Category: Arts & Entertainment (Page 3 of 4)

Windows 10 Gaming Performance Fix

August 2, 2021 / Jesse Mueller / 0 Comments

Since March 2021, some gamers have had some real problems on their Windows 10 computers. The problem was not with your casual games, like Solitaire and Mahjongg, but with more demanding games, like CS: GO and GTAV. Many players could not resolve issues with stuttering and low frame rates, and it all traced back to Microsoft as the culprit.

Microsoft has finally developed a fix. And while the fix is included in a larger update next month, Microsoft has gone the extra mile and released the gaming fix now, as an optional update. If you’ve been suffering under this problem, go get the download now:

Click Start, go to Settings, then Update & Security. You should see the update in question (KB5004296 ), under the heading “Optional quality update available”:

Click “Download and install”, wait out the update process, and reboot when it appears finished. I hope this improves your future games!

Permanently Delete a Steam Game

June 22, 2021 / Jesse Mueller / 0 Comments

If you play Steam video games, you should know that you *can* permanently delete a Steam game from your library. This is more than simply uninstalling the game. Deleting it from your Steam Library means you’ll never again see it in your list of available games, or be able to reinstall it.

It’s not obvious how to remove a Steam game in this manner, so here are the steps:

In the Steam program, click Help and then click Steam Support.
Click “Games, Software, Etc.” and then click on the game you wish to remove. If you don’t see it, use the Search field to find and select it.
Click “I want to permanently remove this game from my account.”
Click “OK, remove the listed game(s) from my account permanently.”

Please know that this is irreversible and does not get you any kind of refund. Why would you permanently delete a Steam game?

You know you’ll never play it again.
You’re embarrassed to have it in your library.
You’re a parent taking action to remove something inappropriate from your child’s Steam collection.

Freebies at Epic Games

December 19, 2020 / Jesse Mueller / 0 Comments

Epic Games has given away freebies at their site for many years, announcing a new free game download every week or two. The games vary in quality — some are niche, others are amazing, but they are all truly free. You just have to visit the site, make an account, and click the Claim button on any free game you want. No fees, no catches! You get to keep and play that game forever.

And during the holiday (Christmas) season, they ramp things up with even more freebies at Epic Games. Each year in December, they’ll offer a dozen or more games for free, but each title may only be available for 24 hours. Gamers will want to check back on their site daily to see what’s up for grabs. If this sounds awesome, put a reminder on your calendar for December, so you remember to visit the Epic website.

IrfanView Graphic Viewer

November 23, 2020 / Jesse Mueller / 0 Comments

IrfanView has been around for over 20 years. If you use it, you’ll notice its menus and overall look still have that Windows 98 look! IrfanView is a small program that will help you view and edit your image files.

But why would you use it (over more modern apps)? This program does exceedingly well at opening old, archaic file types. If you have found some old pictures that you can’t open, IrfanView can probably help. Some examples:

If you find an old digital camera in your junk drawer, and it’s full of photos in the FlashPix format, IrfanView can open those files.

If your designer gave you some archival files in the Photoshop format, IrfanView can handle them.

And once you open such files in IrfanView, you’ll also be able to use the Save As… function to convert your your files to JPG or other modern formats.

IrfanView is free to download for personal, educational and charitable use. If you want to use it in a professional setting, they ask $12 per license.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

November 20, 2020 / Jesse Mueller / 0 Comments

Dolly Parton has contributed to many charitable causes in her lifetime, but she may be the most proudest of her Imagination Library. She started this program to get books to children for free. It started in Tennessee but is now available in many parts of the USA and other countries.

If you can sign up for this program, your child will receive a book, absolutely free, through the mail each month. You can start as soon as your child is born, and the books will continue to arrive until they turn 5 years old. You just have to check the availability, based on your address, at their site.

If the IL Program is not available where you live, think outside the box. Can you sign your child up for free books, using a grandparents’ address? Availability is based on the zip code and county, and you can check as many addresses as you want. Also: check your address eligibility every few months, as this program is spreading to more counties and regions all the time!

If you want info on how to bring this program to your region, check out the bottom of their USA page for the 3 Steps to make it happen.

