PLAY ANY VIDEO ON ANY DEVICE: 5 BEST FREE VIDEO CONVERTERS

What good is having a super-compressed MPEG4 video if you can’t watch it on whatever device you choose? Sure, that movie may look absolutely phenomenal in high-def on your computer, the resolution popping with the visual crispness and fidelity of real life, but it can be a pain to watch on your home console, or — if you want to cut the cord entirely — on your tablet or smartphone. Luckily, quality video converters have been around for several years, allowing users to convert their precious video footage into a number of desirable formats. And they’re completely free.

Most video converters work in a similar way, requiring the user to upload their files and select an appropriate output setting before choosing a save location within their computer’s directory. However, some falter when it comes to speed and conversion quality, while others pave the way with intuitive features that go well beyond your typical video converter and push the software into an entirely different realm — one where video editing and multimedia players intersect.

Here are our picks for the best free video converters so you can free yourself from the ball-and-chain formats of yesterday and convert video so that it’s playable on practically any device you choose. Try to keep your videos to only copyright-free content, if possible, and check out our picks for the best media players and best free video editing software if you’re looking to get your inner filmmaker on. If you’re looking to also boost your photo editing abilities, use our guides on effects you can use to make professional photographs and best free photo editing software.

Update: This post was updated on 9-11-2014 by Emily Schiola to reflect recent software changes. Two new offerings, Clip Converter and Online Convert, were added.

Any Video Converter (Windows/Mac OS X)

The name truly says it all. Any Video Converter is a fantastic piece of freeware that can handle conversions to everything from DicX and MPEG4 to VOB and more than 60 other input formats, all within an attractive and minimalist interface that’s trouble-free and pleasing to navigate without being overly daunting. The software features user-defined video outputs, as well batch processing for converting multiple files simultaneously, and saves all converted video to a pre-designated folder for quick access and organization. Aside from the basic conversion features, AVC can also directly extract and convert audio from any given video into a limited number of formats such as MP3, AAC, WAVE and others. Plus, the program can download and convert YouTube and Google videos by simply pasting the specified video link into the download box and clicking a few buttons.

Although conversion speeds leave something to be desired, and the built-in DVD burner is a bit finicky, the resulting video quality is excellent, especially when paired with the barebones editor that allows you to trim, crop, and layer video effects for a more hands-on approach. AVC covers a good deal of format ground – offering conversions for mobile devices and consoles, among other machines – making it one of the most user-friendly and adoptable freemium products in our roundup.

Handbrake (Windows/Mac OS X)

Handbrake seemed on its last legs back in 2006 when the software’s initial creator, Eric Petit, seemingly dropped off the face of the Earth. However, software development carried on with a help a few ambitious folk who were driven to update and revise the existing software for a changing world. The open-source video converter now boasts one of the most expansive software packages for ripping and converting video files for playback on number of popular devices such as iPods, AppleTV, and Android tablets. The interface is sleek and well-designed, yet intimidating, offering a variety of customizable, borderline-advanced features that take a bit of getting used to before you can really capitalize on their capabilities and intuitive uses. However, the HandBrake guide andforums are always available if you need help without having to spend ample time fumbling with the program.

Handbrake also doesn’t feature any ads or bundled malware – a welcoming touch – but conversion speeds can drag, and the software certainly isn’t light on system resources. Other noteworthy features include an abundance of video editing tools for splicing, adjusting framerate, and adding subtitles and assorted video effects before viewing the results in a live preview window. More tenacious people can even queue multiple encodes for quicker batch processing and expedited results sans tedious manual input. Handbrake simply can’t be topped when converting files to MP4 or MKV format, but it also isn’t for beginners unwilling to learn the software.

MediaCoder (Windows/Mac OS X)

If you’re willing to delve headfirst into the software, MediaCoder is a capable program loaded with terrific conversion features. The interface, though bewildering at first glance, is relatively straightforward once you learn your way around, offering a boatload of customizable features for converting video to a specified output format of your choice. Whether you want to batch process a number of AVI files to MPEG or compress files for a reduced memory footprint, MediaCoder can handle it (albeit with a throwback design). You can find additional settings for modifying the output –including those for converting video to grayscale, quarter-pixel, cartoon, or high-quality mode – as well as bitrate adjustments for both the audio and video components of your file. Speed and resulting quality are also grade A, with quick conversion and an emphasis on maintaining the original quality across formats.

