From slow beginnings, BitComet has risen to become one of the most popular torrent client downloads on Softonic. For users accustomed to the often sparse interfaces of torrent apps, BitComet surprises with its flashy icons and multitude of options that give you more control over your downloads. For those that want a no-fuss client, the extra features may simply get in the way.

Once a torrent is selected for download with BitComet, a dialog pops up allowing you to determine the location to save to and select exactly which files in the torrent you want. Once downloading, the regular stop, pause, cancel, update etc options are all available plus a handy “remove torrent & all files” option which removes all trace of an unwanted torrent from your PC. Many users report the download rates are good although note no particular difference with other client speeds. The best feature however is a ‘preview media’ option, which forces the torrent to download sequentially instead of randomly thus allowing you to preview any multimedia downloads. It’s a great way to avoid broken links, but, on the downside, it will slow down your download considerably.

Another interesting feature is the ‘intelligent disk cache’ which really comes into its own on high speed connections. If you are lucky enough to get download transfer rates of 500 kb/s or higher, activating it allows BitComet to cache the data to access the disk less frequently. The result of this is that it doesn’t slow down your PC as receiving large amounts of data can sometimes do.

Forum reports from foreign users suggest that the program has not been translated properly from English, yet this doesn’t affect the capacities of BitComet. The other downside is that the uninstall procedure is not particularly clean. The application directory remains as does the registry entry although you can remove the former manually and the latter with any good registry cleaner.

There are simpler clients out there, such as uTorrent uTorrent and Azureus that offer the same download rates but with less fuss. If you have a particularly fast connection, can’t wait for your files to download before watching them and enjoy a torrent client with lots of whistles and bells, BitComet might be for you.

Download BitComet 1.05 in Softonic

Quantum of Solace is the new James Bond game which accompanies the forthcoming movie of the same title, along with its prequel, Casino Royale. You play the tough, uncompromising new iteration of the Bond character, brought to life in the movies by Daniel Craig.

Based on the same engine used to produce Call Of Duty 4 (a game we loved), Quantum of Solace adds third-person shooter (3PS) elements. So, for example, when you take cover, you're switched into 3PS mode, watching the realistic-looking British spy blast enemies away. This aspect of the game has been emphasized by the development studio, Treyarch, as something they wanted to add to the gameplay in order to remind gamers that they're not simply playing Call Of Duty 4 "with new maps". Unfortunately, the 3PS elements feel somewhat tacked-on and we suspect that they're more the result of the movie franchise's insistence than anything else.

The demo itself leaves a lot to be desired. Despite testing the game on a high-spec machine, we found that using the top-end graphics settings resulted in low framerates and a generally jumpy, unplayable experience. Setting the graphics to mid-range resulted in unacceptably low-resolution textures. We noticed that some great elements of Call Of Duty 4's gameplay were missing too, like the ability to shoot through various lighter forms of cover.

Ever since Goldeneye 007, we've loved games featuring Ian Fleming's classic creation. Based on the demo alone, we have to say that Quantum of Solace just doesn't match up, either when it comes to gameplay or up-to-date graphics. That said, the demo only consists of one very short mission (about 2-5 minutes of gameplay), so it is perhaps unfair to judge the entire game on such a short taster. Hopefully, the final game will be more fun.

In closing, this is an unconvincing demo from a franchise we'd come to love - and a disappointing showing for a title we'd been looking forward to intently.

Download Quantum of Solace in Softonic

Sandbox-style games - games where you can freely explore a totally interactive universe and engage in secondary missions while following the main plot – seem to be quite trendy today. Just think about GTA IV or Saints Row 2.

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames follows this trend and presents you with a free-to-discover war zone immersed in chaos after a political coup in Venezuela. A corrupted, ambitious tyrant has overthrown the Government to grab hold of the rich Venezuelan oil supplies and the whole country is out of control. But don't worry, this is precisely your element.

Why? Because you're not a soldier, but a mercenary: and as such, you'll be willing to accept all kinds of dirty jobs, as long as they pay enough for them. There are no rules, no mercy, no morality and no remorse. This is a question of survival. This is war, and everything goes.

As well as the missions you have to complete as mercenary in order to earn money, there's a ton of other things you can do. There's a huge map you're free to explore, along with all kinds of vehicles and a extensive collection of weapons to try.

While the game's main story and the approach developers have taken to it are quite attractive, Mercenaries 2: World in Flames has one big drawback: controls. Like other titles we've reviewed before this game has been designed for consoles, and that makes it ridiculously difficult to manage with a keyboard. In cases like these, a gamepad is more than recommended.

