aMSN is an alternative to the classic MSN Messenger, with more features yet a much weaker interface. The chat client looks very similar to Microsoft's product yet differs on a number of points. aMSN developers have delved into the preferences menu, adding extra little features like event alerts and sounds, conferencing support or autoaway messages. Like with MSN Messenger you'll be able to transfer files and organize all your contacts into groups.

Audio/Video support is the number one function that users look for in IM clients nowadays, yet an area which aMSN doesn't particularly focus on. Webcam support is fairly weak and unstable, and instead of integrating into your chat window will open up in a new Quicktime window.

One of the biggest pet peeves of users with aMSN is the interface. It simply doesn't compare with more sleeker, more recent IM clients. To the developer's defense though you can download all sorts of skins from the program's website. Similarly it offers up a range of plugins, to customize your client to your liking. Chat addicts will also appreciate the animated emoticons on hand.

In terms of performance, you have to keep in mind that aMSN is still a Beta product, so still liable to some crashes and bugs. We did have some trouble when opening up new chat window and noticed that the client tended to use a lot of CPU.

In a few words, aMSN is a good alternative to MSN for users looking to add more plugins, skins and delve into the preferences menu.

Download aMSN Messenger 0.97.2 in Softonic

As far as free PDF converters go, doPDF is one of the best out there saving you tons of cash on Adobe's patented version and whatsmore, doing it in half the time.

The program is remarkably simple to use. Just open a document in Microsoft Word, WordPad, NotePad or practically any other text editing software, choose Print and select doPDF. The program asks you where to save the PDF file and when finished, the PDF file will be automatically opened in your default PDF viewer. This process takes less than a minute and you'll be amazed at how accurate the PDF is. Occasionally, it can suffer with unusually formatted text and images and so they won't come-out exactly as you want but this can be remedied.

Unfortunately, there's also no option to print large web pages (such as long news articles or forum pages) without dividing it into separate pages so you'll end up with lines dividing the article up throughout your PDF documents. The other slight downside is that it seems the PDF files it creates can be rather large although if you ZIP them up, this is not much of an issue.

An excellent PDF converter that's fast, easy to use and serves as more than an adequate replacement for Adobe's software.

Download doPDF 6.1.271 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

Do you need the processing power of Microsoft Word but don't have hundreds of dollars to pay for the Office package itself?

Jarte may be your answer. It's a free word processor based on Microsoft WordPad's word processing engine. It's extremely fast and easy to use. In a way it acts more like WordPad on steroids, adding tons of useful features to the basic word processor. It's very portable - it can fit on a USB stick - and yet it can open any document compatible with Word and WordPad.

Believe it not, Microsoft is continually upgrading the simple WordPad editing engine, although WordPad itself hasn't changed. never know it by examining WordPad. Jarte however takes advantage of these changes and has evolved to take advantage of the new useful features that Microsoft have added. These include tabbed document windows for easy access to open documents, larger buttons for the most commonly used functions, instant dictionary and thesaurus word look-up and a free spell check and text search tools that do not impose themselves on top of the text you are trying to edit.

There are many new features in Jaxtr that make it a superb option for those that can't afford or access Word but need it's processing power.

Download Jarte 3.3 in Softonic

I've always used MS Word for my word processing needs but if you don't have Office installed, then it's not exactly a cheap option.

AbiWord can read and write all standard industry docs ranging from open source efforts such as those created in OpenOffice to those created in professional apps such as Microsoft Word. It also features support for WordPerfect documents, Rich Text Format documents, HTML web pages etc. Although the editing options can't compare with Word, I do like the fact that this is a very light word processor that doesn't take up much more processing power than even MS Text. This makes it especially suitable for those working on slower machines who haven't got a decent word processor installed. What's also nice is that AbiWord is fully customisable with several different plugins to extend its capabilities. These can vary from format converters, document importers and thesauruses to image importers and a text format managers.

This may be basic but it's generally a very impressive word processing app that has everything you need to edit simple documents.

Download AbiWord 2.6.4 in Softonic

OpenOffice.org is both an open-source product and a project. The product is a multiplatform office productivity suite. It includes desktop applications such as a word processor, a spreadsheet program, a presentation manager, and a drawing program, with a user interface and feature set similar to those of other office suites. OpenOffice.org also works transparently with a variety of file formats, including those of Microsoft Office.

