Ping Analyzer - Graphical Network Ping - App Review

This App has nothing to do with table tennis; just thought I'd clear that up first...

A Ping is the length of time it takes for packets of data to reach a host.

A Pong is an awful smell.

Glad we've cleared that up... any confusion, that is.

Now for the ACIDS test:

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If you're a networking whizz then, you've no doubt already got all the tools you need but, for the rest of us, this makes for interesting data... or presumably also if you've forgotten your kit.

All you need do is enter an I.P. address (try 192.168.1.1, which has a more than fair chance of being your router) and watch what happens.

You have a graph of the time taken for individual Pings, as well as values for average, minimum, and maximum RTT (Round Trip Time), Jitter, Packet Loss (above 0% and there is a potential issue), Line Quality (perhaps just look at this and check for 5 thumbs up), Network MOS (4.10 being the best theoretical PC to PC call, and the chances are you will be seeing a higher score).

Cost
The App is absolutely free.

Indispensability
OK, you're not going to use this every day but what if you find that changing the position of a device from on the floor to on a table gives you better results... could have saved you a call.

Dependability
Let's assume that the results given are correct!

Security
Perhaps seeing how easy it is to connect with another device will have you concerned; that's not a bad thing.

ACIDS Test Rating:

Great tool for free.

To find out how the ACIDS Test works, click here.

You can get Ping Analyzer - Graphical Network Ping here and support for the App here.

System Monitor - App Review

So, just what is going on in your iOS device?

I'm a glutton for good graphics, so this App is worth a look.

Now for the ACIDS test:

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There are a number of options on the left of the screen, the rest of the real estate being used to display information, some of it in great graphics:

Memory
A neat 'speedometer' to show the percentage of memory in use, as well as digital readings for free and used memory.

Battery
A graphic of a battery with digital reading of charge left, as well as an indication of the time needed to recharge.

Processes
Presumably, this should list the processes currently running. You'd be amazed at how many there 'normally' are (including some of the names); unfortunately, this remained resolutely blank.

Disk Info
So, how much space have you left on your iOS device to add more? This again gives you graphical and digital representations.

Device Info
Detailed information on system, display, connection support, battery, physical, hardware features.

Cost
The App costs a nominal $1; you can double that by an in-App purchase of realtime graphs.

Indispensability
More for curiosity.

Dependability
As mentioned previously, the processes tab does not seem to function. There are also times when getting detailed information overwrites other parts of the screen, which then do not refresh.

Security
No issues detected during testing.

ACIDS Test Rating:

For the curious.

To find out how the ACIDS Test works, click here.

You can get System Monitor here and support for the App here.

WireShare - App Review

Like most people, you probably have masses of Apps on your iOS devices; each of those Apps then has content and finding it can be a bit of a chore.

Think of WireShare as a filing cabinet where you can keep pretty well anything.

Now for the ACIDS test:

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There are basically 2 aspects to this App:

Files Resource
This is where you get your files into the App. There is a myriad of possibilities such as Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive (was SkyDrive), Box, SugarSync, Baidu, FTP server, WebDav Server and others. You can also get files directly from the web, your camera roll, or via wi-fi transfer.

Files Available Locally
Once the files have been transferred to your iOS device (or to the App), all these files are available from within the App. The file type is really comprehensive: pdf, epub, txt, chm, key,numbers, pages, doc, docs, xls, xlsx, ppt, pptx, rtf, rtfd, htm, html, png, jpg, jpeg, gif, tif, tiff, bmp, tga, rar ,zip, tar, mp3, wav, m4a, aac, caf, mp4, mpv, m4v, mov, rmvb, rm, vob, asf, wmv, flv, avi, f4v, mpeg, mpg, ts, m2ts; that should keep you happy.

Cost
The App costs $4

Indispensability
The selling point for this App is that you can have many different things at your fingertips without the need to swap from one App to another.

Dependability
There wasn't enough time to test every single file type transferred but those that were worked fine.

Security
There is potentially a lot of file transfer so, as ever, be careful.

ACIDS Test Rating:

Information, centralised.

To find out how the ACIDS Test works, click here.

You can get WireShare here and support for the App here.

