Manage updates with the Download Appgenerator
Simple media player
Haihaisoft Universal Player is a mouthful of a name for a simple program that will play practically any type of media file. With a user-friendly layout and excellent results, we were well-pleased with this free player.
The program's interface is exceptionally easy to navigate, thanks to its well-labeled command icons. Its familiar design mimicked other video and music players we've tested, so we never needed to consult the Help file's instructions. The player impressed us with its ability to jump quickly and seamlessly from media type to media type. We opened various video, audio, and photo file … Read more
Virtual world designer Metaplace to shutter
Metaplace, a service that allowed anyone to create a Web-based virtual world, said late Monday that it is closing its doors.
In an announcement made by e-mail, the company--founded by legendary game designer Raph Koster--said it will shutter on New Year's day.
"Today we have unfortunate news to share with the Metaplace community," the company wrote in the e-mail. "We will be closing down our service on January 1, 2010 at 11:59 pm Pacific...We will be having a goodbye celebration party on January 1st at noon Pacific Time.
"Over the last several years, … Read more
Quick barcode designer
GS1 DataBar Barcode Image Generator provides all the elements you need to create barcodes on a home printer. With a simple layout and great results, this is a perfect addition to a small business.
The program's interface was welcoming from the start, keeping all operations on a single page and providing visual cues for all our choices. This tool was fast and helpful. It was so easy to use that we never felt the need to read the Help file. Our favorite aspect of the program was the way it constantly displayed a sample of your barcode onscreen. As … Read more
Vertigo-inspiring graphics
Swan Studios' 3D Graph Generator is an innovative program for creating animated three-dimensional graphs. Used responsibly, this software makes memorable and informative graphs that will give your presentations a professional appeal. If you're not careful, though, you'll need to pass out motion sickness bags at your next sales meeting.
The program's interface is fairly intuitive, although the Options menu, where the graph configuration takes place, is a bit confusing at first glance. The built-in Help file is brief but adequate. The program's sample data gives an immediate look at what's in store, and we quickly … Read more
See that song live!
iConcertCal is a free plug-in for iTunes that scans your music library and then gives you an up-to-date calendar of live shows in your area based on those artists. iConcertCal can help you track upcoming shows and CD releases, as well as buy show tickets and CDs. You can also export your custom concert calendar to iCal (now even in Snow Leopard), and share it with friends.
iConcertCal is designed as a "visualizer" for iTunes--a tool that usually displays colorful light shows along with your music--but you view iConcertCal in the same way. iConcertCal doesn't always guess … Read more
Simple barcode tool
Barcode Generator & Overprinter provides the tools necessary to create barcodes and apply them to any paper surface. Its simplicity is its savior, as it makes a very complicated task much easier.
The program's interface was the highlight for us, because it kept all of the commands and options on a single screen. This screen is intuitively broken into three steps, a layout that is so informative that it saved us from having to read the instructional Help file. We really appreciated the thoughtfulness behind Barcode Generator's comprehensive functionality, since the program not only provides an opportunity to … Read more
Photo doctoring kit
Cartoon Generator promises the ability to alter any photograph into a cartoon. The program offers a simple set of tools and a user-friendly layout, but the end product is far from a traditional cartoon.
The program's interface didn't bowl us over with its design but was still quite simple to operate. We needed a brief trip to the Help file's instructions to understand what all the sliders controlled, but were soon making changes to our photo. By adjusting things like brightness, brush size, and dot sensitivity, we were supposed to be able to create a cartoon. However, … Read more
