The biggest addition to the latest Google Chrome (Beta) is the inclusion of speech recognition for applications. The browser includes a new Web Speech API, which provides developers tools to integrate speech recognition within their web apps. There is some controversy over the security of such an API as apps will have permission to record and send audio.

Google Chrome (Beta) also adds some security enhancements, most importantly for extensions. Extensions that don't explicitly ask for permissions will be blocked automatically. This is great and will force extension developers to be more transparent.

If you want to check out what's on the horizon for Chrome, download and try the Google Chrome (Beta).

Download Google Chrome (Beta) 28.0.1500.20 in Softonic

Firefox Beta 19 adds a built-in PDF viewer so you don't have to rely on a plug-in. The other big update is that Firefox will offer to reset the URL bar for the default search provider if a third-party program changed it.

Smaller improvements include faster startup performance so the browser should open quicker. Developers also gained new features with the debugger supporting pausing on exceptions, the remote web console being able to connect to Firefox on Android or the Firefox OS, and a browser debugger add-on.

Firefox Beta didn't add many major features, but continues the steady development of the browser.

For the stable version Firefox, click here.

Download Firefox Beta 22.0 Beta 2 in Softonic

As you would expect from an Apple product, Quicktime is extremely slick to use to the point of sometimes "hiding" features that you would expect to be more readily available - such as creating playlists for example. When it comes to performing basic functions such as playback, it's very easy to use although launching it is still a little slow. If you want to really get the most out of QuickTime however, you need to upgrade to the Pro version which allows you to do much more such as edit and convert video files.

QuickTime is designed to play Apple's MOV video format although but beyond this on Windows, it isn't very flexible. There are other players such as VLC media player which play almost any format and are much quicker to launch.

QuickTime is Apple's flagship media player although there are many other free players out there for Windows that are much more powerful

Download QuickTime 7.74.80.86 in Softonic

Chrome's outstanding features, like its download manager, incognito browsing mode and bookmark syncing, already make it a stand out app. In version 20, it adds a more new features, as well some tweaks that make it even more user-friendly.

New features

Being able to search directly from the address bar is one of the great things about Google Chrome. Now Omnibox, Google Chrome's address bar, will offer you various suggestions as you type. Depending on how accurate it thinks its results are, Chrome may even begin to pre-load a chosen page. Popular sites like Facebook and Twitter are now sure to load almost instantaneously.

You'll now also receive warnings when Google Chrome thinks a downloading file that might contain malware or something harmful to your PC. It does this by tracing the download's originating server and comparing it to sites on its blacklist. If you're concerned about privacy when it comes to Google looking at your downloads for potential malware, you can disable this feature within your browser preferences.

Updates and tweaks

Google Chrome introduces several smaller updates designed to improve the user experience. First, Google Chrome has improved page zooming to make it more consistent with other browsers - you can now zoom up to 500%. In addition, Print Preview no longer shows up in its own tab but rather appears in a highly-configurable modal window - this improves your workflow and makes printing even quicker. Google Chrome's History tab has also undergone a redesign. It now allows users to filter out or even remove specific domains you don't want showing up there.

There's also been an update to the V8 JavaScript engine and more than a dozen security fixes. In short, these changes make browsing even quicker - and using the internet even safer.

In addition, version 20 helps with vulnerability greatly, in that it covers patches for quite a few security-related bugs. Google Chrome's latest update will consequently help make your browsing experience even safer.

Chrome extensions

Last, but not least, there are also changes for extensions - not only can you now count on a range of Google Chrome extensions that rivals (and in many cases betters) Firefox's, but those of you with a more technical bent can take advantage of improved extension APIs, so if you've got an idea, it's even easier to make it into an extension yourself.

If you're considering making the switch from old favorites like Firefox or Internet Explorer, we'd wholeheartedly recommend Google Chrome as the browser of the future!

Google Chrome, Google's browser, mixes a clean, minimalist interface with a variety of powerful tools, making it a great browser.

