It’s taken us just over six months but we’ve finally got our hands on one of the hottest download tickets in town - an invite to test Voddler. In July we had an exclusive interview with Voddler co-founder Mathias Hjelmstedt and couldn’t wait to give it a go. Now, we’ve finally had the chance to try it for ourselves and can safely say, Voddler looks like a genuine contender for the future of movie distribution in the same way as Spotify is for music. From a huge selection of films and documentaries to an easy to use interface and stunning video/audio, Voddler is all I expected and more.

Unfortunately for most, at the moment its still only available in Sweden but we’ve been able to give it a proper test run for you.

If you’re lucky enough to receive an invite, you can install the beta client for Voddler on Windows or the Alpha client on Mac. I installed the Mac client but it works exactly the same on both platforms.

When you install Voddler, it takes you through a quick setup wizard which checks the suitability of your connection. The test takes a few minutes but if you’ve got a 2.5Mbit connection or more, you’re good to go.

When Voddler launches for the first time, it goes straight into full-screen mode. I would prefer to have been prompted whether I wanted to open in windowed or full-screen mode but you can revert back to windowed mode (so that you can access the rest of your Mac normally) by pressing Command+F.

The first thing to note is that you can’t use your mouse when Voddler has started. Everything is controlled via the keyboard - mainly the Cursor, Enter and Esc keys - which is a bit disorientating and awkward at first. Alternatively, you can use an Apple remote instead which is a bit easier.

The reason for this is that in future, Voddler plan to launch a box that connects to your TV without a computer (known as a Voddler box) and presumably you’ll be able to use a virtual keyboard. However, I think it would still have made more sense at this stage to have allowed users on a computer to use a mouse.

Once you setup a profile and log-in:

You are presented with three options in front of a scrolling background displaying iconic movie stills. The options are Settings, Movies and Quit. Use the left and right arrow keys to scroll through them: Read the rest of this entry »

Windows: Some years ago ICQ used to be the world’s most famous IM client… until MSN Messenger arrived. Today ICQ is still a popular app that keeps on launching new releases. The latest version, ICQ 7, features a redesigned interface with tabs, works faster, is lighter on system resources and supports integration with social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.

iPhone: Touch DJ is the first serious mixing app for the iPhone. It makes excellent use of the touchscreen to create a DJ-ing tool unlike any other. As there is only one stereo output on the iPhone, Touch DJ uses a novel way of beat-matching called visual mixing. This means the wave display flashes in time to the bass drum when you’re playing a track, and using this you can alter the pitch so two tracks have the same pitch.

Mac: While most video recording tools are limited to the major video sites such as YouTube or DailyMotion, iTube Grabber promises to capture almost any audio and/or video stream. iTube Grabber also instantly converts from standard FLV formats used by sites such as YouTube to several formats of your choosing such as iPod, iPhone, MP4, MPEG and even Matroska.

Windows: Computers are gradually becoming a multimedia center where you can share and enjoy photos, music and video, and one of the best apps to manage this content is Boxee. This awesome media center has just launched its first public beta, including nice new features: revamped interface, new global menu, a bookmarklet to add videos and performance improvements.

iPhone: Echofon is a popular Firefox extension and OSX application, and this iPhone version will sync with both of them, while offering the same functionality and good design. The free version is still packed with features. You can have multiple accounts, tweet photos or videos, link to a bit.ly account so you can follow your stats, choose your image service and more.

Mac: One problem with creating podcasts is getting the sound levels right. Professional DJs have sound engineers to make sure everything runs smoothly for them but for those operating on their own, it can be a real pain. The Levelator is a simple way of adjusting sound levels across all of your broadcasts so that they are the same. It adjusts audio levels within your podcast or just about any other audio file you like.

Windows: If you want to get started in professional video editing, Sony Vegas is an excellent choice. This powerful video editor includes more than 300 special effects, supports VST plug-ins, works with all popular formats and imports data from various devices, including HD video. It takes a while to learn how to use it, but it’s really worth the effort!

Mac: Special effects can help you breath new life into your images, and with ImageLobe is easier than ever! Simply drag any image into the program’s interface, select the effect among the more than 40 included in the program and drag it out again to save your changes. A simple, effective way to give that special touch to your images.

Mobile: Even if you’re not a hardcore gamer, you’ve surely played Space Invaders at some point. Now you can enjoy an excellent version of the original Space Invaders from 1978 on your phone. Graphics and sound are quite primitive - as they’re supposed to be - but the best about this game is its insanely addictive gameplay!

