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 there is speculation as to just how long Limewire will resist until they 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, program or file. 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 application.

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 Basic 4.18.6 in Softonic

This product is intended for quick, easy, and simple processing of one or several Video, Audio, or Image files! VideoCharge is a full-range editor, which allows users to perform practically any operations with incoming files such as:

• Splitting files up into several scenes
• Merging several files into a single file
• Cutting scene(s) out of video files
• Creating video file(s) based on selected scene(s)
• Creating thumbnails for video files in manually or automatically mode
• Addition Watermark to movie(s) or thumbnail(s)
• Solving Interlace Video problem

Using VC you can split a video film by time, by size, into several equal (by duration) parts. Besides you can automatically split video file by scenes! VideoCharge includes enhanced DVD Ripper and DVD Player, which are intended, except processing DVD contents, to play and convert Mpeg-2, VOB files (.vob), and also to work with a group of VOB files, using index information from IFO files.

VideoCharge allows users to produce video files with effect of 25th frame. VideoCharge is the best application among similar ones to create Video galleries, representing an ability of FTP upload of generated files. It also supports work with command-line. VideoCharge includes a complete Help system and Wizard, which makes your work with VideoCharge simpler, even if you don't have special knowledge!

Download VideoCharge Pro 3.14.2.03 in Softonic

Far from being just office workhorses, computers are also thought of as complete entertainment systems that you can use to chat with friends, play videogames or watch movies. Regarding this last option, there's a wide range of DVD players out there, but we'll focus our attention on one of them: Power DVD.

The program's installation process is very quick. It includes Google Toolbar as an add-on but you can decline its installation if you're not interested. Once launched, you gain access to its main interface which, to be honest, is not especially nice: a close-up of a girl wearing weird sunglasses is not the kind of thing you expect to see on the screen when opening a DVD player. It would look much better with some abstract design or just the program logo instead. Anyway, configuration settings allow you to customize this interface with skins but there are no skins included. At least you can change the color scheme by clicking on the display.

Power DVD is generally very easy to use. All the buttons on the player panel have tooltips to give you hints about their usage. Also, most of their functions can be performed with the mouse or the keyboard (using the hotkey displayed in the tooltip). When playing a movie in full screen mode, the panel hides automatically and shows only if you move the mouse. Still, you can access all the program's functions through a comprehensive context menu by right-clicking anywhere on the image.

As for the playing functions, the movie flows very smoothly even when you move the window around or play it in full screen mode. Sound can be configured in different ways, depending on your hardware means (from headphones to an 8-speaker surround system) in order to obtain the best possible sound quality. During our tests, we also found some interesting tools: one offers the possibility to change playing speed and therefore obtain slow or fast motion images; another one lets you take snapshots of your favourite scenes in the movie, according to the settings in Configuration – Player – Advanced - Snapshot; and finally a tool called "Say it again" with which you can repeat certain dialogues over and over again. This may be useful for foreign language students or movie fans who like to learn certain script lines by heart.

Power DVD is then a perfect solution for your all DVD playing needs. It may seem quite simple at first sight but after all, you don't need much more apart from "play" and "pause" to happily watch a movie on your PC. And in case you want to know more about the program and their developers, have a look at our interview with Dr. Jau Huang, Cyberlink's founder.

Download PowerDVD 8.0.1730 in Softonic

Audio Recorder Pro is an useful real-time audio recording software that lets you record any sounds from your sound card and save the recording directly into MP3, OGG or WAV files. It's fast and easy to use. Audio Recorder Pro is the perfect utility to record your own voice, music or any other sound by working directly with your sound card.

It supports the input/source from a microphone, streaming audio from the Internet, external input devices (e.g. CDs, LP, music cassettes, phone line etc.) as well as other applications like Winamp, Media Player, etc. It produces high quality recordings with its built-in advanced audio record engine.

Features:

• Records audio and sound into MP3, OGG or WAV format directly
• Pre-define audio recording qualities to quickly set & manage recording parameters
• Start and stop recording automatically with built-in timer
• Supports silence detection (Voice Activation) during audio recording
• Built-in advanced audio record engine to produce high quality recording
• Allows you to preset/preview your audio recording device before starting record

If you're looking for an application to help you for audio recording, you won't be disappointed by Audio Recorder Pro!

Download Audio Recorder Pro 3.53 in Softonic

Everyone knows there are two types of gamer - those that love that Pro Evolution Soccer, and those that prefer FIFA. Until recently, I'd have told you that those in the latter camp are a bunch of idiots who don't know anything about either computer games or football. Since the last couple of releases of the EA game though, I've shocked myself by becoming increasingly impressed with FIFA (largely because it's becoming more like Pro Evo, I would argue). The ubiquitous update for the 2007-08 season is by far the best release to date and it seems that the game has finally come of age.

