Synfig Studio 1.0 - open source 2d animation - Release Candidate #3

Synfig Studio is a free and open source 2D vector graphics and timeline-based computer animation program.
Synfig is getting closer to final release for version 1.

Some specs for the new version:

• Single-WIndow and Gtk3 UI
• Group transformations widget
• Bones / Cutout tools
• Bone distortion
• Sound layer
• Bones
• Frame-by-frame animation (bitmap)
• UI improvement
• Rendering speed optimization
• SFG Format
• Sound support
• Video import
• Vector drawing tools
• Scripting (python) (minimal support ready : scripts can be called from an entry menu)
• SWF export 

Download link Synfig Studio 1.0 stable release: http://www.synfig.org/cms/en/download/

 If you want to use Inkscape for vector graphics and then export to Synfig you need SIF exporter extension.

Update 28 apr. - Synfig Studio 1.0 is released

Musescore - open source scorewriter

MuseScore is a scorewriter for Windows, OS X, and Linux. It is released as free and open source software under the GNU General Public License.
It has a feature set comparable to Finale and Sibelius, supporting a wide variety of file formats and input methods.

Download link: http://musescore.org/en/download

Giveaway - Ashampoo Music Studio 5

Ashampoo Music Studio is a breath of fresh air for your music collection. Digitize, archive and organize your songs. Design individual covers and inlays and burn your music to disc. Turn your music videos into songs and enjoy your music on your PC, smartphone or MP3-Player. Fast, easy, intuitive.

Key Features:

• Audio CDs on your PC, smartphone or tablet;
• Video-2-Music: Videos as songs or ringtones;
• Your personal party mix;
• Self-made Audio CDs;
• Record and cut;
• Convert and edit;
• Edit tags, update covers.

Download link available today:
http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ashampoo-music-studio-5-0-7/

Download.com review: http://download.cnet.com/Ashampoo-Music-Studio/3000-2141_4-10025639.html

Softpedia review: http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Audio/Other-AUDIO-Tools/Ashampoo-Music-Studio.shtml

PCadvisor review: 
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/downloads/3329945/ashampoo-music-studio-5/

Free options:

• Winamp
• Foobar2000
• Clementine-player
• Amarok
• JetAudio-Basic
• Apple-iTunes

Apowersoft Phone Manager - Freely transfer and back up data between your PC and phone - iOS and Android

Apowersoft Phone Manager, one of the best mobile management software available on the
market right now, is fully compatible with the two dominant smartphone operating systems – iOS
and Android. It allows you to manage, transfer, view, restore, backup mobile or tablet files
including messages, contacts, apps, bookmarks, call logs, wallpapers, songs, videos, etc easily
on PC.

• Auto-recognize the device with all information
• Transfer all files from phone devices to PC and vice versa
• Work perfectly with devices based on iOS and Android systems
• Manage photos, music, videos, SMS, contacts and other files
• Backup all kinds of data from your devices to PC
• Restore mobile files from backups
• Take phone screenshots with just one click on PC
• Display the screens of phone in different modes

Download link: http://download.cnet.com/Apowersoft-Phone-Manager/3000-18511_4-76253489.html

More details: http://www.apowersoft.com/phone-manager

Download.com review (#1 in Data Transfer & Sync Software):  http://download.cnet.com/Apowersoft-Phone-Manager/3000-18511_4-76253489.html?tag=rb_content;main

Vim powerful open source text editor

Recently I had to edit a big database file (150MB) and my favorite editor Notepad++ (based on Scintilla) couldn't handle it.
So I had to use another program for editing the SQL file and here comes Vim power which opened the file as it was 1MB.
Vim is often called a "programmer's editor," and so useful for programming that many consider it an entire IDE. It's not just for programmers, though. Vim is perfect for all kinds of text editing, from composing email to editing configuration files. 
Vim is designed for use both from a command-line interface and as a standalone application in a graphical user interface. Vim is free and open source software and is released under a license that includes some charityware clauses.
Although Vim was originally released for the Amiga, Vim has since been developed to be cross-platform, supporting many other platforms.
Download link: http://www.vim.org/download.php

Auslogics Disk Defrag - Defragmentation free tool for Windows

Disk Defrag will speed up your computer by optimizing file system. It can defragment files, consolidate free space and move system files to the faster part of the disk. With Disk Defrag you will get the maximum out of your hard drive performance. It is supplied with a powerful engine and smart algorithms which allow Disk Defrag to run much faster than similar tools. And with its comprehensive reports you will always be aware of what have been done. Disk Defrag features fast and safe defragmentation of the disk drives, optimization of clusters structure and file system for even better disk performance.

Download link:  http://download.cnet.com/Auslogics-Disk-Defrag/3000-2094_4-10567503.html

Other free options:

• http://ultradefrag.sourceforge.net/en/index.html 
• http://www.mydefrag.com/ 
• http://www.iobit.com/iobitsmartdefrag.html

FotoSketcher 3 - turns digital photos into art automatically

FotoSketcher 3.00 has been released.
FotoSketcher is a free program for Windows which converts your digital photos into art automatically and in just a few mouse clicks.

You can download the official version here: http://www.fotosketcher.com/download-fotosketcher/

New features in version 3.00:

• New Painting 10 (brushstrokes) effect
• New "invert colors" function (in the Edit menu or CTRL+I shortcut)
• Integration of the "invert colors" function in the script mode (F5)
• Improved Painting 4 responsiveness
• Cosmetic changes to the user interface (especially when the program is maximized)
• New keyboard shortcuts (left, right and up keys) to move the divider between the left and right panes. Works when the main window is focused, even if an effect is running.

FotoSketcher effects examples:

FotoSketcher video tutorial:

AVtest Security software awards

AVtest perform rigorous, objective tests on security suites from all major manufacturers. Here are the consumer security apps that recently won the labs' seal of approval:

AV-Test awards

Best protection against malware: Trend Micro Internet Security ($39.95)
Best performance (speed): Kaspersky Internet Security ($79.95)
Best usability: Avira Antivirus Pro ($44.99)
Best Android security app: Qihoo 360 Security (free)
Best cleanup tool: Kaspersky Virus Removal Tool (free)
Best repair tool: Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (free)
In addition, this week at the Mobile World Congress, AV-Test gave Norton Mobile Security (free) its Innovation Award for telling Android users whether an app is risky before they download it from Google Play.

AV-Comparatives awards

Product of the Year (and gold awards for Real-World Protection, Best Overall Speed, Proactive Malware Detection, and Malware Removal): Bitdefender
Top rated for 2014:
AVG (and gold for Malware Removal)
Avira
Emsisoft
ESET (and gold for Lowest False Positives)
F-Secure
Fortinet
Kaspersky (and gold for File Detection and Best Overall Speed)
Keep all your software - not just the security apps - up-to-date for the best protection.

Customize the look and feel for Windows - start menu, menus, cursors, icons

If you like to customize the look and feel (cursors, menus, start menus, icons, windows and so on) of your OS (Winows - from XP to the latest version) there is a free easy choice StarDock :)

• Start menu 10
• Start menu 8
• Modern mix Run multiple Modern apps in resizable windows on your desktop
• Fences Automatically organize your desktop shortcuts, icons and running tasks.
• http://www.stardock.com/products/ and many more free apps :)