We Are Borg: Resistance is Futile

Borg-like cybots may patrol government networks | Military Tech

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory has created software that uses colonies of borg-like cyberrobots it says will help government agencies detect and fend off attacks on the nation's computer network infrastructure. The Ubiquitous Network Transient Autonomous Mission Entities (Untame) differs from traditional security software agents in that its cybot "entities" form collectives that are mutually aware of the condition and activities of other bots in their colony. When these cybots detect network intruders, they communicate with one another, preventing cybercrooks from creating and using a diversion in one spot within the network to then break through in another.

Safari 4 a big step up, but not as far as rivals

A big user interface overhaul makes Safari look polished rather than clunky on Windows, builds in better search abilities, and makes good use of the fact that people often visit the same sites over and over.

Netflix To Offer 'Streaming Only" Plans

Netflix Inc Chief Financial Officer Barry McCarthy said on Wednesday it plans to offer its online streaming service on a stand-alone basis.

15 online photo editors compared

Tools that let you edit photos in the Web browser have come a long way in the last few years. We wanted to take a moment to do a feature comparison with a grouping of editors--big and small, to see what each one is capable of.

Free Tax Software from H&R Block

TaxCut Basic 2007 1.0 (Windows), from H&R Block

TaxCut Basic, from H&R Block, guides you through your federal return with a step-by-step interview with simple questions to help ensure your taxes are done right. TaxCut quickly and easily imports last years tax and financial data from TaxCut, MicroSoft Money, Quicken, and TurboTax.  I have been using this program for many years and it is very good. 

How to Buy a Bluetooth Headset - Reviews by PC Magazine

Picking the right Bluetooth headset might seem simple, but it actually comes with a challenge that's unique to all headphones, and, well, anything that needs to be placed in your ear: It's tough (and not completely sanitary) to try products out before plunking down the cash for them.

New scareware sends you to fake Download.com reviews

Last week, BleepingComputer.com reported on how to remove a new variant of an old scareware. This new nasty, known most commonly as Antivirus2010 or Anti-Virus-1, points you to spoofed versions of Download.com, ZDNet, PCMag.com, and other software sites, demanding that you download their program to clean your computer. Of course, it does nothing of the sort, merely perpetuating the infection.

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware is a free, high performance anti-malware application that thoroughly removes even the most advanced malware and spyware. With one of the fastest, most effective quick scans and malware removal capabilities on the market, this program is the perfect addition to your PC's defenses.

Google Updates Toolbar for IE

Google has introduced Google Toolbar 6 Beta for Internet Explorer, touted as "a year in the making" and offering, well, a few new features, although Google's toolbar team describes it as a major upgrade, launching simultaneously in 40 languages.

Another Special Security Edition

Microsoft researchers developing new, more secure Web browser

Microsoft researchers are developing a new Web browser that they say could offer a far greater degree of security than Google's Chrome, Mozilla's Firefox or Microsoft's own Internet Explorer. The browser, called Gazelle, relies on 5,000 lines of C# code called a "browser kernel" that helps enforce security rules to prevent malicious access to the PC's underlying operating system, according to a recently published paper.

Starting from scratch is the only malware cure

If you discover malware on your system, don't mess around. Back up your data, format your hard drive, and begin again.  In most cases today, this is the only real cure.

9 free antivirus programs for Windows

Keeping your Windows computer virus-free doesn't have to cost you a lot of money. Heck, it doesn't need to cost you any money. There are plenty of good options available for those of you on the hunt for free antivirus software.

Facebook users targeted by rogue application

A new piece of malware making the rounds on Facebook falsely warns users that their friends have had problems viewing their profiles, posing a potential threat to users' personal information. The rogue application, dubbed "Error Check System," displays an error message in the notifications section that reads "(Friend's name) has faced some errors when checking your profile View The Errors Message."

File Encryption 2.1 (Windows), from File Encryption Software

File Encryption is free software to help users protect their confidential data by encrypting them into encoded, non accessible form which can be opened only after entering a password.

