As the hard drives and Flash memory cards of the world’s burgeoning photography community continue to fill up, there is increasing demand for low-cost methods of keeping their images in some kind of order. With some snap-happy enthusiasts taking hundreds of pictures a week, there’s a danger that the fun of photography will be replaced by the mundane task of finding the shots you once they’re on your PC. While programs such as Photoshop Album and PaintShop Album are pretty good at helping you sort images, StudioLine aims to take things one stage further – by not charging you for the privilege.

You might expect that by not demanding a fee for a photo organizing program, you’d have to settle for a largely scaled-down version of its costly equivalents. We were pleasantly surprised to see this wasn’t the case, and the application is brimming with features that not only make it easier to sort and search for photos, but which can instantly improve the appearance of your images.

The main premise of the program is to help you whip your photo collection into some sort of order, and it does this admirably. You start with an Image Archive, which is basically a database where you can load in all of your images. From here, you can create a hierarchical tree system of folders based through an Explorer-style interface, making it a painless process. Sorting through your images is aided by the capacity for adding information about a photo using the ‘Descriptors’ data, photos, allowing you to categorize by image topic, date, location or person. You can even enter a star rating for each image to help you later in the sorting process. Another nice inclusion is the ability to change the size of thumbnail previews using a slider when viewing all the images within a folder.

As if the slick sorting facilities weren’t impressive enough, the program boasts a range of editing tools that rival many priced image editors. There’s a diverse variety of tools ranging from preprocessing, through photo correction, to special effects, all of which can be previewed and applied with ease. The fact that you can apply changes you’ve made to one photograph to hundreds of other images in one click is another major boon, and is ideal if you want to turn a batch of images into black and white, or apply an auto-colour correction to an entire album of photos, for instance.

The user interface is generally a joy to use, with lots of customizable options, and draggable palettes like those you see in professional editing suites. There are a couple of bothersome aspects of the interface which could do with changing though, such as the fact that an image loads in a new pop-up menu when its thumbnail is clicked on, rather than in the main window (as a tab perhaps). The tips boxes that spring up a little too frequently can also get a tad irritating, especially as there seems to be no way to permanently disable them.

Apart from these minor niggles, this is a fantastic program which, is arguably the cheapest way of effectively managing your image collection. The addition of features for creating slide shows, web galleries and emails only serves to raise its status as a serious contender to its big budget rivals.

Download StudioLine Photo Basic 3.50.54 in Softonic

Creating customized DVD movies is a piece of cake with Droppix DVD Maker. The program takes care of everything so that you only have to worry about enjoying your favorite videos from the couch.

You can use any video files stored in your local drive (the program supports the most popular formats) or import videos right away from famous video websites like Youtube, Daily Motion or Google Video with just a single click. Droppix DVD Maker also includes several ready-to-use menu templates you can use to create personalized DVD menus, though the method to change them is not very well implemented (a double click on the current menu image would be much more intuitive than having to open the program's settings menu).

Another drawback to Droppix DVD Maker is the fact that you can't preview the video before converting and recording it to the actual disc, while other similar tools usually include a built-in player. At least the conversion process is easy and quite fast too.

Droppix DVD Maker lets you create customized DVD movies in a very easy way, but lacks some handy features found in other similar tools.

Download Droppix DVD Maker 1.5.0 in Softonic

CyberLink DVD Suite includes ten basic tools designed to help you make the most out of your multimedia library. Tasks like burning music compilations onto CD and DVD, creating data backup copies, or designing photo slideshows to share with friends and family are just some of the tasks that you'll be able to carry out with CyberLink DVD Suite.

The suite includes an application launcher, known as PowerStarter. This launcher works as some kind of control panel from where you can easily access all the tools included in the suite. They're categorized in tabs according to the task or action you can do with them ("watch movie", "make an audio CD", "copy a data DVD") instead of displaying the actual tool's name. PowerStarter also includes a special Favorites tab where you can add shortcuts to your most frequently used actions.

This app launcher obviously makes things much easier for the average user, but power users may find it confusing, as they're probably used to choosing the application they want to open – not the task they want to do.

What does CyberLink DVD Suite include? As a starter, you'll find a powerful recording tool (Power2Go) with which you can burn audio and data CD and DVD, perfect to enjoy your favorite music anywhere and make backup copies.

