IObit Uninstaller 3 review: Free utility competes with a built-in Windows feature, almost wins

There’s something ironic about third-party uninstallers: They make you add another tool  to get rid of the crud that’s already installed on your computer. Windows’ own Programs and Features tool does a good job of letting you browse through installed applications and remove what you don’t need—so IObit Uninstaller 3 needs to work hard to convince users it really is needed.

IObit Uninstaller 3 tries to woo you with pretty looks.

The first piece of good news is that IObit Uninstaller 3 doesn’t need to be installed in the traditional sense of the word—it won’t make you Next-Next-Next through a setup wizard before you can use it. You just need to run it, click through a single UAC prompt, and start removing software you don’t want.

It may feel like you’re running a portable app, but IObit Uninstaller 3 does install itself, in a sense: It adds a button to the Programs and Features tool, which serves as a handy reminder that you have the app installed (seeing as how most people don’t uninstall software on a daily basis).

Inside IObit Uninstaller 3, you’ll find two tabs: Programs, and Browser plug-ins. The former isn’t much different than what’s built into Windows, save for one key point: You can select multiple applications for batch removal. IObit Uninstaller 3 would then sequentially launch the uninstallers for those applications, which means you’ll still have to sit there and click through every uninstaller.

Being able to select multiple applications for removal is a nice bonus.

Once an application is uninstalled, IObit Uninstaller 3 can scan your system for remnants, hunting for both leftover files and registry keys. You can then review and remove them.

The post-removal scan sometimes reveals leftover files and registry keys.

The second tab, Browser plug-ins, is more of a gimmick. You do get a list of plugins, but it doesn’t say which plugin is installed on which browser—not much use in these days of multiple browsers. When you click on a plugin to remove it, you get an alert asking you to “please make sure each plug-in selected is malicious.” That’s a tall order: IU3 does show ratings for every browser plugin, but they’re all empty at the time of this writing. Determining malice is up to you.

You may have lots of browser plugins installed... but for which browser?

The main reasons to try out IObit Uninstaller 3 are its fetching interface and the batch uninstall feature. The price tag (free) doesn’t hurt either. That said, if you’re getting along fine with the uninstaller built into Windows, you’re not missing out on anything important.

Endlessly tweaking his workflow for comfort and efficiency, Erez is a freelance writer on a mission to discover the simplest, coolest, and most effective software and websites to make tomorrow happen today.
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Review: Universal Extractor opens almost any archive

Universal Extractor With support for almost any archive file out there, this app makes all others redundant—but its lack of support and inability to make archives hold it back.

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Universal Extractor because it is extremely useful for opening archives, and that's all it does.  As the name of the app implies, it only extracts...it can't create archives. Despite this, it's a neat little app to have in your Windows right-click menu.

You never know what kind of compressed file will come your way, and the developer claims that UniExtractor open any type of compressed file available.  So whether it's a ZIP, a RAR, a TAR or a JAR, UniExtractor claims to be able to handle it with ease.

The user-interface (such as it is) is a little on the spartan side.  The box is tiny, and the available preferences are nearly nonexistent. That said, it opened every file I threw at it. Having UniExtractor installed on your PC will enable you to uninstall all other compression software if all you need it for is to unzip files (and not make them).

My only complaints are that the website gives no system requirements and the developer is unresponsive. Universal Extractor definitely works on Windows 7 and Windows 8 desktop, but for anything older, you'd better make backups before trying it.

Note: The Download button takes you to the vendor's site, where you can download the latest version of the software.

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Review: Fantashow makes (almost) fantastic videos

Fantashow Pro $50.00 Fantashow offers an easy way to create a slideshow composed of photos and video clips, but even its plainest design options add some effects.

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Plenty of applications help you show off your photos, and plenty help you show off your videos. But too few tools exist that allows you to show them off together. Enter Fantashow Pro, a $50-per-year (or $5-per-month) application allows you to combine still photos with videos to create a custom video slideshow.

Fantashow's "Anytime" themes are its plainest templates, but even these include a bit of animation.

I like that Fantashow offers some advanced features, such as the ability to convert unsupported audio and video files and the option to change the transition times between photos. And I like that the latest version adds a much-needed feature: plain templates for users who don't want or need a lot of animation in their slideshow background.

