Today, Apple finally brought MacBook Pro up to speed with Windows laptops. After skipping the last generation of i Core chips, Apple adopted new Intel "Sandy Bridge" processors for some MacBook Pro models. In a surprising, but rumored move, Apple swapped out nVidia graphics for integrated Intel and AMD graphics. Apple updated all three MacBook Pro lines -- 13.3-inch, 15.4-inch and 17-inch. Apple also introduced a new peripheral port called "Thunderbolt."

The new configurations represent hefty upgrades across the board -- for example, bumping up storage capacity in the entry level MacBook Pro from 250GB to 320GB and doubling the memory on some other models. However, in a disappointing move, Apple did not upgrade 13-inch models' display resolution from 1200 x 800 to match MacBook Air's 1366 x 768.

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Piriform Software has updated its system optimization and cleaning tool, CCleaner, to version 3.04. The latest release adds a number of new features, but most notably also adds support for Windows 7 Service Pack 1, which was made available for download two days ago.

CCleaner is a free tool that cleans out files for both optimization and privacy reasons, covering a wide range of systems, programs and browser settings. It also includes a Registry cleaner, plus tools for managing startup and System Restore points, as well as the Programs and Features Control Panel.

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Every single person I know with an iPad who has used News Corp.'s "The Daily" complains about persistent crashes and really, really, really, slow update times. Now PaidContent reports that the initial two-week free introduction promotion is going on and on and on, kind of like those wait times for news content to download. The Daily Publisher Greg Clayman says a decision on when to end free access has yet to be determined. Say, wasn't News Corp. planning to charge for this thing? You know, 99 cents a week -- better value than McDonalds' Dollar Menu?

The Daily launched on February 2nd in New York City, with News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch leading off the event. It's a digital newspaper initially available for iPad, but a version for Android 3.0 "Honeycomb" tablets could release as soon as a few months. Some advice to News Corp.: Launch the Android version sooner as beta and shake out the nastiness before going v1. Hey, the thing is a mobile application, after all. Why not treat its development that way?

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Four Democratic Senators on Wednesday sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, urging them to quash the GOP-led House Resolution to overturn the Federal Communications Commission's new net neutrality rules with either the appropriations process or the Congressional Review Act.

The letter, drafted by Senators John Kerry (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Al Franken (D-MN), says, "Such action aims to strip the FCC of its legal authority over modern communications and hand control of the Internet over to the owners of the wires that deliver information and services over them."

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Do you need an email client? These days, many people see the advantage of accessing their email through the web -- not only does this enable you to check it on any internet-enabled computer, it saves you having to open a separate program each time you want to check your email.

Having said that, you'll need to consider a dedicated email client if you want to access your email offline, or your web-based host's interface leaves something to be desired. You should also consider an upgrade if you're still using Windows Mail (Vista) or Outlook Express (Windows XP or earlier). In this roundup we've sourced five alternative email programs, some free, others not so, and put them through their paces to see which one is best suited for your needs.

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Wiping confidential files from your PC can be a difficult task. Just deleting them leaves the data available to any passer-by with a suitable undelete tool. Overwriting the files can help: but only if you do it properly. And even then it's possible for some data to survive for days, weeks, months, maybe even years -- unless you take advantage of a specialist secure deletion tool like O&O SafeErase 5.

The program is straightforward to use, integrating with Explorer so you can start wiping personal files right away. Just right-click the file or folder you no longer need, choose the SafeErase option and decide just how securely you'd like this deletion to be.

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The minor update to Windows Phone 7 that started rolling out on Monday has been problematic for Samsung devices running the OS, and Microsoft has stalled the update process.

The update, according to Michael Stroh in the Windows Phone Blog, was "designed to improve the software update process itself."

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Who owns your mobile/online identity? Stated differently: Who owns your mobile relationships?

