Thursday, May 31, 2018
A special deal for TechRadar readers: get WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe free
To celebrate its 12th anniversary, WinXDVD is giving TechRadar readers the opportunity to download WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe completely free. This is a fully licensed program with full features and no time limits.
WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe can convert, compress, download, edit, crop, and merge videos, with level-three hardware acceleration for super fast performance.
WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe can convert and edit videos from your PC, a DVD or the web. It's easy to download videos from YouTube and 300 other sites – just paste in the URL and the software will handle the rest.
As well as conversion options for all the most popular video and audio formats, WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe includes profiles for Apple, Android, Microsoft and Sony devices, ensuring you'll get the best playback quality possible.
Get your copy
To install the software, download WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe and extract the ZIP file, then open the text document and copy the license key (note that this is for your personal use only). Run the setup file, then enter your email address and license key and click 'Activate' to unlock the full program.
The offer is available until June 15, with a limit of 500 licenses per day on a first-come, first-served basis, so move fast to grab your copy.
Bear in mind that you should only download videos with the copyright owner's permission. YouTube's terms of service prohibit unauthorized downloading.
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PayPal and Singapore’s Temasek invest $125M in Indian payment startup Pine Labs
Fresh from agreeing its largest acquisition to date with a deal to buy European payment firm iZettle for $2.2 billion, PayPal is on the investment hunt once again after it backed India’s Pine Labs with a $125 million round.
The financing jointly comes from PayPal and Temasek, the sovereign investment fund from the Singaporean government with over $200 billion in assets. Both will take undisclosed “minority shares” in Pine Labs. Sequoia made a seed investment in 2009 and it remains the startup’s largest-single investor, the VC firm said.
The new deal takes New Delhi-based Pine Labs to $208 million raised from investors to date. It previously closed an $82 million investment from PE funds Actis and Altimeter Capital in March of this year at a reported valuation of $900 million. Recent reports speculated on the Temasek investment (but not PayPal) which would give Pine Labs a valuation of over $1 billion, thus vaulting it into the global ‘unicorn’ club. A spokesperson declined to give a confirmed valuation for the latest deal.
Like iZettle, Pine Labs offers a point-of-sale device that covers debit and credit cards, as well as new and increasingly popular digital payment methods that include mobile wallets, and services that support Indian government project UPI. Rather than other traditional POS devices that are common across India, Pine Labs’ is smart and cloud-based.
While that product gives it distribution, the company offers a suite of services for retailers and SMEs which include customer analytics, a transaction dashboard, and loan services. The company’s notable public-facing clients include retailer Croma, Nike, McDonald’s, Apple, KFC, Sony and Samsung.
Since that last investment in March, there’s been a change at the top. Pine Labs appointed board member Vicky Bindra, a former executive with Visa, MasterCard and GE Capital, as its CEO in April to go after international expansion and new services for consumers and banks. That’s also how this new capital will be spent, the company confirmed in an announcement.
In a statement, Bindra said Pine Lab’s annualized transaction volume is $15 billion through a base of around 300,000 payment points. He added that the business is “on track to originate over $1 billion USD of instant loans at point-of-sale terminals for card issuers and partner NBFCs this fiscal year.”
“We’re teaming up with Temasekand PayPal at a time when the Indian payments market is at an inflexion point. We are a leader in the offline payments space, a position that is critical in enabling the ecosystem of online payment products. The investments will help us move a step closer to our vision for building a world-class merchant-centric payments ecosystem,” Pine Labs founder Lokvir Kapoor added via a statement.
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Chrome 67 is here, with password-free logins and improved VR
Chrome 67 is hitting desktops today, with support for password-free logins courtesy of Web Authentication (WebAuthn), plus improved support for sensors and virtual reality headsets.
WebAuthn is an open standard that lets you access your accounts using biometric data, a mobile app, or a portable device like a YubiKey. This can either replace passwords, or supplement them as two-factor authentication to make your accounts more secure.
It made its mainstream browser debut last month with the release of Firefox 60, and should be arriving in Microsoft Edge very soon. Apple has also pledged its support for the standard, though it hasn't specified when it might appear in Safari.
Its main appeal is protection from phishing attacks, because there's no fixed line of characters (like an alphanumeric password) that grants access.
Sensors and sensibility
It's not just security – Chrome 67 also adds support for several other technologies that'll help you have more fun on the web.
The browser now supports the Generic Sensor API, which enables web apps to use input from components including accelerometers and ambient light sensors. For example, a web app could display a 3D model, which you could see from different angles by rotating your device. That's something you can currently do in desktop apps, but hasn't previously been possible in Chrome.
There's also support for the WebXR Device API, which will make virtual reality experiences more consistent across different devices. That includes mobile-based VR headsets like Google Daydream View and Samsung Gear VR, and desktop-hosted headsets like Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Windows Mixed Reality Headsets.
It'll be up to web app developers to decide how to use the API, but Google suggests it could be used to improve immersive 360-degree videos, home shopping experiences, and 3D art installations.
Chrome 67 is available to download now for Windows, macOS and Linux.
Via ZDNet
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Apple releases yet another High Sierra beta, while we still wait for macOS 10.13.5
Apple has released yet another beta update for macOS High Sierra, which will have the version number 10.13.6.
This is the fourth beta that Apple has released for High Sierra in May alone, which shows that the company is working hard on getting the new version of the operating system out to developers who have signed up for early builds.
The macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 beta has a build number of 17G31f, and it can be downloaded from the Apple Developer Center. A public beta for non-developers should arrive soon after.
Of course, with such an early beta version of the operating system, you should hold off installing it on any mission critical hardware.
Where’s macOS 10.13.5?
While this is the first beta for macOS 10.13.6, macOS 10.13.5 has had five beta builds. You’d have thought that after all those tests that Apple would have released a final version of 10.13.5, but so far it has not, with regular users still on macOS 10.13.4, which was released in April.
The fifth beta of macOS 10.13.5 included support for Messages in iCloud, which will allow Macs to work alongside the same feature in recent iOS betas.
This synchronizes the user’s messages between every device logged into the same iCloud account, with older messages stored online.
It sounds like a great feature, and we’re looking forward to giving it a go. We’re just waiting on Apple to provide the final version of 10.13.5.
Meanwhile, the release notes for macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 beta don’t provide any details about new features included in the upcoming release. This may be because it’s a very early beta build, and hopefully Apple will have some new goodies waiting for us in later builds.
Via Apple Insider
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Windows 10 April 2018 Update is rolling out twice as fast as Fall Creators Update
According to some fresh figures, the latest big update for Windows 10 is rolling out at a very fast pace indeed.
The stats from AdDuplex, which keeps an eye on the Windows user base via data collected from Microsoft Store apps, show that the April 2018 Update has been delivered to exactly 50% of Windows 10 PCs in one month flat.
That’s actually twice as fast as the previous Fall Creators Update, which took two months to get itself on half of all Windows 10 PCs. And the update before that – the Creators Update released just over a year ago – took no less than three months to reach the same stage of deployment.
All of which seemingly shows that Microsoft’s efforts to streamline the rollout process are working, although not everything is rosy, of course, given reports of forced updates being pushed out in some cases, not to mention the fair amount of problems we’ve seen with the April 2018 Update.
Those bugbears have included problems with Surface devices (of all things) and Alienware laptops, issues with SSDs, antivirus conflicts, and let’s not forget the mystery of the disappearing desktop – among other flaws (check here for our full troubleshooting guide if you have encountered any gremlins).
The various blocks that Microsoft has had to instigate to prevent rollout to certain machines, and the work needed to fix these problems, doesn’t appear to have impeded the pace of the rollout, evidently.
Surface statistics
Interestingly, AdDuplex also shared stats on the percentage of Microsoft’s Surface hybrids which are running the April 2018 Update. These show that around 65% of Surface Pro 4 owners, and over 70% of Surface Book and Surface Pro 3 users, have the new update.
All Surface devices have an adoption percentage of well over the 50% global average, as you might expect, except for the three-year-old Surface 3, and rather oddly, the more recently released Surface Laptop, which is stuck on 37% for some reason (which seems strange as it wasn’t one of the aforementioned Surface machines highlighted as having problems).
AdDuplex didn’t include the Surface Studio all-in-one in its report, because the firm said that the number of owners was just too small for any meaningful statistical interpretation to be made. It is, of course, a niche product from Microsoft, although from the sound of that, perhaps it’s even more sparsely sold than we thought…
- Some of the best laptops of 2018 run Windows 10
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Wednesday, May 30, 2018
WhatsApp payment might roll out as soon as next week
WhatsApp might launch their peer-to-peer payment feature as early as next week. A report from BloombergQuint suggests that the UPI-based in-app payment services will be taken off from its current beta phase and will be rolled out for all the users.
The report states that WhatsApp is partnering with HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank to process payments, and SBI will join the list later once the service is in place.
As of now, the service is available for the Beta testers on Android. As per the reports, the messaging giant was preparing to launch the service officially once they have at least four banking partners, but has now decided to speed up the process as it believes “their rivals were racing ahead”.
Leveraging its large user base, WhatsApp can pose as a serious competitor to the popular digital wallets and payment apps like Paytm, Google Tez, PhonePe and so on. When the existing solutions are compared, Paytm recorded a huge 200 million user base in February 2018 and the rest are still fairly new in the race. So, it’s a good time and opportunity for WhatsApp to foray into the league and make the most out of its user base. With over 200 million monthly active users, WhatsApp surely poses as a solid threat to its rivals.
It would be interesting to see how WhatsApp cracks into the payment space without affecting the seamless messaging experience. If the service is easy to adapt and is efficient at what it’s supposed to do, we think there’s a huge scope of success for the company.
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Tuesday, May 29, 2018
AOMEI's free backup software will keep you on the right side of GDPR
Software developer AOMEI has released new versions of its free backup and partitioning tools to keep small businesses on the right side of the EU's new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules.
If you own a business that operates in the EU (whatever the size) and you store any personal information about customers, employees or clients, you now need to be much more careful about how you use and protect it.
Regular backups are an essential part of that protection, but you need to be sure that the software you use isn't delivering any information back to its developer – whether that's your own data, or other people's.
Unlike many free apps. AOMEI Backupper Free for GDPR Compliance and AOMEI Partition Assistant Free for GDPR Compliance keep no records of how you use them and still contain all the features of the standard software.
Check your software
GDPR, which came into force last Friday, is designed to give people more control over how their personal information is stored, used and protected. It applies to companies of all sizes, and covers any information that could be used to identify a person, including email addresses, names, and even IP addresses.
Any organizations that don't meet the GDPR requirements could face a fine of 4% of annual global turnover or €20 million, whichever is greater, so it pays to make sure all your software is compliant.
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Microsoft Store gets improved while new Progressive Web Apps arrive
Microsoft has implemented some changes for the Windows 10 app store which have been pushed out to testers on the release preview ring, and alongside that, some new Progressive Web Apps have debuted in the store.
As spotted by MS Power User, various tweaks have been made to the Microsoft Store’s interface, with one big move being the introduction of another Fluent Design element in the ‘Reveal’ effect (which highlights things you can interact with).
This bolsters the overall UI which had already seen the introduction of Acrylic, essentially a blur effect – all of which makes the store look that bit more contemporary.
Other changes include the search bar being hidden by default on the PC (but not on mobiles), and there’s also now a back icon, to help you trace back the steps you’ve taken in the store.
Microsoft made various other minor tweaks like improvements to fonts, and adding little arrows that allow you to easily browse through pages of user reviews (if there are lots of reviews of a particular app or game).
Microsoft certainly wants to make Windows 10’s store a more user-friendly and aesthetically appealing place to hang out, and as we heard last week, a new Departments drop-down menu is apparently planned for the future, as well.
Food for thought
That said, if the trimmings look tasty, but the meal itself is lacking, that’s obviously going to be disappointing. And that’s why Microsoft is working on providing a bigger selection of apps that you can pick from for your main course.
And to that end, as Windows Latest reports, the company has added some fresh Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) – just think of these as web apps, but implemented as native software (so they become full Windows 10 apps, with notifications and so on, rather than simply just running in the browser).
The new PWAs now in the store comprise of the following: Rand McNally, StyleCraze, News.com Australia, Boots UK, EBTH, EstateSales.net and Rocketmiles.
Progress is still relatively low-key for these web apps, but Microsoft has big plans for them as of the next major Windows 10 update launching later this year – and wants them to look and function even more like ‘normal’ apps, as the company explained earlier this month at the Build conference.
- Some of the best laptops of 2018 run Windows 10
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Is Microsoft forcing the Windows 10 April 2018 Update on PCs that have blocked updates?
It looks like Microsoft is automatically downloading the Windows 10 April 2018 Update on PCs, even if users have blocked Windows from downloading updates until later in the year.
Owners of Windows 10 Pro, who have selected the Semi-annual channel to determine the frequency of updates, have done so to ensure that when a major update for Windows 10 does get released, it isn’t installed right away. Instead, the update is delayed – or blocked – for a number of months until all the issues and bugs have been ironed out.
This is the preferred update cadence for business users (in fact, the Semi-annual channel used to be called ‘Current Branch for Business’), as it’s critical that their PCs aren't affected by any bugs that might emerge after a major update is released.
With many users reporting of numerous problems with the Windows 10 April 2018 Update, it’s frustrating to see that Microsoft is continuing to push the update so aggressively, especially to users who have specifically opted out of this.
Angsty update
Windows tip site AskWoody has reported on several credible reports about Windows 10 1803 (the other name for the April 2018 Update) being offered to people on the Semi-annual channel. With the update having recently released at the end of April, this should not be happening.
It is not the first time Microsoft has been a bit too eager to install a Windows 10 update on people’s PCs against their wishes, as in November 2017 it forced the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (1709) onto people soon after it had launched, even though they had opted out of it.
Even in January 2018, Microsoft was apparently pushing that update onto people, even if they had paused updates for 365 days.
While we can understand why Microsoft would be so keen to get everyone on the latest version of Windows 10 as soon as possible to ensure everyone has the new features and improved security fixes, ignoring people’s update preferences is a heavy-handed way of going about things.
After all, there are many legitimate reasons why you’d want to hold off downloading an update so soon after it has been released, especially if you’re an enterprise user whose business depends on its PCs working without any issues.
We’ve contacted Microsoft to find out more about these forced updates.
Via Windows Report
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Monday, May 28, 2018
Desperate to get the latest version of an operating system? Don’t be so hasty
The excitement of downloading and installing the latest version of an operating system isn’t the sexiest of thrills – it’s probably just above discovering a new flavor of jam – but it’s something that many of us fall for.
