janvier 2013

mardi 29 janvier 2013

Download Batman The Dark Knight Rises Theme for Windows 7 Free

Batman The Dark Knight Rises Theme is a desktop theme for Windows 7 PCs.

Serious Batman fans have been waiting for The Dark Knight Rises for quite some time. Now the date is nearing for the movie to be released in theaters in the US and worldwide. Up the excitement and get ready for this epic cinematic conclusion with Batman The Dark Knight Rises Theme.

Batman The Dark Knight Rises Theme includes six high quality images from the upcoming movie to whet your appetite for all things Batman. As an added plus, the images will rotate every 30 minutes to keep your desktop fresh.

Unfortunately, this is otherwise a pretty simple theme. It doesn't include sound effects or customized desktop icons, which might disappoint some users.

Batman The Dark Knight Rises Theme is a basic theme, but there's no denying the high quality of the wallpaper images that hardcore Batman fans will appreciate.

Review last updated: 11/07/12

Pros

Includes 6 great quality images
Option to rotate images every 30 minutes

Cons

Doesn't include customized icons

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Download FlipToast 1.0.5 Free

FlipToast is an elegant AIR-based desktop client for Facebook with which you can easily keep track of all notifications, wall posts, private messages, shared links and more.

The client?s interface is actually a toolbar that sits on one side of your screen and which you can hide at any time. From there you can access your friends? activity on Facebook, check private messages, update your status and even use the Facebook chat. One feature that we especially liked was the ability to upload photos to Facebook just by dragging and dropping them on the FlipToast interface.

FlipToast also lets you write on your friends? walls without having to visit their individual Facebook profiles and displays desktop notices for each new item added to your newsfeed. This last feature however seems to need a bit of development, as we kept on receiving notices for the same events over and over again.

Despite this minor flaw, FlipToast is still one of the most eye-catching, easy-to-use desktop Facebook clients we?ve tried.

Keep track of your Facebook friends and events from the comfort of your Windows desktop with FlipToast.

Pros

Perfect integration of Facebook with your desktop
Nicely designed, unobtrusive toolbar
Share pictures with a simple drag-and-drop

Cons

Notifications repeat without apparent reason

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Download Ace of Spades 0.75 Beta Free

Ace of Spades combines Minecraft-style gameplay with team death-match online multiplayer competition. Join or create a server, choose the green or red team and get fighting!

Work in progress

Still under development, Ace of Spades really does look a lot like Minecraft, with its pixellated blocky style. But the team combat gives it a very different feel. Building and digging in Ace of Spades is more about making walls and trenches for the battle. The newbie guide even warns you not to be too creative, as your 'buildings will be destroyed'!

Gameplay

There are three guns: a rifle, machine gun and shot gun. You area also equipped with grenades and a spade for digging. You can talk to your team mates in secret to coordinate tactics. Despite the simplistic shooting and graphics, the gameplay is really satisfying. Digging and building adds an interesting dynamic to the game, and some of the servers have really well-designed levels to battle over.

Getting started

Ace of Spades does have its problems. Changing your player name is awkward, and battles can seemingly go on without end. However, these issues will no doubt be ironed out as the game develops. Where Ace of Spades isn't very user friendly, there is at least an extensive Wiki where you can find answers, as well as the newbie guide.

Ace of Spades is a fun release in what is becoming 'the Minecraft genre'. It's free to play, so get involved!

Review last updated: 28/06/12

Pros

Big worlds to fight in
Freedom to create your own battlefields
Up to 32 players
Balanced gameplay between tactics and action
Updated regularly

Cons

Camera is sometimes annoying
No proper game interface

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Download Sylpheed 3.2 Free

Sylpheed is an email client and news reader based on GTK+ GUI toolkit. It's full of features designed to help you get more from your messages and improve the speed at which you receive and process news feeds.

Although it's designed for Unix systems, it also works on Windows although the GUI is not exactly what you might expect from an e-mail client. It's very no thrills with few graphical attractions but as you would expect from a program designed for Unix platforms, it's very secure and functional. The program is also remarkably well-organized, lightweight and supports just about every e-mail protocol you'll ever need. It's also designed for those that need maximum security because it supports not only the standard SSL protocol but also GnuPG and TLSv1.

In addition, it comes with more standard functions you would expect such as a powerful filtering and search tool, junk mail control and external commander that allows you to do away with the mouse for a while. It doesn't seem to allow you to retrieve mail from other POP3 accounts though although there is an extensive forum that no doubt, allows you to do this.

A very secure and highly professional e-mail client that doesn't make it easy for beginners but will certainly please those that need high security and work across platforms.

Recent changes

New features
Each attachments on the message view now have graphical label and popup menu
The UI for Attachments tab was changed to save the space. Users now also can do 'Save all' without switching the view
The 'show_attach_tab' option (without UI), which reverts the attachments interface to the old one, was added
Multiple keywords search of the quick search was implemented
The context menu of the folder view and the summary view can be popped up using Menu key or Shift+F10
Win32: IPv6 support was enabled again
Win32: SylFilter is now also included in the installer. The default junk commands were also changed to sylfilter
Win32: an option to play sound when new messages arrive was added
Win32: The file selector now follows Windows shortcut (.lnk)

Review last updated: 02/07/12

Pros

Works across platforms
Very secure

Cons

Hard to work out for Windows users

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Download Hue and Cry 1.64 Free

Hue and Cry is a plugin for Photoshop that lets you create funky colored stand-alone effects or regions of color in your digital photos.

Photoshop is an incredibly powerful and popular graphic design tool. Plugins like Hue and Cry only serve to enhance your design experience.

From Flaming Pear Software, developers of other plugins like Flexify and LunarCell, Hue and Cry gives you a lot of different options to explore your creativity.

With Hue and Cry you can create unique and sometimes quirky regions of color. These look great on their own since they can be pretty abstract, although those with some graphic design chops might be able to figure out how to incorporate these regions into digital photos as well.

From imagery that's vivid to pallid, structured to diffuse, the possibilities for unique designs are virtually endless with Hue and Cry.

Hue and Cry is a fun way to create abstract regions of color in Photoshop.

Pros

Easy to use
Virtually endless design options
Includes a variety of color options

Cons

Tricky to install

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Download Polyglot 3000 3.67 Free

Have you ever been faced by a situation where you've received some text in a strange language but you can't identify what it is? Polyglot 3000 can help you with that.

Polyglot 3000 (despite sounding like some kind of wall filler!) is a language recognition package which recognizes more than 400 languages. Simply paste in the text that you need identifying and Polyglot 3000 will immediately throw up suggestions as to what it could be. Polyglot 3000 is lightning fast at detecting the language of the text and it also gives you an estimate of how accurate the results are (which is usually 100% although if the language shares similar words with another language, it may be slightly lower). As far as customization goes, Polyglot 3000's very limited though with the only real option being that of setting it to check for only popular languages. However, with so many languages in use over the internet, this program is an excellent starting point for anyone trying to identify the origin of a blog language or website that they don't understand.

If you're just looking for a one stop, simple way to identify the language of some mysterious text, Polyglot 3000 will do it in a flash but note that it doesn't perform any kind of translation.

Pros

Can identify languages instantly
Over 40 languages in database

Cons

Doesn't offer many customization options

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lundi 28 janvier 2013

Download TagScanner Portable 5.1.620 Free

Big digital music collections often mean lots of badly named files. If you want to change the tags for an audio file- a music files meta data - doing it one by one can be a bind. TagScanner Portable is a free application that is designed to get your files quickly and correctly tagged with minimal effort.

If you only use MP3 files and iTunes, the tag editor in that program is absolutely fine. However, if you use lossless formats, or any not supported by iTunes, TagScanner Portable will be really useful.

There are a few ways to edit your tags. You can choose the type of tag for a start, and retrieve data from four online sources. There are Amazon, Discogs, Tracktype.org and FreeDB, meaning TagScanner Portable will find info for pretty much any musical release you want. You can use these to auto tag your files, or you can group edit files, adding album titles, year of release, album covers and even lyrics.

TagScanner Portable can also export your files lists in many formats, from suitable for Excel to m3u playlist files you can use in audio players. It really is a very comprehensive application, and it suffers a bit from complication. TagScanner Portable has an intimidatingly complex interface!

TagScanner Portable will satisfy all your tag-related needs as it's packed full of useful feature, but it's not the most intuitive application you'll find

Recent changes

- New: Ability to shuffle list of files
- Updated sorting logic for some columns of filelist
- Fixed behaviour of some file dialogs on WinXP
- Fixed problems with false error indication while saving ID3v1 tags
- Updated playback engine

TagScanner Portable supports the following formats

Audio: MP3, Ogg Vorbis, Musepack, Monkey's Audio, FLAC, AAC, OptimFROG, SPEEX, WavePack, TrueAudio, WMA, MP4
Tags: ID3 1.0/1.1/2.2/2.3/2.4, APE v1/v2, Vorbis Comments, WMA Tags, MP4 Tags (iTunes)

Pros

Tons of options
Uses online databases
Very flexible

Cons

Complex interface

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Download Gravit 0.5.0 Free

Gravit is a simple, light weight application that allows you to simulate gravity.

