Category: News

Microsoft has just launched a new version of its blogging software Live Writer featuring several interesting new features and additions. It finally supports native videos with a simple ‘insert video’ function and is now XHTML compliance.

Previously, Live Writer needed a plugin to insert videos but it now automatically supports videos from YouTube, Splashcast, Brightcove, Google Video, MySpace, Revver and MSN Soapbox. It also makes uploading photos to the web much easier when using Blogger with integration into Picasaweb. For longer posts, there’s also a new ‘print post’ option which optimises the format for print-outs. Perhaps the most overdue feature however was compliance with XHTML as Live Writer now generates cleaner and neater code.

The best feature of Live Writer for me is still the fact that it offers WYSIWYG editing since you can see exactly what your final post will look like as you write. I’ve always preferred WordPress for functionality though although these latest improvements have tempted me to give it another whirl and see how it measures up now.

September’s here, so it’s back to work for the software developers, and this week has seen some of the big guns offer up some significant updates and new releases. Of course, insideTonic has been on hand to deliver our expert analysis of the new products. We brought you news of how the new beta version of Opera is sending web browsing into warp speed, plus details of the tasty Del.icio.us 2.0 and Microsoft’s ‘Flash killer,’ Silverlight. The full release of Google Web Toolkit and the latest instalment of FIFA also got the once over by our team of software buffs.

This week’s tips took on something a musical theme, as Elena demonstrated how to find the lyrics to those songs you’ve been humming for the last few days, and I paid homage to the late Pavarotti by explaining how to write and produce classic music (using software). There was also a memorable guide to adding paint effects in Photoshop and a collection of useful pointers for proper email-forwarding etiquette.

Our resident social commentator Tom was on hand to give his views on the latest frightening/cool application to be produced for the all-seeing Facebook service, while Tony simply spent the whole week playing dominoes with old men over the Internet. We’ll be back next week with the more of the world’s best software but for now, it’s time to party!

If you remember, back in April we told you of the imminent release of Microsoft’s Silverlight , their “cross browser, cross platform plug-in for delivering rich media experiences”. Well, Silverlight is now out and you can finally install it and give it a try. This lightweight (1.4Mb) plug-in works on most popular browsers both on Mac and PC. It’s really simple to install, and you’ll just need to restart your browser to make it work. We went to the Silverlight home page to see the plug-in in action. Although it’s got a lot of snazzy effects, obviously set up by Microsoft to impress users, the plug-in worked smoothly and we experienced good image quality.

Silverlight can stream high resolution video well and supports HD quality videos.Developers will be glad to know that you can write managed .NET code that runs right in the browser. Using Expression Studio and Visual Studio (which are separate from Silverlight), designers and developers can build their own Rich Internet Applications with Silverlight.

On the downside, Silverlight supports Windows Media audio and video, VC-1 and MP3 but not other popular formats like H.264, Flash or AAC. Flash still remains the reference by far, but with many big content providers looking to use Silverlight we should be seeing more of it in the near future. function __RP_Callback_Helper(str, strCallbackEvent, splitSize, func){var event = null;if (strCallbackEvent){event = document.createEvent(‘Events’);event.initEvent(strCallbackEvent, true, true);}if (str && str.length > 0){var splitList = str.split(‘|’);var strCompare = str;if (splitList.length == splitSize)strCompare = splitList[splitSize-1];var pluginList = document.plugins;for (var count = 0; count = sSrc.length){if (strCompare.indexOf(sSrc) != -1){func(str, count, pluginList, splitList);break;}}}}if (strCallbackEvent)document.body.dispatchEvent(event);}function __RP_Coord_Callback(str){var func = function(str, index, pluginList, splitList){pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback = str;pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback_Left = splitList[0];pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback_Top = splitList[1];pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback_Right = splitList[2];pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback_Bottom = splitList[3];};__RP_Callback_Helper(str, ‘rp-js-coord-callback’, 5, func);}function __RP_Url_Callback(str){var func = function(str, index, pluginList, splitList){pluginList[index].__RP_Url_Callback = str;pluginList[index].__RP_Url_Callback_Vid = splitList[0];pluginList[index].__RP_Url_Callback_Parent = splitList[1];};__RP_Callback_Helper(str, ‘rp-js-url-callback’, 3, func);}function __RP_TotalBytes_Callback(str){var func = function(str, index, pluginList, splitList){pluginList[index].__RP_TotalBytes_Callback = str;pluginList[index].__RP_TotalBytes_Callback_Bytes = splitList[0];};__RP_Callback_Helper(str, null, 2, func);}function __RP_Connection_Callback(str){var func = function(str, index, pluginList, splitList){pluginList[index].__RP_Connection_Callback = str;pluginList[index].__RP_Connection_Callback_Url = splitList[0];};__RP_Callback_Helper(str, null, 2, func);}