After all, the promise of new features, or a new-look interface, is certainly tempting, and it’s something that many of us have fallen for. However, the myriad problems that users are experiencing after downloading Microsoft’s latest update to Windows 10, proves how risky the pursuit of the freshest version of an operating system can be.
Not to mention this whole string of issues reveals the folly of Microsoft's decision to force Windows 10 updates upon their users, with the only respite being the ability to delay installations for up to 35 days. And that's only if you're a Windows 10 Pro user, those with the Home edition have no choice but to basically never reset their computers.
Windows 10 isn't the only OS that encounters problems after major updates and new releases, as Apple’s macOS and iOS have had their share of problems as well, as does Google’s Android operating system. Of course, Linux never has these issues, as it has been blessed by the holy hand of Linus Torvalds himself (not really, distros have their fair share of buggy updates).
Y’all got any more of those OS updates?
Having the very cutting edge of software and hardware can be a real addiction for some people, and I’m certainly one of them. While I can blame my job in part for always having to have the latest updates installed so I can write about the new features, the truth is even if I didn’t have to install them, I probably would.
However, I’m going to be one of those annoying “do as I say, not what I do” people and suggest that you stay your button-pushing finger next time a major update pops up. Wait a week or two, or even better a month or more, before downloading the update. Let other people discover those bugs, while the software makers scramble to release fixes to cure those problems.
Then, when it all dies down, you can download safe in the knowledge that you’ll be getting the new features without your PC/Mac/Smartphone falling over.
Of course, this doesn’t apply to important security updates – make sure you download and install those as quickly as possible.
But, for other updates, especially major ones that introduce new features, treat it like a hot pie. Leave it to cool off, while others burn their mouths on it. But don’t let it get too cold, or you’ll get a virus. OK, so the pie analogy doesn’t really work, but it’s lunch time and I’m hungry.
- The best laptop 2018: our pick of the 15 best laptops you can buy this year
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Saturday, May 26, 2018
Friday, May 25, 2018
New Windows 10 preview gives you a slicker Edge browser and more
Yesterday (May 24), we reported that a new Windows 10 preview wouldn’t emerge this week due to some major issues. Well, it turns out Microsoft was mistaken – more on that later – and in fact a fresh build has just been released for testers to play with over the weekend.
So, let’s take a look at what’s new with build 17677 for Redstone 5 (the next big update due later this year), which has just been pushed to testers on the ‘skip ahead’ program or fast ring.
For starters, a number of improvements have been made to Edge, with the firm continually tinkering with its browser to make it a more compelling offering (while promoting the product in various ways, as we saw yesterday on the laptop battery longevity front).
Edge now has a rejigged interface, with the Settings menu being better organized into groups of entries to make it easier to find whatever you need to adjust. Plus keyboard shortcuts are now clearly labelled on the menu, where appropriate.
Various other tweaks have been made, including the addition of more options to the Downloads pane (for example, to be able to ‘show in folder’ after you’ve downloaded a file).
Microsoft has also made it easier to organize groups of tabs that you’ve set aside in Edge, giving you the ability to rename any group to something more descriptive or memorable. And all your top websites are now listed in the Jump List, which is on the Windows taskbar (or Start Menu).
Narrator, the screen reading app, has also seen some attention, specifically to Scan mode, which allows the user to navigate swiftly around the likes of web pages, apps and emails using the arrow keys and keyboard shortcuts.
With this new build, Scan mode is now able to support the selection of content in Edge, Word, Outlook, Mail and more. Common selection commands work, such as pressing Ctrl+A to select everything.
Cellular cleverness
Finally, you may remember that a month ago Microsoft introduced a new network driver – which should make for a better, more reliable cellular connection – to build 17655 of Windows 10. In this new build, that MBB USB NetAdapter driver has been made the default driver.
So if you’re running a laptop with cellular connectivity, when you use mobile broadband you’ll experience this new driver by default. If you hit trouble, Microsoft’s suggestion is that you use Wi-Fi or a wired connection instead. Such is the life of a tester on the fast ring…
As ever, there are a multitude of other minor tweaks and adjustments, and you can check out the full list in Microsoft’s blog post.
And coming back to what we mentioned at the outset of this story, what happened to the reported ‘rollback issues’ which were supposed to delay this build from launching this week?
Head of Windows testing, Dona Sarkar, informed us in a tweet that there wasn’t actually a rollback bug at all, but in fact a deployment issue was the problem – and that was a gremlin which was apparently relatively easy to overcome.
- Some of the best laptops of 2018 run Windows 10
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Apple tempts free iCloud users with one-month free trials of upgraded tiers
Apple really wants more people to start ponying up for more iCloud storage, as the company is now offering one-month free trials of all upgraded storage tiers.
First spotted by an AppleInsider reader, the offer appears whenever a free iCloud user (which puts up a paltry 5GB for consumers and 200GB for school-issued devices) attempts to manage their iCloud storage. This offer doesn’t appear to be valid for existing subscribers.
Naturally, it will be up to the user to cancel whatever tier they’ve upgraded to for free before the month is out, otherwise the credit card or bank account tied to their Apple ID will be charged the normal amount.
To recap, that’s $0.99 (£0.79, AU$1.49) a month for 50GB of storage, $2.99 (£2.49, AU$4.49) for 200GB monthly and $9.99 (£6.99, $14.99) every month for 2TB of online storage.
So, since we know it will be hard to resist free cloud storage, just take some advice: make sure you have some place else to store whatever you’re throwing into Apple’s cloud servers. That way, should you want out, you don’t have to delete thousands of those precious selfies.
- These are the best Macs you can buy
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WhatsApp's new bug allows blocked users to see profile, status and send messages
After being puzzled by the ‘Black Dot’ message on WhatsApp, users are now reporting a new bug that lets blocked parties see your profile and send messages. Multiple users have reported that they are receiving messages from blocked numbers, and these blocked numbers have even accessed user’s profile, status and more.
The bug was first discovered by WABetaInfo who stated this on his Twitter feed that it could be a bug on the server-side. What’s also baffling is that blocked users being able to connect with people is a direct violation of the messaging platform’s ‘block’ feature. It was meant to keep people at bay but with this bug, they can now send texts and view profiles.
For users facing the issue, there’s no solution from the company yet. However, many users reported this on Twitter that unblocking the contact and re-blocking it will set the block to default, restricting blocked users once again.
WhatsApp has acknowledged the particular issue and has started working on a fix. However, there’s no specific time-frame given by the company yet for the fix.
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Thursday, May 24, 2018
The best alternatives to Instapaper 2018
Bookmarking site Instapaper has run into trouble with the EU's new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules, and has temporarily shut down operations in Europe until it can get its house in order.
Until then, users in Europe will need to look elsewhere for a scrapbook to save text, articles and pages. Your browser probably has a read-it-later tool built in, but it might not be the best one for your needs.
The best Instapaper alternatives work across browsers and devices, sync your notes, and let you save them to read offline. They also give you a choice of what to save (a text selection, a screen grab, a whole page or a bookmark, for example) and let you use tags and folders to keep everything organized.
With that in mind, here's our pick of the best alternatives to Instapaper – at least, until it gets its databases in order.
1. Pocket
Flexible and convenient – Pocket is our top Instapaper alternative
Pocket is integrated into Firefox (both the desktop and mobile versions), but you can use it with any browser by installing the appropriate plugin. When you come across something interesting, simply pop it into your Pocket (using the button in your address bar if you're using Firefox, or the browser extension if not) and read it later on any device.
Pocket also suggests new things for you to read, presenting them when you open a new tab, and delivering a daily digest to your inbox. These are articles other Pocket users have saved, and will often throw up something you'll find interesting.
Pocket Premium is ad-free and keeps a permanent cache of all the pages you bookmark – even if they change in the future. There's also advanced search to help you find more content you might be interested in, suggested tags, and the ability to repeat recent searches.
Unlike most Instapaper alternatives, Pocket gives you the option of syncing content to your device to read offline later – a great option if you're about to head off on a long flight. This, combined with its flexibility, makes it our favorite Instapaper alternative.
2. Evernote
Clip articles on one device and read them later on another in seconds
Evernote is an excellent read-it-later service that's best used together with the Clip to Evernote browser extension. With a click of a button, you can 'clip' a selection of text, an article, a page or an entire site, add tags, and choose a folder where the clip should be saved.
Evernote Basic lets you sync notes between two mobile devices, making it easy to clip articles using the desktop browser extension, then read them later on a phone or tablet. You can sync up to 60MB content per month, and there's a maximum note size of 25MB. That might not go far enough if you want to sync videos, but for text articles and images, it's fine.
Evernote premium is aimed more at businesses. It can sync across as many devices as you like, search within Office documents and PDFs, and accepts scanned business cards. It also lets you find related content – a feature that comes as standard in Pocket. You can sync up to 10GB content per month, and the maximum note size is 200MB. Evernote Business is the same, but with even more bandwidth per month.
Evernote has all sorts of handy little touches that you'll come to really appreciate as you use it more frequently. For example, it remembers which settings you used last time – ideal if you're bookmarking items for a project and want to keep everything organized.
4. Google Keep
A great Instapaper alternative if you're already using Google's other apps
Google Keep is another great cross-platform alternative to Instapaper, with apps for Android and iOS, plus as a Chrome extension.
Keep also available as a web app that you can use in any browser, but you really need the Chrome extension to get the best experience. Navigate to a page or select a chunk of text, then click the button to add a title, comment and tags. There's no need to click 'Save' – Keep will save and sync it automatically.
Keep integrates neatly with Google's other products, making it a convenient choice if you're an Android user and already embedded in Google's ecosystem.
Keep also functions as a to-do list, with options for note-taking and creating tasks. Once you've finished a job, you can mark it as complete and feel rather pleased with yourself – then reward yourself by reading all those articles you bookmarked throughout the day.
4. Microsoft OneNote
Microsoft's note-taking app is well designed and works across platforms
Just as Keep will be a natural partner if you're heavily invested in Google's system of apps, OneNote will fit neatly into your life if you're a Microsoft fan.
Microsoft's note-taking tool has more of a business slant than most, but with the Web Clipper browser extension it makes a great alternative to Instapaper. You can clip a full page, an article, a selected part of the screen or a bookmark, then it to a notebook of your choice. It also integrates with the context menu, so you can right-click items on a webpage to clip them.
There's no way to add tags to your clipped articles, but OneNote is slick and well designed, and integrates neatly with the rest of Microsoft's apps.
5. Apple Reading List
An Instapaper alternative for Apple fans who want to read articles offline
If you're an Apple fan, Reading List will be the natural choice when you want to save an article or webpage to read later. Open a webpage in Safari, tap the 'Share' icon, then select 'Add to reading list'.
There are no fancy options like tagging, but it's very simple to use. You can search through your reading list to find a specific article, mark items as read without deleting them, and it's cached automatically so you can read everything offline. It's a shame there's no way to add just a selection of text, or organize pages into categories, but that's the price of simplicity.
There are no plugins available for other browsers, and there's no Android app. This lack of flexibility keeps Apple Reading list from hitting a higher spot in our roundup of Instapaper alternatives, but if you only use Apple's devices then it comes highly recommended (and already installed).
- Check out the best free office software available right now
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13 weird and wonderful niche Linux distros of 2018
Note: Our weird and wonderful niche Linux distros roundup has been fully updated. This feature was first published in December 2011.
Fed up with the bog-standard Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora and so on? Looking for a distro that reflects your individuality? In this roundup we've discovered no less than 13 of the quirkiest and most useful distributions that Linux has to offer.
They include one distro which is the official, sanctioned OS of North Korea, no less, along with a Satanic Edition of Ubuntu (there's also a Christian version to balance things out), and also a distro which is so light it will run on a PC from the mid-80s.
Read on to find out more about each of these interesting distros. Before we begin, however, do note that not all of these operating systems are suitable for everyday use without extensive modification – so consider running them from a Live CD/USB or within a virtual machine, rather than installing them on a computer.
- 10 of the best Linux distros for privacy fiends and security buffs
- 5 of the most popular Linux gaming distros
- 10 best Linux distros: which one is right for you?
- What's the best Linux distro for beginners?
- How to choose the best Linux distro for laptops
- Linux Format is the number one magazine to boost your knowledge on Linux, open source developments, distro releases and much more. Subscribe to the print or digital version of Linux Format here
The ‘hermit kingdom’ that is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is one of the most isolated countries in the world. The internet is strictly censored (indeed, most North Koreans have never even heard of it) and access to computers is patchy.
Unwilling to rely solely on operating systems developed by the imperialist US, supreme leader Kim Jong-Il sanctioned the development of an official OS of North Korea named Red Star, which is based on Linux and uses North Korean terminology and spelling.
Red Star fully lives up to the Orwellian reputation of the DPRK. It is closed source and has a feature which watermarks any media files copied to external drives with the hard drive’s serial number. This is most likely because North Korean dissidents often swap banned films using a 'sneakernet' of USB sticks. Red Star also has a supposed 'virus scanner' which can automatically delete censored files. The root user is disabled by default, meaning you don't have full control over your system.
For this reason, you should only run Red Star inside a virtual machine. See our guide on how to do this here.
Development of Red Star has continued under the auspices of supreme commander Kim Jong Un. Version 3.0 was released back in 2014 and uses the KDE desktop environment, bearing a strong resemblance to macOS. It works quite well but is preconfigured to only use North Korea's intranet by default, so can't access the web at large, except for a few pages on the Mozilla website.
As the OS is based on Linux, skilled users can tinker with the language and DNS settings to use it in English with internet access. There's also a server-only version (4.0) used by the DPRK's official airline Air Koryo which can connect directly to the internet, but it's not available for general download.
The default web browser Naenara (meaning ‘My Country’) is a modified version of Firefox 3.5. We searched for 'democracy' in the default search engine, but nothing came up.
As a final reminder: if you want to give this a whirl, don’t install the OS on actual hardware, but rather inside a virtual machine.
The classically educated reader might be able to guess that MuLinux is a small distro – the Greek letter 'mu' is the SI designation for one millionth.
Mu was designed to be a minimal distro along the lines of Puppy or Damn Small Linux, but it's considerably more miniscule. The OS was developed to run from floppy disks, so only requires 20MB of hard disk space and 4MB of RAM. It will run on any machine with an Intel 80386 processor or later. This particular processor was released in 1985 so it’s safe to say that MuLinux can breathe life into ancient hardware.
