Adobe Photoshop is a legend of a program. Unfortunately, it is also legendarily complicated and expensive, which makes things difficult for the average user. Even if you get past the intimidating price tag, Photoshop’s maze of layers, masks and magic tools can make even the bravest prospective user doubt their ability. Surely there’s an easier alternative?!

Luckily for us, there is. Most people don’t actually need a photo editing program of such epic proportions, which is why developers have created a raft of alternatives that area easier on your wallet AND your blood pressure.

Photoscape - Photoscape has to be number one on any list of free and easy alternatives. Full of features, simple to use and, best of all, completely free, this program is pretty much freeware’s image editing poster child. Come on, with over three MILLION downloads in the last two years on Softonic alone, it has to be doing something right!

GIMP - In second place comes GIMP. Somewhat of a giant, despite the odd name (it’s actually an acronym of GNU Image Manipulation Program), GIMP scores slightly below Photoscape because its installation process can be a little scary. Since we’re looking for stress-free alternatives, this means it loses a few points, but once you get GIMP safely installed on your computer, you’ll find it’s full of features and has an impressive range of cool plug-ins that are almost sure to meet your editing needs.

Photofiltre - Photofiltre scores high in terms of price - it’s free - but a little lower on ease of use. Like Photoshop, its interface is a bit overwhelming at first glace, but the learning curve isn’t half as steep and it is an ideal starting point for budding graphic designers who might well move on to Photoshop in years to come.

PhotoImpression - ArcSoft PhotoImpression come in at number 4 because its major pro is counterbalanced by a major con. This Photoshop-like program is full of features, but way, way easier to use than the original. It’ll give you good practice for the ‘real thing’, helping you to learn the basic concepts of more advanced image editing. The major con? Well, it’s not actually free, but you can try it out and get used to the basics. When you have them down, you can move onto the more complicated tools.

Before looking at the last program in our run-down, ask yourself a question. Do you really need a tool like Photoshop? Although you might want to crop a few photos, tweak color balance or create a fancy slideshow, you probably don’t need to go as far as seamlessly adding an image of Bigfoot into the pictures of your family’s last camping trip in the woods. Photoshop is for professional level photo editing, and most people really don’t need such power.

Picasa - If you need a simple and effective photo editor, but not exactly an alternative to Photoshop, give Picasa a try. The newest version of the Google tool is better than ever, and provides some really slick features for ordinary photo editing. It has none of the headache-inducing options of the more advanced editors, but will still give you fantastic results.

Halloween is just around the corner, and while we start carving pumpkins and buying tons of sweets for our usual trick-or-treat visitors, we thought it would a nice idea to make our computers share the spirit of this celebration. After all, we spend a lot of time together so it’s only fair we help them get into the mood for the upcoming event with these Halloween wallpapers.

Click on the image to download the full-sized wallpaper. Some of them are available in various resolutions.

Read the rest of this entry »

Windows 7 is a fast, stable operating system that already includes high quality software by default. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to enjoy the advantages of  third-party apps.

Common tasks such as downloading files, chatting with your friends, creating documents or editing photos require tools that you won’t find built into Windows 7. Also, some of the tools you used before may not be compatible with Microsoft’s new operating system. This is why we’ve put together this list of 20 top free apps that work with Windows 7, with which you’ll be able to take full advantage of your brand new system.

Security comes first. There are many antivirus apps that work with Windows 7, but Microsoft Security Essentials is the one that best integrates with the system. Plus it also protects you from spyware!

Stability is another key issue. While we wait for the new Windows 7 compatible version of TuneUp Utilities, CCleaner can also do a great job cleaning, tweaking and optimizing your system.

Don’t be ashamed: we all have deleted files by mistake at some point in our lives. Fortunately we can count on this great tool called Recuva to get them back - and it works like a breeze on Windows 7 as well.

Need a password manager to deal with all your usernames, passwords, secret numbers and personal codes? Keepass is a great choice, and is also perfectly embedded in Microsoft’s new operating system.

