It has been about 25 years since I last published or broadcast a software review. Yes, I have met software I didn’t like. I give raves because I ignore the stuff I dislike so I can lead people to the greats. Last week, I found one I couldn’t shut up about: Wide Angle Software’s Touchcopy. $40

You’ll see this review all over the Internet, and now here as well. I thanked them for the excellent software, with no intention of doing a review. They asked my to share my thoughts, which I was happy to do, using the links they helpfully supplied.

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As the software reviewer for the PBS program Computer Chronicles and an editor of Windows Magazine and Winmag.com, I have seen scores of software user interfaces. On a scale of sublime to ridiculous, most were ridiculous. Not Touchopy. There was a file on my iPhone that had ceased to exist anywhere else. Not music; I leave the ethics of music transfer to others. It was an MP3 file from college which I wanted to post on the Internet. I tried several  supposed “transfer from your iPhone to your PC” applications that were unusable. I didn’t even have to RTFM for Touchcopy. I attached my iPhone to my Windows PC, opened the program, and a few minutes later I had recovered my file. Unprecedented ease of use in this sub-area of file handing. Heartily doesn’t suffice for how much I recommend it. And I did it with the free version. My policy is: if it works, buy it, as a thank-you to the developers. I suggest you do that, even if you only need it once.