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From TNPC issue #3.19...
Windows 2000 3rd Party Utilities (SystemWorks): Part 8
by Al Gordon
September 14, 2000
(Note: SystemWorks runs under Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows
NT, as well as Windows 2000 -- Ed.)
After several months of looking at Windows utilities wannabes,
I found myself with a new appreciation of Norton Utilities (and
Symantec's larger package, SystemWorks, which includes Norton
AntiVirus 2000 and other items).
A lot of the Windows 2000 utilities I have tested, as reported
in these pages, have been enterprise products that were adapted
for individual use. It turns out that understanding consumer
software needs isn't as easy as it looks. Even Symantec sometimes
has its own learning curve, as its Internet Security product
manager admitted. But Norton Utilities have been out there
for a long, long time and they pretty much have got the hang
of it by now.
For SystemWorks 2001, Symantec has tidied up its interface
into a more unified package. As the program has evolved, there
was a tendency to keep adding the company's latest acquisition
(e.g., Cleansweep) or latest tool (WinDoctor) without focusing
much on integrating them. The interface for 2001 is the cleanest
in many years. The opening screen now directs the user in
more logical ways to the tools at hand.
Of course, for Windows 9x/Me the traditional paradox remains:
Norton provides you with the tools to fight Windows problems,
but if you have them all running, you have so many background
apps going that your system will be less stable. As noted
here before, the trick installation is to choose, counter-intuitively,
the
"complete" installation option, which is also the
custom
installation mode. You then have SystemWorks install everything
(assuming, of course, you have the disk space), but reject
all the options to run things automatically except for antivirus.
That way, the tools all are there for you to use when you
need them, and they are not running when you don't.
Windows 2000 users now get SystemWorks also, but it is an
abbreviated set of utilities. Still, Symantec has provided
the
core Norton Utilities such as Speed Disk, Disk Doctor, and
System Information, while adding Win Doctor (which checks
your Registry, shortcuts, and such for errors) plus Cleansweep.
New to the party this year, WinFax Pro has been added to
the
SystemWorks "Pro" bundle, which previously was only
found in the regular SystemsWorks plus the Ghost imaging utility.
Since last year's Pro included a Y2K utility, Symantec needed
to sweeten the deal for 2001.
Norton SystemWorks 2001 Standard Edition 4.0
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/319/tr.cgi?util1
Norton SystemWorks 2001 Professional Edition 4.0
http://www.TheNakedPC.com/t/319/tr.cgi?util2
You can reach Al Gordon at:
al@TheNakedPC.com
Copyright © 2000, PRIME Consulting Group, Inc. and Dan Butler.
All Rights Reserved.
The Naked PC is a trademark of PRIME Consulting Group, Inc.
ISSN: 1522-4422
You may reprint an article from TNPC as long as you show the
entire article and include the authors byline, excerpt and subscription
information as shown:
Windows 2000 3rd Party Utilities (SystemWorks): Part 8
by Al Gordon
(This article originally appeared in The Naked PC newsletter
#3.19, subscribe at http://www.TheNakedPC.com)
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