Windows: You’ve probably never heard of it, but QQ Messenger is the most popular IM client in China. With over a billion registered accounts, it  has everything you need: support for voice and video, tons of smileys, customization options, photo and file sharing… all of it in a nicely designed interface that makes the program a pleasure to use.

iPhone: Tower Defense has to be one of the most addictive game genres of all time. This free iPhone version of the game sees you try to defend your sheep from aliens who want to make scarves out of them. TowerMadness Zero: 3D Tower Defense arms you with a variety of different weapons that you need to place strategically on the field in order to block the baddies’ route.

Mac: The creation of Letterbox is a good example of developers responding to simple user needs. Letterbox takes advantage of widescreen monitors to make using Mail a much easier experience. It’s ideal for those using Powerbooks, MacBook Pros and Cinema displays, although it’s appropriate for anyone with a widescreen display. It makes reading clearer and organization more stress free.

Everyone loves sharing their photos online on Flickr, Picasa and other similar sites. The risk of it is that some people think all online images are public property, so they can simply take them and use them anywhere else. Unfortunately there’s little you can do to avoid this without getting too complicated, like disabling right click or preventing image hotlinking. But you can try to discourage people from taking your photos with watermarks.

Watermarks are text messages printed on top of images, usually with subtle transparency or engraving effects, that mark those photos as your property. These texts won’t prevent people from taking your photos if they want to, but they will at least identify your images online – and who knows, maybe work as a promotional campaign for your work!

Watermarks are generally easy to apply. Some programs - such as SnagIt - already feature watermarking tools, but you can also find dedicated watermark utilities like Siotra Watermak. This simple app helps you add watermarks to your photos in a couple of clicks!

Siotra Watermark features a tabbed interface. All you have to do is select the source and target folders in the program’s first tab, and configure the watermark in the second tab. You can set a custom text, choose the font, tweak the transparency level, select the watermark’s position and include some extra elements like the copyright sign or the file’s name. Once you’ve done customizing the watermark, don’t forget to press ‘Save’!

Siotra Watermark doesn’t offer a watermark preview, but it does let you modify watermarked images as many times as you need to – without changing the original photos. The program only works with folders, so it’s great for watermarking images in batches, but not so useful if you only want to edit one.

Microsoft have finally launched a first Beta version of the much anticipated Microsoft Office 2010. You can download it from the Microsoft Office website, as long as you have a Live ID (your Hotmail address or Live Messenger account will do the trick).

Microsoft Office 2010 Professional Plus Beta is available in several languages, for both 32-bit and 64-bit systems, and features a few differences from the Technical Preview we tested last July. First of all, the number of apps included in the suite has grown from seven to ten, with Infopath Designer, InfoPath Filler and SharePoint Workspace – the new name for Microsoft Groove.

Secondly, the interface in all the Office 2010 has been slightly redesigned. They still keep the ribbon toolbar, but in a much clearer, cleaner style. Also, the ‘Office’ button has been renamed to ‘File’ and opens up a different – and I’d say much more complete - information pane.

Another important new feature is the ability to share documents online, something that wasn’t implemented in the Technical Preview. You can now save any Word document, Excel spreadsheet or PowerPoint presentation to your SkyDrive account directly from the Share menu. Read the rest of this entry »

The most tedious part of buying a new computer is having to transfer all your data from the old system to the new one. With photos, music, documents and the likes there’s not much of a choice: you use your favorite backup software or simply copy and paste files and folders from one computer to another using an external hard drive. But what about your web browser data? History, bookmarks, passwords. All of that needs to be synced too. And here’s where Mozilla Weave comes in handy.

This project was released from the Mozilla Labs a few months ago, as an experimental Firefox add-on, and has just hit version 1.0 Beta. Mozilla Weave lets you sync browser data (bookmarks, history, tabs, passwords and user preferences) between multiple instances of Firefox installed across different computers and devices.