If you're a fan of sandbox games or simulators, Gravit will satisfy your creativity and curiosity. Gravit is basically a sandbox for testing out how gravity works. You can adjust different aspects like mass and acceleration.

While it's cool to see your creations play out in a simulation, the app is extremely difficult to tweak. There's nothing within the program that you can actual use to adjust parameters. To adjust anything within the app, you have to open up a configuration file in a text editor. From there you can change the variables.

Gravit comes with a screensaver too, which makes for some interesting visualizations while you're away from your computer.

Overall, Gravit is fun and interesting only if you're willing to deal with an unintuitive interface for adjusting parameters.

Review last updated: 13/07/12

Pros

Highly customizable
Runs smoothly on old hardware

Cons

Extremely complicated to tweak

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Download IDPhotoStudio 2.9.0.31 Free

IDPhotoStudio is a program that will create and print passport sized photos for you in a snap.

Featuring only the bare necessities, IDPhotoStudio, will handle the job in seconds, allowing you to drag and drop your picture onto the interface. You can then select between three ID Photo sizes: US, Canada or France. Because you often need a certain number of photos printed out, IDPhotoStudio has a little drag meter to let you select how many photos you?ll need, from 1 to 15. Click on the print button to get the paper copies of your photo.

IDPhotoStudio is an original idea, and it?s good to see someone come up with a program to quickly print out ID photos. However, the application left us disappointed for a number of reasons. First of all, it doesn?t respect the aspect ratio of photos, so if you drag a large image there?s a risk it?ll appear distorted. Also, when it comes to editing functions, IDPhotoStudio only includes the option to apply sepia or monochrome color filters. We would have preferred if it included tools like a red-eye remover, cropping or contrasting, which are much more useful for improving the quality of pictures. IDPhotoStudio doesn't even include an undo feature, meaning that if you accidentally set your image to greyscale when you'd prefer it in color, you'll need to start over.

If you have a good mug shot of yourself and want to quickly print out a set of passport sized photos, IDPhotoStudio will probably suit you. However, the lack of advanced editing features means you?ll never really be guaranteed with a high quality image of yourself.

Recent changes

Bug fixes

Pros

Auto-set photo size
US, Canada and France ID photo sizes
Print from 1 to 15 photos

Cons

Almost no photo editing capabilities
Doesn?t respect aspect ratio

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Download DVDFab HD Decrypter 8.1.9.0 Free

DVDFab is an all-in-one DVD ripping/decrypting/burning software. In just one or two steps, you can copy DVDs to DVDR/PSP and even iPod. For such a powerful package, it only requires 1.3MB of your harddrive, so it's not bulky like similar packages.

DVD protection is advancing at an ever increasing rate but unfortunately for the manufacturers, so are the ripping programs. If you?ve ever had problems copying one of your favorite DVDs then DVDFab could be what you?ve been looking for. It has proved popular a hit with thousands of Softonic users so far and there seems little prospect of its popularity waning.

The DVDFab conversion process couldn?t be easier. There are 5 DVD to DVD copy modes available - Full Disc, Main Movie, Split, Customize and Clone. In Full Disc mode, all movies, menus and trailers are copied to a DVD in one click. In Main Movie mode, only the movie is copied with your specified audio. In Split mode, you can copy a DVD-9 onto two DVD-5 discs but also preserve the original menus on both discs. According to the DVDFab developers, this rare feature is ideal for TV series on DVD.

DVDFab's handy Customize mode allows you to personalize your DVDs by recording such things as only your favorite scenes, removing adverts or selecting only certain audio tracks. Finally, Clone allows you to make exact 1:1 bit-to-bit copies or even copy games disks such as PS2 DVD?s. There is also a DVD to Mobile option so you can watch your favorite films on your iPod or other handheld device. Formats available on DVDFab include MPEG-4, DivX, XVID and Mp4.

DVDFab is a tough cookie ? even disks that refuse to be copied with other programs can usually be cracked. The customize option allows you to get rid of files that stand in your way and just rip the actual movie. It can also help in recovering scratched or dirty disks that don?t play properly in your DVD player anymore. Ripping speed is remarkably fast with DVDFab - depending on the size of disk, you can record a new one in less than 10 minutes, although the average time is around 30 minutes.

One of the minor drawbacks to DVDFab is that the heavy processing power needed to rip a disk often results in crashes. This will be less of a problem on more powerful machines but on machines with old processors, using DVDFab may become impractical. Many user forums are however full of praise for DVDFab claiming that it can rip more disks and, what's more, faster than comparable products such as DVD Shrink or ShrinkTo5.

Everybody will appreciate the simplicity and power of DVDFab, a rip-roaring DVD ripper..

Recent changes

Updated A/V codecs.
New: Updated language files.
New: Many minor changes and improvements.

Pros

Simple interface
Can copy most formats
Burns new DVDs quickly

Cons

Can freeze up your PC occasionally
Some users report a reoccurring ?Error while loading VOB file...?

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samedi 26 janvier 2013

Download Rising PC Doctor 6.0.5.45 Free

Rising PC Doctor includes a handful of tools, all especially designed to scan, analyze, optimize and fix your computer.

Rising PC Doctor features a nicely designed interface with different areas to organize all the included utilities, depending on their aim and usage. However these menus are not that useful, as they change from one category to another simply by hovering your mouse over it. This means you'll be constantly switching categories, unless you're really careful when moving your mouse.

The utilities featured in Rising PC Doctor are quite varied: you'll find trojan and spyware scanners, system repairing tools, start up managers, file shredders and a lot more. The only problem is that you don't really know if they're local or online tools, and whether they really make a difference ? especially in the case of spyware and Trojans. I also missed having some sort of preferences menu to tweak Rising PC Doctor's functionality.

Rising PC Doctor includes an interesting bunch of analysis and optimization tools, but the program is not easy to manage and lacks configuration settings.

Pros

Many varied tools
Nice interface design

Cons

Menus are not usable
No configuration options

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Download Koyote Free Video Converter 3.1.0.0 Free

It's great to have a portable multimedia device such as a PSP, an iPod or a Zune to watch movies on the go. The problem comes when you need to convert those videos from the PC to a suitable format so that you can watch those videos while commuting or traveling.

Koyote Free Video Converter can help you handle this issue in a very simple way. Far from complicated, bloated converting tools, this easy app lets you convert videos in a snap. You can choose between a wide range of formats, including those which are used in all popular portable devices. Available formats are presented as profiles with set preferences, but you can easily tweak them to suit your preferences.

Koyote Free Video Converter includes a small video window, but sadly it's only intended to watch video frames as the conversion process is working. It would have been nice to be able to use it also as video player to preview the contents of the movie before converting it.

With Koyote Free Video Converter you can easily convert videos to a variety of formats, including those suitable for portable devices.

Koyote Free Video Converter supports the following formats

Import: AVI, DIVX, MOV, MP4, FLV, 3GP, WMV, ASF, MKV, VOB, MPEG, MPG, M1V
Export: 3G2, 3GP, ASF, MP3, AVI, DVD, FLV, MP4 (iPod, iPhone, PSP, Zune), MPEG1, MPEG2, WMV

Notes

The installation process includes the Dealio Toolbar, which you can choose NOT to install.

Review last updated: 20/07/12

Pros

Supports many different formats
Format profiles can be tweaked
Very easy to use

Cons

No video preview (only while converting)

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Download PerfectAntivirus 2012 Free

PerfectAntivirus is an antivirus program that scans your computer for viruses and spyware.

These days, it certainly doesn't hurt to have a backup antivirus program, or even to explore lesser known alternatives. Despite its boastful name, PerfectAntivirus may not be as well known in the sphere of popular antivirus programs used to ensure your PC's security. It's well worth a look as a second precautionary measure, or even to try out if you're dissatisfied with your current antivirus.

PerfectAntivirus has a nicely designed interface that makes it easy to navigate between screens. Some of the features aren't all that intuitive on first look though. Fortunately, PerfectAntivirus has helpful advice pop-ups you can enable by clicking on a grey and white question mark on the bottom right of the interface. This will allow more question marks to appear next to each different feature. Just run your mouse over each one to get a small, helpful pop-up description of the task it performs.

In addition, PerfectAntivirus also scans for viruses and spyware while it initially installs, which is pretty nice for those who don't like to sit through a lengthy installation process, and then another long virus scan. PerfectAntivirus might force you to uninstall programs like Microsoft Security Essentials though, before letting you complete its own installation.

PerfectAntivirus also doesn't offer a whole lot by way of advanced features. With a colored status circle front and center at the top of its interface, it's certainly an easy to use program for people who might be new to navigating an antivirus tool of its kind.

For a second opinion on the security status of your machine, or as an alternative to more popular programs, PerfectAntivirus is work a try.

Review last updated: 24/07/12

Pros

Scans your system during install
Nice, easy to use interface
Choose the aggressiveness level of antivirus scans
Optional help popups available

Cons

Few advanced features
Requires you to uninstall some other antivirus programs

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Download Focus Booster 1.2 Free

Focus Booster is a simple app that helps encourage time management for all of your tasks.

