Microsoft Throws Support Behind USB 3.0 With Windows 8

Microsoft is incorporating a software stack in its upcoming Windows 8 OS to natively support devices based on the USB 3.0 interconnect, which is in a battle for adoption with Intel's Thunderbolt.USB 3.0 is the successor to USB 2.0 standard and can transfer data 10 times faster between computers and external peripherals such as cameras and storage devices. Most laptops and desktops today come with...

IBM Shines in Strong Q2 Server Market

IBM's worldwide server revenue jumped a healthy 24.5 percent in the second quarter, putting it neck and neck with Hewlett-Packard for the top spot, IDC reported Tuesday.Helped by a surge in mainframe sales, IBM's revenue climbed to just over US$4 billion in the quarter, giving it 30.5 percent of the overall market. HP's sales climbed a more modest 9.3 percent, to $3.9 billion, for 29.8 percent of...

Google's Stealth Updates: Why Nobody Else Gets Away With It

Google has a big advantage over competitors when it comes to pushing out patches for Chrome and other software products: The company can, by default, automatically update users' systems on Windows and Apple platforms. That's good for Google and for users in that it ensures people are running the newest, most secure version of the company's wares, which in turn helps to keep Google off top 10 lists...

Get Android Running on a TouchPad, Win Up To $1500 in Prizes

A bounty as high as $1500 is up for grabs to the first person to get Android running on HP's ill-fated TouchPad. Details of the contest were posted to the site Hack n Mod following a weekend of TouchPad price cuts and a rush by shoppers to snap up the tablet for as little as $99. As you many expect, following the seemingly sharp increase in the TouchPad's installed base, it wasn't surprising to see...

Future of HP's WebOS: The FAQ

WebOS-enabled devices from HPHewlett-Packard may be giving up on making webOS devices such as the Pre 3 and Veer smartphones and TouchPad tablet, but executives at the company say committed to developing its mobile platform. HP appears convinced it can wring some value from the mobile OS it picked up after purchasing Palm last year for $1.2 billion. In a number of interviews, Stephen DeWitt, who...

Fox's 8-Day Content Delay Encourages Piracy

Fox recently decided to stop releasing free online streams of its TV shows on Hulu the day after they air--instead, Fox is delaying free streaming for eight days. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this choice by the network has resulted in an over-100-percent increase in piracy.It's pretty clear: denizens of the Internet don't take too kindly to being stripped of instant gratification.After correctly predicting...

Facebook Tweaks Site to Clarify Who Can See What

Facebook is making a series of design changes to the site to make it clearer to users who can see the content that they post, an issue Google has been criticizing Facebook about since it launched its own social network, Google+, in June."You have told us that 'who can see this?' could be clearer across Facebook, so we have made changes to make this more visual and straightforward," Facebook said...

Facebook Changes Aimed at Improved Privacy

Facebook Tuesday announced changes to its user interface that are designed to improve user privacy and make the social network's privacy options easier to find. The changes make it easier for a user to control who sees what he or she posts to the social network and what is able to be seen on a user's Facebook page. The changes affect your profile page, your posts, and tagging and adds a new addition:...

Data Centers Largely Unaffected by East Coast Quake

Staff were evacuated at several data centers following Tuesday's earthquake but operations at most facilities appear to have been unaffected, according to Twitter posts and other sources.The earthquake was centered in Virginia and hit just before 2 p.m. local time with a magnitude of 5.8, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. That's not particularly big by global standards, but it was enough to...

Asus Eee Pad Transformer Tablet, $349

The Asus Eee Pad Transformer has a 10.1-inch screen and runs on Android 3.0 (Honeycomb). Our reviewer called it "an attractive choice," but gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars because she was concerned about its durability and she would have preferred more ports. The extra-cost Mobile Docking Station adds a keyboard and more ports, and turns the tablet into a little netbook. The 16GB Asus Eee Pad Transformer...

A TouchPad for $49? Maybe If You're Rick Astley

With geeks still scrambling to get their hands on the last of Hewlett-Packard's US$99 TouchPads, a $49 deal just seems too good to be true.And, as the thousand or so people who tried to buy cheap TouchPads on an HP look-alike website Tuesday learned, one should steer clear of things that seem too good to be true. The prank site -- registered Tuesday as Hewlett-packard.org.uk -- looks legitimate....

8GB iPhone 4 in the Works: Rumor

Apple has started manufacturing an 8GB iPhone 4 model that could be sold alongside the brand-new iPhone 5 this fall, according to a Reuters report. The 8GB flash drives for the low-end iPhone 4 are being manufactured by a Korean company, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.Rumors of a low-end iPhone debuting with the iPhone 5 are not new. The idea of a scaled-down version of the...