Republicans Propose a Really Stupid Law

Bill proposes ISPs, Wi-Fi keep logs for police - CNN.com

Republican politicians on Thursday called for a sweeping new federal law that would require all Internet providers and operators of millions of Wi-Fi access points, even hotels, local coffee shops, and home users, to keep records about users for two years to aid police investigations.

Data retention bills to benefit copyright holders

If a new federal proposal announced this week requiring Internet providers and Wi-Fi access points to keep records on users for two years becomes law, police would not be the only ones to benefit. So would individuals and companies bringing civil lawsuits, including the Recording Industry Association of America and other large copyright holders, many of which have lobbied for similar data retention laws in other countries.

And the Web TV wars go on, and on, and on

With all the drama and in-fighting among cable companies, TV content creators, and Web video companies this week, you'd think the whole industry was one big junior-high cafeteria. Oh, wait, it kind of is.

The biggest online security risk: humans

All the delightful modern collaboration tools we use--blogs, wikis, SaaS applications, etc.--just make it easier for your corporate information to walk out the door. Regardless of the systems or applications your company uses, odds are any piece of data can (and will) be accessed, e-mailed, written down, or just remembered by a large percentage of your staff.

Find answers to your medical questions with these five sites

While everyone knows WebMD and probably uses the site to find out about medical conditions, you might be surprised to know there are a slew of sites that offer similar service, providing outstanding medical information. I've picked five worth using.

AccuWeather floats a new weather widget for AIR

On Friday, AccuWeather released an even simpler solution--a small weather-checker for Windows, Mac, and Linux that runs on the free Adobe AIR platform (Windows|Mac). AccuWeather's widget is about as basic as they come, with just enough information for the daily or five-day forecaster.

News and Views for Friday 2/20/09

Where’s Bin Laden? New theory, Google Earth offer clues

A couple of geography professors at UCLA have done some legwork that just might help the U.S. get closer to capturing Osama Bin Laden.

Sprint loses another 1.3 million customers

First, the good news: Sprint narrowed its losses considerably, compared with a year earlier. For the fourth quarter, Sprint lost $1.62 billion, or 57 cents a share. This is certainly better than the $29.45 billion, or a whopping $10.36 a share, it lost during the fourth quarter of 2007. The previous year's losses were due to some large write-downs the company was forced to take related to its merger with Nextel. This time around, Sprint only had about $1 billion in write-downs. Now for the bad news: Sprint is still losing customers. And as a result, its quarterly revenue declined about 14 percent to $8.43 billion.

I'll wait for Windows 7 before buying a new computer

I need a new computer. Badly. My old iMac, which I'm using to write this now, has seen better days. My Windows machines, strewn across the house, are old and tired. But I'm unwilling to buy a new computer today. It's not that I haven't seen machines that I really would like to have, or that I don't have a desire to build my own. But there's a single factor that's forcing me to wait: Windows 7.

Facebook Reverses Course, Pulls Terms of Use - News and Analysis by PC Magazine

Facebook changes its terms of service. Backlash occurs. Then Facebook changes them back. At issue is whether user data can be retained after it is deleted. The interesting thing here isn't that a giant online company changes its ToS, it is that somebody noticed. As it is, cell-phone companies, ISPs, cable providers, and even grocery stores change their privacy policies all the time and no one even notices, let alone makes a peep. Check out our full story to find out if Facebook's policy should concern you.

Six Ways to Make Twitter Useful

Just a few days ago, I talked about our introductory story "Top 10 Twitter Tips for Beginners," but what about old Twitter hands like us? Turns out you can use Twitter for everything from getting better customer service to making your own news feeds. Oh, and you can also discover just how much happier Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore are than the rest of us. That isn't useful, but it is illuminating. Find out how to do all this and more by following this link.

More Info on Social Networking

Top 10 Twitter Tips for Beginners - Solutions by PC Magazine

If you are just now jumping on the Twitter bandwagon, or are intimidated by your inexperience with Twitter etiquette and acronyms, allow us to share some Twittery tips that will make your experience easier and more enjoyable.

