Xinorbis is a simple but powerful hard disk analyzer. Using a sophisticated mix of graphs, tables and tree displays, it gives the user a complete overview of the contents of a hard disk (or directory). It makes it easy to see the contents, structure and file distribution and file composition of a whole hard disk, directory, or mapped network drive. Includes full report creation.

Features include:

• Analyse a single drive / directory or merge several together in one report
• Complex report generation, with export to HTML, ASCII or XML
• Save reports and compare them to see how the contents has changed
• All information displays are completely resizable for ease of viewing
• XP style support
• Improved speed
• Shell support, scan a directory through explorer

Download Xinorbis 3.7.2 in Softonic

If you'd like to switch to Mac but haven't made up your mind yet, you can have a sneak peek at the operating system with the LeopardXP BricoPack.

LeopardXP BricoPack is a visual theme for Windows XP that completely transforms your old Microsoft OS into the brand new Apple system in just a couple of clicks. Unlike other visual themes that need certain libraries and drivers, or require you to install third-party apps on your own, LeopardXP BricoPack includes everything you need and is incredibly easy to install: click on the Next button a few times, wait for a while, restart and that's it.

LeopardXP BricoPack is obviously not like the real thing but it does quite a good job in trying to make Windows XP look like the Leopard OS. Not only does it install new skins, wallpapers and icons, but it also adds new functionalities such as a Mac OS style dock bar, a Spotlight clone (which by the way doesn't seem to work properly), a top toolbar and a similar file explorer. All of these are included in LeopardXP BricoPack as extra tools and you can choose not to install them. Also, LeopardXP works fine even in systems with low resources.

On the downside, there are still a few areas in which LeopardXP BricoPack could be improved: for example, there are some Windows icons that the theme doesn't replace and don't really fit in, like the Windows logon and switch off screens.

LeopardXP BricoPack is an attractive visual theme that completely transforms Windows XP into Mac OS Leopard. It includes everything you need and is extremely easy to install and uninstall.

Download LeopardXP Bricopack 1.0 in Softonic

The Royale Theme is a slick black theme for Windows XP which originally leaked out of Microsoft and onto the web in 2005.

There's no way to know but it seems to have come out of the new version of Windows Media Centre that Microsoft developed for XP. The Royale theme is remarkably similar to XP's default "Luna" theme but is a much sleeker shade of black. If you are tired of the default theme then you'll surely find something that appeals in Royale. It's also a remarkably small download at 2MB so there's no need to worry that it's going to slow down your machine although it does take up slightly more RAM so if you're on a slow machine, you might want to think twice before installing it. The installation is very simple - simply download the theme and run the EXE and it will ask you automatically where you want to install it. If you choose C:\WINDOWS path the files will automatically be placed in the Resources Folder on your computer. Once it's installed, you'll still need to activate the theme by right-clicking on you desktop, selecting Properties, then Appearance and finally Windows and Buttons. Select the Media Center Style option and click apply and the screen may go black while the theme is applied.

If you're bored with XP's default theme, this is an excellent free way to spice up your desktop and Windows itself.

Download Royale Theme for Win XP in Softonic

Creating the look of Vista on XP has become something of a cottage industry, mainly because most people know that Vista IS XP just with a few fancy skins on.

VistaXP v2 VS is an excellent Vista skin for XP which gives you all the benefits of the Vista look, without paying hundreds of dollars for the upgrade. The package is inspired by the original Windows Vista look (Codename Longhorn) and the package contains two Visual Styles - Black and Silver. The Start menu (which incidentally I hate in Vista) is very realistic and manages to compact all your programs into a shorter Star menu bar than you usually get with XP. There are only 3 different fonts to choose from which surely could have been increased although fonts are not the most important thing when it comes to the look and feel of your operating system. However, it does feature the original Segoe UI font although the wallpaper is limited to the now rather dated Vista Beta 1 wallpaper. It's a shame the developer chose not to include any widgets in this pack as that would really have made it much more realistic but combined with another Vista skin pack, this could make a really impressive Vista look.

A very good Vista skin for XP although it lacks realism in some aspects but for free, you can't complain.