function __RP_Callback_Helper(str, strCallbackEvent, splitSize, func){var event = null;if (strCallbackEvent){event = document.createEvent(‘Events’);event.initEvent(strCallbackEvent, true, true);}if (str && str.length > 0){var splitList = str.split(‘|’);var strCompare = str;if (splitList.length == splitSize)strCompare = splitList[splitSize-1];var pluginList = document.plugins;for (var count = 0; count = sSrc.length){if (strCompare.indexOf(sSrc) != -1){func(str, count, pluginList, splitList);break;}}}}if (strCallbackEvent)document.body.dispatchEvent(event);}function __RP_Coord_Callback(str){var func = function(str, index, pluginList, splitList){pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback = str;pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback_Left = splitList[0];pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback_Top = splitList[1];pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback_Right = splitList[2];pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback_Bottom = splitList[3];};__RP_Callback_Helper(str, ‘rp-js-coord-callback’, 5, func);}function __RP_Url_Callback(str){var func = function(str, index, pluginList, splitList){pluginList[index].__RP_Url_Callback = str;pluginList[index].__RP_Url_Callback_Vid = splitList[0];pluginList[index].__RP_Url_Callback_Parent = splitList[1];};__RP_Callback_Helper(str, ‘rp-js-url-callback’, 3, func);}function __RP_TotalBytes_Callback(str){var func = function(str, index, pluginList, splitList){pluginList[index].__RP_TotalBytes_Callback = str;pluginList[index].__RP_TotalBytes_Callback_Bytes = splitList[0];};__RP_Callback_Helper(str, null, 2, func);}function __RP_Connection_Callback(str){var func = function(str, index, pluginList, splitList){pluginList[index].__RP_Connection_Callback = str;pluginList[index].__RP_Connection_Callback_Url = splitList[0];};__RP_Callback_Helper(str, null, 2, func);}

function __RP_Callback_Helper(str, strCallbackEvent, splitSize, func){var event = null;if (strCallbackEvent){event = document.createEvent(‘Events’);event.initEvent(strCallbackEvent, true, true);}if (str && str.length > 0){var splitList = str.split(‘|’);var strCompare = str;if (splitList.length == splitSize)strCompare = splitList[splitSize-1];var pluginList = document.plugins;for (var count = 0; count = sSrc.length){if (strCompare.indexOf(sSrc) != -1){func(str, count, pluginList, splitList);break;}}}}if (strCallbackEvent)document.body.dispatchEvent(event);}function __RP_Coord_Callback(str){var func = function(str, index, pluginList, splitList){pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback = str;pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback_Left = splitList[0];pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback_Top = splitList[1];pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback_Right = splitList[2];pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback_Bottom = splitList[3];};__RP_Callback_Helper(str, ‘rp-js-coord-callback’, 5, func);}function __RP_Url_Callback(str){var func = function(str, index, pluginList, splitList){pluginList[index].__RP_Url_Callback = str;pluginList[index].__RP_Url_Callback_Vid = splitList[0];pluginList[index].__RP_Url_Callback_Parent = splitList[1];};__RP_Callback_Helper(str, ‘rp-js-url-callback’, 3, func);}function __RP_TotalBytes_Callback(str){var func = function(str, index, pluginList, splitList){pluginList[index].__RP_TotalBytes_Callback = str;pluginList[index].__RP_TotalBytes_Callback_Bytes = splitList[0];};__RP_Callback_Helper(str, null, 2, func);}function __RP_Connection_Callback(str){var func = function(str, index, pluginList, splitList){pluginList[index].__RP_Connection_Callback = str;pluginList[index].__RP_Connection_Callback_Url = splitList[0];};__RP_Callback_Helper(str, null, 2, func);}

