Want to sync bookmarks across browsers? Xmarks the spot
These days, an increasing number of browsers, including Chrome and Firefox 4, make it easy to access the latest version of your bookmarks from any computer you own thanks to built-in sync. The problem is that these proprietary sync technologies will only work with the browser they're designed for.
If you're wanting to switch from one browser to another, or you don't want to tie yourself to a single browser, you'll need a third-party solution in order to keep your bookmarks in sync across all machines and browsers. That solution comes in the form of a free add-in called Xmarks, which is available for various browsers, including Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Internet Explorer.
Will someone please develop an anti-texting-while-driving app?
Texas Street is one of the steepest and longest driving inclines in San Diego, Calif. Cement dividers separate the cars, which also must contend with exhausted riders pushing, rather than peddling, their two wheelers up the narrow and close-to-traffic bike lanes. It's essential that cars keep their lanes. Last night, one next to me didn't, forcing my Toyota Yaris into the bike lane. When I reached the stoplight at the top of the hill, at Madison, and looked over at the driver, she was texting and driving.
Texting while driving is the plague. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Distracted Driving website, distraction accounts for 16 percent of all fatal crashes -- 20 percent for injuries. Cell phones are involved in "18 percent of fatalities in distraction-related crashes." The problem isn't just teens, contrary to popular belief. "Of those drivers reportedly distracted during a fatal crash, the 30-to-39-year-old drivers were the group with the greatest proportion distracted by cell phones."
Could 70 percent of you be running Windows 7?
That sure is hell what I want to know after looking at poll results for a question about Internet Explorer 10. In April, I asked Betanews readers if you cared that Internet Explorer 10 beta runs only on Windows 7. One conclusion to draw from the 3-answer poll -- 69.33 percent do (well, those responding) use Microsoft's newest operating system.
Unfortunately, there are only 975 responses, and they don't exactly jive with an earlier poll (not that they need to). But I'm wondering, and even optimistic about percentage of readers running Windows 7, so I'm asking again. Please answer the poll below about what is the primary operating system running on your primary PC (whether work or home).
Software Assurance punishes some loyal Microsoft customers, encourages others to skip upgrades
Sixth in a series. In the decade since Microsoft announced Software Assurance, many customers have found it cheaper to skip upgrades rather than pay up front for the rights to them. Essentially, the licensing program does the opposite of its design.
The "Good Enough" Problem
16 exciting downloads you may have missed this week -- get them now!
With software developer's updating their applications on a daily basis, it's easy to miss an important update or a minor, but essential, hotfix. We've rounded up some of the key new releases from the last 7 days.
Skype suffered a major outage this week, with some users unable to reconnect. As a result, an urgent "hotfix" was released. Skype for Windows 5.3.0.116 is this hotfix and is essential for anyone who is still unable to connect to the Skype network.
Foxit PDF Reader 5 better fits with Office 2010 and Windows 7
Foxit Software has released version 5 of its popular, lightweight PDF viewer, Foxit Reader. Version 5.0 now boasts XFA electronic form-filling capability, the ability to fit a document to the width of the page and split the screen into two or four panes, and a redesigned interface that includes an option to mimic the ribbon used in Office and Windows 7.
Other highlights include the ability to view thumbnail previews of PDFs in Internet Explorer and previews of PDF file attachments in Microsoft Outlook. Foxit Reader 5.0 also includes additional customization tools, including the ability to skin the application, plus an enhanced search tool.
The meat Mark Zuckerberg eats is you
I've been amused reading reports that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will only eat meat he kills. The amusement isn't about Zuckerberg's behavior but bloggers, reporters or anyone else treating it like something new or quite odd. Zuckerberg has been eating the meat he kills for years, and it's really cannibalism. The meat he eats is you.
"The only meat I'm eating is from animals I've killed myself," says Zuckerberg. Looking at the founding of Facebook, and some of the controversy surrounding it, Zuckerberg certainly is the hunter. It seems like the one activity where he is sure of himself -- hunting game.
