10.19.2017

Cat in the Hat for windows 10 desktop themes


Requested by MrRussellgro 
Attributes: [C][A][SS-3]
Concept Author: Theme Doctor EXE Creations
Icons have been refarmed. The themes contents are otherwise unchanged.
 
Download the improved theme to the right! Previews have been refreshed for build 16278.

download

10.17.2017

WhiteNoir for win10 desktop themes

WhiteNoir BY NEIIO
=ANNIVERSARY, CREATORS & FALL UPDATES=
Guide To Installing Windows 10 Themes
 
It's back!!!  Another favorite theme as well!
 
Light or Dark goodness!
 
Download and enjoy!
 
Please give it a fav and comments are most welcome!!!

download

10.16.2017

19 black website design for Your Inspiration

If you’ve spent any amount of time research WordPress themes or using them for your own web design business, you know that white space is not only a trend, but an obsession. The idea behind the color white is that it creates breathing room for your content, while also letting off a clean and modern look.
Unfortunately, this leaves the color black in the dust, since for whatever reason, people tend to shun black, because it’s the opposite of white. The only problem with this reasoning is that the white color is not what’s making designs look clean and modern, but rather the amount of white that is used. When black is implemented properly it has the same effect as white space.
Not to mention, black websites let off an elegant and wealthy vibe, which both men and women are known to enjoy. Since dark websites offer wonderful ways to stand out from the crowd, we put together a list of the best black websites for your inspiration. Use them to prompt creativity in your own designs, and feel free to save the suggestions as bookmarks for later. Without further ado, here are the top black websites online.

01. Esteban Muñoz

esteban_muñoz
The Esteban Muñoz portfolio is a solid place to start out for your black website inspiration, since it shows you how versatile a portfolio can be with a black background, allowing you to stand out from the tons of white portfolios online, while also adding graphics to the background to show your creativity.
You’ll notice how powerful a black website looks with bright white typography and animated graphics towards the bottom. Not to mention, the black elements help put some focus on your portfolios items, as you can see in the slider to the right.

02. Hangar Door

hangar_door
The Hangar Door website has more of a gray/black background, with steel textures to coincide with the fact that the company sells hangar doors. The website is a great example of a darker layout, since it correlates with the mission of the company and looks great with the nail graphics and branded social media buttons.

03. Jef Finley

jef_finley
This is a website called Maker/Mistaker, which is a personal growth podcast and blog created by Jef Finley. This is a wonderful example of how darker elements combine well with lighter components of the website, since the entire header area features a darkened parallax image with overlaying text and buttons to things like the podcast and the blog.
This is a prime example of how you can add some juxtaposition to your site.

04. Anderbose

anderbose
The Anderbose site isn’t exactly a solid shade of black, but it utilizes everything from black to brown and even white. Anderbose provides a wonderful look into how you can use darker shades to display your own personal blog, where the blog feed sits to the right and the darkened colors put most of the focus on the written words.

05. 1MD

1md
The 1MD website is one of our favorites on the list, because much of it actually features a white background, However, the true inspiration comes from the black graphics sitting on top of that background.
As you can see, a man with interesting designs surrounding him is the first part of the website you notice, along with portfolio suggestions and typography towards the bottom of the site that is all done in black.

06. Take the Walk

take_the_walk
Take the Walk is a charity that strives to convince people to walk a mile in order to prevent AIDS and poverty. The majority of the background is covered in black, and accents are highlighted in red, displaying how black is one of the best colors to work with, since you can use just about any other color as an accent.

07. Sawyer Hollenshead

sawyer_hollenshead
Sawyer Hollenshead is a frontend developer, and this is a portfolio and blog with ramblings from the web developer. The reason we enjoy this black website is because the very top module is completely black, bringing your eye to the most important content, that being the navigational menu. You can decide to look at the portfolio, written content or even the photos provided.

08. Versions

versions
The Versions website is featuring an app for Mac, and it shows how just about any type of technology company can stand out with a few changes towards a darker interface. The Download and Buy buttons are clear due to the coloring, and the lighter screenshots make it easy to understand what the app is all about.

09. Don Q

don_q
Don Q is a rum company, and its use of black colors reveal how elegance and sophistication appears when you go with a black background. Almost every part of the Don Q website is colored in black, and they use combinations of white and gold typography to add to the elegant atmosphere.

10. Mad About Architecture

mad_about_architecture
The Mad About Architecture website is a portfolio for an architectural firm, and all of the animations between pages is completely black. The navigational menu is clear, and the darkened shades provide a sense of professionalism and strength, which isn’t a bad vibe to let off when you’re a company that makes buildings.

11. Void

void
Void puts a focus on stunning space and time animations, bringing you through a story based solely on visuals. Each page is almost completely black, offering a sense of wonder and ominous feelings.
They complement the dark colors with tantalizing tones and music. You can then click around the website to enjoy the narrative.

12. 99 Properites and Power

99_properties
99 Properites and Power is a movie website, and it also includes music and other media elements of which are all presented in darker color shades. As you scroll down with your mouse you can see other pictures from the movie and click on clear social media buttons and navigational tabs towards the top.

