Playing Classic Gameboy Games On The PC With Visual Boy Advance [MUO Gaming]
As the first major handheld console and a gem of the Nintendo brand, Gameboy pushed out some incredibly cool and classic video games, such as Super Mario, Mega Man, Legend of Zelda, and Pokémon, which are just a few major series that made the transition to this platform (or even started there). Tim did a great article last year reviewing some of the best emulators for handheld consoles, but of that group I think that VisualBoyAdvance really shines.
2 Windows Applications To Make Launching Files, Folders, And Applications Easier Than Ever
My original horror story when first upgrading to Windows 8 was having no idea how to comfortably launch applications anymore. By default, there is no Quick Launch toolbar and the Start Menu has been gutted to the point where it's almost foreign. Thanks to some third-party tweaks and advice, both issues aren't very hard to fix. Even if you prefer the new style Windows has taken on in the latest version of their OS, let it be known that there are applications out there that can ease the pain of launching your most commonly-used files, folders, and applications.
Maxthon Cloud Browser: A Completely Different Browsing Experience
Maxthon has come a very long way since originally dubbing themselves as a mere replacement to Internet Explorer. As MyIE Browser, it boasted features like tabbed browsing and mouse gestures. Today, it's much more. You and I have both witnessed browsers like Rockmelt come and go without even denting the browser market. Let's check out what new developments have come to the latest version of Maxthon.
Save.me Brings Clipboard Monitoring To A New Level [Windows]
It only took me one or two disasters in losing huge blocks of copied text to cave in and download a third-party clipboard manager for Windows. While there are many, like ClipTrap, I've found that plenty of them have poor interfaces or indexing options that are not very featureful. Just the other day, I stumbled across a new one by the name of Save.me. At first, Save.me doesn't come across as a clipboard manager.
3 Archives That Will Bring You Back Into The Days Of GeoCities
Today, free web hosting is a thing of the past. Major search engines like the aforementioned Yahoo! and Google weren't such monsters yet, either. You could search for popular keywords and some of the first results would actually be free websites running on GeoCities, made by people just like you and I. Here are some ways to venture back in time and see the remains of one of the coolest internet time capsules ever.
PasteBin Makes Using Pastebin.com Easier & Straight From The Desktop [Windows]
Pastebin is recognized Internet-wide as the place to go to paste your data and code snippets. Many people probably know of the service through releases by groups like LulzSec, but it serves a much greater purpose than just dumping hashed passwords and email lists. Pastebin.com is useful in any scenario where you've got a ridiculous chunk of text that you need to spit out in a clean and efficient way.
Xinorbis Is A Free & Portable Disk Analyzer For The Windows File System
Understanding where your disk space is being allocated is information that can help you accomplish many things in improving your PC's performance. Though there are plenty of solutions to accomplishing this, such as DiskSavvy, Xinorbis is very effective and has been around for a while. Xinorbis is available as a hard installation or an archive that can be extracted on your desktop, in a Dropbox folder, or on a flash drive.
AdwCleaner Makes Adware Removal Easier Than Ever [Windows]
When confronted with adware or other junkware, the average person is going to tell you that you're going to need an application like SUPERAntiSpyware or Malwarebytes to get rid of the problem. While those are two of the best names to protect your PC from these annoyances, you should know that there are easier solutions available. Sometimes, a freeware seems too good to be free. It comes with a cost that you may not realize.
Program Compatibility Assistant: Why You Might Need It & How To Get Rid Of It [Windows]
Microsoft has a knack for persistence in ensuring that any applications you download on the Windows OS meet their compatibility standards. Some of you may be very thankful for that security measure and others may find it intrusive and completely unnecessary. I've personally avoided it in every way possible, but I'm sure there are others out there who are making good use of it.
Auto Text Expander Turns Repetitive Text and Content Into a Breeze [Giveaway]
As a writer, blogger, and serial emailer, you can imagine that I go through repeating myself several times throughout an average day. Auto Text Expander ($29.95) allows you to associate blocks of text to abbreviations or keyboard macros. Read on through this post to learn more and win one of 25 licensed copies of Auto Text Expander, retailing at nearly $750 in total!
