The Gimp is the open source reference in image manipulation. This free application will allow you to retouch, author and edit your photos thanks to a wide set of tools.

Let’s quickly go through what you can do with the Gimp. The painting function has the essential clone, airbrush or pencil tools and a powerful gradient and blend tool. You can also create and save your own brushes and patterns for later use. The program lets you manipulate your photos, adding layers, doing Bezier and polygonal selections or setting text. Load and save animations in a frame-as-layer format and batch process all your photos for quick editing. The multi-windowed interface can be moved around to fit your needs and resized according to your desktop space.

What’s more, the Gimp can be expanded with over 100 different plug-ins and extensions available on the Gimp’s website. These apply in majority for layer effects such as render, distort or blur and make a great addition to the ones already present in the program.

While the Gimp is user friendly, the installation process can result a bit hairy. Because the application works under the GTK Runtime Environment, you will have to install this kit to successfully launch the program. The process is fairly lengthy and some error messages tend to pop up, however if you persist, you will be able to install the Gimp properly on your PC

Despite this fairly hazardous installation process, the Gimp is a program we recommend. Whether you’re out of dough or are looking for a free alternative to Photoshop, the Gimp is excellent image manipulation software with all the tools you’d expect. The friendly interface and expandability make this a program of choice.

Download The GIMP 2.6.1 in Softonic

Today's professionals need to have access to their e-mail any time, no matter where they are, and Syncing.net can be very useful in these cases.

With Syncing.net you can synchronize all your Outlook data (that is, folders, contacts, tasks and calendar) on your PC with other computers, in a totally safe network you can create by yourself in just a few easy steps.

Syncing.net is therefore a perfect alternative to Exchange for synchronizing Outlook between computers, and it's especially helpful if you usually work with a desktop and laptop computers.

Syncing.net works not only with Outlook, but also with regular files. Simply select the folders you want to share in your own private network and then choose who you want to share this information with. It's as easy as sending them a message from within the program, though the invitation email can't be customized and their recipients will have to install Syncing.net as well before being able to access your network.

If you need to have your files and Outlook data permanently synchronized between different computers then this app is for you.

Download Syncing.net 2.3 Professional Edition in Softonic

Following the release of new versions of both Internet Explorer and Firefox, the infamous 'browser wars' are flaring up again. Despite both Firefox 1.5 and the Beta of IE7 making significant strides, it would be be foolish to think this was a two-horse race. While gaining a good reputation with geeks and power users, Opera has long been a bit-part player among the big boys of the browser world. However, if this preview release is anything to go by, the Norwegian-built browser could finally be ready to punch with the heavyweights.

Opera has been pioneering new ways of browsing the web for some time. It has had tabbed browsing since the days before tabbed browsing was cool and developed the innovative 'mouse gestures' control system, where you navigate through the web just by holding the mouse button and flicking your wrist. The developers even dabbled with a multi-pane interface for viewing several pages within one interface.

The good news is that Opera has lost none of its appetite for innovation, and version 9 is packed with new goodies that will have the programmers at Mozilla and Microsoft choking on their doughnuts. For starters the app runs much quicker than the previous release, making it arguably the quickest browser around (except perhaps for Safari) at rendering pages. Incredibly, despite this boost in performance, the program appears to use less memory than version 8.5, making it far less draining on system resources than Firefox and IE.

In terms of features Opera is the gift that keeps on giving. New to the program comes OSX Tiger-style 'widgets', allowing you to check news, convert currency, view the weather and so on through a series of draggable pop-ups which anchor themselves in front of the browser. Although there aren’t many widgets to choose from at present, this is sure to change once the tech-minded Opera fans start developing more.

Another great addition to Opera 9 is BitTorrent support, allowing you to download torrents directly within the browser – a feature that amazingly no one had thought of before. This system works very smoothly, which makes us wonder why RSS feed reading support in Opera is still so poor.

