Is your computer’s fan noise driving you mad? Don’t worry! There are easy, inexpensive ways to make it shut up – beside throwing it out the window!

Computers have enjoyed impressive efficiency improvements over the last decade. A few readers might remember how computers powered by Intel’s power-hungry and hot Pentium 4 made many systems feel – and sound – more like space heaters than PCs. Those days are thankfully over – but noise has not been banished altogether. Some rigs remain an audible annoyance.

That doesn’t have to be true, however. With the correct equipment and a few incantations, most users can exorcise the demon howling in their desktop.

Identify the problem

Before modifying a computer’s cooling, the problem must first be recognized. Most issues fall in one of two categories: first is the computer which is rather loud at all times; and second is the computer that is really loud only at high load, and may even mean high noise only when using specific applications, like games.

Another possible cause is dust. Haven’t cleaned your PC lately? Stop right now and do it! It’s easy, free and might solve the problem.

Computers that never shut up

A system that is always noisy suffers from bad fans, too many fans, or both. Take a look at what’s inside your desktop. Do you only see one or two fans? Then they’re probably cheap or old, and are making more noise than they should.

We have good news and bad news: the bad news is that those fans will need to be replaced; the good news is that fans are cheap! Most users will want to look for fans that offer an adjustable speed switch, or ones that support fan speed modulation via a program like SpeedFan. Antec’s TriCool series is a great example. These fans can be set to low speed for near-silent operation. A couple of good fans can be purchased for $20 to $30.

What if you have too many fans? Remove some! Start with fans on the side or top of the case, then move to intake fans on the front, and then finally move to exhaust fans at the rear. Make sure that you leave at least one intake fan and one exhaust fan.

Now that you’ve installed new fans, or removed extras, you’ll want to see how the computer’s cooling performs. SpeedFan can report temperatures. So can PC Wizard, Real Temp, and HWMonitor. The processor should idle no higher than 50 degrees Celsius and stay below 70 degrees Celsius at load. If you have a graphics card, you should monitor that, too. It should idle below 60 degrees Celsius and stay below 95 degrees Celsius at load.

Computers that occasionally annoy

While some systems consistently annoy, others will only spin up occasionally. This will usually correlate with demanding applications like video encoders, image editors, or games.

Before taking action, pay attention to when a system becomes noisy. Games and productivity apps are the two common causes for creating noise, and each strain different components.

If your PC is loud during games, then the source is almost certainly the video card (you can confirm this by opening your PC, running a game, and listening for the source of noise). Unfortunately, there’s not much to do in this instance. Some video cards are loud and the only potential solution is a costly third-party cooler. We don’t recommend that route. The better option is to purchase a new video card with a custom cooler designed to enable quiet operation.

If other apps seem to send your system howling, the problem is fan quality. Go take a look at high-quality case fans from companies like Antec, Corsair, and Cooler Master. Replacing current fans with these could reduce noise by generating more airflow at lower fan speeds.

On the case

The case is another area where you might find improvement. Many inexpensive computers come in cases that were built without considering acoustics. The case might amplify sound or let it freely flow from the case to your ears.

This problem can be solved with sound insulation. Sound extreme? It’s not. Insulation is nothing more than molded foam that can be purchased for between $20 and $60 and stuck inside a PC. The foam can be used to plug up un-used fan mounts or layered across the side panels. It’s easy to cut and can be attached with bundled adhesive or two-sided tape from your local hardware store.

One quick note, though: buy the real stuff. Foam meant for use with electronics will be flame resistant, whereas foam salvaged from an old mattress may or may not be, depending on age and quality. We don’t think it’s worth the risk.

What about laptops?

Laptop owners generally can’t replace system fans. A system that seems unusually loud might be defective, and you should contact the laptop’s manufacturer if you think that’s the problem. But you can’t just open the case, pop in a third-party fan, and be on your way.

What can you do? Try a cooling stand.  These might make the laptop cooler because, though they add fans, they transfer work from the small, loud, and quick internal fan to larger, quieter external fans. That means less noise. Maybe. You’ll just have to give it a shot.

Conclusion

Replacing or removing fans and sound-proofing a case can significantly improve system noise. It’s not a guaranteed solution because, as said earlier, all computers with fans will make some noise all of the time. Still, new fans and a few bucks of sound insulation can turn a tower filled with howling banshees into a peaceful system barely audible over ambient noise. The distracting whirr of fans is not a requirement – it’s a choice!   

Finding apps in the various marketplaces can be hard enough given how flooded they are. Blackberry 10 early adopters are going to have that issue right at launch. We’ll deal with that when it comes, though. For now we’ll focus on the best apps and updates of this week, featuring Youtube Capture, Temple Run 2, Vine, and more.

