Kodi 17 'Krypton' unveils major facelift alongside suite-wide improvements
The XBMC Foundation has unveiled Kodi 17.0. Codenamed "Krypton", the new release is available on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and (jailbroken) iOS devices.
The new release unveils new default skins for both regular and touch devices. It also unveils significant improves to audio and video, music libraries, live TV and PVR.
Artpip sets beautiful artworks as your desktop wallpaper
Artpip is a free Windows and Mac app which sets your desktop background to a beautiful new artwork every day.
We’re not sure how large the library of images might be, but artists include Manet, Munch, Renoir, Whistler, Van Gogh, Gruner, Pissarro, Cezanne and more.
LibreOffice 5.3 is one of the biggest updates to the office suite yet
The Document Foundation has unveiled LibreOffice 5.3 64-bit and LibreOffice 5.3 32-bit. Despite the point update, LibreOffice 5.3 is billed as "one of the most feature-rich releases in the history of the office suite", and is packed full of major changes affecting all parts of the application.
Highlights include a new experimental (and optional) ribbon-based UI, plus a new cross-platform text layout engine. It’s also accompanied by the first source release of LibreOffice Online, for basic collaborative document editing in a browser.
New database release enables data-driven decisions in real time
Many organizations rely on databases to support their decision making processes, but the process of importing, analyzing and then acting on the data can inhibit fast action.
In-memory SQL database specialist, VoltDB is releasing version 7.0 of its to offer increased scalability for managing transactions and generating analytics while ensuring high availability and strict data consistency.
LightBulb reduces eye strain by shifting screen gamma over time
LightBulb is a f.lux-like application which smoothly adjusts screen gamma to make colors seem warmer at night, reducing eye strain and making your PC more comfortable to use.
Install the program and it goes to work automatically, detecting your location, figuring out the sunrise and sunset time and updating your display color temperature to match.
Bing Wallpaper updates your desktop with Bing's image of the day
Bing Wallpaper is an open-source application which sets your wallpaper as Bing’s image of the day, then keeps it up-to-date.
Download, unzip and run BingWallPaper.exe and it immediately updates your wallpaper, displays a notification and minimizes to your system tray.
Optimize images for the web with pingo
Pingo is a free PNG and JPEG optimizer which supports both lossless and lossy compression. There are plenty of similar tools around, but pingo stands out from the competition in several ways -- some good, some not.
The program is a compact 521KB download, unpacking to a single executable which you must run from the command line.
DevDocs offline API browser now available for desktops
Last month we wrote about DevDocs for Chrome, a free extension which gives access to API documentation for around 200 programming languages and technologies.
Now an unofficial Electron-based applet, DevDocs, brings the service specifically to the desktop, with downloads available for Windows, Linux and Mac.
Create strong passwords and software keys with SterJo Password Generator
Freeware developer SterJo Software has unveiled SterJo Password Generator, a free tool for creating strong and random passwords.
A simple interface enables choosing the length of each password and the type of characters it should include: upper or lower case letters, numbers and/ or special characters.
temps is a gorgeous weather app for the desktop
temps is an open-source Electron-based weather app for just about every desktop: Windows, Linux and Mac. There’s no installation required, just unzip and run, and in a few seconds you’re looking at temps’ stylish, app-like interface.
An icon represented our current weather; there are background rain, snow and thunder animations; a temperature, four-day weather forecast, and status information including location, date and time.
Tabby Cat generates a feline friend for every new Chrome tab
There are endless Chrome extensions which replace your new tab page, typically to give you gorgeous photo wallpaper or equip your browser with productivity-boosting tools.
Tabby Cat has a simpler aim: it generates and displays a cute new cat on the background of every tab you open.
View Chrome, Firefox, Edge log-ons with SterJo Browser Passwords
Freeware developer SterJo Software has released SterJo Browser Passwords, a simple tool which finds and displays passwords stored locally by Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge and Opera.
There’s no configuration required. Simply launch the program and your logins are displayed with details including the browser, URL, user name and password.
Customize and convert icons with Axialis IconGenerator
Axialis Software has unveiled Axialis IconGenerator, a free tool for customizing and generating icons from a database of icon sets.
The program is mainly aimed at professional developers and designers, who might use it to purchase one of Axialis’ commercial icon sets and adapt it to suit their needs.
Analyze active network connections with Process Network Monitor
Process Network Monitor is a free tool which highlights the network activity of the processes running on your PC.
The program opens with a table telling you more about any running process which has a network connection open: process name, description and file details, PID, session ID, TCP count, UDP count and the total number of connections.
GameRoom is an all-in-one game launcher for Windows
GameRoom is a Java-based game manager and launcher with support for Steam, Origin, UPlay, GOG and Battle.net.
The program finds and imports your existing games automatically, no setup or folder selections required, then downloads and displays their cover art.
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