Category

20 Utilities That You Can't (and Can) Do Without

by Wayne Cunningham

Category Product What it Does Who Needs It Pluses Minuses Upshot

Acceleration:

This is a relatively new category, and is composed of software that's supposed to turbocharge your Web surfing. Unfortunately, the techniques used to do this aren't developed well enough yet, and nothing in this category really works very well, so we can't recommend any of these products.
Blaze Web Performance Pack beta; $?; Win95; Datalytics; 513-226-7700; http://www.xspeed.com Blaze is designed to accelerate Web browsing with a technology called xSpeed, which involves data compression and a more organized caching system. Blaze also comes with utilities to organize bookmarks, conduct scheduled searches, and record keywords from pages you've been to so it's easier to come back. This is a useful utility for someone with a slow modem who likes all-in-one packs, like ClarisWorks and MS Office types. Pages load noticeably faster, and less hard disk space is used because multiple utilities come in one package.
Blaze doesn't let Netscape add the "www" and ".com" to any word you enter into the URL box, so you may have to change the way you browse.

The acceleration is excellent, but it's weighed down by the other utilities, which are passable. Even MS Office doesn't make you take all the apps.

net.jet; $29.95; Win95; Peak Technologies; 360-733-6010; http://www.peak-media.com net.jet speeds up Web browsing by 50% to 90% through looking ahead and pre-loading all the links on whatever page you are on. When you select a link from the page, it will already be available on your hard disk. Pre-loading of pages has been criticized for creating unnecessary server loads. Peak Technologies claims net.jet will speed up every connection, whether you have a 14.4 or a T3, but this is really best for modem users. Pages do load faster, and the toolbar only has 3 buttons and is fairly small, so it doesn't use much of your desktop. When using the "back" button on the browser to go to previous pages, graphics get misplaced. net.jet needs work. It interferes too much with navigation functions other than traveling from link to link.

Got It! beta v.3; $49.95; Win95; Go Ahead Software; 206-882-1900; http://www.go-ahead.com Another Web site pre-loader, Got It! looks ahead at all the links, then looks at those links, and can go about 10 Web sites deep. It also pre-loads all of your bookmarks, assuming those are frequently accessed sites so you can get to them quickly. Best for people with modem connections and Win95 that spend a lot of time jumping from link to link. Got It! has options so you can set exactly which pages it pre-loads and when. You can also set how far it looks ahead. The control bar is huge, taking up about a sixth of a 17 inch monitor. It got a lot of "service unavailable" errors, which could be due to beta. A clunky interface coupled with page loading problems? This whole category needs work.

Searching:

Tools in this section would be completely useless without major search sites on the Web, such as Alta Vista, so they are at the mercy of whatever changes are made to those sites, but fortunately most of them are smart enough to keep updating themselves.
Internet FastFind; $49.95; Win95; Symantec; 800-441-7234; http://www.symantec.com FastFind is a client side search interface that configures and sends your queries to search sites on the Web. It then retrieves the results and organizes them into a useful format. FastFind also has utilities to monitor specific sites and let you know when they change. This is an optimal utility for people who do heavy Web research, and pretty useful for casual users. Besides good search help, FastFind also has a utility that finds driver upgrades specific to your system. Although it generally stays in the background, the control panel is huge, using up about a third of a 17 inch monitor. FastFind is a worthwhile utility for many different varieties of Internet work.

**editor's pick**

EchoSearch 1.07; free ($49.95 for 1 year of upgrades); Win95; Iconovex Corporation; 800-896-4212; http://www.iconovex.com
Like FastFind, EchoSearch is a client side search tool that sends your query to a number of search sites on the Internet. EchoSearch takes the results, finds the pages, then downloads the text and does an analysis for keywords and concepts. A good tool for anyone using the Web for research, especially serious text resources and more concept oriented searches. The text analysis abilities of EchoSearch are beyond compare. The way it saves the results of the search is perfect. You can't add sites to the list of search engines, although you can add to a separate "bookmark" list. EchoSearch is the best client-side search tool available, delivering useful results without a lot of processor overhead.

