Make your to-do lists fly from Springpad
It is fair to say that there is no shortage of to-do list apps and services, but finding one that is genuinely useful and easy to use means working with a much smaller list. One of the best known apps is Things, but weighing at $49.99 (and additional costs for the iPhone and iPad editions), the price tag is off-putting to many potential users. By comparison, Springpad is a comprehensive data management tool that can be used on iOS and Android devices, as well as on desktop computers -- thanks to a browser extension. Best of all, it is completely free of charge.
Despite its popularity, Things is actually much more limited than Springpad. The service can be used in a number of ways, from creating basic shopping lists or to-do reminders, to gathering information for a project you are working on. One of the major advantages of using Springpad is the fact that any data added to the mobile app is automatically synchronized online so it can be accessed through the Springpad web site or synchronized with another device.
Diskeeper 2011: Reduces fragmentation by up to 85%
Diskeeper Corporation has released a brand new version of its commercial defragmentation utility. Diskeeper 2011 comes in three editions for home users depending on computer use: Home for light users, Pro for everyday use and ProPremier for high-end, heavy users. All three editions feature two major new features -- IntelliWrite fragmentation-prevention technology and InstantDefrag, which anticipates which files are about to be accessed and defrags them if necessary.
Also new in Diskeeper 2011 is a Performance Report for each drive that clearly states how much gains have been made by the program's optimization, while Pro and ProPremier users also get two additional features: Efficient Mode, which cuts overheads by prioritizing "problem" files that require urgent fragmentation, plus a new engine for consolidating free space.
Paragon's Partition Manager 10 for Virtual Machines is a wonder, and it's free
It's no secret that good hard drive management is a vital part of PC maintenance, and this is just as true with virtual machines. But a lack of compatible tools means it can be difficult to get your virtual disks in order.
There is an easy solution, though, in Paragon Software's Partition Manager 10 for Virtual Machines. It's a full stand-alone version of Partition Manager, optimized for virtual disks, that includes all the drive management features you'll need: partition tools, defrag, backup and restore, a host of essential troubleshooting and disaster recovery tools and much, much more. Best of all, it's free.
PDF Download converts web pages to Portable Document Format
Viewing PDF files in your web browser can be a troublesome experience. Your PDF viewer (typically Adobe Reader) might have trouble accessing certain web-hosted PDF files, causing your browser to hang and force you to quit and start again. Then there's the question of sharing or archiving web pages on your computer. PDF is a quick and convenient format for both purposes, but your existing PDF creation tool (typically a free solution that installs as a basic PDF printer driver) is unlikely to be able to do a reasonable job of retaining the original web page's layout and content.
PDF Download is a plug-in for Firefox and Internet Explorer that aims to fix all of these problems and more besides. Once installed, it can be used to display web-hosted PDFs in your browser without the need for a third-party viewer (configure this from the Opening PDF tab of the plug-in's Options dialog). You can also opt to convert a PDF file into a HTML file -- use the Viewing PDF tab to set this up -- when attempting to view it.
A look at the difference between T-Mobile's 3G and 'new' 4G speeds
This week, T-Mobile lit up its highest speed HSPA+ networks in Orlando, New York, and Las Vegas, promising a theoretical maximum speed of 42 Mbps downstream. The company expects to deliver this level of service to 25 major U.S. markets by mid-year.
On the CTIA show floor today, we've pitted T-Mobile's 3G and 4G networks against one another on two devices which are nearly identical in design: the Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant and the Samsung Galaxy S 4G.
Oracle drops support for Intel's much-maligned Itanium chip
Oracle further muddied the future of Intel's Itanium platform, saying late Tuesday that it had decided to discontinue all development for the server chip. It is only the latest to do so, behind Microsoft last year, and Red Hat in 2009.
"Intel management made it clear that their strategic focus is on their x86 microprocessor and that Itanium was nearing the end of its life," the company said in a statement. Intel disagreed with Oracle's claim however, saying it remained "committed" to the platform.
Apple Mac OS X chief Bertrand Serlet leaves company
The "father" of Mac OS X is leaving Apple, the company announced Wednesday. Bertrand Serlet, Apple's senior vice president of Mac software engineering, will be replaced by Craig Federighi, who worked under Serlet and managed the Mac OS team for the past two years.
Serlet is believed to be leaving the company to pursue career options in science after Apple. One of the crowning achievements of his 14 years with Apple is the development of Mac OS X. He is widely credited with being the driving force behind the creation of the platform back in the late 1990s.
Microsoft pushes Windows Intune RTM; BitLocker Administration and Monitoring beta
At the Microsoft Management Summit on Wednesday, Microsoft rolled out the final version of Windows Intune and provided information on the betas of a handful of its management solutions.
Windows Intune is Microsoft's new cloud-based PC management solution for small and medium sized businesses. As Microsoft promised in late February, the software is now available in 35 countries and comes with a 30-day trial subscription for small companies looking to try out the browser-accessible remote management suite.
