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1. 
   Review - Key Launch

   2.0 (Mar 21, 2009)

   Nice free program that does the job for my needs. I like the fact that you can be completely explicit about which folders it should index. Most of these types of programs seem to force you to index the start menu, which I don't want. I can search the start menu with Vista by pressing one key. But with this you can make a folder of your custom shortcuts and have it search that folder only, which is exactly what I want.
   
   The "approximate search" mode also does a very good job of finding stuff even if you make a typo or type just a few random letters. Plus it has a little list of a few lines showing the bes tmatches, so if you really screw up you can just hit down then enter to go to the second match or whatever. Also you can completely turn off automatic indexing so it will only index on startup or when you right click and tell it to do so.
   
   It has a bunch of stuff for website shortcuts and all that too which honestly I have no use for so I don't know how well all that works. But it is there.
   
   Overall, pretty basic-looking (who cares if your launcher has a drop shadow really) but does everything I want and does it well. Switched over to this from Launchy a couple of years ago and haven't missed it, no real complaints.

2. 
   Review - The Bat! Professional

   4.0.0.3 Alpha (Dec 26, 2007)

   Thunderbird might be an "alternative" if you only use 0.01% of the features The Bat! has, and I'm sure for a lot of people this is the case. But at the same time, going from The Bat! to Thunderbird is basically going from one of the most powerful and feature-filled email clients around to one of the most bare-bones and featureless. Whether or not that's acceptable to you is a matter of personal opinion, but as email clients they are really worlds apart.

3. 
   Review - KeePass Password Safe Professional Edition

   2.02 Alpha (May 11, 2007)

   The author has stated that 1.x will stick around for a long time and he'll even continue to add some new 2.x-style features to it. So if you don't need or want the 2.x stuff then you don't need to upgrade now or in the near future. Personally I'm still using 1.x at the moment, but will probably have a look at 2.x when it's out of beta and see how I like it.
   
   Anyway, this program is absolutely excellent and changed the way I use passwords online. I used to lose usernames and worry that one compromised password would endanger all my other accounts that used to same one. Now I just spend 5 seconds in KeePass whenever I make an account, hit the Generate button, and I've got a different password for every account I use--all just a few clicks away. And best of all, not only is the program excellent, it's 100% free and open source.
   
   If I could rate KeePass 6 stars, I would. Essential software and one of the first 5 programs I'd install on a new PC.

4. 
   Review - Opera for Windows

   9.20 Build 8767 Beta (Apr 2, 2007)

   @horsecharles
   
   Wow, you just complained about a program being beta on BETAnews. Incredible.

5. 
   Review - Gom Player

   2.1.3.3413 Beta (Mar 22, 2007)

   @yokozuna:
   
   You are able to do that to customise decoder priority, however you aren't able to do the same with regard to splitters. In the current version Gom has a bad framerate when playing back MKV files due to the poor-quality internal MKV splitter, which cannot be disabled/overridden even through filter customisation. Hopefully they'll fix it up in future, but right now I can't recommend Gom at all for MKV playback due to this problem. Ideally they'd let you customise your splitters just in case, but if not then at least I'm hoping the internal MKV splitter will be improved.
   
   That said, this is otherwise a great player that in my mind is a sort of blend between the power of Zoom and the ease-of-use of MPC. It's a simple design but pretty powerful and with a lot of convenient features. I'll probably stick with Zoom for most of my playback but I'll be recommending this to my semi-power-user friends who may have outgrown MPC but would be intimidated by Zoom. I may very well use it myself too on occasion.

6. Comment - I would rather cut bait than be phished in Hotmail's waters

   2.1.3.3413 Beta (Oct 6, 2009 - 3:08 AM)

   For the last 5 years I've been using Keepass to store/create virtually all my passwords (I only have about 10-20 or so in my memory), and according to it I currently over 600 (not a typo) username/password combinations. Without a doubt the biggest reason for that is forums, sometimes just reading them you'll need an account, other times searching or downloading attachments will require one, and certainly making a post will as well. But of course there are many other types as well.

7. Comment - Opera 8 Web Browser Launches

   2.1.3.3413 Beta (Apr 20, 2005 - 12:53 AM)

   Opera? Slow? I simply cannot believe that. Have you really used Opera at all, or are you just tlaking trash? If you want to see some proof of speed, maybe you should check this out:
   
   http://www.howtocreate.co.uk/browserSpeed.html
   
   Notice how the latest version of Opera beats the equivalent IE and Firefox in every category. That's *every category*. But yeah, Opera is so "slow" isn't it.

8. Comment - Opera 8 Web Browser Launches

   2.1.3.3413 Beta (Apr 20, 2005 - 12:51 AM)

   Why buy Windows when you can use Linux for free? Why buy a car when you can walk for free? Why buy a coffee when you can drink water for free? Why buy a house when you can live in the streets for free?
   
   I think you see my point that cost isn't the only factor in deciding whether or not to use something. That and Opera is free if you can live with a textad.