Organize your notes visually with Atelier Iroha

Organize your notes visually with Atelier Iroha:

Let me introduce you to my new friend. It’s called “Iroha”, which means “The basics” or “The ABCs of [subject]”, roughly translated from Japanese. Iroha is a freeware program that helps you to create, organize, and study notes. It uses a simple graphic interface to do all of this, which displays the connection between items visually, in a mind-mapping style.

Iroha is multiplatform (Windows/Mac/Linux).

Iroha walks you through your first usage of it with a guided tour that gets you using its features right away. The basic concept of Iroha is to have an open workspace which you will populate with notes and then show connections between them. The result is a simple flow chart.

Iroha offers two basic kinds of ‘notes’, which are the basis of your work in Iroha and can be added to the workspace with buttons in the upper right corner of the window. First, a ‘card’ note, which is basically a virtual index card that you can write anything on. You could, for example, write down the basic biographical information for a famous person you are studying. Secondly, it offers ‘web’ cards, which are dynamic links to information on the internet. This is a nice feature for a simple note-taking program to have, especially for the modern college student who is constantly under pressure to provide sources and bibliographic information on their work.

Each of the cards you create can also be linked to a separate file external to the program, in cases where you have multiple data sources for the incoming information. For example, if you have a spreadsheet file that shows a timeline of the famous person you’re studying, you can link that file to the biography card or any other card for easy access to the spreadsheet while you’re studying. The dynamic links between each card and the information contained on them makes for a nice way to flow through a subject’s information and study it from different angles and perspectives. I truly wish we’d had freeware like this when I was in school!

Additionally, Iroha lets you color code your notes for easier visual access and processing. Biographical notes, for example, could be colored the same as historical events while geographical information could be colored the same as economic information. The color coding option, combined with the option to use web links makes this a handy tool for exploring different relationships between your various notes as well as helping to organize them. Once you have all your notes created, you can use the drag-and-drop interface to put them in any order you see fit, combine or split note cards, even change the size of individual cards. Each card can be connected to one or more other cards with a link or ‘chain’ to identify specific relationships. Iroha also offers a search feature to help you hunt down that one pesky note card that has the answer you need, if you can’t find it on your own. Overall, this is a nice, simple approach to note taking and/or mind mapping that makes both activities user-friendly for folks who haven’t used either type of program before, while offering an elegant freeware solution for those who have.

Iroha only used a paltry 48MB of RAM while I was running it, and this number didn’t change much no matter how big I made my note files. A smaller resource footprint means better performance on laptops, which is where I can see this program being used most, but being an Adobe Air application resource usage would have to be somewhat higher than a standalone app by definition.

It’s a great tool for college folks or, indeed, anyone that might have need of a good way to organize information. It’s also, as mentioned already, a great little mind mapping tool, if you aren’t looking for anything super complicated or if you are new to the “get it done” universe. The only real downsides I would say are lack of mobile application, and lack of more powerful complex features. So far, no plans are announced for a mobile application either for the Android or iOS, and no support for saving notes in the cloud, or sharing notes with other users; but who knows what they may decide to add in the future?

The developers do plan to release a slightly more powerful version of the program, called “Iroha+”, that will feature small improvements like an integrated printing option and ‘image’ cards/leafs to compliment the web and note cards. They also, however, plan on charging a registration fee for that version. The basic, non “+” version will always be free, they promise. The printing issue was slightly annoying to me, but I found a way around it using the good old “Prnt Scr’” key and MS Paint. Also, while the program doesn’t have an integrated print option, it does allow you to save and edit or review your work at any time as .jpg or .png files so that they can be printed through a third party application or utilized by other tools like Word or Excel. The resulting save files are pretty small and therefore highly portable via flash drive or the cloud.

The cons are pretty small, and the pros are pretty big, so I can see myself continuing to use this program in the future. As a final note, it’s worth knowing that Iroha has full support for both English and Japanese languages and fonts. If nothing else, that would make it a great tool for taking notes in your Japanese language course. The developers have not announced whether they plan support for other languages in the future. Until next time, my friends!

