Children can now code their own versions of Animal Crossing or The Legend of Zelda
Open-ended role-playing games like The Legend of Zelda and Animal Crossing are hugely popular with younger children, and codeSpark Academy, the learn-to-code app for children, has just added a new set of design tools to help them make their own such games.
codeSpark Academy says the tools in its "Adventure Game" addition require less hand-eye coordination than other creative modes. It also lets users add features like speech bubbles for characters, to enhance storytelling.
Get 'Microsoft 365 Portable Genius' ($12.00 value) FREE for a limited time
Do you want to make your Microsoft 365 account a productivity behemoth? Do you want to squeeze every last bit of awesome from Word, Excel, and PowerPoint and learn a little more about Outlook, too? Microsoft 365 Portable Genius has you covered.
A seasoned tech expert and trainer, author Lisa A. Bucki shows you how to build Word documents, Excel workbooks, and PowerPoint presentations the right way, as well as how to use high-impact design techniques to make your documents pop.
Microsoft releases Windows 11 Build 22538 with Voice Access updates and lots of fixes
It’s Wednesday and that can only mean one thing for Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel -- a new Windows 11 build from Microsoft!
Build 22538 fixes a number of problems, including one that caused explorer.exe to crash for some Insiders when they pressed the hardware volume buttons. The build also includes some updates to the Voice Access feature introduced in Build 22518.
Microsoft set to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion
Microsoft today announced plans to acquire game developer giant Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. It is a move designed to expand the company's gaming business across PC, console, mobile and the cloud, as well as to give it a solid start in the metaverse.
This deal will make Microsoft the third largest gaming company (by revenue), behind Tencent and Sony.
iStorage diskAshur M2: An ultra-secure hardware encrypted portable SSD [Review]
Storing files in the cloud has a lot of benefits, not least making them easily accessible from anywhere. It isn’t necessarily the most secure option, however.
If you have private data that you can’t afford to fall into the wrong hands, you should definitely consider a PIN authenticated hardware encrypted portable USB SSD like iStorage’s excellent diskAshur M2.
Get 'Machine Learning For Dummies, 2nd Edition' ($18 value) FREE for a limited time
While machine learning expertise doesn’t quite mean you can create your own Turing Test-proof android -- as in the movie Ex Machina -- it is a form of artificial intelligence and one of the most exciting technological means of identifying opportunities and solving problems fast and on a large scale.
Anyone who masters the principles of machine learning is mastering a big part of our tech future and opening up incredible new directions in careers that include fraud detection, optimizing search results, serving real-time ads, credit-scoring, building accurate and sophisticated pricing models -- and way, way more.
Microsoft releases Windows 11 Build 22533 with redesigned flyout
With the holidays a distant memory, Microsoft is back to its regular Wednesday release schedule with a new Windows 11 build for Insiders on the Dev Channel.
Build 22533 updates the flyout design for the hardware indicators for brightness, volume, camera privacy, camera on/off and airplane mode, so it now follows Windows 11’s design principles.
Get 'They Ask, You Answer' 2nd Edition ($15 value) FREE for a limited time
The revolutionary guide that challenged businesses around the world to stop selling to their buyers and start answering their questions to get results has been revised and updated to address new technology, trends, the continuous evolution of the digital consumer, and much more.
In today’s digital age, the traditional sales funnel -- marketing at the top, sales in the middle, customer service at the bottom -- is no longer effective. To be successful, businesses must obsess over the questions, concerns, and problems their buyers have, and address them as honestly and as thoroughly as possible. They Ask, You Answer is a straightforward guide filled with practical tactics and insights to put your buyers first and transform your marketing strategy.
Facebook tracks you across the web and Mozilla wants your help in finding out how
Everyone knows that Facebook collects data on people online and then uses this to tailor content and advertising. Exactly how it does this remains something of a mystery, however.
Mozilla has partnered with non-profit newsroom The Markup for what it’s calling the 'Facebook Pixel Hunt' to find out how Meta tracks people across the web through its pixel-powered ad network, and what it does with this collected data.
Microsoft releases Windows 11 Build 22526 with improved file search
Having taken a break for the holidays, the Windows development team is back in business with the first new Windows 11 Dev Channel build of 2022.
Build 22526 comes with a decent number of fixes, as well as some welcome changes and improvements.
You can now give your Linux desktop a Windows 11-style 'Fluent' makeover
Windows 11 is far from perfect -- it’s still very early days for the new operating system after all -- but it sports an attractive, modern aesthetic thanks to the use of Microsoft’s Fluent Design System.
If you like the look of Windows 11, but prefer to use a Linux OS, you can now get the best of both worlds by applying a new 'Fluent' icon set.
Get 'Business Writing For Dummies, 3rd Edition' ($15 value) FREE for a limited time
Do you wish you could write better? In today’s business world, good writing is key to success in just about every endeavor. Writing is how you connect with colleagues, supervisors, clients, partners, employees, and people you’ve never met. No wonder strong writers win the jobs, promotions and contracts.
Business Writing For Dummies shows you, from the ground up, how to create persuasive messages with the right content and language every time -- messages your readers will understand and act on.
AMD announces 30 powerful new Ryzen and Radeon products for notebook and desktop PCs
The start of the new year is when most big hardware companies take the wraps off new and future products.
Today, at a Product Premiere livestream event, AMD President and CEO Dr. Lisa Su (and the AMD executive team) showed off over 30 new products, including the Ryzen 7 5800X3D desktop processor -- the first consumer PC processor to feature 3D-stacked chiplets to deliver a major boost in gaming performance.
Turn the Windows 11 taskbar into a macOS-style dock
Windows 11's centered taskbar isn’t for everyone, and it lacks many of the customization options we’re used to (although Microsoft promises these missing features are on their way).
Thankfully there are some third-party tools which can change the look and behavior of the taskbar.
CCleaner is currently broken, but a fix is planned
Although it’s had a number of problems in the past, most following Piriform’s takeover by Avast in 2017, CCleaner remains a great program for removing junk from your computer.
Except that’s not true of the latest version of the program which users report is unable to clear cookies from Chrome and other browsers.
Wayne's Bio
Wayne Williams is BetaNews' managing editor. He has been writing about computers, technology, and the web for over 20 years now. He’s written for most of the UK’s PC magazines, and launched, edited and published a fair few of them in his time also. If you like what you read, you can Buy Me a Coffee!
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