Download VistaXP v2 VS in Softonic

FTP Voyager is the most powerful FTP client program for Windows 9x/Me/NT/2000/XP on the market. With an intuitive drag-and-drop interface, FTP Voyager lets you update a Web site with a single click, transfer files directly between FTP servers, and resume interrupted downloads. A perfect tool for Web developers or anyone that moves files on the Internet.

Download FTP Voyager 15.0.0.3 in Softonic

Aero Fox is a theme for your Firefox browser which I am sure many of you will like. It adds a black, glossy style to your favourite browser, but apart from the main navigation bar and icons, it doesn’t change the way menus look.

This theme will probably look great with a Vista PC given the colours’ resemblance, but in computers with Windows XP installed, the blue bar at the bottom and at the top will not match at all.

What I also found strange is that when moving the cursor over an icon, instead of becoming brighter, as if you where ‘activating’ it, it becomes very dark, as if in some way you were switching it off – a counter-intuitive behaviour. Furthermore, if you have many bookmarks saved in your toolbar, you will have trouble finding the arrow which brings you to the links that don’t fit in the bar. That said, many users like it and it has become one of the most downloaded themes, so why not give it a try?

Aero Fox brings a black shiny look to your Firefox, and fits perfectly with Vista PC, but not necessarily with Windows XP’s bright blue style.

Download Aero Fox 1.0.5 in Softonic

Searching in Windows has always been painfully slow but Microsofts launch of Windows Search 4 aims to bring searching up to speed with applications such as Google Desktop.

Windows Search 4 uses the same indexing style approach that Google Desktop does meaning that your data is always indexed and instantly searchable. Search results are now returned in seconds rather than minutes under Windows older search tool. You can preview information that's returned in results including information within e-mail messages. The search tool is much more easily accessible too in Vista from the Start menu and XP is equipped with a deskbar for instant searches. Be warned however - the indexing file can be huge especially if you have a large amount of data on your PC so make sure you have plenty of disk space free before installing Windows Search 4 otherwise you’ll find it locks up your system before finally warning you that your disk space is low. In this release, Microsoft have finally ensured that you can also index and search encrypted files which was something missing from previous versions. This is something that should have already been included in Vista and is yet another area where Microsoft are adding and completing aspects of the system that should have been ready before it was released.

Google Desktop and Copernic Desktop Search have been on the market for years now and yet Microsoft have only just been able to implement such a basic feature into their operating system but it's definitely a vast improvement on previous Windows search tools.

Download Windows Search 4 XP & Server 2003 in Softonic

Searching in Windows has always been painfully slow but Microsofts launch of Windows Search 4 aims to bring searching up to speed with applications such as Google Desktop.

Windows Search 4 uses the same indexing style approach that Google Desktop does meaning that your data is always indexed and instantly searchable. Search results are now returned in seconds rather than minutes under Windows older search tool. You can preview information that's returned in results including information within e-mail messages. The search tool is much more easily accessible too in Vista from the Start menu and XP is equipped with a deskbar for instant searches. Be warned however - the indexing file can be huge especially if you have a large amount of data on your PC so make sure you have plenty of disk space free before installing Windows Search 4 otherwise you’ll find it locks up your system before finally warning you that your disk space is low. In this release, Microsoft have finally ensured that you can also index and search encrypted files which was something missing from previous versions. This is something that should have already been included in Vista and is yet another area where Microsoft are adding and completing aspects of the system that should have been ready before it was released.

Google Desktop and Copernic Desktop Search have been on the market for years now and yet Microsoft have only just been able to implement such a basic feature into their operating system but it's definitely a vast improvement on previous Windows search tools.

Download Windows Search 4 Vista SP1 & Server 2008 in Softonic

When your CD collection outgrows all the available shelves of your bookcase, you know it's time for a bit of organization. And the easiest way to organize a CD collection is by creating a catalog.

Visual CD enables you to create that CD catalog in just a few simple steps. Insert the disk into the CD drive, let Visual CD index its contents and save it as a fully searchable catalog. This means that you can later on explore, search and find files that are saved on CD even if the physical disc is not in the drive.

