My sister, who actually works in a bank, is always saying that she would love to be a truck driver and travel all over Europe. I guess she's the kind of person that would love to play Euro Truck Simulator.

This driving simulator puts you behind the wheel of a powerful truck and entrusts you with several different missions. These usually consist on taking cargo from one place to another and getting paid for the delivery. Saving enough money you will eventually be able to buy better and faster trucks to be able to work more and earn more money.

I find the main idea in Euro Truck Simulator is quite original. We're somewhat used to car, motorbike and even airplane driving simulators, but not that much to trucks. Also, the game features excellent, highly realistic graphics.

So far, so good. The problem is that Euro Truck Simulator becomes a boring game quite easily. I don't know if it was due to the repetitive sound of the engine, the slowness of my driving or the lack of real action, I started feeling sleepy shortly after starting to play. Maybe if you could play your own music on the truck's radio, or get into some more action by delivering illegal stuff and occasionally being chased by the cops, Euro Truck Simulator would be more exciting. Also, I didn't like the fact that I can't choose the UK as the starting country for my career as truck driver!

Euro Truck Simulator is a pretty original game, with especially outstanding graphics, but which gets boring quite easily.

Download Euro Truck Simulator 1.00 in Softonic

For all those in agreement with the French government that proprietary formats are damaging to the legitimate spread of digital music, then Tunebite will be right up your street. Proprietary music is essentially locked, so it can only be played using a particular brand of player. This software can be used to make any music playable on whatever portable devices you have or to burn your own music CD. It works by creating a playlist in the file’s native player, (Media Player for WMA, iTunes for M4B, M4P) playing the list and recording each track as an unprotected file. It could be seen as the modern equivalent of recording radio onto cassette, although Tunebite will automatically separate the different tracks.

The installation of this program is a bit tongue-in-cheek with a notice to say that you may see a warning during the process, swiftly followed by a pop-up warning letting you know that a particular driver hasn’t been registered with Microsoft. Following the advice of the previous notice and ignoring the warning dialog lets you finish the process. You are then taken to the configuration wizard where you complete six steps to choose what file format you want to record in.

The interface is so intuitive that when you first open the program you should have no doubt as to how to get recording. The three main elements of the interface are clearly marked as the “songs to record” window, the “recorded songs” window and an unmistakable “GO!” button in the centre. To get started you can either drag and drop your music files or use the “add file” or “add folder” buttons within the program. From there, it’s a simple matter of clicking the “GO!” button and letting Tunebite go to work.

Because the files are protected, they must be played through their own player, for example iTunes, and recorded in real-time. During our test, we happened to have another audio player in use as the recording began and as a result, the unprotected file was an incomprehensible mix of two tracks. This also means that if Tunebite is making a recording, you shouldn’t use your computer for other tasks such as browsing the net since every click sound that plays when you hit a link or even the Start Menu button will be recorded as well. With recording taking place in real-time you should plan for times when you won’t be using the computer, especially if you have a large music collection.

Tunebite is a solution to a problem that many music lovers face as control over their digital content becomes tighter and more restrictive. Protected tracks that have been paid for can easily be copied to any MP3 player or burned to CD for use in regular stereos. Admittedly, the method for recording is not ideal for everybody, but used properly, the results will be of the highest standard possible today.

Download Tunebite 5.1.120 in Softonic

If you're looking for a webcam that doubles up as a webcam, image capturing device and even a security camera, then you should take a look at CamUniversal.

What's really interesting about this app is that it includes a network server so that you can send images and viewing information from one PC to another which makes it an ideal monitoring device. There is a built-in motion detector which allows you to select which areas of the video are tested for motion, when, where and how. In this way, it allows you to target a specific part of your house or home without worrying about the consequences. The program also features video recording functions, picture capturing, external program execution, log file creation, sound playing, FTP transfer, email sending and there is also a scheduler. You can upload the images to an FTP server, a webpage or use a company LAN to distribute the images. Probably the only major problem is setting-up the software to work with your webcam - it doesn't seem particularly friendly with all webcams and you may not be able to get it up and running at the first attempt.

A useful webcam tool that doubles up as a security camera but may cause some problems during setup.

Download CamUniversal 3.5 in Softonic

Racing through the streets of a big city like Paris or London is completely illegal. This is probably why street racing games are so popular these days.

French Street Racing is one of those games, which is set – as you can guess by its name – in the most important cities of France. You're given the opportunity to race those streets with your shiny sports car, competing against other drivers to reach the finishing line in the first position.

