Call Me a Hypocrite, if You Must

So how long have I been ranting against Windows 8? Well, how long has it been out? I was one of the first persons to download the the first public release of the new operating system. And within a day or two, or less, I hated it. 10 days later, I went to the Apple Store and bought my iPad. I had nothing but contempt for the Metro operating system that was forced on me on the desktop. And remember, until that time, I was all in on Windows.

This weekend, I bought a new laptop computer…and, as they almost all do, it came with Windows 8. Nothing I could do about it. If Apple computers were not so expensive, I would have bought one of them. But, my new Samsung laptop came equipped with the devil’s own operating system. So what am I to do?

So like a good little tech writer and explorer that I am, I decided to give Windows 8 another chance. So I played with it for a day…right as it comes comes out of the box. And guess what…I still hate it. I hate it even more than I did that first time. I wouldn’t want it on a tablet, much less a laptop. 

It is a total waste of space. Big huge colorful squares of wasted space that are not helpful and don’t help me get things done. The Metro interface (now called “Modern’) is not contained on one screen…oh no…you have to continually scroll across looking for the one square that launches the one program you want. What a waste!

Try opening IE…you get a different IE than the one on the desktop…and the two don’t talk to each other. This is a first release of an unfinished product that should have never been released.

The best analogy I heard compares Windows 8 to cars. We have been driving cars with steering wheels on the left side for over 100 years. Suppose Ford would have come out with steering wheels in the center of the car for all its new models. Think they would sell? Of course not. They would be trying to change the way we do things all these many years. Same with Windows 8.

For me, I strongly considered grabbing one of my unused Windows 7 disks and wiping out Windows 8. But, despite its terrible Metro interface, it does have a better-built desktop than Windows 7. It is more secure and has many under-the-hood improvements. Could I still use it without having to resort to installing Windows 7? Or is it a lost cause?

What did I do? Stay tuned for the next edition and I will tell you how it all turned out. Hint…I am pretty much a happy camper now.

As for this edition, we have some good stories here that you might find useful, including all the new features that will be added to Windows 8.1. Plus a boatload of great tips…even some I hadn’t thought of. Anyway, enjoy what the tech gods have brought forth. -JRC

Windows 8.1 unveiled: will it change your mind about Windows 8?

The Start button is back. But that's just one of a very long list of changes you'll find in Windows 8.1, which will be available as a preview in a few weeks and will be released before the end of the year. Don't let the name fool you: this is a major update. Here's what's inside.

Microsoft's Surface tablet fire sale now under way

With various discounts on Microsoft Surface tablets now in play, it looks like Microsoft is trying to clear out old stock

10 shocking lessons from using only Google products

For three weeks, an Apple fan used only a Chromebook Pixel, Nexus 10, Nexus 4, and all-Google software and services. Here is what he found.

Ending the headaches of Wi-Fi

New standards will soon make getting from a carrier's 3G or 4G network onto a Wi-Fi network a seamless and easy process. But carriers large and small still have to get comfortable with that.

Get Organized: How to Cut Down on Unwanted Email

Do you receive dozens of emails from co-workers that you just don't need? Are you inundated with messages that you'd rather put off reading until the end of the day? These four tips will help you cut down on unwanted email.

New Gmail look blings up your inbox with tabs

Google refreshes Gmail for the Web, Android, and iOS with new default categories and tabs to organize your e-mail.

8 Things We Love About the New Flickr

Yahoo has gone big with its latest Flickr update: Big in storage allotment for free accounts and in the display of photos themselves. But there's more: Here are our favorite new features.

How to Use Flickr as a Photo Backup Service

Armed with 1 TB of space, Flickr is now a good candidate to house your entire collection of digital photographs. You may set the default privacy of your online photo albums as private and and search visibility as “hidden” and thus no one else will be able to search or view your pictures stored on to Flickr."

How to Clean Out Your Overflowing Hard Drive and Get Your Space Back

Hard drives get messy. You save files and forget them, download huge chunks of data that pile up, and change your naming schemes a hundred times. It's spring, though, so why not do a little tidying up?

Five steps to ultimate Firefox security

Fend off malware, phishers, and their ilk by exercising Firefox's built-in security features and picking some useful add-ons

Shrink photos and clear up some hard drive space with JPEGmini

PEGmini can help you shrink popular JPEG images to almost a fifth of their original size, potentially clearing up to 80 percent of hard drive space

Hold on Tight…There’s a Lot of Goo, Goo, Google Here

Believe me I didn’t plan it this way, but there was a lot of relevant info about Google products this week. I didn’t realize how much I had until I started to put this edition together.

