Appearance

BumpTop www.Bumptop.com

Make your Windows desktop look like a regular three-dimensional desk, complete with piles (representing files) you can toss around or flip through and walls you can stick things to. Works with Windows XP, Vista, and 7. Free; Pro edition, $29

AppeArAnce

Minime www.saphua.com/blog/?page_id=18

Minime minimizes all windows to the System Tray with a single hotkey. Plus it hides them behind a single icon, which you can then click for a menu of what’s running. Free

Nimi visuals www.mynimi.net

This portable app (no installation required, just run the EXE file) gives Windows visual effects similar to those found on Mac OS or Linux add-on Compiz, including better transparency, sparkles, blurred backgrounds, and more. Nimi Visuals is fun, albeit not useful, and best run on very fast systems. Free

ObjectDesktop www.stardock.com

Give XP or Vista a whole new look. This collection includes WindowBlinds for new skins, DesktopX for building widgets, DeskScape animated wallpaper, and more; the Ultimate version adds ObjectBar for customizing your desktop and TweakVista, which does just what it says. $39.95; Ultimate, $69.95

QTTabBar qttabbar.wikidot.com

Did you fall in love with tabs in your Web browser? Add the feature to Windows Explorer and fall in love all over again. Free

Taskbar Shuffle nerdcave.webs.com

Portable and simple, Taskbar Shuffle does one thing: It lets you move around the buttons for open applications usually found on the Windows taskbar. Free

TrayIt! www.teamcti.com/trayit/trayit.htm

This lightweight, portable app installs a System Tray icon that lists the programs running on your PC; that’s where you’ll access them when minimized, rather than on the taskbar, saving valuable real estate. Free

UBitMenu

www.ubit.ch/software/ubitmenu-languages

Do you love Microsoft Office 2007 but hate the ribbon interface that replaced the menus of yore? UBitMenu puts the dropdowns back in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, just as they appeared in Office 2003. Switch