MediaCoder is an exceptional piece of software, but it’s geared more towards the tech aficionado opposed to the first-time user trying to make a zippy conversions without all the frills that come associated with some of today’s more capable, feature-packed programs. There are other basic tools bundled in the software, such as a direct audio extractor and a CD burner, but they are merely bonuses given the software’s focus on transcoding and output compatibility.

Format Factory (Windows)

Whereas Any Video Converter is child’s play, and MediaCoder something a bit more difficult, Format Factory straddles the line somewhere between. The fully featured software has much to boast about, including multiple format outputs for audio, video, and images, as well as an elegant interface that allows users to seamlessly transition between the three multimedia types without awkward interruptions or having to navigate away from the main window. Conversions can be as basic as need be or highly customizable depending on each need, but even the default settings work wonders. Video size, bitrate, aspect ratio, and the encode can all be changed in the output menu, along with a slew of options for adjusting the audio components and quality, adding watermarks, rotating video, and inputting subtitles.

There’s no option for saving presets, and the software can be a bit buggy from time to time, but Format Factory is equipped with step-by-step instructions for performing basic tasks, and it produces videos as intended without straining your resources. Remain alert during the installation process though, as the software will attempt to install a few unwanted search tools and browser modifications without you noticing.

Cloud Convert (Web-based)

Not everyone wants to download a standalone application to fulfill their video converting needs. Luckily, Clip Converter is one of the best online tools for simple file downloads and conversion. Although still in the beta phase, the free-to-use site allows users to select files – ranging from FLV and MLV files to 3GP and MPEG4 – from their Google Drive or Dropbox account, or drag them directly into the browser window from their desktop. The entire conversion process takes place “in the cloud,” and output settings – like aspect ratio, codec, bitrate, and resolution – can also be tweaked from the Web app’s sparse interface prior to converting the files. Cloud Convert will even automatically email you or drop the resulting file in your Google Drive or Dropbox account in lieu of saving it to your computer.

The Web-based software lacks the feature set and speed of standalone programs for Windows and Mac OS X, but it’s more than proficient in converting a range of files without ever deviating from the smooth interface and easily navigable design that have made the software one of the best available. It would have been nice to see a few additional features, such as direct audio ripping or a more advanced editing utilities, but it’s a video converter at heart – and that’s precisely what it intends to be. Plus, no ads!

Clip Converter (Web-based)

Clip Converter was one of the first online converters and it remains one of the simplest for multiple reasons. The free software is primarily designed for downloading and converting video files from their native format into something more accessible, handling everything from MP4 and 3GP files to AVI and MOV with incredible ease. Additional options allow you strip audio from specified videos, providing files in a either MP3, M4A, or ACC format. Unfortunately, the site doesn’t allow much customization when it comes to video or audio files. You can typically download video files at the highest resolution available, or less if you’re worried about space, but audio is limited to 320 kbps or the highest quality available. Options for converting files into mono or stereo are also available, as is the convenient option to embed ID3 v2 tags.

As for speed, Clip Converter is remarkably quick, often converting video files in than 30 seconds once you insert the URL for you desired video into the dark-grey entry field. The interface is a bit outdated and conversion options are restricted to a select few, but navigating the site is fairily self-explanatory, and the Web-based software doesn’t require additional software downloads or leave a heavy footprint on your computer. However, like any free piece of software on the Web, you’e prone to bevy of advertisements and the occasional browser timeout.

Online-Convert (Web-based)

Whereas Clip Converter revels in the most minimalist setup of any Web-based offering on our list, Online-Convert represents one the most robust. The streamlined homepage makes the available conversion options immediately apparent, providing a slew of tools for converting video, audio, images, documents, ebooks, and other files. The video component of the site houses options for converting files to FLV, MP4, MOV, and more than 20 other popular formats, with additional options for changing the screen size, audio quality, bitrate, and other making other minor adjustments. Furthermore, you can use the search function in the top-right corner of the page to quickly check if Online-Convert is capable of making your desire conversion. If it’s not, the developers invite you to write in with conversion suggestions they may be able to implement in the future.

