Five Freeware Gems I Use Every Day

Whenever I migrate to a new PC (it happens more often than you might think), I immediately install the following five programs. I can't live without them, and neither should you.

• Copernic Desktop Search I don't know why desktop-search utilities have all but vanished, but thank goodness Copernic is still around. It's essential for digging up files, e-mails, and the like with a minimum of effort. And as David recently reported, Copernic beats Google Desktop hands-down.
• IrfanView Paint.NET is the go-to choice if you need Photoshop-level image editing, but for basic stuff like cropping and resizing photos and changing their file formats, you can't beat IrfanView (a fast, easy image editor I can't believe I haven't spotlighted before).
• FolderShare Newly updated and better than ever, Microsoft's free Windows Live FolderShare makes it a snap to keep folders in sync across multiple PCs (like the one at work and the one at home).
• Meebo One of my Top Web Services of 2007, Meebo offers Web-based instant messaging to just about any system: AIM, GTalk, Yahoo, whatever Microsoft is calling its IM service this week, and so on. And because it runs in your browser, there's nothing to install.
• Launchy When I want to run, say, Excel, I hit Alt-Space, type "Exc," and hit Enter -- a process that takes me about two seconds. Contrast that with searching the desktop, Start menu, etc. for the Excel icon and you'll see why I love this launcher. Anything that keeps me from having to reach for the mouse is worth its weight in gold (even if it is just code).