1st Clock 2.0 is a taskbar-based clock that just about covers the gamut of what a PC clock should do. View the date, the time, resources, and other information in the taskbar, in any format, color, and font you choose. Set any number of alarms with custom messages, sounds, colors, and icons. You can also play MP3, MIDI, Audio CD, and .wav sounds, and you can launch applications with the alarm. The clock can synchronize with Internet Atomic Time servers as well. $30 from www.greenparrots.com/clock.html. The "lite" version is free, but doesn't support Internet Atomic Time synchronicity or alarms.

1st Virtual Multi Zone Promotional Clock 3.5.2 is a 3D, animated desktop clock that displays the time in three time zones at once. Free from www.promoclock.com/order_now/.

AbAlarm 2.0a is a bare-bones alarm clock and event reminder. It may be stripped down, but it's free from www.abelssoft.de/engl/.

Above and Beyond 98 is a PIM (personal information manager) that works almost as well as the big-bucks Outlook 98 and only costs $50. It works well for single users up to low-level office applications. Get it free for 30 days from www.lsoft.com.

Ace Clock 2.0 is a neat little desktop clock with alarms, chimes, and more. $12 to keep from www.ecrew.org/products/timer/.

Activity Counter 1.0 is a $9 PC events tracker that surveys the time you spend working on your PC. I got "porn-stormed" while trying to find its home page, so you'd do better to download it from www.gnomedownloads.com/Business/ProjectManagement/.

AdPinxi 1.0 is a full-featured calendar and PIM. $35 from www.adpinxi.com/.

Address Office 4.0 is a nice address book, calendar, and calculator. Runs on Windows and Mac platforms. Free from www.centromedia.com/en/products/addressoffice/index.html.

Advanced Call Center 2.21 is a utility that performs the same functions as an answering machine: play a greeting, record messages, etc. Add Caller ID to block known phone or e-mail vermin. $25 from www.voicecallcenter.com.

Alarm Clock 1.0 is a simple icon-based desktray alarm clock with provision for 7 daily alarms and a single alarm for use within the ensuing 24 hours. Uses too much system resources for my taste, but you can see for yourself at www.scottflute.com/software_alarm_clock.html.

Alarm Clock 2.6, obviously designed with notebook-toting road warriors in mind, sets your PC to wake you up with alarms or music. Free from www.karenware.com/powertools/ptalarm.asp. The Visual Basic source code is also available.

Amigo-2000 is a simple-to-use PIM that works as well as the more expensive commercial scheduler utilities. $12 to keep from www.primasoft.com/am.htm.

Ant Movie Catalog 3.1.0 keeps your movies in order. You can record media type, release year, director, and of course, the title of the movie. If the "motion picture" is on your hard drive, you can even link it to an external player to watch it. Free from www.ant.be.tf/.

AP Clock Player 1.2 is a skinnable clock for your desktop. Free from www.amazingplanet.com/.

Appointment Setter 2.0 is a free personal electronic calendar system, available from www.superprosoftware.com/.

Appointments 1.0 shows days and months in a tree-style format (as you'll recall from the Windows File Manager). $20 from www.cadkas.com/.

AtClock 1.0 extends standard TaskBar clock capabilities. Now, your system clock will be able to show hours, minutes, seconds, current day of the month, and day of the week. $30 from www.atclock.com/.

Atom Clock Sync 2.6 references an atomic clock server to get the current time with the greatest accuracy available, and then updates your PC's information. Free from www.isbister.com/.

AtomTime 2.2, from www.atomtime.com/, links to an Internet time server to keep your PC's time accurate to the second. $10 to keep.

Audio Notes Recorder 2.1 lets you record voice notes to yourself. Lots of features. $20 from www.xemico.com/anr/.

Automachron 4.00d isn't just a program with a cool name, it's a free and useful little goodie that gets the correct time from the Internet and keeps your PC clock synched. Get it from www.oneguycoding.com/automachron/.

Aversoft Sticker 3.55 is a PC version of the ubiquitous "sticky note." Free from www.aversoft.com/sticker/.

Banshee Screamer 2.01 is an adjunct to the alarm clock that you (well, I) tend to smack off the night stand so you can get more sleep. As the name implies, it will wake you up. Free from members.xoom.com/smhanov/.

