Month: February 2007

I’ve always been fond of drawing applications. The possibility to give your creativity total freedom without wasting paper and pencils is just too good to be resisted by an amateur painter like me. And OpenCanvas is certainly one of the best options when moving on from real hair brushes to digital design.

The installation process takes only a few minutes, after which you can begin drawing right away. OpenCanvas features a simple friendly interface, even for first-time users. Also, note that if you’re used to Photoshop, you’ll find OpenCanvas extremely familiar, as it follows the same basic guidelines: a large working area with floating windows displaying tools, settings, color palette and so on. In fact, many of the app’s keyboard shortcuts are the same as in Photoshop: B for brush, M for selecting an area, V for moving it, Ctrl + D to deselect it, the spacebar to move around your picture, Ctrl + plus or minus sign to zoom in or out, etc.
Continue reading “Cultivate your artistic abilities”

Given that Softonic (and, for that matter, iT) is based in Barcelona, it should come as no surprise that we attended the 3GSM World Congress which came to a close today.

It’s got to be said that much as the conference is always good fun, 3GSM 2007 lacked some of the big technology leaps that it’s played host to in past years. Last year was certainly the year of mobile TV and that particular trend seems to remain popular – it was still the dominant new technology on display. Some new handsets, particularly the LG KE850 Prada handset and the spanking new Nokia E90 Communicator were on display but there wasn’t quite the same level of excitement surrounding this year’s event.

In the mobile software arena, we were lucky enough to have a look at Access’s new Linux Platform (ALP) which promises to be either a welcome alternative to Windows Mobile or a last ditch attempt to save Palm again. Among many major players showcasing their software, we were most impressed by Nero’s Mobile entertainment suite and the improvements which have been made to Adobe’s Flash Mobile platform. Windows Mobile 6 looks quite snazzy but we don’t feel that it includes many important new features. We’d recommend installing SPB’s Mobile Shell on your Windows Mobile 5 device before shelling out on a whole new Pocket PC.

One thing which did seem to have some pulses racing was the increase in adult content for mobile devices. Local newspapers over the last few days have been full of stories about this and there did seem to be more booths dealing in ‘that sort of thing‘ than last year. Not that we were counting.

As usual, the most important thing about 3GSM 2007 will be the deals and developments that it has brought about. We’ll just have to wait until 3GSM 2008 to find out about some of them!

Health is definitely one of our most important worries in life. It’s the first thing you ask for when beginning a new year, when having a baby, when meeting a three-wish lamp genie. It’s therefore worth remembering that you can also use your computer to help take care of your health.

There’s a wide range of software programs which can help you acquiring healthy habits, dropping the bad ones and improving your quality of life in general. So move on! Take a look at these applications and start taking better care of yourself right now. It’s never too late and your own PC can make it easier than ever.

1. Homeopathy : learn more about alternative medicine.
2. Workrave : remember to take pauses at work.
3. Open Fitness : manage and track your workouts.
4. Kelpiesoft Food File : food database with calorie checker.
5. Body Mass Index Calculator : calculate your ideal weight.
6. Food Additives : find out exactly what you’re eating.
7. RSI Warrior : prevent repetitive strain injuries.
8. Quit Counter : some help with quitting smoking.
9. Free Biorhythm Calculator : for your emotional and physical well-being.
10. Weight Tracker : take control of your diet’s progress.

Anyone who works with images on a regular basis will be familiar with the default image viewer of Windows, and also with its very limited scope for doing anything meaningful. There is a healthy selection of alternatives but FastStone Image Viewer has come to our attention as one that deserves to be singled out not only because it is free but also because it brings to the table a strong combination of speed, usability and versatility.

While the viewing functionality is a no-brainer, FastStone comes with a range of methods with which to browse pics. First off, there is the standard file browser that displays thumbnails of your images with a preview window for the file that is currently selected. There is also an option to check out individual pictures at their original size in the “Windowed View”, which is along the same lines as the default image viewer in Windows. Finally you can see images in full-screen, switching between files using the keyboard, the middle mouse button or the slide-in toolbar at the bottom of the screen.
Continue reading “Images come alive with FastStone Viewer”

Before Joost burst onto the headlines, Democracy was around as an Internet TV platform, showing us what the future of broadcasting might look like. The program allows users to watch and post videos on free internet TV channels. Working at the crossroads between an RSS aggregator and a Bittorrent client, Democracy lets you list all your favorite channels and download episodes in a few clicks.

