Imagine the scene. You're just about to settle down to a film on your PC but because it's in a foreign language, you need subtitles. You spend the next half and hour searching the internet for the right subtitle files only to find that everything you try either doesn't work or is badly out of sync. In the end, you're too tired and frustrated to bother watching it anymore so you go to bed and curse the subtitle world.

If this scenario is familiar to you then you should try ALLPlayer which has the best support for subtitles in any media player I've tried. ALLPlayer is a refreshing change as far as media players go because it not only automatically retrieves film subtitles based on the movie file's title but it can even "speak" the subtitles back to you - albeit in voice that sounds rather like Robocop. ALLPlayer uses the excellent database at opensubtitles.org to match your file name with the appropriate subtitles meaning it does the searching for you.

OK, the results are not always perfect and sometimes it doesn't find anything at all but it's a darn sight more efficient than going on a wild goose chase for them yourself. It retrieves the subtitles in no more than a few seconds, downloads them to your film folder and you can activate them immediately.

ALLPlayer also handles subtitles differently from most average players. Using something called "IQ text" it can detect the length of a phrase of sentence and make sure that the subtitles are kept on screen long enough for you to read them. Unless you've only just started learning a language however, and can't read very quickly, this soon becomes annoying as the subtitles appear to be out of sync all the time.

Although there are skins available through the LiveUpdate feature (which also supposedly updates the codecs for you although the database doesn't always work), AllPlayer doesn't feel quite as slick as something simpler like BSPlayer but this can be forgiven for the subtitle features. Some other more basic features yoo - such as full screen mode - are not as obvious as they should be either. Nevertheless, ALLPlayer is an excellent choice for all those that rely on using subtitles with their films.

Windows: You're probably wasting more drive space in junk files than you think. This is why you should have FCleaner always at hand. This program helps you get rid of all those disposable elements (temporary files, recent document lists, autocomplete lists, web cache, cookies and more) and recover a handful of precious megabytes in just a few seconds.

Mac: Most DVD rippers and file converters don't come for free and those that do, often do a poor job. HandBrake breaks this mould as a free open source, multiplatform, multithreaded DVD to MPEG-4 ripper/converter. It offers everything you need to rip DVD content into another format or simply convert one format from one format into another. It can even video files by chapter and burn subtitles into your films - and all for free.

iPhone: If you were thinking of splashing out on a fancy night stand clock for your bedroom then wait - because there's an iPhone app that does the job very well. Night Stand is a fantastic looking full-screen neon clock for your device. It has three different colors to choose from (red, blue and green), and can be displayed either vertically or horizontally, depending on the orientation of your iPhone.

Windows: Do you miss having video in Google Talk? You can now have it in a couple of clicks! Simply install the Google Voice and Video Chat plug-in and you'll be able to have video chats with family and friends right in Gmail's interface. You'll enjoy a high quality of image and crisp clear sound, with no need to go through painful configurations.

Mac: If you're not a big TimeMachine fan then MimMac is a fast, easy-to-use, and comprehensive backup and cloning utility, designed to make backing up, synchronizing, merging, and cloning your data as painless as possible. With MimMac, there's no need to set up complex scripts, or navigate a bloated interface just to do simple tasks such as running multiple simultaneous operations or excluding items from your backup operations.

iPhone: Things can really get difficult when it comes to transferring files from the computer to your iPhone. Install Discover and you'll be able to access and browse contents in the iPhone through any web browser, and also transfer and share files from iPhone to iPhone in a very easy way. Discover uses WiFi so you'll get a decent transfer rate.

Google Talk started out as a minimalist chat client that was soon successful among people precisely due to its simplicity in functions and design. It grew in popularity together with Gmail, to the extent that it was later on embedded into the webmail interface and also began offering support for voice chats. The next logical step was video, which Google Talk just added today and is slowly rolling out to all Gmail accounts – including mine!

After checking that I already had video chats enabled on my Gmail account, I downloaded the necessary plug-in and grabbed hold of my webcam. There was no lengthy configuration process required: simply plug your cam, select a contact in the Gmail box and click on "Start video chat". However if you want to check video chat settings or need troubleshooting, there's a new area in the Gmail configuration menu where you can check the video, audio and microphone settings: click on Settings and then on the Chat tab and you'll be right there.

Google Talk video chat offers an impressive sound and image quality. Even in full-screen mode (which you can enable by clicking on the small square on the top left corner of the video window) image remains clear enough and, above all, is never bumpy or clunky. Streaming is in fact smooth and continuous, and so is sound: even with the mic far away from us we had clear-cut audio during the whole chat.