TWITTER TOOLBOX: 60+ Twitter Tools

Twitter is a great service, but it would be nothing without the other sites, tools, and apps that help you get the most out of it. Here we highlight more than 60 of our favorite Twitter add-ons.

Top FriendFeed Tips for Twitter Users

Can content aggregator FriendFeed turn Twitterholics into FriendFeed addicts? Certainly, much of the content being imported into FriendFeed comes from Twitter feeds, and there’s a huge amount of overlap between the two user bases.

FriendFeed Basics

A good collection of information about Friendfeed and tips to use when starting out.

10 Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Know

Everyday I receive an email from somebody about how their account was hacked, how a friend tagged them in the photo and they want a way to avoid it, as well as a number of other complications related to their privacy on Facebook.

Online Safety Tips for Facebook Fogeys - Solutions by PC Magazine

Grownups, take note! Here is what you need to know before "friending" your first Facebook connection.

Social Networking

“Live as if everything you do will eventually be known” – Hugh Prather

In my case, I made a decision some time ago that part of my life would be known to anybody that wants to know…which is the point of so-called social networking on the Internet.  We all have something interesting to say, opinions to be expressed, thoughts to be made public, and living with the hope that someone out their gives a damn about you…and maybe, just maybe, you will be remembered long after you are dead and buried.  And here, the Internet can help.

That is what social networking is all about...expressing anything you want and hoping somebody will tune in to see.  I started social networking some time ago with my two blogs: this one, Rants and Raves…and Postcards.  This one, is of course, about technology…Postcards, if you haven’t read it, is about my travels and photographs.  Because of this, my writings and my photography are out there for anyone to see…to praise or to damn, or just enjoy.

But, social networking has expanded way beyond blogs.  Seems like there are new social networks popping up all the time.  I like to divide them into two categories…individual sites that perform specific services…and aggregators, where all of these individual sites services that you use can all be gathered in one place for your friends and the world to see.

Let’s start with the individual sites that each have a specific function.  Understand that there are lots of them, so I can’t even begin to cover them all.  First, there are the mini-blogs, Twitter being the most famous.  Twitter is best be classified as a mini-blog that asks the question, What are You Doing?  You have 140 characters to answer that question.  Thousands and thousands of people, both famous and not-so-famous are Twitterers.  Not only can you contribute, but you can follow others as they tweet.  President Obama, for a while, was one.  My favorites include Leo LaPorte, John C. Dvorak, Stephen Fry, and LeVar Burton.  You don’t have to be a member to read people’s Tweets, but if you join let me know and I will follow you.

Twitter works well for me and I contribute to it two or more times per day.  I like it because I can use my Blackberry to tweet when I am away from my computers.  So very handy.  And, according to the latest statistics, Twitter receives over 6 million tweets a day from its members.

Another similar site is Brightkite, not as popular as Twitter, but it ads the capability of listing your location and having it show on a Google map.  Other kinds of social sites include Delicious and Stumbleupon, where you can instantly mark web pages of interest; Flickr and Picassa where you can post your photos for public view; Youtube, where millions of videos are stored and you can list your favorites, Goodreads, where you can review the books you are reading or have read; Digg for news, Wakoopa that tracks your favorite software, iLike for music; even Netflix where you can review movies…and the list goes on and on.

I personally contribute to some of these because I want to.  But, where the rubber really hits the road is the aggregator sites.  The two most famous are Facebook and Friendfeed.  The main difference between the two is that Friendfeed is a public world of everything that's open for all to see. Facebook is a private world of pictures and comments shared by a circle of friends that’s not archived for the world to randomly read.

Being a public sort of guy, I much prefer Friendfeed and use it.  It is much easier to set up. You can follow me on Friendfeed as all the other services that I use all feed in automatically to Friendfeed.  Want to see some interesting web pages I have found, or read my Tweets, or read my book reviews, or even have a list of my two blogs whenever I write a new one? Then head over to my Friendfeed page.  If you have ever gone to my actual blog pages, you will see my last 10 entries on Friendfeed listed side-by-side with my blog.  I set up Friendfeed to automatically aggregate everything I do on the social networks, then put a link on each of my blog pages that shows the last 10 entries automatically.

