14 DAY TRIAL // Information can be this century's gold, platinum or venom, depending on the kind of information we're talking about and its usefulness for the buyer (if you weren't aware, then you should find out that snake venom is much more expensive than platinum, but this is not my topic now). In the computing field, everything orbits around this word, "information".
What I am going to review now is a program that checks your computer's hardware and software and gives you information about its internals, named System Spec. This application recently reached version 2.20 and comes as an executable file that has 1.6MB in size, so the install problem is out of question. All you have to do is fire it up and use it!
First encounter with any computer program is usually its interface, and this time, I got a really bad impression about it. Why? Leaving the features that we'll check just a bit later aside, System Spec looks awful. It may sound harsh, but I can't find any other word suitable for what I see. We are in the year 2006, not 1993! The screenshots should give these words a meaning, but until then, the features are waiting to show themselves, so prepare your seats and enjoy the show!
The program starts with an empty System information window, and in order to fill it up with information you have to press the first button of the toolbar. What you can get here is general information about your computer, such as Windows and IE versions, amount of physical memory, CPU type and speed or motherboard name.
Moving through the available menus, I discovered a lot of useful detailed information tools that can clear things concerning CPU, hard drive, personal user information of the current Windows user, even a basic Uninstaller! The problem is not the amount of information, since you get SMART status or advanced information about your optical drives, but the way this information is displayed, being hard to read for any normal person.
The CD/DVD Info tool could be an excellent one, but unfortunately I got a lot of errors from it. Despite this, I can still call it a useful tool, due to the hints that you get about your hardware after opening it.
The System, Control Panel and Programs menus offer you quick access to different Windows tools, some of them harder to reach in normal situations, like the On Screen Keyboard, DirectX Diagnostics Tool or File Signature Verification.
At last, the Hardware menu allows you to send your monitor into stand by state or switch it off, eject and load your CD or mute speakers and microphone. Some people may find these useful, but I am not one of them.
All these being said, let's move on to the final decision.
The Good
System Spec is a useful tool, there's no doubt about it. I can't say it's hard to use either, while the fact that you don't have to install it at all is another white ball put on its side. The system information can be exported to HTML and CSV files or sent to the printer. At last, it's a free program, so you can use it for as long as you like.
The Bad
The information displayed by this program is hard to read, the interface is ancient in look and feel, but I wouldn't display it in a museum, while the Help contents is close to zero.
The Truth
If you want information at any cost and you don't care how it's going to look on your screen, then this program can be your worthy ally, but otherwise you should check the following screenshots and think twice before risking a disappointment.
