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Of all the home automation products out there, smart lighting is the one that often makes the most sense. After all, who hasn’t wished they could turn off their house’s lights from bed last thing at night or have them turn on automatically when they come home? Now one of the leading suppliers of LED light bulbs, Ikea, is getting into smart lighting in a big way. The home furniture company is releasing a number of smart LED bulbs which you’ll be able to install into your existing light fixtures and control either with an optional remote or an app on your phone. Like Philips Hue, the kit requires a wireless gateway if you want to control the system using the app. The Trådfri app will allow you to group bulbs into groups, and can be used to put the bulbs on timers to have them turn on and off at specific times. From warm yellows to cold bluesUsing the system you’ll be able to cycle through various brightnesses and warmths of lighting from a dim yellow hue (better for late at night) to a bright cold blue (better for work environments and mornings), although there aren’t any of the color-changing options as seen in the more premium Philips Hue bulbs. Ikea is also using its furniture-building heritage to great effect by providing ‘light doors’ that can be installed directly into existing cabinets. Floor and ceiling mountable lights are also available. There are four main packages of bulbs at launch. At the cheapest (£15) end you get a single light bulb and a magnetic remote that can scroll through two different light settings. For £25 you get a single bulb and a motion detector. Springing for the £29 kit replaces this motion detector with a more advanced remote that can change both the warmth and brightness of the light. You’ll have to spend a full £69 if you want to get the gateway that allows you to control your home lighting with an app. This kit will also get you two light bulbs and the more advanced remote outlined above. From this initial announcement it looks like Ikea has covered most of the bases of what you would need for a smart lighting system, although it’s unfortunate that you have to get the more expensive kit to be able to control the lights with your phone. We’ll also be interested to see how well the system scales up when you start adding more Ikea bulbs. We can’t wait to get our hands on the lighting kit for ourselves, which Ikea states will be available starting from this April. Check out our full review of Philips Hue, the current leader in smart lighting.http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/5K9RFCKfX2I

Whether you’re a veteran musician or a wannabe songwriter, there’s never been a better time to pursue your ever-growing/burgeoning love of making music. Be it YouTube tutorials, Twitch-based jams, or sampling apps on your smartphone, technology has taken the studio and condensed it into our pockets. Thing is, access to the very best music editing software doesn’t have to come with the price tag you’re already imagining. These days there’s a veritable ocean of free software out there just waiting to turn your musical musings into chart-topping bangers. Here are the best five options, just for you. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XpjytZKadYHuY5Kqsnopd7.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/NgwCj3m8zFwnikjzbdQeLn.jpg 1. LMMShttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png A feature-packed workstation for making music from scratch, or editing samples and tracks It's long outgrown its Linux roots (its title is now an archaic acronym for Linux MultiMedia Studio), but LMMS remains one of the most popular free music editing suites on PC and beyond. And when we say suite, we really mean it. It’s one of the most comprehensive audio workstations we’ve ever tested, and one that doesn’t cut corners the features and utilities either. Not only can it be used to edit and manipulate existing samples and tracks, it can be utilised to create songs entirely from scratch. Within its scores of menus, submenus and sliders you’ll find a whole host of trackers, sequencers and synthesizers to muck about with. It’s also one of the simplest setups we’ve ever used, with four separate elements: an FX Mixer for controlling the volume on each track of your song, a song editor for creating your musical masterpiece, a controller rack for specific audio tweaks, and a beat/bassline editor for building those all important drum tracks. LMMS even supports an impressive number of popular plugins across multiple platforms, including SoundFont (SF2) files, Virtual Studio Technology (VST), Linux Audio Developer's Simple Plugin API (LADSPA) and Linux Audio Developer's Simple Plugin API (LADSPA). Download here: LMMS http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XpjytZKadYHuY5Kqsnopd7.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/A2GREmDzTFgMFh2o8Li5h3.jpg 2. VirtualDJhttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png Designed with professional musicians and DJs in mind, but accessible enough for newcomers Much like LMMS, VirtualDJ is one of the oldest open source music workstations out there, and there's a good reason why it's secured such a prolonged tenure: it’s one of the best ways to start making music for free right now. Originally designed back in 2003 for mobile and club DJs to write and edit tracks and playlists in a live setting, VDJ is all about giving you the access to its in-depth features without making you feel like you’re sifting through a swamp of indiscernible knobs and sliders. You can use it with a variety of setups, so if you’re an experienced DJ or musician you can connect it up to your MIDI controller or DJ mixer of choice and immediately get tweaking and hitting notes to your heart’s content. Alternatively, if hardware isn’t an option, you can simply load up a CDJ plugin and start using existing tracks to pull and loop samples. The latest version, VirtualDJ 8, is easily the strongest iteration yet, offering the ability to record, edit and mixes digital audio from a wide range of sources. That now includes video as well. Oh, and did we mention it's free for home use? Bargain. Download here: VirtualDJ http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XpjytZKadYHuY5Kqsnopd7.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/reFTUikggXCSt5pmVukFC6.jpg 3. Rosegardenhttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png In development since 1993, Rosegarden is a brilliant music-making tool – powerful and easy to use Remember how we mentioned LMMS and Virtual DJ are some of the longest running music editing series ever? Well, they may be long in a variety of teeth, but they’re practically newborn compared to the elder statesman that is Rosegarden. The original version of the software was launched way back in 1993, and over those years the popular audio suite has evolved multiple times to ensure it’s still one of the most robust workstations you don’t have to buy. Like most old school audio suites, Rosegarden was first built on Linux before being unleashed on PC, and comes with enough features and utilities to rival even the most up-to-date version of Cubase. For a start, it’s one of the simplest tools you can get for creating and editing your own tracks and includes its own score-writer and MIDI sequencer for all your EDM needs. Rosegarden works with most MIDI controllers and MIDI devices so there are plenty of ways to create and record audio from scratch, as well as supporting a raft of DSSI synths and audio plugins. Add to that the ability to export in a ton of file types (and a variety of languages included as standard) and Rosegarden remains one impressive suite of free music-making wonders. Download here: Rosegarden http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XpjytZKadYHuY5Kqsnopd7.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/D5FAvtKJKzUTgGkmE95pGJ.jpg 4. Audacityhttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png Audacity is much more than a tool for editing podcasts – it's also ideal for musicians of all levels While it’s become synonymous with non-music releases in the last decade (thanks mainly to its close association with rise of podcasting), Audacity remains a brilliantly accessible digital audio workstation that’s perfect for songwriters of all skill and experience levels. So what do you get in this free music-making suite? For a start, you can rip tracks direct from CD, import them in a variety of formats (WAV, AIF and MP3 are all included, naturally), and that all-important multitrack mixing comes as standard. The current version of Audacity supports an impressively large array of digital effects and plugins, so you can start manipulating everything from beats and basslines to melodies and samples. Audacity will keep you embedded in its digital suite thanks to one of the simplest and most intuitive graphical interfaces on the scene (thanks mostly to the brilliant wxWidgets software library). TLDR: you’ll be hard-pressed to find an audio workstation as malleable and rewarding as this for free anywhere else. Download here: Audacity http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XpjytZKadYHuY5Kqsnopd7.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/YUhXVatYDs5osKt7ym2USL.jpg 5. Hydrogenhttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png A free drum machine that's become a firm favorite in the online music-making community Sometimes you just need to find the right beat. You could be trying to find the best track to for your hip hop lyrics, or laying down the foundation for the best drum and bass song ever made – whatever your need, it’s clear you need a digital drum machine with all the trimmings. That’s where Hydrogen comes in, a free Windows app that’s become one of the go-to drum machines in the music-making community. Created by Italian programmer Alessandro ‘Comix’ Cominu in 2016, Hydrogen might be a relative newcomer on the beat building scene but it’s nonetheless a great place to start learning from scratch (or innovate on the skills you already have). Hydrogen is all about marrying the deep complexity of most other drum machine suites with a setup that’s just as accessible for relative newcomers. This pattern-based sequencer offers a treasure trove of beats and utilities including humanization utilities, multi-layer instrumentation, the ability to play more than one pattern at once, and much more. In short, you’ll struggle to find more options in an accessible format without parting with some serious moolah. It’s available for Windows, Linux and OS X, though the PC version is still in open beta. Download here: Hydrogen http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/ipZnsfjgaPE

In the US a lawsuit has been aimed against Microsoft which accuses Windows 10 of damaging PCs and causing users to lose data. Specifically, this is referring to Windows 10 upgrades on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 machines, which in one case is alleged to have happened without the user realizing or wanting said upgrade. As the Register reports, the suit, which has been filed on behalf of three people in Illinois and is looking to become a class-action affair to represent all parties affected by upgrades that caused data loss, accuses Microsoft of failing to exercise ‘reasonable care’ when it came to designing and implementing the Windows 10 upgrade process. The complaint states: “As a result of its failure to exercise reasonable care, [Microsoft] distributed an operating system that was liable to cause loss of data or damage to hardware.” The suit notes that in one case, that of Stephanie Watson, the Windows 10 upgrade installed without her consent and ended up deleting data, some of which was related to her job. It further adds that despite bringing in professional tech support to revert the computer, that process was only a ‘partial success’, and she eventually ended up having to buy a new PC. Another plaintiff says he consented to the update, but after the Windows 10 upgrade his computer stopped working, losing him data, time and money. The third plaintiff’s complaint was along similar lines: he accepted the upgrade, but ended up with a machine that didn’t work, and lost data. The lawyers behind the suit say there are hundreds of thousands of individuals who were affected like so in the US, and who could be represented in a full class-action aimed at Microsoft. Upgrade pop-upsYou may recall that back at the time when the free Windows 10 upgrade was still officially active (note that it’s still possible to get a free upgrade, unofficially), there was plenty of controversy regarding the number of ‘Get Windows 10’ prompts popping up on users’ desktops, and the fact that the process was opt-out for those who hadn’t disabled ‘recommended’ updates. Of course, as we observed in this piece on the outrage over Windows 10 automatic upgrades, Microsoft made sure there were still warnings that the upgrade was scheduled to take place – although these warnings were perhaps missed by users in some cases, or indeed misunderstood by less tech-savvy folks. At any rate, Microsoft has responded to the Register to say that: "Customers had the option not to upgrade to Windows 10. If a customer who upgraded during the one year program needed help with the upgrade experience, we had numerous options including free customer support and 31-days to roll back to their old operating system. We believe the plaintiffs’ claims are without merit." That said, sometimes rolling back is a process which fails – as is alleged to have happened in the case of Stephanie Watson here – and that’s obviously when there can be a real problem. As we have often stressed, it is incredibly important to keep regular backups of your important information, and making a backup before upgrading or updating an operating system is even more important. Check out our list of the best free PC backup software if you haven't backed up your data in a while. One way or another, this lawsuit will certainly be one to keep an eye on. Fed up with Windows? Maybe it’s time to buy a Chromebookhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/jAsxsNUhEXo