BeatNik Internet Clock 2.0 beta is another atomic-clock synched PC timekeeper, this one customizable with a number of "skins" for that crazy downbeat look, man. Free from somedec.com/, but you may want to download this from another site -- something's ginchy about Somedec's home page JavaScript.

Black Hole Organizer 2.61 is a freeform organizer and note-keeping tool, not only allowing you to jot notes to yourself, but also accepting text blocks and other bits that can be dragged into the "black hole." Once you configure it, it can prove quite useful, especially for the organizationally impaired among us. $25 from www.lincolnbeach.com/blackhole.asp.

Bill's Calendar, $20 from www.srosystems.com/bc_dl.htm, is the digital equivalent of a paper calendar. Simple and easy to use, and includes the ability to record voice messages to yourself and place it on a certain date for playback.

Birthday Chronicle 5.61 generates a newspaper page with the headlines and events from a particular date in history -- think of the "birthday news" pages you can buy at a carnival or a Cracker Barrel. Even gives a greeting from the then-current President. $50 from www.kksoft.com/birthday.html.

Black Hole Organizer 2.01 is a freeform personal database program that comes across as a full-featured, powerful PIM. $25 from www.lincolnbeach.com/blackhole.asp.

Blackadder Organizer 1.0 is a nicely functional PIM for everyday use. Free from www.definitelybites.com/.

Bodie's Calendar 2.22 is a desktop calendar with an alarm and notes. It features a stay-on-top mode, minimizes to a desk-tray icon and supports drag-and-drop. Plus, you can search and replace text in the current note or across all notes. $13 from www.reybodie.com.ar/.

Brainstorm is a uniquely designed PIM that claims to work the way the brain works. $60 from www.brainstormsw.com/. The author informs me that the program has been recently improved, with a new "Magic Paste" property that monitors the clipboard for changes. The program sounds intriguing; think I'll give it a test drive.

Breitling World Time tells you the current time for every country and time zone on the planet, and even converts currency and units of measurement. Free from www.breitling.com/eng00/aero/bwt/.

C-Organizer 1.2 is a personal information manager which combines a day planner, address book and alarm in one. $25 from www.csoftlab.com/.

Calendar '99 2.6 lets you create and print monthly or bi-weekly calendars stuffed full of info, including phases of the moon and holidays along with your own entries. $15 to keep from members.aol.com/jgraff/.

Calendar Magic 13.1 provides a plethora of calendar-related information. Finding out what those 12 Chinese months are all about is just the beginning. Free from www.bigwig.net/eurosoft/calendar.htm (the home page may be down, so try www.simtel.net/pub/pd/55320.html).

Calendar Maker 2.5 is a freebie from pantheon.yale.edu/~bdc5/calmaker/index.html that is useful primarily for home users. It's incredibly easy to use, and lets you schedule events, view the calendar on your desktop, and print it out for later use.

Calendar Wizard 2.0a lets you create 12-month calendars using images of your choice. Either pony up $25 or buy and read a particular fantasy novel ("bookware" -- how odd), either choice is available from www.mindworkshop.com/alchemy/calwiz.html.

Calendarium 2.1 combines a wallpaper-changing utility with a calendar desktop accessory. This tray-based tool not only automatically rotates wallpaper images at Windows startup and/or at regular intervals throughout your computing day, but it overlays a monthly calendar over each desktop background. $11 to keep from www.controlzed.com/massaraksh/calendarium.html.

CalendarPainter is a picture calendar builder and printer progam providing several calendar designs. Any bitmap image can be added to a month and any color can be selected for the month frame and week days. Free from www.waseo.de/en/Products/Freeware1/DateTimeSoftware/
CalPaint1/calpaint1.html.

Cheap Date 4.0c is a cheap way to add a scheduling program to your PC. You can run it 10 times before registering it. Get it at members.aol.com/GWWWiz/wiz.htm.

Chronos Clock 2.0.3.0 is a floating desktop clock that displays multiple faces showing the date and time in different zones and in a variety of styles and formats. You also get an alarm system, a pop-up calendar with daily diary notes and reminders, and Internet time synchronization. $25 from www.rainbow-innov.co.uk/.

ClockRack is a virtual array of clocks that show any number of clocks, configured by you to display the time in just about anywhere in the world. It sets your internal clock to any of a dozen different U.S. time servers and then computes the proper time in whatever towns or cities you choose. Free from www.pcmag.com/utilities/.

