Nick Peers

  Ventis Media, Inc has released MediaMonkey 4.1, a major update to its media management tool for Windows. Version 4.1, available in free and Gold editions, provides a powerful set of tools for managing and organizing music and video.

Version 4.1 builds on UPnP/DLNA library sharing introduced in version 4 with a number of improvements, but most notably updates its mobile sync capabilities for both Android and iOS users with some significant enhancements.

MediaMonkey 4.1 now supports wireless sync with the paid-for version of the MediaMonkey app for Android, allowing users to keep their music collection in sync between PC and Android device. Also added is bi-directional sync and support for iOS 7 devices. iOS 7 users were previously forced to install an iTunes plug-in as a workaround to allow MediaMonkey to sync with their devices.

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Imesart S.à.r.l has released Audio Memos Free 4.1.0 and Audio Memos Pro 4.1.0, major updates to its mobile digital voice recording apps. Version 4.1 comes with pinned controls for VoiceOver users to make the app easier to use for those with sight problems.

Other improvements -- restricted to the paid-for versions -- include options for easily erasing sections of memos, new storing options and variable scrubbing speeds for all sliders.

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Piriform Ltd has released Speccy 1.25, a new version of its free Windows system information tool. The headline new feature in version 1.25 -- also available as a standalone portable build -- is its ability to detect ReadyBoost drives.

Version 1.25 also includes a number of networking improvements, better accuracy for disk transfer mode detection and restructured CPU Core data view.

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Opera Software has released Opera 19.0 FINAL, the fifth major update of its web browser since it was rebooted last July as a Chromium-based browser and entered a rapid release development cycle.

Version 19 introduces four notable new features, including the long-awaited return of the Bookmarks bar as well as support for custom wallpapers, improvements to its extensions handling and a new Hardcore mode for advanced users.

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Google has rolled out Chrome for iOS 32, a major new release of its alternative browser for iPhone and iPad users. Version 32 introduces a new translation bar for pages written in foreign languages, plus promises to reduce bandwidth usage by up to 50 percent.

It also sees the first phase of a new feature that will update the New Tab page to speed up future searching, and includes the usual gamut of fixes and improvements.

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Any computer user with even a smidgen of sense has some kind of backup plan in place, and for many Mac owners that backup plan will be Time Machine, Apple’s built-in tool for saving your data from harm. It’s incredibly easy to set up -- choose a backup drive, flick a switch and you’re good to go -- so what’s not to like?

That backup schedule for one. By default, Time Machine updates your backup every hour. That’s fine when you’ve just started out using it, but when low disk space warnings start popping up with regularity, what then? The solution lies with TimeMachineEditor 3.

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It took three years for version 2 to make its final appearance, but just one month later developer Richard Wang has released FluffyApp 3.0. FluffyApp is a freeware client that allows Windows users to share files (known as "drops") using the Mac-only CloudApp file-sharing service.

Version 3.0 includes a new drop display feature, live drop history updates and features a major rewrite of its core code. It also now requires .NET Framework 4.5 to function, which means it’s no longer compatible with Windows XP.

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BillP Studios has unveiled the 30th major version of its snapshot-based security tool with the release of WinPatrol 30.0.2014. Although this release isn’t a beta, it’s been billed as a "Preview", with many additional enhancements -- including support for international date formats -- promised to follow.

What is already present in the new release is an interface redesign, improved performance, enhanced reporting, new cookie support, better handling of Windows Update and a tweaked Delayed Start function.

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Piriform has updated its popular Windows cleaning tool with the release of CCleaner 4.10. Also available in portable form, version 4.10 continues the recent trend of concentrating development on the new paid-for Professional build.

Pro users now gain a new cleaning scheduler tool, allowing them to automatically run cleaning operations at set intervals. All other changes apply equally to both free and paid-for versions, however.

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Security firm Avast Software, celebrating 25 years in the business this year, has released a second update to its avast! 2014 range of products. Avast Free Antivirus 2014, Internet Security 2014 and Premier 2014 all get updated to build number 9.0.2013.

The new build, although a minor one, contains a number of important stability and bug fixes, making it a must-have update for all existing Avast users.

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Adobe has released Adobe Digital Editions 3.0 on Windows and Mac, a major new version of its eBook manager. The tool, which helps users browse, organize and read both free and purchased eBooks in EPUB, PDF, and PDF/A formats, offers more secure DRM, improved PDF search tools and enhanced display of certain book types.

The headline new feature is the new DRM Scheme, which Adobe says has been "hardened and made more secure" to prevent unauthorized viewing of files protected by Digital Rights Management.

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New Zealand-based MEGA has launched MEGAsync 1.0 FINAL for Windows, the first stable release in a planned trio of desktop tools (Mac and Linux versions are promised soon) giving MEGA account holders access to their cloud-based files via their computers. It follows the launch of the mobile MEGA app for Android and iOS.

MEGA -- which includes Kim Dotcom among its founders -- offers robust, secure cloud storage using 2048-bit RSA encryption. It also offers a generous free 50GB of storage space, with paid-for plans offering up to 4TB secure storage with extended bandwidth (up to 8TB/month).

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Sandboxie Holdings, LLC has just released Sandboxie 4.08, an update to its shareware Windows sandboxing tool. The new build comes with the usual mixture of bug fixes and minor tweaks, but includes several significant improvements that should make it more reliable, particularly when run on Windows 8.1 systems.

Sandboxie’s prime purpose is to provide additional security by allowing users to run programs in an isolated environment, preventing them from making any changes to the hard drive without the user’s express consent.

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Piriform has released Recuva 1.5 and Recuva Portable 1.5, new versions of its freeware data recovery tool for Windows PCs.

Version 1.5’s headline feature is its newly acquired ability to recover data from unmounted drives, while it also adds support for the ISO9660 file system as well as Junction Point recovery.

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Google has released a brand new version of its experimental Chrome browser with the arrival of Google Chrome Canary 34. The main new highlight in this release is supported for Google Now cards.

Google Now is Google’s card-based service that delivers useful information throughout the day -- it’s available as part of the Google Search app for Android and iOS, and is now being rolled out on the desktop too.

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