Remember when Prince went through that phase of changing his name a thousand times? One day he was "The Artist Formerly Known As Prince (TAFCAP)", then he was "The Artist", then he was "Slave" etc. Well sometimes developers also seem to do their utmost to confuse users with version numbers and names. None more so that RealNetworks who have confused Mac users by changing the name and version number of RealPlayer.

There are two versions of RealPlayer currently available for Mac - RealPlayer Gold and RealPlayer SP. RealPlayer Gold is the original version of RealPlayer which went "Gold" after beta testing was finished between versions 10 to 11. RealPlayer Gold stopped at version 11.0.0.

However after that, confusingly RealNetworks dropped the "Gold" bit and went back to version 1.0 again and re-branded it RealPlayer "SP".

Even more confusingly however, RealPlayer SP is labeled as version 12.0.0 in the program's "About" section:

But version 1.0 on the RealNetworks download site:

All this has lead to quite a bit of confusion for Mac users over exactly what version of RealPlayer they should be running. RealPlayer SP is the most recent version but RealPlayer Gold remains very popular because it offers extra features - mainly CD burning - that have been removed in SP and you can still download it here on Softonic even if it's not on the RealPlayer site.

For those that haven't upgraded to RealPlayer SP, it's definitely worth it if you like to transfer videos to your mobile device as RealPlayer Gold doesn't offer anything like the mobile features you get in SP. However, for those that just need a simple version of RealPlayer with CD burning capabilities, RealPlayer Gold is still more than enough.

The beta version of RealPlayer 11 will be available to the public in June. You can enter your email address on the RealPlayer site to be notified the day it is released. So what does this long awaited version have in store for us? We managed to get a hold of the new version 11 and had a quick look around.

The new interface, shiny and dark, looks cleaner than the previous one. Unfortunately though, it seems that Real has gotten rid of the miniplayer view, and only opens the player at a full screen size. The window integrates the basic Real elements like Library, Real Guide, Music, Super Pass and Burn/Transfer. The process bar has been improved and you can drag exactly to the position in the clip that you want.

Cosmetic changes are not the most significant aspects of the new version though. The center point of RealPlayer 11 is downloading online video instantly. As Real puts it on its blog:

On-demand and live streaming and progressive video in the four major formats – Flash, Windows Media, QuickTime and Real – is now downloadable through a very simple download button that temporarily hovers near video content as it plays.

For the time being, "Web Download and Recording" is only supported on Firefox and Internet Explorer. Once you've clicked the download button, a progress window will appear to let you keep track of your download. When playing any video in RealPlayer you can also mail the link to a friend or add a rating or comment. The video in playback can also be resized by dragging the screen and you can set 3 different playback speeds. The new RealPlayer will also let you burn media to CD or DVD and is expected to "provide direct transfer to portable devices" in the future. Among the list of models supported are the Nokia 3300, Sony Networks Walkmans and the Rio players, but no sign of iPod or any mobile phone per se.

Naturally though, not all of the new features will be open to the public and you'll have to dish out for the Plus version if you want to enjoy all the capabilities of version 11.

Skype for Mac is finally out of Beta today with a few fixes and improvements. Skype 5.0 "Gold" as the developers are calling it, features the ability to resize the user interface, allow full screen video calling and there's an improvement in visibility of the dial pad and contacts. The sidebar now also shrinks as the window gets smaller when the content area is at its minimum size and Skype also now remembers the last position the user dragged it to. A full list of fixes and improvements can be found here.

Most users probably won't immediately notice the improvements as they are generally very subtle. I think there are other more important things they could have improved on though. Having now used Skype 5 several times since its Beta release, I've got mixed feelings towards it. While things like group video chats have been improved, I've sometimes found it hard to get used to the new layout such as accessing contacts while in a video call and sending instant messages

I also don't understand why developers such as Skype have to rename their releases as "Gold" like they've sold millions of albums or something! RealNetworks did the same thing with their free RealPlayer Gold. Skype Gold is also free but using the "Gold" tag may only cause confusion among users that it's a premium service.

Today's Symbian smartphones are more like digital swiss army knives. They arm you with tools for listening to music, browsing the web, watching videos, and managing your files. However, as you've probably noticed to your frustration before, not all Symbian phones support all formats. This means you can have all manner of problems opening multimedia, accessing web content, or viewing files you've transferred from your computer. Help is at hand though, and there are a few crucial add-ons you should download and install in order to improve your smartphone experience. Here's a quick run-through of what you need.