ClockWatch 2.0.0 keeps your PC's clock synched with Internet atomic clocks; the basic version will cost you $20, and the enhanced version $30. Find out more from www.beaglesoft.com/ProdClockWatch.htm.

Clox 2000 7.0 gives you a row of analog or digital-display clocks that show the time in user-selected locations around the world. Also allows you to set your PC clock to a Web-based timekeeper, as well as giving you an alarm facility. Free from www.mirage1.u-net.com/clox.htm.

Cobasoft Clock 2.0 is a free utility from www.cobasoft.com/eng/csclock/csclock.htm that lets you set up to 6 alarms in your PC, as well as keep a log of all Windows activities.

College Alarm Clock 1.02 is a free alarm clock utility from www.geocities.com/vinodtandon/cac/ that plays different CD tracks depending on what time it is or what day of the week.

Comrade 1.0 is a multi-functional PIM that includes a calendar, diary, address book, image viewer, program launcher, and more. Free from www.oncemore.com/test/comrade.html.

Contact Networks is a hybrid software app/Web service that uses the Web to keep PIM and contact manager information easily up-to-date. The small downloadable utility synches with Outlook, and will work with ACT! and the Palm Desktop. If you and everyone in your circle of friends, or office, decide to use this, you might find that your information and contact management just got a little easier. Free from www.contact.com.

Corkboard is a free interactive screen saver from www.pcdymanics.com/Corkboard that also functions as a scheduler and PIM. Register and receive new plug-ins as they become available.

Countdown Timer 2.0 is a free utility from www.karenware.com/ that allows you to feed different events and their date/times into your PC, and runs a "countdown" for each event. Plug in business deadlines, birthdays, Super Bowls, or the day when the points on your license expires. Programmers, you can also download the VB code.

Cursor Clock 1.0.1 is a free utility that attaches a digital time readout to your cursor. Windows 2K and XP users may need to turn off their cursor's shadow. Free from www.noah.org/cursorclock/.

Data Express 1.3 is a powerful personal information manager, or PIM, that offers various "modules" -- Notes, Calendar, Contacts, etc. -- along with a built-in mail client, a reminder utility, a call tracker, a schedule viewer, a built-in calculator, and a time-synchronization utility. $21 from www.shellfishsoft.com/dexinfo.html.

DataCom 2000 Contact Manager is a one-time data entry system, integrating the contact's data with related virtual file folders, schedules, faxing, file transfers, telephone activity, and Internet e-mail and browser connectivity. $70 from www.multisource.com.

Date Calculator 1.03 is a free utility that counts down the time between two dates -- i.e. from now until the Oscars, from the first day of spring to when Hell freezes over, or whatever suits you. Snag it from www.acutesoftware.com.au/datecalc.html.

DateTime 1.2, a freebie from www.primasoft.com/ftp.htm, keeps your PC time correct to the second with an Internet connection to a time server.

Day-Timer Organizer 2000 -- if you like it on paper, you'll probably like it that much more on screen. Free trial from www.daytimer.com/, but you try finding it on that site. I'd go to www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,5646,tk,hsx,00.asp or another shareware site to pick this one up.

Days 2.00 tells you what day of the week a particular date falls on, no matter if the date is during Roman times or next month. Free from pages.zdnet.com/wasaywasay/wasaywasay/id4.html.

Days Off Calculator 2.2 works to control and keep up with employee scheduling -- days off, vacations, etc. Free from www.schedule-me.com/days.htm.

DaysEase is a free calendar creation utility from www.pcmag.com/utilities/. You can use it to create daily, weekly, or monthly calendar pages, with images of seashores or bathing beauties or what have you.

Desktop Calendar 0.42b is a calendar that sits on your desktop and features a daily event reminder, optional wallpaper control, and more. Free from tinnes.org.uk/desktopcalendar.

DesktopSchedules 2000 5.2.0 is a $20 electronic version of the paper desk calendar so many of us use. It doesn't come with pre-loaded coffee rings, and you can't doodle on it, but it looks flexible and useful. The makers, home.twcny.rr.com/carpetbazaar/Schedules/default.htm, bill it as a perfect goodie for small businesses or home offices. You decide.