Another outstanding app is PowerProducer, which lets you create VCD, SVCD and video and photo compilations. If you want to create a fully customized slideshow with soundtrack, transition effects and all the bells and whistles, then your best choice is Medi@Show. PowerDVD Copy and PowerBackup also deserve a mention, allowing you to copy non-protected DVD movies and create security copies of your sensitive data respectively.

CyberLink DVD Suite is undoubtedly a very complete package with high-quality tools, which is very suitable for the average user. I'm not that sure about more advanced users though: I'm convinced that the more you learn about how to use computers and software, the less you need to download a huge-sized suite with a dozen tools from which you'll probably only use three or four - especially in the case of CyberLink DVD Suite, where you can't choose which specific tools you want to install.

CyberLink DVD Suite is a fully featured multimedia suite with a very varied set of tools to burn discs, create backup copies, design slideshows and more.

Download CyberLink DVD Suite 6 Essential in Softonic

Video is becoming an increasingly important element in multimedia creations, which means you need powerful tools to work with it in proper conditions.

CyberLink PowerDirector is probably your best option when choosing a video editor. This program lets you create stunning video compositions featuring videoclips, images, transition effects, clipart, text layers and, of course, a personalized background soundtrack.

As complicated as it seems, the truth is that CyberLink PowerDirector is really easy to use. The main working area follows the standard interface design in video editors, including a media library window to browse your multimedia collection, a timeline to drag and drop elements for your creation and a preview window to check how everything looks when put all together.

CyberLink PowerDirector features all the necessary tools for the whole creative process, from assisting you in with the very first step (capturing video from several different sources) to adding the final touches to your creation (a totally customizable DVD-style menu).

When you’re done, you can save your video as a streaming file, write it back to the videotape or even upload it to YouTube straight away. The program also allows you to record the video on a CD or DVD.

CyberLink PowerDirector is the perfect combination of powerful features with an appealing, easy-to-use interface that will please power users and beginners alike.

Download CyberLink PowerDirector 7.0.1915 Deluxe in Softonic

Video is becoming an increasingly important element in multimedia creations, which means you need powerful tools to work with it in proper conditions.

CyberLink PowerDirector is probably your best option when choosing a decent video application. This program lets you create stunning video composition featuring videoclips, images, transition effects, clipart, text layers and of course, a personalized background soundtrack.

As complicated as it seems, the truth is that CyberLink PowerDirector is really easy to use. The main working area follows the standard interface design in video editors, which include a media library window to browse your multimedia library, a timeline to drag and drop elements for your creation and a preview window to check how everything looks when put all together.

CyberLink PowerDirector features all the necessary tools for the whole creative process, from assisting you in with the very first step (capturing video from several different sources) to adding the final touches to your creation (a totally customizable DVD-style menu).

When you’re done, you can save your video as a streaming file, write it back to the videotape or even upload it to Youtube straight away. The program also allows you to record the video on a CD or DVD.

CyberLink PowerDirector is the perfect combination of powerful features with an appealing, easy-to-use interface that will please power users and beginners alike.

Download PowerDirector 7.0.1829 Ultra in Softonic

CyberLink DVD Suite includes ten basic tools designed to help you make the most out of your multimedia library. Tasks like burning music compilations onto CD and DVD, creating data backup copies, or designing photo slideshows to share with friends and family are just some of the tasks that you'll be able to carry out with CyberLink DVD Suite.

The suite includes an application launcher, known as PowerStarter. This launcher works as some kind of control panel from where you can easily access all the tools included in the suite. They're categorized in tabs according to the task or action you can do with them ("watch movie", "make an audio CD", "copy a data DVD") instead of displaying the actual tool's name. PowerStarter also includes a special Favorites tab where you can add shortcuts to your most frequently used actions.

This app launcher obviously makes things much easier for the average user, but power users may find it confusing, as they're probably used to choosing the application they want to open – not the task they want to do.

What does CyberLink DVD Suite include? As a starter, you'll find a powerful recording tool (Power2Go) with which you can burn audio and data CD and DVD, perfect to enjoy your favorite music anywhere and make backup copies.