In some ways, Fantashow is very similar to Wondershare's excellent DVD Slideshow Builder Deluxe. That program allows you to create a video slideshow from still photos, complete with your own music soundtrack, opening and closing credits, and (if you want them) animated themes.

What's nice about DVD Slideshow Builder Deluxe is that it offers two modes: Standard and Advanced. Standard lets you add a background template to your slideshow, while Advanced lets you create a more customizable slideshow, free of background templates. Fantashow could benefit from this type of option.

Fantashow's attractive layout shows a preview of your photo, as well as ribbon at the bottom of the screen that makes it easy to see which pictures and videos you've already added to your slideshow.

As it stands with Fantashow, you're required to select a template before you can begin to create your video slideshow. Fantashow does include dozens of template options, most of which tend to be a bit cutesy: Think animated hearts and virtual scrapbooks. A few simpler templates are available—and many of the animated themes are attractive—and the latest version adds several plain templates.

Still, these plain options are templates, and each one adds some effects to your video slideshow, whether it's transitions that slice photos in half, or a photo that bounces into place on your screen. These templates are plain enough to satisfy most personal users, but business users looking to create a corporate-looking slideshow will be disappointed that there isn't a simple option to not select a theme.

The "Cut Effect" theme transitions between photos by slicing them in half.

Adding photos and videos to your slideshow is a cinch, though, and I like how Fantashow converts any video files to the right format before letting you add them to the slideshow. The attractive interface makes it easy to preview your photos and videos before adding them to your slideshow, and a ribbon view of your slideshow along the bottom of the screen lets you see the photos and videos you've added in the order they'll appear in the slideshow.

Fantashow offers a decent amount of customization options, including the ability to add a voice over to certain photos, the ability to adjust the time each photo is displayed, and the ability to add some cool effects, such as a sketch-like design to photos. It also includes basic editing tools that let you crop or rotate your photos. All of these are simple enough so as not to overwhelm even those new to photo tools.

Once your video slideshow is finished, you can export for viewing on a mobile device or DVD, or save it to a PC-friendly format for sharing and viewing on your computer. Wondershare handles the conversion for you, and allows you to choose between standard and high definition. If you're using the free Lite version of Fantashow, all videos that you output will be branded with a watermark.

You can see your photos and video clips in order, and easily edit and rearrange them.

Wondershare's Fantashow has a lot to like, as too few slideshow programs let you combine videos and photos in one finished product. It's also attractively designed and works very well.

Note: The Download button will download the software to your system.

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Review: Free Opener can open almost any type of file you can think of

What do you use to open files? If you're in the majority, your answer would be "depends on the file." This is not the case with Free Opener. Free Opener claims to open over 80 different file formats—anything from Microsoft Office documents and PDF files, to image, video and music files, with many more in between. It may not open as many file types as Quick View Plus, and it's certainly more of a viewer than an editor, but you can't argue with the price. It's a good first stop for trying to view that mystery document.

Free Opener comes with a simple interface that includes four basic menus and one toolbar. I started off my testing with the types of documents I edit most often: DOC and DOCX. Despite the respectable editing options—color, formatting, highlighting, tables, etc.—the first thing I noticed was a mysterious lack of keyboard shortcuts. According to the program's menus, all the basic shortcuts should be available. They're mentioned in the menus next to their respective commands. In practice, important shortcuts such as Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V and Ctrl+Z failed to work, while others such as Ctrl+F, Ctrl+X, Ctrl+O, etc., worked without a hitch. The undo feature did not work from the menu either, and worked only when I used the toolbar button. Note that Free Opener will not prompt you to save your work if you close it without saving.

So far, the experience was surprisingly similar to Free Editor, a similar all-around tool. This continued through the available DOC editing options such as tables, formatting, highlights, and more, but that's where the similarities ended. As opposed to Free Editor, Free Opener has almost no spreadsheet editing capabilities, lacking support for functions or formatting of any kind, which cripples viewing as well. It includes only basic image editing features, and those are presented in a confusing and not-so-intuitive interface. Music and video files open without noticeable problems, and offer repeat and shuffle functions, although the volume on some videos was significantly lower than on my default player.

