Three Apps' New Approaches to Old Standbys

Fresh perspectives revitalize drab and ineffectual routines. These three programs--an incredibly easy command-line utility, a full-featured Clipboard replacement, and a graphic storyteller--offer new takes on familiar tasks.

You want your PC to be easy to use--but taking the helm at the command prompt is satisfying too. SlickRun helps in both respects. This free utility from Bayden Systems, which initially appears as a tiny floating window showing the date and time, provides convenient time-savers as well as powerful command-line access via a simple left click. But it gets better: Right-click the window to view the app's collection of MagicWords--keywords for taking various actions, such as launching programs, opening URLs or folders, or switching to standby mode. Click a MagicWord, and SlickRun performs the task for you.

Creating your own MagicWords is a snap. When you click on a field in SlickRun's MagicWord-adding window, you see an explanation of its use. Once you've made your addition, you can click 'Test this MagicWord' and watch SlickRun perform its new trick. It really speeds up common tasks. Free.

The Windows Clipboard is just a short-term holding tank; make your snips more hip with Clipboard Help+Spell. When running, this powerful freebie automatically stores all the text copied to your Clipboard, turning it into a huge searchable database.

Clipboard Help+Spell marks every entry with the date, and it lets you sort the entries into groups. The Quick Filter function searches for entries containing the words you specify.

Other functions make Clipboard Help+Spell even more useful. For example, you can type directly into Clipboard Help+Spell and then press a button to paste the text into the last open window of any program that accepts text. And as you might guess, it checks spelling.

Clipboard Help+Spell costs nothing to use, but the author--known as Mouser of DonationCoder.com--accepts donations for his work. Free/donationware.

Never mind deathless prose--sometimes you need a few good pictures to make your point. Comic Book Creator helps you turn a folder of images into graphic stories with punch. This feature-packed desktop publisher gives you the tools to make professional-looking comics.

Creating comics is simple. Choose a page layout from a selection of templates, then plug artwork and photos into it. Dragging images and zooming in and out to get the panels you want is easy. With movable, resizable balloons and text--and a small but decent array of fonts--making a readable comic doesn't take long.

Comic Book Creator comes in two sizes: The larger download has a generous content pack (figures, word balloons, and backgrounds), while the other, much smaller download does not. If you prefer, you can take the basic file first and pick up the free content pack from vendor Planetwide Games' site later. Note that the ten-day demo version does not allow you to print comics; for that feature, you'll need to spring for the $50 full version. $50, ten-day free trial.