SHORT REVIEW: YAAI --- A Neat Little Tool

Sometimes, I like to do reviews on software that is very basic and small, meaning that a full review is probably not necessary, and cannot be written to the simple programming of the software, so for YAAI I am going to try the first short review.

YYAI (Yet Another Avi Info) is a tool that allows you to select any of your .avi video files on your computer, and have all the available information about the specific file right at your fingertips. With this option, you can then import the information into a .txt file and save it where ever you would like. There are also other options that you can partake in, such as delaying the video at a certain point, or editing all of the information, like Author, Title, etc. The information that is displayed to you once you select the .avi file is listed below (this is an example of my Saw IV .avi file):

Yet Another Avi Info (YAAI) Output File

visit http://yaai.sourceforge.net/ for more information

AVI Information
Filename: Saw IV.avi
Filesize: 778848256 Bytes (742.77 MB)
Streams (i.e. Video, Audio): 2
Video Stream
Compression: xvid - XVID MPEG-4
Avg. Bitrate: 965.31 kbit/s
Resolution: 544x288
Color Depth: 12 bits
Running Time: 5187.68 s (1h 26m 27s)
Framerate: 29.9700 fps
Microseconds Per Frame: 33367 ms
Frames: 155475
Keyframes: 1990 (Every 78)
Audio Stream
Wave Type: 8192 - AC3 Audio
Avg. Bitrate: 224.00 kbit/s
Sample Rate: 48000 Hz
Bit Depth: 0 Bits
Channels: 2
Audio Delay: 0.00 s
Author Details
Artist:
Comment:
Copyright:
Name: SAW IV
Product:
Source:
Subject:
Display Name:

Also here is a screenshot of what YAAI looks like in action:

So, a quick synopsis…

Sleek? Plain and simple, no not sleek at all. 2/10
Space? Doesn't take up much at all, just over 8,000 kb which is basically nothing. 9/10
Convenience? If you're a video guru, than probably not, you probably have something better, but if you're a casual video downloader, like myself then this is convenient. 6/10
Necessity? That's a big no, the movies still play without this, its just nice to know the facts. 1/10
Originality? This is the first type of software I've seen like this, but I'm sure more exist. 5/10

The overall rating = 23/50 x 2 = 46/100 = 4.6 (Sorry YAAI, needs more functions)

Please visit YAAI on the web - http://yaai.sourceforge.net/

Cobian Backup 8 --- Now Open Source, Now Necessary

Cobian Backup 8 is a very basic, yet sophisticated piece of software. Cobian Backup specializes in exactly what is in the title of the program, backing up files. Most people now-a-days have an external hard drive where it is probably best to backup all of your important documents that you need incase the unexplainable PC crash occurs. Not having files backup can be a big loss, take for instance this review that I am writing right now, I was actually done it, but stupidly did not save it, and went out, and my computer blue screened this morning, and because of the faulty Microsoft Word 2007 auto-recovery I lost the file. Now if I would have just saved the file where I always do, it would of backed up, and I would be alright, but now instead I am sitting here re-writing this review when I could be watching football. Yada, yada, yada here is a great screenshot of what Cobian Backup 8 looks like:

Originality? – The originality factor is pretty slim when it comes to backup software, but this backup software is very basic for the not so everyday computer user, or it can actually be a little bit advanced for the highly experienced techie. The software gives the originality of setting times of when to backup, and setting a selected schedule for each week of what files will go to which folders, typically at a remote location. The originality still isn't too high as a lot of backup software also allow for this, so overall rating of originality I will give a 6.0 out of 10.

Necessity? - Yes, Cobian Backup 8 is a huge necessity for any user who has important documents on their computer that they cannot afford to lose. I am a college student who has a lot of papers from previous terms that I may have to reference at a later point, and it makes it very easy for me to go back to these files with Cobian Backup. For anybody who has enough remote storage to save all of their files, I think that this is a great necessity, as in the long run it may take some daily maintenance but it will save you so much hassle in the end, which is why I am giving it 10 out of 10 in necessity.

Space? - The amount of space that Cobian Backup takes up while it is running is only just about 8,500 kb, which isn't too bad considering Microsoft Word is taking up over 33,000 right now as I am writing this review. It really doesn't take up much space at all, and too be honest I don't run the software at all other than Monday mornings, and I will explain how. I have my auto backup set for a miscellaneous random time of 3:50 A.M. every Monday morning, and just because I am running the backup doesn't necessarily mean that I need to run the software all through the day and night. To prevent all of this, what I do is set a scheduled task to run for around 3:40 A.M. and open Cobian, so then I can just close it all out when I wake up in the morning. I set up for my backup file to be a zip file to my external hard drive as well. Overall, for space I would give Cobian 9.5 out of 10.

