2.4

Complete audio editor

We see a lot of audio conversion software, and the vast majority of these programs are quite limited in scope, allowing you to convert, for example, MP3 files to four or five other formats. But then there are programs like Audio Workstation. This program is so jam-packed with features that it's hard to imagine that the average non-professional user would ever need anything else.

Audio Workstation's interface could stand to be a little less cluttered and a little more intuitive, but overall, it's pretty easy to figure out. The program's major features are all arranged with … Read more

Simple DVD maker

Joboshare MPEG to DVD Converter is an easy-to-use program that lets you burn MPEG video files to DVDs. The program isn't fancy, but it's a great choice for quickly editing videos and burning them to DVDs.

The program's interface is quite sleek and intuitive, with all of its major features represented by attractive graphical buttons. A small preview window lets you view the videos you are working with, which is a very helpful feature, and you can also preview a variety of templates for the DVD's menu. To create a DVD, users simply add individual files … Read more

PC stress test

Heavyload is a free program that offers an interesting way to test your computer's endurance. By pushing your system to the limit, Heavyload will show you how well your PC can handle stress.

The program's interface is cut down to the basics, which makes it easy to navigate. While it only has a few command icons, they're well labeled, and they're all that you need to conduct a successful test. The program's running graph shows your available memory and CPU usage, which comes in handy when using some of Heavyload's other features. There are … Read more

IE TV is A-OK

TV Toolbar is an add-on for Internet Explorer that provides links to legitimate, high-quality TV shows, movies, and more. Although the toolbar doesn't give you access to anything you couldn't find yourself, having the links in one well-organized place is an advantage.

The toolbar's interface is attractive and integrates well with Internet Explorer. Mouseover tooltips explain each of the icons representing the toolbar's major features. Users can select from lists of television channels, shows, and movies, and the toolbar will link to legitimate content hosted on the networks' Web sites or on sites like Hulu. You … Read more

Irritating clipboard saver

Day Clipboard Utility is a basic program that automatically saves text and images and copies it to the clipboard. Although the program works well enough, certain aspects of its design make it hard to like.

The application's interface is somewhat cluttered, with a lot of buttons and boxes that aren't particularly intuitive. In fact, we're still not sure what some of the boxes do. You set the program to automatically capture either text or both text and images, and after that you just use your computer as usual. Anytime an item is copied to the clipboard, Day … Read more

Check all your accounts at once

You could go online to check your bank account and Netflix queue, or you could open up Personal Assistant and find a dashboard for all your online accounts--or at least five of them, if you stick with the free, standard version. After building a portfolio from an impressive array of social, financial, productive, and shopping services, Pageonce's assistant will display them as buttons on a screen. Tap to view your banking transactions and total balance, travel itineraries, social commitments, and friends' status updates from a slew of social networks.

The app's 256-bit encryption helps keep data secure. There … Read more

Simple Taskbar hider

Taskbar Eliminator is a very basic program that allows users to quickly hide and unhide their Taskbar. The program works fine, but it's made to do only one thing, and it's not very intuitive the first time out.

The program's interface is sparse, and even worse, there's no way to know how to access it without reading the publisher's description. We find this a pretty major failing; a program should at least be able to explain for itself how it should be accessed. Instead, the program hid our Taskbar immediately upon extraction, leaving us scrambling … Read more

Amateur card maker

Greeting Card Editor provides some basic tools for making your own card. While it has some nice options, most didn't look professional and others couldn't be properly tested.

We needed a trip to the Help file's instructions after the first glance at this program. Not because it was too complex, but because the commands offered were unlike any other greeting card maker we've tested. Fortunately, we were then able to successfully navigate. We were instantly disappointed, though, because the program didn't offer any traditional templates for seasons and occasions, where we could simply drop in … Read more

Ask the Editors: Why does my laptop's Wireless-N speed cap at 130Mbps?

Like most editors at CNET, I often receive questions from CNET readers about specific problems. Here are a few that were brought up to me in the last month.

Q: My laptop's Wireless-N adapter only caps at 130Mbps even though my D-Link DIR-855 can offer 300Mbps speeds. What can I do to boost the wireless speed of the laptop?

A: That might already be the best you can get. Wireless-N (802.11n) comes in different "tiers" with different amounts of streams (also referred to as antennae). Each stream offers a throughput speed up to 150Mbps.

While most routers are dual-stream and cap at 300Mbps (future ones can even support multistream, offering speeds up to 450Mbps or even 600Mbps), a lot of adapters built in to laptop and notebook computers to conserve the battery life use the single-stream standard. This means they cap at 150Mbps (which translates into something around 130Mbps, which is plenty fast, by the way). Also note that the throughput decreases as you increase the range. Generally the optimal range for the Wireless-N is between 15 feet and 70 feet away.

Q: Does my laptop have to have a dual-band adapter to take advantage of dual-band routers, such as the Linksys WRT610n, the Apple Airport Extreme or the D-Link DIR-825?

A: No, it doesn't matter how many bands an adapter supports; wireless networking devices only connect to one another in one band at a time.… Read more

Dowdy, but handy

AOL Radio may not do much more than stream Internet radio, but it doesn't come to the table empty handed. With plenty of Internet Radio stations from around the world to browse by musical genre and save as favorites, this streaming Internet Radio app goes beyond others to bring you extra programmed stations and the option to find songs you mark as favorite on iTunes or AOL Music. Sure, it's dowdy and lacks a search feature, but its support for local radio stations is what keeps us coming back. This is tremendously useful if you want to listen … Read more