.com Gizmos 98 is a suite of breakthrough tools designed to fix a number of deficiencies in Microsoft Windows 95, 98, and NT operating systems and add several essential functions. Gizmos 98 addresses four areas that need improving: file security, image management, desktop accessories, and visual entertainment. Review Makers of Windows utility software too often seem to have the attitude that if something is useful, it must be boring. Not so the developers at Play Incorporated, whose Gizmos Mega Pak is a grab bag of Windows tools that are both entertaining and functional. The tools, or "Gizmos," in this collection run the gamut from security utilities and multimedia tools to clocks and calendars, with some card games thrown in for good measure. All of the Gizmos share a decidedly nontraditional interface, with lots of metallic surfaces and curved edges. This gives the tools a cool, futuristic look, but I often found that the interfaces were not especially intuitive to use. I had the most fun with the Performer Gizmo. This tool let me assemble collections of image files into a slide show, complete with narration, a musical soundtrack, and any of dozens of special transition effects. The end result was a slick, full-screen presentation that I could save as a self-playing executable file and share with any other Windows user. Gizmos Mega Pak includes tools for the security-conscious. The Shredder can be used to eliminate all traces of a file from your hard drive so it cannot be undeleted. And the Vault encrypts files so they can only be opened if you supply the correct password. I found that both tools were exceptionally easy to use - I just dragged the files I wanted to destroy or encrypt onto the appropriate icon. It's fast, too: On my 300MHz Celeron, I encrypted 15 MB of files, while shredding the unencrypted originals, in about 20 seconds. However, those with serious security needs may need to look elsewhere. The Gizmos manual states that the Vault uses the CAST 5 encryption algorithm, but doesn't provide crucial details such as the length of the encryption key used. Such vagueness should give pause to those who really need to be sure their files are beyond the reach of snoops. Other useful tools include the Picture Explorer, which simplifies browsing through images on your hard disk. I also liked the CD Player (much easier to use, and nicer to look at, than the one that comes with Windows 98) and the collection of multiplayer and solitaire card games. In all, Gizmos Mega Pak is a fun and frequently useful collection of tools for Windows. Is it worth the $49.95 price tag? That probably depends on how excited you get about new tools and unusual interfaces. The Gizmos are fun to look at - but will likely appeal to gadget freaks most of all. -- From Winmag®
R**W
Waste of resources
I purchased this product when it was released in '98 and found it to be an enormous waste of resources for the money. I returned the product immediately because the tools and utilities on this disk ran very poorly (slow to boot) or with system crashes at every launch. Moreover, similar and better designed "gizmos" included in this suite are all available online for free download. However, at the current price, this may be someting "buy and try" to debug. If you need worthless utilities, this is the disk to purchase.
C**N
Best PictureExplorer ever
I'm finding it very tough to migrate completely from Windows 98 to Windows XP for one reason...the excellent Play Gizmos PictureExplorer that I've been using on Win 98 was not released for XP. For the flip reviewer who says that "better utilities are available for free download" I'd like to get some recommendations!Now people take picture "indexes" for granted, but the Play version is so much superior to any other I've seen. For example:1) Small picture icons so you can see more at one time, and no wasted space in between picture icons. So you can easily see 100-200 pictures at one time.2) Auto-zoom feature for viewing...you can shrink or enlarge to *any* size (not just even multiples) simply by dragging the mouse holding right button. The zoom control has a very wide range.3) Position image by dragging, holding left button. The zoom and position are so intuitive I never even think about them.4) Auto-zoom feature for printout. Prints are *automatically* enlarged to exact page filling (with margin) size. You always get the best possible print, without having to calculate the correct scale factor.5) Preview picture. The next picture appears in the corner, and you go there by clicking on it.6) Clear picture view. You always get a full screen picture viewing display. If you want, there is an option (F4) which brings in the picture name and dimensions on a non-obtrusive tab. F4 toggles this on and off.The tendency in software and hardware these days is non-user-centered design with featuritis. Rarely do you find a software product that is a pleasure to use, because it does exactly what you want in an intuitive and flexible fashion, without wasting your screenspace or time. The Play PictureExplorer was one of these products. I'm having a hard time finding a replacement for later versions of Windows.The rest of the toys in the Gizmos package I had no use for.(Unfortunately, it *was* plagued with early release problems. You had to be sure to download the update from the web or it wouldn't work, especially after you applied Windows updates...)
Trustpilot
5 days ago
3 days ago
