Latest Articles
Move the Box: A Logic-Based Puzzle Game With a Boxy Twist [Android]
I love puzzle games. I love that I can play them on my Android and I love that there are so many puzzle games available on Google Play. Logic-based puzzle games are the best as my brain can use all of the exercise it can get. There’s always Sudoku and Unblock Me, which are classics, but here’s another classic that deserves recognition. Once you see Move the Box, you’ll recognize it immediately if you’ve been a casual gamer for any period of time.
Is Your PC A Zombie? And What's a Zombie Computer, Anyway? [MakeUseOf Explains]
Have you ever wondered where all of the Internet spam comes from? You probably receive hundreds of spam-filtered junk emails every day. Does that mean there are hundreds and thousands of people out there, sitting around sending them out manually? Unfortunately, no. The process is mostly performed by zombie computers. Whoa! Zombie computers? That sounds dangerous, scary, and a bit apocalyptic, doesn’t it?
EPubReader: Read .EPUB Books For Free Right Inside Your Browser [Firefox]
eBook popularity has been skyrocketing in the past few years and it doesn’t look like it will slow down anytime soon. First the Kindle, then the Nook, then smartphone apps like Aldiko and Mantano--there are so many ways to read eBooks now. If your eBook format of choice is .EPUB, then here’s some good news - you can read them straight from your browser now.
doubleTwist: A Simple & Clean Music App With Desktop Synchronization [Android]
Ask anyone what their favorite Android music player is and you’ll get a dozen answers. The worst (or best) part is that each of those answers is perfectly viable. There are so many apps to choose from and they’re all great. So as I present you with doubleTwist Player, I just want you to know that it’s only one of the many powerful apps out there. Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at this bad boy.
What Is The Easiest Version Of Linux To Learn?
With each day that passes, more and more people are giving Linux a try. It’s free and it can hold its ground against both Windows and Mac, so why not? And maybe you want to give it a try, too--but you keep hearing about how difficult Linux is, how it’s a “geek-only” operating system, etc. Thankfully, there are certain versions of Linux that will help ease you into the process. But before you decide to switch to Linux, you should think about why you want to switch.
BoxCryptor: Keep Your Cloud Storage Safe With Powerful Encryption [Giveaway]
Cloud storage services can be a lifesaver, especially when you keep backups of sensitive data on those clouds. The downside to cloud storage is that information is constantly passing between you and the server, and that information is not always secure. Backing up important data is smart--encrypting that data is even better so others can’t snoop in on it. BoxCryptor Unlimited Business is the cloud encryption solution for you. It’s available for USD $99.99 on Windows XP, Vista, 7, and 8 as well as Mac. But this week, we’re giving away 25 copies of BoxCryptor Unlimited Business worth a total of $2,500 for FREE!
Just Got Your First Android Device? Here Are Simple Answers To Your Everyday Questions
The popularity of Android has been on a slow but steady rise. If you aren’t using an iPhone, then your options are pretty limited: Blackberry for the business folk, Android for the everyday iPhone equivalent, then Windows Phone for the rest. Of those 3 alternatives, Android is the most popular. So if you’re just starting off with an Android device, you probably have a few questions on how to proceed.
Catch Notes: A Full-Featured App for Portable Note-Taking [Android]
Portable notes have saved my life on more than one occasion. Not in the literal sense - thank God! - but in this day and age, when information is being thrown around at such high speeds, it’s hard to keep track of everything without forgetting bits here and there. Once I decided to start taking notes, it all became easier. But one question still burns: where should I jot my notes?
3 Tools to Add Tabbed Browsing to Windows Explorer
Tabbed browsing is a feature that I first encountered 10 years ago in Firefox’s previous incarnation, Firebird. Since then, tabs have popped up in almost every realm related to user interfaces. They make it easy to view lots of data in specific, organized chunks and once you’ve grown used to them, there’s no going back. So why doesn’t Windows Explorer have tabs?
7 Awesome Tools To Enhance Your Right-Click Menu [Windows]
The Windows right-click menu is a feature that we may often take for granted, but it can really make our lives easier. Advanced users probably don’t use it that much, having learned all the necessary keyboard shortcuts to do whatever they want in the blink of an eye, but what if you could spice up that right-click menu? What if it could do a bunch of awesome tasks that you couldn’t replicate with the keyboard?
