A new Mac comes with a bunch of useful pre-installed programs, but you might want to install some additional software like an alternative browser (such as Chrome, Firefox or Opera.), an instant messenger client (like Adium or MSN) and, of course, some games!

This raises the question: How do I install software on a Mac? Is installation of Mac software similar to Windows?

Incredibox is a free Garageband style interactive Flash website which allows you to make a cappella music with an animated group of beatbox singers.

It's very easy to use and the results are surprisingly good. It's been so popular with users in fact that at the moment, the server for the Incredibox site has crashed but keep trying and you should eventually be able to try it out for yourself.

The recent closure of Megaupload highlights the risks of using a cloud based service to backup and store data. Of course, backing-up your data to an external hard drive isn't without risks but there is one that's significantly reduced - the threat of losing access to your data due to sites being shutdown.

We've already compiled and compared a list of other cloud backup solutions so here are five of the best desktop backup alternatives for Windows and Mac:

TimeMachine

(Mac):

Apple's easy to use discreet backup solution. Constantly backsup your data without slowing down your Mac so that you can effectively "go back in time" and restore files and data. Note however that some people have found it unreliable at times - it may start-off well but may become erratic over time.

SuperDuper!

(Mac):

SuperDuper! creates exact clones of your Mac's hard drive so you have a full backup of all your data, including permissions, user profiles and private settings. Simply select the target and destination drives and start backing up. You can specify exactly which files you want to transfer and which you'd like to omit.

Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC)

(Mac):

Carbon Copy Cloner is free, simple to use and backsup only those files and folders that you want it to. Just connect your external hard drive to your Mac, CCC will automatically detect it and off you go. You can also schedule automatic backups at specific times and create disk images with it.

Norton Ghost

(PC)

Norton's Anti-Virus is a nightmare but its backup solution is a much better package. Norton Ghost is probably the closest thing to Time Machine on a PC and backs-up your entire hard drive – or just selected folders – to another partition, networked drive or an external storage device. Norton Ghost can also create an exact copy of your hard drive with all the existing files, programs and settings and provides restoration points.

USB Image Tool

(PC)

USB Image Tool is one of the simplest PC backup solutions you'll find. It's free, straightforward and automatically detects USB devices connected to your computer and scans them before asking you whether you'd like to create an image backup or restore a previously backed-up image. USB Image Tool can create images of USB memory sticks and MP3 players that are mounted as USB drives.

[Image courtesy of OnSoftware ES]

Voddler has the potential to be a great film service although the lack of film choice in the Spanish pilot version and general usability still need much improvement for it to be really popular.

Just under two years ago we were on the first blogs to test and review video-on-demand service Voddler plus we brought you an exclusive interview with co-founder Mathias Tönnesson. We've now had chance to see how far it's come as Voddler starts a wider European-wide roll-out in Spain. Note that Voddler is still only available in limited regions.

Voddler started out as purely a desktop client but the company soon decided to integrate it with a web based service after numerous security breaches and complaints about usability from users.

To stream films in your browser, you need to download the desktop client. There is also an offline client available for download which allows you to play films you have paid for without a net connection.

Free messaging apps for smartphones are nothing new, but Android and iPhone app Voxer brings something new to the table. It's a free 'walkie-talkie' service, that uses 3G or WiFi. You can text, send photos and best of all send voice messages.

Voxer is free on both iOS and Android; you just download it and sign up. You can also connect to Facebook, which I did without getting any resulting spamming of my friends. Contacts already using Voxer will automatically appear in your Voxer friends lists, and you can send messages to any Facebook friends and phone contacts inviting them to get the app.

Getting people involved is always the tricky part with these things, but once you do, using Voxer is simple, and the Walkie-talkie element is great fun. Open a chat, touch the 'Hold and Talk' button then speak. Once you let go, your voice message is sent. Whoever you're chatting to can also listen to you live whenever you have the walkie-talkie button pressed.

Sending short voice messages is quicker than writing a text, although less discrete, and I find Voxer is much easier to use than my phone's voicemail. According to Techcrunch, Voxer has been getting really popular in Brazil, and it starting to gain traction in other markets too. I think it's got great potential to steal lots of users away from WhatsApp too. Why not download it and see what all the fuss is about?

Adobe have announced the launch of Carousel for Mac and iOS which enables users to share photos seamlessly across Apple devices.

Adobe Carousel gives you access to your entire photo collection from your iPad, iPhone or Mac. Adobe Carousel also allows you to enhance them using the same technology as Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. You can import as many photos as you want but you have to pay a subscription fee to use it. At the moment, Adobe are offering an introductory price of $59.99 a year or $5.99 a month although this offer expires January 31, 2012.

The photo enhancement tool is somewhat limited compared to Adobe Lightroom but is useful for just simple effects. Most importantly, you can fix exposure, white balance, and saturation. A slider enables you to change contrast, brightness, vibrancy etc. Changes are none destructive i.e. they don't affect the original photos.

Finally, you can create libraries which friends and family can access via an Adobe Carousel app for iOS via which they can also add photos to albums.