While most user will experience little trouble uploading and converting video files, the site does require you to opt for a premium membership if you need to upload a file larger than 100MB or simultaneously convert four files at once. Nonetheless, the site is stable, relatively devoid of ads, and provides a wide variety of format options without requiring you to download additional software or unwanted browser extensions. Plus, what other site on our roundup includes a hash generator?

Honorable mentions

In today’s day and age, there’s often little room on our roundup for the software that skirts just below the quality bar we set. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t a handful of other capable, free video converters worth checking out if you’re looking for something else. Below are just a few of the other standouts amid the myriad of video-conversion software. Some are light on features, some are more robust, but give ‘em a look nonetheless.

Read More

Best Antivirus Solutions for Windows

For those that are still operating the unsupported Windows XP, there's good news. While Microsoft may be done helping to keep your system safe, third-party antivirus software are pulling in some overtime to make sure your systems are still protected from online threats. In an independent analysis of over 20 antivirus protection offerings by AV-Test, the security firm has found that many of the big names are still doing an adequate job protecting connected XP systems. And, in a few cases, some products are doing a perfect job. First, let's run down AV-Test's methodology. The firm scores software on three criteria: protection, performance, and usability. Each section can score a maximum of six points and a perfect test would result in a score of 18. For the protection portion, software is loaded up onto a clean machine and AV-Test throws a malware cocktail made of zero-day malware attacks, classic known attacks and dangerous Web sites are visited. Even though it's been more than three months since support for XP has ended, 13 of the tested software were able to block everything thrown at them and scored a perfect six. This includes popular products like Kaspersky Internet Security 2014, McAfee Internet Security 2014, Norton Internet Security 2014 and F-Secure Internet Security 2014. Not all fared so well. Microsoft's free Security Essentials 4.5 only scored half a point and was the lowest scoring of the batch. This shouldn't come as a huge surprise as Microsoft announced at the beginning of the year that it would no longer support the antivirus software once XP support ended in April. In the next round of testing, which focused on performance, clean systems with the antivirus software installed completed 13 real-world computing tasks, including downloading files from the Internet, installing programs and running Microsoft Office, to see if the security software affected the speed and performance of the machines. Again, there were some that scored a perfect six, including Panda Cloud Antivirus Free 3.0. Microsoft's Security Essentials once again held up the rear with a score of three. The final test measured usability by rating the distractions caused by warning messages appearing due to false positives and how often safe applications were flagged as malicious. All tested software performed well for this round, with the lowest score being awarded to Comodo Internet Security Premium 7.0 for a score of four. Overall, AV-Test's latest round of analysis shows that if you still want to keep your XP system, security vendors will continue to support you without the help of Microsoft. And some are forming a lot better than others. Panda's Cloud Antivirus Free 3.0, Kaspersky Internet Security 2014 and Bitdefender Internet Security 2014 all scored a perfect 30 in what looks to be AV-Test's last round of testing for Windows XP. For those with XP machines connected to the Internet, how has your system held up since the end of official security support in April? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

The challenge facing today's administrators is that an effective antivirus solution can't just stop at the desktop client. With users' expectations to access data anytime, anywhere, and from any device, the tools we use to protect them have to demonstrate the ability to adapt to these new expectations without sacrificing convenience or performance. Security solutions that have mobile devices, cloud-based services all under the same management suite are becoming more popular. Along with deeper scan products designed to protect against ransomware using predictive and hardware accelerated technologies.

Windows 8.1 can be monitored and managed with the with Windows Intune. 2012 is designed to allow an organization to manage an entire environment and comes with the complexity and overhead of a far-reaching tool that lacks the granularity of virus management and protection.

The Windows Defender product is a basic consumer level antivirus solution that lands somewhere in the middle of the pack for consumer protection at best. It is not designed for the workplace; for example, it offers little email or browsing protection. Centralized management is questionable with System Center 2012 and with the tremendous overhead that comes with System Center 2012 it can be too much management for a mid-tier product, even under ideal circumstances. 