An A-Z of Linux - 40 Essential Commands You Should Know
Linux is the oft-ignored third wheel to Windows and Mac. Yes, over the past decade, the open source operating system has gained a lot of traction, but it’s still a far cry from being considered popular. Yet though that may be true, Linux still earns new converts every day. Will you join them? The learning curve of Linux is what deters most users from even trying it in the first place.
How We Talk Online: A History of Online Forums, From Cavemen Days To The Present
Let’s take a step back and think about the wonders of modern technology for one second. The web has made it possible to participate in near-instant communication on a global scale. Join me as I explore the evolution of online communication. How did all of this begin? Why did things become the way they are? The answers may surprise you.
Try Before You Buy: 6 Emulators For Test-Driving Mobile Phones
It’s been about one year since I purchased my first smartphone. I remember having such a difficult time deciding which phone I wanted. Back then, I had no idea that mobile phone emulators existed. And boy, that sure would’ve made my life easier. Whether you’re looking to purchase your very first smartphone or considering switching from one type to another, these mobile phone emulators will definitely come in handy.
NanoMusic: Extremely Lightweight And Simplistic Music App [Android]
Earlier this year, I wrote a compilation of music managers for Android. The music players listed in that article are all great and useful in their own ways, but most of them are far too bloated for my tastes. It’s nice to have certain features, but I soon end up forgetting that they exist. All I want is a quick, painless, and resource-friendly music app that doesn’t hog battery power. And to my surprise, I stumbled upon NanoMusic.
What Search Engine Poisoning Is & How It Spreads Malware [MakeUseOf Explains]
If you thought malware popups and relentless email spam were the worst of it, think again. There’s a new contender on stage and it’s spreading malware like butter in desert heat. It’s called search engine poisoning and hundreds of thousands, even millions, of people have fallen victim to it all over the globe. Here’s the thing about malicious intent: the worst forms of villainy occur when the bad guys take something that is good and use it for evil.
5 Common Security Mistakes That Can Put Your Privacy & Money At Risk
How vulnerable are you? Ask any person who’s been robbed if it came as a surprise - I guarantee you it did. As the saying goes, the thief always comes in the night when you’re sleeping, when you’re least prepared. But even when you’re awake, you might be passively committing security mistakes, thus inviting hackers and crackers to fiddle with your things. Privacy and money are arguably the two most important things.
What Behavior Will Get You Into Trouble On Twitter
There used to be a time when an employer would laugh at you if you were an avid social media user. Nowadays, employers will think you’re a weirdo if you don’t use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or anything along those lines. And most dangerous part of social media? You’re giving everyone a glimpse into a slice of your life. Let’s talk specifically about Twitter.
Divide & Conquer Your Email With The Power of Gmail Aliases
When it comes to email organization, the immediate reaction is often all about folders, tags, filters, priority marks, and things of that sort. Not that any of those are bad - in fact, most of those features are plain awesome. But there’s another feature in Gmail that can help you to automatically organize your incoming mail - the alias. In any field that requires organization, methods can be split into two types - reactionary and proactionary.
For Your Next Great Movie Or Play: 16 Free Scriptwriting Tools & Resources
Writing is hard. Most of us know the feeling of having to pull an all-nighter to wrap up a thesis paper due in the morning - and those papers rarely broke 40 pages. I can’t imagine the pain, blood, and sweat that gets poured into writing a screenplay of 150 pages. That just doesn’t happen without any help. Have you ever had dreams of writing for the big screen? Do you think you have the next blockbuster idea.
Windows 8 Is Almost Here - Here Are 5 Reasons To Upgrade
The next version of Microsoft’s world-changing operating system is preparing to hit the shelves. I know what you’re thinking: "Already?" It seems like yesterday that Windows 7 was the newest and coolest, but yes, it’s true. Windows 8 is just around the corner and there’s only one question that should concern you. Is it worth the upgrade? There are a lot of new features that are coming in this iteration of Windows.