Version Tested: 1.23

Compatibility: Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP; Mac OS X 10.4.11, Mac OS X 10.5.4, 10.5.5, 10.6. Linux Fedora Core 12, Ubuntu 9.10, openSUSE 11.2

You can download/install Iroha here (3.3 megs).

7Files: a file browser with powerful filtering functionality

7Files: a file browser with powerful filtering functionality:

Do you ever feel like it is sometimes simply too hard to find the files and folders you want in Windows explorer? If so, 7Files is for you.

7Files is a free file browser for Windows that aims to provide a better user experience for working with files and folder. It looks very similar to Windows’ Explorer, but integrates powerful filtering and desktop search functionality into the file browsing experience, in order to deliver exactly the files and folders you are seek,via the shortest route possible. And somehow, it does a great job and manages to deliver a great user experience.

Two notable devices that enable it to do what it does are ; (1) intelligent filters in the right sidebar (date/type/extension), which are automatically narrowed down to whatever is appropriate to the actual folder that you are browsing; and (2) buttons and favorite folders in the top toolbar that enable you to switch locales quickly.

More notes on this one:

• Filtering is folder recursive: which means that you could select ‘my computer’ then filter by a file type/extension/or date and every corresponding file on your system will be shown. You can then add subsequent filters to hone in further.


• Fast: remarkably fast.


• Apply multiple filters: once you apply a filter (from the sidebar) you can proceed to add another, or filter further by typing in text in the filter box that appears below.


• Recently used files: can be accessed by entering text straight into the address bar. A dropdown will appear with recently used files. A really neat effect is that recently used folders are displayed in a slightly larger font/icon size, making them stand out in the list. Also recently used files and folders will have a green dot next to them on the list, which is useful.


• Add frequently used folder bookmarks: by simply dragging them to the top toolbar.

Wish list: (or how this program can be even better)

• An exclusion filter: i.e. to be able to filter by ‘Video’ filetype then exclude .MKV extension for example.


• A quick way to either replace Windows explorer with 7Files as a default file browser (and back again), and/or a right click context menu entry to quickly open a folder/folders with 7File.


• Optional dual panes: look, I’m a geek, of course I will wish for this


• Filtering using strings in the path: it doesn’t do this. For example, I select .JPG and typed in ‘wallpaper’ expecting to get all the jpegs in my various wallpaper folders (wallpaper landscape, wallpaper art, etc.); I got no results.


• Displaying the path in the list of files. At least as a option.

The verdict: this program is extremely intuitive and easy to use, on the one hand, but takes a little bit of getting used to on the other. Users are more used to Windows Explorer, of course, which gives the latter an advantage, but if you put it the energy into getting accustomed to 7File you will likely be rewarded.

What is not immediately apparent is that this program gets rid of ‘searching’ in favor of filtering; first you apply a filter (e.g. .jpg, video, or today) on a folder, drive, or ‘My Computer’, and only then can you filter further by typing something in a filter box.

7Files seems to be using Windows search to do what it does. Which is fine, except that I had hoped when I was first downloading it that it would use the raw Master File Table of the NTFS drive to create it’s index in the manner of desktop search tools like Everything and Quick Search. I have waiting for a long time for an ‘Everything’ clone with advanced filtering functionality; 7Files is not quite it, and is not an ‘Everything’ killer, but it is a very interesting program all the same, and highly recommended.

[Thanks go to reader Panzer for letting me know about this one]

Version Tested: Alpha

Compatibility: Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7. Requires the installation of MS .NET Framework 3.5 (XP and Vista) and Windows Search (XP only).

Go to the program home page to download the latest version (approx. 9 megs).

