Latest Technology News

I'm a big fan of Kinect and Microsoft using the body as the command line. The most natural user interface is you. But selling the long-term benefits, beyond gaming, is tricky. Leading into the controller's November 4 first-year anniversary, Microsoft promotes the "Kinect Effect". It's brilliant, and forward-looking, marketing that shows Kinect's huge potential outside gaming.

I've praised Kinect before, for example: regarding a viral video where a toddler dances inside Microsoft Store and debut of Kinect Fun Labs.

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Emulation is nothing new: as soon as 16-bit computers like the Atari ST or Amiga came on to the scene, coders attempted to emulate their 8-bit forebears like the Spectrum or Commodore 64. Nowadays both 8-bit and 16-bit machines are themselves emulated on PC and Mac, while Windows has gone so far as to now emulate its own predecessor, DOS, in the form of DOSBox.

It’s now becoming possible for Windows users to emulate certain mobile devices on their desktop. BlueStacks App Player lets Windows users emulate Android, while a brand new open-source app aims to do something similar for Apple’s iPad. Enter, stage left, iPadian.

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Popular Linux distribution Ubuntu will be coming to tablets, smartphones, and smart TVs, Canonical Inc. founder Mark Shuttleworth said on Monday.

Though the introduction of a "mobile" Ubuntu has no timeline and isn't expected any time soon (Shuttleworth said it will be available by 14.04 LTS), the announcement of this new version is part of a continuing push to bring the Linux distro into the mainstream.

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Explorer has gradually changed and developed over many years. The current versions somewhat lacks in the toolbar buttons department, and this is something that Better Explorer aims to address. The app features a Ribbon-style interface that is not dissimilar from Microsoft Office and the more recent preview versions of Windows 8 and the tabbed method of working with multiple windows that has become standard practice in web browser is also present here.

Should you decide that the Ribbon is a little intrusive to have on display at all times -- or you are working on a smaller screened laptop where space is at a premium -- it can be quickly hidden when needed, but it is never far away when you need to access it. When activated, the toolbar provides access to a number of useful options including copying the path of the currently selected item and the ability to invert the current selection. The tabbed interface is a joy to work with and the  overall look of the program is impressive.

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It can be frustrating moving from computer to computer, finding the apps you use on one computer aren’t available on another, or that your carefully crafted settings aren’t in place when you switch to another machine. It’s why portable apps -- applications that are self-contained within a single folder -- are so popular, liberating you from a single PC by allowing you to run them from a USB drive.

Ceedo Personal enables you to carry a PC around in your pocket or at least the most useful parts of it. You can’t fit a keyboard, monitor or printer on a standard flash drive, but there’s plenty of room on one for a range of personal documents, photos and music and with Ceedo you can carry your programs around with you as well.

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As a seasoned veteran user of each of the major smartphone operating systems, I must say Windows phone 7 is my favorite. Not because it has the most features, or is the easiest to use, or is the most open, or even the most closed (which apparently some people like), but because it is the most polished.

Apple's iOS has none of the customability, Android none of the perfection, and WebOS none of the usability that Microsoft has managed to scrape together into a gorgeous and unique OS. The structure of Windows Phone 7 means I rarely have to spend any time looking for what I want, and can spend more of my time doing what I want. Sure, there aren't as many apps to chose from, and Windows Phone lacks some features comparably. But the OS has refined, elegant form that sets apart it from competitors.

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Everyone loves to give their computer a makeover from time to time, and Halloween is as good a reason as any to seek out a new desktop theme. While there’s nothing to stop you from heading out with your digital camera and snapping a suitable shot, or even getting creative in the likes of Photoshop, it is a great deal easier to let someone else do the hard work for you; this is where a Halloween Skin Pack could give you the new look you have been looking for.

More than just a new background image -- although this is a part of the skin pack -- the Halloween Skin Pack includes a number of options for spookifying your desktop. Providing you have the relevant third party tools installed, you can customize your login screen, Start menu, icons, and much, much more.

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Happy Halloween!

