The Sumatra PDF developer(s) have found the absolute perfect balance between features, ease of use, and speed. I’ve been using this app since 2008 (it’s been around that long!) and I forget how slow and bloated other PDF viewers are until I try to open a PDF on a different computer. With Sumatra PDF it feels like .pdf files open as fast as .txt files. Even 20MB+ files open instantly.

You can switch between various “views”, search within documents, highlight text, add pages to favorites – all the standard stuff you’d expect. Then you can really customize it by editing the advanced settings.

Be sure to check out it’s extensive keyboard shortcut list and online documentation for advanced uses etc.

On top of all of that – it’s free! Not just free, but open-source free. It’s absolutely worthy of our “Windows App of the Month” award.

It works in Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7 and Vista. It even works in Windows XP you just need to use an earlier version. Download Sumatra PDF here. If you do find it super helpful and would like to support the author, there are a few ways.

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After you use Sumatra PDF for a bit you’ll almost certainly want to make it your default PDF reader, and we have instructions on how to do that in Windows 8 or Windows 10.

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The first iOS App of the Month goes to Buddy – an expense tracking finance app.

As described by the developer:

Buddy helps you set up a budget and keep track of your expenses. We’ll give you a beautiful & detailed overview of your spendings, income, and savings.

Buddy is free with a paid subscription model if you want to use the “pro” features. In my case, none of the pro features are ones that I’m interested in using – so the functionality I discuss here is part of the free version.

I was looking for a “finance app” with a few features in mind. Specifically, I want to keep track of how much I’m putting on my credit card every month and have a better understanding of where my money is going. So very important features for me are:

1. The ability to quickly add a purchase/expense to the app. I don’t want to have to open an App and navigate through 3 pages of options and tap two dozen buttons to add each transaction.
2. The ability to either leave a short note or add the purchase to a ‘category’ so I can monitor what I’m spending my money on.
3. An easy to use interface where I can quickly find the information I’m looking for, which is typically the total amount I’ve spent and where I spent it.

Buddy accomplishes those things in spades.

It’s so easy to add a purchase to the App that I can usually have it done before I leave the store, often before I’ve been handed the receipt. All you have to do is open the app, click a large and obvious “plus sign” button ( + ) and then enter the amount you spent, assign the transaction a category (groceries, restaurant, entertainment etc). It takes about 15 seconds in total.

At a glance I can determine how much I’ve spent in any given day/week/month, and where that money went. I went through half a dozen finance apps before I settled on Buddy, so I can say with a high degree of confidence that if you’re looking for an expense tracker, this is where you should start.

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With PiP-Tool you can create a picture-in-picture video player from any source – VLC, iTunes, every video site using every browser that supports Windows – the sky really is the limit.

To top it all off, PiP-Tool is open source (free). For more information and how to get started using the app, see our detailed guide on how to use PiP-Tool.

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It’s with great pleasure that we kick off the App of the Month category with this brilliant app from the Fadel.io team – Mission Control Plus.

With Mission Control Plus, decluttering your open windows becomes a breeze. This utility allows you to make app windows manageable in Mission Control: you’ll now not just be able to close windows with just a mouse click or a keyboard shortcut, but also be able to quickly navigate open windows and quit apps without leaving Mission Control.

Mission Control Plus doesn’t try to drastically alter or replace Mission Control, it simply adds a few great features. Using it you can close app windows, quit and even hide apps. You can also use the arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate through them.

A small ‘x’ will appear in the upper-left corner of each app window in Mission Control, allowing you to quickly close that window with one click.

You can also use the standard keyboard shortcuts to modify the windows.

As far as system resources go, it uses so little (less than a browser plugin) you won’t notice it at all. You can try out Mission Control Plus for 10 days with all of the features enabled – after that it’ll set you back $6. I purchased my copy of Mission Control Plus after using it for less than an hour – the value became apparent that quickly. The developer is quick to respond to feedback too, which is always a great sign.

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