Posted 11/26/08 at 12:30:36 PM by David Murphy

Left 4 What?  If you're not one of the legions to be playing Valve's newest zombie shoot-em' up, fear not.  Just because you aren't killing the undead with your friends doesn't mean that you can't partake in the best open-source and freeware zombie titles! Better yet, fire up some of these games while you're waiting for your big Steam download to finish.  Because nothing gets one in the mood to kill zombies like, well, killing zombies.

Check out our favorite freeware zombie titles after the jump!

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5

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gaming, pirates, open-source, freeware, left4dead, zombies, facewound, black shades, zombie smashers, cottage of doom

Posted 11/20/08 at 05:00:42 PM by David Murphy

Open-source?  Freeware?  Which is it? Some people frequently interchange the terms as a generic way to say that a piece of software costs nothing to download or use.  I mean, it's all free, right?

Wrong!

Open-source software has as much to do with freeware as an apple has to do with an orange.  Both are fruits, but each offers a different enough of a texture and flavor to render it completely unique from the other.  You cannot, and should not, confuse open-source software with freeware, as there can be grave consequences for such a fatal misstep.  Ok, so maybe not grave.  But you can get slapped with a lawsuit depending on how you're using the software, and that's certainly not fun.  But we're not here to confuse you; we're here to help you.  What exactly are the differences between open-source software and freeware?  Find out after the jump!

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2

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Software, lawsuit, legal, open-source, freeware, definition

Posted 11/19/08 at 04:30:08 PM by Alex Castle

Although DVDs are quickly losing the limelight to their higher-definition Blu-Ray brethren, they’ve still got a lot going for them. They’re cheap, for one, as are DVD burners. And DVD players and drives are so ubiquitous that you know that if you burn data onto a DVD, you’ll be able to access it almost anywhere.

Plus, burning data onto a DVD is easy—there’re a dozen free programs that can do it for you without any hassle. But burning video to a disc so that you can watch it in a regular DVD player isn’t nearly so simple. If you’re willing to pony up for commercial DVD authoring software like Nero Vision, the process is pretty user-friendly, but here at Maximum PC we’re committed to showing you how to do things using free software solutions, so we’re going to explain how you can use a free and powerful (albeit slightly confusing) program called AVI2DVD to create full-featured video DVDs from your media files.

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7

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Software, video, dvd, how_to, freeware, dvd burning, AVI2DVD

Posted 11/17/08 at 02:30:22 PM by David Murphy

You're busy.  We're busy.  Everybody's busy.  Thankfully, busy people are also creative software developers.  And we've tapped into their treasures to find you five awesome, "keep your life together" applications.  Forever say goodbye to the yellow sticky notes adorning your computer display.  These free programs will ensure that you never miss a critical appointment, important task, or billing date.  More than that, we've selected a few applications that can even sync your life essentials across every platform you use, be it a cell phone, a work computer, et cetera.

Check out our full list of powerful personal productivity tools after the jump!

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Software, open-source, freeware, productivity, evernote, rtm tool, keepass, mashed life, gnucash

Posted 11/10/08 at 12:44:00 PM by David Murphy

With just five applications--five, free applications--you can do anything you ever wanted to do across a network connection.  We're serious.  Using these applications, you can bridge your computers together from anywhere in the world across a secure, hacker-proof connection.  From there, you can dial into your desktop as if you were sitting right in front of it, looking at the exact screen you'd be seeing were your butt in the groove of your favorite office chair.  If you're a hardcore network enthusiast, we'll even show you how to tab-browse through multiple, connected desktops as if you were pulling them up in Firefox or something.

And if you think that's crazy, these examples only reflect three of the five programs we're featuring in this week's roundup.  So what are you waiting for?  Click the link and let's get networked!  Which, in itself, should be some kind of 80s super-dance mix: "Let's Get Networked."  Eh?  Ehhhh?

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15

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Software, networking, open-source, hamachi, freeware, live mesh, ultravnc, terminals, advanced ip scanner

Posted 10/27/08 at 01:30:00 PM by David Murphy

There's a lot of stuff that goes on underneath the hood of your operating system.  For the majority of you that are running a Windows OS, trying to figure out how all the bits and pieces work together is like popping the hood and wondering how you can make your car run faster.  But you don't have to be a guru just to make the most out of your everyday computing experience.  A number of developers have created programs to ease, and even automate, the innermost workings of Windows. 

Click the jump to check out the four (free) programs we've found that will let you take ultimate control over your operating system!

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Software, open source, applications, freeware, tweaking, shellexview, process lasso, netsetman, autoruns

Posted 10/08/08 at 06:00:00 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 put away that wallet. We spent the past 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, and have compiled our picks into this comprehensive list. 

Hit the jump for all 25 of our picks!

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10

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gaming, graphics, open-source, applications, freeware, productivity, system optimization

Posted 10/07/08 at 12:30:18 PM by David Murphy

Today's batch of awesome open-source (or freeware) applications centers on a single word: wow.  No, they don't help you level up in that MMO.  We're going to show you a batch of free programs whose features are cool enough to make your jaw hit the floor, a small puddle of drool to escape from your lips and into your keyboard, and your twitter to light up with all messages you'll be sending your friends about these must-have applications.

We're serious.  Prepare to be amazed.  But if you haven't checked out the twenty other themed applications we've hit up in our last four open-source updates, now's the time to fill in the backstory!  Once you're ready for greatness, hit the link below.  And get your bib on standby.

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7

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open-source, wow, applications, freeware, synergy, jing, revo uninstaller, xbmc, launchy