Pinnacle Cart

Pinnacle Cart is perhaps the most elaborate shopping cart software we’ve reviewed. Their mile-long feature set is packed with superb options in every essential eCommerce category, including (but not limited to) customer management, inventory tracking and business analytics. Having a feature set as large as the one Pinnacle Cart offers is a definite plus because it gives your store numerous tools...

Audials Tunebite

Audials Tunebite Platinum is an impressive application with a number of functions, including video converting. The comprehensive video converter software has everything you need to convert, compress and copy content without compromises. With all the right file formats, codecs and containers available for both input and output, the video converter is equipped to get the job done. But more than just...

SurfEasy: Browsing privacy for the less tech-savvy

The SurfEasy USB key pops out of a business-card-sized holder. (Credit: Rafe Needleman/CNET) VANCOUVER--The Grow start-up conference here is supposed to be off the record. I'm here as a mentor, not to cover it. But you know how it is with entrepreneurs--you can't stop them from pitching. One such entrepreneur here (not in one of my mentoring sessions) is Chris Houston, who showed me a hardware...

Samyang 24mm F1.4 unveiled

(Credit: Samyang) Third-party lens manufacturer Samyang recently announced its latest 24mm F1.4 prime lens for Nikon, Canon, Four Thirds, Pentax K, Sony Alpha and Samsung NX mounts. Constructed with 13 optical elements in 12 groups, this lens is equipped with low dispersion and aspherical glass as well as multi-layered lens coatings to help reduce color fringing and flare in images. Its fast F1.4...

VLC Media Player

The VLC Media Player is one of the most popular DVD player software applications for good reason. It is extremely simple to download and use and comes with an impressive feature set. However, what really sets this free DVD player software apart from competition is the huge selection of supported video formats. When no other media player will play your video file, VLC Media Player is the best choice....

Skype Wi-Fi access iOS app now available

Skype's Wi-Fi access app is coming to Apple iOS devices. The company said Wednesday that its Skype Wi-Fi app, formerly called Skype Access, will soon be a free app in the Apple Store, allowing iPhone, iPod touch (running iOS 4.1 and above) and iPad users to connect to over 1 million Wi-Fi hotspots around the world via their existing Skype accounts. This will let people connect to Wi-Fi hotspots...

Dropbox 1.1.40

Dropbox is the easiest way to store, sync and share files online.File Sync 2GB of online storage for free, with up to 100GB available to paying customers.Sync files of any size or type.Sync Windows, Mac and Linux computers.Automatically syncs when new files or changes are detected.File Sharing Shared folders allow several people to collaborate on a set of files.You can see other people's changes...

Google Chrome 15.0.854.0 Beta

Google Chrome is a browser that combines a minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the web faster, safer, and easier.One box for everythingType in the address bar and get suggestions for both search and web pages.Thumbnails of your top sitesAccess your favorite pages instantly with lightning speed from any new tab.Incognito modeDon't want pages you visit to show up in your web history?...

CardStar

App Aims: Keep Your Cards in One Convenient Location Reviewer Comments: If we know you, and we think we do, you want to save money. Not just save money, but get rewarded for spending your money. Is that right? That means you probably have loyalty cards to 90 percent of the places you shop, just like us. Go to the grocery store, get a discount. Go to your favorite clothing store, get a reward. These...

WinZip 15.5.9579

WinZip is the most trusted way to work with compressed files. No other compression utility is as easy-to-use or offers the comprehensive and productivity-enhancing approach that has made WinZip the gold standard for file-compression tools.You can quickly and securely zip and unzip files to conserve storage space, speed up e-mail transmission, and reduce download times. State-of-the-art file compression,...

RealPlayer 14.0.6.666

RealPlayer has always enabled you to play RealAudio (*.ra) and RealMedia (*.ram) files.Download videos from thousands of Web sites with just one clickBuild your own video library and playlistsPlay all major audio and video formatsFlash Video supportDVD, SVCD, VCD burning and video recordingRealPlayer for personal use includes audio CD burning capabilities, DVR-style playback buffering, multimedia...

Process Explorer 15.02

Process Explorer shows you information about which handles and DLLs processes have opened or loaded. The Process Explorer display consists of two sub-windows. The top window always shows a list of the currently active processes, including the names of their owning accounts, whereas the information displayed in the bottom window depends on the mode that Process Explorer is in: if it is in handle mode...

Facebook Issues Security Guide for Teens, Parents, Teachers

Facebook has published a free, 20-page guide aimed at teens, their parents and teachers that explains best practices for protecting their safety and privacy on the site. Titled "A Guide to Facebook Security," the pamphlet is available on the site and was co-written by security experts Linda McCarthy and Keith Watson, and editor and teacher Denise Weldon-Siviy. McCarthy has more than 20 years of experience...

