.KEYWORD bstuff
.FLYINGHEAD PRODUCT REVIEW
.TITLE The dinky dozen: 12 helpful utilities in the bUSEFUL bundle
.OTHER
.SUMMARY Seventy-nine bucks may seem like a lot of green for Windows CE utility software. But the bUSEFUL pack contains a heck of a lot of useful utility in one bundle. Is it worth the price of admission? Read this review by senior technical editor Jason Perlow to find out.
.AUTHOR Jason Perlow
In previous articles, both I and Dan Huber have talked about some of the very useful utilities produced by bSQUARE, Inc.
This month, it’s time to take a look at them all together in one location. I think these are tools you’ll definitely want in your Windows CE Survival Kit.
Remember Norton Utilities and PCTools back in the old DOS days? Remember how, once you installed them, you couldn’t remember how you got along without them? [Although, arguably, the Windows versions of both these products, since acquired by Symantec, have never really lived up to their early DOS glory and utility. – DG]
With BSquare’s bUSEFUL Utilities Pak for H/PC’s and Palm-size PCs, which includes 12 easy-to-use and helpful utilities, you’ll feel very much the same. Let’s look at each one briefly.
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET bUSEFUL Backup Plus: avoid critical data loss by backing up all or portions of your data. Back up to and restore from a desktop, network, or even a storage card.
.END_LIST
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET bUSEFUL Analyzer: analyze and benchmark your system.
.END_LIST
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET bUSEFUL FindSpace: optimize device performance by freeing up memory. Delete duplicate files, invalid shortcuts, temporary files, cache files, and more.
.END_LIST
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET bUSEFUL Script: Automate and schedule common tasks such as logging onto ISP.
.END_LIST
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET bUSEFUL ListPlus: Track projects and tasks with this hierarchical list management program.
.END_LIST
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET bUSEFUL Launch: Create a customized start menu to quickly access your important items. This is quite useful. A little rocket icon gets added to your task tray. You can add all sorts of documents, and even customize how the menu is structured.
.END_LIST
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET bUSEFUL Notepad: Create and edit text files. Not particularly unique, but a helpful addition.
.END_LIST
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET bTASK: Navigate between and close applications.
.END_LIST
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET bUSEFUL HTML Editor: Create, edit, and save HTML files. Much of the same code is probably shared with bUSEFUL Notepad.
.END_LIST
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET bUSEFUL UUEncode: Convert files to UUEncoded format to send and receive large emails.
.END_LIST
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET bFIND: Find anything on your PC Companion with this global search utility.
.END_LIST
.BEGIN_LIST
.BULLET bUSEFUL MoonPhase: Track the phases of the moon.
.END_LIST
Backup Plus, bTASK, FindSpace, bFIND and Launch are worth the $79.00 price of admission alone, and I think the other utilities are great too, especially the benchmark one (similar to Norton’s SysInfo utility). Visit http://www.bsquare.com for more information.
Now, if only bSQUARE can get a picture of a gray-haired computer geek like Peter Norton, with his arms folded and wearing a freshly pressed Oxford shirt on the box, they’ll really have something. Then again, maybe we’re better off that they don’t.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
The bUSEFUL Utilities Pak from bSQUARE Inc. is available at http://www.bsquare.com.
You can read more about bSQUARE products in "Ten great applications you’ll just love" by Dan Huber, at http://www.windowscepower.com/issues/issue199906/newuser001.html.
Another cool software article is "Must-have programs and utilities for Windows CE", which you can read at http://www.windowscepower.com/issues/issue199905/cemusthave0599001.html.
.END_SIDEBAR
.BIO Jason Perlow is Senior Technical Editor with Windows CE Power. When he’s not scouring the Web for great Windows CE utilities and programs, he can be reached at perlow@hotmail.com.
