DesktopX 3.5

From Stardock :

DesktopX is a program that lets you design your very own desktop. Use widgets to enhance your desktop experience or build a completely new desktop interface from scratch. The program includes support for hot keys that can hide and show desktop widgets, and it supports animation, sound, and other features that can really turbocharge your Windows experience. It includes tools to make it easy to create your very own desktop designs and widgets.

The most unique feature of DesktopX is its ability to create and run simple programs, called objects, on your desktop. The default installation includes a variety of objects, such as a CNN Headline News ticker, an analog clock, and a simple MP3 player. You can easily download more objects. Interesting icon tweaks include expansion to just smaller than giant, as well as a feature that makes icons grow when you mouse over them. We like the themes, which provide a unique collection of objects, background images, and other tweaks that can switch your style in one swoop. All told, DesktopX offers extensive tools for redesigning your desktop.

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Ashampoo WinOptimizer 6.30

From Ashampoo :

Ashampoo's extensive pool of knowledge about Windows optimization is the basis for Ashampoo WinOptimizer. The program is designed to enable both novice and advanced users to cleanse and optimize their Windows system and adapt it to their own needs. Easy-to-use menus present the individual modules of Ashampoo WinOptimizer and make it possible to measure system performance, deactivate annoying autostart entries, or delete unnecessary files, all with a mouse click.

Version 6.30 improves Internet Explorer 8 and Firefox 3.5 support and fixes several possible minor bugs.

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Adobe Dreamweaver CS4

From Adobe Systems :

The striking new user interface of Dreamweaver CS4 is both an aesthetic pleasure and highly efficient. Web professionals of every stripe will find a workspace arrangement to fit their style, or they can customize their own. The revised user interface shares a uniform look and overall functionality with other key members of the Adobe Creative Suite 4 family including Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended and Adobe Flash CS4 Professional software. Bring the future of Web design to your desktop with the advanced code handling found in Dreamweaver CS4. From the integrated Web-standard CSS to support for world-class JavaScript frameworks, Dreamweaver CS4 redefines the world of web authoring.

With Dreamweaver CS4, you can: create next-generation web experiences; work in a real-world view of your CSS, JavaScript, and other dynamic, rich media content directly in Dreamweaver CS4; navigate precisely from a selected page element to its code, regardless of where it is located; integrate third-party Web widgets from the most popular JavaScript frameworks into your pages; learn best practices; design visually with CSS best practices. Create Ajax-driven interactivity while supporting accessibility and best practices in your completed pages; take control of your content; enable content authors to update Web pages directly in their browsers; add dynamic data to your site without a database or complex coding.

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WordWeb 5.52

WordWeb is a handy utility that gives you the definition, synonyms, and antonyms of any given word without requiring you to go online, though it can connect to the Internet for expanded functionality should you want it.

The interface feels like an expanded version of any major word processing app's dictionary function, giving users an instant familiarity--even if they've never used WordWeb. After you type a term into the Lookup dialog box, the word's definition will appear in the interface's top pane, along with tabs that link to various wiki functions.

The bottom pane offers tabs for such items as synonyms, antonyms, and related words. The app's most notable feature is its hot key support; you simply use a hot key combo when the cursor is pointed over any word, and WordWeb will pop up onscreen with all pertinent information.

There are tools for changing the database to one of several English variations, altering the text size, and disabling WordWeb from recognizing offensive terms. The depth and functionality of WordWeb would be worth paying for, but thankfully you don't have to redefine your budget to get it--it's free.

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Maxthon (Classic) 1.6.5.18

Maxthon (formerly MyIE2) is a multipage browser based on the Internet Explorer core (IE 5 or 6 required). It can open multiple Web pages in just one window, and it takes only a few system resources when you're surfing with the integrated user interface. The application supports special plug-ins and IE extensions, and its features include autoscrolling, form autofilling, external tools, plug-in support, a newsgroup-browsing mode, mouse gestures, customizable skins, and an Autohide panel.

Version 1.6.4 build 20 fixes a problem when unloading a plugin and includes a new startpage.

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Vuze 4.2.0.4

Formerly the feature-rich Azureus, Vuze takes Azureus' BitTorrent foundation and builds on top of it a network for video discovery and user-created video publishing tied together by social networking.

From XML torrent options to IP filters, firewall tests to UPnP plug-ins to baked-in social networking, Vuze isn't breaking new ground--the original BitTorrent client has gone this path, too--but it is doing it in an innovative and attractive way. When you install the program, you're faced with an interface that will be instantly familiar to iTunes users. In providing a general overview of their torrents and media playback controls, the new layout emphasizes user-initiated searches.

The Advanced tab has been replaced by My Library. The old Azureus is now completely gone, but because of the demands of users, Vuze 4.0 is much closer to the intent of its progenitor than Vuze 3.1 was. A simple, three-step guide that launches when you start Vuze helps you get acclimatized to the new Vuze. There's still work to be done: memory usage is up around 100MB, and although you can set up private trackers, you can't customize the search box. People new to torrenting or only interested in sharing media files might appreciate this visually active approach.

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