Windows: When it comes to voice chats on the web, Skype is definitely the way to go. This awesome app - chosen by three Softonic editors as top of the decade - keeps on improving with every new version. The latest one, Skype 4.2 Beta, features call quality indicator, Google Chrome extension, enhanced support for the Windows 7 taskbar and the ability to transfer calls.

iPhone: If you’re growing tired of the default Clock feature on your iPhone and want a new way of waking up then check out Alarm Clock Free. This handy app turns your iPod into a stylish digital clock and alarm. The neon green-on-black clock skin bears a striking resemblance to Night Stand, but this is no bad thing, as it looks good and is easy to see from a distance.

Mac: There are few Mac applications that can compete with VLC Player when it comes to playing video but MPlayerOSX is a very decent attempt to do so. MPlayerOSX impresses by playing virtually any video file type. These include MPEG/VOB, AVI, Ogg/OGM, WMA/WMV, QT/MOV/MP4, RealMedia, Matroska, and many many more. It may be a little rough around the edges in places compared to VLC Player but it’s definitely worth a try.

Windows: More and more people work with dual monitor PCs today, and while this can help productivity, it’s not always easy to find nice wallpapers wide enough to stretch between them. This pack of 20 Dual-Monitor Wallpapers gives you a wide selection of high quality images to choose from, designed specifically to suit dual monitors.

Mac: If you haven’t installed Flip4Mac WMV on your Mac yet then how on Earth have you survived without it? Flip4Mac WMV is an essential collection of QuickTime components that allow you to play, import, and export Windows Media video and audio files on your Mac using your favorite QuickTime-based applications.

iPhone: If you’re trying to stir up some Christmas spirit then I recommend you take a look - or rather a listen - at Christmas Sounds. This is a collection of 16 different festive noises and music, all available to play by clicking on an icon. Each icon is decorated with a fun seasonal image that represents the audio hidden behind it.

Seeing as everyone seems to be in the spirit of writing end of year round-ups, I thought I’d compile a run-down of my favorite Symbian mobile apps of 2009. This time last year, things were looking bleak for fans of the OS, and many feared that developers may shun the platform and opt to concentrate on iPhone and Android instead. Thankfully, these concerns never became reality. In fact much of the great innovation in mobile applications in 2009 was Symbian flavored. Here are ten great apps from this year that I now regard as essentials.

Vlingo - If Michael Knight had a Nokia, he should probably ditch K.I.T in a lay-by and use Vlingo instead. Just speak a command into your phone then Vlingo will oblige, be it opening a web page, taking a text note, or starting up a utility. Plus, it doesn’t answer back like the smug, patronizing car from the 80s series.

Spotify - Everyone has gone Spotify crazy this year. Now you can carry the music player around with you on your Symbian phone, effectively converting your device into an MP3 player with infinite memory. You need never pirate an album again!

Nokia Internet Radio - Another great audio app, this time from the Nokia development stable. This small program lets you browse hundreds of radio stations from across the planet. You can peruse stations by genre, by country, or by language, meaning Nokia Internet Radio will take over your life.

Skyfire - Finally, a decent competitor to the superb Opera Mobile. Version 1.0 of Skyfire touched down in May and blew us away with its streamlined interface design, customizable start page feeds,  and its ability delivers pages to you faster than a paperboy with a jetpack.

Skype - My respect for telephone operators disappeared a long time ago. Then along came Skype, to show that it is possible to offer a telecoms service with a smile and a sense of fun - and what’s more, to make it free! Skype for Symbian is one of the best things to happen to the platform for quite a while.

Qik - An essential for anyone who didn’t get through the Big Brother auditions, Qik lets you broadcast live video (and audio) of yourself to the Internet through your phone. Next year, expect plenty of celebrities to ditch Twitter in favour of this new way of getting in our faces.

Snaptu - I’m a member of so many social networks, I think I know almost everyone on the Internet. Having so many accounts and being so damn popular can be a hassle. Not with Snaptu though, which pulls all of your networks into one place to make things easily digestible.

Nokia Step Counter - Previously known as Nokia Activity Monitor, this little app could be the secret to a new you. Install it on your phone then walk around as normal, and Nokia Step Counter will tell you exactly how many calories you’ve burned off. I’m hoping a future version will count how many are going into your mouth.

