Speed Doubler 8.0
Review

Speed Doubler 8.0
Company: Connectix Corporation
Estimated Price: $54.98
http://www.connectix.com

 

I have always been a fan of Speed Doubler. So, when
I first started hearing rumors about a Mac OS 8 compatible version of Speed Doubler, I was really excited. But Speed Doubler 2 is already great. Besides Mac OS 8 compatibility, what else is there to improve? After using Speed Doubler 8, I can tell you that there was a lot to improve, and those improvements have been made. The innovation and ease of use that Speed Doubler 8 brings to your Mac is truly amazing.

A New Look
The Speed Doubler 8 control panel uses “tabs” to represent each of its main features (shown in screen shot below), much like the File Sharing control panel in Mac OS 8. The five tabs are: Status, Copy, Notification, Keyboard, and Copy Agent.

 

The Status Tab lets you see what’s turned on and what’s turned off, whether features like keyboard power and hot keys are enabled or disabled, giving you a clear overview of the Control Panel and what features you’re using.

The Copy Tab has all the normal copy/network copy options such as verifying for certain kinds of media and replacing locked files without asking. The Speed Eraser now erases files much faster, and the Security Erase feature is truly great. It will destroy any evidence that a file ever existed. You can select one or three passes, one being less secure, three being more secure. All my attempts to rescue a file with Norton’s File Saver failed. In fact, File saver failed to show that the file ever existed.

The Copy Window in the Finder has options to view throughput (how fast data is being transferred from volume to volume), information about the amount of files remaining to be copied, the amount of files that have already been copied, and a pause button, so you can pause the copy if the system is getting too slow. Under the Notification Tab, you can set how many simultaneous copies can be going at one time, and whether or not to use one Window to display all the copies taking place, or to use one Window for each copy like the current Mac OS 8 Finder does. You can also set Speed Doubler 8 to play sounds when copies are completed.

Automation
Probably the best new feature of Speed Doubler 8 is the Copy Agent, which will let you schedule copies, making it easy to back up files regularly while you continue working.

Speed Doubler 8 provides a very easy and self-explanatory way of scheduling a copy, utilizing a 4-step process. The first step, “What to Copy” lets you specify what files you want copied. The second step, “Where to Copy” lets you specify where you want the file(s) to be copied to.

The third step, “How to Copy” lets you select a method of copying, either normal, smart, or synchronize copy. A normal copy will copy every item to the destination, and the source file will always replace the destination file. A smart copy (aka Smart Replace) is where only new and changed files will be copied, while unchanged files will not. The final result is the same as a normal copy except that unchanged files are not copied. Synchronizing a copy will copy the files in both directions so that both the original source and the destination will have identical files. Any newer items in the source will replace older items in the destination, while any newer items in the destination will replace older items in the source.

The fourth step, “When to Copy” lets you specify when you want your file(s) copied. You can select to copy the file once, or copy it hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly; again, making this feature very useful for backups.

Increase Productivity – Keyboard Shortcuts
Face it. Most of us never even use the function keys at the top of our keyboards. But Speed Doubler 8 lets you take advantage of those keys (or any keys for that matter). Under Keyboard, you can set “hot keys” to open any document, or type anything when the key(s) are pressed.

You can also set “Keyboard Power” which will let you press a key combination to pull down a menu, much like the “alt” key does on a Windows machine. For example, to pull down the file menu, you can press Shift-F. The file menu will come down, and you can use the arrow keys to navigate through it and through other menus.

Just for Networks…
Speed Doubler 8 comes with a new Control Panel called “Speed Copy 8 Server,” which, when installed on a server, will speed up network copies for all clients accessing the server with Speed Doubler 8 installed, making it much easier to increase network speed without purchasing a separate Speed Doubler 8 license.

Requirements/Pricing
Speed Doubler 8 requires any Mac with a 68030, 68040, or PowerPC processor (recommended), Mac OS 7.5.5 or later (Mac OS 8 required for copy scheduling), and 8 MB of RAM (12 MB recommended). Speed Doubler 8 is not compatible with the Mac Plus, Mac SE, original Mac Classic, original Mac LC, or PowerBook 100. Faster network copying requires Open Transport 1.1.2 or later, a Mac-based AppleShare network, and Speed Doubler 8 installed on both client and server systems.

Speed Doubler 8 retails for $54.98. Current users of Speed Doubler will be able to take advantage of a $25 rebate off the retail price of Speed Doubler 8.

The Summary
Speed Doubler 8 is truly a dream come true. It does more than just speed up your Mac, it lets you get your work done faster, making it an essential utility that every Mac owner should have. You could spend a lot of money buying expensive accelerators, and you still wouldn’t get half the benefits that Speed Doubler 8 provides. After spending a few days with Speed Doubler 8, you won’t want to be without it. Speed Doubler 8 is a very worthwhile investment that I would recommend to anyone with a Mac.

MacMice Rating: 3

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Adam Karneboge (webmaster@mymac.com
)

Websites mentioned:
http://www.connectix.com