The lack of any major innovations in QuarkXPress' recent update to version 9 has left many dedicated Quark users disappointed at the evolution of the once unassailable desktop publishing application. As more companies and designers switch to Adobe products, especially InDesign, the question is: can Quark ever make it back from the brink?

While the latest QuarkXPress offers some great new features (such as the ability to create interactive books for iPads and support for eBook publishing), it can't fight against the rising tide of users switching to Adobe. Most designers use multiple applications in their creative work, so it makes sense to use integrated products such as InDesign and Illustrator. Since Adobe products follow a similar kind of format and layout, once you've learned to use one, you quickly learn how to use the others in the suite.

Quark's problems are not helped by the fact that it is incredibly expensive for what you get. The full package totals almost $2,000 and for about the same money, you could have the entire Adobe CS5 suite. Quark will not only have to start pricing its product far more competitively if its to keep up with Adobe, but will also have to make some serious innovations to give designers a compelling reason to choose it as their desktop publishing software of choice.

You've probably had a few PowerPoint photo slideshows in your email already. They seem to be a popular topic for messages coming from friends and relatives with too much spare time on their hands. But have you ever tried creating one? It's easier than you think, and it might actually be a good way to share pictures - just don't abuse the slideshows with cute kitty images!

1. Open up PowerPoint, click the Insert tab and then the Photo Album button. Select New Photo Album to open the Photo Album settings menu.

2. In this new window, click the File/Disk button to select the photos you want to use in your slideshow. Remember you can select multiple files simultaneously by holding the Ctrl key while selecting them with your mouse.

With BulletStorm, Brink and Homefront, FPS fans have had lots to chew on lately, but by November you'll be bored, right? Autumn will yet again see Activision's Modern Warfare up against EA's Battlefield. Now you can see the first footage from MW3 in the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Reveal Trailer.

Having seen footage from Battlefield 3, it's pretty obvious Modern Warfare 3 will be a totally different type of game - the two series have been heading in different directions since the beginning, and that trend looks set to continue.

Battlefield 3 looks like a frighteningly realistic recreation of what urban warfare is really like in the 21st Century, while Modern Warfare 3 is clearly going the Jerry Bruckheimer route of bigger and badder explosions, and total Hollywood action. I'm sure both will be impressive in their own ways!

Download the trailer here!

Tomorrow sees the launch of Codemaster's excellent rally game DiRT 3,. If you want to decorate your phone, PC or even your website with images from the game, this fan kit is ideal for you.

Codemasters has put together a pack of wallpapers, icons, banners and more in a zip file of 26 files.  The game looks great from what we've seen. It seems Codemasters has listened to fans and has re-focussed DiRT 3's action on point-to-point rallying, while adding a cool new Gymkana event to mix things up. Check out our preview, and download the fan kit here.

Can playing games to increase your intelligence? In fact, there are quite a few 'brain training' games for PCs. The primary goal with all of them is to exercise your mind's logic, memory and overall thought.

OK, there's no actual scientific proof that any of them actually enhance your mental capabilities. Good thing they're all fun! Either way, these games will definitely feel like you're giving your mind a good work-out.

Memoriad Simulator: Related to the Memoriad international tournament that tests mental calculation, memory and photographic reading, this set of desktop games is amazingly thorough. It comes with eight games to test your mental skills. A word to the wise though. Memoriad Simulator doesn't allow you to change the complexity level so beginners should try not to get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of memorization required from the get-go. A little practice goes a long way with this game pack.

gBrainy: As simplistic as the interface of this pack of games outwardly appears, it's certain to keep your mind engaged. gBrainy tests logic, memorization and vocabulary skills. Questions are both written and visual to suit all types of learning styles. When paused, gBrainy also compiles a detailed list of statistics on your weak and strong points. While the interface is pretty plain, the breadth of questions more than makes up for it.

Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima: If the name of this brain game sounds familiar, don't be surprised.  Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima is a PC demo version of the popular Nintendo DS game. This demo may be shorter than the original game, but it gives you a taste of what playing the full game is like. Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima tests your memory capabilities in order to calculate your brain's true age. It may not be scientifically accurate, but it sure is fun!

Brain Workshop: Get ready to test your visual and auditory memory all at once with this basic but challenging recall tool. Not only do you have to memorize what order each square is presented to you in, you also need to remember what alphabetical letter is said at the same time. It's harder than you think!

Sudoku: In the past few years this numerical logic game has gotten increasingly popular, so much so that there isn't just one program to recommend but an entire page of them. Sudoku requires you to put the numbers 1 through 9 in order throughout an entire multi-squared box. It seems simple at first - until you try it and realize there are any number of combinations that could trip you up. This game will certainly keep your brain occupied and challenged for hours.

Do you know any other brain training games or apps?

[Via: OnSoftware Spain]

Here at Softonic we use logos a lot, for many different purposes: program listings, images for blog posts, or even the central image in our homepage. The logo is usually the best way to represent a program in all those cases – which means I get to work with them almost on a daily basis.

Obtaining a program logo can be quite easy. Sometimes the developers offer high-resolution PNG versions on their website, which work great everywhere. For popular programs, it’s easy to find logos in Google Images. But most of the time you have to use the program’s icon, and this is where an icon extractor comes in handy.

The app I use to extract icons from programs is Icon Explorer. It’s quick, easy to use and doesn’t require installation. All you need is browse the built-in file manager to find the executable file or system library you want to extract the icon from, and click on the icon displayed on the interface’s central area. Icon Explorer will show all the available sizes and resolutions on the panel to the right.

To download any of those icons, simply right click on the appropriate size and select the target format: ICO or BMP. In the case of BMP you can also select the background color. Of course, saving a program’s icon in BMP means you can work on it later on using any other graphic editor.

Icon Explorer is simple, easy to use and does what it says on the tin. If you ever need to extract icons from executable files or DLL libraries, this is the tool you need.

As the football season draws to a close in Europe, that other season that plays out every year between just two teams is kicking off.  That’s right, the first drips and drabs of information about Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 and FIFA 12 have already begun to filter through.

Pro Evolution Soccer 2012

The first to open the scoring this year (as with the last) was Konami, releasing an official preview video (below) of Pro Evolution Soccer 2012. Not a lot is given away in the game footage but the great Shingo “Seabass” Takatsuka, executive producer of Pro Evo did explain a lot about the philosophy of the new version.

He mentions that a lot of work has gone into attacking as a team and defensive balance. On the attacking side, he highlights improvements to the movement of players off the ball. Teammates will make more intelligent runs and use space more realistically while not on the ball. For instance, they will overlap when you’re running down the wing, and move in closer to the target man when a ball is played to him.

Defensive improvements in Pro Evolution 2012 will include tighter man-marking, more direct control over holding an attacker up, and closer one-on-ones, making gameplay feel a lot more physical.

The Windows taskbar is that thin button bar at the bottom of your screen, which you normally use to minimize and switch applications,  and bring any of them to the front. It's probably one of the Windows features you use most often, but unfortunately it's also quite limited. You can't rearrange buttons, customize the calendar, or extend the taskbar to a second monitor... unless you install the appropriate utilities to overcome these limitations.

Arrange and organize buttons

Every time you open a folder or run a program, the taskbar displays a button for it. These buttons are automatically organized according to the order in which you launched those folders and apps, but sometimes that's not the optimal way to arrange them. If you'd like to freely rearrange buttons on the taskbar, you can use Taskbar Shuffle or TaskBowFree, which also lets you colorize buttons and organize them in groups.

Customize calendar and clock

The taskbar calendar and clock are quite basic - they only display the current month and time. If you want to expand their capabilities, use Chameleon Clock. This program adds alarms, birthday reminders and skins to customize the system clock's appearance.

