Sometimes it's great to take a normal image and give it twist with a bit of texture to add some depth to it.

That's exactly what Xfader is designed for in that it adds texture to images without borders so that you can use them as original and impressive website images, screensavers or desktop backgrounds. The program includes several tools for adding filters, text, shape effects and even 3D sterograms. There are basic features such as color adjustment options (i.e. brightness, contrast, hue etc.) plus an image resize. The problem with this program is that you can add so many effects that you can easily get carried away and ruin your original beyond all recognition. There is however an undo function which can remove the last 10 steps or changes you've made. The program is also rather limited in the image formats it supports - only JPG and BMP are accepted. The latest version however has added some cool extras such as support for a few more more file types supported, more flexible color gradients, a better looking user interface and it can now be taken on the move on a USB stick or portable device.

This is a powerful program able to transform any image into something more original although it needs to support a wider range of image formats to score more highly.