Software Updates Week 22

This is already the 22 software updates article of this year, only four more to go to before the first half of the year has passed. This week saw - again - many updates but not that much to applications that I consider core applications, which are those that I install on any computer I can get my hands on.

I have chosen JavaRa as the application of the week because it provides a great functionality in an easy to use software. It scans the computer for installed JREs (Java Runtime Environments), uninstalls old ones and installs the newest one if necessary. Very handy indeed.

If anything is missing let me know and I make sure to add it to the list asap. Some applications that have been updated this week, for instance Firefox 3 Release Candidate 2 are not mentioned because they have been mentioned in another article.

µTorrent 1.8 10524 - lightweight Bittorrent client.

7-Zip 4.59 Alpha 1 - an archiver that supports many different file formats.

Azureus 3.0.5.2b - Java Bittorrent client.

BitComet 1.02 - a popular Bittorrent client.

CCleaner 2.08.588 - removes temporary files.

Comodo Firewall Pro 3.0.25.378 - a personal firewall.

DVDFab HD Decrypter 5.0.2.5 - copy DVDs to the hard drive.

Feedreader 3.13 - RSS news reader.

Flock 1.2.1 - social web browser based on Mozilla Firefox.

Fresh UI 8.08 - a configuration and optimization tool.

GIMP 2.4.6 - image editor with huge functionality.

Gizmo Project 4.0.0.374 - a VOIP application like Skype.

JavaRa 1.06 Beta - checks for the latest Java Runtime Environment on your computer, downloads it and removes older versions if necessary.

K-Lite Mega Codec Pack 3.9.5 - a codec package that adds support for most multimedia formats.

MediaInfo 0.7.7.1 - displays information about media files which can help in finding the codecs needed to play it.

MediaMonkey 3.0.3.1179 Beta - music manager and player.

mp3DirectCut 2.09 - edit mp3s directly.

Opera 9.50 Build 10034 Beta - Cannot wait for the final release of this awesome browser.

PrimoPDF 4.0.2 - pdf creator.

Process Explorer 11.20 - probably the best software to analyse processes in Windows.

Quicksys RegDefrag 1.3 - optimizes the Registry which normally results in a faster Windows startup.

Songbird 0.6 RC2 - a mashup between a desktop media player and music browser.

Sumatra PDF 0.8.1 - a Adobe Reader alternative.

Sysinternals Suite May 28, 2008 - all the useful Sysinternals programs.

VirtuaWin 4.1 Beta 1 - Open-Source virtual desktop manager for Windows.

VMware Player 2.0.4-93057 - virtualization software.

Vispa 0.2.2 - does basically the same that xpy does on XP. It removes various threats and reporting features.

Vista Codec Package 4.6.8 - a codec package for Windows Vista adding support for several missing codecs.

VLC 0.8.6h - I have been using VLC to play videos for a long time until I discovered SMPlayer.

Weather Watcher Live 6.0.0.51 - displays detailed real-time information about the weather.

WildBit Viewer 5.2 Beta 3.0 - fast image viewer.

xpy 0.10.2 - close security threats and “reporting” features.