The video window is minimized on the bottom right corner and cannot be moved – something I found a bit annoying. Of course, you can always pop the window out but that means you have two windows instead of one, which is not that useful anymore. The standard text chat takes place right under the video window, with the usual format and tools.

Google Talk has left a very good taste in my mouth after testing it for a while. I wouldn't be surprised if it started gaining users quickly and was – in the long run – a serious competitor for other popular voIP tools. It does have one requirement though (a Gmail account) but I'm not sure if a free 7-GB Google-powered webmail account can exactly be called a requirement. It's simply something everyone should have.

Windows: Whether you're a regular screencast producer or just need an easy tool to record video on your screen, Camtasia Studio is the perfect choice. This complete suite helps you record, edit, produce and share videos in a simple way. The latest version, Camtasia Studio 6, features support for HD video, MOV video editing, finer control over video effects and other features.

Mac: Do you want to share your iTunes collection with your friends? Mojo not only allows you to share iTunes library with others, but it will also let you download tracks from other people's libraries. With an interface reminiscent of both iTunes and a messaging client, Mojo is easy to work with. It will display all libraries, that is if you have found others to connect with, in a list. So get sharing now!

Smartphone: Having a GPRS Internet connection on your phone is great, but the temptation of using it all the time can cause headaches when it comes to getting your phone bill through. A good way of keeping track of your data transfers is through Spb GPRS Monitor, which is actually able to give you a projection of the charges by calculating your GPRS usage.

Windows: If you want to be fully protected while browsing the web, either you install several different software tools or you choose Comodo Internet Security. This comprehensive application includes a firewall, an antivirus tool and a spyware monitor which will protect your privacy and your whole system from any online threat.

Mac: The developers claim the Opera browser is the most fully-featured Internet power tool on the market. Opera includes pop-up blocking, tabbed browsing, integrated searches, and advanced functions like Opera's groundbreaking E-mail program, RSS Newsfeeds and IRC chat. And because users have different needs, you can customize the look and content of your Opera browser with a few clicks of the mouse.

Pocket PC: Hallelujah for YouTube and all the clips of old TV shows we can now enjoy! What’s more, it’s now possible to access video on the move using a program such as vTap. This smart app provides a means of searching several online video sites, previewing, then watching them from one environment. You can even use it to search Wikipedia more quickly.

Usually, I find there's nothing that VLCPlayer can't handle. Whenever I download or find an unusual video file type, I can always rely on VLCPlayer to open it. However, that's not the case with MKV files.

If you've never heard of it then you will soon as MKV is a format rapidly growing in popularity due to its high compression rates and excellent reproduction quality. MKV is just one format that's part of the Matroska Multimedia Container standard is an open standard free container format. According to Wikipedia such formats can:

Hold an unlimited number of video, audio, picture or subtitle tracks inside a single file. It is intended to serve as a universal format for storing common multimedia content, like movies or TV shows. Matroska is similar in conception to other containers like AVI, MP4 or ASF, but is entirely open in specification, with implementations consisting mostly of open source software. Matroska file types are .MKV for video (with subtitles and audio), .MKA for audio-only files and .MKS for subtitles only.

While open source players such as VLC should have no problem playing such files, according to After Dawn:

While VLC will work for most MKV files you will find, the package does not include any proprietary codecs. RealVideo and ON2 VP6 are examples of codecs not packed with VLC for this reason. Therefore with VLC, if you get a Matroska file that contains RealVideo, you are pretty much in the dark and will have to look for another playback option.

The simple answer I found was to download the CCCP codec pack which provides support for a whole range of media formats including all possible Matroska formats. With this installed, VLCPlayer should be able to handle it but if it doesn't, Windows Media Player will.

Admit it - usually when you're searching for a video clip, 9 times out of 10 you'll use YouTube. And with good reason - YouTube has the biggest repository of video clips on the net. However, there are literally hundreds of video sites out there and it's very likely that what's on YouTube is only the tip of the iceberg. YouTube is also increasingly restricting the types of clips users can upload, limits clips to just 10 minutes and is constantly removing clips that broadcasters lodge an appeal against whether or not it's justified.

