Want a quick way to translate those incomprehensible restaurant menus if you're traveling abroad this summer? Then install ABBYY FotoTranslate on your phone.

The Symbian application allows you to translate words on the fly, simply by pointing your phone's camera at the text and snapping the menu. Once the shot has been taken and FotoTranslate has scanned the image, the app allows you to tap any of the words that appear and get and instant translation. I've been testing it out for a while and have been very impressed with the accuracy of the app.

ABBYY FotoTranslate currently supports five different languages: French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish. You can also play around with the font size and adjust the display orientation. The software costs $34.99 and a one-day trial are available here.

Windows: If you need an easy way to backup your data, look no further than Genie Timeline. It's a simple, two-step backup solution that lets you keep copies of selected files in a very easy way. It doesn't have as many features or configuration options as paid applications, but Genie Timeline works great for most people's backup needs.

Mac: CloudApp lets you easily share and save files on the web. It's ideal for images, links, music and video. Once installed, CloudApp sits neatly in your menu bar at the top of the screen. To upload files to the cloud, you simply drag them onto the CloudApp icon. A link is automatically created that will take you to your file on the web, and is put in your clipboard.

iPhone: Windows Live Messenger for iPhone is finally here! It proves to be an easy way to keep in touch with your buddies on the Windows Live network.The application gives you access to both Windows Live Messenger and Windows Live Mail. It features a gorgeous chat interface and almost 100 smilies to choose from.

How many times have you been busting for the restrooms in a strange neighborhood wondering where the heck you can relieve yourself? Install Bathroom Finder on your iPhone or iPod touch and you'll never get caught short again.

Bathroom Finder is a free app that shows you the locations of the nearest public conveniences, wherever you are (unless, of course you're in a desert or a forest or something, but then, who cares?) The app lists local toilets and shows you where they are on a map.

You can view more information about the bathrooms, such as their distance, disabled access information and whether or not you have to pay to use them. The lavatories listed even have a rating system, so you can see what other users thought about them.

If you really take going to the toilet seriously then you could also install the practical, if not pretty gross, Poo Log app, which allows you to monitor your bowel activities on your Apple device.

Incidentally, Seinfeld's George Costanza will be fuming that his idea for an iPhone app has been taken off him (again). If you haven't seen George's iToilet invention in Curb Your Enthusiasm you'd be potty not to go check it out.

iPhone: The official Twitter client for iPhone is probably the best you'll find in the App Store. Tweets can be viewed, links opened, retweeted and replied to as usual. Swipe a tweet and a menu of icons appears giving you the full range of options. Writing a tweet is simple, and a menu can be opened to add hash tags, photos, users, video and more. The latest version fixes some bugs, improves security and adds support for iOS 4.0.

Windows: If you want to fully protect your system, Kaspersky Internet Security 2011 is an excellent choice. This comprehensive suite includes all the tools you need to stay safe from viruses, worm, hacker attacks, spam, phishing and other possible online threats. It also includes a sandbox environment to test apps safely, parental controls and a gaming mode.

Mac: Optimizers and tweaking software abound on Windows, but Mac users have far fewer choices to speed-up their system. That's partly because Macs generally self-maintain better than PCs but if your Mac is slowing down, you might find running MacKeeper (now updated to version 0.9.4) helps breathe new life into it. MacKeeper is an all-in-one solution that includes hard drive cleaning tools as well as backup and shredding utilities.

With all the hubbub surrounding the World Cup it's easy to forget that Wimbledon is now in full swing (if you'll pardon the expression). If you're a tennis fan with an iPhone then there are several free apps you can install to follow the tournament wherever you go, ensuring that you never miss a moment of the action.

Wimbledon 2010

Wimbledon 2010 is the official app of the tournament and it's a real delight to use. The application lets you track the latest score in every match that's being played, as well as serving up news from off the court, including Twitter feeds from players and pundits.

There's plenty more to Wimbledon 2010 than this, too. You can access the order of play, check out biographies of every player, and watch video highlights from each day. Best of all though, is the Radio Wimbledon feature, which provides live commentary from the matches on Centre Court and Court One, plus live coverage of the rest of the matches.

Wimbledon - Live Feeds

Given the extent of its features, you won't find an app with better coverage of the tournament than Wimbledon 2010. However, it might be worth installing Wimbledon - Live Feeds, as well. The app gives you access to news stories from the tournament even when there is no EDGE/3Gor WiFi coverage available. This means that you needn't be missing out on the tennis gossip while you're sat on the subway.

iPhone: With Vuvuzela 2010 you can recreate the drone of the South African horn on your iPhone. The World Cup in South Africa will be remembered largely for the howls of the vuvuzela that accompanied every game. Vuvuzela 2010 allows you to cheer on your team, simply by tapping the screen, or shaking your iPhone to emit the wail of the horn.