function __RP_Callback_Helper(str, strCallbackEvent, splitSize, func){var event = null;if (strCallbackEvent){event = document.createEvent(‘Events’);event.initEvent(strCallbackEvent, true, true);}if (str && str.length > 0){var splitList = str.split(‘|’);var strCompare = str;if (splitList.length == splitSize)strCompare = splitList[splitSize-1];var pluginList = document.plugins;for (var count = 0; count = sSrc.length){if (strCompare.indexOf(sSrc) != -1){func(str, count, pluginList, splitList);break;}}}}if (strCallbackEvent)document.body.dispatchEvent(event);}function __RP_Coord_Callback(str){var func = function(str, index, pluginList, splitList){pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback = str;pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback_Left = splitList[0];pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback_Top = splitList[1];pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback_Right = splitList[2];pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback_Bottom = splitList[3];};__RP_Callback_Helper(str, ‘rp-js-coord-callback’, 5, func);}function __RP_Url_Callback(str){var func = function(str, index, pluginList, splitList){pluginList[index].__RP_Url_Callback = str;pluginList[index].__RP_Url_Callback_Vid = splitList[0];pluginList[index].__RP_Url_Callback_Parent = splitList[1];};__RP_Callback_Helper(str, ‘rp-js-url-callback’, 3, func);}function __RP_TotalBytes_Callback(str){var func = function(str, index, pluginList, splitList){pluginList[index].__RP_TotalBytes_Callback = str;pluginList[index].__RP_TotalBytes_Callback_Bytes = splitList[0];};__RP_Callback_Helper(str, null, 2, func);}function __RP_Connection_Callback(str){var func = function(str, index, pluginList, splitList){pluginList[index].__RP_Connection_Callback = str;pluginList[index].__RP_Connection_Callback_Url = splitList[0];};__RP_Callback_Helper(str, null, 2, func);}

function __RP_Callback_Helper(str, strCallbackEvent, splitSize, func){var event = null;if (strCallbackEvent){event = document.createEvent(‘Events’);event.initEvent(strCallbackEvent, true, true);}if (str && str.length > 0){var splitList = str.split(‘|’);var strCompare = str;if (splitList.length == splitSize)strCompare = splitList[splitSize-1];var pluginList = document.plugins;for (var count = 0; count = sSrc.length){if (strCompare.indexOf(sSrc) != -1){func(str, count, pluginList, splitList);break;}}}}if (strCallbackEvent)document.body.dispatchEvent(event);}function __RP_Coord_Callback(str){var func = function(str, index, pluginList, splitList){pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback = str;pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback_Left = splitList[0];pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback_Top = splitList[1];pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback_Right = splitList[2];pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback_Bottom = splitList[3];};__RP_Callback_Helper(str, ‘rp-js-coord-callback’, 5, func);}function __RP_Url_Callback(str){var func = function(str, index, pluginList, splitList){pluginList[index].__RP_Url_Callback = str;pluginList[index].__RP_Url_Callback_Vid = splitList[0];pluginList[index].__RP_Url_Callback_Parent = splitList[1];};__RP_Callback_Helper(str, ‘rp-js-url-callback’, 3, func);}function __RP_TotalBytes_Callback(str){var func = function(str, index, pluginList, splitList){pluginList[index].__RP_TotalBytes_Callback = str;pluginList[index].__RP_TotalBytes_Callback_Bytes = splitList[0];};__RP_Callback_Helper(str, null, 2, func);}function __RP_Connection_Callback(str){var func = function(str, index, pluginList, splitList){pluginList[index].__RP_Connection_Callback = str;pluginList[index].__RP_Connection_Callback_Url = splitList[0];};__RP_Callback_Helper(str, null, 2, func);}