Uninstall programs completely and monitor installations with Comodo Programs Manager

Uninstall programs completely and monitor installations with Comodo Programs Manager:

This is an impressive uninstaller program that will scan for leftover files after program uninstallations to make sure nothing is left behind. It will also monitor your system for program installs and take note of all changes done to your system, so that it can easily roll them back completely. This happens all the time, in the background, and does not require any user intervention.

But Comodo Programs Manager can do more: it can uninstall both programs and system drivers, and it allows you to redo the uninstall later on (i.e. actually reinstalling the program or driver in case you change your mind and want them back later on). For monitored installations it can actually create installable packages that let you reinstall the application at a later date with all your customized settings.

This program can do many different things; here are some notable functions:

• Monitors setups: and records all modifications made to the system, allowing for a full reversal on demand of all changes.


• Cleans up: uninstalls programs and scans and removes leftover files and registry entries (even for installs that were not monitored).


• Multiple simultaneous uninstalls: can uninstall multiple programs simultaneously (using CTRL or SHIFT+select)


• Missing uninstallers: Uninstalls programs that have corrupt uninstallers or no uninstallers


• Undo an uninstall: allows the user to undo an uninstall (in most cases). Which is to say, change his/her mind and restore the uninstalled program. For monitored installs, it can create an installable package to reinstall the application at a later date while preserving all customized settings


• Uninstalls system drivers: but does not support undoing driver uninstallation.


• Queries Windows updates: will list all Windows updates as well as any missing updates that are not implemented on your system.

The verdict: I love this program. After spending some time with it it became quickly apparent just how powerful and useful it can be, and how well put together this software is.

The main thing I like about Comodo Programs Manager is that installation monitoring is so seamless and invisible; you never have to worry about it or remember to turn it on or off. For someone who installs and uninstalls so many programs on a daily basis, this is a very sweet feature indeed.

The other big point for me is the fact that you can UNDO uninstalls. This feature seems like it would be great for troubleshooting purposes; for example, uninstalling programs or drivers to see if they contribute towards a problem or issue you are having with your computer, and then simply rolling them back if you find that they are unrelated to the problem at hand.

I didn’t expect that a better uninstaller than previously mentioned Revo might come about, but Comodo Programs Manager just might be that program.

Version Tested: 1.3.2.30

Compatibility: Windows XP or later.

Go to the program home page to download the latest version (approx 10.7megs).

Get sleek, stylish desktop widgets with XWidget

Get sleek, stylish desktop widgets with XWidget:

Do you like customizing your desktop and giving it a very stylish look and feel? Do you like to have powerful functions right at your fingertips that connect your desktop with the internet, such as email, weather, RSS, Google Search, etc?

If so, then check out XWidget, a free desktop widget engine that offers sleek, stylish yet useful widgets on your Windows desktop. It offers dozens of widgets to perform every conceivable function you could think of (and many that you didn’t), and will actually allow you to edit both the form and function of widgets or create your own in a nice WYSIWYG interface.

Here are 4 reasons why I like this one

• The form factor: it just looks awesome


• Function: it seems that every conceivable function is covered; a large selection of widgets to choose from.


• Edit your widgets: for those who like to tweak; mainly based on dragging and dropping and setting properties, but might involve writing scripts as well. Check out the interface to the right.


• Drag and drop: most widgets support drag and drop (e.g. drag a folder or shortcut to the widget to add it).

One reason why I am somewhat ambivalent:

• CPU usage: memory use is very small, 5 megs or so; however, it seems to engage 1%-2% of the CPU continuously, which I don’t like.

And one definite CON:

• Website seems unreliable: slow; I tried to download the HTC time/weather widget four or five times before giving up. What gives?

The verdict: overall, very cool. XWidget is a very well made piece of software. Desktop customization enthusiasts will love this one; however, desktop widgets seem to be an acquired taste, with some people loving them and others … not. My advice: try it and see if you like it.

Version tested: 1.22

Compatibility: Windows XP, Vista, Windows7, Windows8.

Go to the program home page to download (approx. 6.53 megs).