Another outstanding app is PowerProducer, which lets you create VCD, SVCD and video and photo compilations. If you want to create a fully customized slideshow with soundtrack, transition effects and all the bells and whistles, then your best choice is Medi@Show. PowerDVD Copy and PowerBackup also deserve a mention, allowing you to copy non-protected DVD movies and create security copies of your sensitive data respectively. The Pro version of the suite also includes PowerDirector, a handy video editor to tweak, cut, crop, copy and paste your video files.

CyberLink DVD Suite is undoubtedly a very complete package with high-quality tools, which is very suitable for the average user. I'm not that sure about more advanced users though: I'm convinced that the more you learn about how to use computers and software, the less you need to download a huge-sized suite with a dozen tools from which you'll probably only use three or four - especially in the case of CyberLink DVD Suite, where you can't choose which specific tools you want to install.

CyberLink DVD Suite is a fully featured multimedia suite with a very varied set of tools to burn discs, create backup copies, design slideshows and more.

Download CyberLink DVD Suite 6 Pro in Softonic

EureScribe is a transcription software system that attempts to make transcription of any audio and video files fast and easy.

It does this by basically breaking down media files into small chunks that you can memorize easily. Everything you need to use to EureScribe is accessible through keyboard shortcuts so there's no skipping to and from the mouse all the time while transcribing, which saves a lot of time. The final transcript can be saved in Word (RTF) format or as a subtitles video file if you're creating subtitles.

EureScribe is extremely flexible in what it can handle, dealing with most major media formats such as WAV, .MP3, .WMA, .AVI, MPEG and DVD video. It comes in two editions - Personal and Workgroup. The former is designed just for individual projects and the latter for teams working on subtitling a project or film.

If you're serious about adding subtitles or transcribing a script, then EureScribe makes the job more digestible.

Download EureScribe 1.0 in Softonic

If you like your CD and DVD burners to support drag and drop then CyberLink Power2Go might be the right solution for you.

CyberLink Power2Go features everything you'd expect from a burner produced by a big developer such as CyberLink, including the ability to burn onto double layer DVDs and Blu-ray discs. It's also been designed to produce photo slideshows with Digital Dolby audio and even extract audio tracks from video files.

The ease of access and speed of use is what impresses with this burner. If you want to burn any DVD or CD, simply drag them into the desktop shortcut and CyberLink Power2Go whizzes into action. It even takes it's image seriously with the option of downloading fresh new skins and templates online.

CyberLink Power2Go is a powerful and extremely quick burner that will handle all your CD/DVD and Blu-ray burning needs.

Download CyberLink Power2Go 6 in Softonic

Do you have a favorite DVD movie that you would like to watch on the move on your mobile phone? Are you having trouble in finding the right app you convert it?

Plato DVD to 3GP Converter is what you're looking for. This simple video converter has been especially developed to convert DVD movies right into the standard video used for most mobile devices, 3GP.

The program is very easy to use. Simply load the DVD movie you want to convert from the DVD drive on your computer and tweak the conversion options according to your needs or the characteristics of the target mobile device: video size, bitrate, frame rate, aspect ratio and a lot more. The program can also be set to automatically shut down the computer when the conversion is finished. Apart from that, there are no other configuration settings.

I especially liked the simplicity of use of Plato DVD to 3GP Converter. On the downside, the interface is a bit too dull. Also, it would be great to have predefined profiles for certain devices, such as the iPod, the iPhone or the PSP.

If you want to convert your favorite DVD movies to 3GP and carry them on your mobile device wherever you go, this is the tool you need.

Download Plato DVD to 3GP Converter 8.87 in Softonic

Do you have a favorite DVD movie that you would like to watch on the move on your iPod or iPhone? Then Plato DVD to iPod Converter is what you need.

Plato DVD to iPod Converter has been especially developed to convert DVD movies straight into the correct audio and video format for Apple mobile devices, so that you can easily enjoy your favorite DVDs on your iPod or iPhone.

Plato DVD to iPod Converter is very easy to use. Simply load the DVD movie you want to convert from the DVD drive on your computer and select the target conversion profile in the program's Output menu. You can tweak all settings: video size, bitrate, frame rate, aspect ratio and more. Plato DVD to iPod Converter can also be set to automatically shut down the computer when the conversion is finished. Apart from that, there are no other configuration settings.

I especially liked the simplicity of use of Plato DVD to iPod Converter. On the downside, it seems there's no easy way to select what chapters you want to convert – I'd prefer a full list on the interface rather than menus and submenus which are uncomfortable to browse.