And like Twitter, I also follow other people’s Friendfeeds to get even more good information.  

If you want to share your thoughts and interests, why not give social networking a try.  Start with Twitter. Be sure and follow people as well as write your own tweets.  Then, start experimenting with some other sites. I would recommend Delicious for bookmarking interesting pages on the Web…and if your are a reader, start using Goodreads.  Then, start aggregating all your input on Friendfeed.  If you decide to jump in, please let me know so I can follow you.

Use the Wheel on Your Mouse? Get this Freebie Today

KatMouse Freeware download and review

KatMouse is a mouse wheel enhancement utility that adds useful functionality to your wheel mouse. First of all it overcomes the requirement that the window must have keyboard focus in order for the scroll wheel to work. In addition, it allows for quick switching between active and inactive windows by simply pressing the wheel button. Get this one for sure!!

Top 10: Top 10 Outlook Boosters

Outlook is such a fixture of office and computer life, its potential as a central life-organizing inbox is easily taken for granted. Empower your Outlook with these add-ons, link-ups, and data management techniques.

Google Sync pushes contacts, calendars to phones

On Monday mobile phone users, including those with Apple's iPhone, got a new way to sync and access information from the cloud. Called Google Sync, the new service lets you sync up both calendars and contacts from a specified Google account and will send changes over the air--both ways.

Security: Properly Erase Your Physical Media

A whopping 40% of the used hard drives on eBay contain easily recoverable personal data. Use the following guide to ensure your personal data never makes it out into the wild.

10 Firefox themes that don't suck

There are plenty of great themes out there for Firefox - these are just a few that I particularly enjoy using.

It’s a Slow News Day

Identity Theft: It's Out of Your Hands - Solutions by PC Magazine

The most important thing you have is you, right? And online, you are your identity. If xyz.com doesn't value you enough to keep you safe, then does that company really deserve your business?

Lawsuit Alleges Netflix and Wal-Mart Acted Improperly

Several lawsuits filed across the country in the past two weeks allege Netflix Inc and Wal-Mart Stores Inc improperly negotiated Wal-Mart's departure from the online video market in 2005 to enable both companies to benefit illegally, said a lawyer involved in two suits on Thursday.

The 20 Best Free PC Games

Hey, times are tough. Games are expensive. What are you going to do, stop playing them? Hah! You can give your credit card a break and still stay up until 2am yelling at your computer monitor if you just know where to find all the best free PC games.

Microsoft Word Shortcut keys

This is a complete list of shortcut keys for use with Microsoft Word. Might come in handy

News, Free Software, and a Good Web Site

Satellite Radio: put a fork in it

Yesterday’s revelation in the New York Times that XM Sirius is in such financial straights that they’re considering declaring bankruptcy, didn’t come as a complete surprise.

Windows 7 build 7022 leaked

A new build of Windows 7 has been leaked, a build that promises better stability and increased performance.

Hollywood trying to sneak packet inspection into stimulus bill

The amendment, which was put forth by Senator Feinstein from California, would allow ISPs to exercise "reasonable network management," to keep tabs on what you're downloading. While the possibility of deterring more serious crimes like child pornography sounds like a good thing, it could also mean that we can kiss most of our online privacy goodbye.

Downloads: DVDSmith Movie Backup Copies Everything or Just Video Easily - Free

There are just five buttons to click on DVDSmith's single window, and most times you'll only need one. You can choose between "Full Disc," which gets you menus, extras, and the full DVD-watching experience, or click "Main Movie" to grab the longest video and audio tracks.

Real Time Flight Tracker & Airport Delays from FlightView

Track airline flights and check out airport problems. Good web site

More on Windows 7 and Review of MagicJack

Should Microsoft simplify XP-to-Win-7 upgrades?

When Windows 7 is released later this year or in early 2010, many PC users who upgrade will be coming from Windows XP. Unlike Vista users, they can't do an "in-place upgrade," in which the new OS overwrites the old one, preserving their installed applications, preferences, and data. Instead, they'll have to do a clean install, which means they have to back up their data, install Win 7 (either deleting or XP or installing as a separate environment), reinstall their apps, restore their data, and re-create their preferences.

