Get better photos without breaking the bank

To get the most out of your photos, sometimes you need a little help. We all want vibrant, sharp memories to share with friends and family, but our desires don’t always match our skills. Thankfully, you can save a dull, blurry image with a little post-processing. Choosing the right software to do it, though, can be tough.

First, there are lots to choose from. Should you buy Lightroom, Photo Ninja, or Photoshop? None of them are cheap, and for Adobe products like Photoshop, you have to rent the software on a monthly or annual fee. Then there is the steep learning curve – are you ready to spend days reading manuals and watching YouTube tutorials just to touch up your holiday snaps?

Unless you’re a professional photographer with both the budget and need for such comprehensive editing tools, you’re better off choosing something a little simpler. For us, that’s Ashampoo Photo Optimizer 6. We’re big fans of Ashampoo for one simple reason: they offer premium, easy-to-use software at budget prices. That might sound like marketing spiel, but stay with me.

Ashampoo Photo Optimizer 6 solves a common problem for amateur photographers. It’s something forumites call “gear envy” – the idea that a better camera or photo editor makes for better pictures. Such twisted logic often tricks beginners into buying and then abandoning expensive software because it’s either too difficult to use or won’t compensate for technical mistakes made behind the camera.

So how does Ashampoo Photo Optimizer 6 get around this?

First, anyone can use it. I mean anyone. It’s super easy. The software is designed to automate everything from colour to contrast with one adjustable slider at the bottom of the screen. All you need do is select the level of optimisation and the software does the rest. The results are remarkably effective, and you can apply the same level of optimisation to your entire photo album, rather than doing each one individually.

If you do want more manual control, or have a specific problem you need to fix (such as red eye), you have editing and effects sliders in a column on the right hand side. Ashampoo has eschewed jargon in favour of simple terms, making it much easier to know which sections to work on. If you need to correct colours, adjust brightness, straighten horizons, remove spots, or whiten teeth, you’ll find them bundled under appropriate categories.

If you’re feeling creative, add effects from Photo Optimizer’s extensive library. Age your photos for the vintage look, add colourful overlays, or frame your pictures in different designs. There are lots of filters to choose from, such as solarize, shade, and greyscale, helping you achieve exactly the look you want.

One of the best things about Ashampoo Photo Optimizer 6 is the price. At just $8.99, 40% off it’s retail price of $14.99, it’s a bargain compared to professional editors, and we found the results to be just as pleasing. So if you’re looking to enhance your pictures without breaking the bank (or breaking a sweat), give it a try now. 

All the Best Free Software for your PC

You spend hundreds of dollars on your brand new PC, and then what happens? You have to go and spend even more money on all the software you need, to do the jobs you bought the PC for in the first place. Never mind what you bought the PC for you have to buy programs just to protect your new PC from viruses and malware.

Well, do not worry because there is a lot of free software you can get your hands on to help you out. You can get free software for Windows 10 you can get free software like Microsoft Word, you can get free software for editing photos, you can get antivirus free software and even free software for video editing. You don’t need to spend a lot of money on expensive programs for your new PC. There are plenty of free programs for PC so let us have a look at some of the best now:

Best free programs for PC

1. Best antivirus free software: Avira Antivirus

Avira header

Avira Free Antivirus offers a broad range of security features that add up to offer the best free antivirus software you’re likely to find. As well as strong antivirus scan and protection facilities Avira offers some great features like safe shopping searches, system speed up and a VPN. This is the best free software download for PC you’ll find and one of the most important. To learn more about Avira Click Here, otherwise…

Avira Free Antivirus Download Avira
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2. Best backup free software: Google Drive

Google Drive wants to be the Ultimate Backup and Sync Tool

These days you need to do more than just install a free antivirus program to keep yourself safe. Ransomware is a modern threat that sees your data being stolen and then held for ransom. This means if you’re going to download free software you need some to get some backup free software for your computer. Free software downloads like Google Drive are essential. Drive will give you 15GB of free space to keep all of your personal data safely backed up. You need it now!

Google Drive Download Google Drive
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3. Free software like Microsoft Office: Libre Office

LIbreOffice header

Almost everybody needs to use programs like those found in the Microsoft Office suite so a top priority must go to getting the free software download for PC of Libre Office. Libre Office is an open source productivity suite that rivals Microsoft Office and even has programs, like Math and Draw, that can’t be found in the expensive Microsoft offering. If you work in an office this is an essential free program to download.

