App 9: Pidgin

Chatting online lately has become a bit of a chore.
While the majority of my contacts are on MSN, I also have contacts in Google Chat, Facebook and AOL Instant Messenger.
Having all my contacts in different protocols means that I have to use MSN Live, for MSN contacts, Use a Browser window for Facebook and Google Chat, and AIM for AOL Contacts.

Well to make things easier, I've started using Pidgin.
Older Ubuntu users are probably already familiar with Pidgin, as it used to be the default messaging application. However, its also available for Windows and Mac OS X, making it an ideal application for many people.

Upon finishing installation of Pidgin, you just use your sign-in names for each network or account you use and voila, all done!

Also, instead of having a lot of windows open for each conversation you have, Pidgin has a tabbed interface for your conversations, making it easier to find who you're talking to.

Furthermore, there are several plugins available to enhance the usability of Pidgin! 

It's great to have all your stuff in one place, and makes things much more organized, Pidgin is a great application to keep your friends close!

Pidgin is available for Windows, Mac OS X, Ubuntu, CentOS and Fedora Core.

App 8: Paint.Net

I have to apologize for the lack of updates. I was busy with some school-related activities in the past month.

But I do have a new App!
Many people know that Adobe's Photoshop is the most popular application to edit and manipulate images. However, getting it is a bit tough, with the basic Photoshop Elements costing about $80 and the full Photoshop CS4 costing from $200 for an upgrade to $700 for the full thing.

What I have here is a free alternative to Photoshop.

Paint.Net offers many of the features that Photoshop has but I've noticed a few things that make it truly competitive with Photoshop.

As with many of my other applications I've posted, Paint.Net is fast to load, and uses up less resources. In a comparison of the two, I've noticed that Photoshop is using about 50% more RAM than Paint.Net when working with the same file using the same tools and applying the same effects.

Additionally Paint.Net has a huge community to create plug-ins for features that are not included with the application.

It has a clean interface, and has compatibility with Windows 7 Jump-Lists!
I recommend it, and it's a quick 5Mb download from http://getpaint.net 

Mobile Apps!

The first Mobile Apps to come to AppADD!
First off the Google Mobile App for your phone.
The Google Mobile app is useful for anyone who uses any Google service.
What impressed me the most was the Voice search feature. What this does is allow you to search Google without having to use any text input. Just say your search term and it'll go search for it! Even more impressive is how it recognizes non dictionary terms!
The Google Mobile App works on many phones, go to http://m.google.com

App 7: Dropbox

Nowadays I move between several computers. From Home to School, I use computers all day.

I'm also way too lazy to keep all my files on a usb stick. The best option for me is to store in the cloud.

Dropbox is the best way to do that. It works on all platforms as well as on iPhone.

After installing Dropbox you will be able to drag and drop files into a folder, that saves itself on the Dropbox site. you can then access that info on any computer that has access to the internet just by visiting the Dropbox website.

I'll post about some other cool things you can do with Dropbox, like remote access to Torrents.

App 6: DVD Flick (Windows)

I don't have a complete Media Center PC hookup in my house, so in order to watch a file that I have on my PC, on my TV, I would have to burn it to disc using a DVD authoring tool like iDVD.

However for those without Macs DVD Flick is a free Windows alternative. It's simple to use and offers incredible a huge list of compatible video formats. According to DVD Flick's website it features:

• Burn near any video file to DVD
• Support for over 45 file formats
• Support for over 60 video codecs
• Support for over 40 audio codecs
• Easily add a menu
• Add your own subtitles
• Easy to use interface
• Burn your project to disc after encoding
• Completely free without any adware, spyware or limitations

The program is very easy to use, and you can begin making a DVD in seconds!
I particularly like how drop-dead easy it is. Combined with HandBrake, I can make copies of my favourite movies, or episodes from a DVD, that I can play on my own computer, or media device, then burn to DVD to watch on my TV. Great!

App 5: 3RVX

One thing I love on Ubuntu and Mac OS X is the on screen display (OSD) for volume. Its a shame that Windows doesn't have this built in. I always wanted the functionality to know exactly how high my volume is without having to hover the mouse over on my taskbar.
3RVX is a great application which is similar to OS X's OSD, but is skinable and customizable.

Its a great option for Windows users, and lightweight, and easy to use. It also comes with a hotkey editor and the ability to launch your mixer application.
3RVX is available here

App 4: ImgBurn

ImgBurn is one of the best lightweight CD burning applications for Windows.
It allows you to read, create an image file and write image files to CDs, DVDs or Blu-Ray discs.

It supports plenty of image file formats including .bin, .cue, .img, and .dvd and many more.
Additionally it can burn Audio and Video CDs/DVDs.
ImgBurn is very easy and simple to use, and I highly recommend it for your burning needs.