Read More

Best Free Paint Program Tips And Tricks

Introduction Paint programs, although they overlap in functions, are really a different class of product from raster editors such as Adobe Photoshop and the GIMP. Both the aforementioned apply artistic filter effects to photos and transform them to look like works of art. Vector-graphics drawing software, such as CorelDRAW and Inkscape, which are programs that have freehand illustration tools with the ability to render images at any size, also differ. Even traditional 2D animation programs like Toon Boom Studio and Pencil, that use both raster/vector imaging, are more concerned with animation rather than paint manipulation. A paint software application is supposed to mimic traditional painting mediums and effects more than just a bitmap drawing program like Microsoft Paint. My only two requirements are graphic tablet support and the feel of natural paint on a digital canvas. All artists at one time or another dream of doing a comic book and cartoon animation, so if it supports animation or booklet pages, it's a plus. WOW, these free paint programs are truly a fantastic work of art. Any one of these will definitely satisfy the inner artist in you. Listed in favorite order:

Discussion

Project DogWaffle is surprisingly full featured. It has a comprehensive set of tools, including fully customizable brushes, lots of filters and effects, multiple color selection options, a good set of color gradients, animation aids and more. On the downside the program runs slowly on older PCs, has limited layer support, has a clunky cut and paste mechanism and only handles BMP and Targa files. Don't let its appearance or unfamiliar menu controls fool you, this is a great totally artistic program to get.

Krita is an open source painting and drawing program, previously a part of KOffice bundle now available as a separate program. It is packed with rich tools like artistic text, calligraphy, fill and gradient, various shapes, outline, fill, zoom pan, layer management, channel management, undo, scripts etc. It supports various filters such as kaleidoscope, stereographic projection, phong bumpmap, sobel, edge detection, sectorize, roundify, hipno, tunnel, random pick, HSV adjustment, etc. Also, it supports various file formats like .kra, EXR, OpenRaster document, PSD image, Gimp image, PPM, PGM, PBM, PNG, JPEG-2000, PDF, ODG draw, BMP Windows, XPM, GIF, XBM, Krita Flipbook, Adobe DNG negative and Camera RAW. And it is capable of saving output to .kra, OpenRaster document, PSD image, PPM, PGM, PBM, PNG, JPEG-2000, JPEG, BMP Windows, XBM, TIFF, EXR and even PDF. Krita is available for Windows vista and up, and various Linux distributions. The main con in Krita is its big download size about 115 MB.

MyPaint is a fast and easy graphics application for digital painters. It lets you focus on the art instead of the program. It comes with a large brush collection including charcoal and ink to emulate natural painting. If you want to look deeper, MyPaint is built around a highly configurable brush engine. This allows you to experiment with your own brushes and with not-quite-so-natural painting.

Realworld Paint is a super painting program which supports drawing natural, digital and animation images and has features for retouching photos. All the features are nicely placed in its user interface. Some of the main features it is packed with include animation support, Fill, Shapes with/without effects, brushes with/without effects, crop, magic wand, red eye removal, watermark support and more. Brushes and other effects are highly configurable. It supports Psd, jpeg, gif, png, xcf, pdn, webp etc photo formats. The best part I like about this program is its compatibility with major industry standard products like Photoshop and Gimp, which means you can import/export files between these with ease. If we talk about the downside, the biggest one about this product is its development. Unfortunately the latest stable version of this program is approximately 2 years old. But still, it is a good choice for painting, photo retouching and even for animation/web designing.

PictBear is an excellent paint program and is packed with comprehensive set of tools and features. Its user interface is very convenient or conventional and all the tools are quite easy to understand and use from newbie to advanced and experienced artists. Some of the advanced features PictBear is packed with include: layers, gradients, good range of brushes & plug-ins, image and mask editing, cascade, tiles and tab support with multi tasking capabilities, script support, cut/copy/paste/fill/zoom/eraser/dropper/various shapes tools, etc., which make it a brilliant paint program. PictBear supports lots of picture formats including: gif, jpg, bmp, png, psd, pbx, tiff, pcx, ras, tga, wmf, jsf and j2k. On the other hand, if we talk about the downside, the biggest one this product has is its development is finished.