Visual CD doesn't work only with CD: it also supports DVD, floppy disks, removable hard drives and even folders in your system hard drive. What strikes me is the fact that each drive you explore must be saved as a new catalog, whereas other similar tools save explored drives as categories inside one single catalog.

The program features also very interesting advanced functions such as a duplicate files finder, a file splitter, a photo renaming tool, a playlist generator and a thumbnail maker, among others.

Visual CD lets you save the contents of your CD and DVD in separate catalogs so that you can browse and search your collection without having to insert each disk one by one

Download Visual CD 3.1 in Softonic

Dev Hound is a web based project management system designed for bug tracking, tracking projects, development teams, software releases, clients, support calls and knowledge bases.

Featuring its own web server, 2 minute server install, email notifications, mail merge client emailing, reports, graphs and a windows XP style easy to use interface Dev Hound makes life easier for software developers, QA personnel, project managers and customers. Dev Hound's feature list also rivals many more expensive solutions which make it perfect for small business but has a flexible architecture for larger companies to customize.

Features:

• Comes with a builtin database or use SQL Server
• Can use MSDE or full version of SQL Server
• Can automatically upgrade from builtin database to SQL Server

Download Dev Hound 2.41 in Softonic

If you’ve had enough bad experiences upgrading your Microsoft products, you’re too poor to upgrade to Vista or you just refuse on principle, you can always customise Windows XP to make it look like Vista. The Windows Vista customisation pack gives you all the flashy features of Vista without having to shell-out a few hundred dollars for the original. It’s certainly proved a hit with Softonic users so far who have made this pack one of the site’s most popular downloads.

The pack includes a booty of Vista features including transparency of the windows, 3D Vista style icons, mouse cursors, boot screen, login screen, and a whole host of Vista themes to name a few. After installing the pack, you’ll be asked to restart, when you’ll find that your system has been through an impressive transformation although the fact that Windows Vista isn’t actually that radically different from XP, shouldn’t be held against this pack.

Amongst the major differences you will notice are some jazzy changes to your systems icons, skins and toolbars as well as new enhancements to your desktop such as a dock bar or if you prefer, a totally different system tray clock. Transfer file progress dialogs are transformed with swanky new 3D graphics and the sounds scheme has been beefed up to blow you out of your chair. Microsoft certainly spent lots of time designing these features. It was recently reported that they spent a year and a half just coming up with the start-up music alone.

Other changes include Windows Media Player which also receives a facelift although nothing worth getting excited about. The colours have been changed to a metallic-blue and the drop down menus have been replaced by an invisible menu which pops up when the mouse is waved over it. However, this feature actually becomes increasingly annoying with regular use and is best deactivated.

Whilst initially impressive, after a while these changes can cause problems. Users have reported that the new schemes not only slows down their PC’s but also cause it to crash randomly. It can also be a pain whenever there’s a problem with your PC. Since you are running a somewhat modified version of XP, normal troubleshooting guides may not work. You’ll subsequently have to uninstall the pack to make sure that it isn’t causing the problem. Fortunately however, the pack comes with an uninstaller that makes reverting back to XP simple although in time honoured Windows style, you’ll have to restart the computer.

For anyone who doesn’t add or remove programs regularly, we’d recommend this pack as it does an impressive job at emulating the $200+ Vista look. However, for those that make regular changes to their PC, the pack can end up being more hassle than its worth as the changes made can conflict with interfaces of other programs.

Download Vista Customization Pack 3.6 in Softonic

Windows XP has a Fast User Switching mode of operation that allows more than one user to be logged onto the computer at the same time. This is accomplished by creating a separate session for each user that logs on, however only one of these sessions is allowed to be active at any one time, whether that is sitting at the machine (termed the console) or via a remote connection. You can switch from one user session to another by using the hot key combination of WinKey+L (the Windows logo key and the ‘L’ key together) or by using the Switch User button on the log off dialog. Both of these methods disconnect the current session (rather than ending it) and present the welcome screen. At this point logging in as another user will either connect you with the previously disconnected session for that user or create a new session for that user. This process can be used to create multiple sessions and to switch between them.

