Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson

Everybody loves a bargain, and if you’re on the lookout for software at a great price, look no further than the Downloadcrew Software Store where you’ll find something to suit every taste and budget throughout the month of March.

Perhaps you need to squeeze the last ounce of performance out of your computer; there are a number of applications that can help you out, starting with Auslogics BoostSpeed 4. For just $9.95, a saving of 80 percent off the MSRP of $49.95, you can speed up your start times, clean out the clutter from your hard drive and more. When taking care of your drives, Auslogics Disk Defrag Pro 4 provides a complete defragmentation solution, and it is currently available for 67 percent off the MSRP of $29.95 at just $9.95. Other performance enhancing tools worth taking a look at include TuneUp Utilities 2012 [3-PC non-expiring lifetime licence] which can be installed on up to three computers and costs just $14.99 (70 percent off the MSRP of $49.95) and IObit Advanced SystemCare 5 PRO [3-PC], which is also discounted by 70 percent from $39.95 to $11.95.

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Mac owners with Skype installed have a new version of the chat tool to install, and despite the small increase in the version number, there’s actually a lot packed in.

One of the biggest improvements in Skype 5.6 for Mac is the addition of automatic updates -- this is something that will be welcomes by anyone who likes to ensure that they always have the very latest version installed. It is an important security measure, too, as it means that any problems that have been detected with previous versions can be fixed automatically.

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If you’ve installed Windows 8 Consumer Preview, you can’t have missed a glaring omission. The familiar Start button is gone, something that has fazed many users who have taken the plunge and decided to test drive Microsoft’s next operating system.

If you're feeling lost. There is hope. Start8 is a remarkably simple, yet nonetheless remarkable, free tool that can be used to restore the Start menu.

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When you need to capture what is on your screen, the chances are you reach for the Print Screen key on your keyboard to copy a shot of the desktop to the clipboard. This image can then be pasted into an image editor, tweaked in whatever ways you deem necessary and then used as required. For many people this is enough, but anything beyond capturing an entire desktop or program window involves some degree of work.

With the release of Windows 7, Microsoft seemingly recognized that more and more Windows users were finding a need to capture desktop images and included the Snipping Tools to help make things a little easier. While somewhat more advanced than simply hitting Print Screen, if you spend any amount of time capturing what you see on your desktop, you really need to use a dedicated tool, and this is where Snagit 11 could be of assistance.

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The popularity of Facebook shows no signs of abating, and after annoying a large percentage of its users with the forced introduction of the timeline, the social network has released a Windows app to help irate visitors fall back in love with the site.

Facebook Messenger for Windows is a standalone app that provides access to your online friends ready for chatting and keeps you up to date with everything that is happening with your Facebook account without the need to visit the site itself.

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It has been another very busy week in the world of software releases and we’ve collection together 21 of the biggest titles that you may have missed; there’s something for everyone here, no matter what you use your computer for.

This has been a big week for anyone looking to get a little creative with their computer. CyberLink Video and Photo Creative Collection 2.0 is a powerful collection of tools that includes all you need to work with your photo and video collections. Comprising PowerDirector and PhotoDirector, you can edit all of the images and footage you have capture with your digital camera ready to use in a range of projects.

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Viruses are something that are most readily associated with the Windows platform, but the increased popularity of mobile devices means that operating systems such as Android have become targets more recently. It’s easy to question the need for antivirus software for your cell phone, and if the software had a price tag attached to it, you might be right to view it with some degree of suspicion.

But Comodo Mobile Security & Antivirus Free for Android is available free of charge and comes from the reliable security firm Comodo -- and it’s packed with extra features, making it well worth a look.

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The panic that sets in after emptying the Trash folder only to realize that it contained files you actually needed is a feeling that can only be match by the one that arises after hard drive fails and you realize you have no backup.

Losing certain files through user error, hardware failure or some other problem can cause inconvenience and lead to a great deal of work, but when it comes to photos and other images files, it is often the case that replacing files is simply not possible. EaseUS Mac Photo Recovery Free is a data recovery tool that may be able to help.

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Screen capture can be as simple as hitting the Print Screen key on your keyboard, but if you’re slightly more demanding you’re going to have to look elsewhere for a more advanced tool than those built into your operating system.

Snagit is one such a screen capture tool that has carved out something of a name for itself on both Mac and PC, and can be used to grab entire screens, individual windows, capture on a delay and much more. The release of Snagit 11 and Snagit for Mac 2.0 sees a major new feature, the ability to capture video as well as stills, added to the Mac version, while Windows users have a number of key improvements and new features to enjoy.

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Just as with your home, it is a good idea to have a spring clean of your computer from time to time. By sifting through the buildup of files that accumulates on your hard drives, you can easily free up significant amounts of disk space and help to boost not only performance but also privacy and security.

Anyone looking to automate the process of clearing up the crud that accumulates over can turn to CCleaner to delete file usage histories, remove superfluous registry entries and more. CCEnhancer 3.0 is a free third-party extension to the program that provides support for even more applications.

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It has been some time since Adobe announced plans to release an iPad-specific version of the image editing tool Photoshop, and that day is finally here. Adobe Photoshop Touch arrived today, joining a surprising number of software announcements coming out of Mobile World Congress.

Photoshop Touch is a latecomer to iPad. Adobe released an Android tablet version in November.

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The large screen of the iPad means that it is ideally suited for use as a movie player, but there is no reason that it cannot also be used to listen to music. BeatBlaster is a great looking music playing app that not only enables you to listen to your iTunes library on your iPad, but enables you to do so using a retro styled Hi-Fi.

There are few people that still make use of a traditional Hi-Fi these days, but by popping your iPad into a dock and hooking it up to a set of speakers, you can take a step back in time while benefitting from great sound quality.

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February may be the shortest month of the year, but the list of software releases over the past seven days is just as long as ever. This week we have collected together 23 key releases that may have escaped your attention, and as no roundup would be complete without at least one security tool, what better place to start that with Avast! Internet Security 7 FINAL.

Offering virus protection, a firewall, web filtering and remote assistance, this is a very comprehensive suite, but there is also Avast! 7 Free FINAL for anyone who would like a decent level of protection without having to part with any money.

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Anyone who grew up in the `70s and `80s will remember the lure of the arcade and the thrill of pumping coin after coin into a machine to have one more go on a tricky level. Games have come a very long way since the days of Defender and Spy Hunter, but these are classic titles that still have appeal.

While recent games such as Need for Speed and GTA have found their way onto the iOS platform, iPads and iPhones are perfect devices for a little retro gaming. Enter Midway Arcade to enable you to relive your youth or discover it anew.

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There aren’t many things in life that you can say are completely free. In the case of free software, you often find that you must make some sort of compromise, whether it be putting up with a limited version of a commercial application, enduring advertisements, or simply having to work with something that is less than impressive in terms of standards. Almost every computer user has need for an office suite, or at least some component of it, at some point, if not every day of their lives.

Microsoft Office may be the most widely-installed suite, but for the average user it is expensive and unless a copy came pre-installed on your computer, you may not feel inclined to part with that amount of money. This explains the increased interest in free alternatives, and one such suite is LibreOffice Productivity Suite, which has just hit the milestone release number of 3.5.0.

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