I’m the kind of guy who likes his computing experience to be simple. An easily accessible interface and a slew of impressive features spells programming perfection for a guy like me. And although I find myself booting up OS X more than any other operating system, there are still quite a few Windows programs that I absolutely adore. One of them is Backup for Workgroups.

There always comes a time when backing up is a pain. Especially if you are working in a small office or have a standard home network. The enterprise guys, with their unlimited budgets, have it easy. It’s those of us who need the high end functionality but lack the funds to buy such programs that have to suffer.

But thanks to Backup for Workgroups, those days are gone. Although the program isn’t the most uniquely named, it does come with a very well rounded set of features. I liken it to a more powerful version of Time Machine for Mac OS X (though Backup for Workgroups is for Windows). Here’s why.

Like Time Machine, Backup for Workgroups has an extremely easy to use interface that even the least sophisticated user can fire up and immediately know how to use. As quick as a snap, the backup software can be copying your files to a wide range of drives, including NAS and SAN solutions. Furthermore, like Time Machine, Backup for Workgroups can schedule backups and run automatically whenever you want. And for speedier backups, it will learn what you’ve stashed away and save updates to only those files in the future.

But Backup for Workgroups actually provides a lot of the features that the Time Machine developers left out. The program can back up more than just files, including Exchange Servers and MS-SQL data. You can also create massive arrays of disks to store data on, instead of choosing just one. Backup for Workgroups will even manage all of the necessary information needed for offsite storage and can encrypt files up to 256 bit. It’ll even send out a daily email report that categorizes and documents all of that day’s backup activities.

Normally, I tend to slam developers for overpricing their programs, but the $99 per computer that Lockstep Systems is charging for their data backup software is actually pretty decent. Lots of functions for an acceptable price. And if that’s not doing it for you, they even offer a 30 day, (mostly) unrestricted trial.

Overall, I highly recommend giving Backup for Workgroups a try. Their software runs fantastically on Vista (32 and 64 bit), XP, and a few other NT based Windows OS’s. Of all of the backup programs out there for small businesses and home users, this is easily one of the best. It takes a lot to stand out in a crowded arena like the backup sector, and these guys have crafted a program that is exactly what I’d love to see more developers head towards. Feature rich and user friendly.

Take them up on their 30 day trial and let me know what you think in the comments below.

Now if it Only Had Some More Competition

After experimenting with, and reviewing, four different What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) style web design programs over the past week, I’ve come away with a new respect for Adobe’s Dreamweaver. It is such a fantastically designed piece of software that I totally understand now why so many people in the web design world use it.

We will begin with the program’s layout. Although Adobe tweaked the interface quite a bit for the CS3 versions of their programs, the basic layout is still the same, easy to get used to, Dreamweaver interface that it has always been. Buttons are easy to find, menus coherently arranged, and toolbars in the places they should be. I first began to experiment with Dreamweaver back with MX 2004 when it was still owned by Macromedia. Dreamweaver was as easy to learn back then as it is now - a real benefit for a program that can be used by web designers and developers of all skill levels.

This brings us to the complexity of the program. While other programs I reviewed this week, like Sandvox [review] and Freewebs [review] were striving to meet the needs of only the most amateurish web designers, Dreamweaver has enrolled in the same camp as programs like Nvu/KompoZer [review] and Weebly [review]. These programs are easy to get used to and come stock with various features that make it a snap for a beginner web designer to make his own website - they also offer a variety of tools that are aimed at those who like to do the coding of their sites by hand. Dreamweaver reaches to both of these web design camps and does so well with press of a button style layouts and enough syntax highlighting on all of the most popular web languages to make even the pickiest developer proud.

Like some of the other desktop web design programs, Dreamweaver also comes stock with some tools to help users interact with their web hosts. A built in FTP client is, in most cases, one of the most used features of the program. While it can be slow at times, and unstable at others, it does work well on the whole. Another cool feature of Dreamweaver is its ability to access MySQL and Access databases with the click of a button - making the mundane task just a little easier and less time consuming. Finally, much like other WYSIWYG HTML editors, Dreamweaver also includes a very easy to use CSS editor that can save a lot of time in many situations - especially for those with little experience with CSS. And, if there is not an extension available for something in particular that you’re looking for, you can probably download it in the Dreamweaver extension directory.

Because Dreamweaver is an Adobe program, it also has one extra benefit that none of the other HTML editors can provide. Dreamweaver can integrate directly with other Adobe products like Photoshop, Illustrator, and Flash. I’ve found that my productivity increases dramatically with this integration, making Dreamweaver a must have program for those working professionally with web design.

All in all, it’s easy to understand why Dreamweaver is so highly regarded. It really is a fantastic program that is designed for everyone. Although the price is prohibitive for many, there is a free trial that is totally worth your while.

