Windows Help & Advice - UK (2019-12)

1

PHOTOEDITING
POLARR
http://polarr.co
Polarrhascreptuponusoverthe
pastfewyears,butsinceit made
thejumpfrommobiletoPCapp,
it’sprovedtobeoneofthecoolest
andmostcapablephoto-tweaking
toolsavailable,paidornot.
Alternately:AdobePhotoshop
Express

2

IMAGEEDITING
GIMP
http://gimp.org
Stupidnameaside,we’veknown
forabouta decadethatGimp’s
Photoshop-esquetoolsetand
ODXQGU\OLVW RI ÀOWHUV PDNH LW DQ
essentialdesktoptool.Saveoften,
EHFDXVHLW FDQ GHFLGHWR EH ÁDN\
at a moment’snotice.
Alternately:Pixlr

3

DIGITALPAINTING
KRITA
http://krita.org
Bestenjoyedwitha pressure-
sensitivetablet,butviablefor
anyonewhowantstocreateart
witha mouse,Kritais an
surprisinglyaccomplished
paintboxasperfectlysuitedto

illustratorsasit is toanybudding

BobRoss.

Alternately:MyPaint

4

VECTORART

INKSCAPE

http://inkscape.org

Inkscapecancreatescalablevector

graphicsandtweaktexttoyour

heart’scontent,makingit perfect

forlogosandsuch.Inkscapeis

analogoustoAdobeIllustrator

(althougha wholelotmorefree),

andis alsofullySVGcompliant.

Alternately:GravitDesigner

5

MUSICMAKING

CAKEWALK

http://bandlab.com

Originallya DOSsequencer

launchedin 1987andcomingto

Windowsin 1991,Cakewalk

recentlycameundernew

ownershipandis backfromthe

dead– thosenewownersdecided

theappwasbestgiventotheworld

forfree.Pro-levelrecording,allthe

toolsyouneedtomixandmaster

tracks,nottomentiona hostof

softwareinstrumentsandeffects.

Alternately:Ardour

CREATIVITY

© POLARR.CO

TRY LINUX WITHOUT HAVING TO INSTALL IT

Yes, this is Windows Help
and Advice magazine, but
one of the most beautiful
things about Linux, besides
its inherent freeness, is
that people are able to
package it up with all kinds
of also-free software, and
send the whole thing out
in one big bundle.
Given that it’s (usually)
possible to run a Linux
installation in Live
form (that is, without
installing it and making
a mess of your Windows
installations), this can be
a good way to keep
those rarely used utility
packages at hand, or get
your hands on a whole
bunch of software all at
once. So, pick up some
USB sticks, get these
apps installed, and be
ready for anything.

FOR PRIVACY

TAILS

http://tails.boum.org

When you’re getting all

clandestine, turn to Tails.

It automatically routes

everything through the

Tor net work , keeping

your online activity private,

and includes a bunch of

cryptographic tools to

ensure all of your data is

as difficult to intercept as

possible. It’s also handy

if you want to scrub

something off a drive

without directly using it.

Alternately: Whonix

FOR DRIVE MANAGEMENT

GPARTED LIVE

http://gparted.org

For messing with drive

partitions or attempting to

fix partition table errors,

GParted is a pretty

essential app – and its

Linux distro incarnation

keeps things very simple,

packaging it with a few

very straightforward but

powerful file manipulation

tools and little else. Perfect

single-serving distro fare.

Alternately: Clonezilla Live

FOR YOUR MEDIA CENTER

OSMC

http://osmc.tv

An unofficial meshing

Live images like GParted give you options when you load, and you can

even install them alongside Windows if you’re brave.

© GPARTED.ORG

Polarr’s filters

give any image

a professional

touch in seconds.

14 |^ |^ December 2019