Download Google Chrome 27.0.1453.93 in Softonic

In terms of technical tinkering, disc partitioning is not something that all users will need to worry about. If you are thinking about it though, it is something that you need to get right, because if you make a mistake, you can really mess up your system. That's why you should consider giving a partition manager like Partition Wizard a try.

For those of you who aren't sure, disc partitioning is a way of dividing up your computer's hard drive so that you can use different areas for different purposes. It's not something for beginners, but if you think you might like to give it a try, Partition Wizard's disc partitioning wizards are a good starting point.

Partition Wizard's interface is self-explanatory and clear. It detects the partitions you have on your machine and offers you tools to help carry out activities such as formatting, deleting and copying them. If you know what you are doing, you can use Partition Wizard to manage your partitions. If not, give the various wizards a try.

Partition Wizard uses color-coded symbols to indicate the different parts of the hard drive and their functions. There is also an undo button, in case you make a mistake, and a decent help file, for advice along the way. Finally, there is a comprehensive disc explorer, so you can see exactly what files and documents you'll be affecting if you make any changes.

If you are new to the business of partitioning, Partition Wizard's wizards are sure to help you along the way.

Download Partition Wizard 7.8 Home Edition in Softonic

A smart freeware program that can clear all forms of mal-ware from your computer. SpyBot Search & Destroy is a powerful application that offers a default mode and an advanced mode.

When you install SpyBot Search & Destroy, you are immediately given the choice to update, which is of course all important when dealing with the various forms of spyware that you want to be protected from. Unfortunately, when updating, progress can seem rapid and then stop for no apparent reason, for several minutes before finishing off the job.

Once you get over that small hiccup, you are prompted to create a system backup, just in case SpyBot Search & Destroy happens to remove something that is actually quite important for the smooth running of your system. It should go without saying that making this backup is recommended after which you may finally immunize your system with SpyBot Search & Destroy from a growing database of malicious processes.

SpyBot Search & Destroy has plenty of options for tweaking and customizing scans as well as some unrelated functions like the secure shredder and a start-up manager.

Although SpyBot Search & Destroy is a powerful piece of anti-spyware software, it may be better to see it as part of your security solution. For example, team this up with Ad-Aware SE and you should be covered from practically every form of threat to your online safety.

Download SpyBot Search & Destroy 2.1.19.0 in Softonic

Despite being a free security tool, AVG Anti-Virus is as good as any paid anti-virus app. It features a bunch of dedicated modules to protect you from antivirus, spyware and rootkits and spam, and also includes the so called LinkScanner – an extra layer of protection that checks search results and web links to make sure they’re safe. In recent years, the developers have added more intrusive features that try to intefere with browser settings such as your preferred search engine but overall, it still remains a good anti-virus option.

One of the best things about AVG Anti-Virus is that it offers neat, effective protection while staying silently minimized in your system tray without guzzling system resources and of course, without constantly bothering you with warning windows or update messages. Since it's the free version of a complete program, AVG Anti-Virus does show the odd nag screen encouraging you to buy AVG Professional, something which may annoy some users.

AVG Anti-Virus features a nicely designed, more user-friendly interface, which mimics the Windows Modern UI, and supports touch in Windows 8. Of course, you still have the same three types of scan: full system, selected files and folders and anti-rootkit. AVG Anti-Virus also lets you schedule scans for a certain day and time.

New in 2013 is an enhanced and simplified firewall. Previous versions of AVG didn't include any firewall at all so it's a nice addition. Settings for the firewall are easy to use and understand, making personalization network access for specific apps a breeze. The firewall will also help scan links, fight spam, and protect against wi-fi hacking.

The whole AVG Anti-Virus package should be enough to ensure you're not infected with any virus. The program also integrates seamlessly with Windows Explorer, allowing you to scan files from their context menus. AVG Anti-Virus's database is automatically updated on a daily basis, so you're always protected from even the most recently discovered threats. Although AVG Anti-Virus still remains a very powerful packages, there are other anti virus tools - such as Avast! - that do as good a job if not better.