How well does Windows 7 handle 512MB?

I’ve been spending most of my time lately conducting in-depth research into how Windows 7 works, in preparation for my next book. In the process, I’m discovering stuff that simply doesn’t become apparent to a casual tester.

Sad news: Consumers don't pay up for quality

Erica Ogg's post "Report: Pioneer to exit TV business" made a point abundantly clear: TV buyers won't pay a premium price for a better display.

What's new about the Kindle 2? Not a whole lot

the announcement itself was underwhelming. The price, $359, remains the same. The battery life's been improved by about 25 percent. The Kindle 2 is much skinnier than its predecessor, slimming down to 0.36 inches in thickness from 0.7, but it's only a tenth of an ounce lighter. The storage capacity has jumped from 256MB to 2GB, or about 200 to 1,500 books, and the electronic ink display has improved from a 4-shade to 16-shade grayscale.

The Complicated Case of magicJack - Columns by PC Magazine

Turns out the problem isn't with the product itself—it's with the company's technical support. And for many would-be buyers, the issues that are coming to light are unacceptable deal breakers.

Firefox: Add-Art Replaces Advertisements with Artwork

Firefox only (Windows/Mac/Linux): Add-Art is a unique advertisement-blocking solution for Firefox. Instead of simply deleting ads from the page, it replaces them with art by featured artists.

TV without Cable, Satellite, or Antenna

As I may have mentioned before, I have no television in my new digs in Tucson.  I left it in storage in Ephrata when I came south.  And guess what, except for football (which is now over) I don’t need it, nor do I miss it.  I live in a great city with lots of interesting activities, I read more than I have in quite some time…and I am watching episodes of those few TV shows that I like, whenever I want.

You see, TV shows have come to the Internet.  Using two different Web sites and a free downloadable program from Adobe, I watch the shows I want to watch at any time, with very few commercials (far less than if I watched on a TV).  Now, of course I live alone so watching on a computer is not a problem.  But if I had a family, it might be a little more difficult to not have a TV.  Can you picture you and your family gathered around the computer watching your favorite show?

Be that as I may, I am going to tell you how to do this.  Yesterday, you might recall I ran an article about cable and satellite companies starting to feel the pinch of our sinking economy.  Getting TV from these folks is not cheap, and they keep raising their prices.  And, even with all the channels they offer, for some of us discriminating viewers, often there is still nothing on worth watching.  Even if you have a DVR, you still must pay these steep tariffs to find the programs you want. That also means that 95% or more of what is available for watching is unseen, meaning the vast amount of your TV dollars are being wasted.

Long before I left Washington, I began renting past episodes of TV shows that I liked from Netflix.  For instance, I got hooked on “NCIS.”  I rented all the DVD’s for the first five seasons, but would have had to wait a while to get the year 6 episodes.  Not now.  I’ve watched them all on my computer using Adobe Media Player, a free downloadable software.  They also have many other TV shows available for free, including old shows like Perry Mason, The Outer Limits, and the Twilight Zone, to name a few.

But, this one program doesn’t have all the shows I like.  For others I turn to Hulu and Fancast, on the Internet.  You can watch their shows, also for free and with few interruptions.  All three of these TV sources offer decent size screens and quality video output.  It’s too bad one can’t get all the TV shows one likes in one place, but that is the way it is in these early days of TV on the Net.  The only complaint I have is that even though there is only a 30 second commercial here and there, they often show the same commercial over and over.

Of course, the future is unpredictable right now, but in my situation, I may never buy a new TV and pay outrageous fees to cable and satellite companies for programming that I don’t watch.  What I am doing now on the Internet is just fine.  I have a feeling that the entire entertainment industry will eventually have to wake up and smell the coffee in this new economy, and start offering a la carte channel programming if they are to survive.  That means you pick the channels you want to watch and to heck with the rest.

Not a bad scenario.     