DigiDay Atomic Clock and Reminder 1.8 is a modest little program that sits in a little area of your screen and displays the time, date, and various info about your PC -- drive space remaining, free RAM, etc. $18 from www.visionx.com/clock/.

Dimension 4.1 from www.thinkman.com/dimension4/ is a free program that resets your internal clock. You put it in your Startup folder, and it goes online automatically every time you boot up to reset your clock to the correct time.

DreamyStar Organizer 2.5.2 is an all-in-one information organizer for private and workgroup/small business management. $50 from www.dreamystar.com/.

DS Clock 1.4.1.2003 is a free, fully customizable digital desktop clock from www.dualitysoft.com/dsclock/.

E-Time 1.0 maintains the precise time on your computer's clock, collating your system's time with an atomic clock for complete accuracy. Free from www.webmedia.ru/.

Easy Alarm Clock 1.0 is a $10 utility that pretty much does what its name implies, gives your PC an alarm clock function. It plays the .WAV file of your choice along with displaying a popup message box. Look it over at members.tripod.com/brightneon.

EasyNoter 3.5 is a simple-to-use daily organizer and PIM. $30 from www.thebestdiary.com.

Ecco Pro is a PIM that works well for a program not updated since 1997. Free from www.eccorocks.com/.

Eh Windows Reminder is better than a piece of string around your finger, and you don't have to buy the string. Now your PC can help you remember what it was you didn't want to forget. Download it free from lcpx07.lc.ehu.es.jma.html.

Electronic Assistant Lite 3.1.1c offers a contact manager and organizer, a to-do list, a journal, and an alarm module, but it also allows you to keep track of the finer things in life, such as your tape, CD, book, and CD-R/CD-RW collections. And you'll never have to worry about losing items you loan out, as it even tracks who's borrowed what from your collection. Free from www.danteproductions.com/ealite.html.

Elephant Memory 1.0 is a simple reminder for the PC, a system tray-based event reminder, with a configuration panel for creating a quick task or event. Free from sourceforge.net/projects/reminder/.

Elprime Clock 1.01 BETA replaces the digital clock that's on the bottom corner of the computer screen. Options include starting up when booting the computer, controlling the transparency from almost invisible to completely visible, setting alarms with a pop-up text message accompanied by a choice of sounds such as ringing, UFOs, and alarms, and changing the skin to one of three choices. Free from www.elprime.com/.

Family Runner 3.6 is a family-oriented calendar and scheduling utility. $25 from www.integracomputing.com/.

Freedom Organizer 3.2 is a complete home and business PIM/contact manager, with a calendar/journal, alarms, reminders, multiple-currency bank accounts, invoices, expenses, inventories and more. $69 from www.freedomsoftware.net/organizer.html.

GigAlarm 1.201 is a simple, free personal alarm/reminder utility. The program is donationware; the author provides it free, but asks $5 for users who decide to keep it. Just like the old days when shareware was really shared.... Find out more at users.bigpond.net.au/glina/GigAlarm.htm.

Gifts 'n Reminders is a combination calendar and gift planner. Lots of bells and whistles, including a database to enter in info on relatives, friends, and persnickety folks who are tough to buy for. $35 from www.provariant.com/.

Grafix NetCalendar 2.0 is an easily used utility that lets you create Web- or intranet-based calendars. Professional-looking calendars are made with a few clicks. Not cheap at $60, but if it sounds like something you or your company might be interested it, it's available from www.grafix-net.com/netcalendar/.

H9kTimer 2.01 is for the truly time-obsessed; keep up with the time in up to sixteen different clocks, each configurable for different parts of the world. Skinnable, comes with its own screensaver, and free from www.h9k.com/download.html.

Hamsin Clock 2.10 is a free alarm clock that's plenty configurable; check it out at www.iisr-cnc.com/hamsin/.

Happy Calendar 1.51.5 is a $20 goodie from www.jimjams.com/xhaca.html that shows day, month, and year views along with lunar phases, zodiac info, and the ability to set alarms and search entries.

Hijri-Cal Islamic Calendar Software 1.2 displays the Islamic calendar dates for each day in the Gregorian calendar. Lists Islam's special days and optionally present news. Free from www.divineislam.co.uk/DivineIslam/Software/Hijri_Cal1/.

HotTime 1.3 is a goodie that sychronizes your PC clock with an Internet-based timekeeping facility. Works with Palm units as well as desktops. $10 from www.aladdinsys.com/hottime/.