The ramifications of last week’s Google I/O conference are still being felt by the tech media and users. They made a lot of changes and unified some products into a cohesive unit. This was never so evident in the makeover of Google+.

Now I have been somewhat negative about Google+ since it came out. I tried it and couldn’t decide what the point of it was. I still used it to post links to my blogs, but not much more than that.

Last week’s announcement caused me to take a second look, and I must say I like it better…although I still haven’t quite got the point yet. They definitely made it easier on the eyes and their total revamp and addition of user’s photos was a great move.

I have set up my iPhone to automatically send photos to Google+ immediately after I take them. They go into a private file and I can easily choose to share one or more whenever I want. And I can quite improve my photos quickly and easily using their built-in post processing tools. I like that simplicity for my simple iPhone snapshots.

I have been storing my photos on Picasa for years and those photos are now in albums on Google+. Google has obviously put a lot of time and effort into Google+, but they still have a long way to go to overtake Facebook in the social media world. But they keep plugging away (see story #5).

I also like what they have done with voice activated search, both in Google Search and in Google Now. The latter is available on iPhone and Android Phones…and critics are saying the iPhone app is kicking Siri’s bottom. I know I said in a previous edition that I wasn’t interested in Now, but I think I will give it a try just to see what all the shouting is about. I’ve included a guide to setting up Now if you are interested (story #4).

There’s more to the world than Google, and we have got some other interesting tidbits for you…including a story about Twitter security and a new feature added to Evernote. So, let’s get ‘er done! - JRC

And the study says: Windows 8 users rarely touch Metro apps

Windows 8's very future hinges on the success of its apps. This new report digs into how often people really use those apps on a daily basis...and its not pretty.

How Google plans to rule the computing world through Chrome

Are you ready for Google to take over the desktop? You’d better be if you use Chrome. With it, Google is making a play to rule the computing world as a back door to a new app economy.

Google's conversational search arrives with new Chrome

The company is taking a step closer to natural-language questions and answers and farther from search boxes and hyperlinks.

A Great Guide to Google Now

You won’t get great results unless you set Google Now up with all the information it needs. Here is a guide to help you get started with this amazing software.

If Google+ Is Good, Why Does Google Force It On Us?

Google really, really wants us to like Google+. Google is embedding Google+ into each of its products, making it increasingly difficult to use its services without embracing the Google+ borg, whether you want to or not.

Twitter Finally Adds Two-Factor Authentication to Secure Your Account

Two-factor authentication uses your password and an additional method to verify your identity. Google's two-factor authentication, launched in 2010, texts a code to your mobile number when a new device or app initially accesses your account.

Grownups speak to startups: We're not into technology just because it's cool

While the 50-and-over population and doctors appear to be dissimilar markets, selling to either requires a deep understanding of customer needs rather than just a sense of having "the next big thing.

Evernote adds Reminders to Mac, iOS and web applications (video)

Today Evernote introduces Evernote's Reminders feature for Mac, iOS and web applications.

Get Organized: 5 Tips for Microsoft Outlook

When it comes to email overload, Microsoft Outlook sometimes feels like part of the problem, but with these five essential features, it will once again be part of the solution.

Top social photo sites for browsing and sharing

Whether you enjoy the artistry of photography or the social aspects of photo sharing, choosing the right service is important.

Nifty Way to Find Out What Your Windows Computer Has Been Doing

Have you ever wondered what has been going on in your PC? Has there ever been some strange computer activity and you wanted to know what it meant? Here’s a quick and easy way to find out.

Too Much, Too Soon…Where to Begin

It’s been a busy time since we last spoke on Thursday. Here is a quick synopsis: Microsoft shows off its new Xbox; Yahoo Buys Tumblr; Chinese Hackers resume their attacks; and Flickr users (including me) are surprised, shocked, and even angered by the site changes. Wow!

But for me, the last few days were even busier. First, I started getting messages from Avast that Outlook.com, my mail provider was sending me a some sort of Trojan Horse script to infect my computer. It shut down my access to my mail in Firefox, Chrome, and IE. Later, I was able to gain access via IE, so I deleted all the mail I received that day. Well, that wasn’t it. I could only believe that it was Outlook.com itself that was trying to send the dangerous script. Later in the day, Avast stopped sending warning, so whatever the problem was got fixed.

