Features

1. Pidgin
www.pidgin.im
Size: 10.8MB

Pidgin handles your every IM need, allowing you to communicate using one interface across a huge array of networks, from AIM, MSN and Yahoo, to the less common Zephyr, Bonjour and others. It's a little rough around the edges, but its open-source roots mean it's constantly improving. And while many would argue for the inclusion of the more polished Trillian (www.ceruleanstudios.com), Pidgin gives you access to all of these networks for free.

2. Foxit Reader
www.foxitsoftware.com
Size: 1.67MB

Few people look further than Adobe Reader for opening PDFs, but Foxit is a worthy alternative. The first thing that strikes you is its speed. After years of viewing PDFs at Adobe's dawdling pace, the swift response of Foxit is a revelation. Pages packed with high-quality pictures and text open with minimal fuss and scroll without the irritating lurches so common to the industry standard bearer. The install is very quick, and the 1.67MB download snack-sized when compared with Adobe's 70MB feast. Despite the small footprint, most familiar features are accounted for, although thumbnail views of pages are conspicuous by their absence.

3. Thunderbird
www.mozilla.com/thunderbird
Size: 6.2MB

Thunderbird is a POP3 mail client that does everything Outlook Express can and more. Multicoloured tagging and almost instant searching make it easy to get around your inbox. The Firefox-like find-as-you-type feature is also handy for swiftly tracking down buried messages. Best of all, hundreds of plug-ins let you extend the software to your taste, adding optional features such as integrated encryption, a localised spellchecker or navigation by mouse gesture.

4. LogMeIn Free
www.logmein.com
Size: 8MB

If you thought Windows' Remote Assistance was an impressive remote-support tool, prepare to be amazed. LogMeIn Free is Dom Perignon, Remote Assistance is Lambrini. Once you've downloaded the utility onto your PC (or the person you're supporting has), you can access it from any location via the LogMeIn website - and, perhaps best of all, as the service is web based it works through any firewall or router, which is the key advantage it holds over UltraVNC. So if you want to access your own computer, you can do so: send and receive email, browse directories, run programs and so on. Likewise, fixing someone's PC becomes as simple as walking them through the installation of LogMeIn Free. Unlike UltraVNC, however, file transfers aren't possible.

Art & Design (2)
Communication (4)
Diagnostics (7)
Entertainment (11)
File Sharing (3)
Internet (4)
Security (5)
Tools (11)
Various (1)
Virtualisation (2)

	1 Foxit Foxit scrolls through even graphics-heavy PDFs with ease.