Reviews

Circa Vitae’s self titled EP – a plethora of human experience in alternative rock

Not all music albums are created the same way; there are some which just pass by, and others which gets stuck in your media player and your head. And Circa Vitae certainly does a very good job with the latter. Circa Vitae EP contains eight tracks which are resemblant of pop, rock and electronic fused with indie flavor. Literally translated into "About Life," Circa Vitae definitely puts a lot of life factors and experiences in this music album.

Skype – make free calls, IM & video chat online

Skype is a multiplatform software that enables users worldwide to communicate online via voice, video & IM. It's currently the biggest and, in my opinion, the most user-fiendly software of it's kind "responsible for 8% of global international calling minutes, and with its users making 3.1 billion minutes of calls to landlines and mobiles in the third quarter of 2009".

Ten and Tracer’s Tsotsitaal – hurry and jump on the very slow bandwagon

Ambient music is one of those things that people either hate or really hate, and I used to be in both those groups until an ambient-loving friend of mine sat me down to set me straight. "You don't have to have songs shoved down your throat," he said. "Just close your eyes and float, and you'll find that music is all around you." At the time I rolled my eyes at the tree-hugginess of it all, but really I do take his point.

The Battle for Wesnoth – free & open-source turn-based strategic game

Itching to find a new game, polish your strategy skills and play against others online? Here's an open-source turn-based strategy game with a fantasy theme - Battle for Wesnoth. Battle for Wesnoth might not have the fancy graphics as other commercially available turn-based computer games, but it is definitely a smart, engaging and a lot of fun to play.

The TenGooz “G-Strings” – a jazzy, funky, bossa play of strings

If you are searching for another laid-back album to add to your music collection, we are presenting you with G-Strings by TenGooz. Hailing from Japan, TenGooz features smooth and jazzy music with a band of musicians from all over the world. With a wide array of music fusions & a taste of bossa nova and saxophones, these smooth tracks from TenGooz's G-Strings are perfect companions for a quiet night and a champagne, or perhaps a lazy afternoon in a hammock right on the beach.

CinePaint – open-source graphics software for movie makers

For those serious film makers who need to color their scenes differently according to the mood, there is a software that can do everything they need to easy and well - CinePaint. For those serious film makers who need to color their scenes differently according to the mood, there is a software that can do everything they need to easily and professionally - CinePaint. CinePaint is an open source software for Linux and Mac OSX which lets you retouch colors in video and photography with higher color fidelity than other software. And because it is free, you don't have to worry about shedding loads of money for this professional grade software.

Jan Felipe “Abril” – indietronica with a truly international flavour

One of the things I really love about Creative Commons music is the potential to connect directly with artists. It helps increase my enjoyment of the music, knowing a little about what these musicians are like and understanding their drive to create. Often they contact me via last.fm after seeing their albums in my library, and the conversation develops from there. Sometimes, as in the case of Brazilian songwriter Jan Felipe, it can lead to some very interesting things.

Dia – an open-source diagram creation software

Making diagrams can be quite a pain, especially if you do not have the proper and user-friendly software to help you draw it for you. How else can you make those lines straight and those boxes properly aligned so that they look neat and easy to understand? Not to worry anymore - Dia comes to you to save the day. And we promise your boss or professor would awe at your professional looking diagrams.