Performance of AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition has increased as well. Startup times are now 26% quicker, scanning times are 36% faster, and interface loads over 200% faster

AVG Antivirus remains a perfect security solution for the average computer user, providing a powerful weapon against viruses.

Download AVG Antivirus FREE 2013 2013.0.3343 in Softonic

AVG Anti-Virus features a bunch of dedicated modules to protect you from antivirus, spyware and rootkits and spam, and also includes the so called LinkScanner – an extra layer of protection that checks search results and web links to make sure they’re safe. In recent years, the developers have added more intrusive features that try to intefere with browser settings such as your preferred search engine but overall, it still remains a good anti-virus option.

One of the best things about AVG Anti-Virus is that it offers neat, effective protection while staying silently minimized in your system tray without guzzling system resources and of course, without constantly bothering you with warning windows or update messages. Since it's the trial version of a complete program, AVG Anti-Virus does show the odd nag screen encouraging you to buy AVG Professional, something which may annoy some users.

AVG Anti-Virus features a nicely designed, more user-friendly interface, which mimics the Windows Modern UI, and supports touch in Windows 8. Of course, you still have the same three types of scan: full system, selected files and folders and anti-rootkit. AVG Anti-Virus also lets you schedule scans for a certain day and time.

New in 2013 is an enhanced and simplified firewall. Previous versions of AVG didn't include any firewall at all so it's a nice addition. Settings for the firewall are easy to use and understand, making personalization network access for specific apps a breeze. The firewall will also help scan links, fight spam, and protect against wi-fi hacking.

The whole AVG Anti-Virus package should be enough to ensure you're not infected with any virus. The program also integrates seamlessly with Windows Explorer, allowing you to scan files from their context menus. AVG Anti-Virus's database is automatically updated on a daily basis, so you're always protected from even the most recently discovered threats. Although AVG Anti-Virus still remains a very powerful packages, there are other anti virus tools - such as Avast! - that do as good a job if not better.

Performance of AVG Anti-Virus has increased as well. Startup times are now 26% quicker, scanning times are 36% faster, and interface loads over 200% faster

AVG Antivirus remains a perfect security solution for the average computer user, providing a powerful weapon against viruses.

Download AVG AntiVirus 2013 2013.0.3343 in Softonic

Windows Movie Maker 2012 is the stand out application of Windows Essentials 2012. This basic video editing tool remains great while offering a few new, useful features.

Windows Movie Maker 2012 takes advantage of hardware acceleration, which will speed up video exporting and encoding. There is also a new video stabilization feature, which will be a boon to those with cameras that don't offer this feature. Videos now output to h.264 by default.

The interface of Windows Movie Maker 2012 has stayed the same for the most part but integrating audio is easier as you can now look up music from services like AudioMicro, Free Music Archive, and Vimeo Music Store. The video timeline also features a wav form so you can easily see where audio is placed within the video.

Overall, Windows Movie Maker 2012 is a great update to an already great video editor.

Download Windows Movie Maker 2012 2012 16.4.3508.0205 in Softonic

This update includes:

Updated Media Player Classic Home Cinema to version 1.6.5.6237
Updated LAV Filters to version 0.53.2-8-g7fd402c
Updated DirectVobSub to xy-VSFilter version 3.0.0.211
Fixed a problem that could result in subtitles failing to load

These new installations will ensure that any broken codecs are repaired and optimized for useability.

Download K-Lite Codec Pack Update 9.9.4 in Softonic

If you have an Android phone, you've probably installed an app or two. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to run them on your Windows PC? BlueStacks App Player makes this possible for certain apps.

BlueStacks App Player is the alpha version of an emulator that lets you use use Android on PC. It works a bit like a widget. When clicked, BlueStacks App Player will display the ten apps that have already been pre-installed, which are mostly games.

