Snapper is an unassuming yet powerful little application to work with your audio files.

The application displays the wave form of any audio file you select and you can play it back to work through the audio, if you're looking for a specific section. Those of you who have worked with audio files before know how much easier having a wave form allows you to study and edit an audio file.

Snapper seems to be particularly useful to check an audio file quickly before opening it up in Pro Tools. However, you can also use the program to send a file by mail and convert it to any format, such as MP3, WAV or AIFF. You can even convert it into separate L and R files for more precise sound editing.

What really makes Snapper attractive though is the fact that it can handle 50 different popular audio formats.

The only gripes we could have with it is that the interface looks a little outdated, especially for an application that can be run on Leopard, and that, at $79, its a fairly expensive application.

Despite the poor interface, Snapper is an excellent tool to preview any audio file in wave format and convert it to another format.

Download Snapper 1.4 in Softonic

Limewire, one of the world’s most popular peer-to-peer filesharing applications, has received a lawsuit from the RIAA, who are demanding $115 million in damages, claiming the application promotes the infringement of copyright. Similar applications like Grokster and Kazaa have been forced to go legal and speculation goes as to when Limewire will have to buckle and pay up. The existence of the popular P2P application is not under threat, but if you haven’t given it a try yet, here’s just what makes it a standout program.

In terms of file sharing, Limewire is the cream of the crop, offering the essential peer-to- peer tools in what is probably the friendliest interface of applications in its class. Beginners will appreciate the search bar, which allows you to select the type of file you’re looking for, video, image, audio, or program. Limewire has a “what’s new” button to check out what popular files users have recently exchanged. We also enjoyed the direct connect option. If you know the IP address of one of your friends, type it in the box and Limewire will browse that user’s files. This is a quick way of sharing files with someone else and can come in handy when working on a project and exchanging documents. The only little snag we have with direct connect is that it doesn’t let you enter the username, much simpler than looking for your friend’s IP address.

Downloading with Limewire is very intuitive. After you’ve searched and found the file you are looking for, double-click on it to start the downloading process. The speed of your download depends firstly on the quality of your connection (broadband is a minimum), if you’ve correctly opened your router’s ports and whether you’re downloading a popular file or not. We would like to point out the effort that Limewire takes to make itself accessible to beginners. Not only does a tip pop up every time you launch the application, the help option also leads you to Limewire’s support centre, FAQs and a forum to get in contact with other users.

The lawsuit carried out by the RIAA is all the more surprising because of the measures Limewire takes to keep you in the realms of legality. If you decide to download Limewire from its website, you will first have to agree you will not use it for copyright infringement. When you’re configuring the application, you can set content filters, to avoid downloading files that copyright owners do not want you to share. To avoid embarrassing situations, make sure you tick the “block adult content” box, which will filter out any pornographic files from your searches.

The best way of checking the quality of the audio or video you’re downloading is via Limewire’s mini player. It’s fairly basic and to par with the players you find in similar filesharing applications, but we appreciated the way it was integrated in the program.

If there’s one thing that we’re still expecting from the Limewire team, it’s that it finally decides to jump on the BitTorrent bandwagon. Torrents are the way forward when it comes to peer to peer file sharing because of the speed, the security and freshness of downloads. Large files like movies or complete seasons of TV series are much easier to download via BitTorrent. We were also annoyed by the “buy the PRO version” window that popped up every time we started Limewire.

For its wealth of possibilities and huge base of users, (more than 4 million simultaneously on the Gnutella network) we encourage you to give Limewire a test drive. Because of the controversial nature of the application, you should always make sure that you aren’t using Limewire for illegal activities like copyright infringement. However don’t be scared off by the legality issue. Limewire, like most P2P applications is one of the most exciting possibilities that the internet gives us. It would be a shame not to give it a try. You should also check out Frostwire, the not-for-profit project of the Limewire development team.

Download LimeWire 4.18.8 in Softonic

I hate watching dubbed movies. Except on rare occasions, the translation is never quite as good as the original dialogue. That's why I always watch movies in their original language, although with subtitles to be able to follow the story.

Submerge does a great job at merging subtitle files with your movies. It handles most of the subtitle formats, like SubRip or MicroDVD and automatically syncs them to your videos, with very little work on your part.

If you want to watch your movie just to check that the subtitles were added properly, Submerge offers basic playback functions and can display videos in full screen. Remember that it's first and foremost a subtitle merger, so don't expect any advanced features.

