Firefox 51 delivers a mix of security, performance and reliability tweaks, implements FLAC audio support
Mozilla has released Firefox 51.0 for Windows, Mac and Linux, with Firefox for Android 51.0 due imminently. There are no standout features in this release -- the closest thing to a headline addition is the inclusion of FLAC support.
Elsewhere, Firefox 41 focuses on tweaks and enhancements that add up to a reasonable update. These include improved performance via the new e10s multi-process system, security warnings when logging into insecure sites, and more reliable syncing of bookmarks.
Evernote for iOS ushers in new streamlined era for note-taking tool
If this were a TV show or movie franchise it would be a reboot. After a period of behind-the-scenes consolidation and soul-searching, Evernote Corporation has signaled a new approach to its note-taking tool with the release of Evernote for iOS 8.0.
Version 8.0 sees the cluttered green interface of yesteryear banished, replaced by a more minimalist design as Evernote attempts to reposition its note-taking app with speed and user-friendliness at its core.
Opera Neon provides a conceptual look at a potential future Opera web browser
Opera Software has released Opera Neon, the company’s first ever "concept browser". It’s been designed from the ground up to focus on web content and provide a different way of browsing and consuming the web.
Despite the fact it’s a concept browser, Opera Neon is based on the existing Opera desktop engine, and so is a fully functional browser in its own right.
Foxit Reader 8.2 adds commenting and discussion features, Fast Web View support
Foxit Software has released Foxit Reader 8.2, the latest point update of its free Windows PDF viewer and creation tool, alongside Foxit Reader for Mac/Linux 2.3. Both new versions introduces features for sharing comments and discussions and a cloud reading tool among other changes.
The Windows version is the more fully featured of the two, boasting numerous additional features including PDF creation capabilities and form filling tools, both of which have yet to be implemented on the Mac and Linux platforms.
Opera 44 Developer starts public testing, offers Touch Bar support alongside security improvements
Opera Software’s first release of 2017 sees Opera 44.0 Developer made available for Windows, Mac and Linux users. The Developer edition is the Alpha branch of the browser’s development cycle.
Version 44 launches with four new developmental features, not all of which are available for preview (but likely to be switched on in subsequent builds over the coming weeks).
Edit video in 4K for free with OpenShot 2.2
The future is Ultra HD, or 4K as it’s known to its friends. Ultra HD TVs and displays are slowly coming into the mainstream, and of course they’re being joined by 4K-capable cameras. But how can you edit that 4K video feed without having to splash out on expensive software?
The answer lies with OpenShot 2.2, the free (and open source) video editor for Windows, Mac and Linux. It’s now capable of supporting 4K video editing, giving you all the tools you need to produce slick home video that looks great on your big-screen TV.
IObit Advanced SystemCare Ultimate 10 strengthens protection, tweaks optimization tools
IObit has released Advanced SystemCare Ultimate 10, a major new release of its flagship system security and optimization product for Windows. The new release centers around offering a larger anti-virus database through the integration of a new BitDefender antivirus engine.
Elsewhere, the application includes a number of new features already introduced when its little brother, IObit Advanced SystemCare Free, was updated in October. These include a new FaceID feature and component for managing start-up items.
AOMEI Backupper Standard 4 adds real-time file sync, supports backup to cloud
AOMEI has released AOMEI Backupper Standard 4.0, the second major update of its freeware Windows backup, imaging and cloning tool in 2016.
Version 4.0 adds an additional arrow to the tool’s bow -- the ability to sync file changes in real-time. There’s also added support for a number of popular cloud storage devices as well as a number of more minor improvements.
Vivaldi ends the year with a series of tab-related improvements
Hot on the heels of Opera’s final release of the year comes Vivaldi 1.6, a new version of the world’s most flexible web browser from Opera co-founder Jon S von Tetzhner.
Version 1.6 -- available for Mac, Windows and Linux -- debuts three new features, all revolving around the browser’s flexible tab management system. The highlight of these is the new tab notification feature.
TidyTabs brings order to your chaotic desktop
What’s the collective noun for all those windows cluttering up your desktop? A clutter of windows, maybe, or perhaps even a chaos of windows? If you’re wondering how to bring some semblance of logical organization back to your Windows desktop, you need TidyTabs 1.2.
TidyTabs gives away what it does with its name. It takes inspiration from the web browser revolution that saw dozens of separate, unmanageable website windows gathered together into a single, multi-tabbed window and takes it to the next level.
Plex Media Player is now free to all users
Non-Plex Pass holders rejoice -- Plex has made its desktop-friendly media player app for Windows and Mac completely free with the release of Plex Media Player 1.2.
Version 1.2 also introduces a major new feature -- when the app is run in windowed mode, it defaults to the web interface, allowing users to manage their server(s) remotely.
Touché 1.0 extends Touch Bar functionality to any modern Mac -- for free
Apple’s Touch Bar is a major new selling point for its latest generation of MacBooks, but that doesn’t mean you have to purchase one to find out what it’s all about. Touché 1.0 is a new freeware tool that places a virtual Touch Bar on the desktop of any Mac running the very latest version of MacOS Sierra (10.12.1 v2 or later).
This isn’t an emulator, but a virtual copy of the Touch Bar itself, identical in every way to the hardware-based bar found on the latest MacBooks.
Vivaldi embraces IoT with support for Philips Hue lights, adds multiple tab selection
Vivaldi Technologies -- led by Opera co-founder Jon S von Tetzchner -- has released Vivaldi 1.5, the latest version of its customizable web browser for Windows, Mac and Linux.
The big talking point in version 1.5 is Vivaldi’s integration into the Philips Hue IoT ecosystem, but the new release also adds a number of more universal features, such as support for tab drag and drop, which makes tab stacking much simpler than before.
Firefox Focus for iOS promises to tighten privacy while browsing
Mozilla has unveiled Firefox Focus 2.0, a brand new privacy conscious web browser for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. Despite the version number, this is the first public release of the app.
The app aims to counteract two increasingly prevalent trends in web browsing: one, a lack of privacy, as users find their web activities tracking across multiple devices, and two, an increasingly cluttered web space where adverts jostle for attention and overwhelm basic content.
Mozilla Firefox 50 trims start-up times, widens download protection
Mozilla has released Firefox 50.0 for Windows, Mac and Linux, with Firefox for Android 50.0 due imminently. For the second release in a row it’s launched a week late, but this time the reason behind the pause is different.
The extra week gave Firefox 50 time to unveil its headline new feature: significant start-up improvements, achieved through an overhaul of the application’s add-on SDK module system. Elsewhere download protection covers a wider range of executable files, plus Firefox 50 introduces a smattering of useful usability improvements.
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