Today's Web browsers add more and more download management capabilities with each new version, but there's still a long road ahead to that moment when genuine download managers would be obsolete. No matter if your connection is fast as a shark or you can go to the seaside and back while downloading a large file, a good download manager should have enough features to make things right in both of these cases.

Since the download manager I have here is one of those notorious progras that a lot of people used and even more heard about it from their friends or in the press, let's leave the introduction aside and get straight to the subject: Internet Download Manager (not quite an original name, isn't it?).


Setup

Released on the 28th of September, the latest version of Internet Download Manager is 5.11 Build 7. The trial version can be used without any functional limitations for as long as a month (well, 30 days, to be more accurate), and the price of a single user license is $29.95.

The setup package of this program is a bit smaller than 2.5MB, so downloading it shouldn't be a problem, even for those with a slow connection to the Internet. As you can see in the screenshots above, installing the application is really easy, but I must advise you to close all Web browsers during the process (you'll be warned by the setup program about this anyway, but it's better to know it from this moment).


Interface

While a download manager is a program that works in the shadow most of the time, you also have a lot of things to do inside its various windows, and I must tell you that while Internet Download Manager didn't make me fall off my chair, it looks pretty good and is very easy to use. Anyway, some additional eye candy wouldn't hurt at all, but for now, I declare I'm happy with what I got. Everything is clear, well organized, and the interface is not cluttered at all, considering the large number of elements present.

The toolbar can be customized as you wish, by adding and removing buttons and separators, you can use classic or 3D icons for it, and even download additional icon sets. The bad part is that I found only 4 such icon sets to download, which is a pity, but let's leave this behind and see what can be done with this program, shall we?


Features

According to its producer, Internet Download Manager easily integrates with virtually any browser available on the Windows platform. As you can see in the General tab of the configuration window, accessible from the Downloads menu - by clicking Options, IDM can be integrated into all major browsers, and additional ones are also supported. To add such browsers, you should press the Add Browser button below the supported browsers list, but be sure that you're not using a IE based browser first, because those are integrated by default.

When you click on Add Browser, you'll be required to select the executable file, and the program will retrieve that browser inside its database and apply the right settings. If your favorite browser is so obscure that it can't be found in the database, you can try to use the advanced browser integration mode, but that requires a system restart, first of all, and I don't have any browser that anonymus to make me use this.

What I really love about this download manager is the fact that while you are selecting the download location, the program is already downloading the file selected, decreasing the waiting time. Even better, a batch downloads tool is included, allowing you to easily grab groups of files from the same location, when their names are similar (for example, to download 10 files called data01.dat...data10.dat, you have to use http://path/data*.dat as the address).

Taking things a step further, the producers of this application also included a Site Grabber that allows you to download entire websites, or simply grab the files you need. Since setting options for such a task can get pretty tricky for beginners, IDM's Site Grabber has a few built in project templates to help you achieve your objective easier, and the wizard-style interface leaves only a little room for mistakes.

Other than the above, we have a very well done Scheduler with a very useful feature that enables you to set download limits (no more than x MB in x hours), and detailed, yet easy to use settings, of which I will only mention here the ability to choose a maximum connections number between 1 and 16 and to store user names and passwords for servers and sites you are using on a regular basis.

These being said, I'll leave the rest of the IDM treasure for you to discover, and I'm going to draw the conclusions, as usual...


The Good

Internet Download Manager is more than just a download manager, including an excellent Site Grabber and having outstanding browser integration abilities. The feature set is almost complete, and the ease of use and pricing are also just great!

The Bad

While similar products have remote administration capabilities and can download using the BitTorrent protocol, IDM still doesn't have them yet, but I hope it's only a matter of time until we see them included in its feature list.

Conclusion

Internet Download Manager is a very good deal, and since you can also try it for free, there shouldn't be anything stoping you from clicking the download link below. I don't want to say big words, but I can guarantee that this program works like a charm, doesn't kill your computer and your downloads are going to be faster and more reliable than before.

Developer: Internet Download Manager Corp.
Price: $29.95
Trial Link: Download

This is going to be a double review as the two pieces of software from Boilsoft should have been built together into one application that does all the tasks of splitting and joining video files. The video creators might be interested into these tools as they can also cut and trim movie files.

First, we’ll have a look at the Video Splitter – it has reached the 4.28 version and the interface hasn’t been changed much from the previous versions. I have used this tool a long time ago for my own video file splitting needs - it worked very well back then and it still does now. All you have to do is to load the desired video file into the application by using the “open” button and then you can select one of the splitting methods.