Registration begins for 15th annual QuakeCon gaming fest
Registration for QuakeCon 2011, the annual PC gaming convention and LAN party is now open, and seats are filling up quickly.
QuakeCon is considered one of the United States' largest bring-your-own-computer (BYOC) PC gaming festivals and it grew from an event with fewer than one hundred attendees to one with just under ten thousand. The focus of the convention has always been the id Software franchise Quake, and since 2008, most of the convention's gaming events have centered on Quake Live.
Russian payment firm could be behind Mac Defender scam
Evidence is mounting that a Russian payment processing firm may be behind the Mac Defender malware scam that has suddenly brought the issue of Mac viruses into the limelight. Security researchers at Microsoft noted that the software shares some similarities to fake antivirus products intended for Windows machines.
Security researcher Brian Krebs has also been able to trace back the application to ChronoPay, a firm that has been involved in scareware scams in the past. Krebs scanned the WHOIS information of domains that victims were being sent to, and found contact e-mails matching that of other ChronoPay-linked domains.
If Windows Phone fails, Microsoft can still profit from Android's popularity
One year ago, Microsoft announced it had signed a licensing deal with Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC where Microsoft would receive royalties for every Android phone HTC made.
This week, a report from Citigroup analyst Walter Pritchard said that royalty fee amounts to $5 per Android phone.
Hollywood's 28-day delay for Redbox and Netflix is now Blockbuster's only advantage
National video rental chain Blockbuster went bankrupt because of the high price of running video stores when its principal competitors were shipping DVDs by mail, streaming movies online, or operating out of tiny, ubiquitous kiosks.
After being sold off to Dish Network, Blockbuster announced on Friday it is switching its pricing model to one nearly identical to competitor Redbox.
Firefox 7 'Nightly' adds to version confusion, but that's OK, we help you choose the right one
If you thought three builds of Firefox was hard enough to keep up with, you might want to sit down. For those who really want to experience Firefox on the cutting edge -- and by that we mean version 7 of Firefox -- you can access the latest Nightly build, which puts you right on the bleeding edge of development, running code that didn't exist a few days previously.
Firefox Nightly effectly means -- like Google Chrome with its Canary, Dev, Beta and Final releases -- that you have four different builds of Firefox to choose from. Confused? So were we, until we investigated further. Read on, then, for our definitive guide to what version means what, and which version is the best one for you.
The Mac malware problem is bigger than you think
Take a long hard, really hard, look at the above chart, which Craig Schmugar posted today at the McAfee Labs blog. Look at the dramatic increase, basically from none, in "rogue" malware (e.g., fake security software) during May.
He asks: "Is this merely a short-term blip on the radar or the beginnings of a trend for Mac threats? Time will tell." Lots of people are asking that question. The answer is easy. It's yes, if there's ongoing money for malware writers to make and no if there isn't.
Why can you download Office for Mac 2011 from Amazon but not Apple?
If you've seen Amazon's new Mac Software Downloads store it's the question to ask. Amazon offers digital downloads from the Mac's two largest developers, Adobe and Microsoft. Apple does not. Well, Windows Phone 7 Connector is available from Apple's shop. But, hey, where's Microsoft Office?
Perhaps the answer to that question will come next month during Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference, where Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion" takes center stage. The Mac App Store, which debuted in January as an add-on to v10.6 "Snow Leopard," will be built into Lion.
Chinese prisoners forced into WoW "goldmining" scheme, says detainee
In what could be considered the most modern form of prisoner torture known, prisoners in a labor camp in northeastern China have allegedly been forced to play MMORPG's like World of Warcraft in an elaborate scheme said to net prison bosses approximately $800 to $900 per day.
A former prisoner who identified himself as "Liu Dali" told the Guardian that guards forced prisoners to work 12-hour shifts on a procedure commonly referred to as "gold mining." The process essentially requires long hours of playing the game to build up credits, which are then in turn sold for real money.
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