Launching Windows 8 Apps from the Desktop – Round 2

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Launching Windows 8 Apps from the Desktop – Round 2

May 07, 2014 /
A while back I wrote up a post showing how it is possible to launch Modern Windows 8 Apps using a URL which can be shortcutted and even pinned to the taskbar with a little extra work. That post has since been updated numerous times as readers have encountered shortcomings of the method or found ways to circumvent them, and at the end of the day Windows 8.1 Update 1 just built in the shortcut functionality, rendering all that work almost obsolete. Almost. While Update 1 introduced native shortcutting to the ...

Launching Windows 8 Apps from the Desktop – Round 2

Adapt an old IDE Hard Drive to SATA (Tutorial)

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Adapt an old IDE Hard Drive to SATA (Tutorial)

May 01, 2014 /
There are some things that every computer wizard just ought to have under his belt. A decent working knowIedge of IDE and SATA hard drives is one of them. While IDE is becoming increasingly rare, if you’ve ever owned an older PC or frequently do computer repair work for others chances are still good you’ll find one of these guys laying around sooner or later, and that being the case, chances are also good you’ll want to read the data off of them and perhaps even use one as your daily driver. The ...

Adapt an old IDE Hard Drive to SATA (Tutorial)

Why Windows 8.1’s Start Menu is a Bad Thing

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Why Windows 8.1’s Start Menu is a Bad Thing

April 25, 2014 /
What you’re looking at is not a mockup or some third-party application, it’s the real deal built right into Windows 8.1, suggested to hit the public come August 2014. It was first announced at Microsoft’s BUILD conference earlier this year to much applause, as you can see in the video below. Based on that first paragraph, the upcoming Windows 8.1 start menu might sound like a very good thing. People want it, Microsoft is giving it to them, everyone’s happy, right? Well, not everyone, but those few ...

Why Windows 8.1’s Start Menu is a Bad Thing

Steins;Gate Visual Novel Localization Hits March 31

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Steins;Gate Visual Novel Localization Hits March 31

March 26, 2014 /
It’s not every day fans of Japanese entertainment get a treat like this. Though the idea of animated, interactive books somewhat caught on in the west in the ’80s and ’90s, for the most part the visual novel trend that’s so popular in Japan never took off, stateside. As a result, only a handful of the terrific stories waiting to be ‘read’ have ever reached an English-speaking audience, at least in any official capacity. With time the internet has given rise to more and more translations made by ...

Steins;Gate Visual Novel Localization Hits March 31

Windows 8.1 Update 1 – 1 Step Forward, 1 Step Back

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Windows 8.1 Update 1 – 1 Step Forward, 1 Step Back

March 19, 2014 /
Well, it’s official: Microsoft has pushed out the door what is likely the last build for Windows 8.1 Update 1, set to hit the public on April 8 (whatever could have made them choose that day?). The name may imply that not much has changed—and truly that is the case on the system level—but Update 1 actually brings a fair amount of UI tweaks particularly targeted at keyboard and mouse users. Yes, Microsoft is still designing Windows 8 for you. But is Update 1 the patch that will finally let desktop ...

Windows 8.1 Update 1 – 1 Step Forward, 1 Step Back

Crysis 3 – What Crysis was Meant to Be (Review)

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Crysis 3 – What Crysis was Meant to Be (Review)

March 06, 2014 /
They say the third time’s the charm, and the adage has an uncanny way of ringing true. While Crysis has been a staple of the gaming industry since the first series title hit back in 2007, most of its popularity has stemmed from being famously taxing for gaming machines to run due to its intense, realistic visuals, not for actually being remarkably fun to play. Though the main draw of Crysis 3 is still to prove the worth of your gaming hardware, this time around Crytek has made a game actually worth ...

Crysis 3 – What Crysis was Meant to Be (Review)