BlueStacks App Player's interface is easy to navigate. You can install new applications by clicking the "Get More Apps" button. Currently, there are more than 25 apps you can install this way. Hopefully, the number will grow as BlueStacks App Player develops.

The BlueStacks App Player team is currently taking emails for volunteer signups for an upcoming beta release as well. You can add your name to the list on the program's official website.

BlueStacks App Player is onto a good start when it comes to running Android apps on your PC.

Download BlueStacks App Player 0.7.12 Beta in Softonic

You can add new downloads from the Internet Download Manager interface, but it's more usual to let it capture links. This means that every time you click on a certain file type (which can be specified through configuration options), Internet Download Manager will handle the download itself rather than letting the browser do the job. Everything is automatic: no changing from one app to another, no copying and pasting, no hassle at all.

Once Internet Download Manager captures the link, you can either download the file right away or save it for later, which can be a good alternative if you need all of your bandwidth for the moment and plan to leave the computer on during the night. Downloads can be classified into custom categories before starting them and can also be resumed if the connection is lost or broken.

Speedy downloads

Internet Download Manager does accelerate downloads, although it all depends on your internet connection. That is, don’t expect to download at the speed of light if you’re still using one of those old-fashioned 56K modems. Internet Download Manager achieves quite satisfying download rates by using multiple thread connections with servers.

Internet Download Manager's configuration menu displays a wide range of functions and tools devoted to handling your downloads, such as checking files for viruses with your own antivirus or limiting the amount of bandwidth used by the program. There’s also support for server authentication and proxy, FTP and HTTPS servers.

Internet Download Manager does its job and does it well, so even if your internet connection speed is faster than usual, you should still give it a try.

Download Internet Download Manager 6.15.12 in Softonic

iTunes 11 has been completely redesigned from the ground up. Development of iTunes has been stagnant the last few years so Apple needs to get this one right. Has Apple nailed it or is the new iTunes a mess? Read on to find out.
The interface of iTunes has been completely re-imagined. Everything is simpler and space is better utilized. In the previous version of iTunes, there was a persistent bar on the left where you can access playlists, albums, devices, and more. While it provided quick access to those features, most users didn't use them most of the time. Apple has scrapped this and has made the default album view take up the entire window.

Browsing by album is a pleasure. Click on an album and the tracks will show up below. iTunes also analyzes the color of album artwork to create a colored background for each individual album. It works well for the most part but the effect blurs the album art around the edges.

New in iTunes 11 is the "Up Next" feature, which is basically a fancy name for your queue. Add songs to your queue from wherever you are in the interface. You don't need to manage a playlist to arrange and rearrange the tracks to your liking.

Creating playlists is much improved. Instead of having to jump in and out a playlist to add and arrange tracks, playlists now have a dedicated pane on the right where you can manipulate tracks without having to jump around the program.

iCloud integration has also been tightened. Every track you've bought in iTunes will now show up in your music library, whether or not it has been downloaded. Click on it to download the album. User can now also stream directly from the cloud instead of having to download the track first. This also applies to all your TV and movies that were purchased in iTunes. There's also a dedicated tab for iTunes Match, Apple's music matching service to make all of your tracks available across devices, if they're available in the iTunes store.

The iTunes store has also gone through a redesign with featured content up top. Top lists are still there and are easier to browse. iTunes 11 will also allow you to access the iTunes store content from your music library, suggesting similar artists and tracks, without having to take you to the iTunes store.

The mini player has also been completely redesigned and is actually useful now. The mini player has gotten smaller but utilizes that small space much better than previous versions. Player controls will show up with you hover your mouse over the mini player. There's access to search and your Up Next queue can be manipulated from the mini player.

Devices now show up as a button at the top right. Clicking on it will take you to a detailed page where you can manage everything. Choose what you want synced, manage your apps, and even play music directly from your iOS device. Everything is easier to read and comprehend in the device tab.