After your video and subtitle have been properly, Submerge can seamlessly transfer the video to either your iPod, iPhone or Apple TV. Once again here Submerge will do the hard work for you. All you will have to do is make sure that your Apple device is well connected.

If like me you really enjoy watching files in their main language, then Submerge is the tool for you. Seamless subtitle integration.

Download Submerge 1.5.5 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

Motype is a powerful text animation plug-in that can add a touch of class to your After Effects, Final Cut Pro, Motion and Final Cut Express animations.

Motype can enable you to create the kind of flashy text graphics that you see in the movies but at a fraction of the cost. It works with most major editing applications such as After Effects, Final Cut Pro, Motion and Final Cut Express. For instance, you can add special blurring, 3D, particle and shadow effects to your intro or outro text that simply isn't possible in most editing applications.

It takes quite a while to get used to because it's designed for those that know their way around complex editing packages, so you'll have to spend quite some time learning it before you get what you want. However, once mastered Motype, it's remarkably easy to shape text into the effects and styles that you want.

Motype could still do with a wider choice of effects to add to text, but if you're just looking for a few basic extra touches, you'll find it more than sufficient.

Download Motype 1.1.1 in Softonic

Allows you to work with genealogy information in a very easy and fast way. Keep track of friends, family, celebrities, and any other information that you want to keep track of.

Create family trees, export them as pictures, and then export your information as a web site. Makes it easy to handle difficult information like same sex couples, adoptions and other difficult data, for example when the same persons get married more than once.

Add multimedia files, like sound, pictures and movies of given person. Add information on sources and places where people lived, as detailed as you want to. Make information show up in family trees Very easy to use, and keeps all information at your fingertips.

Download Osk 4.51.2 in Softonic

I am personally quite happy using just the Finder and Spotlight to find and keep stuff organized on my Mac. However some people prefer to have an organizer like Together to handle all their files. This application will store anything, be it document, video, image or more. The application offers you a wide choice of ways to save all these, whether by fitting them into groups, labeling, creating smart lists or even adding notes. You'll also always be see the exact number of items in each area from the sidebar of the program.

To help you keep your items organized, Together has a shelf side view, into which you can drag and drop elements and jot down notes. It luckily also integrates Spotlight, making it really effective at quickly finding anything.

You can literally browse and organize everything without ever leaving Together's interface. New items will open up in tabs, which is either annoying or useful, depending on what you want to see. I personally would like to be able to control tabs how I want. Together also includes an embedded browser to preview bookmarks and links, which is more or less like a simplified version of Safari. Importing is fairly quick most of the time and you can see files being added to categories in real time.

A nice looking and well structured tool, Together, lets you keep all your items organized your way.

Download Together 2.1.8/1864 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

RevolverHD is supposed to be used in conjunction with VoltaicHD so that you can play back your edited high definition movies from iMovie08 on the Playstation3.

In addition though, it allows you to create Blu-ray compatible DVDs so that you've got a complete HDTV editing and playback suite. This is fantastic for all those that don't have or can't afford a Blu-ray burner or simply don't have any Blu-ray disks.

RevolverHD is a very lightweight program and burning AVCHD clips straight from your camera to HD format is very simple. Simply open RevolverHD and add the required MTS or m2ts files. The just set your preference to "Blu-ray" DVD's and click burn. The result is a DVD that can be played on most Blu-ray players although it should be noted that there's no guarantee it will work on every single manufacturer.

With Blu-ray still taking off and HD editing an increasingly important aspect of video production, RevolverHD gives Mac users professional processing power in a remarkably lightweight utility.

Download RevolverHD 1.2 in Softonic

Mojo not only allows you to share iTunes library with others, but it will also let you download tracks from other people's libraries.

With an interface reminiscent of both iTunes and a messaging client, Mojo is easy to work with. It will display all libraries, that is if you have found others to connect with, in a list. Clicking on a library will bring up an iTunes like interface from which you can see all your tracks (in grey), protected songs (in red) and your contacts' songs. You can also see other iTunes sections like shows, movies or podcasts and even subscribe to others' playlists. Changes will be automatically downloaded to your library so you are always up to date.

Mojo offers a basic playback function at the bottom left to listen to the tracks and you'll notice you can download tracks via the button on the bottom right. The process is fairly quick with an audio file but can take more time with video. Mojo is very enjoyable to use but unfortunately it can be difficult to find other users also connected to Mojo. Both of you will have to agree on the port to use to share songs.

Despite some difficulties in finding other users to share libraries with, Mojo is an enjoyable program to listen to other iTunes libraries.