Convenience? – Don't get me started on convenience, I don't care if this was the most inconvenient program on the market, it does some important things, and there is absolutely no denying that. The great thing about Cobian Backup 8 though? It's not the most inconvenient program on the market, and maybe it may take some maintenance to keep it in order it really is worth it, just so you never lose all of those important files then you'll most likely once again need. I don't need to stress how convenient this program is, which is why I am giving it a 10 out of 10 on convenience.

Sleek? – The sleekness of Cobian Backup 8 could be looked at in two different ways. IF you are an everyday computer user, like myself you probably don't find this software too sleek, but if you are an infrequent computer user you probably think that this is the greatest thing, and is very sleek. The different colors and buttons in Cobian is very user interface friendly which makes it a very accepting software to the not so advanced computer users, which is what I actually like the most about it. Even though I am somebody who loves to seek a real sleek interface, I don't need something so advanced that I don't know what's going on, so I would give the sleekness appeal of Cobian a 7.5 out of 10.

The overall rating = 43 / 50 x 2 = 86 over 100 / 10 = 8.6; I would say that Cobian Backup 8 is a great utility to have on your computer, and please use it, for your own good, you may one day regret it.

Visit Cobian Backup 8 on the web - http://www.educ.umu.se/~cobian/cobianbackup.htm

KeePass --- Essential software tool for the frequent PC user

KeePass is a tool that allows you to input all of your personal passwords for absolutely anything you would like. It allows for one generic password to originally get into the software, and then allows you to add individual passwords once installed. It even allows you to generate your own 32-bit password to get into the program. It allows for very deep encryption which I have not really messed with yet, but I plan on it. I have a password set to get into my passwords on my Firefox browser, but I do not always trust that, with friends messing around, or someone going on your personal sites, which I do not enjoy. I rather store all of my website passwords in another program, or site, so using KeePass is a great tool for me. I haven't inputted too many passwords, but I plan on imputing a lot more.

Here is a quick, general image of KeePass in action:

Sleek? – In my opinion, KeePass is a very sleep program, as it is very self explanatory to use, and allows you to input anything you want, password wise. It has a lot of quick loading icon types that you can load for all your different categories of your passwords, the options that you can change in KeePass could become endless, as well as allowing for additional Plugins, including additional icon looks. When it comes to being sleek, I would rate KeePass a 9.5 out of 10.

Convenience? – This is more of a judgment call depending on the user, because some people may think that their password protection is very essential, but others may believe that password protection is a minimal worry for them. KeePass also allows you to copy a password to the computer clipboard, but only last for 10 seconds, and then goes away, as nobody can come on to your PC and paste the password. As far as I am concerned, password protection is very important to me, and I would rate the convenience factor very highly for me, as it may take a little time for me to input all of my passwords, but I feel like it is well worth it to have my passwords digitally locked up, as I would give this a rating of 10 out of 10.

Space? – The space factor isn't always a huge factor for me, but this program does take up a little too much space, as it is just over 8,000 kb, but I would think when something like this is operating, it wouldn't need all that much memory to run, but that's the price you pay for such a great utility. You really do not need this program to run all that much though, unless you are retrieving your passwords, and need to run the program. I would give the space factor 8.0 out of 10.

Necessity? – Yes, as simple as that, KeePass is a necessity on every PC user's computer. 10 out of 10.

Originality? – Unfortunately for the originality factor, KeePass is not so original compared to any other password tracking software. There is a lot of password saving software available out of there, though a lot of them cost a few bucks, and KeePass does not, and it really offers a very versatile interface that I enjoy, and plan on using with all of my passwords, as you could easily run this software off of your flash drive, and save your passwords, and take them on the go, which I enjoyed a lot. I hope that a lot of people try out KeePass for security reasons, as it may not a firewall, but it really protects all of your passwords from your friends, and family, but as there are so many different choices with password keeping, I would have to give the rating a 7.0 out of 10.0.

The overall rating = 44.5 / 50 x 2 = 89 over 100 / 10 = 8.9, I highly recommend KeyPass to anybody who needs to store their passwords.

Visit KeyPass on the Web - http://sourceforge.net/projects/keepass/

Vista Drive Icon --- Another worthwhile reason for keeping Windows XP

Is Vista Drive Icon is software that I came across reading RSS feeds on Lifehacker. This is very basic, yet convenient software that takes all of your icons in Windows Explorer, and shows the amount of drive usage when it comes to your different drives, including your USB flashes drives.

