You can increase your productivity by allowing PhraseExpress to complete the sentences you want to write. How? The program simply keeps a record of the sentences you write, and when it detects something you have already written, it suggests it in tag form. You can then accept it by pressing the Tab button.

Nothing could be easier as the program does the whole job automatically. Sentences like, ‘I look forward to hearing from you soon’ or ‘thank you for your kind email’ or then again, ‘how could you do that? I cannot trust you, as usual’, will be quickly available as soon as you write the first two words. The program also works with abbreviations, which you can set in the manager. It even corrects typos that may reoccur with a certain frequency in your writing. I like the fact that it’s fast and that you can accept the suggestions with the Tab key or ignore them simply by continuing writing.

As we still haven’t achieved a very high level of artificial intelligence, even in high-tech laboratories, you can’t expect this application to guess what you would like to say. It is just suitable for standard sentences that are usually used in commercial style letters. Nevertheless, you might be surprised how often, even in personal letters we repeat certain sentences, and that’s where PhraseExpress will speed up your work.

Although PhraseExpress can’t really write for you, the application can suggest sentences if it detects from the first two words something you have already written. Therefore, it can speed up processes in office work and whenever you need to keep style consistent.

Download PhraseExpress 5.1.36 in Softonic

Windows Live Pack is a complete pack of utilities, all powered by Microsoft and mostly related to Internet and web services.

The flagship in Windows Live Pack is undoubtedly Windows Live Messenger, the popular IM client, but you can also find some other handy apps to check your email, manage your photos, restrict Internet access to your kids or write your blog, among other tasks. If you don't need all of them don't worry: Windows Live Pack lets you choose the ones you want during the installation process. They all require a Windows Live account to work though.

Besides Messenger, the pack contains the following apps: Windows Live Call Beta, Windows Live Family Safety Beta, Windows Live Mail Beta (replacing good ol' Outlook Express), Windows Live Photo Gallery Beta and Windows Live Writer Beta.

These new Live apps are still at a beta stage, but they were all pretty stable during our tests. Plus they all feature very clean, slick interfaces which makes them very visually appealing and easy to use.

Windows Live Pack is a handy toolkit with several varied apps, specially designed for Microsoft fans.

Download Windows Live Pack Beta in Softonic

Easy Burning¡ provides a simple way to backup your files in a CDR/RW. Integrated into the shell or used as a normal application, Easy Burning is compatible with any CD writer. It allows you to write anything you like, including folders, files, and images.

Download Easy Burning 2.03a in Softonic

The first time I saw this program I thought it may be the most useless invention since the one stringed banjo.

However, on further inspection, I can see that Keycounter does have some practical use especially for writers who want to track when they are at their most inspired. Quite simply, Keycounter tracks the amount of strokes you've bashed away at your keyboard. The program tracks keystrokes per minute and whether the mouse has moved or not.

For writers, Keycounter is a useful way to see when you're at your most prolific although unfortunately, there's no way to tell what you were doing at a particular point in time - you have to make a separate note of that yourself so that you don't get your genuine writing activity mixed up with sending emails or leisure use. The results are displayed in graph format so you can easily see when your peak moment were. There is no way to export this data though it seems.

Simple and effective, Keycounter gives you full control over your keyboard activity and may help writers track their most productive periods.

Download Keycounter 2.0 in Softonic

Image burning is one of the fastest and most efficient ways to save large amounts of data to DVD or CD.

Images are increasingly popular on torrent sites and other download portals because they allow users to download high volumes of data in a relatively small file. What's more, it's instantly ready for DVD or disk burning. ImgBurn is an ultra-lightweight CD/DVD/HD/DVD and Blu-ray burning application that everyone should have in their toolkit. It has several 'Modes', with each one performing a different task.

These include "Read" which reads a disc to an image file; "Build" which creates an image file from files on your computer or network; "Write" which writes an image file to a disc and "Verify" which checks whether a disk is 100% readable. With this last option, you can also ensure that the data is correct by asking ImgBurn to compare your disk against an image file. Finally, you have "Discovery" which puts your drive to the test to find just what kind of speeds and disk types it can support.

If you are experiencing any burning problems, it may be that your drive is not fast enough to handle the settings you have configured or that you are using the wrong kind of disks.

A very lightweight an powerful image burner that requires little experience but will ensure all your images are burned in a flash.

Download ImgBurn 2.4.2.0 in Softonic

If you write many articles, you probably know what a pain it is to have to regularly skim through a heavy dictionary to find the word you’re looking for. Luckily there’s a whole batch of lexicon applications that’ll send it back to the shelf (or in the trash can) forever. WordWeb is the perfect example of this type of dictionary and thesaurus combo in a hands-on interface.