The only thing missing from iTunes 11 is a music streaming service. iCloud gives users the ability to download tracks locally but not stream them. There is no subscription service in iTunes to compete with the likes of Spotify, Rdio, and Xbox Music. It's only matter of time before Apple releases its own music subscription service but it's disappointing that Apple didn't release it with iTunes 11.

iTunes is still one of the best media players around. It has gotten easier to use, feels less bloated, but is still missing a music subscription service.

Download iTunes 11.0.3 (64 bits) in Softonic

If you're tired of always listening to the same songs in your music library, what about some live online radio stations for a change?

With Phonostar you can now tune in to more than 7,000 radio stations that stream their contents on the Internet for free. What's more, you can also use it to subscribe to your favorite podcasts. The program features a nice-easy-to-use interface, similar to any other music player, from which you can listen to your favorite online radio stations. The interface also displays an extra window where you can search for any radio station according to different parameters (language, genre, quality, etc.) though its reduced size makes search a bit uncomfortable.

But that's not all. Phonostar still keeps an ace up its sleeve with its built-in recording tool, which enables you to record your favorite songs right to your hard drive – in WAV or MP3 - with just a single mouse click.

Phonostar is a great online radio player and recorder. A bit of improvement in the way it displays search results and it'll be nearly perfect!

Download phonostar-Player 3.02.9 in Softonic

iTunes 11 has been completely redesigned from the ground up. Development of iTunes has been stagnant the last few years so Apple needs to get this one right. Has Apple nailed it or is the new iTunes a mess? Read on to find out.

Features

iCloud integration has also been tightened. Every track you've bought in iTunes will now show up in your music library, whether or not it has been downloaded. Click on it to download the album. User can now also stream directly from the cloud instead of having to download the track first. This also applies to all your TV and movies that were purchased in iTunes. There's also a dedicated tab for iTunes Match, Apple's music matching service to make all of your tracks available across devices, if they're available in the iTunes store.

The iTunes store has also gone through a redesign with featured content up top. Top lists are still there and are easier to browse. iTunes 11 will also allow you to access the iTunes store content from your music library, suggesting similar artists and tracks, without having to take you to the iTunes store.

Usability

New in iTunes 11 is the "Up Next" feature, which is basically a fancy name for your queue. Add songs to your queue from wherever you are in the interface. You don't need to manage a playlist to arrange and rearrange the tracks to your liking.

Creating playlists is much improved. Instead of having to jump in and out a playlist to add and arrange tracks, playlists now have a dedicated pane on the right where you can manipulate tracks without having to jump around the program.

The mini player has also been completely redesigned and is actually useful now. The mini player has gotten smaller but utilizes that small space much better than previous versions. Player controls will show up with you hover your mouse over the mini player. There's access to search and your Up Next queue can be manipulated from the mini player.

Devices now show up as a button at the top right. Clicking on it will take you to a detailed page where you can manage everything. Choose what you want synced, manage your apps, and even play music directly from your iOS device. Everything is easier to read and comprehend in the device tab.

Quality

Conclusion

Download iTunes 11.0.3 in Softonic

Beamrise is lightning-fast, efficient and completely safe! Based on the latest CHROMIUM engine, you can browse the web worry-free with the latest web rendering technology.

Beamrise was created for super-connected users who are connected to many social networks and wants an handy way to manage all there friends.

Download Beamrise 2.23.1274.3570 in Softonic

Features

These days, it's an app that attempts to be all things to all people - play DVDs, organize music, catalog photos, convert video, interact with social networking sites, browse internet multimedia....there's no end to what RealPlayer offers to its users. Even so, it's not an out-and-out success...

Usability

For a start, installation of RealPlayer is annoying - it takes a while, requires lots of "nexts" and tries to install and enable several features that users don't really need. Finally, when it starts, you're offered a chance to upgrade to paid versions of RealPlayer before you have to register yourself with Real Networks. If all this messing around doesn't appeal, check out a slimline app like UMPlayer.

