14 DAY TRIAL // Slacker oh slacker, stop slackin'
This is an ode to the slacker. You know who you are, you know what you do and you know that you're lazy. This goes out to all the workers of the world who have at one time or another looked up sports stats instead of doing your required TPS reports. Here's to all the men that have wasted countless hours looking at pictures of Rachel McAdams or Angelina Jolie instead of sending out important memos about product upgrades. This review goes out to the slackers, to the lazies, to the procrastinators of the business world who have mentally just checked out or just stopped caring. This is an ode-like review to you.
What's inside
When installing the program, watch out because they're a tricky bunch. Yes I'd like to add a shortcut to my desktop? Yes I'd like to add Harmony Hollow Software to my Website favorites?waaaaaaait a second! You almost got me you tricksters.
The program itself is useful for those awkward moments when your friend has sent you a link to a Web site titled "cute puppies.com or nicethoughts.com." If you're a guy, you hesitate to click on it not because you're not interested, mostly because you're afraid of anyone else seeing that you do in fact have an overly powerful feminine side. Don't lie you'd click it just to see. Your fears of someone spotting you are laid to rest when you find out that the link doesn't have anything related to the title, instead your fears multiply ten times fold when you realized you've been forwarded to Southpark's "cartmansmoms.germanschaissemovie.com." Not only that, but your boss makes a surprise appearance in the office to go over some sexual harassment policies with some corporate HR people. Yes, the situation can and probably has occurred somewhere. In order to avoid potentially bad repercussions, make sure you have SmokeScreen installed, it'll prove to be a lifesaver.
The program gives you a few ways to avoid detection from superiors or supervisors. You're able to set your getaway screen to a pre-selected image you've gathered in a screen capture. If this is too cheesy for you, a quick minimize of all programs and windows is another available option. The good thing about SmokeScreen is that if you're watching a movie or some clips while you need to minimize, you can even set your preferences to mute your sound.
The system works by activating and deactivating SmokeScreen. When active, SmokeScreen's method of minimizing your windows (or showing a screen capture) depends on where you move your mouse. You can select the left, right, top or bottom of your screen. To those willing to heed my advice, I'd recommend against setting all the sides as activation screens, leave the bottom one unchecked, here's why. You won't be able to see (or access) your Start menu if you have it set to auto hide.
SmokeScreen's ability to be invisible in your system tray is also one of its key features. You won't even be able to see it running. You can set it to run on Startup or to start with Windows. For slackers who are more secretive, SmokeScreen comes with a password option. Passwords can be set in order to leave the 'screen capture' mode or to change SmokeScreen's options.
In the trial version, you won't be able to select a 'Screen Capture' as a method of escape, the window minimization option and sound muting can only be activated with the full version.
Some improvements
For how useful SmokeScreen is, it can sure build on some of its ideas. For one, I'd like to see the inclusion of hotkeys. A great addition would be to let users who don't necessarily use their mice that often to have the same abilities and bring up a 'smoke screen' by clicking a certain key, or a combination of keys.
And when you say "With just one stroke of your mouse in any direction or one keystroke, the program can minimize all open windows?" which keystroke are you exactly referring to? A keystroke implies stroking a "key," and there isn't an option in SmokeScreen to minimize with a "keystroke." So I'm curious where this new option comes from.
The Good
The good part of SmokeScreen is that it will extend your slacking tendencies a little longer. Not only that, but you can now slack in more safely. It's a fun little program that will make being lazy at work less stressful.
The Bad
The bad part of it is that it definitely needs improvement. I had trouble selecting my screen capture. It needs to include more functionality while at the same time increasing its options. It's not a new concept and there are programs out there that do this exact same thing for free. It doesn't give me any reason to want to go and pay $14 for it. It just doesn't.
The Truth
The bottom line is that you're better off being more careful at work than you are paying for SmokeScreen. One should wait until further program development takes place. If you're already being lazy, there's little chance you will want to go the extra step and pay. That's my humble opinion. And next time you do get a funny looking link, don't be so eager to open it, send it off to another friend and see what they say. Does the expression 'look before you leap' come to mind?
Check out the screenshots below.