Try Dreamweaver for Yourself.

- Eric Norton

Brings Back Bad Memories of Geocities and Homestead

Online web designers seem to be the hot new Web 2.0 applications. Maybe it’s because people are growing tired of social networking sites like Myspace and Facebook - and they want their own full fledged websites. Or perhaps it’s just a fad, a craze, or some Silicon Valley millionaire’s idea to increase his profits. Whatever it is, one of the biggest online web designers is Freewebs. But just because it’s the biggest - does it mean it’s the best? You’ll find out soon.

Freewebs offers it’s users free, easy to use website building tools to build practically any site they can think of. However, those tools are not nearly as easy as some of the competition offers. While they can piece together a pretty good site, they take some getting used to and may be difficult for people to jump right in for the first time. However, after getting used to them, they become second nature and work pretty well. I would never recommend using them on anything slower than DSL internet connection speeds though, as many of the site building tools have significant loading times.

Along the lines of building sites on Freewebs, let’s talk about the templates. There are quite a few, although most are simply derivatives of other templates with header picture changes or slightly modified colors. That’s fine, so long as I can modify my theme’s CSS. So off to modify the CSS I go - only to be horrified to find that only one theme allows CSS modification! If you want a free website that looks original, Freewebs is not the place to go. There is a major lack of variety unless you put in a lot of work. And apparently you have to “downgrade” your account if you want to edit any HTML too.

The large amount of options available through Freewebs’ site builder is what really keeps the site strong. I haven’t come across too many free services that automatically add a blog, a forum, various forms, and image slideshows at the click of a button. And I’ve certainly never seen a free web design site that has multiple file upload capabilities. These are some pretty cool features - but they’re not enough to make me rate Freewebs highly.

In essence, Freewebs reminds me of the old days. The days when Geocities and Homestead (remember those) were the biggest free website brands. Other online web building tools like Weebly [review] have grown out of the ’90s - but Freewebs seems trapped there. They’ve got decent tools, but there is not enough customization ability behind them to make them of use to anyone with even a slight knowledge of HTML, CSS or the other web coding languages.

Compatibility is also a problem with Freewebs. While it works on every browser I tried, there were functional issues, especially with the paragraph editor, in Webkit based browsers and Opera [review].

I can’t end this review without discussing Freewebs’ ridiculously obscene prices for “premium services”. Taking a look at “Best Value” Enhanced Package, for $8.33 per month, you get a whopping 750 MB of storage, 25 GB bandwidth, a domain name, and five email addresses. Give me a break. There are plenty of web hosts that give out 300 GB storage, 3000 GB bandwidth, 2500 email addresses, and a free domain name - for a buck and a half less. Who cares if you get free web building tools from Freewebs with the deal? There are better free programs, like Nvu/KompoZer [review], out there.

To answer the question I posed at the start of this review, no, Freewebs is certainly not the best online web design platform. It’s not even close to it. Do yourself a favor and forget about Freewebs if you have the hankering to build your own website using web based tools.

Check out Freewebs Here.

- Eric Norton

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I’ve tried quite a few word processors in my quest to find the best free product. After all, Microsoft Word, the reigning champion of word processors is quite a force to be reckoned with and offers a variety of features that are surprisingly absent from other word processors. Yes, I’m referring to the grammar check. Unfortunately, Zoho Writer is another word processor that lacks a grammar check. It’s free, it’s easy to use, it has online and offline versions - but it needs that grammar checker to ever be considered a true alternative to the likes of Microsoft Word. Despite the lack of a grammar checker, though, Zoho Writer is an excellent option for those looking to escape from Microsoft’s grasp.

The biggest benefit that Zoho Writer has going for it is that it’s online instead of on the desktop. Essentially an online, Web 2.0 type of application, Zoho Writer is designed to be used anywhere so long as there is an internet connection handy. Unfortunately this benefit can become problematic at times. For example, if my internet connection goes down or my browser decides that it wants to stop working properly, I run the risk of losing my data until I can find someone else’s computer to use. On the other hand, though, the online benefits allow me to take my work anywhere I go - even if I forget my computer at home. As long as I know my password, any computer that’s connected to the internet can be used to access my documents.

Another great feature of Zoho Writer is that it’s lightweight. Writer only takes a couple of seconds to load on a DSL connection - often much more quickly than I can open a copy of Microsoft Word or Open Office on any of my computers. It also works on all of the current browsers without a hitch (somewhat shaky with WebKit browsers). Furthermore, I can open and save my documents in a variety of formats - including Word Documents (.doc) and Open Document (.odt). Zoho Writer even integrates extremely well with sites like Flickr and YouTube to embed pictures and movies in documents.