Based on the Pomodoro Technique, which breaks up tasks into periods of work of 25 minute intervals (also known as "pomodoros"), Focus Booster is a super simple and lightweight app that runs on Adobe Air. It's essentially just a customizable timer. For the ultimate procrastinators though, this might be just the kick in the rear you need to get those annoyingly numerous tasks done.

Focus Booster's timer is quite simple and sleek looking, on a black timeline with a green progress bar that gradually progresses as time passes. It's essentially just a stopwatch, although the developer says it's a more visual way of being able to keep track of time you're spending on specific tasks.

Click on the small 'i' on the right side of the interface, and you can customize Focus Booster's session and break time length. You can also disable the ticking sound if that's driving you a little bonkers. For many users though, the ticking will help remind them that they're on the clock.

Focus Booster is a gentle nudge wrapped into a lightweight little app that'll help you keep on track with your tasks.

Notes

Focus Booster requires Adobe Air to run.

Pros

Lightweight
Allows you to configure break points
Ticking sound can be disabled

Cons

Could end up distracting more than focusing

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Download GoodSync 9.2.6.2 Free

Back-up software has gone through something of a boom of late. With the huge increases in storage, more and more of us are on the look-out for reliable, stable file protection. GoodSync is such a program - it offers fast, automated back up, synchronisation and restore between multiple devices - all in a relatively simple and easy-to-use environment.

Upon first launching GoodSync, you're immediately prompted to select source and destination folders (essentially, your original file folder and the new one you'd like to use as a backup location). The destination folder in GoodSync could be on the same computer, on an iPod, a network drive or any other external storage device. We tested GoodSync with a network drive and found it exceptionally fast.

Additionally, GoodSync's automation feature does exactly what you'd hope for: automatic synchronisation and backup with a raft of configuration options. If, like me, you're backing up important work documents to a network drive, you can easily pick how often this job should be done, to do it just on shutdown, or to allow the task scheduler to handle the job.

You can choose either to back up an entire folder (or folder system) or just specific files with GoodSync. This, along with GoodSync's effective duplicate controls, means that for a simple tool, this program offers you a highly customisable back up and sync solution, enough to offer any user true peace of mind.

A reliable and effective back up solution. Highly recommended.

Recent changes

Fix offline activation, it was not working.
Sync: fix delete file on Windows XP does not reset read-only attribute.
Sync: fix copy folder mod time of empty folders.
Sync: Do not try to make state file writable if it does not exist.
Gsync: fix Gsync with temp job was returning -1 on success, not 0.
GS Server: fix reconnect on timeout sequence, so that Server does not lose original root.
GS client-server: fix file owner is sometimes not set by Server.
SkyDrive: stop using "^." folder prefix as it no longer workson the server.
Browse dialog: if user change sync folder, turn off all auto options, to avoid bad auto syncs.
Browse Dialog: major rewrite of internals, fixed number of bugs.
GoodSync Explorer: major rewrite of internals, fix a lot of bugs.

Review last updated: 18/06/12

Pros

Fast
Easy to use
Good level of customisability
Automation feature

Cons

No templates included

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vendredi 25 janvier 2013

Download AppCleaner 1.11 Free

AppCleaner is a simple system optimization tool that features a bunch of quick cleaning and maintenance under one single window.

Though AppCleaner doesn?t really include any revolutionary feature or any utility you can?t already find in Windows, it offers you an easier, more comfortable environment to access and use them.

The interface In AppCleaner is divided into three main tabs: Cleaner, Tools and Options. In Cleaner you?ll find four more tabs (Apps, Browsers, Registry and Windows) where you can select the elements you want AppCleaner to get rid of: browser cache and internet history, temporary files, lists of recent documents, invalid Registry keys and more. The Tools tab, on the other hand, includes utilities to uninstall software from your system and remove selected applications from system startup.

Before you apply any changes, AppCleaner lets you create a backup in case the changes to the Registry cause any problems and you need to roll them back. If only the program let you add new apps to clean their traces, it would be perfect!

AppCleaner doesn?t include any revolutionary features, but it?s still a handy, easy-to-use utility with a bunch of cleaning and maintenance utilities for your system.

Pros

Nice interface design
Easy to use and intuitive
Creates a backup copy of Registry

Cons

You can't add new apps to the cleaning list

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Download Boomerang for Gmail (for Firefox) 1.0 Free

Boomerang for Gmail is an extension for Firefox.

If you're super busy in your everyday life, trying to remember to send or respond to emails on time might cause an added element of stress to your life. It's entirely unnecessary though, considering helpful extensions like Boomerang for Gmail exist.

Boomerang for Gmail lets you schedule Gmail messages to be sent or responded to at a later point in time. You can also track messages to know whether or not you've heard back from a specific recipient.

Just write a message and schedule it to be sent whenever in the future you'd like, even if you're not online. Boomerang for Gmail is easy to use and integrates quite nicely into Gmail. The only real downside is that the free version only allows you to schedule 10 messages a month. For Gmail users who just need to shoot off a few emails a few times a month, possibly in anticipation of a vacation or some other event that'll keep them away from their computer, Boomerang for Gmail is an easy to use solution.

Boomerang for Gmail is a nicely designed Firefox add-on that makes time management a snap for Gmail users.

Review last updated: 31/07/12

Pros

Schedule emails to be sent in advance
Set up reminders
Track email responses with ease

Cons

Free version limits to 10 scheduled emails per month

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Download 4k Stogram 1.2 Free

4k Stogram is an Instagram client for Windows that allows users to save publicly shared Instagram photos.

Unlike Instagrille, another desktop Instagram client, 4k Stogram only downloads photos to your computer. There is no way to interact with the photos. You can't like, comment, or share a photo from within the app.

The main interface of 4k Stogram is extremely stripped down and minimalistic. There is a search bar at the top for searching user names. It will take a few seconds for 4k Stogram to find the user and begin cataloging every photo from that user. Photos are automatically saved to your 'Pictures' folder and sub folders are created for each user name you type into 4k Stogram.

Photos downloaded quickly and effortlessly. You can begin browsing downloaded photos by clicking them, which will open up in Windows Photo Viewer or your photo viewer of choice. Pictures are downloaded in native resolution, which isn't very high but is acceptable for sharing over the web.

Overall, 4k Stogram is a good application for downloading and archiving Instagram photos but its lack of features make it a one trick pony.

Review last updated: 01/08/12

Pros

Downloads photos quickly
Stores photos for specific users in folders
Preserves original resolution of photos

Cons

No social interaction available
No search or sorting
Only handy for backing up entire photo libraries

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Download SEO SpyGlass Software 5.5.3 Free

A decent search engine ranking should be the holy grail for all commercial websites. SEO Spyglass aims to make sure that your website receives the highest ranking possible.

SEO SpyGlass is a collection of tools to help you position your web page at the top of search engines. The program analyzes your competitors' sites to help you understand how they arrived at their positions. In this way, SEO SpyGlass makes it possible for you to copy their strategies. Among the many details provided by SEO Spyglass are the overall number of backlinks your competitor has, the Google PageRank (PR) value of every link and the Alexa rank of every link.

SEO SpyGlass analyzes the major search engines including international versions of Google, Yahoo and MSN Search. SEO SpyGlass then compares your site with that of the competition and offers a complete report which gives you an idea of how fast you're climbing position in the search results. SEO SpyGlass gives you a huge breakdown of the results, including the total number of backlinks your competitor has, the exact URL of each and every backlink, and each Google PageRank.

It's obviously hard to gauge whether SEO SpyGlass is genuinely effective or not without observing a website's rankings over a period of time after putting it through SEO Spyglass. However, the major downside of SEO Spyglass is that it isn't clear exactly who is behind the project or who to contact for support. As a result, many users have been wary of recommending SEO SpyGlass to others.

SEO Spyglass is a fully comprehensive SEO tool that may help you raise your search engine rankings

Recent changes

The Dutch interface has been updated and improved
The SEO reporting feature in SEO SpyGlass has been further stabilized
A few performance enhancements and bug fixes have been implemented in SEO SpyGlass
The number of supported search engines has been revised and is now 160

Review last updated: 03/08/12

Pros

Breaksdown data as to how your competitors are doing
Gives lot of tips on how to improve your ranking
Comprehensive stats

Cons

Not optimised for all search engines
Ranking improvements not always major

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Download Unbaby.me 1.1 Free

Unbaby.me is an extension for Google's Chrome browser that lets you replace your friend's baby pictures on Facebook.

If you're not a parent, your friends' copious picture posting sprees of their new bundles of joy will probably drive you next to insane every time you browse your Facebook news feed. Some people might not mind it. Luckily, for the rest of us there's Unbaby.me.

Unbaby.me is an extension for the Chrome browser that essentially replaces pictures of your friend's babies with arguably much cooler stuff. Cats are the default, but you can opt for dogs, artwork, or anything else you're far more into.

