I'd like to provide LAN users access to set of useful and popular applications (like Acrobat, Firefox, Foobar, putty) but there is one problem - such software is released every few weeks or even often. What is best method of automatically downloading most current versions? Every download page looks differently and only a few has permanent "xyz-current" links.
Disclaimer: I know newer not always means better but in many cases (like browsers) it at least mean safer.
What you need is: Ketarin
is has an db of software you can select from to download, and always keep downloading the latest version, also you can add your own, with very flexible settings
check it out over here http://ketarin.canneverbe.com/
Another option would be http://installpad.com/
read more about it on the lifehacker article http://lifehacker.com/211373/geek-to-live--automatically-download-and-install-your-favorite-software
PSI and CSI from Secunia will help you keep up to date with critical releases for most popular software packages. PSI is for a single machine, while CSI covers your whole network. Their no-install OSI scanner is more limited but handy for quick fix family interventions.
It appears that freshmeat tracks them (and here I thought they only tracked Open Source applications). You can sign up with an OpenID (I've yet to do so), and I would not be surprized it you can set up an RSS feed for the applications you are interested in. It also has nice links that offer direct downloads.