If you're looking for a video editor there are some amazing free tools around, but they're not always the best choice. Developing a good editor is so difficult that even big-name companies often struggle, and if you're a demanding user it's unlikely that a free package will give you everything you need. We're not just talking about the length of the feature list. Opting for a paid product might get you high-end extras like 360-degree video support, motion tracking and multi-cam editing, but that's just the start. The extra resources available to commercial projects help to refine the entire package, often bringing more accurate and configurable effects, an enhanced interface and a faster rendering engine. Which paid editor is the best choice, though? That depends on what you're looking to do, and also on your budget, but keep reading – we've come up with 25 top packages to help steer you in the right direction. We’ve also highlighted the best laptops for video editingAdobe Premiere Elements is a slimmed-down consumer version of the company's Premiere Pro CC video editor, dropping some of its heavyweight fine-tuning in favour of simplicity and automation. The program workflow will be familiar to anyone who's ever used another video editor. Import your media here, organise them on a timeline there, apply effects and get a quick preview of the results – you know the drill. Where Elements wins out is in its extras. This starts with doing some things better – for example, your media library isn't just a collection of files, it's intelligently organised and benefits from smart searches. Drag clips towards each other in the timeline and they conveniently snap together. Video stabilisation, de-hazing and smart toning do a great job of enhancing your footage all on their own, but also allow manual adjustments if you think it'll help. There are features you won't often find elsewhere, too. Face detection, video collages, using the colours and textures of one clip in another, bundled movie soundtracks which automatically adjust their length to match your footage, and an excellent collection of audio effects to join the program’s video filters. Adobe’s Guided Edit feature provides step-by-step help with many of the more advanced tools, and there are lots of interesting automated features. Premiere Elements doesn't quite match the power of big-name competitors like CyberLink PowerDirector, but you may still prefer it for ease of use, and we'd recommend taking the trial for a spin. Platform: Windows, Mac Price: £60 ($75) You can buy Adobe Premiere Elements hereAdobe Premiere Pro CC is the industry standard video editor for professionals, the big brother of the aforementioned Premiere Elements, and it’s now used by everyone from experienced prosumers to TV and film studios. The core of the package is much like other non-linear video editors, with familiar project and asset panels, timeline, a preview window and more. But it's also highly configurable, and now includes touch support in some areas for extra flexibility. It doesn't take long to spot the program's power. Premiere Pro imports footage from everywhere – files, tapes, direct from smartphones, regular or professional cameras, 360-degrees VR footage and more – and it can import and export projects from Final Cut Pro (X) and Avid Media Composer. Premiere Pro doesn't just support multi-cam editing: it handles as many sources as you need, with an unlimited number of angles, and can automatically sync them via time-code, audio and more. The bundled Lumetri Colour Panel offers comprehensive tools for colour manipulation, audio adjustments, and fine-tuning of effects with Bezier keyframing, and on completion your masterpiece can be rendered to multiple formats or device profiles in a single job. Home users won't need this level of power or the monthly bill (check out Premiere Elements instead), and professionals might prefer Apple's Final Cut Pro X in some situations, but overall Adobe Premiere Pro CC is hard to beat. Platform: Windows, Mac Price: From £20 ($25) a month (individuals) You can buy Adobe Premiere Pro CC hereAnimoto is a simple online service which takes source videos and pictures, automatically adapts them to fit your chosen style, and exports some (occasionally) very professional results. The website is mostly just a video creator and has minimal editor-type functions, but we're including it anyway because presenting your footage is a very important consideration for some users. Animoto has simple iOS and Android apps, but you'll get the best results by accessing it from the website. That's where you can import your media, set a style, and choose a soundtrack (even the base account gives you 500 tracks to choose from). You can then customise each element, add your own captions and text, and share the results over email, Facebook, Twitter and more. The service is a little expensive for the casual user, but if you'll make use of Animoto regularly it might be worth a look. If you're interested, the company offers a 14-day trial of the Pro plan, which offers everything we've described here and a lot more. Platform: Web, iOS, Android Price: From £8 ($10) a month (paid annually) You can buy Animoto hereAvid has been developing film and video editing tech since 1989, and its Avid Media Composer package has been the main player in the film and TV industry for more than 20 years. It's been used everywhere from massive cinema titles like Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Martian, to the HD visuals of games such as Squadron 42 (the single player campaign of Star Citizen). Developing software for this kind of high-end expert audience has its consequences. Media Composer is far more about functionality than ease of use, so although the interface has improved recently, it may still not appeal to the average user. And of course the price is decidedly premium, too. That's really no surprise, though, for a package which can import just about anything, in any resolution – and combine them all on the same line, no encoding required. You can make use of dynamic HDR for top-quality imagery. Edit stereoscopic 3D. Mix and work with 64 audio tracks, and the list goes on… That's just the start. Avid Media Composer doesn't just do well at regular features, it adds specialist extras that the competition hasn't even considered. The program doesn't just store your clips, for instance – it can automatically analyse their dialogue and sync it to the script, making it easy to match different takes of a scene. Now that's what we call smart. Platform: Windows, Mac Price: From £47 ($58) per month (annual plan) You can buy Avid Media Composer hereAVS Video Editor is a consumer-oriented program which focuses on ease of use, but still manages to cram in plenty of features and functionality. You only get a single video track, for instance, which will have expert editors heading swiftly for the exit. But you can still drag-and-drop in as many clips as you need, trim them, correct colours, brightness or sharpness, and add some worthwhile special effects (including simple chroma key – also known as green screen). AVS Video Editor takes a similar straightforward approach elsewhere. You can't build credits with custom text objects, each carefully keyframed and with their own motion paths, but the app does give you simple templates which enable adding basic credits with a minimum of hassle. There are plenty of welcome extras, including a slideshow builder and the ability to record your screen, and when you're done the program can export your movie in multiple formats, burn it to DVD and Blu-ray, or share it directly to social media. Platforms: Windows Price: $70 (£87) as a part of AVS suite You can buy AVS Video Editor hereCamtasia Video Editor is an unusual application which combines the company's popular screen recorder with a capable movie editor. It's designed to produce marketing or instructional-type clips which demonstrate some elements of software, but you can also import and work with regular MP4s and other common video formats. This desktop-oriented approach means the core editing tools are quite basic. You can adjust colours, brightness, contrast, apply a simple green screen effect, enhance or correct audio, but there aren't nearly as many options as you'll get with the high-end competition. There is still some power here. Camtasia imports sources from animated GIFs to 4K video, and enables organising these with pictures, audio files, transitions and effects on a multi-track timeline. It can include your webcam with a picture-in-picture effect, and there's a whole library of video assets you can use in your movie: animated backgrounds, icons, intro slides, music tracks and more. Unusual touches include arrows, callouts, shapes and other elements you can drag-and-drop onto the screen. You're able to apply zoom and pan effects, or your own custom varieties, and there's even an option to include quizzes to see who's watching your clips, and what they've viewed. This is aimed at Camtasia's tutorial-creating business audience, but could be used in many other ways. If you're interested, signing up at the site gets you a 30-day tutorial, no restrictions or credit card details required. Platforms: Windows, Mac Price: $199 (£160) You can buy Camtasia Video Editor hereCorel VideoStudio may not be quite as well-known as Adobe Premiere or CyberLink PowerDirector, but don't let that put you off – it's one of the best consumer video editors around. There are high-end features everywhere you look: 4K video support; multi-cam editing; 360-degrees VR video support; royalty-free music library; stacks of professional NewBlue and proDAD effects. Not to mention DVD, AVCHD and Blu-ray authoring for when it's time to share. Corel VideoStudio Ultimate also has plenty of less obvious touches which you only begin to notice as you work. Some are small (checkmarks which highlight clips you've used), some save you time (group objects in your timeline and move or apply effects to all of them at once), and many give you options you might not have seen before (voice detection which can automatically match subtitles to speech in your video). VideoStudio is also available in a marginally cheaper Pro version which has most of the same features, but includes fewer templates, effects and other extras. Check it out if you're on a budget, but Ultimate X10 is already cheap for the functionality you get, and that's the version we would recommend. Platforms: Windows Price: £80 ($100) You can buy Corel VideoStudio Ultimate X10 hereCyberLink PowerDirector is an excellent video editor which delivers professional and high-quality features for a consumer-friendly price. The package has great support for file standards, and can handle 4K video, H.265, XAVC-S, 120/240fps high frame-rate video, FLAC and AAC audio, and more. The latest edition supports 360-degree video, too, and we don't just mean some fixed import. You can also edit the footage, apply colour correction, use titles, transitions, PiP objects and more, and export the 360-degree results. All the action takes place on a 100-track timeline. There are all kinds of stabilisation and video correction tools to give you the look you need, quick and easy trimming, professional effects, assorted NewBlue and other add-ons, and modules for multi-cam editing, motion tracking, title design and a whole lot more. Video editing newbies might find all these options intimidating, at least initially, but PowerDirector does its best to help. The Express Projects feature enables creating professional videos and sharing them on social media with little more than some careful dragging and dropping. And when you're ready to go further, PowerDirector has plenty of help files, video tutorials and other documentation to point you in the right direction. Platforms: Windows Price: £48 ($60) You can buy CyberLink PowerDirector hereDaVinci Resolve Studio is an industrial-strength video colour correction tool and comprehensive video editor with the power to handle any project, right up to blockbuster films and TV shows. The package tramples all over the competition in many areas. You get film quality effects, advanced correction tools (temporal and spatial noise reduction, lens distortion corrections), stereoscopic 3D support, HDR grading, 32-bit processing and multiple GPU support. As you can see from the price, DaVinci Resolve Studio isn't aimed at home users, and it's far more about functionality than being user-friendly. Colour correction isn't restricted to a few sliders and panels here, for instance – it has an interface of its own. Still, this is an amazing editor, and if you're not on Hollywood wages there's a free DaVinci Resolve available. It doesn't have nearly as many effects and can ‘only’ output SD, HD and Ultra HD files, but it’s still a very capable product. Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux Price: $995 (£800) You can buy DaVinci Resolve Studio hereFilmora is an appealing video editor which tries to offer something for everyone, from the total editing novice to experienced prosumers. Beginners will appreciate the ability to import clips directly from social media. A drag-and-drop interface keeps most operations very simple, and fun extras include the ability to import, edit or save clips as animated GIFs. More expert-level features include 4K video support, simple colour corrections, video stabilisation, tilt shift and green screen effects, and an audio equaliser. Filmora doesn't have the depth or the power of the top consumer editors, but there's plenty here for casual users. The price is good, especially for the lifetime licence, although the developer does offer plenty of other ways to spend your money. There's a Filmora store absolutely stuffed with bonus effects packs to take your movies to the next level. Platforms: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android Price: $60 (£48) lifetime licence You can buy Filmora hereFinal Cut Pro X is Apple's answer to Adobe Premiere Pro, a comprehensive video editor which blends highly professional features with prosumer-level ease of use. You could use the program to simply import a couple of source movies from a folder, for instance. But it can also grab media from cameras or DSLRs, organise content into libraries, run searches on metadata, even directly access content from your Photos or iTunes collections. Organising content on the timeline also begins very simply. Drag-and-drop source media and the clips magnetically snap together to avoid unwanted gaps, while others move out of the way to prevent collisions. But there are also plenty of smart extras, including tools to group clips together, apply effects to multiple clips at once, or instantly expand audio files to play with channels, set transitions or adjust volume, directly from the timeline. Final Cut Pro X offers professional tools including multi-cam editing, versatile chroma key effects, intelligent colour balancing and more. Export options are more essentials-only than some of the competition, but a vast ecosystem of add-ons can extend the program to do just about anything you need. Platforms: Mac Price: £300 ($380) You can buy Final Cut Pro X hereHitFilm Pro is an unusual mix of a professional video editor with a compositor. Not only can it load, trim and organise regular clips, you're also able to import, animate and render 3D models, and there's even a physics engine to ensure realism. There are plenty of appealing high-end features. You're able to import and mix footage in many different formats, resolutions (up to 8K) and frame-rates on the same timeline – there's a dedicated trimmer, professional transitions, capable colour grading, 2D and 3D title generation, 360-degree video support, OpenFX plugin support and more. Whatever you're doing can be previewed on a second monitor while you work on the first. HitFilm Pro's focus on compositing means there's still not quite as much video editing power as you'll get elsewhere, and it can be complex to use in some areas, but if you'll use features like the 3D model import it could be interesting. A demo version gives you full access to every feature and will never expire, but has no export option. A limited free HitFilm Express edition will give you an idea of the interface and basic editing features, although export is limited to 1080p at 8-bit pixel depth (HitFilm Pro supports up to 8K UHD at 32-bit pixel depth). Platforms: Windows, Mac Price: £310 ($385) for up to 3 PCs You can buy HitFilm Pro hereAt first, ivsEdits seems much like many other video editors. There's support for importing a range of video types and resolutions, including 4K, a full timeline for layering video and audio assets, along with colour correction, chroma key, and hundreds of top quality keyframe-able effects. What's not-so-usual is the program's support for live footage, as well as pre-recorded media. You're able to add up to four ‘live clips’ and combine them with your regular project assets, for instance, and ivsEdits also supports TV production-like capture and switching signals coming from up to nine cameras, all in real-time. The bundled ivsCapture package gives you more options by enabling footage to be captured in the background, then you can begin to work with clips on your timeline while the footage is still being recorded. If all that sounds too specialist for you, a cut-down free version gives you an idea of the other capabilities of ivsEdits, and it works very well on its own. Platforms: Windows Price: From €495 (£429, $530) You can buy ivsEdits hereMost mobile video editing apps are underpowered disappointments, but KineMaster is a rare exception which delivers far more than you might expect. The app doesn't just organise individual video clips, for example. You can have multiple layers to add unlimited handwriting, text, or layers of images and stickers, or indeed even another layered video on some hardware. There are up to four audio tracks available, and each one can contain as many clips as you need. Precision matters, so it's good to see that KineMaster enables frame-level video and sub-frame audio trimming, as well as including precise tuning for colours, brightness, contrast, saturation and more. Smart effects include a surprisingly configurable chroma key, easy speed control for fast or slow motion, and there are some polished 3D transitions to explore. An instant preview gives you a very quick idea of how your masterpiece is progressing, and when you're happy it can be shared directly on YouTube, Facebook, Dropbox and more. As usual with demanding Android apps, KineMaster won't work smoothly with every device, and if your hardware is underpowered then it may be very sluggish. But you can sample the basic app for free, and overall KineMaster is one of the most capable mobile editors around, so it’s certainly worth a look. Platforms: Android Price: £0.56 ($0.70) – £27.99 ($35) in-app purchases You can buy KineMaster hereIt may not get quite as much attention as some of the competition, but Lightworks Pro is still a hugely capable pro-level video editor which has been used to edit some truly great films: LA Confidential, Pulp Fiction, Heat, Road to Perdition, Hugo, The King’s Speech and more. The program's highly configurable interface is a standout feature. You're not stuck with the usual asset, preview and timeline panels – Lightworks can easily be reorganised to show the features and tools you need, when and where you need them. The core principles are familiar – drag-and-drop source media, apply effects and view the results – but LightWorks Pro offers plenty of fine control. Fast and accurate trimming, advanced colour correction, real-time effects and multi-channel audio mixing are just a click or two away. Leading competitors such as Adobe Premiere Pro have longer feature lists and may be easier to use, but Lightworks Pro delivers a lot for your money, and there's a stripped-down free version available if you'd like to check out the editing basics. Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux Price: £100 ($125) per year, £250 ($310) one-off purchase You can buy Lightworks Pro hereLumaFusion is a new iOS video editor with a surprising heritage: it's a product of Luma Touch, a company founded by the developers behind Pinnacle Studio for iOS. Even though it's built for mobile devices, LumaFusion still includes the core features you'd expect from a desktop editor. A multi-track timeline, quick and accurate trimming, configurable titles, colour correction, multiple effects with optional layering, and keyframe support for fine-tuning. There's no way you'll want to keep all your project assets on a mobile device, of course. Fortunately, LumaFusion imports files from iCloud, Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and more. LumaFusion offers surprisingly wide control over your exported footage. You can set aspect ratio, frame-rates, or choose resolutions up to 4K. The finished movie can be uploaded back to your cloud storage service, or shared directly on Facebook, YouTube and more. Platforms: iOS Price: $20 (£16) You can buy LumaFusion hereMost video editors are all about giving you complete creative control over your movie, providing the maximum number of effects and options to produce the results you need. But Magisto's web service and apps take a very different approach. The emphasis here is all about ease of use. You point Magisto at your source videos, photos and music, maybe choose a style, but after that the app does almost everything on its own, automatically optimising footage to deliver a polished, professional movie. How well this works varies depending on your source media, but a feature-packed engine – boasting video stabilisation, face recognition, filters, transitions and more – can deliver excellent results, at least some of the time. The baseline Premium+ package limits the movie length to two-and-a-half minutes, and even upgrading to the $10 (£8) a month Business account only lifts this to four minutes, so it's really for quick clips only. But it may still be interesting if speed and user-friendliness are top priorities for you, and there's a limited free plan available to help you check it out. Platforms: Web, iOS, Android Price: From $2.50 (£2) monthly (annual plan) You can buy Magisto hereSome video editors target home users. Others try to reach the professionals. Magix Movie Edit sits somewhere in the lower-middle range, easy for beginners to learn yet with just about enough higher-end features to keep more experienced users happy. Experts probably won't be impressed, but there's usually enough power here to get by. The baseline Movie Edit Pro edition ‘only’ supports 32 video and audio tracks, for instance, but the typical user probably won't care. Even the high-end Plus and Premium editions limit you to 5.1 audio and 16-bit colour processing, and support multi-cam editing for four cameras only, but that'll be just fine in most situations. There's a decent set of core features. Even the £35 edition has 4K and HEVC support, keyframe editing, chroma key and other effects, object tracking, DVD and Blu-ray authoring. The Plus and Premium packages take things further with more effects, more fine-tuning (transitions, masks), 360-degree video editing and export, a music editing and mastering suite, and the Premium edition includes MotionStudios Vasco da Gama 9 and Essential NewBlue Titler Pro Express. Magix Movie Edit doesn't compete so well with its rendering engine, which is notably slower than the best of the rest. But you do get a lot for your money, and a 30-day trial allows for checking out any potential performance issues. Platforms: Windows Price: From £35 ($43) You can buy Magix Movie Edit hereMovavi Video Editor is a very simple back-to-basics application for the editing novice. There's nothing advanced here. No 4K support, no H.265, 3D or 360-degree video, multi-cam editing, keyframes, DVD or Blu-ray authoring. Even the timeline only has one video and one audio track. This simplicity does make for a very straightforward and comfortable interface. Open the Preferences dialog, for instance, and you'll find only four tabs with a grand total of 13 settings, and four of those are default output folders. Even complete beginners will quickly find their way around. Movavi can still handle basic tasks, and occasionally more. You're able to rearrange and split clips, apply some basic corrections, add titles and use some simple effects. You even get basic chroma key and stabilisation tools. Put it all together and Movavi Video Editor might work as a first video editor for kids, or anyone else who wants the very basics with no need to learn anything complicated. But if you have ambitions to do anything more, opt for a low-cost competitor like Nero Video (coming up next). Platforms: Windows, Mac Price: £30 ($37) You can buy Movavi Video Editor hereGerman developer Nero AG has been producing quality media software for years, and Nero Video 2017 is a solid example of its range, stuffed with essential features while also being one of the cheapest packages here. 4K import? Check. H.265? No problem. Multi-track timeline, easy trimming, video and audio effects, keyframing? Of course. There are handy extras like the ability to preview footage full-screen on a second monitor, advanced or express video editing modes for improved ease of use, and you can author your finished movie to DVD or Blu-ray with custom menus and more. You also get some bonus media management and playback features, including iOS and Android apps to stream or transfer media between devices. While Nero Video 2017 has a wide range of features, there isn't a lot of depth here. Individual effects aren't as configurable as you'll see with the best of the rest, the interface hasn't been significantly updated for some time, while rendering and effects are slow. Also, some modern features are missing (360-degree video support) and Nero has failed to catch up on some other fronts (there's no sharing on social media). Nero Video 2017 still gives you more for your money than just about anyone else, and it could be a good choice for budget users, but if quality is top of your requirements list check out the likes of Adobe Premiere Elements or CyberLink PowerDirector. Platforms: Windows Price: €30 (£26, $32) You can buy Nero Video 2017 hereCorel's Pinnacle Studio Ultimate is a consumer-oriented video editor which also includes some surprising high-end features. The package supports editing 4K and 360-degree footage, for instance. There's multi-cam editing for up to six cameras. The timeline supports an unlimited number of tracks, there are more than 2,000 effects (including NewBlue Video Essentials III), transitions and templates, along with extras including motion tracking and live screen capture. And you can save your creation locally, burn it to disc or share it online. Pinnacle Studio isn't as polished as Adobe Premiere, CyberLink PowerDirector or the other market leaders. There's not quite as much functionality, what you get isn't always impressive (more than half the 2,000 ‘effects, transitions and templates’ could disappear without anyone noticing), plus usability doesn't quite match up. Be wary of the base Pinnacle Studio edition, too. It looks cheap at £40-£50 but drops many of the best features – 4K and 360-degree support, NewBlue effects, motion tracking – and even the timeline is restricted to six tracks. Still, overall Pinnacle Studio Ultimate is a likeable package, and if you're a fan of the product from previous editions there's a lot to enjoy here. Platforms: Windows, iOS Price: From £75 ($95) You can buy Pinnacle Studio Ultimate hereAlthough it has never been one of the top video editors, Vegas has come a long way recently and more than deserves a place in our list. The package can polish your clips with image stabilisation, colour matching, primary and secondary colour correction. The built-in effects now include a neat vignette, there's support for OpenFX plugins, and Sony's media experience comes across in the audio features with support for VST plugins, ASIO drivers, ACID loop properties and more. The DVD and Blu-ray authoring package is a plus, too. But there are also issues. No H.265 or MKV support, no 360-degree editing, no motion tracking, limited multi-cam editing for up to four cameras only, and assorted quirks which make the program a little more awkward to use. Long-term fans of Vegas Studio will find plenty of improvements, and if you need the audio extras it could also be worth a look, but if you're just hunting for the best general-purpose video editor there are better products around. Platforms: Windows Price: £70 ($88) You can buy Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum hereMobile devices wouldn't be our first choice for video editing, but iOS app Vee for Video shows the platform can work well. Active stabilisation uses your device sensors to reduce camera shake, a ‘Ghost’ feature helps you line up your next shot with a transparent overlay of the last, and clips are added directly to the video as you shoot to cut down on Camera Roll clutter. The app scores well on the editing basics, too. You can drag-and-drop your clips around, trim them precisely, apply effects and transitions, add a soundtrack and more. There's support for 720p, 1080p and 4K video, and the finished movie can be saved and shared in all the usual places. What we're not seeing is much in the way of updates, and Vee for Video looks like one of those apps which gets a big launch, but doesn't see much attention afterwards. Still, it's not like buying the app requires much of a financial commitment, and overall it's a smart addition to your iDevice. Platforms: iOS Price: $2.99 (£2.40) You can buy Vee for Video hereNCH Software has developed apps covering everything from invoicing to guitar tuning and home design, but it's best known for multimedia packages such as VideoPad Video Editor. The program is relatively basic. The interface is plain, ordinary Windows. Media handling is powered by the open source FFmpeg, rather than any special custom engine. If you're looking for anything faintly advanced – such as motion tracking, or multi-cam editing – VideoPad will leave you disappointed. There are still creative opportunities here. Clips can be dragged-and-dropped onto the timeline and you're able to apply effects, add transitions or soundtracks. There are some unexpected extras, including 3D video editing, video stabilisation, 4K export, and uploading to YouTube, Facebook or Flickr. And although the standard Windows interface isn't optimised for editing, it's also very familiar, and keeps the program easy to use. Factor in the wide platform support (with free offerings in some cases) and VideoPad Video Editor could work for some users. It's expensive for what you get, though, and much closer to the bottom of our list than the top. Platforms: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Kindle Price: $70 (£56) You can buy VideoPad Video Editor hereWhile most video editors understand that it's important to be able to share your clips online, WeVideo goes one step further by allowing you to create them in the cloud, too. WeVideo's browser-based approach involves plenty of compromises; features are strictly basics-only. Standard tools like slow motion are classed as ‘premium’ here, and although the Unlimited account supports 4K video, the lesser plans limit you to 720p. What you get in return is unlimited cloud storage, which makes for much more flexible working. Shoot a clip anywhere and you can add it to your account immediately, start editing if you're in a hurry, but then finish the process off on any other device. You could even use it to collaborate on a project with others. The core editing features are basic, and reviews are mixed, with some people complaining of reliability issues. But if a browser-based solution makes sense for you then we'd give WeVideo a try. There's a free plan available, and although it's extremely limited, and adds watermarks to your video, it'll give you a quick idea of how the service works. Platforms: Web, iOS, Android Price: £8 a month (limited free plan) You can buy WeVideo Unlimited herehttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/BULTBkqvXhU

