This IE9 graph speaks for itself (in 93 languages)
Microsoft today more than doubled the number of supported languages in Internet Explorer 9, bringing its total to 93.
The IE9 team released the chart pictured above to illustrate how this update has helped Internet Explorer move from fourth place to first, ahead of Firefox, in terms of language support.
Google to debut mobile payments system with Sprint
Google is set Thursday to debut its anticipated mobile payments system based on near-field communication (NFC) technology built into modern Android smartphones. It is expected that the search company will partner with Sprint to offer the service.
Such a move will put the carrier ahead of its three biggest rivals, who teamed up last year on a service called Isis. However that service is not expected to be available until 2012, leaving an opening for a competitor to stake its claim in a nascent market.
This Mac malware thing is really scary now
It's time for Windows PC users to start a support group for their Mac friends. You know their pain -- clicking a link sent by email or instant message or simply visiting a website, and WHAM! You've got a virus, downloaded and installed with no administrator password required.
Uh-oh. The malware ghetto is coming to the Mac, where street gangs and thieves overrun the once pretty manicured neighborhood. Mac users, you may need to bar the windows and lock the doors. Uh, first install locks on the doors.
Sony security a house of cards as more attacks surface
Sony has appeared to be increasingly losing control of its network as reports of new attacks surfaced on Wednesday, bringing the number of known hacks to at least ten. While the biggest remains the attack that shuttered the PlayStation Network for over three weeks, these smaller incidents indicate Sony's security systems may be quite lax.
The latest reports come from three separate Sony sites. Sony confirmed that the names and e-mails of 2,000 customers who had used its Sony Ericsson Canada website had been stolen, and a website in Thailand was shuttered after it was found to be sending fraudulent emails. In Indonesia, Sony's music site was shut down after it was attacked and web access codes stolen there.
Amazon drops cost of ad-supported 3G Kindle as e-readers near generational shift
In a veritable repeat of the events of 2010, Amazon on Wednesday dropped the cost of its 3G-equipped Kindle with Special Offers to $164 after new, cheaper Kobo and Nook e-readers were debuted by its competitors.
Kobo, the e-reader brand associated with Borders and Indigo bookstores debuted a new 6" touchscreen e-reader on Monday called Kobo eReader Touch Edition. The new device cost $129.99, and last year's Kobo model dropped in price to $99.
Do you want the skinny on Windows Phone 'Mango' development tools? (video)
The sad reality is this: Public relations people outnumber journalists, and companies like Microsoft resort to giving more access to PR staff than they do us. Why not, particularly for interviews? The internal company interviewer takes full control of the messaging and keeps it on point. I don't like the approach, but that doesn't mean every interview is devoid of value.
The one above is good example, where Microsoft's Brandon Watson interviews Microsoft's Andrew Clinick about Mango development tools from a platform perspective. The video is one of a series. Also available: Mango development tools related to search and communications.
AT&T to launch LTE network this summer
In an effort to keep on par with competitors, AT&T said Wednesday that it plans to launch its LTE network in five cities this summer. The first to receive service will be Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, with another 10 cities to follow by the end of the year.
The comments were made by AT&T's business solutions chief John Stankey at a company investor conference on Wednesday. The topic of next generation data played a big part in the company's presentation, as did questions on its planned merger with T-Mobile USA.
Twitter acquires TweetDeck in battle for Twitter power users
After a couple of days of rumors, microblogging service Twitter has officially come forward and announced that it has acquired popular third-party Twitter dashboard TweetDeck.
"TweetDeck is a great example of a third-party developer that designed tools for the incredibly important audience of Twitter power-users and, in turn, created value for the network as a whole," Twitter CEO Dick Costolo said on Wednesday. "As Iain's [Dodsworth, TweetDeck founder] journey suggests, there is significant opportunity for developers who deliver insights that foster a more engaged Twitter user base."
Apple finally admits Mac Defender malware is for real
That sure took long enough. After reports surfaced last week about Apple's denial, the company has come clean in a support document. Mac Defender is real malware targeting Mac OS X, and Apple will issue an update to plug the hole. Yes, but will it be little more than a finger in the dike?
