Magic Defrag: Vs Diskeeper, et al?

If I told you that I sat behind a computer and that my job was to pump out 15 articles per week to a quarter million users -- all the while receiving a relentless onslaught of joyful comments and questions from my subscribers, would you believe me?

A wishful thought.

Infopackets Reader 'Heriberto' remarks:

" Hi, Dennis, no offense intended, but... are you receiving money to sponsor Ashampoo and all these second class utilities that you suggest [in] your newsletters?

The reason I ask is that almost 90% of the software that you recommend [in] your newsletter are second hand software. Maybe you are out of date regarding the latest and BEST proven utilities on the market.

For your information, the best automatic Defragmenter on the market today is Diskeeper 9, [and] the Best Backup Imaging software is Acronis True Image 9. Nobody ever heard of Magic Defrag. And if it is a new software [program], you should mention that it is a new software [program] still 'yet to be proven'; but if you want to recommend a software, please recommend PROVEN and already REVIEWED (by several known testers) 5 star software and NOT second hand or NEW software. "

My response:

For the record: this is a perfect example of how not to address me in an email.

Nonetheless, one point made by Heriberto was also asked by several other Readers -- which is, "Nobody ever heard of Magic Defrag." Or, more precisely put, "How does Magic Defrag compare to Diskeeper 9 and similar defragmenters that are capable of defragmenting 'on the fly' without the need to manually defrag?" All flaming aside, this is actually a good question.

Let me explain --

Time and time again, many of the "original" software programs [Diskeeper 9, for example] are re-written or improved upon by other companies in order to compete in the marketplace. But does that factor alone reduce the validity of a product? Absolutely not! In fact, it's this type of competition that ultimately translates into a reduced price for the consumer -- for the same or similar product! And last I checked, paying less for something equivalent (or better) was a good thing!

Compared to Diskeeper ($19.95 Home Edition / $49.95 Pro Edition), Magic Defrag performs the same and is only a fraction of the cost (at $12.95). Furthermore, Ashampoo is a well-established company in Europe that produces oodles of functional and very easy-to-use software.

Having said that: what fun would it be to read a review of software that has already been reviewed by umpteen other websites? And who, exactly, determines whether software is "proven"? Editors at big name web sites? Partly; but, in the end, it's the consumer that decides.

And heck, somebody has to start somewhere!

So there you have it. If you'd like to evaluate the controversial review of Magic Defrag (hint: it's not your average defragger!), refer to the link below:

Magic Defrag Review