If you’re looking for a premium audio experience for your Windows 11 system, you can find some amazing options out there. So let’s check out some of the best music players for Windows 11 to help you find something with all the features you need.

Also, make sure to check out our top picks for best video players for your Windows 11 PC and the most out of your favorite entertainment.

1. Spotify

Best for online and offline music streaming.

• Variety of playback features.
• Vast library of music from all genres.
• Filter and share options available.
• Both for online and offline listening.
• Intuitive search feature (search for a specific song with only part of its lyrics).

Spotify is a well-known streaming service and you probably used it before. But you might not know that you can download and install the Spotify desktop app on your Windows 11 PC. You might choose it for its vast collection of online music that’ll still be available with the desktop app, but Spotify for Windows also allows you to play music from your PC, locally.

The Spotify desktop app is similar to its smartphone counterparts. Once you log into your account, it’ll sync across all your devices, and all the features Spotify has will be available to you on every system. Use it to listen to podcasts, play your favorite songs offline or online, or select a private session. Although the player is free, and you can use it for free to listen to your local content, if you want full access to its online library you’ll need to pay for the Spotify premium subscription.

2. iTunes

Best Media Bridge Between iOS and Windows Devices.

• Plays a vast variety of media files.
• Allows conversion between audio formats.
• Equalizer option available.
• Allows importing music metadata.

iTunes acts as a bridge between iPhones and computers, and not only macOS but Windows as well. Aside from that, iTunes is a great free media player for Windows 11. It can play your locally stored music files and music you bought from the iTunes store, and it can also stream audio from Apple Music if you have a valid subscription.

iTunes supports a vast variety of audio file formats such as MP3, WAV, Apple Lossless, AIFF, or AAC. But it also serves as a great audio file manager which you can control manually. However, the best feature iTunes offers is home-sharing, which allows you to stream songs from your PC to other devices connected to your local network.

3. VLC Media Player

Best Open Source Media Player.

• Plays almost any audio or video file format.
• User-friendly interface with different themes support.
• No ads.
• Different playback controls available.
• Available for all popular platforms (Windows, Linux, macOS, Chrome OS, Apple TV, Android).

Although VLC is mostly used for playing video files, it can easily meet all your music-playing needs. This open-source media player has some great features. It allows you to create custom playlists from your locally saved audio files, but you can also use it to access online radio services or use it to convert audio file formats.

The VLC Media Player is loved by many because it can handle almost any video or audio format, and VideoLan created it as open-source software so it’s free! That means if you’re slightly tech-savvy, you can tweak this media player yourself and have it just the way you like it. You can change the playback speed, enable audio visualization, or normalize audio. It’s also available on most popular platforms, which makes it the most versatile choice.

4. MediaMonkey

Best music manager and CD ripper/converter.

• Recording music support.
• Includes track’s metadata (artists, album, album cover, year, etc.).
• Uses WiFi to sync Android and Windows apps.
• Allow editing tags for audio files.
• Intuitive and logical file organization.

MediaMonkey can organize and play both video and audio files. It can arrange your music library logically, and it’ll keep all the information about the tracks up to date, as you add, edit, or remove files. However, this music player won’t allow you to organize the files manually unless you download a third-party plugin for MediaMonkey. It’ll also identify the missing info about the tracks you’re playing, and display their metadata. On top of that, you can tag music during the playback, a feature you can use to label the tracks and generate appropriate playlists.

Unfortunately, the free version of MediaMonkey doesn’t have as many features as some of the open-source competitors like VLC. Instead, you’ll find them in the premium version for which you’ll need to pay. The paid Gold version comes with a party mode which will lock the interface so no guests can make any unwanted changes to your playlists. It also has a conversion option for TV and smartphones, and MP3 encoding. Although none of these features are essential, some open-source media players offer them for free.

5. MusicBee

Best Music Player integrated with SoundCloud.

• Works on most Windows versions (7 and higher).
• Sound filters available.
• Support for Winamp plugin.
• Sync PC and smartphone audio files.
• Various themes available.

MusicBee has a clean and easy-to-use interface so it’s perfect for the average music listener. This player was created for people who want to make an easy switch from other media players. That’s why you can import your iTunes music library. It’ll also keep track of your hard drive changes and update your MusicBee library automatically. It supports Groove Music and SoundCloud integration and it easily syncs music files between your PC and Android smartphone, some iOS devices, USB drives, and more.

