DropIn monitors Dropbox folders so you don't have to
Dropbox is a versatile tool: it's used for backing up, syncing and file-sharing, but it's not without its drawbacks. Like any other folder on your Mac, you only know something has changed when you manually check it. That might not be a problem if your Dropbox folder is kept for personal use, but if you're using it as folder repository for the purposes of collaboration or work, you might wish you were more in the loop with any new or updated files that arrive from other sources.
What you need is some kind of notification, alerting you to any updates to your Dropbox folder. And guess what? We have just the solution -- if you're a Mac user at any rate -- in the form of the small, but perfectly formed DropIn. It offers an elegant and highly configurable means of keeping you fully informed. And at just $1.99, it won't break the bank either.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 first impression review
The first true Honeycomb tablet went on sale yesterday -- preorders for most folks and actual hardware for people lucky enough to be in New York and close to the Best Buy Union Square. I got the 16GB Galaxy Tab 10.1 WiFi late Tuesday afternoon, from Samsung for review. I highly anticipated the Tab 10.1, simply because it's not iPad, it packs Android 3.1 "Honeycomb" and has impressive hardware specs.
A Matter of Dimensions
Microsoft shuts down My Phone, Marketplace for Windows Mobile 6.x
Microsoft is sending notifications to Windows Mobile 6.x users this week that it is discontinuing My Phone service, and shutting down the Windows Marketplace for Mobile site for the legacy mobile OS family.
Beginning on July 15, http://marketplace.windowsphone.com will
no longer be open for business, and apps for Windows Mobile 6.x will only be available in the Marketplace app or through third party app stores.
Winamp for Android update brings more free stuff to its 4 million users
We selected Winamp as one of Android's 15 best apps for 2010 because it offered wireless music syncing, music control from the lock screen, and integration with SHOUTcast streaming radio. Today, the music management service has received a number of updates that concentrate on delivering more free content.
Firstly, the app is now integrated with AOL Music's Full CD Listening Party which lets users stream the week's new featured albums in their entirety for free.
iTunes hack goes global, new affected games identified
As coverage of the apparent hack of the iTunes Music Store expands, so have the reports from readers. The newest round of reports indicate that the issue is not limited to the US: Betanews has been able to identify victims in at least five foreign countries. Worse yet? It's no longer just Sega's Kingdom Conquest anymore: several other games have now been identified. Betanews first reported about the spreading hacks one week ago.
To date, reports have been received primarily from the US. However, since then reports have been received from Britain, Ireland, and Germany. Betanews has also been able to source reports through its investigation to New Zealand and Canada as well. Since the reports are not centered to one particular region per se, it's likely this has become a worldwide problem for Apple.
You can still get Galaxy Tab 10.1 early, but hurry
I just called the Best Buy Union Square, which is selling the Galaxy Tab 10.1 nine days before the official launch. There are still 10.1s in stock, but one sales associated said to "hurry." The New York store started selling the tablet a few hours ago. If you live in NYC and can't wait, don't hesitate.
I called and spoke to two different sales associates. Neither would give an exact number of Tabs received for sale, but both indicated a fairly large number -- at least in the hundreds, based on indirect answers to my questions.
Are you unhappy Apple is killing MobileMe? You're not alone
Editor's Note: On June 6, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced that iCloud, an online synchronization service, is coming in the Fall. iCloud will replace MobileMe, and Apple isn't waiting around for the new service to launch. MobileMe has stopped taking new subscribers and has extended existing customers' service for free. MobileMe will close on June 30, 2012. But iCloud is a much different service, which has upset many subscribers for what they're losing and for what they paid ($99 or more).
Apple is bringing us a laughably monikered upgrade to MobileMe called iCloud, and when you strip away the hype and Steve Jobs reality distortion field, iCloud is a proprietary, convoluted and highly restrictive sync-backup service.
A rocket scientist couldn't make sense of Microsoft's Software Assurance
Eighth in a series. The upgrade program, for which Microsoft charges $29 annually for desktop software over three years, is obtusely complex. Many stated benefits have a pleasing marketing ring to them but often turn out to be nothing useful at all. The saying "The devil is in the details" aptly applies to Software Assurance.
