Update Information: October 21, 2013 (Updates)
Engine Updates
GullChess 2.3 (UCI)
C++ source; mp; Win32/64
- minor search tweaks
http://www.sdchess.ru/download_engines.htm (SDChess)
http://sourceforge.net/projects/gullchess/
SdBC 0.5.15.1 (WB)
Win32
- improved time control for games with a fixed amount of time for the game
- fixed incompatibility with Windows XP
http://wbec-ridderkerk.nl/html/details1/Sdbc.html (Leo page)
http://www.sdbcs.de/en-us/Freeware/SdBC-en-US (homepage)
Chess News
Norm Pollock site
PGN, EPD & TXT Utility Suites and Opening Book PGN Databases
- updated PGN programs: tagExtract & tagFix
http://www.hoflink.com/~npollock/chess.html
XBoard 4.7.2 for Mac (WB)
this is a build of the latest XBoard by 'Darklord42' (Joshua Pettus)
- silent update, fixed packaging bugs, version number unchanged
http://www.open-aurec.com/wbforum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=52964 (announcement)
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/50486448/Xboard%204.7.2%20-%20OSX.dmg (direct link)
Today's Chess Blog Articles
Arasan: http://arasanchess.org/blogs/oct13.html
iCE: http://macechess.blogspot.de/2013/10/king-safety-tuning.html
Tarrasch: http://triplehappy.wordpress.com/2013/10/19/working-on-tarrasch-again/
Down/Problem Chess Websites
Alex WBTM homepage down for 91 days (a multimania site)
Bestia homepage down for 106 days (a 110mb.com site)
Lyapko Utilities homepage down for 106 days (a 110mb.com site)
Nejmet homepage down for 90 days (a multimania site)
Toledo Nanochess homepage down for 37 days (a 110mb.com site)
T-Rex homepage down for 91 days (a multimania site)
Toga Returns homepage has been hacked and is dangerous to visit
Wiki Changes
GUI Protocol List
update by Norbert Raimund Leisner
- Chess Position Trainer: added some links and comments
- deleted and added some trext to introduction paragraph
- Chessbase: added a link
- Lucas Chess: updated link
- Shredder: added two links
- dgtnix: added to list
- new conversion tool section added
- new DGT board section added
http://computer-chess.org/doku.php?id=computer_chess:wiki:lists:gui_protocol_support_list
Mobile Chess List
update by Norbert Raimund Leisner
- added new SmallChess section
http://computer-chess.org/doku.php?id=computer_chess:wiki:lists:mobile_chess_list
Bonus Notifications (recent releases of free stuff)
Warnings:
- do not install unwanted toolbars, etc.
- alpha releases have new features; crashes and bugs are to be expected
- beta releases have new features; they may contain bugs or crash
- release candidate software may contain minor bugs; crashes are rare
Avira AntiVir Personal 14.0.0.411 Free
antivirus product; the free version pops up annoying intermittent ads
http://www.avira.com/en/avira-free-antivirus
Calibre 1.7.0
cross-platform open source ebook manager for all popular ebook readers
with format conversion, news feeds, and integrated e-book viewer
http://calibre-ebook.com/
CentOS 5.10
Linux distro based on Red Hat Enterprise; choice of Gnome or KDE desktop; #13 in popularity
- this is an update for the older version 5 series
http://www.centos.org/
Codelite 5.3.0
excellent open source cross-platform IDE for all C/C++ compilers
features: syntax highlighting for many languages, plugins, version control, code completion,
function call tips, more
http://codelite.org/
CrystalDiskInfo 6.0.0
open source hard drive monitoring/warning/alarm system using SMART technology
http://crystalmark.info/?lang=en
Ghostery 5.0.5 for Firefox
free browser addon; alerts you about web bugs, ad networks and tracking widgets on every web page you visit;
"See who's tracking your web browsing and block them"
http://www.ghostery.com/download
ICQ 8.2.6870
audio/video/text chat w/ connectivity to Facebook, Google+, Twitter, etc for desktop & mobile
http://www.icq.com/en
ID3 Renamer 6.1.0
free utility to bulk-rename music files
http://www.id3renamer.com/en
Komodo Edit 8.5.2
free cross-platform programmer's editor for JavaScript, Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby and Tcl
http://www.activestate.com/komodo-edit/downloads
LameXP 4.09
open source audio encoder GUI for MP3, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC and Nero AAC
http://lamexp.sourceforge.net/
Miranda IM 0.10.18
open source instant messaging program
http://www.miranda-im.org/
NetBeans IDE 7.4
open source cross-platform IDE used primarily for Java-based programming languages;
(supports C/C++, PHP, HTML, JavaScript, CSS, Java, Groovy, etc.)