13. Sennheiser

sennheiser
Sennheiser is a company that sells headphones, but this is an additional site from the business, allowing you to truly experience the power of audio and video. Many of the visuals offered through the site are provided in black and grey, helping you see the navigational buttons and adding to the experience presented.

14. Blake Allen

blake_allen
The Blake Allen website is a portfolio, and it’s all about simplicity. So many designers think they have to add loads of animations and elements to make their portfolio stand out, but Blake Allen offers a varied approach, with large white typography over a black background.
This is a wonderful site for inspiration, since it only has a few links and minimal design components, yet it’s still rather powerful.

15. Blue Cadet

blue_cadet
Blue Cadet is a design firm that understands the power of a black website, since it has a video running towards the top of the page, but its primary color is black. When you scroll down on the website it reveals some lighter elements, which adds to the experience with the contrast.
As you scroll down on the site you’ll see that the navigational menu generates a completely black background, making it easy to see the white links.

16. Let It Bleed

let_it_bleed
Let It Bleed is a book website that places all eyes on the book cover by utilizing a significant amount of black in the background. What’s interesting about this site is that the testimonials and quotes from the book are clearly visible because the large white typography stands out so much.

17. Blissfully Aware

blissfully_aware
The Blissfully Aware website offers a retro style with a black background. There aren’t many moving parts on the site, but this makes it all the more useful, since you can see most of the navigational buttons on the screen.
The logo is front and center, and the black background clearly reveals all of the links throughout the page.

18. The Old State

the_old_state
The Old State company is a web design, development and branding business, with a black header and footer to not only show off the firm’s creativity, but to clear out the clutter and guide visitors to exactly where they need to go.
You’ll notice that animations and videos look great with black backgrounds, since they seem to flow well and pop out for the viewer.

19. Leah Haggar

leah_haggar
The Leah Haggar portfolio has plenty of lighter areas, but the primary header and footer modules are darkened and powerful, using a combination of videos, large typography and even a wonderful About area in the footer that is quick and easy to read.
This About text is centered, adding to the usefulness of the black background, since nothing else is cluttering the space, and it simply looks like that’s exactly where your eyes are supposed to go.

Over to You…

Now that you’ve had a chance to see some of the best black websites for your inspiration, let us know in the comments if you have any other black websites that get your creative juices flowing. Feel free to bookmark these pages for your own use, and jot down why they stand out to you.

10.14.2017

The Best VPN services of 2017

Welcome to the CNET 2017 Directory of VPN providers. In this directory, we're taking a look at a few of the very best commercial VPN service providers on the Internet. Rather than looking at the wide range of free providers, which often have a lot of limits (and dubious loyalties), we are looking at those vendors who charge a few bucks a month, but put your interests first, rather than those of shadowy advertisers and sponsors.

Our VPN rankings are based more than 20 factors including number of server locations, client software, dedicated and dynamic IP, bandwidth caps, security, logging, customer support and price. CNET may get a share of revenue from the sale of these products and services offered by our partners. 

Let's look at each of our vendors below in a little more depth.



IPVanish VPN – 4.5/5

Number of IP addresses: 40,000+
Number of servers: 700
Number of server locations: 60
Country/Jurisdiction: United States
A big win for IPVanish is the fact that the company keeps zero logs. Zero. We also like the company's stance towards privacy. They even provide support to EFF, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit at the front lines of protecting online privacy.

A unique feature of IPVanish, and one we're very intrigued by, is the VPN's support of Kodi, the open-source media streaming app that was once known as XBMC. Any serious media fan has used or built Kodi or XBMC into a media player, and the integrated IPVanish Kodi plugin provides access to media worldwide.

At $7.50/month and $58.49 for a year, they're obviously trying to move you towards their yearly program. We awarded the company points for Bitcoin support, and their money-back guarantee. We're a little disappointed that they only allow a 7-day trial, rather than a full 30-days. The company is generous, with five simultaneous connections. They also picked up points for their connection kill switch feature, a must for anyone serious about remaining anonymous while surfing.



NordVPN – 5/5

Number of IP addresses: 2,000
Number of servers: 1087
Number of server locations: 61
Country/Jurisdiction: Panama
NordVPN picks up our first five/five rating. In terms of absolute point count, it is one point above the other two five point winners. NordVPN is firing on all cylinders, so we deducted only a few points from a perfect score.

They even offer the most generous simultaneous connection count, with six simultaneous connections through their network, where everyone else offers five or fewer. NordVPN's network isn't as large as some of their competitors, so if you're trying to obfuscate your tracks, you might want a company with more servers. Otherwise, this company is clearly providing a winning offering.

Their best plan is $3.29/month for a 2-year plan. While their monthly price of $11.95 is at the high end of the spectrum (and they did lose a few points for that), their yearly price of $69.00 is lower than most our contenders. And yes, they also have a full 30-day refund policy. NordVPN also offers a dedicated IP option, for those looking for a different level of VPN connection. 