As you can see in this image below what this software really does:

As a lot of people know, Windows Vista has not lived up to the hype that Microsoft made it be, and with the installment of Windows 7 coming sooner than later, it makes me wonder If Windows Vista will ever actually reach its full potential and live up to the huge hype, and be considered the next great operating system compared to the new Mac OS Leopard. I personally have not made the transition to Vista, but I have used it on occasion on remote PC's, and personally I do not care for it all that much, but do see some nifty features, one of which being the icon feature that Vista Drive Icon gives you. I am a person that does not like to fill by C: drive all that much, rather I store most of my media on my external hard drive, but I hate going through the Properties menu and checking the used space, but with this icon feature it gives you a quick glance at what you've really used when it comes to space on your hard drive.

Sleek? – I would have to say that overall this program is pretty sleek, considering that Windows XP did not have this option, but Windows Vista upgraded to it, as this download allows you to obtain the option for your Windows XP OS with one easy download, so it is kind of like taking a futuristic download, and putting it into the past. For sleek I would have to give the software a 10 out of 10 rating.

Space? – I was actually fairly surprised with the minimal amount of space that this software takes up, as according to the Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel, it only takes up 0.88 MB. In reality though it shouldn't take up any space, as this is such as an easy feature it should of probably been included in the making of Windows XP, but overall the space is very minimal, and I cannot fault them for that, so I will give it a 9.5 out of 10.

Convenience? – This software's best asset is convenience, for people who are like me, and don't really want to click the Properties option to see how full a certain drive is getting. With the option of just taking a quick glance, you can tell how full the drive is getting, and you don't have to worry about getting down to the nitty-gritty details, such as 8.2553 GB, which is completely unnecessary. I would have to give the convenience factor a 10.5 out of 10.

Necessity? – The necessity factor about this software is nothing to argue with. The necessity of this software might as well be negative ten, but the convenience is overwhelming. I think that most people really wouldn't want this software as it just may take up space, and they really don't want something that they can just get my by just clicking the Properties button, but for me I want something like this, because I like to waste less time on things like that. Overall though, I would have to give the Necessity rating a 1 out of 10.

Originality? – The originality factor is really completely up in the air, as this software itself is not original really at all, because it is based off of something that Windows put together in Windows Vista, yet the Windows Vista design of this software is very original. It really depends how you look at the question, but I would say if you look at it from the standpoint of the Windows Vista creation, than I would have to give it an originality rating of 7 out of 10.

The overall rating = 38 / 50 x 2 = 76 over 100 / 10 = 7.6, this is software that I like very much for convenience, but overall it is nothing spectacular.

Visit Vista Drive Icon on the Web - http://drvicon.sourceforge.net/

Makagiga ---- An unnecessary brilliance

First off, this is my first ever blog posting, and my first ever review of open source software so bear with me. I hope that I can make this a good blog for you to read daily, and get your daily dose of open source software.

What is Makagiga you ask? What isn't it?

Makagiga is a To-Do manager; RSS feed reader, Notepad, Simple image viewer/editors, Widget maker, Internet search (Google, Yahoo, Wikkipedia, etc.), a Document importer/exporter, a Backup utility, a Custom file labeler, and so much more. Makagiga is not a necessary utility but it is something the daily PC user should really try. I enjoy it for the reasons of keeping all of my to-do lists in it, and reading my daily RSS feeds (Lifehacker, BusinessHackers, PC World, etc.)

Makagiga also comes with a Journal utility in it which allows you to keep a journal, or maybe even a blog; maybe I'm actually writing this blog in it right now? Well, no I'm trying Microsoft's new blogging feature in Word, but I could be blogging in Makagiga if I wanted to.

Intriguing? – When you base Makagiga on a scale of being intriguing or not, I would have to rate it a 9.5, as it has a lot of great utilities within it, and you really can customize a lot of different things when it comes to Makagiga which I find very intriguing. I would say that this software offers something that most don't at a very basic level. Maybe you can find some more high-end software when it comes to this kind of stuff, but that may also involve looking past open source, which what this blog is not about.

Reliable? – I would have to give the Makagiga a perfect 10 on reliability, as I have been using it for some time now, and it has not crashed my computer once, and it does not require to press some hidden save button on the File menu to save all of your journal entries, or your to-do list's, as it automatically saves them for you.

Typically this blog will consist of more than analyzing two different assets about a specific open source software download, but I am pressed for time, so overall the rating of Makagiga would be a 9.75 (the average of the two topics I wrote about). Normally it will consist of five different assets.

I will leave you with a screenshot of Makagiga:

Visit Makagiga on the web: http://makagiga.sourceforge.net/

PS – Makagiga also comes with a nifty built in Dilbert comic RSS feed.