Freeware World

Windows: After a few betas and release candidates, our favorite torrent client has finally made it. uTorrent 2.0 is now available for download with the same speed, ease of use and simple interface we’ve grown to love. The new version also features support for UDP tracker and a completely overhauled setup menu, among other new features.

iPhone: Want a Kindle but can’t afford one? Then try Stanza. It’s ebook reader and library for your iPhone, offering commercial titles, which can be bought through bookstores in the app, and free titles from providers like the Gutenberg project. This is a really good application. It’s well organized, easy to use and makes reading on the iPhone as comfortable as possible on such a small screen.

Mac: Imagine if you could access your iTunes collection from any Mac, anywhere in the world. MyTunesRSS allows you to do exactly this by accessing your iTunes folder over a local network or the internet. Initial setup involves setting up a server using the IP address of the computer that contains your music. Once connected, the user interface is like a stripped down version of iTunes showing you your tracks and categories.

Once 3D took hold of gaming, one of the early Nineties most popular types of game, the
point-and-click adventure, started to disappear. In some ways, that’s hardly surprising. The games were generally dialog driven stories with puzzles in them, and just the occasional action point - all of these things can be found in newer adventure games, which usually have much more action in them.

Nevertheless, the relaxed, quirky point and clicks were never forgotten, and the rise of downloadable and indie games on all platforms has seen a resurgence. And that’s fantastic: point-and-click is the ideal choice for the casual gamer who wants a deeper experience. They don’t require dexterity or learning complicated controls - if you can use a computer at all you can play these adventures. Currently, there’s a great mix of updated classics and new games available to play, and here are a few ways to get started.

Machinarium: One of last year’s prettiest games, the puzzle element is pushed to the fore in Machinarium, but even when it gets hard it’s cute enough to keep you motivated. There are demos available for Windows and Mac.

LucasArts Adventure Pack: This collection of four classic games from the early Nineties may look outdated, but they are fantastic. There are two Indiana Jones titles, plus LOOM and The Dig - The Indiana Jones adventures have held up especially well, with excellent writing, puzzles and humor. Windows only.

Zombie Cow Studios: This is a two man team, who’ve created two excellent adventures - Ben There, Dan That and sequel Time Gentlemen, please! They are full of jokes, definitely not for children or the easily startled, and the stories are excellently off the wall. The first game is free, too so check it out!

Broken Sword/Beneath a Steel Sky: Touchscreens are ideal for point-and-click games, which is good news for iPhone users. Two of the greatest ever adventures, from Revolution Software, have been remastered and updated with a brilliant control scheme. Both are gripping stories, and Broken Sword looks especially fantastic. You can still play the original Beneath a Steel Sky on your Windows PC.

Telltale Games: This team have brought back both the Sam & Max and Monkey Island franchises in 3D to great success in episodic content, and continued with new series featuring Strong Bad and Wallace and Grommit. These are all excellent adventures, and they bring high production values back to point-and-click games - great if you can’t stand lo-fi retro graphics!

Having your very own Karaoke nights doesn’t mean you have SingStar or spend lots of money on equipment. If you’ve got a Mac, you can turn it into a Karaoke machine complete with videos and all. Although there is a definite lack of decent karaoke apps on Macs, here is a selection of some of the better ones to give your vocal chords some exercise.

iStar Ok, it might sound a bit too much like SingStar but iStar is much more flexible than the latter. Why restrict yourself to SingStar discs when iStar can import almost anything including CD+G, KAR, AIFF, and MP3 files. So you’re not restricted to buying expensive songss like you are with SingStar. Because it can burn CD+G discs too, you can create your own karaoke videos to go along with songs.

SingSong Karaoke: Do you want a SingStar style app without the SingStar style price tag? SingSong Karaoke might not be as powerful as iStar but it is more fun by allowing you to measure your voice against the original artist of tracks. In the trial version of SingSong Karaoke, you can choose from Madonna, Eric Clapton and Gloria Gaynor but you’ll need the original MP3 file to sing them. Lyrics can be downloaded from the database.

kJams Although kJams (formerly known as kTunes) itself is free to download, you have to pay for a special burning plugin to burn CD-G discs. However, for those serious about karaoke, it may well be worth it. kJams is about as professional as it gets allowing you to rip, mix, play and burn CD+G format discs in a very easy to use iTunes style interface. kJams creates karaoke playlists, sorts tracks by name, artist, album etc.

TunePrompter While kJams can be a bit complicated for those just wanting a bit of fun, TunePrompter makes creating your own Karaoke videos an absolute cinch. Best of all, its absolutely free and a pleasure to use. Although it was originally designed for use with Griffin Technologies iKaraoke hardware, there’s absolutely nothing to stop you creating your videos, exporting them to QuickTime and then burning the results to disc.