SmoothDraw is a feature rich natural painting program for free-hand drawing artists. It includes features like layers, various effects, fill, move, select, hand tool, advance undo/redo, various brushes and tools, paper texture, ink flow, grain, etc. It supports high configuration of brushes and tools like configuration of brush/tool size and ink-flow, which make it best for natural drawings. In addition to this, it supports various photo file formats like png, jpeg, sddoc, etc. It is a nice choice for natural drawing and free-hand artists. PS: Thanks to Panzer for suggesting this cool program. ;)

Pixia is the English version of a popular Japanese painting and retouching software for full color graphics. It supports masks, layers and many other editing functions. You can use your own customized brush tips and even use an image file as a brush tip to create unique effects. With the new engine the paint feels smooth like ArtRage. It has lots of free plug-ins, and filter downloads that make this program quite unique and different from other tools. This is well worth picking up for painting on photographs.

TwistedBrush has one of the most versatile and powerful brush engines in existence, yet it was designed from day one to be easy to use. “Simplicity without sacrifice, powerful enough for the professional artist, yet simple enough for the novice” as noted on their website. The quick start guide is a nice intro to the program's abilities. TwistedBrush Open Studio is designed for all realms of digital art including natural media fine art and even has all the great features of TwistedBrush Pro Studio, albeit just a handful of the very fine brushes are included and without any brush editing ability.

Tux Paint is basically a program designed for children but it has some nice tools and supports different brushes that forced me to add this program in this category. Its user interface is really simple, neat and clean. The set of tools are really easy to use because it is designed for children. The scope of using Tux Paint is endless; anyone can use it because of the wide features it supports. Some of the features Tux Paint is packed with are shapes, stamps, advance undo/redo, brushes, magic brush with various magic stroke (special effects), slides, starters options, Text and Label tools and more. The features I liked most in Tux Paint are funny sounds on click and Parental & Teacher Controls.

Laz Paint is one of the good paint program with rich features and clean graphical user interface. It is easy to install and to use; it is packed with various superb features like Render, Filter, Gradient, Deformation, Text Mapping, advance colour selection, magic wand and more, which make it more than just a paint program. It is meant for people who want to invest their free time in painting and art. Despite of its smalll download size, it has so much to show and we can do more than just bitmap drawing which are offered by bigger programs. Best of all it is open source.

MyPaint is a fast and easy graphics application for digital painters. It lets you focus on the art instead of the program. It comes with a large brush collection including charcoal and ink to emulate natural painting. If you want to look deeper, MyPaint is built around a highly configurable brush engine. This allows you to experiment with your own brushes and with not-quite-so-natural painting.

Realworld Paint is a super painting program which supports drawing natural, digital and animation images and has features for retouching photos. All the features are nicely placed in its user interface. Some of the main features it is packed with include animation support, Fill, Shapes with/without effects, brushes with/without effects, crop, magic wand, red eye removal, watermark support and more. Brushes and other effects are highly configurable. It supports Psd, jpeg, gif, png, xcf, pdn, webp etc photo formats. The best part I like about this program is its compatibility with major industry standard products like Photoshop and Gimp, which means you can import/export files between these with ease. If we talk about the downside, the biggest one about this product is its development. Unfortunately the latest stable version of this program is approximately 2 years old. But still, it is a good choice for painting, photo retouching and even for animation/web designing.

PictBear is an excellent paint program and is packed with comprehensive set of tools and features. Its user interface is very convenient or conventional and all the tools are quite easy to understand and use from newbie to advanced and experienced artists. Some of the advanced features PictBear is packed with include: layers, gradients, good range of brushes & plug-ins, image and mask editing, cascade, tiles and tab support with multi tasking capabilities, script support, cut/copy/paste/fill/zoom/eraser/dropper/various shapes tools, etc., which make it a brilliant paint program. PictBear supports lots of picture formats including: gif, jpg, bmp, png, psd, pbx, tiff, pcx, ras, tga, wmf, jsf and j2k. On the other hand, if we talk about the downside, the biggest one this product has is its development is finished.

SmoothDraw is a feature rich natural painting program for free-hand drawing artists. It includes features like layers, various effects, fill, move, select, hand tool, advance undo/redo, various brushes and tools, paper texture, ink flow, grain, etc. It supports high configuration of brushes and tools like configuration of brush/tool size and ink-flow, which make it best for natural drawings. In addition to this, it supports various photo file formats like png, jpeg, sddoc, etc. It is a nice choice for natural drawing and free-hand artists. PS: Thanks to Panzer for suggesting this cool program. ;)

Pixia is the English version of a popular Japanese painting and retouching software for full color graphics. It supports masks, layers and many other editing functions. You can use your own customized brush tips and even use an image file as a brush tip to create unique effects. With the new engine the paint feels smooth like ArtRage. It has lots of free plug-ins, and filter downloads that make this program quite unique and different from other tools. This is well worth picking up for painting on photographs.