MusicBee can be customized not only with color schemes, themes, and skins but also with plugins. For example, some of the most popular ones are Winamp plugins. Among other MusicBee features are SDP effects, a 15-band equalizer, CD ripping, and automatic metadata import.

6. Winamp

Best Listening Experience.

• CD ripping and burning support.
• Huge variety of themes and plugins.
• Music visualizer available.
• Built-in equalizer.
• Lightweight design.

If you want a blast from the past, you should opt for Winamp as it somehow managed to retain its 90’s charm. But don’t be fooled, this media player has greatly improved since and has lots to offer for a modern-day music listening experience. In fact, since it has lots of multi-pane UI options, you can customize this player however you like!

Create a well-organized library by syncing data with your smartphone, or curate playlists with extensive audio file format support. You can also use Winamp’s built-in web browser and visit some of your favorite websites without ever needing to leave the player. You can use the same browser to search for custom Winamp skins and download them to decorate your player.

7. Dopamine

Best music player with a minimalist design.

• Elegant and minimalist design.
• Simple interface.
• Perfect for organizing music for easy browsing.
• Lightweight software.
• Supports plenty of file formats.

Everyone who wants a very simple listening experience without too many cumbersome features should opt for Dopamine. It’s so simple and minimalistic that anyone can use it regardless of age or tech literacy. Its sleek and modern interface makes this music player attractive and easy to navigate and customize your listening preferences.

Beyond being minimalist and simple, Dopamine offers full control over your audio listening experience. You can customize sound levels with a built-in equalizer and edit metadata with tags for easier music and playlist sorting. However, don’t expect this music player to have advanced customization options found in other players such as Winamp or even the new Windows Media Player. Dopamine is perfect for people who want a personalized yet user-friendly music experience.

8. Foobar2000

Best Player with modular design.

• Open-source music player.
• Simple design.
• Supports all file formats.
• Supports CD ripping and burning.
• Customizable keyboard shortcuts.

Foobar2000 is another very minimalistic music player with tons of features. Unlike Dopamine, it doesn’t really have a modern look to it, and some people can find its retro style off-putting. But it’s this simplicity that allows users to add new features and components and upgrade the Foobar2000 UWP app for Windows to their liking.

Not only can Foobar2000 play such audio file formats as MP3, ACC, WMA, OGG, FLAC, Speed, Opus, or WAV (and many more), but it also supports meta import so you can build up your playlists more easily. Among other features that you won’t find in Dopamine are CD ripping and the ability to access ZIP, 7z, GZIP, and other compressed archives.

9. AIMP

Best for online listening.

• Various different playback controls.
• Easy-to-use Interface.
• Easy search options.
• Editing tags support enabled.
• Supports a large number of audio codecs.

Artem Izmaylov Media Player, or AIMP (named after its creator), was released in 2006, and since then it has become one of the top-rated music players. It has a very attractive-looking interface that helps you keep your locally stored song library well organized. But aside from playing media files, it can also rip CDs, manage meta tags, create custom or smart playlists, and more.

AIMP has an 18-band equalizer and a set of sound effects so you can customize your listening experience. Aside from listening to music stored on your PC, AIMP allows you access to different radio stations, and you can use it to stream music and podcasts. AIMP supports almost every audio file format possible, and it boasts a built-in audio converter. Furthermore, you can use this music player as an alarm clock, or a sleep timer. It has a built-in feature that’s capable of waking up your PC from sleep mode.

And there you have it! Whether you’re an audiophile looking for feature-packed powerhouses or a casual music listener looking for minimalistic elegance, this list has a music player for your Windows 11 system. So let us know in the comments below what your favorite music player is and why.

If you’re considering using Teams, you might be wondering whether the paid subscription is worth it. In this article, we’ll explain the difference between Microsoft Teams free vs. paid.

Microsoft Teams Free Version vs. Paid Versions

Whether you’ll benefit from the paid versions of Microsoft Teams will depend on what you’re using the app for. users. Keep reading to get a breakdown of what the free vs paid versions of Microsoft Teams have to offer.

Video Calling

The main feature of Microsoft Teams is video calling. This feature is available on all versions of Teams and all plans include screen sharing, customized backgrounds, noise suppression, and Together Mode features. You can also schedule meetings no matter what plan you’re on.

Those with a free account can host a meeting with up to 100 participants while those on paid plans can have up to 300 in one meeting. While free and paid users alike can host one-on-one meetings for up to 30 hours, group meetings on free plans are limited to 60 minutes.