If you’ve been using a smartphone for some time now, you’re no doubt accustom to the process of downloading apps. You know how to find what you’re looking for and how to make use out of your favorite apps. But what if you were starting fresh? What if you were given a phone with a new and unfamiliar operating system and none of your frequently used apps installed? You’d likely get a little overwhelmed by everything and hope to find a couple familiar faces while browsing through the app marketplace. That’s the experience that BlackBerry 10 adopters are preparing for, with an overhauled OS and one of the biggest lists of launch apps we’ve seen and little to differentiate between app options without experimenting a bit. This week, though, that’s not your problem. Enjoy the updates and new apps worth downloading for your current operating system of choice from the week of January 20-27, 2013.

Updates

Photopoll (iOS)

Photopoll is one of those apps with a name that says it all. Take between two and five pictures and pose them as the answers to a poll question. Then let your friends, family, and others respond to your question by choosing the picture that they like best. The latest version of the app does the usual bug fix routine, smoothing out some of the wrinkles of previous versions. The biggest improvement of the update comes to navigation, which now moves smoother and features animations between menus and tabs. Facebook interaction also improved, making it easier to share your poll socially.

YouTube Capture (iOS)

It wasn’t too long ago that YouTube Capture was featured in the “New Apps” section of this column. In the first update since it’s release, the quick and easy app-ified version of the YouTube upload button once again has our attention. Aside from some functionality improvements like a more sound audio sync (pun intended) and social network sharing options, the big upgrade here is the ability to upload in 1080p. It might eat up your whole data plan in a single upload, but man will it look great when you watch it.

Amazon Cloud Drive Photos (Android)

Sometimes app updates are boring and barely noticeable. Sometimes they add something you never expected. In the case of Amazon Cloud Drive Photos, the latest update is just an attempt to keep up with the pack. Taking on the biggest rivals in cloud storage, Amazon Cloud Drive Photos has added the ability to automatically upload your photos. There is also a built-in camera in the app so if you find yourself using it regularly and want to replace your standard camera app, you can. Personally, we hope the next update shortens the apps name because it’s currently a mouth full.

New Apps

Hushed (Android)

Here’s an app for those concerned with personal privacy. For anyone who has used throwaway email addresses, the concept will be familiar. Hushed provides users with a disposable, anonymous phone number to make calls or texts with. The creators of the app say it’ll be good for completing transactions on Craigslist and sites of that ilk, or communicating with anyone who you may not want to give your number to long term. If nothing else, kids of the future have the perfect prank call app now. 

Vine (iOS)

This app became the talk of the mobile town upon its release, but not always for good reasons. Despite its popularity, it got a rejection from Facebook. That’s ok, because Vine is a Twitter app through and through, allowing users to post six-second videos to Vine’s own servers as well as social networks. It gives users a chance to shoot short bursts of their lives and send them out for all to see. It’ll be interesting to see how it gets utilized exactly, but grab it and get filming to make it worthwhile.

Swipp (iOS)

Swipp takes the concept of conversation and compartmentalizes it. The app allows you to have ongoing communication with people in your area or around the world about a specific topic. See who is saying what about your interests and find out the insight that others have to offer. Swipp is being pitched as sort of an instant network of knowledge, with the goal of collecting what people know about certain topics and making it available and up for discussion like a live-updating Wikipedia. 

Finds (iOS)

Out shopping and see a deal that you can’t believe? Browsing the aisles of the thrift shop Macklemore style and come across some vintage clothes that are coming home with you? Finds wants you to share it all with the world. Show people the great savings you scored or the rare item you snagged and point them in the direction of where to find it as well – or brag about how they won’t. The idea is to connect shoppers with similar tastes so they can enjoy great offers and hidden gems together. 

New Games

Temple Run 2 (Android)

A game that requires no introduction, especially considering the original version was downloaded hundreds of millions of times and its sequel already hit 20 million downloads since its launch. Temple Run 2 picks up on the formula of its predecessor, pitting players in a world that’s part Indiana Jones, part Pitfall, and telling them to run until they can’t run any longer. The graphics are sharper, the gameplay is as addictive as ever, and if you’re not playing it already then you’re one of the few.  

Line Runner 2 (Android)

The week of the sequels in the New Games section, Line Runner 2 also debuted on Android this week, the understandably a little under the radar. Though it’s graphics aren’t as eye-popping and its style is a bit simplified as compared to Temple Run, Line Runner 2 is still a very solid offering that could keep your attention on its own, even if you’ve gotten a fill of Temple Run 2. Tricks and boosts keep things interesting and a unique art style is sure to make the game easy on the eyes.

The news cycle moves fast in the mobile world. Stories gain traction and die almost within 24 hours. So much happens, it can be hard to keep up. Let us keep you in the loop by looking back at all the news narratives that mattered this week, including Apple’s record-setting disappointment, Nokia’s engagement to Microsoft, and more.