Localizations of OpenOffice.org are available in 27 languages, with more being constantly added by the community. OpenOffice.org runs on Solaris, Linux (including PPC Linux), and Windows. Written in C++ and with documented APIs licensed under the LGPL and SISSL open-source protocols, OpenOffice.org allows any knowledgeable developer to benefit from the source.

Download OpenOffice.org 2.4.1 in Softonic

Whenever I hear the word "Pro" and "Microsoft" in the same package, I get inherently nervous because it's often nothing more than a few add-ons for hundreds of dollars more.

The first thing to warn you about is upgrading from Office 2007 with this package. You are almost certainly going to experience a myriad of upgrade problems, compatibility issues and goodness knows what else. certainly. Note that you'll certainly need a considerable amount of time to adjust to upgrading to this new version of Office although those used to the Classic version will probably have least problem and for the cost of the upgrade, it's debatable whether it actually increases productivity or speed of use at all. The ribbons in particular are still cluttered, poorly organised and occupy too much of the desktop. In addition, there's not much added functionality although they have manged to make sure that the ‘saved’ file sizes are smaller. I really can't see much reason in upgrading from Office 2003 based on this very frustrating version of 2007 but if you really do enjoy constant technical hiccups and error messages, then go ahead.

This is one Microsoft upgrade to definitely avoid although the one advantage is that saved file sizes are smaller.

Download Microsoft Office Professional 2007 Beta 2 in Softonic

In the beginning was Microsoft Office. Then OpenOffice appeared as an open-source alternative. And now IBM makes a new move and offers its own productivity suite, all free of charge. The idea is not new: there have been a few free suites launched lately, but all of them were online. IBM Lotus Symphony is the only desktop suite that, together with OpenOffice, can offer a free alternative to Microsoft's proprietary apps.

IBM Lotus Symphony offers three tools: word processor, spreadsheet and presentations. It's true that other productivity suites are usually more complete. However, Lotus Symphony stands out for a convenient, single-windowed interface from which you can launch the three apps. Simply click on the "Open" button and select the kind of document you want to open: the program's toolbar will change accordingly. What's more, you can have as many opened documents as you want at the same time, no matter which type, and switch between them in the top tab bar.

The suite includes all the basic tools that you could expect in such an application: spell checker and tables for documents, predesigned templates for presentations and charts for spreadsheets - to name a few - besides the usual configuration options as regards fonts, colors and the like.

In my personal opinion, I'm glad to have another possibility to choose from when deciding which suite I'm going to use. A little rivalry is always good and usually produces better and wider options for computer users. And it seems IBM is beginning to take the suite competition quite seriously.

IBM Lotus Symphony has left the beta stage behind and now offers a stable, highly functional productivity suite that, despite not being as complete as other suites, may perfectly fit your needs.

Download IBM Lotus Symphony 1.0 in Softonic

If you've been working on a Word document for a long time then it's a nightmare when it suddenly corrupts or won't open.

The reasons for this are numerous and usually it's not your fault. If you've ever received any of the following messages then you'll know what I'm talking about: "The document name or path is not valid. Try these suggestions. Check the file permissions for the document or drive. Use the File Open dialog box to locate the document."; "Word cannot open the document."; "Word cannot open the document: user does not have access privileges."; "When you attempt to open a Microsoft Word 97 document into Microsoft Word version 6.x or 7.x, the document contains garbage characters." Repair My Word can come to the rescue if you've suffered any of these error messages and has the ability to repair Microsoft Word 6.0, Word 95, 97, 2000, XP, and 2003 for Windows. To use it, you simply open the corrupt Word file, preview the recoverable text in the preview window and save this text to a new error free Word file. However, don't expect miracles from this software because it doesn't work in all cases and in addition, even if it can, the rescued document is often a jumbled mess of words of symbols.

If you've ever lost a Word document to corruption or file error, then this is definitely worth a try.

Download Word Repair 1.0.0.49 in Softonic

Thanks mostly to its well-designed user interface, making screencasts with FreeScreencast can be a real pleasure. Just select an area of the screen which will be your ‘filming space’, then press record and that's it. The software creates high quality Flash encoded files which you can also upload to FreeScreencast.com which offers free hosting for screencasts.

The program needs both Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 and Windows Media Encoder in order to run. The latter you might have to install, see below for the download link.

Its simplicity shows also some downsides. When you select a square region of your screen to record, the program deforms it when showing the final video, as that frame will be rectangular. Also, the program doesn’t include even basic editing tools, for example to cut or move some parts of your video. It would also be good to be able to add visual effects such as transitions once you’ve completed your screencast.

