The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) announced a new partnership with the San Francisco Giants during a press conference on Wednesday at AT&T Park, pertaining to video games and their respective ratings.

ESRB is the non-profit entity responsible for assigning ratings to video games, based on the content within them. ESRB’s ratings serve as a helpful guideline for parents to decide what games may or may not be appropriate to purchase for their children.

On Wednesday, ESRB revealed a new public service announcement (PSA) campaign, starring two popular baseball fan favorites – catcher Buster Posey and pitcher Ryan Vogelsong, both of the San Francisco Giants.

Microsoft Publisher is often peoples’ go-to program when they want to create brochures and other printed presentations. Unfortunately, many users feel as though its usability could be greatly improved, particularly for beginner designers.

If you find creating printed material with Publisher a little too complex, there are alternatives available that might make your creation process a little easier.

Here are four great alternatives to Microsoft Publisher for people looking to make the switch.

Internet Explorer 9 is a big improvement over its predecessor. Unfortunately, the newest version of Microsoft’s popular browser isn’t compatible with Windows XP. For that, you’ll need to use Internet Explorer 8, which is still a solid browser by anyone’s estimation.

Cookies are pieces of information stored on your computer that personalize your experience every time you visit a website. If cookies are disabled on IE 8, you will often encounter problems such as being unable to complete an online purchase, among other important actions.

Fortunately, managing cookies in IE 8 is a relatively simple process. I’ll show you how to enable, disable and even delete your cookies entirely in a few simple steps!

The official results of our Softonic Awards are in!

We asked you to vote on the best software of 2011 a little over a month ago in the Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android and Web apps platforms. Now you don’t have to wait any longer to find out which programs scored the highest.

Nominated by your very own experienced (and sometimes quirky!) Softonic editors, the finalists were then put up to a user vote to determine the absolute best in each category. From multimedia players to photo editors and games, our users’ votes spoke loud and clear. Based on your votes, some of the winners in their respective categories include Google Chrome, iTunes, Picasa, and the excellent FIFA 12 have received an award based on your votes.

Check out the full results of the 2011 Softonic Awards and see for yourself!

If you’re feeling  creative and want to give animation a try, you’ve got a lot of software choices. Pivot Stickfigure Animator is one of the options available to you. Plus, it’s free!

Pivot Stickfigure Animator lets you make stick figure animations by creating individual frames of action and then playing them in sequence. If done correctly, you’ll end up with a seamless cartoon.

The program also gives you a good variety of custom options, like modifying frames, preset characters, the ability to add different colors and even altering the appearance of the background. You can preview every change you’ve made before saving, to ensure your animation comes out just the way you want it to. Take a look!

The latest version of Windows Live Messenger has gotten mixed reception from users. Judging by the number of comments on Elena’s tutorial about how to uninstall Windows Live Messenger 2011, a lot of users aren’t thrilled with the changes!

You can always follow Elena’s tutorial to downgrade to Windows Live Messenger 2009, but you’ve got other options as well. In fact, there are quite a few alternative programs you can use that’ll let you chat with your friends online. Some of them even give you the experience of chatting with Live Messenger without the hassle of actually having to install it!

Here are five chat programs you can try out if you want to give Windows Live Messenger the boot.

It’s that time of year again: Taxes must be filed by Tuesday, April 17 in order to be on time in the US.

If you waited until last minute to file, you’re not alone and there’s no need to fret. There are a lot of great web services that let you fill out all your information and file online, many even for free!

Which one to pick? It largely depends on what types of returns you need to file, as well as how much help you need during the process. Whether you have the most basic W-2 paperwork or you’re overwhelmed with a grocery list of itemized deductions, independent contractor work and student educational expenses, there’s a web app out there for you.

If your Google+ account looks a little different to you on your next visit, there’s a reason. Google+ got a facelift – for the better in many instances.

From a completely new on-screen layout to improved navigation, there’s a lot to love about the new Google+ look.

There’s also a lot to get used to. We’ll take you through the significant changes below.

iTunes revolutionized the way people purchased and listened to music on their computers. Though that's old news to most people by now, if you’re anything like me, you probably have thousands of songs now stored in your iTunes library.

Issues with duplicate items appearing in your iTunes library can sometimes arise, particularly in instances where you’re ripping songs off a CD or via another large music collection.

Thankfully, there’s a relatively simple way to locate duplicates and eliminate them quickly and effectively. Check out our 3 step guide below.

Skype is a popular way to communicate with friends and family online across a variety of platforms.

Skype combines the best of text, audio and video chatting and can essentially turn your computer into a phone, without the expensive long distance rates or monthly minute restrictions. The best part is that instant messaging, audio and video chats are free when used between Skype accounts.

This beginners guide will walk you through installing Skype, as well as building your contacts list and other basic essentials to get yourself up and running. You'll be chatting in no time!

Tonight marks the final game in this year’s NCAA Championship in college basketball as the Kansas Jayhawks take on the Kentucky Wildcats.

If you’re a diehard college basketball fan, you’re going to want to make sure you’re prepared, not only to watch the game but to interact with other avid fans. Fortunately there are some great iPhone apps that can enhance your NCAA Championship final game experience.

From interaction with other fans to live streaming and updates, here are three apps that will make tonight’s game memorable.

Photofiltre is a free and easy-to-use alternative to professional image editing programs such as Photoshop.

If you’ve browsed the internet ats of late, you’ve probably seen what people refer to as "photoshopped" images, photos that have been digitally altered, either for humor or to enhance them in some way.

One image edit you might notice or want to learn how to do yourself is changing eye color in portraits. It might sound complicated, but with PhotoFiltre it’s a simple little edit you can make in a matter of minutes. I'll take you through the steps below.

St. Patrick’s Day falls on Saturday March 17 this year, so it’s a prime time to get out and celebrate. Find a pub, wear something green and get your Irish on. Of course, you'll most likely have your iPhone with you too.

Whether you’re a hardcore St. Patty’s Day celebrator or someone more interested in trivia surrounding the holiday, there’s an iPhone app for you.

Here’s a list of five iPhone apps that can help you enjoy St. Patrick’s Day, no matter what you decide to spend it doing.

It can be so frustrating when you want to watch a video on YouTube, only to receive a notice saying viewing is region-restricted for your country. The same goes for accessing sites available only to certain countries.

Hotspot Shield is a great little tool that creates a Virtual Private Network (VPN) and allows access to geo-restricted websites.

If you’re interested in viewing sites from countries other than the US or are even just looking for a comparable alternative to Hotspot Shield, never fear. Here are some great tools that let you view the content you want, no matter where you are.

Angry Birds fans can rejoice again! On March 22, a new game that features everyone’s favorite feathered friends will be released, this time with an outer space theme. Rovio CEO Mikael Hed made the announcement during his keynote speech at CeBIT 2012. The game’s release was also announced from the International Space Station, making it the first announcement of its kind from space, according to Rovio.

Players will have to contend with everything from space's weightlessness to nearby planets' gravitational pull in this latest version of Angry Birds. Rovio has also announced that Angry Birds Space will add new costumes and abilities that make the Angry Birds seem more like superheroes!