Website : www.logmein.com

Description : Remote control software which enables you to securely access and control any machine with software you installed, via a browser.

I found this software about a year ago, and whilst I haven’t used it a lot, it has come in handy a few times. With apps of this nature, you often get different versions. When I started using it, there was only 3 versions: Free, Pro and Tech Support. Now there are 10! It goes without saying that LogMeIn is obviously doing rather well for itself, and the reason for this is probably because it does what it’s supposed to with such little hassle.

I will only be looking a the free version, as this is all the average home user will ever really need. Quick, easy, and simple remote control over your home machine from another machine, from your laptop when you’re near a hotspot, or anywhere that has internet access.

You have to sign up for a free account, and then download the software for any machine you want to control remotely.

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That’s right, another AppAholic Exclusive, but this time it’s actually getting YOU something for nothing – a free StyleXP key, which is non transferable from machine to machine. You can’t get this anywhere else on the web!

StyleXP is a OS skinner, much like Windows Blinds. Although they have their differences (which I am currently working out), StyleXP is damn good. The only problem is it costs money, right? Well, you’re actually wrong. It officially costs about $29.99 (I believe), but after talking to the kind people at TGsoft, they have offered me this exclusive, which means you can get yourself a free licence key!

You can try the 30 day trial if you want. After that you will definitely be wanting the free key!

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Version tested : 1.0.0

Website : www.launchy.net
Download : Page

Description : Quick-launch anything by knowing its name alone, or even a few letters. Index’s default and user defined directories for default and user defined file types. You can have user defined commands and many skins.

When I first read about this app, I thought I’d never use it, just the same as all the other launchers I had tried. This one was a bit different though. It indexed all the apps on my machine, effectively making the start menu obsolete for apps I knew the name of. The initial indexing didn’t take too long, and I don’t notice it running.

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Version tested : 3.7.2

Website : eng.softq.org
Download : Page

Description : Customize folder icons with handy right click menu on any folder. Actually saves to the folder, so it would work perfectly on any USB drive.

Let’s face it, Windows folder icons get a bit boring, day in day out. Well how about you making a choice as to what the folder icons are? Sound good? Then this is what you will be after.

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Version tested : 4.0

Website : www.auslogics.com
Download : Page – Direct

Description : Defrag’s the registry making the machine boot faster and programmers load faster.

This really is a supreme app that is so simple to use that anyone who can click the go button can use it. It’s a powerful little app, compressing and deranging your registry and making the machine load faster, added to which it’s TOTALLY FREE! (even though 99.9% of apps I review are free, it’s rare for them to fix what they find in the scans)

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Version Tested : 3.22

Website : www.tidystartmenu.com
Download : Page – Direct

Description : You know the massive start menu you have? Well this is the answer to your prayers! It’s what you need and you don’t even know it. Tidy up that freakin’ Start Menu. You can do it your own way, or the Tidy Start Menu way. I know which one I’d choose.

If you’re a real AppAholic, you may well be on your way to the fourth column on your programmes list… and that’s on an 19″ screen set at its highest resolution! So how do we solve this problem of a start menu that is ugly to look and means you have search up and down to find the right app you want? Simple, categorise them using Tidy Start Menu.

It has 9 set categories, Office, Utilities, Games, Entertainment, Internet, Programming, Graphics, Security and Other. You simply check the apps that fall into that category. When you move onto the next category, the previously checked apps are taken out, so eventually you can whittle it down so that you’ve put each and every app in its rightful place.

It also has back up and restore features, and the ability to select different layouts for different users. It isn’t clear what the paid for version does that the free one doesn’t, apart from creating your own categories and start menu icons wizard, which is quite a neat function. The recently added right click uninstall option, however, which could be quite useful.

It seems that what started out as a simple tool for doing one task for the creator, has taken on a whole new level, adding extras that you would probably like if it was offered free. The price tag isnt over-priced really, but I can’t believe there isn’t another programmer out there working on a freeware tool to do the individual features.

No hassle all in one? Well let’s be honest, it’s probably worth it, with lifetime free updates and extra features. Still, if you just want to Tidy your Start Menu, and let other apps do other jobs, then the free version will do you fine.

Version tested : 1.0.1 (6) Beta

Website : windowslivewriter.spaces.live.com Download : Page

“Windows? Have you lost your mind?” I hear you say. Well usually I would be asking the same question, but in this case, I think they may have made something half decent. Firstly, it has a good range of supported blogs. Not being a massive blogger myself, especially not knowing the ins and outs, I found it really easy to set up and use. I was a bit concerned about giving out my username and password over to a MS app, but then I am running windows, so what can I say!

Although it is still in beta mode, I don’t have many complaints. I can use multiple blogs and also download the style of the blog I’m posting to, giving me a more realistic WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) feel. The insert image function is, for me, the best, as you can set standards with custom watermarks. It also automatically uploads them to your blog space if supported. Not only that, but it resizes the watermark for the thumbnail and main image file. Although it’s a bit difficult to make the image stay where you want, this isn’t a major issue.

There are loads of plug ins (or so I’m told) for this app, supporting special features for different blog sites, although I haven’t been able to access them, as the search function on the plug ins website doesn’t seem to like me very much, even through a number of online proxies.

There are only one or two annoying things I can think of other than that, one being the fact that each new post, or old post you open, opens in a different window. Hopefully that’s only because it’s in beta, as they will realise that tabs are the way forward.

Portable : NA

I was browsing around yesterday, can’t remember exactly what I was looking for, but I came across this site, which has an icon resizer on it. However when I tried to download it, I was taken to a Russian translation. Anyway, after contacting the owner of the site, they emailed me the apps, and agreed to let me host them on this very blog.

So what’s so good about an icon resizer? Well, it enables you to enlarge your desktop icons bigger than Windows will let you. One step further towards to making your Windows OS look like a Mac!

I have decided on a new category too… Macify, linking you to the apps which can change your Windows OS to look like a Mac OS. Should be good!

Ok, currently, there are some designs under way for the rating system, and the layout of posts is being reworked. I’m considering having 4 different ratings, with an overall rating. How about that? Any ideas as to what else should be included?

Over the next few posts, the layout and style may be inconsistent. This is because we are trying out different ideas as how best to layout our posts. All the post content will still be there though, so no worries.