The gameplay is more fluid than ever and thanks to some tweaks to the shooting mechanism, defending pressure, player attributes and even the influence of air pressure, it's now a very realistic simulation of the beautiful game. The graphics are smooth, detailed and well animated and the commentary and crowd effects make it seem just like you're watching it on telly. FIFA has always had the benefit of licencing on its side and this year there are a staggering 620 teams from 30 leagues, and a total of more than 1,500 real players at your disposal.

The management mode from the previous version stays, and now EA has introduced a new feature that I've been wanting from a football game for a long time. The so-called "Be A Pro: Co-op Season" mode sees you create your own player profile, then play just as that player for the season in a team with your pals, or with others online. It's an interesting experience that gives you the opportunity to prove how good you really are at the game and develop your skills as an individual player.

With the usual slick presentation and infinitely customisable options, Pro Evo 2008 is really gonna have to go some in order to top FIFA 08.

Download FIFA 08 in Softonic

MP3 Splitter & Joiner is a very useful MP3 audio editor. It builds MP3 Splitter (MP3 Cutter) and MP3 Joiner in one, you can split, cut, trim a large MP3 file into multiple smaller pieces or join, merge multiple MP3 files to a larger one. It keeps exactly the same sound quality of original MP3s (no re-encoding introduced).

Features:

• Preview split tracks with build-in MP3 player before performing MP3 splitting.
• Split, cut MP3 to equal tracks either by time or by section.
• With a slider bar, visually and quickly get to the position you want to split the MP3 at.
• Edit and view MP3 ID3 TAG with build-in ID3 TAG editor.
• Merge and split MP3 files even over 1000 minutes or 1GB.
• Import/export track information of CUE files.
• Split, merge VBR (Variable Bitrate) / VBRI MP3 files.

Download MP3 Splitter & Joiner Pro 3.41 in Softonic

Digital MediaRescue Professional recovers lost data from a whole host of multimedia devices - from digital cameras, audio recorders, MP3 & WMA players to PDAs and mobile phones. The program supports Hard Drives, CompactFlash cards (type I/II), IBM Microdrives, SmartMedia cards, MultiMedia cards (MMCs), Secure Digital (SD) cards, Memory Sticks and any other storage devices, with the addition of wide-range file format support: JPEG, AVI, MOV, MP3, WMA, WAV, etc.

Modern Digital Still Cameras and other digital devices allow files to be erased and the space on the media reused. So sometimes your information gets erased or crippled, either by physical damage to the medium (e.g. flash card crash), or because someone clicked the wrong button on your recorder. Through momentary carelessness, valuable data can be lost in an instant.

The media can also be bulk-erased or formatted, removing everything from the storage media. Of course you don't want to lose your valuable files such as important photos or favourite audio and video recordings. And there it is, our MediaRescue Pro is here to easily, quickly and absolutely reliably reconstruct the missing multimedia files.

Hope is at hand with Digital MediaRescue Professional for your lost digital media.

Download Digital MediaRescue Professional 4.4.3 in Softonic

BPM Studio is a popular choice among Softonic users which might be down to the wealth of possibilities available in this music mixer. This application will allow you to read, edit, mix, encode and write your tracks with precision.

DJs and music fans alike will appreciate the hardware look of the interface and the inclusion of all the essential buttons and functions expected in a professional mixer. It’s very easy to switch between the 3 different views: lists, mixer and ripper, streamlining your music creation process without disruptions.

Thankfully BPM Studio Pro integrates an explorer view of your music library, for quick dragging and dropping of the tracks you need. Although the application only comes with 30 original sounds and tracks you can effortlessly add all the sound you need. The program keeps a record of the tracks you searched for and the play lists you created for quick access. You can use the search function to quickly find tracks in library.

Over to the editing functions, BPM Studio lets you set up to 6 different cue points in an individual track. The sample player is nestled between the two track modules and features a sample editor to modify saved sounds. Use the wave editing view to edit more precisely.

BPM Studio also diversifies your cross fading possibilities. You can manually switch from one track to the other, let the program do it automatically or set the track lines yourself. While this last option is the most enjoyable, it’s also the least precise of the three.

On the downside, while BPM Studio is studded with options for editing, mixing and writing, the interface often feels stuffy and overloaded and it can become difficult to read functions or drag counter switches. The equalizer for example is very complete and even offers a graphic view, yet there is no numerical indication of the changes you are making.