The first thing you have to do after installing Weave is create a user account, either on the Weave servers or your own. This account is used to sync data from your browser to the server, so that it’s available when you need to sync it with other instances of Firefox or other devices – your laptop, your mobile phone, another computer. The account creation process also gives you the chance to customize the extension’s settings and choose the syncing method: merging data between the local computer and the server, syncing from computer to server or syncing from server to computer. Read the rest of this entry »

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.

Every now and then, you come across a piece of software that genuinely surprises. Normally, the thing that surprises us about such pieces of software is what it does: features and functionalities. QQ doesn’t really do anything new. It doesn’t contain any particularly ground breaking features. It’s an instant messaging client. What’s surprising about QQ is that its network has over 1 billion registered accounts… and unless you’re in contact with China, you probably never heard of it.

Depending on who you believe, QQ is either the #1 or the #3 most popular instant messaging client on the internet. It’s published by QQ.com, which in turn has an Alexa rank of 11. And yes, the fact that this is such a popular app is what makes it so important.

Apart from the fairly generic functions that you’d expect in any IM client, QQ does pack a few features which you won’t find in either Yahoo’s or Microsoft’s offerings. For example: QQ allows you to resume an interrupted download when you’re sharing files with friends. That may not sound particularly exciting but if you consider the stability of networks in parts of China and plenty of other countries, you’ll see that it’s actually essential. Another cool feature included with QQ is a nifty little screen grab tool which you can use while chatting. It even lets you make small screencasts: great for anyone who’s constantly helping friends out with their PCs.

But does that make QQ an MSN killer? Well the answer is: possibly. QQ is already a better designed and more up-to-date client than MSN. What QQ needs is a way to convince Messenger users to jump ship. One way this could be done would be by interacting with the MSN network: I don’t think that would work. But some promotion on American and European websites could well have a major impact.

You can download QQ Messenger from Softonic here, and don’t forget to check out our QQ review, too!

Well, just a few days after the release of Dragon Age: Origins, fans probably think that things can’t get any better. But they’d be wrong!

It’s not often you get something for nothing, but luckily the world of software is a little different. The lovely people at BioShock have brought out an additional piece of software for new game Dragon Age - Dragon Age: Origins Character Creator. As we’ve seen around the forums, the news has left some gamers cold, but the more creative among us are definitely going to have a lot of fun with the tool, which allows you to create characters to use in the PC game and upload them to Dragon Age’s upcoming social networking site for use as a (really cool) avatar. There’s even mention of an in-game bonus for people who use the tool to create characters that they later use online.

The whole creation process is really simple. You pick gender, race and class, and get creating. The really cool thing is the degree of control you have over facial features. You can tweak just about every aspect, which means that your end character will be unique and easily identifiable in the chaos of the game. When you’ve finished with your character’s appearance, you can chose a voice and a pose for what they call the profile (in reality, a small avatar). Don’t forget that every option has specific subsequent options, so have a good fiddle around with the tool so you don’t miss anything cool. Read the rest of this entry »

Today I reviewed Speccy, the lastest utility from the Piriform team (the guys responsible for CCleaner, Recuva and Defraggler, all of them great apps). Speccy is a system information tool, that is, a program that analyzes your system and generates a complete report with all its hardware and software features. But it’s not the only one. In fact, taking a quick look at our System Analysis category, you can find a bunch of tools for that same purpose.

Oh, and don’t get me wrong here: knowing the speed of your CPU, your graphics card brand or the size of your hard drive is not something only computer geeks may be interested in. All those details can help you optimize your system, find the right RAM modules when you want to upgrade the computer’s memory and be better informed when trying to sell your PC - or when buying a new one! Here’s a selection of tools to shine some light on your PC’s insides.

• PC Wizard 2009 - Advanced system analyzer with thorough reports and lots of powerful benchmarking tools.
• HWiNFO32 - Obtain detailed information about the hardware installed on your system. Also available as portable app.
• SIW - This utility generates complete reports for hardware, software and network configuration in your system.
• Winaudit - Quick, exhaustive system analysis that includes virtually every detail of your computer configuration.
• Fresh Diagnose - Get a detailed report about your computer’s hardware and software, and benchmark its performance.

