The Bat 2.04

Operating system: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP
Licence: Free 30-day trial, then US$31 Personal version
Minimum system requirements: N/A
Web: http://www.ritlabs.com/

The Bat is multi-lingual and powerful. It supports a number of European languages, and is a great email manager, with all the latest security features. These include anti-spam protection via a built-in Bayesian plug-in, and good anti-virus protection too, also built-in --- The Bat trusts nobody, and won't start any scripts automatically. It has a number of features you won't find anywhere else, like Quick Templates, a feature which allows you to create new message templates on the fly. If you're looking for a low-cost but high-powered email solution, try The Bat.

Spamfighter Pro 2.53

Operating system: Windows 98/Me/NT/2000/XP
Licence: Free for non-business users (reverts to Standard version after one month, unless you pay 25 euros for the Pro version.)
Minimum system requirements: Microsoft Outlook
Web: http://www.spamfighter.com/

If you use Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express, you can join an online community to minimise the amount of spam which reaches your Inbox. Spamfighter Pro installs itself into Outlook, so that you have several new buttons on your toolbar. The program works via white and black lists. If you black list a sender (designate a message as spam), it's reported to the Spamfighter database. If a number of other users report the message and sender too, the sender filtered for everyone using Spamfighter, which means an automatic reduction in the amount of spam you receive.

IESpell 2.0.1

Operating system: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP
Licence: Free
Minimum system requirements: Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0
Web: http://www.iespell.com/

The IESpell spell-checker saves you time. It checks your spelling in-place on all Web text-input boxes. The program is completely free for personal use, and saves embarrassment if you do a lot of writing in applications like Web mail, forums, and on Web blogs. It installs in various ways. You can choose to install it as an icon on your Internet Explorer toolbar, or on your right-click menu, or under the Tools menu. It's fast and easy to use, and operates like any other spell-checker: you can add to it and choose a configuration.

Opera 7.23

Operating system: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP
Licence: Free version is advertising supported, no-ads version: $US39
Minimum system requirements: N/A
Web: http://www.opera.com/

The super-speedy Opera browser's been updated with even more features, and if you're prepared to put up with some unobtrusive ads, the program is free. Opera's edge over other browsers is its extreme customisability: you can change almost anything in the program to have it perform in exactly the way you want. It includes an email client, a newsgroup reader, and integrated search facilities. One of the handiest features is The Wand, a password manager. Your passwords are protected, because everyone using your computer has his own Opera log-in. Also useful is the new Notes feature, which lets you add notes to Web pages.

Web Ferret 5.0

Operating system: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP
Licence: Free
Minimum system requirements: N/A
Web: http://ferretsoft.com/

WebFerret, one of the Web's oldest free search tools has been updated. As well as querying multiple search engines for you, it now includes a news-specific tool which searches major news sites like CNN, Reuters and BBC News, making it more useful for both students and business people. When you've entered your search terms, WebFerret offers you four options: you can search for all keywords, any keyword, the exact phrase, or for Boolean (and, or) expressions. You can save searches, as well as validate results, and filter out adult content. You can even create your own filters.

RunIt! 3.2.0

Operating system: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP
Licence: Free
Minimum system requirements: N/A
Web: http://keleos.h11.ru/runit/

Messy desktop? Don't clutter your desktop with shortcuts: RunIt gives you quick access to the programs you use most often, and to the files you've been working on. It automatically creates a Recent and Run menu. You've got a choice of how you use the program. You can use it as a shortcut manager, or let it manage itself automatically by remembering the documents and applications you've worked on recently. It works much like the Start Menu's Documents folder. The program also includes additional utilities for advanced users --- a Process Logger and an Exclusions menu.

PDF 995 6.51s

Operating system: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP
Licence: Free
Minimum system requirements: PDF Converter (see below)
Web: http://www.pdf995.com/

Adobe's popular PDF format lets you share documents with anyone, no matter what computer system they use. PDF995 creates free PDF files from any application. It works just like a printer driver. When you want to create a PDF file from any document, just click Print, and choose the PDF995 driver. The program lets you customise your documents: you can combine files, change page orientation, and can encrypt and digitally sign your documents. If you need to create PDFs, but quiver at the expense of Adobe Acrobat, PDF995 gives you PDF functionality for free.

PDF 995 6.51s

PDF Converter

iDailyDiary 2.02

Operating system: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP
Licence: Free
Minimum system requirements: N/A
Web: http://www.splinterware.com/products/idailydiary.htm

iDailyDiary lets you keep track of your life. Its ring-bound pages look just like a paper diary, but it does much more than a paper diary ever could. You can use it to store formatted notes: of ideas, reminders, to do lists, and information you don't want to lose. iDailyDiary will store your Internet hyperlinks and any images you want to keep. You can create as many diaries as you need. Each diary is password-protected, and encrypted for even more privacy. In addition to pages divided by dates, you can add additional named pages, and can link various pages to aid navigation and organisation.

