The Download Dispatch

Last week, the two biggest VoIP services got a chance to hash it out in a CNET Prizefight. Skype and new kid on the block Google Voice duked it out in five bone-crushing rounds, and although both are communication powerhouses that bring you free or cheap phone calls over the Web, only one can come out on top. Find out which one did.

We also took a close look at some music production software from Sony. ACID Music Studio 8 builds upon the already robust music recording, mixing, and creation tools with several new features and enhancements. It's not … Read more

The big news all over the tech world last week was Apple's annual music event in San Francisco. As expected, the company launched a major refresh to its iPod line and gave its multimedia jukebox behemoth iTunes an update. The software revved to version 10, but the changes were pretty minimal in the eyes of most. Along with an updated logo, Apple gave iTunes a social feature called Ping and the capability to rent TV shows for 99-cents a pop.

In the Web browser space, we received some noteworthy news when the developers' edition of Google Chrome, dubbed Canary, … Read more

In keeping with its recent pledge to churn out updates faster than ever, Google quietly revved the developer's version of its Chrome Web browser last week. Just a few weeks after the beta amped up to version 6, the dev is now at version 7. The update includes some small tweaks to the Wrench options menu on Mac and IP addresses typed into the location bar work when browsing in offline mode.

Also of note over the past week is our tutorial on using the latest feature in Firefox 4 beta 4: Panorama. This new tab-grouping feature makes it … Read more

This past week, we've seen a slew of worthwhile Windows news and products, making it tough to narrow it down to just a handful of the most interesting--but we're going to try our best. For one, Download.com posted its review of Kaspersky Internet Security 2011, a premium security suite that continues to provide users with a high level of protection that includes tools not offered by many competitors. The $80 price tag may seem steep, but there's no doubt that the tools here are robust and comprehensive and the security the programs offer is more effective … Read more

Monday was a bittersweet day for Microsoft. Its cyberbrainchild Internet Explorer turned 15, and it's not all birthday cakes and candles as the Web browser continues to battle competition from Chrome and Firefox. With the release of IE9 just around the corner, it will be interesting to see what juicy new upgrades the new version will offer.

In more browser news, things have been going swimmingly for Google Chrome, whose beta got a major upgrade last week. Now resembling the developer's build even more, the beta version features changes to the interface and improved synchronization, among other things. … Read more

This week in The Download Dispatch, instant messaging gets upgraded. On Monday, the refurbished Trillian 5 beta for Windows was released to the masses. The all-in-one chat client (download) received a sleek interface makeover, adding LinkedIn and Foursquare social-networking services to its portfolio of social sites. In addition, this build makes entering, exiting, and registering the program a smoother process. Because this is not the final release, the application is not completely user-friendly; pinned functions and lengthy installation are just a couple of hiccups that we hope get sorted out in the next release. Digsby (download) also received an update. … Read more

This week, we report back from the annual Black Hat conference held in Las Vegas. Among the news is word of the newest features coming to the Mozilla Firefox 4 beta. Aside from tabs on top, new add-on features, HTML5, and a new JavaScript engine, the foxy browser incurred some important security repairs. The most notable fix is a decade-old vulnerability that affects browsers universally. Also, we give you some tips on how to use Firefox' new App Tabs feature.

In more browsing news, Safari added an extension gallery in its latest update, and Chrome--already well-known for its extensive … Read more

As part of its steamrolling list of updates, Google recently released a new build of Chrome. For those who want to keep up with the browser's latest features, Chrome Canary is where it's at. This version of the software, aimed at testers and developers, will be updated every time there is a successful nightly build. Users who want to stick with the stable version of Chrome can expect updates to come more frequently as well.

The beta released for the new version of Microsoft's Security Essentials anti-malware software is now available on a first-come, first-serve basis in … Read more

On Tuesday, Microsoft released four security bulletins that fixed five holes in Office and Windows. We surveyed the mess, which included a critical vulnerability in a Windows Help and Support Center feature that has been targeted by attacks. The reparations also deal with vulnerabilities in the Canonical Display Driver and Microsoft Office Access ActiveX Controls.

Another noteworthy announcement is Evernote's introduction of "The Trunk," which is essentially an extra button where users can access a directory of third-party sites and tools that make the popular note-taking tool even more useful. In addition, Evernote will offer a feature … Read more