Download the new Switched app for your iPhone

Skip to Content

Engadget for the iPhone: download the app now
AOL Tech

Lee Mathews

The Pas, MB, Canada - http://

Pinta project brings Paint.Net inspired simplicity to Linux

Over the last year, Paint.Net became my default app for quick photo edits. It's an excellent Photoshop alternative for beginners and non-professional users.

Now, thanks to Jonathan Pobst, Linux users have a similar app they can enjoy. Pobst began working on the project in response to a call last year from Thomas Holwerda from OS News, who lamented the lack of a decent Paint.Net-like app for Linux.

The result is Pinta, Pobst's clone of Paint.Net utilizing the Cairo and GTK libraries. Though currently only at v0.1, Pinta already includes all the basic drawing tools you'd expect plus important advanced features like an undo history and multiple layers. While it looks somewhat similar, the only code borrowed from Paint.Net are the adjustments and effects functions.

Pinta could nicely fill a void on Linux. As a bonus, you don't even need to be a Linux user to try it out: Windows users need only have the GTK runtimes installed and Mac users will need Mono for Mac. Check the instructions at the Pinta FAQ!

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Open Source

Open source disk tool UltraDefrag hits version 4.0

If you haven't heard it mentioned before with other disk defragmenters, UltraDefrag is a solid open source alternative to tools like MyDefrag and Auslogics' Disk Defrag.

Ultra Defrag is packed with functionality, offering whole disk defragmentation and optimization, file and folder defragging (via your right-click context menu), boot-time defragging, and scheduled jobs. The boot-time job allows UltraDefrag to take care of locked system files like pagefile.sys and your registry hives, which are locked while Windows is running.

While UltraDefrag v4.0 isn't the project's first major release, its developers consider this to be the first 'non-beta' due to past issues with reliability. The new version is fast, and after testing it on three different Windows 7 systems (including x64) those problems seem to have been fixed.

Downloads are available for both 32 and 64-bit Windows versions, and both an installer and portable option are provided.
Share StumbleUpon.com

Filed under: Google, Browsers

CubeMe for Google Chrome lets you pretend you're browsing on an iPad!

There's a very good chance that Chrome OS tablets -- unlike the iPad -- will support Adobe Flash. Google is, after all, one of Adobe's partners in the Open Screen Project.

Suppose, however, you share the Jobsian distaste for Flash and the CPU abuse perpetrated by carelessly crafted .SWFs. What if you actually want those little blue Legos all over your browser? The answer is simple: there's an extension for that!

Just install CubeMe, and your Google Chrome will take on a mobile Safari approach to Flash, displaying the mystery block wherever an embed would normally appear. Don't go expecting configurable blocking like with Flashblock -- you'll get blue Legos, and you'll bloody well like it!

On a practical note, CubeMe will speed load times on certain sites -- though it does make goofing off on ArmorGames a whole lot more complicated...
Share StumbleUpon.com

Filed under: E-mail, Mozilla

Mozilla outs Thunderbird 3.1 alpha

Mozilla finally released version 3 of their Thunderbird desktop email client last December, and they now have their attention focused on a minor bump to 3.1. Last night the first alpha build was made available, and it sports the usual handful of changes and improvements.

Among the tweaks are enhancements to stability and memory usage, better IMAP access, fixes for smart folders, filters, and attachment handling. The Thunderbird interface is also being re-tooled -- so far the changes are fairly subtle.

Thunderbird 3.1 is also dropping support for Windows ME and older as well as Mac OsX prior to 10.4 Tiger. But hey, if you're still running an OS that old you're probably not too concerned with running up-to-date apps either...

Ready to take it for a spin? Testers can download alpha builds for Windows, Mac, and Linux from the Thunderbird early release page.

Filed under: Google, Beta, Browsers

Where did Google Chrome's pinned tabs go?

On a recent Google Chrome post one of our commenters -- MoneyMike -- lamented the apparent passing of one of Chrome's popular UI features in recent nightly builds: pinned tabs.

I, too, noticed the change recently and wondered what was going on. There's been plenty of discussion amongst Chrome developers, and it boils down to an evolutionary step for Chrome and the introduction of app tabs. The arrival of phantom tabs recently is also part of the change.

