FUN WITH DESKTOP

15 programs to make sitting at your Desktop more enjoyable, whether by transforming it into a 3D environment or providing it with an application launcher to help cut down on the routine tasks of starting programs or opening folders buried within others. Perhaps you would like to be able to zoom in on a single pixel or make small text easier to read without changing the font. Maybe you'd like to rearrange the taskbar at the bottom of the screen... If you are looking for a new screen saver check out the Links to Other Stuff page.
Click on program names on the left to see more information, screenshots etc., Remember that the website links on the right will work if you click on them but some have been abbreviated in this view so they will not work if you copy and paste the information... To see the full URL, place the mouse cursor over the link and look at the bottom left of the window, on the frame itself. If you don't find the freeware still available, try http://www.woundedmoon.org/win32_freeware.html

3DExplorer			Take a fun 3D tour of all your directories (folder 'trees'), including those in the System lurking behind all your endeavours. A dizzying experience! Do read what is written under 'More' before installing 3D Explorer, as there is nothing in the folder that results from setup to tell you what you need to know. That comes when you finally manage to work the controls out! Perhaps nobody was at hand to suggest a ReadMe?! http://www.graphitx.com/
Win9X/ME	638 kilobytes
	GraphitX at Cadfrance France
Earth 2.0a			This screen saver is more than just a pretty sight, it is also a realistic one. Choose at from what distance to view Earth and whether from the Sun, Moon or Night side or from directly above a given latitude and longitude.   fourmilab.ch/earthscr/
Win 9x/ME/NT/2000	1102 kilobytes
	John Walker, Switzerland
LaunchItNOW! v1.5		Why waste valuable time searching for the programs, files, folders and favorite URLs you want to open, when you can just access them from wherever your mouse pointer is? The shortcuts appear as full-size icons and the LaunchItNOW! window is always at hand via an icon in the System Tray. Colour the window, icon background and text however you want. The window expands to fit the number of icons you include. http://www.gemiscorp.com
Win9x/ME/NT/2000/XP	1299 kilobytes
	GemiScorp
Lights			Frame your monitor screen with flashing red lights - at any time of year, although the application's official name is Xmas Lights... When you want to switch them off you will find a little matching icon in the System Tray (on the right at the bottom of your screen) with which to do so. This and several other fun little things are available at: mit.edu/joycelin//Download
Win9x/ME/NT/2000	28 kilobytes
	Bill Inc.
Magnify 1.21			Magnify is a wonderful tool for anyone involved in close detailed work, such as pixel by pixel editing of an image. For those with seeing difficulties, Magnify is a boon when working with, for example, text programs lacking a zoom facility. We found it much more manageable than Windows Magnifier. The homepage is at: http://schiller.dartmouth.edu/~mam/ Magnify/Magnify.html  This link will take you straight to the download page for Magnifier: freedownloadscenter/Magnifier
Win9x/ME/2000	808 kilobytes
	Mehmet Iyigun
Mouse Tool 3.13			MouseTool clicks the mouse for you. It watches as you move the mouse, and when you pause, it clicks. You can use hotkeys as if they were mouse buttons or to control MouseTool. Smart Drag allows you to drag the mouse cursor without using hotkeys. MouseTool constantly watches the window that is under the mouse, so it can send the type of click you have chosen (left-, right-, double-, or drag) to any given window.  http://www.mousetool.com.
Win9x/NT/2000	462 kilobytes
	Jeff Roush, JR Software LLC
PiQuest FastOpen			FastOpen operates from a folder icon in the system tray, (at the bottom right-hand side of your screen), allowing you to create a custom menu with shortcuts to anything you wish, including drives, and giving options including a choice of single or double windows on individual folders. You can control every aspect of the menu. When you aren't actually accessing it, FastOpen does not take use any resources. http://www.piquest.com
Win9X/ME/NT/2000	976 kilobytes
	PiQuest Software, Inc. - Denver, USA
PlusMenu 1.2			With PlusMenu you can add to, and remove, shortcuts from the right-click pop-up menu, the little list of ready-made shortcuts that you see when you right click on a file or folder. Usually, altering this menu would require you to work in the Registry - something you should never do unless you know what you are about! This gets the results without taking such great risks.  http://www.mindbeat.com
Win9x	867 kilobytes
	Mindbeat.com
PowerBar 1.30			This toolbar appears on the Desktop, initially across the top, although you can choose either side, top or bottom. The menu appears when you right click on the little icon at the left of the bar. Reading the Help file, which can be accessed from the menu, will tell you all you need to know. You can put up to 100 items on PowerBar, including separators if you want them. homepages.enterprise.net/quinton
Win9x/NT	586 kilobytes
	Roger Quinton United Kingdom
PowerMenu			PowerMenu adds new extensions to the system menu of application windows.'Priority' changes the priority of the window's parent process; 'Transparency' changes the transparency level of the window in Win2000/XP (only) ; 'Always On Top'  keeps the window on top of other windows regardless of focus and 'Minimize To Tray' removes the window, placing it on the system tray. We have no use for these features include it here in case you do. veridicus.com/powermenu.
Win9x/NT/2000/XP	130 kilobytes
	Thong Nguyen (Tum)
Shake It			If you have always wished you could rearrange the Taskbar that appears at the bottom of your Desktop, this is for you! You can choose whether the Start button should be in the middle, with the System Tray to the left and QuickLaunch to the right, or Start on the right, the System Tray in the middle, and so on. http://www.thomas-w.de
Win95/98/NT IE5	58 kilobytes
	Christian H/ Thomas W
ThumbTrack 1.2			With this neat little application you can hold onto any scroll bar without having to keep the left button held down. A little hand appears in place of your usual cursor and now you can drag the scroll bar along without depressing any buttons. Very useful in lots of situations. www.leeos.com
Win9x/NT/2000	150 kilobytes
	Lior Ostrowsky, Israel
Virtual Control Panel			This delightful application allows one to access various functions in virtual reality instead of by following the usual paths. (In 'More' is a snapshot of VCP showing what can be reached). We find it easier to use than the Windows equivalent for everyday stuff and it's certainly more fun! http://www.linkexe.com
Win 9x/NT	714 kilobytes
	Linkexe Technology
Win 3D			When you enter Windows in 3D, you find yourself in a Virtual reality space with different rooms for each type of activity. You can access everything on your computer and, although we do not use it regularly, we have enjoyed the occasional excursion into it. This beta testing version freezes occasionally so we have to close the program by using Alt+Control+Delete (once). We have no problem with that but it may be worth visiting the website to see if a more recent version is available as freeware. http://clockwise3d.com
Win9x/NT	2330 kilobytes
	Clockwise Technologies Ltd.
Y-Desk			To quote the author: " I hate tiny toolbars! Y-Desk will sit on your desktop like a big, fat cow..." Dieter Rausch created Y-Desk (more like a rocket-ship control panel than a cow) to provide a system administration tool, gathering up hidden wizards, tools and settings, grouping them together and making them accessible from one place. You can add 120 shortcuts to the existing sets... Now that's what we call a toolbar! See our Y-desk design at the y-desk website! http://belushi.de.cx
Win9x/NT/2000	805 kilobytes
	Dieter Rausch, Belushi Software Berlin, Germany