The Direct User Switching Task extends this functionality by providing the ability to switch directly to another user session, via a hot key, without going through the Windows XP welcome screen. This uses a popup menu of icons in a similar style to Alt+Tab task switching (including using the Shift key to reverse the selection direction). The benefits this task provides over standard Fast User Switching are as follows:

• Can switch directly to another user session via a hot key without going through the Windows XP welcome screen.
• An option to switch directly to another session via a menu off a notification area icon (useful for tablet computers).
• Allows user switching when the Windows XP welcome screen has been turned off for the classic logon prompt.
• Allows user switching when the Windows XP computer is a member of a domain.
• Can optionally save passwords and automatically logon on with them.

Download DUST (Direct User Switching Task) 1.4 in Softonic

Traditionally the first choice when it comes to compressing and uncompressing files, WinZip is one of the most popular downloads of all time. Despite the fact that its competitors have caught up somewhat, it remains a simple way to archive programs and reduce file sizes.

Much of the app’s success has been down to its simplicity. From the outset, the program prompts you to choose between Classic mode and Wizard mode. The wizard is great for beginners, although even the classic interface is easily negotiated, giving you instant access to a range of features such as compression ratios, password-protection and a Favorites list.

While archiving files in WinZip is quick and easy, you can’t help but thinking that the program has lost some ground on its competitors. For instance, the compression rates aren’t as high as they are in WinRAR, and you can only save files in Zip format rather than RAR, ISO or JAR. Nevertheless, the program performs well and now comes bundled with Google Toolbar and Google Desktop Search, and is also fully certified for Windows Vista.

Download WinZip 11.2 in Softonic

RSS or Real Simple Syndication, is an ever more popular way to follow the news on Internet. By subscribing to an XML or RSS link, a user can receive all the latest information from multiple sources in one page. Online RSS readers like Google Reader, Bloglines or Rojo are now very popular among users yet you can also use an external RSS reader like Feeddemon to keep up with the flow of information.

Feeddemon is easy to install and although it will ask you for a Newsgator account, you can still launch it even if you don’t have one. The program can import all of your previous subscriptions or it can suggest new feeds to you in all sorts of categories like business, sports or entertainment.

Once launched, the program automatically downloads the latest posts. Feeds are saved in different categories so that you know where to find them. You can also use the search function to find a post containing a particular word. Thanks to the custom news watch, you can get Feeddemon to find news according to certain keywords. This is extremely useful if you’re doing a research paper or investigating a particular topic.

The program window includes a browser window, so you won’t need to open up your internet browser to read your feeds. Feeddemon also supports tabs, allowing you to keep a good deal of posts open for future reading. If you want to save posts, you can flag them, save them as favourites or create a newsbin to store similar articles.

Apart from letting you customize the age limit of new posts and the amount that appears daily, you can use the Clean Up Wizard to get rid of older or unread posts. This is extremely useful as, with so much information being handled, it’s easy to clutter up your newsreader with irrelevant posts.

Feeddemon handles podcasts just like any other RSS feed, however, to play them, either you’ll have to open up the MP3 file in a browser window or download it and play it with the MP3 player of your choice. It would have been more user-friendly if Feeddemon had included an embedded media player to play podcasts.

If you’re on the move, you can still check your feeds stored in Feeddemon online through your Newsgator account. If you don’t have one, take a few seconds to sign up as it’ll also let you use other Newsgator tools like Feedstation.

Apart from this full range of features, the real update in version 2.1 is that Feeddemon has finally integrated the social networking aspect. You can now configure your default blog publisher and send interesting posts to your blog or to delicious and Digg.

We enjoyed using Feeddemon and were excited by all the freedom it gave users in managing their RSS feeds. The profusion of options in the interface can confuse first time users and we’ve suffered occasional lags when updating feeds, yet that’s quite common with any RSS reader. Feeddemon is a top choice external RSS reader which any news junkie will quickly get addicted to. If you’re not so hooked on feeds, it might be too much to handle though.