Connected pet feeders, connected kettles, connected hairbrushes – there have been some quite silly connected devices launched to take advantage of the internet of things boom. But this concept idea out of Japan's Android Experiments Objects showcase is a case for how the IoT can take a ubiquitous household item and make it fantastically more useful. The 'Magic Calendar', from designer Kosho Tsuboi, is an e-paper screen that syncs with your Google Calendar, effectively giving an internet-connected twist to your standard wall-hanging day planner. Here's a video of the concept in action: A magic reimaginingThe details are slim (and not made any easier to discern thanks to the video's Japanese origins), but essentially the Magic Calendar would make use of a custom Android app to pull in real-time data from your Google calendar. It's a great idea – add an event to your phone's Google Calendar app, and have it added to the physical e-paper calendar too. With others being able to add appointments to a Google Calendar (or multiple calendars, even) it could be a collaborative schedule, and fit in far more info than a small box on a regular paper calendar affords. As an e-paper device it could stay on all day in a low-power mode, too, hanging discretely on a wall without necessarily emitting any light. The video also shows some other uses for the device – there's a point where the Magic Calendar appears to display a world time zones map, and another where it displays a full-screen cooking recipe. While there are apparently no concrete plans to develop the Magic Calendar for retail, it has been showcased in Japan – and hopefully the buzz it's generating will see someone pick it up for a full-scale production run, as it's a great idea we'd happily have hanging in the kitchen at home. The ball is in your court, Google. Make it so. 10 gadgets for the ultimate connected homehttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/fsKjNrBrgi8