Also note that you're going to need a very powerful machine in order to run Mercenaries 2: World in Flames as smoothly as possible and be able to enjoy the game's highly realistic graphics. Otherwise the image will be so clunky and full of glitches that you'll be dead before you can spot your enemies.

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is an attractive, action-packed war adventure that unfortunately runs better on a console.

Download Mercenaries 2: World in Flames in Softonic

X-Fonter covers all the bases when fonts are concerned. The main functionality of this program is to manage your fonts (install, uninstall, load, unload, compare, preview). X-Fonter supports all font types (TrueType, OpenType, Postscript Type 1, Raster, Vector).

Features:

• Supports TrueType, OpenType, Postscript Type 1, Raster, Vector Fonts
• Organize your fonts in custom Collections
• Preview and Use Fonts without installation
• Install or Uninstall any TrueType Fonts
• Search for fonts on any drive/directory
• Font Filtering by Font Family, Codepages and Font Style
• Adjustable Colors, Styles and Sizes
• Character map (ASCII and Unicode)
• Image editor with nice effects (JPG, GIF and clipboard output))
• Very simple and intuitive interface
• No extra DLL's required
• Uninstall option
• Compare fonts in Dual pane
• Print font overview

Download X-Fonter 6.4 in Softonic

Vextractor is a professional software for converting raster images to vector (vectorizer). Vextractor converts drawings, maps and other images, including logos, black-and-white illustrations from raster to vector format.

The program can save converted raster images to the following vector formats: DXF, WMF, EMF, EPS, AI or SVG. Files of these vector formats can be imported to popular vector graphics applications like AutoCAD, Corel Draw, Adobe Illustrator, and many others.

For the purpose of supporting GIS applications, the program allows saving images to the ArcInfo Shape and MapInfo MID/MIF formats. This software is a perfect replacement for the traditional tracing and digitizing. It can save lots of your time, for it is much quicker to use this program rather than do the tracing by hand or using a digitizer.

Download Vextractor 4.10 in Softonic

Anyone who works with images on a regular basis will be familiar with the default image viewer of Windows, and also with its very limited scope for doing anything meaningful. There is a healthy selection of alternatives but FastStone Image Viewer has come to our attention as one that deserves to be singled out not only because it is free but also because it brings to the table a strong combination of speed, usability and versatility.

While the viewing functionality is a no-brainer, FastStone comes with a range of methods with which to browse pics. First off, there is the standard file browser that displays thumbnails of your images with a preview window for the file that is currently selected. There is also an option to check out individual pictures at their original size in the “Windowed View”, which is along the same lines as the default image viewer in Windows. Finally you can see images in full-screen, switching between files using the keyboard, the middle mouse button or the slide-in toolbar at the bottom of the screen.

However, FastStone Image Viewer goes beyond simply displaying images. You can perform some quick edits to really bring out the best in your pics such as adding a stylish frame mark that acts as a mask to reduce the sharp edges or if you happen to be working with 3D there is also a very effective bump map option that will serve you well for texturing. There are of course the standard tools of brightness/darkness adjustment, sharpness/blur, grayscale, red-eye removal and more. For results better than those you get with FastStone, you would need to use a professional package like Photoshop.

Further great features come in the form of batch rename and batch convert options. These could prove invaluable to many web developers looking for a quick way to prepare their PSD files for the web. With the inclusion of these batch functions, it would have been good to push the boat out even further and have an option to apply batch effects, for example to brighten up a group of photos that were taken in a dark space but alas, it’s not there!

Looking for faults with FastStone Image Viewer is like looking for the corner of a circle although if you insist on nitpicking, you can say that in the thumbnail browser view dragging and dropping should be possible for moving files. However when you realize that it is possible to drag and drop with the left nav bar that argument looses its legs. As I mentioned, there is healthy competition in the image viewer arena, but thanks to the innovative features of FastStone Image Viewer the bar has been raised to new heights.

Download FastStone Image Viewer 3.6 in Softonic

Take the power of Google with you anywhere on the web. The Google Toolbar enables you to search the web from any site, block unwanted pop-up ads, fill in forms with just one click, search within the pages of any site and highlight the words you searched for on a page. The Google Toolbar is free and installs in just seconds. Get one click closer to the information you want to find.

Google Search

Keep the power of Google search close at hand. Google Toolbar puts a search box in your browser, making it easier than ever to find anything you want on the web and to kick off your browsing experience.