CleanCenter 1.33.72

Operating system: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP
Licence: Free 45-day trial, then US$29.95
Minimum system requirements: N/A
Web: http://www.cleancenter.net/index.htm

No matter how large your hard disk, it fills up fast. CleanCenter finds and deletes all the junk files on your system, freeing space and speeding up your computer in the process. The program is ideal for computer novices, because it comes with fifty pre-set file types which can safely be removed. Experienced users can select folders they want to clean, and include and exclude specific file types. CleanCenter protects your privacy too, because it removes Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer temporary and history files, and cookies. The Cookie Manager also allows you to safeguard all the cookies you want to keep.

Egg Timer Plus 1.1

Operating system: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP
Licence: Free
Minimum system requirements: N/A
Web: http://www.sardinesoftware.com

Egg Timer Plus is a handy little program which contains both stopwatch and countdown timers. There are two stopwatch timers, so you can time the work you do on a couple of projects to ensure accurate billing. The countdown timer allows you to create any number of preset counters. You can use the countdown timer to time anything from baking a cake to timing someone's computer use. The program comes with its own sound file, but you can change it to any sound on your system.

Ages - Family Tree Database 1.31

Operating system: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP
Licence: Free trial with 50 individuals per file, then US$35
Minimum system requirements: N/A
Web: http://www.daubnet.com/english/ages.html

If you want to trace your family tree, Ages --- Family Tree Database gives you all the tools you need get stared. The program is fun to use, because you can attach multimedia files: family movies, voice recordings of family members, and images. Each record of the database stores an individual's complete life history, facts like full name, marriages and partnerships, and children, as well as other useful material, like notes and media files. Share your research with printouts that you can send to other family members to help you to gather additional information.

FotoSaver 2.2

Operating system: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP
Licence: Free
Minimum system requirements: N/A
Web: http://81.168.54.213/fotosaver/index.htm

FotoSaver is an amazing free image photo database. Think of it as a huge, unfillable set of photo albums. The program not only lets you save up to a million images per database, with titles and descriptions, but also lets you encrypt your albums. Because you can save a set of key words with each image, finding a set of images is simple. It also prints your images in any size, including in huge poster sizes. If you wish, you can post complete photo albums online. FotoSaver will generate Web pages using its own templates, or any template you prefer.

MP3 Workshop 1.9

Operating system: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP
Licence: Free trial, then US$19.95
Minimum system requirements: N/A
Web: http://www.audio2x.com/index.htm

MP3 Workshop is an MP3 manager which gives you complete control over your MP3 files. You can copy and convert music from your audio CDs into MP3, convert from WAV to MP3, slice sound files, and can combine segments of files. MP3 Workshop includes a sound player, so you can create playlists and play them in the one program. Novice users will appreciate the attractive, intuitive interface. Unfortunately MP3 Workshop doesn't collect information for you from online music databases, so you'll have to add all your information manually.

JetAudio Basic 6.0.3

Operating system: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP
Licence: Free
Minimum system requirements: N/A
Web: http://www.jetaudio.com/

JetAudio is an all-in-one multimedia whiz. It plays all your sound, music and video files, and rips CDs. You can create your own playlists, and let JetAudio update them automatically. It records, and converts files from one format to another. You can record from various sources, via a microphone or via line-in input; which means that you can record from a tape deck, radio, or the TV. There's even a timer, so that you can stop recording automatically. Ever wanted to be a DJ? JetAudio lets you broadcast your own music over the Internet. The best news: it's free.

Fresh View 2.0

Operating system: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP
Licence: Free
Minimum system requirements: N/A
Web: http://www.freshdevices.com/freshview.html

Fresh View lets you organize and play your multimedia files, no matter what the format. You can copy photos and other images, can print images, can view all your images as a slideshow, and can create Web albums of your images. If you want to move files into another folder, just drop them into the Album basket. The program's best feature is the thumbnail viewer. Fresh View supports up to 86 different formats, in images, audio, and video, so if someone's sent you a mystery file, you can now view or play the file.

EclipseCrossword 1.2.44

Operating system: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP
Licence: Free
Minimum system requirements: N/A
Web: http://www.greeneclipsesoftware.com/

EclipseCrossword is a brilliant learning and teaching aid. It's useful for parents and teachers, because it makes creating crosswords for children easy. Simply create a list of words and clues, and EclipseCrossword will create the complete puzzle for you. You can print out puzzles, and can even save them as HTML pages so you can share them on the Web. The program is useful for a study group. If each person creates a puzzle, you can swap puzzles and make learning fun. You can make your puzzles as straightforward or as cryptic as you wish.

Perfect Wine 1.0

Operating system: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP
Licence: Free with a 20-entry limit, then US$26
Minimum system requirements: Microsoft Internet Explorer 4
Web: http://www.graphicalic.dk/pages/prog/pwprog.html

Perfect Wine is a database for both the wine hobbyist, and the serious wine buff. Not only can you track when and where you bought a particular wine, but you can also insert images of the label, and a lot of additional information too. You can add as much or as little information as you wish; each record has two full screens of information. This means that as your expertise grows, and as you gather more information, you can add it to your Perfect Wine database. If you've been keeping your information in another program, like a spreadsheet, Perfect Wine imports most formats.