Lord of Ultima : The Best Units for Attack and Defense

Sign Up for Lord of Ultima

It has been a week since I started playing Lord of Ultima. Lord of Ultima gives you a grace period of seven days during which you are protected from any attack. These seven days I've been following this guide, and because of that now I have a pretty strong kingdom (when compared to those around me).

My line of work requires me to be efficient, as well as requires me to find the most efficient ways to make things work. So as I was coming out of the 7 day's protection against attacks I was looking for the most efficient combination of army units to fend off potential attacks as well as prepare myself for any future endeavor I may want to pursue.

This excel sheet summarizes all my research as of 10/23/2011.

The first sheet titled "Units" gives basic descriptions of the units. The second sheet titled "Stats" gives more in-depth stats of the units. The third sheet titled "Stats 2" is a summary of "Stats" and this is where I analyze the efficiency of the units in terms of attack and defense. The fourth sheet titled "Dungeons & Bosses" gives you basic guidelines on raiding, well, dungeons and bosses.

I am going to describe "Stats 2" a little bit and leave the rest up to you to decide.
I have divided the basic units, excluding City Guards and Baron, into 3 groups- soldiers, machines, ships. Among soldiers, Warlocks are the best in attack as well as defense against artillery. Paladins are the best in defense against infantry, mage, and artillery. Crossbowmen are the best against cavalry. Warlocks, Paladins, and Crossbowmen- these three, based on my research, gives you the best and most efficient attack-defense combination of army soldiers. Honorable mentions are Mage and Berserker because of ease of acquisition as well as lower expenditure.
As for machines, Ram, according to statistics, is the most useless one. Both Ballista and Catapult are essential machines for the army and excel in their own ways.
As for ships, I leave the decisions totally up to you. Personally, I favor Sloops and War Galleons. Since Sloops are almost as good as Frigates but cheaper, and you can get them earlier, it makes Frigates useless. War Galleons are more expensive but they are worth it.

Once again, these are just my observational analysis based on the statistics on hand. Hope it helps.

Play Lord of Ultima

Chrome Remote Desktop provides free remote screen sharing from within Chrome

Chrome Remote Desktop provides free remote screen sharing from within Chrome:

Have you ever had a friend call you up and ask for help with something on their computer? Many of us have, at one point or another, struggled with the process of trying to lead a friend (or even a customer) through the steps of troubleshooting a program or other issue on their system, when we aren’t in the room with them. This is tough enough even when you can ‘play along’ on your own system while you try to tell them what steps to take, but when something unexpected happens or they get a different response than you thought they would, you may need something more. You may need the Chrome Remote Desktop extension.

The free Chrome Remote Desktop extension doesn’t take up much room on your system. Once you have downloaded and installed it on two computers, you can then use one to remotely access the desktop of the other. The extension does this by using a Chrome window on your own desktop, showing the desktop of the other computer in a ‘virtual interface’. Once in that window, you can interact with the desktop of the other computer just as you would your own. This means that you can hunt down information, system specs, and troubleshoot the other computer remotely, from anywhere as long as there is a reliable internet connection.

In order to access the ‘slave’ computer, as it’s called, the ‘master’ computer’s user first starts the extension and proceeds to set permissions for each computer so that Windows will allow them to communicate with each other. This is done step by step with instructions offered by the extension so it’s pretty easy from beginning to end. Then, after that brief set up, which consists mostly of pressing a single button, the slave computer chooses “Share this computer” while the master computer selects “Access a shared computer”. An access code is generated on the slave computer, which is typed into the master computer’s interface and viola! Simple, quick access to a remote computer through Google Chrome.

The interface works pretty well, overall, and while I did notice an occasional spike of lag between my computer giving commands and the slave computer responding, they were pretty infrequent. Most of the time, you can expect a reasonably quick response, depending on your internet connections and the current CPU load on both machines. I would recommend that while using it, you don’t have anything else going on either system that isn’t needed.