Browsing the Web is the main activity for most computer users. Windows 7 already features the new Internet Explorer 8, but I’m sure most of you will only use it to download Firefox. Another excellent alternative is Opera. Read the rest of this entry »

So it’s almost crunch time for Windows users. Is it really worth paying $120 to upgrade to Windows 7? Here are 7 reasons in favor:

More Speed

By almost all accounts, Windows 7 is considerably faster than Vista (which isn’t hard) but this will be one of the most important draws for most users. No amount of fancy features can make-up for wasted time waiting for Aero graphics to render, applets to load and painfully slow startups. Windows 7 is faster in almost every department.

The ‘Superbar’

Out goes the old Taskbar and in comes the “Superbar”. Ok, Microsoft have clearly copied the Dock on Apple Macs but there are worse things they could have chosen to pinch. You can preview thumbnail windows of open applications windows using “Peek” simply by clicking on it’s icon. You can also “pin” favorite programs anywhere on the taskbar for easy access and re-arrange them any way you like by clicking and dragging.

Manage files with Libraries

Forget folders, Libraries is the new management concept in Windows 7. Libraries basically eliminate the old faithfuls such as “My Documents” and “My Pictures” and bring everything together under one umbrella. Nothing is actually physically stored in Libraries however which makes it more of a reference point for locating files wherever they are stored. This makes it much easier to locate photos and video stored on an external devices or networks (i.e. virtual folders).

Enhanced Built-in Search

Windows might still lack something as good Spotlight on Macs but the search improvements in Windows 7 are a darn sight better than Vista. The use of Libraries is largely to do with this as Windows 7 will even search virtual and network folders that aren’t physically stored on your machine. Even better, clicking on a result brings-up a preview of it and searches are much better organized by category. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s been a long time coming, but finally there’s now a clutch of decent soccer games to choose from on the iPhone. I recently tested FIFA 10, which brings the realism of the console game to the small screen with some aplomb. The great thing about the title is undoubtedly its vast licensing agreements, meaning you can play as real players in real teams in real leagues across the World. There’s even a management option that lets you take command of a team and guide them to success.

While FIFA 10 has the plush presentation and full licenses, X2 Soccer 2009 has arguably the better gameplay. You could almost describe X2 as the Pro Evolution Soccer of the iPhone world. The game isn’t packaged quite as neatly but boy does it play well. The graphics and animation feel more fluid than FIFA, and the fact that there are three action buttons rather than two makes it feel like you have more control over the players. The sound effects and the commentary are also something to be admired in X2 Soccerl 2009. Read the rest of this entry »

YouTube, the most famous video sharing community in the world, was launched back in 2005. After four years it has become a clear point of reference in online business for other people, who have launched a bunch of websites following the same concept: gathering similar content and sharing it online. Sometimes these websites use the YouTube brand to explain their service, and you find expressions such as YouTube for music, YouTube for photos or Youtube for books.

This post aims at list all those different versions of YouTube, including of course the ones you share with us in comments.

YouTube for kids
You may already know some of the many adult versions of YouTube, but you won’t probably be so familiar with this YouTube for kids. Totlol.com features standalone videos, and also collections: groups of similar videos categorized by topic.

Totlol.com is actually powered by YouTube and can adapt the interface and contents according to the age range we select. Parental control options let you block settings to prevent children from messing with them.

YouTube for books
If you had enough videos for today and fancy reading something instead, check out Scribd.com. This website features books and documents published by anyone, anywhere.

You can find almost anything on Scribd, from short papers about the French Revolution to an Excel Function Dictionary or a 500-page long work about Analytical Psychology.

All books and documents in Scribd are conveniently organized in categories and can be sorted by language, licence, length and file format. Read the rest of this entry »

As a lad, I remember the Sega Genesis being the pinnacle of home computer entertainment systems. My television was rarely used for actually watching TV and every main present at Christmas was cartridge-shaped. It shows how far we’ve come (or how old I am) that I can now play Genesis/Mega Drive games on my phone for just a few bucks. Of course, the experience isn’t quite the same as the old days, and the iPhone touchscreen isn’t always conducive to intuitive console-style gameplay. However, if you’re looking for a cheap thrill that will take you back to the glory days of the early Nineties then get these Sega classics on your iPhone now. Load up iTunes and click the links to the App Store pages.