Free Photo-Editing Software

September 29, 2020 / Jesse Mueller / 0 Comments

Adobe Photoshop is the mainstay professional-grade photo-editing software, but it costs $21/mo to use. Adobe Photoshop Elements is a simpler version, for person use, and costs $100 (sometimes $50-80 when on sale at Amazon or Costco!) to buy it outright. But if you’re like me and love a $0 pricetag, check out these free photo-editing software offerings:

Best Freebies

GIMP is very similar to Photoshop, and can be installed on Windows, MacOS and Linux computers.

Paint.net is for Windows computers only. It was started as a replacement for MS Paint, but evolved into something much more capable.

Pixlr and Photopea should work on any computer, regardless of the operating system, because these load inside your web browser. That means there’s nothing to install, and all you need is a solid internet connection and a working browser.

PhotoScape X has a free version, available through the Microsoft Store and the Mac App Store. Besides photo-editing, it seems capable of helping with basic photo viewing and making collages and more!

And SumoPaint offers photo editing, along with a lot of other free creation tools!

Free Adobe Offerings

Thanks to this rise in free creative software, Adobe also has some no-cost offerings. Adobe has released a free, ultra-basic, chopped down and rather hampered version of its photo-editing software. It’s called Photoshop Express, and it installs as an app. You may download it on Android devices as well as Apple devices. And the Microsoft Store offers it as a free download for Windows computers.

Adobe also offers a free web-based creation tool, called Adobe Express. The new version of Adobe Express is in beta, so you may have a brief sign-up wait. But it has some amazing abilities to it, that make it a combination photo-editing, illustration and graphic design tool.

Rubik’s Cube Help

September 8, 2020 / Jesse Mueller / 0 Comments

For help in solving a Rubik’s Cube, there are countless YouTube videos and tutorials out there that will teach you how to solve this fiendish device.

Or you can use this simple website to tell you exactly how to solve your Cube, in 25 moves or less. I’ve tried it, and it works astonishingly well.

For other websites that do more to teach you and explain their methods, check out:

Ruwix.com’s How to Solve

Ruwix.Com’s Cube Solver program

Rubikscu.be’s Solver

Cubesolve.com

Bringing Back the Games from Windows 7

June 29, 2020 / Jesse Mueller / 0 Comments

When people move from Windows 7 to Windows 10, a common question is Where did my games go? The Solitaire and other games included with Windows 7 are absent when you boot up your Windows 10 PC for the first time. And that’s a big disappointment for most.

Microsoft would rather you go into the Microsoft Store and download the Microsoft Solitaire Collection. It’s free for everyone, but it’s just not the same as the old-school games. If you want the Windows 7 Games, check out this page:

https://winaero.com/blog/get-windows-7-games-for-windows-10/

Alternate link here or here.

Scroll down to Step 1 and you’ll find a download link for the games, just as they were on your Windows 7 PC.

If you use this, make sure to save the link or downloaded file for future use. After major updates to Windows 10, many users report that these games have gone missing. Apparently, Microsoft really doesn’t want you using them anymore, and they will remove them for you. But you are free to use the link or downloaded file anytime you want to reinstall them.

Windows 10’s Problematic Game Mode

May 9, 2020 / Jesse Mueller / 0 Comments

Windows 10 has a “Game Mode” that Microsoft says will optimize your PC for play. Except it doesn’t always do that. Sometimes, this feature will *cause* lag or other performance problems with your high-end video games.

So if you’ve had any glitches with your gaming, and driver updates & upgrades haven’t helped, turn this option off and you may notice an immediate change.

You’ll find it under Start -> Settings -> Gaming -> Game Mode -> On/Off.

Google Flight Simulator

April 26, 2020 / Jesse Mueller / 1 Comment

Are you a fan of flight simulators? You should know that there is one hidden in Google Earth. Just download *Google Earth Pro on Desktop* and install it to your computer. This is 100% free, by the way! You’ll be able to open the Google Earth program. The Google Flight Simulator is hiding on the Tools menu.

https://www.google.com/earth/versions/#earth-pro

This is not for the faint-of-heart, and you may want to study the controls before your first flight. If you click the Help button before you take off, it’ll give you a run-down of the controls and keyboard shortcuts you need to learn.