With Plato DVD to iPod Converter you'll be able to convert your favorite DVD movies to an iPod or iPhone compatible format and enjoy those videos on the move.

Download Plato DVD to iPod Converter 8.87 in Softonic

VSO ConvertXtoDVD is an attractively designed and easy-to-use video burner that gives you the power to convert and burn a huge range of formats.

VSO ConvertXtoDVD can handle just about any format you throw at it including AVI, WMV, MKV, YouTube, OGM, MPEG and Quicktime. So instead of having to watch your downloaded films and videos on your PC, you can watch them in the comfort of your lounge on your DVD Player. VSO ConvertXtoDVD goes much further than just mere DVD creation though because it helps you create and author DVD menus.

It offers the possibility to add background video, image or audio and even have chapter and audio/subtitle menus. If you do want to add subtitles, it supports most of the major formats including SRT, .SUB/ID and .SSA and VSO CovertXtoDVD gives you control over color and font selection, and supports tags like italic, bold and the ability to toggle them on or off with DVD player remote control. The encoder makes a decent job of converting videos in terms of the output quality although it is slightly slow - estimate about 1 hour for conversion of a full movie.

A powerful and easy way to get your favourite movies and video clips onto DVD and give them an extra touch of class with a menu.

Download VSO ConvertXtoDVD 3.2.1.55 in Softonic

Over the years Nero has evolved from being a simple CD burner in its earlier versions to becoming the complete multimedia suite we find in its latest version, Nero 9.

As well as the classic Nero Burning ROM tool – which now includes support for Blu-Ray – Nero 9 includes pretty much everything you need to make the most of your music, photos, videos and creativity. You'll be able to carry out complete multimedia projects, from ripping your favorite audio CDs and mixing the tracks with Nero SoundTrax to creating videos with your photos, and even design CD artwork (top and back covers, booklet and CD sticker) by yourself with Nero CoverDesigner.

All these tools are conveniently available from Nero StartSmart, a handy app launcher with two main toolbars: on top of the window, shortcuts to Nero's apps; on the left-side menu, direct access to the most frequent tasks (data burning, audio burning, copy disc, etc.) than open right on StartSmart's main area.

Nero 9 features other interesting tools that try to cover even more areas. You can use the built-in Nero Backup tool to make safety copies of your most important data, for example. Nero also includes an embedded video player and a photo editor (known as Nero PhotoSnap) though these two apps are quite basic and could have probably been left out without much remorse for the user.

Talking about extra apps, Nero has often been accused of being bloatware, and this version won't change that. It does include a large array of tools, though to be honest they're all quite straightforward and easy to use. I guess the discussion about complexity versus simplicity will still go on, but my view is that Nero 9 is no longer a simple burning tool: it's a full-featured suite that happens to include a burning app, plus many other features that make it an excellent application for all your multimedia projects.

Nero 9 follows the trend of previous versions and adds even more features. If you only need a DVD burning tool, look elsewhere; but if you're looking for a complete multimedia suite, this is your program.

Download Nero 9.0.9.4b in Softonic

There are many necessary evils in this life including queues, rain, and, perhaps most annoyingly for computer users, RealPlayer.

The latter of the three has traditionally been cursed for its slow buffering times and the fact that it comes rammed with all manner of obnoxious advertising and intrusive web links. Unfortunately the application has always been the only tool available to play streaming media files in the rather arcane RAM format, in which many sites still insist on encoding their video and audio in. Luckily, there’s a saviour around these days, in the shape of Real Alternative, which is designed to play these files with less hassle.

The program is a streamlined advertising-free application designed to easily play most media content, including RealAudio (.ra .rpm), RealMedia (.rm .ram .rmvb .rpx .smi .smil), RealText (.rt), and ReadPix (.rp) formats, along with as non-Real media content such as MP3s, MPEGs, AVIs, QuickTime movies, and CD/DVD content. You can also use the program to stream media embedded in web pages.

In terms of performance, Real Alternative beats the pants off RealPlayer, and for that matter, Windows Media Player, playing all the files we tested smoothly and virtually instantaneously. The app contains enough features to keep more serious users happy, including the useful ability to bookmark favorite files, adjust volume in the window, track progress of the file, and more. Although not as quite as fully loaded with tools as its more established rivals, we can live without all manner of channel guides and visualizations in exchange for a much slicker playback experience.

