Following the release of new versions of both Internet Explorer and Firefox, the infamous 'browser wars' are flaring up again. Despite both Firefox 1.5 and the Beta of IE7 making significant strides, it would be be foolish to think this was a two-horse race. While gaining a good reputation with geeks and power users, Opera has long been a bit-part player among the big boys of the browser world. However, if this preview release is anything to go by, the Norwegian-built browser could finally be ready to punch with the heavyweights.

Opera has been pioneering new ways of browsing the web for some time. It has had tabbed browsing since the days before tabbed browsing was cool and developed the innovative 'mouse gestures' control system, where you navigate through the web just by holding the mouse button and flicking your wrist. The developers even dabbled with a multi-pane interface for viewing several pages within one interface.

The good news is that Opera has lost none of its appetite for innovation, and version 9 is packed with new goodies that will have the programmers at Mozilla and Microsoft choking on their doughnuts. For starters the app runs much quicker than the previous release, making it arguably the quickest browser around (except perhaps for Safari) at rendering pages. Incredibly, despite this boost in performance, the program appears to use less memory than version 8.5, making it far less draining on system resources than Firefox and IE.

In terms of features Opera is the gift that keeps on giving. New to the program comes OSX Tiger-style 'widgets', allowing you to check news, convert currency, view the weather and so on through a series of draggable pop-ups which anchor themselves in front of the browser. Although there aren’t many widgets to choose from at present, this is sure to change once the tech-minded Opera fans start developing more.

Another great addition to Opera 9 is BitTorrent support, allowing you to download torrents directly within the browser – a feature that amazingly no one had thought of before. This system works very smoothly, which makes us wonder why RSS feed reading support in Opera is still so poor.

Among the other new treats within the program is a nifty new search feature which lets you add any search engine to the search bar in the main toolbar. This means you can instantly access searches within your favorite online destinations (Softonic, for instance).

Tabbed browsing remains, although some users may be annoyed to discover that Opera has added close tab buttons to the tabs themselves rather than as a separate button. Having said this, the new web page preview thumbnails that appear when you rollover a tab are a real masterstroke. Mouse gestures are still there too, along with the addition of Total Recall-style voice commands – another example of how cutting-edge this browser is.

Opera's developers have been keen to ramp up security features too, and although they aren't highly original, the new content blocking and pop-up blocking functions serve their purpose effectively. What's more, it's refreshing to see a browser that embraces the latest web standards so freely, with the latest release boasting support for CSS 2.1 and CSS 3 tags.

The browser is remarkably stable and is far better behaved than Internet Explorer 7. Combined with its speed, innovative features and standards support, Opera is undoubtedly web software's best-kept secret, and the final release may prove to be even better than Firefox. Don't say anything though, or everyone will want it.

Download Opera 9.60 in Softonic

I'm no geologist but I know a, excuse the pun, "gem" of a program when I see one and for any rock, mineral or geologist, this surely is one.

This comprehensive encyclopedia and research base contains just about everything there is to know about rocks, minerals and gems in an easy to search format with in depth descriptions and attractive images. If you need it customised to suit the needs or focus of your organisation, it can also do that too to reduce it's huge range and depth to something more manageable.

To be precise, the developers claim it has information on 600 minerals, 300 gems, 200 rocks, around 900 glossary items and a staggering 2100 pictures. Of course, it also features the entire periodic table with detailed info on each element, isotopes, allotropes and compounds. It also saves you valuable lab time because it tells you how these react and interact with each other. To cap it all, you can also find out about the geniuses and researchers that have pioneered the geological field and those that discovered each element, rock and gem.

Perhaps it can't replace Google or a good geological encyclopedia but for a free program, this is an impressive resource.

Download Earth's Core 1.0 Beta in Softonic

The term ‘widget’ has traditionally been used to describe some kind of contraption or piece of technology that improves the overall functionality of a particular product. Mac OSX and Microsoft Vista users will be all too aware of how software widgets can bring more power to your desktop, as they now come as standard on these operating systems. For the benefit of the uninitiated, a widget is basically a small application that provides you with easy access to a particular function. These applications are docked on a ‘dashboard’, and you can add as many widgets as you like, giving you instant access to anything from a simple clock to a weather forecasting tool.