If you need to explain clearly how to do something on a computer and you believe that images explain ideas better than words, then this program is for you.

Download FreeScreenCast 1.0 beta in Softonic

The good thing about PDF documents is that they keep the same design and layout cross-platform. The bad thing is that they can't be easily edited.

Of course, there are a few PDF editors out there but they're usually quite expensive. So if you don't want to spend your savings in such a program, use Free PDF to Word Doc Converter instead. Despite not being a PDF editor in itself, this simple tool will enable you to perform certain PDF editing tasks by converting the original PDF files to Word documents. And you don't even need to have Acrobat PDF Reader or Microsoft Word installed.

Free PDF to Word Doc Converter is very easy to use: select the source PDF file and target directory and choose whether you want to convert the whole file or just a certain page range. Then you'll be able to open and edit your document in Word just like any other DOC file.

While Free PDF to Word Doc Converter seems to work fine, I had some trouble with PDF embedded images in some of my conversions. Also, bear in mind that once your editing is done, you'll have to save the document in DOC format: there's no way to go back to PDF – at least with this app.

Free PDF to Word Doc Converter enables you to easily convert PDF documents to DOC files. You'll be able then to edit it or extract its images, but not to save it back to PDF again.

Download Free PDF to Word Doc Converter 1.1 in Softonic

AcaStat simplifies statistical analyses and quickly produces summary reports that can be printed, saved, or exported to Microsoft Word, Excel, or any other word processor or spreadsheet. Create, import data files, or import data copied from spreadsheets or data tables to develop crosstabulations, descriptive statistics, and significance tests.

Unlike most other statistical packages, AcaStat also includes a summary statistics module that uses means, counts, and proportions to create and interpret confidence intervals and statistical tests. Free to try. Inexpensive to upgrade to the Licensed Edition.

Download AcaStat 5.2.1 in Softonic

Angel Writer is a free text editor allowing you to create impressive documents that contain formatted text, graphics and tables. You can learn how to work with Angel Writer in five minutes since it is very similar to Microsoft Word. A comfortable interface, small size and high performance rate - that is the free text editor Angel Writer. You can download and try this free text editor right now!

Download Angel Writer 3.1 in Softonic

It seems somewhat ironic that Internet Explorer’s reign should be undermined by Firefox. After all, this is a browser that rose from the ashes of the team that developed Netscape Navigator, a program which IE ousted to claim the monopoly on the web.

It’s somewhat bizarre that a non-for-profit developer should be in a position to strike fear into world’s biggest software producer, especially while still in the 1.x stage of development of its product. Yet, as many predicted, this eagerly-anticipated release represents a real threat to Microsoft’s dominance of the browser market, with the Mozilla team pumping plenty more into the program and thus upping the bar for IE7.

Firefox was already a class product, delivering a fast and simple way to browse the web in comfort. So much so in fact that existing users might be wondering why they even need to upgrade when the current version is so much better than anything else out there.

Picture it like sitting in business class and being offered another pillow. The app now allows you to browse the web faster and more securely than ever, while retaining the incredible simplicity of previous versions of Firefox. Cosmetically, you won’t notice much difference between this and the last incarnation, but the changes that have been made are quite welcome, if not essential.

First up, is a new-and-drop facility for browser tabs, allowing you to sort and reorder your tabs just by clicking and dragging. The Preferences menu also gets an overhaul, making the options clearer and easier to access. The developers have also tweaked the ´Back’ and ´Forward’ tools, preloading cached pages to speed up surfing.

However, the main changes to the program are all hidden within the back-end of Firefox 1.5. The app comes armed with a series of security fixes, making it the safest surfing tool on the block. What’s more, all updates and security patches, including extensions, now take place in the background, meaning that you don’t have to manually install every new release – a process which can become pretty tiresome.

There’s also a new extension management system which makes it a lot easier to manage the expanding wealth of cool plug-ins for the browser. On the down-side, the new version renders many extensions and themes redundant as they are incompatible with version 1.5. That said, we all know how keen Firefox developers can be to keep up with technology, so it shouldn’t take long for the updates to these extensions to be completed.

Of course, the application retains all of the cool features that have helped make it so popular including integrated searching (now with support for Answers.com), tabbed browsing, pop-up killer, live bookmarks and support for the latest web technology.