AutoLink

The online review of a great new restaurant has the place's address but no map. You could type the restaurant's street, city, and ZIP code into the search box, but why bother, when clicking the Toolbar's AutoLink button will automatically create a link to an online map (US addresses only)? AutoLink can also link package tracking numbers to delivery status, VIN numbers (US) to vehicle history, and publication ISBN numbers to Amazon.com listings.

WordTranslator

Ever need to translate words on English web pages into another language? Don't bother looking up words one by one - just hover your mouse cursor over an English word and Toolbar's WordTranslator will tell you what it means in your own language. WordTranslator currently supports translation from English into Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), Japanese, Korean, French, Italian, German and Spanish.

AutoFill

Tired of typing in your address and credit card information every time you shop online? AutoFill makes shopping a breeze by enabling you to fill out web forms with a single click. Just enter your info once in the Toolbar's Options dialog box and you're ready for an online shopping spree. (Note: your credit card info stays password-protected.)

SpellCheck

ARe yu a raelly bad tyipsst? Google Toolbar's new SpellCheck button finds any spelling mistakes whenever you type into a web form, including web-based email, discussion forums, and even intranet web applications. The AutoFix option even corrects all of your text with a single click.

PageRank Display

Wondering whether a new website is worth your time? Use the Toolbar's PageRank display to tell you how Google's algorithms assess the importance of the particular web page you're viewing.

Highlight Search Terms

Once you've used the Google Toolbar to find a web page, there's no need to scroll around looking for your search terms. The Highlight button instantly lights them up on the page, making it easier to find relevant information.

Google Suggest

As you type in the Toolbar search box, Google Suggest guesses what you're typing and offers useful suggestions in real time. For example, if you type "bass," Google Suggest might offer a list of refinements that include "bass fishing" or "bass guitar." You can choose one by scrolling up or down the list with the arrow keys or mouse.

Download Google Toolbar IE 5.0.2000 in Softonic

Google is aiming to create a shake-up in mobile phone operating systems with the launch of its Android platform. Designed to be completely open and free for developers, the API could change the way mobile phone software is used, making all applications equal and combining phone-based data with web tools.

The Android SDK gives mobile software developers the chance to play around with the new platform. It contains everything you need to start building applications, as well as a fully functional device emulator for testing them out when you've finished.

Even non-developers can try out the emulator, as it's easy to set up and run (it does take a while to load up, mind you). There is a choice of phone skins and resolutions to tinker with too. After fiddling around for a bit with the OS I must say I'm pretty impressed. Its integration with Google Maps is seamless and only shows to highlight the potential for development of apps that blur the boundaries between phone and web-based software.

Installing software onto the emulator isn't easy and you need to fiddle around with code in order to do so. Although, there's plenty of documentation available online to help you get the most from the SDK, this is still really only something mobile developers will get much use out of, rather than just those curious about how Android applications will look.

Overall though, Android SDK provides a fast and reliable development environment for those looking towards the next era of mobile software.

Download Android SDK 1.0 in Softonic

EarthView is a dynamic desktop wallpaper and screensaver, which displays beautiful views of the earth with daylight and night shadows. It produces colorful, high quality, high resolution images for every screen resolution - even beyond 1600x1200. The program supports map and globe views, urban areas, city lights, atmospheric effects, clouds, local time display and much more.

EarthView supports different maps that show our planet earth in different ways, like photographic or artistic. Many options allow total customization of all view parameters. EarthView has won many awards for its absolutely breathtaking images.

Main features:

• High detail view of the earth
• Day and night view
• Atmospheric effects
• Urban areas and city lights
• Clouds (internet download possible)
• Map and globe projection
• Several beautiful maps to choose from
• Location and local time of more than 3000 cities worldwide
• Wallpaper and screen saver support
• Multiple monitor support
• Many options for full customization

Download EarthView 3.9.2 in Softonic

JkDefrag is a disk defragment and optimizing utility for Windows released under the GNU General Public License. It's completely automatic and very easy to use, works fast and hardly needs system resources. JkDefrag includes two optimization strategies and can handle both floppies and USB disks or sticks. It also features a command-line version for further configuration such as using the task scheduler or administrator scripts).

There is no "setup" or "install" and no configuration file. All you have to do is download the zip and unpack. JkDefrag's interface shows a high-detail map of your hard drive, refreshed 3 times per second. Bottom-left of the window is the beginning of the hard disk. The program uses a color code to distinguish between the different types of blocks: empty, in use, defragmented, unmovable and so on.

Download JkDefrag 3.36 in Softonic

ZoneAlarm Pro automatically blocks known and unknown Internet threats for home users, small-business owners, and corporate employees working remotely. The program monitors outgoing application traffic, as well as incoming traffic to protect you from any local applications attempting to use your Internet connection to communicate with the outside world.

