Let’s face it: Windows 8.1 looks a whole lot different than Windows 7 or Windows XP. I mean, the desktop we all know and love is still there (awesome!) but the Start screen can take some time to get used to. And I thought charms were something that Lucky the Leprechaun served me in a bowl back when I was in elementary school (and...
Piriform Ltd has released Speccy 1.25, a new version of its free Windows system information tool. The headline new feature in version 1.25 — also available as a standalone portable build — is its ability to detect ReadyBoost drives. Version 1.25 also includes a number of networking improvements, better accuracy for disk transfer mode detection and restructured CPU Core data view. The previous release...
It was bad enough that FileZilla offers SourceForge installers loaded with garbage software that could easily be viewed as malicious software. Junkware such as "Hotspot Shield" are still bundled with some installers offered by Filezilla. Now, avast has discovered that malicious versions of FileZilla 3.7.3 and 3.5.3 are being spread. "We have noticed an increased presence of these malware versions of famous open source...
Google has identified a nasty bug in Gmail that may have led to the accidental deletion of some messages in your inbox, as well as incorrectly labeling others as spam. The severity of the bug has caused the search giant to issue an Important Notice which appears at the top of Gmail when some users — myself included — log into the webmail service...
Microsoft had little choice but to relabel its SkyDrive cloud service after losing a trademark dispute with BSkyB, and it's now ready to make that name switch. The newly rebadged OneDrive is functionally identical for existing SkyDrive users, who can go about business as usual. However, there are also promises that this is more than just a cosmetic change. The curious can register at...
There is something to be said for the cloud and web-based services. However, when you rely on these things, sometimes it goes a bit wrong. That's not as bad as it sounds. It can go very wrong with your home computer and network as well. Today, Google is experiencing one of those "glitches". As of this writing, the Gmail service seems to be restored for...
Google Chrome extensions are designed to improve or modify functionality that the web browser offers. Some extensions in the official Chrome Web Store have millions of users who all rely on the functionality their add-ons provides them with. While not as powerful as Firefox add-ons, Chrome extensions are easily powerful enough to manipulate websites that you visit, or communicate with a remote server. News...
Internet Explorer is no longer just the browser you use to download other browsers (even though, for many people, that will always remain the case). These days it’s a decent, fast and standards compliant offering that you don’t have to be embarrassed to admit to using. Microsoft’s clever, self-deprecating Browser You Loved to Hate campaign did a great job of challenging people’s views and...
We've of course seen no limit to the complaints by users that YouTube videos often get stuck buffering, despite blisteringly-fast connections. Most customers blame their ISPs, while most ISPs (or companies paid by ISPs) blame Google. The real reason is often the power and cash struggles going on behind the scenes over CDN and peering links, with last-mile ISPs, core network ISPs, and content...
The Innovation Act, a bill with measures aimed to stop "patent troll" lawsuits, passed the US House of Representatives this morning on a 325-91 vote. Several amendments that would have stripped out key parts of the bill were defeated. Passage of the bill is a big step for patent reformers, which would have been hard to imagine even one year ago. However, patent trolls...
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