supports syntax highlighting, code completion, object browsing, refactoring, etc.
all languages have debuggers, profilers and unit testing plus support for collaborative programming
- same as 7.4 RC 1, now officially released
http://wiki.netbeans.org/NewAndNoteworthyNB74 (changelog)
http://netbeans.org/
.NET Framework Version 4.5.1
Microsoft .NET framework has been updated
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/somasegar/archive/2012/08/15/visual-studio-2012-and-net-4-5-now-available.aspx (announcement)
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=40773
PC Wizard 2013.2.1
free utility to detect & benchmark all PC hardware & system components
good tool for deciding hardware upgrades; portable version available
http://www.cpuid.com/pcwizard.php
PHP 5.5.5 Stable
PHP 5.4.21 Stable
PHP is a very popular and practical open source scripting language; it is primarily used for web applications
http://php.net/
Puppy Linux -- Fatdog64 630, RC 1
Puppy is a popular (#10) and easy-to-learn, easy-to-use Linux distribution
Open source, boots from a CD (your Windows installation is unchanged) w/ simple instruction manual
old, slow computers run very well using Puppy's all-in-memory Linux kernel
There are many versions of Puppy available, each with a specific purpose
You don't necessarily use the latest release, you use the version with the software you want
You will need to know how to burn a disk from an ISO image
- Precise Puppy is binary-compatible with Ubuntu LTS 12.04.1
- Wary Puppy is intended to run on older hardware
- Racy Puppy is a mod of Wary Puppy, supporting the newest machines
- Slacko Puppy can use Puppy, Slackware, Salix, or Slacky software repositories
- Fatdog64 is a 64-bit Puppy distro; it is larger than most other Puppys
http://puppylinuxnews.org/ (news)
http://puppylinux.org/ (PuppyLinux homepage)
http://distro.ibiblio.org/fatdog/web/ (Fatdog homepage)
Simplicity Linux 13.10
Puppy-based; LXDE desktop; #30 in popularity
http://simplicitylinux.org/
SQLite 3.8.1
open source SQL database for programmers; small and fast
- "a regularly scheduled maintenance release"
http://www.sqlite.org/ (homepage)
http://www.sqlite.org/news.html (update info)
http://www.sqlite.org/releaselog/3_8_1.html (changelog)
TThrottle 7.20
free Windows laptop utility to keep CPU/GPU temperature down by throtttling performance
http://www.efmer.eu/boinc/
Ubuntu 13.10
Debian-based Linux distro; Unity desktop; #3 in popularity
- Lubuntu 13.10 (Ubuntu with LXDE desktop); #16 in popularity
- Kubuntu 13.10 (Ubuntu with KDE desktop); #20 in popularity
- UbuntuGNOME 13.10 (Ubuntu with GNOME desktop); #24 in popularity
- Xubuntu 13.10 (Ubuntu with XFCE desktop); #25 in popularity
http://lubuntu.net/ (Lubuntu)
http://www.kubuntu.org/ (Kubuntu)
http://ubuntugnome.org/ (UbuntuGNOME)
http://www.xubuntu.org/ (Xubuntu)
http://www.ubuntu.com/ (Ubuntu)
Windows 8.1
popular commercial operating system
- still has unpopular tablet-type interface as default
http://windows.microsoft.com/
Meaning of Colors
Red = New or Warning
Green = Updated
Gray = Info Only
Engine List: http://computer-chess.org/doku.php?id=computer_chess:wiki:lists:chess_engine_list
Chess News: http://computer-chess.org/doku.php?id=computer_chess:wiki:lists:chess_news_list
NOTE: If you want me to track a website for you, please email me and I will add it.
ron _at_ computer-chess _dot_ org