LibreOffice Download LibreOffice
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4. Media Player: VLC Media Player

vlcHEADER

One of the best free programs for PC is VLC Media Player. It is one of the most popular programs in the world and carries the codecs required to play almost every kind of video file. Once you’ve downloaded VLC you will be able to play almost any type of video you can find. As well as offering a complete video playback solution VLC has plenty of other features and you can check out 5 of the best here.

VLC Media Player Download VLC
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5. Free software for photo editing: GIMP

Do you want the photos you share to be breathtaking - GIMP

If you want free software like Photoshop you should look no further than GIMP. GIMP stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program and it is almost as powerful as Adobe Photoshop. With this free software editing becomes possible for all. Whether you’re merely touching up an old image or creating a brand new one, GIMP offers you a complete set of tools to take care of whatever editing job you have in front of you. GIMP may be the best photo editing free software but we’ve also put a list together of 5 free photo editing programs. Check it out here.

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6. Free software for video editing: Lightworks

5 Free Programs for Editing Videos lightworks

Lightworks is available on many free software download websites but you can get it right here. It is one of the best editing free software programs you can get and is used by professionals as well as amateurs. If you’re a budding video editor or director this is great free video editing program for you to download. For info on other free video editing programs click here.

Lightworks Download Lightworks
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The Best 24 Apps for Windows 10

One of Windows 10’s biggest features as an operating system is its flexibility moving between devices. Whether you are on your home computer, tablet, or phone, Window 10 is designed to offer a cohesive experience. Here is our pick of apps that offer you a great experience where ever you are.

Adobe PhotoShop Express

Adobe’s fantastic photo editing suite has long been the gold standard, and with PhotoShop Express they have managed to perfectly adapt the experience to touchscreen. The app allows you to quickly and easily tweak you pictures with options like red-eye removal, noise reduction, and a range of filters. The free version even lets you upload 50 photos a month to the cloud.

Download it here

Adobe Photoshop Express

AllRecipes

Cooking apps are a wonderful tool for any budding chef, and AllRecipies maybe the best of them all. With a fantastic clean layout, it’s easy to find, favorite, and read any recipe you want. Plus, I find the recipes on the app fantastic.

Download it here

AllRecipes

Age of Empires: Castle Siege

Constructing your town and army to pit them against other player’s armies and towns is becoming one of the biggest social gaming genres. However, Microsoft have used the trend to relaunch their beloved Age of Empires franchise with Age of Empires: Castle Siege. It has worked brilliantly, as the game offers more direct unit control than the competition, making it feel significantly more involved.

Download it here

Age of Empires

Angry Birds Space

Ah yes, those mad birds have been to many wild and wacky places – but to our mind space is the greatest. Angry Birds Space doesn’t add any new or weird abilities, it simply places you in space and forces you to deal with the physics and gravitational forces that apply in the cold dark vacuum that is most of the universe.

Download it here

Angry Birds Space

Asphalt 8: Airborne

Gameloft’s Asphalt series has long been mobile gaming’s go to arcade racing experience, and Asphalt 8: Airborne is just the latest, most over-the-top interpretation of this. Keeping the high-speed racing and crisp graphics the franchise is known for, the eighth installment adds high-flying ramps and aerial maneuvers to really take the action to the next level.

Download it here

Asphalt 8: Airborne

Crossy Road

Why did the chicken cross the road? Well, we are not sure, but probably to download Crossy Road. This endless take on the Atari classic Frogger uses simple taps and swipes to give you precise control of a road-running chicken as it desperately tries to navigate highways, rivers, and railway tracks without being turned into nuggets.

Download it here

Crossy Road

Cut the Rope 2

What makes physics intriguing as an element in puzzles? Is it that we feel we have an innate understanding of how it should work and the ways we fail fascinate us? Or is it simply that inside we all want to be part of some huge Rube Goldberg machine? Who knows, but it is what Cut the Rope 2 taps into as you slice your way through ropes to drop and swing candy into Om Nom’s gaping maw.

Download it here

Cut the Rope 2

Dropbox

You probably already have a Dropbox account, making the Dropbox app even easier to recommend. This cloud storage/sharing solution gives you 2GB of storage for free when you open an account. The app’s clean and simple design also allows you to easily find the files you want, with photos particularly well displayed in albums.

Download it here

Dropbox

Facebook

If you use Facebook, as I am prepared to guess most people reading this do, then it’s hard to ignore the usefulness of the official Facebook app. Providing a simple layout which allows you to easily access all of the social platform’s options whether you are using a touchscreen or a mouse, you probably need this installed.