Exciting as it sounds the game fell quite short of expectations when I tried it. To begin with, menus are dull and difficult to use. Then, graphics are just fine, but they get blurred and confusing while playing the game. Last, but not least, the game's physics is far from being realistic.

French Street Racing features interesting elements, such as the possibility to customize your car and support for online multiplayer games. It’s a pity though that the whole gaming experience is ruined by the graphic quality and gameplay.

French Street Racing seems a very promising driving game that lets you race along the streets of important French cities. Too bad it still needs lots of development in graphics, gameplay and physics.

Download French Street Racing in Softonic

DirectX is a package of special libraries developed by Microsoft that attempt to improve and optimize audiovisual performance on your system.

These drivers enable you to make the most of modern graphic cards with 3D capabilities, which makes them generally advisable for multimedia tasks and an absolute must-have for gamers – in fact, DirectX is usually a compulsory requirement to install certain games.

Installing DirectX on your computer is as easy as launching the executable file, which in turn will download some necessary components from the web. Then just follow the wizard's instructions and you're done.

Note that, when installed, this new version will overwrite any other previous versions you may have of Directx.

DirectX is an indispensable package of drivers and libraries to achieve an optimal level of performance in games and multimedia on your system.

Download DirectX 9.23.1350 in Softonic

Working as a bus driver doesn't sound like an exciting job to me; at least not exciting enough to be part of a game, where you usually play as soldier, detective, mafia member and the likes. But someone must disagree with me as now you can also pretend to be a bus driver in Bus Simulator 2008.

This game puts you behind the steering wheel of a traditional urban bus and challenges you to complete "missions", that is, complete any of the city routes that bus must follow. But the game is not only a driving simulator, meaning you'll have to take care of the business by deciding the price of tickets or renting the vehicle's ad spaces to make them more profitable.

Driving a bus is not as easy as it seems at first sight: not only you have to find your way in an unknown city (note you can open the map with the M key) but you also have to stop at every single bus stop in your route, open and close the doors and follow your way to the next one. Also, don't forget to respect road signs: I didn't stop for any red light (too much GTA IV is seriously affecting my driving style, luckily only the virtual one) and got fired in about 5 minutes.

Graphics in Bus Simulator 2008 are just fine; quite realistic, but certainly not the best ones I've seen. Physics is not very elaborate, especially when it comes to crashing against objects or other cars (hey, don't laugh at me: I'm not that bad at driving, I just have to test everything!). Other than that, it's just an original game that seems as exciting as driving a bus in real life.

The main feature in Bus Simulator 2008 is undoubtedly its originality; apart from that, it's just a standard driving simulator with some business management tools that may entertain you for a short while.

Download Bus Simulator 2008 Demo in Softonic

Believe it or not, this is another program designed to address the problems that are being experienced by Windows Vista users with DirectSound3D games.

For some reason, in Windows Vista, Microsoft have decided to remove the Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) for DirectSound and DirectSound3D. This means that any of your games that require use of this card will be rendered almost useless or at least, not work properly. Fortunately, this small program from Creative Labs allows you to enjoy them still as the developers intended with full hardware accelerated 3D Audio and EAX support. The program works by translating the legacy DirectSound calls into OpenAL and simply isntalls a few files in each game directory. Unfortuantely, at this stage it still does not work with all games and you'll have to check the developer website to see whether the games you want to run are supported. Note that this is not some kind of driver software and therefore requires that you have an appropriate driver installed and functioning properly first.

An essential little program for all DirectSound3D card owners but note that it doesn't work with all programs yet.

Download Creative ALchemy 1.10.01 in Softonic

Feel like taking part in exciting races all over the world? Then Race Driver: GRID is definitely the game you're looking for.

This amazing game lets you join different racing events in several locations across three continents, always challenging you in various ways: drifting along the streets of a Japanese urban cirtuit, taking part in the DTM series or racing in the Daytona track with a powerful NASCAR vehicle, just to mention the three possibilities made available in the game's demo.

No matter which option you choose, you'll get a glimpse of the game's breath-taking graphics. Cars are designed with such an impressive level of detail that I'm starting to wonder if there's any room left for further improvements in this field. The physics are also faithful to reality, so you better learn fast how to control your car if you don't want to eat all the curves in the track.

Race Drive: GRID includes several camera modes, including one from the inside of the car that shows up loads of details and even changes all the sounds of the game. Another amazing option is the possibility to go back to race after smashing your car by replaying your last few movements before the crash and trying to correct your path.