In the world of mobile, everything moves quick. Well, maybe not everything. There are few things more painful than trying to load a webpage while the “1x” symbol is flashing where it should say “4G.” But in general, everything moves fast. That’s why we get rumors that appear, evolve, and vanish before a full twenty-four hours can even pass. A company can go from the top of the heap to the bottom of the barrel in a matter of months. A company can go from the poster child of innovation to just trying to keep up. That’s what it must feel like at Apple’s headquarters. It has been a tough news cycle for the fruit-themed computer company. As it continues to struggle, its competitors seem to get stronger. We’ll cover all that and more as we look back on the biggest narratives in mobile news from the week of January 20-26, 2013.  

More Internet, please

2012 was the first year that 4G really became prevalent. Even though the 4G LTE network is designed to make you more mobile, If you found a sweet spot where the data was flowing it became hard to leave it behind and brave the streets where service might drop. If the mobile industry has its way, in 2013, there won’t be any dead zones. Google making a big push too, as it made its intentions more clear this week. The search company requested permission to build an experimental radio network at its headquarters, which many are interpreting as a venture in mobile networks. While Google dons its lab coat to perform the experiments of a deranged billionaire with good intentions, it’s expected that 4G LTE usage will double this year. To capitalize on this, AT&T has purchased Verizon’s 700MHz spectrum, just one of its big purchases this week. The other was for the leftovers of Alltel‘s network, which marks the second time AT&T took Verizon’s leftovers this week. We’d hate to pay AT&T’s credit card bill at the end of this month.

Breaking: Samsung sells a lot of everything

If a week goes by where there isn’t a story about a new Samsung device, we will become very suspicious. The South Korean company seems to keep finding various sized pieces of plastic and LCD screens to slap onto them. This week, the Ativ Odyssey made its way to Verizon and the Galaxy Note 8 got leaked and confirmed. The Galaxy S4 got a rumored release date in April, and while Samsung didn’t confirm it, it did say that whenever it does come it, it plans to sell the crap out of it. Samsung’s aiming at pushing out 10 million units of the Galaxy S4 every month. A bold prediction, but when you’ve got the numbers to back it, why not? Samsung led the way in a year of crazy growth in 2012 by moving 213 million units. A huge Q4 for the company boosted profits, as if it needed a boost.

BlackBerry 10 still not here, but seems exciting

The hype train keeps on chugging for Blackberry 10, the new operating system from Research in Motion which isn’t out yet but will totally blow your mind when it’s here. Probably. Honestly, we really don’t know. But the mobile OS has stayed a steady part of the news cycle for the last few weeks, which is not something we could say about RIM’s current phones. A video leak this week suggested which models of the BB 10 phones would be available come launch day and just how much they would cost – around $150 – but none of the information has been confirmed. What is confirmed: BB 10 will have plenty of apps. Another 19,000 apps were submitted by developers before the submission deadline and while it’s unclear exactly how many apps will be available at launch, we know it’ll be a lot. A heads up to early adopters, though: The apps are now in a rebranded Blackberry World app store, which sports a new look to go with the name change. If all goes according to plan for Research in Motion, the company might have just a big enough hit to … sell itself to Lenovo. 

Nokia wants to go steady with Microsoft

Nokia is totally done with Symbian. The company has been through enough pain with that operating system. It’s ready to move on to a better relationship. One that’s more mature, more refined. To prove its commitment, Nokia is putting a $1 billion ring on the finger of Windows Phone. Relationships can be a real money suck, huh? But can you really blame Nokia for wanting to go steady with Microsoft’s mobile OS? The phone maker’s Q4 results for 2012 were padded nicely thanks to sales of the Lumia phones. To prove its dedication, Nokia is bringing its PureView camera technology to a Windows Phone, which is the mobile equivalent to moving in together. This could be the start of a beautiful relationship – or a really ugly break up in just a few months. 

Apple’s Math – and math – just don’t add up

After all is said and done, pretty much nothing of interest happened this week for Apple. No new products were announced, it fell short of earnings expectations by just a smidgen while still setting records in revenue and profit while selling 10 devices a second. How successful of a company do you have to be to set records while falling short of goals? Ridiculous. And yet, the most interesting Apple news this week was about things that apparently aren’t even real. The Apple Math, a supposed new iPhone model, was revealed in a mock up early this week. It came equipped with a 4.8-inch display and was going to be one of three iPhone models introduced this year. Turns out none of that is true. Honestly, we’re glad. The Math sounds like Apple’s take on a calculator and graphing calculators already cost as much as some phones, so we don’t even want to imagine how much an Apple-made one would run.

When it comes to the gaming world, “you have to pick and choose your battles,” says Noobz writer, director, and co-star Blake Freeman.

