The Google Desktop application allows users to search their desktop content quickly and easily. Praised for its ingenuity and criticised for its intrusiveness, Google Desktop brings the power of Google’s search engine technology to your PC.

After installing the application, you’ll have to give it some time to index the files on your PC, including emails, photos, chats, contacts and calendar events. Google Desktop will index the first 10,000 words in the first 100,000 documents on your PC. The application supports the majority of file types and you can decide which ones to index, or omit protected files, using the preferences menu.

In its latest version, which is compatible with Windows Vista, Google Desktop has been given a new transparent look, providing a pretty sleek feel to your PC. Your search results will appear in your browser (in the familiar Google web page format) and a small preview button allows you to view results without actually clicking on the corresponding link. Results are as precise as we’ve come to expect from Google searches, however we were slightly disappointed to learn that the application doesn’t offer logical 'OR' support or substring search. On another note, Google Desktop is not limited to your PC as you can cross index content from multiple machines and share some panel items with your friends.

Google Desktop is not only about search, though. Joining a marketplace already occupied by Apple’s Dashboard Widgets and Yahoo! Widgets, Google Desktop can be fitted with any number of little gadgets. These mini apps perform all kinds of functions, from fetching your mail to jotting down notes or checking up on your local weather. There are hundreds of gadgets to choose from to customize your desktop bar. Our personal favorites are: Google Translate, the Skype plug-in to check your credit and call your contacts, “Am I Blocked” to find out who’s blocked you on IM, Workspace to quickly move between tasks, System Stats to monitor your PC and Games, a selection of Flash games like Tetris and Moonlander.

When running, we found Google Desktop to use up around 30 MBs, but that can quickly increase if you add more gadgets to it. The application is also constantly re-indexing your files to incorporate your modifications and new elements. However you should rarely feel your PC slowing due to indexing.

When you’re dealing with Google, however, you know the main criticism will be about security. Because Google Desktop indexes all your documents, you’re basically opening up your PC and all your personal files to the Moutain View company. What some users fear is that Google could one day take advantage of that access or that a bug in the application would allow malicious users to infiltrate your PC and steal information.

While the intrusiveness of Google Desktop will give some users pause for thought on installing the app, Google Desktop is highly effective and simple to use. The gadgets you can add to its sidebar may not all be essential, but many of them are quite fun and original and let’s face it, the sidebar looks good. Give it a go if you think your PC is a mess and you need quick access to anything.

Download Google Desktop 5.8.809.8522 in Softonic

Maintaining Windows in decent working order can be a full time job and it's a pain to have to download multiple programs to keep everything in check.

Pristy Utils 2009 is a collection of tools to maintain your PC. It features everything from a power scheme manager to a web management utility and Vista tweaker

The first Pristy Utils 2009 utility, System PowerDown serves to schedule shutdowns, restarts, suspensions and blocking sessions in the PC after a specified time. Web assistant is the second application which works as a quick shortcut for different Web related uses such as sending mails, files over the internet etc. The third tool is called PC detector. It displays all the information from your computer hardware in eight different sections: - CPU, screen, sound, memory, network, disk storage devices, and so on.

Finally, Pristy Utils 2009 has three applications for maintenance tasks - a cleaner to free RAM Memory, File Wipeout for secure deletion of files, and a desktop clock which is basically a widget for the desktop. More recently, Pristy Utils 2009 has been bolstered with a Vista booster that defrags your boot sequence. However, what this program is crying out for is a defragmentation tool - it's all very well cleaning up your hard drive but it doesn't speed them up which is where a defrag tool would come in really useful.

Pristy Utils 2009 is a great all round lightweight maintenance and web management tool although it lacks a few essentials.

Download Pristy Utils 2009 1.0.8 in Softonic

When it comes to P2P file sharing, eMule usually wins hands down but UseNeXT is an interesting, slightly more sophisticated offering which has a lot to offer.

For starters, depending on your connection, it can be remarkably quick. You can download at speeds of up to 25 Mbps with DSL/Cable and it¡s pretty constant rather than the fluctuations you often get with such services. The network also prides itself on security over it's rivals such as Limewire and eMule - with ISPs continually cracking down on users, UseNeXT promises users far more anonymity than most.

The Usenet archives are supposedly some of the biggest in the world - more than 300 Terabytes of data available at all times and they claim that around 2,000 Gigabytes of new files are added daily. The problem in the past was that UseNeXT used to be a very complicated affair that only tech geeks can handle. However, nowadays, it's been simplified to such an extent that eMule, Limewire and other P2P users will feel more than comfortable with it.

While it can't possibly hope to compete with the reach and depth of the major P2P networks, UseNeXT offers an impressive selection with some super fast downloads.

Download UseNeXT 4.81 in Softonic

Checking the current time from your PC couldn´t be easier thanks to this little gem of a program. DS Clock is a free desktop timepiece that displays variable date and time information built from the format string.