Among the other new treats within the program is a nifty new search feature which lets you add any search engine to the search bar in the main toolbar. This means you can instantly access searches within your favorite online destinations (Softonic, for instance).

Tabbed browsing remains, although some users may be annoyed to discover that Opera has added close tab buttons to the tabs themselves rather than as a separate button. Having said this, the new web page preview thumbnails that appear when you rollover a tab are a real masterstroke. Mouse gestures are still there too, along with the addition of Total Recall-style voice commands – another example of how cutting-edge this browser is.

Opera's developers have been keen to ramp up security features too, and although they aren't highly original, the new content blocking and pop-up blocking functions serve their purpose effectively. What's more, it's refreshing to see a browser that embraces the latest web standards so freely, with the latest release boasting support for CSS 2.1 and CSS 3 tags.

The browser is remarkably stable and is far better behaved than Internet Explorer 7. Combined with its speed, innovative features and standards support, Opera is undoubtedly web software's best-kept secret, and the final release may prove to be even better than Firefox. Don't say anything though, or everyone will want it.

Download Opera 9.60 in Softonic

If you're anything like me, you get bored of your desktop wallpaper very quickly. And like me, you'll be interested in testing tools like Wallpapers from MSN.

This app is a complete wallpaper manager that includes a collection of more than 50 images you can use as desktop background right away. You can also add you own photos to the Wallpapers from MSN collection and comfortably browse through them thanks to a thumbnail list and a small preview window.

What makes Wallpapers from MSN different from other similar applications is the fact that you can add special effects to the images. By "special effects" I mean you can add clipart on top of the image, insert a line or two of text and, of course, crop, resize and adapt the image to make it fit your computer monitor.

On the downside, there's no clear indication if you'll be able to download more wallpapers apart from the ones that come already bundled with the program. Also, Wallpapers from MSN is certainly a bit too heavy on resources to have it permanently running in the background – a requisite if you want it to cycle through your wallpapers automatically.

If you're a wallpaper collector, Wallpapers from MSN is made for you: a wallpaper manager that includes more than 50 images and also lets you edit them.

Download Wallpapers from MSN Beta in Softonic

Changing the look of XP is something of a cottage industry and GelXP Desktop is another addition which gives Microsoft's most loved operating system a relaxed new look.

In reality GelXP doesn't make any huge differences to the use and feel of XP but rather smooths some of its rougher edges. There are two style variations to choose from - one in blue and two in black and as many XP themes tend to do, it minimizes the taskbar size so it's not so big and chunky as in the default XP.

Installation is very simple - just copy the contents of the ZIP file to the folder C:\WINDOWS\Resources\Themes and select GelXP as your default theme. It would have been nice to have seen something a bit more radical from this theme - the look it gives you is very slick although no more so than the Royale Theme for XP. It would have scored more highly if the developers had added something that genuinely improved the way you use XP rather than the look.

If you do get bored easily of your XP desktop, then GelXP can at least bring a fresh feel to your desktop.

Download GelXP 2.2 in Softonic

Real Desktop is one of those PC applications that aren't really that useful, but have such an attractive effect on your system that you want to install them anyway.

This app turns your Windows desktop into a three-dimensional environment where all your shortcuts look like small pieces that have been dropped on the floor – and they actually behave like that. You can move them, rotate them, lift them a bit from the floor and mix them all around the desktop surface. The only icon that remains somewhat apart is the Recycle bin, probably to help you find it faster.

This precisely the main drawback in Real Desktop: finding icons. The 3D effect is really amazing, as well as the icon behavior almost as Lego pieces. But having them scattered all over the places doesn't exactly make your PC easier to use – especially if you're anything like me, who likes to have as few icons as possible, and always perfectly organized.

With Real Desktop you can apply an amazing 3D effect to your Windows desktop, although you'll lose a lot of icon usability on the way.