Protect your PC from the latest threatsIt's fair to suggest that Windows' built-in AV solution, Windows Defender, is the last free AV app you should trust to keep your system clean. Not that it's overtly bad – although it does tail behind just about every third-party antivirus solution – but because it has a big target painted on it for attackers. Windows users who've been too lazy or foolish to install something hardier are the perfect hosts for viruses; attack the weak links, attack through the chinks in the one piece of software armour these weak links have by default, and you're in. That's why we've dropped Defender from our list of free antivirus apps in this latest update of our free AV roundup. You need more than it can offer. If you're not running advanced virus detection, zero-day virus protection, anti-malware, anti-ransomware and other Windows security essentials, you're not doing it right. Once again we've consulted the experts at the AV-TEST virus lab to find the most effective virus protection, and we've listened to your comments regarding usability, too. Free antivirus without popups, or at least some sort of seedy side, is a bit of a pipe dream – free AV is more of an advert than an altruistic gift. But we understand that for many of you the constant hassle presented by free AV popups can be a bit much to take – so if you're willing to sacrifice a minuscule amount of antivirus protection in favour of a cleaner experience, we're with you. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/9d8b11b635025b4f8ea1de3d26c578ec.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/JbPxRQs9DJ4pkV7ewXdqbd.png 1. Bitdefender Antivirus Free Editionhttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png Given a new lease of life, with fast, effective virus-busting and a clean interface, BitDefender is the best antivirus for Windows As if, in our previous roundup, the folks at BitDefender heard us moaning about the fact that its free product hadn't had its engine updated since 2013, along comes a brand new version at last. Essentially consisting of the AV section of the full product, BitDefender Antivirus Free Edition's clean, light, well constructed scanning mechanisms – which are almost universally faster than the industry average – and unrivalled virus definitions mean it's pushing back towards the top of the tree. AV-TEST's December testing round did pick out a few flaws in its handling of zero-day threats, however. The free version's insistence on running in autopilot mode is a double-edged sword, making the process of virus management easy but taking it out of the user's hands; while we're inclined to trust it, there have been cases in the past of automatic systems going slightly rogue, such as the incident a few years back when Panda Antivirus identified itself as a virus and locked up a large number of Windows systems. While Bitdefender isn't exactly popup free – it can be quite annoying, in fact – it's clean, clever, and efficient enough to take our top spot this time. Download here: BitDefender Antivirus Free Edition http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/9d8b11b635025b4f8ea1de3d26c578ec.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/o3QLocREpqBLbCcKF7P6xD.png 2. Avast Free Antivirushttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png A much-improved free antivirus suite, bolstered by a new, expanded userbase Avast and AVG haven't yet fully merged, despite the former formally acquiring the latter in mid-2016. The company says the two products will remain separate, although there's apparently a joint AV package on the way soon. Obviously, though, Avast now has a lot more data to work with, having expanded its effective userbase (and, therefore, its threat detection network) to a whopping 400 million users. The latest edition of Avast Free Antivirus adds an automatic gaming mode to mute popups and reduce system load when you're firing up a processor-hungry game, which is very handy indeed, and the interface has been given a clean new overhaul. There's a password manager, too, which is an undeniably good addition to your security portfolio. It scores well on AV-TEST's widespread malware benchamark and continues a clean sweep against 0-day attacks – presumably that expanded detection network is really helping. Less impressive is the slight negative effect Avast has on software launch times, and its slightly popup-heavy attitude. Download here: Avast Free Antivirus http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/9d8b11b635025b4f8ea1de3d26c578ec.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/iZTguvxRDGDjwB7bbP3Bk6.png 3. Sophos Homehttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png A new entry on our list – but the perfect choice for a home full of PCs Marketing itself as 'business-grade security', Sophos Home does a little more than most free antivirus software, and actually seems better suited to families. You get standard antivirus and anti-malware protection, along with browser tools like anti-phishing and, most importantly, content control. Combined with central management of up to 10 PCs, this means you can effectively lock down your kids' browsing options. Although AV-TEST hasn't formally assessed Sophos' skills, fellow lab AV-Comparatives offers up a decent rating of its antivirus abilities. Desktop notifications can be a bit heavy, though since Sophos Home isn't a direct advert for another user-level product (the company mainly deals with business software) you're not constantly badgered to upgrade. Download here: Sophos Home http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/9d8b11b635025b4f8ea1de3d26c578ec.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KofsfXJT8ZHyRsP4H7n7Fh.png 4. Avira Free Antivirushttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png Great antivirus, but a little noisy for our liking Avira Free Antivirus continues to score highly on AV-TEST's stringent testing program, quashing 99.7% of tested threats, and it generally doesn't put too big a burden on your hardware. It has a clean, friendly interface, and throws up minimal false positives. The introduction of a free security suite to optionally run alongside it – with ransomware and phishing protection, a 500MB/month VPN and various speedup promises – just sweetens the deal. This is one of the best free antivirus packages of 2017. So why, then, have we dropped it from the top spot on our list, a position it's held for the past two years? It's the constant badgering. There's a certain level of popups and advertisements that's acceptable for a free product, and Avira has begun to cross the line. It's not as onerous as some – Comodo's over-enthusiastic interface comes to mind – but booting up your PC to see Avira shouting at you once again is jarring. Download here: Avira Free Antivirus http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/9d8b11b635025b4f8ea1de3d26c578ec.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/59914932f47de86c2ef56b89e0f0c998.jpg 5. AVG Antivirus Freehttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png Free, nice looking antivirus, but lacking in a couple of areas There's a growing trend amongst some online pundits to label antivirus apps like AVG – and, indeed, AVG specifically – as 'crapware'. We don't subscribe to that definition; if that term is supposed to mean that these apps are ineffective or pointless, it's simply not true. AVG offers (reasonably) effective virus protection for free, and it does so with minimal system impact. If, on the other hand, the derogatory term refers to products which go a little heavy on the advertising and features that don't matter – AVG Antivirus Free's 'tune up' portion, for instance – perhaps the shoe fits here. Popups or not, it's the antivirus we're most interested in. Looking at AV-TEST's figures, and considering AVG shares the same expanded userbase as Avast, we were a little surprised that its strength doesn't quite match up to its new parent. Speculatively, this could mean AVG's engine is not getting the same love it once did, or that Avast's is slightly stronger – whatever the case, keep your eyes open for the combined Avast/AVG antivirus that's on the roadmap for this year, because both products running in tandem will be just about unbeatable. Download here: AVG Antivirus Free http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/9d8b11b635025b4f8ea1de3d26c578ec.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/QS27NYmjSUY8K542gFWegN.png 6. Panda Free Antivirushttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png Feature-rich PC security, but not as light as it promises The eternal battle against popups doesn't exactly start well, with Panda's site throwing a huge banner up shouting about a discount on the full version before you're even allowed to download the free one. Put that aside, however, to look at the software itself: Panda's entirely cloud-based antivirus solution goes about as lightly on system resources as is possible, at least when it's quietly running in the background. But you'll probably find, as AV-TEST's lab did, that Panda Free Antivirus has a bigger impact on many common system tasks – installation, copying files, downloading apps – than most of the opposing AV apps. We also experienced heavy CPU peaks both at random times and when Panda was updating itself. That said, Panda's overall look – which offers calming vistas where other go for plain white or grey – is refreshing, it's incredibly well laid out, and it comes bundled with a bunch of extra features that don't just seem like fluff. It dials itself down even further with a game mode when you need extra CPU speed, offers to immunise USB sticks (handy if you're worried about preinstalled spyware), has a bootable rescue kit in case a malicious program cripples your Windows install, and includes a threat-weighted process monitor. Download here: Panda Free Antivirus http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/9d8b11b635025b4f8ea1de3d26c578ec.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/CrxLiEuCMt2Y7PqjxnZxM9.png 7. 360 Total Securityhttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png Feature overload, with a potential sting in the tail The specter of developer Qihoo's VW-esque cheating of AV tests seems to be lifting a little these days, and it's hard not to recommend it when you consider exactly what it's offering up for free: AV protection from several concurrent engines (BitDefender, Avira, and Qihoo's own engines) along with reasonable extras like anti-phishing and a mobile app which helps you manage multiple systems. 360 Total Security is popup light, which many users will love, but we do have serious concerns about its privacy policy, particularly considering that signing up to Qihoo's data-collecting User Experience Improvement program is set as default. The company has no qualms about collecting some very sensitive information about you, and what it does with it at the other end is anyone's guess. We're also not hugely impressed by its interface. You'll need to do some fiddling to get several anti-virus engines running at once, and doing so with the rather messy UI is not easy. A lot of the bundled tools seem extraneous, and we hit a couple of false positives in testing too. So if you want quiet, strong protection this is a fine option – but you'll need to do some work, and you may have to pay a high price. Download here: 360 Total Security http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/9d8b11b635025b4f8ea1de3d26c578ec.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Bt6KbJ8d9S6CxtrDNLg5ee.png 8. ZoneAlarm Free Antivirus + Firewallhttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png Licensed antivirus and noisy alerts, tacked on to a solid firewall ZoneAlarm's reputation in the firewall world precedes it, and while that particular aspect of this all-in-one package isn't what we're really concerned with here, it's a solid extra if you don't trust your router or Windows' own built-in firewall. The antivirus engine on offer here is actually licensed from Kaspersky, so although we were unable to find any results from independent testing labs – hence its position this low on our list – it's safe to have at least a small amount of confidence in its abilities. It's well laid out, easy to use, and is your only real option if you want to use the ZoneAlarm firewall alongside any anti-malware app other than Windows Defender. That said, ZoneAlarm Free Antivirus + Firewall isn't a quiet app, alerting you of every little thing that's been blocked or deflected – some people like that, others will quickly become infuriated. Download here: ZoneAlarm Free Antivirus + Firewall http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/9d8b11b635025b4f8ea1de3d26c578ec.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/cfd01e88f8609cb49636d6d173b18740.jpg 9. adaware antivirus free 12http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png Rebranded but cut down, with a large amount of advertising on board A new, capital-letter free name for what was once Ad-Aware Free Antivirus+, to celebrate its company's rebranding from LavaSoft to plain old lower-case adaware. Another antivirus with a licensed engine – this time from BitDefender – and one which has the benefit of adaware's history in anti-spyware, you'd expect its results to be good. But things aren't so rosy. This new adaware antivirus free 12 drops the Web Companion from version 11, which blocked malicious and fraudulent URLs; it now acts only on iffy downloads. There are a host of other promised features, but they're not actually there – placed, tantalisingly, on an interface which very much shouts 'adware' more than it does 'adaware'. Download here: adaware antivirus free 12 http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/9d8b11b635025b4f8ea1de3d26c578ec.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/N2NZsqvED9xvaJ4xhJCFZK.png 10. Comodo Free Antivirushttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png Free AV that needs a little work before it's ready for widespread use Credit to Comodo for updating the look of its free antivirus package for version 10 (although older appearance options are still there if you look for them), and for its strong showing against AV-TEST's zero-day threat assault. Bad news, though on just about every other front: Comodo Free Antivirus flunked the widespread malware test, coming way below the industry average – far, in fact, behind Windows Defender – and it's rather heavy on the system, too. If you're worried about popups and ads, you're also in a bad place. Some of Comodo's tricks are pretty insidious. If you manage to install it without a host of Yahoo branding making its way onto your PC, good for you. Then there's the 'Geekbuddy' popups to deal with – a paid-for consultation service, though that's not made clear. We completely understand the need to make something back from free products, but we'd rather the assault weren't quite so violent. There are positives, though: its ability to sandbox off your browsers is handy, but not enough that we'd recommend an install. Download here: Comodo Free Antivirus http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XpjytZKadYHuY5Kqsnopd7.jpg See all the free antivirus software available to download on TechRadar http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/7N4AvvN5V8c