Users on a free plan or the Microsoft Teams Essentials plan can utilize live captions in English only while those on the Microsoft 265 Business Basic or Business Standard plans can have live captions in over 30 different languages. They can also create meeting recordings, receive transcripts for meetings, and create breakout rooms within their meetings.

Those wanting to host webinars with features such as registration pages, email confirmations, and reporting will need a Microsoft 365 Business Standard account.

Chat

The instant messaging Chat feature in Microsoft Teams makes it easy to communicate with others on a professional, but relaxed, platform. You can create groups or message people individually. This feature is available on all plan types, however, free users are limited to chat groups with up to 100 users while paying users can create chat groups with up to 300 people.

Free and Microsoft Teams Essentials users are limited to file attachments in the chat of 2 GB per user while Microsoft 365 Business users can attach files up to 1 TB per user.

Microsoft 365 Business users also have the Guest Access feature that allows them to use Teams chat with individuals who do not have a Teams account.

Collaboration

One of the great things about Microsoft Teams is how it can create a collaborative platform for users. There are multiple features Microsoft Teams has to assist with collaboration. All users experience real-time collaboration in the Office mobile app, which is available on Android and iOS devices.

Additionally, Microsoft Teams paid and free users alike can chat between work and personal accounts, however, some other features are limited depending on your plan.

Microsoft Whiteboard, a virtual whiteboard that allows collaborative annotations between users, can be integrated with Teams for those with Microsoft Teams Essentials, Microsoft 365 Business Basic, and Business Standard accounts. Microsoft Teams Essentials and Microsoft 365 Business Standard users will require an Azure Active Directory identity to utilize this feature.

Apps

A key benefit of Microsoft Teams over its competitors is its integration with other Microsoft Office 365 apps and Microsoft 365 services.

With all Teams memberships, you can access the web versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Teams users also get a certain amount of personal file storage and sharing through Microsoft OneDrive.

However, the amount of storage varies greatly between plans. Free users get 5 GB of OneDrive cloud storage, while Microsoft Teams Essentials get 10 GB, and Microsoft 365 Business users receive 1 TB.

Microsoft 365 Business users have access to over 250 additional integrated Office apps, including Sharepoint Online, Yammer, Planner, and Stream. These users have access to Microsoft Bookings, which allows customers to schedule and manage appointments easier.

Microsoft 365 Business Standard users also have the added benefit of gaining access to the desktop versions of Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Access, and Publisher.

Security

While all versions of Microsoft Teams have data encryption at rest and in transit, Microsoft 365 Business users have access to more security features than those using the free version or Microsoft Essentials.

Additional security features that Microsoft 365 Business users have access to include single sign-on to all Microsoft 365 apps and services, enforced multifactor authentication, and advanced auditing and reporting.

Administration and Support

When it comes to admin and support, the free version of Microsoft Teams is somewhat lacking.

However, all paid versions of Microsoft Teams have access to 24/7 phone and web support, and the Microsoft 365 business packages also include additional support services such as usage reporting and analytics and a financially backed 99.9% uptime guarantee.

Microsoft 365 Business users also have access to more administrative functionality. These users can configure user settings and policies and get administrative tools for managing users and Microsoft 365 apps.

Pricing

The free version of Microsoft Teams is no commitment. You can sign up easily, and there’s no pressure to upgrade after a certain amount of time.

Microsoft Teams Premium subscriptions are annual and charged on a per-user basis. Currently, Microsoft Teams Essentials per user is $4.00 per month ($48 per year), Microsoft 365 Business Basic per user is $6.00 per month ($72 per year), and Microsoft 365 Business Standard per user is $12.50 per month ($150 per year).

While the Business packages are more expensive, they do include a lot more. The inclusion of other Microsoft Office desktop apps with the Teams app in the Business Standard subscription is certainly worth the price jump for those who intend to use Microsoft Office regularly.

What Microsoft Teams Plan to Pick

At the end of the day, the plan you pick will depend entirely on your personal needs. While the Business Standard subscription is outwardly the best package, the extras are only worth it if you’ll actually use them.

For personal use, the free version of Teams is usually sufficient. You likely won’t need the big meeting groups, long meeting times, or collaboration tools supplied by the paid versions of teams. Small businesses would probably make use of the Microsoft Teams Essentials subscription if they are expecting to conduct a small amount of business online.

Companies with more team members that suspect they will conduct a decent amount of business online will likely require at least the Business Basic Subscription, especially if you have a lot of remote workers.

