The computer was invented to help improve business and productivity and to perform calculations and operations that take us a long time. It allows you to virtually do everything you may think of, and these tasks go from playing audio files to creating a programming language or maintaining a database with millions of entries. The demand for software and applications that take over all the work from you and do everything on their own is the highest. Wouldn’t it be great if you could relax while the computer worked for you?  

Automize is a great application that does this. It allows you to set the computer to automatically perform tasks and schedule them to execute during any part of the day, week, or month. The utility is written in Java and works on all major platforms with Java installed: Mac OS X, Windows, Linux, etc.

The Looks

Because it is written in this object-oriented programming language, the user interface looks a lot like the ones used on old computers, but the functionality of this program is amazing. When you launch the application for the first time, it presents a window that allows you to set the edition you want to use: standard edition (automation features for most users), professional edition (this version adds advanced scripting), and enterprise edition (provides SSH/SFTP, encryption module, command-line module and more). Depending on your area of work and the automation processes you want to perform, you can choose any one of them to startup.

Inside the main window of the application you can see on the left side a list of tasks that you have created, a main window (that occupies most of the desktop space) where you can view information on the currently selected task, and a small one at the bottom that displays tips and properties of it.

The Works

Adding a new task to the program is as easy as clicking a button (New task). A new window appears, and you are presented with a long list of tasks types that you can choose from: run programs, miscellaneous, archive, text, ftp module, email, http, net, file/directory monitors, subdirectory monitors, variables, task control, schedule control, database, administrative, and tools. Each one of these enumerated types offers two or more tasks that you can configure and use.

It is a pretty long list of functions and operations that you can easily perform using Automize. When adding a new task, you can specify the name of it and other information, depending on its functionality. A little thing that bugged me when setting a name of a task was that you could use the "space" character in the name. The only allowed characters are: alphabets, numbers, "-" and "_".

The application can be customized from the Settings menu, so you can get the most out of it. You can change the platform look, startup options, and the file format (with date and time components separator). Additionally, if you are going to use email or ftp tasks, you can configure proxy servers for Internet connection, ftp settings and profiles, and a password manager for all your logins. These configurations are for the general use of Automize, because they can also be made when you set up a task. Moreover, just to make it clear of how powerful Automize is, please note that you can install add-ons that will offer you anything you want.

Testing databases and regular expressions can be done from the Utilities menu, where you can also have a look at the Zip viewer and Web downloads viewer. The Logs menu will help you see how the tasks were performed, and if there were any problems while doing them. For an optimal view, you can set font size and type of the logs, and customize other log settings. Automize can display the following kinds: FTP, Activity, output, tasks, and debug. Just to be on the safe side, it's always a good idea to check the logs for problems or tasks that weren't performed right. This way you will know exactly what and when it went wrong, so you can fix it.

If you are an advanced programmer, you can create scripts and have them run with the scheduler. Just imagine all the things you could do, or better said, Automize could do for you, while you're sleeping, watching TV, or doing something else that is relaxing. The utility is a cross-platform application, and you can export and import tasks from the File menu. If you want to run it from your PC at home and also from your Mac at work, all you have to do is export settings from one machine and import them to another. It is a great feature that saves a lot of time because you won't have to change the them or create the tasks all over again.

The Good

Automize is a very powerful application that will definitely make your work easier and will save a lot of time. The multitude of tasks, configurable settings, cross-platform usability, and logging features will definitely allow you to profit by your time and help you improve your business and productivity.

The Bad

Though it offers so many features, it's certain that the price of $129.95 is a little too high. You can use Automize for 30 days, with access to all its capabilities, before you have to purchase it. Furthermore, it is written in Java for cross-platform usage, but the user-interface is similar to old computers, and this could represent an inconvenience to some users.

The Truth

Automize is a great application, but to make it worth its price you will have to be an above-average user, so you'll know how to make the best of it. Automize is not intended for average ones, who just surf the net and play online games.

Here are some snapshots of the application in action: