Once a month on “Patch Tuesday“, Microsoft releases patches and updates for their operating systems. However, due to potential problems introduced by updating system files, there are many different opinions on when you should actually install these updates. Ask 5 people and you might get 5 different answers. The benefit to installing the updates is...

The title of this post is taken from the tag line of Microsoft’s free WebMatrix offering: It includes IIS Developer Express (a development Web server), ASP.NET (a Web framework), and SQL Server Compact (an embedded database). It streamlines Web site development and makes it easy to start Web sites from popular open-source apps. The skills and code you...

Time Magazine has been around for over 85 years and is still alive and kicking today. While not as prestigious as their signature “Person of the Year” title, they also publish their opinions on the best blogs of the year. In the Best Blogs of 2010, several sites you may have heard of may the list:Tech Crunch (Essential Blogs) Engadget Mashable...

If you ever have the need to convert a video file from one format (for example an MOV) to another format (for example an AVI), then a tool for the job is the free utility: iWisoft Free Video Converter. iWisoft Free Video Converter can fast convert videos between all popular formats like AVI, MPEG, WMV, DivX, XviD, MP4, H.264/AVC, AVCHD, FLV, MKV, RM, MOV, 3GP,...

If you are wrapped up in the World Cup and are currently motivated to play some soccer (digitally at least), then give the open source game Slam Soccer 2006 a whirl. Slam Soccer take a comedic approach to to the game with it’s “weebles” with feet style graphics. Regardless, the screenshots are impressive and the game play allows you to play...

You may have seen the news circling around the tech world that Firefox 4 Beta 1 is now available for download. While I certainly understand and appreciate the need for a beta process, it got me thinking… do a lot of people use beta releases of browsers as their primary browser? As a general rule of thumb I always opt for the stable release of any product...

If you like to keep track of notes and to do lists on your computer, you have no shortage of applications and online services to choose from. However, if you find that these tools are suffering from “feature bloat” then a service you should take a look at is Paprika. Keep track of all your notes, todos dates, and tags in a easy, quick, text based...

Mac users looking to get some insight into their battery power outside of the typical X% charge left should take a look at the freeware utility coconutBattery. coconutBattery isn’t just a tool which shows you only the current charge of your battery – it also shows you the current maximum capacity of it in relation to the original capacity your...

Some of my favorite console games are the Super Mario series (I didn’t care much for 2 though) which graced the NES and Super NES. So fans of the landmark game might want to take a look at the open source Secret Maryo Chronicles which shares a very (very very) similar style of play. Just by taking a look at the screenshots and power ups you can tell where...

Whenever you see a commercial for an ISP who make claims on how fast their Internet service is, what they are telling you are the maximum theoretical speeds which you will virtually never reach (if you notice in the small print on commercial says your actual speed will vary). But if you want to see h0w the ISP’s stack up overall then check out this article...