TaskInfo 7

An operating system is like a huge machinery, having thousands of components, and so when you are using the Task Manager included in Windows, you only see a tiny part of what's really behind the fence. This is the main reason that lead to the development of more and more alternatives to Microsoft's Task Manager, and today's one is simply called TaskInfo.


Setup

Created by Igor Arsenin, TaskInfo is a program with a pretty long history, since its current version is 7.1.0.232. Priced at $35, this software is also available as a 30-days trial, with some nags and minor limitations.

The setup package has only 2.1MB in size, so it shouldn't be hard at all to download it and install the application, since there's nothing special to do, apart from clicking some "Next" buttons, as you can see in the screenshots above...


Interface

For a beginner, the interface of this program can be really confusing, but if you don't want to be assaulted by the large amount of information available in the default layout of the main window, there's nothing easier than choosing what to display and what should be hidden. Some parts of the interface need to be updated to the eye candy standards of the yar 2007, anyway, but since this program is more about information than looks, let's move on and see what can be done with it, shall we?


Features

I know you may be overwhelmed by the graphs that don't seem to explain anything, but try to hold your mouse above one of them. Now, that's better, isn't it? By default, the program displays virtual and physical memory usage, swap file usage, memory mapped IO operations, file IO, network transfers and, of course, CPU load.

In the processes list to the left, simply right click an item to see the impressive list of options. I especially appreciate the feature that allows you to search a certain file on the Web, but the best thing here is the wide range of options that allow you to control the CPU usage of a certain process.

To the right of the process info pane, there's the system information that you didn't even dream of, with intimate details about the threads, processes, interrupts, network transfers, loaded drivers and many more.

TaskInfo is more than just another Task Manager replacement, since it can even alert you when your system's resources are running low, and there's even more than this... but I'll leave the rest of it up to you, because I don't want to spoil your treasure hunt!


The Good

TaskInfo is simply amazing, offering an outrageous amount of information about your operating system, while managing to remain fairly easy to use and highly customizable.

The Bad

This program's interface should get a facelift, and a "basic" interface layout would be appreciated by beginners, I am sure!

Conclusion

While some may consider that TaskInfo is too expensive, I only wish to have all the knowledge required to use it efficiently and take full advantage of the information provided. Other than that, it's a matter of taste, but I think you'll also enjoy this program at least a little... but I guess that, in the end, there's no middle path - you should either love TaskInfo, or hate it! What's your choice?

Developer: Igor Arsenin
Price: $35
Trial Link: Download