Is IcoFX 2 worth the price?
For the past few years, IcoFX has lain apparently dormant, despite noises from the developer that a new version was in development. This powerful icon editor has suddenly resurfaced, however, with a major new version number, IcoFX 2.0, and a shock for those who’ve been using the previous build: IcoFX is no longer freeware.
IcoFX 2.0 is now available to download as a trial version, and the full version will set you back the princely sum of $59. The question is, what’s exactly changed to justify the new price tag?
iOS Calendar shoot-out: Calvetica vs Weave
The simple fact that iPhone, iPod and iPads have been designed specifically with portability in mind, they are perfectly suited for use as task management tools. As you are likely to have your iOS device with you at all times, it makes sense to store details of upcoming appointments, information about the projects you are working on, and to keep track of everyday data such as income and expenditure. Two of the most well received iOS apps in this category are Weave and Calvetica. We decided to put them head to head to see which comes out on top.
From the offset Weave is at a major advantage by virtue of being free. This gives the app instant appeal, and the fact that trial versions of iOS app do not exist, save for so-called ‘lite’ versions of apps, it is more likely to be installed by someone browsing the App Store.
Norton Security 2012: Better protection, less overhead
Symantec has released brand new versions of its antivirus and Internet security products. Norton Internet Security 2012 and Norton AntiVirus 2012 both launch with new and improved features to boost the brand's security reputation even further.
Norton 2012 promises improved Norton Protection System and Insight features, a new parental controls tool and built-in optimization for netbooks, claiming it will conserve battery life and preserve network usage while running on battery power.
Will Apple steal Windows 8's thunder?
Microsoft's BUILD developer conference is almost here (save the date, September 13). It's going to be a big event for Microsoft and the official debut of Windows 8 (c`mon, you know there's going to be a developer beta).
Apple could spoil it all, with one of its famously-timed leaks or official product announcements. With iPhone 5's launch expected as soon as October, timing would be right for an Apple spoiler. Blogger, news media and Wall Street obsession about Apple is sure to succumb to a competing gravity well that pulls attention and online posts/print stories from Windows 8 during its special week.
Motorola Droid Bionic: What's the big deal?
Verizon Wireless and Motorola Mobility on Wednesday announced the Droid Bionic will go on sale nationwide on September 8. It will be Verizon's thinnest LTE smartphone, and the second Motorola smartphone (after the Atrix 4G) to utilize a Lapdock and Firefox 4-based Webtop environment on top of Android.
Who could forget the Motorola Atrix 4G, right? That Android smartphone that could fit into a notebook dock or an HDMI dock and turn into either a netbook computer or a set-top box?
We wanted to give you a free HP TouchPad...
Like many of you, we spent hours slogging through HP's overwhelmed order system to get 2 TouchPads. They're giveaways for lucky readers, in appreciation for your loyalty. We really should do more of this.
But HP took more orders than it could fill from its stock of leftover TouchPads -- the product line killed just six weeks after retail sales started. We figured that was the end of our order, but then HP decided to produce one last batch of TouchPads, increasing the likelihood we might still get our two, for you.
Google Offers lights 5 more cities, while Groupon burns
Starting today, people living in Austin, Boston, Denver, Seattle and Washington, DC, can get local discounts from Google Offers. These five cities join New York, Portland, Ore. and San Francisco. The Groupon competitor may not have anywhere as much reach, yet, but Google Offers' expansion comes as concerns continue to rise about the category leader's longevity.
Like Groupon, Google Offers provides daily deals with hefty discounts. For example, today's Seattle deal is half off a day pass to the local aquarium -- a fee that can be applied to a year's membership. Google plans to expand Offers to 27 more cities, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Houston, Miami, Pittsburgh and San Diego.
Google bids big for Hulu, but to win or drive off competitors?
Fresh off its $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility -- which by the way, was about both its patents and the hardware too -- the company is now said to be the high bidder in the race to acquire Hulu.
After being shut out in the bidding for Nortel patents, Google is suddenly willing to spend what's needed to get hot products/services or perhaps, with Hulu, end bidding altogether.
AT&T debuts $30 Android smartphone
Last March, I said low-end Android handsets had already begun their market takeover, and cited a half dozen companies that had released, or were planning on releasing mass market Android smartphones in 2011 and 2012.
One of the companies I mentioned, Chinese telecommunications equipment maker Huawei, had just released the Ideos X3, which had a consumer-friendly unsubsidized price of $199, falling in line with the company's tradition of releasing cheaper mass market handsets and modems.
Facebook 3.5 for iOS adds privacy controls but no dedicated iPad app
The good news: Facebook 3.5 for iOS is available, packing some new privacy controls. The bad news: There's still no dedicated iPad app. For now we’ll have to content ourselves with a less major updates. The v3.5 app reflects some of the privacy changes that have been made to the Facebook website, as well as bringing in tagging and location options.
New privacy settings are in place that can be configured to control who will be able to see and comment on the posts you make. You can choose to make posts public, limit them to your friends list or a particular group you have already set up. The settings you choose for a particular post remain in place until you change them for a future post, so be sure to check before making more status updates.
IObit Uninstaller 2 nukes pesky toolbars and anything else you don't want
Hard drives are larger and cheaper than ever before, meaning there is less of a need to reclaim disk space for reasons of capacity. But there is still a market for disk cleanup and uninstaller software. It's a perception thing: switching from the idea of looking at such tools as freeing up megabytes to instead regarding them as clearing up the mess left behind by other programs; it’s then easy to see their worth. One such utility is IObit Uninstaller 2.0, which comes with the added benefit of having being free.
Windows includes a dedicated section of the Control Panel to help make it easier to remove software you have decided that you no longer need, and used in conjunction with an application’s own uninstaller things generally go smoothly. But can you really be sure that all traces of the program you just nuked has been completely wiped out? The obvious program folder may have disappeared, but what about entries that may have been added to the registry, or files that have been added to system folders?
TechCrunch just exposed what is wrong with tech journalism today
Ed Oswald argues that TechCrunch embodies some of the worst ethics in journalism today. In counterpoint "AOL will ruin TechCrunch," Joe Wilcox argues that under Huffington Post management the tech site's good original reporting will greatly diminish.
I have been thinking about writing a story on the sorry state of tech journalism for a good part of my seven years in this business. Why's that? All too often objectivity, ethics and accuracy seem to have taken a backseat 'round these parts.
O&O DiskImage 6 speeds up backup and recovery
German developer O&O Software has announced the immediate release of O&O DiskImage 6, its drive backup tool. DiskImage 6, which is also available as a separate 64-bit build, allows users to take exact byte-for-byte images of their hard drives, adds a plethora of new features, including the ability to back up individual files and folders.
Other new features include the ability to mount standard ISO image files as virtual drives as well as DiskImage backup images, plus a revamped user interface designed to make the backup process simpler and clearer for less experienced users, which includes a one-click backup option.
Carol Bartz was the wrong fit for Yahoo
She has guts and character and should be CEO somewhere. Just not Yahoo.
But Carol Bartz deserves better treatment than this, if the account of her dismissal is correct. "I’ve just been fired over the phone by Yahoo’s Chairman of the Board", she claims in an email sent to Yahoo employees. I believe it. This stinks of boardroom coup.
Yahoo CEO Bartz: 'I've just been fired over the phone'
About to enter her third year as CEO of Internet services company Yahoo, Carol Bartz on Tuesday reportedly sent a message to all Yahoo employess stating that she had been fired.
Bartz ascended to the rank of CEO of Yahoo in early 2009, after the departure of the company's co-founder Jerry Yang.
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