Development of MuLinux was frozen in 2004. As mentioned, it was originally designed in such a way to allow the user to install and run a basic Unix-like shell from a single floppy disk, then install additional packages such as server tools from separate disks.
This self-described 'Linux for the Damned' enjoys the notoriety of being banned from the popular Linux OS database Distrowatch. Version 666.9 (we promise we're not making this up) is based on the rather dated Ubuntu 10.10. Like regular Ubuntu, the Satanic Edition is fond of alliterative names for new versions including Lucifer's Legions and Jesus' Jugular.
The dark themes, fiery wallpaper, and Gnome 2 desktop along with various custom sound effects and death metal music combine to make for an OS which Dante himself would be proud of. The website promises to ‘keep your PC looking evil, even when you're not using it’.
Although development on this Linux tribute to the Dark One seems to have halted, you can still boot Ubuntu SE from a Live medium – or as the developers prefer to call it an ‘undead’ CD.
This is one that will appeal to the techies out there – the thing that marks GoboLinux out from the rest is its filesystem layout. Most Linux distributions use an archaic non-arrangement wherein an application's files are scattered around your hard drive in several different folders.
GoboLinux adopts a macOS-like approach (which Apple in turn took from RISC OS), and stores all files associated with an application in a single folder in '/Programs'. For instance, if you have a program named 'foo' all files pertaining to it would be stored in '/Programs/foo'. You can still install multiple versions of the same application if you wish, for example, for separate users on the system. This is managed by GoboLinux's file virtualization tool Runner.
The most current version of GoboLinux is 016.01, released in April 2017, but the project's Github page shows Gobo is in active development. The latest version includes a copy of one of the very first web browsers, NCSA Mosaic, for a bit of old-school net surfing. GoboLinux also now includes GoboNet, a lightweight and daemon-free network manager.
If you like software freedom, you'll love GNewSense. The OS has had all non-free software removed, including binary 'blob' files in the kernel, so-named as they use proprietary code. Unfortunately, many of these blobs are drivers for wireless networking cards, so GNewSense may not work well with laptops.
On the plus side, it has removed or renamed software that doesn't fit the Free Software Foundation's definition of freedom. The OS uses a modified version of Debian's IceWeasel browser, for instance, to avoid using the Firefox trademark. GNewSense doesn’t provide any links to non-free repositories, making it even more free than Debian.
After a three year hiatus, the latest version of GNewSense, codenamed Ucclia, was released in May 2016 and is based on Debian 7. It can be booted as a Live CD to help you check whether it supports your hardware.
Do you love Linux? Do you really love it? Because you're going to need to if you want to follow the Linux from Scratch program. Not (technically) a formal distro, LFS is more a set of tutorials and packages designed to help you set up your own completely bespoke Linux system. From scratch.
That means first creating a temporary system with which to compile the real thing, building your own partitions and file system, and installing every element of a functioning Linux system painstakingly by hand. Oh, and figuring out exactly why it isn't working.
The documentation comes in freely downloadable volumes, charmingly entitled 'Stable' for the latest release and 'Development' if you want to check out the version that creator Gerard Beekmans and his team are working on at this very moment. There's also a systemd version, which uses the latest in system initialisation techniques.
One of the easiest ways to get started is to read the freely downloadable LFS Book, which takes you through all the steps for constructing your own system. As of LFS version 8.0, the book has undergone a major rewrite with hundreds of new packages now available.
NixOS has grown from a simple research project in 2014 to a fully-fledged independent operating system, optimised for cutting-edge system configuration management. It qualifies as weird and wonderful due to the fact that the OS, kernel, and other system files are created using the integrated Nix package manager.
While Linux traditionally lumps packages together in various system folders such as /bin, Nix stores them in a single location (/nix/store).
The advantage of this is that all upgrades are 'atomic'. With traditional Linux distros, upgrading one package can cause others to break if they have shared dependency. Nix's crafty package segregation means that all updates and upgrades can be reversed. This makes for a very stable system.
Moebuntu is an upgrade for existing Ubuntu installations designed especially for fans of Manga and Anime, and it shows how the OS can be tweaked or fine-tuned to the extreme. There’s an automated setup tool which will apply the colourful desktop and icon themes – prepare yourself for some alarming hues of pink if you do so. There's also a suitably rosy dash icon as well as an array of wallpapers and Manga-style fonts.
As gaudy as this may appear, the advantage of Moebuntu is that it has kept pace with the times. The latest release supports Ubuntu 17.04 so unlike some of the other distros we've highlighted, you can enjoy a taste of the weird and wonderful while having an up-to-date OS.
- You can install the Moebuntu desktop theme, icon packs, wallpaper and Dash icon by following the steps on the Moebuntu website
Having given the devil his due with Ubuntu Satanic Edition earlier in this article, it’s only fair that we let Christians rejoice about the version of Linux crafted just for them.
Ubuntu CE offers a non-denominational version of Linux for Christians, based on the standard Ubuntu builds. The latest version is built on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS (long term support).
The stated aim of the project is to try to encourage more people within the Christian community to realise the power of Linux and switch to Ubuntu.
The latest release incorporates Xiphos, a bible study tool, as well as worship presentation software OpenLP and Quelea, which can be used to project bible verses, hymns and so on.
Ubuntu CE also includes the powerful 'Dansguardian' content filter providing advanced parental controls. The wallpaper has been thoughtfully chosen with Biblical quotes.
There still exists among our Windows-using cousins the risible idea that Linux isn't good enough to take over on the desktop – that the continued dominance of Microsoft on the desktop is inevitable, because Linux is not up to the job technically.
This can easily be refuted. All of the top 500 supercomputers in the world now run Linux. Also, the cleverest people on the planet – scientists searching for clues about the beginning of the universe – also use Scientific Linux at the CERN laboratories.
This distro is a rebuild of Red Hat Enterprise Linux and is actively developed by people within CERN, Fermilab and ETHZ. Anyone can download and install it on their machine – you don't even need a PhD in theoretical physics.
Parted Magic is a Live distro that comes with all the tools you need to fix broken partitions. If something won't boot, this is what you use to fix it, and that goes for both Linux and Windows machines. It is most often used as a tool, although technically it is a Linux distribution in its own right.
Parted Magic also allows for secure disk erasing (making sure that data is really nuked), benchmarking, and disk cloning among other features. As a troubleshooting aid, it's indispensable, but it will cost you $11 (around £8, AU$15) to download direct from the author's site. For an additional fee you can order it preinstalled on USB or DVD.
This distro is drastically out-of-date and about as niche as they come, but HML – or Hannah Montana Linux – is the perfect desktop for fans of Miley Cyrus’ heady Nickelodeon days. Enjoy a pink Hannah Montana-themed KDE desktop, featuring Tux with the double-life teenage singer's logo emblazoned on his belly.
It also includes a custom Hannah Montana boot screen, theme, icon set and wallpapers. The website helpfully adds that it is not vulnerable to Windows viruses.
There's no reason to use HML unless you're a diehard Hannah fan, but since it's based on Kubuntu using KDE 4.2, there are plenty of packages to install. You could even upgrade it to the latest version of Kubuntu by running the command 'sudo apt-get dist-upgrade' from the Linux Terminal. Alternatively, diehard Montana-fans can download the icons and/or theme pack and install it on top of their existing KDE install.