I-ToDo 1.1.3 is a time-management utility that lets you organize and prioritize your tasks in a tree structure, and includes a calendar, user list, alarm function, and search/find functions. Pretty snazzy for shareware. $20 from www.itodo.multiservers.com/.

Info Angel 1.51 is a full-featured personal information manager (PIM) with Notebook, Contact Book, Organizer and (Internet) Bookmark Manager. Features a built-in Web browser, integration with phone dialer, e-mail and browser, includes an alarm function, includes a huge amount of editable information, easy to use, and more. Free from www.angelicsoftware.com/.

Inicio 3-1118 is an unusual, but useful, PIM. Free from web.madritel.es/personales2/jrm300/inicioen/introen.htm.

iTimeSync 1.0 is a simple tool that synchronizes your computer clock with an Internet timeserver. Free from www.sinnercomputing.com/.

Its Time 2.8c is another alarm-and-reminder program, with several attractive features including optional sound alerts. $20 from www.rkssoftware.com/itinfo.htm.

Kana Reminder 1.4.0 is a reminder utility with an alarm. Free from www3.sympatico.ca/phartana/reminder.html.

MediaThek 5.1 is a nice PIM with lots of features. Free from www.chez.com/sfaucourt/mediat_us.htm.

Memo To Me is a free, Web-based calendar and reminder service from www.memotome.com/.

Merlinholm Compona 3.1 is an Outlook add-on that allows you to view multiple Outlook calendars. You can define different groups of people whose calendars you want to look at. The appointments can be viewed by day or by week, or sent to the printer. At a whopping $585, it won't see much use by us grunts, but it might be useful for small businesses. Find out more from www.merlinholm.com/Compona.htm.

MouseClock 3.0 is a clock with a difference; it works through your mouse cursor, providing you with the current time, date, free system resources, seconds (stopwatch), how many new e-mails you have, and a rate timer. Requires the VB6 Runtime files. $15 from www.amfsoftware.com/windows.html.

Mr. ToDo has one of the world's stupidest names, but it works nicely as a tasker/database program; particularly good for people who need to keep up with who is scheduled to do what on what date. Try it for 45 days, keep it for $25, get it from www.easyfeet.com/.

Need a program that tells you what time it is in different languages? Download the free Multilingual Speaking Clock from its Swedish home page at www.abc.se/~m8501/spclock/ (it's in English, so don't worry). If you really like it, try the enhanced Speaking Clock Deluxe 3.02 for $10; it keeps appointments for you, and has a text-to-speech capability. New languages are always becoming available, so keep checking back.

MySpace is a toolbar that occupies the slim "no-man's land" between the edge of the Windows desktop and the edge of the screen. Licensed apps who contract with MySpace's manufacturer, The Pixel Company, will have customized toolbars in MySpace without having to ask permission from Microsoft; users can also add their own files or URLs for quick launching. Download a trial version from www.thepixelcompany.com/.

Nerium 1.24 spices up your desktop with an arty little clock. Skinnable, and with an atomic clock checker. Free from www.hydrasoftware.net/nerium.php.

NistTime 3.0.02 is a tiny program that synchronizes your system clock with the atomic clock in Boulder, Colorado. The program runs in the background, and works from six different servers to ensure it will always have a live feed. Free from home.socal.rr.com/atsoftware/.

Njstar Calendar 1.0 shows you the dates in either Western or lunar format, along with Western and Chinese zodiac signs and more. Free from www.njstar.com/calendar/.

Note Keeper Lite 2.4 is a text-based information manager which acts not only as a PIM (Personal Information Manager) but also as a general note repository, allowing the user to structure information using different projects, treeviews and hierarchies. Free from www.codeexpress.com/nk2/nk2_index.html.

Notesbrowser 1.2 is a multi-purpose note taker and PIM; it even comes with a built-in pizza timer (!). Free from www.notesbrowser.com/.

NudgeMe 3.0 is a reminder program that pops up with a "cuckoo" to remind you to pay a bill or make a meeting. $10 from malcnoo.bizland.com/nudgeme/.

Office Maid 6.01 is a screen saver that allows other people to leave you notes when you're not around. A touch of the mouse brings up a dialog box that lets the visitor type a message and post it. Messages are password-protected. Useful and cheap at $18 from www.coolshare.com/.