Unbaby.me only works on photos that are captioned, and if you have a specific baby's face you want to omit from your feed, you can even add it to an omission list.

It might be a simple extension with limited functionality, but Unbaby.me is a savior when it comes to combating your friend's baby pictures on Facebook.

Review last updated: 07/08/12

Pros

Replaces your friend's baby pictures with other awesome images
Add your own keywords to trigger picture removal

Cons

Only works on images with captions
Can be a bit hit or miss

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jeudi 24 janvier 2013

Download MediaCoder iPhone iPod Touch Edition 0.6.1.5267 Free

While Apple is slowly rolling out their highly coveted iPhone across Europe, many developers have started to create software apps to be used specifically with today's most fashionable mobile phone.

MediaCoder iPhone iPod Touch Edition is one of those tools, a video converter that enables you to adapt your favorite movies, shows and video clips to the video formats used both in the iPhone and the iPod Touch. This app is in fact a simplified version of the original MediaCoder that has been adapted to these two new video platforms.

The program features a highly detailed interface that displays all the necessary information for each conversion, including an iPhone-like preview window. In fact, it's so complete that it may feel a bit overwhelming for first-time users.

The confusion still goes on ? and even grows ? when opening the program's exhaustive configuration menu. But once the initial shock is gone, MediaCoder iPhone iPod Touch turns out to be an excellent conversion tool that works really fast and obtains excellent results.

MediaCoder iPhone iPod Touch is pretty much everything you need to convert and transfer videos to your iPhone or iPod Touch. Just take your time to learn how to use it.

MediaCoder iPhone iPod Touch Edition supports the following formats

Input: MP3, MP4, M4A, 3GP, OGG, AAC, MP2, WAV, RA, MPC, WMA, APE, TTA, APL, FLAC, WV, ALS, CDA, MPG, MPEG, M2V, MPV, MKV, AVI, DAT, RM, MVB, MOV, WMV, ASF, VOB, TP, TS, H.263, H.264, AVS, FLV, SUB, CUE, Y4M, VDR, GIF
Output: H.264, MP4, AAC

Review last updated: 08/08/12

Pros

Fast conversions
Preview window
Support for many video formats

Cons

Overwhelming interface
Complicated configuration menu

Download MediaCoder iPhone iPod Touch Edition 0.6.1.5267

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Download google-translate-desktop 0.7.1 Free

google-translate-desktop is a very simple, Java-based Google Translate client.

There?s no mystery about google-translate-desktop ? it?s a very, very simple desktop version of the famous Google web app. Add the text you want to translate to the top, pick the appropriate language combination (or leave google-translate-desktop to autodetect it) and press Translate.

As it based on the web app, you have all the same language combinations available ? at the moment that clocks in as 50+ languages, from Afrikaans to Yiddish. There?s also a handy button that allows you to reverse your language pair. Apart from pure translation, however, google-translate-desktop doesn?t let you do much more. You can copy your text to and from the clipboard, but that?s pretty much it.

For such a simple app, google-translate-desktop has fairly decent configuration options. If you hit Settings, you?ll be able to give the app a new skin and set options for remembering previously-used languages. There is also an option to use google-translate-desktop through a proxy. In all, google-translate-desktop isn?t up to much, but if for some reason a desktop app is preferable to the online version, it will do the job fine.

Google-translate-desktop is basic in the extreme, but is a faithful replication of the original Google Translate service.

Pros

Lots of language combinations
Ok options for such a simple app

Cons

Very, very basic

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Download Ashampoo Photo Commander 10.1.3 Free

Ashampoo Photo Commander is a comprehensive image tool that covers all your photo management and optimization needs.

Overview

A full-featured photo suite, Ashampoo Photo Commander doesn't just let you browse your photo collection, it also lets you view a full-screen slideshow, optimize images that need slight retouching, and use your favorite shots to create slideshows, albums, collages, cards, calendars and more. Ashampoo Photo Commander also includes a handful of filters and special effects to create original or artistic versions of your photos, such as sepia, pencil drawing, or oil painting.

Features

The interface in Ashampoo Photo Commander is divided into several tabs, each one of them serving a different purpose. You can browse images, apply a quick fix, edit, do something creative with selected photos and organize your collection in a more effective way with the Ashampoo Photo Commander batch processing tools.

Generally speaking, Ashampoo Photo Commander includes an impressive array of photo-oriented tools that let you make the most of your photo collection. In its ninth reincarnation, the program seems to have fixed its instability issues and runs a whole lot faster than version 8.

Ahampoo Photo Commander is a comprehensive photo suite that lets you manage, view, optimize and get creative with your pictures.

Recent changes

Extended interface
Improved overview of miniatures with grouping functions
During import, photos can be automatically placed into subfolders that are created based on the ?date taken? (EXIF data) information
Tagging and improved IPTC support
Virtual albums are imported and exported quickly and easily
M3U and MFAList files are automatically imported as albums
Improved quick-fix mode with automatic ?red eye? detection, improved eraser tool and lots more
Dual-view mode for the comparison of photos during editing
New miniature effect for the transformation of photo objects to look like miniatures
New sharpen and blur effect techniques that can be used in different areas of the program
New improved editing mode with objects
Improved playback of videos, especially for videos with the HD MPEG4 file format
Video files can be easily rotated during playback
Improved wizards for calendars, collages and batch processing
Touch screen support for Windows 7
Easy import and export of program settings in a single file

Review last updated: 14/06/12

Pros

Great collection of photo tools
Lets you view, edit and fix images
Includes a file renames and a duplicate file finder

Cons

Complicated to figure out at first

Download Ashampoo Photo Commander 10.1.3

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Download USB Disk Security 6.2 Free

USB Disk Security is a program that aims to detect any virus before it has a chance to infect your memory stick.

By their very nature, USB drives are prone to infection. You stick them in strange computers, share them with your friends and lend them to people for their files and downloads, so it's no wonder that when you use them, there's a risk that they could end up infecting your computer with something nasty.

Once you install USB Disk Security it automatically runs when a flash drive is inserted. It checks for infections, and provides some other features, such as a list of the programs that automatically run at start-up. USB Disk Security has other features, such as a USB scan tool and repair options, but these are not available in the trial version.

When minimized, USB Disk Security will sit in the task tray discreetly. From this menu, you can enable and disable auto-scanning, as well as updating the program. The limitations on the trial version of USB Disk Security are a bit of a disappointment, but the program is so unobtrusive and efficient at scanning recently-inserted USB drives that it might be worth downloading anyway.

The trial version limits are disappointing, but USB Disk Security is still a good choice for flash disk security.

Pros

Resident protection
Doesn't clash with other anti-viruses

Cons

Trial version has serious limitations

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Download Episode downloader 3.0.0 Free

Episode Downloader is a program that allows users to search for and download video from the web.

Paying for TV episodes can get expensive, but Episode Downloader can help by searching free videos online for you to stream or download. Type in a search term and Episode Downloader will return results from all over the web. Unfortunately, much of the returned results are fan-made videos of the show. Sometimes you will get lucky and find an actual TV episode, but the video quality is usually abysmal. Don't even think of finding HD content.

Episode Downloader has many other features, like a media converter. If you have a bunch of videos that don't work on your devices, Episode Downloader will give you the ability to convert those videos into a format that works. There are also basic trim and crop editing features within Episode Downloader.

One of the more interesting features of Episode Downloader is the fact that it can detect streaming video and actually record the stream live. This means that you can be playing a video on a TV streaming site like Hulu and Episode Downloader will start downloading the show as it streams. Unfortunately, this can only be accessed with the full, paid version.

Episode Downloader is an ambitious program but falls a bit short of what it claims to do. Searching for episodes is a pain and most results are clearly pirated and illegal content.

Review last updated: 21/08/12

Pros

Quick search
Ability to download multiple videos at once
Media converter
Ability to watch live TV

Cons

Low quality content
Unsophistocated search and sorting
No scheduling

Download Episode downloader 3.0.0

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mercredi 23 janvier 2013

Download Ghost Recon Online 1.27.3703.3 Free

Ghost Recon Online is a free-to-play multiplayer PC shooter set in the future.

If you're new to the Ghost Recon franchise, the premise is that there are an elite group of soldiers in the future called "Ghosts." They are armed with futuristic weapons like a microwave gun and more traditional assault rifles.

Gameplay

After you've created an account with Ubisoft for Ghost Recon Online, you will be given a download link for the game launcher. The game asset download is 6GB so grab a snack while it downloads. Once you launch Ghost Recon Online, you are given a quick tutorial about the controls and basic gameplay mechanics.

Most levels in Ghost Recon Online are point captures where you and your team will have to stay at an certain point on the map long enough to 'capture it.' Capping more points increases the amount of time you are given to capture additional points. Ghost Recon Online is best played with team combat because run-and-gun tactics won't work to your advantage.

You will rely heavily on cover so use the environment to your advantage. If you are spotted by the enemy, your silhouette will be visible to the entire team so move quickly to another spot for cover. The element of surprise plays a critical role in helping you get kills. You are able to cling to cover in different stances giving you better cover.

