Mac

Windows

Demo

MP3 Surgeon lets you trim and split MP3s to any size or play length. You can also join any number of MP3s together, and convert MP3s back to WAV files for CD burning. All these features can be used with Volume Normalisation and Fade In/Out effects directly on the MP3 without decoding and re-encoding, so there is no quality loss. Other features include an MP3 Catalog tool with Excel/Access output and a Batch Mode Tool to process your entire MP3 collection.

Note: there is a 4Mb saving-limit in this demo version.

Web link: www.mp3surgeon.co.uk

Free – new version

Supports most Audio and Video formats. Includes support for MP1, MP2, MP3, Unreal Engine audio files, DirectShow, MCI, MOD (12 Formats), WAV, AVI and Ogg Vorbis audio files. Features dynamic playlists, online folders, files, playlists and more. The program is extensible by the use of plugins and you can change its look and feel by playing with 'skins'.

With the Ashampoo BurnIt! add-on you can easily burn your playlists to CD. You can find the add-on in the same folder as the main program (see above) – install it once you have loaded the Media Player.

Web link: www.ashampoo.de

Latest version – Shareware

A utility that lets you create animated text files in Flash format without having to cough up for Macromedia Flash itself. You can export files in Flash format, HTML or as standalone executables.

Text will be garbled when using this unregistered version.

Web link: www.flaxfx.com

Latest trial version – Shareware

3D Flash Animator is a cheap alternative to Macromedia Flash (see below...) for creating 3D Flash animations for your site. The easy-to-use interface has a comprehensive set of drawing tools with feathering, gradients, textures, 3D effects and shadows. It also has 2D or 3D text with loads of text effects and transitions. All the elements such as sprites and text blocks are arranged in a friendly tree structure that represents the layout of the movie. 3D Flash Animator doesn't use a timeline like Flash but uses a list of events instead. The timing of events is given in seconds instead of frames and each event has a delay value originating from the start of the movie. For 3D modelling you can import existing 3D models, create new models, or create 3D text. Actions for button events and so on are also supported.

This new version features support for HTML, check boxes and radio buttons, and has a menu wizard. It has improved Flash compatibility and is more reliable.

Web link: www.insanetools.com

Free

Blender Creator offers full functionality for modeling, rendering, animation, postproduction and game creation and playback with the benefits of cross-platform, cross-network operability. If you wish, you can get involved with the community life at Not a Number's Web site. Get creative.

Web link: www.blender3d.com

Shareware

This is a great program to keep track of your audio, video and image files. It supports more than 50 file formats including AVI, ASF, MPEG, MOV, RAM files, BMP, JPEG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, PSD files, MP3, WAV, MID, MOD files, animation files, Web files, icons and cursors and others. The multi-paned interface lets you search, manage, preview, play, edit, delete and print all these files. You can create slideshows that mix different media types as well as print folder contents as thumbnails. Get organised.

Web link: www.axialis.com

Latest plug-in from Macromedia for viewing Shockwave and Flash content on the Web.

Web link: www.macromedia.com

Flash gets better. Flash is a standard for interactive vector graphics and animation on the Web. You can create resizable, compact navigation interfaces, technical illustrations, long-form animation and other great effects. Graphics and animations look great and download just as quickly whatever your screen size and resolution. Movie clip and button actions create sophisticated interactivity without scripting.

Web link: www.macromedia.com

The standard installation of the free version of RealPlayer 8 now includes more than 2,500 radio stations, the ability to add visual effects synchronised to your music, enriched video quality and smoother playback over both narrow and broadband connections, support for streaming MP3s, and more. You also get RealJukebox Basic.

The more computing power you can give it, the better. Prefers 200Mhz or faster processor and more than 16Mb of RAM.

Mac OS

NOTE: The Mac programs on this CD are mostly in archived 'HQX' (BinHex) files – they can be extracted with several applications, including Stuffit Expander (which is on the CD...). Clicking on the links below should set the process in motion. You may receive a message that the file cannot be loaded into Simple Text — if so, start Stuffit and then open the HQX file you want from within Stuffit.

Latest version – Free

MusicMatch Jukebox is an integrated home digital music management application. The program combines a CD ripper, MP3 encoder, playlist maker, ID3 tag editor and media player. Using world-class Fraunhofer MP3-encoding technology, record high-quality MP3s from your CD collection at constant and variable bit rates of up to 320Kbps.

You can also organise your MP3s in a Music Library and tag each track with multimedia information, such as album art, artist bios and liner notes. This version includes faster ripping, a graphic equalizer, CD burning through Toast, and much more.

Web link: www.musicmatch.com

Latest version – 15-day trial

MP3 Rage is a set of tools designed to help you organise and edit MP3 files. The tools support all known versions of ID3 tags. The features include QuickEdit Windows, which allows you to edit MP3 tags and file information individually; a Cataloger, which creates a catalogue of your MP3 files for use in a database application such as MS Excel; an MP3 Finder that quickly locates MP3 files by genre, title, or other criteria in a folder or disk; and a Renamer that allows you to rename your MP3 files using tag information.

You can analyse MP3s and adjust their volume automatically to play at similar levels and export MP3 files to AIFF format for burning CDs. This version adds a few new features and fixes bugs.

Web link: www.chaoticsoftware.com

Latest version

Flash gets better. Flash is a standard for interactive vector graphics and animation on the Web. You can create resizable, compact navigation interfaces, technical illustrations, long-form animation and other great effects. Graphics and animations look great and download just as quickly whatever your screen size and resolution. Movie clip and button actions create sophisticated interactivity without scripting.

Flash 5 adds a new user interface, FreeHand import, support for Generator Developer Edition, bezier pen tools, shared symbol libraries, QuickTime and RealPlayer support, XML transfer, and HTML text support.

This installation includes the 5.0a update, improving stability and speed.

Web link: www.macromedia.com

Latest plug-in from Macromedia for viewing Shockwave and Flash content on the Web.

Web link: www.macromedia.com

The standard installation of the free version of the new RealPlayer 8 now includes more than 2,500 radio stations, the ability to add visual effects synchronised to your music, enriched video quality and smoother playback over both narrow and broadband connections, support for streaming MP3s, and more. You also get RealJukebox Basic.

The more computing power you can give it, the better. Prefers 200Mhz or faster processor; 32Mb of RAM plus 64Mb virtual memory; OS 8.1 or later.

Web link: www.real.com