Which brings us to PDFs: This is the most celebrated format on the program's website, and true to form, Free Opener opened every PDF file I threw at it, and even presented an automatic table of contents on the left sidebar. Problems started when I tried using the table of contents for large documents. Crashing, not responding, or simply doing nothing were all common occurrences. It sometimes took manual page-flipping to remind Free Opener that more pages exist in the document, an action that can only be done my clicking icons on the toolbar or with the Pg Up/Pg Dn buttons. No scrolling.

After checking out the most common formats, I took Free Opener through its paces and opened the following files successfully: CSS (no syntax highlighting), HTML, JS (with syntax highlighting), MOV, PPT, PPTX, RAR, REG, SWF, XML, XPS, and ZIP. While I didn't try all 80+ supported formats, everything I tried worked, and I found nothing that was supported in name only.

Some basic image-editing features are supported, but using it can get confusing at times.

Free Opener delivered on its promises every time. Free Opener feels like an honest try to make our lives easier, and it truly does open a large number of formats. If you need to view multiple formats and can only install one program, Free Opener can be a lifesaver. It may not be a complete substitute for other programs, but for viewing purposes, it can definitely save you some money.

Note: The Download button on the Product Information page takes you to the vendor's site, where you can download the latest version of the software. Free Opener comes with no less than four additional programs in its third-party InstallIQ installer. You can skip all these offers with one click, or review each one and choose to accept or decline.

Yaara is a foodie, horse-lover, and biologist who enjoys being a geek as a full-time job.
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Free Alien Swarm Game Is So Much Fun, It's Almost Unreal (Tournament)

The designers at Valve aren't particularly prolific when it comes to games, but what they lack in volume they more than make up for in passion and polish. While big titles like Portal and Team Fortress soak up most of the fame, small projects like Alien Swarm are an even better showcase for the qualities that set this studio apart from the competition.

Alien Swarm team members have specialties. Choose weapons loadouts wisely.Started years ago as a mod for Unreal Tournament 2004 before being taken in-house by Valve, Alien Swarm is a Source-engine based isometric shooter that emphasizes teamwork and cooperative play over solo run-and-gun bravado. In a setting lifted almost intact from the Aliens book of tropes, you are part of a team working your way through a futuristic base infested with the titular ETs. Each squad member has a special skill and progress is predicated on use of these abilities at key points in order to continue. Whether it be computer hacking, heavy weapons skills, welding doors shut or cutting them open, healing wounded comrades, setting ammo resupply points or dropping flares, your team has it covered, assuming you're skilled enough to keep each of them alive long enough to use those abilities.

Alien Swarm's level layout is beautifully rendered and cleverly accomplished. Lighting is especially well-handled, with long evocative shadows that convincingly invoke a suspenseful, foreboding mood. Sound effects and game mechanics are satisfying and solid, with crisp control reaction and the ability to use a gamepad if the traditional WASD and mouse controls leave you flatfooted.

Narrow corridors are inconvenient in workplaces, but handy when fending off swarming aliens.The wave attack dynamics employed by the creatures encourage the use of small-unit tactics that pay off handsomely when properly utilized. Controlling bottlenecked access corridors with crossfire and reserving the auto-aim heavy cannon ammunition for more pitched battles will save your life frequently. Pacing in Alien Swarm is steady but not frantic, allowing you to think a bit before the click fest begins in earnest.

As good a game as it is, there are some minor problems with Alien Swarm. Avoiding friendly fire is an important aspect of the game, but it remains frustratingly easy to gun down your own team whether you're playing with a group cooperatively or practicing alone with bots. This is a design decision issue and not easily fixable. Also, the grainy, simplistic rendering used for the title screen could use some of the visual fireworks that are lavished elsewhere, as the low-budget impression it leaves is misleading. Last of all, this game requires Steam to both download and play. Steam may be the best DRM system around, but it's still a DRM system.

It's astonishing that a game of this pedigree and polish is free. Alien Swarm offers more features and fun than similar titles which make you pay for the privilege of playing them. Do yourself a favor, head over to Steam and add this slick mini-classic to your library before the folks at Valve come to their senses and start charging real money for it.

Note: The Download button takes you to Steam, where you must register for a Steam account to download this software.

--Jim Norris

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