Download it here

Facebook

Firefox

Firefox is already many peoples go to browser of choice thanks to its high-level of customization and fast surfing experience. Well, add to that the fact that Firefox offers full Windows 10 integration, and Mozilla’s browser could easily become the number one choice for internet on the Microsoft platform.

Download it here

Firefox

Flipboard

Flipboard is a magazine viewer that offers you a curated news-feed of your interests, all beautifully laid out to look like a magazine. It’s a far more compelling way of viewing the sites you regularly visit, particularly on mobile devices.

Download it here

Flipboard

Flow Free

So simple, so free, Flow Free is another of those puzzle games that can really take over your mind. You know you are in trouble when you start day dreaming about a game and solving puzzles you create for yourself while you’re meant to be work. If you have a job that demands your full attention, maybe don’t download this.

Download it here

Flow Free

Fresh Paint

Providing you with a full featured painting app, Fresh Paint is a fantastic way to unleash your creativity. What is so wonderful about Fresh Paint is its tactile nature as, alongside a standard color wheel it also allows you to mix your own colors on a digital palette before applying them to your canvas.

Download it here

Fresh Paint

Frozen Free Fall

You can take your pick of match-three games, from Bejeweled to Candy Crush, they are all much of a muchness. However, I have struggled to let go of Frozen Free Fall. Well, I say that, what I really mean is that my friend’s daughter has struggled to let it go, so it remains installed on my phone.

Download it here

Frozen Free Fall

Jetpack Joyride

Escape mad scientists with a rocket pack. No, there isn’t much need to expand on Jetpack Joyride’s core concept to make it appealing. The only other thing you really need to know is that the simple controls and comical power-ups mean that it is, in fact, as fun as it sounds.

Download it here

Jetpack Joyride

Minecraft

If you absolutely have to have a game to launch on the same day as your new operating system, then none could be better than Minecraft. Whether this was a driving force behind Microsoft’s purchase of Mojang we will never know, but it certainly is not going to hurt the company to have the Minecraft Windows 10 Beta on its store front.

Download it here

Minecraft

Minion Rush

Endless runners are everywhere, and at this point you can get them in any flavor you fancy – from Spider-Man to Tomb Raider. Personally, however, I find it hard to resist the little yellow minions as they waddle their way through Minion Rush. The game itself is a fine example of the genre, and the minions make the perfect slapstick fodder to be on the end of every failed jump.

Download it here

Minion Rush

Modern Combat 5: Blackout

While Call of Duty’s mobile incarnations may all have been awful, that hasn’t stopped Modern Combat borrowing the idea of an extravagant modern military story. Modern Combat 5: Blackout offers everything CoD does, with a solid country hopping plot, loads of weapons, and a robust multiplayer mode that allows up to 12 players to compete together online.

Download it here

Modern Combat 5: Blackout

Nook

If you use your phone or tablet as a portable personal library, then Nook is the perfect app for you. With a huge library curated by Barns and Noble, and plenty of options to make your reading experience easy on the eyes, Nook is the app for bookworms.

Download it here

Nook

OneNote

In isolation, Microsoft’s note taking tool is just good. Add in a Microsoft 365 account, and all of the cross app and cloud storage options it opens up, and OneNote becomes a truly fantastic tool. Allowing you to edit across devices, great touchscreen support (such as the intuitive radial menu), and the ability to pull pictures from social media platforms like Facebook, OneNote is a must.

Download it here

OneNote

Pako

If you enjoyed the bit in GTA where you are trying to outrun a seemingly endless sea of police officers, then you are in luck, because that is all Pako is. Viewed from an isometric perspective, you must speed around the urban arenas trying to stay ahead of the cops for as long as possible. With a nifty 70s gangster movie motif, Pako is brilliantly playful.

Download it here

Pako

Skype

Even with every other messaging service starting to offer calls and video, Skype is still up there as the best ways to connect with friends and family around the world for free. Since its acquisition by Microsoft the service has continued to improve, and its cross platform functionality on Windows 10 makes it an even more flexible communication tool.

Download it here

Skype

Threes!

Threes! maybe one of the most perfectly conceived mobile games ever. Simple, fast, and skillful, trying to combine tiles of the same number together with simple swipes, while not boxing yourself into an impossible situation, is the kind of addictive challenge that can ruin whole afternoons.

Download it here

Threes!

Twitter

“Twitter is many people’s social network of choice. If you are one of these people, like me, you need this app. That’s 140 characters, right?”

Download it here

Twitter

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