GSDfaster - App Review

The developer reminds us of the maxim espoused by Dwight D. Eisenhower: “What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important”. Whether or not President/General Eisenhower originated the phrase is irrelevant; what is important is that it is true.

Get Stuff Done Faster aims to help you decide which box to choose and hence prioritise properly.

Now for the ACIDS test:

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If you want to prioritise 'things' then, splitting them into the Important Urgent, Important Not Urgent, Not Important Urgent, and Not Important Not Important matrix is an excellent system.

You start by hitting the + and just throwing in everything, one item at a time. Each of these will automatically generate a Process. Whenever you feel like it, review the Processes and select the Important and Urgent on/off switches. In addition you can easily put these into individual buckets (there are some already set and you can easily add/edit/delete these) and optionally assign due dates as well as tags. Especially if you are getting started, turning on the 'Eisenhower Decision Tip' option will help you ensure that you answer appropriately. Then touch the Process icon; your items to be processed will reduce each time you do this.

You've now got a counter on individual buckets, as well as a Due Dates counter.

Cost
Unbelievably, this App is absolutely free, $0.

Indispensability
Everyone needs to be organised; GSDfaster helps you get some discipline into your life.

Dependability
The App works as expected, just a minor niggle that the help is only available on-line.

Security
Dropbox sync is supported.

ACIDS Test Rating:

There's now no excuse for not prioritising.

To find out how the ACIDS Test works, click here.

You can get GSDfaster here and support for the App here.

CleanUp Suite - App Review

Over time, our contact lists become clogged up with rubbish. One of the main causes is simply duplicates. It's so easy to add a contact on your iPhone, then suddenly add the same person because you got their address on your iPad, and then lots more information because you happen to be using a PC at your desk. Unless you're extremely well organised (and have an excellent memory), you'll end up with duplicates.

CleanUp Suite aims to help you out.

Now for the ACIDS test:

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In order to use the App you, obviously, need to allow access to your contacts. If you agree to the privacy policy, let the App do its thing.

You will then be presented with a screen displaying total contacts (this is the same number as before you started), contacts after you clean, full duplicates, and partial duplicates; adding the last 3 numbers together should, of course, give you the headline number.

You are then invited to review duplicates. This will present you with a list with all selected; it's probably easiest to use the 'Filter' at the bottom right and select 'Full Duplicates'. You can now check a sample (or all if you are a real Luddite) to confirm that these are really duplicates, then select 'Merge (top right). Your contacts will now be reduced by the duplicates.

It's now worthwhile running the exercise again, and dealing with partial duplicates, and this time possibly check each one as you might need them both (or more) kept separately.

Cost
The App costs $1.

Indispensability
You're more than capable of checking for duplicate records yourself but, there's no way you can do it this fast, and for only $1, there's no contest.

Dependability
When testing, all duplicate records found were exactly that however, there were also duplicates that were not found.

Security
Before using the App, check the Privacy rules. Remember that you are sharing your contact information.

ACIDS Test Rating:

Saves a lot of time in cleaning up your contacts.

To find out how the ACIDS Test works, click here.

You can get CleanUp Suite here and support for the App here.

Clipboard Manager QuickClip - App Review

Having recently reviewed quite a few Apps that attempted to be all things to all men, it's refreshing to try one that has just one purpose.

Clipboard Manager QuickClip is a store for any text that you want to copy.

Now for the ACIDS test:

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You basically have a blank page, except for an Edit (select and delete any item) and Settings Cog (Auto add when active, avoid duplication, iCloud synchronisation).

If you have the 'Auto add when active' option turned on then (as long as the App is open), any text that you copy from any other App will appear on the Clipboard Manager QuickClip screen.

The individual items are date stamped and are copied (to use somewhere else), just by tapping.

Cost
The App costs a nominal $1.

Indispensability
You can obviously copy and paste text already but, having a temporary (or more, should you require) store is a neat solution.

Dependability
The App works as advertised but only copies text; images are saved as a reference to the url at which they are stored.

Security
Apart from the use of iCloud, this is a free-standing App.

ACIDS Test Rating:

Only does one thing but does it very well.

To find out how the ACIDS Test works, click here.

You can get Clipboard Manager QuickClip here and support for the App here.