Since Microsoft has been under the stewardship of Satya Nadella, the software giant has been embracing Linux in various different ways – ‘new Microsoft, new attitude’, as we observed a year ago – but not when it comes to OneDrive, it would seem. As the Register reports, there are a good number of users complaining about the poor performance of the OneDrive web app on their Linux machines (or other non-Windows platforms like Chromebooks). The interesting point here is that when using a Windows PC on the exact same connection with the OneDrive app, everything runs smooth and fast. And the plot gets thicker, as these Linux users have observed that changing the browser’s user-agent string (the text a browser sends to a site to identify itself) to either Microsoft’s Edge or IE speeds the OneDrive web experience up to a fluid level on a Linux (or Chrome OS) system. Hence there have been accusations of Microsoft deliberately throwing a spanner in the works for those non-Windows folks trying to use its cloud storage locker on the web. Linux lamentationsTo give you some idea of the frustration being vented, there’s a lengthy Reddit thread on the matter, where one commenter asked: “Why would they [Microsoft] want their service [OneDrive] to be slow on Linux? To give the impression that Linux is slow?” Another replied: “To frustrate and degrade the user base that has moved to Linux because of the ridiculous and underhanded tactics that Microsoft is using to advance their agenda.” Unsurprisingly, Microsoft wouldn’t be drawn to officially comment on the matter. The Register suggests that all this might be a result of Microsoft simply being very lazy about checking said user-agent string in order to see which version of code should be served to the user’s browser, and not having a supported version for common browsers like Chrome or Firefox on Linux. That being the case, it would be good to see Microsoft implement a fix for those suffering when using OneDrive on Linux or other alternative operating systems. Another commenter on the aforementioned Reddit thread observed: “It's considered bad web development to do anything based on user-agent. The exception is if there's some feature that's truly OS-specific, but a cloud-based office suite [Office 365] shouldn't care about the underlying OS.” Fancy getting started with Linux? These are the best distros for beginnershttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/iknZJc5Q6MY

Another report has emerged highlighting the most common vulnerable apps, and looking at the perils of outdated software, with perhaps the biggest danger being just how many PC users are affected by programs which haven’t been fully updated. Avast’s PC Trends report found that no less than 52% of the most popular apps running on 116 million Windows computers worldwide were not updated to the latest version. As for the most prevalent out-of-date programs discovered – the ones you should really check to make sure they have been fully updated – the list was topped by Oracle’s Java, Adobe’s Flash Player (ActiveX), and in third place, Foxit Reader. Both of those top two offenders are regularly linked to critical vulnerabilities and security holes. To be specific, more than 24 million PCs were found to be running outdated Java Runtime 6 and 7 versions, and while 26 million users were on the latest version, the vast majority of them – over 70% – hadn’t updated with the very latest patch. As for Flash Player (ActiveX plugin), a staggering 99% of users had failed to update this for Internet Explorer, and 92% of Foxit Reader users were using an out-of-date version of the software. The rest of the top 10 after those three were as follows: GOM Media Player, Nitro Pro, WinZip, DivX, Adobe Shockwave Player, 7-Zip and Firefox. Yes, a browser sneaked in at the end there. Polished ChromeAs for the top-ranked app, which had been updated to the very latest version – that was a browser as well: Google’s Chrome, which was bang-up-to-date in 88% of cases, with Opera not far behind on 84%. Ondrej Vlcek, CTO, GM and EVP Consumer Business at Avast, commented: “Running outdated programs leaves PC users susceptible to attacks from savvy hackers exploiting easy-to-find or known vulnerabilities. The cause of people using outdated software may be that updates don’t install properly or they postpone or forget to update even when prompted.” It’s definitely worth paying close attention to software (and OS) updates, particularly where the most common vulnerable apps we’ve highlighted above are concerned. The research also pointed to the large numbers of people out there still running Windows XP, which is an insecure operating system because it’s no longer supported by Microsoft’s security patches. The OS is still used by around 6.5 million folks out there, or 6% of the computers which were part of the Avast survey. The security firm found that 48% of users were running Windows 7, followed by 30% on Windows 10. As for Windows 8/8.1, that was in use on just over 13% of PCs. We’ve highlighted the best antivirus software of 2017http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/SULnQNJQMT8

Microsoft is expected to unleash the Creators Update next month (the rumored date is April 11) so in theory it could be available in just over a couple of weeks, but if you’re getting excited about playing with all those new Windows 10 features, don’t hold your breath – as the rollout could take months. It will likely proceed at a similar pace to the previous Anniversary Update, so in other words, it will be a gradual and phased rollout that’ll happen in waves. And of course far from everyone will be in that first (or even second, or third) wave. As PC World spotted, AdDuplex (a cross-promotion ad network which crunches data on the platforms its adverts are viewed on) has just released the full stats on exactly how slowly the Anniversary Update (AU) crept out. Last year, Microsoft itself said the AU rollout would be staged over roughly three months, but AdDuplex’s figures show it actually took nearer four months before the upgrade was deployed to 80% of Windows 10 users. Indeed, the initial rollout of the AU was particularly slow, with only 35% of Windows 10 machines getting it in the first two months. And after a full six months, the AU hadn’t reached 90% of all machines. Caution firstThere are several reasons why major updates have to be deployed gradually, one of the main factors being that Microsoft doesn’t want to overwhelm its download servers with a massive rush of folks grabbing the upgrade. The software giant also needs to carefully monitor any bugs which pop up, and suss out if these are affecting particular hardware configurations, taking appropriate action to fix things for users down the line. With the AU, Microsoft was particularly careful with older hardware because compatibility issues and other gremlins are more likely to occur with such veteran PCs. So, there’s no real reason why the Creators Update will be any different in terms of the requirement to exercise caution regarding the pace of the rollout. That said, Microsoft may have learned valuable lessons from the Anniversary Update, and the system could be more streamlined now. But given exactly how long the AU took to fully deploy, as already stated, we wouldn’t be refraining from exhalation (you know...holding our breath) about the prospect of getting the Creators Update right after it’s made available. Still, if you absolutely cannot wait to see what the Creators Update has to offer, you don’t even have to wait for it to be released. We’ve got the full lowdown on how you can actually download and install it right now. Many of our best laptops of 2017 are running Windows 10http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/h1QJdhhTG8o

Planning a supremely lazy, gonna-lay-in-bed-and-not-leave-the-house day? Amazon is making it easier than ever with its latest voice-activated Alexa assistant features for its Amazon Echo devices. It's today switching on the ability to make Prime Now orders through voice commands alone. Available to Amazon Prime subscribers, Prime Now delivers thousands of household items as quickly as two hours after an order was placed for a premium delivery fee. Whether you're too ill to head to a chemist for some cold and flu medicine, or running dangerously low on snacks ahead of a party night, you can now have them brought straight to your door in a couple of hours, just by speaking to your smart speaker. Alexa, get me drunk, ASAPMaking use of the new feature is as simple as saying “Alexa, order [product] from Prime Now” to your Alexa-enabled device, which also includes the Amazon Tap, Fire Tablet, and Fire TV gadgets. And, for the lucky, hard-drinking few stateside in Seattle, Washington all manner of booze available through Amazon Prime Now can be ordered, while beer and wine are available in Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio. A wider liquor roll-out around the world is not mentioned by Amazon, but youngsters looking to game the system are out of luck – you'll still need to show valid ID on delivery of the booze. The best cheap Amazon Echo dealshttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/MST5wfHi7TU

