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If you are one of those who want to have a workspace dedicated to specific types of activities, then nSpaces from Bytesignals is definitely the app for you. It helps you set up virtual desktops tailor-made for whatever purpose you choose.

The free virtual desktop application, once installed, requires a little bit of work configuring the different desktops you want to add. However, once this step is done, using the app is quite easy. You can switch desktops by assigning hot keys or launching the Switcher and choosing the desktop you want to use from there. There is also the … Read more

How do you feel about global domination? Answer 1: "Ick." Answer 2: "I'm fine with that, as long as it's me doing the dominating." If you chose Answer 2, you'll probably enjoy Absolute Risk, a classic Word Domination Risk game from Developersland. Chances are good you're already familiar with the basics of this free strategy game, which involves moving armies to conquer territories and continents: We have a clue that it's based on a classic board game with something of a monopoly on the Risk market. But while you need to … Read more

Speed-reading programs are older than computer programs, but they're a natural when teamed up as software. Speed Reading III is a simple, free tool that tests your reading speed but not your comprehension. It's designed to help you increase your reading speed and concentration, which can boost comprehension. The basic idea isn't to try to read every word as fast as you can but to focus on a midpoint and see how well you understand the message.

Speed Reading III opens with a plain and simple interface containing a text message that describes the basics of reading … Read more

So you'd like to be able to illustrate your reports and documents with top-quality charts and diagrams. You've got MS Paint, or maybe something better. You open a new document and...yikes. It's not as easy as it looks, and you end up trying to draw straight lines with your mouse. Why not try creating diagrams in Pencil? This free, open-source diagramming and GUI prototyping tool has a huge range of stencils and preconfigured elements to drag and drop into an intuitive interface. Pencil works as a Firefox add-on or a standalone tool using XULRunner, which is … Read more

Sometimes we get so used to doing things a certain way--finding a program in the Start menu, or opening our Web browser and entering a Web address--that it doesn't even occur to us that there might be a quicker, easier way to do things. SlickRun is a tiny little utility that can launch programs, open Web sites, record notes, and much more, all from one unobtrusive little bar that you can position anywhere on your screen.

When not in use, SlickRun displays current memory usage and the date and time. Clicking on it turns it into a text box, … Read more

Marble Portable is a free 3D globe and atlas program. It's similar to Google Earth, but much more compact, and it's also totally portable, which makes it a great choice for students, travelers, and anyone who needs a fast, lightweight atlas program.

Of course, Marble is far more than an atlas. Its virtual globe lets you zoom in from a planetary view to state level, but not street level. Clicking on any place name opens its Wikipedia article for more information. Marble has standard flat and Mercator maps and Earth, Moon, and celestial globes. You can apply various … Read more

Have you ever drawn a mind map? We bet you have. Mind maps are the kind of diagrams that business planners, mad scientists, and other innovative types scribble over blackboards and whiteboards, linking balloons and boxes with a variety of lines, arrows, and assorted scribblings. Ordinary people might draw one on a napkin while planning out their day. In any case, mind maps are one of the most flexible, useful, and intuitive planning techniques known. Open Mind is freeware for creating customized mind maps for any use you can think of. You can insert text, images, and even YouTube video … Read more

If you've ever dreaded the prospect of manually changing numerous file names, RenPhoric is the program for you. It's nothing fancy, but it does provide an extremely easy way to find and replace specific file names anywhere on your computer. It's a great choice if you need to batch-rename images, songs, or any other files that you have too many of to deal with individually.

RenPhoric has a straightforward interface, with a button at the top that lets users navigate to the desired directory. From there, just start typing the file name you want to locate in … Read more

Blumind--it's like "Blue-Mind," not "Bloomin'"--is freeware that creates mind maps, those diagrams dominated by a central idea or goal, with elements, subconcepts, and other related things radiating outward. They can plot everything from sewage systems to philosophies, as simple as your breakfast diet or as complex as quantum physics. Any concept that can be centralized and studied in parts can be mapped with Blumind's easy-to-use graphical tools and handy themes.

Blumind works like a graphics tool but looks like a browser, with tabs, a Menu button, and sidebars. But the tabs open New … Read more