What you’re looking for in a dictionary application is something you can open in a click, paste your word, and immediately get the results. You get that in Wordweb via system tray integration, and a Ctrl+Alt+W hot key combination. On install WordWeb will ask you the English locale you will use, such as Australian, Canadian American or New Zealander. The program keeps a history of your searches and you can quickly access them via the side arrows. You can refine your search by selecting word category like nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs and decide to show pronunciation, usage and offensive or vulgar words. WordWeb isn’t associated to any world famous reliable dictionary like Webster’s ,preferring its very own online source, comprising of more than 240,000 words and updated regularly, according to the developer.

The heart of WordWeb resides in the results tabs, although the difference between them all wasn’t obvious from the start. After a bit of testing we found that the “nearest” tab showed you the preceding and following words in the dictionary, “see also” was a suggestion of related words and “similar” presented a word that resembled your search but had a slightly different meaning. “Types” goes down to the meaning of the word, for example solid “types” will be plastic, crystal or block. The “type of” tab is another variation. “Types of” solid will be substance, state or form. These tools will be particularly helpful if you feel limited by your vocabulary and are looking to diversify your choice of words in the document you are writing.

WordWeb is a reliable dictionary and thesaurus with a simple, hands-on approach. It is an ideal partner to fight off writer’s block and improve your vocabulary. The online dictionary is a rich source and WordWeb should help you out of any mind jam whenever you’re writing an article.

Download WordWeb 5.5 in Softonic

The World of Warcraft updating system is a standalone application that automates the task of keeping your add-ons current.

Anyone that has been playing World of Warcraft for any length of time knows how frustrating a new content patch can be. The scripting system in WoW is under constant modification to help add-on writers; unfortunately this does result in add-ons breaking quite often and requires them to be updated - a very time-consuming effort if you have more than a few installed.

WoWus was created to help alleviate the pains of keeping your installation in workable order; please see the Features section for further information.

Download WoWus 1.09 in Softonic

If you like classic pastimes like crosswords, have you considered creating your own? Now it's easier than it looks thanks to Crossword Writer.

This tool lets you create as many crosswords as you want, with your own words and clues, and then print them out to take them anywhere with you. Crossword Writer looks a bit confusing at the beginning, but shortly after you start using it you'll have learnt the basics to create your own crosswords.

Crossword Writer lets you create crosswords in several sizes, automatically looks for words that fit into each space and also saves all your words and definitions on its database. This flexibility makes Crossword Writer the perfect tool to create thematic crosswords, or adapt the difficulty level to the target audience.

One thing missing in Crossword Writer though is the possibility to solve the crossword on the computer, as well as printing it.

With Crossword Writer you can create fully customizable crosswords with your own words and clues, and print them out so that you can take them with you anywhere.

Download Crossword Writer 1.0 in Softonic

VSO Inspector is a free add-on to report various information about your hardware configuration. Using this freeware, you can check the listed CD and DVD readers and writers connected to your computer, check the firmware used, the details about the media used and the speed supported by a given writer with this media. You can also scan a burnt media for read errors and be confident about the readibility of your fresh backup.

Here's what VSO Inspector can do for you:

Detect and list the features of your CD/DVD writers

Supported formats

Region details

Firmware versions

Buffer size

Region Code

Read and Write modes

Detect and list information about the inserted media

Media type

Capacity

Media ID (manufacturer and/or model)

Number of layers

Supported speeds (with current writer)

Media Analysis

Sector reading

Definition of the area to check

Definition of the read direction

Download VSO Inspector 1.4.2 in Softonic

VSO PhotoDVD is the best DVD Photo Slideshow Software to create DVD's from your photos. Watch your pictures on any home DVD player. Share your digital pictures on a DVD with friends or family.

VSO PhotoDVD animates your images to make a video DVD Slide show. You can add optional soundtracks and comments to your pictures using DVD subtitles. The result is attractive and vibrant. The product is very easy to use and burn with any DVD writer.

A wizard style interface lets you define the folders or files where to select the pictures. You can define multiple lists of music files to play in the background, and add up to 3 channels of DVD subtiles. The transitions and animations of your pictures are completely automatic and will enhance the experience of sharing your best memories. Use focus points to highlight the details of your pictures, like the sparkling eyes of your new born baby.

You can watch the results on a regular TV or computer using a DVD Player. This format uses the best quality available at the moment. A copy of your source files is stored in the DVD project and lets you keep trace of your digital pictures without quality loss using a computer.

Download VSO PhotoDVD 2.9.6.1 in Softonic

The productivity suite market is generally dominated by two main options: you either use the proprietary Microsoft Office suite or its open source alternative, Open Office. But if you don't like any of them, I'm glad to inform you there's a third choice.