Adobe Carousel is very polished app and for anyone that doesn't plan on using iCloud regularly and only wants to share photos, it's a quick and convenient way of sharing. However, the price of the subscription price will no doubt put-off many mac users but if you only intend on sharing photos and love Adobe products, it may be worth it.

Minecraft creator Markus Persson (AKA Notch) has been tweeting today about additions coming very soon in version 1.9 . We are expecting NPCs (other characters!) to be added to the currently vacant villages, and Notch has announced that there will also be Snowmen:

Not only will you be able to make snowmen, but just like the classic childrens story, they will come to life and protect you against the giant spiders and zombies that want to kill you. Ok, so not exactly like the story but you get the picture. The snowmen will leave trails of snow, and throw snowballs at enemies - finally players won't be so alone at night!

All in all, the build up to the non-beta release Minecraft 2.0 is looking pretty exciting, filling out the world with lots more to see and do. You can download the game client here, and until the game is out of beta, the account required to play the game has a 25% discount, which is a bargain.

(Image via @Notch on Twitter)

Aspiring artists, take note. The best way to get your work noticed and to be taken seriously in the professional world is to have a portfolio available online. This allows potential clients to view projects you've done in the past and get an idea of your specific skill set.

Not skilled at web design? No worries.  Carbonmade has you covered. A tool to help you manage your portfolio online, Carbonmade's primary goal is to keep your images, videos, and writing at the forefront. There are a variety of different portfolio design styles from which to choose, as well as examples you can take a look at to give you ideas for your own page.

There are both paid and free portfolio options. Depending on how much work you want to display, the free option that allows you to display five projects and up to 35 pictures will get you started. With numerous different available layouts for you to choose from and a short URL of your choosing, it's simple enough to add your portfolio to your resume or cover letter and show off your creative work.

For those still on the fence about signing up, Carbonmade offers a free demo of how the service works as well. Convinced yet? If so, check out some of our design and photography software programs to get your creative projects looking their very best.

Happy Valentine's Day! There's good news for all you love birds out there, and this time it's brought to you from Google. A few days ago, the internet search giant launched its very own portal focused solely on helping couples plan their wedding day: Google Weddings.

In a way, it might sound weird that Google's getting into the wedding business. That was certainly my first thought when I heard the news. If you take a moment to think about it though, it does make sense. You can use Google Docs to access a myriad of different pre-made wedding templates, for example. Create a website with Google Sites to share important information with your guests. Even create announcements with Picnik or organize and share photos on Picasa with your friends after the event.

With all the great web apps available through Google, it's actually quite a convenient way to get organized for your special day. The best part about it is that a lot of people already make use of these tools now, so they'll be familiar when you get started planning for this new event. For those who don't, Google has very kindly made a Google Weddings tutorial page to help get you started.  For an event that's notorious for often being incredibly complicated to plan, things just got a little simpler thanks to Google.

At its Strategy and Financial Briefing in London today, Nokia has confirmed it is aligning with Microsoft for its 2011 smartphone strategies. Specifically, Nokia will begin producing Windows Phone 7 devices for Microsoft in an effort to catch up with current mobile leaders iPhone and Google.

The broad strategic partnership between Microsoft and Nokia includes making the Windows Phone Nokia's primary platform for smartphones in 2011. Bing will be Nokia's primary search engine across all of its smartphone devices, for one, while Microsoft will adopt Nokia Maps as its primary mapping service. Nokia's app store will merge with Microsoft's Marketplace as well, likely bringing even more content and app options to Windows Phone 7 users.

Nokia has assured users that Symbian devices will still be produced, although at the same time noting that it will become more of a "franchise platform." This presumably means that Nokia will continue to sell the devices, as well as introduce new phones on the Symbian OS currently in development, with the ultimate goal being to retain Nokia customers and eventually migrate them over to the Windows phone platform in the years to come.

MeeGo, Nokia's Linux-based open source OS, will also continue being developed, with a new MeeGo device set for release in late 2011. Nokia's game plan for MeeGo seems ultimately to be more long-term. Nokia seems to be hedging its bets, using MeeGo as an open source project to gauge the mobile market's longer term future, in terms of trends to be on the look-out for.

What does this new partnership between Nokia and Microsoft mean for the future of the mobile market in general?

It's difficult to know for sure, but we can make some educated guesses. Nokia is a well-known and respected mobile company, as is Microsoft in its own element. Apple and Google might be leading the mobile industry currently, but Windows Phone 7 is a cool operating system and with this boost it might finally get the audience it deserves.

Whereas Android hasn't had the gaming success of iOS, Windows Phone 7 already has some really impressive titles that up the ante for mobile gaming. A bigger audience could make it the gamer's choice OS. More competition for Apple and Google in this sphere will be nothing if not interesting.

So, it's the Packers versus the Steelers this year, is it?  If you get a lot of grief from friends who want you to attend their Super Bowl party over all others, how exactly do you choose between parties?  I am apathetic about football games in general, no matter how important or hyped-up, and so I base my football-related decisions on food. In this instance, Foodily might just be able to help you make an informed choice come Super Bowl Sunday.