<-125x125 Button - left->If you haven’t selected the output folder already, the application will ask you politely to choose one and then you can press the “ok” button and the splitting starts. One important element is that the splitter does not re-encode the video file – it just splits it into 2 video clips or according to the below options that can be customized.

The Video Joiner (v 4.82) comes as a solution for those people who have got a few parts of a movie and wish to join them into one big video file so that they can watch it seamlessly. What needs to be noticed is that the Joiner does not accept files with various framerates and different resolutions – all the video files need to be exactly the same way encoded – and since I mentioned the splitter above – it one splits them, the other joins them.

The interface is really simple and very intuitive – you do not need any experience to start working with it – you can learn how to make most of it just by following the instructions on the screen. The buttons are still a bit rudimentary, they remind me of Windows XP, but it’s the purpose of the application that is more important here.

As soon as it finishes joining multiple video files with the same features (except time length), the Joiner offers you the possibility to view the result with your own favorite video player. Also if there is one file you accidentally added and wish to remove it or just reposition it – just use the left-side panel buttons.

Applicability: These split-and-join tools can be quite useful for amateur video editors who wish to cut & join their favorite parts of a movie file. They are a “must have” for any professional as well, as sometimes time is of the essence and a quick fix of video spit and join can do the trick.

Pro(s): Like I said – I have used these tools before and I enjoyed working with them because of the simple and effective interface and functionality.

Con(s): Instead of paying for one piece of software, you must get two – that is why I said at the beginning of this review that they should be built together.

Official website

Buy: $24.95 (the Joiner) and $34.95 (the Splitter)

Download the trial version of the Splitter and of the Joiner

I was watching yesterday a very funny commercial on TV about a young man who said his job is to have fun – he works as a party organizer – so practically he’s paid to have fun. And immediately I thought about the music at such parties – in order to have a great success at making cool parties, you need to have the right tools as well – and since many DJs use laptops, I’m going to present to you a program that really puts value into music mixing at a party – the Virtual DJ Studio.

<-125x125 Button - left->This software is produced by the same company that also created a very good audio editor - NGWave that is – and it presents quite a good alternative for people who wish to play music tracks with the effect of crossfading in order to give the impression that the songs are well interconnected. The greetings from the first start of the program are quite a nice touch from the developers and they give you a reason to start exploring the program.

Not only is this software-mixer a multiple music track player, but also it is a Karaoke player! Yes, that is right, you can listen and sing on your favorite tracks – but you will need specially created Karaoke tracks in the CDG file format – and the developer is nice enough to point you on the official website to programs that can do this task for free. Like I said above – this program can really help you boost a party to unprecedented levels of interactivity and enjoyment, and you only need a small table where you can put your laptop with the amplification system and the mixing-software, the Virtual DJ Studio.

Applicability: Any DJ would want this piece of software as it is highly valuable in this kind of job: it gives the possibility of inserting (loading) up to 17 tracks (!) and then playing them one after another with the auto-crossfading option enabled. You can also tweak the big equalizer from the main panel and also the individual 5-band equalizer from each track line.

Pro(s): This program does offer very many options and features that can compete with other more expensive pieces of DJ software – the price is convenient and it is very simple to use.

Con(s): This program is not really new – it has been on the DJ software market for a long time and one would think that the developers would learn from past mistakes – but they didn’t in this case – while the software looks ok on Windows Vista – there is a little problem about the interface – it was quite unstable when Windows XP SP2 was released (it didn’t work well until they released - after a long time - a fixed version!). There is still something wrong – but may be only occurring on Windows Vista – the area between the song counter (in any line) and the blue-light oscillator seems to create some trails after the mouse goes over it sometimes while playing a song. It’s not a big issue – it disappears after some time but it shows that the interface needs some improvements.

Official website

Buy: $39.95

Download trial

In a Web 2.0 world, pure HTML sites are almost extinct, and this makes me wonder how it is possible for HTML editing programs to survive. Obviously, the answer lays in offering support for the new technologies, while managing to provide all the features needed by someone that simply needs a HTML editor. If the price is also good, then we'll probably see HTML editors in the not-so-near future too, but now I'll leave the future aside and move to the subject I got here, called BestAddress HTML Editor 2007 Professional...

Setup

With such a long name, I though this program doesn't need a version number too, but after checking the About screen, I found out that BestAddress HTML Editor's last version is labeled 10.2.2, so if you're crazy about detailed program information, here you have it. Of course that this is not everything - the full version of the program is priced at $44.95, and the trial version can be run for 30 days or 20 times (it will cease to function when one of these two thresholds is exceeded).

