that there are some programs that may not be compatible with the new hardware or with Windows 7. PCMover cannot correct this problem, and you will need to contact the company that produces the old program and see if there is a newer version that's compatible with your hardware.

Additionally, files with Digital Rights Management (DRM) such as music files and programs that require keys or serial numbers with a hardware fingerprint may require reactivation.

Lastly, PCMover is an upgrade only solution - it does not integrate applications and setting from Windows 7 down to XP or Vista or any other version of Windows older than 7.