Articles about Free Software

Six months after its last major point release, LibreOffice 7.6 Community Edition makes its bow on Windows, macOS and Linux. The Document Foundation’s open-source, cross-platform office suite offers three major highlights with this new release: document themes, a navigation panel in Impress and the ability to highlight used styles.

The headline new feature is support for document themes, which allows users to apply consistent coloring across documents. A new Theme dialog -- accessible via the Format menu -- makes it easy for Writer users to quickly switch themes (eight are provided by default, but users can click Add to define their own).

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A few months back, we learned of Microsoft's new Windows Backup app. At the time it was only made available to users of Windows 11 signed up as Insiders on the Dev channel.

Now this handy utility is making its way to Windows 10 as well. For now, it is included in the build pushed to the Release Preview Channel last week, but this means it won't be long until Window 10 users have access to an official backup tool from Microsoft which is about more than just safeguarding files.

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Microsoft has updated the free virtual machines it makes available for download as Windows 11 development environments.

In addition to Windows 11, the virtual machines also include various other developer-centric tools such as Visual Studio 2022 Community Edition and Ubuntu pre-installed in Windows Subsystem for Linux 2. In a nod to the fact that people work with different virtualization platforms, Microsoft has produced VMWare, Hyper-V (Gen2), VirtualBox and Parallels versions of the free VMs.

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Protecting your precious privacy when browsing gets harder by the year. With this thought in mind, privacy focused search engine DuckDuckGo has decided to dip its toes into the desktop web browser market with the recent launch of DuckDuckGo Browser for Windows Beta, which follows hot on the heels of an earlier Mac release.

This may be DuckDuckGo’s first Windows browser, but it’s an already established option on mobile (iOS and Android) in addition to the existing Mac build. Both desktop versions are built from their operating system’s browser systems, which means the Windows build -- unlike most browsers -- isn’t a simple Chromium port. Instead, it's been built from scratch using the same underlying elements as Microsoft’s Edge browser, namely Microsoft’s Windows WebView2 API on top of the Blink rendering engine.

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It’s finally here. Mozilla has unveiled Thunderbird 115.0, a major new release of its open-source, cross-platform email client. The first major release since Thunderbird 102 debuted in late June 2022, Thunderbird 115 is dominated by one major new feature: A brand new user interface named Supernova.

The new Supernova user interface sees Thunderbird move away from its traditional two-pane layout with the option of a three-paned 'Vertical' layout, with the contents of the currently selected email displayed in a separate right-hand pane rather than below the message list.

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It feels as though it has been a while since the last update for PowerToys, but Microsoft has now rectified this. The company has released PowerToys v0.71.0 which sees not only a large number of bug fixes, but also numerous tweaks, improvements and additions.

This is a hugely significant update that adds support for the previewing of archives in the Peek utility, as well as making it possible to use Registry Preview as the default tool for opening .reg files. PowerToys developers have really gone to town with this release; just about every module has been updated and there is an improved look that is more in line with the Windows 11 aesthetic.

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The Commodore Amiga was a very popular home computer. Introduced in 1985 originally as a successor to Commodore's even more popular C-64 home computer, it became a favorite of many with the introduction of the Amiga 500.

The 16-bit Amiga battled it out with the 16-bit Atari ST and several other devices in the 80s and early 90s. Amiga users of the time enjoyed some of the finest games ever produced up to this time. Games like Cadaver, Moonstone, The Secret of Monkey Island and Indiana Jones series of adventures, Lemmings, Cannon Fodder, Wizball, Another World, and Defender of the Crown were some of the defining titles of the era.

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The Blender Foundation has released Blender 3.6 LTS, the latest -- and final -- point release in the 3.x series. As is customary with all Blender point releases, version 3.6 of the popular and powerful open-source, cross-platform 3D creation suite contains several eye-catching new features along with "significant" performance improvements.

These include initial support for simulations in Geometry Nodes, which allows users to define simulations through the "Simulation Zone". This connects both Simulation Input and Output together through nodes. After the inputs are initially evaluated on the first frame, subsequent outputs simply outputs the results of the previous frame.

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The Files Community has released Files 2.5, a major new release of its File Explorer replacement tool for Windows users. The open-source tool restores the Acrylic backdrop material, adds new swipe gestures and makes improvements to the Preview and Details pane as well as crushing numerous bugs.

Files 2.5 continues to build on recent major updates, the last of which -- released back in February -- introduced support for tagging files and folders. This time round, however, Files 2.5’s headline new feature isn’t brand new, but one that’s been reintroduced.

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Good news, fellow Linux nerds! After many months of development, the Debian project has finally released the latest stable release of its popular Linux-based operating system. Debian 12, codenamed "Bookworm," marks a significant milestone in the ongoing battle against proprietary operating systems, particularly Windows 11. Debian 12 offers a legitimate alternative that truly empowers users.

One of the standout features of Debian 12 is its commitment to long-term support. Thanks to the joint efforts of the Debian Security team and the Debian Long Term Support team, Bookworm will receive support for a generous five-year period. This ensures that users can rely on Debian 12 for their computing needs without the constant pressure to upgrade or migrate to newer versions.

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Microsoft’s Chinese division has unveiled a major new update of its system optimization and maintenance tool with the release of Microsoft PC Manager 3.0 Beta. The app, which provides users with easy access to a wide -- and growing -- selection of built-in Windows tools, adds a new floating desktop toolbar option for even easier access to its offerings.

The new desktop toolbar is made accessible via Microsoft PC Manager’s Toolbox section, where users can both enable the feature and choose which tools to place on it for easy access.

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Open-source video broadcasting, recording and streaming tool OBS Studio 29.1 has been released for Windows, macOS and Linux.

The chief highlight is added support to allow users to livestream on YouTube using AV1/HEVC over Enhanced RTMP, resulting in lower bandwidth requirements and widening access to 4K60 streaming. The app also makes several improvements to the program’s preferences.

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Accessing your home or work devices from a remote location just got a lot easier -- and more secure -- with the launch of TeamViewer Remote 15.41.7, out now for Windows, Mac and Linux.

The headline new feature is a major revamp of how TeamViewer connects one user to another’s device. In place of a password-based system, users make use of session links to connect directly, and adds a new option that allows users to connect and control remote devices through any web browser.

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Vivaldi Technologies has unveiled Vivaldi 6.0 for Windows, Mac, Linux and Android, a major new release of its customizable web browser.

Version 6.0 lands with two heavyweight new features: an additional layer of tab organization called Workspaces, and support for custom icons on the browser toolbar.

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As cloud and SaaS use grows a major challenge for IT, security and compliance teams is the lack of visibility into their organization's SaaS ecosystem.

Metomic is launching a new, free cybersecurity tool that scans Google Drive accounts to find sensitive data and information lurking in Google Docs and files. After entering a Gmail address and password, Google Drive Risk Report will scan the Google Drive connected to the address and, in a matter of seconds, generate a report.

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