7files - A Powerful Browser For Your Files & Folders [Windows]
One of Windows' long-time shortcomings is the performance of Windows Explorer. If you don't know what Windows Explorer is, it is the face of Windows. It's what wraps around this skeleton of code and allows us to see our desktop, browse our files, and more. It's the visuals of Windows as you know it. Even on Windows 7, it has yet to be perfected. With the release of Windows 8 coming up pretty soon, you can expect a lot of changes to Windows Explorer.
sWeather - The Best Portable Weather Tracker In Your System Tray [Windows]
For the past couple of years, one of the first extensions that I'd get for a new browser installation is one that can track local weather. With services like iGoogle dead, I just need a way to quickly eye what conditions in my area are going to be like. Firefox and Chrome both have a lot of great extensions in that area, so it's a no-brainer. For something as important and as frequently-checked as the weather, I'd really prefer the browser not to be a dependency.
Free Image Resizer - An Effortless Way To Resize Images [Windows]
As spoiled as it may sound, having to open a bulky image manipulation software like Paint.NET or Photoshop just to resize an image seems a little inefficient. If the single functionality that you require is to simply resize, there are easier ways to go about it. Being able to quickly resize an image benefits me in several ways throughout a day.
PokeMMO Turns Fire Red Into A Pokémon MMO [MUO Gaming]
If you were a kid (or parent) in the '90s, you know Pokémon. Video games, movies, and perhaps most popularly with trading cards, Pokémon exploded onto the scene and every kid wanted to be a part of it. Today, the monster-taming adventure continues on through handheld consoles as games continue to be released under this legendary series.
GraalOnline Is A Zelda-Like MMO Adventure For Kids [MUO Gaming]
GraalOnline is a game that heavily lends from the style of gameplay from arguably the series' best game: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. That's a title that you'll see in many gamers' top 10 lists, and practically every list of the best RPGs of all-time. If you prefer older, retro-style games next to today's set of RPGs, this is the type of game you'd be recommending to your kids!
BlueStacks Lets You Experience Android From The Computer
Back in January, BlueStacks was introduced to MUO readers in an article that provides similar alternatives to the emulation software. Since then, the development of BlueStacks has progressed in a way that, in my opinion, blows the other two right out of the water. BlueStacks has officially joined my circle of "holy grail" software like Dropbox and Steam. If you've never used BlueStacks before, it's a way to bring the Android platform to you right from your desktop or laptop.
Piriform's Suite of Tools Puts You In Control Of PC Maintanence [Windows]
Individual tools such as CCleaner and Defraggler have received their fair share of attention here at MUO, and deservingly so. As a bigger picture, Piriform (the brains behind those two pieces of software and others) has really solidified their name in the world of PC maintenance and optimization, and they continue to push out awesome tools that remain updated. For years, these guys have kept our systems in top shape.
The 2 Best Sites For Finding Public Ventrilo Servers
Though often viewed as obsolete next to newer software like Mumble, Ventrilo is still my favorite way to communicate with friends in (and sometimes out if) online gaming. It's a VOIP software that I'm incredibly comfortable with and it takes no more than 5 minutes to learn to use. One of the major inconveniences of the Ventrilo platform is finding a server to do your venting on in the first place.
Is There Anything Left For Facebook Alternatives? [Opinion]
Being #1 is tough. For any sports fans out there, Facebook is the Patriots, Yankees, and Heat of its kind. The social network is so methodically "good" to the point that we're ready to jump on the bandwagon of anyone willing to come close to knocking it off. Remember when Google+ first broke news? The Internet was going nuts, buzzing with rumors that Facebook would finally be put to rest.
MyImgur Lets You Use The Best Image Host Right From Your Desktop [Windows]
Hugely thanks to internet superpower Reddit, Imgur is definitely regarded as the web's most elite all-purpose image host. The website's emergence took a huge chunk out of similar sites like Tinypic. Imgur just does free image hosting better. The look and feel of the uploading interface is so much nicer than other sites in the same class and it'll definitely help when you aren't barraging users with ads.
Power Up Your Copy & Paste Functions With These 2 Tools [Windows]
There are a lot of ways to trick out your Windows clipboard. Some of the most common revolve around the idea of extending the clipboard so that it can hold numerous different things for you to paste. We've done an article before about some of the best clipboard managers, so if that interests you then check those out.
The 3 Best Websites to Create Shortened URL Bundles
With Twitter being the main credit to its success, URL shortening is a trend that popped up recently and is probably here to stay. A newer twist that I've noticed emerging are URL bundles, a way to take multiple links, crunch them through this special and new kind of URL shortener, and have the service generate a single URL to represent those multiple links.
Clover 2 Turns Windows Explorer Into Google Chrome [Windows]
Since XP, and it seems that it'll continue on through 8, one of my biggest gripes about the Windows OS is how inefficient and unstable Windows Explorer proves to be. And so far, with what I've seen in Windows 8, the visual "enhancements" continue to get worse and worse. Luckily, third parties step in where Microsoft seems to have failed every now and then.
How To Stream Live Video to Your Twitch.TV Channel
Launched in June of last year, the world of online gaming needed a portal to livestream events and Justin.TV's secondary niche website, Twitch.TV, serves today as just that. What if you're just a guy sitting at home who wants to stream yourself playing an emulator or MMO? After getting such an urge myself, I had to find this out. Tucked away on their forums, I managed to find that information.
Notee Helps You Keep Your Schedule Synchronized To Desktop Or Web [Windows / Mac OS X]
Another area where Evernote isn't as effective is if you're looking to keep a schedule. Natively, Evernote doesn't support any calendar integration or agenda features, so I'd recommend other software. The tool that I'm going to show you today, Notee, can't be put on the same elite pedestal as Evernote but it manages to pick up where Evernote falls a little short.
4 Digital Distribution Gaming Clients You Might Like More Than Steam [MUO Gaming]
Although we've been taught to worship anything Steam's Gabe Newell pushes out at us, it's very important to remember that you have other options to explore. I won't argue that anything beats Steam's annual sale during the summer, but make sure you keep your eyes open. Although Steam's community is unrivaled, there are a lot of other desktop and laptop clients that will allow you to buy, download, and manage your digital copies of games.
8 Interesting Subreddits I Found Using Reddit's "Random" Button
Everyone loves Reddit, and if you don't then it's just because you haven't found the right subreddit! There's one in there for everybody, and it's one of the Internet's largest communities. Reddit is at the forefront of social news and sometimes it seems like this website and its content gets more attention than a major media network like CNN or Fox. A completely community-driven website means no overhanging bias and the freshest content possible.
2 Ways To Test If Your PC Can Run That Game [MUO Gaming]
For the everyday, off-and-on PC gamer, knowing how to match your specifications to those that are recommended for playing certain games isn't always the easiest task. How should you know if your GTX 550 is above or below a Radeon HD 6950? Problems like this, coupled with laziness, have probably cost some of us some cash that we wish we had back while we're running a game at 10 FPS.
Revisit One Of Gaming's Most Influential Series With The Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary Website
A while ago, it was announced that Square Enix has released a beautiful new website to commemorate the Final Fantasy series' 25th anniversary. It sounds tough to believe that it was way back in 1987 when the very first Final Fantasy game dropped for the NES. Since that release, the series hasn't looked back. The Final Fantasy brand is untouchable and at the top of the class for the RPG genre.