Saturday, 1 March 2014

Valve launches Steam Family Sharing for all users

valve, steam, gaming, pc gaming, sharing, family sharing
After a beta period lasting over five months, Valve is finally ready to give all Steam users access to Family Sharing. The program gives a user the chance to share their entire game library with up to five others, with some restrictions in place to ensure the system isn't abused.
At the start of the beta program each Steam user could share their library with up to ten other accounts, although that has been changed for the final launch to ten devices. In the Steam application settings you'll be able to authorize certain machines for Family Sharing, and then up to five Steam accounts can access your library across those ten machines.
Only one account can access a shared library at any one time, so even if two users want to play different games, only the person who first accesses the library can play. The owner of the library always has priority access to their collection though, and if they want to use it, anyone else that's accessing it will be prompted to exit the game or buy it themselves.
Aside from these restrictions, Steam users accessing a shared game will be able to upload their own saves to the cloud, and unlock their own achievements. Even DLC will be available through the program, so long as the user accessing it also doesn't own the main game.
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How to Backup and Restore Drivers on Windows 7/8 in a Right Way

Windows device drivers installation is the most time taking process. Because most of the windows users doesn’t have drivers all the time and everyone regularly re install windows operating system because of virus attacks. We may have windows installation disk but most of the people don’t have drivers( CD/DVD). Now a days most of the laptop manufacturing companies doesn’t provide drivers installation kit and they simply give the website address.
So here I have listed you a best and working method to backup your windows PC drivers and you can restore them with in minutes of time after installing windows on your PC. This will definitely reduce the time of searching drivers for windows and installing them on your PC.

Backup and Restore Drivers on Windows 7/8:

For this purpose I tried two free windows software and they are working fine without raising any errors and problems.

Backup Drivers Using Double Driver:

I’ve never seen this type of portable utility which works effectively to perform both backup and restoring drivers. It has simple user interface with only necessary options and you can complete the whole process within minutes of  time.
1. First you need to download double driver from the below link which is from a trusted software download center.
2. After downloading tool you will extract to a folder, navigate to that folder and click on “dd” application to start the application.
3. This application user interface is simple, click on “backup” button and select “scan current system” to get all installed drivers on your PC.
backup windows drivers
4. Now Click on select button on top of the application window and choose “select all” from the drop down menu. If you know what are the important drivers then you backup those drivers only.
5. By default this application checks “non Microsoft” drivers . So you don’t need to select any other options. Finally click on “Backup Now” button.
6. It prompts a dialogue box which asks you to choose backup location in the destination section and select“structured folder” in the output field, then click on ok button to start the backup process.
driver backup location
7. It takes some time to backup all drivers, once the process will be completed it shows a dialogue box like this
successful backup
Now Lets Check out drivers restoring process.
1. Once you click on “Restore” button it will asks you to run this application with administrative privileges. Simply click on yes button to start application again in administration mode.
restore drivers
2. Now again click on “restore” button and select “locate backup” at the bottom of the application.
3. Choose the option which one you use for backup process. Here I use default method, so select “default location” and choose the available driver backup from the list.
driver backup choosing
4. Now it list out all drivers which are taken backup by me using the default method. Its time to restore all drivers by clicking on “Restore Now” button.
restoring drivers
5. That’s it, you’ve successfully completed both backup and restoring windows pc drivers without any problem.

Notes:

1. At the time of restoring drivers you need to give some permission to run non authorized drivers. If you know all drivers are good then you can restore them without any worries.
2.This application only perform backup and restoring of drivers but not update your windows drivers.
You can also try “slimdrivers“ utility to backup drivers.
copied from::alltechbuzz.net

Latest Chrome beta listens for your voice, searches the web

google, chrome, beta, voice recognition, web browser, ok google
Over the course of the past few years, Google has been integrating a number of features from the Android version of Chrome into their desktop browser. Today, the company revealed that hands-free Google voice searching is available in the latest Chrome beta build, giving desktop users a feature we've come to love from Android's Now Launcher.
Similar to how voice searching functions with Now Launcher, in Chrome you'll be able to open a new tab or visit the Google homepage, say "OK Google" and then proceed to search via voice recognition; no typing or clicking required. As well as searching, you'll be able to ask Chrome to set a timer, or create a reminder that will show up in Google Now.
To have Chrome listening to your every word will naturally throw up some privacy concerns, as Google could theoretically use the data for demographical purposes or ad targeting. However the feature will be disabled by default, meaning anyone who wants to hands-free voice search will have to enable it first through the Google.com homepage.
Anyone running the latest Chrome beta in US English should see the feature go live in the coming days, while support for additional languages and Chrome OS will be "coming soon". If you're using a stable version of the browser, expect hands-free voice searching to arrive in the coming weeks as part of Google's regular Chrome release cycle.
Download the latest Chrome Beta here: Windows|Mac|Linux
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IE's Flash made Windows 8 most vulnerable Windows OS, research says

microsoft, windows, flash, adobe, windows 8, vulnerabilities
According to a new research from the Denmark-based security company Secunia, out of all the Windows operating systems currently supported by Microsoft, Windows 8 is the most vulnerable. Dubbed Secunia Vulnerability Review 2014, the research says that while Windows 7 and Windows XP vulnerabilities doubled in 2013, it was Windows 8 which reported the highest number of flaws.
So, despite of being touted as more secure than its predecessors, why is Windows 8 at the top of the vulnerability chart? Well, the reason is Flash -- at least this is what the security firm says in its report. Out of 156 flaws reported in Windows 8, 55 were due to the integration of Adobe System’s Flash Player into IE.
Although Adobe's Flash is widely known for being one of the most prolific sources of security vulnerabilities in Windows this is the first time it's directly affecting the image of Windows 8. Will it have any effect on Windows 8 sales? Probably not. While Microsoft's latest operating system isn't selling as fast as its predecessor, the softwaregiant recently announced that it sold 200 million copies of Windows 8.
Secunia's annual report on software vulnerabilities takes a look at 50 of the most commonly used programs and operating systems. This year's report also says that the time gap between when a flaw is reported and when a fix is delivered is narrowing; 86 percent of the vulnerabilities found in the top 50 software products had a fix available on the day of disclosure.
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Microsoft contemplating free version of Windows 8.1 for Windows 7 users

One sure fire way to boost the number of people using your software is to give it away for free. That’s the approach Microsoft is reportedly taking in creating a new version of their latest OS, tentatively dubbed Windows 8.1 with Bing.
The software will come bundled with select Microsoft apps and services according to sources familiar with the company’s plans as reported by The Verge. It will be marketed as a low-cost upgrade option for those currently running Windows 7 although a target price point wasn’t mentioned. The Redmond-based company may license the software to PC makers for devices in the sub-$250 price range.
In addition to growing its Windows 8.1 user base, Microsoft is also hoping the experimental initiative (and others like it) will help monetize their cloud services and apps like Bing, OneDrive and Xbox Music. But perhaps the real reason that Microsoft is looking into a freebie version of Windows is to combat the growing threat of Chromebooks and Android.
Another such experiment is the consideration of low-cost or free versions of Windows Phone, we’re told.
Sources say we can expect to hear more about Windows 8.1 with Bing and plans to merge Windows Phone with Windows RT during Microsoft’s annual Build conference. That event is scheduled to kick off on April 2 from the Moscone Center in San Francisco and run through April 4.
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