ooVoo 2.8.0.39

ooVoo is an iChat-like video conferencing and chat tool for Windows, loaded with useful, powerful tools that make it a viable alternative for small work groups using conference calls and screen-sharing applications.

A recording feature lets users tape video chats with other participants. Since the video and audio are being recorded to the hard drive, the only time limit is how much free space the computer's hard drive has. In testing, a nearly 15-minute, four-way video conversation only took up 95MB, which ooVoo can convert into a workable FLV file.

A conference calling tool gives host and participants a phone number to call. Other ooVoo users who call this conference line get plugged right into the audio that's a part of the video chat, and just like the video recordings, this audio gets archived too. Call-in lines support up to six people, meaning users can have up to a dozen participants--including those on the video side. Note that this service isn't free. An optional companion for ooVoo's video player can be used for screen sharing or file sharing, and fun facial overlay tool that applies digital masks either to users faces or to backgrounds. High-quality video streams are also supported.

Two qualms with the service are the audio quality, which sounded a little too compressed, and delays in the datastream of about a second or more. Besides being annoying, it can really force a heated debate to grind to a halt. Overall, ooVoo makes for a strong alternative to other VoIP and conferencing software.

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Norton AntiVirus 17.0

n the 2010 version of its well-known antivirus program, Symantec continues to build on the unexpected progress it made last year. In addition to maintaining the quick load and scan times, and significantly smaller system footprint, Norton 2010 includes a behavioral detection engine based on both behavior and reputation.

Called Quorum, this new engine doesn't adversely affect Norton's performance--a major concern after years of system-crippling sluggishness. It works in concert with Norton Insight, introduced last year as a whitelist-style guard for ''trusted'' files. By examining your files and how they behave--both locally and when trying to access the Internet--and comparing them with other Norton users, Symantec claims that it offers better protection than its competitors. Like its competitors who also have behavioral detection systems, however, Norton allows you to opt out of anonymously submitting your data without sacrificing the protection that Quorum provides. Third-party detection and removal ratings are not available for this new version, but last year's results placed Norton in the upper echelon for efficacy.

Norton AntiVirus lacks the premium services offered in Norton Internet Security. These include a firewall, parental controls, Wi-Fi protection for unsecured hot spots, and identity protection including antiphishing tools and browser search result authentication for Internet Explorer and Firefox. Norton AntiVirus also offers only one license, instead of the three that come with its bigger brother. It does offer the same support network, lacking a searchable knowledge base but including e-mail, IM, phone support and the Symantec forums. The trial has been doubled from 15 days to 30. Norton's recent approach to performance and its continued efficacy make Norton AntiVirus 2010 a must-consider program for its class. 

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Nero Multimedia Suite 10 10.0.132

For those looking to rip, burn, back up, convert, and organize digital media, Nero 10 has a tool for that. The refurbished multimedia suite is about as comprehensive as they come, and your hard drive will feel it: the installation file is massive (300MB) and once Nero is on your machine, it consumes a hefty serving of memory (1.5GB). However, considering all it can do, we're hard pressed to complain.

In fact, if there's one thing we bemoan it's the fact that Nero 10 contains so many different tools that compiling them into one interface would make the suite a complete bear to use. To this end, Nero is actually made up of several different programs: StartSmart, Burning ROM, BackItUp, DiscCopy Gadget, CoverDesigner, SoundTrax, WaveEditor, Recode, Toolkit, and Vision Xtra (which contains MediaHub and Vision). It's a bit overwhelming to have so many shortcuts on the desktop, but luckily, StartSmart provides an easy way into any task and will launch the necessary application based on your requested activity. Plus, Nero provides descriptive statements for each task, letting you see what each one does at a glance.

As for what Nero 10 can do, the short answer is pretty much everything you'd expect from a multimedia suite. It's an audio, video, photo, data, and home entertainment workhorse that lets you edit MP3s, capture and edit video, record and playback TV, create slideshows, back up data, recover data from damaged disks, convert audio files, check your hardware specs, and design disc covers with ease. Further, Nero performs with impressive speed, starting up quickly and performing tasks at a rate that won't leave you banging your head against the desk in impatient frustration.

Given the plethora of functionality, user-friendly interface, and impressive performance, it's no surprise that Nero 10 doesn't come free. You can try out the software for 15 days at no cost, but you'll have to pony up $79.99 (online) or $99.99 (in store) if you want to continue using it past that time.

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GOM Media Player 2.1.26.5021

As various media players jockey for position to become your default setting for music and video streams, GOM Media Player's support for a wide range of file formats has helped it stand out as a firm favorite.

Supported formats include DAT, MPEG, DivX, XviD, WMV, ASF, AVI, and MOV, as are common codecs like FLV1, AC3, OGG, MP4, and H263. A pop-out playlist can save and organize your various media files, though the limited sort modes--two--hardly makes it a champ.

More impressive are the customizable settings on the control panel. Here you can adjust a video's image brightness, hue, and saturation. There's no preview window, and changes occur as the video runs, so unless you care for a rousing session of trial and error, be sure to tweak the settings after clicking "play." There's also a built-in screen-capture feature that includes zooming and panning, customizable themes, hot keys, and a host of preset and adjustable audio controls.

