DataStax offers free software for startups
Online application specialist DataStax has announced a new initiative to help startup businesses. DataStax software delivers a scalable big data platform and is used by large organizations including Adobe, eBay and Netflix, but the DataStax Startup Program allows eligible startups to deploy DataStax Enterprise applications for free.
The company has also launched a new DevCenter tool, which is free for its existing users, to allow the graphical creation of queries and database objects in Cassandra Query Language. This is along with free online training courses to teach users how to work with big data in the open-source Apache Cassandra database.
Avast 2014 available -- new look, better protection, faster scans
Avast Software has announced the release of Avast 2014, the latest edition of its antivirus and internet security range. The new build is now available in four consumer variations: Avast Free Antivirus, Avast Pro Antivirus, Avast Internet Security, and Avast Premier.
Every edition benefits from a range of new protection features. There’s enhanced streaming updates for real-time detections; a new DeepScreen technology helps the program make smarter decisions about unknown files; extended cloud scanning again assists in detection; and if something does turn up, then improved cleaning will get rid of it more reliably.
Microsoft gives free access to Office 365 through Student Advantage
Children are the future and they all deserve a great education. However, as the world trends towards being digital and paperless, students are not always fully empowered with the right tools. Sadly, this largely comes down to cost -- while a student can download LibreOffice or use Google Docs for free, they are just no match for the perennial Microsoft Office.
Don't believe me? According to a new study by IDC, "the only software package called out within the top 20 skills across all occupations is Microsoft Office, explicitly required in 15 percent of high-growth, high-salary positions. Microsoft Office is No. 3 on the list of skills most required, and Microsoft PowerPoint and Word are No. 11 and No. 13 most required skills".
Phrozen Windows File Monitor lets you watch file system activity in real time
Phrozen Windows File Monitor is a free portable tool which makes it easy to track all kinds of file system activities on a PC. You can watch file and folders being created, changed, renamed or deleted, as well as some network activities, very useful whenever you want to understand exactly what a program is doing on your system.
Windows File Monitor arrives in a 1.55MB archive containing a single executable, so it’s not exactly difficult to use: just unzip it, launch the program, and click Record when you want to start the monitoring process.
Emsisoft releases Online Armor 7
Emsisoft has announced the availability of Emsisoft Online Armor 7.0, the latest edition of its versatile firewall. The update doesn’t bring any new features, and instead optimizes the program’s existing features for enhanced usability, protection and performance.
New support for asynchronous connection handling means existing connections will no longer be blocked if you have a pending firewall alert, for example.
Lion DiskMaker adds support for creating OS X Mavericks install disks
OS X Mavericks is coming -- we’re still not exactly sure when, but probably October 22 -- and if you want to create a backup install USB stick for when things go wrong, you’ll want to take a look at Lion DiskMaker 3.0 beta 2.
Lion DiskMaker is designed to create bootable rescue disks from your OS X installation files (from 10.7 Lion onwards). Version 3.0 beta 2 adds support for the forthcoming OS X Mavericks release.
ProcessCritical can close even protected Windows processes
If you’ve identified a malicious process running on your PC then you’ll probably want to close it down, and in theory this seems easy enough (right-click in Task Manager, select End Task). Malware can apply several tricks to escape, though, and one of the easiest is to assign its process the "critical" flag, normally reserved for key Windows processes. Try to close a critical process, and your PC will immediately crash.
Windows provides no standard way to get around this, probably because tinkering with the critical flag can be dangerous. But if you’re an experienced PC user and willing to take the risk, then the open source ProcessCritical should be able to help.
Rainmeter 3 debuts high quality text rendering
Popular desktop customization tool Rainmeter has today been updated to version 3.0.
The big story comes in the new build’s use of the Direct2D rendering engine when available, which means anyone using Rainmeter on Windows 8 (or a fully updated Windows 7 system) should see much improved text quality.
First Paint.NET 4.0 alpha arrives, offers new features, tweaks and performance improvements
It’s nearly here: dotPDN LLC has released the first alpha of Paint.NET 4.0, a major update and rewrite of its popular freeware image-editing tool for Windows. Featuring a rebuilt rendering engine, improvements to various tools and a tweaked user interface, the new release has finally reached the stage where daring members of the public can test it for the first time.
The new build does come with some restrictions -- as telegraphed at the beginning of its development, Paint.NET 4.0 will only run on Windows 7 or later.
FXiTe: a powerful Notepad replacement with PDF export
If Windows Notepad is too underpowered for your plain text editing needs, then the open source FXiTe could be an interesting alternative. It’s targeted at developers, but don’t let that put you off: there’s plenty here for regular users, too.
This starts with its extreme ease of use. The program is compact (a 1.29MB download), and portable, you can just unzip and go. The interface looks a little odd -- the toolbar has colored buttons, rather than icons -- but there’s nothing too complicated, and you’ll be creating and editing plain text files without any problems at all.
hubiC offers 1TB online storage space for $136 a year
Online storage services are a great way to make your most important files available everywhere, but they can be expensive. Those monthly fees soon mount up, particularly if you need a high capacity account.
If you’re looking for low prices, though, hubiC will appeal right away. You get 25GB for free; 100GB is around $18 a year, 500GB is about $82, and 1TB is an annual $136 (all prices plus tax). You can even expand this to 100TB, if you really must. Not bad at all.
Microsoft touches up Fresh Paint
When Windows 8 advertisements first started airing on TV, Fresh Paint was often shown as a way to highlight the touch capabilities. Not only is the app a good demo, it is also fun and functional. From amateurs to professionals, anyone can easily use the app to create art and use their imaginations. However, Microsoft is not resting on its laurels and announces a new version is coming this month.
"Today I'm excited to announce that the new Fresh Paint will launch in tandem with Windows 8.1 on October 18 and that we'll also have new features coming to the Windows Phone version on October 14. Best of all, Fresh Paint will continue to be free, and everyone who updates to Windows 8.1 will get the improved experience", says Brandon LeBlanc of Microsoft.
MiTeC InfoBar adds a simple spreadsheet
MiTeC’s free and feature-packed desktop accessory MiTeC InfoBar has been updated to version 1.8.0. As usual, there are some bug fixes, but the main news in this release is the addition of a basic spreadsheet.
The new tool can be launched from the regular InfoBar menu (the star icon, top-left) or a hotkey (Ctrl+Alt+S), and presents a grid in the usual spreadsheet style. It’s extremely limited -- you can’t open existing spreadsheets, there are no graphs or other extras -- but you can still start entering data right away.
Explore, troubleshoot and manage your network with Axence NetTools 5
If you run into problems with your PC network then Windows provides a surprising number of tools to help. You’ll have to find them first, of course, and then master their various command line switches. But if that doesn’t appeal, there’s always Axence NetTools, which just might provide everything you need in one straightforward tool.
The program organizes its functions into twelve sections, each represented by a toolbar button. On first launch, say, you might click "Local info", which displays an enormous amount of information on your current network status: IP addresses, network adapters and interfaces, currently open network connections, ARP and routing data, TCP/IP statistics and more.
Nero MediaHome Free adds media streaming, splits off MediaBrowser add-on
Nero has rebranded and re-launched its free media management tool with the release of Nero MediaHome Free 15.0. Formerly known as Nero KwikMedia, MediaHome debuted last month as part of Nero 2014 media suite.
The application, available as a free cut-down version, is much quicker to load than previous versions, and bundles a built-in media server for streaming music, photos and videos to other DLNA-compatible devices.
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