TwistedBrush has one of the most versatile and powerful brush engines in existence, yet it was designed from day one to be easy to use. “Simplicity without sacrifice, powerful enough for the professional artist, yet simple enough for the novice” as noted on their website. The quick start guide is a nice intro to the program's abilities. TwistedBrush Open Studio is designed for all realms of digital art including natural media fine art and even has all the great features of TwistedBrush Pro Studio, albeit just a handful of the very fine brushes are included and without any brush editing ability.

Tux Paint is basically a program designed for children but it has some nice tools and supports different brushes that forced me to add this program in this category. Its user interface is really simple, neat and clean. The set of tools are really easy to use because it is designed for children. The scope of using Tux Paint is endless; anyone can use it because of the wide features it supports. Some of the features Tux Paint is packed with are shapes, stamps, advance undo/redo, brushes, magic brush with various magic stroke (special effects), slides, starters options, Text and Label tools and more. The features I liked most in Tux Paint are funny sounds on click and Parental & Teacher Controls.

Laz Paint is one of the good paint program with rich features and clean graphical user interface. It is easy to install and to use; it is packed with various superb features like Render, Filter, Gradient, Deformation, Text Mapping, advance colour selection, magic wand and more, which make it more than just a paint program. It is meant for people who want to invest their free time in painting and art. Despite of its smalll download size, it has so much to show and we can do more than just bitmap drawing which are offered by bigger programs. Best of all it is open source.