That was the last straw. I was already having problems with the Outlook.com junk mail filters. It was taking out mail specifically marked as being safe. Nothing I did worked. Even mail from me was marked as junk. It all started the day Microsoft upgraded their Outlook.com calendar…and you know what I thought about that. Too bad, I still like the Outlook.com interface.

I immediately started switching all my mail back over to Gmail. I am not happy with the Gmail interface, but the application itself (and the junk mail filters) are very good. I decided to find an e-mail interface that would work like I do…and I found one. It’s called eM Client (see the last story)  and it works like a dream. It is exactly what I need for my desktop and it works seamlessly with Gmail and Apple Mail (on my iPad and iPhone). Problem solved.

Next problem…my LastPass would log off every time I turned off Firefox and would not come back when I went back in to the program. I had to enter the rather long password every time. It took a few days of digging and swearing, but I finally solved the problem this morning. Whew.

Next problem…my Diigo button stopped working and would not let me reconnect. Diigo is the program I use to bookmark save stories for this blog on a daily basis. It has worked seamlessly for years and seemed to stop working when I upgraded to the latest version of Firefox. However it didn’t work in Chrome either…but worked fine in IE. I suspect they made some changes that did not work out right.

I solved that problem first by switching to Delicious.com…then installing a Diigo Toolbar. I hate toolbars, but this one does work. The good news is with Firefox, I can remove and show the toolbar at will. So fear not, good friends, this blog will continue unabated.

So that is my story and am sticking too it. Too bad about Outlook.com, but I can’t be messing around with an iffy e-mail program. Another black mark in my book for Microsoft.

Well all the good stories of the day and some new information and tips are all here in this edition…so have at it. -JRC

Microsoft unveils Xbox One

The Xbox One includes games, TV, movies, music, the Web, and apps. It has Skype and live TV capabilities, as well as voice recognition to switch between programs

Yahoo Buys Tumblr and Promises "Not to Screw It Up"

With more than 300 million monthly unique visitors and 120,000 signups every day, Tumblr is one of the fastest-growing media networks in the world. Tumblr sees 900 posts per second (!) and 24 billion minutes spent on site each month.

Chinese Hackers Resume Attacks on U.S. Targets

Three months after hackers working for a cyberunit of China’s People’s Liberation Army went silent amid evidence that they had stolen data from scores of American companies and government agencies, they appear to have resumed their attacks using different techniques,

Flickr users: We hate the new site

Flickr's parent Yahoo unveiled a slew of changes to the photo-sharing site, revamping the familiar style of the home page, photo page, and photo stream page. The company also increased the free storage space per user to a hefty 1TB and updated its Android app. So, what's the problem?

SkyDrive, Google+ Photos and Flickr, Oh My!

Recent updates to several photo services have me rethinking my plans

Top 5 Android Camera Apps

As the geek world drools over the first 13-megapixel smartphone camera -- the Android-driven Samsung Galaxy S4 -- TechNewsWorld takes a look at the current state-of-play in the must-have camera app genre for Android.

Amazon Cloud Drive Photos Syncs Your iPhone's Camera Roll

iPhone: Apple's Photo Stream, which automatically backs up and syncs your last 1000 photos for up to 30 days, is a boon for iPhone photographers, but Amazon just rolled out an app that tops it with lots of free storage.

Easier Way to Use and Manage Libraries in Windows 7 and 8

Windows 7 introduced a new way to organize files called “Libraries”. Libraries are virtual folders that can centralize related items from multiple locations. However, their benefits are lost on many PC users If you would like an easier way to take advantage of Libraries, here is something to try."

How to keep the feds from snooping on your cloud data

A cottage industry is growing up around virtual padlocks that consumers can place on cloud services so that the vendors themselves can't get to the information -- even if the government requests access.

15 killer apps for Google Chrome - InfoWorld

These browser-based apps can compete with their desktop counterparts

eM Client - Excellent desktop mail client for Gmail and Others.

eM Client is super fast replacement for MS Outlook or Thunderbird that can fully synchronize with Gmail, Hotmail and other services. eM Client is Free for Home

Google Hits a Home Run (Well, at Least a Triple)

30 hours later and I am still trying to digest all that Google revealed at the Google I/O Conference. A keynote address that went 3.5 hours was filled with so many upgraded applications, changes, and unifications of existing projects that it is hard to take them all in. Unlike last year’s conference, hardware products were barely discussed. This show was about new and improved Google services…and speaking for myself, they did one heck of a job.