Yahoo! was one of the early pioneers of widgets, and this application is likely to intrigue anyone who hasn’t come across the technology before. The package sits on your desktop and allows you to download and install widgets from the Yahoo! site. There’s a healthy range of widgets available here (almost 4,000), each of which are installed automatically as soon as they’re downloaded. Although this helps to keep things simple, it’s frustrating that you cannot change the destination folderwhich folder the widgets are stored in here.

While it all runs from the same package, each widget is actually its own application. In previous releases of the Widget Engine, this had a tendency to tie up your system rescoursces when using multiple widgets. However, tThis issue has been better addressed in this version, and it seems much less memory-intensive than before. Having said this, it’s not a good idea to keep more than about 10 running at once, as you do start to notice it then.

In terms of the widgets themselves, it would obviously be impractical (and quite frankly, boring) for us to review all 4,000 here, but needless to say there are some very useful ones, along with some downright pointless ones. For instance, we can’t really see the benefit of having a dancing skeleton on your desktop , yet there are tools for checking stock quotes, accessing iTunes, organizing your Flickr images, checking your WiFi signal and getting the latest travel news, all directly from your desktop. Graphically, the widgets are very impressive and each of them floats over the screen without the constraints of traditional window borders, ensuring they don’t intrude on your other activities.

We like the fact that you don’t need to register a Yahoo! account in order to use widgets but Yahoo! still doesn’t allow Desktop Widgets to be included on My Yahoo! pages, overlooking something both Microsoft and Google already allow. Although the program doesn’t really add anything you won’t find in Vista’s built-in widgets system, it’s perfect for XP users who want a taste of what they can expect when they get around to upgrading to the new version of Windows.

Download Yahoo! Widgets 4.5 in Softonic

AOL have been on the scene just about as long as I can remember on the internet so you'd expect them to produce a pretty decent messenger. However, the proof is in the pudding. Nowadays, MSN Messenger and Skype users far outnumber AOL Instant Messenger users which shows that at the end of the day, it's not one of the big hitters. AOL's Instant Messenger was however one of the first to incorporate voice, video and desktop-to-mobile messaging and so should at least be given credit for pioneering this technology.

The instant messaging list has space for 500 friends and enables you to organise your chats and status messages easily. It also allows you to send bigger files than most IM services. The video conferencing function is however much more hassle and it's not immediately obviously how to start a conference until you scroll through the menus. AOL's instant messenger also features it's own e-mail service although obviously, you need to sign up for an AOL account to use it which can turn into a long drawn out affair in itself.

There's no real advantage of using AOL's IM mail compared to others apart from the fact that it does feature a handy "unsend" function if you've sent an e-mail in error. Of course, there's the obligatory mobile texting function although this is limited to US users and if your mobile supports it, you can also use AOL messenger on the move.

This is a bit of a disappointing effort from one of the originators of Instant Messaging but still has a few redeeming features that make it worth a try.

Download AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) 6.5.5.2 in Softonic

Nikotel is an alternative telephony IP app that will allow you, besides speaking to your friends via the Internet, to send text messages to them or to even make video conferences. Nikotels IM functions are very similar to those of a typical messenger so there's nothing strange to get used to there.

On the one hand, you can manage your contacts, visualize if they are connected or not, to send a text message to them or call to them in a few simply clicks. On the other hand, the program includes a typical numeric keypad that allow you to call to any telephone in the world - mobile or fixed.

Obviously, all the services are free as far as PC-to-PC calling is concerned although calling phones is not. Your account can be magaed from the keypad, cimilar to that in Skype, where you can modify your account details, change your state and conect to the Nikotel homepage.

This is a slick looking VOIP program that if it can reduce calling fees, could eventually give the big boys a run for their money.

Download Nikotel 2.1 in Softonic

Helma is an open source web application framework for fast and efficient scripting and serving of your websites and Internet applications. Helma is written in Java and employs Javascript for its server-side scripting environment, removing the need for compilation cycles and reducing development costs while giving you instant access to leverage the whole wealth of Java libraries out there.

Helma pioneered the simple and codeless mapping of application objects to database tables, which has only recently come into vogue with other web frameworks. In addition, to this the inclusion of an embedded object-oriented database allows you to perform automatic data persistence of unmapped objects.

