Data can be saved from your water-soaked computer
Irene's assault on the Eastern Seaboard earlier this week is just the beginning of what is expected to be another heavy season of hurricanes and tropical storms. What happens to your data if raging rains or flooding waters damage your computer? The electronics may be gone but your precious files are likely recoverable.
It’s tempting to turn that water-logged computer back on and see if anything can be saved. Don’t. The disk drives contain contaminants that can destroy the drive and all the data on it. You pose the greatest risk to your valuable data. Here's what you should or should not do instead:
Want something other than Mobile Safari? Try Dolphin Browser
The choice of browsers for iOS is hardly overwhelming, so any new additions are always welcome. Dolphin Browser is the latest contender to vie for mobile Internet users’ attention and it has a number of unique features that make it well worth a look. The headline feature is support for gestures, but there is also desktop style tabbed browsing, an impressive smart address bar and space-saving sidebars that can be used to access bookmarks and app options.
There are already a handful of Safari replacements available, including the iOS version of Opera, so Dolphin is going to have its work cut out for it to stand out from the competition. The fact that the app is available free of charge certainly works in its favor, but it is the way the interface has been implemented, particularly the way in which you interact with it, and the intelligent use of available screen space that makes Dolphin Browser interesting.
5 smokin' Android tablets launched this week
As it stands right now, there are no fewer than 50 different Android tablets on the international market, many from competitors you've probably never heard of unless you regularly shop in Chinese electronics shops, so differentiation is of crucial importance.
At IFA 2011 in Berlin this week, quite a few new Android tablets were either announced or launched, and each of the top-tier manufacturers who debuted a new product seemed to have homed in on a specific quality that they've improved over previous generations or over their competitors.
Use these tools to get the Windows 8 look now
Windows 8 is just around the corner and it seems that almost every week there details emerge about just what can be expected from the latest version of Microsoft’s operating system. With every new Windows that is announced, there follows a rush to mimic the look and features long before the software hits the shelves, and things are no different with Windows 8.
There are a number of skins and customization packs available that can be used to get the Windows 8 look, including Omnimo for Rainmeter, but if you prefer the idea of getting a little more hands on, there are a range of tools you can use to mimic the elements of Windows 8 you most like the look of.
Android makes big gains in the post-Steve Jobs era
Apple cofounder Steve Jobs has repeatedly talked about the post-PC era. But he resigned last week as Apple's CEO. The post-Steve Jobs era has come, and Android is doing just fine whipping iPhone in his absence. This week, comScore put Android's US smartphone share way up against iPhone's minuscule gains, and today Nielsen added supporting stats, including some startling buying intention trends.
"What?" You ask. "Jobs has only been gone a week". Yes, but as I explained over the weekend, his influence waned long ago. Tim Cook, while only CEO since Thursday last, has been running Apple since January. How's iPhone doing against Android, during the Tim Cook era? Certainly not bad, but not as well as many people believe. I was talking with a neighbor tonight about phones and he was sure that iPhone outsells Android. I hear this often.
Netflix shares plunge after Starz ends streaming contract
Investors pounded Netflix in after-hours trading today, after Starz Entertainment cut off contract renegotiation. Netflix shares fell by 8.7 percent to $212.99. The stock had closed at $233.27. Starz content is a major anchor of Netflix's steaming service.
"Starz Entertainment has ended contract renewal negotiations with Netflix", Starz CEO Chris Albrecht says in a statement. "When the agreement expires on February 28, 2012, Starz will cease to distribute its content on the Netflix streaming platform".
Lenovo Ultrabook moves in on MacBook Air's turf
Aiming to fight Apple's MacBook Air on one of its primary advantages -- its size -- Lenovo on Thursday introduced its Ultrabook, claiming it is thinner than Apple's signature ultra-thin laptop.
Indeed, at .6-inches thick, the Lenovo Ultrabook U300S comes in slightly thinner than the Air's .68 inches. The laptop is part of a broader effort introduced by Intel in May to revive interest in laptops overall. The chipmaker is rightly worried about tablets, a device category Intel does not have a strong foothold in. Thus pushing these ultra-thin laptops has become a major part of its current business strategy.
