Most webmail and desktop email clients allow you to forward mail from other accounts into them. Mail Forward tries to give a bit more liberty to users by letting them forward up to 20 different accounts. The application is simple to use: just enter your SMTP details and forwarding address, then enter info for your different email accounts. You can ask the application to delete forwarded messages and set time intervals for when messages are forwarded.

Obviously, Mail Forward will be extremely useful to those that have multiple mail accounts but use a webmail service that does not support forwarding all other services to it. However, if you use Gmail or a good desktop client like Thunderbird or Apple Mail, you won't really need Mail Forward.

Download Mail Forward 4.1.5 in Softonic

Following the release of new versions of both Internet Explorer and Firefox, the infamous 'browser wars' are flaring up again. Despite both Firefox 1.5 and the Beta of IE7 making significant strides, it would be be foolish to think this was a two-horse race. While gaining a good reputation with geeks and power users, Opera has long been a bit-part player among the big boys of the browser world. However, if this preview release is anything to go by, the Norwegian-built browser could finally be ready to punch with the heavyweights.

Opera has been pioneering new ways of browsing the web for some time. It has had tabbed browsing since the days before tabbed browsing was cool and developed the innovative 'mouse gestures' control system, where you navigate through the web just by holding the mouse button and flicking your wrist. The developers even dabbled with a multi-pane interface for viewing several pages within one interface.

The good news is that Opera has lost none of its appetite for innovation, and version 9 is packed with new goodies that will have the programmers at Mozilla and Microsoft choking on their doughnuts. For starters the app runs much quicker than the previous release, making it arguably the quickest browser around (except perhaps for Safari) at rendering pages. Incredibly, despite this boost in performance, the program appears to use less memory than version 8.5, making it far less draining on system resources than Firefox and IE.

In terms of features Opera is the gift that keeps on giving. New to the program comes OSX Tiger-style 'widgets', allowing you to check news, convert currency, view the weather and so on through a series of draggable pop-ups which anchor themselves in front of the browser. Although there aren’t many widgets to choose from at present, this is sure to change once the tech-minded Opera fans start developing more.

Another great addition to Opera 9 is BitTorrent support, allowing you to download torrents directly within the browser – a feature that amazingly no one had thought of before. This system works very smoothly, which makes us wonder why RSS feed reading support in Opera is still so poor.

Among the other new treats within the program is a nifty new search feature which lets you add any search engine to the search bar in the main toolbar. This means you can instantly access searches within your favorite online destinations (Softonic, for instance).

Tabbed browsing remains, although some users may be annoyed to discover that Opera has added close tab buttons to the tabs themselves rather than as a separate button. Having said this, the new web page preview thumbnails that appear when you rollover a tab are a real masterstroke. Mouse gestures are still there too, along with the addition of Total Recall-style voice commands – another example of how cutting-edge this browser is.

Opera's developers have been keen to ramp up security features too, and although they aren't highly original, the new content blocking and pop-up blocking functions serve their purpose effectively. What's more, it's refreshing to see a browser that embraces the latest web standards so freely, with the latest release boasting support for CSS 2.1 and CSS 3 tags.

The browser is remarkably stable and is far better behaved than Internet Explorer 7. Combined with its speed, innovative features and standards support, Opera is undoubtedly web software's best-kept secret, and the final release may prove to be even better than Firefox. Don't say anything though, or everyone will want it.

Download Opera 9.6 in Softonic

MacTubes is a handy YouTube video player and downloader that allows you to create playlists and download video files.

The program allows you to subscribe to video channels on YouTube and view them from your desktop with no need to actually visit the YouTube site itself. MacTubes can then search and download files directly onto your desktop. It can also allow you to create playlists based on what you've downloaded or what you've searched on. So just line up what you want to watch and let it all go on while you sit back and enjoy.