function __RP_Callback_Helper(str, strCallbackEvent, splitSize, func){var event = null;if (strCallbackEvent){event = document.createEvent(‘Events’);event.initEvent(strCallbackEvent, true, true);}if (str && str.length > 0){var splitList = str.split(‘|’);var strCompare = str;if (splitList.length == splitSize)strCompare = splitList[splitSize-1];var pluginList = document.plugins;for (var count = 0; count = sSrc.length){if (strCompare.indexOf(sSrc) != -1){func(str, count, pluginList, splitList);break;}}}}if (strCallbackEvent)document.body.dispatchEvent(event);}function __RP_Coord_Callback(str){var func = function(str, index, pluginList, splitList){pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback = str;pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback_Left = splitList[0];pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback_Top = splitList[1];pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback_Right = splitList[2];pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback_Bottom = splitList[3];};__RP_Callback_Helper(str, ‘rp-js-coord-callback’, 5, func);}function __RP_Url_Callback(str){var func = function(str, index, pluginList, splitList){pluginList[index].__RP_Url_Callback = str;pluginList[index].__RP_Url_Callback_Vid = splitList[0];pluginList[index].__RP_Url_Callback_Parent = splitList[1];};__RP_Callback_Helper(str, ‘rp-js-url-callback’, 3, func);}function __RP_TotalBytes_Callback(str){var func = function(str, index, pluginList, splitList){pluginList[index].__RP_TotalBytes_Callback = str;pluginList[index].__RP_TotalBytes_Callback_Bytes = splitList[0];};__RP_Callback_Helper(str, null, 2, func);}function __RP_Connection_Callback(str){var func = function(str, index, pluginList, splitList){pluginList[index].__RP_Connection_Callback = str;pluginList[index].__RP_Connection_Callback_Url = splitList[0];};__RP_Callback_Helper(str, null, 2, func);}

function __RP_Callback_Helper(str, strCallbackEvent, splitSize, func){var event = null;if (strCallbackEvent){event = document.createEvent(‘Events’);event.initEvent(strCallbackEvent, true, true);}if (str && str.length > 0){var splitList = str.split(‘|’);var strCompare = str;if (splitList.length == splitSize)strCompare = splitList[splitSize-1];var pluginList = document.plugins;for (var count = 0; count = sSrc.length){if (strCompare.indexOf(sSrc) != -1){func(str, count, pluginList, splitList);break;}}}}if (strCallbackEvent)document.body.dispatchEvent(event);}function __RP_Coord_Callback(str){var func = function(str, index, pluginList, splitList){pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback = str;pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback_Left = splitList[0];pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback_Top = splitList[1];pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback_Right = splitList[2];pluginList[index].__RP_Coord_Callback_Bottom = splitList[3];};__RP_Callback_Helper(str, ‘rp-js-coord-callback’, 5, func);}function __RP_Url_Callback(str){var func = function(str, index, pluginList, splitList){pluginList[index].__RP_Url_Callback = str;pluginList[index].__RP_Url_Callback_Vid = splitList[0];pluginList[index].__RP_Url_Callback_Parent = splitList[1];};__RP_Callback_Helper(str, ‘rp-js-url-callback’, 3, func);}function __RP_TotalBytes_Callback(str){var func = function(str, index, pluginList, splitList){pluginList[index].__RP_TotalBytes_Callback = str;pluginList[index].__RP_TotalBytes_Callback_Bytes = splitList[0];};__RP_Callback_Helper(str, null, 2, func);}function __RP_Connection_Callback(str){var func = function(str, index, pluginList, splitList){pluginList[index].__RP_Connection_Callback = str;pluginList[index].__RP_Connection_Callback_Url = splitList[0];};__RP_Callback_Helper(str, null, 2, func);}

I usually use RSS feeds to keep track of my favourite sites although in recent times, I’ve been an increasing convert to the use of news tickers. News tickers avoid the need to visit websites or check RSS feeds by sitting on your desktop and scrolling content vertically or horizontally. These can be used to cover just about any topic. Here’s a selection of some of the best:

• Roxio MediaTicker – Delivers digital photos to your desktop

• MaxxChat – An excellent IRC messaging client that also features a world news ticker

• mySI – Essential for NFL fans – all the latest headlines and news from American Football

• NewzCrawler – Scans hundreds of sites and delivers news according to your interests

• Novobot – Squeeze all your favourite RSS feeds into a ticker so they’re all in one place

If you spend more time on the move than at a computer or in your house then you might sometimes feel a little out of touch with the world. However there is no escape, not anymore, because Smaato News is a great RSS-reader for your mobile that will deliver every news story you need, and a few more. By personalising the settings you can get every new and updated article sent from your favourite websites, blogs and whatever other news source you wish to add.

