Be creative with one of these 21, exciting downloads

It has been another very busy week in the world of software releases and we’ve collection together 21 of the biggest titles that you may have missed; there’s something for everyone here, no matter what you use your computer for.

This has been a big week for anyone looking to get a little creative with their computer. CyberLink Video and Photo Creative Collection 2.0 is a powerful collection of tools that includes all you need to work with your photo and video collections. Comprising PowerDirector and PhotoDirector, you can edit all of the images and footage you have capture with your digital camera ready to use in a range of projects.

CyberLink PhotoDirector 3 FINAL is also available as a standalone product and has been greatly enhanced from previous versions, now boasting a number of advanced features such as lens correction. If you are someone who has an extensive photo collection on your hard drive, look no further than MAGIX Photo Manager MX (v11) Deluxe  which includes everything you need to browse, view, edit and organize your images.

This week also saw the release of tools for anyone looking to get creative online. If you have a website and have been thinking of using it to showcase videos, flowplayer 3.2.7 is a stunning streaming video player that can be customized in a huge number of ways and is available free of charge, even for commercial use.

For the home user wanting to show off digital photos online, Jalbum 10.4 makes it easier than ever to create an online gallery for your web site; there are a range of styles and templates to choose from so you can find something to suit your existing site.

Any mention of the Internet always leads to thoughts about security, and Norton Internet Security 2012 v19.5 (60-day) is an impressive virus protection tool (and much more ) that is not only available as a generous 60 day trial, but is also compatible with the Consumer Preview of Windows 8. Norton is not the only name in the security arena, and Panda Cloud Antivirus Free 1.5.2 is a different style of security tool that take full advantage of the cloud to offer reliable, constantly updated protection.

Skype Launcher 1.6.5 is a handy tool for home and business users alike, making it possible to sign into multiple Skype accounts at the same time -- a great way to keep your work and personal life separate.

Moving away from Internet based programs, Speccy 1.16 is an excellent utility to help you to discover everything you need to know about your computer. Whether you need to find out the exact specification of your machine ready to sell it, or you need to check the model number of a piece of hardware, this is the tool for you; there’s also Speccy 1.16 Portable for portable software fans.

Software is just as important as hardware, and Secunia PSI 3 (beta) is a helpful tool that enables you to ensure that all of your software is kept up to date, overcoming problems that old software can be plagued with.

Your hard drive is one of the most important components of your computer, and you need to take care of it and manage it properly. Paragon Hard Disk Manager 12 Suite can be used to partition your drive into manageable chunks, defragment it to keep it running smoothly and recover data if something goes wrong. More demanding users need look no further than Paragon Hard Disk Manager 12 Professional, which adds support for dynamic volumes as well as virtual machine support and task scheduling.

If Mac users have felt a little neglected of late HandBrake 0.9.6 is now available. Despite the minor version number increase, there is actually a great deal that has been added to this powerful video conversion tool, including support for more decoders ad support for Lion -- there’s also a Windows and Linux version available.

Mac users can also take a look at SnagIt for Mac 2.0. This is a staggerly powerful screen capture tool that can now be used to record desktop videos as well as grabbing screenshots – again, there is also a Windows version available in the form of SnagIt 11.0.

Not to be overlooked: Microsoft released a swathe of beta and preview products, starting with Microsoft Windows Server 8 Beta. Of greater interest to the majority of computer users areWindows 8 Consumer Preview 32-bit and Windows 8 Consumer Preview  64-bit, which enable you to take the next version of Windows for a spin before it is released later this year. Despite being a Consumer Preview, both the 32- and 64-bit versions of the operating system are shaping up extremely well although compatibility with all hardware and software is not guaranteed.

These versions of Windows are provided in ISO format and will need to be burnerd to DVD, but you can also take a look at Windows 8 Consumer Preview Setup. This is a great alternative to the ISO download as it enables you to use a system checker to test for possible compatibility problems and then automatically download and install the preview if you would like to -- all of this with a wonderfully sleek installation process.

Software developers may also want to take a look at Microsoft Visual Studio 11 Ultimate Beta ISO, which can be used to produce applications and even publish directly to the Windows Store.

Join us again at the same time next week for another software roundup.

Photo Credit: Joseph S.L. Tan Matt/Shutterstock