Software : Download guide: Download free audio editor Audacity to make your own karaoke tracks

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• Download guide: Download free audio editor Audacity to make your own karaoke tracks
• Downloads: Download of the day: SoftMaker FreeOffice
• Round up: The best free uninstaller 2016

Download guide: Download free audio editor Audacity to make your own karaoke tracks Posted: Make your own karaoke tracks with Audacity Audacity is the world's best free audio editor, and it's a budding karaoke star's dream thanks to its ability to strip the vocals from your favorite songs. It's a simple process: vocals are usually in the center of a stereo tracks – half on one channel and half on the other – so by inverting one channel you can make the two parts cancel each other out. With a good quality sound file, it's usually very effective. Naturally, you should only use this to make karaoke songs for personal use; don't redistribute the resulting files without permission from the copyright holder. First, a little preparation. In order to export your finished karaoke song in MP3 format, you'll need the LAME MP3 encoder. This isn't included in Audacity by default, but you can download it free here, then install it by opening the EXE file. Once that's done, download and install Audacity. Import your chosen track by dragging it into the main window. On the left-hand side of the waveform, beside the name of the track, you'll see a black downward-pointing arrow. Click this and select 'Split stereo track'. Double-click the bottom track to select it, then click Effects > Invert. Click the menu arrow beside each track's waveform and select Mono, then click File > Export Audio. MP3 is a good format so you can play it using any media player, and you can stick with the standard export settings. Choose whether to edit the track's metadata (adding the word 'karaoke' to the title might be helpful) and click OK. Lots of sites publish song lyrics to help with your home karaoke sessions (particularly useful if you've chosen to croon along to REM), but MetroLyrics is our favorite thanks to its accuracy, excellent search tool and the fact that it compensates copyright holders for the right to publish their lyrics. The music used to illustrate this guide is 'Let It In' by Josh Woodward. Free download: http://joshwoodward.com.

Downloads: Download of the day: SoftMaker FreeOffice Posted: Download of the day - SoftMaker FreeOffice SoftMaker FreeOffice is a free office suite containing three top-quality apps: TextMaker (text documents) PlanMaker (spreadsheets) Presentations (slideshows) All of these programs support Microsoft Office file formats (from 1997 to the present day) and all the popular open formats, so you'll have no trouble sharing and collaborating on documents. The 2016 edition of FreeOffice uses new file filters for near-seamless compatibility with Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and is fully compatible with the OpenDocument format used by LibreOffice and Apache OpenOffice. It's worth bearing in mind that some features (including a thesaurus, tabbed browsing and bibliographies) are only found in the paid-for SoftMaker Office, but FreeOffice contains much more than just the bare essentials and could easily become your main productivity software. Why you need it SoftMaker FreeOffice's apps are very well designed, with a similar appearance to Microsoft Office before the introduction of the controversial ribbon interface. As a result, you'll barely need to glance at the superb user manuals unless you need some of the more advanced functions. TextMaker doesn't just handle simple word processing – it can also open and create PDFs, complete with tags and bookmarks. There's a handy autocomplete function, automatic page numbering, tracked changes and comments (essential for collaborative working), and spell-checking in 58 languages. It's all rounded off with optional touchscreen controls and support for 4K monitors to make the most of new hardware. PlanMaker also lets you create PDFs, and includes an import engine for text and database documents. It has hundreds of calculation functions and comprehensive formatting options, with support for pivot tables and over 80 Excel-compatible chart options. The Presentations app comes with a set of editable templates, or you can create your own designs using a master slide that updates all others automatically. Your presentations can include images, videos and sound files, which can play automatically or when triggered by a certain event. A library of animations and transitions lets you bring your slides to life, and a virtual pen and highlighter lets you illustrate points while presenting. Key features: Three feature-packed office applications Fully compatible with Microsoft Office formats Huge selection of templates Can be used as portable apps from a USB drive Works on: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10 Linux Price Free

