The Hottest Apps of 2011, Week 11!

Looking for useful or fun programs? Here are some recommendations from Tom's Hardware and Tom's Guide readers for the eleventh week of 2011.

Looking for useful or fun programs? Here are some recommendations from Tom's Hardware and Tom's Guide readers for the tenth week of 2011.

Hot apps is a weekly rundown of the most popular apps according to our sister site Tom's Guide, and suggestions by the Best of Media staff. Sometimes we’ll also include reader suggestions.

Unless otherwise specified, all featured apps are free, and run on Microsoft Windows 7, Vista, and XP.

On Tom’s Guide

Google Chrome. This browser is a personal favorite, because of its minimalist interface, powerful search options, and unwillingness to let one wonky tab or poorly-written JavaScript bring the whole she-bang down. Integrated support for HTML5-only apps like TweetDeck is a plus.

Firefox 4.0 (RC1) (Windows, Mac, Linux). The most popular “alternative” browser mixes the best of previous versions—an extensive ecosystem of add-ons and extensions and web standards support—with a minimalist tab interface in the vein of Google Chrome. Also advertised by Mozilla is Firefox 4.0’s huge performance enhancements, especially on the JavaScript front.

WinRAR 4.00. A longtime favorite of power users, the file archiver and compressor’s native RAR format is arguably second in popularity to ZIPs. With support for a myriad of other archive formats (CAB, ARJ, LZH, ACE, TAR, GZip, UUE, ISO, BZIP2, Z and 7-Zip, just to name several), WinRAR is on many people’s first install lists.

Angry Birds Seasons. The follow-up installment to the original Angry Birds features new items, environments, ad themes that keep the bird-catapulting and pig-destroying gameplay fresh. A recent update is the reason for this popular mobile game’s inclusion on this week’s hotlist.

Winamp for Android. Why download Winamp for your Android smartphone or tablet? The mobile version of the (formerly) popular desktop media player not only plays media files, but lets users manage playlists and set up queues right on their Android device. Support for iTunes libraries and wireless syncing are other welcome features.

Staff Picks

Internet Explorer 9 (Windows 7: 32-bit, 64-bit; Vista: 32-bit, 64-bit). It’s here, it’s gold, it’s ready for download! Microsoft hopes to remain relevant in the browser wars with the latest version of Internet Explorer. IE9 promises a better interface, faster loading speeds, and comprehensive support for contemporary web standards like HTML5. More good news: the push for IE9 coincides with a Microsoft-backed initiative to retire the much-maligned Internet Explorer 6, for good.

Infra Recorder. The different kinds of optical disc burning software seem as countless as the stars, but this particular one stands out due to how it works with rewritable discs. Infra Recorder can burn CDs or DVDs, rip music from audio discs, save disc images in BIN/CUE or ISO Format, and erase data from CD-RWs or DVD-RWs through 4 unique methods.

Pidgin. An example of how open source software can rival—or even surpass—proprietary counterparts, Pidgin is an instant messaging program that works with multiple IM protocols. Included in this software’s support are AOL Instant Messenger, Windows Live Messenger, Google Talk, ICQ, and Yahoo Messenger.

CyberDuck (Win, Mac). The FTP manager of choice for many Mac users, CyberDuck also has a version for Windows. The app’s seamless integration with any external editor makes editing online files much easier, and support for popular cloud services such as Amazon’s S3, Google Storage, and Rackspace doesn’t hurt. Developers will also love CyberDuck’s support for SSH access.

Paint.NET. A popular Windows-only photo editor for users without the money required for Photoshop, Paint.NET supports commonly used image editing features such as layers, transparencies, pinpoint color selection, and even vector drawings. Though ancient in computing terms, Paint.NET remains useful for users with limited budgets.

See last week's list here. Got an app you can't live without? Or a better alternative to anything listed above? Share your wisdom in the comments below.