With its bare-bones interface and basic feature set, Egg Timer Plus isn't going to bowl you over. But if you're looking for a simple, lightweight timer tool to run on your Windows PC, this $5 application will meet your needs.

If you'd like to keep an eye on the timer while you're away from the computer, you can resize Egg Timer's window to gargantuan proportions, making it easy to see from across even a large room. (If your computer's screen saver blocks your view, you will have to rely on the audible alarm.)

While you can use the timer and the stopwatch simultaneously, Egg Timer Plus does not let you run multiple timers at once. For that, you'll have to open and run multiple instances of the program itself. While this is certainly possible, it's also somewhat confusing: With multiple Egg Timer Plus windows open on my desktop, I couldn't remember what I was timing and why. But that's about as confusing as it gets.

Egg Timer Plus is pretty darn simple. Still, it offers enough features and customization options to make rival BringFocus, which allows you to countdown time in very limited pre-set intervals only, look like something out of the Stone Age. Still, BringFocus is free, while a fully functional version of Egg Timer Plus will set you back $5. It's not a big expense, certainly, but when my iPhone's alarm clock offers similar features, it's a price that's hard to justify.

--Liane Cassavoy