SearchPal 1.0; $24.95; Win3.1, Win95; Grasp Information Corporation; 617-499-1499; http://www.grasp.com SearchPal is part of the standard run of client side Internet search tools, sending your query off to an existing search site. Unlike the previous two, it doesn't process the results, and can only try one search site at a time. It does have content sites, such as The New York Times, built in. This product is oriented toward the casual user who may not know what search and content sites are out there. it's got a very small toolbar that doesn't make a big impact on desktop space. It doesn't do anything that wouldn't be fairly easy to do manually. it's really not that hard to bookmark HotBot and enter a query at the site without having a utility do it for you.

inWebstigator 1.0; $39.95; Win95; Ararat Software; 203-876-3300; http://www.ararat.com Billed as a search tool, inWebstigator is more of a mapping tool with superior search capabilities. It creates a map of a specific Web site or domain, then allows searches for keywords and particular elements such as file types and links. Web site administrators will find this tool most useful because it's an easy way to find broken links, etc. The search wizard has just about every option you could possible want to search on. The way inWebstigator lists Web pages leads to data overload if you are looking at a fairly big site. Most of us wouldn't find this product all that useful, but for some job descriptions, it's manna.

Blocking:

This category has political correctness on its side since it's designed to keep the responsibility of censoring objectionable information in the hands of the people, presenting a good argument for government not to restrict access.
SurfWatch; $19.95; Mac, Win3.1, Win95; Spyglass; 888-6SPYGLASS; http://www.spyglass.com SurfWatch is designed to shield children and sensitive types from adult content on the Internet by blocking access to a preset list of potentially objectionable sites. Users can also configure their own lists of sites to block, or a limit browsing to a specific list of sites. This is an extremely useful product for parents and teachers who want to introduce their kids and students to the Internet. SurfWatch is extremely customizable, so you can create your own set of censored sites. Relying on the list of censored sites that comes with this program is questionable in that a private business is controlling what you see. SurfWatch is a good, basic filtering program for keeping control of the kids, but Internet Explorer has filtering built in.

**editor's pick**

CyberPatrol 3.1; $29.95; Mac, Win3.1, Win95; Microsystems Software; 800-828-2608; http://www.cyberpatrol.com
CyberPatrol comes with a pre-loaded CyberNOT list of adult-oriented sites to which it can block access. It can also restrict the amount of time spent on the Internet per day or week, and limit Internet use to certain hours of the day. It can restrict specific words, such as addresses, in chat sessions. The time restriction functionality makes this most useful for parents that allow their kids to use the Internet on a home computer. CyberPatrolís online time management functionality is excellent, and not too many other packages have that capability. Iím going to say it again: relying on a business to tell you which sites are bad is very dangerous. Of the blocking software, CyberPatrol offers the greatest variety of options for controlling Internet usage.

CyberSitter 2.11; $39.95; Win3.1, Win95; Solid Oak Software; 800-388-2761; http://www.solidoak.com CyberSitter is similar to the other two products in this category, coming with a list of adult-oriented sites that it will block. It will also analyze sentences sent to and from chat forums to determine if there are objectionable words. This is another filtering product for parents with Internet roving children. Solid Oak claims it's also good for corporate use. The chat analysis is a particularly good feature of this product. CyberSitter is produced by a politically conservative company that has included sites such as NOW on it's blocking list. This software verges on fraud. The political agenda of its manufacturer unduly influences the list of sites blocked.

Monitoring:

Web browsing is an active process, where the user has to seek out information, and Web sites tend to change or be updated on fairly erratic schedules, so the idea behind these utilities is to save the user time by checking automatically finding out when sites are worth taking a look at.
NetBuddy; free; Win3.1, Win95; Internet Solutions; 800-547-3880; http://www.netree.com/netbuddy.html
NetBuddy keeps a list of Internet web locations that you want it to watch. Then it automatically checks

these sites at a frequency you decide. If any of the sites have

been updated, NetBuddy lights up that site in its list.
This is useful for business and home users who have Web sites they return to frequently. it's not a bad substitute for your browserís bookmarks, especially since itíll tell you if there have been updates. The interface has a goofy little animated smiley face that just gets annoying after a while. You can live with out NetBuddy and not really miss anything, but it's kind of useful.