One year ago we were desperately waiting for Red Dead Redemption to come out. Two years before that, the countdown was for GTA IV. Now in 2011, Rockstar has done it it again: we're drooling over their new title, L.A. Noire, scheduled for release this week - Tuesday in the US, Friday in Europe. And just like we did with their previous hits, we've compiled a complete L.A. Noire fan kit to help you get in the mood for this awesome adventure set in post-war Los Angeles.

An inspiring wallpaper is a good start for any fan. Check out the L.A. Noire Wallpaper Pack we've prepared for you in Softonic, and choose the one that suits you best. If you have a dual screen computer, remember you can use DisplayFusion to have a different wallpaper on each monitor.

All these wallpapers have a 1600x1200 resolution, so if you need a different one or want to download them for your mobile device (PSP, iPad, iPhone, Blackberry) be sure to visit the game's official website. This site also offers a varied collection of buddy icons and avatars with characters from L.A. Noire, which you can use in your favorite IM client or social network.

For those who prefer actual gameplay images, don't miss the L.A. Noire official launch trailer, made entirely from in-game footage and which shows off the impressive character facial animation techniques used in this title. Previously released videos about other topics such as performance, game features and story progression are available on the game's official site.

Finally, L.A. Noire's website also includes some extra elements to get you even more immersed in the game's universe: first, a collection of detective fiction short stories, many of which use characters and cases from the game and give them a new spin; and second, an interactive crime map set up by Rockstar and Los Angeles Times, where you can check out all the details about real criminal cases that shattered Los Angeles society in 1947.

The space shuttle Endeavor took off this morning on its final mission. If you want to follow the progress of its historic trip then go check out NASA’s cosmic Google Earth plug-in.

Real-Time Space Shuttle in Google Earth uses live data from Mission Control to plot the current location of Endeavor in relation to the Earth. You’ll see the trajectory of the craft marked as a yellow line, and you’ll also be able to track all kinds of mission events such as solid rocket booster separation, main engine cut-off and external tank separation.

Other information displayed by the Real-Time Space Shuttle plug-in includes speed milestones, altitude milestones and landing events. You can choose to auto-follow the Endeavor or switch to manual controls to explore the path of the shuttle yourself.

To access this great space travel tool, simply download the live groundtrack file then open it in Google Earth.

If you don't have the money to shell out for new multiplayer first-person shooter Brink, don't worry, there are plenty of opportunities to get your multiplayer FPS fix for free! Here are my current favorite free first person shooters:

Quake Live

Quake is so fast paced I would almost classify it as sport! It's a sci-fi shooter, and it's easy to get into but difficult to master. Luckily there are great tutorials, and you won't be pitted against highly skilled players straight away. Quake is an excellent FPS, and a great introduction to the genre too.

Battlefield Heroes

Of the two free Battlefield games, this is the one I prefer. It's fast, fun to play, and really well balanced.  With a good selection of soldier classes and easy to operate vehicles, it's hard not to be charmed by Battlefield Heroes. It's not at all serious, with lots of fun customization to add to the cartoon action.

Facebook Chat is a pretty basic instant messaging tool. Nevertheless, it makes for a functional and practical way to chat with your buddies on the social network.

Like any self-respecting IM client, Facebook Chat has a bunch of smileys (often known as emoticons) that allow you to show your mood or just brighten up dull conversations. Here’s a guide to all the known Facebook Chat emoticons but do let us know if you discover more :=)

Icon	Meaning	Characters	Icon	Meaning	Characters
	Happy	:-) :) :] =)		Pucker up	:3
	Very happy	:-D :D =D		Angel	O:) O:-)
	Sad	:-( :( :[ =(		Devil	3:) 3:-)
	Crying	:'(		Glasses	8-) 8) B-)
	Confused	o.O O.o		Heart	<3
	Stick out tongue	:-P :P :-p :p		Oriental eyes	^_^
	Surprised	:-O :O :-o :o		Kiss	:-* :*
	Angry	>:( >:-(		Sunglasses	8-| 8| B-|
	Unsure	:/ :-/ :\ :-\		Robot	:|]
	Wink	;-) ;)		Penguin	<(")
	Horrible	>:O >:-O >:o		Shark	(^^^)
	Relaxed	-_-		Putnam	:putnam:
	Pacman	:v		42	:42:

As you can see, many of these are pretty standard emoticons for a chat client. However, there are a few that seem to come way out of left field. In case you're wondering the strange face belongs to Chris Putnam, a former Facebook developer. And the number 42? Well, that, of course, is the definitive answer to the ultimate question of life, the Universe, and everything.

