I was nearly stung by a bee yesterday, and the experience has called into question my survival skills. I’ve since realised that I wouldn’t have had a clue what to do had the critter’s attack been a success. As a result, before I venture outside into the nice weather again I’m going to make sure I’m fully prepared for any dangers that may await me by loading up my phone with a selection of essential first aid software.

I started by installing 1st Aid & Emergencies on my Pocket PC, a piece of software that offers advice on how to handle a range of emergency care situations, from a nosebleed or sunburn to a life-threatening heart attack or stroke.

This app doesn’t cover every eventually and you can never be too careful, so I also took the liberty of arming my PPC with Pandemic Flu Survival Guide in case there’s a sudden outbreak of bird flu. And, in my experience, if the birds don’t get you then the insects probably will, so I also stuck a copy of Anti-Mosquito on my mobile phone. This state-of-the art app lets off a sound frequency that repels the blood suckers. Don’t worry though, because it’s virtually inaudible to the human ear.

I also downloaded Blood Pressure Watch and Easy Pulse in order to monitor myself in case the thought of all these terrible things that could happen to me got too much for my poor old heart. What’s more, I’m now keeping a track of my general level of physical fitness using Nokia’s Wellness Diary, which monitors stuff like my weight, eating habits and exercise. Perhaps all this is a bit excessive and I’m being paranoid about suffering an illness or injury. Oh God, here comes that bee again, quick, where’s my mobile?

If you thought it had been a little quiet around here of late, that’s for a very good reason. We’ve all been hard at work implementing and testing a new codebase for Softonic English which makes the site smarter and easier to use, as well as adding some great new features for users.

The homepage, while appearing quite similar to its previous version actually includes numerous changes and enhancements, including a new high-visibility zone for blog posts like this one; much better category listings; dynamic charts which show whether programs have moved up or down since last week and a smoother, cleaner design.

Our program page has also undergone some important changes. Apart from some cosmetic adjustments and enhancements, we’ve also made it much easier to interact with programs, meaning that the tools that let you rate, review, bookmark and track your favourite software are always easily accessible.

But the biggest new feature for the site is our new user profile page. Visitors to the Spanish Softonic will already be familiar with the features available in the new profile page. Now you can pick an avatar, visit other profiles, see your visitors and more. We’ve also got the Soft-O-Meter, a popular feature on the Spanish site which shows your level activity on Softonic.

Finally, we’ve launched Softonic Deluxe - a premium edition of Softonic designed for true fans of software. Deluxe members get access to a special edition of Softonic, free of advertising and with 100% guaranteed high-speed and secure downloads. For more info about Softonic Deluxe or to get a free trial, click here.

We’re always working on more features and already have loads of exciting new stuff in development… but we’ll let you know about that later. For the moment, take a look at the new, improved Softonic. And as always, please let us know if you’ve got an opinion on the site or an idea for making it even better!

Windows: The popular anti-spyware tool Ad-Aware has finally reached the open beta stage. The new Ad-Aware 2008 Beta features improved performance and stability, a better resource management and noticeably faster scans and updates. Download the open Beta and get a trial serial number to test a fully functioning Pro version for free during 42 days.

Mac: The big news today is Microsoft’s release of Messenger for Mac 7. The updated chat client now allows you to give nicknames to your contacts and offers Bonjour support to find connected users on your network. Corporate users are the better served though as they get detailed presence information and, most important audio and video support.

Symbian: Are you a fan of board games? Then make sure you check out Astraware Boardgames on your mobile phone. The pack includes classics such as Backgammon, Chess, Ludo, Checkers and Reversi. Each of the eight games comes with customizable rules and a range of difficulty level, so the fun keeps going for quite some time.

Counting devices have come a long way since the days of the abacus and most of us now have a calculator to hand on our mobile phones. Many of these default calculation programs are pretty crude though and are far too basic for the likes of scientists, maths students or financial workers, who often need powerful equation-solving tools in their daily lives. Luckily there are plenty of third-party calculators you can install that will make your phone as smart as Stephen Hawking. Here are some of the best:

• MxCalc SE - Programmable calculator that specializes in financial mathematics
• Abakus - Perform complex engineering and business calculations on your Sony Ericsson
• Best Calc - Displays 24 digits and performs a wide range of scientific functions
• Calcium - One of the most gorgeous and enjoyable-to-use calculators you’ll see
• SpaceTime - Advanced Pocket PC calculator with support for 4D graphs

Windows: Though it doesn’t really add any new great functionalities, Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) could be considered a must-have for all Windows XP users, as it contains the latest patches and fixes to ensure the maximum functionality, security and performance. The Service Pack 3 is compatible with all Windows XP versions.

Mac: ForkLift is a fast and robust file manager which should improve your workflow. Fitted with a Leopard ready interface, it is very intuitive yet offers enough powerful features like Spotlight integration, filters or archiving to handle your files seriously. You can quickly view all files on your volumes and devices and send them to other servers via FTP, SFTP or TLS all from ForkLift.

