How to use Kodi to play classic video game ROMs -- Mario, Sonic, Zelda, and more!

As someone who was born in the 1980s, I experienced the golden age of video games. While the graphics were archaic by today's standards, the games were much more fun than the ones of today. People tend do forget that fun is the most important aspect of video games -- sound and graphics be damned. You bought a completed game and there were no updates, DLC or loot crates to be had. It was an amazing time. Luckily, enjoying these classic games of yesteryear is very easy thanks to emulators. While the legality is a bit sketchy, you can download… [Continue Reading]

Ring in New Year 2018 with Manjaro Linux 17.1.0

Today is the big day -- New Year's Eve! Tonight, many people will celebrate ringing in the new year at midnight. They will drink champagne, dance, and generally have a fun time. If you are a nerd like me, however, you won't be leaving the house. Instead, you will probably be watching Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest while eating low-quality frozen hors d'oeuvres -- there is no shame in that, though. This year, there is actually something very fun you can do while sitting on your couch -- install a Linux distribution! You see, Manjaro Linux 17.1.0 is… [Continue Reading]

Apple's $29 iPhone battery replacement offer is available right now -- but supplies are limited

After admitting to slowing down older iPhones, Apple subsequently apologized for the lack of transparency about the issue. In addition to the apology, the company also announced that iPhone owners would be able to replace their batteries at a discounted rate of $29 starting in late January. In an update to the original statement, Apple has now brought forward its replacement program so you can get new battery for your iPhone 6 (or later) handset starting right now. Alternatively, you can do it yourself, with a discounted iFixit kit. See also: Yes, Apple really is slowing down your old iPhone… [Continue Reading]

Donald Trump wants US Post Service to charge Amazon 'much more'

In an attack on Amazon, President Trump has called upon the US Postal Service to charge the retail giant "much more" to ship packages to customers. This is not the first time Trump has hit out at Amazon and Jeff Bezos, but his latest vocal volley was not well-received by his followers on Twitter. See also: Kaspersky sues Trump administration over government software ban Google yanks YouTube from Echo Show and Fire TV in Amazon spat EFF: Twitter users have a First Amendment right not to be blocked by President Trump Trump's attack comes at the busiest time of the… [Continue Reading]

The New York Times pulls support for its Windows Phone app

Microsoft's Windows Phone was actually pretty terrible. While it had some redeeming qualities, the now-failed platform was was quite deficient compared to iOS and Android. Only the absolute biggest Microsoft loyalists truly embraced it, and even they have mostly moved on. Yeah, other consumers bought Windows Phone devices, but likely just because some of the models were so damn inexpensive -- it was like purchasing a feature-phone. Hell, the NYPD famously regretted choosing Microsoft's mobile OS. That's why it is surprising that The New York Times -- one of the most important news outlets in history -- is still supporting a Windows… [Continue Reading]

Keep on top of your wardrobe using these three apps

For the fashion conscious, the change in seasons usually follows a change in wardrobe and when it comes to upgrading a wardrobe, everyone has different requirements. But, there are people who avoid retail at all costs, shopping on the internet and ordering everything to their home. You can go one step further as many high street retails have sophisticated apps which make online clothes shopping a pleasant experience. We’ve picked three of the best. One shopping powerhouse is ASOS (As Seen On Screen) which has been operating online since 2000. With their app, ASOS has brought their huge range to… [Continue Reading]

This is your last chance to get Windows 10 for free

Although Microsoft officially ended the free Windows 10 upgrade offer last year, it is still possible to get the new operating system completely free of charge by using a simple trick. The software giant provides Windows 10 for free to anyone using assistive technologies, and doesn’t require you to prove you have any kind of disability in order to make use of this upgrade offer. However, all good things must come to an end, and Microsoft is set to close this free upgrade route on December 31, 2017. SEE ALSO: Fall Creators Update already on more than half of all… [Continue Reading]

ADATA launches UV230 and UV330 retractable USB flash drives

USB flash drives are becoming less popular thanks to the cloud. If you need to access a file on the go, using a cloud-based storage service like Dropbox is extremely convenient. Unlike a flash drive, you don’t have to worry about losing it. These diminutive drives definitely still have a place, though. For instance, I use them regularly for installing Linux distributions and Windows 10. Not to mention, they are wonderful when an internet connection is not available. Today, ADATA unveils two new models. Both use USB Type-A for connectivity, but one uses USB 3.1, while the other uses the… [Continue Reading]

Facebook to use facial recognition to notify users when photos of them are uploaded