The Race Drive: GRID demo features the three aforementioned races plus a multiplayer option, which I had some problems to test but finally managed to make it work. My advice though is that you get a bit of training before you try your luck on multiplayer races: it's all full of master players out there.

Though a bit difficult to control at first, Race Drive: GRID is a highly realistic racing game with an interesting multiplayer option that's going to please all motor fans for sure.

Download Race Driver: GRID Demo in Softonic

This program performs computer configuration analysis and diagnostics. It gives detailed information about your computer hardware and devices operational modes, including undocumented information. A unique Drivers Troubleshooter function and quick HDD Health Status checker are included. It provides information on CPU, motherboard, hard disks, S.M.A.R.T., CD/DVD devices, SCSI devices, memory modules, chipset, BIOS, PCI/AGP, USB and ISA/PnP devices, monitor, video card, sound card, network card, printer, installed programs and hotfixes, etc. This program also creates a report file in plain text, INI, HTML and XML format, and is able to run in batch mode.

Download ASTRA32 1.56 in Softonic

Registry problems are the number one cause of Windows problems and breakdowns so it's worth keeping it clean, optimised and ready for restoration if the worst happens.

Abexo Registry Cleaner Free analyzes the registry seeking driver DLL's, invalid file associations erroneous help files, fonts and sounds that could be damaging your system. Like all decent registry cleaners and restorers, it makes an instant backup of a clean configuration to make sure than whatever changes you make with it, can easily be reversed or undone if they actually make the situation worse. What's good about this program is that apart from the standard cleaning, optimizing and restoring functions, it also features a registry defragmenter and compacter.

Defragging your registry is just as important as defragging your drive because over prolonged use, it becomes scattered and slow. The registry defragger/compacter removes empty spaces after a registry cleanup and thereby reduces Windows registry size. The developers claim that this program will find problems with your registry that other analysers don't and while that wasn't the case for me, it still does the job quickly and in providing the defragger/compacter, effectively gives you two bits of software in one.

Abexo Free Registry Cleaner does not do anything that most other registry cleaners can't but it does a thorough job and it does it quickly.

Download Abexo Free Registry Cleaner 1.1 in Softonic

For many people, the only reason worth upgrading to Vista if for the look since the functionality and basic framework really don't differ that much from XP.

If you think the same way, then you'll be more than happy with Vista Transformation Pack. Once installed, the program makes superficial changes to XP that give it the Vista look. The main changes are that it "Vistarises" your start-up screen, cursors, sounds, screen-savers, tool bars, clock, etc. The transparent effect in Vista is hard to emulate on XP machines but by combining with Windows Blinds, Vista Transofrmation Pack does a surprisingly impressive job. Be warned however that some users have complained the program changes driver DLLs in XP which make it difficult to remove, or at least, it leaves problems behind when you do so.

To be fair to them, the developers advise you to view their user discussion board before installing to be warned of any potential problems as they readily admit that they are not aware of all the bugs it may cause. Note that if you're simply updating Vista Transformation Pack, there's no need to uninstall the original - just install the patch. They've also added a user selection feature whereby if you log onto your PC as a different user, you can select whether you want to transform your XP desktop to Vista.

This is probably one of the best transformation packs out there although be warned that it's likely that you'll suffer conflicts with programs from time to time, and may have problems with XP when it's uninstalled.

Download Vista Transformation Pack 8.01 in Softonic

If you'ver got lots of memories or footage on VHS or Betamax and are still using Windows 98, usually there aren't many options to transfer footage. However, Bao TV allows you to do this even though it takes quite a bit of configuring and setting up before your captures are performed properly.

Firstly, you'll need an AverMedia Phone98 card and a video codec such as DivX or Microsoft's V8 codec. You may find that on installation, it warns you that certain drivers or files are missing namely Istrmdll.zip, drmclien.dll, mfc42.dll or Wmaudsdk.dll. You can find links to them on the developer website however. Once started, you don't need to open the AverMedia Phone98 program anymore as BaoTV initialises the hardware on its own. In Options/AVI Capture Options toy can choose the Frame Rate which should be set top a low number if you have a slow processor.

Once you've selected "Set Capture File" and select a directory for the capture files, you're ready to go. The sound takes a lot of configuration however and you'll have to experiment until you find the right bitrate to achieve decent quality captures.

For Windows 98 users, this is a rare and satisfactory capture program that allows you to rescue VHS and Beta tapes in digital format.

