InfoWorld
Lead with Knowledge
HOME/ SITEMAP
SUBJECT INDEXES
App Development
Broadband
Business Intell.
Business News
Business Strategies
Careers & Mgmt
Collab. Software
Content Mgmt
CRM
Database
E-Business
End-User Apps
End-User Hardware
Enterprise Apps
Ethics
Government
Licensing
Middleware
Mobile Computing
Networking
Online Community
Operating Systems
Processors
Security
Servers
Storage
Telecomm.
Web Services
Web Technologies
Wireless
XSPs
NEWS
CTO ZONE
TEST CENTER
FEATURES
COMMUNITY
OPINIONS
INTERVIEWS
FORUMS
RESEARCH
EVENTS
WEBCASTS
ADVERTISE
ABOUT InfoWorld
Reprints
ABOUT US
About InfoWorld
Services
Advertise
Contact us
Reprint
Employment
WHITE PAPERS

Learn to secure your PCs from new and unknown hacker attacks.

Free IDC White Paper - Discover Secure File Sharing for the Enterpriseattacks.
SEARCH:  
Home  //  Community //  Opinions //  Article
Print Article    Email Article
Window Manager
Brian Livingston
Shareware for all

I WROTE LAST week about AutoProducer, a free trialware program that makes music videos out of files you copy to your PC from a camcorder or digital camera (see "Muvee makes movies," InfoWorld, Feb. 11). The $59.95 registered version, available at Muvee.com, scans multiple video segments and turns the highlights into professionally edited, multimedia productions in less than a minute. That's a fraction of the time you'd spend hand-editing every scene and clip of music individually with a typical video production program.

This got me to thinking: Other programs must be percolating out there that are just as revolutionary. Yes, we have tools such as Microsoft Excel that allow you to build a complex financial model. But sometimes you don't want to be able to do something; you just want it to be done for you. Wouldn't you like a program that, given all your accounts and credit-card numbers, sucks up all the data into your own customized financial model?

Here, then, are some programs I'd like to see:

Market Prophet. The program automatically inputs all the relevant stats from your chosen stock or bond market during the past umpteen years. It then selects the best investments for you, based on your level of wealth and tolerance for risk.

Weather or Not. Using all the meteorological information from government databases, the program calculates the best dates to plant your zucchini so you don't end up with frostbitten veggies. It's also useful when making reservations for your vacation so you don't end up in Tierra del Fuego on the one week it rains seven days in a row.

Radio You. After being told your favorite recording artists, the program automatically streams from the Internet to your speakers a mix of old and new tunes that perfectly matches your tastes.

Actually, the latter program does really exist. It's called Radio MX and is available from MusicMatch.com (see "The watermark war"). It's a $4.95-per-month service, not a shareware program, but still ...

As a matter of fact, I'm sure programs with all the miraculous features I've mentioned above are already out there -- or are just about finished in some brilliant developer's basement.

And that's what I'm looking for. Oh, sure, I could get 100 Zip files and superficially try each one for five minutes. But that's what other magazines do. I'd rather invite you, the reader, to nominate the programs that you've found, from hands-on experience, have streamlined your life.

To tell me about such wonders, send me an e-mail with "Shareware" as the subject line. The first reader to nominate each program I write about will receive a gift certificate for a free book, CD, or DVD of his or her choice. Send no attachments, please. I'll have my bot download the nominees.


Send tips to brian@brianlivingston.com. He regrets that he cannot answer individual questions. Go to www.iwsubscribe.com/newsletters to get his Window Manager column and E-Business Secrets e-zine free via e-mail.


MORE >
SUBSCRIBE TO:    E-mail Newsletters  InfoWorld Mobile InfoWorld Magazine
Home  //  Community //  Opinions //  Article Print Article    Email Article
Back to Top
 ADVERTISEMENT
 

SPONSORED LINKS

Get FREE Hurwitz Report: Control Your App Dev Costs with TogetherSoft!
Click here to receive a FREE Success Kit from Oracle.
SPEED, PERSONALIZATION AND INTEGRATION: THE KEY TO E-COMMERCE SUCCESS.
Protect Your Data: Get your FREE Enterprise Backup Intelligence Kit from ADIC.
New HP digital projectors — click now for limited-time introductory offers.

SUBSCRIBE
E-mail Newsletters
InfoWorld Mobile
Print Magazine
Web-based training
ABOUT INFOWORLD  |  SITE MAP  |  EMPLOYMENT  |  PRIVACY  |   CONTACT US

Copyright 2002 InfoWorld Media Group, Inc.