Don't miss one of the week's exciting 25 software downloads
The second week of May has passed, and it was as busy as ever in the world of software. If you haven’t kept your finger on the pulse, we have put together this roundup to bring you back up to speed.
Windows users looking to bring one of the features of OS X to their PCs will be interested in TweakNow DriveShortcut 1.0.0, which can be used to automatically create desktop shortcuts whenever removable media is inserted. If you’re looking to clean up your hard drive, the release of GeekUninstaller 1.0.0.2 is very timely, while EASEUS Todo Backup Free 4.5 has been updated with support for Windows 8 -- if you want to protect your valuable files. In a similar vein is Acronis True Image Home 2012 (Update 2) v15.0.7119, which has been enhanced with a number of tweaks and new features.
The last week saw fewer web browser updates than usual, but Opera 11.64 FINAL did see the light of day, although there are few noteworthy changes.TweetDeck 1.4 has also received a minor update.
Ad-Aware Free Antivirus+ 10.1 is a more major release with improvements made to the virus scanning engine, enhancements made to the firewall and changes to the real-time protection feature. Another security tool that has been updated is Bitdefender Total Security 2013 Beta 32-bit and Bitdefender Total Security 2013 Beta 64-bit, which are previous version of the suite that includes a firewall, spam filtering, secure browsing and much more.
If you use work with audio or video, there are some new releases that may interest you, starting with Ultimate Encoder 7 Free, which can be used to rip CDs and convert files between formats. AirServer 0.9.0 is an interesting tool that enables you to stream the output of your iPad to your PC, while SopCast 3.5.0 is a great online media tool that enables you to, amongst other things, create your own online TV station and watch broadcasts from all over the world. To help you to make the most of your media collection, Plex Media Center 0.9.5.2 (beta) is an all-in-one tool that enables you to pull in all your media files from network locations and enjoy them on your PC or TV, and Plex Media Server 0.9.6.1 is available to help you to get everything set up.
This week also saw the release of trial versions of the CS6 range of applications from Adobe. Fireworks CS6 is a staggering powerful image editor designed with web creation in mind, while the latest version of Adobe’s flagship image editor, Photoshop CS6 really needs no introduction. Adobe is famous not only for its image editing tools, but also software for creating content for the web. Dreamweaver CS6 features the same redesigned and refined interface that can be found across the rest of the CS6 range, while Adobe Flash Professional CS6 is available for anyone who doubts the future of HTML5. For video-editing fans, Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 is a staggeringly powerful tool that includes almost everything you could ever imagine using, while Adobe Illustrator CS6 is a versatile vector drawing tool that can be put to countless uses.
But Adobe is far from being the only company producing image editing software, and Pixelitor 1.1.2 is a surprisingly feature-packed editor that is available completely free of charge. Also free is GIMP 2.8.0 FINAL, which has undergone a huge makeover and is now more approachable than ever -- there’s even GIMP Portable 2.8.0 ready to copy onto your USB drive for use on the move. Topping off this week’s roundup is Apache OpenOffice 3.4.0, which is the latest version of the free office suite that has, amongst other enhancements, been given a speed boost for better performance.
That’s it for this week. There’ll be another roundup in seven days’ time, and in the meantime you can keep checking out Downloadcrew for details of all the latest releases.
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