News and Reviews > Mini-Reviews by Members

Mini-Review of myPhotoFrame

(1/1)

wraith808:
Basic Info

App NamemyPhotoFrameApp URLmyPhotoFrameApp Version Reviewed1.1Test System SpecsWindows XP SP2 Pentium D 3.4MHz, 2048MB RAMSupported OSesWindows XP, Windows VistaSupport Methodse-mail ([email protected])Upgrade PolicyFrom Website As a registered customer, you are entitled to a fully functional, unrestricted copy of the software, free technical support, and free updates that will be released within 1 major version (if you are user of version 4, then all 4.xx versions are free for you).
--- End quote ---
Trial Version Available?You can download myPhotoFrame 14 Days Free Trial Version.  There are no limitations within that time limit.Pricing SchemeAt the time of my purchase, it was $14.95, with special bundle prices.  The price appears to have dropped to $9.95, and there is a DonationCoder discount available.  Not sure if they stack.


Intro:

One of the things I loved about Vista was the desktop gadgets, especially the photo frame one.  I really missed it when working on Windows XP, and so was very happy to find myPhotoFrame on Bits Du Jour.  myPhotoFrame is a very small application that does one thing, and does it well in a small memory footprint- displaying photos in an overlay on the desktop.  The frame can be changed, and the size of the window and photo scaled, along with mouse over transparency changes to allow you to see your desktop through the window.



Who is this app designed for:

In this digital age with small cubicle sizes, sometimes it's not feasible to have photos plastered around your workspace.  myPhotoFrame can display a folder of family photos on your desktop discretely to always keep those memories with you.


The Good

It does what it sets out to do in a simple manner with little memory footprint.  There is a right click menu allowing you access to all of the functions, and one simple dialog for settings.





The needs improvement section

In the use of some skins, photos get cut off with no way to change that, though in the settings you can skip any photos that are out of proportion.



The ability to click through the photo would also be a welcome addition, along with the ability for users to create skins, though the author will take photos of frame ideas and make new personalized frames for you.


Why I think you should use this product

If you like the Vista app to display photos in a folder, this is a good replacement on XP.  It also is a good replacement in general since it can be displayed anywhere on the desktop.  It has a low memory usage, and does what it sets out to do well.


How does it compare to similar apps

Other than gadgets in the sidebar (google, vista, etc), I'm not aware of other apps that do the same thing.  The major improvement over the sidebar apps is that this can be moved, and the skin can be changed.  Balance that against running another app, however small the footprint.


Conclusions

In summary, I really like this app.  It allowed me to have my family photos on my desktop at work, without actually having the real estate to have them on the desktop.  This is an app that if you need it, you'll see the applications, and if you don't, you just don't have a use for it.  But if you do have a need for it, I can say that it does the simple task it sets out to do well, which is the highest praise I can give for something like this.


Links to other reviews of this application

Review at SoftSea.com

wr975:
Great review :Thmbsup:! It's a nice program but I wouldn't pay for such thing.

At work I'm running Google Desktop and use photooogle gadget to display photos of my family. Google Desktop is free, but installs the Google Desktop Search (I don't need).

wraith808:
In cases where you can't install the whole google desktop (like when the firewall blocks it :( ) or it's against IT policy, this is a viable alternative.

tomos:
yes, very nice review, :Thmbsup: thanks

Navigation

[0] Message Index