Yahoo ousts CEO Scott Thompson, and I ask: 'What the frak?'
So let me see if I understand rightly. It's okay for CEOs to lie, steal, cheat, take ungodly salaries and -- worse -- huge bonuses while companies flounder, commit insider trading and abuse shareholder trust in just about every way possible, but lie on the résumé and it's adios, baby? Somebody wake me from this nightmare -- or perhaps Scott Thompson, who is out as Yahoo chief executive.
Yahoo tacitly confirmed Thompson's exit today, in an announcement about Ross Levinsohn assuming position of interim CEO: "Levinsohn replaces Scott Thompson, former chief executive officer, who has left the company". That is one big middle finger. There is no explanation -- not even a fine he left for personal reasons -- or praise for his short time running Yahoo. Thompson leaves with a big stake in his heart implanted from behind.
Don't miss one of the week's exciting 25 software downloads
The second week of May has passed, and it was as busy as ever in the world of software. If you haven’t kept your finger on the pulse, we have put together this roundup to bring you back up to speed.
Windows users looking to bring one of the features of OS X to their PCs will be interested in TweakNow DriveShortcut 1.0.0, which can be used to automatically create desktop shortcuts whenever removable media is inserted. If you’re looking to clean up your hard drive, the release of GeekUninstaller 1.0.0.2 is very timely, while EASEUS Todo Backup Free 4.5 has been updated with support for Windows 8 -- if you want to protect your valuable files. In a similar vein is Acronis True Image Home 2012 (Update 2) v15.0.7119, which has been enhanced with a number of tweaks and new features.
Mom is a Google girl
I never expected my 70 year-old mother to ride the cutting edge of technology, but she's there, living in the cloud, which she embraces enthusiastically. What's that saying about not teaching old dogs new tricks? Perhaps you can.
Mom's daily tech is way out there, and you can blame or credit me for lifting her there. But she's a willing participant, happily adopting new habits, which in the end wasn't so difficult once she recognized the benefits. Perhaps your mother will, too, if you give her the chance. Mom uses Android phone (Samsung Nexus S), Chromebook (Google Cr-48) and Google TV (Logitech Revue). She lives in the cloud via these Google-powered devices and associated services.
Apple is replacing Google maps in iOS 6? You don't say
The tech blogosphere is abuzz today following a report by Apple news site 9to5Mac claiming "trusted sources" say Google Maps will get the boot in iOS 6, replaced by an in-house solution. It is no secret these two companies have an increasingly strained relationship, and Apple's acquisitions point towards a future in maps.
In the newsroom this afternoon, we chalked this one up to "sourced conjecture": that is, while 9to5Mac may indeed have some kind of inside track to what Apple plans in the next version of iOS, it certainly doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure this one out. The writing's been on the wall on this one for three years, at least.
Affixa makes webmail work with your desktop apps
One of the major drawbacks of switching to a web-based email provider like Gmail or Yahoo is that your desktop hasn’t cottoned on to your new way of working. Sure, you can access your email via your web browser, effectively liberating you from a single email program on a single PC, but it seems your desktop hasn’t caught up with progress.
You’ll know what we mean: click an email link on a webpage, or attempt to attach a file to an email directly from another program and you’ll either open an unwanted relic from the past like Outlook, or get some error message. Before throwing your PC out of the window, however, discover how a free software program called Affixa can soothe your furrowed brow.
You can have iPhone 4S, I'll take Galaxy Nexus
During the last six months, I've had the privilege to use three exceptional smartphones: iPhone 4S and two Galaxy Nexus variants -- one LTE and the other HSPA+. You can't go wrong buying either Android or iOS handset, although Galaxy Nexus supports more carrier networks here in the United States. Differences that matter are more than hardware (such as size, appearance or battery life) or software (apps and operating systems). Taking Galaxy Nexus or iPhone 4S is much more. Either is a digital lifestyle choice that many buyers won't grok before paying their hard-earned cash.
I can't emphasize this aspect strongly enough. In the days before Android and iPhone, early smartphone buyers also made digital lifestyle choices, such as BlackBerry users and persistent email or Windows Mobile buyers wanting mobile Office. But today, with differentiated, connected cloud services, digital lifestyle matters more than ever, and both handsets offer similar yet drastically different experiences. You're not just buying a phone but a way of life.
Google prices out cloud SQL services for App Engine customers
Google has set fees for its cloud SQL storage offering, and detailed pricing on both a per-use and per-day model depending on the developer's need. The move is an effort to bolster App Engine, which is a service from Google that allows developers to run cloud applications on the company's infrastructure.
The Mountain View, Calif. company has offered Cloud SQL in a limited free beta since last October. Developers can continue to use Cloud SQL free of charge until June 12, however, after that continued use will require billing information.
