Category: Microsoft Windows

It has been anticipated for a while now but Gameloft has finally release Age of Sparta for Windows Phone and Windows.  The new game puts you in charge of the Greek army as you wage war against Xerxes and the Persians.  Using the powers at your disposal and with the help of the Greek Gods, you rebuild your city to get resources and an army to mount your campaign.  You can of course also align yourself with other players to form a bigger army and battle rivals.

While the game concept is not unique, Age of Sparta does have some outstanding characters and graphics as you play.  As most readers will know, I’m a big fan of Age of Empires Castle Siege and I like these top down, world building type of games.  This one fits the bill and brings a unique, historical twist to what could be a tired format for some.  Given that Age of Sparta is free, it is worth a try.

Age of Sparta for Windows Phone – Free (In-App Purchases) – Download Now

Age of Sparta for Windows – Free (In-App Purchases) – Download Now

Coin collecting has been something that humans have done almost since coinage was invented.  Often referred to as the “Hobby of Kings” during the Renaissance, over the past two centuries has become more affordable and easier to do than ever.  Those who collect coins seriously, Numismatics, today now have the benefit of technology and applications that even a few years ago was not available.  When I started collecting back in the mid-80s, coin grading and cataloging all had to be done by hand.  Now, it’s all done with apps but there is – and always will be – a human judgment factor when it comes to grading coins.  That is where an app like PCGS Photograde can make it easier for the seasoned collector and those new to the hobby.

PCGS Photograde comes from the company Professional Coin Grading Service, or PCGS.  They have been professionally grading coins for 30 years now and have had apps on various platforms to help hobbist leverage their experience to grade their own coins.  The PCGS Photograde app for Windows is the most comprehensive coin grading app available and gives high resolution photos of a wide range of US coins to help you determine the grades of your own coins.  It is a great way to figure out if that Lincoln Wheat Cent is a Fine-12 or an Extra Fine-20 and while that may not sound too exciting, it could mean in some cases hundreds of dollars difference in value.  Whether you have been collecting for a long time or just starting out, take a look at the PCGS Photograde app to help you grade your coins.

PCGS Photograde for Windows – Free – Download Now

The evolution of Cortana continues at a rapid pace with the Personal Assistant continuing to get more information of interest to you and bringing it to the fore.  If fact the biggest problem with the updates to Cortana is they happening so fast that they often get missed until you discover them by accident.  That may be the case with the new edition of Showtimes + Trailers and Concert Watch which now appear in the Interests settings of Cortana.  As the names suggest, you can now get movie show times and trailers for new movies in your area while the Concert Watch allows you to get concert information on your favorite bands when they are going to be in your area.

When it comes to photo editing apps for Windows 8.1, they come a dime-a-dozen (kind of like weather apps).  This means in order to raise above the fray that the app has to be exceptional and feature rich.  You get that with the recently released Autodesk Pixlr app for Windows 8.1.  The Modern app gives you a host of editing functionality from the start with powerful auto correcting features to enhance your photos.  The real power of the app comes when you sign up for a free Pixlr account.  Then you can download literally hundreds of filters, frames, stickers and other effects to add to your photos.  Autodesk Pixlr is easy to use and works comfortably on touch enabled tablets as well as mouse or touchpad driven laptops and PCs.  It has become my go-to photo editing app on both my Windows PC and my Toshiba Encore 2 tablet and for the price of exactly zero dollars, it is hard to beat the value.

Autodesk Pixlr for Windows 8.1 – Free – Download Now

Notifications on your tablet or PC are both expected and appreciated by most.  Whether it is an email arrival notification or the latest weather information being popped up, I for one have become dependent on these little tidbits of information that come to me throughout the day.  There are times however when I’m in the middle of another task and I get a notification and need just a few more seconds to tap it and interact with it.  By default Windows 8.1 gives you 5 seconds to either click on the notification (or close it) or it will fade away.  There is a way however to make this displaying of notifications longer and in this How To I will show you where this setting is buried within the PC settings on your device.

Security of portable devices such as tablets and laptops is ever more important in this day where our digital lives are literally on them.  Microsoft recognized this with Windows 8.1 and enabled a new Device Encryption when they released the update last year.  The idea behind Device Encryption is that your device is secure and the recovery key for that encryption is stored on Microsoft’s servers, associated with your Microsoft account (yes, they have access to the key but only access it for law enforcement needs).  Should your Windows 8.1 tablet or PC be stolen or lost, the content of that drive is encrypted and unless someone has your PIN or password then the contents of the device will not be something they can access.

In this How To I’m going to show you how you can disable the Device Encryption on your Windows 8.1 tablet or PC.  It is easy to disable (and enable) but it is a bit buried in the PC Settings.  Now, just because you can do a thing doesn’t mean that you should do a thing.  Really, there is no reason to follow this How To and turn off encryption.  It is for your own safety and personal data security which is why Microsoft has enabled it by default.  If you aren’t comfortable with Microsoft having the recovery key, that’s fine.  Follow this How To so you can disable it then re-encrypt with another encryption software.