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We
intuitively understand the value of being able to make
things smaller without sacrificing performance. The
endeavor produces smaller speakers with bigger sound and
a host of portable electronic devices such as digital
cameras, cell phones and computers all of which continue
to get smaller yet sport lots more functionality that
their predecessors. And when it comes to our computer
data, being able to store more in less space without
sacrificing quality is also understandably desirable.
Plus reducing a file's size also lets you send it faster
online.
The
science of data compression continues to flourish as
newer, faster and better mathematical algorithms are
created and fine-tuned. Two of the more popular
compression methods are JPEG for images and mp3 for
audio files. With formats like these, the file reduction
is directly proportional to how much compression is
applied during the conversion. For example, JPEG with
all of its variations typically reduces a picture file's
size by a factor of 10 without sacrificing too much of
the original image's quality. Any more and you begin to
see artifacts and pixilation in the images. As mp3
compression goes up, the audio quality begins to
deteriorate. It's really a balancing act between how
much compression you want to apply and how much of the
quality you are willing to give up. There are also
utilities such as ZIP that will compress files even
smaller but in order to view or use them, they first
have to be decompressed. But I recently discovered a
utility that reduces files sizes by up to 98 percent
without sacrificing any quality. And what's even more
amazing is that these compressed files can be seen and
used without decompression. You use them just as they
are with any application.
Granted
when I first read about Balesio's FILEminimizer, I was
somewhat skeptical. I mean I have a fairly good grasp on
how data compression works or so I thought. But after
interviewing the company's spokesperson and trying
FILEminimizer for myself, I have to admit that I'm
beginning to believe in the compression fairy because I
have absolutely no idea how they do it. And just like
the secret Coke formula, Balesio isn't giving me any
clues on how it's done. They just say they're using an
"Intelligent compression technique which preserves
the original quality." All I know is that it just
works. Granted the 98 percent compression is an "up
to" amount but in my trials, typically I have seen
lossless file size reductions in mid 80 percent to lower
90 percent ranges, which is still really impressive. As
an added note, FILEminimizer Pictures works with JPEG
images, which are already compressed. Typically you
don't want to compress files that are already compressed
since in some cases, they can actually get larger. But
evidently that doesn't happen with the FILEminimizer
Pictures product.
Running
FILEminimizer is fairly easy to do. You are first
presented with a Windows Explorer-like window that lets
you browse any directory from which you can select one
or a group of files you want reduced. You then see each
file in your selection being compressed with columns
that display each file's before and after size
reduction, plus a total of how much reduction has taken
place. It's all quite intuitive and easy to use.
FILEminimizer
Pictures
($34.95)
is for reducing the file size of JPEG, GIFF, TIFF and
several other popular image formats. FILEminimizer
Office
($44.95)
lets you compress Microsoft Office PowerPoint, Excel and
Word documents.
The only
way to really appreciate how effective the Balesio
compression products are is to try them for yourself
using your own files. FILEminimizer Pictures even has a
free trial download that will let you minimize 20 files
before you buy it. The FILEminimizer programs require
Windows.
www.fileminimizer.com
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