Sharing Wares #2

Windows 95 Power Toys

Freeware - Windows 95

Okay, as much as I despise the disgusting monopoly that is Microsoft, I will admit they have some of the world s best progammers. To make the sometimes awkward Windows 95 tasks automated, easy, and brainless (much like themselves), Microsoft has released a package of small Windows add-ons, entitled Power Toys. Either downloaded as part of the complete Power Toys set (only 204 KB), or individually, these programs will definitely be very useful to some, and equally useless to others. They are worth checking out on your own, though. You may find something that automates one of your most common Windows tasks, and speeds up your work. Among the Power Toys are QuickRes, a utility to change the screen's resolution quickly and without restarting Windows; Send To v. 1.4, which adds versatility to one of Windows right-click tasks; and Tweak, used to customize the Windows user interface to your personality. Typically, Microsoft takes no responsibility for what these "toys" might do to your system.

Mandolin Tutorial Version 1.0

Shareware - Windows 95 ($24.95)

Are you sick of only being able to find mandolin teaching programs that have cheesy effects and MIDI sounds? Disgruntled by learning to play the mandolin on your desktop, only to find you couldn t distinguish an F major chord from an A7? The solution has arrived. Mandolin Tutorial is an award-winning piece of software, which samples the notes of the mandolin not by MIDI, but actually with the recorded sounds from a 1911 Martin mandolin. Using a revolutionary note drag and drop scheme, you can click on the string positions you want depressed, and then hear that chord played on the 1911 Martin. Using an animated textbook layout, the basic notes and chords are taught to the user, ensuring years of mandolin-playing enjoyment. By registering the software for $24.95, you can get a version for Windows 95, Windows 3.1, or MacIntosh, though the demo is only for Windows 95. The price is well worth it, guaranteeing a bright new future for every young mandolinist's career.

Animagic GIF Animator

Shareware - Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 ($29.00)

If you look hard enough, there are dozen of GIF animation software packages available on the Web. Trust me, I've gone through the trial periods on at least ten of them, and have uninstalled the programs every time. Recently I discovered Animagic, and for the first time in my GIF animating history, the software is still on my computer. Animagic combines the ease of some of the less-powerful animators, and the high quality of the more expensive equivalents. My first project on it was creating a five frame animated web banner. After grueling in Photoshop for almost an hour creating the five frames, I was pleasantly surprised to have a great-looking animated banner just minutes after opening up Animagic. Combining simple drag-and-drop file insertion, the ability to read multiple graphic file types, and cool transition effects, Animagic does the job and much, much more.