Whether you spring for the Business Standard subscription will depend on if you plan on hosting webinars or conducting many meetings with customers, not just employees, on Teams. If so, the Business Standard, with its appointment and webinar tools is probably best suited for you.

To Free or Not to Free

So there you have it, everything you need to know to decide whether or not the free version of Microsoft Teams will suit your needs. If you are still unsure, why not try the free version for a while first? There is no commitment or free trial period so you can use the free app until you decide that you need to upgrade.

We’re here to help simplify this decision by providing our list of the seven best Microsoft Surface drawing apps available today.

1. Adobe Illustrator

Best for Surface Pro vector-based art.

Price: $20.99 per month.

Features:

• Can create large-scale art
• Compatible with a wide variety of formats
• Comes with a pixel grid for aligning objects
• In-panel editing
• Appealing Adobe Color Themes

Adobe Illustrator is an amazing software for vector art that caters to both professionals and beginners. However, its learning curve is pretty steep, sometimes off-putting to those at the start of their journey. Still, Adobe Illustrator is an industry-standard program, and rightfully so.

With Adobe Illustrator, you can easily draw logos, icons, billboard designs, book illustrations, and even technical drawings based on precise mathematical formulas. This application has around 20 drawing tools that let you customize the shapes, colors, and unique effects. But the best feature is the pen tool that allows you to draw as if you would on paper with the help of a stylus.

2. Corel Painter

Best for drawing on Surface devices.

Price: $430

Features:

• Offers different paper textures for its canvases
• Comes with a selection adjuster tool
• Adjustable color wheel
• Harmonies panel displays effective color combinations
• Includes 12 AI styles to be used on images

If you primarily need a digital painting app, Corel Painter is your best choice. Although designed with painting in mind, this software has many advanced drawing tools. In fact, it has impressive options of brushes, colors, and tools to help you with composition; no other software can match it in this area. In addition, with over 900 brushes, there are more than enough pens, pencils, inks, and markers to choose from.

Corel Painter will help you draw anything that comes to your mind and push you to explore its unique features. For example, the Divine Proportion tool lets you establish focal areas in your drawings or paintings, and the painter’s mirror can help you achieve perfect symmetry.

That said, Corel Painter has one downside when paired with a Microsoft Surface Pro 8 and a Slim Pen 2 — the lack of pen pressure sensitivity. However, you can work around this problem by downloading the latest graphics drivers for your device and boosting the pen sensitivity in both the Surface app and Corel Painter.

3. Clip Studio Paint

Best for 3D art and animation.

Price: $60

Features:

• Works best paired with Microsoft Surface Pro 7
• Users can draw with vector layers
• AI coloring support
• 3D preview for page layouts
• Supports Kindle and EPUB formats for digital books

Clip Studio Paint might be the right solution if you’re into Anime, Manga, Comic, and Animation drawing, Clip Studio Paint might be the right solution. It’s also fantastic for designing ebook covers because it supports Kindle and the EPUB format. Aside from these, it also supports PSD, bitmap, JPEG, and PDF, so you can share your files between devices and software. It’s also handy that you can use this app on Windows, macOS, or iOS devices.

Clip Studio Paint is loved for its hundreds of diverse brushes and for their natural behavior, no matter if you use a stylus or a computer mouse to draw. Also, one of the biggest advantages of Clip Studio Paint is the ability to create custom brushes or to download and import any brush made by the CSP community.

4. Adobe Photoshop

Best for professionals and versatility.

Price: $20.99/ per month

Features:

• Allows drawing in layers
• Video layers included for animations
• 3D tools for animation and 3D models
• Symmetrical drawing options
• Tools for mobile and web design

Adobe Photoshop is the world’s best-known design software for digital drawing and painting. With its many features, drawing with Photoshop is easy once you master the countless tools. But that’s the catch. Photoshop is a complex program, and it can be overwhelming for beginners. However, the stunning results you’ll get are worth the time and effort put into mastering this program.

If you’re a novice, you shouldn’t be intimidated by Photoshop. There are various tutorials and how-tos available both online and offline. But you’ll learn the most from the program itself. It’s fun to use and explore all the possibilities and features it has to offer. For example, its freeform pen tool allows you to draw naturally, while the standard pen tool can draw perfect and precise lines and curves with its anchor points.

However, as a Microsoft Surface user, Photoshop can be slightly laggy or even unresponsive on Surface Pro and Surface Go devices. That’s because they don’t have a dedicated GPU. Surface Book and Studio users, on the other hand, shouldn’t experience these problems.

5. Autodesk Sketchbook

Best sketching Surface App.