Duke Nukem - The original king of action returns for more mindless mutant-mashing mayhem

Sonic The Hedgehog - The speedy critter’s original and best adventure remade for the iPhone

Golden Axe - Relive your dragon-riding, dwarf-slashing childhood years

Ms. Pacman - Essentially Pacman with a bow on his head, but man was Ms. Pacman hot

Streets of Rage - Clean up the streets in this brutal side-scrolling beat-em-up from the old day

Columns- The second best falling-bricks game ever

Doom - OK, it’s not that scary now but at the time you couldn’t play it with the lights out

Bomberman - Explosive arcade fun on your iPhone

Worms - The slimy mercenaries return in this, one of the best games available for iPhone

Flashback - Make out like you’re James Bond in this stylish mystery adventure game

After I finally stopped laughing at Mashable’s round-up of the best songs about Facebook and Twitter, I’ve had time to compose my own list of the best software-related tunes. It’s amazing how many artists have felt compelled to write songs professing their love (or often their hatred) of applications and operating systems.  Here are the ten that moved me the most.

Free Software Song

The crowd at Richard Stillman’s impromptu ‘gig’ were left dumbstruck by his mesmerizing performance of his self-penned Free Software Song. Don’t expect the founder of the GNU Project and Free Software Foundation to be getting an six-album deal anytime soon, though.

Photoshop

Check out this extravagant performance of Spark’s Photoshop song, recorded on the band’s Creatures of the Deep tour. Russell, we would never want to Photoshop you out of our lives.

Mac or PC Rap

One of my personal favorites, this Flight Of the Conchords-style hip hop parody debates the nuances of the Windows and Mac OS interfaces. Read the rest of this entry »

Browsing videos on YouTube is great fun, but what happens when you find one you’d like to view offline, keep or transfer? Although you can embed or link to videos you like, YouTube doesn’t actually give you any option to download them. Don’t worry, because some of Firefox’s great add-ons (plugins that you can use to extend your browser) can do the job for you, all without even having to open a second program. Let’s take a quick look at some of the best.

YouTube Video Downloader does exactly what it says on the tin. The ‘keep’ icon, located in the status bar, opens the video details in a new tab, prompts you to chose a format (FLV, 3GP or MP4), name the video and download it. That’s it! Easy, right?

Another discreet option is Easy YouTube Video Downloader - it simply adds a button underneath the information displayed to the right of YouTube videos. Like its predecessor, it supports FLV, 3GP and MP4, but without the new tab is possibly even simpler to use.

NetVideoHunter takes a different approach, opening a window containing a list of the videos you have been viewing. The main selling point is that it ‘collects’ videos as you browse them. At the end of your session, it presents you with a list of the videos you have just seen, allowing you to pick the ones you want to download. It also has the added advantage of being able to download from video sharing sites apart from YouTube, such as Dailymotion and Google Video, and includes a player, so you can view videos even after you have closed the original page.

If you are looking for a little excitement, try YouTube Downloader. This experimental add-on is so thrilling that you have to check a box to say that you understand the risks - although when I tested it, it didn’t seem too wild. Youtube Downloader lets you download videos and music, and not just from YouTube. Like NetVideoHunter, it presents you with a list of possible downloads, and then lets you select the ones you want. It also has a search function which will automatically search for the video title on Google.

If discretion’s not your thing, maybe the Ant.com Toolbar is what you are looking for. Although it does install a toolbar on your browser, it’s only to accommodate the extra options it includes - a search tool, download manager, video player, download explorer and a ranking function. It is also more customizable than some of its competitors, allowing you to toggle a small number of options.

Whether you’re a dedicated video downloader or just someone who browses occasionally, you’ll find an add-on to suit. Read the reviews, make your decision and start downloading videos from YouTube today!