Download FeedDemon 2.6 in Softonic

The big news at the end of Steve Jobs’ Keynote at the WWDC, was the release of Safari 3 for both Mac and Windows. Observers were quick to note that Apple’s aim was to stake its claim to a bigger share in the browser market. As Steve Jobs also pointed out, Safari will be the iPhone’s browser, so offering it for Windows feels like a natural step to take. Overall, a number of improvements were made to this latest version of Safari. However, it’s fair to point out that this is still a Beta and a number of issues can still arise until the official release. Let’s take a look at Safari 3 Beta.

Apple hails Safari has the fastest browser, both in terms of launch time and html and JavaScript performance. We did find however that it took much more time to load under XP than Vista. The classic dark grey interface will be immediately recognizable to users, but its Mac-ishness might slightly put off new users. It certainly stands out from the rest of your applications. We really liked the new tab functions, and how they can be smoothly dragged around your interface. You can also drag a tab out to view it as a separate window, or move tabs from window to window.

By clicking on the RSS tag in the URL bar, you can get a view of all the posts in a feed, which you can present chronologically and get a detailed or a title view. We were also impressed with the “Inline Find” function. Click CTRL+F to reveal the find bar under your bookmarks bar. Once you type a word in the find bar, the whole page will immediately turn a shade of grey except for the word itself. If there is more than one iteration of the word, you can scroll through them thanks to the arrow buttons on the find bar.

Safari claims to be one of the safest browsers around and supports SSL 2 and 3 and TLS as well as the basic set of proxy protocols like HTTPS or streaming proxy (RTSP). We found the name of one of the security features, “Safe Browsing”, misleading. Instead of actually upping the security of your Safari it instead limits the features of the browser by disabling history, autofill or searches. Perhaps it should have been called "Private Browsing" instead. Another element that left us frustrated was the search bar. It effectively works with Yahoo and Google but as of now doesn’t let you add any more search engines.

We experienced a number of crashes while testing Safari, particularly on XP, and noted that the browser does use up a significant amount of memory at start-up, around 60 MB to be exact. Also, we found that some popular pages (like Google or Digg!) do not render properly with Safari; a case of not being totally standards compliant perhaps? While it’s great to finally open up Safari to the PC crowd, the unstability of the browser makes you wonder if it wasn’t rushed out for the WWDC. Some interesting features, but on the whole, Safari is no match for the fully armed Firefox on PC yet.

Download Safari 3.1 in Softonic

Offline Explorer is a Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP/2003/Vista offline browser that allows you to download an unlimited number of your favorite Web and FTP sites for later offline viewing, editing or browsing. (HTTPS, RTSP, PNM and MMS downloads are supported in Offline Explorer Pro version.)

Offline Explorer also has many web development features that allow you to easily edit, view, browse or search downloaded Web pages (Offline Explorer has a built-in internal browser.) One of its strengths is to allow you to select (include or exclude) individual servers, directories and files using keywords.

Offline Explorer is known for its excellent user interface and for being one of the fastest known Web site downloaders available on the market today. Support of industry-standard technologies such as FTP, different proxy servers, Java and VB scripts, Java classes, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS,) Macromedia Flash, XML/XSL/DTD,Table Of Contents (TOC,) Acrobat (PDF,) M3U, AAM files, RealMedia (.SMIL, .RAM, .RPM,) MS NetShow Channel (.NSC,) VRML (.WRL, .WRZ,) QuickTime movies (.MOV) and cookies plus a built-in HTTP server that allows you to share downloaded files over an Intranet, make Offline Explorer the leader in offline browsing.

The export feature allows you to copy downloaded sites to another location in different formats.

Download Offline Explorer 4.9.2693 SR2 in Softonic

For many people, the only reason worth upgrading to Vista if for the look since the functionality and basic framework really don't differ that much from XP.

If you think the same way, then you'll be more than happy with Vista Transformation Pack. Once installed, the program makes superficial changes to XP that give it the Vista look. The main changes are that it "Vistarises" your start-up screen, cursors, sounds, screen-savers, tool bars, clock, etc. The transparent effect in Vista is hard to emulate on XP machines but by combining with Windows Blinds, Vista Transofrmation Pack does a surprisingly impressive job. Be warned however that some users have complained the program changes driver DLLs in XP which make it difficult to remove, or at least, it leaves problems behind when you do so.