The setup package of the program has almost 7.5MB in size, and installing it proved to be a bit strange. Let me explain why... The executable file I downloaded automatically unpacked an MSI installer, then that file launched the setup program, so everything took a few seconds longer than usual. Other than that, no problems, as you can see above.

Interface

Since the last version of this program was released early this summer, I expected much more from its interface, but I must say that I ended up being a bit disappointed. The icons look pretty old, and the overall look of the application makes me think about a user interface designed almost 10 years ago. Anyway, the good part is that you get solid help and assistance features, and the program is pretty easy to use, if you take it slow and don't expect to become a guru web master in two days...

Features

Multimedia Australia's product we have here can work with a lot of webpage files, from HTML and TXT to SQL or XML, and includes a very nice feature that allows you to open a file directly from the Internet. Unfortunately, when I tried it, I got an error saying I am not connected to the Internet. The good part is that after closing the program and opening it again, this feature seems to work just perfectly.

Even better, BestAddress HTML Editor has a built in FTP client that allows you to save your files directly to the website, with support for proxy servers and HTTP/HTTPS connections too. While you won't get the chance to browse the contents of your hosting account in a pane located in the main interface, as it would have been nice, I still consider this feature a nice addition to the program.

The Task Manager Pane, located to the left of the code/visual editor, allows you to quickly insert code snippets from HTML, CSS and PHP, manage your projects' files and browse your local folders.

There are three ways to view your pages - Code, Live Preview and Visual Editing, and you can also set associations with external Web browsers to test your pages before uploading them to your site.

The SupportBase.NET Direct is a service provided by Multimedia Australia which enables you to get live support right inside the program, in a panel that's located to the right of the editing area. The bad part about it is that some topics link to external locations, which are open using the default system browser, so the "all inside the program" approach gets out of the question...

The pack of handy tools that comes with BestAddress HTML Editor also contains a spell checker, a code optimizer and a very easy to use frame designer that allows you to quickly get started with frame-based site layouts, helped by a wizard all along the way. If these are not enough for you, then you can check the official site for additional tools that can be added using the Add-Ins menu, and these being said, I'm moving on to the conclusions...

The Good

BestAdress HTML Editor 2007 Professional is a good HTML editor, and its support for CSS and PHP snippets make it useful for a wider category of people than those almost extinct "HTML coders". At the same time, it's very easy to use, reliable and full of interesting features that add to its value.

The Bad

Since it is possible to use templates for building new sites, it would have been nice to get at least one or two included to play with. Also, the interface could be retouched a little, maybe even by adding support for user-added toolbars (like WinRar, for example).

Conclusion

Running this program for 20 times should be enough to give you a clear idea if it's worth your money or not, and since its rusty interface didn't spoil the pleasure of working with it at all, I am sure you'll appreciate it too. Anyway, no matter what you think about this program, once you give it a try, please feel free to get back here and drop us a comment. Good luck!

Developer: Multimedia Australia Pty. Ltd.
Price: $44.95
Trial Link: Download

From the collection of "small but tough” I will present to you today the ConvertXtoDVD program that has been designed to help you convert your favorite video files into DVD-compatible files. If you wish to create a short video presentation that needs to be transcoded into a DVD, this is the right software for you.

<-125x125 Button - right->As soon as I looked at the interface I liked the simple and yet subtle design that works wonderfully with the Vista Aero shell. Under each menu there are various access points to multiple settings. You can look into the General Settings, Language, Chapters, (DVD) Menu, TV Format, Burning, Subtitles, Audio, Encoding and Image Processing. In the General Settings menu you can set the working location and the program interface theme. It is really nice to see that this program, unlike so many others, has a menu that can be set into very many languages (it’s quite international, really!). In the Menu panel you can set the DVD title and playback options, while in the TV Format section, you will be given 2 choices – the video standard and the screen size. As soon as you load a video file, you can have a preview and also tweak the output file.

Applicability: The ConvertXtoDVD supports the following video input formats: AVI, Mpeg, Mpeg4, DivX, Xvid, MOV, WMV, WMV HD, DV, MKV, DVD and even more, while among the audio supported formats there are AC3, DTS, PCM, OGG and MP3. The program offers the possibility of video format choice: NTSC, PAL, or automatic and PULL-DOWN. You can even create automatic chapters, edit your own or just simply work on the DVD menu features.

Pro(s): I was pleased with the variety of options offered by this French piece of software, and it is a good thing that it works very well under Windows Vista (it also accepts the HD video files – so that’s a bonus).

Con(s): Although it is quite powerful for a small program, I wouldn’t suggest it for professional video editing and processing because it does not feature more options for a proper customization of the output video.

Official website

Buy: $39.99

Download Trial