ExpressVPN – 4/5

Number of IP addresses: 15,000
Number of servers: 1,700+
Number of server locations: 145
Country/Jurisdiction: British Virgin Islands
ExpressVPN also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, and has impressive protocol support. While few will use PPTP (unless there are specific needs), the added support of SSTP and L2TP/IPSec may be welcome to some users.

We like the quality of their setup guides, and the detailed information in their FAQ. The company gained points from us for their support of Bitcoin as a payment method, and their reliable and easy-to-use connection kill switch feature.

The company has been in business since 2009, and has a substantial network of fast VPN servers spread across 94 countries. Their best plan is priced at just $6.67 per month for an annual package which includes 3 extra months free. ExpressVPN's commitment to privacy is a standout feature. 


Golden Frog VPN Services – 4/5

Number of IP addresses: 200,000+
Number of servers: 700+
Number of server locations: 70+
Country/Jurisdiction: Switzerland
Golden Frog has the largest bank of IP addresses of any of the services we've examined. The company offers a wide range of protocols, including its own high-performance Chameleon connection protocol.

We like that the company offers a connection kill switch feature and, for those who need it, there's an option to get a dedicated IP address. Golden Frog is a standout in their effort to provide privacy, and thwart censorship. When China began its program of deep packet VPN inspection, Golden Frog's VyperVPN service added scrambled OpenVPN packets to keep the traffic flowing.

At $9.95 for a month's service, and $80.04 for a year, the service is a good deal. So why did we only give Golden Frog four out of five? We had to ding them for three things: a lack of Bitcoin support, logging of connection data, and no money-back guarantee.


Hide My Ass – 4/5

Number of IP addresses: 3,106
Number of servers: 830
Number of server locations: 280
Country/Jurisdiction: United Kingdom
We'd give these folks an extra point, if we could, just for the name of their service. The firm has a strong network with a good selection of protocols supported. While they have an extensive (and very clearly written set of policy documents), the company explicitly allows P2P and torrents.

We like how the company offers support on a wide range of devices including game consoles. We gave them extra points for bitcoin support, and their excellent money-back guarantee. We did deduct a couple of points, because they do log connection data. They also offer only five simultaneous connections.

While their monthly pricing of $11.52 is at the high end of the spectrum, their yearly pricing is competitive at $78.66 for a full year.


Private Internet Access – 5/5

Number of IP addresses: N/A
Number of servers: 3,252
Number of server locations: 37
Country/Jurisdiction: United States
Speaking of price, if you want a 5/5 rated VPN provider and you want the lowest yearly price anywhere, Private Internet Access is the place to go. At $6.95 a month, their monthly fee is the second lowest of our picks, but at $39.95 per year, Private Internet Access beats even the second lowest yearly price by a full Jackson (a $20 bill).

The company does not release information on the number of IP addresses available, but at 3,252, their server count is more than any of our other picks.

These folks have been around since 2010, and don't log anything. They provide a generous five connections, a connection kill switch feature, and some good online documentation and security guidance. Our one disappointment is that their refund policy is 7-days instead of 30, but you can certainly get a feel for their excellent performance in the space of a week.

Blue Shield of California

Blue Shield of California is a health plan provider founded in 1939 and based in San Francisco, California. The organization serves over 4 million health plan members and nearly 65,000 physicians across the state. Blue Shield of California was founded by the California Medical Association. Founded as a not-for-profit, Blue Shield of California was stripped of its tax-exempt status by the California Franchise Tax Board in 2014.

History
Blue Shield of California, then known as California Physicians' Service, was created by the California Medical Association on December 18, 1938, and was incorporated on February 2, 1939. The organization began offering coverage on March 6 of that same year. In 1946, the organization was among a founder of the National Association of Blue Shield Plans, which later became the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Today, Blue Shield of California is an independent licensee of the national association. The Blue Shield of California health plan was the first in the nation to offer catastrophic coverage in 1950, provide coverage for a heart transplant in 1984, offer online benefit and enrollment information in 1996, and offer an online enrollment system for agents in 1998. In 2006, the National Committee for Quality Assurance, commonly referred to as NCQA, recently recognized Blue Shield as an "excellent" health plan for service and clinical quality.

In 2010, Blue Shield of California, Dignity Health, and Hill Physicians Medical Group formed an Accountable Care Organization that covers 41,000 individuals in the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS). During its first 2 years, this program reduced inpatient use and health care costs significantly.

In 2014, Blue Shield of California lost its exemption from California state corporate income tax but did not officially announce this information to the public until March 2015. A claimed recent application of the duck test was the denial of tax-exempt "nonprofit" status to Blue Shield of California.

In 2015, Blue Shield entered the Medicaid market by acquiring Care1st Health Plan.

10.10.2017

Famous Dictators Mouse Cursors

Includes Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Benito Mussolini, Kim Jong-Un, and Saddam Hussein.
 
(Before y'all get yer panties in a twist, this in no way endorses any of these guys. I just made some cursors.)

enjoy.