January 10 giveaway -- East-Tec Eraser 2011
Your computer can reveal a great deal of information about you and if other people have access to your machine, it would be all too easy for this data to fall into the wrong hands. Simply deleting files you no longer need is not enough as there are numerous tools that can be used to restore anything that has been erased -- even from a drive that has been formatted. This is where East-Tec Eraser 2011 can help, making it possible to securely wipe information from your computer so that it cannot be recovered.
The application is broken down into a series of different section, with the main interface making it easy to securely delete any files you no longer need. You can simply drag and drop files onto the program window before choosing how secure the wiping should be -- this ranges from deleting and overwriting with random data to the Gutmann method, which is very slow but renders files completely unrecoverable, even using hardware tools.
Nokia unveils Lumia 900 LTE Windows Phone for AT&T
Nokia's big announcement for CES was all about the United States. Specifically, the Finnish mobile phone company announced the first Nokia Windows Phone designed for the United States: the Nokia Lumia 900.
The Lumia 900 is nearly a clone of the Lumia 800, but with a couple of the features that Americans had complained were missing, a forward-facing camera, and 4G LTE connectivity.It has the same one-piece carbon polymer case (optionally in bright cyan), the same Carl Zeiss optics, and the same Windows Phone 7.5 operating system.It's powered by a 1.4 GHz applications processor, and has an 1800 mAh battery.
Windows Phone beats iPhone to 4G LTE
Currently there are 11 4G LTE phones -- two from AT&T and 9 from Verizon -- available from major US Carriers, and they're all Androids. Even more are coming, some this month, and again they're all Androids. There is no LTE iPhone and until today's HTC Titan II announcement, nothing running a Microsoft operating system. Finally, prospective Windows Phone buyers can get super-fast cellular data. iPhone users are out of luck. Well, maybe. HTC says the LTE Windows Phone is coming to AT&T "in the coming months". Who knows, iPhone 5 LTE could come sooner.
Like its predecessor, Titan II will be available from AT&T, which is good for HTC, Microsoft and Windows Phone. The brawny 4.7-inch-display smartphone will only compete with two other LTE handsets there -- HTC Vivid and Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket. Better to be one of three at AT&T than one of 10+ at Verizon. That's assuming AT&T adds no other LTE smarphones "in the coming months", before Titan II goes on sale. Last week I posted the "7 things I really don't want to see at CES". Among them: Products announced that don't ship for many months later.
Monster debuts Android, iOS, Windows Phone app for home power control
CES Press Day is also known as the day of back to back press conferences, when journalists are served a giant hype sundae topped with sprinkles of actual news.
It's an important day for companies to tell the consumer electronics press (and by extension, consumers) what to expect from them for the year, so at every CES, I spend the day darting in and out of rooms and trying to keep up with the deluge of announcements.
Pale Moon 9.0.1 blazes past Firefox 9 speed tests
If you’re not satisfied with the performance of your Firefox installation then a good first step is to make sure you’re fully up-to-date; Firefox 9, released just before Christmas, introduced some worthwhile improvements aimed at optimizing speed and cutting resource use.
If that’s not enough, though, you could always check out Pale Moon 9.0.1, released today. It’s a custom version of Firefox that has been further optimized for performance, and our initial benchmarks show some interesting results.
Huawei's thin smartphone leads slate of compelling mobile devices at CES
There's always the race at the Consumer Electronics Show to be the smallest, the lightest, the thinnest, the biggest. Huawei is following that strategy, debuting the Ascend P1 S on Monday. At 6.68mm thick, it claims to be the thinnest smartphone on the market. For comparison purposes, look at iPhone 4S, which measures in at comparatively stout 9.33mm, or the Galaxy S II, also a little overweight at 8.49mm.
The Ascend runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, and features a 4.3-inch screen with Corning's Gorilla Glass. You have to wonder though if Huawei waited a bit could it have slimmed down the Ascend even more with the new thinner Gorilla Glass 2. Other features include a 1670/1800mAh battery depending on the model, 8-megapixel rear-facing and 1.3-megapixel front-facing cameras, HD picture capabilities and integrated WiFi and Bluetooth.
Vimeo apps now available for most mobile platforms
Move over YouTube. Vimeo is finally making its big mobile splash, and it's way, way overdue. The online video pioneer has ceded too much to Google and, by comparison, latecomer YouTube for too long. Today that changes, with new mobile apps for Android, iPad, Kindle Fire and Windows Phone. Vimeo released an iPhone app 10 months ago.
I downloaded the Android app to Galaxy Nexus and XOOM LTE early this afternoon and must say that I'm impressed. The app is well-organized for video discovery -- much better than YouTube. Not surprisingly, the options are viewing/uploading and options are better for the tablet than the smartphone. Overall, the user interface is clean, uncluttered and responsive.