Round up: The best free uninstaller 2016 Posted: The best free software uninstaller The best uninstaller Software installers are rarely tidy - they spread files throughout your system, and their built-in uninstallers don't always clear it all away afterwards. Sometimes you'll be informed that "some elements could not be removed" as the uninstaller effectively shrugs its shoulders and leaves the mess behind - whether it's temporary files, old shortcuts or broken registry entries. All this detritus builds up over time, and can slow down your system or cause conflicts further down the line - particularly in the case of security software, which won't run properly if it detects files associated with another tool. Third-party uninstallers can clear up the mess in moments. If you're already having trouble with a program you thought you'd removed, the tool can scan your drives for files and broken links left over. If you want to uninstall a program thoroughly, the tool will run the program's own uninstaller, then perform a cleanup scan immediately afterwards. More advanced tools will monitor what happens when you install a new program - what files are created and changed - so it can rapidly reverse those changes when you want to remove it. 1. IObit Uninstaller Thorough and thoughtfully designed - IObit is the best around IObit Uninstaller gets right down to business, scanning your system for installed software the moment it starts. Its smart, clear interface displays a list of all your installed software, with extra tabs if you're only interested in the newest programs (if you've tried something new and don't like it), and the biggest ones (which will have the greatest impact on system performance). There's a batch processing option for removing multiple programs at once. If you've already uninstalled a program but suspect it's left mucky footprints across your drive, IObit's deep scanner can hunt down junk including broken shortcuts and caches created when installing software updates. IObit Uninstaller also takes a look at your web browsers to identify any plugins that could be uninstalled to speed up your surfing. It currently supports Firefox and Internet Explorer, but not Chrome or Edge. Each extension is accompanied by a user rating to help you decide whether to keep it. There's a file shredder thrown in too, which doesn't really fit with the premise of an uninstaller, but all the other tools are relevant and useful. IObit Uninstaller is the best free uninstaller you can download, and its thorough scanning makes it the equal of many premium programs. 2. Wise Program Uninstaller Light as a feather, but less thorough than IObit Wise Program Uninstaller is a portable app, so you don't have to worry about it leaving mess of its own, though it offers you a free trial of a product called Spyhunter that you might prefer to decline. It's a very quick and lean little uninstaller that scans your system for already installed programs and displays ratings to show you how other users feel about them. You probably already know what you want to erase, but it's a thoughtful touch. Your choices for each program are Safe and Forced uninstall (some also have a Repair option, but only if it's part of the software in the first place). Safe uninstall is simply a way to access the program's own uninstaller, whereas Forced performs a deep scan to track down scrap files and broken registry entries. It shows you everything it's identified before deleting them, but this doesn't serve much purpose; you're unlikely to be able to pick out an individual Registry entry and say "Hang on, I need that!" The main downside of its small size is that it can't log new programs as you install them, but as a program uninstaller it's well designed and not bulked out with unecessary system tools. 3. GeekUninstaller A streamlined little app to mop up messy software GeekUninstaller is another free portable uninstaller, weighing in at just 2.5MB. Although a 'Pro' version is advertised on developer's site, this is actually a completely different program called Uninstall Tool - GeekUninstaller is completely free, It performs a speedy system scan and provides the usual options: regular or forced uninstall. If you don't recognize something, GeekUninstaller will Google it for you - a simple but welcome addition that saves you loading up a browser. That's pretty much it - there's no deep scan for remnants of previously uninstalled programs, and no monitoring for new installations, but if you're simply after something to clean up as you go, uninstallers don't come smaller and simpler than this. It comes in over 30 languages too, which is undoubtedly a bonus. 4. Ashampoo Uninstaller (trial) A premium trial to give your system a thorough scouring This is a time-limited trial of Ashampoo Uninstaller rather than the full program, but is well worth considering if you need to purge your PC of one particularly stubborn piece of software, or want to give it a thorough spring clean. The basic trial lasts 10 days, but you can extend for an extra month by signing up for an account (a standard requirement with Ashampoo's free software). The uninstaller itself is impressive, as you'd expect from a premium product - it can remove existing applications, and log new ones as you add them. You can set it to start automatically at the same time as Windows, though your startup time might take a knock as a result. There are also system optimization tools like a file shredder, file restorer, disk defragmenter and even a font manager, but Ashampoo Uninstaller is an excellent tool without these - they are just padding. 5. Revo Uninstaller Free Effective, but bloated with strange and unnecessary extras Revo Uninstaller Free's icon-strewn interface is colorful but cluttered, and includes tools like a startup program manager, plus links to Windows' own system tools (including defrag and on-screen keyboard). These really aren't necessary, and just distract from an otherwise solid free uninstaller. There are four uninstall options: built-in, safe (built-in with additional registry scanning), moderate (with extra scanning of common locations for leftover files) and advanced (moderate mode, followed by a thorough scanning of your whole system). There's also a strange 'Hunter Mode', which lets you uninstall programs by dragging their icons onto a crosshair on your desktop. It's much more work than selecting the program from a list - a metaphor gone rogue. Unlike some uninstallers, Revo begins by creating a system restore point, which is reassuring. It can't log new installations, though - if you want that, you might like to give Revo's Pro version a whirl for 30 days. It's worlds away from the free edition's late-90s styling, and will give your drives a good scrubbing.

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