Nick Peers

Piriform, Inc has released CCleaner for Mac 1.07.233, a minor refresh of its Mac freeware cleaning tool. Modelled closely on CCleaner 4.0 for Windows, version 1.07 sports the same refreshed program icons and interface tweaks as found in the latest Windows build, but also sports a number of new and improved features.

Notable improvements in this new release include better compatibility with OS X 10.5 (Leopard) and better cleaning speeds when running in the latest version of OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion).

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Facebook has released Facebook for iOS 6.0, a major update for its iPhone and iPad app. The major new feature in version 6 is the introduction of "chat heads", which allow users to chat from anywhere in the app -- this feature isn’t yet universally available, but should be rolled out to all users "soon", according to Facebook.

Chat heads are small circular icons representing both individual chatters and Facebook Messages. The chat head appears automatically when receiving a message, or can be manually set up by tapping the contact’s name in the contacts list.

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Foxit Corporation has unveiled a dramatically updated version of its free PDF reader. Foxit Reader 6.0.2 adds PDF creation tools to the freeware software’s roster for the first time, plus unveils a revamped ribbon-based toolbar modelled on Microsoft Office 2013.

Also added to version 6.0 are PDF sign -- support for handwritten signatures, the ability to create and insert stamps, read and search PDF Portfolios and integration with Evernote. The features see Foxit Reader 6.0 square up to pioneering freeware tool Nitro Reader 3.5.

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SugarSync, Inc has released SugarSync for iOS 4.0, a major new release for iPad and iPhone owners wishing access to their SugarSync cloud storage on the move. Version 4.0 features a major redesign designed to simplify syncing and sharing, plus integrates with other apps through the "Open in" feature.

The update also adds support for Device Filtering, a feature recently introduced in the SugarSync 2.0.9 desktop app for Windows and Mac, along with Cloud Search, and promises future support for folder labels.

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If you find Finder frustratingly limited, then you’ll be in the market for a replacement/enhancement tool. There are plenty of paid-for Finder enhancements out there, but over the past year or so they’ve been increasingly put to the shade by a fabulous, and rapidly developing, free tool called XtraFinder 0.16.1.

We’ve been checking back occasionally to see how XtraFinder is developing, and with version 0.16.1 now out, there have been a staggering 20 updates since we last looked at it back in September, so we thought it was the perfect time to bring you up to speed.

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Popular cross-platform, open-source VLC Media Player 2.0.6 has been released, focussing on fixing a number of regressions introduced in previous builds since its initial 2.0 release. The update also adds support for Matroska v4 files, tweaks the user interface on the OS X build and implements a new compiler for the Windows version.

VLC Media Player offers support for all major video and audio formats, and also supports playback from DVDs and unencrypted Blu-ray discs, making it an excellent choice for systems, including Windows XP and 8, where native support for video disc playback is missing.

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Oracle has released VirtualBox 4.2.12, a maintenance update for its cross-platform, open-source virtualisation tool. A large number of fixes and updates have been applied, including dynamic support for multi-monitor setups via the Windows Additions.

There are also a notable number of GUI fixes concentrating on improving multi-screen support, including one that stops a crash when changing visual mode, and another that ensures OS X hosts display the correct menu bar in each machine window.

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Moonchild Productions has released Pale Moon 20.0.1 and Pale Moon x64 20.0.1 for Windows. Also available in portable 32-bit and portable 64-bit forms, the Firefox variant had only just been updated to version 20.

Version 20.0.1 includes all the best bits of Firefox 20, including the new panel-based download manager, per-window private browsing support and ability to close individual non-responsive plug-ins to protect the current browser session.

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Taiwanese software developer CyberLink has released PowerDirector 11 Ultra GM5 (build 2707), a notable update to its powerful consumer video-editing tool for high-end Windows PCs. The update adds support for RAW images across a wide range of camera models, plus extends support to four additional languages: Danish, Swedish, Norwegian and  Finnish.

The update, which is also available for the Ultimate and Ultimate Suite builds of PowerDirector 11, also promises improved stability and accuracy through a number of tweaks and bug fixes.

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XnSoft has released XnView 2.00, a new version of its freeware multimedia browser, editor and creation tool for Windows. The tool makes it simple to browse, organize and edit images, plus includes a screenshot capture tool in addition to acquiring images from scanners. XnView can also create supplementary material such as slideshows, web pages, contact sheets and video thumbnail galleries.

Version 2.0’s most notable change is the addition of a new optional toolbar style -- Metro3 -- that mimics the tile-based ModernUI interface found in Windows 8. The toolbar isn’t active by default; users must select Tools > Options > Toolbar, then switch to the Skin tab, select Metro3 and click OK.

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Adobe has refreshed its cross-platform web media playback and runtime tools with the release of Adobe Flash Player for Other Browsers 11.7, Adobe Flash Player for Internet Explorer 11.7 and Adobe AIR 3.7.0.

There’s only one notable change to report in this first stable release of Flash Player 11.7: enhancements to the sandboxing features that allow it to better address application launches in protected mode.

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Incomedia has released WebSite X5 Free v10.0, a major new version of its beginner-friendly web building tool for Windows. The app, which is also available in a number of paid-for versions, now boasts an integrated webserver for faster site previews, overhauled template gallery and HTML5 image galleries.

Changes to the program’s interface include better file management, whereby all files linked to a project are automatically copied so the originals are left untouched. Aside from the new integrated web server, WebSite X5 10 also replaces the default IE engine for browser previews with Chrome’s Chromium engine.

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If you’ve a penchant for typos or having to type the same repetitive phrases day in, day out, you’ll be eternally grateful for Word’s AutoCorrect and AutoText functions. The sad thing is, of course, that once you exit Office they’re inaccessible, which must be frustrating as you read back that horribly misspelled message in your email client or psyche yourself up to enter your address for the umpteenth time into your text editor.

The good news is that you can gain this functionality across all your apps and tools in Windows with one small, perfectly formed freeware program. Step forward, WordExpander 1.5.15.

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Established UK developer Xara has released Xara Web Designer 9 and Xara Web Designer Premium 9, the latest builds of its popular web design package for Windows. Version 9 automatically supports the creation of HiDPi/Retina-compatible websites (Premium only), updates support for HTML5 and CSS3 standards and adds a dedicated 64-bit build for 64-bit systems with more than 4GB RAM installed.

Improved HTML5 and CSS3 compatibility has a number of benefits for Xara developers, most notably more efficient and faster loading websites. This is due to the fact many page elements that were previously converted into images can now be rendered natively in HTML5. These include rectangles -- simple, rounded and skewed, box shadows, text with drop shadows and various page backgrounds.

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Piriform has released Recuva 1.46 and Recuva Portable 1.46, brand new versions of its free data recovery tool for Windows PCs. Recuva can restore both lost and deleted files from a wide variety of devices attached to the user’s PC, including hard drives, camera memory cards and MP3 players.

Version 1.46 contains one notable new feature -- an option to scan folders for deleted items via the Windows Explorer context menu. It also promises better scanning of exFAT and FAT32 drives along with other minor tweaks and improvements.

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