Highlights 1.0; $34.95; Win95; Tierra Communications; 888-843-7720; http://www.tierra.com Highlights is billed as a news retriever, but what it does is monitor sites you select. When a site changes, it does a search based on keywords you enter, and downloads relevant information to your computer for offline reading. Lazy people that need to gather information from the same set of sites will benefit most from this utility. Although it's got a fairly large interface, it's easy to minimize to keep out of the way. It doesn't retrieve much information beyond whether a sites been updated. For the amount of desktop space it takes up, it really doesn't do enough.

Smart Bookmarks 2.02; $24.95; Win95; FirstFloor; 800-639-6387; http://www.firstfloor.com Another utility for monitoring updates in pre-selected Web sites, Smart Bookmarks can download pages as soon as it detects that they have been changed. Users can then browse updated information offline. Info workers who can get away with automating their work can use this. Smart Bookmarks has an option to automatically download Web pages that it's monitoring. It comes pre-loaded with a standard set of boring bookmarks, which youíll want to delete if you already have a list. If the nice, simple bookmark list that comes with most browsers isnít enough for you, this is the best package.

**editor's pick**

NearSite; $49.95; Win3.1, Win95; Info Evolution; 44-1703-222204; http://www.nearsite.com
Like other utilities in this category, NearSite keeps track of updates to bookmarked Web sites with intelligent agents, and downloads pages for offline reading. It also has a cache explorer so you can see all the files you've collected while surfing. This is a decent tool for Internet information gatherers and hobbyists, especially people who build their own Web pages. The cache explorer is a great way to lift graphics from Web sites because it tells you what you've already downloaded. Figuring out how to get information retrieved from the intelligent agents is a little difficult. This is a good value. The cache explorer alone makes it worthwhile.

Internet Utilities 1.1; $39.95; Win95; Starfish Software; 888-782-7347; http://www.starfishsoftware.com Internet Utilities includes a bookmarking function that applies a more graphic interface to your bookmarks, and monitors the sites to tell you which ones have been updated. Other functions include connections to Internet clocks to assure that youíre computer has the right time, and an unzipping utility. If youíre unsatisfied with the aesthetics of Navigatorís or Explorerís bookmarks, this could be what youíre looking for. This package is full of bells and whistles, and includes some generally useful non-internet stuff, such as shortcuts to local applications. The task bar uses up too much desktop space. Even Microsoft figured out how to keep toolbars small. This is a really fun utility, with a lot of functionality. it's not entirely necessary, but neither is the second hand on your watch.

Browsing:

The best way to look at a Web site is not always to load it into your browser window and read it right there. You might be paying for access time or have other constraints on using the browser. These utilities offer alternatives to standard Web browsing.

**editor's pick**

WebQuick 1.2; $29.95; Mac, Win95; Europa Software; 503-417-2900; http://www.europasoftware.com
WebQuick keeps track of the last 1000 Web pages you visited and organizes them by domain so you can locate resources you want to go back to. It also keeps track of your last visit to any page it has recorded. This is a good utility for serious surfers who blast over a lot of pages in a short amount of time. Very low impact on desk space. On Win95 it sits on the taskbar, and provides an integrated menu when clicked on. Iíll have to go with a "nothing to report"here because any flaws in the program are inconsequential. This is what utilities should be about; extremely functional and useful with very little computer space impact.

Web Whacker 2.0, $49.95; Mac, Win3.1, Win95; ForeFront; 713-961-1101; http://www.ffg.com Web Whacker makes it possible to download entire Web sites intact to your hard drive, and read them off line. The user specifies initial pages and how many pages down each link. Web Whacker can download them immediately, or on a scheduled basis. This is a great utility for people who have to regularly gather data from specific sites, and pirates. Web Whacker has a very simple interface, and saves Web pages intact on your local drive. It doesn't always handle some more esoteric elements of Web pages, such as Java applets. Web Whacker is kind of the quintessential utility for people who need to copy and move whole Web sites around.