Online Homebase is a Web-based calendar and reminder utility. Free to use at www.onlinehomebase.com/.

Online To-Do List Manager 1.0 creates an online, Web-based scheduler that "remembers" appointments, Web sites you mean to visit, or whatever you include. Not a bad idea, especially if you use it for your home page. Free from www.mytechaid.com/software.htm.

Orchestra 1.0 is a personal information manager (PIM) with contact manager, word processor, reminder book, notepad and built-in MP3 player. The creators at www.stormcloudcreations.com/ do not have a download link on their site, so you're better off downloading it from www.completelyfreesoftware.com/gp5_w95.html#orc32 or another third-party source.

Paraben's World Clock 1.5 is a $15 timing utility that tells you the accurate time from around the world, and ensures your PC clock is correct. See da man at www.paraben.com/.

Pawclock 2.94 is an advanced digital desktop clock with atomic synchronization. Lots of features, and free from pawsoft.co.uk/pawclock/.

Personal Timeclock 4.0 keeps track of the time you've spent on your computer. It provides detailed reports that list the specifics of your work and summarize it by project and category. $20 from www.kmrconsulting.com/index.html.

PhoneDeck 1.2 is a contact management utility that helps you keep up with phone contacts, etc. Free from www.lodz.pdi.net/~eristic/free/phonedeck.html.

PIM Pro2000 is a powerful, feature-laden PIM that should pretty much take care of whatever information and contact management needs you may have. $50 from www.multisource.com/.

PIMEX 1.08 is a powerful and easy to use organizer for personal or business use. $35 from www.pimexonline.com/.

PTBSync 3.1 synchronizes your PC time with an atomic clock via the Internet. In addition to time synchronization, PTBSync also includes a personal organizer for reminders and repetitive events such as birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Free from elmue.de.vu/.

Qlock v1.3 gives you the time in any part of the world, in multiple displays for your desktop. Free from www.pdabusiness.com/qlock/manual/intro.html.

Quick Notes Plus 1.2 is a freeware goodie from www.stationeryworld.com/gautamjain/index.html that lets you put virtual sticky notes on your Desktop. You can set alarms, change colors and styles, and even run programs from the QNP icon.

QuickClock 1.03 lets you go retro with an analog, tray-based clock that displays the time with a clock face -- hour hands, minute hands, etc. Free from am-productions.yi.org/.

QuicKalendar 1.0.2 is a free calendar utility. No more reliance on wall or desk calendars. Free from www.trinfinitysoftware.com/quickalendar.shtml.

Rainlendar 0.7 is a customizable desktop calendar, one that can be designed to fit your tastes. You can change the font, the theme, the color scheme, or even use your current desktop background. Free from sivut.koti.soon.fi/rainy/Rainlendar.html.

ReadyToPrint Organizer 4.015 lets you combine the data on your hard-copy organizer with the data on your computer, then print the information as calendars and address books. RTPO can also be used to create expense forms, labels, and envelopes. $15 from www.nsnsoftware.com/.

RedBox Organizer 4.1 is a fully loaded PIM with all the usual accoutrements: calendar, to-do list, planner, address book, notes, and reminders, as well as a few features not seen in most PIM downloads, such as a link management function that enables you to link elements from different areas of the program into projects. $40 from www.inklineglobal.net/products/rbo/.

Remind! 5.37 is a versatile $19 desktop calendar, alarm clock, and PIM. Find out more from www.shellfish.com/reminfo.html.

Remind-Me 2.2 is a $20 calendar and reminder for your PC, with lots of bells and whistles to justify the price. Find out more from www.beiley.com/.

Reminder 4.68 is a freebie that works as a rather sophisticated DayTimer. Get it from www.agenda.dircon.co.uk/.

Say The Time automatically announces the date, time, or both at specified intervals, using a pleasant male or female voice. $20 from www.provenio.ws/saythetime/.

Schedule 3.3.21 is a pricey ($50), ActiveX-based utility that performs scheduled computing tasks for you. Intuitive and quite powerful. Check it out at www.evans-programming.com/schdl.htm.

Schedule Wizard 3.0 comprises a basic scheduler, a to-do list, a contact manager, and a clipboard saver. It allows you to start and stop programs, as well as to automate repetitive data entry and calculations. It can move, copy, and back up files at specific times. You can even send keystrokes to applications and schedule downloads from the Internet. $29 to keep from www.authord.com/.