High Tech and Our Economic Woes

Year in review: Lows for the high-tech economy

What seemed like a decent if uninspiring year for the industry, despite bad news from the real estate markets and creeping trouble in the financial sector, went south in September.

Green Tech Could Get Economy High, With a Little Help From the Feds

Funding continues to pour into green-technology research and development despite low oil prices and a stubborn recession, but whether that will continue long enough to help the economy recover may be up to the government.

Economy Could Slow Business Adoption of Windows 7

The turbulent economy could hinder enterprise adoption of Windows 7, even though many companies opted to skip Windows Vista and are still running the outdated Windows XP OS, analysts said. Although the beta of Windows 7 released in January is getting good reviews, that may not be enough to inspire businesses to upgrade, given their tight IT budgets and the fact that many are cutting costs in any way they can.

Pay TV Providers Worry About Penny-Pinching Viewers

Porter McConnell gave up on pay TV last summer after noticing that monthly rates kept creeping up. Now with no satellite or cable TV, she watches her trusty old TV set with an antenna or she goes online to catch her favorite programs...which is exactly what I am doing these days.

First Look video: TurboTax vs. TaxCut

Finding your way to the right tax-prep program is almost as complicated as doing the taxes themselves.

News, Tips, and Free Software

Microsoft plans critical patches for IE, Exchange

Microsoft Thursday said it will deliver four security updates on Tuesday, two of them pegged "critical," and will finally issue a patch for SQL Server that it's been working on since last April.

Windows 7 Video Tips - CNET TV

A lot of folks are messing about with the Windows 7 beta. So we thought it would be cool to get ahead of the game and do some Windows 7 tips. Even if you don't have the operating system, these tips will give you an idea of what it does, and how it might differ from Windows Vista. So have a look at our Windows 7 tip videos. Watch now!

Gmail gives users 'Multiple Inboxes'

Google late Thursday unveiled a new Gmail Labs feature that allows users to have more than one inbox in their default Gmail view. The new feature--called Multiple Inboxes--allows users to have multiple viewing panes open simultaneously without having to open another browser window. The upgrade gives users a quick view at important labels as well as saved searches.

Beware the bogus economic-stimulus e-mail

Online scammers, always quick to exploit the latest news event, are sending out e-mails promising economic-stimulus package payments but that instead steal sensitive data, the US-CERT warned on Friday. The e-mails are disguised to look like official Internal Revenue Service communications. They offer a link to a Web site that asks for personal information or include a form that needs to be filled out and returned, the security organization said in an alert.

The Best Free Software 2008 - Reviews by PC Magazine

We've just released our newest collection of the best free software—the 2009 edition! Click on over for 173 other pieces of software to unlock the real potential of your PC…for free.

Congress Delays Digital TV Date

Congress approves delay of digital-TV transition | Politics and Law - CNET News

With less than two weeks left before the scheduled national transition to digital broadcasting, Congress on Wednesday approved a delay of the DTV switchover. The House of Representatives voted 264 to 158 to push the transition back from February 17 to June 12. The Senate unanimously approved the delay last week.

Microsoft offers to just 'Fix it' | Beyond Binary - CNET News

When people encounter a problem with their PC, they often go to the Web and do a search to see if others have had the problem. If they are lucky, someone has found a fix and listed the steps on either a support document or within a user forum. Now, they may have an even better option. Over the past six weeks, Microsoft has quietly added a "Fix it" button to a few of the thousands of help documents on its Web site. When clicked, the computer then takes all the recommended steps automatically.

New Firefox 3.0.6 targets security issues

Mozilla on Tuesday released an update to Firefox for Windows, Mac, and Linux that its developers said addresses several security and stability issues in the Web browser.

Google's Cloud: 8 Key Questions

Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and virtually every other technology company are racing up to the sky and into the clouds. This is, for the most part, a good thing: Think lightweight clients and server-based data that we can access from anywhere in the world. All we need is a Web browser.