MyPaint is a fast and easy graphics application for digital painters. It lets you focus on the art instead of the program. It comes with a large brush collection including charcoal and ink to emulate natural painting. If you want to look deeper, MyPaint is built around a highly configurable brush engine. This allows you to experiment with your own brushes and with not-quite-so-natural painting. Realworld Paint is a super painting program which supports drawing natural, digital and animation images and has features for retouching photos. All the features are nicely placed in its user interface. Some of the main features it is packed with include animation support, Fill, Shapes with/without effects, brushes with/without effects, crop, magic wand, red eye removal, watermark support and more. Brushes and other effects are highly configurable. It supports Psd, jpeg, gif, png, xcf, pdn, webp etc photo formats. The best part I like about this program is its compatibility with major industry standard products like Photoshop and Gimp, which means you can import/export files between these with ease. If we talk about the downside, the biggest one about this product is its development. Unfortunately the latest stable version of this program is approximately 2 years old. But still, it is a good choice for painting, photo retouching and even for animation/web designing. PictBear is an excellent paint program and is packed with comprehensive set of tools and features. Its user interface is very convenient or conventional and all the tools are quite easy to understand and use from newbie to advanced and experienced artists. Some of the advanced features PictBear is packed with include: layers, gradients, good range of brushes & plug-ins, image and mask editing, cascade, tiles and tab support with multi tasking capabilities, script support, cut/copy/paste/fill/zoom/eraser/dropper/various shapes tools, etc., which make it a brilliant paint program. PictBear supports lots of picture formats including: gif, jpg, bmp, png, psd, pbx, tiff, pcx, ras, tga, wmf, jsf and j2k. On the other hand, if we talk about the downside, the biggest one this product has is its development is finished. SmoothDraw is a feature rich natural painting program for free-hand drawing artists. It includes features like layers, various effects, fill, move, select, hand tool, advance undo/redo, various brushes and tools, paper texture, ink flow, grain, etc. It supports high configuration of brushes and tools like configuration of brush/tool size and ink-flow, which make it best for natural drawings. In addition to this, it supports various photo file formats like png, jpeg, sddoc, etc. It is a nice choice for natural drawing and free-hand artists. PS: Thanks to Panzer for suggesting this cool program. ;) Pixia is the English version of a popular Japanese painting and retouching software for full color graphics. It supports masks, layers and many other editing functions. You can use your own customized brush tips and even use an image file as a brush tip to create unique effects. With the new engine the paint feels smooth like ArtRage. It has lots of free plug-ins, and filter downloads that make this program quite unique and different from other tools. This is well worth picking up for painting on photographs. TwistedBrush has one of the most versatile and powerful brush engines in existence, yet it was designed from day one to be easy to use. “Simplicity without sacrifice, powerful enough for the professional artist, yet simple enough for the novice” as noted on their website. The quick start guide is a nice intro to the program's abilities. TwistedBrush Open Studio is designed for all realms of digital art including natural media fine art and even has all the great features of TwistedBrush Pro Studio, albeit just a handful of the very fine brushes are included and without any brush editing ability. Tux Paint is basically a program designed for children but it has some nice tools and supports different brushes that forced me to add this program in this category. Its user interface is really simple, neat and clean. The set of tools are really easy to use because it is designed for children. The scope of using Tux Paint is endless; anyone can use it because of the wide features it supports. Some of the features Tux Paint is packed with are shapes, stamps, advance undo/redo, brushes, magic brush with various magic stroke (special effects), slides, starters options, Text and Label tools and more. The features I liked most in Tux Paint are funny sounds on click and Parental & Teacher Controls. Laz Paint is one of the good paint program with rich features and clean graphical user interface. It is easy to install and to use; it is packed with various superb features like Render, Filter, Gradient, Deformation, Text Mapping, advance colour selection, magic wand and more, which make it more than just a paint program. It is meant for people who want to invest their free time in painting and art. Despite of its smalll download size, it has so much to show and we can do more than just bitmap drawing which are offered by bigger programs. Best of all it is open source. ONLINE PAINT AND DRAWING APPS There are various online services available which allow users to paint and draw. The main problem with almost every online service is various limitations, watermarks and privacy. Some support no watermarks and private output but not all. Although it is almost impossible to list them all, here are some of them which I was able to find and test (in random order). (Please read their TOS before trying). Sketch-Paint: It is a light weight and free online paint app with lots of good tools and features like undo/redo, paint tool, stroke modifier, eraser, colour pickup, zoom view, pan view, mask, stroke pressure adjuster, diffusion adjuster, size and fade adjuster, and opacity tuner. Also it supports basic, HSL and RGB colour groups. It includes almost everything a user expects from a basic painting tool and it gives user freedom to save and even print the creation. SketchPad: It is again a great online paint app available for free. Its interface gives a very fresh and professional feel and the tools it is packed with also come with a new approach. The tools I am talking about include mostly traditional ones like brush, text, crop, marquee, eraser, fill, stamp, colour picker, shape, Gradent, Pattern, Swatch (which includes solids, Gradients and Patterns), and a new useful but uncommon tool Spirograph. The new thing here is these tools offer more settings, like in Text tool it offers "message, size and stroke"; similarly in Eraser it offers settings like "diameter, hardness, flow and opacity" and in Spirograph it offers settings like "Inner/outer size, diameter, speed, and resolution". Most importantly it supports a history feature which is very useful for serious art. This new approach attracted my attention and while writing this review I am still experimenting with it. And believe me it's FUN!!! :D SumoPaint (free): The tools and features match with this app's name. They are huge and sumo, and yes I am talking about the free version. It is not a basic paint program but an advance paint and drawing tool for serious artists. Some of the important tools and features of SumoPaint (free) are layers, lasso, magic wand, move tool, ink tool, gradient fill tool, pie tool, simple/rounded/bulky start tools, symmetry tool, line/curve tool, blur/smudge tools, crop/transform/rotate tools, undo/redo, layer eraser, opacity, diameter, fill, mode, mode value, slides, shape trails, zome/info, colour picker, swatches. Also it is packed with some advance options like File, Edit, Image, Select, Layer, Adjustment, Filters, view, and help. It matches with today's professional commercial programs and the user can access it from anywhere with the help of the Internet. It is purely meant for artists. Queeky Paint: It is again a nice app with some advance tools, options and features. Tools like lasso, magicwand, loupe, web, airbrush, various shapes, hand, undo/redo, etc., and options such as size, opacity, radius, mode, blendmode, fill, zoom, info pan, colour pan, layers, etc., make it an advance paint app and a good choice for many. It also has rich menus like Queeky, File, Edit, selection, Layers, Adjustments, Filters, View help, etc. Overall, it's a great online app worth trying and its Web tool is a great time killer. ArtPad: It is a very basic tool with options like text, bucket, brush, undo, size of stroke and opacity. The user can set frames, save and send their creations. Look at their Term of service for sure before giving it a try.

