5 intriguing apps for Windows 8.1: July 11, 2015

With the ever-growing number of apps and games in the Windows Store, it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with what's out there.

For that reason, every weekend we showcase some apps that have piqued our interest. They may have been in the news recently, they may be new to the Windows Store, or they could simply be old apps that we just stumbled upon. They are the 5 Intriguing Apps of the Week.

Voices Admin

Voices Admin is a client app for UserVoice.com the popular website designed to let folks give their input on different products and services. You may know it as the service that Microsoft uses for customer feedback on features in Windows, Office 365, Windows Phone, and Xbox.

The app lets you log into your UserVoice account to get your account overview, manage suggestions, manage support tickets, and read/modify your articles and knowledge base.

In addition, you can read and reply to people who make suggestions on your site.

Voices Admin is a universal app, so it is available for Windows and Windows Phone. Both are free to download.

Download for Windows 8.1 (Free; Get once, get everywhere)
Download for Windows Phone 8.1 (Free; Get once, get everywhere)

123D Sculpt+

123D Sculpt+ is another addition to Autodesk's many design apps on Windows 8.1. This tool gives you the ability to express your imagination by designing creatures and objects from scratch.

The skeleton builder lets you create organisms by simply dragging your finger or cursor. You can also orient and pose your object however you choose.

Then the skeleton gets a layer of skin that can be sculpted and textured the way you want it, like digital clay. And finally, you can add color using the painting tools to bring it to a life-like state.

123D Sculpt+ lets you then export your creation to an OBJ file to use in programs like Maya or Autodesk 3ds Max. There is also a built-in 3D ordering feature that can turn it into a real 3d printed object that gets delivered to you.

Whether you are just someone who wants to dabble in design, or a professional on the go, Autodesk's 123D Sculpt+ is an amazing tool.

Download for Windows 8.1 (Free)

VK App

VK, short for VKontakte, is the largest Russian social network in Europe. The universal app for Windows and Windows Phone is the official client for "the Russian Facebook."

Using the app, you can connect with friends and message them, as well as share photos, play games, watch movies, and listen to music.

There are also various communities to join, where you can meet people with similar interests. Virtually anything that you can do on the website you can do in the app.

Download for Windows 8.1 (Free; Get once, get everywhere)
Download for Windows Phone 8.1 (Free; Get once, get everywhere)

Baseball Pro+

Sure, the baseball season is halfway over, but it's never too late to find a better way to keep track of your favorite team.

Baseball Pro+ has been redesigned and turned into a universal app for Windows and Windows Phone. It gives you real-time scores from around the league and up-to-date stats for all of your favorite players.

Check the standings and get the latest news about every team. You can even see tweets from teams and players.

There's also live sports talk to share your thoughts with fellow fans or talk smack to fans of other teams. Baseball Pro+ is about as good as it gets for baseball fans on Windows, and it's free.

Download for Windows 8.1 (Free; Get once, get everywhere)
Download for Windows Phone 8.1 (Free; Get once, get everywhere)

Nest Manager

Nest is one of, if not the most popular internet-controllable thermostats out there today. But sadly, the Google-owned company does not have an app for Windows or Windows Phone.

Thankfully, third-party developers, like the makers of Nest Manager, help us, the Windows faithful, access our Nest devices with our computers and smartphones.

Nest Manager is more or less a wrapper of the official website, but it is well-designed and gives you most of the functionality that an official app would have.

And since it is a universal app, it makes heating and cooling your house easy from any device. Nest Manager may not be perfect, but for what it does, and the zero-dollar price tag, it's definitely worth checking out if you own a Nest product.