Meson Player (32bit, 64bit, Mac)

Meson Player is a tiny, little music player without a standard Graphic User Interface (GUI). What this means is that the majority of control lies within hot keys rather than the standard mouse and click. By using the Number pad, you are able to quickly skip tracks, increase/decrease volume, and save and open playlists. Meson Player can handle a variety of audio file formats as well as Internet Radio playlists. Meson Player also supports the multimedia keys on some keyboards for easier controls.

Barely consuming any system resource, this software will leave a light footstep on your computer. Just set it and forget it. The only issue we encountered is that if you don't have multimedia keys on your keyboard, be prepared to sacrifice your NumPad.

Writemonkey

Free app Om Finder locates many (though not all) the yoga classes in your area.

I think most people who have tried yoga would agree: it's a great way to improve flexibility and blood flow, increase stamina and strength, and even reduce back and muscle pain.

OK, but how can you find nearby classes, especially if you're traveling or you've just moved to a new town?

Yep: there's an app for that. Om Finder for iOS locates nearby classes, studios, and instructors wherever you happen to be in the world. It needs a few tweaks, but it's definitely a handy tool for the om-minded.

After agreeing to let the app use your location, you'll see a map with a Find Class button in the center. Tap it and Om Finder lists all the classes for the current day. You can tap left/right arrows to cycle the day, but you can't choose a specific day from a pop-up calendar.

What's more, the class list is sorted by time, from soonest to latest. That's fine, but the app definitely needs the option of sorting by distance. What's more, all distances are listed in kilometers (developer Lululemon Athletica is based in Canada); those of us living in the U.S. would welcome a toggl... [Read more]

Apple has issued a few updates for OS X users, including a new version of its in-house Java runtime environment, updated printer drivers, and new versions of iPhoto and Aperture.

The updates improve reliability, security, and compatibility overall, but for iPhoto and Aperture users Apple has specifically addressed the following details:

• Photos can now be deleted from My Photo Stream by dragging to the Trash
• Photos can now be exported from Photo Stream using the Export command in the File menu
• Raw images manually imported from My Photo Stream are now editable
• Fixes a bug that could cause manually rotated photos to appear unrotated when shared to Photo Stream
• Addresses an issue that could cause iPhoto to quit unexpectedly while syncing to Facebook
• Resolves an issue that could cause calendar text to appear at the wrong font size, resulting in order cancellation
• Fixes an issue that could cause books to have an incorrect number of pages after rearranging two-page spreads
• Includes stability improvements

For those who use Aperture, the following fixes have been implemented:

• Addresses an issue that could cause Aperture to quit unexpectedly during image import
• Nikon P7700 raw images are now displayed correctly in the Import window
• Thumbnails with version names longer than 250 characters are now dis... [Read more]
  
  
  

These 10 Mac apps have a combined value of $399, but they can be yours for a fraction of the price.

Most of the Mac bundles I see hit you up for around $40 to $50 -- a pretty good deal if you're getting hundreds of dollars' worth of software, but a little steep if you're interested in only a few of the included items.

That's why I'm jazzed about this one. For the next seven days, StackSocial has the Name Your Own Price Mac Bundle 2.0, which gives you software valued at $399 and lets you set the price.

Well, kind of. The bundle consists of 10 programs. You can pay as little as $1 to get three of them, or beat other customers' average payment (currently $7.40 and rising) to get the whole collection.

Best of all, 10 percent of whatever you decide to pay goes to your choice of these charities: Child's Play, Creative Commons, or World Wildlife Fund.

If you don't beat the average, you'll get the following apps:

• Elmedia Player Pro: A Flash video player that lets you download and play files locally.
• HoudahSpot: A fast file-search engine.
• PhotoBulk: A bulk resizer, optimizer, and watermarker for photos.

If you do beat the average, you'll also get:

• CrossOver 12: Similar to Parallels, it lets you run Windows apps on yo... [Read more]
  

Photoshop will get a new filter designed to detect and correct blur from camera shake.