Windows: When all your photos need is a simple retouch here and there, a light photo viewer and editor like StylePix is more than enough. This great app includes all the necessary tools to fix and optimize images, as well as a bunch of filters and special effects to spice them up. It can process images in batches and has supports for layers.

Mac: Bulkr is an Adobe Air based app for backing up your Flickr stream. Some of us have had Flickr accounts for years now, and Bulkr offers a simple way to download sets of photos we don't have on our computers. After installation, you have to sign in to Flickr to give Bulkr permission to access your images. Then you can download, either in bulk, sets or single images with six image size settings available.

If you haven't upgraded to the new iPhone operating system yet, then might I suggest you drop whatever you're doing and do it now. The new iOS 4.0 will make your iPhone or ipod touch an altogether sweeter machine. Upgrading will add new functionality to your device, giving it many of the features of the sexy new iPhone 4.

Installing the new iPhone OS

To upgrade, you must first ensure that you have version 9.2 of iTunes installed on your computer.

Connect your iPhone or iPod touch and click on its name in the Devices section of iTunes (on the right-hand side of the interface).

With the Summary tab selected, click on the Update button to download iOS 4.0.

Want to download a song from MySpace? Well, it's not as straightforward as you'd think. Trawl the internet and you can find several hacks that purportedly work. Techniques I've tried include extracting download links and pasting to Notepad (failed), using MusicGrab.org to pull songs off MySpace (failed), and downloading via File2HD (you have to pay a fee per song). There are also a few hacks described on the FHN network, none of which I could get to work either.

After almost giving up hope, I stumbled across WonderShare Streaming Audio Recorder, which works a treat. The process of ripping MySpace music is very simple using this software, which is available to download free as a 7-day trial.

1. Start by clicking the Settings icon at the top of the interface. Now select the format you want to save the track in from the drop down list. Supported output file types include MP3, WAV, OGG and AAC.

2. Visit MySpace.com and load up the page with the song you wish to record. Start playing the song.

Fancy a spot of musical enlightenment this weekend? Then go check out Aviary's boombastic new Music Creator, aka Roc. Like the rest of Aviary's suite of creative apps, this free audio editor is entirely based in the browser, allowing you to create music loops, compose patterns and even make your own ringtones.

Music Creator boasts 50 different virtual instruments, arranged into folders. Drag one of these folders into the main editing window and you'll notice that in fact there are 12 different sounds, each with its own track, which make up the 'instrument'. You can then select the beats on which you'd like each sound to play just by checking or unchecking the dots.

You can play around with pan and volume for each sound, and even drag in new sounds from other instrument sets to mix things up a bit. Music Creator also allows you to change the beats per measure as well as the tempo of your productions.

Once you're done, you can choose to publish your creation on Aviary or share it via all the usual social networking sites. Roc even helps you set the copyright terms.

I was amazed at how easy it was to come up with sonic delights using Music Creator. Granted, it's very basic, but if you're looking for free, high quality loops for a creative project you're working on, Aviary's app is a perfect alternative to trawling Google for royalty free music.

It's NBA Finals time, and tonight sees the final winner-takes all match-up between the Celtics and the Lakers. To celebrate the Finals, EA is offering its excellent iPhone NBA Live game for just 99 cents. This means that today is the last day you can claim your 80 percent discount by going to the NBA Live App Store page.

NBA Live is the king of iPhone basketball games, offering a realistic simulation of the sport, with real teams, players and rosters. The graphics are very lifelike, Marv Albert's commentary is exquisite, and the thumping soundtrack includes hip hop classics from the likes of Xzibit, Snoop Dogg, and Matt and Kim.

iPhone: PES 2010 brings the magic of the Pro Evolution soccer sim to the iPhone. The game translates pretty well from the console and PC versions, thanks to some interesting control systems.PES 2010 offers a range of game types, including the Champions League and Europa League, quick match, exhibition, league, cup, and training.

Windows: If you use Windows Media Player to play music or videos, you're going to love this plug-in. Windows Media Player Plus adds interesting new features and improvements to Microsoft's player, including an advanced tag editor, more customization options for the interface and a powerful search tool that finds songs and movies as you type.

Mac: Bulkr is an Adobe Air-based app for backing up your Flickr stream. Some of us have had Flickr accounts for years now, and Bulkr offers a simple way to download sets of photos we don't have on our computers. Not only can you easily back up your own account, but you can also download any cool pics you find elsewhere on Flickr.