GOM is weakest when you're looking for help documentation and trying to tweak Save settings, but overall it's a very strong player worth at least a supporting role in your video-watching habits, if not the lead. 

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Winamp 5.581

WinAmp 5.3 took some long-needed steps to improve the old-school media player, with support for AAC encoding, CD burning, and a robust file-management system. WinAmp 5.56 ups the ante with strong support for portable devices, including iPods, the ability to sync non-DRMed files to your PC from your device, an optional new interface layout and a built-in browser for media discovery.

We liked that clicking on an artist's name will get you related headlines and Web sites in a separate pane. There's also Podcast support, device synchronization that lets you tweak the sync list while in progress, and continued support for AOL's excellent Shoutcast. The new Bento layout is worth mentioning, too, because it gets the venerable llama away from the old modular format. The joined panes for the browser, media player, artist list, album list and more make WinAmp instantly more visually appealing. There's also an Auto-Tag feature, which will download metatags from the Gracenote database, and Winamp's proprietary music scrobler called Orgler, with links back to AOL Music.

If you want MP3 encoding and full-speed CD burning, you have to shell out $19.95 for the Pro version. However, there are other problems. Automatic album art download support is spotty at best. More importantly, there are some stability issues when playing videos, and occasional program crashes were far more common than they should be.

WinAmp 5.56 is no iTunes killer--not yet. It has become, however, a strong alternative and should be of interest to those looking for something with more meat on its bones. Llama meat, that is. 

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Apple Safari 5.0.1

The previous version of Safari for Windows dramatically changed the nature of the browser from something of an unfinished curiosity to an alternative with seriously quick chops. It lacked many of the customization features that define most other browsers, but certain unique default features, such as the visually impressive, Cover Flow-inspired Top Sites and history viewing, made it worth checking out for more users besides just browser enthusiasts and jaded reviewers.

Though Safari 5 continues the push for speed, able to surpass (by some tests) bleeding-edge JavaScript engines from Google and Opera, Apple continues to place feature development farther down the totem pole of importance. That doesn't mean that new features have been ignored. There's the new Reader option that streamlines how you read articles, broader support for HTML5, default support for searches on Bing, and performance improvements. However, the biggest new feature of them all--Extensions--won't be available until later this summer according to Apple, and depending on what you're looking for in a browser, Safari can be seen as lacking many helpful options. 

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Google Chrome 6.0.472.53

Google Chrome is a browser that combines a minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the Web faster, safer, and easier. Use one box for everything--type in the address bar and get suggestions for both search and Web pages. Thumbnails of your top sites let you access your favorite pages instantly with lightning speed from any new tab. Desktop shortcuts allow you to launch your favorite Web apps straight from your desktop.

What's new in this version:

Google Chrome 6.0.472.53 has been released to the stable and beta channels for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Updates from the previous stable release include:
• Updated UI
• Form Autofill
• Syncing of extensions and Autofill data
• Increased speed and stability
• Security fixes and rewards: (Please see the Chromium security page for more detail. Note that the referenced bugs may be kept private until a majority of our users are up to date with the fix.) ...

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Opera 10.61

Opera 10 maintains the program's tradition of striving to be the fastest, smallest, and most full-featured browser available. In this latest iteration, Opera replaced its JavaScript engine, remade the interface for Windows 7, and developed features that have solidified the company's position as an innovator.

Opera 10.60 is a minor update to Opera 10.50, which introduced multiple new features. The biggest is one most users won't see: Opera's in-house anti-malware has been bolstered by AVG's real-time threat detection network. The browser uses it to force users to see a warning page when they try to load sites that the network determines are in some way malicious. Version 10.60 adds more HTML5 support, including the next-generation video and audio codec WebM, geolocation compatibility, Web Workers, and App Cache. More importantly, Opera 10.60 claims benchmark times that are 50 percent faster than Opera 10.50. Internal CNET testing revealed that this number was closer to 33 percent, but that's still a major improvement.

The big news in Opera 10.50 was the new JavaScript engine, Carakan, that made Opera arguably the fastest browser around. It also debuted full compatibility with Windows 7, which includes Aero Peek, jump lists, and a design redo that emphasizes Aero's translucent window frames. Longtime Opera fans will notice that its menu bar has been hidden and replaced by a drop-down menu that compresses the options into a tree format. It has also highlighted the Closed Tabs box with a prominent tab bar icon styled on the Windows Recycle Bin, and its widgets have gained the capability to live on the desktop, separate from the browser. Opera has also introduced HTML5 video support in v10.50.

Opera is known for coming with an incredible number of features out of the box. It's the basics such as tabbed browsing and tab previews, a customizable search bar, advanced bookmarking tools, and native e-mail and chat client options. But it also has mouse-gesture support, keyboard shortcuts, password management, anti-malware protection from Haute Secure, and drag-and-drop functionality. Its more-exciting options include Opera Link for synchronizing bookmarks, your personal bar, Speed Dial, and Notes via My Opera. Opera Unite expands My Opera by letting you create an Opera-hosted Web server to share files and stream media. For users on slower connections, the toggleable Opera Turbo compression engine feeds sites through Opera's own servers for faster load times.

Opera undoubtedly has what it takes to unseat even the biggest-name browsers. You just need to hear it sing.

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