Is IcoFX 2 worth the price?
For the past few years, IcoFX has lain apparently dormant, despite noises from the developer that a new version was in development. This powerful icon editor has suddenly resurfaced, however, with a major new version number, IcoFX 2.0, and a shock for those who’ve been using the previous build: IcoFX is no longer freeware.
IcoFX 2.0 is now available to download as a trial version, and the full version will set you back the princely sum of $59. The question is, what’s exactly changed to justify the new price tag?
Norton Security 2012: Better protection, less overhead
Symantec has released brand new versions of its antivirus and Internet security products. Norton Internet Security 2012 and Norton AntiVirus 2012 both launch with new and improved features to boost the brand's security reputation even further.
Norton 2012 promises improved Norton Protection System and Insight features, a new parental controls tool and built-in optimization for netbooks, claiming it will conserve battery life and preserve network usage while running on battery power.
O&O DiskImage 6 speeds up backup and recovery
German developer O&O Software has announced the immediate release of O&O DiskImage 6, its drive backup tool. DiskImage 6, which is also available as a separate 64-bit build, allows users to take exact byte-for-byte images of their hard drives, adds a plethora of new features, including the ability to back up individual files and folders.
Other new features include the ability to mount standard ISO image files as virtual drives as well as DiskImage backup images, plus a revamped user interface designed to make the backup process simpler and clearer for less experienced users, which includes a one-click backup option.
Partition Wizard 7 offers little new in free version
MiniTool Solution Ltd has released a brand new version of its non-destructive partitioning software. MiniTool Partition Wizard 7.0, available as a free-for-personal-use Home Edition, is also can be had in a number of paid-for editions, with prices starting from $30 for Partition Wizard 7.0 Professional.
The biggest update in Partition Wizard 7.0 is actually restricted to paid-for editions of the program, namely the added support for Simple, Spanned, Striped, Mirrored and RAID-5 volumes, with the addition of a brand new Dynamic Disk menu offering a host of new options for handling such volumes.
InstantShot: Better screen capture for your Mac
It’s a strange quirk of OS X that it boasts not one, but two separate screen-capture utilities. One is triggered simply by pressing [Cmd] + [3] or [4] depending on whether you want a full-screen shot or a portion of the screen. While configurable, you’ll need to fiddle about with the command line each time you want to change a setting.
Open the Applications > Utilities folder and you’ll find the other: Grab. It allows you to take timed grabs, place your choice of cursors on the screen and save the finished output with your choice of filename in your chosen location. Each tool has its own pros and cons, but what if you could combine the best of them into a single free utility for your Mac? The good news is you can, in the form of InstantShot! 2.5 for Tiger, Panther and SnowLeopard, or InstantShot! 2.6b for Lion.
ABBYY FineReader now supports popular e-reader formats
Moscow-based optical character recognition specialist ABBYY has released a major new update of its renowned OCR application. ABBYY FineReader 11 Professional Edition, which allows users to convert images or scanned documents into editable text, boasts improved processing speeds of up to 45 per cent thanks to a new black and white processing mode.
Version 11 also adds an ebook creation tool and direct support for OpenOffice Writer, plus incorporates a tool to improve the bulk processing of documents while promising to improve the accuracy when scanning and formatting complex documents.
CyberLink bulks up PowerDVD 11, releases Android tablet app
CyberLink has released a new major update to its PowerDVD 11 Standard and PowerDVD 11 Ultra software, build 2024. PowerDVD is billed as the “world’s leading universal media player”, supporting all major media formats. In addition, the Ultra version supports both 3D and Blu-ray playback in addition to DVD, most video formats and social media video.
The latest release adds a new Digital Media Server, which supports wireless transfer and playback of media between computers, tablets and DLNA devices. To complement this, a new app for Android 3.0 tablets, PowerDVD Mobile, has also been released.
Document Foundation declares LibreOffice 3.4.3 enterprise ready
The Document Foundation has announced that LibreOffice 3.4.3 has been released, signalling the latest version of its open-source office application is now suitable for wide deployment on an enterprise scale.