There are some areas where Real Alternative falls down, such as its inability to handle .smi files or its lack of support for CDDB look-ups. But if you’re looking for something that will play audio and video quickly and without interruption, you can’t fault Real Alternative. There are programs, such as KMPlayer, which also offer superior playback quality, but Real Alternative excels in the way it handles streaming media, making it a worthwhile addition to your PC’s arsenal of programs.

Download Real Alternative 1.9.0 in Softonic

As USB sticks and other flash memory drives increase in storage capacity, so does their popularity as software repositories. Many applications have developed special versions for these devices, usually known as "portable". One of them is CCleaner Portable.

In a few words, CCleaner Portable is the pocket version of CCleaner, an excellent cleaning tool with which you can erase unused files, thus gaining back valuable free disk space and making Windows run faster and smoother. The great advantage about CCleaner Portable is that it allows you to do just the same without leaving any evidence of use on the computer. In fact, you don't even need to install it. Simply run it from your USB memory stick and you'll have immediate access to all of its features. CCleaner Portable does create some necessary keys in Windows Registry, but these are deleted when the program is closed, so there'll be no trace of it left on the system.

Regarding its functions, CCleaner Portable does a very satisfactory job. The program helps you to get rid of many different files such as Internet cookies, temporary files, log files or all those leftovers found after months of installing and uninstalling applications. The configuration menu features interesting options like the possibility to keep certain cookies which may be useful for you or the ability to add custom file types to the delete filter. Apart from freeing up disk space, CCleaner Portable also lets you uninstall applications, find broken registry keys and list all the programs set to run when Windows launches.

On the down side, CCleaner Portable does not allow you to undo changes, so you must be very sure about what you want to erase before clicking on "Yes". Also, the program can take a few minutes before finishing the analysis that must be done prior to deletion. However, this is probably due to the fact that CCleaner Portable runs from a USB device and that we checked all the available options when cleaning our system – the test found 558 MB of removable material, which obviously took a while to be deleted.

All in all, CCleaner Portable is every bit as good as its "big brother" and comes in really handy when you want to use it on any PC without installing anything or leaving any traces behind you.

Download CCleaner Portable 2.12.660 in Softonic

PeaZip is an OS-portable archiver tool (released for Windows and Linux); it supports it's native Pea archive format (featuring compression, splitting and flexible encryption and integrity check schemes) and other mainstream formats, with especial focus on handling open formats. Full support: 001 (raw file split/join), 7z, 7zip sfx, Bzip2, Gzip, Pea, Tar, Zip; Browse/extract-only support: Z.

PeaZip doesn't follow the Explorer-like interface paradigm; the interface is more similar to a CD/DVD-burner application, allowing the user to: - save and restore layout of archives (input files and folders list) to speed up definition of archiving and backup operations; - save job definition (as plain text, to be used in any script language).

The interface is fully skinnable (skins can be customised and saved as plain text to be re-edited as freely as possible) and uses customisable transparency. The program doesn't need to be installed/unistalled, it can run from any path (even remote; a writeable path is recommended), however Windows version is released both as a standalone binary and as a fully automated installer/uninstaller package, allowing tight system integration to use PeaZip right from Explorer.

Download PeaZip 2.3a in Softonic

Copying DVDs (for your own use, of course) is becoming increasingly difficult as manufacturers improve the security encoding on DVDs. AnyDVD however claims to be able to crack any DVD encryption code and judging by the number of downloads, Softonic users are certainly endorsing it too.

The beauty of AnyDVD is that it simply works in the background to automatically remove the copy protection of a DVD movie as soon as it's inserted into the drive. In this way, it can decrypt data without actually saving it to your hard-disk. You can watch the DVD at the same time or just insert a disk and let AnyDVD do its stuff. When you insert a disk, you are automatically prompted whether you want to decrypt it. When it has finished inspecting the disk, the program prompts you to backup the DVD using your preferred backup tool such as CloneDVD or Power DVD Copy.