One interesting side note here is that when I installed the extension on each computer, I didn’t get any warnings from Windows or from either of the two different anti-virus programs I was running. This is a nice feature, adding to the ease of use, but it also makes me wonder a bit about the security of the program. In general, I like this program because it’s an extension for Chrome. That means that I can basically leave it off of both computers until it is needed and download it again at that time. Uninstalling it after using it may be a slight pain in the neck but it soothes my paranoia nicely. Whether you choose to keep it installed or only install it when needed, you’ll find that you can access the slave computer pretty quickly and easily, as long as you have a person at each end of the process and a good internet connection between them.

This program’s Pros include ease of use and installation; and the fact that it’s in BETA means that you have a chance to offer feedback to the developers at a crucial stage in its development. One nice feature it offers is the ability to take your session full-screen so that you can get a better view and have to scroll less to move around the slave computer’s desktop. I was able to use the program to access things like the device manager and the start menu, but when I tried playing a game, it just gave me a blank screen, which is unsurprising, considering that it’s not set up for that purpose. It does, however, offer a great and simple solution for remote troubleshooting of another computer. It also allows for you to access your computer from a remote location so you can access files, change settings, update anything that needs updating. Another use I have found for it is logging into my home computer from a remote location to check the status of various processes, like large downloads, while I am away. The only real downside for that particular feature or usage is that you must turn on the extension and set up an access code before you leave your computer. The extension must be running the whole time you are gone, it won’t just sit in the background waiting for an access request.

A mobile app would be a nice feature, but so far there isn’t one available that I could find and it didn’t want to install properly on my Android, it just forced a close of the program when I attempted it. This may be just an issue with my particular Android or it may be a lack of functionality on the part of the extension itself. In either case, it would be nice if there was a mobile application for it on either Android or iOS, or both. However, bearing in mind that the program is currently in BETA, perhaps this is a feature they will take another look at before the official release. It doesn’t have a lot of fancy bells and whistles, but that simplicity is actually a pro, in my view. It may not do a whole lot of complicated things, but what it does, it does very well so far. I am eager to see the finished program when it is released. Until next time, my friends!

Tested on: Windows 7 32-Bit Home Premium and Chrome (5.0+)

Get it at: Chrome Remote Desktop page.

7 Websites That Could Help The Serious Debater Win Debates On Any Topic

7 Websites That Could Help The Serious Debater Win Debates On Any Topic:

A debater is defined as one who argues. But a debate and a debater is more than that. A debate is also about exchange of ideas; it is intellectual sparring, not with swords but with opinions and knowledge. Healthy debates have not only triggered new thoughts and discoveries – they have literally kept democracy alive.

The art of debating is not easily learnt. It fits like a glove to those who know how to voice their opinions, but to others who are stage-shy it’s a toilsome trek up the learning curve. But as I learnt in school, debating is a skill that everyone should cultivate.

My colleague looked at The Top Three Sites To Debate Topics With Others. We take this further with a few more debate websites that will help you entrench your stand should a topic worth debating arises.

Debatepedia

Debatepedia is a wiki encyclopedia of pro and con arguments and quotations in important public debates from around the world. Think of it as the Wikipedia of debates where you can search and find provocative and timely arguments on anything that affects us. The site is a collaborative resource which uses the same wiki technology that goes into sites like Wikipedia. Check out the Contents Guide to see all the debate categories covered by this online debating resource.

IDEA

The International Debate Education Association (IDEA) is an educational initiative. It is the mother organization for all debate related activities around the world. It is an independent membership organization of national debate clubs, associations, programs, and individuals who are active in debating. It has a lineup of exciting tools (as seen in the screen) like debate news, debate topic database, Debate Tracker, discussion boards, IDEA Radio etc. that help foster debating activities. The previous Debatepedia is also an IDEA initiative.

