Although the Download.com Mac catalog is still dwarfed by the Windows software directory, OS X (and its younger sibling iOS) has certainly been ascendant over the past decade or more, and the software titles in this year's collection for Top 10 downloads of 2012 for Mac OS X attest to that global appeal. (In fact, you're likely to see more Mac laptops than Windows machines in the CBSi offices these days.)

As our online and "IRL" activities begin to merge, it's clear so far that we software downloaders want freedom of format and device, as well as the ability to shift our content across all platforms. We're always online and always connected to "the cloud," wherever our nebulous sources of online content may lie, so we need secure connections and reliable systems.

Check out the past winners from 2010 and 2011, or browse this year's collection of Top 10 Windows software programs.

The total download count for this distinction is based on the period from January 1, 2012 to December 14, 2012. Congratulations to all of this year's winners!

Top 10 Mac Software Programs of 2012

table.geekbox th{background-color:#E6ECEF;text-align:left;font-weight:bold;} table{width:610px;} table.geekbox tr.even{background-col... [Read more]

The alternative Web browser RockMelt continues its march on mobile devices by releasing a new iPhone-specific app. RockMelt for the iPhone (download) is not the same version as the iPad app, though. It's been redesigned so that it can be controlled almost entirely with your thumb, an intentional move to emphasize how people use the socially focused browser.

"People aren't reading the New York Times on RockMelt," said CEO and co-founder Eric Vishria in an interview at CNET's office in San Francisco earlier this week. "They're reading these long-tail stories, and that's indicative of the discovery aspect of RockMelt."

The new RockMelt for iPhone 'candifies' its social-sharing buttons.

As with its tablet counterpart, the iPhone version of RockMelt is more focused on helping you find new and interesting stories. But the process by which you do that is shaped by which device you're using, and iPhone is most often used with thumbs in landscape or portrait mode.

RockMelt for iPhone is quite intuitive, and its major functions can all be performed with your opposable digit. Tap on a story to read it, swipe to the left to close it, and swipe to the right to save it for later. Tap the RockMelt "R" logo to return to your home stream.

Related stories

• [Read more]
  
  

Samsung announced today that the U.K. rollout of its Premium Suite upgrade for Galaxy S3 owners kicks off today. The company, however, didn't say where else it will roll out the software in coming weeks.

Samsung announced the Premium Suite upgrade for the Galaxy S3 earlier this month. The update delivers a wide range of features, including multiple window support, a "smart rotation" feature that automatically rotates the screen based on the user's face position, and a predictive function that will open certain applications based on the user's actions (plug in headphones and it'll open the music app, for example).

Here are two videos showing off many of the upgrade's features:

Apple today released another minor update to iOS 6 that promises to fix a Wi-Fi issue affecting its newest devices.

The software, which went out this morning to the iPhone 5 and iPad Mini, says simply that it "fixes a bug that could impact Wi-Fi." No additional features or security fixes are part of the update, according to the company's release notes.

The update comes just a day after Apple gave developers a fourth beta of iOS 6.1. That software, which is expected by the end of the year, or shortly thereafter, brings new boarding pass behavior in Apple's Passbook software, tweaks to Safari, reworked music playback controls from the lock screen, ticket purchases through Fandango in Siri, and a back-end change in Apple's mapping software.

Apple did not include specifics on which Wi-Fi issue the update addressed. Users have complained about a number of things, from poor reception to dropped connections.

To install the update it appears that users must currently go through Apple's iTunes software. Users report, and CNET has confirmed, that attempting to receive the update through iOS' built-in updating tool results in an error message that says the device is unable to check for any updates. <... [Read more]

Those of you bought a Mac in the latter portion of this year may want to check out a new Wi-Fi update from Apple.

Released yesterday, the Mac Wi-Fi Update 1.0 for "all late 2012 Mac systems" is meant to improve compatibility with devices that tap into your network's 5GHz band. The update specifically supports Macs running OS X 10.8.2, currently the latest version of OS X.