Video

If you have downloaded movies in DivX format then you might be wondering how to watch them on your phone. The answer is simple: install DivX Player Mobile. The program lets you watch DivX, AVI or MPEG movies in the player window or in full-screen mode. Control elements such as Play, Pause, Stop, Fast Forward and Rewind, as well as the volume can be controlled easily via buttons.

Another very popular video add-on is SmartMovie. It's getting a bit long in the tooth now, and the interface looks very dated. However, it's perfect for cropping and shrinking movie files to be stored and played on your phone. It also helps you install codecs onto your device that let you play video files you wouldn't otherwise be able to.

Nokia Video Converter is also a massively popular app, and is designed to take care of all your video conversion needs. The app is designed to convert movies from popular files formats and DVDs in just a few clicks, preserving picture and sound quality as best it can. The application's interface is very clearly labeled with large buttons for adding video, adding DVD, playing, and converting.

A while back I needed to save a sound byte from a DVD for a video project I was working on in iMovie. I thought this would be pretty simple but soon found out that it wasn't. Thinking that QuickTime would surely feature a decent audio recording function, I was frustrated to discover that you had to pay and upgrade to the Pro version for sound recording. In fact, every other package I looked at for recording sound required some kind of payment. Either that, or it would only work with certain sound sources.

Then I discovered Audio Hijack Pro and while it's not free, it does allow you to record up to 10 minutes for free from any sound source. In addition, it looks great, feels and works like a professional sound recording app but doesn't require a degree in sound engineering to work out how to use it.

All the major applications that you might need to record are listed neatly down the right-hand side of the Audio Hijack Pro including RealPlayer, DVD Player and Skype.

If your application isn't listed, you can easily add it using the application selector.

This week has been a pretty big one for the heavyweights of the software industry, and we’ve seen them spring a few pleasant surprises on unsuspecting computer users. First up, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced that the new version of the company’s web browser Safari would be available for Windows for the first time. Cyril took the chance to have good look at what PC users have been missing out on all this time.

Elsewhere, details were leaking out that Apple’s old sparring partner is up to something as Nick found out that Microsoft is looking to launch an Internet TV service to rival Joost. RealPlayer is also joining this media revolution, announcing the beta launch of version 11 of the player, which is designed to download online video instantly.

Another major player, Adobe, left us trying to figure out why it has just released a new version of GoLive, despite the fact the company now produces the program’s traditional rival, Dreamweaver.

If these big new launches are scrambling your brain then why not escape by blasting some aliens to bits, or don a lycra outfit and wield your keyboard as a guitar? We brought you details of Overlord, the awesome new RPG from Codemasters, and a review of the head-banging Frets on Fire game. You never know, if you get good enough at these games you might get invited to take part in the Championship Gaming Series.

If you're tired of big programs slowing down your machine or you have an older computer, you might consider replacing them with lightweight alternatives. There are several interesting options out there that mean your CPU doesn't get overloaded or your desktop bombarded with add-ons that you simply don't want or require.

One of my personal favourites is Foxit PDF Reader which replaces the notoriously slow Adobe PDF reader. The problem with Adobe PDF Reader is that, as it opens a document, it loads of ton of plugins which slow down the opening process. Foxit PDF reader on the other hand has very few extensions or plugins meaning it opens PDF documents instantly without any splash or credit screens. The only drawback is an advertisement in the top right hand corner - but you can deactivate this in the 'View' menu.

Another essential if you regularly play media files is VLC Media Player. The versatility of this program is superb, being able to playback both DVD's and video in just about any format you can think of. What's more, it opens in a jiffy - there's no hanging around for codecs to load or communication with a server. Whenever there's a video file I can't play, I always revert to this program.

On the subject of media players, there is a great alternative to the increasingly bloated RealPlayer which looks more like an ageing Elvis with every release. Real Alternative doesn't offer half the options or Media Center integration that RealPlayer does but as a result, it's lightning-fast. The only major disadvantage of Real Alternative is that it does not support CDDB meaning it won't automatically detect the album you are playing when you insert an audio CD.

Arguably, the most bloated of them all is Nero, which threatens to collapse under its own weight if it gets any bigger. What started out as a simple CD/DVD burning app has now become a monster that tries to do everything bar making cups of tea. My favourite lightweight alternative to Nero is FinalBurner because it burns quickly and consistently without trying to lead you in other directions.

So don't tear your hair out with frequent system crashes or slow system performance - beat the hell out of the heavyweights with the lightweights.