Zeroshell comes from Italy, and it’s a small Linux distro designed to run as a Live CD for servers or embedded devices such as routers. You can even install it onto a Raspberry Pi.
It has no GUI but you can access and configure it from your web browser. Zeroshell is a lot more powerful than the average router's web interface allowing you to perform activities such as assigning IP addresses, DHCP provision and changing DNS settings. It can function as a proxy, VPN access point or a firewall, and can interface with any network appliance.
Zeroshell is in active development: the latest version (3.8.2) was released in December 2017.
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Windows 10’s latest preview build hits trouble and won’t be released this week
If your plans for the long weekend (in the UK and US) included the prospect of trying out some fresh Windows 10 features with the new preview version, then sadly you’ll have to think again, because Microsoft has delayed the build that was expected to be released this week.
Dona Sarkar, head of Windows testing at Microsoft, took to Twitter to announce that a preview build wouldn’t be rolled out this week because some ‘rollback issues’ had been discovered.
Rollback issues simply refers to problems that are big enough to require a rollback or reversion to a previous state, so the team can work on solving the bugs from scratch – with a fresh approach – rather than trying to fix what’s there.
That takes more time, and with the holiday weekend meaning staff are wanting to spend time with family as the tweet mentions, there’s no chance of the release of a new build this week.
Bit of a wait?
No timeframe was mentioned as to when this fresh test build of Windows 10 will eventually emerge, but we might be in for a bit of a wait from the sound of things.
As MS Power User, which spotted Dona’s tweet, observed, this incoming build is expected to work further on Sets and deliver some other new features to boot.
Microsoft has been working hard on Sets – which brings the concept of tabs from the browser to the wider operating system in general – in the last couple of preview builds.
The company plugged this feature heavily at the recent Build conference, where Joe Belfiore detailed the overall vision for Sets, which is all about making Windows 10 a much easier, more streamlined experience when it comes to finding related content and the things you need.
- We’ve highlighted the best laptops of 2018
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Instapaper shuts down temporarily in Europe, unprepared for GDPR
Instapaper has temporarily shut down its service in Europe, having failed to get itself ready for the EU's new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules that come into force tomorrow.
Instapaper, owned by Pinterest, is a read-it-later service that lets users 'clip' articles and pages. The shutdown will be particularly annoying for anyone who's clipped a bunch of articles, with the intention of reading them over the weekend, but Instapaper says it can "generate an export of your saves" if you email support@help.instapaper.com.
Instapaper delivered the bad news to EU users in an email today:
"Starting tomorrow May 24, 2018, access to the Instapaper service will be temporarily unavailable for residents in Europe as we continue to make changes in light of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which goes into effect May 25, 2018. We apologize for any inconvenience, and we intend to restore access as soon as possible."
Paper pains
GDPR is designed to give you (the 'data subject', as you're elegantly dubbed) more control over your personal information. It's also the reason your email inbox is groaning under the weight of messages from sites and services frantically updating their privacy policies.
They've good reason to be worried. Companies that don't meet the standard face fines of up to €20 million (about US $23 million, £17.5 million, AU $31 million) or 4% of annual turnover – whichever is higher. The rules apply to all companies that do business in the EU – not just ones that are based there.
However, it's not as though GDPR came out of the blue – the requirements were announced two years ago – and it's particularly surprising that a service owned by a company as big as Pinterest would be so slow to get its ducks in a row.
The problem might well come from GDPR's requirement that companies give users a copy of all their data in a convenient format. That could be tough if your databases have been handled by contractors who didn't leave full documentation of all their work.
In February last year, Instapaper ran into trouble and experienced 31 hours of downtime due to an undocumented file size limitation dating back to 2013. Once the problem was resolved, Brian Odonohue – former CEO of Instapaper and now product engineering manager at Pinterest – explained exactly what happened in a blog post. Hopefully we'll see the same transparency this time.
Via The Verge
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Microsoft fixes Windows 10 April 2018 Update problems with Intel and Toshiba SSDs
Microsoft has deployed another cumulative update for the big Windows 10 April 2018 Update, and among the batch of fixes is a cure for the issue that was causing major problems with SSDs from Intel and Toshiba.
Update KB4100403 patches the build number of the OS up to 17134.81, and contains fixes for issues in Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge, along with the solution for a Windows Hello bug, as well as the SSD fix.
On the latter, Microsoft noted that the patch “addresses an issue with power regression on systems with NVMe devices from certain vendors”.
Windows Update should pick this up for you automatically if you’re already running the April 2018 Update, but those with Intel and Toshiba SSDs will have been blocked from upgrading because of the aforementioned gremlins.
Microsoft advises users with these solid-state drives to wait until the April 2018 Update is offered to their PC, rather than rushing off and installing it manually now, because the KB4100403 patch isn’t incorporated into the big update just yet.
Obviously, when it is included, the update will then be unblocked and rolled out for those using the affected drives.
Manual method
However, if you’re impatient and don’t want to wait for Microsoft to push the update to your machine, the firm advises that: “Starting May 25, if you’re an advanced user on an actively serviced version of Windows 10 and would like to install Windows 10 version 1803, you can manually check for updates.”
In other words, for those manually upgrading to the April 2018 Update, the SSD fix will be incorporated starting from tomorrow. So just make sure you don’t jump the gun...
At any rate, whichever route you choose, you’ll soon be able to enjoy the Windows 10 April 2018 Update and all its goodies.
As a final note, if you’ve come across any other issues with the April 2018 Update, we’ve got an extensive guide on how to troubleshoot problems.
- These are the best laptops of 2018
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Wednesday, May 23, 2018
The best Linux distro for gaming in 2018
A Linux gaming distro, as the name suggests, is tailored for avid gamers. As such it usually comes bundled with games to play, as well as drivers for graphics cards, games controllers and so forth.
There aren't many Linux distros specifically made for gaming. This isn't because Linux users dislike games, but rather it’s due to the fact that most modern Linux distros support virtually every type of recent graphics card anyway. As such, any regular Linux distro can easily be turned into a ‘game station’.
- These are the best Linux laptops of 2018
Despite this, some distros continue to churn out special gaming editions which provide hundreds of games right off the bat, and the means to install even more with additional software such as PlayOnLinux, Wine and Steam.
In this guide you will discover five of the very best Linux gaming distros.
- 5 of the most popular Raspberry Pi distros
- 10 of the best Linux distros for privacy fiends and security buffs
- 10 best Linux distros: which one is right for you?
- 10 of the most popular lightweight Linux distros
The Fedora Project produces several "spins" which are alternate versions of the distro, offering tools and software components chosen for a specific purpose.
The Games Spin of Fedora features a vast collection of games spread across different genres such as arcade, sports, strategy, adventure, action, etc. Although not every game is included, Fedora tries to incorporate the best from each genre (see a full list of available titles here).
The 4.2GB ISO can run off a Live USB, or alternatively be installed to disk, like regular Fedora. You can also install additional games from the repos using the YumEx application. The distro doesn't ship with Steam, Wine or Play on Linux pre-installed, but these can be downloaded via the software repositories to access even more games.
Fedora Games Spin is ideal for those looking to quickly try popular titles such as SuperTuxKart, The Battle for Wesnoth, Freeciv, Warzone 2100 and many more.