Revitalize your desktop with My Daily Wallpaper
Tired of the same old Windows wallpaper? You’re not alone, which is why there are a host of tools around that promise they’re the perfect choice to revitalize your desktop. My Daily Wallpaper is the latest: does it have what it takes to stand out from the crowd? We took a look.
Setup is extremely straightforward. The program is a tiny 186KB download, and portable, so there are no installation hassles, no browser toolbars or other unwanted extras. You just unzip the file and go.
Save big on these May software bargains
We’re nearly halfway through May, the weather’s getting warmer and there is a bunch of deals in the Downloadcrew Software Store if you’re looking to save on your purchases. Starting off this month’s selection of offers is a series of deals on TuneUp Utilities 2012 that includes everything you need to optimize, fix or customize your computer.
TuneUp Utilities 2012, complete with a 3-PC, lifetime non-expiring license can be yours for just $18.99, saving you 62 percent, while anyone who needs more licenses should take a look at TuneUp Utilities Business Edition 2012 [5-PC, lifetime license] which costs just $22.95 – saving of 73 percent. Looking to secure your PC as well as speed it up? Look no further than the TuneUp Utilities 2012 + AVG Internet Security 2012 bundle which costs just $22.95 (a saving of 80 percent) and the TuneUp Utilities 2012 + avast! Pro Antivirus 7 bundle which at just $19.95 will save you an impressive 78 percent off the MSRP.
Use TweakNow DriveShortcut to display disks on Windows desktop
Sometimes it is the smallest of things that makes the biggest differences -- it can be little touches that matter the most. Users of OS X and many flavors of Linux will be used to the appearance of a desktop icon when an external drive is plugged in or an optical disc is inserted. This little feature may seem minor, but it is also immensely useful. By installing TweakNow DriveShortcut, you can bring the same feature to Windows.
This is a great alternative, or supplement to Windows’ own built-in AutoPlay feature as it enables you to more easily access drives when you want rather than having the contents automatically displayed after insertion. The most common use for the program would be to create desktop shortcuts for CDs and DVDs as they are inserted, but it can also be used to automatically create shortcuts for USB drives.
Unfair maybe, but Microsoft has the right to bar browsers from Windows RT
Suddenly, the new Microsoft doesn't look all that different from the old one. During court proceedings for the 1998-2001 antitrust trial, government lawyers accused Microsoft of playing favorites by providing its developers access to information not available to third parties -- thus giving Internet Explorer unfair competitive advantage over Netscape. The company's browser policy regarding Windows RT isn't just much the same, it's much more. IE gets hugely exclusive access. The question: Is it anticompetitive?
The answer isn't as simple as some people might think. For example, look at Apple. Is it anticompetitive that the company effectively bars competing browsers from iOS? It's a Safari-only platform, lest browser developers work by proxy, like Opera does. Windows has an acquired monopoly on Intel-based PCs. Apple imposes one in part, by controlling everything on its platform, which is exclusive to its own hardware. Something else to ponder: Microsoft doesn't have a monopoly on ARM as it does on x86. There's no position of market dominance to exert anticompetitive behavior, as could be defined under US antitrust law. Microsoft is within its rights to shut out Chrome, Firefox and other browsers while favoring Internet Explorer. But that doesn't make it right.
Microsoft overhauls Bing in mission to innovate search
Microsoft on Thursday announced it will be rolling out the "most significant update" to its Bing search engine since it debuted three years ago.
The new Bing design eschews the decade-old single-page search result design that is a standard, and introduces a three-column interface that combines algorithmic search results (called "Core Web Results") with social network results (called "Sidebar" results) and actionable related services such as location, shopping, and more ("Snapshot" results).
HP pushes OpenStack cloud services into public beta
Today, HP made OpenStack available in public beta, announcing general availability of three services to customers: Cloud Compute, Cloud Object Storage and Cloud Content Delivery Network; they're available on a pay-as-you-go basis.
In September, the Palo Alto, Calif. company started offering the services to a limited number of customers. HP's move can also be viewed as a strengthened commitment to OpenStack itself. Competitor Citrix is going the opposite direction -- last month relinquishing to open source CloudStack code received as part of the acquisition of Cloud.com last year.
Acronis True Image Home 2012 Update 2 adds scheduling and archive management
Acronis has released Update 2 for its complete backup tool for Windows PCs, Acronis True Image Home 2012. Initially a drive-imaging tool, True Image has evolved into an all-encompassing backup tool covering files and settings, data synchronization and online backup in addition to its partition and drive-imaging capabilities.
Update 2 introduces several new features, including Scheduler Smart Start and Archives Scanning Management, plus fixes a number of bugs present in earlier builds.
iPhone camera app learns your appearance by your Facebook pics
In the three months ending on March 31, 2012, there were more than 300 million photos uploaded to Facebook every single day. Not only is it a staggering amount of content to organize, but it is also a huge stockpile of graphical data that can actually be put to use.
A new iPhone camera application was released on Thursday to take advantage of this mass of data.
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