The program comes with a number of customization options. You can select any combination of date, time, and time zones, insert any text, pick custom colors and fonts, set custom sound to play at the top of the hour, and even play real Westminster chimes The program can also sync your computer with atomic clocks.

Download DS Clock 2.2 in Softonic

To stay organized when working on multiple projects you need to learn how to manage your time well. Timesheet a free utility to keep track of the time spent on different jobs.

Don't expect anything too fancy with Timesheet: it works with Java, so you'll get everything except an attractive interface. On the other side this means that the interface is clear and works efficiently.

Nothing too difficult with Timesheet: create a new project, create a new entry, add start and end times and you are ready to go. The left side of the program structures all entries by data and reflects time spent. The center of the interface shows all your entries, and if some of them are still not finished you will be able to see the duration counting down.

Timesheet won't let you reorganize entries by columns, which limits the ways you can see your data. We also found it quite difficult to change time and date as you need to enter them exactly as they are seen in Timesheet.

Timesheet is a good effort at a time tracking solution, however it offers too many limitations to be used intensely. Try Project Clock as another way to manage your time.

Download TimeSheet 0.8.4.2 in Softonic

I must admit I haven't set my Christmas tree at home yet. I just feel too lazy to start unpacking green plastic branches, shiny tinsel and colourful balls. So when I came across this little digital Christmas I thought it was a great idea.

Free Christmas Tree is a desktop companion in the shape of a traditional Christmas tree that counts down the days left to Christmas. The program's appearance can be customized with skins and the countdown date can also be changed to New Year's Day or Julian Christmas. Also, if you want to change the clock's font, open the program's menu and go to Skins – Edit skin font, but apparently the new settings are not saved when you exit the program.

In any case, this little Christmas tree is a funny widget for your desktop that will help you get in the mood for these days – although nothing like the real thing. Excuse me now, I'm off to set my Christmas tree at home.

This holiday season ecorate your desktop with this cute Christmas tree companion.

Download Free Christmas Tree 1.3 in Softonic

AuctionMagic is the most powerful sniping and auction management available on eBay, and one of the pioneers with the original version was released almost eight years ago. This latest version has just be re-written from the ground-up using the latest and most powerful programming language from Microsoft.

Here are some of the key features you'll find in AuctionMagic:

• Monitor your auctions, updated automatically, and can be organized into your own custom categories
• Place bids at the last possible second to ensure you're the last bidder, and no one has time to see your bid and counter it before the auction closes
• Bid Logic lets you only bid on the auction if it meets certain conditions based on the results of your other auctions. This way you can have it bidding on the same item from different sellers until one wins, or only bid on an accessory if you win the main item first
• Synchronizes to eBay's clock so you bids always go in right on time
• The optional Remote Access lets you access your auctions from anywhere with a web browser
• AuctionGrabber automatically adds auctions numbers you place in the clipboard, even when the software in the background
• Automatically add all items you've bidding on, selling, or watching
• Icons and transparent desktop alerts lets you know when your auctions have changed
• Keep track of auctions you've purchase, including contact and tracking information, dates, and costs. It also stores a complete copy of the item's description with pictures, so you'll have a record even if it changes or when eBay eventually removes it
• Automatically checks for new updates, which are available for free to all customers
• Supports international eBay sites and currencies

Download Merlin AuctionMagic 8.2.1 in Softonic

Dave's Quick Search Deskbar is a tiny textbox designed by for search hounds with weary mouse-fingers. Unlike the Google Toolbar, this deskbar lets you launch searches without starting a web browser first, directly from your Windows Explorer Taskbar.

You type your search and hit Enter for a regular Google search. If you're feeling lucky, tack an exclamation point on to the end of your search - "pow! " - and go directly to the top ranked hit. It is powered By Google, and Yes it really works. Now you can do searches no matter what you are doing - email, word processing, programming, whatever.

There's more. You're not captive to Google. Do Yahoo searches with a "yh question", get Merriam-Webster definitions with a "colon:", get Bloomberg stock quotes like this "msft intc csco$", and find Switchboard phone numbers by saying "Lois Lane#". You can search real "news." search "newsgroups," check "weather*", or "comparison shop$$". There's a built in calculator when you need to know "pow(1.0625, 30) " is 6.1640785. And so on.

Too much to remember? Click the button on the search bar or press F1 and a menu shows you all your choices. Not enough space on your deskbar? It includes a clock so that you can free up some space by turning off the system deskbar clock.

Missing a feature you need? If you know HTML and want to add your own functionality, you can - it is distributed under GPL and is available at SourceForge. It'll make you super-quick. You'll be ready to take on the world and surf like never before.

Download Dave's Quick Search Deskbar 3.1.9.1 in Softonic