Debatewise

The format of Debatewise is designed so that you can contribute (and read) on both sides of an argument before arriving at an informed decision. Readers can also vote on the debates that are running. The best debaters gather karma points and a mention on the leaderboard.

Debategraph

Debategraph is an interesting way to look at debates and complex issues which give rise to it. Debategraph does it all through visualization maps. Each issue is represented by mind maps. Clicking on the mid maps opens up the many arguments around the issue. You can go deeper into the topic by expanding the outlines and burrowing into related topics. Debategraph is a Creative Commons project aimed at giving you a 360 degree look with the many public and private maps on the site.

Intelligence Squared

In their own words, Intelligence Squared is the global forum for live debates and is dedicated to creating knowledge through contest. Intelligence Squared films live debates as they happen and broadcast them across networks around the world. The interactive site is a repository for all these high-quality debates and if you haven’t caught them live, you can stream them now. The debates are run by eminent speakers from diverse fields who take apart the issues of the day on this forum.

Debate Central

With the noble aim of providing students from disadvantaged and low-income school districts access to the best debate material, Debate Central hopes to give them the necessary knowledge toolsets to compete successfully. Debate Central is an online resource created and maintained by the National Center for Policy Analysis for high school CX, LD and PF debaters. The site has some handy downloads for understanding the different debating styles. Also, the site is updated regularly with debate training workshops held around the U.S. If you are a serious debater, participation in the forums on the site is a must.

We Debate

We Debate It is a small but readable site that triggers the amateur debater in you. You can offer your opinion on any of the issues (ranging from the trivial to the serious) raked up here. You can start contributing without a sign-up and you don’t need serious debating skills either…just an opinion will do.

Debating is knowledge sport. If you have seen the film, The Great Debaters based on the life of Melvin B. Tolson, you can realize that debating can lead to social change too. Have you ever debated an issue anywhere – in high school or the local drinking hole? If you are a serious debater, do you think these debate websites can help you sharpen your edge? Let us know. We love debating in the comments.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

7 Websites That Could Help The Serious Debater Win Debates On Any Topic is a post from: MakeUseOf

0 A.D. brings fresh life to RTS gaming at no cost

0 A.D. brings fresh life to RTS gaming at no cost:

0 A.D. is a real time strategy (RTS) game produced by Wildfire Games. Currently in it’s Alpha testing stages, this game is shaping up to be one of the best freeware RTS games available. There have been many other games in the RTS realm that have been released mas freeware but few of them have offered the same high quality as 0 A.D.’s Alpha release.

The Wildfire website describes 0 A.D.’s premise as follows: “As the military leader of an ancient civilization, you must gather the resources you need to raise a military force capable of dominating your enemies.” That statement gives an idea of the game’s overall goals but doesn’t really touch on the key features and attractions.

Game origins: before working on 0 A.D. Wildfire created a highly acclaimed and successful ‘mod’ for Age of Empires that offered both the Roman and the Greek civilizations as playable additions to the game. On the heels of that success, Wildfire originally intended to be a total conversion for Age of Empires, after much thought, they decided to release the game as a stand-alone, totally independent program and they have been creating a custom built 3D game engine for that purpose. Bear in mind that all of this is being done entirely by volunteers and you begin to see the shine that 0 A.D. offers to the freeware community in general and the RTS genre specifically.

First off, the game is being designed to be as historically accurate as possible, and Wildfire has a “History Department” entirely devoted to that accuracy. The only exception to this strict adherence to history will be items that might negatively affect gameplay or audience opinion of the game. For example, some of the civilizations featured in the game were historically well-known for being nude most of the time and even in battle, in some cases. Wildfire wants the game to be accurate but also wants it to appeal to the family as a whole, which means not having nude characters wandering around the screen. They do, however, intend the game to be highly customizable through player created modifications, so if you really want any specific bit of historical accuracy, it can be attained through a mod. Wildfire also states that even though 0 A.D. was not technically a real year in our calendar, we should think of it as a created vehicle for the game to carry the interest of history to the audience. This fabricated time period allows them to cover a broad reach from 500 B.C. to 500 A.D. and the great civilizations and their particulars within the scope of the game. It also allows the developers and the artists to diversify their talents in producing a game that is gorgeous as well as historically instructive. The first release, according to the game’s website, will focus on six civilizations contained in the first five hundred years of this millennial range. These include the civilizations of the Romans, Hellenes, Celts, Carthaginians, Persians and Iberians. Each civilization will have its own feel and distinctively unique look as far as units, buildings and backgrounds are concerned.

