Foxit Reader 5.3 improves by nips and tucks
The PDF format is commonly used to deliver documents online, and people increasingly discover that there is no need to use a bloated piece of software such as Adobe Reader to open them. Foxit Reader is one lighter weight alternative that prides itself not only on the speed and performance it offers, but also the security features. The Read Out Loud feature has been updated with a new Read from Current Page option as well.
Foxit Reader 5.3 adds support for viewing RMS-protected PDF that have dynamic watermarks, and there are also a number of other changes, improvements and additions in this latest release. When the program is used to view a document that is too large to print on regular-sized paper, you can now take advantage of the new Tile Large Pages option in the print dialog that makes it possible to split such large pages over several pieces of paper in the style of a poster.
Who will buy Galaxy Nexus from Google?
While we wait for Samsung to unveil its new smartphone in a few hours, for your waiting pleasure I've got answers to the question posed last week: "Would you pay Google $399 for unlocked, HSPA+ Galaxy Nexus?" The search and information giant ended April with a May flower: Direct sales of its flagship, Android 4.0 smartphone, presumably because AT&T and T-Mobile aren't doing so.
Google's got a good thing going here for Android enthusiasts, but I've got a problem with the direct sales thing. What Apple offers that its rival can't: Service. People buying iPhone can get defective replacement at local Apple stores. They also can purchase, granted for an extra 99 bucks, AppleCare+, which extends the basic warranty and provides discounted replacements. If you drop and break iPhone 4S, Apple will replace it for $49, up to two times. What's Google going to do for you, if Galaxy Nexus goes bust or you bust it up?
Check Point releases ZoneAlarm Free Antivirus + Firewall
Check Point Software Technologies has released ZoneAlarm Free AntiVirus + Firewall, the company’s first attempt to make major inroads into the free security suite market.
The core package is exactly what its name suggests: ZoneAlarm’s free firewall, plus a basic antivirus engine licensed from Kaspersky. But there’s also a strong antiphishing module, basic identity theft protection, and 5GB of online backup space available if you need it.
Use multiple monitors with Windows 8
Working with multiple monitors is a great way to improve productivity, but it is a completely different way of working that can take a little getting used to. DisplayFusion is a utility that makes it easier to work with multi-display setups, and version 4.0 of the app includes a raft of new feature that will help you to get even more from your monitors, starting off with support for the Windows 8 Consumer Preview.
As standard Windows will only display the taskbar on one monitor, but it can be added to all of them with DisplayFusion. Any program that is shown on a particular screen will have a taskbar button on the corresponding screen and in the latest version of the program, Jump Lists are now available. There is also newly added support for icon profiles that can be used to quickly re-arrange desktop icon according to what you are doing.
Amazon Cloud Drive app offers little
Amazon has released a desktop app for Windows and Mac users wishing to access its cloud-based storage service. Amazon Cloud Drive 0.3.28 provides basic upload and download functionality for Amazon account holders to access the 5GB of free online storage space the retailer provides.
The desktop app is a late addition to Amazon’s free cloud-based storage service, which launched last year to all Amazon account holders. The 5GB is provided free, along with additional unlimited storage for all MP3s purchased through Amazon.com.
BlackBerry 10 breathes new life into RIM
Playbook, like so much about Research in Motion these days, is a crisis of faith. Do you believe RIM will finally get it right, or move away from BlackBerry? Months ago when the Playbook 2.0 update hit and leaks finally outed the keyboard/case thing and Blackberry London hardware, I believed in the tablet, BlackBerry 10 and RIM having a future. Or at least one last chance.
This week's BlackBerry World 2012 has renewed my confidence in RIM, and I would even say that they now have a very good chance to bounce back.
IBM is at a tipping point
Fifth in a series. When I was growing up in Ohio, ours was the only house in the neighborhood with a laboratory. In it the previous owner, Leonard Skeggs, had invented the automated blood analyzer, pretty much creating the present biomedical industry. Unwilling to let such a facility go to waste, I threw myself into research. It was 1961 and I was eight years old.
I was always drawn to user interface design and quickly settled, as Gene Roddenberry did in Star Trek half a decade later, on the idea of controlling computers with voice. Using all the cool crap my father (a natural scrounger) dragged home from who knows where, I decided to base my voice control work on the amplitude modulation optical sound track technology from 16mm film (we had a projector). If I could paint optical tracks to represent commands then all I’d need was some way of analyzing and characterizing those tracks to tell the computer what to do. But the one thing I didn’t have down in the lab in 1961 was a computer.
