Yahoo Messenger 9.0

From Yahoo:


Yahoo Messenger is a free service that allows you to see when friends come online and to send them instant messages. It also can alert you to new e-mail in your Yahoo Mail or Yahoo Personals accounts, or when you have upcoming events recorded in your Yahoo Calendar. Yahoo Messenger offers firewall support, a standby mode that minimizes the program until an Internet connection is made, the ability to save and print your conversations, and a tabbed interface that provides quick access to your favorite stocks, news, and sports scores.

Other features include the ability to create a chat room automatically, stock price alerts, the ability to send messages to friends (even if they're not online when you are), a Quick Compact mode that hides the Messenger tools to maximize your viewing area, Messenger Themes, and voice chat, which allows you to talk for free to anybody else on the Internet. It also includes Launchcast Radio, Yahoo Games, and Yahoo Audibles. Using a Webcam, you can see who you're chatting with or view the Webcam of any Yahoo member who has granted you access.



Version 9.0 adds a redesigned interface, the ability to view Flickr photos and videos in the chat window, and friend importing from other e-mail and chatting networks. It also adds Yahoo Pingbox, which lets you chat with Web site owners in real time.

Editor's review of Yahoo Messenger

Yahoo Messenger 9 retains all the voice, chat, and drag-and-drop capabilities of its predecessors, and adds a lot more visual pizazz and some key functionality. One biggie feature is contact importing, which scours your other IM, e-mail, and social-networking accounts for friends that are also signed up on Yahoo IM. You can then ask some or all of your friends to add you and can invite others to sign up. Another favorite new trick is the ability to see images and videos displayed inside the chat window when you or a pal drops in a public URL.

Other notable changes include the visual skin picker to switch up the look, and Pingbox, a chat window site owners can embed to chat with visitors in real time. Users should note that the download stub will finish installing the program online, and that the download bundles the Yahoo Toolbar. In the preinstallation window, click over to Custom Install to deselect add-ons you don't want. We could also live without the heavy-handed Yahoo branding, and it would be nice to see a link to hidden smileys in the emoticon drop-down, but these are minor niggles when weighed against the benefits of an easy-to-use, feature-rich chat client that only continues to improve.

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Media Jukebox 12

License : Free

Requirements : Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/Vista

Limitations : No limitations

Size : 12,1MB

Media Jukebox software is a complete solution for digital music management and playback. It plays all major music formats, so you only have to use one player. Use it for full-speed ripping, burning, and encoding your music collection with automatic CD, Album art and Track look-up. It is device friendly and syncs to your iPod, PlaysForSure device, and many phones. It has the best file organization of any digital jukebox, and lets you easily create custom Playlists and Smartlists, and tag your files with the powerful tagging studio. Personalize your listening experience and get the best sound performance with EQ, DSP and audio effects - audiophiles will not be disappointed by the top-notch sound output. Many skins to choose from. Built-in services include the new Amazon MP3 store, and the Podcast feature lets you search and subscribe to podcasts from within the player. Media Jukebox is free.

Version 12 adds support for Cowon D2 device



Editor's review of Media Jukebox

The J. River Media Jukebox is a stripped-down but free version of the popular J. River Media Center. Popular in its own right, Media Jukebox uses the same interface as its big brother to deliver a feature set that's anything but little, but strictly limited to music support. Those in search of video and image compatibility will need to download the Media Center.

The program mimics the iTunes interface in a way that could benefit from more inspiration, but it doesn't stop the extras from shining through. You'll be able to burn and rip CDs, sync with just about any portable--including iPods, tag tracks, and convert files to several popular formats. It has browser support letting you buy music from Amazon and plug-ins for several services including Last.fm so you can find new music based on your taste. You also have your choice of skins you can download to give your player a new look. Playlists are also supported.

Former problems with encoding have been largely taken care of. Instead of providing access to CDDB, Media Jukebox uses a proprietary database that works fine with commercial CDs, but not quite as well with backup CD-R copies. Database crashes are largely a thing of the past, and we didn't encounter any with the latest release. Other limitations in the Media Jukebox that get freed in the paid version include plug-in support, TV recording, and support for Audible. We also had to restart the computer after installation, which was annoying if not problematic. Nevertheless, Media Jukebox is a good choice for users who are focused on their music collections and want a change from iTunes.