Lakka is a lightweight version of Linux which can turn your computer into a retro games console. It's built on top of media centre software LibreELEC, and the most recent stable version 2.1 makes use of RetroArch 1.6.9 to emulate a huge number of consoles.
Lakka is available as a bootable USB image for PCs. There are also versions for ARM-based machines such as the Raspberry Pi.
This distro supports most keyboards as well as wireless PS3 and PS4 controllers, along with Xbox 360 controllers if you have the proprietary dongle. RetroArch boasts a very handy autoconfig feature which should mean that most controllers will work out of the box without you having to manually map keys. The Lakka documentation also has some excellent walkthroughs for more unusual setups.
For copyright reasons, the OS ships without any games preinstalled. You'll need to obtain legal copies of either ISO images of game CDs you own or precompiled ROM files of arcade games. Check out the Internet Archive which contains some public domain ROMS.
Sparky Linux is a Debian-based distro. The latest SparkyLinux 5.3 GameOver edition is built on the testing version of Debian (Buster). It includes exciting new features such as the awesome Lutris gaming platform and a custom tool for installing a web browser so you can play online games. The distro weighs in at an impressive 3.8GB.
Besides Lutris, GameOver Edition also includes a number of tools such as APTus Gamer which can download a variety of game emulators so you can relive old console favourites, although you may need to download these elsewhere. The OS also contains a number of free and open source games like Wesnoth and Robots.
The gaming applications Wine, Play on Linux and Steam are also pre-installed. These are particularly useful for running old DOS and Windows games on Linux, such as Sim City 2000.
Ubuntu GamePack comes from Ukrainian developers UALinux. In addition to proprietary codecs and drivers, the distro provides two different systems for you to enjoy gaming on Linux – Steam and the Lutris Gaming Platform. With these you can access and install hundreds of games on your Ubuntu machine.
UALinux claims that its distro provides access to thousands of games and applications for Windows and DOS. The emulators DOSBox and DosEmu are preinstalled, as is the more fully-fledged Windows emulator Crossover.
Like Lakka, Ubuntu GamePack doesn't come with any games, but as it includes both Wine and Play on Linux, you won't have any trouble getting your existing games running. The distro also supports Adobe Flash and Java so you can play online games too.
The current version of Ubuntu GamePack (2017.01) is based on Ubuntu 16.04. There's both a 32-bit and a 64-bit version; each are around 2GB in size.
This Debian-based distro (recently updated to the latest Debian 8 release) has been specifically designed to run Valve's Steam platform, and comes pre-installed on the firm’s Steam Machine games console.
SteamOS is probably the closest Linux distro to an actual games console. Technically, you could install additional software using the Debian Jessie repositories, but this operating system’s main emphasis is on gaming.
The install-only distro is available for 64-bit machines and works best with at least 4GB of RAM. It also needs around 200GB of free space on your hard drive and an Nvidia, AMD (Radeon 8500 and later) or Intel GPU. If you're handy with computers, consider building your own Steam Machine.
SteamOS can only be used to play Steam games. Users can't benefit from Play on Linux or Wine when running SteamOS. However, the unique in-home streaming feature lets you connect the machine running SteamOS to another computer on the network, allowing you to stream a game to that PC. Unlike most Linux distros, not all of SteamOS is open source software.
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The best free alternative to Microsoft Word 2018: word processing without the price tag
Everyone needs a great word processor, and Microsoft Word is one of the best thanks to its wide format support, integration with other Office apps and huge range of high-quality templates.
However, that power and convenience doesn’t come cheap, even with the Microsoft Office 365 subscription model, which spreads the cost throughout the year. Thankfully, free word processing software has come a long way in recent years, and there are some great alternatives to Word that don’t cost a penny.
Lightweight distraction-free writing software has its place, but here we’re looking for fully-featured word processors with support for templates, advanced formatting, and compatibility with Microsoft file formats. You could switch to any of these programs today and begin working immediately.
We update this guide regularly, so you know you're always getting the most accurate information about the best software available right now.
WPS Office Free's word processing component, Writer, has a slick design very similar to the current version of Microsoft Word. It features a ribbon interface and almost identical icons. If you like using Office 2007 or later, the move will be pretty much seamless.
There's tabbed browsing for multiple documents (a feature not found in Word, but one we love), and WPS Office Writer can open pretty much any text document format you can throw at it. It has its own proprietary file format (WPS), but new documents default to Microsoft’s DOCX format for convenient sharing with Word users.
WPS Writer includes built-in cloud support with 1GB free storage (comparable to Microsoft OneDrive) for easy backup and syncing. There are also free mobile apps for Android and iOS that are fully compatible with Microsoft file formats, and let you edit and sync documents on the move.
WPS Office Writer comes with a good range of templates pre-installed, with more available to download.
Unlike LibreOffice and OpenOffice (below), WPS Office isn’t open source. Instead, it’s supported by ads, but these are unobtrusive and won't stop you getting on with some serious work.
There’s a premium version of WPS Office that removes the ads and throws in bonus PDF tools, but the free edition is superb. Give it a try – we're pretty sure you'll be impressed.
If you feel most comfortable using the older, pre-ribbon versions of Microsoft Word, you’ll love LibreOffice Writer. Its interface is very similar to Word prior to the controversial introduction of the Ribbon in 2007, so if you’re familiar with the older interface, you’ll be up and running in seconds.
It'll take a little longer if you're only used to newer versions of Microsoft Office, but the menus and icons are simple and intuitive, so don't be put off.
LibreOffice Writer is fully compatible with Microsoft Word documents (including DOC and DOCX) as well as other common text file formats, so you’ll have no trouble sharing files with friends or colleagues using different software, or opening your old files.
Writer also integrates seamlessly with the other tools in the LibreOffice suite, so you can easily import a spreadsheet from Calc, or a graph from Charts – just like you could in Word.
What sets LibreOffice Writer apart from other free Microsoft Word alternatives is its lively community of users and developers, who have created hundreds of free plugins and templates for you to download and use. LibreOffice itself receives regular updates too, adding features and security that help it keep pace with Microsoft Word.
The only thing lacking is integrated cloud support, but you can easily sync your files using Dropbox or OneDrive, so this is a minor drawback.
LibreOffice is a fork of Apache OpenOffice and the two share the same code base, so it’s no surprise that there’s little to choose between the two. Both offer excellent compatibility with Microsoft Word documents, and work seamlessly with their linked spreadsheet, database, and presentation applications.
There’s almost no difference between the programs’ features or interfaces, either – both use a classic Microsoft Office style system, with a handy sidebar for formatting options.
OpenOffice provides fewer templates than LibreOffice by default, but there are thousands available to download, so this isn't a concern.
The main difference is that OpenOffice only receives one or two updates a year, whereas LibreOffice is updated every couple of months thanks to its larger team of volunteer developers. This means that reported bugs and vulnerabilities are likely to be fixed sooner in LibreOffice, and new features are added sooner.
SoftMaker FreeOffice TextMaker's interface is less cluttered than most free Microsoft Word alternatives, but it doesn't skimp on tools and settings. Some features are tucked away in sub-menus, but you can customize the toolbars by adding, removing and rearranging the icons (you can find more by clicking the small arrow buttons on the right).
All the essentials are there, and FreeOffice TextMaker makes it particularly easy to create interactive documents with fields and bookmarks, which you can then save as PDFs. The selection of templates isn’t huge, but they look good and will satisfy most of your needs.