Kingsoft Office is a fully featured, completely free office suite you can use for your daily work tasks. It includes three main applications: Writer, Presentation and Spreadsheets, to create DOC, PPT and XLS files respectively. The three of them are installed and launched separately – unlike Lotus Symphony, which uses a common interface. There are no apps for databases, email, or web publications.

I must admit these three apps are almost identical to their Microsoft Office equivalents, so identical in fact I'm beginning to wonder if it's just a copy. Whatever the Kingsoft developers thought about when creating the suite, I'm happy to be able to use a complete suite without having to pay for it. Also, the fact that it's so similar to other suites you may have been using up to know makes the learning curve practically non-existent.

Kingsoft includes interesting options such as the ability to export any document to PDF format and support for document encryption. On the downside, the suite felt a bit unstable during our tests: the Spreadsheets app, for example, crashed on one of our machines but worked perfectly well on a different one.

In any case, Kingsoft Office 2007 is a great free alternative for productivity suite users who don’t want to tie themselves to the same old choices.

Download Kingsoft Office 2007 6.3.0.1371 in Softonic

Screen captures are useful for a variety of tasks from building tutorials to helping out those with technical issues.

The program is a great way to create help documents, online tutorials, manuals, training handouts, presentations, marketing materials, web pages, emails and more. You can capture
text and edit it from just about any part of your screen plus capture, edit and annotate screenshots and pictures. One of the most important aspects of this program is that it can capture frames and images from DirectX graphics and applications. Normally DirectX can cause problems when trying to capture shots and images but HyperSnap allows you to do so quickly and efficiently. In addition to everything else, it also includes a button capture tool which is perfect for professional technical writers who want to capture multiple documents at once rather than having to create a new capture file for each object. The program is easy to access from the context menu and it integrates with Windows clipboard to facilitate repetitive tasks.

Very easy to access and use, HyperSnap is an essential tool for anyone that regularly needs to take snaps of DirectX applications and videos.

Download HyperSnap-DX 6.31.01 in Softonic

If you're on the open source side you'll probably be using Open Office instead of Microsoft Office. But did you know there is more than one version of Open Office?

Go-OO (that is, Go-Open Office) is a fork of Open Office, that is, a special version or development build that features some interesting improvements regarding the suite it's based on. Among these improvements you can find support for OpenXML and Microsoft Works files, an optimized Microsoft binary file support, and perfect import of Wordperfect graphics, among others. You can also work with Excel VBA macros and Visio diagrams.

Other than that, Go-OO is visually identical to the original Open Office suite and includes exactly the same apps, namely Writer, Calc, Math, Impress, Draw and Base.

If you need the specific improvements included in this special version of Open Office, give it a try; if not, you may as well download the official version because there's not that much difference.

Download Go-OO 2.4 in Softonic

If you're a copy and paste freak or spend half your life having to cut and paste from one application to another, then Flashpaste could be what you've been looking for.

This is an advanced copy and paste editor which basically gives you far more power to perform the kind of tasks that Windows rudimentary clipboard can't. In fact, if you're a writer or programmer, you really shouldn't be without this program because it makes working with the clipboard a much more rewarding experience than it normally is. There are two main appeals to Flashpaste - template insertion and code repetition. Rather than writing the same old things over and over again While writing e-mails or creating documents, you often have to write the same old phrases and requests. Flashpaste allows you to store predefined greetings, e-mail addresses and URLs so that you need never waste time writing the same old things over and over again. Flashpaste is also a very handy tool for web developers because it has a special cut and paste tool for HTML that makes organising chinks of code much easier than usual. You can see at a glance, what code you have and what it can be used for.

You've got no excuse for tearing your hair out with Windows limited clipboard anymore since Flashpaste takes cutting and pasting to a new level.

Download FlashPaste Pro 4.5 in Softonic

Despite not being born with any special powers to speak of, Iron Man has still managed to make the jump from comic book hero to big screen star thanks to his bravery and ingenuity.

This desktop wallpaper pays homage to the human trashcan with an impressive image to adorn your PC. At 1680x1050, this is a high resolution shot of the Iron Man in an agressive pose, in front of a smokey backdrop. There's also a small logo advertizing the film.

A must-have for any Iron Man fanatic.

Download Iron Man Wallpaper in Softonic

In Animal Fun House 32 animal categories are available, each one containing many thematic clipart elements. The way they are designed is childish and simple, but very funny and sweet.

They are perfect if you need a cartoon image of an animal to add as a logo in your documents or if you want to play with your younger brother, nephew or son, colouring these cute cubs. The way they are designed in fact leaves plenty of space for colouring them, both using Paint or, after printing, with real colour.

After choosing a category, copy the image file by pressing the sheet icon at the bottom of each drawing, in this way the file is copied in the clipboard and you can paste it in the program you like.

