There has been a general theme of downsizing when it comes to laptops. While this has helped to make computers more easily portable than ever before, it has also exacerbated a problem long plaguing laptop users: Rogue touchpad contact. Not everyone is an adept touch typist and for many people this means looking at the keyboard whilst typing. Should the palm of your hand stray on the touchpad, you may not notice until a large portion of text has been overwritten or typed in the wrong place. This is something that Touchpad Blocker can help you with.

A laptop should is supposed to mean freedom -- to work wherever you choose. You could pop a mouse into your laptop bag so avoid the problem of working with a touchpad, but this is just something else to remember, something else to carry around, and something else to lose. Touchpad Blocker is a free app that enables you to intercept and block accidental touchpad touches to prevent them from interfering with your typing.

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Location-based social network Gowalla announced on Monday that its service is shutting down at the end of January as its team "goes to California" to join the Facebook team.

Gowalla became known as something of an also-ran against location-based social networking leader Foursquare. For a brief period of time in 2010, the two services were in close rivalry and so-called "geosocial networks" were hot topics in the startup scene.

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I need your help. For weeks, I've asked Microsoft and its PR agency for Xbox 360 and Kinect loaner for review. BetaNews never reviewed Kinect, and I surely wanted to report on the big, splashy Xbox updates coming this week. Xbox 360 and Live are getting major entertainment makeovers, and I wanted to give BetaNews readers all the juicy details. New game console isn't in my budget, and I certainly wouldn't buy one just to review an update, no matter how big.

I ask the BetaNews community to chip in and offer reaction -- even to review -- the new Xbox 360 dashboard and exciting Xbox Live services -- and companion app for Windows Phone. Even if Microsoft suddenly shipped Xbox 360 and Kinect, I would still start from behind in the review process. The dashboard update comes tomorrow. Your participation is vital to getting out information to other readers, who might be debating whether to buy Xbox 360 or another console during the holidays. Please share your experiences in comments, or email joe at betanews dot com. If you'd like to write a review, email only, please.

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Security research company and prominent antivirus software vendor Kaspersky Lab has announced its intent to withdraw from the Business Software Alliance (BSA) because of the Alliance's support for the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA, also known as H.R. 3261).

The Business Software Alliance (BSA) and the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) are the software industry's two biggest trade groups. Since both groups have strong anti-piracy stances, neither directly opposed the Stop Online Piracy Act. Both expressed interest in working with Congress to design the law.

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Another three-month handset report is available from comScore, and BlackBerry and Windows Phone continue their relentless declines. However, new Windows Phone 7.5 handsets shipped after the analyst firm's reporting period. True test will be the next round of data.

BlackBerry is literally in free fall, with it's share of US smartphone subscribers falling 4.5 points to 17.2 percent from the three months ending in June to the same period closing in October. That's right. Three months! A year earlier, BlackBerry share was 35.8 percent. So since October 2010, the smartphone OS cut its subscriber share in half. Quick, grab some O-negative blood, BlackBerry opened an artery!

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I chuckle whenever someone in comments calls me anti-Apple. Much of what I write here derives from experience. Sometimes that works for Apple, or whatever other vendor, sometimes against it. Today, I've got a wet, smoochy kiss for iOS 5 and iPhone 4S and kick aside the head for Android and Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket.

Yesterday, my daughter met up with a friend for the Toyland Parade in the North Park community of San Diego. She's a live-in-the-moment, never-think-ahead teen. (Who isn't?) So, of course, when we got in the car and I expected my girl knew the way to the meetup, she didn't. After I chided her, out came the white iPhone 4S, and she spoke: "Direction to Claire de Lune". I knew where this was going, thinking: "There's no way Siri is going to get this right".

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We have some division here at BetaNews regarding Carrier IQ and reporting about its tracking software. On one side there's the "me-too" defense -- that software stealthy hidden on smartphones sending information back to Carrier IQ or cellular carriers is no worse than what other companies do. That it's irresponsible to report keylogging behavior based on researcher Trevor Eckhart's blog post and YouTube video. That early reporting was "sloppy" and Eckhart is suddenly "quiet". Dog poop.

Over the last couple days, Carrier IQ finally responded to the maelstrom of controversy. But the response falls short. Carrier IQ fails to address the most troubling aspect about Eckhart's demonstration: Capturing data from keystrokes, nor does it answer why so much information is collected. Carrier IQ's defense is something like: "We don't look at the naked person. Not us". It's the "if a tree falls in the forest" defense. "We didn't listen, so it didn't happen". If there's anything "sloppy" about the news reporting, it's that not enough journalists dig deep enough. There's nothing unfair here.