From cult comedies like Grandma’s Boy to critically praised documentaries like The King of Kong and Indie Game, the gaming scene has increased its profile in Hollywood over the last few years and made some big steps toward becoming as ubiquitous on the big screen as it is in our everyday lives. Noobz, the new film from writer, director, and former competitive gamer Blake Freeman offers up yet another spin on the gaming world by introducing audiences to Clan Reign, a motley group of friends who set off on a cross-country trip to compete in the fictional Cyberbowl Video Game Championship.

Jason Mewes (Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back) stars in the film alongside Freeman, Matt Shively (Paranormal Activity 4), and Moises Arias (Ender’s Game) as the members of the ragtag clan who each have their own reasons for competing in the tournament. Along the way, they’re joined by Jon Gries (Napoleon Dynamite) as an aging arcade champion, and Casper Van Dien (Starship Troopers) as, well… Casper Van Dien.

We spoke with Freeman about the film ahead of its impending release on VOD and DVD later this month, and got his take on the perilously fine line a filmmaker needs to walk when bringing the competitive gaming scene to the big screen.

First off, let’s talk about your background in gaming. You’ve been pretty vocal about being a former competitive gamer yourself.

I grew up gaming. I played every system you could imagine, from Channel F through Atari and Intellivision. I owned them all. I started playing competitively when SOCOM first came out. SOCOM was my introduction to console online gaming. I really loved SOCOM, and my clan ended up winning one of the first big tournaments for it. We ended up winning a lot of those things, but after SOCOM 2, I felt the series fell off like crazy. It just seemed like cheaters and all of these other things got involved, and it was disappointing. So I stopped playing competitively after that game. But I’m really looking for another game to get into competitively.

So what was it that finally pushed you to make a movie about competitive gaming? Given your background, you had to know it was going to be difficult to appeal to gamers and mainstream audiences alike.

As a filmmaker, I thought it would be cool to make something about competitive gaming. And once we got the script out there, we received some great feedback from gaming companies. But you’re right – that was the toughest part of making the movie. It used to be that the only way to really get to know competitive gamers was to go to gaming forums, but gamer forums are so negative and such a toxic place these days that they’re starting to lose their credibility. You used to be able to go there and learn about games, but now it’s just a place people go to be negative about everything. So you have to pick and choose your battles when it comes to certain things.

I saw some responses to clips online that complained about product placement in the film. Well, that came from me wanting to make a realistic world. I hate watching a movie and seeing a can that says “Soda” on the side of it. Nobody drinks “Soda.” If you’ve ever seen pictures of gaming competitions, there’s product placement everywhere. It’s all over the place. And in that way, I think we stayed realistic to the gaming world without jumping overboard. For example, Jason Mewes’ character has a lot of products you can see at his house, but he’s just that guy at the game store who takes everything home. He’s one of those guys who, when he loves a game, buys the shirt, the hat, and everything else. That’s actually the reality for some people, and he’s that guy.

Your character felt a little familiar to me, too. He’s the guy who’s always annoyed at everyone else he’s playing with. I feel like I know this guy.

[Laughs] My character is just a total dick, because anyone who has played games online knows that guy. My character is 99% of the gaming world. There’s a guy on every team who hates everything. He doesn’t live in the same state as you, so you have no idea what his life is like outside of gaming. I’ve met so many of those guys while gaming, I had to play that guy.

Why did you decide to make Gears Of War 3 the game they compete in? What went into that decision?

We basically decided on the game based on which one looks best on camera. We narrowed that down to third-person shooters, because you can see the character moving around on the screen. Those games looked better than any first-person games as they appear on camera. And it also depended on who would give us the most support on the console, Xbox. It was a no-brainer for us at that point, and we got a lot of product support. They didn’t pay us money to use the game or the console, but they gave us support because they believed in the project and the movie wasn’t too outrageous. It stayed faithful to the gaming community.

We picked Gears of War 3 because it was one of the better-performing games that was a third-person shooter, and because of how it looked on camera. The movie has nothing to do with that game, though. We don’t talk about strategy for that game at all, really. It could’ve been any game on camera. I’m telling you that because I know everyone who doesn’t like that game is going to complain about it. [Laughs]

You mentioned Jason Mewes earlier, and I couldn’t help feeling like this is the most subdued character I’ve seen him play so far. He’s still pretty wild compared to the rest of the cast, but this definitely feels like a more grounded character for him. Was that an intentional bit of casting on your part?

It was, and I know that his craziness is funny, but for this movie I wanted to keep things a little more realistic. I know it’s a comedy and all, but at the same time, I didn’t want to overstep and insult gamers’ intelligence by saying a bunch of idiots can run around and make it to a gaming championship like this. So I tried to keep them a little more grounded in reality. I wanted them to be people who could actually make it that far into a tournament.

And what about Casper Van Dien? His cameo is pretty fantastic.

