Do we really need another app for staying in touch with friends and family? Telefónica certainly seems to think so. Today, it launched TU Me, which bundles free messaging, voice calls, photo sharing, and more together in a simple-ish iPhone app.

TU Me's main advantage over similar WhatsApp is its voice calling, apparently based on Jajah which Telefónica bought in 2010. Photo sharing, location sharing, audio messages - these all feature in both apps. But WhatsApp also offers video sharing, contact sharing and it's multi-platform.

ZoneAlarm has long been a household name for great firewall protection but they have never been known for antivirus. ZoneAlarm's first foray into antivirus was its ZoneAlarm Extreme Security 2012 and now they have bundled their antivirus functionality into ZoneAlarm Free Antivirus + Firewall (rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?). Since Microsoft introduced Microsoft Security Essentials, security firms have been worried that consumers would no longer look for third party security programs. Can ZoneAlarm win over consumers' hearts and minds with their new, free program? Let's find out (and be sure to read our full review here).

If you’re feeling  creative and want to give animation a try, you’ve got a lot of software choices. Pivot Stickfigure Animator is one of the options available to you. Plus, it’s free!

Pivot Stickfigure Animator lets you make stick figure animations by creating individual frames of action and then playing them in sequence. If done correctly, you’ll end up with a seamless cartoon.

The program also gives you a good variety of custom options, like modifying frames, preset characters, the ability to add different colors and even altering the appearance of the background. You can preview every change you’ve made before saving, to ensure your animation comes out just the way you want it to. Take a look!

Today sees the release of LavaSoft's Ad-Aware Free Antivirus+ 10. It is a major improvement, putting it in the same league as favorites Avast, Avira and AVG.

The free version is now much more powerful and won't bug users about premium updates, which is an excellent development. It's got a really clear interface, is relatively light on resources and effective.

Angry Birds Space launches today and its popularity already looks set to go intergalactic across mobile and desktop platforms.

The newest title in the Angry Birds series will create a big bang in the mobile gaming world. Angry Birds Space proves to be the best version of Rovio's über-popular casual game so far, thanks to a new gameplay system based around zero gravity.

Just installed Steam, the excellent gaming platform from Valve software? Here are my top ten games you can install and play for free.

Steam has everything from puzzle games, to RPGs, shooters and driving games: read on to find out more!

Google has today rebranded the Android Market as Google Play. A single service that provides Android users with access to apps, video, music, books and games, Google Play is clearly intended to provide better competition to Apple's one-stop-shop, iTunes.

Everything in one store

Until now, Google had a pretty confusing approach to providing content for Android devices. Apps and movies were in the Android Market but books and music were available from separate, seemingly unconnected websites. Combining everything into a single marketplace clearly makes sense both from a user standpoint and strategically for Google.

After several months of beta testing, the final version of Facebook Messenger for Windows has now been released. Facebook Messenger for Windows is the official program for Facebook that allows you to chat with your contacts from your desktop.

Facebook Messenger for Windows not only lets you communicate with your Facebook contacts but also gives you access to your news feed and message notifications giving you access to all the essential tools of the Facebook social network.

On 16th of February, Apple surprised everyone with the sudden announcement of OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion which will replace OS X 10.7 Lion as the new Mac operating system this summer.

For those with access to a developer account, you can download a Developer Preview of OS X Mountain Lion. Almost everything that will feature in the final version of Mountain Lion, is in the Developer Preview.

We've already given you a lowdown on the most important changes in Mountain Lion most of which are features taken from iOS. He we take a more in-depth look at the key new features and changes.

Microsoft have today announced the release of their Windows 8 Consumer Preview, at the Mobile World Congress, available in 32 and 64 bit versions. We saw the developer's preview last year, but this is much improved - more stable and with more features. It's the ideal opportunity for Windows users to check out the new Metro interface and apps, which are a radical departure for Windows.

Read on for screenshots and my impressions of Windows 8.

When Microsoft closed the studio responsible for its Flight Simulator series, it looked like the end for the much loved game. However, soon afterwards Microsoft Flight was announced, and today it has been released as a free to play title.

I took a look at the closed beta last month, and while there are plenty of changes, I came away impressed. Microsoft Flight is great for new players, with excellent tutorials teaching you everything you need to know about flying. At first glance 'hardcore' sim fans might be put off, but I think there is enough depth once you get into it.

The Social Radio for Twitter lets you listen to your Twitter feed, using your music collection as the soundtrack. It's free for a limited time, so it's a great time to check out this curious app. It's now available for iOS as well as Android.

How it works

The Social Radio for Twitter uses one of your music apps as a basis for your radio station. So, not only will it use the iOS music app, but also any other music app you have installed if you want. Spotify and Soundcloud are supported, and a host of others.

As the launch of version 7 of  avast! antivirus comes closer, the developer has released a fully-functional beta version for you to try, test, consider and assess!

Too much input may cause an out-of-control situation!

Microsoft Flight, the latest in the long running simulator series, will be released as a free to play download on February 29. We had an opportunity to play with the closed beta to see what's changed with this iconic game.

If you sign in with a Windows Live account, you get additional content, but from the off there is plenty to do in  Microsoft Flight. Setting off in an exclusive light aircraft, the Icon A5, you will be given a series missions around the island of Hawaii.

Read more »

Yesterday's big announcement by Apple was the release of iBooks Author and iBooks 2. iBooks Author is a Mac application and Apple's attempt at revolutionizing educational books whether they be textbooks, cookbooks, history books, picture books and more for iPad. With it, you can create all of the above and more via a classically easy to use Apple interface. iBooks 2 is the application you need to view publications created in iBooks Author.

To get you started quickly, there are lots of Apple-designed templates that merely require you to add your own text and drag and drop images.

To add interactive photo galleries, movies, Keynote presentations, 3D objects and more, there are simple widgets which make things very easy indeed. The widgets are one of the outstanding features of iBooks Author. They enable you to add everything from a photo gallery to a Keynote (Keynote ’09 v5.1.1 or later) presentation and can be easily identified in your Table of Contents. You can also add a voice-over to make it easier for sight-impaired readers to read your books.