Yesterday saw the release of Democracy 0.9.5, bringing with it a good number of improvements and fixes. In a probable move to compete with Zudeo or even YouTube, each video now has a share tab which you can use to send clips by email, post to Video Bomb, Digg, del.icio.us or Reddit. Videos that you have downloaded are now organized by channel to make them easier to find.

Downloading episodes on Democracy was already really smooth but the team behind the TV app has added some improvements to the Bittorrent client. Although I always downloaded episodes in one go, I suppose the introduction of pause/resume will come in extremely handy if you have a queue of videos waiting. Democracy finally shows seeding on your torrents, giving you more insight to manage your downloads. Streamlining the download process, Democracy will also retry whenever your connection breaks down. An extensive list of all the changes is on the Democracy blog and the new Windows and Mac versions are now available for download on Softonic.

Valentine’s Day is back once again, bringing a celebration that you either hate or love. Some people complain about losing the real meaning of this day and turning it into just another Hallmark holiday. Anyway, if you’re still looking for the perfect Valentine’s gift, we’ve got some ideas to spare.

First, if you’re really in the romantic mood, you can begin by decorating your PC with heart-shaped, pink-colored wallpapers, screensavers or Windows themes. Too mushy? We thought so. Try then creating your own Valentine’s gift instead. There are plenty of DIY tutorials on the net to guide you through the process of making Valentine’s cards, framed photos, gift boxes and many other crafty objects.

However, if you prefer something more in the digital fashion, take a look at Softonic. You’ll find plenty of software applications to create multimedia presentations or photo DVDs with pictures of your loved one, just to mention two examples.

Finally, don’t forget that sometimes a simple token of love arrives deeper than the most elaborate gift. Take a couple of minutes to create a custom candy heart for your Valentine and see for yourself!

As USB sticks and other flash memory drives increase in storage capacity, so does their popularity as software repositories. Many applications have developed special versions for these devices, usually known as “portable”. One of them is CCleaner Portable.

In a few words, CCleaner Portable is the pocket version of CCleaner, an excellent cleaning tool with which you can erase unused files, thus gaining back valuable free disk space and making Windows run faster and smoother. The main advantage of CCleaner Portable is that it allows you to do just the same without leaving any evidence of use on the computer. In fact, you don’t even need to install it. Simply run it from your USB memory stick and you’ll have immediate access to all of its features. CCleaner Portable does create some necessary keys in Windows Registry, but these are deleted when the program is closed, so there’ll be no trace of it left on the system.
Continue reading “Use your USB memory stick to clean your PC”

There’s nothing like Flash to add that extra piece of class to a presentation. Unfortunately, Abobe Flash is not exactly the easiest program to get to grips with. Fortunately, Softonic has a number of programs which will make the job easier for you.

The most popular is Trendy Flash Site Builder which allows you to publish up to 100 pages and even allows you to publish presentations directly onto a CD. It has reams of generic images to suit presentations ranging from business to fun and personal. This is probably the best app to use if you are publishing to the web as it features Automatic Meta Tag generation meaning your presentation gets indexed and thus a better ranking on Google.

A simpler, but equally effective alternative is KoolMoves. It offers you all the major facets of the former program but without some of the special online features. KoolMoves is more suited to those who only intend using the presentation on their laptop or for offline storage. It also features a well written and simple tutorial so that even the most novice Flash users can churn out impressive results.

Finally, there’s Amara Flash Photo Animation which is squarely designed for photos only. No more rigging-up projectors or pulling out slideshows to show your holiday picks, Amara does it all for you and makes it look really swish. Be warned however that this one is not for the faint hearted. The power of the program means you can add some really swanky effects to your photos but as a result, the interface is somewhat cluttered and complicated.

Whatever you choose, youre lack of Flash expertise need not stand between you and putting PowerPoint presentations in the shade.