Review G-Data Internet Security 2011

[software_man]

Back in 2009, I reviewed iClip Lyrics, a program that searched for the lyrics to the currently playing iTunes track and, if it found those lyrics, automatically added them to the track's lyrics field in iTunes. Unfortunately, the developer of iClip Lyrics discontinued the software soon after. I've been keeping an eye out for a similarly simple and inexpensive substitute, and I think I've finally found it in Lyrica (Mac App Store link).

[software_man]

Improved from last year is Norton Insight, which measures the relative trustworthiness of the files loaded on your desktop. The idea is that crowd-sourcing safe files (letting consumers around the world rate a file's safety) is better than white-listing them (depending on a static list of acceptable files).

[software_man]

I ran into very few media files that ZumoCast wouldn't play back, mainly those protected by Digital Rights Management such as videos and older music purchased from the iTunes Store. It's also worth noting that larger videos--those in high-definition, for example--take longer before they're ready to play. On a local network, I rarely noticed any skips or jumps in video performance. The app adjusts the streaming quality of video depending on your connection, but it appears to prioritize quality over small size; on a two-bar 3G connection, I was presented with a slow-loading but still good-looking video. Music played back smoothly on a 3G connection, though ZumoCast lowers the audio quality by default (an option you can disable in the application's Settings).

[software_man]

(Many Tricks also provides a free version, Desktop Curtain Classic, that you can download directly from the company's Website. The Classic version is missing a number of the full-version's features.)