There are different classes of solders you can play, such as 'Recon' or 'Assault.' Choose the one that fits your style of gameplay the most. There are tons of weapons to unlock and achievements. Ghost Recon Online encourages players to play every day with weekly challenges and rewards.

After a set of rounds are over, you are given points for experience and in-game money used to purchase and upgrade your equipment. You can also use real money to purchase Ghost Recon Online's premium currency.

Graphics and performance

The graphics in Ghost Recon Online are good and the game as a whole runs surprisingly well on lower end hardware. You'll still want a good GPU to play Ghost Recon Online with the highest settings but even low settings are acceptable.

Environments in Ghost Recon Online are rich and detailed. Character models are fully realized and additional equipment is displayed on the character model. Since you can customize your character, it makes it easy to recognize different soldier classes.

Keep in mind that Ghost Recon Online requires a persistent Internet connection and increasing the graphics quality can cause lag also.

Areas for improvement

One of the biggest problems with Ghost Recon Online is with balance. Some maps favor one side by providing better cover or a choke point where enemies can camp and pick off opponents. Newbies will also be outclassed by more seasoned players. Higher level players have access to more powerful weapons than those just starting out. Ubisoft needs to optimize their netcode to alleviate the lag that the game currently has during lots of combat.

Conclusion

While Ghost Recon Online is far from perfect, its fun gameplay and satisfying leveling system make it a solid online multiplayer shooter.

Notes

Requires a Ubisoft Uplay account

Review last updated: 15/08/12

Pros

Quick, squad based combat
Good graphics and performance
Tons of weapons
Satisfying leveling system

Cons

Maps are unbalanced
Gameplay gets repetitive

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Download Belarc Advisor 8.2.7.16 g Free

Belarc Advisor is a simple program that creates a complete profile of your software and hardware, alerting you to missing Microsoft hotfixes, the status of you antivirus status, computer benchmarks, and more.

Although it might not be the most exciting way to spend half an hour, the moment will probably come when you need detailed information on your computer. Instead of wasting time rooting around in drawers and boxes for manuals and specifications, download Belarc Advisor and let it do it for you.

Belarc Advisor is a fairly simple program, at least in the way it works. When you open it, the tool scans your computer for all the information it needs. It does this relatively quickly, and informs you of its progress as it goes. Once it has everything, Belarc Advisor displays its results in your default web browser.

This is when Belarc Advisor starts to get a little complicated. One of the things the latest version of Belarc Advisor hasn't managed to do is to simplify or re-organize the results. Although the information is top class, very complete and well-explained, there is an awful lot of it, and new users might be overwhelmed. Don't get too downcast, however, because careful examination reveals a fairly logical presentation.

Although Belarc Advisor?s information covers everything imaginable, from network mapping and software versions to license keys and user accounts, almost all options have further rollover information, there is a guide to the symbols used in the report, and in some areas, such as system benchmarking, you can click though to new pages displaying both your results and explaining the tests.

Belarc Advisor will give you all the system information you ever wanted - and then some!

Notes

The CIS has developed security benchmarks for Windows 2000, XP Professional and 2003 versions. There are currently no CIS benchmarks for Vista, XP Home or 95/98/Me versions of Windows.

Pros

Profiles PC at start
Detailed benchmarking
Full explanation of results

Cons

Amount of info could be overwhelming
Information could be better displayed

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Download Audacity 2.0.2 Free

For audio editing, look no further than open source wonder Audacity. You can record live, convert old records and tapes to digital, cut, copy and splice files and much more. This version is updated regularly, and despite the 'beta' tag is very stable.

Interface

Whether you choose the stable or beta series, Audacity is not very attractive, and can at first look complex. However, with a little experimentation it soon becomes a very usable application.

For live sound and digitizing old media, you need to feed audio into your computer via a cable. Your audio-in, or mic should be set up by default, but otherwise can be found in Preferences. Recording is then as easy as hitting the red button on the Audacity interface.

Easy to use

What makes Audacity great in this regard is that editing recordings is really simple, not tricky like some professional apps! Using the Highlight tool you can quickly cut, copy, or add effects to parts of tracks. Make a mistake and you can undo as many steps backward as you like, meaning you can experiment knowing nothing can be broken! As you can use up to 16 channels at once, Audacity gives users lots of flexibility.

Editing MP3 and other digital files is just as easy. Drag them into Audacity to open, and then do what you like with them. Adding fade ins or outs is easy, and you can save in whatever format you like. Audacity supports ID3 tags, so you can add all the meta data you like to saved tracks. There is lots more to Audacity, and luckily it has extensive documentation available online or to download.

Conclusion

Audacity is the best free audio editing tool around. It's an incredibly useful application, whether you're recording live or just editing audio files. Despite it's unattractive interface, Audacity is an essential download.

Recent changes

Bug fixes for:
Interface:
Excessive delay occurred when typing into labels in long projects.
Last digit of TimeText controls could not be manipulated in some formats.
(Windows, OS X) Play and Record shortcuts did not work after clicking in Device Toolbar.
(OS X, Linux) Crash occurred if Toolbars were reset during playback or recording.
Imports and Exports:
MP2 files were not importable without FFmpeg library or an import rule.
Files that could only be imported using FFmpeg imported as noise with no error message if FFmpeg was not available.
Files containing PCM audio but an incorrect extension (such as MP3) caused a freeze.
Effects and Analysis:
An empty command could be added to a Chain which then displayed a Nyquist error message when run.
Plot Spectrum didn't preserve signal level if multiple tracks were analyzed.
Other bug fixes:
Audacity has been provisionally fixed so that it can no longer create block files longer than the sample format or project format allows, and can no longer delete these, which led to data loss. Any overlong blocks found are preserved but "orphaned", so will appear as silence.
Orphan block files were wrongly reported if cutting or copying to the clipboard then reopening the project in the same session
Fixed some crashes and incorrect movement of audio when dragging tracks
(Windows) Data loss is now prevented when encountering a corrupted .aup file created in ANSI builds.
(Linux) Restore building if USE_PORTMIXER is not defined
Changes and Improvements
Normalize: Faster processing and improved interface. Left-right balance in unsplit stereo tracks is now preserved by default, with a checkbox option provided to process stereo channels independently
Spectrograms now allow window sizes up to 32768 and frequencies up to half the sample rate (the maximum possible)
Mix and Render now preserves clip length by not rendering white space between time zero and first audio, and preserves audio before time zero. To retain silence before the audio starts, generate silence after render
Grouped some Edit Menu items into "Remove Audio" and "Clip Boundaries"
CleanSpeech Mode removed from Interface Preferences (it still runs if it was enabled in a previous Audacity but can only be turned off there)
(OS X) Added support for AudioUnit MusicEffects (but no MIDI support)
(Linux) Set the per-user files directory per the program name set in configure
(Linux) Changed the default location of the Audacity temporary directory to be in /var/tmp not /tmp, so preserving the directory between reboots

Pros

Support for many formats
Lots of special effects
Easy to learn
Effects can be previewed, and undone easily

Cons

Ugly interface design

Download Audacity 2.0.2

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Download WinRAR 4.20 (64 bit) Free

WinRAR is a must-have in any modern-day PC toolkit. This application not only includes support for extracting virtually any kind of file compression format, it also boasts a no-nonsense approach to reducing file sizes.

Some will argue that WinRAR isn?t as quick as rival WinZip at compressing files. However, for the small time difference, WinRAR leaves you with a significantly smaller archived file at the end of the process. What?s more, the application allows you to save files into both .ZIP and .RAR formats, with bunches of options for speeding up compression times and reducing file sizes.

Although many newcomers might be put off by the sheer range of features and settings within WinRAR, the interface doesn?t take long to get accustomed to, and if you?re still really stuck there?s a simple wizard-based system that walks you through the process of extracting or compressing. All this adds up to make WinRAR a dependable utility that performs better than any other tool in its class.

Boasting more compression options, higher compression rates and smaller file sizes than WinZip, WinRAR is now the undisputed market leader in file compression.

Recent changes

WinRAR supports the following formats

RAR, ZIP, CAB, ARJ, LZH, ACE, TAR, GZip, UUE, ISO, BZIP2, Z, 7-Zip

Review last updated: 29/08/12

Pros

Better compression rate than WinZip
Seamless compression resulting in low file sizes
Huge array of options and settings
Intuitive Quick-Start feature

Cons

Slightly slower than WinZip

Download WinRAR 4.20 (64 bit)

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mardi 22 janvier 2013

Download Windows 7 Manager 4.1.3 Free

Windows 7 offers dozens of configuration and customization settings, but sometimes the most interesting tweaks are way too hidden for the average user.

Windows 7 Manager brings all those hidden tweaks and options to the spotlight, and presents them conveniently organized into seven different areas: Information, Optimizer, Cleaner, Customization, Security, Network and Miscellaneous Utilities.

Each of these areas in Windows 7 Manager include several tools with which you can clean the system from unwanted files, check what programs are scheduled to run with Windows, obtained highly detailed information about your hardware and customize menus and other visual elements to your taste. Oh, and don't be afraid of trying all possibilities: Windows 7 Manager creates a system restoration point in case something goes horribly wrong.