KaraTunes is not strictly a karaoke application but it can very easily be adapted for karaoke sessions. KaraTunes puts all your lyrics data in one single database, letting you save, modify, and search lyrics with an easy-to-use interface. By supporting the LRC lyrics format, KaraTunes allows you to view lyrics synchronized with your songs. KaraTunes automatically displays the lyrics of the song being played while you sing.

If you’re looking for PDF utilities, you’ve got plenty of choice if you want to open and view without paying a fortune. What’s not so easy is creating and editing them, a problem that leads lots of users to avoid this handy file format altogether.

Just remember: creating PDFs may not be as easy as creating other types of document, but there are still lots of tools that will help you get the job done!

Creating PDFs is most easily achieved by using a PDF ‘printer’ like PDFCreator. Once installed, this program appears like another printer on your printer list. You create the document in your usual Windows application and once you are ready to turn it into a PDF, send it to the PDFCreator printer. This tool will convert your document into a portable, professional PDF, while PdfFactory Pro and Bullzip PDF Printer will do the same job.

What if you have a PDF that you’d like to edit or a form you need to fill in? This one’s a bit harder, as there are very few free apps that do the job well. Obviously there are master programs designed specifically for the purpose, but unless you have a spare $500, you can kiss that option goodbye.

If you have just one document that you want to modify, the trial versions of programs like PDFill PDF Editor and PDF Suite will do the job. If you need a less limiting - and free - option, PDF-XChange Viewer will give you plenty of editing powers. Also bear in mind that some office suites, such as OpenOffice, have PDF functionality built in.

As a final option, you could give online editors like PDF Hammer and PDFescape a try. Just remember that these tools get mixed reviews and only offer basic editing tools, especially in the case of PDF Hammer.

Windows: Download managers may not be as necessary as they were in the modem era, but they’re undoubtedly a handy tool for download addicts. FlashGet proves to be one of the best download managers out there, with great features such as support for Torrent an eMule files, scheduled downloads, and clipboard and web browser monitoring, among others.

iPhone: If you’re a Photoshop addict then why not try out the new iPhone version of the app, Photoshop.com Mobile. It’s by no means a fully-featured editing suite, but what it does do is to allow you to quickly and easily tweak photos on the move, through an excellent interface based around touch gestures. This latest update adds support for video playback.

Mac: kJams (formerly known as kTunes) can Rip, Mix, Play and Burn CD+G format discs in a very easy to use iTunes style interface. kJams allows you to create playlists, sort tracks by name, artist, album etc and much more. If you’ve already ripped some MP3+G files, kJams allows you to import them along with standard formats such as QuickTime, KAR, MIDI and Vorbis.

Today’s Symbian smartphones are more like digital swiss army knives. They arm you with tools for listening to music, browsing the web, watching videos, and managing your files. However, as you’ve probably noticed to your frustration before, not all Symbian phones support all formats. This means you can have all manner of problems opening multimedia, accessing web content, or viewing files you’ve transferred from your computer. Help is at hand though, and there are a few crucial add-ons you should download and install in order to improve your smartphone experience. Here’s a quick run-through of what you need.

Video

If you have downloaded movies in DivX format then you might be wondering how to watch them on your phone. The answer is simple: install DivX Player Mobile. The program lets you watch DivX, AVI or MPEG movies in the player window or in full-screen mode. Control elements such as Play, Pause, Stop, Fast Forward and Rewind, as well as the volume can be controlled easily via buttons.

Another very popular video add-on is SmartMovie. It’s getting a bit long in the tooth now, and the interface looks very dated. However, it’s perfect for cropping and shrinking movie files to be stored and played on your phone. It also helps you install codecs onto your device that let you play video files you wouldn’t otherwise be able to.

Nokia Video Converter is also a massively popular app, and is designed to take care of all your video conversion needs. The app is designed to convert movies from popular files formats and DVDs in just a few clicks, preserving picture and sound quality as best it can. The application’s interface is very clearly labeled with large buttons for adding video, adding DVD, playing, and converting.

Audio

If you want to stream audio from the Internet to your phone then you will almost certainly need to install RealPlayer on your device. This app supports playback of RealAudio, RealVideo and 3GPP compliant content via streaming or download. You can even get access to news, sports, and entertainment updates.

Windows Media Audio (WMA) is a popular audio format that you’ll struggle to play on some of the older Nokia phones. Not, that is, unless you have WMAPlus! installed. Besides its low level support for WMA, the app doubles as an advanced player, which has a very cool graphical interface and skinning support.