Searches in MacTubes are more or less the same as using the YouTube site, allowing you to view videos by keyword, theme and even the user who uploaded it. The disadvantage is that you can't see any of the comments without going to the YouTube site, which is one of the best aspects of YouTube anyway. The other big drawback is of course that it only works with YouTube - other major sites such as DailyMotion and Metacafe are completely ignored.

MacTubes is a really easy-to-use and handy YouTube searcher and downloader that will make sure your favorite YouTube clips remain in your hands.

Download MacTubes 1.3 in Softonic

Radioshift is a unique tool to browse and listen to any radio station in the world straight from your desktop. The interface, a mix between iTunes and a news reader, makes it easy to browse and subscribe to new radio stations. You can find shows by using the search window or simply browsing through the categories. Shows are divided into three main sections: spoken, music and sports but you can also search for stations geographically, thanks to a map included in the interface.

Radioshift offers a good deal of extra features like the lists of favorite and popular shows. Once you subscribe to a song (by clicking the + button) it'll be added in the list on the left side of the interface. You can also edit show information, although in a limited way. In terms of usability, Radioshift includes an intro movie and a help manual to get first time users going.

Radioshift is the application of choice for any radio or podcast addict.

Download Radioshift 1.1 in Softonic

Want to put a picture of that special someone on your desktop, but don't want to scare off the rest of the department? Photo Desktop allows you to put as many photos on your desktop how and where you want it.

Instead of deciding which photo you want to use as your desktop today, you can clutter your desktop with a lot of small photographs, on top of your desktop, but below the desktop contents, leaving the desktop fully functional.

Features:

• Works behind the desktop
• Drag-'n-drop capabilities
• Multi-monitor support
• Unobtrusive
• You can browse in your iPhoto library
• Universal, build for PowerPC and Intel processors

Download Photo Desktop 2.2.2 in Softonic

Sometimes Newton's Law of Inertia is just as applicable to the digital world as to the physical. All too often our files sit around never to be filed. Downloads and other sundry files pile up never to leave. Fortunately, an uncluttered desktop can be a reality.

Meet Hazel, your personal housekeeper.

Hazel works on whatever folders you tell it to, automatically organizing your files according to the rules you create. It features a rule interface similar to that of Apple Mail so you should feel right at home. Have Hazel move files around based on name, date, what site/email address it came from (Safari and Mail only) and much more. Keep your downloads off the desktop and put them where they need to be.

Hazel can open, archive, set color labels and add Spotlight comments. And in Hazel 2, you can now have Hazel rename your files or sort them into subfolders based on name, date or whatever combination of attributes you choose. Hazel 2 gives you the ability to create even more powerful workflows than ever before.

Download Hazel 2.2.2 in Softonic

Where do all the items you copy and cut go to? The clipboard of course! Well actually Macs don't really have a default clipboard as such. That's why most people end up installing a clipboard app. Like Dipboard.

Accessible from your menu bar, Dipboard reveals a big clipboard interface, available in three sizes (12,20 or 30 containers), seven colors and adjustable transparency. As soon as you copy or cut an element (like text or an image), you'll see it appear in one of the containers. Right click on one of them to perform more actions. You can also choose from four different animated transitions.

There's nothing wrong with Dipboard, but I couldn't help but find it a little clunky. The containers don't give you the best preview of items and I often found the clipboard itself got in the way on my desktop. Dipboard also felt a little basic, as I'd expect more features from a clipboard manager (like batch capabilities or keyboard shortcuts).

Dipboard is a fairly simple clipboard manager accessible from your menu bar.

Download Dipboard 2.03 in Softonic

DVD Snap can take snapshots of any movie playing in your Mac DVD Player. Because it's built specifically for this, it's much easier to use than a traditional screen capture application. Just configure the program, launch the Mac DVD Player and then take your shots. You can grab one image or decide to create a sequence, by setting the time interval. DVD Snap can bet set from 0.5 to 600 seconds intervals.

The application stores and numbers your shots, making them easy to find and exports to a number of image formats, including JPEG, PNG or GIF. The program window is very discreet and can be resized so it doesn't obstruct you when playing back the DVD.