It's fun time at Microsoft's expense, being trick-or-treat today and Day of the Dead tomorrow. To celebrate, I've got 10 scary things about Microsoft to ponder. I encourage you to add to the list in comments. It's all meant to be light-hearted, so keep that spirit when adding to the list.

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It’s the end of October, but the relentless release rate of software shows no sign of abating. The last seven days have been at least as busy as usual, so it would not be surprising if you managed to miss a few titles here and there. Thankfully, we’ve had our finger on the pulse and have compiled a roundup to help you get up to speed. One of the biggest releases of the week is undoubtedly Google's browser, which has come out of beta with the release of Chrome 15.0.874.106 FINAL. As well as speed and stability improvements, there is also a redesigned tab interface that fans of portable apps can take advantage of.

When online it is important to keep yourself protected and a firewall is a great first line of defense. ZoneAlarm Free 10.1.056.000 can help to control the flow of traffic to and from your computer. There are many types of files you will encounter online, and one of the most common if the humble PDF. If you’d  prefer to steer clear of the big names, Foxit Reader 5.1.0 wll cater for your needs perfectly.

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Once upon a time the notion of having access to a free image-editing tool that rivalled commercial packages was nonsensical. If you wanted to edit your photos, you had to pay for the privilege. The GIMP was one of the first to break this mold, but despite a powerful feature set it can be off-putting to the beginner.

In recent years Paint.NET has made a powerful case of being the best free image-editing tool for Windows, boasting powerful features and a relatively accessible interface. But now there’s a new kid in town, a tool that resembles Paint.NET but adds some clever features of its own. A tool that once cost money, but is now free. That image editor is PixBuilder Studio.

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Did you know that a laptop is stolen every 55 seconds in the United States?

I joined those ranks two weeks ago. While out on the road I made a stopover in Center City Philadelphia. Not thinking and in a rush to get to my destination, I left my laptop bag on the front passenger seat. I returned to my car to find the drivers-side window broken and the bag gone.

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Cloud storage has come a long way in recent years, and the ever-increasing number of mobile device means that more and more people are finding different ways to make use of it. The importance of backing up valuable data, coupled with the widespread availability of high-speed broadband connections means that cloud storage is ideally suited to safeguarding files you need to protect, not only helping to avoid the risk of data loss, but also making it possible to access your files from other computers.

AVG is a company best known for its antivirus software, but AVG LiveKive sees it branching out into another area of security -- backups. Traditionally, this practice is something that has involved the use of a separated hard drive partition or perhaps a dedicated drive, but the feasibility of storing files online brings a number of benefits. As you are using remote storage, you do not need to worry about running out of space in quite the same way as when using a local hard drive, and the option of remotely accessing files that have been backed up from a machine other than the one from which the backup from created opens up even more opportunities.

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Just a day after HP announced that it wouldn't be spinning off its PC division, with its new CEO Meg Whitman citing "together we are stronger", the same feeling does not extend to WebOS. British newspaper The Guardian reports on Friday that the company plans to shut down the division and more than 500 jobs could be cut.

HP acquired the rights to WebOS through its acquisition of Palm in April 2010. The software was meant to power HP's line of Palm smartphones and the TouchPad, but following the scrapping of both lines in August, the future of WebOS was uncertain.

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The major software update to Google TV, which has been expected for several months, has finally been deemed ready for user consumption, and will be rolling out to Sony's Google TV devices next week, and Logitech's Google TV-powered Revue set top box "soon thereafter." The update brings Android apps to Google TV, fixes the YouTube interface, overhauls the general flow of the user interface.

This update corrects some of the aspects of Google TV that made it feel like a false start. The core idea behind Google TV was both tempting and impressive; The power of unified Google search for live TV content and streaming, web-based content remains an impressive feature. However, the execution of this idea didn't make consumers stand up and applaud.

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Document metadata can be a great help in organizing files on your own PC. Add the appropriate keywords in a Comments tag, say, and it’ll be much easier to find the file later.

If you intend to share the documents online, though, metadata can be a real menace, leaking all kinds of data: network folders and user names, email addresses, details on the operating systems and software packages you’re using and a whole lot more.

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