Engine Updates

ACE(2) (UCI)
new source-code-only engine by Stuart Neivandt
C++ source
- seems to be a complete engine: can someone compile it please?
- engine has no version number
- engine is badly named: there already exists an Ace engine by Adam Adair, therefore I name it ACE(2)
https://github.com/sneivandt/chess

EXchess 7.51 (WB)
C++ source; mp; own GUI; FRC; limit strength; Win32/64, Linux32/64, Mac
- fixes to a couple of significant bugs
- tuned a number of the evaluation parameters
- made some changes to extensions and reductions
- "about 40 Elo stronger in self-play, but the gain will probably be less than that against other opponents"
http://sites.google.com/site/experimentalchessprogram/

Hakkapeliitta 2.0 (UCI)
C++ source; Win32/64, Linux32/64
- "a(nother) total rewrite of Hakkapeliitta"
- " I expect it to be rated around 2775, give or take 25 Elo"
- first time for Linux builds
http://github.com/mAarnos/Hakkapeliitta
https://github.com/mAarnos/Hakkapeliitta/tree/master/bin/ (binaries)

N.E.G. 1.1 (WB)
an engine without a search by HG Muller
C source only; not a serious engine
http://talkchess.com/forum/viewtopic.php?topic_view=threads&p=602147&t=54757 (C source)

Nirvanachess 2.0a (UCI)
mp; Win64
- "a couple of functional changes but I don't expect them to be worth more than 5 Elo"
- fixed crashing problem
http://nirvanachess.blogspot.com/

Chess News

Lucas Chess 8.11
"play chess against the computer with increasing levels of difficulty and with a limited number of hints that are given by a chess tutor"
Python source; Win32
- also available as a portable build
http://www-lucaschess.rhcloud.com (homepage)
https://googledrive.com/host/0B0D6J3YCrUouRk1IcHVzSWNVZkk/ (download)

Norbert Raimund Leisner Chess Engine Logos
chess engine logos (dimensions: 130 x 65 bitmaps)
- new logos have been added (2200 total)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/tkj7wiwh0o2yewv/Chess%20Logos%20Bitmap%20130%20x%2065.rar?dl=0

Ordo 0.9.8.0
calculates relative ratings based on game results
- "some minor changes, code clean ups, and fixing of some issues, some cosmetic and some related to convergence in pathological cases, or the accuracy of draw rate calculations"
https://sites.google.com/site/gaviotachessengine/ordo

Chess Programming Blogs

iCE blog: http://macechess.blogspot.de/2014/12/revisiting-king-safety.html
MadChess blog: http://www.madchess.net/post/madchess-2-0-beta-build-34-null-move

Wiki Page Changes

Nothing new today

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

7-Zip 9.36 Beta
open source, cross-platform file archiver with very good compression
- this is a *beta* release
http://www.7-zip.org

Calibre 2.14.0
cross-platform open source ebook manager supporting all popular ebook readers
with format conversion, news feeds, and integrated e-book viewer
http://calibre-ebook.com/

Greenshot 1.2.4.10
free, open source screenshot capture program for Windows
http://getgreenshot.org/

ICQ 8.3.7317
audio/video/text chat w/ connectivity to Facebook, Google+, Twitter, etc for desktop & mobile
http://www.icq.com/en

Kaos 2014.12
independent, x86_64 rolling-release Linux distro; KDE desktop; #32 in popularity
- this is the monthly rolling-release snapshot
http://kaosx.us/

Nim programming language 0.10.2
cross-platform, statically typed, imperative/object-oriented, compiled programming language
with overloaded functions/operators, iterators, exceptions, generics, closures, templates, macros
GC support for multi-core programming
- language was formerly known as Nimrod
- syntax resembles Python or Ruby
- runtime efficiency of C
- single inheritance only
- can use type inference to deduce types
http://nim-lang.org/index.html

Notepad++ 6.7.2
open source programmer's editor (Windows only)
http://notepad-plus-plus.org/

Password Safe 3.35.0
open source encrypted password database utility; a single key unlocks all passwords
- there is also an updated Linux *beta* version available
http://sourceforge.net/projects/passwordsafe/ (project)
http://pwsafe.org/ (homepage)

PeaZip 5.5.2
open source cross-platform file and archive manager; available as portable app also
- create 7Z, ARC, BZ2, GZ, PAQ/ZPAQ, PEA, QUAD/BALZ, TAR, UPX, WIM, XZ, ZIP
- extract 150+ archive types: ACE, ARJ, CAB, DMG, ISO, LHA, RAR, UDF, etc.
http://peazip.sourceforge.net/ (homepage)
http://sourceforge.net/projects/peazip/files/5.5.2/ (5.5.2 downloads)

phpMyAdmin 4.3.4
web admin to view/change MySQL/MariaDB databases; interactive commandline SQL; import/export, etc.
http://www.phpmyadmin.net/home_page/index.php

Q4OS 0.5.23
based on Debian (Stable); Trinity desktop; #45 in popularity
http://q4os.org/

ROSA R5
Mandriva-based Linux distro: GNOME & KDE desktops; #44 in popularity
- update for the 'R' series with KDE desktop
http://www.rosalinux.com/

Ruby 2.2.0
popular scripting language, often used with Rails library
http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/ (homepage)

Sabayon 15.01
Gentoo-based, rolling release distro; choice of desktops: GNOME, KDE, MATE or Xfce; #31 in popularity
http://www.sabayon.org/

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.
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