Get more Facebook emoticons

Facemoods adds dozens of animated emoticons to Facebook Chat. To use it, you must make sure that you and the person you're speaking to are running Facebook in Firefox.

Another way to spice up your Facebook smilies is to create your own emoticons using ASCII art, or by cutting and pasting the most famous creations from ASCII art collections such as this one. Be careful with including anything too large because it will lose detail when viewed in the small Facebook Chat window. Small faces and symbols like the ones here are perfect, though:

Faces: ๏̯͡๏ ٩(●̮̮̃•̃)۶ ٩(-̮̮̃-̃)۶ ٩(͡๏̯͡๏)۶ ٩(-̮̮̃•̃)۶ ٩(×̯×)۶ (●̮̮̃•̃) (•̪●) ಠ_ಠ ಥ_ಥ

Symbols: ☮ ♩♪♫♬ ☎ ★ ☯ ☀ ☻☺☹ ♨ ♥ ☁ ☂ ♀ ♂ ☝☞☟

Do you know any more Facebook emoticons? Got any cool ASCII art to share with us? Then let us know :P

[Via: OnSoftware Germany]

The Portal 2 Authoring Tools have been released as a free download to PC users through Steam. This suite of tools will allow you to create your own Portal 2 levels!

There is a catch, however. These tools are based on the ones Valve used to create the game itself, and as soon as you launch the app it's obvious: Portal 2 Authoring Tools are not for casual users. It includes the Hammer World Editor, which allows you to create levels or edit current ones. There is also a Model Viewer and Face Poser. It's pretty complicated stuff, but if you've got the time and dedication, there is a good 'Getting Started' guide, and some example content.

Portal 2 Authoring Tools are PC only, and require a copy of the Portal 2 to download and use. It will be interesting to see what people create!

Today at the Google I/O conference in San Francisco, there was a lot of buzz about new features for Android tablets and phones alike. Perhaps one of the biggest announcements was about the launch of Music Beta by Google.

Music Beta by Google allows you to upload your personal music collection to cloud-based storage, where it can be streamed to your computer, Android phone or tablet. This is reminiscent of MP3Tunes, which also offers storage in the cloud and is compatible with both iPhone and Android devices.

Syncing occurs automatically with Music Beta by Google, so every time you add new music or create a playlist, all of your devices will be updated simultaneously. There's even a feature called Instant Mix that will create a playlist for you based on songs that go well together. This is similar to the Genius feature in iTunes, except Instant Mix sorts music you already have, as opposed to suggesting new music you'd need to purchase. Even cooler, all of your recently played songs are automatically stored, allowing you to listen to music even when you're offline.

Currently, Music Beta by Google is available by invitation only to users in the U.S. and works on both PCs and Macs.  If you have a Gmail account, you can request a beta invite here.

Your PC is slow. Really slow. You've used CCleaner to get rid of the garbage, you've lightened the load by uninstalling bloatware with Revo, you've checked inside, outside, upside down and backwards for a virus, and you still have time to make a coffee by the time it takes your computer to start up. Is it time to reformat your hard drives?

Luckily for you, reformatting your computer is really simple. Go to My Computer, find the offending hard drive (in all likelihood, C:) and right click. You'll see Format... under the context menu options, and find all the information you need when you click.

What takes a little more effort, however, is preparing for the reformat. As it will erase absolutely everything on the disk, if you don't make the right preparations, you could find yourself with a faster computer, but absolutely nothing to do on it. Follow the steps laid out in our list first to make reformatting your hard drive as easy and safe as possible!