Hamachi 2.1.0.124

LogMeIn Hamachi is a VPN service that easily sets up in 10 minutes, and enables secure remote access to your business network, anywhere there's an Internet connection. It works with your existing firewall, and requires no additional configuration. Hamachi is the first networking application to deliver an unprecedented level of direct peer-to-peer connectivity. It is simple, secure, and cost-effective. Advantages...

Firefox Numbering Debate Is a Tempest in a Teapot

Mozilla generated a virtual storm of controversy with the introduction of its new, Chrome-like rapid release schedule for Firefox earlier this year, and now it seems to be stirring up a fresh hornet's nest with practically every move it makes.Case in point: version numbering. Last weekend quite a debate arose on a Mozilla developers' forum when it was suggested that Firefox stop providing a version...

AT&T Kills Low-Tier Text Messaging Plan, Pushes Unlimited Usage

AT&T has confirmed that it's killing off a text messaging fee plan that allows up to 1000 messages per month, nudging customers to an unlimited plan or fees for every message.Starting August 21, your choice of AT&T SMS plans are either 20 cents for every text message sent or received, or $20 per month for individuals and $30 per month for families of up to five lines.If you're not a callous-thumbed...

Windows 7 Codecs 3.0.2

All the codecs you need for Windows 7 to play AVIs, DVDs and more! It does not contain a media player and it does not associate file-types. With the Windows 7 codec package installed you will be able to use any media player, limited only by the players' capabilities, to play all movies and video clips. Streaming video is supported in several formats in all popular web browsers. Users of the Windows...

Tablets Are Here for Good, Just Not at HP, Company's CEO Says

HP believes that tablets have a promising future--but company officials said Thursday that the reaction to HP's first tablet, the TouchPad, was so negative that it didn't make sense for the company to continue in that market. In the company's hotly anticipated earnings call, HP's CEO took pains to keep his options open regarding the company's PC division, which could be spun off or sold."The tablet...

AMD Catalyst Drivers 11.8 Vista

AMD's award-winning Catalyst graphics and HD video configuration software delivers unprecedented control of performance and visual quality with AMD Radeon graphics processors. AMD Catalyst drivers deliver stable performance and push the limits of innovation with advanced user-oriented features.Precision controls for power users. Tweaks for gamers and video enthusiasts. Simple wizard-assisted setup,...

HP's PC Spinoff Puts Heat on Microsoft with Windows 8

Hewlett-Packard's spin-off of its PC business will put pressure on Microsoft to "hit the ball out of the park" with Windows 8, an analyst said today."This is concerning no matter how you look at it," said Wes Miller, an analyst with Kirkland, Washington-based Directions on Microsoft, a research firm that specializes in following Microsoft. "HP has been a very strong partner of Microsoft for a very...

Maxthon 3.1.6.600 Beta

Maxthon Internet Browser software is a powerful tabbed browser with a highly customizable interface. It is based on the Internet Explorer browser engine (your most likely current web browser) which means that what works in the IE browser will work the same in Maxthon tabbed browser but with many additional efficient features:The Ultimate Out-of-box ExperienceEasy to use and powerful straight out...

AT&T Microsites Show Local Network Upgrades

AT&T has begun launching localized websites where residents can find out about nearby network improvements -- and get the carrier's pitch for its proposed acquisition of T-Mobile USA. The first of the wireless carrier's "microsites," called Focus: Kansas City, went live on Thursday. It has a map of the Kansas City, Missouri, area with numbered icons representing places where AT&T has recently...

HP's WebOS Crashes Under Apple, Android Pressure

Hewlett-Packard's announcement on Thursday to stop making tablets and smartphones based on webOS surprised many analysts, who said the company buckled under the pressure of Apple's momentum and growing support for Android.HP announced it would stop selling webOS devices, including the TouchPad tablets and smartphones, as it looks to transform its operations to focus on enterprises. HP plans to concentrate...

Google's Photovine app finally appears on iTunes

Continuing its march into social networking, Google launched its Photovine picture-sharing service on iTunes this morning. The service, which debuted as an invitation-only application last month, lets users snap photos and share them with friends much the way they'd blurt out tweets on Twitter. With Photovine, though, photographers group pictures thematically, with one person taking a snap of, say,...

Nero Kwik Media 10.6.12300

Nero Kwik Media is a media management software for photos, videos and music. It lets you conveniently play back your music files, plus manage and create playlists. You can import new music from a CD or sync your music library with your mp3 player (Nero Kwik Move it).Nero Kwik Media lets you easily create cinema-style videos and photo slide shows with integrated movie themes, plus conveniently manage...

Survey: Verizon, iPhone MMS Views Increasing

A mobile platform marketing agency, Mogreet, that measures video-based MMS advertising, released its analytical report for the second-quarter 2011 analyzing consumer behavior in viewing and reacting to video advertising. The survey revealed that Verizon lead the pack in mobile messaging views by carrier, whereas Apple’s iPhone was the leading choice for viewing MMS ads by handset type.Verizon customers...