Just bear in mind - as it is a beta, it's not final and could still be a little buggy. If you'd like to stick with the stable version, check out the standard Skype review instead!

Facebook integration has been improved in this version. Previously, you would have to create a Skype account and then log in with your Facebook account but now you can log in only using your Facebook account, which makes getting started with Skype much quicker.

Besides checking what your friends are up to on the Facebook Wall – which you could already do in the previous version – this new Skype lets you interact with their posts by liking or commenting on them, and more importantly, use Facebook chat right from Skype. In this way you can chat with your Facebook friends from a much more comfortable interface.

Skype Beta also offers a few details about your Facebook contacts, though if you want to check their complete profile you’ll need to open that up in the web browser. Also, if your friends have included their phone number in their Facebook profile, you’ll be able to call them via SkypeOut right away.

Besisdes Facebook integration, the new Skype Beta includes improved call controls, which are now larger, more elegant and easier to use, and the ability to share the screen in computers with more than one monitor. On the downside, this beta is quite heavy on system resources, and very unstable as well – we had lots of problems while making video calls during our tests.

In this newest version of Skype, users can log in with their Microsoft IDs and will be able to send messages to friends using Windows Messenger, Xbox, Hotmail or the new Outlook.com.

The new beta of Skype offers better call controls and an almost perfect integration with Facebook –but it’s still pretty unstable.

Download Skype 6.5.0.107 Beta in Softonic

Skype is one of the most popular VoIP clients out there, allowing you to call people all over the world for free or at low cost. Having multiple Skype accounts is useful for lots of things - distinguishing between work and personal life, for example - but you can't open more than one on a computer at any given time.

SkypeLauncher puts an end to this by allowing you to sign into as many Skype accounts as you want at the same time, so you'll be able to monitor all of your phone calls, no matter which account you are signed into. To use SkypeLauncher, just add all the accounts you want to sign into. You'll be able to modify these accounts at any time, adding new ones and removing ones you don't need any more.

SkypeLauncher is easy to use on a basic level, but it does offer lots of advanced settings that the average user isn't likely to bother with. If you need more information before jumping in, read the FAQ on the SkypeLauncher website and be aware that changing too many options could render the software unusable!

If you have multiple Skype accounts that you want open at once, try SkypeLauncher.

Download SkypeLauncher 1.6.5 in Softonic

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 5.9.911.3589 in Softonic

Old people usually find computers hard to use. So if you want your granny to open up her own blog, join Facebook and have a laugh on Youtube, you should get her a copy of Eldy.

Eldy is an Internet application that has been designed especially for old people, which means it's simple in design, has large text and buttons, uses a big, colorful mouse cursor that's quicker to locate on the screen and is dead easy to use. The program has been created by an Italian developer and is not properly adapted to English yet, but it's perfectly usable.

After registering a free user account, Eldy gives you access to email (either an already existing account or a new Eldy email account), Internet, chat and a special folder called "Useful" which contains a basic file explorer, a notepad, a weather forecast tool and a shortcut to Skype – which obviously requires having Skype installed.

Eldy is undoubtedly a good idea to get old people involved in new technologies, but it still requires some expertise in certain aspects such as configuring your old email account or setting it to work with Skype.

Eldy will help your grandparents break the technological gap by providing them with a really easy app to surf the web, chat, email and use Skype.

Download Eldy 2.0 in Softonic