The drawback of TextMaker is its inability to save your work in Microsoft’s DOCX format. This is a shame, because this newer format has several advantages over DOC, including more consistent appearance in different word processing programs and superior file compression.
You can open files in DOCX format using FreeOffice TextMaker, so you won't be locked out of your existing documents, but if your friends and family use Word, you might prefer one of the alternatives listed above.
The premium edition of SoftMaker Office adds DOCX support for a one-off fee of £48.20 (about US$60, AU$75).
If you've plunged into the Google ecosystem, you're probably already familiar with its Microsoft Word analog, Google Docs.
Opening existing documents can be a bit of a hassle – you need to upload them to Google Drive before you can start editing them in Docs. Although there's good file format support, imported Word documents might look very different if they use formatting and features not supported by Docs, or rely on locally stored fonts.
That said, formatting isn't the main purpose of Google Docs – collaboration is. Provided they have a Google account, it's easy to invite colleagues, friends and family to work together on the same document simultaneously. If several people are working on the document at once, different colored cursors will appear on the page to indicate where they're working.
If that sounds like chaos, you can also restrict editing and just allow collaborators to make comments, which you can implement or ignore.
If you're not a fan of Google products, you can also take a look at Microsoft Office Online, which works in much the same way, but with better support for DOC and DOCX files – all synced to OneDrive.
- Need more than just Word? Check out the best free office software
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Okta wants to help your business ditch passwords forever
The days of worrying about remembering passwords in the workplace may soon be at an end thanks to Okta.
The security firm has today announced the launch of a new platform that will allow companies to do away with passwords altogether in favour of much stronger authentication options.
Okta ThreatInsight, revealed today at the company's Oktane 2018 event in Las Vegas, combines context-specific information with real-time analysis from internal risk assessment teams to block threats.
This, the company says, provides a more secure experience that should mean businesses, as well as their employees, partners and customers, stay safe online.
No more passwords
Due to be released in the second half of 2018, Okta, which counts the likes of Nordstrom and 20th Century Fox among its customers, says the new tool will allow companies to do away with passwords as their main authentication option.
Instead, the platform can detect possible security risks by analysing information such as the location of an IP address attempting to access a corporate network. The platform can also identify known devices, and if they are attempting to connect from an unfamiliar location, can block access.
“The best password is no password at all. Today’s threat actors are targeting the weakest point of your company’s security – your people – and too many are successfully compromising employee accounts due to poor or stolen passwords,” said Okta CEO and co-founder Todd McKinnon.
- Check out our list of the best business antivirus of 2018
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The best free stock photo sites 2018
Stock photography has something of a bad rap – it’s often a bit cheesy (aptly illustrated by Tumblr blog Women Laughing Alone with Salad ) and even when you find something suitable for the project you’re working on, you might have to fork out for a costly subscription fee.
It doesn’t have to be that way, though. Thanks to talented and generous photographers, there are thousands of stunning original photos in the public domain. We’ve collected the five best free stock photography sites where you can find great pictures for all your projects.
All of their photos are free to use without attribution for personal, editorial or commercial purposes. However, there are still a couple of restrictions to bear in mind. The main limitations apply to photos of identifiable people, trademarked products and privately owned property (not only people’s homes, but also some landmarks). Getty Images has an excellent guide to intellectual property, which is worth checking out before you get started.
You might also be interested in our list of free alternatives to Adobe Photoshop.
1. Unsplash
Stunning pictures from professional and semi-professional photographers
Unsplash is a well curated collection of beautiful photos donated by skilled photographers, and has been used to create some incredible work. There are fewer images than you’ll find on Pixabay (see below), but the quality is more consistent.
Unsplash’s search tool is the fastest way to find a picture, but if you have a little time of your hands, check out Collections – groups of photos sorted by other users into themes like Light and Shadow, Street Life, and Into the Wild. You can create your own collections after signing up for an account. They’re ideal for inspiration, or gathering resources for a project.
As with all the stock photography sites here, it’s not necessary to credit the photographer, but Unsplash notes that it’s nice to add a simple credit with a link back to their profile as a courtesy. The picture featured here is by Carl Flor.
2. Pixabay
The biggest collection of free stock photos and illustrations online
Pixabay is packed with well over a million public domain images – not only photos, but also illustrations, vector graphics, and even a handful of videos. Its selection of landscape photography is particularly strong, and the Editor’s Choice is well worth a look if you don’t have something specific in mind.
Once you’ve found a suitable picture, choose an appropriate resolution (print projects will need a much higher resolution than online ones) and complete a Captcha to download the file. You can cut out the Captcha by signing up for a free account.
The vast majority of pictures on Pixabay are safe for work, but to avoid anything explicit appearing in search results, make sure you check the Enable SafeSearch box before browsing.
3. Gratisography
A collection of fun and surreal photos that provide a breath of fresh air
If you’re looking for something a bit quirky, Gratisography – a collection of pictures by talented photographer and graphic designer Ryan McGuire – is perfect. Ryan’s photos often have a surreal edge, and are brilliant if you’re sick of dull stock photo clichés; there are no women laughing alone with salad here.
Gratisography doesn’t offer as much content as some other free stock photo sites, but Ryan’s creative eye makes up for that, and he adds new pictures every week. You can subscribe to his newsletter for update alerts, or keep an eye on his Twitter account.
It’s not essential to credit Ryan when you use his work, but he appreciates it if you do.
4. Pexels
Free public domain stock photos from around the world
Anyone is welcome to upload photos to Pexels, and the site’s curators will pick out the best shots to populate its searchable collection of public domain images. You can search for something specific, or browse by themes including pastimes, emotions, and locations.
Pexels is a particularly good choice for web or app designers, with an excellent set of device images that are ideal for displaying interface mockups. A couple of images stray close to stock photo cheesiness (ideas that are tricky to illustrate spelled out with scrabble tiles, for example), but the vast majority are creative and original.
Pexels has a category dedicated to space photography, which looks amazing, but bear in mind that some of the material is from NASA – one of the organizations whose images should only be used in specific contexts.
5. Negative Space
Free stock pictures from up-and-coming photographers
Anyone with a camera is invited to contribute to Negative Space, which aims to give amateur photographers a platform to share their work with the world and support fellow creatives.
As with Gratisography, you can subscribe to Negative Space’s newsletter for updates when new images are added, and because the content is refreshed so frequently, it’s well worth re-visiting to look for new pictures if you’ve been working on a project for a while.
Negative Space is based in the UK, so much of the photography features British scenes. At the time of writing, the collection several shots of architecture in London, so it’s worth checking out this guide to intellectual property and the London skyline before using these.
What makes great stock photography
For print work, resolution is key. Standard photo prints require a resolution of at least 640 x 480 pixels, but your printer and designer might well want something higher. The photos need to be as sharp as possible, with no artefacts or noise visible when zoomed in. Avoid shots that are even slightly out of focus.
Creativity is also very important. Stock photography has a poor reputation because so much of it (even on premium sites) relies on cliches and awkward metaphors to convey tricky concepts, but experienced photographers tend to have an eye for interesting details and scenes that might convey a message in a more subtle or imaginative way.
Ultimately it's up to you to decide which picture is most appropriate for the context, but some sites (such as Unsplash) let users tag images themselves, which can make it easier to find something that fits the message you want to express.
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