Download BAO TV 1.9 Beta in Softonic

Disguise your voice on-line with Screaming Bee’s advanced sound morphing technology. Become your true alias. The voice of a truck driver becomes a spryly wood nymph or a teenager can now sound like a Sith Lord. With MorphVOX, speak like a mighty paladin or growl like a demon from hell.

Features:

• High-quality voice changing technology
• Learns from your voice
• Integrates easily with online games and chat programs
• Low bandwidth and CPU usage
• 10-band equalizer
• A variety of voice packs available
• Beautiful themed skins
• High-impact sound effects

Download MorphVOX - Voice Changer Pro 3.4.11 in Softonic

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars could be best described as a first person shooter with some strategic and roleplaying elements that spice up the whole mixture and produce an exciting, action-packed war adventure.

The game is set during the first years of the strogg invasion on Earth. Your mission consists on fighting them back with a team of highly qualified soldiers. You can choose among different classes, each one of them having different abilities and weapons. The perfect team will have different members that can cover diverse needs, such as an engineer for building bridges to reach an enemy objective or a medic to take care of wounded soldiers. The better coordination the team has, the more successful they'll be. No place for solo bravados here.

At the beginning you feel somewhat confused: too much information to absorb in too short a time before the fight begins. But a series of usefuls tips on top of the screen help you get started, and once you join your team you'll feel like one more member, willing to accomplish your objectives and beat those stroggs up.

The sense of realism achieved in the game is simply jaw-dropping. Landscapes, sound, movement, everything is dedicated to bring the most realistic experience possible. I especially enjoyed the possibility to ride any vehicle you find, although that made me realize I may need some lessons before piloting a helicopter.

In any case, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is a must-have for FPS lovers who look for something else than just endless shoot-out.

Download Enemy Territory: Quake Wars in Softonic

There's something special about trucks that makes us feel somewhat jealous every time we find any on the road. If you ever felt the secret desire of becoming a truck driver, now it's your chance: play Mad Truckers and make your dream come true!

This simple game will let you take the wheel of a large truck and go along the road completing every mission you're requested to. There's a total of 15 missions in which you'll have to deliver all kinds of goods to their correspondent destination.

The gameplay is so easy that it tends to get boring. Sound effects don't help either, although the music soundtrack is not that bad. In any case, Mac Truckers is fun for a while, allowing you to drive a huge truck and get over any obstacle on the road.

Download Mad Truckers in Softonic

Take the most powerful motorcycle engine ever built and place it and the driver inside a 6 meter diameter high tech wheel constructed of a carbon-fiber rubber compound and you get....a Wheel Racer!

This unique vehicle can literally climb mountains and has a shock absorber travel distance of nearly 2 meters making it almost crash proof on rough terrain.

The driving experience is awesome and the vehicle can reach 70mph and boasts an automatic gearbox. The engine sound is simply amazing and will warm the heart of any "petrol-head".

Download Wheel Racer 3D 1.1 in Softonic

The ALC650 is an 18-bit, full duplex AC'97 2.2 compatible stereo audio CODEC designed for PC multimedia systems, including host/soft audio and AMR/CNR based designs. The ALC650 incorporates proprietary converter technology to achieve a high SNR, greater than 90 dB. The ALC650 AC'97 CODEC supports multiple CODEC extensions with independent variable sampling rates and built-in 3D effects.

The ALC650 CODEC provides two pairs of stereo outputs with independent volume controls, a mono output, and multiple stereo and mono inputs, along with flexible mixing, gain and mute functions to provide a complete integrated audio solution for PCs. The digital interface circuitry of the ALC650 CODEC operates from a 5V/3.3V power supply with EAPD (External Amplifier Power Down) control for use in notebook and PC applications.

The ALC650 integrates a 50mW/20ohm headset audio amplifier into the CODEC, which can save BOM costs. The ALC650 also supports an AC'97 2.2 compliant SPDIF out function which allows easy connection from the PC to consumer electronic products, such as AC3 decoder/speaker and mini disk.

The ALC650 CODEC supports host/soft audio from Intel 810/815/820/845 chipsets as well as audio controller based VIA/SIS/ALI chipsets. Bundled Windows series drivers (Win95/98/ME/2000/XP/NT) and sound effect utilities (supporting Karaoke, emulation of 26 sound environments, and 5-band equalizer) provide a more comprehensive entertainment package for PC users. Finally, internal PLL circuits generate required timing signals, eliminating the need for external clocking devices.