Three-Dimensional Matrix
Google Maps can now track buses and trains in real time
The Google Maps team on Wednesday announced an update to both Google Maps for Android 1.6+ and Google Maps for desktop that incorporates real-time mass transit data, letting users not only plot their bus and train routes, but also track them in real time.
Currently, the live transit data is only available in six cities worldwide: Boston, Portland (Oregon), San Diego, San Francisco, Madrid (Spain) and Torino (Italy) and the tracking feature is tied into transit stations included on the map.
Sound the ZoneAlarm -- Extreme Security is back in spiffy 2012 edition
It has been 18 months since Check Point released ZoneAlarm Extreme Security 2010 -- and as it didn't make much impact, and there was no 2011 release, you might have thought the company had given up on security suites altogether.
But you'd be wrong, though. It turns out ZoneAlarm was simply working on a much more interesting Extreme Security 2012 edition, released today, which comes packed with essential functionality.
Tweet, Tweet: Twitter Address Bar Search for Firefox
The growth of Twitter has far exceeded the expectations of many people, both in terms of scale and speed. The sheer number of users logging into the service, be it via the website or using one of the many Twitter clients that are available, is staggering. For some people this represents an unprecedented level of connectedness, but for everyone involved it means that there is a huge volume of information to work with.
There is no denying that the Twitter website makes it fairly easy to perform search. Whether you are looking for a particular person, or you want to find out more about something that other users are talking about, conducting searches for Twitter users and their tweets is far from taxing. If you are using a Twitter client, things are likely to be even easier, and the option of creating saved searches can be a real time saver.
Beta this! Android security software from BitDefender and ESET
The more popular and sophisticated a smartphone becomes, the more susceptible it is to malware, fraud and other personal attacks. Android is no exception, and two respected security vendors have dipped their toes in the market with two new betas offering protection for Android-based devices.
Both BitDefender Mobile Security and ESET Mobile Security are currently available for free testing as public betas through the Android marketplace. Both currently offer anti-malware protection and a Security Audit tool, which allows the user to quickly see what permissions have been granted to applications, making it possible to quickly highlight potential privacy concerns.
O&O Defrag 14.5 improves TRIM support
Berlin-based O&O Software GmbH has released O&O Defrag 14.5. Available as a free update to version 14 users, O&O Defrag 14.5, which is also available as a separate 64-bit build, offers a powerful and fast alternative to the basic Windows defragmentation tool, promising to keep hard drive performance running at optimum by keeping fragmentation at bay.
Version 14.5 includes four major new and enhanced functions. There's improved support for using TRIM commands to optimize SSD drives for both better performance and reduced read-write cycles, thus lengthening its life. The program also now automatically analyzes each drive whenever the program is run, while work has been done to improve three core defragmentation methods: stealth, space and complete. A new alternative Speed Zone setting is provided in this release, and the program is now configured to automatically interrupt the defrag process when a portable computer switches from mains to battery power.
Consumer tablets can kill the office desk phone, says CounterPath
One year ago, we took a look at CounterPath's Bria softphone clients for PCs and mobile devices. Today, CounterPath has released Bria iPad Edition 1.0, which the company believes is a perfect example of effective IT consumerization because it strikes a balance between the feature-heavy, yet immobile desk phone and the versatile, yet feature-light consumer smartphone-based VoIP.
"The deskphone…looks ill-suited for today's work style, where employees need anytime, anywhere access to voice and data --exactly the kinds of applications where a tablet shines," a CounterPath representative said today. "[But] VoIP applications for tablets have been clunky and user-unfriendly to the point that they undermine the responsiveness and productivity they're supposed to enhance."
Yes, Microsoft should launch a branded tablet
But 2012 is waaaaay too late.
DigiTimes reports that Microsoft is "considering to launch an own-brand tablet PC that features Windows 8 by the end of 2012 with cooperation from Texas Instruments and Taiwan-based OEMs/ODMs." Companies like Microsoft are "considering" all kinds of things. For example, Microsoft Research might be considering how to adapt Windows for cryogenic chambers, anticipating someday freezing CEO Steve Ballmer's head. That doesn't mean it will happen.
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