I knew Casper from a celebrity basketball league, and he’s never been put in comedy. I know this guy, and Casper is one of the most likable, funny guys you’ll ever meet in your life. He’s awesome. He’s in the upcoming movie Mucho Dinero with me, and it’s his first main role in a comedy. Lyn Shaye is another great one, too. When I saw her in Something About Mary and Kingpin, I knew she had to be in this movie.

Oh, and Jon Gries – everybody knows him from Napoleon Dynamite, but he’s just pure talent. He’s great.

I’m glad you mentioned him, because I wanted to ask you about his character. He shares a lot of similarities with a certain real-life gaming champion…

[Laughs] All people in the film are fictitious. I’m going to give you that line.

So Billy Mitchell hasn’t given the film his seal of approval?

[Laughs] We know guys who travel around and still play in those coin-operated game tournaments, and we wanted to pull from that world and bring a guy into the movie who does that. I got to meet Billy and the guys from Twin Galaxies a while back, and those guys were awesome. They came to the E3 sneak peek we had this past year, and they’re just good guys. I’m a huge fan of The King of Kong. I don’t think Billy has seen the film, though. I need to send him a copy.

So beyond all of this movie stuff, what are you excited about on the gaming front these days?

Well, I play FIFA daily. I got sucked into it and I can’t stop playing the damn game.

Are you playing it as much as you played SOCOM back in the day?

No, that was like 14 hours a day. Actually, there’s a scene in the movie where my character’s wife leaves him for playing too many games. That happened to a buddy of ours who was part of our SOCOM clan. He got served divorce papers, and it said on the papers that the reason he was getting a divorce was “Too much SOCOM.” All of that happened – and yes, the things you would hear over open mic were hysterical.

What’s next for you?

I have a movie coming out after this one called Gawd Bless America. It’s a comedy/documentary where I debunk aliens, psychics, and all sorts of paranormal stuff. We have high hopes for that movie. Shortly after that one, I have Mucho Dinero with Eddie Griffin, Casper Van Dien, and Danny Trejo. It’s a comedy.

Noobz arrives on DVD and VOD January 29, and stars Jason Mewes, Blake Freeman, Matt Shively, Moises Arias, and Jon Gries.

Creating a website? Get the most bang for your buck with these awesome domain name registrars.

After you’ve moved past the conceptual phase and you’re ready to transform your website idea into a reality, step number one is to register your site’s domain name through an ICANN accredited registrar. There are hundreds of different registrars out there all vying for your business and each one offers a different set of services and perks, so finding a package that suits your needs can sometimes be a time-consuming endeavor.

Going with the cheapest service isn’t always the best option — sometimes more expensive options come with extras and ‘freebies’ that make make building your website less of a hassle.  Keeping that in mind, we put together this list of the best domain name registrars that offer not only low prices, but great customer service, product variety, and site design as well. 

GoDaddy

Perhaps the most well-known registrar in the business, GoDaddy is both loved and hated. On the one hand, people love it for it’s relatively cheap package deals and abundant promotional codes that can be used to get deep discounts. On the other hand, some users criticize the service for its aggressive advertising and upselling practices. Regardless, we like them for their fast customer service and wide variety of domain registration/Web hosting bundles.

  

NameCheap

If their name didn’t already give it away, you probably gathered that this site offers simple domain name registration services for relatively low prices — but that’s not the only reason they made the list. They’ve also gained a reputation for providing excellent customer service, and they offer a wide range of different package deals to suit just about every user. You can check out their pricing schedule here and scroll through some of their free features here.

 

Name.com

Name is a dead-simple domain registration site that boasts a few features that most others don’t have. When you search for a domain name of any kind, it goes beyond simply telling you if it’s available or not and will actually let you know if a domain is (or will be) up for auction. They also offer this thing called the domain grabber, which is essentially a service where you pay Name.com to snatch up a taken domain that you really want as soon as it becomes available. You can check out their prices here.

 

Gandi.net

Gandi’s motto is ‘no bullsh*t‘, and it shows in just about every aspect of their service. Their site is clean and easy to navigate, and their customer service doesn’t beat around the bush when you call in. When you register a domain, you get a bunch of freebies too — three free BaseKit pages, one free DotClear 2.0 blog, free private domain registration, a free 1-year SSL certificate, and a personal email. It’s definitely not the cheapest service listed here, but all of the free perks might be worth it for the right user. Check their price schedule here, and read more about their free services here.

 

1&1

 1&1 is definitely a front-runner when it comes to low prices, but they’ve also got tons of added value bonuses that come with registration. Buy a one-year registration and you’ll get a five-page domain parking package, an email account with 2GB of storage, and free private domain registration to shield your personal info from prying eyes. They also offer free domain transfers if you’re looking to switch over from another registrar. You can check out their pricing plans here.

 

iWantMyName

IWMN takes a super minimalist approach when it comes to their domain name registrar services. The company made a point to cut down on clutter and make registering a domain as painless as possible. Upon arrival at the site, you’ll find a mostly white page with very few buttons and links — but they’re the important ones. IWMN also makes it easy to add various web services to your domain at the point of registration. Pricing plans are available here.