Features:

• High-performance CODEC with high S/N ratio (>90 dB)
• 18-bit ADC and 20-bit DAC resolution
• Compliant with AC'97 2.2 specifications
• 18-bit stereo full-duplex CODEC with independent and variable sampling rate
• 4 analog line-level stereo inputs with 5-bit volume control: LINE_IN, CD, VIDEO, AUX
• 2 analog line-level mono inputs: PC_BEEP, PHONE_IN
• Mono output with 5-bit volume control
• Stereo output with 5-bit volume control
• 6 channel slot selectable DAC output for multi-channel applications
• 2 MIC inputs, which are software selectable
• Power management capabilities
• 3D Stereo enhancement
• Embedded 50mW/20ohm OP at front LINE output
• External amplifier power down capability
• Digital S/PDIF output
• Digital S/PDIF input (ALC650 Rev. E or later)
• No external crystal/clock required
• Supports 1 general purpose I/O pin
• Power supply: digital: 3.3V; analog: 5V/3.3V
• Standard 48-pin LQFP package

Download AC'97 Audio Codec A3.83 in Softonic

MegaPing is the ultimate must-have toolkit that provides all essential utilities for Information System specialists, system administrators, IT solution providers or individuals.

MegaPing includes:

Scanners

Comprehensive Security Scanner, Port scanner (TCP and UDP ports), IP scanner, NetBIOS scanner, Share Scanner. All Scanners can scan individual computers, any range of IP addresses, domains, and selected type of computers inside domains.

Security scanner provides the following information

NetBIOS names, Configuration info, open TCP and UDP ports, Transports, Shares, Users, Groups, Services, Drivers, Local Drives, Sessions, Remote Time of Date, Printers.

Monitors

Host and Port Monitor.

System Information

System Info Viewer, Advanced Process Viewer, Network Resources Viewer.

Network utilities

DNS list host, DNS lookup name, Network Time Synchronizer, Ping, Traceroute, Whois, and Finger. Ease of use, friendly user interface, and robust multithreaded design, makes MegaPing perfect for any PC user from novice to expert.

Is can generate reports in HTML or TXT format, and copy data to the Clipboard. In addition, Process and Port monitor allows to log errors and informational messages to HTTP log file with different format options. Monitor notification options include email with SMTP server auto discovery, sound notification.

Other features include multithreaded design that allows to process any number of requests in any tool at the same time, real-time network connections status and protocols statistics, real-time process information and usage, real-time network information, including network connections, and open network files, system tray support, and more.

MegaPing security scanner checks your network for potential vulnerabilities that might use to attack your network, and saves information in security reports.

MegaPing can scan your entire network and provide information such as open shared resources, open ports, services/drivers active on the computer, key registry entries, users and groups, trusted domains, printers, and more. Scan results can be saved in HTML or TXT reports, which can be used to secure your network - for example, by shutting down unnecessary ports, closing shares, etc.

Download MegaPing 4.7 in Softonic

Ever wished you could listen again to online radio to play back time and again? Replay Radio is a great way to record Radio shows and capture podcasts. It has a wide range of features to help you get the job done:

• Records Windows Media, Real and any other format
• Record XM Radio online or via a hardware cable
• Integrated Replay Media Guide contains 1179 Radio Shows and 2054 Radio Stations
• Record to MP3, WMA, WAV, OGG and AAC
• Make audio and MP3 CDs
• Automatically import recorded shows into iTunes
• Makes Bookmarkable files for iPod listeners
• Options to split recordings by silence, time or minutes after the hour
• Listen in less time with Compress Speech feature
• Eliminate long periods of silence from recordings
• Quick Record makes it easy to record instantly
• Includes Replay Player for listening on the PC and skipping over unwanted audio
• Support for WiFi Boomboxes and media extenders via uPnP
• Optional Enhanced Sound Card Driver makes highest quality recordings
• Custom conversion system to add your own conversions
• Record from radios attached to your PC
• Record from the Microphone

Download Replay Radio 7.31 in Softonic

This driver supports all VIA southbridges with integrated sound plus several audio codecs as listed above. It also supports DOS sound for VIA VT82C686A/VT82C686B/VT8231 southbridges only. The VIAAUDIO.COM file mentioned in the Readme concerning DOS sound can be obtained from this old audio driver package. It is no longer supplied in the Vinyl_AudioCodec driver package.

Download Vinyl Audio Codec 6.50 a in Softonic