Today's batch of awesome open-source (or freeware) applications centers on a single word: wow.  No, they don't help you level up in that MMO.  We're going to show you a batch of free programs whose features are cool enough to make your jaw hit the floor, a small puddle of drool to escape from your lips and into your keyboard, and your twitter to light up with all messages you'll be sending your friends about these must-have applications.

We're serious.  Prepare to be amazed.  But if you haven't checked out the twenty other themed applications we've hit up in our last four open-source updates, now's the time to fill in the backstory!  Once you're ready for greatness, continue on with our list. And be sure to get your bib on standby.

Synergy

If you've been reading Maximum PC, you know exactly what Synergy does and why we must have this on our list of "wow!" applications.  But we'll break it down for those new to the scene.  Synergy links two computers together--two computers to a single mouse and keyboard, that is.  Your mouse travels across the screens of the two PCs (or notebooks) as if you were using the displays in a dual-monitor configuration.  Synergy also unifies the clipboard between the two devices and, geekier still, synchronizes the screensavers.  This application is the program you need to have running if you use two computers in close proximity to each other, period.

 Download Synergy here!

Jing

If you're like us, the prospect of using the Print Screen button to capture your display's contents, pasting it into an open-source graphics editing program, and cropping the huge screen image to the appropriate size is maddening.  Jing solves this tedium by simplifying the art of screen capturing and recording to the extreme.  Its user interface is perfect, in that the program highlights different areas of your desktop depending on where you hover you mouse.  Pick a window, draw out a cropped box, and presto -- instant screenshot.  As we mentioned, you can record videos of your desktop as well.  This turns Jing into a one-stop shop for all your computer capturing--activities that would normally require a few separate programs.

Download Jing here!

Revo Uninstaller

Revo Uninstaller is better than most of the uninstallation utilities that come with your favorite programs. Not only does it perform the same basic functions as these, but it goes one important step further.  The application scans your drive for any leftover files that typical uninstallation programs overlook (or ignore).  It gives you the option to nuke these out of existence (we often spring for this), cementing Revo Uninstallers place as one of our favorite drive clean-up applications. But that's not all.  Revo Uninstaller also packs a junk-file scanner and startup manager into its treasure trove of file management, as well as a file shredder-like feature which overwrites your deleted files past the point of recovery. It's a one-stop shop for eliminating clutter, and we'll turn to it every time we need to say a fateful farewell to an application or game.

Download Revo Uninstaller here!