 

Hover

Hover is another clean and simple registration site that we like for it’s top-notch domain management tools. In addition to a great control panel, each domain you buy comes with unlimited domain forwarding and free private domain registration to keep your personal info hidden. Email accounts are available for an additional fee. Check their pricing schedule here to learn more.

What do you think of our list of the best domain name registrars? Did we miss something? Let us know in the comments below.

Get the hang of Google Drive with this quick and easy-to-follow tutorial

Of all the cloud storage and file synchronization services out there, Google Drive is arguably one of the best. The idea behind it is simple: Place any file in Drive and so long as you have Internet access, you’ll be able to view it on any device. Sure, Google isn’t the only company to offer this kind of service — but with its seamless integration with other Google services and a set of dead-simple collaboration tools, Drive easily stands out from the pack.

Using Drive isn’t tricky at all. In fact, it’s probably one of the easiest cloud services to start using. So rather than giving you a needlessly long tutorial, this guide offers a brief introduction to navigating and using the Drive interface, and also includes a few tips to help you get the most out of the service.

 

Getting started

Step 1: If you don’t already have one, get a Google account. It’s completely free, and will give you easy, synchronized access to all Google services. Downloading the Web browser Chrome wouldn’t hurt either, as there are a number of extensions and features that integrate with Google Drive.

Step 2: Once you’re signed up, you can choose to download Google Drive as a desktop app, or use it exclusively as a Web app through your browser. Either method will work, but you should download the desktop app if you want offline access to Google Docs. You can download the desktop software here or head on over to the Web-based version here.

Basic navigation

Google’s UX designers have gone to great lengths to make sure that using their services is extremely easy. Truth be told, you could probably skip this tutorial and use the time you would’ve spent reading to explore the browser and you’d likely get the hang of it after a few minutes. But just to get you up to speed, here’s a quick rundown of the basics.

To get started, in Drive, click on the big red Create button in the top left. When you do, a drop down menu should appear that’ll give you a bunch of different options. You can make a spreadsheet, a word document, a slideshow presentation, a form, a drawing, and a bunch of other things made possible by third-party apps. More on those in a minute.

We won’t go in-depth on how to use each of these free programs — but we will offer a couple quick tips for learning them quickly. 

1.) The buttons are pretty straightforward, but if you’re ever unsure of what one does, just hover over it with your mouse. A popup should quickly appear that explains the function of the button.

2.) If you’ve ever used Microsoft Office (i.e.: Excel, Word, or PowerPoint) then Google’s Sheets, Docs, and Slides software should look relatively familiar. They operate in a similar manner, and are arguably more intuitive. You won’t find as many advanced features as in Microsoft’s software, but Drive is free, so that’s to be expected.

3.) If you ever run in to trouble, just head over to Google Drive’s help page to figure stuff out.

Tips & Tricks: Getting the most out of Google Drive

Uploading and sharing documents

To upload a document to Drive, just click the upload button right next to the big red Create button. It should looks like this: . If you’ve got the latest version of Chrome or Firefox, you can skip this step and just drag and drop files into Drive from your desktop.

Google Drive is great for personal use, but what sets it apart from other cloud services is its powerful collaboration tools. If you ever need to work remotely with somebody on a project, you can share a Google document with them and make changes together in real time. To share a document after you’ve created it, look to the upper right-hand corner of the window and find the  button. Click it and you’ll be met with a window. Here you can give collaborators access to the document by adding their e-mail addresses. Once they’ve been granted access, the document should show up under the Shared With Me tab in their Google Drive dashboard, and a link to the shared document will also be sent to their email inbox.

Whilst inside of a shared document, you can see who else is currently editing it by looking up in the top right corner of the window. Collaborator names will be displayed in different colors so you can easily tell them apart. Just hover your cursor over any color to see who it represents. 

Add lots of collaborators quickly by sharing with a Google Group

If you’d like to share a document with a large group of people, you can avoid having to enter in email addresses one-by-one by sharing the document with an entire Google Group. Every person in that group (as well as people added to the group later on) will then have access to whatever you’ve shared. 

Share lots of files at once

Need to share a bunch of files all at once? Rather than sharing each file individually, you can move them into a folder and share that folder. Everyone you share the folder with will have access to all the files inside of it.

Convert your documents created with other programs (MS office, OpenOffice, etc.)

Need to share a document with coworkers or friends so they can collaborate on it, but you already have the file in another, similar program? Not to worry. As long as the docs are in the correct format, most files can easily be converted into Google docs, which can then be shared and edited collaboratively. To do this, just upload the desired file and open it in Drive. Next, click the File menu and choose Open With. Depending on the file type, Google will suggest the appropriate program to open it with. Below are the file formats that can be converted into Google documents.