A new feature touted as a privacy tool sees Facebook automatically identifying users in photographs that are uploaded. It uses the same technology already employed to make image tagging suggestions. The social networking giant is using facial recognition to alert people when someone uploads a photo of them, regardless of whether they have been tagged in the image. For the feature to work, Facebook users will have to agree to the company keeping a record of them in a facial database. See also: Facebook stops flagging fake news because it was making the problem worse Privacy: WhatsApp told to stop… [Continue Reading]

John McAfee and the strange Twitter hack

In a cautionary tale for the festive season, unorthodox security guru John McAfee claims to have had his Twitter account hacked. The account sent out a number of 'coin of the day' Tweets on December 27th encouraging followers to buy some lesser known crypto currencies. Nothing especially strange in that as McAfee has himself sent this type of message in the past. However, the messages were swiftly followed by a tweet from McAfee saying the account had been hacked and the messages were fake. Urgent: My account was hacked. Twitter has been notified. The coin of the day tweet was… [Continue Reading]

Best Windows 10 apps this week

Two-hundred-and-sixty-three in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 on the Windows Store in the past seven days. Microsoft will end the last official option to upgrade a Windows machine to Windows 10 for free. The company ends the free upgrade option to users who use Assistive Technologies on December 31, 2017. As always, if I missed an app or game that has been released this week that you believe is particularly good, let me know in the comments below or notify me via email. Discounts this week The following… [Continue Reading]

Unofficial Kodi add-on provider TVAddons set to 'change how people access streaming media forever'

Six years ago, web developer umOuch launched XBMC HUB, the first add-on community for the XBox Media Center (Kodi's original name). It provided an easy way to find and install unofficial add-ons, and later evolved into TVAddons, branching out into new areas in the process. In 2016, TVAddons even created its own fork of Kodi, called FreeTelly. SEE ALSO: Kodi comes full circle, now available for Xbox One Kodi warns users to update their software and addons for safer streaming Back from the dead: Unofficial Kodi add-on provider TVAddons now has 12 million monthly active users After several years of… [Continue Reading]

Kodi comes full circle, now available for Xbox One

Kodi started life as XBMC (XBox Media Center) and was designed to run on Microsoft's original Xbox. The software has since then enjoyed a meteoric -- and somewhat controversial -- rise, and is now available for most platforms, including Windows, Mac, Android, and Linux. One platform it was missing from was the latest generation of Microsoft console, the Xbox One, but that oversight has finally been corrected. You can, from today, install Kodi on both that console and the Xbox One S. Although there is a catch. SEE ALSO: Kodi warns users to update their software and addons for safer… [Continue Reading]

Kodi 18 'Leia' 64-bit for Windows is finally ready to replace the 32-bit version

There is a lot of software in the world, and much of it is terrible. It is rare that a truly great program comes along that actually disrupts things. When that software is open source, it is even more remarkable. That is why Kodi is such an impressive program. The open source project has impacted the way much of the world consumes music, movies, TV and more -- both legitimately obtained media and pirated content. Earlier this year, we shared with you that a pre-release version of Kodi 18 "Leia" 64-bit for Windows was available. There was a big catch,… [Continue Reading]

Apple apologizes for slowing down iPhones, but we should actually be thanking them for doing it!

iOS is the best mobile operating system on the planet. End of story. Android is a solid choice too, but fragmentation and a lack of device updates makes it a non-starter for many. Pixel and Nexus devices aside, many users of Google's operating system get stranded on phones and tablets with known exploits. It is a mess. I say all of this to highlight how great a job Apple does with supporting older devices. The company could easily stop issuing OS updates to a device after a couple of years, but instead, it chooses to reward its customers with very… [Continue Reading]

Fall Creators Update already on more than half of all Windows 10 PCs

Microsoft releases two big feature updates a year for Windows 10. 2017 saw the arrival of the Creators Update in April, followed by the Fall Creators Update in October. The Creators Update was a slow and at times problematic release. A quarter of Windows 10 users still didn’t have it by the time its successor rolled out. Thankfully, Microsoft seems to have learned some important lessons, and the Fall Creators Update is being installed at a much faster rate. SEE ALSO: Fall Creators Update already on over 20 percent of Windows 10 PCs Microsoft releases action-packed Windows 10 Redstone 4… [Continue Reading]

OxygenOS 4.7.6 rolling out for OnePlus 5T

After officially treating OnePlus 5 users to Android 8.0 Oreo last week, OnePlus is now rolling out another update. This time around it is for its latest flagship killer, the mighty OnePlus 5T. OxygenOS 4.7.6, as it's called, comes with some pretty useful changes for the camera and system that improve performance and usability. The most useful addition -- at least for me -- is the new assistive lighting feature for face unlock. Face unlock works extremely well when there is sufficient light, but in low light it really struggles to work. The OnePlus 5T is typically unable to recognize… [Continue Reading]