Despite the tabbed organization, the interface in Windows 7 Manager seemed a bit chaotic to me. Tools open inside the main area or in a different window, and sometimes there is too much information on the screen which may scare users away.

Windows 7 Manager is a complete toolbox that enables you to configure and customize Windows 7 any way you like? though sometimes it can be a bit confusing.

Pros

Complete, varied array of tools
Specially developed for Windows 7

Cons

The interface can be confusing sometimes

Download Windows 7 Manager 4.1.3

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Download Cocoon 1.19 Free

Cocoon is an add-on for Firefox and Internet Explorer that aims to make your time online as safe as possible.

As far as privacy apps go, Cocoon is very, very discreet. Once it is enabled, all you will see is an attractive blue toolbar that doesn?t even look like one. You?ll need a free Cocoon account to use the service. Once you have a username and password, sign into Cocoon and begin to browse. According to the developers, Cocoon will establish ?a secure encrypted connection to the Internet?, so that nobody can see who you are or what you are doing.

It?s pretty hard to gauge the accuracy of this claim on a casual basis, but from our testing, it seemed promising. We could access geographically restricted websites, meaning our location was hidden, and we couldn?t log into websites without re-entering our log-in information, meaning we were cookie-free. Cocoon also claims to protect you from viruses and malware you might pick up online.

Cocoon doesn?t stop there. It also allows you to create a throw-away email address ? Mailslots ? that allow you risk-free sign-ups when a website or service absolutely demands your details. It also has its own history feature and a cookie eraser. All your information is stored ?in the cloud?, so whatever you do in Cocoon (bookmarks, notes, etc.), it is also available from wherever you log in.

Bear in mind, however, that using Cocoon does effect lots of settings in Firefox, even after it has been uninstalled. Although the add-on was very useful while we were using it, we had a hard time getting everything back to normal once we were done.

Cocoon is a user-friendly and discreet app that will keep you as safe and private as possible when working online.

Notes

For technical reasons, the download link will take you to the Cocoon website where you can sign up for an account and download the add-on.

Review last updated: 10/09/12

Pros

Discreet
Seems very effective
Create temporary email addresses
Makes use of Private Browsing

Cons

Hijacks start page, search engines, etc.
Can cause problems after uninstalling

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Download Pandora Free

Pandora is a music streaming service you can access both on the web and via the Pokki platform on your desktop.

If you're unfamiliar with it, Pandora is a music streaming service where you tell the program what songs, artists, or genres of music you like and it'll create a custom radio station for you based on your preferences.

Using the Music Genome Project, Pandora will analyze the musical content of the song or artist you vote that you like, and it will play other music that shares some of the defining qualities.

Unlike the web-based version, the Pandora Pokki app doesn't require you to create an account to enjoy music from your desktop. You must also be located in the United States to use the service however. If you do want to register and have Pandora remember your music preferences, the process is free and simple.

You can create stations based on a song, music genre, or specific artist. If you don't like the music comes up on your station, just click the thumbs down button and the app will take that into consideration for future suggestions.

The advertising on the side of the Pandora app can be annoying. You also won't be able to avoid radio ads in between certain songs. Also, if you're interested in listening to specific songs, you're probably better off opting to giving the Spotify desktop app a try.

Pandora is a great music streaming and discovery service, made even better by its integration into the Pokki platform.

Notes

Pandora is only available for users located within the United States. Clicking the 'Download' button will take you to the Pandora app's download page where you can run the program.

Pros

No registration required
Discover new music based on your current tastes
Improve the song selection by voting on songs you like

Cons

Ads can be annoying

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Download Apache OpenOffice (OpenOffice.org) 3.4.1 Free

OpenOffice.org 3.0 has at last hit the shelves ? but is it a viable alternative to Microsoft Word?

Well, the answer is yes. OpenOffice.org 3.0 reveals itself as a very decent competitor: it's light on resources, easy to use and offers full compatibility with standard document formats ? including the latest .docx, .xlsx, .pptx and so on from the Microsoft Office suite.

OpenOffice.org includes six different apps that enable you to work with text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, databases, vector-based graphics and mathematical formulas, respectively. All six apps are easily accessible from a launcher (the Start Centre) with freshly designed icons, as well as from the Quickstarter icon in the System Tray.

OpenOffice.org's applications met our expectations in every regard: they're easy to use (especially if you're used to working with Microsoft Office) and feature all the necessary tools to create complete documents, spreadsheets, presentations, databases and more. What?s more, there is a great selection of OpenOffice templates, which means that getting started will never be a problem. The program is also thoroughly documented.

We particularly liked the wizard-style interface in OpenOffice Impress (similar to PowerPoint), which enables you to create presentations in no time. But the best thing about OpenOffice.org is probably the possibility to improve and customize your suite with new templates and extensions, downloadable directly from the developer's site.

OpenOffice.org made a great impression. It's a very decent alternative to other suites and can be easily customized with new extensions. Definitely worth a try!

Recent changes

Faster Startup
Improved ODF 1.2 encryption support
Spreadsheet: TIME function returns values 00:00:00

Notes

Apache OpenOffice was previously known as OpenOffice.org.

Pros

Handy launcher to access all tools
Compatible with Microsoft Office 2008
Fully documented

Cons

Few templates included

Download Apache OpenOffice (OpenOffice.org) 3.4.1

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Download Social for Twitter 2.0.9 Free

Social for Twitter is an application that lets you manage multiple Twitter accounts at once from your desktop PC.

Twitter's a great way to stay connected, not just with friends and family, but also with the latest breaking news in your topics of choice. Some people like to organize their interests by different accounts though, or even manage a separate business-related Twitter account.

Twitter itself doesn't have an easy solution for managing multiple accounts; you just have to log out of one and into another if you want to switch accounts or, in the alternative, browser hop. That's a total hassle that Social for Twitter does away with, thankfully.

Social for Twitter acts just like Twitter itself does in your browser. You can do anything on Social for Twitter that the Twitter website lets you do directly, including compose tweets, retweet others, reply to tweets, and even check and answer private messages and tweaking settings.

If you want to add a new account onto Social for Twitter, that's easy too. Just click on the tab at the top of the app's interface, add in your other account's login info, and you're set. Flipping between accounts is as simple as clicking the tabs.

Social for Twitter will also notify you via the system tray whenever a new tweet gets posted. This can be annoying after awhile, since it's also accompanied by a sound. Good thing you can disable them in the settings, or this might drive anyone who follows more than a handful of people a little crazy in short order.

Social for Twitter is a really convenient way to manage multiple Twitter accounts from the comfort of your PC desktop.

Pros

Manage multiple Twitter accounts from your desktop
Includes all features found on Twitter's website
Easy to navigate

Cons

System tray notifications can get annoying

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Download Pencil Project 1.3.4 Free

Pencil Project is a free, open-source diagramming tool for Windows PCs.

These days, design programs can cost a pretty penny. Luckily, there are free programs like Pencil Project that can let you learn for free.

The sketch design feature on Pencil Project allows you to create shapes and other hand-drawn sketches from scratch with relative ease. There's also a stencil generator that makes it possible for you to preserve any basic sketch mark-ups you might want to use again for future projects, as well as a few already available stencil templates to choose from.

In addition, Pencil Project can also be used as a website prototype tool. You can quickly build diagrams with it which can ultimately turn into website mockups. Just add images, text, links, or anything else you want to have on your webpage and you'll be able to see what things look like well in advance of actually coding it yourself.

Unfortunately, Pencil Project does take some time to learn how to use. Those familiar with sketching and design programs should pick it up fairly quickly, but beginners should expect a bit of a learning curve.

If you've ever wanted to learn to sketch basic designs or even see what a website might look like before actually coding it, Pencil Project is a great way to achieve that goal.

Pros

Sketch objects from scratch
Includes stencil templates
Website prototype creation capabilities

Cons

Learning curve exists

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Download KeePass Password Safe Portable 2.20 Free

Nowadays you use passwords for almost everything and sometimes they can become unmanageable. So unless you use the same password for everything ? which we strongly advise against ? you need KeePass Password Safe Portable.

This program is a standalone password manager that requires no installation and can be taken anywhere on your USB memory stick. It enables you to create a complete password database, organized by customizable categories and protected by a master password ? the only one you'll need to remember from now on.

KeePass Password Safe Portable features a nicely designed interface and is easy to find your way around. It also has some handy extra tools, such as a password generator, a TAN wizard (to work with passwords that can only be used once) and support for plug-ins that extend the program's functionality.

Using KeePass Password Safe Portable is a breeze. Just double click on the item you want to use (username or password) and it'll be automatically copied to the clipboard, and erased in a few seconds. You can also set an expiration date for passwords, for a extra layer of security.

With KeePass Password Safe Portable you'll never forget a password again.