CyberPilot Pro 2.0; $29.95; Win3.1, Win95; NetCarta; 800-461-2449; http://www.netcarta.com CyberPilot Pro allows you to map out a site without having to personally go from page to page. Once you have a map of the site, CyberPilot will display it and let you hotlink to any page within the map. CyperPilot is useful for anyone who often encounters new and intimidating Web sites, and doesn't want to waste a lot of time exploring. Web maps are displayed with a nice dual interface; graphical and indexed. Names of pages are hard to read in the graphical display, especially for large sites. CyberPilot is definitely worth loading onto your computer since it allows you to optimize your online time.

**editor's pick**

WebPrinter 2.0; $34.95; Win3.1, Win95; ForeFront; 713-961-1101; http://www.ffg.com
The ultimate in offline browsing, WebPrinter is really a printer utility that configures the data on a Web page into a variety of formats for printers. One setting will print onto letter size paper in such a way that the sheets can be folded and stapled into a booklet. People that donít have a laptop or other portable browsing source will find WebPrinter good for taking Web information on the road or to the café. Though billed as a Web page printer, it works for documents from any application, converting them into convenient booklets. WebPrinter doesn't allow for too much custom configuration, so if it formats a booklet incorrectly, it can't be easily fixed. This is an excellent utility for transferring information from the digital domain to the physical, without any real competitors.

ZIPdelivery; free; Win3.1, Win95; NETdelivery; 970-223-1110; http://www.netdelivery.com ZIPdelivery is part of a "push" technology package that acts as a receiver to deliver content directly to your desktop via the Internet. You choose which types of content you want, such as news or catalogs, and content from those sources will be periodically sent down to your computer. ZIPdelivery should have strong appeal for the more couch potato oriented Internet users. Subscribing to content providers is pretty easy, and they are all, as of this writing, free. The publication list is somewhat limited at this point, compared to all the content on the Internet. Overall this gets a fair to middling rating. it's neat, and with more content providers could be very useful.