When you're up and running, RealPlayer features a wide interface where you will notice ads and videos recommended by Real Networks. This looks cluttered and messy, and it's hard to know what the app actually offers. In reality, RealPlayer is ideal for playing and sharing video with your friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter and it works easily with BlackBerry, iPod, iPhone and other game systems. The new video converter allows you to copy online video to your iPod, Xbox, PS3 and other devices. Unfortunately, you can't rip DVDs with RealPlayer, although this is available as a feature if you upgrade to RealPlayer Plus.

Most recently, RealPlayer has been updated with far better mobile and social networking integration. You can now copy your favorite videos to an iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry and dozens of other popular devices automatically. Downloading internet videos is faster, and for those of you with something to hide, RealPlayer offers a new Private folder. Social media has also been bumped up, with direct access to Facebook videos and usefully, a built-in feature to transfer videos to your mobile devices.

Quality

That said, RealPlayer isn't bad at all. It's comparable to Windows Media Player 12 as they both have some impressive ways of organizing your music. For me, the best feature is the CD burner which is something I've used from the early days of RealPlayer. The sheer quality of some of the media only available in Real formats makes RealPlayer an essential item in the toolkit of any fan of internet video and audio.

Conclusion

There's no shortage of media players theses days, and RealPlayer is by no means a bad option. It offers lots of features, good options and is a high-quality player that will do justice to your media. The only problem is that despite its modern features, it feels like a bit of a dinosaur. It's heavy and slow, looks chunky and takes an age to respond to clicks, and for many people - especially those who have experience of lighter options - it's just not the most comfortable player.

RealPlayer is a media player that, although powerful, has suffered from serious feature-creep over the years.

Download RealPlayer 16.0.2.232 in Softonic

Building your own website can be an utterly daunting experience. Many people prefer to contract the work out to specialists but it can't beat being able to administer your own site and change it when you want to. Yahoo! SiteBuilder has been designed with beginners in mind to easily design the site you want.

Much of the work is already done for you - it features over 380 templates to choose from and many look very professional. Building the site is made easy through a simple word processing and drag-and-drop mechanisms that allows you to build web pages in no time. The program also works offline so you can create and experiment with your site before uploading any changes. If you're familiar with HTML, you can also write your own code from scratch using HTML or SiteBuilder's web page editing tools. However, it only works with Yahoo! servers so you'll need a Yahoo hosting plan too.

For those that just want to drag and drop their website together, this is a great tool although advanced users will find it pretty limited.

Download Yahoo! SiteBuilder 2.8.4 in Softonic

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

Adobe Reader has been in existence for over a decade and has gone through various evolutions during this time. One result of this is that it has been increasingly loaded with plug-ins and extensions which mean that it's consistently criticized as being bloated and slow.

The truth about Adobe Reader's speed

It is true to a certain extent that the extra plug-ins and extensions can make Adobe run more slowly. Adobe Reader is still a PDF reader that has much to offer though. With the latest version of Adobe Reader, Adobe have addressed some of the speed issues and the memory footprint has been improved consistently throughout the development of Adobe Reader XI.

Interface and stand-out features

This version of Adobe Reader is not only slightly faster, but also displays a clearer, simpler interface that makes it easier to use. Adobe Reader XI still features the classic tools from previous versions (Zoom, Text selection, Snapshots and Read out loud), but now it also includes renewed features such as the ability to leave comments as sticky notes. A new feature you’ll find in Adobe Reader X is the Share tool, with which you can easily share the document by email or via the Adobe SendNow service.

Built-in security precautions

If you were worried about security issues in Adobe Reader, fear not: Adobe Reader XI is probably the safest version ever released, thanks to the new Protected Mode than loads images, code and 3D objects in a special area in memory, isolated from the system.

Adobe Reader XI is undoubtedly an important update in the history of this popular PDF reader – an essential tool to open, read and print PDF documents.

Download Adobe Reader XI 11.0.03 in Softonic