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VirtualBox (tested v2.2.2 r46594 for Windows)
Virtual computing environment
Developer: Sun Microsystems
OS: Windows/Mac/Linux
Price: Free
Site: http://www.virtualbox.org/

Sometimes it feels like choosing an operating system is like choosing sides in a cold war, especially if you decide to switch from one platform to another. Mac switchers, though often very happy with their new digs, occasionally run into Windows programs without good Mac equivalents. And Windows users who are interested in Linux or the yet-unreleased Windows 7 may not want to give up their OS to test drive an unfamiliar system. If only you could run two operating systems side by side, just like you would two programs.

VirtualBox is one of many virtualization solutions that allow you to do just that. Traditionally virtualization technology has been limited to the enterprise sphere, but with OS X and Linux growing in popularity, regular computer users have found more reasons to play with programs like VirtualBox. You can generate a new virtual machine and install a different operating system, like Ubuntu or the Windows 7 release candidate, without having to give up your current OS.

VirtualBox has two modes of operation: a windowed mode, which acts like a second screen showing your virtual machine's display; and a seamless mode, which allows you to treat the applications in your virtual machine much like they were windows on your actual computer. Other programs like Parallels and VMWare Fusion offer this feature, but VirtualBox is both free and available for Windows and Linux as well as Mac.

This technological alchemy has drawbacks. Because all the virtual machines run on one computer, they will all compete for resources, slowing down your system. Also, because virtual machines can't directly connect your computer's hardware, certain visual features like Windows Aero won't work. Chances are these minor tradeoffs will be acceptable to anyone trying to run two operating systems on one computer.

f.lux (tested March 8 build for Windows)
Screen colour temperature manager
Developer: Michael Herf
OS: Windows/Mac
Price: Free
Site: http://stereopsis.com/flux/

Artificial lighting is an imperfect substitute for sunlight. If you've ever noticed the harsh glow of a fluorescent fixture or wondered why your night photos have an eerie orange tint, you've experienced the deficiencies of artificial light first hand. Sunlight has a relatively high colour temperature, which manifests as a bluish tint. Incandescent light bulbs, on the other hand, have much lower temperatures, which means they tend to give off a yellowish cast.

Computer screens also tend towards the blue end of the colour temperature scale. Combine this with the relatively high default brightness of modern LCD screens, and you have a recipe for eyestrain. f.lux changes your display's colour temperature to match the day/night cycle for your area automatically. When it's daytime, f.lux will keep your monitor at a colour temperature resembling sunlight. As the sun sets, the colour temperature will drop accordingly until it matches your indoor lighting or a custom temperature of your choosing.

If you start using f.lux at nighttime, you might find your screen suddenly looks a rather dingy yellow as your screen goes from daytime mode to nighttime mode in a matter of seconds. But when the progression occurs naturally over the space of a few hours, you won't notice much except a display that feels slightly easier on the eyes. The illusion would be complete if not for one small flaw: in Windows, the white mouse cursor remains at your display's original colour temperature. If you can ignore the slight blue tint of your cursor after the sun has set, then f.lux may hold the key to more comfortable computing.

Spark (tested v3.0b9)
Keyboard shortcut manager
Developer: Shadow Lab
OS: Mac (OS X 10.4 Tiger and up; Spark 2 available for 10.3 Panther)
Price: Free
Site: http://www.shadowlab.org/softwares/spark.php

Keyboard jockeys will tell you that there can never be enough shortcuts in applications. Photoshop experts, Final Cut maestros and Excel wizards alike rely on shortcuts to relieve the tedium of having to open menus and pick out items using the mouse, often at a painfully sluggish speed. So it can be especially painful to find that a certain function comes without a handy shortcut, forcing you to pull a hand off the keyboard and onto the mouse.

Spark is a shortcut manager that grafts hotkeys onto all sorts of OS X and application functions. The utility offers seven categories of actions that can be augmented with shortcuts, from simple text macros to executing complex AppleScript code. You can set up hotkeys to open any application or document, control iTunes playback, and even shut down or log out of your computer. Hotkeys can be set to activate globally from any application, or just when a specific application is active.

As befits a beta, Spark 3 has a few teething problems. The HTML export command that outputs all your shortcuts as a printable web page shows you the key combinations but not a description of what the shortcut does. Spark's ability to attach hotkeys to menu items in applications is also experimental, requires Universal Access, and may not work in all instances. But these are problems that will likely be worked out once Spark 3 reaches final release.