14 DAY TRIAL // It would be nice to know all the measurement units and be able to know exactly how many inches are in 234 centimeters. Not all of us can make the necessary transformation on the spot. Most of us need to think for a while before giving an answer. We miss the little details like the equivalent of one degree Celsius in Fahrenheit. Of course, why would a European be concerned with transforming centimeters in inches and the Celsius into Fahrenheit?
The general tendency is for globalization and relations between countries are strengthening. So I guess knowing the measurement standards for different areas of the globe is becoming more and more important.
The software we are going to test today is called MConvert and its purpose is making the transformations between different measurement units. The producer is White Wizard Productions and the version reached is 6.3.
The interface of the software is as easy to handle as using the Windows Calculator. There are three buttons you are going to use the most: Calculate, Reset and Quit. Their function is very simple and I am sure you will not find it complicated to use them. But let us begin our testing. The File menu "hides" options like small currency and proxy settings. Small Currencies will open a smaller currency window, next time you choose the currency group if the monitor only supports 1024x768. Proxy Settings, on the other hand, are useful when you are connecting via a network and proxy.
Edit menu contains options like Cut, Copy and Paste. These functions become a plus when you need to enter the data into some other software or even on a simple Notepad sheet. In Notation, there are the usual viewing options, the Standard and Scientific every calculator has, and the number of decimals to be displayed. Choosing the 0.0 option and trying to calculate in tons only two kilograms will give you a result of 0.0 tons. But if you add some more decimals you will get the exact answer: 0.002000000000 ton.
Calculating is easy. All you have to do is enter the desired value and click the Calculate button. You will be provided with the equivalents for all the measurement units available in the software. If you want to change the value, then press the Reset button and repeat the process.
But I have not mentioned the measurement categories provided by the software. There is a total of 22 categories available and of course, the most used ones are present. So feel free to transform in different currencies (there are 40 different currencies) or check the various length equivalents (the range is from nanometer to league and also comprises both metric and imperial systems and includes nautical measurements units).
To be more clear, I will tell you that the software includes the International System of Units (SI) base units (length, mass, radioactivity, time, thermodynamic and temperature), the SI-derived units (acceleration, angle, area, density, fuel consumption, energy, force, permeability, power, pressure, torque, velocity, viscosity and volume) and some other units like base, computer data and currency.
To see that the software is not a hoax, I will tell you that for temperature there are five different units: R?aumur, Celsius, Kelvin, Rankine and Fahrenheit.
Along with the Calculate, Reset and Quit buttons you will also see an option called Export. Choosing this will send all the data opened in the current window in a file, to your desktop.
The Good
The software covers more measurement units than I thought at the beginning. The software handles well and it is easy to use. The accuracy of the information is great and the notation options make it more appealing.
The Export option is good, but needs a little more chiseling.
The Bad
First of all, the software can be closed only from the Quit button in the application window and from File menu. Right-clicking on the application in the taskbar won't do you any good. Second, I wish the user could also use the ENTER key to calculate.
The interface could use a little improvement and become a little clearer as the font for the measurement units is a bit small.
Using the Export feature will require adding an extension to the file. To be frank, I was expecting that all the data to be exported were saved as a .xls file in a user defined location. But the user will have to add the extension and, after that, the file will be opened in an Excel file or any other spreadsheet.
I was not too impressed by the currency converter. It had all the major currencies but not all of them (Romanian RON, Moldova LEU along with many other currencies were not listed in there). I made the Euro>USD conversion in Google and the result was a bit different.
The Truth
Remember that the $10 you are paying are not for the software, but for the information it provides. And the information is accurate. My conclusion is that the software is trustful and the price is not that high. Of course, if you find a similar freeware application, then MConvert will depreciate a lot.
The user should update the software everyday for currency converting. It would have been nice to make the software update by itself at opening.
A little more attention to the details and it could become a very smart tool to work with.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