Although not a catalog geared specifically toward Super Bowl food recipes, typing that specific query into Foodily's search box generates well over 15,000 results. Each recipe comes with a list of ingredients, cooking directions, and the ability either to like or save recipes for later viewing. What makes Foodily stand out even further, however, is the ability to list recipes and even entire menus on a Facebook events invitation. Expected attendees can also add to the list to generate an even more accurate menu of options. See the potential?

Make your friends work for your attendance at their Super Bowl party! Tell them to let you know what they're planning on making before you accept an invitation using Foodily. Warning: This may decrease the number of invitations you actually receive in subsequent years (although depending on just how much you like football, this might not necessarily end up being a bad thing!).

For those of you who actually do get revved up for Game Day, James has pointed out some great ways to prepare for the big day with his iPhone Super Bowl Survival Kit. And for those like me who are far more interested in the food aspect of the entire affair, check out Niamh's post on the best food apps for Mac, as well as her picks for the best recipe software all-around. Game on!

Twitter users who love to share or browse content through the popular link-sharing website Stumbleupon take note: Now you can do the same with links posted to Twitter feeds. Tumbl.in makes it possible.

Don't let the name confuse you. This handy web-based tool has nothing to do with the microblogging website Tumblr. Instead, Tumbl.in links directly to your Twitter account and pulls links tweeted about from a variety of different sources. You can specify where you want the links to be chosen from. Tumbl.in can pull this information from your main Twitter feed, select Twitter lists you define, or just from specific categories of interest you choose.

Much like Stumbleupon, Tumbl.in has a built-in menu bar that loads at the top of your browser screen while the content loads in the larger space below. You have the option to retweet content you like or else choose from a few different descriptions like "Amazing" and "WTF" based on your reaction to the content. Click on the Tumbl.in icon at the top far right to open the next link.

With popular Twitter clients out there like TweetDeck and Seesmic Desktop, there are so many different ways to read your Twitter feed now that Tumbl.in might seem a little pointless. There are surprisingly few ways to sort through specific categories of interest however, and even fewer programs that filter only links. For the diehard fan of Stumbleupon who either wants to give Twitter a go or is simply looking for an easier way to find interesting content, Tumbl.in is definitely worth a try.

These days, it's not uncommon for people to store their entire music collection digitally. With the ability to purchase entire albums in one easy click, it's not hard to see how quickly you can amass files in your library. Unless you're super organized (or don't mind a mess, alternatively), it's easy to end up with an incoherent jumble of music in your library quite quickly.

One of the most common problems is ending up with multiple music files of the same song. Maybe you originally burned the song from an actual CD and later purchased it online. Whatever the case, these duplicate files add clutter to your music library and can be a pain to search out on your own. That's where Similarity, a duplicate music file finder, can be quite helpful.

Similarity searches through your music files and locates duplicates in short order. You can search by song name and also search by the actual sound of each music file. Once identical or similar-sounding music files are located, you can either choose to rename them or delete them entirely. Whatever the choice, Similarity is a godsend for anyone who wants to take control of their messy music library and get it organized quickly and efficiently.

Groupon, the company that offers popular daily deals at hyper-discounted rates, announced earlier this morning that users have now saved more than $1 billion with their service. While you technically have buy something to take advantage of the savings, this remains a lofty achievement in the company's relatively young existence.

Since its inception in 2008, Groupon has steadily risen in popularity. Part of the reason is the great deals Groupon offers its users. Every day a new deal gets emailed to users, generally offering a 40-60% discounted rate on region-specific merchandise or services. Another thing that makes Groupon so popular is its accessibility. Users can take advantage of daily deals online at Groupon's website or via an easy-to-use mobile app. As we recently reported, Groupon has even gone international and increased its popularity quite a bit as a result.

Groupon is no stranger to making news, however. Just last month the company turned down a multi-billion dollar buy-out offer from Google, surprising market experts and loyal users alike. With its most recent tweet though, Groupon seems to be sending a very targeted message to anyone willing to listen: the sky's the limit, and we're not done yet.

In an apparent effort only to support open-source video codecs in its browser, Google announced today that it would drop support for the H.264 video codec in Chrome.

Chrome product manager Mike Jazayeri explains:

We expect even more rapid innovation in the web media platform in the coming year and are focusing our investments in those technologies that are developed and licensed based on open web principles. To that end, we are changing Chrome’s HTML5 <video> support to make it consistent with the codecs already supported by the open Chromium project.

Google will consequently be supporting the WebM (VP8) and Theora video codecs and promises to consider adding future support for other open-source codecs that meet quality standards.  Both codecs are much less known than their popular and more widely used H.264 counterpart, so it remains to be seen how this change will affect Chrome users in the long run.  It's possible that Chrome users will end up having to watch their videos using Flash for their video playback, in which case H.264 will likely still end up being employed as the dominant codec.

Interestingly enough, Google has been silent on whether it will continue providing support for other closed applications, like the Flash Player plugin, in favor of open-source alternatives.