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Top Download News and Features

Podcasts have grown in popularity in recent years as smartphone use has exploded. Constantly-connected mobile devices that can not only download but also stream podcasts live from anywhere with a wireless signal make them more readily available than ever before -- so much so that Apple designed and released a dedicated Podcasts app in mid-2012. The app adheres to Apple's strict no-frills design policies and looks wonderful, but has some glaring problems that have still not been remedied after months in the App Store.

The Podcasts App is classic Apple. Open it and you're immediately shown tiles of … Read more

Users working with large files need applications to compress them for sending over the Internet. Express Zip Free Mac Compression Software for Mac performs this function well, and also has additional useful features.

Available as freeware, Express Zip Free Mac Compression Software for Mac requires no payments to use. After download and installation, the user must accept a lengthy licensing agreement. After this is completed, the program brings up a window that allows download of additional programs, such as file converters for audio and video. The main application menu has few design features, but is functional. A help option that … Read more

iTunes users seeking a full TV season or box set of music can buy now and download later.

The new option is in place for an array of different items, including movies, music box sets, and full seasons of TV shows -- as well as individual shows.

Purchasing one of the above items now asks you if you want to download it immediately or later. Choosing the download later option adds the selected item to your iTunes account where you can stream it or download it in the future. The major benefit is that you can purchase a TV series … Read more

Mailplane is a standalone Mac OS X e-mail client that integrates the Apple and Gmail experiences. For six years, Mailplane has been putting the Gmail experience into a proper app with functionality like drag-and-drop attachments, program icons in the dock and tab switcher, and integration with Mac OS X contacts. The latest version 3 release boosts the program one large step forward, with a completely redesigned interface, attachment previews, and compatibility with Mountain Lion's Notification Center.

With version 3, Mailplane has done a bit more than refuel and de-ice the wings. Aside from the redesigned GUI, the app now … Read more

In this new era of music streaming, many people seem to wonder whether song and album downloading is becoming irrelevant. Apparently, not quite yet.

Music downloading is as strong as ever, according to a new NPD study based on data from 5,400 consumer surveys. In fact, streaming only seems to bolster downloads.

Though streaming services, like Spotify, Pandora, and Rdio, have grown at an extraordinary rate, music fans still want to own albums. According to NPD, 44 million U.S. residents paid for the download of at least one song track or album last year. And this number has … Read more

The field of Internet video converters is not short on contenders, some good at what they do and others, not so much. Mega Video Converter (MVC) from Clip Extractor is a new challenger in a very competitive market. Thankfully, it is one of the good guys.

We like Mega Video Converter for being fast, simple, and intuitive. Installation is quick and compact, only taking up about 20MB on your hard disk. However, you do need MS .NET Framework 4 before you can proceed and MVC will alert you if you don't already have it.

Upon launching Mega Video Converter … Read more

Ziggy TV is an all-in-one YouTube downloader and file converter with some extras, including a Net radio player, streaming Internet TV, free movies, and online games. It searches for music and videos on YouTube and plays or downloads and converts files to audio formats such as MP3, AAC, and even FLAC, as well as video formats. It's compatible with most versions of Windows, including Windows 8. While it's freeware, it's the free version of a "Pro" shareware app that offers higher quality conversions and more formats, so some of its premium features may be disabled.… Read more

Even the residents of Vatican City need to be entertained, but are they pirating porn?

The blog TorrentFreak recently compiled a report alleging that computers located in Vatican City are downloading pornography. A recent tale of Irish priests enjoying first-run hits at their home movie nights piqued the blog's interest to see what the residents of Vatican City have been downloading.

TorrentFreak recruited the help of ScanEye, a Web site that tracks and analyzes this type of online activity. ScanEye's data found that computers inside Vatican City were downloading films like "Love Actually" and TV shows … Read more