I've been thinking more about both questions since learning last night that Google is pulling Facebook contact sync with delivery of Android 2.3.3 to Nexus S smartphones. In a statement, a Google spokesperson described the feature removal as "special-case handling of Facebook contacts" for "Nexus S and future lead devices." Google's reasoning: Facebook doesn't allow exporting of contact data to other services. There is no "reciprocity." Maybe, but there is more going on here than the openness, or not, of contact syncing. Google is prepping for a larger battle, particularly with Facebook, over who controls your online identity, particularly as it roams from PC to mobile devices.

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Hewlett-Packard plans to greet Intel's Sandy Bridge chips with a total redesign of its business laptop line-up, adding new features that will include, but not be limited to, a much bigger trackpad made of toughened glass, face recognition security, a shock-absorbing rubber frame, and far fewer buttons to push.

HP revamps its notebook PC design every few years anyway, and the advent of Intel's second generation Core processors seemed like the right moment for the next redesign, noted Helen Daniel, HP's product manager, Americas Commercial Notebooks, during a press pre-briefing in New York City.

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Earlier today, Google started sending out Android 2.3.3 to Nexus One and Nexus S smartphones. I haven't received the over-the-air update, and frankly don't want it. I'm pissed as hell that Google will take away something I have and use: Facebook contact sync. I bought Nexus S to get the newest Android version, always, not to have functionality most other smartphones have taken away. As available before the update installs, the Android Facebook app syncs friends information and profile photos to the Android address book. Google's OS update removes the functionality from Nexus S smartphones.

Google gives good reasons for nixing Facebook contact sync, and I agree with them in principle. Facebook is a one-way street for data; it easily goes in but is difficult to extract. But that's a problem between Facebook and Google. I and other Nexus S owners shouldn't be battleground between them.

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Florida-based sports tech company Velocomp on Tuesday launched an iOS telemetry solution for cyclists called iBike Dash Cycling Computer. The solution is, in effect, a software version of the company's dedicated bike computers called iBike Power.

It consists of a bicycle mount for an iPhone or iPod Touch, a wireless speed sensor, and an associated software application that gauges speed, heartrate, windspeed, trip distance and time, elevation, and power, and includes programmable workouts, and turn-by-turn navigation.

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Berlin-based software powerhouse O&O has released a brand new version of its data-shredding tool for Windows. O&O SafeErase Professional 5.0's stand-out new feature is an analysis tool that searches the hard drive for deleted data it considers to be unsafe, providing the end user with the security that all sensitive files, even those deleted prior to the program's installation, have been removed from the computer.

O&O SafeErase Professional also searches for Internet data such as cookies, temporary files, forms and passwords, plus temporary Windows and program files. All the user has to do is launch the main program, click the "Start Analysis" button and wait for the program to search for these insecure files and settings. Once complete, they can be cleaned from the computer with a single click.

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Quality DJ mixing software tends to be expensive, which can be a big problem if you're a mixing novice and still trying to hone your skills. There is an alternative, though. Mixxx is a free open source DJ mixing package that gives you everything you need to produce professional live mixes.

The Auto DJ makes it reasonably easy to get started, even if you're a total beginner: just import a few MP3 files and the program will mix from one track to another while you get on with other things.

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After a day where Apple's iPad was rumored to have been delayed by financial publication Bloomberg -- and then strongly refuted by noted Apple columnist John Dalrymple, a new rumor has surfaced: a date for the debut of the iPad 2.

Kara Swisher of AllThingsDigital said Tuesday afternoon that "multiple sources" are telling her that Apple plans to hold a media event on March 2, where the iPad 2 would make its first appearance. Details are scant, however Swisher says the unveiling would take place at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco.

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One of the three companies that had filed antitrust complaints against Google with the European Union broadened their list of accusations on Tuesday, sending a supplementary complaint to the European Commission's antitrust regulators regarding AdSense.

French company 1plusV claims that Google's advertising system was blocking one of its sites -- legal search engine Ejustice.fr -- from competing in the market place. From 2006 to 2010, Google prevented vertical search engines from using the AdSense product on their sites.

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