While the tweaks within this release are reasonably subtle, Firefox is making incredible strides towards conquering the browser market. I development continues at the current pace then Microsoft is going to have its work cut out, especially as we haven't seen a release of IE since before Osama Bin Laden went missing.

Download Firefox 1.5.0.7 in Softonic

Add Macro Recorder to your software or create custom macro applications with Tethys Macro SDK. Leverage the power of SMART Macro Technology. Integrate it with your software in just minutes. Use API or pre-defined GUI components. Simply cut and paste from sample code. Give your users one of the most sought-after tools today. Qualify for a free license or purchase it for a one-time cost with no ongoing fees.

Why add Macro features?

• Users Want It: Many popular software offer macro capability. Microsoft Word, Excel, many ERP & financial Software to name a few. Millions of computer users and professionals use macros for their daily work. Macro capability is one of the key features sought by users.
• Bonus Feature, Customer Loyalty: Users who regularly use your software will appreciate the macro capability, making it one step harder for them to switch to a competitive brand. Build loyalty by letting your users custom develop macros that work with your software.
• Enhance Your Product: Add differentiation to your software, with a new tool. This feature also lets your users save thousands of repetitive clicks and keystrokes.
• Increase Customer Satisfaction: Many repetitive actions in your software will be automated by your users to a single mouse click or a keystroke and it will increase customer satisfaction. Leverage our easy to use interface.

Download Tethys Macro SDK 2.0 in Softonic

With PDFill 4.0, you can create, fill, delete and submit PDF form fields; insert new formatted text, check, image, hyperlink, whiteout and highlight anywhere in the document; save, print or email the filled and password-protected PDF; save and resume your filling anytime.

Main features:

• Insert new formatted Text, Check, Image, Hyperlink, Whiteout and Highlight accurately anywhere even if there is no interactive form inside.
• Support International languages.
• PDF Form Filler for the Fill-in PDF forms. Export/Import Form Data
• PDF Form Maker to create, fill, edit, delete or submit form fields (Text Field, Check Box, Radio Button, Combo Box, List Box or Push Button)
• Create or insert Blank PDF Page and then insert new text, check, image or form fields inside.
• Save the filled PDF locally with options to add information, password and view preferences.
• Spell Checker for the filled text.
• Align Tool and Smart Positioning to precisely align Left, Horizontal Middle, Right, Top, Vertical Center, Bottom, Space Evenly Across/Down, Make Same Width or Height
• FREE PDF Writer to create PDF from ANY printable windows application including Microsoft® Word, PowerPoint, Excel, AutoCad, and More.
• Free PDF Tools to Merge, Split and Reorder, Encrypt and Decrypt, Rotate and Crop, Reformat, Header and Footer, Watermark by text, Watermark by image, Convert images to pdf, Convert PDF to image, Flatten/Delete/List PDF Form Fields, and Convert Postscript into PDF.

Download PDFill Form Filler 4.0 in Softonic

Blogger for Word is a free add-in for Microsoft Word that lets you save a Word document as a post to your Blogger blog with just a few clicks, and without even opening up a browser. Blogger for Word makes it even easier to express yourself online, save your documents to the web, and edit your work both online and off.

With Blogger for Word, publishing a Word document to your blog is just as seamless as saving it to your computer, and it's easy to get started; all you need to do is download and install the Blogger for Word add-in, and three buttons appear in your Word toolbar:

• Publish creates and publishes a new post from the text in your document.
• Open Post enables you to edit your last 15 Blogger posts in Word.
• Save as Draft enables you to keep a post unpublished; it will appear in your Blogger account, but not publicly on your blog.

Download Blogger for Word 1.0 in Softonic

ContentSpring simplifies web publishing. Save directly from Microsoft Word to ContentSpring, using the free plug-in. It's easy to save, no technical skills needed. You can be remotely located from the ContentSpring application and there can be an unlimited number of users saving with full control.

The ContentSpring application processes the files turning them into web pages. The pages get up-loaded onto your web server for your Web site, Intranet or Extranet. (Can publish on any web server type - uses the technology you already have!) The web pages get automatically listed within directory web pages for easy access. Any number of directories can be setup - even sub-directories with breadcrumb trail links, creating a structured Web site, Intranet or Extranet.

Some additional features include:

• Automated RSS Feeds
• Password protect pages
• Setup and control Authors

Download ContentSpring 1.3 in Softonic