Category	Product	What it Does	Who Needs It	Pluses	Minuses	Upshot
Acceleration: This is a relatively new category, and is composed of software that's supposed to turbocharge your Web surfing. Unfortunately, the techniques used to do this aren't developed well enough yet, and nothing in this category really works very well, so we can't recommend any of these products.	Blaze Web Performance Pack beta; $?; Win95; Datalytics; 513-226-7700; http://www.xspeed.com	Blaze is designed to accelerate Web browsing with a technology called xSpeed, which involves data compression and a more organized caching system. Blaze also comes with utilities to organize bookmarks, conduct scheduled searches, and record keywords from pages you've been to so it's easier to come back.	This is a useful utility for someone with a slow modem who likes all-in-one packs, like ClarisWorks and MS Office types.	Pages load noticeably faster, and less hard disk space is used because multiple utilities come in one package.	Blaze doesn't let Netscape add the "www" and ".com" to any word you enter into the URL box, so you may have to change the way you browse.	The acceleration is excellent, but it's weighed down by the other utilities, which are passable. Even MS Office doesn't make you take all the apps.
	net.jet; $29.95; Win95; Peak Technologies; 360-733-6010; http://www.peak-media.com	net.jet speeds up Web browsing by 50% to 90% through looking ahead and pre-loading all the links on whatever page you are on. When you select a link from the page, it will already be available on your hard disk. Pre-loading of pages has been criticized for creating unnecessary server loads.	Peak Technologies claims net.jet will speed up every connection, whether you have a 14.4 or a T3, but this is really best for modem users.	Pages do load faster, and the toolbar only has 3 buttons and is fairly small, so it doesn't use much of your desktop.	When using the "back" button on the browser to go to previous pages, graphics get misplaced.	net.jet needs work. It interferes too much with navigation functions other than traveling from link to link.
	Got It! beta v.3; $49.95; Win95; Go Ahead Software; 206-882-1900; http://www.go-ahead.com	Another Web site pre-loader, Got It! looks ahead at all the links, then looks at those links, and can go about 10 Web sites deep. It also pre-loads all of your bookmarks, assuming those are frequently accessed sites so you can get to them quickly.	Best for people with modem connections and Win95 that spend a lot of time jumping from link to link.	Got It! has options so you can set exactly which pages it pre-loads and when. You can also set how far it looks ahead.	The control bar is huge, taking up about a sixth of a 17 inch monitor. It got a lot of "service unavailable" errors, which could be due to beta.	A clunky interface coupled with page loading problems? This whole category needs work.
Searching: Tools in this section would be completely useless without major search sites on the Web, such as Alta Vista, so they are at the mercy of whatever changes are made to those sites, but fortunately most of them are smart enough to keep updating themselves.	Internet FastFind; $49.95; Win95; Symantec; 800-441-7234; http://www.symantec.com	FastFind is a client side search interface that configures and sends your queries to search sites on the Web. It then retrieves the results and organizes them into a useful format. FastFind also has utilities to monitor specific sites and let you know when they change.	This is an optimal utility for people who do heavy Web research, and pretty useful for casual users.	Besides good search help, FastFind also has a utility that finds driver upgrades specific to your system.	Although it generally stays in the background, the control panel is huge, using up about a third of a 17 inch monitor.	FastFind is a worthwhile utility for many different varieties of Internet work.
	editor's pick EchoSearch 1.07; free ($49.95 for 1 year of upgrades); Win95; Iconovex Corporation; 800-896-4212; http://www.iconovex.com	Like FastFind, EchoSearch is a client side search tool that sends your query to a number of search sites on the Internet. EchoSearch takes the results, finds the pages, then downloads the text and does an analysis for keywords and concepts.	A good tool for anyone using the Web for research, especially serious text resources and more concept oriented searches.	The text analysis abilities of EchoSearch are beyond compare. The way it saves the results of the search is perfect.	You can't add sites to the list of search engines, although you can add to a separate "bookmark" list.	EchoSearch is the best client-side search tool available, delivering useful results without a lot of processor overhead.
	SearchPal 1.0; $24.95; Win3.1, Win95; Grasp Information Corporation; 617-499-1499; http://www.grasp.com	SearchPal is part of the standard run of client side Internet search tools, sending your query off to an existing search site. Unlike the previous two, it doesn't process the results, and can only try one search site at a time. It does have content sites, such as The New York Times, built in.	This product is oriented toward the casual user who may not know what search and content sites are out there.	it's got a very small toolbar that doesn't make a big impact on desktop space.	It doesn't do anything that wouldn't be fairly easy to do manually.	it's really not that hard to bookmark HotBot and enter a query at the site without having a utility do it for you.
