FeaturesThe Best Open-Source (or Freeware) Office Apps!
Posted 10/06/08 at 04:00:00 PM by David Murphy
Welcome to Monday! In honor of the start of the work week, we're going to take a look at some of the top open-source and freeware office applications. We're not just talking about suites, though. Like our previous three features, we're going to run through programs that cover a wide range of activities you might encounter during a typical, nine-to-five day. Hey, maybe you'll even be able to convince your friendly IT person of choice to install these finds across a batch of computers! You'll be a hero! You'll save your company millions in licensing fees! Promotions will be thrown at your cubicle like butter on bread!
Open-source and freeware applications are just that exciting. But don't take our word for it. Check out the full list of applications after the jump!
FeaturesMaximum PC Essentials: Ultimate BIOS Tweaking Guide
Posted 10/06/08 at 01:00:00 PM by Gordon Mah Ung
When man first booted the PC, he saw the BIOS screen: a jumble of monochromatic numbers that made about as much sense as the binary language of load lifters. Sadly, not much about the BIOS has changed since the DeLorean and skinny ties were cool. Decades later, in our modern, visual-based world, we’re still greeted with a screen full of text from machines 1,000 times faster than those that were around when the ol’ BIOS was born.
Most PC lightweights simply ignore the BIOS and wait for their OSes to take over. Power users, however, know that the BIOS can be a friendly and rewarding place to go spelunking.
And by spelunking, we mean caving. And by go, we mean hit the jump.
FeaturesThe Best Open-Source (or Freeware) Games!
Posted 10/03/08 at 02:45:34 PM by David Murphy
We've already shown you our picks for top-notch open-source (or freeware) graphics applications and system optimizers. To celebrate the start of the weekend, we're going for the gusto this time around: games. But the difficulty in this list stems from the fact that there are a ton of excellent games in the independent scene right now. We frequently profile these as much as possible on the Maximum PC monthly CD, but even then, it's tough to pick five examples of top-quality games--we could fill an article with five hundred. Your favorite open-source game might not have made our list this time around, but feel free to leave comments about other awesome alternatives you've sampled!
Now that the disclaimer's out of the way, cancel your appointments and throw up your away message. It's time to game, and it's time to game for free. Check out our list of awesome free games after the jump!
FeaturesThe Best Open-Source (or Freeware) System Optimizers!
Posted 10/02/08 at 06:40:18 PM by David Murphy
We're back! In our last feature, we showed you the best open-source/freeware graphics applications. But we realize that not everybody is an artist. Thus, we're aiming for a general market this time around. Enclosed within this article are the top freeware system optimization tools we've discovered in our might search of the Web. Clean your PC of spyware! Keep it virus-free! Run new, scary program in a virtualized environment! And much more--our full list of awesome, must-install applicaitons awaits you after the jump. Check 'em out! Your PC isn't complete without them!
FeaturesThe Best Open-Source (or Freeware) Alternatives to Photoshop
Posted 10/01/08 at 03:15:36 PM by David Murphy
Economy got you down? No longer able to make those day-long trips to your local computer store of choice for all the latest and greatest software tools? Tired of paying top-dollar for programs that don't quite have the functionality you want? Well get ready. It's freeware and open-source week at Maximum PC. We're going to spend the next week showing you the best (and cheapest) software we've been able to find across different themes: graphics design, system optimization, games, and office/productivity.
Just because it doesn't come in a box doesn't mean that these titles are any less powerful than their retail counterparts. The graphics category exemplifies that fact, offering programs that are every bit as good as their hundred-dollar Adobe counterparts. But just for good measure, we threw in our favorite free Adobe graphics program too. Check out that, and the rest of our exclusive list, after the jump!
FeaturesBudget Badass Buyer’s Guide -- Updated Prices and Parts For October 2008
Posted 10/01/08 at 11:00:00 AM by Benson Hong
Since our last Budget Badass update back in July, the hardware industry has made some dramatic turns as far as new technology goes. With the release of the energy-efficient Penryn core from Intel, we took a side step away from the Kentsfield core and took a swing at the Q9300. While the Q9300 sports a slightly smaller cache than the Q6600, we found the Penryn to perform better in our tests. With the extra leeway we had in the budget from the previous configuration, we also swapped out the Radeon 4870 for a beefier GTX 280 while keeping the final price tag under $1500. Now this, my friends, is what we would like to call a Budget Badass!
FeaturesHow Much is YOUR Digg Worth? Secrets of the Digg Economy Unveiled!
Posted 09/30/08 at 06:22:27 PM by Will Smith
Odds are, we’ve all done it: Clicked that little Digg button on a story we liked or were entertained by or just plain laughed at. But have you ever considered the unbelievable traffic pushing-power you have as a button-masher, even as the smallest cog in the Digg army? To find out exactly how much cold, hard cash your click on a Digg badge is worth, we plugged a bunch of publicly available information into our handy-dandy spreadsheet, and hit the calculate button.
Hit the jump for the complete, site-by-site breakdown and find out what YOUR Digg is worth.
FeaturesThom Davis Has the Best Seizure Ever
Posted 09/29/08 at 06:09:20 PM by Tom Edwards
A man needs a place of his own, and when Thom Davis found using the family computer for his gaming pursuits to be less than ideal, he set about building the Seizure, the ultimate form-follows-function gaming rig. His goal was to create a rig that was gaming friendly, had no exposed wires, and looked good in the living room. We think he succeeded on all three counts.
While building the Seizure, Thom discovered that connector manufacturers definitely tend to think “inside the box,” and typically don’t make cables suitable for such a large rig, but with the assistance of a local electronics supply store, he was able to create the 6-foot cables he needed to complete the job.
More photos after the jump!
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