Here's some great utilities that are available on the internet today...

Communictaions Software

Roger Wilco - This excellent utility allows you to talk to your friends (yes by voice!) over the internet. It's designed specifically for use whilst playing internet games. So far I've successfully tested it with Total Annihilation, Quake 2 and Starsiege:Tribes. It works with all kinds of sound cards and really is rather good, even on a modem connection. To download the latest version or just for more information, check out the website here.

ICQ - I Seek You (gettit?). Find your friends online, send messages to them and participate in online chat. Once you've got this software you won't be able to live without it. What's more its completely free. To find out more and to download the latest version go to the Mirabilis website.

Getright - If you're tired of being disconnected from your ISP in the middle of a large file transfer then this is for you. Getright will sit and monitor for when you initialize a download. You can pause and resume providing the server supports it. Plus if you get disconnected, Getright will restart from where your download got stopped. For more info and to download the shareware version, visit the Getright website.

Webferret - The trouble with search engines is that you often need to look through more than 1 to find what you're looking for. Webferret will search through multiple search engines and displays the results in single line text format. This also makes it extremely fast. More info available at the Ferretsoft website.

Gaming Software

Gamespy - Essential for finding the games server that's closest and fastest to you. Currently supports all the most popular First Person Shooters on the market (Quake, Quake2, Sin, Half-Life etc.). Get the latest version of Gamespy here.

MP3 Software

MP3spy - From the makers of gamespy. This program uses Winamp to play MP3 files direct from intenet servers in real time. The quality will vary depending on the speed of your internet connection, but MP3spy will locate the fastest ones for you. Get more info and download here.

Winamp - This program is an essential Windows music player. It will play a vast number of different music files including .MOD, MIDI and of course MP3. It can be customized with all sorts of third party plug-ins, including the excellent Tripex (for use with 3dfx cards). Get Winamp here.

Musicmatch Jukebox - Great utility for converting your CDs into MP3 files. If you want to store your entire CD collection on your hard drive then this will do the job. Visit the Musicmatch website for more info.

RioGeo - If you're the owner of a Diamond Rio MP3 player and you want another use for it, check this out. RioGeo enables you to transfer files of any type (not just MP3s) between PCs and your player. Now you've got a 32MB floppy disk in your pocket! Get it here.