Web content

If you want to access Flash content on your Symbian phone then you need to install either the Macromedia Flash Player, or Flash Lite on your device. Once you’ve done this, a whole world of games, video and interactive web content awaits you.

For the keen readers out there, MobiPocket Reader is another must-have Symbian app. The program grants you access to eBooks, RSS, online news and blog content, all within a simple user interface. MobiPocket Reader even comes with its own eBook store, including dictionaries, synchronized news channels, and text documents.

Reading PDF documents on your Symbian phone is out of the question, unless you have a reader installed. Adobe Reader LE is probably your best bet, as it permits fast and easy viewing by resizing PDF documents for the small screen.

Files

When it comes to managing and viewing files on your device, X-plore offers a great solution. The app lets you perform all the tasks you’d expect from a file manager, such as copying, renaming, deleting, editing, etc. It goes further than most though, facilitating extraction of compressed archives, file exploration within messaging folders, and powerful and reliable search. There’s even a task manager that lets you view your running processes.

Occasionally, you may have problems installing application files on your device due to certification errors. It’s very annoying, but also easily remedied by getting hold of Mobile Signer. Through a pretty straightforward user interface, this free software allows you to renew the signing of the programs directly from your own phone. This means you don’t need to hack your phone files whenever a digital signature has expired.

Windows: Firefox releases are something we always look forward to. The all new Firefox 3.6 brings a handful of new features and enhancements that will improve your user experience and web browsing: support for full screen HTML5 videos, better Javascript performance, the latest Gecko engine and seamless integration with Personas.

iPhone: Exchanging contact details with someone is a notoriously annoying process. It normally involves rummaging around for business cards or frantically trying to remember your own phone number. Thanks to Bump these days could soon be behind us. This innovative app (which, incidentally was the billionth app downloaded from the App Store) allows you to exchange contact information simply by bumping into another iPhone.

Mac: Virtual DJ is a complete music mixing application for your desktop, allowing you to dump your vinyl turntables for a laptop. Looking like a classic DJ set-up, with a mixer and two decks, Virtual DJ will be instantly accessible to DJs and newcomers alike. There’s a BPM counter to help you judge transitions between tracks, and the visual wave display also helps to cue up your music so that you sound like a pro.

If you want to get your personal finances in order, then the good news is there are plenty of options on Macs. Whether it’s sorting it out your own personal debts or just keeping a tighter grip on whats coming in and out, there is plenty of financial software to suit all budgets and experience. With the recent news that Quicken for Mac might well disappoint dedicated users, here are five excellent alternatives:

iBank is probably one of the best finance apps there is for Macs and a serious rival to Quicken. iBank’s Aqua interface not only looks great but it allows you to manage bank accounts, credit cards and investments, analyze income and like Quicken, can directly connect to your bank to download transactions. The latest release has been made even better by the addition of an iPhone app too.

Squirrel is an excellent alternative to iBank if you prefer something that still allows you to connect to your bank account but uses a stunning iTunes or Front Row style interface. Squirrel allows you to preview accounts, reports and budgets and most importantly, supports online bank connections. Reports created in Squirrel can be printed or saved to PDF and you can import files in OFX format.

Moneywell is all about setting targets and simplifying how you manage your personal finances. Your money is displayed in buckets listed down the left side of the program window to give you a clear overview of your finances. You can create buckets for any sort of income and expense such as transportation, education or clothing. The right part of the interface shows details for a specific item while the center shows general info.

iFinance is an elegantly-presented and highly-polished finance application that allows you to monitor your income and outgoings, as well as stocks, in a very easy to use interface. Down the left-hand side you have your Funds, Budgets and Stocks, followed by Diagrams according to the period you want to monitor. Click on each subsection within these categories to display data on the right-hand side, which is the main window.

Debtinator lets you handle all of your debts in one single place. It collates several accounts into one tidy window so that you see where your money is going every day. Adding new entries is simple and fast and you can setup handy transfer rules which prevent you from worrying remembering to move money from one account to another.

Windows: It’s never too late to start using a password manager, and SplashID is probably one of the best alternatives. This awesome tool will take care of all passwords, PIN numbers, web logins and any other secret codes you may use. The database is conveniently organized in categories and encrypted for maximum protection.

iPhone: Family Feud (or Family Fortunes, as it’s called in the UK) is one of those game shows whose format never seems to tire. This iPhone version of Family Feud is perfect for fans of the show. Featuring the silky voice of presenter John O’Hurley and staged in a set true to the original show, the game sees you try to lead your family to glory against other families and scoop the $20,000 (fictional) prize money.