Google Play carrier billing now includes music, movies, and e-books
Google on Wednesday announced that it has added carrier billing to the entire selection of content (apps, music, movies, and books) in its Google Play marketplace in seven countries. Participating carriers now let subscribers charge their Google Play purchases directly to their monthly phone bill.
The countries and network operators that will offer total carrier billing include:
Is there hope for Windows Phone?
That's the question I'm asking after looking over comScore US mobile subscriber data for the three months ending in March. After years of steady, steep declines, Windows Phone subscriber share held steady from February to March, which perhaps not coincidentally is when Nokia Lumia 900 went on sale. Could it be...
comScore measures subscribers 13 years and older. Microsoft mobile share among smartphone subscribers held steady at 3.9 percent month-on-month, the first real stop in drop in years. How mighty is Microsoft's fall? Market share was 19 percent in September 2009, for example. So 3.9 percent is nothing to skinny, but staying there rather than going down is small, but notable improvement.
The Xbox console will soon be free
Microsoft wonk Tom Warren reports that a new Xbox 360 and Kinect bundle will be offered at $99 with a two-year Xbox Live Gold subcription beginning next week. If this proves true, it will be the first example of a video game console using the mobile phone carrier subsidy model.
According to Warren's sources, the deal will only be available at Microsoft Stores, and it will include the 4 GB Xbox 360 console with a Kinect Sensor. The cost of a two-year Xbox Live Gold subscription is approximately $120.
Miro 5 cataloging and organizing features make sweet music
The Participatory Culture Foundation has released the final build ofMiro 5.0, its cross-platform, open-source music and video player. Version 5 provides a new tool for looking up missing music information and artwork from the Internet, providing the user with a quick means of cleaning up their music databases.
Version 5.0 also introduces a new view options for music and video, faster device synchronization and conversion, support for purchasing music from eMusic, the ability to download HD video from Vimeo feeds and major updates to the Windows backend.
Why are Amazon Kindles vanishing from Target?
Target confirmed on Wednesday earlier reports that it is discontinuing sales of Amazon products, most notably the Kindle, starting in Spring 2012. First reported by The Verge overnight Wednesday, the move is a hit to Kindle's retail store strategy overall and effectively ends a long-term partnership between the two companies.
Amazon powered Target's website up until last year, and Target was the first to carry the Kindle at retail back in June 2010. The Kindle Fire was Target's best selling tablet on Black Friday last year, but that didn't stop the retailer from kicking Amazon to the curb.
When Windows goes wrong, try Kernel Mode Drivers Manager
Whether your PC is slow, unstable, or perhaps infected by malware, checking your system’s kernel mode drivers is often a good place to begin diagnosing your problems. And you don’t have to install any third-party software to get started: just running MSINFO32 and browsing to Software Environment > System Drivers will give you a basic view of what’s currently installed.
If that’s a little too basic for your liking, though, you could try Kernel Mode Drivers Manager. It’s still very straightforward to use (you don’t have to be a geek to figure out what’s going on), but the program also provides a number of useful extras to help you get a better understanding of what’s happening on your system.
Spotify comes to iPad -- get it now!
Fans of Spotify need no longer endure a blown up app designed for the smaller screen of the iPhone, thanks to the release of a dedicate iPad version of the app, today. Spotify 0.5.0 has been a long time coming and, as you would expect, there is support for the Retina display of the new iPad. There has been a shift in focus with this release, as the app now makes it easy to discover new music rather than simply enabling you to listen to things you have already found.
The interface has been given a gesture-friendly overhaul and the screen is divided into two sections that allow for easy navigation of playlists, friends and news, while providing a clear display of the information you are looking for. The newly released app is comparable to its desktop counterpart, providing access to almost the same set of features, although there is no support for the likes of last.fm and other apps at the moment; this is likely to be something that is added in the future.
Chrome marketing is exceptional
Love makes the world go round, and, c`mon, who doesn't love a good relationship story? But love stories aren't easily told -- one reason there are so few classics. But Google has done just that in 90 seconds. Take a moment to watch the embedded video over your morning coffee and bagel, donut or scone and tell me if you agree.
I don't even recall where I saw the commercial -- it was during some program I had recorded then watched on Monday evening. But as I fast-forwarded through the adverts, something about this one caused me to stop. Perhaps it's subliminally related to the long length, seeing as most TV spots are no longer than 60 seconds. I actually rewound and watched a second time. Now that's marketing.
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