• For documents: .doc, .docx, .html, plain text (.txt), .rtf
• For spreadsheets: .xls, .xlsx, .ods, .csv, .tsv, .txt, .tab
• For presentations: .ppt, .pps, .pptx
• For drawings: .wmf
• For OCR: .jpg, .gif, .png, .pdf

Revert to an older version of a document

A major problem with collaboration is that it’s generally a pain to fix something that someone else screwed up. Don’t worry if you find yourself in one of these situations though — Google has your back. Drive is programmed to constantly save your work, so it saves every updated version of your documents for 30 days or 100 revisions, whichever comes first. This makes it simple to revert back to an older version of a document if necessary. To retrieve an older revision of a document, open the document you want to change, click File, and scroll down to See Revision History. After you select this, a bar should appear on the right side of the document that lists all previous revisions in chronological order. Click on any one of them to get a preview of that specific revision. If it’s the one you’re after, click the blue Restore This Version link and everything will return to its former state.

Do more than just documents with Google Drive Apps

Google Drive is more than just a file synchronization service or a suite of free office software. Google clearly has bigger plans for it. In addition to its proprietary software, Google offers dozens of third party applications through Google Drive — apps that let you make diagrams, edit photos, build 3D models, make sketches, and more that we haven’t discovered yet. Files created within these apps will be saved and synced to your drive account just like any Google app. Check them out here.

That concludes our tutorial about how to use Google Drive, but if you’ve got any tips, tricks, or suggestions that we didn’t mention, be sure to tell us about them in the comments! 

Xseed Games is known for bringing niche Japanese games to English-speaking audiences, but it’s also got a habit of putting out games for seemingly dead platforms. Xseed VP Ken Berry talks with Digital Trends about how to keep consoles alive.

Xseed is no stranger to bringing games to the United States that are likely to reach only a small audience. The publisher was opened in 2004 in the grand tradition of game publishers like the now defunct Working Designs, the company that brought Japanese games like Lunar: The Silver Star for the Sega CD and later PS One and Slipheed: The Last Planet for the PS2 to American shores. Its goal: To release in the US the best and brightest Japanese video games that larger publishers will ignore, even if they already own the game. Xseed is notorious for picking up games abandoned by Namco Bandai, Capcom, and even Nintendo in the international market, then finding success with titles like Fragile Dreams, Sky Crawlers, and The Last Story. 

Xseed’s marquee Spring release, Pandora’s Tower, highlights another peculiar trait of the publisher, though: It releases games for platforms that have been all but abandoned in the Western market. On Jan. 15, it release Corpse Party: Book of Shadows for the PSP, Sony’s 9-year-old console that’s all but dead. That was the publisher’s second release on PSP in the past year, joining Unchained Blades as one of the last English games to possibly ever hit the system. Pandora’s Tower, an action RPG, may turn out to be the last Wii game published in the US. Why support dead platforms? Because people want to play them. 

Digital Trends spoke with Xseed vice president Ken Berry about his publisher’s strange business choices, the benefits of publishing on seemingly unpopular platforms, and what’s next.

Xseed has been one of the more adventurous Wii publishers in the United States, pushing games like Fragile Dreams, Sky Crawlers, and others that didn’t enjoy big Internet followings like The Last Story. Why has Xseed stuck by the platform?

We have to be platform neutral and willing to publish the best games available to us, no matter what the platform. With that said, we’re especially proud of the titles we’ve published on Wii since so many of them are category leaders or significant in some way—Victorious Boxers: Revolution was the first boxing-dedicated game, Sky Crawlers was the best flight sim, Fishing Resort was the best fishing game, Little King’s Story was arguably the best strategy game (or whatever hybrid genre it would classify as), Rune Factory: Frontier was one of the top ten most played games on the system for a very long time. Ju-on: The Grudge was… well, let’s not talk about that one.

The same could be said of the PSP. Just this month Xseed published Corpse Party: Book of Shadows, a game targeted at an even smaller niche than the usual RPG crowd since it’s also a horror game. Why stick with the PSP? 

The PSP is unique in that it was so wildly successful in Japan relative to other territories that when developers are making content for it, they don’t consider the international market at all since they are banking on Japanese sales alone. Even now there are still a lot of new games being made for that system as developers want a sure thing rather than transition over to Vita just yet. This creates an abundance of great PSP games in Japan that don’t get localized for overseas, so if we find compelling content and can make the numbers work out somehow. Even with somewhat low sales expectations, we’re willing to take the risk. First, because we’re gamers and want to play these games in English ourselves, and second, our initial investment is small enough that if it sells even remotely well then the title can be profitable. 

Why are publishers so reticent to continue publishing on platforms like PSP and Wii so quickly when those machines have huge, established audiences? What makes a platform “dead” in your eyes?

