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Plex
You could opt for any one of a
number of standard media players—VLC,
PotPlayer, Media Player Classic, et al—
but we don’t understand why you would
when setting up a Plex server is so easy.
It gives you access to your media in your
browser, and lets you stream it wherever
you might want to watch it, with automatic
transcoding depending on network
quality. http://plex.tv62
Subsonic
Today’s streaming services
mean this might have had its day in the
sun already, but Subsonic is an audio-
focused network player perfect for those
keeping their music collection on a NAS. It
includes a bunch of handy server features
such as podcast catching and, indeed,
conversion of playlists into downloadable
podcasts—and you can share your library
with others, too. http://subsonic.org63
Stellarium
Take a trip through the stars
from your desktop with the excellent
Stellarium, an interactive planetarium
that can be extended to include a catalog
of some 170 million stars. There are
logging features for those with scopes
pointed at the sky, and a web version at
http://stellarium-web.org, but it’s the
desktop client that’s the most rewarding
and fun. http://stellarium.org64
Google Earth VR
The greatest non-gaming use
of VR there is, Google Earth VR can turn
you from a towering mountain giant
standing above Mount Everest to an
insignificant human teetering on theedge of a skyscraper, and everything else
between. Extra points for its peripheral
vision fuzzing, which makes jumping
from place to place a much less sickening
experience. http://vr.google.com/earth65
DOSBox
You shelled out a lot for that PC,
didn’t you? Such a shame. What you really
need is an early ’90s era DOS machine
capable of playing Space Quest and
Commander Keen, and DOSBox is all too
willing to provide it. An x86 emulator for
your x86 machine, it’s easy to configure
exactly to your liking—and if that means
it pretends to be a 286 with CGA graphics,
so be it. http://dosbox.com66
LaunchBox
How many launchers for games
do you need? If you’re sick of hunting
through Steam, Origin, Uplay, BNet, the
Epic Games Launcher, et al for that one
game you want to play, LaunchBox collects
everything together in one attractive
app. You can also use it to neatly launch
emulated games, meaning it’s great if
you’re setting up a PC for a younger user.
http://launchbox-app.com67
RetroArch
An emulator for just about
everything, RetroArch cleverly makes
use of what it calls “cores”—basically
mini apps that contain the virtual guts
of old computers and consoles—but
retains your configuration between them.
No need to remap controllers or move
from emulator to emulator, just run yourTell us, Process Explorer, what does
Skype want with 250MB RAM?Open your eyes, look up to the skies, and see what’s up there. Stell arium is fascinating.TAKING IT EASY
entirely legal and legitimate ROM file, and
you’re away. http://retroarch.com68
F.Lux
The scientific benefits of lowering
the blue light output from your monitor
are, at present, being hotly contested, but
don’t let that stop you from reducing eye
strain in those evening hours. F.Lux can
go further than Windows’ built-in Night
Light mode, going as warm as 800K, and it
can even integrate with Philips Hue lights
for a double dose of evening glow.
http://justgetflux.com69
Duolingo
Modern language-learning is
nothing like it was at school. Now you get
coached by a weird little green owl, and
even your earliest French lessons, funnily
enough, give a strange prominence
to the word “chouette.” A brilliant
thing, completely free, Duolingo turns
vocabulary building into a game—and one
you can play against your friends, too.
http://duolingo.com70
ColorPic
Lest you accuse us of running
out of ideas 70 applications in, here’s
a program that gives you the ability to
pick out the color of absolutely any pixel
on your screen. Want to do some CSS in
Discord purple? Go for it. Want to tell
what color your cat really is? Eyedrop that
sucker up. One of those things you’ll never
know you need until you need it—but when
you need it, you’ll be glad to have it.
http://iconico.commaximumpc.com MAY 2020 MAXIMUM PC 39
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