Price: Free

Features:

• Professional tools for sketching, drawing, and painting
• Customizable brushes
• Designed for computers and tablets
• Drawing feels natural, especially with a stylus
• Camera scanning feature

If you want a free drawing app for your Surface device, look no further. Sketchbook is the best option out there. Although designed by Autodesk, Sketchbook is now a new company that continues to grow and develop its product independently. Unfortunately, that means that if you have the original Autodesk Sketchbook, you’ll no longer receive its updates and support.

Although not aimed at professionals, Sketchbook can give some impressive results. And it’s perfectly paired with any Microsoft Surface device. It has a massive list of features that caters to designers, architects, artists, and other creators. It has 190 customizable brushes and rulers, allowing drawing on unlimited layers.

Sketchbook also allows you to import your artwork from other apps and formats, be it JPEG, PNG, or PSD files. Aside from simple sketching on a blank canvas, you can create complex art with Sketchbook, as it uses both vector and bitmap drawing formats.

6. Sketchable

Best for learning how to draw on Surface devices.

Price: Basic version free, upgradable for $24.99

Features:

• Available tutorials for beginners
• UI designed for Surface devices and a Surface Pen
• Developed by Microsoft for Windows
• Massive selection of brushes
• Focused on learning how to draw

Sketchable is an app beautifully designed to work with Microsoft Surface devices. Although it has many brushes, color pallets, and helpful tools, its menu is neatly arranged and easily operated by the stylus. As a result, it’s easy to get some amazing results with Sketchable. However, more advanced tools and features are locked behind a one-time upgrade that costs $24.99.

What’s impressive about Sketchable is that it caters to beginners, so it won’t overwhelm you. If you’re just trying to learn how to draw, this app is for you. You can watch high-quality tutorials directly from the app and follow them to quickly see the first result in your training program. If you need a manual, don’t worry, it’s readily available on the official website. There, you can also watch famous artists showcasing what they were able to create with this simple yet beautiful app.

7. Expressive Pixels

Best for Pixel Art.

Price: Free

Features:

• Edit animation frame by frame
• Create fun and colorful pixel art
• Support for LED displays
• Extensive online community gallery
• Designed for Windows 10 devices, including Surface Pro

Microsoft designed this drawing program that lets you create pixel art and animations. It works amazingly with Surface Pro or any other device that runs the Windows 10 OS. Unfortunately, if you use any other Windows version, you’ll have to upgrade or downgrade to use this app.

Expressive Pixels lets you design your own pixel art, but you can also use other people’s creations as long as they are downloaded via the community tab inside the app itself. You can then save or export your designs as GIF or PNG files. The best part is that many producers of LED devices support Expressive Pixels, among them SiliconSquared, Adafruit, and Sparkfun. What’s more fun than designing your own pixel art clothes?

To sum up, all the drawing apps mentioned in this blog post can provide you with various art experiences, no matter your skill level. So whether you’re just starting out and want to try something fun with your Surface device or if you’re an experienced artist wanting more sophisticated tools, there’s something here for everyone. These apps represent some of the best digital art options available for any Microsoft fan wanting to get creative on their Surface devices. So which one is your go-to drawing software? Let us know in the comment section below!

In this tutorial, we’ll provide a step-by-step guide on how to get started with Clipchamp and create your video project.

What Is Clipchamp?

Clipchamp is a video editing software developed by Microsoft. With a stack of editing features, effects, and templates, you can quickly and easily create high-quality videos for your website, blog, or social media. It also allows users to easily convert any video file into more than 20 formats, including MP4, MOV, AVI, WMV, and more.

Clipchamp was originally a free video editor available online but it’s now the built-in video editor for the Windows 11 operating system (replacing Windows Movie Maker).

Compared to the best video editors like Adobe Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, and Apple’s Final Cut Pro, Clipchamp does surprisingly well to keep up. In fact, one thing it succeeds at over these expensive options is that the learning curve is relatively small, and the app is straightforward to use.

However, the free version of the app doesn’t include all the features. You must pay a small monthly subscription to access HD video export options.

How to Install Clipchamp

In Windows 10 and 11, you can install Clipchamp via the Microsoft Store or within the Photos app. In the Photos app, select Settings > Get Clipchamp. Let the installation wizard complete, and you’re good to go.

Getting Started

The first step to getting started with Clipchamp is to create an account. Once you’ve created an account, you can log in and create your new project. You can also choose to import existing video clips or upload your own footage.

To get started, select Create a new video or choose Record something to start either screen recording or recording from your webcam.