Adobe Systems is building technology into Photoshop to take the blur out of photos.

The company demonstrated the upcoming Photoshop deblurring filter in a video today to promote its upcoming Adobe Max conference in May, where the company no doubt will announce the feature and others.

"Camera shake reduction is a tool that allows one to deblur an image that would have been otherwise lost," said Zorana Gee, senior Photoshop product manager, in the video. "It works really great for shots taken under low-light conditions or slow shutter speeds," she added, conditions where camera shake is more likely.

Related stories

• Survey: Customers happy with Adobe Creative Cloud so far
• Adobe cuts prices in Australia following price-gouging probe
• Photoshop, Illustrator get Retina Display support<... [Read more]
  
  
  

The march toward a better, voice-controlled future continues, even with Siri, Google Voice Search and newer digital assistants, such as Donna, already on the scene.

The latest entrant is Sherpa, a natural language Android app that's a top app in Spain and Latin America and today is rolling out in the U.S. -- first for Android, eventually for iOS.

Like Siri, Sherpa attempts to help organize your life and perform tasks when you ask the app questions or give it commands. It's the brainchild of Xabier Uribe-Etxebarria, who's based in Bilbao, Spain, and has been working on natural language and semantic technology for more than a decade.

"My vision was to build interface to our digital life," Uribe-Etxebarria told me. "For everything to be done through Sherpa. We haven't done that yet. But compared with other, we're way better. We're beyond Siri."

That will be up to users to decide. Sherpa, which also has offices in Redwood City, Calif., has partnered with a number of companies and draws on a number of sources, such as PayPal, Themoviedb.org, ... [Read more]

Amazon's Appstore is about to grow awfully big in a short amount of time.

The company today announced that developers can now submit applications to its marketplace for nearly 200 countries. The new entrants to the company's Appstore include Australia, Brazil, Canada, and Vatican City.

Before developers get too excited, it's important to note that the apps won't be available in those countries just yet. Instead, Amazon is asking that they be submitted to its marketplace in anticipation of the Appstore's launch in those countries "in the coming months."

Amazon has been slowly but surely growing its application marketplace. Originally only available in the U.S., Amazon announced last August that it had expanded the store to five European countries. Now, it's looking to make its way to scores more.

Amazon's Appstore expansion is important for the company as it tries to deliver a marketplace that can more effectively compete against its chief competitor, the Google Play marketplace. Still, Google Play is on many more devices and is already available worldwide.

[Read more]

Every week, we compile the best new reviews, products, and features from the Download.com software catalog and blog, package them up in a tidy little newsletter, and e-mail it out to all of our lovely subscribers.

If you are a registered CNET member, you can sign up for the newsletter yourself (it's listed as "CNET Download.com Software Dispatch" under "Software News and Reviews"), or check back every Tuesday to read our latest roundup.

Notable New Products

• BitTorrent Surf brings the power of BitTorrent to Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox
• Mok Force is a wicked new explosive doujin shmup (look it up) for Windows (and Web)
• A beta version of Adobe Lightroom 5 for Mac gives users free access to the full power of the photo-management software
• The ... [Read more]
  
  
  

As a reviewer of Android apps, it's my role to sniff out what's hot and interesting on Google Play. I make it a point to try out apps old and new, as well as big-name apps, apps from startup shops, and everything in between.

Among these, it's not uncommon for me to find a few apps that are just so attention-grabbing that I feel compelled to share them with the masses. They may not necessarily be the best apps of all time, or even the best apps available right now, but they are fresh and interesting titles that I just can't keep my hands off of.

This is a roundup of those apps. As I encounter new ones, I will continue to update this post with my recommendations, so be sure to check back regularly. And of course, feel free to chime in with your own hot apps if you have any.

Editors' note: For six hot apps on iOS, check out Jason Parker's roundup.

Feedly (free) With Google Reader set to go away very soon, Feedly might be your best bet as an app that lets you access your RSS feeds while on the go. It looks great, works well, and even fe... [Read more]