If you want to vastly increase the number of clips you find in one go and download them to your desktop then try using MetaTube. Metatube searches 100 video websites in one go - many of which you'll probably never even have heard of but contain some unusual, rare and quirky clips that you otherwise wouldn't find on YouTube. Some of the sites it searches include major ones like YouTube, Dailymotion and Google Video as well as hundreds of lesser known ones like Caspost, Clipfish and Jumpcut. Results from YouTube are displayed by default but you merely have to select on the list of video sites down the left to display them within the MetaTube site. There are no ads, it's extremely fast and MetaTube saves hours of visiting different video sites.

Of course a lot of those hidden gems that you find you'll want to download. The best Firefox extension to use with a site such as MetaTube is definitely VideoDownloader. You can see VideoDownloader in action here but in a few clicks, it allows you to download any Flash based video (which almost all of the video sites covered by MetaTube are). It can also capture MP3 and AVI clips and it's totally free.

Windows: If you love watching online videos and browsing photos on Flickr, Bookmash is for you. This sleek AIR-based application provides you with a nice interface to watch videos, see the latest Flickr photos and also keep up to date with popular social networks and techie news sites. Plus you can download photos and videos right to your hard drive!

Mac: Scanning for wireless networks is now easier and more personalized with AirRadar which allows you to scan for open networks and tag them as favourites or filter them out. View detailed network information, graph network signal strength, and automatically join the best open network in range. Add a more intelligent WiFi scanner to your Mac with AirRadar!

Symbian: With so many different modes of communication around these days it can often be difficult to keep track of correspondence. Once you have loads of SMS, MMS and email messages flying around it soon becomes impossible to remember who said what and when. Install GySync on your Nokia phone, and you’ll be able to automatically archive all your SMS and MMS messages to your Gmail account, where they can be neatly grouped.

Windows: Are you bored of watching the same TV channels all the time? Try RevoluTV instead, an Internet TV client with which you'll be able to watch hundreds of free TV channels from several different countries, conveniently classified by categories. Plus the program is very easy to install, features a fast loading speed and only requires Windows Media Player to work.

Mac: Browsing the Web on a mobile phone is traditionally such a painful process that many of us simply don't bother. Thankfully things are beginning to change though. We've already seen the Beta release of the slick Opera Mobile browser for Windows Mobile and UIQ devices. Now, Mozilla is getting in on the act with its Firefox Mobile browser, code-named Fennec.

Smartphone: Ringtone creation tools have come a long way since the days when you had to enter notes on your Nokia pad, before playing them back as a tinny melody. Mixx Mobile offers an advanced set of features for making sophisticated ringtones, including a waveform editor with zooming capabilities, voice recording and customizable effects.

If there's one thing that Macs surely win hands down on nowadays, it's video editing. There was a time when PCs didn't even come close although specs have improved so much that now many PCs are more powerful in terms of hardware than Macs. However, when it comes to the editing process itself, Macs simply can't be beaten, especially for beginners.

This is the start of a quick guide to simple editing on your Mac using iMovie on a MacBook. I've used both Windows Movie Maker and iMovie and I'm in no doubt that for beginners, iMovie is a much more user-friendly and all round pleasant experience. In particular, iMovie automatically detects the camera model that you've connected as well as the frame rate that should be used to save the video - things that you have to do manually in Windows Movie Maker.

The first step in editing a video is to get the footage onto your Mac. MacBooks are equipped with a Firewire 400 port while the MacBook Pro has both a Firewire 400 and 800 port - the difference being the speed at which they can transfer data. For those worried that a MacBook is not sufficient to perform simple video editing however then be assured that they are more than powerful enough to handle it. You only need a MacBook Pro if you're a serious editor or need to apply special effects and even then, the MacBook can go a long way.

Step 1: Connect your camera to your Mac with a Firewire cable

Step 2: Open iMovie. This may happen automatically depending on your camera type but if it doesn't, you'll have to start it manually.

Windows: Browsing the web is not a dangerous activity, but there are certain risks you should avoid. If you want to remain on the safe side while using the PC, Norton is your best choice. The latest version of its full featured security suite, Norton Internet Security 2009, offers all the apps you need (antivirus, antispyware, firewall, identity protection) for a safe, secure browsing experience.

Pocket PC: What do you do when you want to watch DivX movies on your mobile phone? You install DivX Player Mobile, of course. 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 or the stylus.

Mac: Having problems playing a video or audio file? If so, try VLC Media Player which is one of the most powerful media players on the net handling all but the most stubborn formats. You won't find any media catalogs or fancy visualizations thrown in and although there is one alternative skin available, all it will take is one look and you'll quickly be switching back to the default. It's not about the looks though - it's the power of VLC Media Player which is sure to impress.

