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As more content becomes available online, the need for a traditional television subscription may not be enough anymore to justify the costs. If you’re already subscribed to services like Netflix or Hulu Plus, now may be the time to make the switch. You will still need a computer or system that can access all of that content for you — more commonly, it’s called a media streamer or a home theatre PC. We got a Roku 3 to review and give away to a lucky reader, so let’s see whether it lives up to the hype!
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Check out some of the latest MakeUseOf discoveries. Most of the listed websites are FREE or come with a decent free account option. If you want to have similar cool websites round-ups delivered to your email daily email subscribe here....
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Windows 8 has managed to do a pretty decent job of putting all of your favorite and most-used applications right in your face with their rendition of the startup screen. Not all of us fancy it though. I personally skip straight the desktop. With all of these commonly-used applications so separated, daily tasks can seem like a hassle. Ubiquitous Player makes an attempt at alleviating that and serving as your Swiss Army Knife of application goodies.
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I often joke about being the only IT guy with a 36-inch pipe wrench in his toolbox. Funny, but also probably true. But I do carry one IT tool in my kit that is just as powerful and hefty as that pipe wrench - the Windows System Control Center on my Tools USB flash drive. The WSCC is an interface that gives you access to the SysInternals and NirSoft suite of tools. It's like having a 3 foot pipe wrench in your back pocket! Only considerably more comfortable.
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World travel is an exciting and adventurous activity, but one thing that hinders many from taking part is the language barrier. Fortunately, there are several iPhone foreign language apps that will help you translate simple phrases while you are exploring the globe. Here are five apps that will help you on your journeys.
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Sometimes you just want to fix up a picture without all of the baggage and learning curves that come with powerhouse image editors like Photoshop and GIMP. Obviously, a program as primitive as Paint won’t do, and even middle-of-the-road programs like Paint.NET sometimes won’t cut it. Thankfully, Ashampoo’s Photo Commander 11 steps in to fill the gap. We’re giving away 10 copies of Photo Commander 11 worth a total of $500 for free!
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Would you believe that many computers and smartphones can run cooler and consume less power? A trick exists, called undervolting, which can increase your CPU's efficiency with few drawbacks. If performed right, devices generally produce less heat while exhibiting improved battery performance. The process can require a great deal of patience and confidence as the potential for disaster exists.
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The sheer amount of content on Tumblr makes it a joy to browse, though sometimes you really do have to filter through a lot of repetitive content to get to the good stuff. For that reason, we’ve put together lists of recommended Tumblr blogs that we think you should be following. This week we’re taking a stab at all things Game of Thrones on Tumblr.
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Microsoft removed a variety of features from Windows 8. Many of them aren't great losses to most people, but they are if you depended on them. Luckily, Windows 8 isn't yet a locked-down mobile operating system, no matter how hard Microsoft is trying to make it into one. Most important features can be restored with high-quality alternatives, but replacements for other features are nowhere near as polished as Microsoft has removed the necessary theming code.
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OCRemix is one of many sites where you can legally get free music. The catch is that the songs on OCRemix are remixes of popular video game soundtracks. You won’t find Pink Floyd or Taylor Swift here; however, you might be surprised to find that there are still tons of professional quality tracks for you to enjoy - even if you don’t like video games! And they don't necessarily sound like video game music. This list covers remixes for Chrono Trigger.
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Visualisations (or visualizations if you're American or absolutely love your Zs) transform whole sets of arbitrary data into beautiful, visual learning tools. From basic graphs and charts to complex animations, visualisations take an infographic-like approach to helping us understand the world around us. Today's Stuff to Watch features nothing but the most interesting visualisations I could find.
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Taking your pen to hand - or more often keyboard, in these times - is not always a simple undertaking. That's not to say writing is bothersome. No, rather the opposite. Writing is wonderful, awesome, enchanting, and a hundred other things. The problem then is that there are too many distractions. Loud noises, flashing lights....not just outside of your window, but on your computer as well.
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I love food. If you follow my posts here on MakeUseOf even half-heartedly, I'm sure you managed to figure that out by now. Foodie Recipes is based on the website foodie.com, but is not merely a mobile version of the website. Rather, Foodie Recipes offers a recipe magazine of sorts, which aggregates the best seasonal recipes from food bloggers and professionals from all over the world. Each edition of Foodie Recipes has a different theme, with dozens of easy-to-follow recipes for you to prepare.
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Despite the popularity of social networks like Twitter and Facebook, RSS readers are still arguably the best way to monitor and manage daily news items and subscriptions on both our computers and mobile devices. With the pending death of the Google Reader, we on the lookout for alternative RSS reader clients that go beyond Reader's capabilities. One of the newest readers on the block is NewsBar for Mac and iPhone. Even though I've been a longtime user of NewsRack, I was immediately impressed with the NewsBar's features.
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A signature tells you something about a personality. Just as two people hardly write alike, they also sign differently. That's how the "science" of Graphology came into being. But the digital age and the email signature have reduced the way you sign-off on a mail to a footnote. Just a typed name, and maybe a phone number or a Twitter handle – how utterly dull. Just as there is a way to write and format proper emails, there are also ways to end them well.
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