Back to the 1980s: How to play Space Invaders on your PC
It’s been around for almost 40 years, yet the arcade classic Space Invaders is still hugely popular, the inspiration behind an array of new games on every possible platform.
This isn’t always a good thing. Many games use the name, but don’t bear any resemblance to the original. Others require bulky installations or "in-app purchases" before you can really get started.
Avast 2016 ships with password manager, SafeZone browser
AVAST Software has unveiled its 2016 product range, including Avast Free Antivirus 2016, Avast Internet Security 2016 and Avast Premier 2016.
The highlight is Avast Passwords, a new password manager available in every edition (yes, even the Free build).
TeamViewer 11 beta up to 15x faster, debuts Chrome OS app
TeamViewer GmbH has unveiled TeamViewer 11 beta, a preview of its free-for-personal-use remote control package.
Performance enhancements are a highlight, with up to 15x faster file transfers, and a potential 30 percent reduction in data usage.
Restrict access to time-wasting websites with LeechBlock
Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Amazon -- it’s hard to get any work done when there are so many web distractions around.
LeechBlock is a free Firefox extension which can help by blocking access to your favorite time-sucking sites.
Vivaldi moves to beta, offers power users a uniquely customizable browser
Vivaldi Technologies has unveiled the first beta of its new web browser for power users with the release of Vivaldi Beta. The aim of Vivaldi is to give users unparalleled control over their web browsing experience, and has been developed by a team led by Opera’s co-founder, Jon S von Tetzchner.
The alpha releases have been downloaded by more than two million early adopters, but this first beta release is aimed at general users, and among its new features are support for Chrome extensions and web panels.
Highlight (and share) the web with Highly for Chrome
Web highlighters can be a handy addition to bookmarks, highlighting blocks of web text so they’re easier to find later.
Highly is a free Chrome extension which takes the process to the next level, by making it easy for users to share their highlights with others.
devd is a lightweight http server
Web servers can be complex, with many modules to install and a lengthy list of settings to figure out.
Devd is an open source http server for 64-bit Windows, OS X and Linux, which proves it doesn’t have to be that way. The program arrives as a single executable, no other dependencies or modules required. Just unzip it and you’re ready to go.
Sysinternals ships updates for Autoruns, Sysmon, RAMMap, Sigcheck, BgInfo
Windows Sysinternals has announced updates for six of its freeware tech tools.
Autoruns 13.5 gains a right-click option which enables startup programs to be resubmitted to VirusTotal for a new scan.
Ashampoo Uninstaller is now free
Ashampoo has announced that its application remover Ashampoo Uninstaller is now free for anyone to download and use.
It may not look that way when you install it -- there are still prompts for license keys -- but register with your email address and you’ll get a free key immediately.
Generate spectacular 3D fractals with Mandelbulber
Fractal generators have been around for a very long time, but most of them just provide yet another way to produce the same Mandelbrot-based imagery we’ve seen so many times before.
Mandelbulber is different, because not only does it give you more formulae to play with, but it also renders your creations in spectacular 3D.
Mozilla offers $1 million to support open source and free software movement
Mozilla is starting an open source-supporting award program with an initial allocation of $1 million. The company has long been a proponent of open source software, and now wants to give something back to the community on which it so heavily relies.
The Mozilla Open Source Support (MOSS) is described as a way of both giving back to the community, but also giving forward to up and coming projects that could benefit others. A key feature of the program is a focus on improving the security of open source software, and Mozilla is looking to identify up to ten projects to help fund by the middle of December.
Optimize your mouse movements for a dual display PC
Set up Windows for a dual-monitor system and your mouse cursor should move smoothly from one display to the next.
This brings real advantages, but you may also notice a few issues, because the cursor doesn’t just stop at the edge of the screen any more. It’s all too easy to move to a scroll bar, or some other control at the far side of one display, and find your mouse cursor overshoots to the other screen.
Polarr 3 is a versatile photo editor for Chrome
Polarr’s free online photo editor and mobile apps have generated a lot of interest this year, thanks to their well-judged mix of power and ease of use.
If you’ve not yet tried the editor for yourself, Polarr’s Chrome app is a great place to start.
Kodi 15.2 unveils bug fixes and improvements across desktop and mobile
The XBMC Foundation has unveiled Kodi 15.2, a maintenance update of its open-source, cross-platform media center. This is the second release since version 15 debuted back in July.
The major focus of the new release is to improve stability on the Android platform, but there are numerous other bug fixes implemented in what Team Kodi has dubbed "The Final Chapter" in its release notes.
Kalkules is a scientific calculator anyone can use
If you’re not mathematically inclined then it’s easy to assume that scientific calculators are too complex, out of your reach, not something you’ll ever need or use.
Kalkules is a free and portable scientific calculator for Windows which shows that isn’t necessarily true.
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