Wake up your PC with TurnMeOnLan
Wake-on-LAN (WOL) is, in theory, a very convenient technology, able to wake up a sleeping PC on your local (wired) network just by sending it an appropriately formed “magic packet”.
The reality can be rather different, though, as WOL only works if your PC, BIOS and network card all support the technology and have it enabled (and even then you may run into issues with your router). Still, if you’d like to give it a try then NirSoft’s latest, WakeMeOnLan, is an easy way to get started.
Thank you, Steve: 20 key products introduced by Jobs
As the world digests the shock of Steve Jobs departing as Apple's iconic CEO and pontificates over stock prices and future leadership, we decided to take a look back at the innovations he oversaw -- both the flops and those that changed the world.
No matter how you feel about the company or Jobs himself, it's impossible not to recognize the incredible turnaround Apple has seen in the past 10 years -- and the industry it has transformed in the process. Apple has consistently been at the forefront of innovation, design and culture, inspiring a generation to look at technology not as a tool, but as a way of life.
Google adds voice search to Maps for Chrome Users
The days when we talk to our computers like something out of Star Trek are fast approaching. Google announced a new feature for users of its Google Chrome browser Thursday that will allow them to use voice on Google Maps to initiate location searches and get directions.
Google says this helps in searching for hard to spell locations, and in some cases saying where your looking for or wanting to go may be much faster than typing it.
Reader Commentary: How could HP be so stupid?
The following commentary is a guest post written by BetaNews reader Avatar X. A blogger from Mexico City, he has done software and tech reviews for the last 10 years.
One week ago today, 18 of August of 2011, HP discontinued webOS devices (Pre and TouchPad) and also announced their intention to sell or spin-off their PC business, in order to concentrate in the more lucrative and higher-margin markets of servers, cloud services and enterprise software.
Google+ forces Facebook to tweak sharing settings
Want evidence that Facebook is feeling the heat of Google+’s success? The company is announcing changes that give users more control over how content is shared. Facebook’s efforts seem to be a response to the most popular features of Google’s social network, praised for its tighter privacy controls.
Tagging has become a popular feature on Facebook, but many of us find ourselves tagged in posts, checkins, or photos that we’d rather not have been. The site now will give users the option to approve all tags before they appear on a user’s profile.
During the next natural disaster, don't even bother calling
Earlier this week, the state of Virginia experienced the largest earthquake it had felt since 1944, and the entire Northeastern region of the U.S. shook. This weekend, the same region is expected to be slammed by Hurricane Irene, a category 2 hurricane reaching uncharacteristically far north. Frantic people making voice calls on their mobile devices immediately overloaded the networks after the earthquake, so let's make sure that doesn't happen during the hurricane.
Millions took to posting on social networks in the moments that followed the earthquake this week, and an untold number of people began making mobile phone calls to check in or check up, promptly overloading the networks, forcing many to use the web as their fallback method of communication.
How does an earthquake affect Internet traffic?
What's the first thing you think about when the ground shakes. "Run!" Right? Earthquake means get out and away from falling buildings. The folks over at comScore react differently, and in doing so have compiled some fascinating data from this week's 5.8-magnitude quake starting in the Mid-Atlantic region. Dan Piech writes:
"Maybe we’re complete data geeks, but as we evacuated comScore’s headquarters in Reston, Virginia, a mere 72 miles from the epicenter of the largest earthquake to hit the region in 67 years, the first thing on our minds was wanting to understand the quake’s quantifiable impact on Internet usage...
German court: You can have iPad but not Galaxy Tab
A German court ruled on Thursday that the earlier issued injunction barring the sales of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1-inch tablet in Germany will be allowed to stand. The ruling remains in effect until at least September 9, when the court plans to issue a final verdict.
The ruling means that Samsung will be barred from showing off the device at IFA 2011, Europe's biggest consumer electronics show slated to take place next week in Berlin.
Apple CEO Tim Cook: 'Our best years lie ahead'
The Steve Jobs era is over, no matter what new Apple CEO Tim Cook may assert in an email sent out to employees today. The memo comes courtesy of ArsTechnica. Jobs resigned yesterday.
Cook assures employees that "Apple is not going to change", which isn't true. The company already has dramatically changed under Cook's eight-month stewardship while Jobs was on medical leave -- and, frankly, for two years before. A quick look at Apple's performance since Jobs' January 2009 medical leave tells the story.
Classmates.com pays $2.5 million settlement for lying to users
All U.S. residents who were registered with, or subscribed to classmates.com at any time between October 30, 2004 and February 23, 2011 now have access to cash from a $2.5 million class action settlement against the original social networking site.
In 2008, San Diego man Anthony Michaels sued Classmates.com for using the names of his former classmates to mislead him into upgrading from a free membership to a paid one. Michaels claimed the site had sent him emails to alert him that his old peers were trying to contact him, and when he upgraded his membership and logged in, he learned that it was all a ruse.
Where did Windows XP codename 'Whistler' come from?
Fifth in a series. We continue our series about Windows XP's release to manufacturing 10th anniversary with a quick look at codenames for this product and others around it.
This picture is me, sitting in the terrace of the Long-Horn Saloon in Whistler, British Columbia. The photo is also the Windows roadmap. On the right side of the terrace, the slopes are coming down from Whistler Mountain (Whistler = codename for Windows XP).
Sony Ericsson adds monoscopic 3D to Android
Earlier this week, Sony Ericsson debuted a new Walkman smartphone powered by Android and I remarked that the joint venture is sort of keeping the feature phone concept alive by integrating key Sony trademarks into Android.
In keeping with this theme, the joint venture on Thursday announced an upcoming software upgrade to the 2011 line of Xperia smartphones will give Android an upgraded camera feature that was a banner feature of Sony's Cyber Shot line of cameras just one year ago.
It was time for Steve Jobs to go
In my six-plus years covering Cupertino here and elsewhere I can tell you I did not expect to write a story like this for quite a few more years yet. Apple is Steve Jobs, and Steve Jobs is Apple.
But let's talk turkey here: Jobs' health has been an issue, almost a morbid fascination among the tech press. Whole stories were devoted to analysis on his appearance as it obviously changed from keynote to keynote.
Who is Tim Cook?
It's the $120 billion question everyone will be asking. I pick that number as it's what Apple revenue could conceivably reach during 2011, all with Tim Cook -- and not Steve Jobs -- running the company.
Late this afternoon, Apple's board of directors named Cook the company's new chief executive after cofounder Steve Jobs' stunning and unexpected resignation. Cook has quite literally stepped into the most important role in techdom.
Investors uneasy after Steve Jobs resigns
Apple shares fell 6 percent in after-hours trading tonight following Steve Jobs' stunning and unexpected resignation. Apple's board named COO Tim Cook, who has been running the company for about eight months, as Jobs' successor.
Apple shares were down more than $20 after-hours. Before the resignation announcement, Apple shares closed up slightly -- $373.60, off the opening of $373.46. The real question: How will investors react tomorrow when markets reopen for trading?
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