HTC unveils Mango phones: Titan and Radar
Taiwanese smartphone veterans HTC today unveiled their new Windows Phones, Titan and Radar, which are powered by Mango, the latest version of Windows Phone. They both come in familiar HTC shapes, but offer some improvements in performance and design.
Titan, as the name suggests, is rather big. With a 4.7" screen, it's actually HTC's largest smartphone to use the company's 9.9mm aluminum casing. HTC drew inspiration from Apple's Macbook laptops, and originally debuted these aluminum shells on the Legend early last year, but that was a single machined piece, and the phone was considerably smaller.
Samsung sweetens Galaxy Tab 7.7 with Honeycomb
In an age where our phones seem to be getting bigger and our tablets smaller, Samsung's latest addition to its Tab family is no exception. The Korean company introduced a 7.7-inch version of its popular tablet, complete with Android 3.2 and Super AMOLED Plus display.
The device is a followup to last year's original 7-inch Tab, but is the first tablet from the company to use Samsung's better display technology. It also features 1280 x 800 resolution, one of the best in its size class. Super AMOLED means the display will be viewable in sunlight.
Trash that rooted Nook Color, Lenovo A1 is cheapest brand name Android tablet
Barnes and Noble's Android-powered e-reader, Nook Color, gained considerable popularity in the Android community for being a relatively cheap device ($249) that could be rooted to become a full-fledged Android tablet that runs surprisingly well, considering the device's somewhat limited 800MHz processor.
But today, Lenovo just completely smashed the Nook Color by revealing to the media at IFA Berlin the price for its baseline model IdeaPad A1 Android tablet will be just $199.
CyberLink bulks up PowerDVD 11, releases Android tablet app
CyberLink has released a new major update to its PowerDVD 11 Standard and PowerDVD 11 Ultra software, build 2024. PowerDVD is billed as the “world’s leading universal media player”, supporting all major media formats. In addition, the Ultra version supports both 3D and Blu-ray playback in addition to DVD, most video formats and social media video.
The latest release adds a new Digital Media Server, which supports wireless transfer and playback of media between computers, tablets and DLNA devices. To complement this, a new app for Android 3.0 tablets, PowerDVD Mobile, has also been released.
Windows 8 has a split personality
The new operating system, which is expected in developer beta in about two weeks, will take not one but two approaches to main user interface. Windows 8 will come with the streamlined, touch-friendly Metro and quasi-traditional file system. It's quasi because Microsoft is replacing major elements of Windows Explorer with the Office Ribbon.
Earlier this week I expressed my horror learning of the Ribbon's role in Windows 8, which quelled my excitement about the Metro user interface. But Microsoft has set the record straight, and I'm feeling good about Windows 8 again. You should too.
'Patent Pledge' companies promise not to sue startups into oblivion
In response to the current state of the United States' patent system (and its parasitic twin, the industry of patent litigation), Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham has launched what he calls "The Patent Pledge," a brief, thirteen word long statement for technology companies to sign to affirm that they have no interest in suing startups over software.
The Pledge itself is quick, and to the point:
AVG 2012 security software cuts the bloat, runs faster
If you’ve felt that AVG’s security tools have become a little bloated in the last few years, then we’ve some good news: the 2012 range, released today, focuses strongly on improving performance and reducing their impact on your PC’s speed. And their efforts do seem to have produced some worthwhile results.
Grab a copy of the new AVG Internet Security 2012, for instance, and you’ll find the download is half the size, installation is faster, and the suite’s footprint on your hard drive is cut by an average of 45 percent when compared to the previous edition.
Monitor Windows activity with DiskLED
At first glance, DiskLED doesn’t exactly appear to be the most interesting of programs. Flashing a system tray icon to indicate hard drive activity can be useful, but it’s nothing new and there are plenty of other tools that do the same thing.
What makes DiskLED a little different, though, is that it’s not tied to highlighting hard drive accesses alone. The program can also monitor any Windows performance counter in the current PC, enabling you to keep a close eye on whatever activity you like.
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