By DAVE GUSSOW and ROY LEBLANC
Published June 2, 2003
Easy CD & DVD Creator 6
System: Windows
Company: Roxio
Price: $79.95
Burning a CD or DVD should not require backflips. But too often, the software can get in the way instead of leading you through the process. Chalk one up for Roxio for making it simple with this version of Creator.
I gave up on Roxio when Windows XP came out. Its CD-burning software then was not compatible with the operating system, and the company did not provide updated drivers.
I searched for alternatives and found a few I liked. But none matched Roxio's older versions. Then along came Easy CD & DVD Creator 6, and Roxio won me back.
It has a complete suite of tools that simplify making, copying and backing up music and data discs, including drag-and-drop capabilities. It also contains PhotoSuite for editing digital photos.
In short, it's a complete package that shouldn't have you tearing your hair out. And if you do, it comes with a thick user's manual.
- DAVE GUSSOW
Norton SystemWorks 2003
System: Windows
Company: Symantec
Price: $62.99
Utilities software should be like a refrigerator: humming along in the background protecting your valuables. Don't tell me how it works or why it works. Don't ask me to jump through hoops to keep it working. Just every once in a while let me know everything's okay.
Better than other antivirus and utilities packages I have used, that describes Norton SystemWorks 2003. Earlier versions of Norton and McAfee simply seemed to make the user work too hard to stay on top of things, taking time away from the fun or useful stuff, which is the reason you got the computer in the first place, right?
As a noncomputer geek who doesn't want to spend time learning the innards, Norton seems great. Installation was simple, updates and fixes are as automatic as you can ask for. When it needs an update it asks for it. Checkups using the utilities programs are simple and, again, it guides you through whatever fixes are necessary. So far, at least, there haven't been any complications it couldn't handle.
The key here is that if you want to keep it simple, the default options should keep your computer humming along and virus-free with relatively little help from you. On the other hand, for the more advanced user, there seem to be many ways to tweak it to serve your needs more precisely.
In addition to the antivirus and utilities programs, the package comes with CleanSweep, to help get rid of the clutter that accumulates on any computer shared by a family of four, and GoBack 3, designed to restore a hard drive to a stable state in case all else fails after a crash.
With any luck, if I pay attention when SystemWorks asks me to do something, that's something I won't ever have to deal with.
