Skype
One of the killer apps of the Web is Internet phone calling, also known as VoIP, or Voice over IP. As Internet data pipes get larger, they're able to handle more data, including live video and audio exchanges, and Skype is one of the most popular and best VoIP clients out there. Skype serves as an instant message program that also enables you to make free voice and video calls to other Skype members.
For a fraction of standard phone rates, Skype will also let you call regular landlines phones and cell phones and give you a phone number that others can call and reach you. In other words, you could conceivably ditch your land line and save $50 or more each month on your phone bill. Skype, of course, offers a full range of features when you pay, including voice mail and text messaging, and the app runs on both Macs and PCs, as well as on Skype-dedicated phones (not to mention dual-mode phones that run both Skype and a landline and let you switch easily between the two). You can even install Skype on your Wi-Fi or 3G-enabled cell phone and place Skype calls direct from your handset.
Of course, given Skype's popularity, there is a good chance you could go on making Skype calls to everyone you know with out ever having to spend a dime.
Google Chrome
Well, Google has finally entered the browser wars with Chrome, and it's pretty impressive. Sure, it lacks the robust feature set of Firefox, but Chrome is fast and secure. Chrome features tight integration with Google's Gears which brings Web apps like Google Reader and Docs offline.
Chrome also has a unique feature among browsers that isolates each tab you open, which helps to keep your system safe from viruses and spyware and keeping browser crashes to a minimum. If one page freezes or crashes, you simply close that tab and the rest of the browser keeps functioning normally. We've only had a limited time with Chrome, but so far we're pretty impressed. Unfortunately, it's only available for Windows right now, but Mac and Linux versions have been promised. For more in-depth coverage of Google's salvo in the battle of the browsers, check out our sister site Download Squad, which has compiled a thorough guide to the new browser.
VLC
Surprise! Yet another free and open source application -- this time for people who don't like all the extra little performance-slowing programs that iTunes or MusicMatch might add to your laptop. VLC is an incredibly versatile media player that won't let you manage your iPod, but will let you play back almost any video or audio format you can throw at it, whether it's a stream from a Web site or a file on your desktop. Best of all, VLC is amazingly light weight. You'll experience none of delay that accompanies the launch of iTunes or Windows Media Player, and VLC uses fewer system resources, so your battery may even last a few minutes longer than if you were using iTunes.
VLC won't play back songs purchased through iTunes, or any other DRM track, but it will save you the hassle of opening up Quick Time to play a video, then iTunes to play a song you ripped from a CD, then Windows Media Player to stream NPR from its Web site.
Pidgin
Keeping in touch with your friends and family online can be a hassle when everyone prefers a different instant-messaging/chat program. Your geeky friend swears by Google Talk, your girlfriend is all about Yahoo! Messenger, and your parents still stick by AIM. Who wants to run three different instant messaging programs? Well there's no need, just grab Pidgin or its Mac only sibling, Adium. Pidgin and Adium will work with just about any instant messaging platform you can think of, and some you've probably never heard of -- MySpace IM, AIM, Yahoo!, MSN, Google Talk, ICQ, Jabber, and more. Both programs will even work with the popular VoIP / IM platform Skype with a downloadable plug-in, though Skype will still have to be running in the background.
Pidgin and Adium will let you login to all of your IM accounts at once and manage all your conversations from one tabbed window so that you don't litter your desktop with an endless number chat boxes. Pidgin and Adium are both light years better than any of the single network instant messaging applications out there.
Sometimes you'll come across some information online, or you'll think of an idea for a new project, or you'll want to jot some quick bullet points for yourself in a meeting. For this sort of application a full word processor can be overkill, and not very useful. That's why there are dedicated note-taking and clipping applications like Evernote and Journler. These software packages allow you to quickly create, organize, and search notes. Evernote and Journler will even let you embed images and links to Web sites or files. Tomboy for Linux lacks many of the fancier features that Evernote and Journler have, but its sheer simplicity make it a pleasure to use. Tomboy lets you create simple text-based notes that can then be linked together like a Wiki (i.e. Wikipedia entries that link to other Wikipedia entries).
Outlook's note-taking capabilities and desktop post-It-like sticky notes have long been popular, but both lack the advanced organizational features and multimedia capabilities of these note-taking apps. Stickies and Outlook are fine for quick one-off notes and reminders, but for detailed brainstorming and research, Evernote, Journler, and Tomboy are much more up to the task.
Quick Media Converter
One of the downfalls of digital media is the mess of formats that make playing back songs and videos more of a hassle than it was to obtain them in the first place. Here's a quick list of the various files you're likely to come across: Ogg, WMA, WMV, Quicktime, FLAC, MP3, DIVX, AVI, WAV, AAC, MPEG. Playing them all back requires an arsenal of media players (or one really powerful one), but no personal media player can handle them all.
So, how do you get that HD quality DIVX file to play on your PSP, or that Windows Media track to spin on your iPod? Well, you've got to convert it to a compatible format. Quick Media Converter puts a slick interface on the powerful FFmpeg media-playing-and-converting tool that normally requires complex commandline ninjutsu to operate. But Quick Media Converter makes everything easy by taking just about any file you feed it and spitting it out again in the desired format. It's as easy as pressing a button for MP3, or WMV, or even device specific buttons for iPod, PSP, etc.
7-Zip
Almost everyone is familiar with WinZip and its slightly lesser known competitor WinRAR -- these programs open up files that have been 'zipped,' or compressed, to be sent via e-mail or to save space). Most are also familiar with the annoying pop-up reminders to purchase and register your copy of these archive handling utilities.
But we'll let you in on a little secret: Buying WinZip and WinRAR is silly when you can get 7-Zip for free. 7-Zip makes smaller files and handles more archive formats than its competitors. Plus, it doesn't cost you one cent. 7-Zip can unpack RAR, CAB, ISO, ARJ, LZH, CHM, WIM, and a few other formats you've never even heard of and can create 7z, ZIP, GZIP, BZIP2 and TAR files.
You'll thank yourself for downloading it the first time you're able to open a ZIP file with out having to wait 15 seconds to click OK.
Audacity
Audacity seems as though it has been around for ages, but there's a reason the app is still going strong: It's one of the most reliable and easy-to-use audio-editing programs out there. Plus, Audacity runs on all platforms, and it's free!
Want to digitize your old vinyl records? Boot up Audacity, hook up your stereo, and you'll be recording in no time. Looking to make the next mashup to take the Web world by storm? Audacity lets you easily import, edit, and mix MP3s (and WAV, AIFF and OGG files). Manipulating audio is as easy as cutting, pasting, and dragging -- highlight a section of a recording that has unwanted sound, and a quick cut will remove it from the file. If you're looking to get into more advanced editing and effects, Audacity comes with multiple sound filters.