It’s a combination of retailers not wanting to stock software for older platforms as they reallocate what precious little shelf space they have to software for new hardware, lower anticipated sales volume and lower sales price for each unit sold. All the excitement, and higher price points and profit margins, are with the new hardware so focus shifts quickly for both retailers and publishers. A platform isn’t truly dead until all new software ceases to release on it, which in this day of digital distribution could take a very long time.

With the exception of Solatorobo, Xseed has all but abandoned the Nintendo DS. What was different about that platform compared to the PSP and Wii that pushed you away from publishing there? There are plenty of import-only DS games that US fans are still clamoring for.

Cartridge-based media is much more expensive than disc-based, plus with the PSP we had the great additional revenue from the PlayStation Store digital sales as all new UMD releases had a digital version for sale from day one.

Why do you think The Last Story for Nintendo Wii was so successful for Xseed? Do you think Pandora’s Tower will match its sales? 

I think it was successful mainly because it was a fantastic game with a great pedigree of [Final Fantasy creator Hironobu] Sakaguchi-san and Nintendo behind the development. Informed gamers had been tracking it since its first public appearance in Japan and knew that this was a gem to add to their gaming collection. We do not expect Pandora’s Tower to match its sales as we will be even farther along the Wii’s lifecycle by the time it releases, but we do still expect a strong showing thanks to the great support from the fanbase for these JRPGs on Wii.

What are the challenges in marketing a game for a console that’s fallen out of the popular dialog with gamers and the press? 

The main challenge is how to market the game in stores on a retail level because you’re not sure if and how much support the retailers are going to give a title on that platform. We really need to focus on driving demand with the fans and having them dictate to the retailers with their pre-orders, which titles need to be supported.

It was unusual for Nintendo to license one of its Japanese-published titles to a third party in the US. With Pandora’s Tower, it’s becoming a trend. Do you foresee being able to continue working with Nintendo on projects like these on the 3DS and Wii U? Do you feel like Xseed’s relationship is unique, or do you get the sense that Nintendo is more open to working with others?

I can’t speak on behalf of Nintendo, but I think this is more a special one (or two) time deal rather than any kind of trend. We had special circumstances for The Last Story where our president at the time had a very good working relationship with Sakaguchi-san from their days together at Squaresoft, and our parent company was involved in the programming for that title. Getting The Last Story to market for us was a very smooth process, and since it worked out so well for both us and Nintendo, Pandora’s Tower was just a natural extension of that “one time” deal.

Are there are any other Wii games that Xseed is considering publishing before leaving the system behind? Please say Captain Rainbow.

I think I’ve said this before in a previous interview, but I really mean it this time when I say that I think this will be the last Wii title we publish. Of course things could change if a great Wii title were to fall upon our lap or digital distribution for that platform took off, but as of right now Pandora’s Tower will probably be our final Wii title.

Xseed recently started looking for a Mobile Online Game Operations manager. How will Xseed approach the mobile gaming market? Are there older iOS and other mobile titles from Japan that Xseed thinks will connect with its audience here?

Our parent company, MarvelousAQL, has a very successful mobile business in Japan, and they are the one taking the initiative to start up a new mobile business in the US. They have a great catalog of mobile and social games that they can start bringing over from Japan, and they will publish those with original titles that are being developed here. Our mobile offerings may be more oriented for the mass market than our console RPG fare, but we will always look for games that we think our core fanbase will enjoy.

Has Xseed considered localizing games for even older consoles that are now more accessible to players thanks to digital distribution? Would Xseed ever consider localizing a Super Nintendo or PlayStation game for example?

Afraid not. There is a limit to how far back we can go when localizing games, mainly due to the technical side of having access to the original source code and development team in order to implement the localization programming. Even if the technical side worked out somehow, the challenge then becomes the business side as games that old would likely sell for $4.99 or $9.99 tops, meaning that we would have to sell hundreds of thousands of units to justify the costs and manpower. Too much allocation of resources for too small of a payoff, so our time and energy is better spent on more recent releases.

What merits do you see in releasing unlocalized imports like MonkeyPaw has done on the PlayStation Network?

There’s definitely a great merit for the gamers that get a chance to play games that they wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. From a business standpoint, it’s a great almost risk-free business, if you can find and license the right content.

So… how about a localized Retro Game Challenge 2 on eShop? Please? PLEASE?!

I think you’re asking the wrong people. We loved the original game so much that we really went way above our comfort zone on the investment it took to bring the game over here. It was an incredibly expensive project due to multiple IP owners and the extensive localization programming necessary as it was never intended to be sold outside of Japan. Our love for the game blinded our business reasoning as it was about three times as expensive to license as a typical DS game at the time, and it came back to bite us in the end when sales didn’t live up to our expectations. Even if the IP holder was open to us licensing the sequel, we can’t go into a project knowing that we’re going to lose money, no matter how much the gamer inside us wants to.