LibreOffice is based on the better known, but now practically defunct OpenOffice suite. It features a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation tool, database, equation editor and drawing tool, and is completely open source, making it an attractive alternative to expensive products such as Microsoft Office.
Panda Cloud Antivirus makes firewall social
Panda Security has released Panda Cloud Antivirus 1.9.1 Beta, a preview of its forthcoming 2.0 release. The beta sees Panda’s lightweight free cloud-based antivirus tool add firewall protection for the first time.
The new firewall is community based, which means it’s capable of detecting known processes and settings appropriate levels of protection for them without bothering the end user with a pop-up alert. The new firewall is visible from a new tab on the Panda Cloud Antivirus interface.
Be an email voyeur with POP Peeper 3.8
Mortal Universe Software has updated its free email preview tool, POP Peeper, to version 3.8. The latest version, the first update for almost a year, includes a number of major new features as well as the expected slew of minor tweaks and bug fixes.
POP Peeper is designed to allow users to safely preview mail while it’s still on the mail server, allowing them to cut download time and improve security by deleting unwanted messages, including spam and virus-laden emails, before they’re downloaded to the user’s computer.
Don't look for big changes in Thunderbird 7 beta and 8 'Earlybird'
Mozilla has released beta and alpha versions of Thunderbird for testing purposes, mirroring the release cycle of Thunderbird’s sister project, Firefox. Thunderbird 7 Beta, which will install over the top of any existing Thunderbird installation, has no major headline changes – the release notes mention support for printing a summary of selected email messages, but this functionality is already present in the current stable release, Thunderbird 6 Final.
Other reported changes are minor fixes and interface tweaks, including various fixes related to the way Thunderbird handles attachments. Also appearing on Mozilla’s download server is Thunderbird’s alpha build, which has a different name -- Earlybird 8.0a2 – and which installs alongside an existing beta or stable build.
CCleaner update supports newest browser versions
Piriform Inc has released version 3.10 of CCleaner, its popular free cleaning tool for Windows-based PCs. CCleaner 3.10, which is also available as a portable version, adds support for Internet Explorer 9.0.2, Firefox 6.0 Final and Firefox 7.0 Beta.
Version 3.10 also adds a number of new and improved cleaning options, plus promises better accuracy and reliability when wiping free disk space as well as entire drives.
System Checkup 3.0: PC optimization without the overhead
iolo has released System Checkup 3.0, a tool for scanning and resolving various problems and issues with your PC. It's aimed at users who don't like the idea of using an always-on tool like iolo's own System Mechanic to maintain and tweak their computer.
System Checkup utilizes similar technology to System Mechanic, but doesn't sit in the background tuning the computer constantly; instead it's designed to be run occasionally, every month or so, to perform a quick scan, repair and tuneup of your PC.
Thunderbird 6 arrives, but was it too fast?
Mozilla has placed the final release of Thunderbird 6 on its download servers to coincide with the earlier release of Firefox 6. Changes are few and far between in this latest build, with the only noteworthy feature being support for Jump Lists in Windows 7.
Thunderbird 6's release reflects the email program's switch to the same rapid development cycle as its sister product, Firefox. With so few changes being implemented, it's tempting to think the move doesn't make much sense except from the point of view of keeping the version numbers of both products the same.
Why wait until tomorrow, when you can download Firefox 6 today
Although not due to be officially released until tomorrow, Mozilla has placed Firefox 6 Final on to its download servers. The latest version of Mozilla's open-source browser -- the third major release in five months -- sports a brand new Permissions Manager, which allows users to set privacy controls on a site-per-site basis.
Developers can make use of a new scratchpad window for testing Javascript snippets, while domain names are highlighted in the Address bar to aid identification of websites. Other changes are mostly beneath the hood, designed to improve compatibility, performance and security.
© 1998-2024 BetaNews, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Cookie Policy.