• AVG Free Anti-Virus 2008 Released, Much Improved (Windows)
  "Aside from a general interface overhaul and faster performance, the updated anti-virus scanner has added several new features with a focus on web security."
• Harmony Downloads Album Art for Fullscreen Coverflow (Windows)
  "Freeware application Harmony integrates with your iTunes library to provide an attractive, Coverflow-like interface of your albums."
• Xobni Beta Now Open to the Public (Windows)
  "Xobni adds email analytics, better contact cards, fast search, threaded conversations, and more to your Outlook inbox."
• Cairo-Dock Adds Slick, Custom App-Launching to Linux (Linux)
  "Free utility Cairo-Dock makes a strong showing, not least for its highly-configurable and slick appearance, as well as a good range of plug-ins and third-party applets."
• OpenOffice 3.0 Beta Now Available, Adds Native OS X Support (All)
  "OpenOffice.org, the free office application suite, has released a beta of its 3.0 version to the public with a few key features rolled in."
• PandoraBoy Brings Streaming Radio to Your Desktop (Mac)
  "Free, open source application PandoraBoy pulls the popular streaming internet radio site Pandora out of your browser and integrates it with your Mac desktop."

You're a busy person, with a button-up career gig that takes up most of your waking hours. So when you clock out, you don't have time to put in all the work to get into party mode. What you read more »

Blogger Rafe Needleman uses Gmail to record memories of his young son's life. With the hefty storage, easy accessibility and robust filter and search tools, it's a neat way to be able to quickly pull up that time when your little one met Santa Claus—or yanked your laptop off the table. Of course, with stuff this precious, it's always a good idea to back it up.

AU - Please note that water restrictions are in place across most (if not all!) of Australia right now. These tips are about saving water when caring for your lawn, but you should check what restrictions are in place in your local area!

Spring is upon the northern hemisphere (AU - and down under we're living with water restrictions!), and with a little know-how, you can water your lawn more smarter this year. Tutorial site wikiHow offers strategies to reduce your water usage while maintaining a healthy, hearty lawn. For example:

Water deeply to encourage deep root growth. Frequent shallow waterings encourage weed germination, and they also cause the grass plants' roots to grow shallow, leaving the plant more susceptible to drought and to certain diseases. Watering only when your grass really needs it encourages the roots to grow deeper

The article is full of other smart watering tips—like watering early to avoid evaporation—that are worth a read before you put out the sprinklers. Photo by Finstr.

Give your cat a comfy place to snooze and save some money by turning an old sweater into a cat bed. Step-by-step tutorial site wikiHow runs down how. The result can even be a dog bed (for small dogs) and your pet will love cuddling up in something that smells like you, too.

YouTube search webapp TimeTube creates a timeline of video clips for a certain search. Search for something (like "American Idol") and you'll get back a timeline (or "tubeline") of video clips. Pan, zoom and watch the clips right on page. Fun way to catch up on old clips of interest you haven't seen in years.