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In the run up to Christmas the release of top-notch software shows no signs of abating. Microsoft unveiled the latest version of its free system security tool, Microsoft Security Essentials 4 Beta with a slightly redesigned interface and faster operation. This handy tool can prevent malware infections, but a side-effect of being hit by a virus could be the deletion of files. Whether this has happens to you or you have just accidentally deleted some documents, Recuva 1.42 could help you to get them back. There is also a portable version of the app available; Recuva Portable 1.42.

Prey 0.5.3 continues the security theme, offering protection for your laptop. Should you be unfortunate enough to lose your portable computer this tracking software can locate your machine via the Internet. Once you recover your laptop, you may want to install Touchpad Blocker 2.1.0.27, which enables you to temporarily disable the touchpad when you are typing to prevent accidental mouse movement.

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All signs point to an iPad Christmas, for many people this year. But it's a pricey gift, starting at $499, and Apple isn't giving much away. Over the past 24 hours, I stumbled onto some unexpected Android alternatives that will put more than just a shiny new tablet under the Christmas tree.

Simply put: If you're looking for a tablet but need to accessorize, iPad 2 will tighten your gifting budget. Meanwhile, competitors serve up some sweet deals that will let you give more for about the same price, or even less. If you think nothing compares to iPad 2, you're wrong.

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IT solutions leader Hewlett-Packard has been very deliberate about its belief in Hybrid cloud solutions; that is, solutions that integrate public and private cloud solutions into a single, more controlled package. It was one of the top three company priorities erstwhile CEO Leo Apotheker outlined earlier this year, for which the company has set aside $2 billion in financing.

This week at HP Discover 2011 in Vienna, Austria, HP announced a series of additions to its cloud solutions portfolio many of which utilize this hybrid architecture and integrate solutions from HP's partners, as well as logistical solutions such as consultation, education, management, testing, and training.

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It's dress-down Friday here at BetaNews, and I can't resist letting Samsung dress down Apple. Yesterday, the South Korean electronics manufacturer uploaded to YouTube yet another TV commercial in "The Next Big Thing is Already Here" marketing campaign. This one answers the question I posed in late September: "What if iPhone 5 isn't LTE?" -- days before Apple revealed 4S; there was no 5 and only HSPA+.

What's the answer: Disappointment, as the commercial reveals. Apple's smartphone and standard Galaxy S II both have HSPA+, but S2 is better, offering maximum 21Mbps vs iPhone 4S' 14Mbps. The Galaxy S II Skyrocket has 4G LTE -- granted only in 9 markets. I have that phone. Absolutely hilarious: The commercial's huge gaffe that will give Apple fanboys chance to do a little dressing down of their own. The TV spot is set in Denver, which is not one of the cities where AT&T officially offers 4G LTE. Whoops! No one would have noticed or cared if the location label was Washington, DC, where there is service.

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When it comes to listening to the radio, the Internet means that you are no longer limited to listening to what you are able to pick up through your set’s antenna. There are a huge number of radio stations broadcasting online and while this means that there is no shortage of choice, it does mean that it can be difficult to find something you like unless you know about it in advanced. Antenna is a free Adobe AIR app that takes a new approach to internet radio.

Tracking down a new station to listen to is a wonderful interactive process that can be approached in a few ways. If you already know the name of station, you can simply perform a search for it, but if you would like to find something new, you can browse through the interactive map where pushpins are used to represent radio stations.

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So says IHS iSuppli, which released projections for fourth-quarter tablet shipments on Friday. The firm predicts Kindle Fire will take about 13.8 percent of the market after having no share in the previous quarter. Kindle Fire went on sale at the end of September, with Amazon taking preorders right away but shipping November 14.

iSuppli expects Amazon to ship about 3.9 million units during the quarter, taking second place and all but tripling Samsung tablet market share. Kindle Fire's success comes at the expense of Apple as well as Samsung, however.

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If you’re worried about your phone or tablet being lost or stolen then it’s generally very easy to get some help. Just check a box in your iPad settings, or install a suitable app, and if your device goes astray you may be able to track its location, send messages to the thief, even remotely lock or wipe the device to prevent anyone accessing your files.

If you’d like the same protection for your Windows laptop, though -- or, even more conveniently, want to use the same service to cover all your devices -- then the choice is considerably more limited. Although, fortunately, there is one strong contender in the Prey Project.

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Microsoft has a big problem. Windows Phone 7.5 is one of its best kept secrets. That's not a good thing. The operating system is fresh, remarkably different from Android and iOS and task-oriented. However, judging by US market share -- a puny 1.5 percent, according to Nielsen -- nearly no one knows about Windows Phone. In product marketing, secrets are very bad.

So, Microsoft is taking the marketing home -- to your competing handset. The Redmond, Wash.-based company has posted a live WP demo that Android and iPhone users can try in their mobile browser. I captured the screenshot right from Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket running Android 2.3.6. It's a clever marketing gimmick that also demonstrates the value of HTML5 (and JavaScript) -- after all, iPhone is an Adobe Flash-free zone.

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