Corning's Gorilla Glass gets even tougher and thinner
Corning has made a name for itself in short order in the tech sector, as manufacturers look to the textile maker to produce "indestructible" glass for its gadgets. The Corning, N.Y.-based company on Monday debuted the second generation of its Gorilla Glass product, allowing companies to get the same damage resistance in glass that is 20 percent thinner.
"In response to our customers' drive toward thinner form factors, we designed this new glass to enable meaningful reduction in thickness without sacrificing the outstanding glass performance for which Gorilla Glass has become highly recognized", Corning Specialty Materials head James Steiner says.
Give Windows 7 the XP makeover with Classic Shell 3.3
Do you miss the classic Windows XP Start menu? Are you annoyed by changes to Explorer, like the breadcrumb navigation? Or do you feel that the Windows 7 copy dialog is a step backwards, rather than an improvement?
As you probably already know, you’re not alone: plenty of people feel that Microsoft has headed in the wrong direction with Explorer for a few years now. But help is at hand, in the shape of Classic Shell, a suite of tools that can quickly restore many Windows features that you might have thought had gone forever.
IObit Advanced SystemCare 5.1 improves support for Windows 8
System maintenance and optimization tool IObit Advanced SystemCare has been updated to version 5.1, not only adding new features to the main program, but also bringing IObit Uninstaller 2.1 to the party. You’ll find that there is also improved support for Windows 8, an enhanced registry scanner, extended Privacy Sweep application support and a new Performance Monitor module.
The main bulk of the app is focused on boosting the performance and stability of your system, but there are also utilities that can be used to improve security and protect your privacy. The great thing about the utility is that you are able to get as hands-on as you feel comfortable with. There are a number of automated tools that can be used to keep your system running smoothly, but you’ll find that more impressive results can be achieved by using each one.
Microsoft's three-screen strategy is a failure
One thing will be certain when the dust settles on Consumer Electronics Show 2012: Just how meaningless and pitiful is Microsoft's three-screen strategy. Good riddance, too, as Microsoft pulls out of CES following this year's event. After more than a decade working this three-screen thing -- PC, phone and TV -- Microsoft has taken leadership in the most bizarre way: Showing competitors what they shouldn't do.
The indictment against Microsoft's three-screen strategy started over the weekend, from Lenovo and Vizio, and will brutally continue over the next four days, headlined by Samsung, among others.
Lenovo steps outside its comfort zone with new Android TV, smartphone
Lenovo's bread and butter is the PC. Like all electronics manufacturers the company is finding that diversity is a good growth strategy, however. It embraced Android and the tablet market last summer, and at Consumer Electronics Show it's showing a readiness to enter the competitive HDTV and smartphone sectors in 2012.
Lenovo is the first company to produce an HDTV running Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich". At 55 inches it's an impressive first outing, while also embracing the 3D capabilities that are the rage in televisions as of late. Of course the company is using a skinned version of ICS, but choosing Android allows for a good deal of flexibility.
Ahead of CES, health of the consumer electronics industry questioned
As the technology industry gears up for its yearly confab in Las Vegas this week, new data suggests the consumer electronics industry is primed for significant contraction. Research firm NPD says sales fell 5.9 percent in the five weeks ending on Christmas Eve. This data confirms news out of various retailers indicating weak sales in electronics last month.
Sears Holdings used poor sales of consumer electronics in both its Sears and Kmart stores as part of a reason behind closing underperforming locations. Target and Costco warned of disappointing numbers due to slower than expected sales, and Best Buy reported same-store sales down 1.2 percent year-over-year for the month of December.
Take control of your PC's network identity with MAC Address Changer
Technitium has released version 6.0 of its MAC Address Changer tool, extending the program’s abilities with many new network options and features.
If you simply want to find out more about your system, for instance, then launching the program will reveal all its network adapters, along with their speed, MAC address, IP address(es), gateways, DNS servers and even a graph charting adapter traffic.
Are ultrabooks really the best value?
It's time for the Consumer Electronics Show, where ultrabooks already are making a big splash. A question arises that deserves consideration. Is this the end for netbooks? Will ultrabooks make them obsolete?
I can't answer this and we will have to wait and see, but consider this: Every time a new generation of electronics comes out the new features are exciting, but as usual selling prices tend to be higher. Prices range between $849 and $999. Sure, there are those who have no problem dropping as much as a $1,000 for the latest gadget. But for the average person, selling price matters. Many people choose between features and price and often price will win out in the balance between cost versus features. I am a programmer, yet I have always lived on a tight budget and tend to buy what is more in line with what I can afford rather than the bleeding edge devices. Simply put: I look for what's good enough within my budget.
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