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Need for Speed Carbon

License : Free to try; $39.99 to buy

Requirements : Windows 2000/XP, 1.7GHZ CPU, 512MB RAM, 64MB VRAM

Limitations : Three tracks, three car modes

Size : 650.49MB

What starts in the city is settled in the canyons as Need for Speed Carbon immerses you into the world's most dangerous and adrenaline-filled form of street racing. You and your crew must race in an all-out war for the city, risking everything to take over your rivals' neighborhoods one block at a time. As the police turn up the heat, the battle ultimately shifts to Carbon Canyon, where territories and reputations can be lost on every perilous curve. Need for Speed Carbon delivers the next generation of customization giving you the power to design and tweak your crew's cars in every way using new Autosculpt technology.

Take a ride around three tracks with three car modes in this demo



Editor's review of Need for Speed Carbon demo

Though the graphics look better than ever, Need for Speed Carbon seems like a throwback to the early days of the series, when we spent most of our time outracing cops in the desert. The racing action is as fast and furious as ever, and this edition incorporates both city and canyon racing for a variety of thrills and spills. The download is large and the installation lengthy, but the provided content offers an excellent trial of the full version. Customize one of three cars--Chevy Camaro SS, Lamborghini Gallardo, or Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX, in Muscle, Tuner, and Exotic classes, respectively--with the AutoSculpt feature, then take to the city streets with two races to claim territories as your own and unlock a two-car duel along the canyon.

After a brief disclaimer from digitized model Emmanuelle Vaugier and a reminder to always wear your seatbelt, you're transported to the car-selection screen, where you pick your weapon, tweak it as you see fit, then take it into battle. The Circuit Race pits you and three teammates against four of the Scorpions. If anyone on your team finishes first, you win. The Drift Race forces you into many tight curves that require drifting. The more curves you drift through, the more points you earn. The last, unlockable race along the canyon starts in medias res, as you must follow a Scorpion car tightly, then lose him when you take the lead. There's not enough here to keep anyone driving forever, but there's still plenty of fun to be had with this well-produced demo.

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Windows Media Player 11

License : Free

Requirements : Windows XP

Limitations : No limitations

Windows Media Player 11 for Windows XP offers great new ways to store and enjoy all your music, video, pictures, and recorded TV. Play it, view it, and sync it to a portable device for enjoying on the go or even share with devices around your home all from one place.

Simplicity In Design: Bring a whole new look to your digital entertainment. More of the Music You Love: Breathe new life into your digital music experience. All Your Entertainment in One Place: Store and enjoy all of your music, video, pictures, and recorded TV. Enjoy Everywhere: Stay connected with your music, video, and pictures no matter where you are. Check out the new Media Sharing feature.



Editor's review of Windows Media Player

The latest iteration of Windows Media Player adds a lot of useful bells and whistles, succeeding in many ways as a competitor to iTunes for Windows. A tree-style file directory makes it easy to find the music you want quickly, and a simple search box gets you where you want to go immediately. A five-star rating system lets you rate your music, then organize it by rating, so it's easy to group your favorite songs. Drag-and-drop functionality and a handy Create Playlist button take any confusion out of the process of making your own playlists. Creating the perfect mix CD is equally as easy--simply drag and drop songs into a Burn List in the right panel, then click Start Burn to finish. Ripping was reasonably fast on our test machine, and the program let us pick our preferred bit rate and audio file type.

The biggest new feature in WMP11 is the ability to sign up with paid music and video services. Without registering, we were able to browse various sites and compare prices among services including XM Radio--all from the Windows Media Player interface. We like the new, cleaner look, and the back and forward buttons make it easier to navigate. The ability to sort music by year released makes for some great reminiscing. Overall, we think the latest Windows Media Player offers almost everything you need for every type of media, making it a solid choice for an all-in-one jukebox.

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