Alsoft tunes DiskExpress

Alsoft Inc. deviated from its familiar script to add new features to its venerable DiskExpress optimization program last month.

DiskExpress Pro 3.0 now supports Apple-events scripting, letting users incorporate optimization tasks into nearly any sequence of events. The package includes several scripts for archiving, clearing, listing and selecting files for optimization, as well as prioritizing files for processing.

DiskExpress Pro 3.0 adds a tab metaphor for navigation. The redesigned interface is designed to provide "periodic disclosure," exposing the user first to the basic functions and then providing more advanced options, Alsoft said. The program's functions are now shared among three tabbed pages: optimization, disk options and analysis.

The new package also includes more detailed reporting than previous versions, incorporating the functions of Alsoft's DiskCheck reporting program. The tabbed analysis page now includes most of the features previously supplied with DiskCheck, so users can now perform such functions as checking for bad blocks and SCSI noise or verifying directories without launching a separate application.

The software is now able to adjust itself to compensate for the amount of system activity, decreasing its share of processor cycles when detecting significant keyboard or I/O activity. This sensitivity is user-adjustable. Other features include instant help that, when activated, springs into action when the cursor is passed over an object; and automatic shutdown after manual optimization. The latter is aimed at those users wishing to optimize their disks at the end of the workday.

DiskExpress Pro 3.0 is priced at $89.95; upgrades for all previous versions are $29.95.

Alsoft Inc., of Spring, Texas, can be reached at (281) 353-4090 or (800) 257-6381; fax (281) 353-9868; sales.info@alsoftinc.com; http://www.alsoftinc.com.