There's something strikingly different about utilities for Windows XP:
they exist.
TNPC'ers will recall that our coverage of utilities for Windows 2000
dragged on for about nine months from the time Win2K was unveiled, as
various software producers were slow to roll out product. That was then,
this is now. Windows 2000 was a business-oriented product, largely
preferred by IT administrators who dislike having to support add-ons. XP
is aimed at the consumer market. Plus, since XP is derived from Windows
2000's NT code, the task of updating the utility software was not
especially onerous.
Because of the volume of products, in fact, space only permits a quick
briefing on what's available. And as we get more experienced -- err,
XPerienced -- we will report on additional tricks and tips.
As you know, Microsoft has stirred up controversy on XP because of the
extent to which it has including features in the OS, particularly in the
multimedia and graphics realm, that previously were the turf of
third-party vendors. On the other hand, this also has led to the creation
of a new utility product category: if you can't fight them, join 'em.
InterVideo, makers of
the popular WinDVD player software, has unveiled "X-Packs" for XP's
Windows Media Player, allowing you to play DVDs with the player, and to
encode ("rip") your CDs in .mp3 in addition to the Windows Media format
provided by Microsoft. It's $10 for the .mp3 encoder, $15 for DVD, and --
the obvious best buy -- $20 for both.
In a similar vein, WinZip has
responded to XP's compress archive capabilities by adding more convenience
features in WinZip 8.1, now in public beta. You now can get to your
archives from a system tray applet, and the WinZip right-click context
menu in Explorer offers more choices, including access to your most recent
zips. Traditionally upgrades are free to registered WinZip users.
Free always is a nice touch, in fact.
Dantz has released Retrospect 5.6, the XP compatible version of the
backup software, and ahead has done the
same with v. 5.5.1 of its Nero CD burner. Of course, even better is not to
have to update your software at all --
Funduc Software says
existing versions of its utilities such as Search and Replace, Registry
Toolkit, Shortcut Doctor, Application Mover, and Directory Toolkit already
are XP-capable.
Curiously, Roxio, which provided XP's
CD burning engine, lagged behind in releasing its own XP updates. But they
now are available for
Easy CD Creator 5.0 Platinum and for the
GoBack 3.0 rollback utility. (GoBack also is part of
Symantec's SystemWorks "Professional" bundle, by the way.) Key tip in
doing the upgrades: if you are installing from scratch, ignore
the message to reboot after your initial install and instead proceed to
install the XP update. Reboot only when all the upgrading is done. While
XP has both CD burning and rollback capabilities, Roxio's products will
give you more options and flexibility.
Speaking of
Symantec, the utilities powerhouse has the expected "2002" editions
of
Norton System Works (including
Norton Anti-Virus) and
Norton Internet Security. Norton has changed cosmetics to match XP's
look and also adopted XP's automatic (if the user so chooses) downloading
of updates. This actually is more sensible for Norton than XP -- I mean
are you going to say "no" to downloading up-to-date virus definitions?
Among the key functional changes: NAV 2002 better integrates with Office
XP and the email scanner checks outgoing mail as well as incoming.
Internet Security has abandoned last year's three-flavor approach that was
criticized in this space (one for our side!) and gone back to a single
package of firewall and privacy protections.
PowerQuest has released
Partition Magic 7.0, with relatively minor updates -- mainly support
for XP and the latest monster-sized hard drives. There is a long-needed
partition undelete capability. However, the really big news is
Drive Image 5.0, which unveils the capability for the first time to
set up image jobs from inside Windows. PowerQuest calls it "QuickImage"
and includes scheduling features to make imaging a potential backup
strategy.
Ray Geide, a missionary in Russia as well as a programmer (he is one of
the few developers I know that sends out Bible citations as unlock codes),
has added WinRescue XP to his Superwin
lineup. In light of the rollback features in XP, he also has added
convenience touches: the setup routine now automatically prompts you to
schedule daily backups and to create floppy boot disks to run a rescue if
you can't get into Windows. RegVac, Superwin's Registry cleaner, already
is XP-compatible.
And, hey, this is Microsoft Windows XP, so the company has its
own entries in the utilities sweepstakes.
Microsoft Plus! for Windows XP is a $40 add-on package that is a
pastiche of additional themes, screensavers, skins for the media player,
and games -- pretty much the same collection that has comprised "Plus!"
for the last couple of versions of Windows, with some upgrades to take
advantage of XP-specific capabilities. The latest incarnation of the
aquarium screensaver is pretty cool. But otherwise, save your money.
But be sure and download the free
Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP package. The bundle includes a
faster user switcher, an enhanced calculator, a virtual desktop manager,
an image resizer, slide show wizard, and timer for web cam shots.
The signature PowerToy, Tweak UI, has been updated for XP and
allows you to customize the Windows interface. Also carried forward is
"Open Command Window Here," which adds a handy option to the Windows
Explorer right-click menu to get you to the command line interface in your
current folder.
A nice addition to the package is the "Alt-Tab Replacement" for task
switching, which shows a preview of the page to which you are switching in
addition to the standard icons. This is a big help when you have multiple
windows of the same application open -- e.g. multiple Word documents.
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