DVD Snap works flawlessly with the Mac DVD Player, a huge plus but also it's only true limitation. We would have loved to see it being associated to any other media player and not just to DVDs, as you may want to take shots from other movie formats. That said you're sure to get an excellent image quality from a DVD.

DVD Snap allows to take unique or sequential shots from movies played in the Mac DVD Player. A discreet program with good settings.

Download DVD Snap 2.1.0 in Softonic

Those of you who are hooked on eBay now have a desktop application to monitor items on the auctioning site. GarageBuy lets you create smart searches, select item categories, payment type or sort of item. It displays images of items and all the information relating to the owner.

The first time you start GarageBuy, you'll be able to configure what eBay site you wish to use and enter your eBay account to receive a token. Although this process was at times unstable, once you have GarageBuy setup, you can have all your searches saved and even purchase items. The application lets you place your bid and update the auction to know current prices.

GarageBuy is a good solution to keep all your searches on eBay organized and control your auctions directly from your desktop.

Download GarageBuy 1.5.3 in Softonic

The application serves up a scrumptious mix of maintenance tools and interface tweaks, all accessible via a comprehensive graphical interface and toolset. It is a smooth and powerful utility that simplifies the use of advanced UNIX functions.

Disks

• Enable or disable journaling

• Repair disk permissions

• Set disk spindown time

System

• Prebind/re-prebind the entire system or selected folder

• Run cron scripts

• Change startup mode

• Modify sleep settings for portable computers

• Force empty trash

• Rebuild Launch Services database

• Update whatis and locate databases

Files

• Delete locked or inaccessible items

• Delete invisible DS Store files

• Clean system, user and Internet caches

• View, rotate, print and save logs

• Create symbolic links

• Recreate Mac OS 9 Desktop alias

• Lock or unlock files and folders

Network

• Change speed, duplex and MTU

• Optimize network settings for eight most common connections or apply the custom optimization

• Configure the built-in Mac OS X file server

Interface

• Customize look and features of Finder, Dock and login window

• Change screenshot file format

• Set window resize speed

• Modify hidden settings of Exposé, Mail, Safari and other applications

Pilot

• Easily optimize your system

• Schedule maintenance tasks

Download Cocktail 4.1.5 in Softonic

Most of us use either Outlook or an online web client such as Gmail or Hotmail for e-mail but some people have particular demands from their e-mail client due to the amount of mail they receive.

For those that receive very large amounts of mail daily, none of the above are particularly helpful when it comes to organizing content. MailSteward can help in this regard because it helps to control and organize large amounts of mail automatically so that it's easy for you to read and filter. Unfortunately, MailSteward doesn't work with web based clients although you can always redirect your mail to a desktop client.

With MailSteward, you can safely archive your large volume of vital email information, easily access your email database with fast, sophisticated searching and protect your essential email data from data formatting by locking important batches of mails. MailSteward can be a little tricky to configure but once you've done so, it works quietly in the background.

If you're already using another mail client such as Entourage you can export mbox files to MailSteward which could make your life seriously easier.

Download MailSteward 8.0.5 in Softonic

Pandora is one of the best online music services you'll come across and, thanks to PandoraJam, you'll be able to enjoy it straight from your desktop. The application is fitted with a nice interface which displays a list of your stations, the basic playback buttons and a handy search bar. You can set the autoscrobble feature to submit your songs to Last.fm and use Growl to get popup updates on new songs in your list. PandoraJam will show status updates in Skype, Adium and iChat but not other IM clients.

PandoraJam is much more than a simple desktop application for Mac though. The program adds wireless streaming to Airport Express, which although unstable every now and then, should work well if you have a good wireless connection. You'll also be able to record songs playing in PandoraJam to play them in your iPod or iTunes. Unfortunately, since Pandora.com is now only available to the UK and US, lots of users will shy away from it and turn to Last.fm, which also provides a good desktop playback client.

PandoraJam is a desktop application for the online music service Pandora, with nice advanced features.