Secondly, the game provides certain ‘innovations’ to the standard RTS genre that will give it a freshness and remove some of the standard irritations of RTS gaming. For example, there won’t be any standard villager/builder or peasant units. Instead, 0 A.D. will feature basic units like cavalry and foot soldiers that will have specific abilities to gather resources, build structures, and repair or capture enemy buildings in addition to their attacking capabilities. This means a great increase in the versatility of the units, as well as removing some of the micro-management headaches of other RTS games. Without dedicated villager units, the player will be forced to change his/her thinking and learn to be more versatile as well. Some of the available units will even self-promote, gaining experience and becoming more powerful as they survive battle after battle. This is another instance of removing tedious extra mouse-clicks from the experience. Also, this means that the strategy and tactics become far more important as the overall focus of the game. Another great innovation and feature is the concept of visually garrisoned units on buildings and ships. While most RTS games will allow you to place units within a specific building to defend it and add to its firepower, none of them that I have personally seen allow the player to actually see the units on the walls of the building, firing their bows or throwing their spears during battle. This is a small touch but it shows the dedication that the Wildfire team has to providing a unique and fresh experience to the venerable RTS design. It also shows an attention to detail that is seriously lacking in many premium games that cost money to buy or a monthly subscription to play. Wildfire assured me that 0 A.D. will never cost money in any way. There are tons of other features planned and many of them are already implemented in the current Alpha release.

When I downloaded and installed the game itself, I was impressed with how clean the graphics are, as well as the smoothness of the animations. I tested it on a lower-end laptop system with nothing special in the realm of graphics capabilities, CPU or RAM. Most of the freeware games I play don’t have such high quality graphics and the ones that do usually require a much higher system spec than 0 A.D. The sound is also pretty darn good. Multiple sounds are clear and distinct, without covering each other and garbling the overall audio experience. The controls were simple at heart but provided a complexity that has come to be expected as a second layer of RTS controls, providing such options as formation buttons, right-click context sensitivity, and keyboard hotkeys for scrolling as well as nearly every other unit specific option. Given that the game began as a mod of the Age of Empires program, this might not seem impressive at first, until we remember that the game is actually running on it’s own custom built engine now. Bearing in mind, as well, that the game continues to progress in an era where there is constant discussion and disagreement among the big dollar companies about whether PC gaming is dead, dying, or just taking a breather, 0 A.D. offers a major argument to the contrary. PC Gaming is alive and well at Wildfire studios and its not going down without a fight from the collective of volunteers who have worked so hard on this game. Games that gain a viral following as free programs and then decide to charge for a completed version of the game, like Minecraft, may have to give way to completely free programs like 0 A.D. in the future of PC gaming, but it certainly isn’t dead.

The only real downside to the game that I found was that, being in Alpha stages, it currently offers somewhat limited levels and scenarios. However, this is a small annoyance and didn’t detract from my enjoyment of actually playing the available content. Wildfire states that they are not bound to any specific deadlines, since they are independent of any publisher, and therefore the game’s development proceeds at it’s own pace. Given that it is entirely free to download and play, I think we can forgive them for not announcing a final release date. In any case, the Alpha build is very playable and enjoyable and I am personally looking forward to seeing all that the game has to offer when it is completed.

Tested on Windows 32-bit Home Premium, Acer Aspire 5532 laptop

Get more info and download the Alpha at the 0AD home page (approx 238 megs).