Windows: If you need more space but can’t be bothered to buy another external hard drive, try online storage. With SkyDrive Explorer you’ll be able to access your Live SkyDrive free storage from Windows Explorer, just as it it was one more local drive on your computer. All you need is a Windows Live ID, and 25 GB of online free space will be yours for free!

iPhone: If you’re a interested in space exploration, this NASA app for iPhone is a must. This app basically allows you to follow all of NASA’s missions. The main screen lists the missions you can follow, and touching any of them takes you to a description of the mission with a counter for the time elapsed since the mission started.

Mac: Renaming files can be an absolute nightmare if you’re faced with a batch of wrongly-named ones, or recovered files which have had their IDs corrupted. A Better Finder Rename (now updated to version 8.37) is a comprehensive file renaming solution for Mac and can rename huge numbers of files in seconds. A Better Finder Rename allows you to do just about everything you need to rename files.

Lets leave the ‘why would you read a book on your PC?’ question to one side for a moment, and take a look at Amazon’s new free eBook reader:

What you can see is everything Kindle for PC can do. You can insert bookmarks, but not annotations or highlights (like you can on the Kindle device). The library system is basic, although clear and there’s an amazon button that takes you to the shop via your browser. The presentation of text - the important bit - is minimal. You can’t alter font, but can change size and the width of pages. There’s no option to mess around with color or background at all. I was pretty unimpressed with the text, as there are tiny apps like Gargoyle (unfortunately not an ebook reader) that present text in a much more readable form. This just looks like text in MS Word! You can use out-of-copyright eBooks from the Gutenberg project, though, which is good.

Dedicated desktop readers aren’t very common, but there are other options. Check them out after the break - I’ll start at the bottom!

Read the rest of this entry »

Windows: do you need help handling your downloads? Then jDownloader Portable is made for you. This powerful download manager doesn’t require installation and makes the whole process of downloading from file sharing websites much easier and faster. No more pop-up windows, waiting times and hidden download links. Let jDownloader Portable will take care of it!

iPhone: The default battery indicator on the iPhone looks pretty, but it doesn’t really give you much information other than a general idea of how much juice you have left. About Battery delivers a more powerful and advanced way of monitoring battery life on your iPhone. Rather than just give you an overview of the remaining power, the program breaks it down into calculations of the remaining time you have left for certain tasks.

Mac: There are basically two options to run Windows on a Mac - using Boot Camp which involves installing Windows on a separate partition and rebooting it in Windows or, running Windows in a virtual environment such as the one that Parallels Desktop provides. Parallels 5 presents more than 70 new features which allow users to define how much or little Windows they want to see, a new Crystal view mode.

When upgrading to a new operating system, one of the most important elements to take into account is compatibility. On one hand, we have to make sure the new system is compatible with our hardware – that is, all the devices and peripherals connected to our computer. This is usually solved with the latest versions of their drivers, updated to support the new operating system.

But on the other hand, we also have to take software compatibility into account. If we’ve become particularly fond of a certain software utility, we should make sure it also works in our new operating system: Windows 7.

Upgrading from previous OS versions

Windows 7 can be safely installed as an update on Windows Vista, as long as you follow these correspondences:

This means that you won’t need to backup anything and install the new operating system from scratch. All the documents, software and user configuration settings you had in Vista will still be there after installing Windows 7. This method is supposed to make system upgrade easier, but in my personal experience, I always prefer to do a clean install when changing to a new operating system.

Windows Easy Transfer

Installing Windows 7 as an update for Windows Vista means you can keep all your documents and user settings safe through the installation process. But what if you’d like to choose what to keep and what to erase? And most importantly, what if you’re upgrading from Windows XP – and not Vista? In those cases, you can use Windows Easy Transfer.

