2.1.1

Supporting eight chat protocols and some neat extras, Palringo Lite can handle Apple iChat, AIM, Google Talk, Yahoo Messenger, Gadu Gadu, ICQ, Jabber, and Windows Live Messenger. It's a good all-in-one chat app if you're determined to keep it free, but for the real theatrics, you'll need to go pro.

You'll need a Palringo account to get started, but that's easy to create from the application. Like most other chat apps, Palringo Lite organizes by contacts, messages, and groups, with other settings to help fine-tune. Push notification can also alert you to missed IMs, though … Read more

GenSmarts allows users to import family trees from popular ancestry research programs and then analyzes the data to give users further research ideas. Although many of the suggestions may be things that users have already tried, the program has the potential to provide clues in their research that they hadn't already considered.

The program's interface is not entirely intuitive, but it opens with a welcome wizard and has a comprehensive built-in Help file, as well as links to online tutorials demonstrating the program's features. We decided to try the program with a family tree that we had … Read more

File recovery has never been easier thanks to Pandora Recovery. The program's wizard-like approach to finding and retrieving lost files will appeal to all users.

The user interface is about as straightforward as it gets. Clean and simple menu and command buttons run across the top of the paneled window, while a tree-menu containing hard-disk folders to browse resides in a sidebar. But what stood out the most was the program's wizard, which walked us through the process of locating long-lost files. It first prompts you to check your Recycle Bin, which sounds obvious, but is a necessary … Read more

Desktop Earth is a wallpaper program that will appeal to people who are curious about what the Earth looks like from space. Operating on a simple premise, this is a fun and interesting way to spice up your desktop.

This free program, which embeds its icon in your desktop tray, displays a photograph of Earth from space that takes up the full desktop background. The continents appear clearly and most views provide a glimpse of the northern and southern hemispheres and slightly less than half of the entire globe from east to west. The photo updates itself to reflect the … Read more

Tracking a number of items--sales, inventory, suppliers, customers, employees, and more--is a snap with this MS Access-based app that's easy to use and master.

Omega Enterprise Manager launches a large window within which a smaller menu window lets you navigate to its many database interfaces and reports. However, even after you install and launch the app the first time, you'll be prompted to download and install a package of Support files, which includes Microsoft Access 2002 Runtime. The program also launches an Internet nag window when you boot it. Once the app is up and running, the design … Read more

Researchers or students will find this offline browser an easy-to-use tool for storing info from online sources: links, photos, and entire or partial Web pages. We ran into an odd glitch during our tests, but it didn't seem to affect CyberKeeper's performance in any way.

The program installs slowly, but once it's up and running, it launches an attractively designed interface and a floating toolbar that complements its features. (A further slowdown at installation will occur for those who will also need to install Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 Service Pack, which is required for running this … Read more

This suite of system maintenance tools had some notable features, but occasional glitches outweighed the pluses.

MZ Vista Force launches colorful interfaces for each of its several tools, each of which is designed for performing system maintenance and enhancement. Despite the candy-bright colors, each interface is a bit busy and cluttered. The provided tools include the usual suspects for this type of performance toolbox: Disk cleaner, memory optimizer, RAM booster, registry backup, and others.

We liked that each tool's options provided the user some control over the processes, unlike some one-click toolboxes designed for ease of use; the latter … Read more

Vista's built-in screen capture feature performs OK, but if you want more control over your screenshots, this little utility may fit the bill.

Screen Shot Pro loads in your system tray and can be configured to run at start-up. A context menu provides options for setting up the program, taking captures, or opening the directory in which it stores captures.

This utility performed well in our tests, and was very easy to use, making it a good tool for novices. We liked that we could configure the output in JPEG, PNG, and BMP formats and could adjust the quality … Read more