Steve's Ravin' Reviews
~~Steve Mills

This Month's Coverage:

• 2xExplorer ... 6 geezers
• Photocopier ... 4 geezers
• Digital Camera Enhancer ... 4 geezers
• Oscar’s Renamer ... 5 geezers

Preamble – Well, I guess this is version 1.0 of this column. Undoubtedly we will evolve over the coming months as we exchange ideas and have to issue a Service Release with new enhancements. This column will have an unusually high number of top rated programs. I guess that is natural as it includes some that I have been using regularly and learned to appreciate. 

A word about ratings. Each program will be given 1 to 6 “Geezers” (I still need to create the icons for this). Programs rated 4 and up will be worth serious consideration. Take a look at my bio, if you care to see some of my thoughts on ratings. 

Let’s get started:

Program: 2xExplorer

Version and Date: 1.3.1.8     12/16/2001

Web Site

License: Freeware

Rating: 6 Geezers 

As tough as it is to admit, I’m becoming a fan of XP. I just don’t have to reboot as often. Explorer, however remains an incredibly lame program. Billy still hasn’t come up with anything as good as Norton Commander, XTree or a hundred other DOS classics. Over the last five years or so, I’ve tried a couple of dozen replacements – better than Explorer, but none became a permanent part of my system until 2xExplorer. This is a multi-pane file manager, with a plethora of options. You’ll be using it right away and gradually begin to use the more obscure features. For instance, when I originally wrote this review, I commented that the program would be nearly perfect if it had an internal graphics viewer. When I went to the site to check some information, one of the screen shots showed a layout, which was EXACTLY what I wanted. Never knew this capability was there. What a good, well designed program AND it’s REAL freeware. Get it!

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Program: Photocopier

Version and Date: 2.24     1/2/2002

Web Site 

License: Freeware

Rating: 4 Geezers 

This is one of those programs that was much harder to find that I would have thought. Several years ago, I bought a simple program from Disney to use my scanner as a copier. It had “issues” and was passed from company to company and I never could get any resolution. Anyway, it didn’t work with XP. I know some of the newer scanners have a button right on the machine to do this, but my Epson 1200U doesn’t. I don’t make a lot of copies and just needed something quick and simple. Photocopier fills the bill. 

One minor gripe – the program only prints to the default printer. So, if you’re like me and have a B/W and a color printer, you need to set the printer before executing the program. Not a big deal, since most copies will probably be black and white. 

Photocopier is Freeware and a Pro version with more features is available for $15. I haven’t looked at it, because the freebie is just fine for my simple needs. You do get a small ad for the Pro version when you close the program. A small price to pay for a fine utility.

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Program: Digital Camera Enhancer

Version and Date: 1.3     1/26/2001

Web Site

License: Freeware

Rating: 4 Geezers 

I love quick and dirty programs and this is a beauty. Personally, my graphics capabilities stink – big time. Slowly, I’m learning Fireworks, but there are times I just need to quickly clean up a scan or picture. This is the program I use. Here’s the description from the web site: 

Digital Camera Enhancer does the hard job of noise reducing and automatic balance control for you. And it is free!

The program works best if you have bad light condition (indoor, shadows etc..) and your image is somehow off. So if some of your images are already fine, you won't see much difference. DCE makes very delicate changes... 

One thing makes DCEnhancer different from other tools - reducing the noise and skin smoothing algorithm. It makes DCE ideal for making cool portraits and close-ups!

I use it to frequently adjust pictures for Ebay. It won’t resize the image or change jpg compression, but it will balance and adjust quite nicely.

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Program: Oscar’s Renamer

Version and Date: 1.0    12/9/2001

Web Site

License: Freeware

Rating: 5 Geezers 

What a cool program. There are several good file renaming programs around, but I really like this one. The approach is somewhat unusual in that it actually pulls file names into a text editor – you make changes and then apply them. There’s a nice macro utility for repetitive functions. If you manage a lot of files, this is a real time saver. 

One possible bug - the program has an option to install itself into the right click of a file name. Doesn’t seem to work in XP, though.

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On Deck:

• Internet Explorer Enhancements – NetCaptor etc.

• Clipboard Managers

• AIRoboForm

• Auction Managers for Buyers and Sellers

If you have any comments, criticisms, suggestions etc., just mail them to steve@inil.com 

Steve Mills has been reviewing software in different capacities for many years.  He has recently left his job with a search engine consulting firm and is looking for a new adventure.