After four years of waiting, the World Cup is finally underway in South Africa. Predictably, after such a long it now feels like there is just too much football to keep up with! If you find that you're already losing track of the tournament, or if you simply want to have a bit of fun in between matches then it's worth revisiting some of the excellent World Cup articles we've posted over the last few weeks.

Having problems finding somewhere to watch all the matches? Then find out how to watch all of the games for free on your computer, with our guide to streaming World Cup matches onto your computer.

Of course, not all of us have the time to sit at home with our feet up watching football matches. If you're missing the action because of work or other commitments then be sure to read our posts about the best World Cup apps for iPhone, and for Android phones.

There's plenty of footy fun to be had in between the matches, too. Facebook addicts should check out our pick of the various games, schedules, fantasy leagues, and the like that are available as Facebook applications. We also told you of how another internet giant, Google, has also entered into the spirit of the World Cup by offering users a way to tour the stadiums in South Africa using Google Maps and Google Earth.

If you're not satisfied with the way your team is playing then go play FIFA Online for free. The new version of this classic football sim lets you take control of any country in the World Cup and try to go for glory. I'm off to replay England v USA, with a different goalkeeper...

In case you hadn't noticed the World Cup kicks off today in South Africa. And those lovely folk at Google have fixed it for everyone to travel there, thanks to some special features they've added to Google Maps, Street View, and Google Earth.

Google Street View's South Africa Soccer Stadiums page will give you a pitch-side view of all the grounds, including the impressive Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg, where the opening ceremony and first match take place today. The feature allows you to stand in the center of the pitch and pan around 360 degrees to acquaint yourself with the layout of each venue.

Even more impressive is the 3D stadium view you can access in Google Earth. Simply download this KMZ file, load it up in Google Earth, and you'll be able to see the location of all 10 venues in South Africa. Click on any of the stadium links in the Places window, and you'll be whisked off to that ground, where you can marvel at the 3D views, read information about each place, as well as flicking through a gallery of photos and videos taken inside the stadium. Be sure you have the 3DBuildings layer selected in order for this to work properly.

Proving that Google has well and truly gone football crazy, the search giant has also released a World Cup widget, which you can add to your iGoogle home page. The tool displays the latest schedule information, current standings, and the latest news from the tournament.

via OnSoftware France

If you live outside the US then you're probably aware that not all iPhone apps are available in your country's store. This can be pretty annoying when you read reviews about great apps only to find out you can't access them. Don't worry though, because there is a simple trick within iTunes that lets you register for a US iTunes account without using a credit card. By entering a fake US address you can fool the system and complete the registration. Here's how it's done:

1. First, make sure you're signed out of your iTunes account. Click the flag that appears in the bottom-right corner of the screen in iTunes and select the US Store from the list that appears.

 2. Browse to a free app you want to download from the US Store and click on the Free button. You'll now be asked to sign in or register. Click on the Create New Account button.

 3. After clicking Continue and accepting the terms and conditions, you'll be invited to create a new Apple ID. Enter an email address (separate to the one for your existing iTunes account), password, verification question and date of birth.

The 2010 World Cup is just days away, meaning now is the time to arm yourself with as much soccer-related paraphernalia as you can get your hands on. I'm already tooled up with sticker albums, replica shirts, and air horns but being a bit of a techie I thought I'd deck my Android phone out with World Cup gadgets too.

Although the Android platform doesn't have quite as many World Cup apps as the iPhone or Facebook, there's plenty of football fun to be downloaded from the Market. Here are some of my favorites:

World Cup Quiz will test your knowledge of the tournament. It features a broad range of teasers, covering everything from questions about past World Cups through to jersey identification. All the questions are multiple choice, and even if you're a big soccer buff, you'll find World Cup Quiz a tough challenge.

The Sun Football World Cup app provides you with expert coverage of the whole tournament. As well as the latest news, the app offers photo galleries, videos, polls and in-depth statistics of all the matches. You can even take part in the Sun's World Cup Dream Team competition via the application.

Love them or hate them, the vuvuzela will be ringing in your ears for the entire World Cup. If you want to whip up some atmosphere (and annoy your neighbors) with the screech of the horn then install Virtual Vuvuzela on your Android device. Simply shake your phone or tap the screen to bring the noise.

If you want to stay in touch with everything that's happening in South Africa during the World Cup, then install World Cup 2010 - FotMob on your phone. World Cup 2010 - FotMob brings you all the latest news, results, scores and standings from the tournament. The free Android app arranges all of this information in an attractive user interface.

If you're stuck for things to do in between matches, then install Funky Football on your phone. This Android soccer strategy game  sees you take charge of an international team and try to lead them to glory. The game is very simple to pick up and play, and there are 18 different teams to choose from. You can choose to play one-off matches or compete in tournaments.

Via OnSoftware France