See-Prompt 1.20 is a $20 that keeps you up-to-date of important dates, be they anniversaries, birthdays, or critical meetings. Check it out from www.the-computer-man.co.uk/.

Sleepy Sound 1.1 is a free alarm that puts you to sleep with music that gradually reduces in volume, and wakes you up with music that slowly gets louder as it plays. Sounds much better than the screaming banshee of an alarm that I use. Find out more from www.aarsoftware.com/.

SmartClock 1.2.99 Beta is a clock with plenty of settings and features. Free from home.worldonline.cz/~cz057881/.

SocketWatch is a $10 goodie that goes in your Startup folder but does nothing until you go online, then while you surf, it contacts home base and resets your PC's clock to the correct time. Get it from www.locutuscodeware.com/.

Softdiv Alarm Clock 3.5 is a nice little skinnable alarm clock that plays music or sound files of your choice. Free from www.softdivshareware.com/alarmclock.html.

Speaking Clock Deluxe 3.0 is a versatile clock utility that boasts skinnability, alarms, a stopwatch, a calendar, a calculator, and the ability to speak the current time in any of 31 languages. $15 from www.lux-aeterna.com/.

SunBook 3.0 is another free, multi-functional PIM and calender. Features an alarm clock and a password protector. Visit users.yubc.net/~sslavko/software/sunbookch1.htm.

Supercalendar, a free scheduling service from www.supercalendar.com/, provides a long list of public events such as cpncerts, art exhibits, etc. that can be added to your PIM or online calendar.

SymmTime 2.1.13.0 is amulti-zone desktop time utility that displays the current time in different parts of the world. It automatically synchronizes your system clock to any NTP (Network Time Protocol) server accessible over the Internet. Free from www.symmetricom.com/.

SysMetrix is a skinnable clock and metering application that provides up to 40 different system metrics in a variety of interesting, useful, and cool ways. Free from www.xymantix.com/index.html.

Talking CD Alarm Clock, a $10 program from www.nexusmedia.net/, lets you set your PC up to wake you with a variety of sounds.

Tardis 2000 1.1 is a time synchronizing utility that keeps your PC's clock accurate. $20 from www.kaska.demon.co.uk/.

Task Organizer 1.0 is a small, tray-based tasks and job reminder program. Free from www.urimont.com/.

TaskPrompt 2.0.2.2 is a task reminder that lets you add tasks and categorize them as well as set the occurrence of each task to immediate, to-do, hourly, daily, weekly, monthly or yearly. www.skynergy.com/taskprompt.html

TClockEx v 1.4.2 isn't just another PC clock, but a replacement for the system tray clock that lets you configure it to show the time and date in however format you like, plus lets you display basic system info as well. Much more informative than the clock supplied with Windows. Free from www.rcis.co.za/dale/.

TempusFugit 1.0b delights the more erudite user, and confuses the oafs, by converting your tray's clock into a Roman numeral display. Or for even more fun, convert to Medieval script, or even to the old Roman calendar year. Free from peccatte.karefil.com/Software/Software.html.

ThingVentory is an aptly named little freebie from www.pcmag.com/utilities/ that lets the average user keep track of daily household "things," from warranty info to the location of savings bonds to the replacement cost of that Dodge Dart you still drive. It cranks out inventory lists in text, HTML, or comma-separated values format.

Time and Chaos 5.5.0, from www.isbister.com/, is a powerful and flexible information manager, as useful as pricey PIM programs and a good bit cheaper. Try it free for 21 days; pay $45 to keep it.

Time Lord 3.0 is a clock utility that works with networked computers. $10 from www.ossystems.co.uk/.

TimeLeft 2.15.5 can be used as a clock, reminder, alarm clock, countdown, stopwatch and time synchronization utility. Free from www.nestersoft.com/timeleft/.

TimeSync 2.3.0 adjusts the system time of your computer by getting the correct present time from the Internet. Free from www.luziusschneider.com/Engindex.html.

TimeZoneClock 1.00f shows the time in any number of cities around the world. It features the time from 386 countries or regions, you can customize the location display (instead of just having a location you can have it display anything you want), list any number of cities, it has a built-in alarm function, there is an always-on-top mode, and more. Free from www.time-zones.com/.