Importing Clips

Clipchamp makes it easy to import media files from various sources, including your computer, cloud storage like OneDrive or Dropbox, or directly from a URL. Simply click the Import button and choose the source you want to import from. You can also drag and drop files from your PC.

Once the clips are imported, you can drag and drop them onto the timeline (also known as the “storyboard”) for editing.

Creating Your Timeline

The next step is to create your timeline. Clipchamp provides a simple, intuitive timeline interface that makes adding, deleting, and rearranging clips easy. You can also add transitions, text overlays, and sound effects to your timeline.

Simply drag and drop a clip onto the timeline or select the + symbol to add media. You can also drag and drop other assets like video, audio, images (like watermarks), and graphics.

Editing Clips

Once your clips are on the timeline, you can begin editing. Clipchamp offers a wide range of editing tools and advanced features, including the ability to trim, crop, and adjust the speed of your clips. You can also apply color correction and add effects such as blurs, sharpening, and vignettes.

Here are some of the basic video editing tools that you can use with Clipchamp:

1. To trim your clip, select it so that it’s highlighted, then click and drag the green bars on either side.

2. To split an asset, select the clip, then move the scrubber (the vertical white line with a white circle above it). Position the line where you want to split the clip, then select the scissor icon to split it.

3. To delete media, simply highlight the clip and select the trash icon.

4. To zoom in or out, use the + and – buttons at the top-right corner of the timeline.

5. To fill, crop, change the aspect ratio, rotate, or resize your clip, select it, then select the corresponding option in the floating toolbar to the left of your video preview.

6. To add effects like filters, fades, or presets, select the corresponding tab on the right-hand side of the property panel.

7. To add a title card or subtitles, select text in the toolbar. Next, choose the font you’d like, then drag and drop it onto your timeline.

8. To add stickers, backgrounds, overlays, and GIFs, select the Graphics tab on the left-hand toolbar. Then, drag and drop the asset you want directly onto the timeline.

9. To add a voiceover, select the text-to-speech option from the toolbar.

You can also add animations and 3D effects, but you’ll have to source the media online, as Clipchamp has no stock options.

Adding Music and Sound Effects

Clipchamp also offers an extensive library of royalty-free music and sound effects that you can use in your videos. Simply select the Music or Sound Effects button to open the library. You can then drag and drop the audio clips onto the timeline and adjust their volume as needed.

You can change the audio levels of your background music by selecting the Audio tab on the left-hand side of the property panel. Drag the volume slider to the left or right to adjust the volume as desired.

There are also several other audio editing tools provided that will enable you to fine-tune your audio to your needs.

As you’re adding effects and editing your video, you can use the playback tab to review it in real time.

Exporting Your Video

Once you’re happy with your video, you can export it to a variety of popular video formats, including MP4 and MOV. You can also upload your video directly to YouTube or other social media sites.

To export your video, select the purple Export button at the top-right corner of the editor, then choose the quality you’d like. You’ll need to upgrade to the premium version to access higher-quality options.

Create Videos With Ease

Clipchamp is a powerful and user-friendly video editing app perfect for both novice and professional users. Its intuitive user interface, powerful editing tools, and extensive library of royalty-free sound effects and music makes it the ideal tool for creating professional-looking videos without a steep learning curve.

Whether you’re creating videos for social media platforms like TikTok, slideshows, or any other project, Clipchamp is the best video editing software you can choose.

One popular solution is Microsoft’s .NET Framework. So, whether you want to make software or use software developed with .NET, it’s worth knowing a little more about it.

What Is the .NET Framework?

The .NET (aka. “Dot Net”) Framework is a software framework developed by Microsoft that provides a platform for building and running various applications, including desktop, web, and mobile applications. Like Java, it’s proven to be a popular development environment for programmers over the years.

.Net’s main purpose is to provide a common set of libraries and APIs for developers to use, making it easier to build and maintain applications. This saves you time and effort because you don’t have to worry about writing low-level code for common tasks, such as reading and writing data, handling security, etc.

One main feature that makes the .NET Framework popular among developers is its support for multiple programming languages. This means that developers can write their source code in a language they’re familiar with, such as C#, Visual Basic, or F#. It’s even possible to use .NET with the popular Python language if you use Python.NET.

Another important feature of the .NET Framework is security. The framework includes built-in security features that help protect against various security threats, such as malicious code, data theft, and unauthorized access to sensitive information.