Users can download the update directly from their Macs through the Software Update option or by grabbing it from Apple.

The 5GHz band is found on dual-band routers. It offers an alternative to the common but sometimes overcrowded 2.4GHz band.

The future of Apple

What will Apple do next? It's the very secret sauce that keeps the company interesting, along with some very successful products.

Here are five predictions for the next 12 months as Apple heads into one of its most closely watched years yet.

Editors' note: This is the first in a series of stories looking ahead at what's to come from a handful of major technology companies, and technology categories. In the coming days CNET will do the same for Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, and others.

1. Apple TV, take four Has there ever been an Apple product with this much rumor intensity behind it? Well sure -- the iPad, and the iPhone before it. As the saying goes, where there's smoke there's fire, and the chances of Apple finally releasing a big new TV product in 2013 are looking hot.

Uncertainty remains over just what kind of a product Apple's working on though. The company already has a set-top box, but it's not for plugging into your cable. Instead, its main purpose is to connect with Apple's digital stores, along with third-party streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. More recently Apple's added options to pipe video and other media content from iOS and... [Read more]

Forget spring cleaning. The winter holidays seem to be inspiring the impulse to tidy, with everyone sprucing up their mobile apps. Dropbox is the latest to release an update.

The cloud storage provider announced that it has revamped its iOS app, and the big focus here is on the photos experience.

Based on the new design and features, it looks like Dropbox is diving deeper into the photo-sharing side of its storage service.

The main addition is a new timeline of photos automatically uploaded from the user's mobile devices. The new viewing abilities look more glamorous on the iPad version of the app as it takes advantage of the larger display real estate for full-screen shots.

It's definitely not quite the same as sharing photos on Instagram, Facebook, or Flickr yet, but it will be interesting to watch where Dropbox is going with all of this. Maybe Dropbox's product designers summed up the evolving strategy best in a blog post on Friday by advertising Dropbox as "a one-stop shop for all your memories."

Other features included in this update are the ability to upload files directly ... [Read more]

Screen shots of Google's new Maps app for iOS.

Once banished from Apple's iOS, Google Maps has returned to the mobile platform in the form of a standalone app.

The official Google Maps app returned to Apple's App store this evening. As expected, the new free app includes turn-by-turn navigation, just like its Android counterpart, as well as public transit directions, integrated Street View, and a 3D-like Google Earth view.

However, as quickly as it showed up, the app apparently vanished from the App Store. Many iOS users complained about not being able to complete the purchase, getting a message that "the item you tried to buy is no longer available." (9:05 p.m. PT update -- It's back in the store.)

Error message would-be Google Maps buyers are seeing.

CNET has contacted Google and Apple for comment and will update this report when we learn more.

Early reviews of the new app appear to be positive.

The app features a "beautiful interface and a lighter feel," one early user told CNET. "It has far more information when it comes to listing places like restaurants." (See video embedded below for a demonstration of the app.)

Related stories[Read more]

The Russian security firm Dr. Web has uncovered another malware attempt on OS X systems that tries to exploit users with SMS fraud.

The new malware is a Trojan horse, dubbed "Trojan.SMSSend.3666," and is part of a family of Trojan malware for Windows and other platforms that have affected Windows users for years.

As with all Trojans, these pose as legitimate programs that are made available for download from a number of underground Web sites, with this current one for OS X appearing to be an installer for a program called VKMusic 4, a utility whose legitimate version is used for communication between machines on a European social network called VK.

During its installation, the malware triggers an SMS fraud routine where it asks users to enter cell phone numbers, then sends them SMS messages to confirm, which then subscribes the users to a scam that charges high fees for junk messages being sent to their phones.

Unlike recent malware targeted at OS X, this one is not a Java-based attempt to hack the system and install dropper programs that open backdoor access to the system. This one is built as a Mach-O binary that uses the OS X native runtime; however, this change does not alter the threat level significantly. Since the malware is distributed through underground means and requires specific user interaction both to install, and then subsequently and knowingly ... [Read more]