You’ve probably seen countless TV and magazine adverts for Nokia game downloads. You know, the ones where you have to text a number, it costs about 10 dollars and you get plagued with spam forever after. The trouble is a lot of these games are actually pretty crappy and you’ll most likely end up hating yourself for being so stupid to download them in the first place. If you want to play games on your Nokia phone then start with this hand-picked selection of top titles. Many of them are even free!

Bowling Master - If it’s realistic bowling fun you’re after then Bowling Master is the place to find it. The game gives you four different lanes to play, lots of funny animations and great graphics to boot. The ball physics are some of the best you’ll see anywhere, and the one-button control system makes Bowling Master a dream to play. Strike!

Pro Tour Golf- Become the next Tiger Woods by downloading Pro Tour Golf. This realistic 3D golf sim comes with two challenging courses to play in either single or multi-player modes. You can customize your set of clubs, choose between match and stroke play competitions, and enter as a male or female golfer. Hole in One!

Legacy - Here’s one for all you RPG fans. Legacy combines combat and puzzle-solving in a rip-roaring adventure that will consume your life. The graphics and sounds are superb giving the game an atmosphere that puts you in mind of classic RPG adventure games such as Eye of the Beholder, Black Crypt, and Might & Magic. There’s even a free level editor for expanding your World. Magical!

ScummVM - Remember how addictive those old LucasArts point-and-click games like Sam & Max, Monkey Island and Day of the Tentacle used to be? Well, now you can relive those eight-hour gaming stints by installing ScummVM. It’s a free utility that lets you run any LucasArts game based on the SCUMM (Script Creation Utility for Manic Mansion) engine. Manic mayhem!

Virtual Pool - Chalk up and smack into the pack - it’s time to play the most realistic mobile pool game ever. Virtual Pool lets you take to the circuit and try to become the best in the World, in its highly enjoyable career mode.The game’s realistic ball figures and natural-feeling control system make it the most realistic pool experience on the S60 platform. Pool potty!

Sky Force - This one has been around for some time now and has earned its placed as one of the all-time classic games for Series 60 phones. It’s a top-down scrolling shooter in the mold of Raiden and 1942, and boasts astounding graphics and mesmerizing gameplay. You really get the impression that you’re hurtling through the sky at full speed. Supersonic!

vNES - Love Nintendo games? Then get your hands on vNes, an NES emulator for Symbian devices. With this utility you’ll be able to download and install all your old favorites for the classic console, such as Super Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, and the like. vNES is lightweight, easy-to-use, and comes with customizable controls. Retro!

Cricket 20-20 - This one might be a bit niche, but if you like cricket you’ll be bowled over by this one. Cricket 20-20 sees you take control of one of the World’s finest teams and enjoy the thrills and spills of a limited-overs cricket match. Both graphics and gameplay are excellent, as is the game’s attention to detail. Howzat!

Aces Texas Hold ‘em - No Limit - Get practicing your poker face because you’re going to need it and in this no limit game of cards you better be good, otherwise you’ll end up losing a lot of money. Not real money, thankfully, although when you win it’s a bit disappointing not to be able to pocket the cash. There are loads of options including playing a huge game of 22-man poker. Full house!

Lemonade Tycoon - I bet you never thought a lemonade selling sim would be fun. Well, think again because Lemonade Tycoon is a ridiculously addictive Nokia game. You start out with a small lemonade stand on a street corner and must build yourself an empire through a combination of sweet recipes and business savvy. Fizzy!

As this year’s the summer vacation season coincides with an ever-increasing stable of awesome Android handsets, we thought that we’d take a look at some handy software you should definitely install before you start your holidays. From Augmented Reality wonder-apps to one-stop converters and translation tools, making sure you’ve got these programs with you when you set off should help you make the most of your trip.

Enhanced tourism: Wikitude Premium AR Guide

One of the first Android apps to be widely talked about, Wikitude is an Augmented Reality app that uses your phone’s GPS, Google Maps, Wikipedia and even your camera to produce a truly impressive travel mashup. Simply look ‘through’ your phone in any given direction and Wikitude tells you about sites of interest, public transport stations, restaurants and more within your vicinity - all by overlaying them onto a map or your phone’s camera display. Apps like this really are a glimpse of the future.