Helma has proven itself to be stable and fast, capable of serving high traffic sites with hundreds of thousands of dynamic pages per day. The Austrian Broadcasting Corporation, popular weblog hosting sites such as antville.org, twoday.net, and blogger.de, among many others, have successfully been deploying Helma for several years.

Download Helma 1.6.0 RC3 in Softonic

Pimp up your BS Player with this Pioneer DEH-P960H featuring desktop controls plus full screen. The skin is based on an original image takeen from a Pioneer Catalog 2004 and features all the original textures and buttons.

Download Pioneer DEH-P960H BSplayer Skin in Softonic

AuctionMagic is the most powerful sniping and auction management available on eBay, and one of the pioneers with the original version was released almost eight years ago. This latest version has just be re-written from the ground-up using the latest and most powerful programming language from Microsoft.

Here are some of the key features you'll find in AuctionMagic:

• Monitor your auctions, updated automatically, and can be organized into your own custom categories
• Place bids at the last possible second to ensure you're the last bidder, and no one has time to see your bid and counter it before the auction closes
• Bid Logic lets you only bid on the auction if it meets certain conditions based on the results of your other auctions. This way you can have it bidding on the same item from different sellers until one wins, or only bid on an accessory if you win the main item first
• Synchronizes to eBay's clock so you bids always go in right on time
• The optional Remote Access lets you access your auctions from anywhere with a web browser
• AuctionGrabber automatically adds auctions numbers you place in the clipboard, even when the software in the background
• Automatically add all items you've bidding on, selling, or watching
• Icons and transparent desktop alerts lets you know when your auctions have changed
• Keep track of auctions you've purchase, including contact and tracking information, dates, and costs. It also stores a complete copy of the item's description with pictures, so you'll have a record even if it changes or when eBay eventually removes it
• Automatically checks for new updates, which are available for free to all customers
• Supports international eBay sites and currencies

Download Merlin AuctionMagic 8.2.1 in Softonic

This classy skin for Windows Media Player replicates the appearance of a GPS navigation system. The skin is full of functionality including buttons to control player functions, a screen for displaying visualizations and videos, and is true to to the original Pioneer device in its design.

Download Pioneer Navigation AVIC-N2 in Softonic

PionNer 3 Skin is one of the most popular skins for Winamp Modern, giving your media player the look of a plush car stereo. It comes with no less than 12 different colour combinations and several cool animations, which you can define and customize in whatever way you decide.

Download PionNer3 Skin 5.24 in Softonic

PC-based software solution for the growing number of DJs who prefer MP3 files to vinyl, CD or DVD. Pioneer’s DJS software (SVJ-DL01) was designed for professional and amateur DJs to enable full-scale DJ play on a PC. The software offers the same playability and functionality as the company’s Pro DJ products, using a PC instead of two CDJ turntables and a DJ mixer.

This new software is as easy to use as our CDJ turntables, and it offers many of the same features including cue/loop points, scratching, beat synchronization, and more, said Karl Detken, director of product planning for Pro DJ equipment at Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. Pioneer has consistently created new DJ products to meet changes in the music world. When consumers switched from vinyl and cassette to CD, we offered the CDJ-1000 CD turntable. When DVD took off in the marketplace, we created the DVJ-X1 to enable spinning of video content. Now, we’re tracking market trends in the use of .mp3 files and offering yet another revolutionary new product for PC users.

Download DJS 1.0 Trial in Softonic

An epic adventure inspired by Jules Verne, VOYAGE will take you beyond into a realm of discovery, fascinating events and extraordinary experiences. Live the dream that begins with the tale of three scientists whose vision is to pioneer new explorations to far off places of discovery: an ancient temple, mysterious ruins, and an unusual subterranean civilization.

Download VOYAGE: Inspired by Jules Verne Demo in Softonic

FAST Defrag can monitor and log information about memory, processor, running applications, startup, installed programs, executable components and many more.

System Config module allows you to easily manage the programs that are starting with Windows, the programs that are currently installed on your PC. You will find other links to many useful utilities and tweaks. Using Startup Manager you may prevent unwanted applications to start.

Make your system faster and more secure using our pioneering task manager that uses trusted processes database. You may also use the memory editor to modify a game to obtain infinite lives, money, resources etc.

Download FAST Defrag Professional 2.18 in Softonic