Download PandoraJam 1.3.251 in Softonic

You'll get more out of your favorite songs if you know the lyrics - or at least, you'll stop singing the wrong lyrics and looking like an idiot.

If you're a big iTunes user, then you'll need DesktopLyrics to deliver lyrics directly to your desktop as songs play without any effort on your part. However, the lyrics are delivered in a Window that doesn't automatically appear on top of everything else so it can remain hidden. It would have been useful if the developers had somehow added an option to set the DesktopLyrics window on top but as things are, you'll have to minmize other windows to see the lyrics.

DesktopLyrics can also be a bit hit and miss as regards the lyrics it selects. Usually, you'll get the right song but occasionally it will either select something completely wrong or worse, nothing at all, leaving you with just a blank box. It seems that Desktop Lyrics doesn't use a wide range of databases to retrieve info which is why this occurs.

There are probably better lyric finders out there although DesktopLyrics is fine for anyone with a pretty mainstream music collection who doesn't mind minimizing windows to see it.

Download DesktopLyrics 1.0.6 in Softonic

The iPhone having officially been released less than two weeks ago, we're suddenly seeing all these iPhone applications popping up all over the place. Similar to an iPod storage application, iPhoneDrive simplifies transfering files to and from your iPhone.

The clean cut interface makes it easy to import and export files to and from your iPhone. You can drag and drop files into the interface and look into folders to select specific files to transfer. iPhone doesn't let you properly browse through your Mac to find files, but it does feature a preview image window on the right side of the interface. We also like the little indication at the bottom of the interface, letting you know if your iPhone is connected and how much space you have left.

Although the iPhone syncs perfectly with your Mac, iPhoneDrive offers a different interface that some users might prefer to transfer files to and from their iPhone.

Download iPhoneDrive 2.0.4 in Softonic

Twitterrific is a sleek desktop applications for the Twitter micro-blogging service. Fitted with an attractive dark grey interface, Twitterrific offers numerous ways to follow and handle your friends and tweets. Either view by most recently update or full update list, choosing to show only your friends or public tweets. You can refresh tweets anytime and even check your own Twitter page thanks to the buttons at the bottom of the page.

Twiterrific also integrates keyboard shortcuts, sparing you a few precious seconds while you're twittering away with your friends. The application is pretty discreet, and you'll notice it only pops up for new updates. You'll also hear a little bird tweet, which can be adjusted. I've had Twitterrific disconnect sometimes, yet trying again normally works. The only minor drawback to this latest version is that it now shows ads until you decide to pay for the software, yet that's a small price to pay for such a handsome application.

Twitterrific is a must desktop application for any Twitter addict out there.

Download Twitterrific 3.1 in Softonic

Headline is a small desktop RSS reader with a chat client-like interface and loads of smart features.

The application comes with a large choice of feeds, but you can easily add your own and remove the ones you don't want. Instead of previewing items in the interface, a preview window pops up, in a Quick Look fashion. Headline includes its very own video player, so you watch videos and listen to audio items in the preview window.

The search box at the top is particularly responsive and useful if you don't want to scroll down your list of items. You'll also find a button at the bottom left which lets you switch between feeds and entries. You can mark items you like as favorites and share them via email or iChat.

The compact size comes at a cost, which is no browser view. However it's worth sacrificing it for an interface that stands out from other typical desktop RSS readers.

Headline is a compact desktop RSS reader with a good video player and sharing features.

Download Headline 1.0 in Softonic

With Last.fm, music fans have found a place to congregate and share musical tastes. The Last.fm player places the “social music revolution” onto your desktop, giving you access to thousands of tracks from all musical genres.

The beauty of the application is that it encourages you to find similar artists to the ones you’re accustomed to and also pushes you to interact with users who share the same tastes. Search results appear as a tag cloud, with the biggest elements being the most popular. With thousands of songs available on Last.fm, it’s pretty unlikely that you’ll listen to the same thing twice. The player is streaming and you’ll have to be connected to the internet and have a Last.fm account for it to work.