Recent changes

Auto-type window definitions in custom window-sequence pairs are now Spr-compiled (i.e. placeholders, environment variables, etc. can be used).
Global auto-type delay: added support for multi-modified keys and special keys.
Added 'New Database' application policy flag.
Multi-monitor support
RoboForm importer: URLs without protocol prefix are now prefixed automatically (HTTP).
Entry-dependent placeholders can now be used in most trigger events, conditions and actions (the currently focused entry is used).
Auto-type on Unix-like systems: KeePass now shows an informative error message when trying to invoke auto-type without having installed the 'xdotool' package.
New column engine: drag&dropping hidden fields works as expected again (the field data is transferred, not asterisks).
Improved restoration of a maximized main window.
Improved error message when trying to import/export data from/to a KDB file on a non-Windows operating system.
Minor other improvements.

Pros

Portable: no installation required!
Password generator
Expiration date
Easy to use

Cons

Support for only one encryption algorithm

Download KeePass Password Safe Portable 2.20

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lundi 21 janvier 2013

Download SopCast 3.5.0.1 Free

SopCast is an app that allows you to watch free online TV channels, and also to broadcast your own. It uses peer to peer (P2P) technology so you don't need huge bandwidths or servers.

P2P Streaming

The beauty of streaming via P2P is that anyone can broadcast anything that they want, making it an incredibly democratic medium. The two previously-cited programs are good examples of the technology in action yet SopCast (so called because 'SoP' is an abbreviation for 'Streaming over P2P') is arguably even better because it allows you to easily broadcast your own channels.

In the latest release of SopCast, there are virtually no noticeable interface changes, so it's still extremely easy to use. On installation, you're asked if you'd like to install the Ask.com search bar, which you can de-select by clicking the check-box. When you run SopCast, you can log in either anonymously or, if you're planning on setting-up your own channel, create your own account using the link at the bottom.

Live TV Channels

When you log into SopCast, click on the Live Channels tabs so you can see the channel listings. The first thing you notice is the number of channels to choose from. There's absolutely everything here from obscure Chinese channels to mainstream offerings like The Discovery Channel (although again, you will find many programs either dubbed or subtitled in Chinese). Some of SopCast's channels are organized, such as by News and Sport but these categories can be unreliable and the lower down you go, simply indecipherable.

SopCast's channel window will pop out of the side of the player but you can expand this to full screen or export it to Windows Media Player using the vision controls on the panel. This truly separates SopCast from the rest of the P2P TV streaming applications. If you want to use a different media player (such as VLC Player), you can do this by clicking on the Options button at the bottom of the main interface.

Broadcast your own programs

SopCast's major draw though, and the reason why many of its channels look like a garbled mess, is the fact that you can broadcast your own channel on it. Once your program has been filmed, edited and is uploaded on your PC, all you have to do is stream it via SopCast and select a server address to which people can connect and watch.

The quality of the broadcast in SopCast will very much depend on the number of people connected (the more users there are, the faster the video will stream). You can even create your own private channel and decide what users can watch it by creating a network group, thus enabling you to run your very own personal TV channel in SopCast.

Conclusions

SopCast might look a bit confusing for the first-time user but, despite the dominance of Chinese channels, it provides a whole new world of TV to watch. What's more, it gives you the chance to start your own channel!

Recent changes

Fix a bug in MySop that will crash client.
Fix a bug that H.264 channels have no picture on some old PCs

Review last updated: 13/09/12

Pros

Lots of channels to choose from
Organized by categories
Create and broadcast your programs

Cons

Streaming quality and consistency varies wildly
Gives no error log for those channels that won't stream
A lot of non-US content

Download SopCast 3.5.0.1

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Download AxCrypt 1.7.2976

AxCrypt protegge la confidenzialità di tutti i tuoi file con una password. Si integra con il sistema e può essere utilizzato da chiunque

AxCrypt è un'utility open source che si integra con l'Esplora risorse di Windows e permette di criptare qualunque file. Dal documento di testo all'eseguibile. AxCrypt non ha un'interfaccia vera e propria. Si gestisce tutto attraverso le opzioni del menu contestuale che appare selezionando un file con il tasto destro del mouse.

Fondamentalmente AxCrypt solo richiede all'utente di inserire una password per proteggere uno o più file. Una parola chiave che deve essere inserita nuovamente quando viene il momento di togliere la protezione. AxCrypt può anche creare un file di testo in sostituzione della parola chiave. File che per ovvi motivi andrebbe conservato su un disco differente rispetto a quello in cui si trovano gli archivi protetti.

Un'altra, utilissima opzione, permette ad AxCrypt di creare un eseguibile contenente i file protetti, in modo che possano essere facilmente trasportabili e decifrati anche su computer su cui non è installato AxCrypt.

Note

Per motivi che non dipendono da Softonic, per eseguire il download gratuito verrai reindirizzato su un sito esterno.

Pro

Gratuito e open source
Integrazione con l'Esplora risorse
Facile cifrare e decifrare file

Contro

Non è possibile scegliere il tipo di cifratura

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samedi 19 janvier 2013

Download Hitman: Absolution

Hitman: Absolution è un gioco d'azione nel quale impersoni uno spietato killer. Gameplay rinnovato e modalità Contracts.

L'agente 47, il killer frutto dell'ingegneria genetica, è tornato dopo sei lunghi anni in una missione che lo riguarda personalmente. Fin dal principio avrai a che fare con Diana, un personaggio storico della saga e molto caro al protagonista. Presto però si renderà conto di essere al centro di un complotto che si evolverà in una intricata e sorprendente trama.

Il gameplay di Hitman: Absolution è sia stealth sia sparatutto: sta a te decidere se essere un killer invisibile o un caotico Rambo. Anche se non c'è un modo corretto per giocare, i punti assegnati per omicidi silenziosi e senza testimoni saranno molti di più, tanto per una questione etica quanto per la natura di killer del protagonista.

Rispetto ai capitoli precedenti Hitman: Absolution è un gioco accessibile anche agli utenti meno hardcore grazie a ben cinque livelli di difficoltà: i primi due per casual gamer, mentre gli altri tre per i veri fan della serie. L'istinto (un incrocio tra la Detective Vision di Batman e il Senso dell'Aquila di Assassin's Creed), ad esempio, è solo disponibile nelle modalità easy e normal mentre nelle tre professionali dovrai farne a meno.

Gran parte dello sviluppo di Hitman: Absolution è stato dedicato al miglioramento dell'IA. Gli NPC e la loro imprevedibilità giocano infatti un ruolo fondamentale nel videogame. Se hai poca esperienza con i capitoli precedenti, assassinare il target e uscire silenziosamente di scena sarà difficile e ti richiederà parecchia pratica e inventiva.

La grande novità di Hitman: Absolution è la modalità Contracts. Sviluppata a partire dal modo di giocare dei fan più accaniti nei capitoli precedenti, che si divertivano a uccidere personaggi scelti con armi determinate, questa modalità ti permette di svolgere e ideare trame omicide all'interno dei livelli del gioco, senza bisogno di un editor.

I contratti sono creati dal team di sviluppo e dagli stessi videogamer, che possono poi condividerli su Internet e sfidare altri utenti a far meglio di loro. I punteggi ottenuti si basano su armi, tempo e capacità di passare inosservato.

Anche dal punto di vista grafico, Hitman: Absolution non delude. I contrasti di luci e ombre sono resi alla perfezione, così come l'illuminazione in generale e i giochi di colori. A parte qualche piccolo bug in situazioni affollate, le reazioni degli NPC e gli scontri con gli altri personaggi funzionano sempre.

L'unica nota negativa di Hitman: Absolution è il sistema di salvataggio, reso complicato da un sistema di checkpoint che rimpiazza la precedente modalità di salvataggi limitati e che mal si adatta alla libertà di stile. Ogni volta che rinizierai da un checkpoint, infatti, tutti i movimenti degli NPC si riattiveranno da zero.

Hitman: Absolution si presenta come uno dei titoli più avvincenti del 2012. La sfida con Connor di Assassin's Creed 3 è aperta: chi sarà il killer dell'anno?

Ultimo aggiornamento: 20/11/12

Pro

Gameplay personalizzabile
5 livelli di difficoltà
Alta rigiocabilità
Nuova modalità Contracts
Grafica spettacolare

Contro

Il sistema dei checkpoint

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vendredi 18 janvier 2013

Download iMesh 11.0.968.47630

Il classico client P2P, dirai tu. No, iMesh ti permette di cercare e scaricare i tuoi file video ed MP3 ma anche e soprattutto di conviderli con chi vuoi

I tempi cambiano e anche i software P2P si aggiornano. eMule e LimeWire rimangono indiscutibilmente gli "scaricatori" più usati e più funzionali, ma se vuoi aggiungere ai tuoi download una componente social (un po' come ti permette di fare Bearshare), iMesh è buona opzione.

Appena installato, iMesh ti chiede di creare un profilo (la registrazione è abbastanza lunga e dettagliata) e poi sei pronto ad iniziare. Dal pannello principale potrai organizzare la tua libreria, editare il tuo profilo e cercare amici online, esplorare e cercare musica e, tramite l'opzione DJ, conoscere musica che potrebbe piacerti in base ai tuoi gusti musicali.