Convert anything: ConvertMe (Beta)

Keeping track of fluctuating currency rates while abroad is one thing. But what about clothes sizes, food measures and distances? ConvertMe can convert between hundreds of weights, measures and currencies - including some that you probably won’t need on vacation (magnetic flux, anyone?). Its currency rates are updated frequently so that you can be sure that your lobster bisque isn’t too extravagant a treat.

Translate foreign languages on the move: SpeedyMarks Translator

The best preparation for a trip abroad is to make sure that you have a grip on at least the basics of the local language.  Translator will come in handy for identifying fairly simple words and phrases, but performs better with some languages than others. My tip: try using Google image search for simpler words: you’ll get a quick visual aid which is more useful if you’re trying to learn.

Prevent thefts and stay secure in hotel rooms: Sheriff Android Lite

Sheriff Android Lite is one of those apps you hope you’ll never have to use. Running in the background on your Android phone, when activated it detects movement and emits a loud alarm to warn you that your phone (or the bag it’s in) has been moved. I recommend buying the full version because for only $1.50, you get SMS alerts, personalized pre-warning messages, stealth mode and more.

Track your every step: AndAndo

This app is ideal for trekking, cycling, and other outdoor pursuits, but perfect for stat-loving travelers of all types. AndAndo lets you record your movements using GPS. You can add notes and photos to your path and best of all (in my opinion), export your tracks to standard GPX and Google Earth’s KML formats. Creating maps of your travels has never been easier - and with the embedded media and notes you can effectively produce an automatic travel journal of your movements.

Final note: some of these apps will make use of your data connection, meaning that traveling abroad could be expensive if you keep data roaming switched on all the time. Oh, and use Barcode Scanner to read those QR codes.

Fed up of waiting for the Windows Mobile Marketplace to open its doors? Then use this time to check out the best of the existing apps for Pocket PC and Smartphone devices. Microsoft’s new mobile app store will launch with 600 applications but we shouldn’t forget that there’s already a ton available to download now that will power up your mobile experience. Here are 20 that I strongly recommend you to take a look at.

fring -Ultra-handy way to chat over IM or Skype while you’re sat on the bus

Nimbuzz - Another stellar instant messaging and VoIP app for Windows Mobile

Spb Mobile Shell - treat yourself to a much cooler and more powerful front-enda

Opera Mobile - Quite simply, the best way to browse the Web on a mobile phone

Google Maps - Who needs an expensive sat-nav system when you’ve got good old Google?

Kaspersky Mobile Security - Probably the most complete security tool for Windows Mobile

TCMP - Media player with enough guts to handle a massive range of formats

Skype for Pocket PC - Save yourself a heck of a lot of money on phone calls

vTap - Turn on the tap to a deluge of online videos

Facebook for Windows Mobile - Never lose touch with your friends. Ever Read the rest of this entry »

The Web is full of handy software applications that can contribute to make your life a bit easier. Whatever your need is, it’ll probably take you only a few minutes of Googling to find a suitable program for it. But if you look further, you’ll see there are other applications the aim of which is not precisely to be useful and efficient. In fact, there are a quite a few of these useless programs that seem to have been created for no reason at all - or at least, for no sane reason. Here are some examples I found on the Web, though I’m sure you’ll know many more.

Alien Communicator - Believe or not, ‘the truth is out there’. And if you want to find it, you better start contacting aliens right now. When you run this tool, aliens will be able to communicate telepathically with you and leave messages by controlling the number generation capabilities of your PC.

Voice Lie Detector - If you think your partner or your kids are not completely sincere, you need a lie detector. This program uses an old algorithm to detect voice stress, an unmistakable signal that will enable you to discover if you’re being lied to.