Download Mojo 2.6.7 in Softonic

iGadget allows you to realize the full potential of your iPod. With iGadget, you'll be able to transform your iPod into much more than a simple music player. Here are the features you'll get with the purchase of iGadget:

Songs and Playlists

Transfer songs and playlists from your iPod to your computer and/or into iTunes while preserving play counts, user ratings and last played dates

Driving Directions

Never get lost again! Put driving directions right onto your iPod

Outlook

Get rid of your PDA and put all your Microsoft Outlook data onto it including email, appointments, contacts, tasks and notes

Weather Forecasts

Never get caught without your raincoat by keeping your local weather forecasts on your iPod

Movie Showtimes

Get the movie showtimes for your local theaters stored onto your iPod

RSS News Feeds

Get the latest news headlines on your iPod for reading at your leisure

Backup

Backup any set of files and/or folders from your computer onto your iPod for safe keeping

Daily Horoscope

Get your daily horoscope readings on your iPod

Music Listings

Create listings of the music on your iPod in various formats (HTML, CSV, plain text). This could then be used to post on a website or to print out a listing of all your songs

Library

Keep a library of text files on your iPod for reading on-the-go - these could be e-books, recipes, bible verses, anything

Download iGadget 2.5.2 in Softonic

Iris adds some cool extra features to your Mac's iSight camera.

The application is easy to set up and use. You can take snapshots or make movies in real time or via time lapse. The fun thing though is adding filters to make your snapshots a bit more original. Iris can also be used as a covert monitoring tool if you're worried about your Mac being stolen or tampered with. Use Motion Detection and Email alerting to detect intruders and notify you, when you're away.

The fun thing about taking snapshots and videos is to share them with your friends and family. Iris not only keeps them well organized in a gallery but it also includes features to send them by mail, upload to Flickr or export to an Apple device like an iPod or iPhone. Again here the process is simple and quick and easy enough for any beginner.

Iris adds a bit of excitement to your iSight camera. Although the controls can feel somewhat limited, the application enhances the Mac webcam and in a way encourages you to use it.

Despite some limited controls, Iris empowers your iSight to take snapshots and movies, share them with your friends and even monitor your Mac.

Download Iris 1.0.8 in Softonic

Like many people, since YouTube came along I've stopped watching TV and now spend all my evenings looking at people making an idiot out of themselves or watching old episodes of Transformers. As I'm sure you're aware of by now, you don't even need to be logged on to the YouTube site to watch these vids because there are now scores of programs that let you download the movies for playing back at any time or transferring to your mobile phone or the PSP so you can watch them on the bus.

Flash Video Downloader is one of the easiest to use video downloaders available for the Mac, and does its job almost automatically. There are loads of options for batch downloading and you can even set the program to shut down your Mac for you once it's finished doing its business. I can think of some other features I'd like to see, such as the ability to auto-download videos based on your interests, but nevertheless Flash Video Downloader is a great way to pilfer YouTube and other social video sites without any fuss.

Download Flash Video Downloader 2.1 in Softonic

For me, the feature which best sums up the PlayStation's impressive multimedia capabilities is its membership of the DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance). This means that the PS3 can communicate and share content with a large number of other networked devices. And although Apple aren't members of the DLNA, several companies have been working to enable streaming of multimedia content from Macs to the PS3. Nullriver's MediaLink is the newest kid on the block.

MediaLink works in a similar way to its competitors, acting as a file server which allows you to stream multimedia files, including your iTunes and iPhoto libraries across your home network. Your PS3 detects the server, connects and the shared content shows up in the XMB (PS3 menu).

When compared with its competitors, notably Elgato's EyeConnect, MediaLink performs very well. I experienced no cuts in transmission or delays, and I was impressed to see better handling of iTunes artwork as well as video previews. Some DivX files which worked with other media servers weren't detected by MediaLink, which was disappointing. I think this was due to the files having the '.divx' format and I expect that this issue will fixed in time. That said, video playback generally works without issues, though image quality was not always as good as when using EyeConnect.

Browsing photo and music libraries is a breeze with MediaLink, though there are some interesting differences with competitors in the way that it presents the iTunes library. I noticed that EyeConnect always displays the iTunes library exactly as iTunes would (select an artist, then an album and you'll see tracks by that artist which feature on that album), while MediaLink seems to use a different indexing system (select an artist and then an album and you'll see all the tracks on that album, irrespective of artist) - this suggests that MediaLink is building its own index of files rather than relying on your iTunes library file.

