Trial may not be the most popular motor sport but it's definitely a spectacular show with incredible jumps and spins that make our jaws drop. And guess what? You can now reproduce those movements without compromising your physical integrity.

Trials 2 is a realistic trial simulator that puts you in control of a powerful bike and challenges you to complete very varied tracks – all indoor. Tracks are categorized according to difficulty and also to different gaming modes. Though the demo version doesn't include all of them, you can still get a glimpse of what the whole game should be like. There are some tutorial levels as well, but I don't understand how they work, because instead of explaining movements bit by bit (as you would expect from a tutorial) you're just presented with a basic circuit you can use as training. You can also choose between several camera modes, but if I were you I'd stay with Action mode: the other ones are a little confusing.

Trials 2 features an easy gameplay, with only a few keys to learn, but at the same time is quite challenging and difficult to master. Graphics are very detailed and the excellent physics engine contributes to the sensation of realism. However this realism sometimes goes a bit beyond the line, especially when the driver falls from the bike: it always looks like you're on the verge of dying even if you simply crashed at about 5 mph.

If you'd like to test an original motor sport, far from the typical bike and car races, Trials 2 may be the game you're looking for.

Download Trials 2 Second Edition 1.06 in Softonic

When I was younger I used to spend hours hanging around in chat rooms and meeting new people from all over the world.

Today I've had the chance to chat again, but in a slightly different way. I've used Weblin, a very original software app that works together with your web browser, enabling you to chat with the people who are visiting the same webpage as you. Also, your chat personality is more than just a plain nickname: it's a fully animated avatar that walks around the bottom bar of your browser window.

At the beginning it may be difficult to find people to chat with, but you can start by the program's "topcloud": a list of the most populated webpages that you can access from Weblin's icon in the system tray. Following this method I soon met some nice people on Youtube and had a short chat with them. Conversations can be held via text balloons or standard chat window, but I wasn't sure which one to use. On the one hand balloons behave in a strange way, as the text you send is not erased and you have to delete it before writing again; on the other hand, the chat window takes way too much space and it doesn't let me read webpages properly.

After chatting for a while, I started browsing Weblin's website and I was surprised to discover a highly detailed customization menu for your personal profile and avatar, which can't be found on the program's settings. So once you've registered your account, be sure to visit the site and explore it for yourself.

Generally speaking, I found Weblin a very original chat app where you can have fun and make friends. On the downside, having a dozen avatars sitting on a certain webpage really disturbs your web browsing.

An original way to chat with other people in your web browser, although certainly difficult to combine with actual web browsing.

Download Weblin 2.7.9 in Softonic

Since its launch about a year ago, Windows Vista has been widely criticized for several reasons: security restrictions, poor usability, lack of actual new features when compared to XP…

But what nobody complained about was the cool eye-candy included in Microsoft's new operating system, such as the 3D system to switch between active applications. What's more, this particular Vista feature has been turned into a software tool that enables you to enjoy that same 3D window switcher in Windows XP.

WinFlip is very easy to use. Simply unzip the file (no installation required), launch the program and you're ready to go. If you want to use it instead of the standard Alt+Tab, press the Windows key+Tab combination. All your active apps and opened windows will be displayed in an attractive 3D environment, where you can flip among them by pressing Tab repeatedly or choose a certain window by pressing the key associated with it.

WinFlip worked fine during our tests, although sometimes the content of some of the windows turned to complete white or complete black while flipping through them. I guess it's just a matter of further development.

WinFlip is an easy, simple - and above all, very cheap - way to have the 3D Flip function in Windows XP.

Download WinFlip 0.42 in Softonic

When it comes to grab an image on your scree all you really need is an easy, efficient capturing tool that enables you to do the job in almost no time. And if it also features some nice effects and filters, what else could you ask for?

This is what you get with EasyCapture: a handy capturing utility that includes all the tools you need to capture anything on your screen, from a tiny user-defined area to the whole desktop. You can use hotkeys for capturing and also open as many images as you want on the program's tabbed interface. Plus it includes some basic effects that you can easily apply on your photos. They may not be as powerful as Photoshop's filters, but they'll do the trick.

But what I specially like about EasyCapture is the ability to add clipart to the images. You can highlight text with a virtual marker, use rectangular shapes and arrows to draw attention to certain elements in the captured image, insert text fields and also fun text balloons to add annotations. Each one of these tools has its own settings to configure size, color and other elements.

EasyCapture has some flaws, that's true. For instance, the scrolling window capture mode didn't really work (it didn't scroll the window completely). Also, the Text tool doesn't show up changes in real time when you're editing the text, which is kind of annoying. But in general terms I found this to be an excellent capturing tool for an unbeatable price.

Capture anything on your screen and edit it with filters, effects and some fun clipart.

Download EasyCapture 1.0 in Softonic

Create stunning 3D, multicolor, shaded, rotatable text for that special web image/greeting card/logo. Define new canvas size, enlarge/shrink 25%, invert, shade light/dark, distort, manual resize, 'active' text box prompt.

Features:

• Text shading (depth, angle, multicolor)
• Rotate text 90, 180, 270 degrees
• Parallel processing dialog box
• Realtime screen color grab - click and drag
• Realtime rapid, size/font display
• Super large font size option
• Paste to fit/resize picture
• Definable background color
• Invert/Mirror/Flip/Rotate Left-Right 90, 180, 270 degrees
• Command line parameters for opening picture and TextBrushs
• Print - Image Printer required
• Complementary tool for Animated ArtCard Creations and Snappy Photocard Creator
• Sizeable
• Integrated Help
• Multilingual interface - see our Select Language

Download Text Effects 1.00.209 in Softonic