This tool lets you transfer your personal documents to your newly installed Windows 7 in several ways: using a special Easy Transfer cable, burning a CD or DVD, via a local network or using an external hard drive. Windows Easy Transfer is free and available for both Windows XP and Windows Vista. Read the rest of this entry »

As you may have read elsewhere, today marks the 5th anniversary of the release of Mozilla Firefox 1.0. The browser, intended as a direct attack on the market dominance (and abysmal build quality) of Internet Explorer, has gone from strength to strength in those five years, proving that the software we use to view the web can be as important as the content we’re viewing.

But this story didn’t really begin on November 9th, 2004. Firefox had already been around for a couple of years, under the name of Phoenix (and, briefly, Firebird). That was when many internet users, including myself, first had a chance to get to grips with what was to become a revolutionary piece of software. I was still using a 56k dialup connection when I first used Phoenix, so load times really mattered!

You can still download Phoenix 0.5 (from 2002) and, apart from gaping security holes it’s riddled with, the program itself is eminently usable and very reminiscent of Firefox 3.5.5. Some page elements display incorrectly on newer websites, but the most notable difference is how much faster ‘bloated’ Firefox 3.5.5 is. Also, Firefox uses a heck of a lot more memory than Phoenix ever did, but that seems OK because computers have so much more memory available.

Many of the keyboard shortcuts and features in Firefox were already available in Phoenix. Tabbed browsing, for example, works well in the older browser, though you couldn’t carry out advanced tab operations like dragging tabs to reorder them. Phoenix 0.5 also fails the Acid3 browser test, with a score of 39/100 - still strikingly better than ’standards be damned’ Internet Explorer 7 (12/100).

Taking another look at Phoenix 0.5 today has brought back a lot of memories… like how the default theme was ugly but the favorites manager was streets ahead of IE’s offering (which it still is). Phoenix was an important piece of software that restored hope to web users like me who’d grown up with Netscape, only to see it die from lack of development. So yes, today is Firefox’s birthday. But I’m remembering Phoenix.

During the summer, Gmail increased its maximum attachment size to 25MB, up 5MB on its previous limit. Great news, I hear you cry - now you can squeeze a few more photos into that email or send an album in 2 parts rather than 3!

Well yes, you can, but does that mean you should?

One thing you have to remember about email is that it’s old. Really old. Although it mightn’t feel it, email has been around for more than 30 years and, unlike other technologies, it hasn’t been updated much. This doesn’t have much of an impact on our day-to-day use, but like they say over at the Google Operating System blog, “…sending a large attachment via email is relocating using the U.S. Postal Service as your moving company. It is painful, limited, and expensive.” It will get the job done, but it’s not the most efficient way.

So what’s the alternative? Well, if you are in physical contact with your recipient, you could just put the file on a memory stick. Once you follow the basic security principles, it’s a very simple way of transferring data. Obviously, this only works if you are geographically close to the recipient. In fact, email’s ability to overcome this problem is one of the reasons it became so popular. Just because it’s popular, though, doesn’t make it the best, so have a think about using free web hosting services instead. Don’t worry if it sounds complicated - you’ll get the hang of it quickly.

Go to a free hosting site - Mediafire and Hotshare are two well-known ones - and upload the file in question, just like you would attach it to an email. With 200MB of space usually available, it has a significant advantage over the now elderly email. Once it is uploaded, the service will give you a link, which you email to your friend. Your friend clicks on the link, and downloads the file that you uploaded. If it sounds complicated, it’s only because I have detailed every step - do it once or twice and it will become second nature.

Even though it’s not the most efficient way, you might still have your reasons for wanting to send larger files by email. If you do, you’ll need to make them smaller, and there’s two ways of doing this. You can compress (or ‘zip’) them, or divide them into smaller files. Either way, you’ll need a tool to do this, and the recipient will need a similar tool to decompress or re-join. IZArc and 7-Zip are two reliable - and free - file compression and decompression utilities. Likewise, in the area of file splitting, you’ve got plenty of choice. Even though they’re not pretty (and show little imagination in the name stakes), HJSplit and Gsplit are both fuss-free methods of chopping those unwieldy files down to size.