Read More

Strong and sturdy Metallic Stakes for Lawn Symptoms

There isn't a denying that garden signs are a terrific way to promote your organization, in addition to the products and solutions you supply. Nevertheless, a very important variable that you'll want to consider though Placing these up is whether your yard indications can promote your brand in addition to what it might give for a substantial length of time or not. If a garden sign is not able to resist slight wind and falls down, then You will find a high likelihood that your promotional efforts will go in vain. If a little something of this sort comes about, you may be losing a lot of your time and money fixing them up and hoping that you don't have to do it once again. If you already know the troubling bring about, you will be able to look for a way that will let you target a whole lot extra on other vital items of your enterprise than correcting up your property symptoms. Relevant Article content Galvanized Metal Stakes for Yard Sign that with Stand Harsh Weather Conditions Finding the Right Yard Sign Stand for Your Business The ineffectiveness of outdoor metallic sign stands is The main reason powering The lack of the yard signal to face powerful in winds and other weather conditions. If your stand is unable to set up with fat with the sign and pressure of wind or other harsh weather conditions, it's going to bend above or slide down fully. Consequently, it is crucial that you just focus on the durability from the stands than squandering time on fixing the indications time and again. There are many issues that ought to be saved in your mind even though selecting sturdy and sturdy steel stakes for lawn signs. The design from the stand is an important component to consider as the way in which a stand is produced, it's going to confirm whether the stand will maintain strong or will collapse in stern weather. The look will fully depend upon the dimensions of one's property indication. Steel wire stakes are a favorite decision, as they are available in a range of styles, which includes U, L and H stands for signs. Another vital factor to acquire into account is making certain that steel stakes are rust totally free else they usually get worn around a time period. Within this context, It will be a better option to invest in stands which might be comprised of galvanized metal. The usefulness of repairing the stand together with fixing the signage about the stand is additionally an essential matter to contemplate. It is often very good to search for transportable stands that won't give you a headache when you find yourself setting up them to start with. In order to launch an out and out promotional marketing campaign, then you ought to try to look for wholesale outside metallic indication stands over the internet. Invest in them from the trustworthy enterprise that gives good quality at acceptable price tag.

Read More

Internet marketing- realize the job of a web advertising and marketing advisor

ith the Internet advertising and company advertising is an extremely tough task, especially for individuals that would not have Strategies concerning the ABCD of internet providers. If You furthermore may fall Within this category, then hiring a web-based consulting provider is one of the best selections to make sure the accomplishment of your small business about the World-wide-web. The online consulting firms not simply support companies in executing outcome oriented and efficient marketing methods, but will also information the way to defeat your Main rivals and make more money online. Online marketing consultants uncover a great and powerful way for popularizing your web site on serps and grabbing the eye of a tremendous range of potential buyer in direction of your internet site. Apart from designing a novel and effective organization plan, web-site advisors also analyze your existing marketing techniques, discover your site' weak spot and draft a internet marketing decide to make sure the results of the web site. When selecting a web-based publicity advisor, you may be relaxation guarantee that you're going to get very good guidance for that achievements of your internet site. The net publicity advisors supply companies pertaining to rising online existence, popularity, pinpointing new avenues and examining past actions taken to the advertising of your internet site. When planning to hire an online marketing specialist, you need toensure that the Qualified is seasoned and specialised in the sector of web-site developing, PPC administration, domain hosting, Website development, e-newsletter publication, written content writing and social websites marketing. There's no denying that a specialist and specialized online marketing guide can provide a fantastic effect on your Online enterprise and could make your internet site successful to the Internet. By using the services of an authority and expert internet marketing coach, you are able to be rest guarantee that the advertising and marketing campaign is taken care of in a very appropriate and powerful way. In case your on the web company isn't accomplishing very well, then talk to with an authority and genius online marketing strategist to help keep your organization on the right track. The consultants have excellent expertise and know ways to endure Within this hugely aggressive on the web business planet. The internet promoting advisors make it easier to in acquiring your company target at much cheaper cost than Whatever you expect.

Read More