Here at Stardock, we love Science Fiction of all kinds: books, movies, comics, shows, you name it. Admittedly, I'm a bit more of a high fantasy girl myself, but I definitely love my Star Wars and Star Trek , and let's not exclude the glory that is Galaxy Quest . In another blog recently, I discussed genres and how they applied to gaming, specifically strategy - but it certainly applies here, as well. After all, Science Fiction isn't Science Fiction without certain elements, and there have be...
Amazon unveiled plans for the new "Amazon One" machine yesterday, a contactless card reader that accesses your payment information through just a wave of your hand. Users will insert their credit card and then hover their palms over the device in order to link the payment mechanism with their palm signatures. Once the card is on file, you'll be able to enter the store in the future just by holding your palm over the device for 1-2 seconds. Amazon stresses that the device is contactless, w...
I’ve been reminiscing about college a lot, lately. In particular, I have been remembering my “Studies in Genre” class. The class consisted of a lot of peer discussion and literary dissection as we broke down what elements made a particular genre that genre (Science Fiction, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, etc.). Our professor equated it to being like a recipe: all of these different elements combine in a pot and out pops your genre (I am positive she had a much more eloquent...
Microsoft announced on Monday via a letter on Xbox Wire from Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, that they had acquired ZeniMax Media and publisher Bethesda Softworks. "Bethesda's games have always had a special place on Xbox and in the hearts of millions of gamers around the world," Spencer said in his statement. "Our teams have a close and storied history working together, from the amazing first DOOM, and its id Tech engine, innovating games on PCs to Bethesda bringing their first console game t...
If you love a coordinated and stylish desktop, then you really need to try Curtains . Taking advantage of the groundwork built to support light and dark mode, Curtains will let you apply new styles along the lines of Dark and Light Modes to Windows® 10. It also includes styles that will let you make Windows look like Windows XP, Windows 95, or other operating systems! Use the built-in style editor and can create your own Style modes! We just released v1.1 y...
Stardock releases v1.1 for Curtains ™ , the popular Windows customization app v1.1 is now available for all Curtains and Object Desktop ™ users Stardock released a v1.1 update for Curtains today. One of Stardock’s newest customization tools, Curtains allows users to apply new styles along the lines of Dark Mode and Light to Windows ® 10. Taking advantage of the groundwork built to support light and dark mode, Curtains inclu...
In Spring of 2018, Microsoft's Project Natick team deployed the Northern Isles datacenter 117 feet deep to the seafloor off the coast of Scotland's Orkney Islands. Earlier this summer, marine specialists reeled up the shipping-container sized datacenter from the seafloor in order to study it and confirm their hypotheses regarding the viability of underwater datacenters. The team hypothesized that a sealed container on the ocean floor could provide ways to improve the overall reliability...
When I first came to Stardock and started learning about all of our software, one program in particular eluded my understanding: Multiplicity. What exactly is Multiplicity? Why on earth would I ever need to use it? It felt somewhat intimidating to me. However, having spent more time using the application, I've discovered that it's far more convenient and useful than I originally realized. My personal use of Multiplicity is fairly modest, though I know there are plenty of other peo...
***SPOILER ALERT*** If you haven't watched season 1 of The Mandalorian yet, this article discusses some important plot elements. If you care about being surprised, read no further - drop what you're doing and go give it a watch! If you've been missing the adventures of Mando and his adorable charge known only as The Child, then you don't have much longer to wait. Disney+ confirmed last week that Season 2 of The Mandalorian will debut on October 30th, 2020. E ...
Today we're going to talk a bit about the history and evolution of WindowBlinds, which released all the way back in 1999 (for the mathematically challenged, that's 21 years ago...yikes!). WindowBlinds was the first program that let users customize the look and feel of the Windows GUI and is still widely popular today. Although the start of WindowBlinds was long before I came to Stardock (I started here in September 2015), I took a dive through the forums and the website to take a look all the...
If you've been holding off on getting a Netflix subscription for whatever reason, the streaming giant is ready to give you a taste of what they have to offer through a free (no subscription or free trial required!) selection of movies and shows. The selection was made available over the weekend and includes popular movies like Bird Box , Murder Mystery, and shows like Stranger Things and When They See Us. Netflix's "watch free" page has an arra...
IKEA is killing the social media game during Quarantine 2020. Between releasing their meatball recipe (complete with IKEA diagrams!) and a series of how-to-build your own blanket forts , they have been bringing humor to an otherwise frustrating time. Most recently, the company’s Taiwan division released an homage to Animal Crossing by replicating segments of their 2021 catalog directly in the game. It’s extremely clever, super creative, and definitely put a smil...
Stardock announces v1.1 for Curtains, the popular Windows customization app The v1.1 beta for all Curtains and Object Desktop users is available now Stardock released a v1.1 beta for Curtains today, its popular customization tool that allows users to apply new styles along the lines of Dark and Light Modes to Windows® 10. Taking advantage of the groundwork built to support light and dark mode, Curtains includes several new styles including Crystal, Sky, and Mi...
Last Friday, Microsoft announced a new Insider Preview build for Windows. Build 20197 focuses primarily on bringing Disk Management into the operating system's Settings panel. The build is currently out in the Dev Channel right now and introduces a new Manage Disks and Volumes screen under Settings > System Storage. Users will be able to view disk information, create and format volumes, and assign drive letters this way. In their blog, Microsoft describes the new feature as a "m...
I’ll be honest: I’ve never quite understood speed running. I mean, yes, I understand the concept of speed running games and how it works, but I suppose I’ve never completely understood the overall appeal. That’s not to knock on speed gamers - you do you! - but I am more of a meanderer when it comes to my games. When I watch a speedrunner click rapidly through all of the dialogue or skip huge chunks of my favorite RPGs, I get a little squirrely. That ...