Have fun using these sweet animal icons in your documents and if you feel like going back to the best, carefree years of life, colour them with Photoshop, that’s a good use for it, or even better, print and paint them!

Download Animal Fun House 5.0.1 in Softonic

CATVids is a powerful database program designed to help you catalog and manage your video collection. CATVids works with all types of media, including DVDs, VHS tapes, and laser discs. It will keep track of not only your pre-recorded material, but also home videos and anything else you have taped. Using CATVids you can quickly catalog your movies by downloading information from the internet.

CATVids has a comprehensive set of data fields, enabling you to catalog a wide range of information: title, media format, release year, publisher, purchase date and price, current value, region, special features, production year, studio, rating, director, writer, cast and characters, synopsis, tape counter, recording speed, recording date, personal rating, keywords, and more.

Other features include custom data fields, a loan module (to keep track of videos on loan), flexible searching, a report designer, more than 100 pre-defined report formats, a HTML generator, pop-up menus for quick feature access and navigation, and comprehensive context-sensitive on-line documentation available at the touch of a button.

Download CATVids 7.23 in Softonic

Magic DVD Copier is a very easy and powerful DVD copy software, which can copy any DVD movie to blank DVD or hard drive without any loss of quality, or compress a DVD9 movie to fit on a 4.7 GB DVD. You need only insert your DVD movie and a blank DVD then press Go, everything will happen automatically and complete within 20-60 minutes.

Features:

• Copy DVD movie to blank DVD in 1:1 mode
• Compress a DVD9 movie to a 4.7 GB blank DVD
• Split a DVD9 movie to two 4.7 GB blank DVDs without any loss of quality
• Copy main movie only
• Copy DVD movie to hard drive and burn DVD movie from hard drive
• Remove all the restrictions of DVD (CSS, Region, RCE, Sony ARccOS, PuppetLock)
• High speed, copy a full DVD disc in 1:1 mode within 20-40 minutes
• Very easy to use, just by one click
• Support almost all DVD Writers and blank DVDs (DVD-R,DVD-RW,DVD+R,DVD+RW,DVD+R DL,DVD-R DL)

Download Magic DVD Copier 4.7.1 in Softonic

Software applications are being constantly improved with every new version. Bugs are fixed, designs are polished, new functionalities are added. But sometimes they become too bloated, often losing sight of what they were created for in the first place. So for instance, whenever I need to record a CD or DVD, I no longer turn to Nero but use DeepBurner instead.

This neat program allows you to record CD or DVD in a very simple way: every time you launch it you see a project selection window where you can choose what to do (create a data disk, create an audio CD or burn an ISO image) and you're then guided through a few easy steps in a wizard-like process.

Despite its basic appearance DeepBurner features a large variety of tools and options for your recording needs: support for multisession disks, the ability to erase rewritable media and even a built-in editor to create and print your own custom CD covers and labels. There's also the option to create ISO image files, although you need to follow a small workaround to get to it: run the program and choose "Create data CD/DVD" in the project selection window. Select the files and folders you want to include in your ISO and when you're done click on the "Burn Disk" button. In the next dialog you'll be able to choose "Save ISO" instead of actually burning the data onto a CD.

On the down side, DeepBurner could be criticised for being too simple, especially when compared to big recording suites such as Nero or Roxio. It's perfect if you just need to record a CD from time to time, but if you're looking for something more then you'll miss features like volume normalizing or being able to create copies, to name just a few. In any case, DeepBurner is a perfectly valid option for those who prefer avoiding complicated programs and prefer the simplicity of an app focused on one single ability: recording CD's and DVD's.

Download DeepBurner Free 1.9 in Softonic

If your CD or DVD drive supports LightScribe, then you'll need this component to run it properly on your machine.

If you don't know what LightScribe is, it's basically a disk writer that allows you to create stunning CD and DVD covers directly in your CD/DVD drive. In this way, it doubles the capabilities of your DVD/CD drive. Creating a LightScribe disc is simple, but involves two separate processes according to the LightScribe developers. The data side is created using any traditional data authoring software, and if it's LightScribe enabled, the application may ask if you want to burn a label. It may help you in the cover creation process by actually downloading content appropriate to your CD or DVD that you are burning. However, if you are using a stand-alone disc labeling software, you will have to disable LightScribe and launch the software separately and design the label onscreen. In either case, simply remove the disk from your burner, turn it over and click "Print" to send the cover image to the drive. Hey Presto, you've got a ready made CD-DVD cover.

This is an essential component that you'll need to get the most out of your LightScribe drive - just check whether your drive supports it or not.

Download Lightscribe System Software (LSS) 1.12.37.1 in Softonic