The Mono Project has just released its latest version 2.0 allowing .Net developers to test and port (sometimes with little or no coding changes) so that they can be run on other platforms like Linux and Mac. The lastest version of Mono is compatible with server and desktop version of the 2.0 version of the .Net platform. This will now allow software developers and software houses to reach a wider range of clients since they can develop software using Microsoft’s architecture that will run on different platforms. 

I’m not the biggest game enthusiast but when a colleague of mine showed this to me, I was instantly hooked. If you’ve got a PS3/XBox you’ve probably played/seen/heard of Guitar Hero, well this is a free version for your PC (Windows/Mac/Linux compatible).

You can download the version of your choice from the official website.

 It turns your keyboard into a guitar and you can play various levels of the 3 tracks they’ve included with the game. There’s even a song editor built in so that you can make your own songs if you like.

It also supports importing of downloaded songs, and even importing Guitar Hero songs. If you do a quick search on YouTube you’ll even find videos of people that have created a guitar by modifying a keyboard completely.

It takes a little getting used to in the beginning (and the tutorial is very funny) but if you’ve played guitar before you’ll pick it up pretty quickly. You use the five function keys (F1-F5) for pressing down the strings and the Enter key as the pick. I played it for the first time last night and was hooked that I played (without realising) for about 2 hours after everyone had gone to bed!

Go ahead, try it out and shred some frets!