The Minimalist Approach To Security Tools On Your Computer [Windows]

The Minimalist Approach To Security Tools On Your Computer [Windows]:

A few years ago when Windows Vista was the OS of choice, I chose not to use an antivirus. Instead I relied on a couple of anti-spyware solutions, my router’s firewall and good old common sense. This decision was partly due to my reluctance to pay for overpriced subscription-based security software (despite plenty of decent free alternatives) and concern over resources and boot time. In short, I didn’t want my AV interrupting a very important game of whatever I was into at the time, and took my chances accordingly.

A minimalist approach might not be for everyone, but here’s a few ideas and tips in case you were curious.

Pick Your Tools

These days I do use an antivirus, but not because I was burned by malware. Put simply, I don’t even notice my current AV of choice running thanks to a speedy dual-core processor and plenty of RAM.

For a lightweight solution, Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) is a free, no-fuss and fairly effective yet simple security tool that won’t bog your PC down too much. It provides protection against viruses, spyware and other malware and is regularly updated to detect the latest threats.

Using an antivirus alongside this solution is also possible, and from a personal standpoint my number one choice is Avast! Free. Not only will it play nicely with MSE but also updates itself daily (only notifying you once the update has been applied) and provides some pretty powerful features including a sandbox mode that allows you to open files in a safe, virtual environment.

I’d recommend it as a “minimalist” solution mainly because it can be configured to suit your needs, and toned right down if need be. There’s no annoying pop-up adverts, very little required in the way of maintenance and it also comes with an optional browser plugin which helps identify untrustworthy websites and displays a rating in search results.

That browser plugin can certainly help you make more informed choices when browsing the web, and that’s exactly what you want to be doing if you’re not using an antivirus, or simply have the bare minimum. If a dedicated antivirus is too much then don’t forget about the good number of online virus scanners that allow you to check your PC for problem without installing a thing.

Which brings us on to browsers. Whichever you choose, make sure it’s the latest version and keep on top of updates. It’s really what you do with your browser that makes the difference here, and while none are watertight; security is top priority these days. Plugins (especially Flash) should be regularly updated too, as should browser extensions (which you want to be picky about).

Last but not least PeerBlock is another optional security measure, and a fairly lightweight one at that. It controls what your computer “talks” to over the internet by blocking certain “bad” I.P. addresses and is totally configurable to your needs.

Be Careful

You could go all-out and download all manner of additional security programs, enable mail scanning and run Ad-Aware every night, but simply being careful online will save you hassle. Not opening dodgy files and email attachments from people you don’t know (or even those you do) is a good start.

Heeding browser warnings about suspected phishing or malware sites is always recommended, but also make sure to check URLs when signing in to banking or other important accounts. Webmail services like Gmail are a great alternative to desktop email applications and provide that extra layer of spam and virus detection before the malware even touches your PC.

You can even route existing POP3 accounts through Gmail and do everything from your browser, which eliminates the need for additional mail scanners. Be wary of USB sticks that aren’t yours as these can become vessels of disease just waiting to infect your PC. Oh, and if “Microsoft” calls then there’s a good chance they’re trying to scam you so be extra careful with the software you install.

Finally keeping the software you regularly use updated is paramount. This includes the OS itself, so don’t slack on updates. Other applications can also develop vulnerabilities so these are important too.

Conclusion

At the end of the day all this advice probably sounds very familiar. You could argue that all these things should be done even if you’re running at DEFCON 1. Regardless, if you are tempted to skimp (and I use the term lightly) on security you’ve got to be extra careful.

Personally I think this kind of caution will breed safer computer habits than a “don’t worry, Security Centre 2012 Pro and 20 spyware scanners take care of everything” outlook ever would – especially since there are so many threats no amount of security can guard against. What do you think, gang?

Image Credit: Abraham Williams

The Minimalist Approach To Security Tools On Your Computer [Windows] is a post from: MakeUseOf