IT News
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Twitter Tuesday - this week's Twitter news, apps and more9 March 2010, 1:00 pm
Filed under: Features, Web services, web 2.0, Microblogging
Ladies and gentlemen, it's Tuesday! You know what that means: you've survived another weekend and made it through Monday, and now it's time to talk Twitter. We've got plenty of interesting news and apps for you this week, as well as a new celebrity twitterer who's actually worth following. I'll tell you all about it in this week's Twitter Tuesday.
Let's go!
Conan O'Brien had a TV show, and then he had another TV show. Now, the former ...
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Essential apps and utilities for PC, Mac and console gamers8 March 2010, 1:00 pm
Filed under: Games, Features, Windows, Macintosh Never, in the entirety of history, has there been so much gaming to be done. You can hardly finish a game without the Next Great Game appearing in your mailbox or on your hard disk -- because you pre-ordered it on Amazon or Steam, of course.
Believe it or not, we actually have too many good games at the moment. Until recently, gamers could dedicate themselves to a single stand-out game -- Myst, Quake, Counter-Strike, Baldur's Gate -- for months, ...
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How to create a US iTunes App Store account when you're not in the US5 March 2010, 12:00 pm
Filed under: Features, Apple, How-Tos, iPhone
Anyone that writes about iPhone applications that isn't based in the United States has it rough; iTunes promo codes only work for US App Store accounts. That can make it tough to review iPhone and iPod touch software if you're not based in the US.
Creating an account for the US App Store when you're not based in the US is against Apple's terms and conditions, so I'm not recommending that you do it. But if, for journalistic reasons, you want or need t...
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Twitter Tuesday - this week's Twitter news, apps and more2 March 2010, 1:00 pm
Filed under: Features, Social Software, Microblogging
Welcome to the first Twitter Tuesday of March! There's plenty to talk about this week, including the big news that Twitter is finally ready to slip a little advertising into your stream. If you've been wondering when the Big T was going to start chasing a profit, you're about to get an answer. We'll talk about that, plus new apps, Twitter tools and rumors in this edition of Twitter Tuesday.
Let's do it!
Okay, let's get right to the juicy st...
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Firefox Friday Five26 February 2010, 2:00 pm
Filed under: Internet, Features, Mozilla, BrowsersI'm back! I had to fend off Jay with my rusty saber -- and when that didn't work, I threatened to drop his iPhone on the ground (a very effective tactic if there's a Mac zealot that you're trying to coerce, incidentally). Anyway, British rules of engagement stipulate that I thank Jay for his help, offer him a cup of tea, and move swiftly along.
So: Firefox! It's been another quiet week with no significant releases. Any moment now there'll be a f...
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Google Nexus One Review23 February 2010, 2:00 pm
Filed under: Features, Hardware, Mobile, Android
Google first unveiled its Android operating system for smartphones in 2007. But the Google Nexus One, which was launched last month is the first phone with the Google name attached to the hardware. Google sells the phone through its web site and handles tech support for the smartphone, although mobile service is provided by T-Mobile (and soon Verizon) in the US.
The Nexus One has a faster processor than almost any phone on the market, which make...
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Top 10 Tips and Tools for Commuters [Lifehacker Top 10]6 March 2010, 11:00 am
U.S. commuters spend an average of 50 minutes in their car each day, and that leaves a lot of room for improvement. Make the most of your commute with these 10 tips.Photo by mattlemmon.
10. Adjust Your Mirrors for Better Vision
Most people set up their car's mirrors in a way that keeps the edge of their own car in their vision, mostly to provide a sense of perspective. This limits the amount of "blind spot" coverage provided by your mirrors. Car and Driver suggests a new alignment technique supp...
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What's the Best Way to (and Why Should I) Create a Home Inventory? [Ask Lifehacker]5 March 2010, 3:00 pm
Dear Lifehacker,
In light of all the natural disasters wreaking havoc across the globe, I've realized I should take a home inventory to document everything I own for insurance purposes. What's the best way to do this?
Signed,
Happy HomeownerHi Happy,
You're smart to want to document your possessions in case of burglary, damage, or fire. The short answer to your question: The best tool for the job is the one you'll actually use.
Taking a home inventory isn't really hard, it's just time consuming....
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Know How Much Caffeine Is in the Food and Drinks You Love [Health]5 March 2010, 1:00 pm
If you're trying to cut back on or give up caffeine, then you already know to avoid coffee. But the eye-opening stimulant is found in lots of other beverages, and even some food and medications.Photo by emdot.
Life management blog Wise Bread takes a look at where caffeine is hiding in various popular foods and drinks we encounter every day, comparing caffeine levels in various coffees, teas, sodas, energy drinks, foods, and medications. It comes as no surprise that a Starbucks Grande double-brew...