Twittix - Arguably the best Twitter client on the Symbian platform. Twittix comes with a beakful of features, including quick photo uploading, a timeline that’s easy to navigate, and SMS forwarding of tweets. Armed with this, you’ll never be out of the loop.

Spb TV - People don’t watch enough TV these days, so I recommend everyone to go and download Spb TV on their mobile. The app lets you watch live TV without paying a subscription, and includes a bumper choice of channels from around the World. So now you’ve got no reason to miss the latest Mongolian mud wrestling matches.

It’s now only one week until the big day and I’m sure excitement is starting to set in. Perhaps you’re trying to sort out your Christmas entertainment. If so, take a peek inside today’s window and you might find something that will help you.

xxx lets you transform your standard home computer into a multimedia hub from which you can manage your local media files as well as a wealth of online media sources such as Flickr, Pandora, YouTube, Icanhascheezburger and LastFM, among many others - Niamh

Here are my ten choices for the decade. As well as these, the most important technological developments for me have been the spread of wireless, and mobile internet devices in general. 10 years ago the internet was something stuck to a desk coming out of a big glowing cathode ray tube - today it’s on the sofa, in the street, or anywhere elso you like. I’m kind of surprised desktop PCs still exist - why people sit up at a desk to surf the web when they can do it lying in bed on a laptop or mobile device is beyond me!

Anyway, in no particular order, here are the best and most important apps of the 21st century so far!

MySpace: It might be all Facebook and Twitter now, but in the middle of the decade MySpace was the first genuine social media phenomenon. Offering a degree of user control that was unwise, MySpace could be a garish and noisy place to be, but it was fun.

For many people, their MySpace profile was the first web page they could really call their own. Unlike boring Facebook, you can change just about anything you want about its appearance - whether that be cool minimalism like mine (ahem) or over the top video and animation filled pages that could hang your computer! MySpace has always been about showing yourself off, but has perfectly adequate privacy settings too.

Google Analytics: I’m still surprised at the depth of information it’s possible to get about visitors to your website, and that, amazingly Google give it away for free. Stick a piece of code into each page of your site, and you’ll get incredibly detailed statistics about your visitors. If you thought statistics were boring, you’d be amazed at how interesting they can get in Analytics - it’s a dangerous mix of numbers and nosiness!

Firefox: Obvious choice, I know. To be honest, day to day browsing experience is pretty similar for me regardless of the browser, but what makes Mozilla’s baby different for me are the add-ons. From Echofon, my day to day Twitter client, to DownThemAll!, Firebug and Juice, you can really mold Firefox to your specifications. If you’re new to add-ons, check out my post from the summer.

iTunes: Hardly controversial, but iTunes really made music management on your computer easier and prettier than it had ever been before. I wish it was more flexible about formats, and I wish they’d kill iTunes DJ - Apple cleverly stopped calling it Genius (the stupidest name for a feature of the decade)  - but  every time I think I’ve found a good alternative, I always go back to iTunes in the end.

MSN Messenger/Windows Live Messenger: Not a fashionable choice, but, released in 1999 when Hotmail was basically the free web based mail, Messenger built on that by integrating your Hotmail contacts automatically, meaning with no effort people could chat to each other ‘live’. It wasn’t the first instant messenger, and I’m sure there are better ones, but MSN Messenger is one of the few apps I’ve been using right through the decade.

VLC Player: A no-brainer. VLC, for free, lets you play pretty much any media file on your computer without complaints. It’s small, light on resources and fast. If you don’t have it, download it now. It’s not a great manager by any means, but it should be everyone’s default video player. The fact I can listen to loss-less audio FLAC files in VLC too is just a bonus.

LimeWire:  I had to include a filesharing application - the noughties wouldn’t have been the same with out them. I always preferred LimeWire’s interface to the others. It was the easiest application for filesharing I’d seen, and unlike many of its peers, LimeWire actually tried to move with the times. The latest version allows you to easily share files privately between two people - making it a much more personal and controllable experience.

Gravity Bone: I wanted to include a free indie game, as the indie community has really flourished over the past few years, and its ‘less is more’ approach has provided some surprising gaming experiences. To pick one is unfair, but I will anyway. Gravity Bone is short, based on old technology, and completely linear. It’s one of the best video games I’ve ever played- and proof that you don’t need to be controversial (hello Modern Warfare 2) to tell a great story.