The Components of .NET

The .NET framework is a collection of development tools with specific jobs. Developers who create software using .NET will rely on several components to make their jobs easier. Not every program uses every .NET component, but all these components are a part of .NET. The following are the main components most likely to feature in developing a .NET app.

CLR: The Common Language Runtime

CLR, or the Common Language Runtime, is the foundation of the .NET Framework. It executes your code and manages memory, security, and other system-level tasks. The CLR essentially acts as a bridge between your code, its compiler, and the underlying hardware and operating system, so you don’t have to worry about those low-level details.

Part of how this works is thanks to the CIL (Common Intermedia Language). It’s a low-level, intermediate language that is used in the .NET framework as a way of representing compiled code.

When you write a .NET application, the source code is compiled into CIL, which can then be executed by the .NET runtime. The CIL code is platform-agnostic, meaning it can run on any device with the .NET runtime installed, regardless of the underlying hardware or operating system.

FCL: The Framework Class Library

FCL (Framework Class Library), is a collection of reusable classes, libraries, and APIs that are available to all .NET developers. These classes and libraries provide a wide range of functionality, including file I/O, network communication, data access, and user interface components, to name a few. So, instead of writing all of this functionality from scratch, you can simply use the classes and libraries in the FCL to get the job done.

C#: .NET’s Bespoke Programming Language

C# is a programming language specifically designed for the .NET Framework. It’s a modern, high-level language that is easy to learn and use and provides many powerful features for building a wide range of applications. Whether you’re building a desktop application, a web application, or a mobile app, C# has you covered.

VB.NET: Visual Basic for .NET

VB, or Visual Basic, is another programming language supported by the .NET Framework. It’s known for its ease of use and rapid application development capabilities. With VB, you can quickly build applications that run on the .NET Framework.

ASP.NET: The .NET Web Development Platform

ASP.NET is a web development platform that allows you to build dynamic, interactive websites and web applications. It provides a robust set of tools and APIs for building modern, scalable web applications, and it integrates with other components of the .NET Framework, such as the CLR and FCL.

Windows Forms:- Making Desktop App Design Simple

Windows Forms is a toolkit for building desktop applications. With Windows Forms, you can build rich, interactive desktop applications that run on Windows without worrying about the underlying operating system.

WPF: Windows Presentation Foundation

This is a toolkit for building modern, immersive desktop applications. With WPF, you can create highly-responsive, visually attractive applications that run on Windows, and it provides many powerful features for building rich user experiences.

Entity Framework: Easy Databases Without SQL

Entity Framework is an Object-Relational Mapping (ORM) framework for .NET that makes it easier to work with databases in your applications. With Entity Framework, you can work with your database using strongly-typed .NET objects instead of writing raw SQL. It provides many powerful features for querying, updating, and working with your data.

LINQ: Language Integrated Query

This is a set of APIs for querying and manipulating data in .NET. With LINQ, using a concise and readable syntax, you can write expressive, type-safe queries against data in various forms, including databases, XML, and in-memory collections.

WCF: Windows Communication Foundation

This is a set of APIs for building service-oriented applications in .NET. With WCF, you can build services that can communicate with each other over various protocols, including HTTP, TCP, and MSMQ. It provides many powerful features for building secure, reliable, and scalable service-based applications.

CLI: The .NET Command-Line Interface

This is a cross-platform tool for managing .NET applications and libraries. It provides a simple, unified way to manage .NET projects, packages, and dependencies from the command line, regardless of the platform or development environment you’re using.

These are just a few of the many components and features available in the .NET Framework. The .NET Framework is a comprehensive platform that provides many tools and APIs for building high-quality applications, so there’s always something new to learn and explore!

The Flavors of .NET

These are the three main flavors of .NET, each with its strengths and use cases. Whether you’re building a traditional desktop application, a cloud-based service, or a mobile app, there’s a flavor of .NET that’s right for you.

.NET Framework: The Classic Flavor

.NET Framework is the original implementation of the .NET platform, providing a comprehensive set of APIs and libraries for building Windows-based applications. It’s been around for over a decade and provides many features for building robust, scalable applications for the Windows platform. If you’re building a traditional desktop application for Windows, the .NET Framework is probably the right choice.

.NET Core: The Cross-Platform Flavor

.NET Core (now just “.NET”) is a cross-platform, open-source implementation of the .NET platform. It provides a subset of the APIs and libraries available in the .NET Framework, but it has been designed to be highly modular, lightweight, and fast, making it ideal for building cloud-based applications and microservices. With .NET Core, you can build applications that run on Windows, Linux, and macOS, so you can reach a wider range of users and platforms.