How To Tweak The Visual Effects In Windows 8
Well, my upgrade from Windows 7 Home Premium to Windows 8 Pro hasn't been the smoothest one, but at least I'm slowly figuring things out. One thing that should be considered criminal is that Windows no longer offers the Classic or Standard themes. You know, the flat gray taskbar with the fading, blue window titles? I need my Windows looking like 98. I've never been a fan of XP's glossy default style, and don't get me started on Aero.
Comodo IceDragon Combines Comodo Internet Security With Firefox Browsing
Over the years, I've tried a few modified builds of the Firefox client. Pale Moon is one of my favorites. It's an alternative that really slims down on resources and pulls some weight off the bones of Firefox. The internet security gurus at Comodo have their own build of Firefox floating around, and it's called IceDragon. IceDragon is a version of the Firefox browser with enhanced tweaks for performance and Comodo security. It's worth a look.
Slimming Down On Your Windows Security Regiment: It Could Help
Though they're almost essential, some of the worst offenders in bogging down your Windows machine are actually the applications made to keep your computer safer and faster: those made for security. If you're a MakeUseOf reader, I trust that you use some form of anti-virus or anti-malware. As operating systems progress, it's practically being forced upon you. But do you have to?
Get Rid Of Those Annoying Browser Toolbars With Toolbar Cleaner [Windows]
Maybe it's a trend that is quickly coming back, or just coincidence and bad luck on my part, but I've noticed an alarming amount of new freeware applications coming bundled with toolbars. The only browser toolbar that I've ever found even remotely useful belongs to StumbleUpon. I can only shake my head at the rest. Even in recent MakeUseOf articles, I've had to warn users about opting out of toolbar installations.
Songr - An Amazing Way to Search, Stream, & Download Music [Windows]
While Spotify is the successor to well-known names like Napster and Kazaa (though not P2P and well… legal), those of us that are still stubborn and prefer a solution to download music or stream without interruptions desperately search for a respectable alternative. Service-specific applications, like Groovedown, don't do the trick for me. Relying on a single service to harbor your obscure musical interests doesn't always pan out.
2 Third-Party Applications That May Change The Way You Play League Of Legends [MUO Gaming]
If you haven't heard of League of Legends, why not? Recently, it was crowned the most popular game online (based on usage statistics) and more than eight million people tuned in to watch their Season 2 World Championship. With more than 30 hours played this week, it's safe to say that I'm addicted. There's good reason, too.
2 Lesser-Known & Portable Alternatives To CCleaner [Windows]
If your argument is that CCleaner is the best resource to cleaning out Windows' junk and temporary files, then I won't be the guy to argue with you. I've even made a post in the past complimenting and appreciating all of the Piriform applications, as I believe they are some of the best on the entire web. That being said, there are those of you out there who have no interest in using CCleaner.
GeekUninstaller Will Uninstall Programs You Thought You Couldn't [Windows]
When it comes to third-party uninstallation software, everyone knows of Revo. It's often considered to be the top of that class. However, many alternatives exists and it's great to offer the MUO audience a choice. After all, you can never have too many ways of removing things you don't want. None of us like bloatware.
Video Or Audio File Not Working? CodecInstaller May Be Your Answer [Windows]
It's a miserable feeling when you've just spent hours downloading that video, by torrent, only for it to be a complete dud when you go to watch it. It's been voted, starred, commented, and reviewed though, so it must work! However, you could just be simply missing a codec that is preventing you from enjoying that media file. It's a regular practice for the developers of media players to include codecs bundled with the installation package.
2 Minimalist Text Editors You Have Probably Never Heard Of [Windows]
Aside from being preferably based on brisk loading times, some applications just don't require too many resource-intensive features. Minimalist applications are tiny and clean, and as long as they get the job done then you won't find me complaining. Text editors can be a great example of this type of software, and in this post I'd like to show you two of my favorite.