	inWebstigator 1.0; $39.95; Win95; Ararat Software; 203-876-3300; http://www.ararat.com	Billed as a search tool, inWebstigator is more of a mapping tool with superior search capabilities. It creates a map of a specific Web site or domain, then allows searches for keywords and particular elements such as file types and links.	Web site administrators will find this tool most useful because it's an easy way to find broken links, etc.	The search wizard has just about every option you could possible want to search on.	The way inWebstigator lists Web pages leads to data overload if you are looking at a fairly big site.	Most of us wouldn't find this product all that useful, but for some job descriptions, it's manna.
Blocking: This category has political correctness on its side since it's designed to keep the responsibility of censoring objectionable information in the hands of the people, presenting a good argument for government not to restrict access.	SurfWatch; $19.95; Mac, Win3.1, Win95; Spyglass; 888-6SPYGLASS; http://www.spyglass.com	SurfWatch is designed to shield children and sensitive types from adult content on the Internet by blocking access to a preset list of potentially objectionable sites. Users can also configure their own lists of sites to block, or a limit browsing to a specific list of sites.	This is an extremely useful product for parents and teachers who want to introduce their kids and students to the Internet.	SurfWatch is extremely customizable, so you can create your own set of censored sites.	Relying on the list of censored sites that comes with this program is questionable in that a private business is controlling what you see.	SurfWatch is a good, basic filtering program for keeping control of the kids, but Internet Explorer has filtering built in.
	editor's pick CyberPatrol 3.1; $29.95; Mac, Win3.1, Win95; Microsystems Software; 800-828-2608; http://www.cyberpatrol.com	CyberPatrol comes with a pre-loaded CyberNOT list of adult-oriented sites to which it can block access. It can also restrict the amount of time spent on the Internet per day or week, and limit Internet use to certain hours of the day. It can restrict specific words, such as addresses, in chat sessions.	The time restriction functionality makes this most useful for parents that allow their kids to use the Internet on a home computer.	CyberPatrolís online time management functionality is excellent, and not too many other packages have that capability.	Iím going to say it again: relying on a business to tell you which sites are bad is very dangerous.	Of the blocking software, CyberPatrol offers the greatest variety of options for controlling Internet usage.
	CyberSitter 2.11; $39.95; Win3.1, Win95; Solid Oak Software; 800-388-2761; http://www.solidoak.com	CyberSitter is similar to the other two products in this category, coming with a list of adult-oriented sites that it will block. It will also analyze sentences sent to and from chat forums to determine if there are objectionable words.	This is another filtering product for parents with Internet roving children. Solid Oak claims it's also good for corporate use.	The chat analysis is a particularly good feature of this product.	CyberSitter is produced by a politically conservative company that has included sites such as NOW on it's blocking list.	This software verges on fraud. The political agenda of its manufacturer unduly influences the list of sites blocked.
Monitoring: Web browsing is an active process, where the user has to seek out information, and Web sites tend to change or be updated on fairly erratic schedules, so the idea behind these utilities is to save the user time by checking automatically finding out when sites are worth taking a look at.	NetBuddy; free; Win3.1, Win95; Internet Solutions; 800-547-3880; http://www.netree.com/netbuddy.html	NetBuddy keeps a list of Internet web locations that you want it to watch. Then it automatically checks these sites at a frequency you decide. If any of the sites have been updated, NetBuddy lights up that site in its list.	This is useful for business and home users who have Web sites they return to frequently.	it's not a bad substitute for your browserís bookmarks, especially since itíll tell you if there have been updates.	The interface has a goofy little animated smiley face that just gets annoying after a while.	You can live with out NetBuddy and not really miss anything, but it's kind of useful.
	Highlights 1.0; $34.95; Win95; Tierra Communications; 888-843-7720; http://www.tierra.com	Highlights is billed as a news retriever, but what it does is monitor sites you select. When a site changes, it does a search based on keywords you enter, and downloads relevant information to your computer for offline reading.	Lazy people that need to gather information from the same set of sites will benefit most from this utility.	Although it's got a fairly large interface, it's easy to minimize to keep out of the way.	It doesn't retrieve much information beyond whether a sites been updated.	For the amount of desktop space it takes up, it really doesn't do enough.
	Smart Bookmarks 2.02; $24.95; Win95; FirstFloor; 800-639-6387; http://www.firstfloor.com	Another utility for monitoring updates in pre-selected Web sites, Smart Bookmarks can download pages as soon as it detects that they have been changed. Users can then browse updated information offline.	Info workers who can get away with automating their work can use this.	Smart Bookmarks has an option to automatically download Web pages that it's monitoring.	It comes pre-loaded with a standard set of boring bookmarks, which youíll want to delete if you already have a list.	If the nice, simple bookmark list that comes with most browsers isnít enough for you, this is the best package.