BlackBerry: Are you fed up with having to fend off calls from your boss, your ex or pestering money-lenders? If you have a Blackberry phone then you should definitely get your hands on iBerry Black & Whitelist, an application that allows you to block certain numbers from calling you. Best of all, when they try to phone you won’t hear a ring or feel any vibration.

While everyone’s ranting and raving about amazing next-generation games like the new Grand Theft Auto, let’s not forget that these creations wouldn’t be around were it not for the pioneers of the console market such as the NES and Sega Master System. I can’t wait to try out GTA IV but I still intend to stay true to my gaming roots by playing 8-bit console classics on my mobile phone.

There’s a lot of emulation software around that lets you play old-school console games on your mobile phone. One of the most popular is vNES, which emulates the original Nintendo machine on your Symbian phone. This little app supports thousands of roms, and allows you to customize the controls for each game. One of the great things about the program is that it uses very little system memory so you shouldn’t notice any major performance problems.

Back in the day, your choice of 8-bit console said a lot about you as a person, and I was strictly a Master System man (well, boy). The best emulator for the Sega platform is probably MasterGear, which is compatible with all Nokia Series 60 3rd edition phones. The program will run SEGA Master System, GameGear, and SG1000 cartridge files with .sms, .sms.gz, .gg, .gg.gz, .sg, and .sg.gz extensions. Place your files into E:\Others\MG directory and you’re away!

If 8-bit games are just a bit too retro for you then you may want to try out Snes9x. This mobile app lets you play Super Nintendo roms, and comes with a number of neat features. You can choose to auto-pause games when you get a phone call, define frameskips and configure the keys and the touchpad.

Windows: If you like the way Ubuntu looks but don’t feel like migrating to a new operating system, don’t worry: you can still get the Ubuntu look and feel in your Windows computer with the Smooth Ubuntu Human visual theme. It features everything you need, from fonts to wallpapers, to make your XP look just like the most popular Linux distro.

Mac: Want to share your iPhoto and iTunes libraries on your Xbox 360? Connect360 is the perfect tool for the job. This little preference pane item lets you easily browse through iTunes and iPhoto and stream live internet radio. Through the preference pane item you get to see if the Xbox is well connected and that iTunes and iPhoto are in sync. Absolutely necessary if you own a Mac and an Xbox360!

Java: If you were around in the 80s then you’re sure to remember one of the greatest inventions of that era - the Rubix cube. Rubix Redux is a mobile game that plays in a similar way to the original only this time you only need to rotate the blocks on horizontal and vertical axes, so that every row or column is the same color.

Windows: Are you tired of castles and soldiers historical strategy games? Give the genre a twist with Sins of a Solar Empire, a real-time strategy game set in outer space. Command your spaceship troops and explore other planets while struggling to manage resources properly and taking your civilization to the highest levels of social and scientific development.

Mac: If you have a busy schedule, staying on top of tasks is crucial. Dejumble is a menu bar item which lets you not only create your own tasks, but also view them in a list, add tags and enter notes. The application integrates with iCal, so your tasks are stored there too, and comes in a simple floating window which can be launched quickly from the menu bar.

Pocket PC: If you’re anything like me then you’ve always dreamed about living in a world entirely made out of clay. Well, now you can thanks to Platypus, a side-scrolling shooter where all the game’s elements are made from clay. You take command of a doughy spacecraft and must blast invaders out of the sky. Watch out for the splatty explosions - they’re out of this world!

Pocket PC:UNO is one of the most wickedly intensive card games ever created, and you can now play the game on your mobile phone. UNO Classic 2007 is a gorgeously presented recreation, with loads of characters and backgrounds to choose from. Don’t worry if you don’t know the rules because they’re very well explained here.

Windows: If you wan to add even more functionality to your Firefox browser, this extension is for you. With Auto Context you get an extra web context menu that pops up when you select any word or text, and offers a customizable selection of tasks from searching that text on Google to opening it as an URL. Auto Context can also work with other compatible extensions so that you get the most from them all.

Mac: Want to focus only on today’s work? Then the Today application for Mac should help you out. This program synchronizes perfectly with both Apple Mail and iCal to show all your tasks and events for the day. It can be opened up from the Dock or the menu bar. And if you don’t want to bother opening up iCal you can create new tasks and events straight from Today. Try it out now (I mean today)!

Windows: If you like listening to music while working with the PC but you’ve grown tired of your MP3 collection, try Nexus Radio instead. This amazing radio player has just released its latest version, 2.2.4, which features more than 7,000 online radio stations in 38 different genres. Nexus Radio is iPhone and iPod compatible and can also record music with just a single click.

Mac: Looking to download videos straight from Safari onto your iPod? CosmoPod, a plugin for the Mac browser lets you convert videos into the iPod ready H.264 or MP4 formats in seconds. It includes an embedded player so you can preview your videos to make sure they are of adequate quality before taking them with you on your iPod.

