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Lock up your Excel spreadsheets and secure their formulas in binary format and protected VBA code using this compiler that converts the sheet into an EXE file. It offers options for prohibiting illegal copying and for including an end-user license agreement with the executable packet.

DoneEx XCell Compiler installs a DoneEx menu on the Microsoft Excel menu bar between the Window and Help commands. It performed well in our tests; after saving a worksheet and selecting the Compiler command from the new menu, the add-on launched a dialog box with a variety of options for compiling the sheet into an … Read more

This free program claims to monitor a selected folder and report any changes to that folder. Unfortunately, it offered nothing but an extremely utilitarian user interface, and an overall disappointing performance.

BeeWatcher's user interface is as plain as plain can be. The gray window houses options to browse for the folder you want to monitor, and to create a Save As file to send the monitor report. From there, check boxes let us select the events we wanted to report, such as folder changes, creations, deletions, and renaming. Below that are more specific options to select the changes we … Read more

ARM, the company that designs chips for the world's smartphones, said handset makers will deliver the first models using more than one processor core next year, as high-end mobile phones begin to mimic the hardware attributes of PCs.

And that means top smartphone suppliers such as Apple and Palm, which both use ARM-based processors, will likely deliver models packing at least two cores inside the main processor--referred to as an application (or applications) processor.

This is a natural progression for high-end smartphones like the iPhone and Palm Pre as the software those phones run gets increasingly sophisticated.

"You'll definitely see handsets shipping with a dual-core A9 in 2010," James Bruce, wireless segment manager for ARM, said in a phone interview earlier this week, referring to the next-generation Cortex-A9 processor from ARM.

The Palm Pre uses a processor based on the current-generation Cortex A8. The iPhone also uses an Apple-branded chip that is based on an ARM design.

"The A8 is just a single core while the A9 will be dual-core, all the way up to quad-core to give smartphones an even bigger performance boost," Bruce said.

He said the move to dual-core phones should happen relatively quickly. "It's very aggressive. It's only going to be in a year's time that you're going to get these phones," he said.

And what about power consumption, a critical concern for smartphones looking to deliver all-day battery life? "What we've done on the A9 is actually make it more power efficient than the A8. The dual-core A9 will be coming out on 45-nanometer rather than the (current) 65-nanometer process," Bruce said. Generally, the smaller the geometries, the faster and more power-efficient the processor is.

Bruce continued. "With the dual-core running at maximum load there's probably going to be an increase of about 10 to 20 percent in power consumption but in general day to day use you're actually going to see better battery life." … Read more

Folder Copy & Backup provides people with a tool for copying large amounts of files with a program aimed at sidestepping any errors. Thanks to its simple controls and easy-to-use display, it achieves its goals nicely.

This program's interface is primitive enough that most users should feel instantly comfortable. A few large icons detail the commands and expandable file trees help navigate folders and their destinations. However, if you do begin scratching your head, the Help menu drops down and offers helpful how-to's and even defines terminology the program uses. We were impressed with the ease and simplicity … Read more

Rapid Typing Tutor may be a good program to help novice typists improve, but experienced typists looking to increase their speed may be frustrated by the program's interface.

The program contains a series of lessons that scroll across the screen as the user types. Users can choose from lessons consisting of letters, syllables, capital letters, digits and symbols, or text. As each lesson scrolls across, a keyboard diagram shows an outline of hands moving to the appropriate key. Users type through each lesson and are then shown their scores on speed, accuracy, and arrhythmic input. The main problem with … Read more

We knew that Opera Mobile 9.7 beta was on its way (in fact, we expected it in May,) but the build released to Windows Mobile consumers on Monday morning isn't exactly what we had anticipated given certain hints in the business build that support for Flash video was on its way. We should say, the inclusion of Opera Turbo was dead on. What we hadn't expected was a separate widget gallery to replace the one built into Opera Mobile 9.5 beta, the previous version.

More on Turbo and widgets in just one moment, but first the answer to what we think you really want to know--should you upgrade? Based on our tests of the preview build Opera let us test the Friday before the release, here's our take: While it won't slow you down if you do upgrade to Opera 9.7 beta from Opera 9.5 beta, and while it may even help you in a pinch, those with reliable fast coverage who don't plan on using more than Opera Mobile's core browsing features won't have much cause to reinstall.

Turbo-charged Opera Mobile 9.7

Now back to your regularly scheduled review. Opera Turbo is the by now much-touted compression and proxy engine used in Opera 10 beta (review), the desktop browser version released the first week of June. On Windows Mobile phones, Turbo also makes browsing faster for data connections below 3G speeds--in other words, EV-DO, EDGE, and other 2.5G connections. When Turbo's revved on the phone, it sends the page data to Opera's servers for proxy rendering. The servers then send a lighter version of the page back to the phone. While that makes Turbo much faster on data- and image-rich Web pages over slow connections, it also predictably slashes image quality.

Turbo's implementation in Opera Mobile 9.7 beta is (disappointingly) unchanged since we got a demo at CTIA in early April. Though automatic detection is enabled in Opera's version 10 beta desktop browser, beta testers will need to manually switch it on and off each time. It's easy enough to do in the Advanced portion of Opera Mobile's settings menu, but there is a detriment to letting Turbo slave away. If you're on Wi-Fi or 3G, you could experience more lag time while Turbo sends your data to Opera's servers and back. Also, your image quality will suffer. This will be the singlemost challenge for 9.7 beta testers.… Read more

A conference dedicated to Apple developers is likely the last place a committed Windows user would look for new Windows products. But if you tuned into Apple's keynote at the World Wide Developer's Conference in San Francisco on Monday morning, you would have seen two software announcements that apply to Windows users, too.

The first is a new version of its cross-platform browser, Safari 4, which takes Apple deeper into Microsoft's territory. Apple claims that Safari 4's JavaScript engine (called Nitro) will be the speediest on the market, nearly 8 times faster than Internet Explorer 8 … Read more

If you're not already familiar with Vedic astrology, MB Janam Kundali will not be of much use to you. The program calculates the planets' positions at a user's time of birth, providing the results in North, South, or East Indian styles. Users who know how to use this information should find this to be a useful program, but don't expect any explanation if you're a Vedic novice.

The first screen of the program is cluttered, with the Continue button tucked in among ads and text boxes advising users how they can extend their trial period beyond … Read more

This program offers people the ability to rename large batches of files in one fell swoop. After we put it to the test, we were left disappointed by its poorly designed user interface and trial limitations.

Batch FileName Editor claims to have an easy-to-use interface, but we found it to be just the opposite. The bright command buttons are vague and don't offer users much direction. We selected a folder that contained the files that we wanted to rename. The Insert command introduced a new window that was just as vague and confusing. We finally found our bearings, but … Read more