As expected the first preview of Windows 8.1 is out now for public download. To be released as a free update to Windows 8 later this year, this pre-release version is now available for downloading to early adopters.

Microsoft Windows 8.1 Preview is available as a free update from the Windows Store, as well as bootable ISO images. Users already running Windows 8 and updating via Windows Store need no extra serial number or registration, for new users installing from the ISO image are able to get this preview build for free using officially provided Windows 8.1 registration product key: NTTX3-RV7VB-T7X7F-WQYYY-9Y92F.

Microsoft says Windows 8.1 offers improved balance between the classic desktop UI and the new tile based “Modern” UI which is more suited for touch-screen usage. Apart from the return of the Start button and the much wanted boot to desktop option the new update features more personalization options, more apps, new "Search Heros" integrated web-searching, new Store, Extensive SkyDrive integration, 3D printing support, Miracast streaming and much more.

Even if you do not require a video editing software, every now and then we need to make changes to our videos and professional video editing utilities are just an overkill for these little tasks. Free Windows utility SmartPixel allows you to do that with an added advantage of built-in video capture feature.

SmartPixel allows video editing for beginners featuring an easy to use interface to record and edit video-clips. SmartPixel software has two modules, SmartPixel Camera and SmartPixel Producer.

With SmartPixel Camera, people could capture the screen or a webcam stream in HD quality. It uses D3D video recording mode so it is compatible with all the popular games such as Dota, WOW, Diablo, NBA 2K series, LOL, Call Duty etc. It also features options to remove original vocals and insert lyrics subtitles to make a personalized music video.

SmartPixel Producer on the other hand is a video editing utility, a user could simply import video clips via SmartPixel Camera or other places for editing and can insert effects, subtitles, music, backgrounds, dubbing, scribble paintings etc. The final result can then be exported as FLV, AVI, MP4 and other general formats to upload to the video sharing sites such as youtube and vimeo.

SysRestore is a freeware which allows users to backup and restore entire system hard disk or partition to prevent it from any unwanted changes. With this software, you can restore the disk or partition with its data back even if your computer is attacked by virus and crash undoing unwanted changes on system and disk. Unlike the windows built-in system restore, SysRestore is based on sector by sector copy which is able to backup any partition including boot, restore files, restore system after crash, restore different snapshot, boot system from backup. While windows built-in system restore is based on file copy which can only backup files on system partition.

The good news is SysRestore Pro is being given away to 1000 users for free until July 31, 2013. Just download and use the registration serial number provided below.

Mozilla Firefox 22 is out now in Release channel and brings some amazing feature's to the open-source web-browser. Using a supercharged subset of JavaScript (asm.js) developers are creating high-intensity applications, like 3D games and photo processing to be consumed directly on the Web without having to install additional software or use any plugins at native performance levels. Mozilla Firefox 22 now supports asm.js via a cross-compiler which can emit asm.js, paving way for consumption of these high-performance native applications on the web-browser. Mozilla also shared a video showing Unreal Engine 3 demonstration using this JavaScript technology performing at-par the native speed.

Microsoft Windows 8 enforces digital driver signature verification at the kernel level and would not allow users to install anything without it. Most of the time Windows 8 would show a relevant error like “A digitally signed driver is required” & “The driver installation failed” but at-times just fail to install the device driver as shown below. Thankfully, Microsoft has left an option to bypass the signature verification and install the device driver as usual. The full procedure for installation of unsigned device drivers on Windows 8 is outlined below.

New versions of ESET Smart Security and ESET NOD32 Antivirus are out now for public download for BETA testing. These new version of ESET Smart Security 7 (Beta) and ESET NOD32 Antivirus 7 (Beta) feature many improvements, most noticeable being improved ESET Anti-Theft feature, improved Anti-phishing and numerous improvements to the ESET Personal firewall. The new scanning engine is able to handle heavily-encrypted threats that evade detection with Advanced Memory Scanner, the Vulnerability Shield allows users to stay protected from threats or attacks trying to exploit network vulnerabilities and improved cleaning engine which allows it to eliminate extremely persistent malware and rootkits. ESET is also giving away free One year license keys for ESET Smart Security 7 to 500 lucky BETA testers.

Everybody loves freebies, and to celebrate there 15th anniversary top-level domain registry .NU (pronounced new) is giving away free domain names for one year. To further sweeten the offer you also get a single modern looking, easily customizable (using online WYSIWYG editor) hosted webpage. The good part is there are plenty of unique, short names yet available for grabs. So hurry and get your "new" domain name now for free.

If you are looking for an professional quality region free dvd player software for Windows OS, BlazeDVD Pro would be the answer to your search. Ranked #3 in 2013 top 10 DVD player software list (by TopTen Reviews) BlazeDVD Pro is a region free DVD player software for Windows offering viewers good video picture and excellent audio quality with theater simulation mode for maximum entertainment.

Blaze DVD Player fully supports a variety of media formats including DVD, VCD, CD audio, MP3, QuickTime, and RealMedia with full support for HD video decoding. Other handy features include scene bookmarking, auto playback resume from the place you left watching and ability to take screenshots and record movie to MPEG format.

Root 101 plans to be the most open-source and affordable Android powered tablet, currently vouching users for crowd-funding via Indiegogo. The tablet will feature a completely stock version of Android Jelly Bean 4.2 (with promise to deliver 'latest and greatest' updates as early as possible) with no bloatware, no skins, and with full root access. While the good, clean Android build does wonders for both performance and battery life, the makers have also allowed for easy flashing of custom ROM's for non-technical users.

The $169 tablet will offer an experience similar to Google Nexus with it's 10.1” IPS HD (1280 x 800) multi-touch capacitive screen, AmLogic Dual Core 1.5GHz CPU, Dual Core Mali-400 GPU with 1080P video, 1GB RAM, 16GB Internal Storage, MicroSD Slot, WiFi, Front and Rear Camera, Micro USB Port and Mini HDMI slot – output up to 1080P to TV. Do watch the video demonstration posted below.

Driver Genius 10 Professional is a popular application in it's niche, this driver manager utility for Windows allows users to backup, restore, and updates system device drivers automatically with just a few clicks. The real strength of Driver Genius is the strong database of over 80,000+ different drivers which allows users to find and update device-drivers which Windows can't find on its own.

Here's a chance to grab a genuine license code for Driver Genius 10 Professional (worth $29.99) absolutely free, just follow the links posted ahead to get your personal registration code delivered to your email.