You have the option to grant or deny access on a per-application basis, customizing the protection of your system. ZoneAlarm Pro also offers password protection, automatic mobile-PC protection, and e-mail-attachment protection for 47 file types.

ZoneAlarm Pro features online-privacy protection with pop-up stopping, ad blocking, and cookie-control features. The latest update adds Complete Mailsafe for blocking suspect e-mail, Cache Cleaner for eliminating traces of your Internet activity, expert firewall controls, and Hacker ID for tracking and mapping hacker attacks.

Download ZoneAlarm Pro 7.0.462.00 in Softonic

The Dude network monitor is a new application by MikroTik which can dramatically improve the way you manage your network environment.

It automatically scans devices within specified subnets, draw and layout a map of your networks, monitor services of your devices and alert you in case some service has problems.

If you are a network administrator, you'll find this program particularly useful to diagnose problems in an instant.

Download The Dude 3.0 RC2 in Softonic

By a bizarre twist of fate 3DS Max is now owned by the same firm that publishes its age rival, Maya, yet the pair of heavyweight 3D applications remain the two main choices for animators working in the three-dimensional realm. Although Maya’s popularity has increased of late (perhaps largely due to its superior accessibility for newcomers), 3DS still remains a key player within the industry, and this latest incarnation significantly improves upon the wire-frame mapping approach of the past.

Perhaps the biggest innovation within version 8 of the app is the inclusion of a ‘pelt mapping’ feature. For the benefit of those who don’t work for Pixar or Rockstar Games, this is basically a device for ‘unwrapping’ a wireframe model in order to paint its exterior. This can save you a lot of time and unnecessary Photoshop tomfoolery when working with organic objects, such as human faces or characters. However, it isn’t so adept at handling non-organic objects like cars, streets or houses, as the results are typically very liquidy.

As always, 3DS Max allows you to be very precise in terms of the mapping of your creations, perhaps even more so than Maya. Besides the standard mapping tools, the application now contains all manner of alignment features to ensure that you get pinpoint accuracy when modelling. What’s more, 3DS now contains more flexible options for relax, the tool that averages UVs and allows for the automatic relief of texture distortion. If used in conjunction with another function, show edge distortion, then the mapping of your characters becomes all the easier.

There are dozens of other features within the software that will help you produce stunning 3D models without tearing your hair out. We were particularly taken with the render UVW template function, allowing very quick template rendering of your prepared UVs, either in wireframe, filled, mapped or shaded versions. With a raft of skinning and modelling tools, 3DS Max gives you very precise control over your models, without having to code or program every co-ordinate, making it a very user-friendly option.

Naturally, the cost of the full version of the program will put off many 3D hobbyists, but for serious animation professionals it’s an application that is to be ignored at your peril. Although it remains to be seen whether there will be an amalgamation with Maya, 3DX Max remains a world leader in its market and, given enough patience, can be used to transform the outer limits of your imagination into a fantastic reality.

Download Autodesk 3ds Max 2009 in Softonic

GMDesk is the kind of application only Google fans would install. In any case, if you use Google apps on a daily basis, you may find it useful too.

With GMDesk you gain automatic access from your desktop to several different Google tools, including Mail, Calendar, Docs, Maps, Reader and Picasa web albums. The big advantage of using GMDesk is that you don't have to open your web browser, load the website of each one of those services, login with your username and password and then wait for it to load. GMDesk is not faster than your browser, but it makes the whole process just easier.

GMDesk is based on Adobe AIR and has no settings menu except for the possibility to choose which Google service you want to load first on launching the program. Like I said, GMDesk may be interesting for Google fans, but I wonder if it's really necessary, as it doesn't really add anything new to the Google apps we all know.

If you're hooked on Google apps, GMDesk is made for you: an app launcher that enables you to access Google tools right from your desktop.

Download GMDesk 0.99 in Softonic

Microsoft has made the first public beta of Internet Explorer 8 available for download. While generally keeping the same design as IE 7, this new version features some new functionality and is also fully standard-compliant.

First of all bear in mind that this beta of Internet Explorer 8 is intended solely for web developers and designers, not for the average user. This beta is still under heavy development and may not work properly with certain web pages. True, you've got a button to "emulate" IE7 while running IE8 but that's not the point. So if you're not a programmer or do not like strong emotions you'd better stay away from this one.