If you've ever found yourself going, "Dude, where's my car?" one too many times in a crowded parking lot, Google Maps' latest feature may be of use to you. The search giant's wayfinding app has a new ability, first spotted during its Android mobile beta, that allows users to track where they've parked. The feature also lets users take notes about their parking spot and attach pictures to remind them where are - an especially useful duo of tools when navigating a massive mall parking lot, or floors of a garage with similar-looking layouts. A timer can also be set, which is handy for keeping tabs on how long you can be out running errands before risking a ticket for overstaying at a parking meter. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/t6JWrZ2N6qKhnm8E9REQbJ.jpg Image Credit: The VergeThis isn't Maps' first foray into making parking less of a pain. The app recently also added a method of gauging parking difficulty at your final destination - allowing savvy drivers to plan ahead if spaces are limited. Meanwhile, competitor Apple Maps has had a similar skill since the release of iOS 10 - allowing users to drop a pin for their car automatically whenever they disengage CarPlay or Bluetooth connectivity with their vehicle- something Google Maps still can't do. We have contacted Google to learn more about Maps' new space-saving feature, and its plans to roll out to other platforms such as iOS, and will update this story as more details develop. Our review of Google's smartphone, the Pixelhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/c8EwaVr3K48

Have you finally finished The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild? Not sure what to do with all your newfound free time? Well, you could always construct a smart home that you can control with an ocarina. That’s exactly what YouTube user Sufficiently Advanced did this past weekend, and the results are both awesome and potentially dangerous to his well-being. So how did this power-mad man use the triforce of wisdom to create his setup? He connected a microphone to a Raspberry Pi that can listen for and interpret melodies from an ocarina. Based on which Ocarina of Time melody the Raspberry Pi hears, it turns on a corresponding smart home device – “Bolero of Fire” turns up the heat, for example, while “Song of Storms” turns on the humidifier. The system, while totally awesome in every conceivable way, is also semi-dangerous, as it means anyone with an ocarina and a childhood spent roaming Hyrule can get into your house anytime they’d like ... not that we believe there are many Zelda-obsessed career criminals roaming around. Want to see how you can Link your smart home devices together? Take a look at the video embedded below and be sure to catch our review of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild when you’re done. Via The Verge Need more inspiration? Here are some Raspberry Pi projects to get you startedhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/iDxMrh9Dy_E

Create and extract compressed file archivesWinRAR is an excellent tool for compressing and archiving files – it's fast, able to split archives into volumes, and offers secure 256-bit password encryption. However, despite a generous 40-day trial period, WinRAR isn't free (a license will set you back £28.45/US$34.71/AU$45.71), and there are lots of excellent free alternatives to consider before reaching for your credit card. RAR formatWinRAR's native file type, RAR, is a proprietary file archive format. The compression algorithm is the property of developer Eugene Roshal. Roshal has published the code for extracting RAR archives, but not for creating them. At the time of writing, WinRAR is the only Windows desktop software that lets users make their own RAR archives, but many free tools are capable of opening them using the publicly available source code. Here we've looked at programs that can extract RAR archives and offer a similar feature set to WinRAR. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XpjytZKadYHuY5Kqsnopd7.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KqRx3uMUr9ctAJVupHvXc4.jpg 1. 7-Ziphttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png An open source WinRAR alternative that delivers high compression and secure encryption Its interface might look dated compared to its rivals, but 7-Zip is a highly capable WinRAR alternative that grants you full access to features that other software hides behind a paywall. It can extract pretty much every archive type around (including RAR, of course), and can pack files in XZ, BZIP2, GZIP, TAR, ZIP, and WIM formats, plus its own native format, 7Z. This file type delivers high compression, and supports AES-256 encryption to secure your files. 7-Zip can integrate seamlessly with Windows, incorporating itself into the context menu so you can create or extract archives with a couple of clicks. Best of all, 7-Zip is open source, so there’s no need to register, and it’s completely free for personal and commercial use. Download here: 7-Zip http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XpjytZKadYHuY5Kqsnopd7.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/m7f4XF57Vf8iRtreqbs3JM.jpg 2. PeaZiphttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png A security-focused archiving tool that’s a great choice for sharing and receiving files PeaZip is another excellent open source file archiving tool capable of extracting RAR files, and a whole lot more besides. 7-Zip makes a virtue of its tiny footprint (it occupies roughly 1GB on your hard drive), but PeaZip’s chief focus is security. It allows you to scan the contents of file archives with your usual security software (including Avast, AVG, Avira, and Comodo’s free antivirus suites) before extracting them. PeaZip’s native format, PEA (pack, encrypt and authenticate) combines excellent compression with optional integrity checking and authenticated encryption. It also supports multi-volume archives. All of this makes it an excellent choice for sharing and receiving files, and an excellent alternative to WinRAR. Download here: PeaZip http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XpjytZKadYHuY5Kqsnopd7.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/naeJmTpopB4zztjKfzQU6E.jpg 3. Zipwarehttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png Some WinRAR alternatives offer an overwheming array of options. Zipware keeps it simple Zipware’s interface is as straightforward as they come (most of the time you’ll only need its two main buttons – New and Open), but it’s not short on features. Like PeaZip, it puts a heavy emphasis of the security, enabling you to scan the contents of archives before extracting them and setting their contents free on your PC. You can open or create archives by dragging files into Zipware’s main interface, or using the options it adds to Windows’ context menu. This WinRAR alternative can extract every compressed file type you’re likely to come across, but it can only create archives in ZIP, 7-ZIP, or self-extracting EXE format. It can, however, create multi-volume archives, and can generate checksums for authentication purposes. Download here: Zipware http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XpjytZKadYHuY5Kqsnopd7.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/eXqBWyRgSjfvTDgdjiERnC.jpg 4. Bandiziphttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png Quick and convenient, with great format support, but the lack of virus-scanning is a shame Convenience is the name of the game with this free file archiving tool – from the team behind the superb Bandicam screen recorder. Bandizip can extract all the usual archive types (RAR included), and create new archives in ZIP, ZIPX, TAR, TGZ, LZH, ISO, 7Z, and self-extracting EXE format. It can integrate with Windows’ context menu, but unlike some other file archiving tools, it doesn’t do so without your prior authorization – a feature we appreciate. To help you package up your files as quickly as possible, this free WinRAR alternative can skip any files that won’t compress particularly well. You can also check the integrity of files, but you can’t scan for malware before extracting them. Download here: Bandizip http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XpjytZKadYHuY5Kqsnopd7.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/jo9aFvXBud6bwqevh5bZ3m.jpg 5. Ashampoo Zip Freehttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png A nicely designed file archiving tool, but the teasers of premium content can be tiresome Ashampoo Zip Free is a well designed WinRAR alternative, held back by a few irritating quirks. When you install the software, you’ll be prompted to enter a registration code. To do this, you have to sign up for a free account using your email address and a password that uses a combination of numbers, letters and special characters. Once you’ve done this, you’ll be sent a message containing a verification link, which will take you to a page where you can copy your code. The account enables you to link all your Ashampoo software together if you choose to upgrade to one of its premium tools, but it’s a cumbersome process. Ashampoo Zip Free can extract files from over 30 archive types (including RAR), and create ZIP, 7-ZIP, CAB, TAR, and LHA packages. You can make multi-volume archives, protect them with AES encryption, and preview files before extracting them. Ashampoo Zip Free has an attractive tile-based interface, but on closer inspection, most of the tiles are just teasers of the company’s premium software. Some options that are free in other tools (including extracting multiple archives simultaneously and converting them to other formats) are exclusive to the premium version of Ashampoo Zip too, which is a shame. Download here: Ashampoo Zip Free http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/6S_r1snfr3E

It may have missed Valentine's day, but Philips still wants to be a part of your romantic nights in. It's just added a new candle bulb fitting to its range of connected, color-changing Philips Hue light bulbs. A 40W equivalent E14 -470 lumen at 4000 kelvin - bulb, the candle fittings are available in both Hue's white ambiance and color ambiance options, letting you get a broad white color shade spectrum, or the 16 million colors offered up by the full range color type. With the addition of the candle bulb, Hue is now compatible with 80% of the lighting fixtures around the globe. Color controlIt's also increasingly easy to control the Hue bulbs. 600 apps are now available to do everything from sync the bulbs with TVs and games consoles to activating color-flashing party modes. The bulbs now also support Amazon's Alexa voice commands, letting you bark at an Echo or Echo Dot to switch them on or off. There are also a range of sleep-programming features built into the bulbs too. Mimicking what wake-up lamps offer, the bulbs can be programmed to slowly dim at bedtime and to replicate the sunrise in the morning, to help give you a more restful night's sleep. The Philips Hue candle bulbs will hit Europe by the end of April, and North America "later this year." They're priced from £29.99, which roughly converts to $37 / AU$49. The more-expensive Hue White and Color bulb will be £49.99 (around $62 / AU $80). Philips Hue review: Phone-controlled lights, anyone?http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/GgYEjTYvNnY