Parrot Trainer - So you have a parrot, but can’t be bothered to train it by yourself? Let your PC do the hard work for you! This app repeats the same sound over and over again until your parrot learns them by heart. According to the developer, you can also use to nag your kids, husband, wife… What’s more, it comes with four sound samples recorded by the developer himself. Read the rest of this entry »

Since switching to Mac, I’ve abandoned almost all of the programs that I used on Windows with the exception of Microsoft Word. This is mainly because Word is so widely used by others that I’ve effectively been “forced” to install it even though I hardly use any other application in Microsoft Office. This is annoying for two main reasons: Office is expensive and takes up over 500MB of my hard drive. However, there are a selection of free and highly accomplished alternative word processing applications for Mac, some of which not only handle Word documents, but that you may even find improve on Word itself.

Writer Part of OpenOffice which is a cross platform multilingual Java based office suite that’s designed as a free replacement for Microsoft Office. Writer is the word processing component and allows you to open and edit Word documents (including .docx), export to PDF and even use it as a WYSIWYG editor for creating web pages. Some prefer to install NeoOffice which has taken OpenOffice and customised the interface for Mac.

AbiWord A better solution than Writer for those working on slower Macs. Like Writer, it allows you to open Word documents, save to .doc format and export to both PDF and HTML. The disadvantage is that it doesn’t support .docx format and may sometimes alter the formatting in Word documents so that they appear a bit messed-up. For those working on older Macs though, it’s an excellent alternative.

Bean Designed specifically for Macs, Bean is based on Cocoa so it looks great. Bean can also open and save in Word format but note that it can’t handle footnotes, images or pre-defined styles and is only partially compatible with Word’s file formats. In addition, it doesn’t work with .docx, hyperlinks are imported as text and exporting of tables doesn’t work well. However, in terms of speed and interface, Bean is excellent.

Google Docs Google’s online office suite is handy replacement for opening and saving Word documents. All you need is a Google account to get started. Google Docs features a clean interface, autosave feature, spell check and it can save your documents either to your account, publish it as a web page or automatically e-mail it as a Word document. You can even invite others to collaborate with you on a document.

ThinkFree Online The ThinkFreeOffice suite isn’t free but it’s online counterpart ThinkFree Online is. It only allows you to open and view any kind of Office document, including .doc and .docx and then embed, convert, share, upload or search them for free. You can perform basic functions for free but you have to sign-up for extra features such as the offline file management “Power Tool”.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past couple of years, you probably know what Twitter is. What’s more, you may have been using it for a while now, to share links, keep in touch with friends and follow the ups and downs of a few celebrities.

But besides its main purpose as microblogging platform, and thanks to the Twitter API, Twitter has become also the ground base for a wide variety of apps and services, created by hundreds of developers worldwide. Thanks to this stream of creativity, Twitter is now much more than just a microblogging service. Here’s a small sample of everything you can do with Twitter - apart from exchanging 140-character long messages:

• TwitPic - Probably one of the most popular Twitter-based apps, TwitPic lets you easily share photos on Twitter. Simply upload the image to the TwitPic site and it’ll be automatically sent to your Twitter account.
• FileTwt - Lets you send files online via Twitter, up to 20 MB in size. Files are shared in either in your public timeline or in a private message addressed to only one person (which requires signing for a free account on the app’s website).
• TwitVid - It’s similar to TwitPic, only that it lets you share videos instead. TwitVid supports multiple video sharing - in playlists - and can also capture the image source from your webcam.
• Twisten - With Twisten you can discover new music everyday. This app searches Twitter for music-related tweets and lets you listen to those songs on the spot. There are also links to download the MP3 from Amazon or iTunes.
• TwtJobs - Believe or not, Twitter can also help you get a job! Twtjobs lets you create and publish your “twitter resume”, or advertise a job post in Twitter. The 140-character limit can be quite challenging though.
• TwitterCal - If you use Google Calendar, you’re going to love this one: TwitterCal lets you create new tasks and appointments by sending direct messages to a specific Twitter account.
• TweetStats -Finally, a little nourishment for your ego: with TweetStats you can quickly generate statistics about your own Twitter account: how many tweets per hour do you send? Who do you retweet most?