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Learning “Just in Case” versus “Just in Time” [Learning]5 March 2010, 11:00 am
Math professor, programmer, and blogger John Cook discusses the importance of learning "just in case" versus "just in time", and how learning "just in case" is essential when something comes up and you need to learn something "just in time".
Photo by Martineric.
What do you learn just in case you'll need it in the future, and what do you learn just in time when you do need it?
In general, you learn things in school just in case you'll need them later. Then once you get a job, you learn more thin...
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KeeFox Integrates KeePass and Firefox (At Long Last) [Downloads]5 March 2010, 10:30 am
Firefox: KeeFox brings tight integration between the cross-platform, open-source password manager KeePass and Firefox, providing automatic logins, form filling, and more.On Tuesday Kevin sang the praises of LastPass for password management, but a lot of readers are still in love with KeePass and aren't ready to trust their passwords with a third-party service, no matter how secure. Unfortunately, despite some solid plug-ins, KeePass's browser integration isn't close to as tight as LastPass's. Th...
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Score Free AudioBooks at BooksShouldBeFree [Audio Books]5 March 2010, 9:00 am
You can find quite a few free audiobooks online but they're frequently scattered all over. Save yourself the run around by checking out the thousands of free audiobooks cataloged at BooksShouldBeFree.BooksShouldBeFree houses thousands of books in the public domain, available as both MP3s and as iTunes format audiobooks. Each entry for a book includes links to the full text, supplemental text, and reviews.
The reviews are particularly helpful because they are specific to the actual audiobook reco...
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Giant inflatable pig used in recording studios' Washington war with broadcasters10 March 2010, 5:33 pm
By Scott M. Fulton, III, Betanews
The danger with waging a populist political war is in potentially boiling down one's message to such a degree that it ends up insulting and patronizing the very people the message is targeting. The case in point could not be made clearer this afternoon in Washington, DC, as The Hill's Kim Hart first discovered: A handful of otherwise unnoticeable protestors outside the headquarters of the National Association of Broadcasters erected an 18-foot inflatable pig, be...
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Apple's business database for Windows and Mac (you read right) moves forward10 March 2010, 2:54 pm
By Jacqueline Emigh, Betanews
FileMaker Pro 11 left beta testing for general release last Tuesday, adding a host of new capabilities for better productivity in database use, faster database creation, and easy production of eye-catching charts. Now updated for Microsoft's Windows 7 and Apple's Macintosh native Mac OS X "Cocoa" platform, FileMaker Pro is the only software in its category that runs on both Windows and Mac, noted Ryan Rosenberg, vice president, marketing and services for FileMaker, ...
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More 3D TVs launch, this time from Panasonic...but it's still kid's stuff10 March 2010, 2:50 pm
By Tim Conneally, Betanews
Yesterday, Samsung launched its 2010 line of 3D TVs, which includes LED, LCD, and plasma screens between 46" and 65", with prices that start at $1,999 and go up to $6,999. Today, Panasonic added its products into the mix at a launch event in New York City with partners Best Buy, 20th Century Fox, and DirecTV.The event marked the debut of a 3D home theater package that will sell exclusively at Best Buy that includes a 50" Panasonic Viera 3D plasma TV (VT20- $2,499), a P...
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Android picks up more US subscribers as Windows Mobile share plunges10 March 2010, 1:16 pm
By Joe Wilcox, Betanews
Windows Mobile phones continue to bleed US subscribers, with Android devices picking up most of the lost subscriber share. Can you say free falling? Today, ComScore released standard handset and smartphone data for the three-month period of November 2009 to January 2010. ComScore designates the platforms by vendor. Microsoft smartphone subscriber share fell to 15.7 percent from 19.7 percent three months earlier. Meanwhile, Google rose to 7.1 percent from 2.8 percent durin...
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Strongest condemnation yet of anti-counterfeiting, 'three strikes' from EU10 March 2010, 11:51 am
By Scott M. Fulton, III, Betanews
The European Parliament today overwhelmingly voted in favor of a resolution compelling participants in multi-national negotiations over the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to report on the status and substance of those negotiations, first to Parliament and eventually to the general public. This after a groundswell of public concern arose in the wake of documents purporting to be official ACTA material, the latest leaked by Wired last November...
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Google Maps now generates bike routes10 March 2010, 9:50 am
By Tim Conneally, Betanews
Different modes of travel often require different routes to be taken. If you're walking somewhere, for example, you're not likely to take a highway to get there, and you have the distinct advantage of being able to go through certain structures that cars cannot. The same goes for biking. When someone is planning to get somewhere by bike, they're going to demand different routes. This is why the Google Maps team today announced that it has added bicycling directions to ...
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