Download Real Desktop Light 1.42 in Softonic

If you like your CD and DVD burners to support drag and drop then CyberLink Power2Go might be the right solution for you.

CyberLink Power2Go features everything you'd expect from a burner produced by a big developer such as CyberLink, including the ability to burn onto double layer DVDs and Blu-ray discs. It's also been designed to produce photo slideshows with Digital Dolby audio and even extract audio tracks from video files.

The ease of access and speed of use is what impresses with this burner. If you want to burn any DVD or CD, simply drag them into the desktop shortcut and CyberLink Power2Go whizzes into action. It even takes it's image seriously with the option of downloading fresh new skins and templates online.

CyberLink Power2Go is a powerful and extremely quick burner that will handle all your CD/DVD and Blu-ray burning needs.

Download CyberLink Power2Go 6 in Softonic

Do you get bored frequently of your desktop background or wallpaper? If variety is your thing - and they say variety is the spice of life - then this might be for you.

Any Wallpaper works by allowing you to set up a list of folders containing your favorite images that the program will rotate through on your desktop. Any Wallpaper lets you change the background when you decide, every set number of hours or minutes or at a random timescale of your choosing. The program isn't very flexible in terms of the formats it supports but it does handle BMP, JPEG and PNG files. It can automatically search wallpaper folders (including subfolders), search through random or sequential selections of wallpapers and add a wallpaper change on Windows startup. The program also offers additional wallpaper positions that allow you to fit backgrounds horizontally and vertically but it also auto detects the best size and position according to your screen size.

A very useful little program for all those that get bored with same old desktop background every day but needs to support more formats.

Download Any Wallpaper 1.1.1 in Softonic

Wallpaper Master offers a number of options to renew your desktop background image. Create categories to organize your wallpapers and order your different images in a list on the interface. Individual Overrides, like style, alignment or border can be modified directly from the program window. Images can also be set up on multiple monitors in one click.

Despite a good deal of options, we were slightly disappointed with Wallpaper Master. There's no drag and drop, which means you have to browse and select all the pictures you want to use as wallpapers. The effects you can add to them, mirror, black and white and mosaic, are fairly limited and do not add much to your images.

Once you chosen the image you'll use as wallpapers and set up the rotation you can let Wallpaper Master take care of the rest. The program could be a bit more intuitive and offer more effects, but on the whole is a good piece of software to manage your wallpapers.

Download Wallpaper Master Pro 2.16 in Softonic

Have you ever wanted to play a joke on someone in a chatroom by pretending to be someone completely different?

Unless you're a ventriloquist it's not easy but AV VoizGame allows you to do so specifically in online chatrooms. AV VoizGame allows you to change your voice as you speak through a microphone in realtime to confuse the hell out of your online buddies or opponents. If you're playing multiplayer online role playing games, then you can really have some fun confusing your opponents or just generally mucking about.

If you want to relive your favourite gags, AV VoizGame comes with an inbuilt recorder which records your voice for. If you want to keep it hidden on your desktop, you can also do that by making the skin transparent. However, at almost $30 to upgrade, it seems a bit of a steep cost for a simple voice modulation software.

There's not much point to AV VoizGame other than playing jokes on online opponents and while it is a lot of fun, it's questionable whether it's really worth $30 to upgrade.

Download AV VoizGame 6.0.14 in Softonic

Desktop sharing is not just the expert field of tech professionals anymore. Whether you want to show how an application works or simply to explain things on someone else's PC, you'll need to find a way to share desktops easily.

TeamViewer offers a simple way of creating desktop sharing sessions with other users whether on a distant PC, local connection or over the internet. Both users will each have an ID and password with which to connect to their session.

Taking control of another PC is a great way to solve issues from a distance and demonstrate things on a desktop without actually being there physically. TeamViewer also allows file transfer and includes a chat function to communicate with your contact.

You can also record sessions and play them back afterward. These can then be used as tutorials or to go back on what you've done in previous sessions.