Xamarin: The Native Mobile Flavor

Xamarin is a set of APIs and tools for building native mobile applications for iOS, Android, and other mobile platforms using .NET and C#. With Xamarin, you can reuse your existing .NET skills and code to build high-quality, native mobile apps. It provides many powerful tools and APIs for building rich user experiences on mobile devices.

Troubleshooting Common .NET Problems

As with any software toolset, there are bound to be bugs either in .NET itself or the apps developed using the system. Let’s look at common issues you may face as a .NET developer and as a regular user of apps made with .NET.

Common Issues for Developers

If you’re making software with .NET, there are three common issues you may encounter while coding the night away.

Package Management Issues

If you’re using .NET for a project, you’ll probably be relying on packages and libraries from the .NET ecosystem. Sometimes, these packages can cause conflicts or break your build. If you’re having trouble with packages, try using a package manager like NuGet to manage your dependencies. This can help ensure that you have the right versions of packages and that they’re installed correctly.

Performance Issues

If your .NET application is running slowly or is taking up too much memory, it’s important to identify and resolve the issue. Try using performance profiling tools to see what’s taking up time and resources in your application, and then make changes to optimize your code. You can also optimize your database queries and improve the overall architecture of your application.

You may also want to use.NET’s Garbage Collection (GC) feature, a memory management feature in the .NET framework that automatically frees up memory that is no longer being used by an application.

Deployment Issues

Deploying a .NET application can be challenging, especially if you’re deploying to a new environment. If you need help with deployment, try using a tool like Octopus Deploy to automate the process and ensure everything is installed and configured correctly.

These are just three examples of common classes of problems you might face if you want to develop using .NET, but with such a complex suite of tools and resources, there are bound to be many different and specific ways for things to go wrong. No one said coding was always easy!

Common Issues for Users

Logically, there are far more people using apps developed using .NET than those developing them, so chances are more likely that you’ll run into issues as a user rather than a developer. Let’s look at some common problems .NET apps can exhibit.

Error Messages

Like other app development platforms. .NET comes with an extensive collection of error messages. So one of the most common problems you’re likely to run into when using is an error message specific to .NET. There are far too many to list, but examples include:

• System.IO.FileNotFoundException: This error message occurs when the app is unable to find a required file. Try reinstalling the app or checking for any available updates.
• System.NullReferenceException: This error message occurs when the app is trying to access an object that doesn’t exist. Try restarting the app or your device. If the issue persists, try contacting the app developer for assistance.
• System.Configuration.ConfigurationErrorsException: This error message occurs when there’s an error in the configuration of the .NET Framework. Try reinstalling the app or checking for any available updates.
• System.UnauthorizedAccessException: This error message occurs when the app is not authorized to access a resource. Check your permissions, or try restarting your device.

These are some more common examples, but you can simply paste the error message into a search engine like Google to see the specific problem.

Bad Performance

A common complaint with apps built on .NET is that they can be sluggish or have other general performance issues.

If the app is running slow or freezing, try closing other running apps, restarting your device, or clearing the app’s cache. If the issue persists, try reinstalling the app or checking for any available updates.

.NET Framework Mismatches

The .NET Framework is cumulative, meaning that each new version of the framework includes all the features and bug fixes from previous versions. This makes it easier for developers to target a specific version of the .NET Framework and be confident that it will include all the necessary components and bug fixes.

For example, if an app targets .NET Framework 4.7, it will also have access to all the features and bug fixes included in .NET Framework 4.6.2 and earlier versions. This allows for a more seamless development experience and helps reduce the number of compatibility issues.

However, you may run into errors or other issues if you have an older .NET Framework version than the required installed version. So it’s best to check that you have the latest version of .NET installed.

General .NET App Crashes

Like any software application, .NET programs can crash on you. The fix for the crash depends on the cause, and in general, the troubleshooting process is similar to apps developed with any other platform:

• Restart the application
• Check for updates
• Disable add-ons or extensions, if applicable
• Check that the app is compatible with your hardware and software environment
• Collect crash logs
• Use the .NET Framework Repair Tool
• Contact the developer and provide them with information about the crash, such as the logs mentioned above

If the crashes are caused by bugs in the software, then only the developer or whoever has access to the source code can fix the issue!

.NET Learning

Whether you love or hate it, .NET is sure to be around for many years, and on most devices you use. If you decide to make your own software, it’s definitely an option that should be on your shortlist.