TitleTime 1.70 is a freebie that keeps a time and date display on your desktop; available from www.rsoft-home.de/index.html.

TMR 1.0.0.32 is a lightweight reminder utility for people looking for a way to automate simple tasks. Can open files, start apps, pop up with automated messages, and more. Free from www.phatsoft.net/.

Track 'Em 1.0 is a digital in and out board that works over your office's network. Better than those cardboard/magnet things you hang on the wall. Free from www.track-em.com.

Tray Stopwatch 1.0.0 is, literally, a stopwatch that sits in your system tray and measures time just like a regular stopwatch. No longer available from its home page, but you can download it for free from www.softpedia.com/get/Desktop-Enhancements/
Clocks-Time-Management/Tray-Stopwatch.shtml.

TrayDay 6.5 is a date, calendar and counter utility for either the Windows tray or the Notification area in Windows XP (though it works in all flavors of Windows). $15 from www.mjmsoft.com/trayday.htm.

Universal Village Community 1.3 is a Web-based PIM that focuses on "team" or cooperative usage. Free from www.uvc.ca/UVCOnline/Home.shtm.

Virtual Stopwatch 2.13 is a highly configurable and feature-rich stopwatch program. $15 to keep from members.nbci.com/sprngcreeksw/.

Visual Business Planner is described as a "network-aware" PC version of the ubiquitous DayTimer or other paper scheduler. Try it for free, keep it for $30 from www.inklineglobal.com/dlvdp.htm/vcp/main.html.

Visual Calendar Planner is another digital calendar that places form and function over stylistics and fancy graphics. $30 to keep from www.inklineglobal.com/products/vcp/index.html.

Voice Notes Pilot lets you record voice notes. $25.55 from go.compuserve.com/WinSupport?SEC=10&FID=5320.

Web Calendar is an XP/2K-only utility that reminds you to visit certain Web pages. Good for checking frequently updated or changed pages. Free from members.lycos.co.uk/bleucanard/WebCalendar.htm.

WebEx Office is a free online service that lets users set up real-time meetings, along with the usual calendar, data swap, and address book capabilities. Worth a look; surf to webex.com.

WebiDesk is a free, multifaceted online PIM for professional users, featuring a day planner, contact manager, file storage service, photo album, task minder, word processor, spreadsheet, fax service, you name it. Get the drift from www.webidesk.com/.

WebTime 2.7 is a tiny program that syncs your PC's internal clock with an atomic clock maintained by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology. Free from www.gregorybraun.com/WebTime.html.

Weekend Countdown 1.0 keeps track of how long it is until a selected event, be it Friday night beer call or your neighbor's anniversary. Free from www.jloughlin.net/.

WingDate 4.4 offers quick and simple reminders of upcoming events and can be placed in the Windows StartUp folder. Free from www.silverwingsystems.com/wingdate.htm.

WinDates 4.25 is a date organizer that calculates days like Easter and Mother's Day, where the date is different every year. It provides a calendar, event list, and alarms. $20 from www.rockinsoftware.com/windates.htm.

WorldTime 6.0.0.937 is a goodie that displays the time in any number of global locations. It also includes a world map, system alarms, time synchronizations, and even its own time server. Free from www.pawprint.net/.

WorldTime Free 6.5 is a freebie similar to the one above, this one available from www.multisource.com/.

XDesk95 2.5.1 is an all-in-one PIM, desktop clock, scientific calculator, and pretty much everything else except dogwasher. Free from home.iprimus.com.au/applied/XDesk95.html.

Yodlee is a Web-based personal data organizer that lets you keep track online of all your daily stuff -- bank account info, travel plans, investments, e-mail, shopping, bills, auction info, calendar -- into one place. Can be synched with your palm device. The site is certified trustworthy by both VeriSign and TrustE, but if you're reluctant to entrust all your personal info to any Web site, then don't visit www.yodlee.com. AOL is working with Yodlee to bring its capabilities to AOL users.

YourDay.com is another one of those online calendar/PIM resources, but this one's claim to fame is the use of a French supermodel's voice to wake you up and remind you of meetings. Yeah, buddy. Schmooze over to www.yourday.com for the lowdown.

yvReminder 1.2 uses Outlook Express's address book to track important dates. Free from yvolksoft.narod.ru/yvReminder/.

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