Mac: Retro platform games are nothing new, but with VVVVVV, developer Terry Cavanagh has created a game that is truly special, and that easily stands alongside any of the early gaming greats. There is a story to VVVVVV - you’re a space captain, who has lost his crew in an accident. Teleported to a strange space craft, you must find your crew and escape. By pressing “V”, gravity is reversed and that’s where the real fun begins.

It’s that time of year again when we whip our crystal ball out of the drawer and take a look at what software is in store for the coming year. We were proved right with all our software predictions for 2009, so I’m trusting the ball to work its magic once again. Here we go with a guide to what to expect from the coming year:

1. Chromium OS

This was an easy one, because Google has already released the source code for its shiny new operating system. The OS is being touted as the perfect solution for netbooks, because it’s entirely based around the web and thus doesn’t require cavernous hard disk space. We were initially underwhelmed by Chromium when we gave it a run-out a couple of months back, but the OS is sure to look a lot different come the end of the year, and Google’s reputation alone should be enough to convince hoards of people to make the switch to browser-based computing.

2. Internet Explorer 9

For the last few years poor old IE has been kicked, battered and stamped on by web users like a cute puppy who got old. Microsoft began work on Internet Explorer 9 a few weeks ago and unveiled some details of the browser at its Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles in November. When finally released, hopefully towards the end of the year, IE9 will be equipped with new hardware-accelerated text and graphics to make web sites look better. The new version’s Direct2D browsing technology is designed to significantly speed up web applications, which is necessary if Microsoft continues to push the wonders of cloud computing. Internet Explorer 9 could see Firefox turncoats flocking back to their roots. Alternatively, and more likely, no one will notice much difference in the browser and its release will pass with no great fanfare.

3. Adobe Creative Suite 5

Rumor has it that the new versions of Photoshop, Flash et. al should be with us around April. It’ll be a new era for the design suite because the Mac version has been completely rebuilt in Cocoa, and will no longer run on PowerPC chips. Judging by the sneaky peeks we’ve seen here and from what was announced at Adobe MAX 2009, designers will be whimpering with delight when CS5 finally becomes available. New goodies you can expect from the suite include ‘wet look’ 3D Photoshop paint brushes, native iPhone game compiling in Flash, and a ‘Smart Paste’ tool for Dreamweaver that makes it easier to integrate vector graphics and Illustrator-created content into your web sites.

4. New Apple OS

I’m already bored of the new Apple Tablet and it hasn’t even been launched (or even confirmed!) yet. Rumors are rife already about what OS/UI this ‘alleged’ device will run. Some say it will run the full OS X, others are adamant that it will us the iPhone OS. My money is on a new variant of OS X that lies somewhere between the two, which will include loads of smart gestures and will be shackled tightly to iTunes.

5. Firefox 4/Firefox Mobile

Two massive releases from Mozilla that are penned for release this year. Firefox 4 for Windows and Mac should arrive around October, and early tidbits of information and flashes of screenshots suggest it’ll be worth the wait. According to Stephen Horlander, product visual designer at Mozilla, the new interface will be radically stripped down to bring it in line with its leaner rivals, Chrome and Safari. Take a look at the screenshots on Stephen’s site if you want an idea of how it will look. Finally, this year will also see the arrival of Firefox Mobile. It’s already available for the Nokia N900 but expect releases for Android, Symbian, and Windows Mobile, too.

6. Windows Azure

The new Azure platform is Microsoft’s attempt to drive people up into the cloud. The environment is designed to help businesses develop their own cloud applications and services, implementing them alongside their existing services. I’ll be honest here and say I really don’t understand what Azure actually does and I was none the wiser after watching Microsoft’s incredibly vague overview video outlining the benefits of the platform on the Azure home page.

7. Google Goggles

Expect Google to ramp up its production of mobile software this year. Besides knocking out new updates of its Android  platform and making stacks of money from its Nexus One phone, Google will continue to experiment with new interfaces for mobile devices. It’s highly effective Voice Search tool has been followed up by the development of an augmented reality app called Google Goggles. Essentionally, it allows you to point your phone at something and Google will tell you what it is, which is pretty cool. Thankfully, Google has said Goggles will block searching on people’s faces, which is a relieve for anyone who values their privacy.

8. Location-based services

A more general prediction is that 2010 will be the year when location-based services finally come into their own. Uptake of location-aware smartphone devices will increase exponentially and thus more of us will be trackable via satellite. This means we expect to see shops flashing ads to your mobile as you walk past them, automatic check-ins as you walk into an airport, and everyone on Facebook knowing exactly where you are at any given time.