The answer to that question has already generated fierce debate among Mac defenders -- not the malware, but Apple fans -- and PC stalwarts about whether Mac Defender is start of a troubling trend: Increased number of attacks against Mac OS X. The Mac defenders brush off Mac Defender, arguing there is no OS security problem but one of social engineering. It's a bogus argument, considering social engineering also is the main mechanism by which malware infects PCs. According to research released last week by Microsoft, 1 in 14 programs that are downloaded are later determined to be malware, and in most cases, the malicious software was installed by good old-fashioned social engineering.
Try this new auto-update tool for CCleaner, Recuva, Defraggler and Speccy
Piriform makes some of the best free Windows utilities around, and issues new versions on a regular basis. But although the programs will alert you to the new builds, they won't update automatically -- you'll have to download and install the latest versions yourself.
CCAuto Updater is a compact and portable tool that can change all that. In a click or two you can have the program launched when your PC boots, or schedule it to run at the date and time of your choice. It then checks for updates to CCleaner, Recuva, Defraggler and Speccy, silently downloading and installing any new builds it finds, finally displaying a pop-up alert to tell you of the upgrade when the process is complete.
Online Drive Benchmark: Speed test cloud storage services
Storing your data in the cloud has its pros and cons, but one of the biggest drawbacks has to be the speed at which you can both upload and download data from your storage pool. Not all online storage providers are equal, but there's also factors unique to your PC and Internet setup to consider too.
If you're in the market for signing up for online storage with the likes of Box.net or DriveHQ, it goes without saying you'll want to know which ones are quickest when it comes to making a decision. This is where a new freeware tool, currently in beta, comes into play: Online Drive Benchmark is designed to let you know which provider performs best on your computer.
Trend Micro Titanium Maximum Security Suite 2012 enters public beta
Trend Micro has released a public beta of Titanium Maximum Security 2012, the latest incarnation of its feature-packed security suite. As is often the case with betas, it has a few issues to contend with. There's no firewall just yet, for instance, and we found application launch times seemed to lengthen considerably once the beta had been installed.
The program's interface proved straightforward, though, providing easy access to on-demand scans, and a lengthy list of the tools that are available in this version: parental controls, data theft prevention, encryption, secure file deletion, antispam, antiphishing, browsing protection, and more.
Wuala adds pro features to free version
Lacie Inc has released a major new version of its online backup and sync client: Wuala "Hottingen," which runs on Windows, Mac and Linux as well as selected smartphones, includes new features, a redesigned user interface and extended functionality.
Perhaps most interesting to existing free account holders: Wuala has now extended all "Pro" services, including automatic backup, sync, file versioning and time travel, to all users. This brings Wuala into line with other online backup and sync services such as AVG LiveKive, SpiderOak and SugarSync.
We can run Android apps in Windows, says newly-funded BlueStacks
After working for nearly three years on a solution for delivering Android applications on systems with x86-based processors, Silicon Valley company BlueStacks today has officially "opened for business" with $7.5 million of series A funding.
BlueStacks started simply enough. After playing with her father's Android phone, the child of one of BlueStacks' founding engineers asked if she could get those apps on her MSI netbook.
A mini review of Opera Mini 6 for iPad
Opera fans command reverence and loyalty that even Apple must be jealous of. Opera has survived just about every conceivable market share abuse -- from Internet Explorer's crushing monopolistic dominance to wily new competitors like Chrome and Safari -- and loyal fans are major reason. Well, they, and Opera pushing new features at rapid pace. But competitors are imitating Opera's development innovation, too.
It's with this mindset that I set out to give Opera mini 6 for iPad a hard lookover late today. Little more than a year has passed since the browser released for iPhone, quickly achieving 1 million downloads. Clearly somebody wanted an alternative to Apple's WebKit-based Safari browser. Opera mini 6 released today -- for iPhone with updated features (such as support for retina display) and for iPad, supporting the larger screen size. I tested the software on a 64GB WiFi iPad 2.
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