Ashampoo WinOptimizer 4.0: Optimize Windows to Your Heart's Content New Features in WinOptimizer 4.0 Adam Stone
New Features
WinOptimizer 4 takes a bold leap ahead of its predecessor version if only in terms of the sheer volume of functions available to the user. Whether added or upgraded, the tools and tweaks contained in WinOptimizer 4 set a new standard in optimization versatility. The publishers say they have made it possible to adjust well over 450 Windows system settings. Sounds about right. We won't count that high.
A good place to start is by finding out what you've got. The System Benchmark function tests your processor and memory performance against reference systems to show how your performance compares to the latest standards.
If things are not up to snuff, fix them with the Process Manager. When programs behave badly this manager delivers a simple list of all active processes along with process details, and makes it easy to kill processes manually. Also on the list of power tools is the new Vista-compatible disk defragmenter. Fast, fast, and fast, along with stellar ease-of-use.
Then there are the tweak and toys, a range of easy-to-use improvements that allow users the freedom to organize their systems from top to bottom.
Some people just can't get enough of the visual whirl, constantly arranging their systems' appearance to suit any day's mood. Enter the Visual Styler, a single gateway to allow a range of changes. Replace system icons and apply transparency systems to diverse systems components. Too busy to tweak? The styler includes easy presets for common apps.
Tweak, Tweak, and Tweak Some More
Beyond these major-league managers, WinOptimizer 4.0 includes an avalanche of Tweaking Tools, too many to list but too cool to leave out.
WinOptimizer offers several tweaks keyed to specific apps. The Internet Explorer tool allows a user to customize security settings, search engines, window titles and so on, while the Windows Explorer tweak gives a user control of the toolbar background, video preview options and other functions.
It's clear that Ashampoo has put a lot into the production of new tweaks, with piles of minor adjustments on hand that were not available in previous additions. Are the tweaks necessary? Frankly, no. They don't "optimize" in the strictest sense of the work and a user looking to clean up a clunky system certainly could get the job done without these extras.
That said, this optimizer is so efficient and easy to use, it's easy to see how users could be tempted into fiddling around on the fringes. Certainly these tweaks do offer temptations.
We like anything that enhances Windows Media Player, an app we always find a little thin. So kudos to the tweak that makes it easier to configure a range of options including privacy and security settings. For MS Office, a handy tweak manages attachments to be blocked or allowed by Outlook.
All very nice, granted, but we are here for the optimizing, right? On this score WinOptimizer has justly earned its reputation as being among the outstanding products in the field. What do you get for your $50? You get files that open faster, speedier saves, and quick closes. A healthy system will cough up fewer BSODs (blue screens of death) and other system errors, too, while ensuring that applications run without a hitch.
The new WinOptimizer release delivers on all these, along with its generous range of added tools and toys. It's a smart, solid, easy-to-use program either for those times when performance is less than adequate, or for those occasions when ongoing maintenance seems the order of the day.
Pros: Clean, easy-to-use interface, handy One-Click Optimization tool, tons of tweaks and configuration settings for Windows
Cons: Price tag's a bit on the high end, a few more tweaks than perhaps absolutely necessary
