Features

Mozilla Firefox 18 is the latest version of the popular web browser and brings with it a few key and welcome new features. First among them is the company's claim to a speedier, safer browsing experience. Tests reveal that this newest version of Mozilla Firefox is certainly quick to load even the most graphics intense pages.

Firefox 18 also now features secure connections when performing Google searches to improve privacy and there's an updated site identity indicator in the URL bar. Windows users also now get silent updates while Mac users on Lion or above can use Firefox in full-screen mode.

Mozilla Firefox's new tab layout itself is a pretty noticeable new feature. Quite similar to Google's Chrome browser, instead of seeing a blank page whenever a new tab is opened Firefox users will now be treated to icons that offer quick access to everything from bookmarks to most recently accessed and most frequently visited sites.

These icons are fully customizable in Mozilla Firefox as well. You can click and drag them to any spot you like on your name tab's page. If you're not a fan, you can also go to the grid icon on the upper right side of your browser and erase them entirely.

Something completely new to Mozilla Firefox is Facebook integration. Firefox now supports Facebook's social API so you can have dedicated buttons for Facebook in your browser. Mozilla Firefox supports Facebook's Messenger within Firefox, giving users desktop notifications as well as a persistent friends list and activity feed on the right. Conversations will open up as overlays on top of whatever website you're on so you can multitask while you chat.

Usability

Mozilla Firefox really changed the way people browse the web when it originally burst onto the scene. Today Firefox remains an incredibly powerful and customizable browser, although competition from Google Chrome has given it a definite run for its money.

Conclusion

Mozilla Firefox 20's interface isn't much different from previous versions, but the features it has added certainly make for a nicer, more enjoyable browsing experience overall.

What's new

For full release notes, please visit https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/20.0/releasenotes/

Download Mozilla Firefox 21 in Softonic

ooVoo is an elegant and powerful video conferencing and IM client that combines elegance with functionality.

Easy to use

Unlike some video conferencing applications, Oovoo is very easy to get running with your webcam and it can handle very high quality cameras - up to 2 megapixels, depending on the speed of your connection. During chats and video calls, you can add video effects such as sepia, blurring and morphing, something that sets it apart from other popular VoIP apps like Skype.

Outstanding Features

With ooVoo you can talk face-to-face with up to six people, add an ooVoo link to your blog or online profiles (so others can instantly add you to their contacts), send and receive video messages and, best of all, it's completely free. You will need to create an Oovoo account however, which, as registrations go, is fairly painless.

What's really nice about ooVoo, though, is the ability to place your contacts, and their video images, down the side of your screen in a sidebar simultaneously. This way, you can chat away to all of them at the same time and see them at once.

Set-up

Once you've started the setup process, you'll be asked to create an ooVoo username and password. You'll also be asked to add a few friends and contacts to your ooVoo account although if you don't know anyone using ooVoo, you can simply elect to send invites and hope that they sign up.

OOvoo’s an impressive video chat app, although it would be interesting to see how it performs when multiple users are trying have a video conference.

Download ooVoo 3.5.6.45 in Softonic

A little game of pool is always good fun and MacPool makes it possible.

We liked the sleek graphics, the way the balls roll, the semi transparent interface window and the colors used in the game. Hitting balls is all done by dragging your mouse to add force to your shot and calculate the angle. You use the arrow arrow keys to adjust the hitting point on the ball and add effects like top spin.

The game offers detailed instructions for anybody who might not know the rules of pool and the advanced settings, available from the top menu, allow you to set table cloth color or table quality (traction and cushions). You can supposedly play online against competitors from anywhere in the world, but we never managed to connect with anyone when we tried out MacPool. There's more than a dozen narrator voices to comment your play, some of them rather annoying and others amusing.

MacPool is an entertaining pool game. Although the controls are a bit tricky at first, once you get used to it it should prove loads of fun.

Download MacPool 11.0.0 in Softonic

JShot is quite flexible since it can capture a rectangular area, a full screen or your clipboard content. However you can't "cut out" custom shapes or images. The Windows version allows you to capture active windows, taskbars, deskops, widget and widgets although the Mac version lacks these abilities.

Sharing is done via a variety of sources i.e. FTP, ImageShack, Skype, Twitter and Picasa. You can annotate your screengrabs with text and even see a history of your screenshots taken. To extend the capabilities of JShot, you can also download plugins from the developer site. You can do this by downloading them and installing them to "/home//.jshot/plugins/uploaders."

JShot is a solid tool and for a free, multi-platform solution there are few complaints. However, there is no way of extending it to take screencasts.

JShot is an interesting screenshot tool which will be enough for most people's needs.

Download JShot 1.4.0.1 in Softonic

iGlasses gives you total control over your webcam video settings from within a huge number of applications such as iChat, QuickTime Pro Player and 60 other programs such as , Yahoo! Messenger , Skype and SightSpeed. You can easily deselect applications you don't want it to work with using the iGlasses Manager.

For example, you can auto-change your iSight image so that it displays night vision, flip the image upside down, rotate an image or provide a mirror image for example.
Once the image is changed, you have some manual controls to tweak it with. Note that although it's primarily designed for use with iSight cameras, iGlasses is also compatible with Logitech QuickCam, Macally IceCam, iMage USB Webcam, or any camera that uses macam as a driver.