OpenOffice: It has some quirks, but as a showcase for what open source projects can achieve OpenOffice is great. This gave us, for the first time, a free viable alternative to Microsoft Office. If you’re thinking of updating your Microsoft Office, why not give OpenOffice a go first? It’s free, so you really won’t lose anything by trying.

Google Wave: Only kidding! My hope for the next decade is that someone will work out why Google Wave is amazing, ’cause as of now, most of us have no idea. I’ve watched introductory videos and read a ton of articles… I’ve even tried using it! But to no avail, and the curious thing is that a while ago people were clamoring for invites, now I can’t get rid of any! So, if you’d like to join the “huh?” party, get in touch and you can have an invitation.

Today’s advent calendar features an Android app I tested earlier this year and couldn’t get enough of. If you’re a fan of the Google mobile OS, this is my Christmas gift to you…

If you can’t be bothered going through the hassle of being on a reality show, just install xxx on your phone and beam yourself live across the Internet for the World to watch. The xxx project is an ambitious and exciting one and once the technology really gets off the ground, the scope of its uses for entertainment, communication, and education will be huge - James

Today’s advent calendar features one of Nick’s favorite Mac apps of 2009. See if you can guess what it is before clicking the picture to open the window and reveal the program review.

Why xxx has taken so long to reach the Mac is anyone’s guess but after more than a couple of years being available on Windows, one of the best P2P TV apps is finally here. What I’ve always liked about the program is the number of channels available, the fact that it’s in English (unlike some P2P efforts), and that the streaming is generally reliable - Nick

Day six of our OnSoftware advent calendar. See if you can guess which new release from this year that Elena is talking about…

With xxx you can create screencasts and video tutorials in a friendly working environment, including sound, transitions, video effects and a customized intro menu. Plus the latest version of the recording suite takes advantage of the new high-definition video formats to produce high-quality material for the Web - Elena

iPhone: If your brain feels a little sluggish from time-to-time perhaps it’s time to install a logic puzzle on your mobile. ReMovem puts the brain cells of iPhone and iPod users to the test in an addictive logic game. The free game starts with a screen filled with colored balls, which you need to eliminate by making chains of same-colored balls.

Windows: Panoramic images look awesome and are easier to create than you think, especially if you count on tools like Hugin. With Hugin you can generate your own panoramas in a few steps, and though the program might be a bit complex for beginners, it’s very well documented and includes all sorts of tutorials and guides.

Mac: Have you ever needed to add subtitles to a QuickTime movie but haven’t found the right tool? If so, then MovCaptioner can help. The main problem with doing this kind of thing is that audio and images move too quickly for you to keep up with. MovCaptioner tries to help by repeating a segment of a video until you’ve got the subtitles right.

Webcams can be fun. They enable you to have video chats with family and friends – no matter how far you are from each other – and also create hilarious image effects with the appropriate software. But they can also be used for more serious purposes, such as monitoring your business or your own home when you’re away. Thanks to tools like Vitamin D, you can set up your own private surveillance system in a couple of minutes and without having to invest a small fortune on it. A webcam equipped computer is enough!

Vitamin D is an easy-to-use webcam utility with motion detection technology. You can use it to monitor any given area in your office or your home, and the camera will record a short video clip every time it detects any kind of movement. We were honestly surprised by the camera’s efficiency – it detected virtually any movement we made in front of it – though not that much by its accuracy in distinguishing people from objects. Read the rest of this entry »

Windows: Having the appropriate codecs is essential in order to be able to play any audio or video format. With K-Lite Codec Pack Mega you can rest assured that you have all the codecs you need on your PC, plus a bunch of interesting related tools. The latest update 5.4.4 includes the most recent versions of a handful of codecs, plus other changes and improvements.

Santa’s Run: Being the actual Father Christmas is not a job I would relish, given the amount of work the guy has to put in. However, playing the role of Saint Nick for just a few minutes can be jolly good fun, as Santa’s Run proves. The game charges you with the task of delivering presents to children across the planet. You need to throw the presents into the chimneys or doorways, using your finger to flick them in the air.

Mac: Are you frustrated by the inability to use the webcams in MSN Messenger for Mac? aMSN (now updated to version 0.98 1-1) is an alternative to the classic MSN Messenger with more features - including webcam support (but not audio) - yet a more slimline interface. The aMSN developers have delved into the preferences menu, adding extra little features like event alerts and sounds and conferencing support.