Il profilo personale è altamente personalizzabile: puoi caricare foto, impostare uno sfondo e mandare canzoni agli amici. Soprattutto, puoi esplorare i profili di altri utenti, stringere amicizia e chattare. Il lato social è molto sviluppato, fino a risultare quasi invasivo. Tra le altre funzioni, iMesh include anche un player audio e video e un masterizzatore CD e DVD. L'assenza di integrazione con Facebook però si fa sentire e la traduzione italiana presenta evidenti lacune.

Pro

Interfaccia elegante e ricca di opzioni
Include un masterizzatore CD e DVD
Molto orientato al social: puoi chattare e fare amicizia

Contro

Non è integrato con Facebook e Twitter
Processo di registrazione un po' lungo

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Download iCloud Control Panel per Windows 2.0

Con iCloud Control Panel gestisci dal tuo computer Windows tutto il processo di sincronizzazione tra PC e dispositivi mobili Apple (iPad, iPod touch e iPhone)

Usare iCloud con i PC Windows è facilissimo, con iCloud Control Panel. Grazie a questa utility sincronizzi documenti, posta, contatti e calendari come faresti con il pannello di controllo che OS X 10.7 Lion offre di default nei computer Mac.

Configurare iCloud Control Panel è facilissimo. Basta accedere con il tuo Apple ID e selezionari i servizi che vuoi attivare. Ricorda che se vuoi sincronizzare posta, note, contatti e calendario hai bisogno di Outlook 2007 o successivo.

Pro

Configurazione semplice
Sincronizzazione automatica senza intoppi
5 GB di spazio gratis
Server molto stabili

Contro

Necessario attivare il servizio tramite iPad o iPhone

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Download Recuva Portable 1.44.778

Recuva Portable consente la ricerca e il recupero dei dati cancellati in modo semplice, rapido e su qualunque PC. Ottima l'interfaccia e il wizard che accompagna i meno esperti all'uso del programma. Si installa su una pendrive, è gratuito e in italiano

Quando eliminiamo i file dal cestino, la cancellazione libera il settore sul disco ma non elimina completamente il file dalla "memoria storica" dello stesso, permettendo così l'eventuale recupero (integrale o parziale) dei dati con appositi software dedicati, come Recuva.

Ma che succede se la cancellazione accidentale di un file avviene non sul tuo PC ma su quello di un amico, dell'ufficio o di un cyber-café? Beh, in quel caso basta avere nella tua pendrive la versione trasportabile di Recuva: Recuva Portable.

Recuva Portable si installa manualmente sulla memoria USB e spicca per la sua efficace e disarmante semplicità di utilizzo. Dovrai selezionare il drive da analizzare (disco rigido, floppy, unità removibili) ed avviare la scansione. Recuva Portable ti indicherà se e quali file sono recuperabili e lo stato in cui si trovano.

L'applicazione dispone inoltre di un pratico wizard ed è in grado di ripristinare anche i dati cancellati da memory card o lettori MP3. Interessante, sul sito ufficiale di Recuva Portable, la possibilità di interagire con gli sviluppatori tramite forum. Puoi trovare il link nella nostra pagina "Extra".

Note

Per motivi che non dipendono da Softonic, per eseguire il download gratuito verrai reindirizzato sul sito dell'autore o distributore del programma.

Recuva Portable va scompattato in una cartella a tua scelta all'interno della pendrive USB.

Questa è la versione portatile di Recuva.

Pro

Estremamente semplice da utilizzare
Adatto in particolare ai meno esperti
Design piacevole
Identico alla versione standard

Contro

Poche opzioni avanzate
Installazione manuale su pendrive

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Download Mipony 2.0.2

Bazzichi molto su Megaupload, Rapidshare, Mediafire e compagnia? Allora hai bisogno di Mipony: ai download ci pensa lui

Tutto quello che devi fare è copiare e incollare il link di download dentro l'interfaccia di Mipony, e poi sederti comodo ad aspettare mentre il programma controlla che il link non sia rotto, aspetta se c'è da aspettare e poi avvia il download. Tutto da solo, senza che tu debba stare lì a cliccare, aspettare 30 secondi, cliccare di nuovo... Mipony gestisce i tuoi download, e tu sei libero di pensare ad altro.

Il programma include un motore di ricerca interno, per cui non hai neanche più bisogno di passare per il browser. Se il file che ti interessa scaricare è diviso in più parti Mipony ti permette di unirlo. Puoi anche settare un limite per la velocità o per il numero di download simultanei, così non rischi di intasare la tua connessione internet.

Se dobbiamo trovargli dei difetti, è fastidioso il fatto che la finestra di Mipony si apra automaticamente ogni volta che digiti qualunque cosa dentro Megaupload, Rapidshare e altri siti simili.

Ricorda di non scaricare e/o condividere musica, film, giochi, immagini, testi, programmi e qualsiasi altro materiale protetto dalla legge sul diritto d?autore

Mipony supporta i seguenti formati

Megaupload, Rapidshare, Hotfile, Easy-share, Gigasize, Mediafire, Depositefiles, Filefactory, Uploading, 4shared, Letitbit, Sendspace, Zshare, Freakshare, Storage.to, Uploadbox, Uploaded.to, Ziddu, Netload, Sharex, Badongo, Kewlshare, Ugotfile, Sharingmatrix, Filesend, Bigandfree, Zippyshare, Bitroad, Oron, Extabit, Shareflare, 2shared, Ifile, Divshare, Filesmonster, USAupload, Novaup, Vip-file, Anonym, Megashares, Filebase, Appscene, File-rack e altri.

Pro

Motore di ricerca interno
Scarica direttamente da moltissimi siti
Può unire file
Localizzato in italiano

Contro

Si apre automaticamente su certi siti

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jeudi 17 janvier 2013

Download Minecraft Server 1.4.5

Minecraft Server è il programma per creare un server del famoso indie game e giocare in multiplayer

Minecraft ci sorprende ogni giorno di più quando osserviamo le imponenti costruzioni realizzate da giocatori di tutto il mondo. E se volessi realizzarne una? Il primo passo è creare il tuo server con Minecraft Server, dopodiché potrai iniziare a invitare amici che ti aiuteranno nell?impresa.

Come funziona Minecraft Server

Il programma è tutt?altro che intuitivo e non è neanche accompagnato da istruzioni, ma puoi trovare un tutorial nella Wiki di Minecraft.

I passi essenziali da compiere sono questi:

1.Scarica Minecraft Server
2.Esegui e configura il server
3.Controlla le impostazioni del Firewall
4.Apri Minecraft (il gioco) e connettiti al server

Una volta settato, i tuoi amici possono partecipare usando il tuo indirizzo IP: Minecraft sarà uguale ma diventerà un?esperienza molto meno solitaria!

Consumo delle risorse

Più giocatori ospiterà il tuo server e più risorse consumerà il tuo computer. Se il tuo PC è poco potente, ci potrebbe essere del lag.

Pro

Gioca a Minecraft in compagnia
Server configurabile

Contro

Configurazione complicata

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Publicidad

mardi 29 janvier 2013

Download Batman The Dark Knight Rises Theme for Windows 7

Download FlipToast 1.0.5

Download Ace of Spades 0.75 Beta

Download Sylpheed 3.2

Download Hue and Cry 1.64

Download Polyglot 3000 3.67

lundi 28 janvier 2013

Download TagScanner Portable 5.1.620

Download Gravit 0.5.0

Download IDPhotoStudio 2.9.0.31

Download DVDFab HD Decrypter 8.1.9.0

samedi 26 janvier 2013

Download Rising PC Doctor 6.0.5.45

Download Koyote Free Video Converter 3.1.0.0

Download PerfectAntivirus 2012

Download Focus Booster 1.2

Download GoodSync 9.2.6.2

vendredi 25 janvier 2013

Download AppCleaner 1.11

Download Boomerang for Gmail (for Firefox) 1.0

Download 4k Stogram 1.2

Download SEO SpyGlass Software 5.5.3

Download Unbaby.me 1.1

jeudi 24 janvier 2013

Download MediaCoder iPhone iPod Touch Edition 0.6.1.5267

Download google-translate-desktop 0.7.1

Download Ashampoo Photo Commander 10.1.3

Download USB Disk Security 6.2

Download Episode downloader 3.0.0

mercredi 23 janvier 2013

Download Ghost Recon Online 1.27.3703.3

Download Belarc Advisor 8.2.7.16 g

Download Audacity 2.0.2

Download WinRAR 4.20 (64 bit)

mardi 22 janvier 2013

Download Windows 7 Manager 4.1.3

Download Cocoon 1.19

Download Pandora

Download Apache OpenOffice (OpenOffice.org) 3.4.1

Download Social for Twitter 2.0.9

Download Pencil Project 1.3.4

Download KeePass Password Safe Portable 2.20

lundi 21 janvier 2013

Download SopCast 3.5.0.1

DOWNLOAD

samedi 19 janvier 2013

DOWNLOAD

vendredi 18 janvier 2013

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jeudi 17 janvier 2013

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