From Java and ActiveX to Flash, Houdini, and Direct3D, these 1996 releases shaped how we build apps, sites, and games today.

Mike has worked in the Joystiq Network since 2006, as lead blogger and senior editor on WoW.com and one of the founding editors on Massively.com. Currently, he is a contributing editor on Joystiq, and ...

Distributed computing projects—in which software ties together many internet-connected PCs to work on computationally massive problems—can put that power to good use. Perhaps you've heard of SETI@home ...