Firefox 4 takes back the web from IE9 -- 6 million downloads in first 24 hours
Suddenly Internet Explorer 9's 2.35 million downloads in 24 hours doesn't look so impressive. Yesterday, Mozilla officially released Firefox 4, which more than doubled IE9's impressive first-day downloads. That's not as many as Firefox 3's debut, but still damn good. Mozilla has long used slogan "Take back the web!" to promote Firefox. FF4 shows that despite Apple Safari and Google Chrome making usage share gains or Microsoft launching IE9, Mozilla's browser has staying power. As I post, Firefox 4 downloads exceed 7.1 million.
"I think Firefox 4 proves once again its popularity," Betanews reader Comet writes in comments about three hours ago. "In less than 24 hours it has already surpassed the 4 million download mark. What surprises me the most is that Firefox doesn't have the support of big companies like Microsoft or Google that literally waste millions of dollars trying to get you to download their browser. As long as a non-profit organization can keep its popularity high perhaps there is still hope for a non-corporate controlled web. Big thumbs up for the browser wars yet again. Overall all browsers are moving forward quite well."
Hands On with T-Mobile's G2x: a potential big win for LG
We got to take a look at some of the features of the LG G2x, T-Mobile's first dual-core smartphone, its fourteenth HSPA+ ("4G") device, and an important release for Korean electronics manufacturer LG.
The G2x is powered by a dual core 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 processor and is definitely being presented as a gamer-friendly device. In addition to being packed with a handful of games, the G2x (formerly known as the Optimus 2x) includes the Tegra Zone app which is Nvidia's games-only app store which focuses on the titles that take greatest advantage of the processor's dual core capabilities.
Judge rejects Google's book deal with publishers
A federal judge rejected a proposed $125 million class-action settlement between Google and book publishers and authors on Tuesday, saying the deal was "not fair, adequate and reasonable." US District Court Judge Denny Chin said that it would have allowed Google to still profit on books without getting the permission of the publisher.
Google was sued by the Author's Guild in September 2005 and by the Association of American Publishers the following month, claiming its plans to digitize books to create a massive online library violated copyright. The two sides decided to settle out of court, negotiating a deal they saw as beneficial to both sides.
Will HTC EVO 3D and EVO View 4G be worth the wait?
Like the Consumer Electronics Show in January, CTIA Wireless is shaping up to be another tradeshow of promises. Why can't vendors announce a connected product and imminently ship it (barring FCC approval)? Samsung will ship Galaxy Tab 8.9 and 10.1 tablets this summer. HTC and Sprint are targeting similar delivery time for the EVO 3D smartphone and EVO View 4G tablet, announced today. Yesterday, Sprint started taking preorders for the Samsung-manufactured, Google-branded Nexus S 4G, which is "coming soon."
The competitive landscape could change whole lots before HTC, Sprint or Samsung get any of these products to market. There is the aftermath of the devastating 9.0 earthquake in Japan, which could cause component shortages as soon as next month. On Sunday, Deutsche Telekom announced sale of T-Mobile USA to AT&T for $39 billion. Apple's iPad 2 goes on sale in 25 more countries on Friday. The iPhone 5 is expected in summer, too.
Sprint announces HTC EVO 3D and View 4G tablet
At CTIA Wireless in Orlando today, Sprint announced two more 4G devices: The HTC EVO 3D, and the HTC View 4G Tablet which bring the carrier's WiMax-capable canon to a total of 22.
It's been one year since Sprint debuted the EVO 4G, and it has gone on to become the operator's best-selling smartphone ever. This year, the bar has been raised, and the popular smartphone's successor has been equipped with a 1.2 GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor, 4GB Internal memory and 1GB RAM; and the defining features, stereoscopic 5 Megapixel 720p cameras and a 4.3" 3D QHD (glassesless) display.
Adobe patches critical zero-day Flash flaw
Adobe has issued an out-of-cycle patch for its Flash, Reader, and Acrobat applications which it recommends all users upgrade to immediately. The fix will close a security hole in the Authplay component, which allows for the use of Flash within PDF files.
Code to exploit the vulnerability was out in the wild, Adobe has disclosed. It had initially believed that the vulnerability was only being exploited through malformed Flash .swf files within Excel spreadsheets, but it was discovered that attackers could also possibly exploit the vulnerability through holes in the PDF file format.
T-Mobile to increase 4G speeds in two dozen markets by midyear
T-Mobile this week said it was set to double the speeds of its HSPA+ network to 42Mbps in three cities this spring, with service initially launching in New York City, Orlando, Florida, and Las Vegas. Long Island, N.Y, northern New Jersey, and Chicago would follow soon after, expanding to about 25 markets by the middle of the year.
The carrier's announcements come just days after it announced a blockbuster merger with AT&T that would create the nation's largest wireless carrier. Regardless, T-Mobile had said it would continue with its plans until the merger's approval, including network expansion and new device releases.
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