The Best Security Suites for 2009 - Reviews by PC Magazine

Which suite will be best for keeping you safe and not slowing you down this year? We've tested them all, and the answer might surprise you. (I don’t recommend using any full security suite, rather only parts of it.  Takes up to much memory and processes)

More Good Windows Info

Removing admin rights stymies 92% of Microsoft's bugs

Nine of out 10 critical bugs reported by Microsoft last year could have been made moot, or at least made less dangerous, if people ran Windows without administrative rights, a developer of enterprise rights management software claimed Tuesday.

Microsoft’s Windows 7 line-up: The good, the bad and the ugly

For XP users who’ve skipped Vista and are wondering whether they’ll be able to get upgrade pricing when moving straight to Windows 7, the answer is “Yes, we can!” The official statement, from a Microsoft spokesperson: “Customers can purchase upgrade media and an upgrade license to move from Windows XP to Windows 7; however, they will need to do a clean installation of Windows 7.”

Disable Unnecessary Windows Services

Because Windows XP has to be all things to all people it has many services running that take up system resources that you will never need. Below is a list of services that can be disabled on most machines:

Hands On with Gmail Offline - News and Analysis by PC Magazine

Gmail's new offline mail feature has gotten plenty of press, but not everyone knows where to find it or how to use. It. That's because Google chose, as it does with virtually every new feature, to put it in its Labs area (in this case, Gmail Labs), a repository for experimental features that you may or may not want to use.

Did online companies market their brands well at the Super Bowl?

Can you communicate what a Web site is about to millions of sports fans looking for entertainment above all else? Now that the Super Bowl is over, let's examine how well the online firms that bought ads fared in delivering spots that effectively communicated their online services.

Super Bowl Ads Available for your Viewing Pleasure

IE slips further as Firefox, Safari, Chrome gain | Digital Media - CNET News

Internet Explorer now has 67.55 percent of global browser market share, a drop of over seven percentage points in a year, according to figures from Web metrics company Net Applications, released Monday. Mozilla's Firefox browser, meanwhile, has gained market share in the same time frame, climbing over three percentage points to 21.53 percent.

Google Earth Now Explores Oceans and Mars

Google Inc. on Monday launched a new version of Google Earth that allows users to explore the oceans, view images of Mars and watch regions of the Earth change over time.

Skype 4.0 for Windows delivers truer video, sound

Skype 4.0 became available for free on Tuesday to Windows users. The free desktop VoIP communicator is a worthy final version that brings some key enhancements with video and audio bandwidth, though it leaves behind some of the extra adornments of version 3.8, the last stable build.

Super Bowl XLIII Ads

Did you miss some or all of the Super Bowl ads...or want to see the good ones again? Hulu.com (sponsor of their own Super Bowl ad) has put them up for you to see. Interestingly each ad is sponsered by another ad.

Hulu: We're evil, and proud of it

Google's "don't be evil" motto has been the target of the occasional critic. Hulu, however, has declared in its hyped-up Super Bowl TV ad that it is evil--and it's not making any apologies.

Weekend News and Freebies

Google gets overprotective, flags whole internet as malware

Google has some built in tools that will warn you before you click a link that could take you to a website running code that could harm your computer. And usually that's a good thing. But Saturday morning, Google started returning warnings for virtually every single search result.

Hulu: We're evil, and proud of it

Google's "don't be evil" motto has been the target of the occasional critic. Hulu, however, has declared in its hyped-up Super Bowl TV ad that it is evil--and it's not making any apologies.

Keep a Spare PC at the Ready for Emergencies - PC World

Some good ideas here for emergencies to keep you up and running when your main PC goes down. I am sensitive to this as my main desktop just went down.

Featured Freeware: Pandora Recovery

Now for NTFS and FAT-formatted volumes, Pandora functions by scanning the hard drive and building an index of existing files and deleted file markers. This, in turn, allows the dead files to be brought back to life--as long as the file format is currently supported by the computer. Users can browse for deleted files, search for specific ones, preview certain file types like images, and get an estimate on the chance of recovery and the amount of time the procedure will take.

Weather apps: Six more weeks of winter?

Here are some of our favorite ways to read the mercury on our Windows PCs.