Although slightly bulky, the Last.fm player interface is sleek and accessible. We like the shiny control icons and the “now playing” window. This is where you’ll find all artist information like album cover, a small description of the artist, related tags and artists and top listeners. The menu bar on the left includes your recently played tracks, recently loved and recently banned, although to listen to these you’ll need to upgrade your Last.fm account (€2.50/month). The last 10 stations you’ve listened to are automatically saved in your history file.

The social experience is central to Last.fm and becomes pretty addictive. By listening to tracks you create a profile of yourself, the music you listen to and the artists you like. Last.fm then connects you to other users that have similar tastes, whom it calls neighbours. In the Last.fm player, you can connect to neighbours' stations and listen to their tunes. The lists of the friends you made on Last.fm will also appear in your player. If you have the Audioscrobbler plug-in installed, Last.fm can also track all the songs you play in your favourite desktop music app (like iTunes) and connect you with even more neighbours.

Most of us here at Softonic have Last.fm connected all day, simply because it doesn’t require you to have your own music library, it’s free and provides an endless flow of new tunes. In line with modern evolutions in online music, this web music application mixes streaming and social tools to give you an exciting music player. No music fan with access to Internet should be caught dead without it.

Download Last.fm player 1.5.3.45507 in Softonic

The best way to ensure that your information is safe is by encrypting it. PGP Desktop lets you do just that by easily creating and managing keys.

Despite a lengthy installation, needed so that you can create your own pass phrase, choose your email and enter other user settings, PGP Desktop is easy to work with, even if it may be best suited for the enterprise user.

Create a new key is just a case of dragging and dropping the files you want to encrypt. The interface then display all of your keys, which you can manage easily.

PGP allows you to save files in encrypted zip files and even store them on an encrypted disk. The developers have not omitted the fact that files are mostly exchanged online and provides a safe solution for that too. You'll also notice that it keeps a log of any activity, so you can verify what has been encrypted.

If you work constantly with sensitive material, then PGP Desktop should make your life much easier, encrypting any files quickly.

Download PGP Desktop 9.9 in Softonic

Feel like cropping pictures? iZoom gets the job done. This little application lets you adjust a photo and focus on a specific area, to then crop out what you don't want.

iZoom comes with almost a dozen preset sizes, which for most people will be just what they need. These go from iPod Photo to thumbnail, desktop background or email portrait. Select one of the presets, load in your photo and adjust it. All you then need to do is crop.

You can also create your own custom cropping profile thanks to the size and quality tools at the bottom left.

These, and that is my general gripe with the program, are fairly limited. iZoom lets you crop photos but nothing more. The editing features are restricted and there aren't any more settings you can play on.

The applications is slightly limited, yet iZoom makes for a quick cropping tool.

Download iZoom in Softonic

Pukka is a minimalist posting client for del.icio.us. Fire it up and within seconds you can easily post to one or more del.icio.us accounts. Drag a URL from any browser, open a URL shortcut file on the desktop, or drag a URL right onto the dock icon. You can even set Pukka as your external weblog client in NetNewsWire.

No more waiting for the posting page to load, no more bulky bookmark organizers when all you want to do right now is post a link. Pukka moves in fast and then gets out of the way so that you can keep browsing.

Features:

• Fast & lightweight
• Handles multiple del.icio.us accounts
• Auto-completes tags
• Stores passwords in the keychain
• Accesses del.icio.us over SSL
• Bonjour auto-discovery of local Pukka users
• Drag URLs to window or dock
• Efficient keyboard navigation
• Can use bookmarklets for fast posting from any recent browser
• Use as an external weblog editor in NetNewsWire
• Growl integration
• Dynamic display of notes length while typing to stay within limit
• Compatible with .webloc and .url files
• Main window gets out of the way after posting
• System service for sending a URL from other applications
• Self-updating with Sparkle
• Universal application

Download Pukka 1.7 in Softonic