If you dig in the details you'll be able to choose not only whether to optimize quality or speed, but also configure the amount of access you want to give to your desktop.

The free version of TeamViewer has a number of limitations, and lacks a number of modules like the TeamViewer manager or customer module. If you want more features you'll have to be ready to pay at least €159 for higher end versions.

TeamViewer is a good program to quickly share desktops with another user. The free version will let you create secure sessions and control what you show to your contact over the internet.

Download TeamViewer 3.6.4889 in Softonic

UltraMon is a utility for multi-monitor systems, designed to increase productivity and unlock the full potential of multiple monitors.

Features:

• Efficiently move windows and maximize windows across the desktop
• Manage more applications with the Smart Taskbar
• Control application positioning with UltraMon Shortcuts
• Multi-monitor support for desktop wallpapers and screen savers
• Mirror your main monitor to secondary monitors for a presentation

Download UltraMon 3.0.3 Beta in Softonic

The worst part of buying a new computer is the fact that you have to backup your stuff in the old PC and move it all to the new one. Luckily there are some software apps that can help you with that.

One of them is FEBE, which stands for Firefox Environment Backup Extension. As it name states, this Firefox add-on lets you create a backup copy of all the important information in your browser (bookmarks, extensions, preferences, themes, cookies and more) and restore it in a different location, all in a very easy way.

With FEBE you can then have a perfectly synchronized copy of Firefox in each one of your computers, be it your desktop and laptop or home and office computers. It's also a great tool to have a backup copy of your browser just in case it crashes or if you want to test new versions without taking any risks. And if you can't be bothered creating a backup copy by yourself, use FEBE's scheduling tool and let the extension take care of it.

FEBE is seamlessly integrated into Firefox interface: open the Tools menu and you'll be able to access the extension's options menu and main functions. The only drawback we could find to the extension is the sounds played by the program when displaying any warning: they're a bit annoying so remember to turn them off in the settings menu.

If you want to have a complete backup copy of all your Firefox data or need to move Firefox settings from one PC to another, this is the tool you're looking for.

Download FEBE (Firefox Environment Backup Extension) 6.0.3 in Softonic

Organizing how many Windows you've got open can be a real nightmare if you work with multiple applications.

Actual Window Manager is an innovative desktop organization application which changes the way you organize your windows and workspace. The aim is to make your working environment more productive, convenient and enjoyable. The application features more than 40 tools to help you work.

Actual Window Manager works discreetly in the background and automatically places windows exactly in the most convenient space to maximize your working area. They can be resized according to automatic parameters that you've defined or you can make certain windows automatically stay on top of others. Alternatively, you can ensure that windows are minimized, rolled up or made semi-transparent.

If you're struggling to organize the windows open on your desktop, then Actual Window Manager can help ensure it doesn't affect your productivity.

Download Actual Window Manager 5.1 in Softonic

FoxTab is an innovative new way to organize your tabs in Firefox in order to view what's on them and what you've got open at a glance.

FoxTab is probably best utilized by those that have way too many tabs open to, excuse the pun, keep tabs of. It can spread your tabs in five different ways depending on which view you prefer - inevitably you'll end up preferring one or the other so four of the views very quickly become redundant.

The five layouts that you can choose from are "Stack" - tabs which are stacked in 3D form one behind the other; "Wall" which are tabs are displayed on a wall (basically your desktop); Grid means that tabs are aligned on a grid; Row means tabs are arranged horizontally and finally Circle where tabs are placed around a 3D circle. To change views, you simply use CTRL+TAB (or a key combination of your choice) to cycle through them one by one. If you've ever used CoverFlow on the Mac, then FoxTab is based on the same principle

FoxTab is an innovative way to view the number of tabs you've got open and what's on them. However, it does tend to put quite a load on your RAM so make sure you've got plenty free otherwise it's more hassle than it's worth.

Download FoxTab 0.9.9 in Softonic

Whenever someone needs my help with their computer I usually connect with them through a screen sharing software such as CrossLoop.