I’m extremely impressed with the array of features that Zoho has included in their Writer web app. I could easily see myself transitioning from desktop based word processors to Zoho’s product. The buttons all look just like the ones included with Word and are extremely easy to get used to. And that’s great for people who are looking for an alternative who don’t want to have to learn new button styles ad wade through menus just to find one particular feature. Everything is up front, easy to access, and perfect for users of all skill levels. Usability is really off the charts and the layout is nice and customizable to suit anyone’s needs.

There’s also some other cool stuff with Zoho Writer. One is a widget that can be added to a Windows desktop. Another allows documents to be automatically published to a variety of blogs. There are also plugins available for programs like Microsoft Word, Facebook, and backup services like box.net and Omnidrive. Zoho Writer can even be accessed on the iPhone. The only drawback is that I can’t escape my work now that I can access it anywhere.

But could anything be better about Zoho Writer? Yes, as there are a couple of features that I would really like to see. First is the grammar checker that I went on about earlier in the post. The other is a real time word count. As of now, I can only access the word count when I hit the save button, but I would love to be able to see a live word count like is available on Microsoft Word 2007. Finally, the spell check is a little weak and could use some improvements, such as a modifiable dictionary. Aside from these three negligible blemishes, Zoho Writer is a fantastic product and easily one of the best word processors out there. Do yourself a favor and give it a try.

Try Zoho Writer for Yourself.

- Eric Norton

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If you’ve read some of my other reviews, you know that I hold Photoshop [review] and Picasa [review] in very high esteem. Photoshop is all about image editing power and can dominate every other program when it comes to hardcore photography work. But it comes at a high price tag and contains way too many options for the average user. Picasa, on the other hand, is all about ease of use and a free software goodness. Although it is designed to be an image organization tool first and foremost, it can be used to do minor modifications to your photographs. But it doesn’t have the power for professional use.

So what are you to do if you want something in between? Well you visit Picnik, of course. Still in beta testing, Picnik is a Flash (and other web technologies) based image editor with a surprising amount of power. Surprising because I had no idea that the internet could be used to do such amazing things to my pictures. These Web 2.0 Apps sure are getting better.

One of the coolest things about Picnik at this point is that it is totally free. There are “Plus” portions of the site, such as various filters, effects, and advanced options that will become somewhat costly later - but for now they are totally on the house. That’s kind of neat, but chances are that you won’t use most of the “Plus” rated stuff anyway unless you are trying to make your photo look as off the wall as possible.

But that’s not to say that there are not things here that you won’t instantly fall in love with. Quite simply, if you don’t already have a copy of Picasa or iPhoto lying around, there is nothing that can tune up your photos as fast as Picnik. This makes it perfect for people who want to tinker with their pictures while on a friend’s computer as well as those who just want a simple photo editing program without the extra bloat of using an image browser like Picasa or iPhoto.

When you first visit Picnik, you’re treated to a very Web 2.0, Mac OSX Leopard looking environment - complete with that grassy background. You’re asked to create an account, but it isn’t really necessary. Once you click that Get Started Now button, you’re whisked away to a photo editing world where you can upload your own pictures straight from your computer, download pictures from a variety of other websites like Flickr, Picasa Web Albums and Facebook, or use your webcam to capture pictures. There’s even a handy Firefox extension that displays an “Open in Picnik” right click menu item.

Uploading from my computer took about a minute for a 3.2 megapixel image, so I would hate to see how long the load time would be for a 10 megapixel image from my DSLR. Picnik doesn’t support RAW files anyway, so I would never recommend Picnik for high end photographers or DSLR users.

After the initial load time, Picnik is relatively responsive with most of my workflow. The tools located along the top row, such as the crop tool, rotate tool, sharpen, and resize are all very snappy and I never experienced any slowdown until I started playing with the stuff located under “Create”.

The majority of those special effects require quite a bit of horsepower from your computer - but they are customizable and a lot of them do look pretty good. As you get towards the bottom of the list, to the “Plus” items, the filters get a little hokey, but they can still net you a lot of nice effects.

Saving was a piece of cake when I was done with my edits. Just a couple of clicks, choose my file type, and that’s it.

While I can’t really see myself using Picnik on a day to day basis, it is a fun little site to tinker around on. Maybe I’ve got a picture that my girlfriend wants to see in black and white. Maybe I was working on a picture that would look cool with a vignette and I’m too lazy to open Photoshop or the GIMP [review] to do it manually. There are quite a few uses for Picnik - but not really for day to day use. You should certainly give it a try though.

Check out Picnik for Yourself.

- Eric Norton

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Alright, to kick off “Art + Design Week” I figured that a review of the big daddy of image editors would be a fitting place to begin. That’s right, it’s a review of Adobe’s flagship program, Photoshop. This is the big gun in the design world and is always what comes to mind whenever anyone talks about editing images, creating wallpapers, brushing up photos of models, and, well, “Photoshopping” pictures. Yes, it’s name has become so synonymous with editing images that it has become a verb and a noun.

