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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LightSquared, the company building a hybrid LTE and Mobile Satellite wireless network that will be sold as wholesale bandwidth to the major U.S. networks, announced Tuesday that it has closed a $586 million loan led by Swiss investment bank UBS AG and JP Morgan. Over the last seven months, the company has raised more than $2 billion in debt and equity to build its ambitious new network.

For as huge an undertaking as building an entirely new network is, LightSquared is moving along at a steady clip. In August, the company's wireless licenses consolidated to allow MSS/ATC to operate in the L-band, then in November, it put its first satellite in orbit, and just under a month ago, it got FCC clearance to sell network bandwidth to other carriers. The money it has secured from UBS and JP Morgan will be put toward "general corporate purposes" and construction of its terrestrial LTE network.

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One of Amazon's best values is its Prime service, which costs $79 a year. For that fee, buyers get free two-day shipping or overnight packages for $3.99 per item. Today, Amazon added something more: free streaming of 5,000 movies or TV shows. Or so the retailer claims. I only see 1,688 movies and 484 TV shows currently available on Amazon Instant Video.

Amazon offers a surpringly good selection, too; that is sure to give Netflix some unexpected and needed competition in the streaming market, and Prime is a better value. Netflix charges $7.99 per month (before taxes) for movie and TV show streaming, or minimum $95.88 a year. Not only does Prime cost less but it offers more in the aforementioned shipping costs -- and there's something else: Amazon allows the sharing of Prime among four accounts in the household. If, say, you're a college student with roomies sharing Primes, the value just got whole lots better.

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Verizon confirmed that it would subsidize the cost of the Motorola XOOM tablet on Tuesday, possibly answering critics that it is too expensive for consumers. While the Android-powered device was introduced at CES to generally good reviews, its $799.99 unsubsidized price could be seen as a deterrent.

Those who subscribe to a 2-year contracted data plan would receive the standard $200 subsidy, lowering the cost to $599.99. At that price, the device becomes a whole lot more competitive with its contemporaries such as Apple's iPad. Data plans would begin at $20 monthly for 1GB of data.

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As expected, Microsoft made the complete, release to manufacturing (RTM) version of Windows 7 SP1 available for download Tuesday.

The RTM build is listed as (7601.17514.101119-1850) and it is expected to be pushed to Windows Update and the Windows Service Pack Center later today. However, for those eager to get the update downloaded and installed right away, we're hosting it for download in FileForum today.

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