The audio presets are limited to 5 (lounge, DJ, party, office, radio) vague choices. We also believe that with only 30 sounds and tracks pre-included in the program, BPM Studio doesn’t have a rich enough library of sounds. However this is very subjective and it’s quite possible that you will be happy with this collection of tracks and sounds.

While there are some drawbacks to this application, we consider BPM Studio a solid application for anyone serious about mixing tracks. The interface is well structured and all your tracks, edits and functions are accessible. The extensive editing possibilities will open you up to hours of track tweaking and polishing.

Download BPM Studio Pro 4.9.6.3 in Softonic

Super MP3 Recorder Professional, the powerful recorder, editor and player, makes a complete recording studio of your computer. With the recorder you can record voice from microphone, internet streaming audio, or music played by Winamp, Windows Media Player, Quick Time, Real Player, Flash, games, etc. Super MP3 Recorder Pro is able to automatically detect the recording formats your sound card supports and then set the application's parameters for the best possible performance. The recordings can be saved as MP3, WAV, WMA, VQF and OGG files. What makes Super MP3 Recorder Pro more powerful is its editing feature. It can edit audio files as you desire by cutting, copying, pasting, trimming and various DSP effects. Another useful feature is recording schedule which enables automatic recording, that is, Super Mp3 Recorder Pro starts and stops recording at any time you want.

Super MP3 Recorder Pro has a Voice Activation System with which you can choose to skip silent passages, or stop the recording after a certain amount of silence. This option is especially useful when you're recording streaming audio and net congestion temporarily stops the stream. Instead of having a big blank spot in your recording, Super MP3 Recorder Pro will just pause and wait for the signal to reappear.

Download Super MP3 Recorder Pro 6.0 in Softonic

DVD Cloner Pro is the most powerful dvd movie clone software ever. It produces perfect copies every time, and does it quickly and efficiently. Video quality of copied discs is perfect, since there's no recompression or altering of the VOB files from the original disc.

Features:

• Perfect 100% DVD Clone. Just like your original DVD movies
• Copy all the Special Features, Menus, Subtitles & Languages
• Sound and video never change in quality
• High speed and easy to use. Just a few clicks
• Playable in almost all DVD players
• Copies DVD Movie to One Blank Disc
• Uses most DVD-R / DVD-RW / DVD+R / DVD+RW burners
• Supports both NTSC and PAL DVD movies

Download DVD Cloner Pro 3.0 in Softonic

Stop what you're doing, find shelter and call your mom, because Quintessential Player 4.50 has arrived. This new version brings you closer to your music then ever before. Stop letting your media player push you around, take control with Quintessential's new and improved arsenal of features.

QCD is still all about you. With its new extended freeform skinning engine and plethora of feature extending plugins Quintessential Player can be whatever you want it to be. Most importantly you can take control of your listening experience for free. How is this possible you ask? It just is. Don't let the price fool you, there are no Pro versions, cripples, nags or spyware. Quintessential is here to be enjoyed without any catches.

Rip CDs or convert music into your favourite format

Insert your favourite music cd into your computer and click the record button to start ripping! You can also use the encoder to convert files to other digital formats. Select the files you want to convert and drag them into the encoder window or click the convert button on the playlist.

Keep your music files clean with the track editor

The track editor allows you to edit single tracks or groups of tracks at the same time. It will also rename your physical files, import filename to use in tag and if your tags are still incomplete you can use the autotag feature which is powered by Gracenote CDDB.

More control with Skin Layouts

If you like certain configurations of Quintessential Player, now you can save them and call on them whenever you please! Place the player anywhere on your screen with the desired extensions open and click ‘Save Current Layout’.

Play the track you want with a click of the mouse

With Quintessential player's Quick Track feature you have your entire playlist at your fingers tips. Place your mouse over the track name or over the icon in the windows tray and right click to reveal your playlist. This feature is heavily customizable so you can get at the music you want with no delay!

Organize the songs you'll hear with the Playlist Editor

One of the most powerful features in Quintessential player is the Playlist. Quickly organize what you want to hear by dragging, blocking, pruning or adding tracks to your playlists. Right clicking tracks on the playlist opens up more options to help you to organize your collection. Simply tell Quintessential Player where your playlists are stored and have your entire collection at hand.

Save your desktop space when using the Remote

Get all the power of Quintessential Player but with 1/10th the desktop space. Using the new skinning engine the remote can stretch revealing as much information as you want to see.

Download Quintessential Player 4.51 in Softonic