MediaLink is a robust, reliable media server option for sharing content from your Mac to your PS3, and compares well to other apps in its class. Recommended.

Download MediaLink 1.59 in Softonic

Reelbean offers you a converter, an exporter and a media player all in one friendly interface.

Converting movies is a very common thing to do nowadays, especially with all the different devices you can play a video on. The video iPod in particular has been extremely successful, given how easy it makes it store and watch videos anywhere.

If you are the lucky owner of such a device then you surely have had to convert videos to play them properly on it. It can be a little difficult to find the right application to do the job though. We like Reelbean, because it lets you convert and export in many format, including the iPod friendly MPEG4 and 3GPP for other mobile devices. The process is easy and fairly quick.

Reelbean doesn't limit itself to converting though, and since it handles so many formats, you can also preview and play them from it. Video quality is good and you can use the slider at the bottom to move forward and backwards in the movie. Reelbean also plays any streaming media.

The limitations in the trial version are the only things that we found disappointing. You won't be able to convert, extract or export videos, so you're pretty much left with the playback functions of the software.

Despite the limitations in the trial version, Reelbean is an excellent application to convert, export and play all sorts of video formats.

Download ReelBean 3.8.2 in Softonic

Blender is the open source software for 3D modeling, animation, rendering, post-production, interactive creation and playback. It lets users create high quality 3D graphics, movies and replay real-time, interactive 3D content. Over the last decade, Blender has evolved as an in-house tool for a leading European animation studio. Blender is powerful technology used for creating broadcast quality 3D content.

Download Blender 2.47 in Softonic

Librarian Pro is a very flexible application to organize all your books, movies, games or whatever you wish to keep a list of. Although the program still feels quite unstable (importing or exporting didn't work properly for me), we'll let that go for now as the program is still a pre-release. What makes Librarian Pro interesting is how easy it is to view your list and create new smart collections.

You can customize the layout of lists you export and send them to the web or to your iPod. Librarian can also import elements from mulitple sources, like borrowers from your Address Book or item information from a number of sites. You can view your Amazon cart from the application and even retrieve things like album covers.

Librarian Pro is a great program to keep updated lists of your favorite items and always be aware of who's borrowed what from you.

Download Librarian Pro 1.3.3 in Softonic

Slideshows are one of the best ways to add colour and life to a photo collection no matter what the subject matter.

Slideshow Magic is aimed at both home users and business professionals who want to impress friends or colleagues with their photo slideshow creations. Best of all, it doesn't require the viewer to have the program installed as all slideshows can be saved in any QuickTime compatible format.

The easy to use interface is somewhat like that of a video editor allowing you to add music or audio tracks either for the whole slideshow or just specific segments. You can add some impressive transitions and titles much in the same way as you do with Windows Movie Maker for example. The program also features a useful guide to help you get your photos online or burnt to DVD. However, unfortunately the program doesn't provide either it's own webspace or burner for uploading and saving photos. For uploading, you'll need an FTP client and web host and for burning, a third party burner such as Nero.

In addition, although it's a cross platform application, sharing with other platforms requires some form of network solution between clients (although this needn't be something complicated - a program like MSN Live Messenger is enough

Slideshow Magic is a relatively cheap but powerful way to get your photos either online or burnt to DVD.

Download Slideshow Magic 5.0.5 in Softonic

Alarm Clock Pro ensures your day goes smoothly by displaying friendly reminders, or by performing automated tasks. Also, with its full integration with QuickTime and iTunes, Alarm Clock Pro can play media files, web broadcasts and even CDs!

Wake up to your favorite internet radio station or MP3, play an iTunes playlist at a specific time, automatically compose/send-emails, and even perform shell commands! This powerful alarm-based Windows and Mac software title will cater to what -you- need it to do.

Alarm Clock Pro isn't your ordinary computer alarm clock, as you may have already guessed. Amongst its broad feature set, it also offers an easy to use interface with ample documentation. Simply create a new alarm, specify when it will execute and choose a task to perform (such as playing a movie).

Why waste your time fiddling around with other computer alarm clocks which require you to jump through hoops in order to get the functionality you need? Let your computer do what it was meant to do - make your life easier!

Download Alarm Clock Pro 8.4.4 in Softonic

This is an application utility for concatenating several files into one single Quicktime movie. It supports various input file formats, including, of course, Quicktime movies. It's useful if you've downloaded a movie into various clips and want to have it into one, to burn it on disc, for example.

Download AddMovie 1.5.5 in Softonic