To clear the air, I pinged Google's Eitan Bencuya to see if he could shed any light on the situation. Here's his response:
"As you know, all of these features are still pretty experimental (they're not even in the dev channel yet) and we're trying out different approaches to see what works. In this case this is part of a larger set of tweaks we are making related to extensions but we haven't yet fleshed out all the details of app tabs specifically."
Right now, changes to the tab strip are a moving target. Developers are also working hard at tweaks for the almost-certainly-coming tablet version of Google Chrome, and the extension API is still evolving as well.

Ultimately, while this kind of change might be frustrating to us it's all part of the thrill of using experimental software. Yes, it comes at the expense of perhaps watching a feature you like fall by the wayside, but you still get to play around with all functionality users of the stable version may never see.
Share StumbleUpon.com

CinemaDrape blacks out distractions so you can focus on the task at hand

Avoiding distractions on while working your computer can be tricky business. Fortunately, there are plenty of great, free apps out there to help you get things done! CinemaDrape, for example, is a great way to turn off the "background noise" so you can focus on one particular app or area of your screen. You can download an installable version of CinemaDrape or grab the portable remix and run ...

TV Gorge lets you watch popular shows online for free -- with no geotarding!

Computer users like me and Martin at GHacks, who live outside the U.S. don't often get to partake in the online media goodness that our American pals do. One notable except is TVGorge, a site which offers free, online viewing of dozens of popular TV shows. The list includes everything from 24, Chuck, CSI, and NCIS to The Cleveland Show, Family Guy, and South Park. You can even tune in to one ...

Google Chrome tablet UI begins taking shape in Chromium nightly builds

Google's user interface mockups and YouTube video were a hot topic the other day, and that buzz will likely continue until we finally see a tablet device emerge from Mountain View to accompany the Nexus One. If the images and video weren't enough proof for you, changes are under way in the Chromium source code which certainly make it look like Google is getting serious about a new interface ...

Windows 7 now powers nearly 1 in 10 computers

Sebastian reported last month that roughly 1 in 7 Steam users has already made the jump to Windows 7. What about the big picture? How has Windows 7 fared with the rest of the computing world since its release on October 22, 2009? CNet's Ina Fried notes that Windows 7's market share reached nearly 10% over the weekend. That figure is based on NetApplication's statistics -- which tend to vary a ...

Microsoft pushes Office 2010 release candidate to testers

With the full RTM due in June, Microsoft has confirmed that a release candidate build of Office 2010 is currently in the hands of testers. This isn't news to the crew at Wzor.net, of course, who have made a habit of putting leaked RC, beta, and RTM software from Microsoft on display for all to see. They've confirmed that Microsoft is already internally testing an RTM escrow build of Office ...
Facebook

Featured Time Waster

Level Up! A platform-hopping RPG Time-Waster

I don't know if this is a labor of love or merely the brainchild of four very gifted games designers, but Level Up is a really weird mash-up of gaming elements that you have probably never seen in a Flash game before. Let's start with the premise itself: Groundhog Day meets Memento. The game experience revolves around 'days': you explore the world and the clock slowly ticks towards the evening. You bounce around picking up gems and talking to the denizens of 'Level Upland'. Eventually you feel tired and head back to ...

View more Time Wasters


Featured Galleries

Defective by Design, London: Protest Pictures
Livescribe Store
Microsoft Security Essentials
Chromium Pre-Alpha on CrunchBang Linux
Safari 4 Beta
10 Firefox themes that don't suck
IE8 RC1
Download Squad at the Crunchies After-Party
Download Squad at the Crunchies
WordPress 2.7
Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals
Windows 7 Hands On
Comodo Internet Security
Android First-look: Amazon.com MP3 Store
Android First-look: Twitroid
Google Reader Android
Android Hands-On
Twine 1.0
Photoshop Express Beta
Mozilla Birthday Cake
Palm stuff

 

Follow us on Twitter!

More Tech Coverage

Joystiq

TUAW

DailyFinance

Autoblog

Urlesque

Engadget

WoW

Switched.com

FanHouse