Jotter is an excellent program that does what just about every popular Internet utility you could need in one little bar!

The main "selling" point for Jotter, even though it's free, is that it's a pay-to-surf bar just like AllAdvantage. It pays you $0.50 an hour while you're using it, although you don't have to be using a web browser. You can type in notepad, read or send e-mail, or do anything while you're online as long as you move your mouse or type every once in a while. It also pays $0.05 for referrals for several levels. Unlike AllAdvantage, the whole thing isn't an advertisement. There's only a very small ad "button" on the bottom right which is barely noticable. Jotter only pays up to 10 hours a month, though, and you need a maximum of $50 to withdraw a check, so if you don't have a load of referrals, it will take a while to get some money!

However, if you're not into the pay-to-surf thing, don't worry! This bar could still do a lot for you. It's jam-packed full of features without being overly confusing or cluttered, and without taking much space at all.

The Jotter bar that sticks on the bottom (or top, or anywhere) of your computer is very, very customizable. It's possibly the most customizable program I've ever seen! You can pick whatever of many buttons or bars you want on it. Some of the best features that you can use are as follows:

A news/stock ticker runs across the bottom of the Jotter bar. You can choose which, of many, sources to have on your ticker. For example, I have Fox News headlines, technology headlines, Internet news, and news of new computer programs scroll across my Jotter bar. You can also customize it to show stocks, sports scores, or whatever you want! You can also customize the speed at which it scrolls!

Along with this, there's a form-filling feature which is becoming essential if you're a frequent Internet surfer. If you're not aware, this feature allows you to automatically fill in online forms that ask for your name, address, phone number, etc. You can also use it to fill in credit cards, if you feel comfortable with that. The most popular program that does this is Gator, which might be a bit more user-friendly for this feature. With Jotter, you need to click a button to fill in forms, and it takes a while and a popup window comes up. With Gator, a popup window comes up automatically and asks you if you want to fill in a form. There's no major difference, but if you only need a program to fill in a form, I'd recommend Gator.

Two other features that may be very convenient for your computer efficiency are "web search" and "quick launch" fields. These allow you to search without opening up a web browser (with your favorite search engine), and to launch your favorite programs without opening up the Start menu.

Jotter allows you to put your bookmarks into the bar as well. This isn't any different than Internet Explorer or Netscape's bookmarks, but you may find it more convenient using your bookmarks off Jotter than in a web browser.

The last feature on Jotter which I find useful is "Reminders," which allow you to set up events for specific times, and allow you to attach URL's and messages to the reminders. You can set them up to be once, daily, weekly, etc. This is very useful! You can remind yourself to call a friend, for an appointment, favorite TV show, etc. I like it a lot!

There are some other features that I don't really use. For example, there's a "privacy rating" feature which is a major part of Jotter. You can set it up (easily) to show privacy ratings for websites that you visit. They get the information from enonymous.com, so if a specific website isn't registered with them, it won't show an accurate privacy rating.

If you don't like the size of Jotter, which is about the size as a normal pay-to-surf bar like AllAdvantage, you can set it up as "No Pay Toolbar," and it reduces the size by half and gives you all the same features as the larger toolbar. The only difference is, of course, there is less room, so the news ticker is smaller and you have to pick and choose which features you want to show up at a given time. For example, if you only want the "Quick Launch" feature and not the "Web Search," the No Pay Jotter will do just fine!

Overall, this is possibly my favorite new program. It has just about everything you need to use your computer more efficiently in one little program. The only downside is that it takes up some room (although you can set it to "float" above your other programs). Otherwise, I recommend you at least try out this program for yourself, even if you're not into the pay-to-surf thing. If you are, it's an added bonus that's even better!




Recommended: Yes