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Technology Stocks : TouchStone S/W (TSSW) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: David Alan Cook who wrote (2395)	12/21/1998 3:06:00 PM
From: Daniel Schumacher	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3627

January PC Magazine highlights Checkit 98 Suite Diagnose What Ails Your PC December 14, 1998 The more things change, the harder they are to fix. As Windows grows more and more complex, the need for diagnostic tools increases. Enter CheckIt 98 Diagnostic Suite ($130 street), the latest product applying to be your PC's mechanic. Unlike programs such as Norton Utilities and Nuts & Bolts, CheckIt emphasizes diagnostics and treatment for hardware rather than software. CheckIt's components test your PC's drives, motherboard, and other devices for critical problems. One option is a Y2K-compliance test. As with other problems, CheckIt was able to evaluate the situation for us and correct it (fixing our faulty CMOS/real-time clock active-support error). But programs like CheckIt have limitations; in this case, it couldn't do anything about two-digit date fields in software applications. What it can do is give your hardware a good checkup and either recommend solutions, provide them, or remind you to run existing Windows tools such as ScanDisk regularly. CheckIt 98 alone is probably enough for the average user who wants more than Windows system tools provide. But the suite is recommended for the professional technician who will likely be working on more than one machine. The suite contains additional firepower, such as portable DOS diagnostics to help dig into an ailing system when Windows won't boot. FastMove!, a file-transfer/synchronization program, simplifies the relocation of files to a new PC. Also included are loopback plugs for testing parallel and serial ports, and a parallel file-transfer cable. You also get CheckIt NetOptimizer, a LAN administrator for those still whimpering about dial-up connections. NetOptimizer makes anywhere from four to seven test passes, connecting to your ISP using different settings to find an optimal connection. While you're connected, you can pop up the Internet Monitor, a floating window that displays your current download speed, the time required to download a 1MB file, and the total time you've spent online. Anyone who diagnoses and repairs PCs for a living should seriously consider this suite of tools. If you're a casual user, the core product--CheckIt 98--would be a better choice. CheckIt 98 Diagnostic Suite. Street price: $130. Requires: DOS or Microsoft Windows 95 or 98, 25MB hard disk space. TouchStone Software Corp., Huntington Beach, CA; 714-969-7746; www.checkit.com — Kathy Yakal