You might be able to manage without a spreadsheet application or a tool for making slideshows, but everyone needs a good word processor. Thankfully, there’s no need to pay for this essential software – there are excellent tools available to download and use completely free Here we’re looking at word processors that can be used offline (particularly useful for distraction-free writing), but there are also several browser-based tools to consider. Google Docs is the most obvious choice, and has the advantage of saving your work automatically so you don’t have to worry about losing large amounts if your connection fails. It’s also a good choice for collaborative working, and means you don’t have to upload work to a separate cloud storage service to access it from different devices. However, it has a limited selection of templates, there’s no way to import content from other Google applications, and any online tool is going to be surrounded by tempting distractions like social media. With that in mind, here’s our pick of the best word processors for Windows. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XpjytZKadYHuY5Kqsnopd7.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/WyheCFY6FEf6avu3uv6Jgi.jpg 1. WPS Office Writerhttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png We can’t believe it’s not Word – WPS Office Writer is the ultimate free word processor If you’ve used a modern version of Microsoft Word, there’ll be no learning curve at all when you switch to WPS Office Writer. This free word processor looks and behaves almost exactly like its premium counterpart, and even has its own equivalent of OneDrive, offering 1GB free cloud storage. Its selection of pre-installed templates gives you everything you need for common document types, and you can easily create your own for bespoke tasks. It’s compatible with every text file format you can think of, including current and legacy versions of Microsoft Word dating back to Office 97. WPS Office Writer is supported by discrete ads, which can be removed by upgrading to the premium version, but they’re barely noticeable and no features are locked behind a paywall. Overall, WPS Writer is very impressive, and in our opinion it’s the best free word processor available to download today. WPS has just launched a free PDF to Word converter as well, which is a great companion for its word processor. Download here: WPS Office Free http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XpjytZKadYHuY5Kqsnopd7.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/dBtDAsVz6Ce3DtBBY6z2iJ.jpg 2. LibreOffice Writer or Apache OpenOffice Writer All-singing, all-dancing word processors for any kind of text-based work LibreOffice is a fork of Apache OpenOffice, and although there are some differences between the two suites (LibreOffice receives more frequent updates, for example, and has a more lively userbase), their word processing components are so similar, we’re listing them together. Both versions of Writer are feature-packed analogs of Microsoft Word, packed with all the features you could possibly need for any kind of text-based work. The two versions of Writer include wizards and templates for common document types, such as invoices and letters, and it’s easy to create your own templates for future use as well. The word processors also work together with the other office software in their respective suites – so you can use Base to create a bibliography, for example. Both word processors support all the most popular file formats, and can export documents to PDF without the need for additional software. If you’re looking for a word processor that can stand in for Microsoft Word, either of these two will be a perfect candidate. Download here: LibreOffice Download here: Apache OpenOffice http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XpjytZKadYHuY5Kqsnopd7.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/QEkR6xYMV7AcAZR5ixQRAX.jpg 3. FocusWriterhttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png The ideal word processor for first drafts, with no distractions or fussy formatting If you simply want to hammer out some words without worrying about formatting, you could just use Windows’ built-in Notepad app, but FocusWriter is full of clever tools that will help you maximise productivity without ever getting in the way. As the name implies, FocusWriter’s goal is to block out all distractions so you can give that all-important first draft your full attention. In normal use, all you see is a blank page – toolbars are only visible if you move your mouse pointer to the edge of the screen – but there’s a killer feature in Focused Text, which fades everything into the background except the paragraph or sentence youn’re currently writing. FocusWriter also features alerts that are triggered at certain times, or when you’ve reached a predefined word count, so you don’t need to worry about watching a counter (as you would in Microsoft Word). This also makes FocusWriter a good tool to use in tandem with the Pomodoro Technique, which involves working hard for a period of time that’s long enough for you to work productively, but not so long that you become fatigued, then taking a timed break. It’s not suitable for editing, but for productivity, FocusWriter is hard to beat. Download here: FocusWriter http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XpjytZKadYHuY5Kqsnopd7.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/7EGpx8CwTBfXBgCNpj3kR9.jpg 4. FreeOffice TextMakerhttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png Another great looking and feature-filled word processor, but it can't save in DOCX format TextMaker – the word processing element of SoftMaker FreeOffice – is good looking, and comes with several handy templates for creating letters and other everyday documents. The selection isn’t as extensive as some of its rivals’, but you can also make new designs for future use and save them in TMV format. All the features you’d expect from a modern word processor are present and correct, including advanced formatting, databases for bibliographies and footnotes, and the ability to track changes in collaborative projects. The only real drawback of FreeOffice TextMaker is its inability to save your work in DOCX format (though you can open and edit these files with no difficulty). This feature is limited to the premium version of SoftMaker Office, which retails for £48.20 (about US$60, AU$75). Download here: SoftMaker FreeOffice http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XpjytZKadYHuY5Kqsnopd7.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/c6BCvNcLyivijUB3sBUsnW.jpg 5. WriteMonkeyhttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png Productivity-focused word processing with quick keyboard shortcuts for all the essentials WriteMonkey is another no-frills word processor designed to help you maximize your output without fussing with editing and formatting. It’s not intended for documents like letters or CVs, but is great for committing early ideas to paper (or screen) so you have the raw material to develop later. Unlike FocusWriter, which is compatible with all the most common text formats (including Microsoft’s DOC and DOCX), WriteMonkey only works with TXT files, so you’ll have to convert any works in progress before opening them. WriteMonkey’s hidden controls are tricker to navigate, too – everything is accessed via a large right-click menu, or a vast collection of keyboard shortcuts. That said, if you’re happy to commit those shortcuts to memory, you’ll find WriteMonkey faster to use than toolbar-based alternatives. We also like the ability to look words up in Wikipedia, Google Images, Poetry.com, Answers.com, and many others without opening a browser winder manually and leaving yourself open to the temptations of Twitter and Facebook. WriteMonkey is a portable app, so there’s no need to install it – just extract all the downloaded files to a removable drive or cloud storage service, and you can use it on any PC by opening the file WriteMonkey.exe. Download here: WriteMonkey http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/efH4RY4w8C8

Amazon's Alexa voice assistant, built into its Amazon Echo products and numerous home helpers and third party speakers, can do everything from control your home lighting to your Spotify playlists. Now, it can add another arrow to its quiver – cleaning. Well, at least indirectly. Connected robot vacuum cleaners by Roomba will soon be able to take Alexa voice commands to trigger a cleaning cycle. Simply say "Alexa, ask Roomba to start cleaning", and the dust-munching R2-D2s will start digging into your carpets. Roomba roll outIt's not a huge amount of control being offered – other Alexa commands merely let you pause or completely stop a cleaning cycle. But it's a step closer to the completely connected home dream. Roomba is also taking a page out of Dyson's book, offering Roomba owners a map of the areas that their droid has cleaned up over the last 10 cycles. The update to the iRobot HOME App will be rolling out to Android and iOS users immediately. As for the Alexa commands, they're going to be (as you'd expect) exclusive to Roomba's web connected models, like the 900 Series. A bit more frustrating though is that the Alexa integration will, for the time being at least, be a US-only feature. Expect to see that update coming in the second quarter of 2017. The best Amazon Echo Alexa skills and how to install themhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/digital-home/~4/z9cB-A2SQGQ

Fotorhttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png Some of us are old enough to remember the days when even an average image editing app cost the same as a second-hand car. Those days are long gone, and it’s possible to get a very good image editor for a price tag of exactly zero. Say hello to Fotor. Why you need itIn exchange for the odd not-too-annoying ad, Fotor offers a good range of image tools. You can apply special effects and add frames and borders, improve the appearance of photos and even get the kind of tilt-shift blurry effects that you’d normally need an expensive camera to achieve. The emphasis here is on fast results, so for example Fotor has 13 different one-tap scenes that you can use to completely change the appearance of your images. Overly dark scenes are brightened, overly exposed ones are dimmed and colours really punch. Fotor is free because its creators really want you to buy Fotor Pro, which removes the ads and adds some new features including more editing and full HDR support for really dramatic images. But the free version is pretty feature-packed in its own right, so hurrah for that. Download here: Fotor http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XpjytZKadYHuY5Kqsnopd7.jpg The best free photo editor 2016Whatever your level of expertise, there's a free photo editor that will give you all the tools you need to make your pictures look amazing. These are our three favorite free tools for optimizing your images. For more details, see our complete guide to the best free photo editors http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/VgyagGS9HpAEPUQtUJBfrg.jpg 1. GIMPhttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png The most fully-featured free photo editor around, GIMP is powerful enough for just about any task. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/VgyagGS9HpAEPUQtUJBfrg.jpg 2. Paint.NEThttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png Not quite as feature-packed as GIMP, but Paint.NET's streamlined interface makes everyday photo editing a breeze. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/VgyagGS9HpAEPUQtUJBfrg.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png 3. PhotoScapePhotoScape appears simple, but delve a little deeper and you'll find RAW conversion, photo splitting and merging, and animated GIF creation. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/Vj8x0Yxoczw

Are you still running Windows Vista? Then now is the time to start seriously considering an upgrade, because official support for the operating system is about to run out in just under a month’s time. Microsoft will no longer support Vista after April 11, which is four weeks today. That means no more security updates – or indeed patches of any kind for whatever problems may crop up with the OS – and no more technical support from Microsoft. Going forward, when new vulnerabilities pop up in Vista, these holes will remain, ready to be exploited by malicious parties preying on users who continue to run unsupported software. Speaking of all things malicious, also note that Microsoft will no longer provide Security Essentials (its antivirus app) for download on Windows Vista PCs, and for existing users, definition updates will only continue for a ‘limited’ time. Step back in timeWindows Vista is now 10 years old, and wasn’t popular even back when it was released, being seen as rather sluggish and bloated, and a step back from its predecessor, Windows XP. Pretty much how Windows 8 was viewed as a disastrous follow-on to Windows 7, although for many different reasons in that case. Speaking of Windows XP, support for that ended back in April 2014, and two years later, it still had a market share of 10.9%. And according to Netmarketshare, to this day XP has an 8.45% share of the desktop OS market, almost as much as Windows 8/8.1, rather incredibly. Windows Vista, however, has already dwindled to 0.78%, so it won’t be the case that droves of users continue to plough forward with this particular OS. At any rate, if you’re one of the few left running Windows Vista out there, you really should consider upgrading to a newer OS – and to make the process extra-easy for you, we’ve got a guide on how to install Windows 10 (also don’t forget, you can still upgrade to the newest OS for free from Windows 7/8.1). Via: PC World Looking for a good deal on Windows 10? Look no furtherhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/2Uw348Davf4

Process and organize your photosAdobe Photoshop Lightroom has two main functions: processing images, and organizing them (through tags, naming, rating, and metadata). It's hugely popular among professional and hobbyist photographers thanks to its ability to process photos in batches and optimize workflow, but it's not the only option – there are several superb free alternatives that are almost as powerful. Like Lightroom, all the image editors we’ve featured here are capable of processing raw files straight from your camera. Raw files contain all the data captured by your camera’s sensor, and all camera manufacturers have their own format for storing it. No screen or printer can reproduce that much detail, so it’s necessary to compress them into a format like JPG before you can display or use them. You can let your camera do that automatically, or use desktop software to control the process yourself. The image editors we’ve featured here let you adjust contrast, brightness, levels, saturation, sharpness, and tonality to achieve the results you envisaged when you shot the picture. They also offer tools for cropping and rotating images, but if you’re looking for retouching and healing tools, you’re better off with a free Photoshop alternative. With that in mind, here’s our guide to the best free alternatives to Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XpjytZKadYHuY5Kqsnopd7.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/zsafcQMR8wyVXKyRoxT2Sf.jpg 1. RawTherapeehttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png Lightning-fast image processing and workflow optimization from the best free Lightroom alternative RawTherapee is an advanced open source Lightroom alternative for processing raw files (or compressed image files like TIFF and JPG), then sending the resulting images directly to GIMP (or your preferred photo editor). RawTherapee uses non-destructive editing, so you can revert to the original file at any time. Its advanced image processing toolkit makes it easy to adjust exposure, colors, sharpness, and noise. RawTherapee’s de-mosaicing algorithms reduce artefacts in converted images, and its multi-core support makes full use of your available hardware. Once you’re happy with the fruits of your labor, you can save the settings as a preset for future use. You can also process images in batches, or edit multiple files at once using the tabbed interface. The software’s user community have created a list of cameras supported by RawTherapee, but it’s not definitive; if your camera isn’t listed, try opening a file using the software anyway. Download here: RawTherapee http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XpjytZKadYHuY5Kqsnopd7.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/u6R3facKhqhMccfeiiHq4X.jpg 2. LightZonehttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png Advanced raw processing with non-destructive filter stacks and vector-based selections LightZone is another open source, non-destructive digital darkroom that makes an excellent substitute for Lightroom. You’ll need to sign up for an account before you can download LightZone (the software’s creators are monitoring the number of downloads to assist in future development), but it only takes a moment. Once you’re in, LightZone can process raw files (as well as compressed image formats such as JPG and TIFF) using a series of filters, which you can stack, adjust and rearrange to achieve the desired effect. You can also choose specific areas to edit using a vector-based selection tool. To find out if LightZone supports your camera’s raw format, check out the program’s profile guide. Download here: LightZone http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XpjytZKadYHuY5Kqsnopd7.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/EZ7Myjf3HGi6dQMUtyKR6F.jpg 3. Irfanviewhttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png A classic Lightroom alternative that combines powerful image organizing and processing tools Irfanview combines a powerful image editor and organizer, with excellent support for raw and compressed file formats (see the full list). Its interface isn’t as intuitive as some other free Lightroom alternatives, but it’s been in development for 20 years and is packed with thoughtfully designed tools for photographers of all abilities. Irfanview is one of the best free tools around for cataloging images – editing metadata, renaming files in batches, and adding tags – enabling you to get huge image libraries under control in the space of an afternoon. Its raw processing tools are superb as well, letting you convert and rename files in batches, or spend time adjusting tonality and colors for individual photos that need more care and attention. For further editing, you can export files straight to a separate photo editor like GIMP. Irfanview receives regular updates, and there’s a lively community of users on hand to offer support, should you need it. Download here: Irfanview http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XpjytZKadYHuY5Kqsnopd7.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/KEohBWF4akdPwv6EpXQzhk.jpg 4. Picasahttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png Google’s classic editor makes processing and tagging easy, though it’s no longer in development Picasa is another great free Lightroom alternative, but it’s no longer in active development, so it might not be compatible with the latest raw formats (see the full list of supported file types). Picasa was created by Google, and is just as smart and well-designed as you’d expect. It doesn’t give you the same granularity as RawTherapee and LightZone, which are aimed at more confident users, but has everything a novice photographerneeds. It features a selection of presets designed to optimize contrast and color automatically (much like your camera’s own firmware would, but with the option to undo any changes you aren’t happy with), and you can make more subtle adjustments using a selection of sliders for fill light, highlights, shadows, and color temperature. Unlike Zoner Photo Studio Free, Picasa offer geotagging (via Google Maps), batch processing, and color management. It’s just a shame that it won’t have any more updates in the future. Download here: Picasa http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XpjytZKadYHuY5Kqsnopd7.jpg http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/8RdDvbLVSSEqEowRzAVn28.jpg 5. Zoner Photo Studio Freehttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png Another easy raw processing tool, but some great features are missing from the free edition You’ll be prompted to register using an email address the first time you use Zoner Photo Studio Free – mainly to manage any software licenses if you decide to buy the full versions of any of the company’s apps. The software is very easy to use – just click the ‘Develop’ tab and use the sliders to create different effects. Once you’ve finished, you can export the image as a compressed file, or share it via Twitter, Facebook, or email. As is name suggested, Zoner Photo Studio Free is a cut-down version of a premium program, and although it’s a capable Lightroom alternative, it lacks tools like batch filtering, geotagging, noise reduction, selections and masks, and color management. However, if you simply want to process your pictures quickly and find tools like RawTherapee and LightZone a bit intimidating, Zoner Photo Studio Free could be an ideal solution. Download here: Zoner Photo Studio Free http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/DMYLitmd1KQ

