open source tools

Tom’s Hardware’s practical rundown of free Windows applications lands where many of us live every day: the toolkit that keeps content, code, and media moving without a subscription bill. The list — which highlights ScreenToGIF, GIMP, Inkscape, Notepad++, Rufus, VLC, and HandBrake — is both a...

Racing to meet a design deadline with zero budget is a familiar panic for creators, and the NewsBreak piece that went viral — claiming easy, legal ways to “get Windows & Photoshop for free” — captured that desperation with click-ready simplicity. The reality is messier: there are legitimate...

After a lengthy absence from active development, one of Windows 11’s most intriguing accessibility experiments—the mouse pointer crosshair—has quietly resurfaced in pre-release builds, reigniting both curiosity and debate within the enthusiast community. While the feature’s veil of secrecy...

For more than two decades, WinRAR has occupied a near-mythical status on millions of Windows PCs, quietly shouldering the everyday labor of extracting, compressing, and archiving files in a world obsessed with speed and efficiency. Its “nagware” payment model—wherein the app politely reminds you...

Artificial intelligence’s growing influence in the business world is increasingly coming with a sharp edge, as demonstrated by a recent report from identity management giant Okta. The convergence of easily accessible AI-powered web development tools and the rising sophistication of threat actors...

Windows 11 Pro has made no secret of its ambitions: this is the edition for people who demand more power, more control, and more say over how their systems behave. But for the everyday Windows user—one who doesn’t manage a business network or deploy fleets of laptops—the temptation to shell out...

For developers eager to craft powerful, cross-platform graphical interfaces, Qt Designer has emerged as an essential tool. Combining the elegance of a drag-and-drop UI builder with the robustness of the Qt framework, it offers designers and programmers the chance to build beautiful applications...

Few experiences encapsulate modern DIY computing freedom quite like running a lightweight, single-board machine such as the Raspberry Pi in headless mode—no graphical user interface, just a blank terminal window brimming with possibility. If you’ve opted for a streamlined OS like DietPi or...

Few platforms in the virtualization space inspire as much loyalty—and spirited community enhancement—as Proxmox VE (Virtual Environment). Since its open-source debut, Proxmox has been heralded by tech professionals and homelab hobbyists alike for merging intuitive management with...

GitHub has unveiled a groundbreaking AI coding agent designed to autonomously handle tasks such as fixing bugs, adding features, and enhancing documentation. This agent is seamlessly integrated into GitHub Copilot and activates upon assignment of a task by the developer. Operational Mechanism...

Windows 11 continues to divide opinion among users, with long-standing complaints about system bloat, unsolicited ads, and persistent data collection practices frustrating even loyal Microsoft fans. While Windows routinely receives quality-of-life improvements and security patches from Redmond...

Windows 11 has been the subject of passionate debate among enthusiasts and general users alike, not only for its visual makeover and productivity improvements but also due to its well-known tendency to ship with features and apps many users consider unnecessary. For those who value a streamlined...

Artificial intelligence continues to reshape how we interact with our computers, but for many users, the specter of cloud dependence and privacy tradeoffs has made adoption a tricky prospect. In an era when chatbots like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot dominate digital conversations—and...

Microsoft’s recent move to restrict its C/C++ extension for Visual Studio Code (VS Code) exclusively to its first-party products has stirred significant concern and debate throughout the developer community. As of version 1.24.5 released on April 3, 2025, the extension now refuses to work on...

With Windows 10 approaching its end of life and Windows 11 locking out millions of older PCs with strict hardware requirements, a crossroads confronts many Windows loyalists: stick with aging software and risk security holes, upgrade hardware (often unnecessarily), or strike out into new...

Hidden and Timeless Software Gems That Still Shine on Windows 11 Though we live in an age of ever-shifting software landscapes, some older programs endure with surprising grace, continuing to deliver essential functionality and efficiency on modern Windows 11 systems. Not every shiny new app is...

Microsoft is taking a significant step forward for musicians and developers with the first-ever public preview of its Windows MIDI Service. Debuting in Windows 11 Build 27788 on the Canary channel, this update promises to revolutionize how MIDI—a protocol that’s been a backbone of digital music...