To make it easier to see what an application looks like before going to the trouble of downloading and installing it, we've made a number of improvements to the way we show screenshots on Download.
First, we took every screenshot we've ever received from a software publisher over the past 13 years (anyone remember Doom 95?) and reprocessed it for improved clarity. Then we created a larger preview version of each screenshot and moved it to the top of the product page.
Finally, we no longer send you to a new page when you want to view a screenshot at full size. Instead, clicking the preview image opens a light box where you can cycle through all the screenshots at once. It's particularly nice for games where there are typically a number of high-res preview images available.
I could use some updates.
(Credit: Screenshot by Rafe Needleman/CNET)Back in the old days of CNET, we had a product I loved called CNET Catchup. It scanned your computer and told you which software on it had updates available. I'm happy to report that we've brought the function back, in a completely new product called TechTracker.
It's a free app. It will scan your PC (at regular intervals if you like) and tell you what you have that's old or out of date. It gives you links to updates as well as user reviews of the apps. Updates come to you from our Download.com site, so you know they're safe and spyware-free.
The Windows version is in public beta (get it here). A Mac version should be out soon.
This is not an impartial expert review. We don't review our own apps. This is a pure pitch. I like TechTracker and I'm proud of the team here that built it. So go get it and tell the folks who made it what you think.
If you read CNET's hardware reviews, you've probably seen the CNET Editors' Choice award appear from time to time. The badge has always denoted our editors' favorite products--best-of-breed technology that stands apart from the competition.
Today, we're pleased to extend the CNET Editors' Choice badge to software listed on CNET Download.com.
CNET Editors' Choice badge indicates award winner.
(Credit: CNET Download.com)We're introducing the award on 23 products, each a clear leader in its category. We determine award winners on a case-by-case basis, and we always mark the award with the month and date so that you know when the software in question won the prize. As time goes on and we continue to review new software, we will award more badges. We may remove awards if we find that the winning software is no longer a leader in its class. (Read more about how we determine Editors' Choice winners here.)
Not all categories of software on CNET Download.com will have a winner--we reserve the award only for software that truly knocks our socks off. So without further ado, we present our very first CNET Download.com Editors' Choice winners:
Windows software
Antivirus software: Avira Antivir
Diagnostic software: CCleaner
Encryption software: TrueCrypt
FTP software: FileZilla
Internet security suite: ESET Smart Security
Media management: Picasa 3
Office suite: OpenOffice
PDF reader: Foxit Reader
Screen capture: SnagIt 9
Spyware removers: Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
System utilities: Smart Defrag
Video Jukebox: Miro
Mac software
Browser: Mozilla Firefox
Communications: Adium
Educational: Google Earth
Encryption software: TrueCrypt Mac
Image editor: Pixelmator
Music jukebox: iTunes
Password manager: 1Password
Mobile software
Mobile browser: Opera Mini
Mobile music: Slacker Radio for BlackBerry
Mobile RSS: Viigo
Mobile reference: Google Mobile App
(BlackBerry|iPhone|Windows Mobile)
Webware 100 voting is now open
I'm happy to announce that we have opened the voting for the 2009 Webware 100 awards. This is our annual program in which CNET readers select the top Web 2.0 apps and services from our hand-picked list of 300 finalists.
This year--the third year we've done the Webware 100--we had about 5,000 qualifying submissions from which we selected the final 300. These are 300 very strong Web apps, spread into 10 groups of 30 each. We have a new arrangement of voting categories this year, including the important Location-based Services category for apps that provide local info, as well as mapping products. We also combined two 2008 categories, Publishing and Community, into a new category, Social and Publishing, recognizing that today, writing is a two-way activity. Publishing is, by nature, social. See all the categories.
There will ultimately be 110 Webware 100 winners this year. There's a special category that's not open to user voting: The Editors' Awards. I created this category because the popular vote isn't always enough to recognize some of the most important small or up-and-coming services. There will be 10 winners in this category, chosen by me and other Webware editors, in categories including design, most innovative business model, and so on.
All the winners will be announced on May 19.
I think it's worth noting that despite the pall of the economy, which has spelled the end of many interesting Web-based businesses, nearly all of the 2008 Webware 100 winners are still up and running. Only three (so far) have been terminated: Yahoo shut Briefcase; MotionDSP withdrew FixMyMovie and will release the function as downloadable software; and iWantSandy shut down when the app's developer took a job at Twitter. As far as I can tell, everything else is still in business.
Finally, a vote of thanks to the Webware 100 technology providers: I use Wufoo to run the nominations process. They make a great system for building online forms. Polldaddy (acquired by Automattic in 2008) supplies the voting technology for the Webware 100. Last year their system processed nearly 2 million votes without a hiccup.
Dear users,
Over the past months, we've been hard at work redesigning our site. You may have got a sneak peak at our new look and feel or you may be seeing it for the first time today. Either way, we hope that you enjoy the smoother, sleeker, and easier-to-navigate pages.
Wondering what, exactly, has changed? Here's a brief tour:
Easier-to-find content: We've reexamined our site layout to make it easier to find the software that matters to you. We've moved our Most Popular software lists front-and-center so that you can see which titles currently top our charts. We've also designed tabs with your operating system in mind, so you won't have to wade through software that you don't need.
Our new, tabbed design helps you find the software most relevant to you.
(Credit: CNET Download.com)Faster page load time: Our engineers put the site on a diet. The result? Much quicker load times for each page.
New video player: We still put a video player on many of our pages, but this one looks nicer. It plays in wide screen (16:9 aspect ratio) and makes its many features--closed captioning, full-screen mode, and links to download or embed any of our videos--easier to find and use.
Our new video player now displays wide screen video.
(Credit: CNET Download.com)Better search results: Our Download.com search now returns blog posts and videos along with software titles. Also, if you like, you can customize the number of search results you get with each query.
Now you can more easily sort your search results.
(Credit: CNET Download.com)We don't want to fix what isn't broken, however. The backbone of Download.com remains the same: more than 100,000 downloads, all guaranteed spyware-free.
Like what you see? Frustrated by the change? We want to know what you think, so please send us feedback.
Best,
The CNET Download.com team
- prev
- 1
- next