Privacy is always a touchy aspect of the social media experience, but unauthorized gathering of personal info - especially for use by law enforcement - tends to hit that nerve especially hard. To that end, Facebook and picture-sharing service Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, have reworded their platform policies for third-party developers, making it clear that using personal data for surveillance is banned. "Our goal is to make our policy explicit," says Facebook's official Privacy Policy page. "Over the past several months we have taken enforcement action against developers who created and marketed tools meant for surveillance, in violation of our existing policies." In case it seemed foggy the first time, Facebook's new platform policy makes it explicit, asking developers not to use Facebook data to "provide tools that are used for surveillance" flat-out. Additionally, a Facebook representative tells us that the site's platform policy is global - affecting developers from all regions planning to work with the blue-and-white internet giant. News FeedingPolicy updates are a common practice for Facebook, with some other recent changes preventing issues such as discriminatory ads, companies using Facebook data to approve or deny loans, and promoting payday loans to users. However, there may be a more specific inspiration behind Facebook's latest rewrite, following an instance of law enforcement using Facebook data against the site's policies to track protesters in the US, according to The Guardian. The social media hub was urged by the American Civil Liberties Union to update its policies following accusations of a third-party social media developer feeding Facebook data to law enforcement officials. This data was reportedly marketed to and used by police to monitor individuals that checked in at protest sites, used hashtags associated with protests, or interacted with activist groups on social media. Facebook and Instagram have since addressed this particular issue, and hope that the more direct wording will ensure a developer "understands the underlying policy and how to comply" when it comes to handling your data. Here are some privacy and safety tips for your Facebook accounthttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/jf6irq4e2es

http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png We love Handbrake so much we’ve written a song about it. “Handbrake Handbrake Handbrake! Handbrake Handbrake Handbrake! Na na na na! Na na na na!” Good, isn’t it? The app certainly is: it’s a fantastic tool for anybody who needs to rip DVDs (or other kinds of video disc) or convert audio or video files from one format to another. It’s been around forever with a price tag of zero, for which we’re very grateful. Why you need itPresets! Not only does Handbrake provide extensive options for pixel perfectionists, but it comes with a really useful stack of presets that provide one-click access to common formats. If you’ve ever wrestled with trying to convert video for an iPhone, PSP or other device, you’ll be clicking the download button already. It’s not just about devices, though. It can transcode between H.264, H.265, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, VP8 and Theora, and its audio powers include AAC, CoreAudio AAC/HE-AAC, MP3, FLAC, AC3 and Vorbis. That means it’s a great tool for converting any kind of media into whatever format you need. All together now: Handbrake Handbrake Handbrake! Handbrake Handbrake Handbrake! Na na na na! Na na na na! Download here: Handbrake http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/XpjytZKadYHuY5Kqsnopd7.jpg Popular downloadsThe most popular software available to download from TechRadar right now: Windows Movie Maker: One of the best free video editors around. Simply drag and drop videos, audio and photos onto the timeline, and trim them to fit. LibreOffice: An excellent alternative to Microsoft Office, with tools for making and editing text, presentations, spreadsheets, graphics, equations and charts. AVG Antivirus Free: Top quality protection doesn’t have to cost a penny. AVG has received the gold award in independent virus detection tests. GIMP: Not only does GIMP provide all the standard drawing and editing tools, it’s packed with powerful built-in plugins that rival professional photo editors. VLC Media Player: VLC Media Player can handle pretty much any video or audio file without any additional codecs. The only media player you’ll ever need. http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/RIlj-WAPDTs

http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png WPS Office FreeIf you need an office suite but don’t want or can’t afford Microsoft Office 365, you have several options. You can go for Google Docs and accept its limitations in favour of its collaboration features and decent storage. You can download an Office-a-like program or suite that kicks it old school with the interface from Office 2003. Or you can go for WPS Office Free, which looks fantastic, works brilliantly and doesn’t cost a penny. Why you need itBecause some kind of Office-style software is pretty much mandatory if you’re doing business or want to access the stuff your kids do at school, and it’s handy to have in its own right too. WPS Office Free provides three apps (Writer, Presentation and Spreadsheets), looks very much like the current version of Microsoft Office, and offers compatibility with all major file formats – including Microsoft ones. You’ll see the odd ad for the paid-for version, which adds powerful PDF editing and offers technical support, but the free version covers all the essential features and provides a whole host of good-looking templates to help you get started with your document, spreadsheet or presentation. It really is a must-download. Download here: WPS Office Free http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/Pckh5MydzMQ

The world of workplace communication services is as cut-throat as the actual workforce, and today Google is rolling out a massive Hangouts overhaul to better compete with every other service vying for top spot. More than just a somewhat-casual chat client now, Google wants to position Hangouts as the go-to enterprise chat offering through which you collaborate with colleagues no matter where you are in the world. Hangouts has essentially split into two experiences: Hangouts Meet and Hangouts Chat. Hangouts Meet is a revamped take on video conferencing, one that features faster and more seamless connectivity. You can join a video call from a Calendar invite or via a shared link – no more logging out of and into the right account (happens to us all the time) or needing the proper plug-ins, Google says. Up to 30 people can join a VC, and a lighter interface should help presentations and confabs run more smoothly. Presenting in full screen comes native, and because Meet taps into G Suite, any pertinent meeting details you've notated in Calendar are automatically ported over. G Suite Enterprise members are also treated to a dedicated dial-in phone number when using Meet. Google tells us Meet is rolling out gradually starting today, and all G Suite customers will see it in the coming weeks. While Meet and Chat are designed for G Suite customers (read: you'll need to pay for a G Suite plan), we're also told there will be freemium versions of both applications. Chat-tasticAs for Hangouts Chat, it's basically Google's take on Slack. The app super -chargers the current Hangouts platform, but now features rooms, threaded conversations and G Suite integration. The latter allows for content from Drive, Docs, and photos and videos to be viewed within a chat stream. There's also search, which lets you go back in the conversation history to find what you're looking for (Slack users will be familiar with this feature). http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/RFoNGrWjyLgyvwzWWQL3xN.gif Particularly interesting additions are Chat's support of bots and ability to integrate with third-party apps, giving users access to more services beyond Hangouts' walls. Asana, Box, Prosperworks and Zendesk are working with Google on expanding the platform. And just as Slack has slackbot, Hangouts Chat features its own bot in the form of @meet. Recognizing natural language and tapping into machine learning, @meet can set up meetings for you via Meet and Google Calendar. Hangouts Chat is available in the Early Adopter Program via a closed beta, where it will stay for a while, we're told. Customers can apply to join the beta, or wait for Chat's full roll out down the road. We rank the best laptops of the yearhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/bBk1B7yLz5U

It sounds like you won’t have to wait until Microsoft’s Build 2017 event to get Microsoft's Windows 10 Creators Update onto your system. Microsoft expects to launch the next major update to Windows 10 on April 11, unnamed sources have leaked to MSPowerUser. Citing three sources “who are close to Microsoft’s plans,” MSPowerUser reports that the rollout of the Creators Update – called "Redstone 2" internally – will begin on April 11. The keyword here, of course, is “rollout”. You see, even if this report turns out to be true, not everyone is expected get the Creators Update exactly on its purported April 11 release date, but rather Microsoft will release the update in waves. (And on PC devices first, at that.) This is to avoid overloading its servers with concurrent downloads, thus providing a smooth download for everyone. MSPowerUser goes on to note that, report or not, this release date is not final, having been sourced from those close to Microsoft, not from an announcement or promotional materials. However, the outlet suspects that, based on this information, Microsoft will sign off on the final Creators Update build come mid-March, meaning Windows Insiders – basically, beta testers that anyone can join up with – should be able to try out the near-final version shortly thereafter. The Creators Update is expected to bring a host of conveniences, creativity tools and gaming improvements to Microsoft’s comeback operating system (OS). Improvements to the OS’s transparency and privacy protocols are also expected, so we’re waiting with bated breath for this major, creativity-focused update. Even still, MSPowerUser anticipates an even bigger update from Microsoft for its internally-named “Redstone 3” release during the fourth quarter of this year. That would break Microsoft’s cadence of releasing smaller updates in the autumn or winter and larger ones in the spring or summer, so we’ll be on the lookout for this next one especially so. We've contacted Microsoft for comment, and will update this story should we receive one. All of your burning Windows 10 Game Mode questions answeredhttp://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/SFL7wxAPNec

WPS Office Freehttp://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Z3NPEW36KgeQUzUqXReN6.png If you need an office suite but don’t want or can’t afford Microsoft Office 365, you have several options. You can go for Google Docs and accept its limitations in favour of its collaboration features and decent storage. You can download an Office-a-like program or suite that kicks it old school with the interface from Office 2003. Or you can go for WPS Office Free, which looks fantastic, works brilliantly and doesn’t cost a penny. Why you need itBecause some kind of Office-style software is pretty much mandatory if you’re doing business or want to access the stuff your kids do at school, and it’s handy to have in its own right too. WPS Office Free provides three apps (Writer, Presentation and Spreadsheets), looks very much like the current version of Microsoft Office, and offers compatibility with all major file formats – including Microsoft ones. You’ll see the odd ad for the paid-for version, which adds powerful PDF editing and offers technical support, but the free version covers all the essential features and provides a whole host of good-looking templates to help you get started with your document, spreadsheet or presentation. It really is a must-download. Download here: WPS Office Free http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/techradar/software-news/~4/NnGz7Dolvmo