About a month ago, we revealed CNET TechTracker beta, a new, free application for Windows computers that helps you make certain your installed apps are up-to-date. After receiving feedback from an army of volunteer testers, CNET now introduces the first general release of CNET TechTracker 1.0.
Here's a crash course on how it works. You download CNET TechTracker to your PC, where it spends a few minutes scanning your hard drive for all your software. After that, every time a new update arrives, you'll see an alert message pop up from the TechTracker icon in the task tray. You can also hover the cursor over the icon to see how many updates await, or click the icon to list them by name.
The TechTracker app saves the version details on a personalized Web page where you can download the most recent update for your outdated software, and see at a glance which other programs you have installed. It is CNET's editorial policy not to review our own software, but we'd love for you to review us. Give CNET TechTracker 1.0 a spin. Then, tell us what you like and what you think could use work. The TechTracker team is listening.
Windows 7 is more than Vista done right, but you can't deny that it's based on Microsoft's embattled operating system. Despite improvements made over two service packs, users never took to Windows Vista.
Although the Windows 7 release candidate is still available for consumers to try out, the final version of Windows 7 aims to fix both perceived and real flaws from its predecessor. The appeal of the new interface is undeniable, and should compete well against Apple's OS X, but even with modern features like native touch-screen support does Windows 7 actually best XP? Read the full review and find out.
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)
On Tuesday we shot a "first look" video of Google's new Chrome browser for CNET TV. In case you're on a Mac, running Linux, or if you're avoiding going through Google's entire list of feature videos, we've broken out some of the ones that set it apart from the competition.
- Tab dragging off the browser and back in
- The omnibar search box/address bar
- Customized start page
- Incognito/"porn" mode
What's demoed:
If you want to see the widescreen, high-resolution version, click here to be taken to the CNET TV viewer. You can also catch up on all of our coverage of Chrome on this page.
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
2008 is nearly halfway over, which means that poor CNET Download.com senior content manager Peter Butler has reached deeply into the trash heap to pluck out, shake off, and crown with glory the most useless downloads published this year. He's handed the best of the worst over to CNET Executive Editor Tom Merritt for show and tell. Hey, even truly horrendous software deserves its moment of shame fame.
Molly Wood and CNET TV's Insider Secrets takes you through a tripartite of free alternative to Adobe Photoshop. Although Photoshop's a great program, for some users it provides way too much editing power and it's way too expensive. Try one of these freeware substitutes, and also check out our series on building your own Adobe Creative Suite using top-notch freeware applications. Part One; Part Two
CNET Personal Tech widget
(Credit: CNET Networks)As part of its Open Content Platform, CNET Networks has created a variety of HTML widgets from five of its Web properties--CNET, GameSpot, Chow, BNET, and TV.com--that anyone can stick on his or her own Web site. After completing a short registration form, publishers can get CNET technology videos (widget), GameSpot game reviews (widget), TV.com interviews and features (widget), business-oriented arcticles and videos from BNET (widget), and food-oriented features from Chow (widget).
The HTML widgets come in a variety of shapes and flavors. Some widgets, such as CNET Personal Tech, TV.com, and Gamespot, serve their content in a standard 300x550 size. BNET provides articles and videos for business managers in three sizes--160x800, 300x500, and 500x360. Most prolifically, there are two different shapes (160x800 and 300x550) of four types of widgets from the food-focused Web site Chow--recipes, stories, videos, and message boards, including localized message board widgets for New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. ... Read more
At CNET Download.com, we are very aware that--regardless of our large catalog of downloadable software, music, and games--our greatest asset is you, our users. When it comes to any development on the site, we think about you first.
We've always been grateful to have intelligent, respectful, and engaged users on CNET Download.com. Our user reviews of software are some of our most prized features, because they generally display an accurate opinion of the download community.
We continued to expand our communication with CNET Download.com users two years ago, when we introduced our blog, The Daily Download. Aside from presenting new and interesting software and tips, the blog also allows you all to tell us what you think in the comments.
I'm happy to announce another major advance for users on CNET Download.com. We've just launched a brand-new CNET forum that is dedicated completely to the CNET Download.com Web site. If you've got a question, comment, complaint, or suggestion about the site, take it to the forum!
Since we were adding a new CNET Download.com site forum, we also took the opportunity to fill in some other gaps in our forum coverage. We also launched a new audio and video software forum, as well as one devoted to digital photography and design software. If you want to make the perfect mix for your next party or remove red-eye from your family photos, create your own thread and get advice and opinions from users and editors.
I'm excited to be developing the CNET Download.com community into a more robust and rewarding experience. I urge you all to contribute as much as possible. I'll see you in the forums!
What's more fun than a little competitive rivalry? Spoofs of competitive rivalry, that's what!
Apple's "I'm a Mac/I'm a PC" ads (watch them at Apple) have stirred up the international cultural imagination, spawning spoofs of the newly classic campaign.
This video spoof takes a swipe at Macs and PCs.
(Credit: CNET Networks)Here are two new favorites to add to your collection. Wired points us to this South Park-style gem. True to the cartoon's saucy style, neither OS avoids taking heat.
It's a duel to the finish for Vista and OS X--we mean Othello and Iago.
(Credit: CNET Networks)Then CNET UK holds a joust--literally--with Mac OS X and Windows Vista. CNET is a big fan of staging prizefights, but CNET UK goes old-school with this software rendition of Othello, complete with Elizabethan crossdressing.
If you've got your own personal favorite spoofs, send them our way. We can always use another laugh.
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