The programme goes much further than this though. A handy bonus is that you can also remove the RPC region code, thereby making the movie region free and viewable on any DVD player. This is especially useful for those who buy many of their disks abroad or travel a lot. If you want to create a stripped-down version of a DVD, it can also remove unwanted movie features, including subtitles and extras for example. The programme also moves beyond decryption and allows you to control the speed of your DVD drive. This is useful if you’re having trouble playing a DVD properly or if the noise of your drive is causing annoyance. Finally, there’s also an option to display the frequency of your monitor for both NTSC and PAL displays although you probably won’t use this unless you’re having serious display issues.

The only drawback of AnyDVD is the number of daily updates that are released. Whilst this is obviously a good thing in terms of keeping it up-to-date with the latest encryption methods, the update alerts can be rather annoying and are prone to slowing your computer down.

However, this is a small price to pay for a programme that seems able to crack all but the toughest disks and for anyone who likes to create backups of their favourite DVDs, it’s an essential addition to your software collection.

Download AnyDVD HD 6.4.6.9 in Softonic

With this software you can burn CD-R, CD-RW DVD+R/RW DVD-R/RW discs. It offers the following main features:

• Writes all kind of mediums apart from double-layer DVD (follows in next version)
• Burn audio-CDs with and without gaps between tracks
• Burn on the fly / Burn-proof
• Supports most IDE, USB, Firewire and SCSI drives
• Rip Audio-CDs to harddrive, obtain track-information (ID3-tags) from Internet
• Burn and create ISO-files
• Customizeable with many settings
• Data verification after burn, create bootable discs
• Bin/nrg->ISO converter, simple cover printing and much more

Download CDBurnerXP Pro 4.2.2.984 in Softonic

Easy Burning¡ provides a simple way to backup your files in a CDR/RW. Integrated into the shell or used as a normal application, Easy Burning is compatible with any CD writer. It allows you to write anything you like, including folders, files, and images.

Download Easy Burning 2.03a in Softonic

A system analyzer is often overlooked as the toy of PC modding fanatics, but the reality is that these applications are very effective at dissecting your PC and giving you the hard truth about its performance. PC Wizard aims to explore the insides of your system and give you the complete low down on its strengths and weaknesses.

Once you launch PC Wizard you’ll notice it takes some time to detect all the hardware installed on your PC. Use the left side of the interface to navigate through the different categories. PC Wizard reveals all the basic details of your hardware, like ports, drivers and processors, but you’ll soon realize there’s much more to it, like analyzing system files or investigating the configuration of elements such as your Internet connection or your Control Panel. Over-sized icons make it fairly obvious what you can inspect, however we would have appreciated an explorer type window to navigate through components and select exactly what to analyze.

The core of any self-respecting system analyzer is the benchmarking tool and that is where PC Wizard excels. The application lets you inspect everything from processors to cache, RAM and multimedia like DirectX, MP3 compression and video. Benchmarks provide the results as a list of information or via comprehensible graphs. These will show you straight away where you’re PC stands and the “compare with” button will let you measure your processor up against well known models. We have to warn beginners though that the information is fairly technical and will be more relevant to experienced users. Just for fun, test out the video benchmark to obtain a swarm of multicoloured balls and lines all over your screen.

That’s the only bit of excitement you’ll get with this application though. PC Wizard is not here for fun it's here to be effective. The detailed information and thorough benchmarking tests give you reliable data on all the characteristics and components of your PC. The complexity of this type of application means beginners are best kept away from it altogether, however advanced users will revel in the wealth of knowledge it will uncover on their PC’s performances.

Download PC Wizard 2008 1.86 in Softonic

Archivarius 3000 is a full-featured application to search documents and email on the desktop computer, your local network and removable drives (CD, DVD). The documents can then be searched by keyword or using a query language.

Due to full Unicode support, Archivarius 3000 allows correct search in multilingual documents. For instance, a Greek-German bilingual document can only be handled in Unicode, otherwise Greek symbols and German diacritics would be lost.

File names are also in Unicode, which enable correct handling of Asian documents (Japanese, Chinese, Korean). Archivarius 3000 searches not only e-mail messages, but also attachments, including compressed ones. The following formats are supported: Outlook, Outlook Express, The Bat!, PocoMail, Netscape, Mozilla, Firefox, and those that are compatible.

Server mode allows you to search remotely and have remote access to your documents through any web browser (i.e. Internet Explorer). This mode can be switched on with a single mouse click.

Download Archivarius 3000 4.10 in Softonic