tools

Casual users might not see the allure of this simple freeware, which not only detects hardware and other system information but also lets you benchmark your system's performance. Users with an interest in what goes on under the hood, however, will appreciate this easy-to-use and informative tool.

PC Wizard 2008 goes to work as soon as it's installed, quickly gathering general system information. The interface has a familiar feel with its easily recognizable icons on the toolbar to save, print, and refresh the data. While it looks like little effort was made to dress up the interface, it … Read more

As far as we're concerned, this program is a farce. The publisher claims that it is free, but before you can view anything in detail, you're asked to select, and pay, for a plan.

Instant People Search has a generic user interface, with basic navigational buttons. To perform a search, you're required to enter a person's first name, last name, approximate age, and state where he or she resides. The program claims that you can also search by phone and cell numbers, e-mail, and current or past addresses, but there isn't a place to enter … Read more

Email To Background is another in a long line of this publisher's programs that offers the ability to look up information on people. This one lets users look up a person's background information using his or her e-mail address; however, we didn't get very far with the program because a trial limitation required payment to view its findings.

The user interface features a search capability that has only a field for an e-mail address, and that's it. Unlike similar programs by the same publisher, you can't fine tune your search by including a person's … Read more

CopyPaste Pro is a utility that greatly enhances the clipboard functionality of the Mac OS. The program not only lets you maintain multiple clipboard items ("clips") for easy pasting across all applications, but it also keeps a history of copied clips and stores custom archives for static subsets of clips that you use frequently.

Like other good efficiency-enhancing apps, CopyPaste Pro provides a lot of different ways to access its deep functionality, with plug-ins for the menu bar and contextual menus, a comprehensive complement of hot keys and drop-down menus, and mouse-and-key combinations for pulling up your clip … Read more

The publisher of this app have a number of these programs under various names, but they all provide the same service, which is to let you look up a person's records. Detect Sex Offenders is one of those entries.

With the trial version, despite the publisher's claim of no limitations, all you're allowed to do is see the required form. As soon as you enter the required information needed to perform a search, you're taken to a window to pick and pay for a membership. The user interface is basically a form that allows you to … Read more

Its name defines its purpose, and the simply titled Inmate Search allows you to look up a person's criminal history. We didn't get very far with the program, though, because a trial limitation required payment to view its findings.

The user interface features search capabilities that require an inmate's first and last name, but to fine tune your search, you can add the person's date of birth, gender, and state information. The program also lets you search by phone number, address, zip code, and even e-mail address. You can also select the categories you want to … Read more

WriteOnIt is a simple service that lets you caption and manipulate uploaded photos. Just like BigHugeLabs' Flickr toys project (story), it can take uploaded photos and stick them into magazine covers. It can also slyly insert them onto coffee mugs, billboards, art easels, and fake mirrors within ready-made photos.

You have very little control over the complicated bits, like transparency, placement, and cropping--which are all absent. However, with that simplicity you can very quickly put together something that both looks polished, and that could fool your viewer.

Of all the tools my favorite is the newspaper creator. You have five … Read more

If you want to manage and keep track of your Gmail task list outside of Gmail, or Google's special iPhone front end, there's a new tool to help you do it. Called gTask Sidebar, this Firefox plug-in will put Gmail's task list in your browser sidebar. It's basically an IFrame that emulates what you get in Gmail, although without any skinning or the capability to pop it out as its own window.

You can create, complete, and edit lists and tasks the exact same way you do it in Gmail. And instead of having an instance … Read more

You can use this simple tool for free to look up information using several search engines, but its approach only saves you a few steps. We would have preferred that MultiSeach integrated with our browser.

MultiSearch is easily installed, but it adds a desktop shortcut without asking. The colorful interface has easily recognizable command buttons at the top, a list of search engines on the left-hand sidebar, and a viewing pane. A single field is labeled simply Search, so it's pretty clear what you need to do first. We made a few missteps after that, trying to hit Enter … Read more