It's no secret that Joost hasn't been the success story its makers intended and so it seems they've decided to relaunch the TV app without the client. Yes, from now on Joost have announced they are a web-only application which doesn't require any client download like before.

The main changes are that Joost now uses Adobe Flash to play movies and streams, has increased the amount of social interaction that's possible between users and vastly increased the amount of content available on the site. This is a clear step in the direction of sites like Hulu and YouTube which are Joost's main competitors. The new site is definitely slick allowing you to slide between clips effortlessly, watch the most popular clips or shows of the day and the general mix of stuff is good - everything from Usher videos to documentaries on Bruce Lee. The only annoying thing was a recurring advert for "TheCell.tv" which seemed to be in a foreign language for some reason.

Joost Chief Executive Mike Volpi said of the changes:

In order to really enhance the viewing experience and differentiate the Internet from TV, you can't just regurgitate TV. You have to engage the community. Ultimately, the Internet is about community-building.

I'm not sure if I agree with this theory by Volpi. Internet TV apps live and die by the quality of the content they produce. I'm less interested in social interaction via P2P TV apps than I am by finding good quality content that's streamed in high image quality. However, Joost have managed to sign up some big shows such as Friends and The Daily Show so that's definitely a step in the right direction. That said, YouTube is launching its own assault on commercial programming by adding full-length shows such as "Beverly Hills 90210", "MacGyver" and "Californication" via its "Theater View" player.

If you were to fix up the heavyweight P2P TV battle of the World and then watch them smash each other’s brains out, then you’d surely have to go for Sopcast and TVAnts - two monsters of the P2P ring. I’ve probably come to rely on both of these two applications more than my TV for sports viewing over the past few years because of the wide access they offer to English football streamed on foreign channels.

What they offer though is two quite different P2P TV applications. While TVAnts is purely about broadcasting and is heavily dominated by Chinese channels, Sopcast not only broadcasts but allows you to create your own channels as well. How many people actually do bother to set up their own channel on Sopcast is another question since the vast majority in the West probably use it for sports viewing like myself.

Added to the fact that setting up your own channel is not particularly well explained, it’s not a big edge over TVAnts but at least it’s there if you want it. The existence of this option however does mean that Sopcast always prompts you if you want to log in on start-up which is a bit annoying. While also heavily influenced by Chinese channels, Sopcast however definitely has a broader range of channels from all over the world.

The important thing to consider with any P2P TV app though is does it stream content well and are the channel names and listings decipherable? In the case of TVAnts it’s a definite yes to the former and a resounding no to the latter. TVAnts offers some of the most stable P2P TV streams around but unfortunately, most of the channels are in listed in Chinese and there’s virtually no way of navigating what’s on unless you know the language. Sopcast on the other hand is mainly dominated by channels that are at least labelled in English (albeit badly such as the intriguingly titled “Man & Woman Romance Epic”!!). The annoying thing however is that it seems not many of the channels are ever streaming (including the aforementioned epic I might add). Click on any channel on TVAnts and you’re at least guaranteed something will appear even if you don’t understand it.

I used to rely on TVAnts for years until one day I got the splash screen below when trying to open it. Basically, it told me that the license had expired and took me to the TvAnts website which of course, is entirely in Chinese. However, I deduced that the big red box was the download link and proceeded to wait for the most painfully slow 2.76MB download I've ever experienced in my life. After all that, and following the "Chinglish" (my personal fav - "I like your smile, but unlike you put your shoes on my face") installation instructions, I was frustrated to find that I got exactly the same message again when starting it.

This has apparently been a major problem for UK users who at the beginning of the last football season, suddenly received the "license expired" message. The sneaky reason they tried to make you download the latest version is because it contains an IP detector which detects which country you are using it from and in certain cases, blocks you with yet another license expired message. Note that this IP Detector has since been removed from the latest version however.

There are two ways round this if you live in a restricted country (of which there is no official list): a) Move to another country b) Use a proxy to get round it. Ideally, you should use a Taiwanese or Korean proxy such as those listed at xroxy.com. Then, in the "Tools" menu click on "Settings" and type the proxy details into the appropriate field. Restart TVAnts and hopefully you shouldn't experience anymore license expired warnings. If it doesn't work, then check that the proxy is live and working with an online proxy checker.

By the way, the terribly slow direct download on the Chinese site for TVAnts is here. However, you'll probably find it much quicker to download it from Softonic plus the review will help you get to grips with the Chinese interface.