Symbian: If you enjoy nothing more than a game of sudoku on the bus to work then get hold of Sensible Sudoku on your mobile phone. The game features a powerful sudoku engine capable of generating billions of puzzles in multiple difficulty levels. Sensible Sudoku includes a pleasant interface, elegant audio and enjoyable gameplay. Download it now for a compelling experience!

Are you still using those outdated HTML web galleries to share photos online? Pimp your photo collection with Photo! 3D Album, a tool that lets you create amazing 3D photo galleries and share them right away. You can use different environments and export the collection as a web gallery, standalone photo album or even a customized screensaver.

Thought about sharing files with your friends over the internet? Papaya is a web server which makes great use of your Mac’s features like Quick Look, iTunes and iSight and makes sharing easier than ever. Just drag and drop your files on the app, organize them in folders, add a password for protection and share the url with your friends.

Poker is highly addictive but it can also be highly addictive, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing. Thanks to Aces Texas Hold’em you can experience the thrill of winning at the game without the fear of losing loads of money if everything goes wrong. This mobile version of the game boasts amazing intelligence specifically created for limit-style Texas Hold’em.

Tired of the default media player on your Symbian phone? Then turn your handset into a portable music center with XSound. The application supports audio files in AAC and MP3 format and also ID3 tags to keep your playlists in order. An integrated search function scans your mobile for music, so that everything is ready to play.

Join the most exciting online racing competition with Trackmania Nations Forever! This amazing free racing game lets you play on your own in more than 60 tracks and also compete against players from all over the world. Create your own circuits, customize your car, make friends and become the fastest driver on Earth!

Looking for an alternative to iPhoto for organizing pictures on your Mac? JetPhoto Studio is a promising solution. You can browse your photos in calendar view, make Flash movies, screen savers and slideshows, locate them via GPS in Google Earth and and easily rate and tag them. JetPhoto Studio also works with a number of web printing and publishing services like Flickr.

After eleven months without news, we finally got our hands on a new version of eMule. The popular P2P client features a bunch of new features and improved functions, such as a revamped Kad protocol, flood protection and spam filters among others, as well as a special “obfuscation” option to prevent your ISP from blocking your file transfers.

Are you the proud owner of at least half a dozen phones? Do you spend your days on the telephone? Then you probably need to find a way of converging all of your devices. Dialectic allows you to control your landline, mobile phones and even VoIP applications from one application, which can dial numbers for you and save them in any contact application. A real productivity boost!

You don’t have to just use your phone for calling and SMS messaging, you know. You can also chat via instant messaging, just as you would do on your home computer. IM+ enables you to do this and boasts support for all the major IM networks, including AOL, Google Talk, MSN, Jabber and ICQ. You can even set up simultaneous connections to all these systems.

Need to safely access your files over a remote connection yet worried about how difficult it may be to set up? Not to worry, FarFinder offers a simple Finder interface which can be easily accessed from anywhere. The application will generate a simple URL which will give you access to your folders. The best thing about it? The special interface for the iPhone.

With a package of system utilities like SysInternals Suite you’ll always have the right app for every need. This complete collection of tools enables you to have full control over your system, including running processes, DLL files, presence of malware and much more. Just unzip it into any folder and you’re ready to go!

Bluetooth is great for quickly transferring files wirelessly, but one of the things that annoys me about the transfer protocol is that when you send a file or document from one device to another, the file always ends up in the same folder on the receiving device. Step forward moBlue, a free Pocket PC application that lets you set the folder to save Bluetooth-sent files.

Thanks to the constant improvements in mobile technology, cellphones and PDAs are now among the first things many sailors pack before they set sail. Not only are they useful for relieving boredom and loneliness, but the powerful software available for them these days means that they can even save lives on the high seas.

If you’re planning a trip on the open water then it’s a good idea to use a device with built-in GPS, or buy a GPS receiver for your existing handset. There are many GPS utilities out there that can help you put your satellite connection to best use. Try GPSXC, which is a specialised reader for adventure sports. The program allows you to download maps and satellite imagery and display your current position and set a waypoint from your location and GPSXC even includes a speedometer with time and distance tracking.

Other decent GPS tools worth trying include CellPos, AFTrack, and Compass, which could prove essential if anything happens to your on-board direction finder. If you have a Pocket PC, then give Pocket Sailor a try. This software system allows you to view Transas charts and navigate using a Pocket PC connected to a GPS. Pocket Sailor is an add-on to the Navigator system and allows charts and routes to be downloaded on to a palm top PC.

The weather is a key factor in sailing of course, and there are plenty of decent forecasting tools for mobile phones out there. Handy Weather provides live weather news and you can check conditions for an arbitrary location based on co-ordinates. WorldMate is also pretty good and besides live weather forecasts, it offers a World map, World clocks and a measurements converter.