We’ve become a world of 24-hour news readers and I am hooked. If I don’t get my up-to-the-second news fix I have to re-read an old story and change the dates. Nowadays, there’s no reason why anyone should miss out on a single earth-stopping event thanks to the number of newsreader applications collecting every who, what, why, when and where. I learnt those ‘w’s in journalism school, by the way. These are often posted using Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds which let you gather top stories from websites, blogs and podcasts and deliver the headlines onto your PC. My favourite is Google Reader; just set up an account, list the websites and blogs you want to stay alert of and the software will give you all the headlines every day. Clicking on these takes you to the source of the story. You can create lots of folders for different interests and share stories with friends. You can also get a mobile version now.

Another great news tracker is Mozilla’s Live Bookmarks software. Not only do you bookmark favourite websites; instead of checking them regularly to view updates, the latest changes are displayed as headlines in your bookmarks toolbar as you scroll over the title of each site. You can store many but you don’t get a preview of the stories which can prove a little annoying when a catchy title ends up being a rather more boring article.

As internet lovers I’m sure most of you expect more from your news than a simple article. NewsBliss sits on your desktop trawling the web for stories, pictures, images and even video. It streams YouTube, Flickr and Google News & Video direct to your desktop. And if you don’t have time to read the news, or more importantly have accessibility issues due to sight difficulties, NewsAloud will read every article you select. Delivered in a real human voice, it’s like having your own personal newsreader.

Finally for Mac users, if you’re unsure who to get your news from nowadays then let NetNewsWire gather up everything from thousands of websites so you can fish out the good bits and throwaway the rest. It’s similar to Apple Mail and there are plenty of options including automatically saving podcasts.

Executor will allow you to use your PC as quick as possible. Whether you’re working or just browsing the web, you’ll be able to open files, launch apps and load websites simply by typing the first few letters of their keyword. Faster and easier than the standard Start menu, Executor is a great way to boost your productivity.

Here at Softonic HQ we’ve been telling you it’s summer all summer. Well now it’s nearly not summer and to make sure you get the message Cyril wrote about the MacToSchool (it’s like back to school, see?) bundle of software which will not only get students prepared for the winter, it’ll also save them a lot of money.

For those of you with proper jobs, perhaps there’s a way you can spend more quality time at home. Video conferencing is one of those things that has long been heralded as the future of business. Along with driving boatcars to work to avoid the traffic and commuting from Mars. Interestingly home worker Nick took at look at the best applications available.

If you’re unemployed, chances are you’re sitting at home watching television or playing computer games. I’m just joking, but you are, aren’t you? In our remit to cater for all, Tom put together a list of the best games on Softonic, and I took a look at the best mobile TV apps. Cyril also provided a comprehensive package of the best web browsers for Mac, so you can waste your time more effectively.

And finally, as school, work and perhaps even a job interview approach why not treat yourself to a new look? Nick has all the tips on how to make sure that trip to the salon isn’t a total nightmare.

Back in May we told you about Mozilla’s plans regarding Project Joey, their bold move into the mobile market. Well Joey is now go-ey and there’s a nice video you can watch to learn more about what it’s offering.

As exciting as it is when a big player like Mozilla attempts something new, the buzz surrounding little Joey is distinctly dull. The latest furry initiative seems to be offering no more than transferring content from a PC to a mobile. The people at Mozilla say it solves two major problems: One, that a great deal of internet content is currently inaccessible to mobile users; and two, when it is available for downloading it is a long and unpleasant experience. While most would agree with the diagnosis, it feels that Joey is being offered as a sticky plaster to tape over the problem rather than a complete cure. Give it a go and see what you think.