Intel BX Software Store continues to grow

The Intel BX Software store continues to expand to provide a better mix of products and brands to online customers.

Lavasoft, established in 1999, launched their flagship anti-spyware product line: Ad-Aware Pro and Ad-Aware Plus within the store. I'm sure many of you have downloaded their free versions in the past and have compared it to other free spyware or antivirus+ antispyware software. It's great to see that they continue to build upon and enhance the products that have made them a well recognized brand and solution within the security arena.

Free Software that's actually useful - Intel IT Director

You may not have hard of this utility from Intel, but it's a free software title that provides a series of system and network benefits.

Intel® IT Director enables you to both configure hardware-based technologies on your computers, and monitor the system information from a central dashboard. Intel® IT Director was designed for the novice user and provides a simplified approach to efficiently and easily manage networks. It a solid piece of software for businesses. Intel® IT Director is a simple application that uses Intel® vPro™ technology to help address key IT security, data protection and network health concerns of small businesses.

Give it a try and see for yourself -- it's completely free and the Software Store has it available. View the flash demo for more information and to see Intel IT Director in action.

Create, Convert & Burn Music & Movies this Spring

Over 170 Million iPods have been sold; however, many still are unsure or unclear about transfering or converting their current media (movies in particular) into a format that the iPod can play. One of the more popular software titles available in the software store to convert your media is 1CLICK DVDTOIPOD from LG Software Innovation. 1CLICK DVDTOIPOD converts DVD movies and episodes to iPod compatible files quickly with minimal steps. It's a solid media tool for those that want more than music on their iPods.

Honestech Video Editor 7.0 is another easy to use tool if you want to go a step further into video editing and compiling. You can compile professional looking movies from your existing videos, photos and audio files. You won't be overwhelmed with this software as it's really designed for basic to intermediate users.

Intuit QuickBooks Simple Start Free Edition 2009 Available

I'm sure you've seen the commericals and recent ads on Intuit's new QuickBook's release: Intuit QuickBooks Simple Start Free Edition 2009. This is available as a free download with no expiration date. Intuit QuickBooks Simple Start 2009 is a free accounting software for small businesses. Use it to track sales & expenses for up to 20 customers. Create invoices, pay bills, & print checks. You can also organize finances, customers data, vendors, and employee information. As a free software download, it has a lot of features and doesn't expire -- just don't forget to register your copy.

Spring has brought a new crop of products and deals

Spring has finally arrived - even though parts of the country are buried in snow or underwater. Hopefully the new season brings better days. This wasn't intended to start off this way, but many of us on the West Coast do tend forget how harsh the conditions still are in certain parts of the country - this time of year.

Where was I...yes new software and deals available in the Intel BX Software Store. Here we go -- Don't say I've never done anything nice for you:

• CyberLink released their lastest version of PowerDVD. We now have available for download PowerDVD 9 Deluxe, Standard and Ultra. I feel so old-fashion because my PC can't play Blu-ray Discs and I've heard these do a phenomenal job at playing back Blu-ray and upscaling DVDs. Who needs expensive video processing brands when you have PowerDVD - right?

Oh! Don't forget that tax time is less than two weeks away. We still have TurboTax Online Products and TaxCut titles on sale.I know, most people are loyal to one brand verse the other. Supposedly that's because their information from previous years are already stored with the respective provider. My brother just completed his taxes online while watching an NBA game. He was done before the game was finished. Talk about easy (and maybe a time when you shouldn't be multitasking).

Okay back to the new deals:

• ParetoLogic has extended its 5 in 1 deal -- ParetoLogic Power Pack 5 in1. People, they knocked 75% off MSRP. If you were to buy these products separately: ParetoLogic DriverCure, RegCure, XoftSpySE (XP), Privacy Controls and ParetoLogic Data Recovery -- they would cost $160. You get all of these for $39.95. You'll get everything you need to improve system performance (cause defragging alone isn't cutting it anymore); fix driver issues (I've been there before); lock down the PC from security threats and much more.

• Here's a totally cool product from Reallusion Inc called CrazyTalk5 PRO. It's not what you think (yes, I know don't let the name throw you). Anyway, we have it on sale: 25% Off MSRP. Sale Price: $112.37. It's a face Puppet Animation Studio! You can create 3D talking characters from photos, images or illustrations and animate characters with voice, recorded audio, or text. Try it out - it's very addictive because you'll want to try a whole bunch of pictures.

• We finally got the Lavasoft Ad-Aware Pro and Ad-Aware Plus series in the store. Not only that, the good people at Lavasoft kicked in a 30% off MSRP deal on Ad Aware Pro Anniversary Edition 1 Year. I've always found Ad-Aware to be lite on the system resources so I always like using their security products.

We have a lot more software deals this month so check'em out. I'll keep you posted when something interesting appears in the store.

Get your taxes done -- don't make me say it again.

Patrick