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VersionTracker
This is a reprint from the August 2007 issue of TOE (The Outer Edge)
By Jim Thornton
One of the more common ways to keep your computer running at its highest performance level is run only the most current versions of your programs. Program developers often release new versions of their programs to add requested program enhancements as well as to eliminate various forms of program problems. Two fairly recent minor but annoying problems come to mind. The popular solitaire computer card program Pretty Good Solitaire had a problem - whenever you would open the Klondike game, the first game would always be either game 0 or 1 and after a while it became annoying to play either of these two games, as you already know the outcome. Recently the program developer Thomas Warfield corrected this problem with a new version release. Another program is the popular photograph and music-playing program IrfanView and when overlaying text onto a photograph it wouldn't center. Developer Irfan Skiljan corrected this problem with a new version. What I would do was maintain a list of the programs installed on my computer with their version numbers and periodically, typically every three months, check each program's website to verify that I had the most current version installed. As you can image, this is a time consuming task. I recently found a better and faster way of doing this routine maintenance activity by using a small utility program called VersionTracker.
The first time that I ran the program, it report that I had 17 outdated programs and 11 outdated hardware drivers on my computer. The program report lists all of the programs installed on your computer and your version and the developer's current version numbers. So it is very easy to go through the list and to quickly identify the outdated programs as their version number appears in red. On an outdated program, just left mouse click on the program's name, and VersionTracker would immediately open your Internet Explorer and go to the program's website, where you would click on the program's upgraded version and immediately download and install the latest version. The driver report is very similar except that the report lists the name of the device (for example HP LaserJet 4), its class (disk drive, display, image, keyboard, media, modem, monitor, mouse, net, printer, USB, etc.), and a red X indicating that the driver is Out Of Date or a green checkmark indicates that the driver is Up To Date. Clicking on the device's name produces the same results as when clicking on a program's name (opening Internet Explorer, going to the driver's website, etc.).
Upon viewing VersionTracker's website (www.verisiontracker.com), one of the first things that you see is a long list of Updates for Windows programs - typically over 100 for the day. This list provides the program title, version number, a very brief description of each program, the size of the update (KB or MB), and whether the program is licensed as freeware, shareware, commercial, beta, etc. By clicking on the Category tab, the list is rearranged by category (Audio/Video, Business/Productivity. Design/Graphic, etc.) or by clicking on the License the list is rearranged by type of license. You can customize the website to only list the upgrades for all Windows programs or one of these Windows operating systems - Vista, Server 2003, XP, or 2000. In addition, you can customize it to list to show only Mac OS X or Palm OS systems.
The Previous Day's list of upgrades are available if you subscribe to their free subscription service and, in addition, you will be able to access their Top Downloads, the Editor's Picks, and My Tools (information or feedback on products you are interested; a single report comparing all of your computers monitored by Version Tracker Pro as you can install the program on three different computers; a list of new downloadable products that you are interested in; and a list of future updates so that you will be notified as soon as they become available.
The freeware VersionTracker performs just like its shareware version called VersionTracker Pro for the five-day trial period. Using the freeware version is an excellent tool to learn the status of the programs and drivers on your computer at no cost.
To upgrade to VersionTracker Pro 3.6.1 for Windows, the one-year subscription rate is currently discounted from $49.95 to $29.95 and available from VersionTracker's website. You will be notified by e-mail of when new updates become available.
In addition, since the VersionTracker Pro program is on your computer monitoring all of your installed software, it will alert you as soon as new updates become available. Other features of the VersionTracker Pro is that it provides reviews, ratings, system compatibility, features, bug fixes, and download links for each update. Another advantage is that you may to run the program whenever you like. The program lists the status of installed programs and drivers, new programs, and the history of what of programs and driver upgrades you have installed and on what dates. When viewing the Installed Software Page, which looks like the website page, except at the bottom of the screen where there is more detailed information about the highlighted program. This addition information includes the name and version number of the program, the program's function, the program's path (location on your hard drive), and a detail description of what the program does. Off to the right hand side is more information about the program's category, the developer, the developer's website, the license, the release date, the total number of downloads of the current version and for all versions, and a rating of the program. Similar information is provided for the installed drivers, new software, and the download history.