To be fair to them, the developers advise you to view their user discussion board before installing to be warned of any potential problems as they readily admit that they are not aware of all the bugs it may cause. Note that if you're simply updating Vista Transformation Pack, there's no need to uninstall the original - just install the patch. They've also added a user selection feature whereby if you log onto your PC as a different user, you can select whether you want to transform your XP desktop to Vista.

This is probably one of the best transformation packs out there although be warned that it's likely that you'll suffer conflicts with programs from time to time, and may have problems with XP when it's uninstalled.

Download Vista Transformation Pack 8.01 in Softonic

Application containing all the elements of the Periodic Table along with images of the elements in their natural state.

Features include:

• Detailed information on each element
• Images for each element (126 images in total)
• Glossary
• Graphs of important element properties
• Biographies for the element discoverers
• Interactive display allows you to view the states of the elements at any temperature (from 0 - 6000k)
• XP style support
• Search the all of the element, biography and glossary pages.
• Electron shell diagrams of each element
• Atomic width diagram

Download Periodic Table 3.4 in Softonic

If you are one of the many that's been left unimpressed with Vista but like the look of it, Vista Buttons is for you. It helps you create Vista/XP/Win98 and Mac style rollover buttons and drop down menus with relative ease.

The interface requires 4 simple steps to create your buttons. You can create your own base on the program although if you import one of your own images as a base, you'll get the job done a lot quicker. The developers claim the program features more than 500 buttons, 100 submenu designs, 50 ready-made samples. This is certainly more than enough to create a really cool looking website menu or desktop buttons although some of the designs are a bit dull. The styles available include Vista, XP, Win98, Mac, Aqua buttons, round, glossy, metallic, 3D styles, tab and drop down menus.

The best thing about this program is that it's aimed at complete novices. You don't require any programming knowledge such as in HTML, JavaScript or CSS to create some really professional looking results. Vista Buttons generates all necessary images, html, javascript and css styles automatically. There's also a theme editor but unfortunately, it's not accessible in the free version.

This is a really excellent design utility and there is little to fault it except it would have been nice to have had a few wizards to take you through the first few attempts.

Download Vista Buttons 2.45 in Softonic

FTPRush is a fast, reliable, powerful and easy-to-use FTP/FXP/SFTP/TFTP client for Microsoft Windows. It allows you to transfer files from local to server, server to local or server to server. It allows you to fully customize the user interface on-the-fly. It allows you to create your own scripts to do automatic jobs... It allows you to do a lot of things.

Features:

• Tabbed Interface for smooth control over multiple active connections.
• GUI Runtime Customization and Integrated Docking; spice up the look of it all with your own style or favorites such as Office 2000/XP/2003.
• Drag-And-Drop files via Explorer-like interface.
• Built-in Task Manager for you to easily schedule all kinds of jobs.
• Allows to setting listing/downloading/uploading account individually into One site and switch them automatically
• On-The-Fly Compression saves your bandwidth.
• Multi-Language support makes FTPRush easily translatable to your native language if it's not already done.
• HTTP Proxy, FTP Proxy, Socks 4 & 5 support; create different proxies and switch between them with a simple mouse click.
• High performance Disk Buffer to decrease disk fragmentation.
• Secure FTP (FTPS) support; protect your data and information through SSL/TLS encryption.
• SSH FTP (SFTP) support.
• TFTP (Trivial File Transfer Protocol) support.
• Synchronize data.
• Built-in Script Engine for you to reap maximum benefits from each one of your transfers; either write your own scripts or choose from an always growing collection.
• Automatic SFV Checking and Reporting functionalities.
• Multiple-Files Renaming tool saves you time.
• Built-in Command Designer for Serv-U/RaidenFTPD/ioFTPD/glftpd; your always one click away from all the basic ftp commands but you can also personnalize them to make everything quicker for you.
• FTP Folders Caching speeds your browsing.
• Wildcards, Regular Expressions and Skip & Allow Lists tools make sure that you transfer wanted data only.
• Search for a file on a server as easily as you would on your own machine with our Advanced File Finder tool.
• IdentD Server support.
• Unicode/UTF-8 Charset support.

Download FTPRush 1.1.0.15 in Softonic