However, this can be a very bandwidth-heavy way of doing it. Plus, of course, the recipient needs to have the software installed. That's why UltraVNC is a useful alternative - an easy-to-use, fast and free software that can display the screen of another computer on your own screen. The difference between UltraVNC and other screen sharers is quite simply the lightness and speed of it.

Of course, the recipient needs to have UltraVNC installed but once they have, you have a whole host of options open to you including file transfers, a viewing toolbar, scaling options and even text chat. However, what impresses most about UltraVNC is the speed, Where some screen sharing programs severely lag behind because of bandwidth issues, UltraVNC is lightening fast at connecting and sharing.

As an alternative solution to most bloated screen sharing software, you'll appreciate the lightness and speed of UltraVNC.

Download UltraVNC 1.0.5 in Softonic

LiveStation is a peer-to-peer application that lets you watch watch television online. At the moment the selection of channels is limited to international news stations like BBC World, EuroNews and Al Jazeera along with two radio services: BBC World Service and BBC Radio 4.

The positive aspect of this software is that, being based on peer-to-peer technology, it virtually eliminates buffering time, meaning you won’t have to wait to watch the channels. The video experience is much more enjoyable than what you can get from a traditional streaming service because the data comes from many sources at the same time, reducing congestion problems. Every PC connected is both client and server.

Livestation requires Microsoft Silverlight to run, but don’t worry because during the installation it asks you whether you want to download it automatically.

The interface is simple but cool with smooth fade effects and once the channel is selected, the very high quality stream starts immediately. Unfortunately there is no pause button, nor any functionality for recording programs at certain times. That said, the application is still at a 'technical trial' stage so there is still room for these kinds of improvements.

If you have a fast internet connection you can always be updated on what’s happening around the world by watching the most famous international news channels with the light and usable LiveStation.

Download Livestation 2.1 in Softonic

Some people like to be in control of everything, including computer data and resources. If you fall on this group I'm sure you're going to love TinyResMeter.

TinyResMeter is a little app (as you can infer from its name) that tracks many different computer resources and other data in real time, and displays the gathered information on its interface. You can easily fit this window anywhere on your desktop without disturbing your current work, thanks to its reduced size and transparency.

Despite its apparent simplicity, TinyResMeter does include tons of fields you can add to its interface to keep an eye on them: CPU speed, RAM usage, uptime, user name, active processes and threads, hard drives, removable drives, network connections… are only a few parameters you can control with TinyResMeter. What's more, each one of them displays even more information if you right-click on them, though I must say I was lost among so many techie data.

The one thing that this program needs to improve is the way you select fields to be displayed. A context menu, especially when there are so many options, renders simply unusable.

With TinyResMeter you can easily control many different resources and parameters on your computer in real time.

Download TinyResMeter 0.97 in Softonic

If you want to know how much load is being put on your CPU or RAM, then you can always use Windows Task Manager.

However, this involves pressing ALT-Ctrl-Del and it doesn't exactly look great or give you much info. All CPU Meter on the other hand is a handy little gadget that shows on your desktop in graphical form, exactly how much work your CPU and RAM are doing. It's designed especially for Windows Vista and those PCs equipped with Quad Core or Dual Core processors.

All CPU Meter uses numerical values, percentages and status bars to display the memory consumption, processor load, along with a historical graph to show how your components are performing. There aren't many customization options although you can change the mode of presentation to bar graph format and change the background color.

All CPU Meter is a useful tool to monitor how your RAM and CPU are performing or to diagnose memory leaks and system slow downs.

Download All CPU Meter 1.0 in Softonic

hott notes 3 is a sticky notes reminder program for the Windows desktop. It is completely free. No ads. No spy-ware. Not only can you post sticky note reminders, you can make checklists, set alarms, draw on your notes, and archive.

Download Hott Notes 4.1 in Softonic