One major drawback of the application though is that it requires running applications in 32-bit mode for them to work with iGlasses although this is something that should be fixed later this year.

Download iGlasses 2.1.4 in Softonic

SkypeCap isn't free (unless your recording is less than two minutes) but it does a pretty good job of ensuring that your Skype calls are recorded for posterity. Note that during installation, I was presented with an unspecified error. It didn't seem to hamper the performance of SkypeCap but doesn't exactly give a good first impression of the product.

Calls recorded in SkypeCap can be saved as MP3, WMA or AAC files; and video calls as Quicktime Movies (MOV), MPEG4, MPEG, VOB, PSP MPEG4, SWF and FLV. SkypeCap only kicks in when you initiate a Skype call (you'll have to allow SkypeCap to access Skype, which you'll be prompted to do when you start a call).

The recorder is very basic. There's a small equalizer to visualize sound levels and recording automatically starts and stops when your Skype call does. When the call ends, you're presented with the length of the call and a 'Save' dialog which also allows you to convert the recording into another format. Calls up to two minutes are recorded for free but anything beyond that you'll have to purchase a registration key.

SkypeCap is an easy-to-use and fully automatic Skype recorder, ideal for those that need recordings saved in multiple formats.

Download SkypeCap 3.7 in Softonic

I'm pleased to say that isn't the case with Yugma which is quite simply the best teleconferencing and screen sharing software I've tried. Yugma makes it extremely easy to conduct video teleconferences long distances and in this free version, there's a generous allowance of up to 20 different users sharing at one time. Even better, it doesn't matter if the participants are based on Windows, Mac or Linux - it works on all platforms. Whether you want to conduct a meeting or simply help someone troubleshoot technical problems on their computer, its ideal.

To start a session on Yugma, you need the host to send you an invite code. The procedure to start a meeting is very simple. In the login panel, you have two options - Start Meeting and Join Meeting. You need to have signed-up for a Yugma account to do both, the page for which can be found in the registration link below. If you're joining a meeting, the host will send you a 9 digit code either via Skype or e-mail which you can use to share the users screen. New participants can be added at any time. If you're using Yugma to troubleshoot problems on someone's computer, a new "Take Control" feature allows you to take over control of their machine.

The stability of Yugma is excellent and only rarely will you experience the odd timeout but usually, within a few seconds, the connection is reestablished. The only downside is that this version of Yugma doesn't support audio but if you need to speak, simply use Skype at the same time as Yugma.

Yugma is an excellent application for anyone that needs to perform free and fast teleconferencing, screen-sharing or troubleshooting.

Download Yugma 4.1.3.2 in Softonic

Available everywhere

Not only does Google Talk support Google accounts, it also supports a variety of other protocols and apps. In other words, you can log in with accounts from Jabber, Pidgin, Miranda, Psiand Trillian.

As well as supporting lots of protocols, Google Talk is also available for lots of devices, so even if you are chatting on your desktop, you'll be able to keep in touch with your friends on Android, iPhone and Blackberry. Even though not explicitly supported, you'll also be able to use Google Talk on Mac and Linux, as long as you use the browser version.

Simple but effective

Google Talk is an attractive app and very easy to use, although its bright, almost childlike appearance is looking a bit old-fashioned these days. There are various themes available from the Settings options, although they have more impact on the window layout and are not strictly "skins". You'll also be able to choose your status, picking from Available, Busy, and Idle, as well as custom messages and the option to show your current music track. Google Talk also notifies you when you receive new emails.

Adding and chatting with contacts with Google Talk couldn't be easier. Double click a name to start a conversation, and a new chat window will appear. If you see a little telephone or video camera icon beside the contact's name, they are also available for phone or video chats, but you'll need the Video and voice plug-in to do this.

Works, but it's neglected

Google Talk has many of the features that you'd expect from an IM client. You can add, block, rename and remove contacts, send smileys, and customize the way you see your friends online. If you look under the more technical settings, you'll also be able modify notifications and connect to the service using a proxy. It's not overrun with options, but most people seem to appreciate the resulting simplicity and light resource use.

Even though Google Talk is the go-to IM app for thousands of people, long term users can't help feeling that Google Talk is pretty low on Google's list of priorities. It works perfectly and is a great app, but that's because it was well made and ahead of its time when it first came out.

Overall

Google Talk hasn't been updated in what seems like years and, with the exception of the VoiP features added in recent times, the program feels a little bit forgotten. This has no impact on usability for Gmail users, but it does feel like Google Talk could do with a little more loving care.

If you're a Google User who wants to IM, you'd be mad to use anything but Google Talk.

Download Google Talk 1.0.0.104 in Softonic

Download MSN Messenger Mac Theme in Softonic

KishKish SAM is a simple voice answering machine for Skype users. When you are away from your PC and there is no one to answer your incoming Skype calls, KishKish SAM will pick up the call, play a greeting message and the "all-time classic beep", so the calling party will leave a voice recorded message.

SAM will play a Video Greeting of your choosing while recording the voice message. And for your business you can record all your Skype conversations for later reference.

Download KishKish SAM (Skype Answering Machine) 3.2.0.5 in Softonic