Saleen Updater

2.0 stars

"Some Interesting Idea's, But It Needs A Lot Of Work"

February 19, 2010  |   By Manus_Dei

Version: Saleen Updater 1.0.0 build 40

Pros

Searches for updates to programs that other devices might not look at (such as your computer maker's bundled personal software - think dell or hp), community function enables lookup of programs (must register/create a profile first - free), filesize.

Cons

Interface looks like it hasn't gotten a facelift since circa 2004, very analog controls, program freezes up fairly often when trying to select a program from the list it generates, biggest issue of all is that it won't update your software for you.

Summary

In a word - Meh, while the software is interesting in concept their are plenty of others out there that do it better. Saleen Updater feels like it hasn't been updated (graphically or usability wise) in about 4-6 years, despite the most recent version of the software having been released in January 2010 (which while apparently absent at CNET, is available on the developer's website). Several features that users have come to expect in today's software - such as highlighting multiple listed programs for exclusion, pre-rendered software descriptions, or switching between highlighted listings on the fly is virtually non-existent. In addition, the options that this device offers are similarly vanishing, with the ability to exclude something from the checker being one of the very few features this program has. Beyond this, manual exclusion of programs from the list generator is exceedingly slow - it actually freezes up for a few (or more) seconds if you click between too many of the listed programs too quickly (or sometimes just at), regardless of resource load, and thats not even including the fact that you have to confirm the action every time. Aside from this, the method that is used to determine if your software is current or not, the community, while interesting in theory, turns out to be pretty much useless a lot of the time, for example: saying that other people are using a newer version of InstallShield Update Manager or Windows Live Messenger, even though the program's own updater (or even the program's own maker/website) says otherwise. Combine all this with the fact that the program (which looks and feels like a somewhat cleaner but far more primitive version of Yahoo! Mail) not only won't update your programs itself, but won't even tell you where to get these supposed updates that other members of the community have. All and all, Saleen Updater is a mediocre software update checker that while providing an interesting idea in the form of user based community update checking, still cannot make up for its retro, slow and analog like choppy interface, and utter lack of any sort of real updating feature - even a link to individual developer websites would've made this product worlds better. If all the issues mentioned above could be worked out and overcome, then Saleen Updater could be a very interesting and useful program. As it currently stands however, Saleen Updater is a bitterly disappointing diamond in the rough that no-one (not even it's own makers) seems to want to bring into the current realm of modern software. Here's hoping it's developer's get the message.

Reply to this review Read reply (1)

Was this review helpful? (1) (0)