But we already know exactly how world renowned Photoshop is. It’s the standard by which all other image editors are judged - but is it really all that good? Yes, yes it is. I will even venture to say that it has no equal in the image editing world. Pretty bold statement, but yeah, Photoshop really deserves it. There is no program that can compete with the huge array of options that Photoshop packs in - and that list is growing by the release.

However, if you’ve read some of my previous reviews, you have probably gathered that I’m not a fan of a program that has a laundry list of features. You may ask: “Why do you like Photoshop so much when it does far too many things?” The answer is: because each and every one of the features in Photoshop is useful, if not required, for a graphic designer, professional photo editor, and anyone else in the art and design profession.

That being said, I don’t even scratch the surface of what Photoshop can do - and I’ve used it quite a bit over the years. As an amateur photographer and hobbyist graphic/web designer, I use maybe half of the stuff that Photoshop can do. I have never used most of the Photoshop filters (aside from simply tinkering with them). About half of the tools remain untouched. The vast majority of brushes and shapes that come stock with the program are completely useless to me. But the point here is that someone, somewhere, does use every single feature in Photoshop - and regularly too.

So we already know that Photoshop has all kinds of crazy components - but there’s more to it than that. Photoshop is easily expandable with downloadable plug-ins. Products like Neat Image, High Dynamic Range Compression, and Icon Builder are just three examples of the countless plug-ins that you can use to extend Photoshop’s already extensive functionality.

Up until this point, I’ve really talked a lot about all of the things that Photoshop can do, but the next question is - is Photoshop useful for everyone? The answer is no. Photoshop packs way too much power in too complicated of a package for the average user. It takes a bible to be able to learn about everything that Photoshop offers - and that’s far too much for the average user. Most people have no reason to use Photoshop for their picture tweaking here and there. If it were cheaper, I would recommend it for everyone, but Photoshop really is a professional tool at a professional price.

Speaking of the price, Photoshop is priced very highly. Yes, it is designed for professionals who can use the program to generate a lot of income for themselves, but the price is so high that it is almost prohibitive for anyone who just wants to use it to edit family photos or the simple garage sale flier from time to time. Hell, I certainly wouldn’t own Photoshop if they didn’t offer an amazing educational discount on various academic websites.

So, all in all, what’s my verdict. If you’re looking to get into the graphic design or photo editing profession - Photoshop is the tool you need. Think of it as an investment and the price won’t seem too high. If you are a college student who has even the slightest interest in amateur design and photography, take advantage of the student discount before you graduate and buy Photoshop while you can get it at a low price. Everyone else, stick with cheaper programs like Photoshop Elements, iPhoto or go with free options like the GIMP [review] and Picasa [review].

I highly recommend that you do give the 30-day trial a go.

Try Photoshop for Yourself.

- Eric Norton

If you would have asked me a few months ago about which anti-spyware program is my favorite, I would have told you Ad-Aware without any hesitation. Of course, that was back before Lavasoft decided that they needed to release Ad-Aware 2007, a steaming pile of crap that is riding only on the reputation of its predecessor.

The 2007 model of this previously fantastic program is absolute garbage. It’s slow to start, if it even starts at all. The interface is completely disgusting and filled with nothing but wasted space. And it crashes. All the time.

But that’s just the beginning. The first time I ran Ad-Aware 2007, the program crashed. So I tried it again, only to have it crash on startup once more. When I finally got the program up and running for the first time - on a fresh install of Windows XP, mind you - I had a chance to check out the interface for a few minutes. While there are some similarities between this and the previous version, 2007 is all about style with little to no substance behind it. Just bring back the simple interface, and we can all walk away happy.

Unfortunately, the interface is not the only thing wrong with Ad-Aware 2007, as I can live with a poorly designed interface if the program functions properly. Well, this program’s function is anything but proper. For starters, there is no Vista support. What the hell? Ad-Aware 2007 was released earlier this month - that’s about seven months since Microsoft’s newest operating system hit store shelves. There’s no reason why Ad-Aware 2007 shouldn’t support Vista yet.

Yeah, yeah - but what about the scanning? Lavasoft’s newest piece of equipment is filled to the gills with bloat, making scans last much longer than in the previous version. Now, this would be fine if it detected more deeply hidden spyware - but it barely detects anything. After a scan from Ad-Aware 2007 and a scan from Spybot: Search & Destroy, the latter found nearly twice as much spyware on the same machine at the same time. Makes the latest version of Ad-Aware look pathetic and useless.

So what are we left with? A shiny new program with absolutely nothing under the hood. I hate it when the good programs face a fate like this.

Try it for yourself (if you’re a masochist).

- Eric Norton