	editor's pick NearSite; $49.95; Win3.1, Win95; Info Evolution; 44-1703-222204; http://www.nearsite.com	Like other utilities in this category, NearSite keeps track of updates to bookmarked Web sites with intelligent agents, and downloads pages for offline reading. It also has a cache explorer so you can see all the files you've collected while surfing.	This is a decent tool for Internet information gatherers and hobbyists, especially people who build their own Web pages.	The cache explorer is a great way to lift graphics from Web sites because it tells you what you've already downloaded.	Figuring out how to get information retrieved from the intelligent agents is a little difficult.	This is a good value. The cache explorer alone makes it worthwhile.
	Internet Utilities 1.1; $39.95; Win95; Starfish Software; 888-782-7347; http://www.starfishsoftware.com	Internet Utilities includes a bookmarking function that applies a more graphic interface to your bookmarks, and monitors the sites to tell you which ones have been updated. Other functions include connections to Internet clocks to assure that youíre computer has the right time, and an unzipping utility.	If youíre unsatisfied with the aesthetics of Navigatorís or Explorerís bookmarks, this could be what youíre looking for.	This package is full of bells and whistles, and includes some generally useful non-internet stuff, such as shortcuts to local applications.	The task bar uses up too much desktop space. Even Microsoft figured out how to keep toolbars small.	This is a really fun utility, with a lot of functionality. it's not entirely necessary, but neither is the second hand on your watch.
Browsing: The best way to look at a Web site is not always to load it into your browser window and read it right there. You might be paying for access time or have other constraints on using the browser. These utilities offer alternatives to standard Web browsing.	editor's pick WebQuick 1.2; $29.95; Mac, Win95; Europa Software; 503-417-2900; http://www.europasoftware.com	WebQuick keeps track of the last 1000 Web pages you visited and organizes them by domain so you can locate resources you want to go back to. It also keeps track of your last visit to any page it has recorded.	This is a good utility for serious surfers who blast over a lot of pages in a short amount of time.	Very low impact on desk space. On Win95 it sits on the taskbar, and provides an integrated menu when clicked on.	Iíll have to go with a "nothing to report"here because any flaws in the program are inconsequential.	This is what utilities should be about; extremely functional and useful with very little computer space impact.
	Web Whacker 2.0, $49.95; Mac, Win3.1, Win95; ForeFront; 713-961-1101; http://www.ffg.com	Web Whacker makes it possible to download entire Web sites intact to your hard drive, and read them off line. The user specifies initial pages and how many pages down each link. Web Whacker can download them immediately, or on a scheduled basis.	This is a great utility for people who have to regularly gather data from specific sites, and pirates.	Web Whacker has a very simple interface, and saves Web pages intact on your local drive.	It doesn't always handle some more esoteric elements of Web pages, such as Java applets.	Web Whacker is kind of the quintessential utility for people who need to copy and move whole Web sites around.
	CyberPilot Pro 2.0; $29.95; Win3.1, Win95; NetCarta; 800-461-2449; http://www.netcarta.com	CyberPilot Pro allows you to map out a site without having to personally go from page to page. Once you have a map of the site, CyberPilot will display it and let you hotlink to any page within the map.	CyperPilot is useful for anyone who often encounters new and intimidating Web sites, and doesn't want to waste a lot of time exploring.	Web maps are displayed with a nice dual interface; graphical and indexed.	Names of pages are hard to read in the graphical display, especially for large sites.	CyberPilot is definitely worth loading onto your computer since it allows you to optimize your online time.
	editor's pick WebPrinter 2.0; $34.95; Win3.1, Win95; ForeFront; 713-961-1101; http://www.ffg.com	The ultimate in offline browsing, WebPrinter is really a printer utility that configures the data on a Web page into a variety of formats for printers. One setting will print onto letter size paper in such a way that the sheets can be folded and stapled into a booklet.	People that donít have a laptop or other portable browsing source will find WebPrinter good for taking Web information on the road or to the café.	Though billed as a Web page printer, it works for documents from any application, converting them into convenient booklets.	WebPrinter doesn't allow for too much custom configuration, so if it formats a booklet incorrectly, it can't be easily fixed.	This is an excellent utility for transferring information from the digital domain to the physical, without any real competitors.
	ZIPdelivery; free; Win3.1, Win95; NETdelivery; 970-223-1110; http://www.netdelivery.com	ZIPdelivery is part of a "push" technology package that acts as a receiver to deliver content directly to your desktop via the Internet. You choose which types of content you want, such as news or catalogs, and content from those sources will be periodically sent down to your computer.	ZIPdelivery should have strong appeal for the more couch potato oriented Internet users.	Subscribing to content providers is pretty easy, and they are all, as of this writing, free.	The publication list is somewhat limited at this point, compared to all the content on the Internet.	Overall this gets a fair to middling rating. it's neat, and with more content providers could be very useful.