Internet Explorer 8 includes a couple of exciting new features: Activities and Weclips. The first ones are a collection of customizable add-ons that let you access online services from the browser's context menu. As for webclips, they work like RSS feeds, but focusing only on certain areas of a given webpage that are being constantly updated. Besides these two elements, Internet Explorer also features some other goodies like integration with Facebook and Live Maps and a crash recovery system.

This first public beta of Internet Explorer 8 lets you take a sneak peek at the future next version of Microsoft's web browser and start playing with its new feature. For a more extended review, check out our blog OnSoftware.

Download Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 in Softonic

Process Explorer shows you information about which handles and DLLs processes have opened or loaded.

The Process Explorer display consists of two sub-windows. The top window always shows a list of the currently active processes, including the names of their owning accounts, whereas the information displayed in the bottom window depends on the mode that Process Explorer is in: if it is in handle mode you’ll see the handles that the process selected in the top window has opened; if Process Explorer is in DLL mode you’ll see the DLLs and memory-mapped files that the process has loaded. Process Explorer also has a powerful search capability that will quickly show you which processes have particular handles opened or DLLs loaded.

The unique capabilities of Process Explorer make it useful for tracking down DLL-version problems or handle leaks, and provide insight into the way Windows and applications work.

Download Process Explorer 11.21 in Softonic

WinMerge is an Open Source visual text file differencing and merging tool for Win32 platforms. It is highly useful for determing what has changed between project versions, and then merging changes between versions.

Features:

• Visual differencing and merging of text files
• Flexible editor with syntax highlighting
• Handles DOS, UNIX and MAC text file formats
• Unicode support
• Difference pane shows current difference in two vertical panes
• Location pane shows map of files compared
• Highlights differences inside lines
• File filters in directory diff
• Moved lines detection in file compare
• Shell integration
• Rudimentary Visual SourceSafe and Rational ClearCase integration
• Archive file support using 7-zip
• Plugins
• Localizable interface via resource DLL
• HTML-based manual

Download WinMerge 2.8.6 in Softonic

Google's satellite imagery software has truly changed the way we look at the globe. The application lets you zoom in on any part of the world and for some places, observe from a few meters away.

Google Earth not only displaces satellite images but it also includes terrains and sometimes 3D reconstruction of buildings. You can look for directions and businesses, just like in Google Maps and pinpoint areas or draw on maps straight in Google Earth.

Google Earth includes a very wide, and constantly increasing library of layers, which you can add to the map to enrich your experience. You'll find all sorts of information, from historical landscapes to national parks, regions where you can find endangered species or tourist spots. Google Earth will also showcase more news related information such as forest fires or tsunamis.

If stars is what you are into, turn to the Space mode and navigate among the constellations.

Moving around in Google Earth is incredibly intuitive thanks to the multiple navigation tools. Some areas will show less information than others, and Google Earth is known to use up a substantial amount of bandwidth, but it remains a fascinating piece of software

Google Earth is as of yet an unequalled application. Browse around the world, zoom into streets or go up and gaze at the stars. Millions of possibilities.

Download Google Earth 4.3 Beta in Softonic

PersonalBrain is a mind mapping application that aims to mold itself on your own way of thinking.

You can use the application to build to build up diagrams, create networks or simply sketch out your thoughts. PersonalBrain is flexible to work with. Start out from a "brain", essentially a thought and build up from it adding new ideas. You can choose to focus on a specific brain and add your own notes to it. The search box at the bottom left helps you find an idea quickly.

PersonalBrain isn't limited to your thoughts though and you can also drag and drop files, such as web pages and connect them together.

Surprisingly, PersonalBrain will only let you export your mind maps in HTML, when it would have been nice to have a choice of OPML and text among others.

PersonalBrain is a very flexible mind mapping program which lets you write down and connect your thoughts very easily.

Download PersonalBrain 4.5.0.8 in Softonic

Battle Tanks is a funny arcade game. It's bright and crazy, and it has cartoon-styled 2D graphics — you will not get bored!

Despite the game title, a player has a choice of three different vehicles: a tank, a rocket launcher, and a Shilka self-propelled artillery system. Each vehicle has its own performance characteristics and its own weapons.

To the point, game locations are stuffed with tons of various weapons--just pick up and fire! In the current version, several types of missiles and gun ammo are available; also there are MG turrets, troops langing and kamikaze terrorists. Various upgrades for vehicles are coming soon, including armor and engine mods!

And of course, the game has multiplayer! No special server is needed; one player just launches the game in multiplayer mode and chooses the map and maximum number of players--other players will simply join the game then. In addition, the good old split screen mode will let you and your friend run the crazy duel on the single computer!

Download Battle Tanks 0.8.7479 in Softonic