Darn Good Software, Doggone Cheap

Leisure

Snappier Snapshots

ACDSee

ACDSee 4 is a terrific image viewer, but that's only half the story--this versatile utility from ACD Systems also lets you grab pictures from your digital camera or scanner, convert file formats, create slide shows and Web albums, and do much more. Its photo-editing tools won't replace Photoshop, but you can crop and resize, fiddle with an image's contrast and color, and fix red-eye. You can use it free of charge if you register by e-mail once every 45 days. That's a fair trade-off considering that the package costs $50 otherwise.

SUMMARY

ACD Systems ACDSee 11.3MB

Play It Again, Sam

MusicMatch Jukebox

MusicMatch Jukebox Basic 7 packs plenty of audio power. The streamlined interface lets you navigate your music collection and create playlists. The MusicGuide (the only place you'll see ads) has artist and album information and recommendations. If you plan to burn CDs of your favorite tracks, try the $20 Plus version, which burns CD-Recordables 12 times faster than the free version. It also lets you rip audio CDs to MP3 format faster, refine and retain your equalizer settings, and print CD labels and case liners.

SUMMARY

MusicMatch Jukebox 9.9MB

Gaming on the Fly

SabreWing

If you were a fan of Wing Commander, X-Wing, or other epic space-combat titles of the past decade, the frenetic 3D dogfights in SabreWing will bring back fond memories. The best part: This fast-paced space-fighter simulation plays entirely over the Web, streaming missions to you on the fly. Just download WildTangent's free 840KB Web driver, and after a quicker-than-Flash-movies load time, you'll be blasting aliens with the best of them.

SUMMARY

SabreWing 5MB