What impressed me the most? I loved how they improved Google+, a much better visual presentation, 41 new features added including photo post processing.  Google is now serious about photos again. It wants users to manage, store, and share photos on Google. They offer some interesting services, including an automated service that finds your best photos and presents them as a highlight reel and photo auto-enhance.

Google Hangouts is being rolled out as a standalone app on Android and iOS, and via the Web. I will be trying it out shortly. It has to be better than Skype which just sucks! (More on that in a future edition).

Google Search is in the process of some major enhancements including searches by voice, and anticipating your next question after the search is completed.

Google Maps is being updated over the next couple of months. The web version of Google Maps is going all vector and is beautiful.

And that is just is the beginning. Our first story gives you a thumbnail view of all that was presented. The second story is an in-depth look at all the features. You can pick and choose the features you wish to learn more about.

So let’s get started. You will thank me someday. -JRC

Google I/O 2013, Day One: A Flood of New and Improved Google Services

Google turns on the fire hose. This is how you hold a tech conference, folks. This is a quick summary of all the new services and devices coming our way.

Google I/O 2013: everything you need to know

Google used its biggest event of the year to reveal a major overhaul to Google Maps, an ambitious messaging initiative called Hangouts, and a redesigned Google+ filled with new features. Plus much, much more.

Larry Page Reminded Us Why We Love Google Today

Larry Page, Google's CEO and co-founder, closed out the Google I/O keynote today with a sentimental, almost subdued speech. He didn't sound like a CEO. He sounded like a guy in charge of a company he genuinely thought could change the world.

New photo tools in Google+ show promise (hands-on)

A closer look at the new photo tools now in Google+. Many of them are amazing. They may not replace Photoshop, but they are awfully good for snapshots.

DOJ: Apple colluded with publishers to raise e-book prices

A new document filed in the e-book price-fixing suit accuses Apple of conspiring to hike prices, but the tech giant denies these claims, saying it was actually partaking in constant one-on-one negotiations.

Internet Explorer 10 beats Chrome and Firefox at blocking malware downloads

NSS Labs finds that IE10 spots nearly all malware, while Safari, Firefox, and Opera prove particularly unsafe

Apple deluged by police demands to decrypt iPhones

Apple receives so many police demands to decrypt seized iPhones that it has created a "waiting list" to handle the deluge of requests.

Android is crushing Apple and Microsoft in the mobile device market

In five and a half years, Android has come from nowhere to crush Apple and Microsoft in the mobile device market. How long until PC OEMs decide to take a gamble on the winning mobile OS and load Android onto PCs?

iTunes gets updated, check out the new MiniPlayer!

Also getting the visual makeover treatment is the songs view. With this latest update you can enjoy all your album artwork whilst in songs view.

Get Organized: How to Manage Your Work with Spreadsheets

In this edition of Get Organized, I'll share a few of the spreadsheets I currently keep and explain what they do for me.

A Gallery of Free Invoice Templates

A Gallery of 42 Free Invoice Templates for a variety of business types and requirements. All templates work with Excel, or Excel compatible, spreadsheet programs.

8 Billion-Dollar Mistakes Microsoft Made That Killed Windows 8 And Led To Windows 8.1

On the eve of this Microsoft OS refresh, I thought it might be interesting to look back and reflect on how we all got to this point. For your viewing pleasure, here are the 8 billion-dollar mistakes Microsoft made that killed Windows 8 and led to Windows 8.1

Lots of New Toys for Us Nerds

It’s about time we started getting some new updates and freebees for our computers. Not that I am greedy or anything. First, Microsoft announced that the new Windows 8.1 upgrade will be free to existing users. I thought it would be, but you never know with Microsoft. Of course, it should be free…that’s their penalty for shipping an incomplete products.

What else is new? How about a new Amazon cloud service for photos…or Google increasing its Google Drive free space from 5GB to 15GB…or a brand new Firefox browser that gives you health reports…or my favorite of the day, Bing now translating English into Klingon for free. Wow! Who knew?

But wait…there’s more! Except I can’t tell you about it. The reason? I don’t know what Google has in mind. We have to wait until tomorrow and the Google I/O Conference. This is when they announce a lot of new products. The keynote address is scheduled to be 3 hours long! So expect a lot of new goodies. We will give you the highlights of the conference in our Thursday edition.

Until then, be satisfied with what I have included here. Please? -JRC

Microsoft confirms Windows 8.1 (a.k.a "Blue") will be free

It's official: The Windows Blue update will be dubbed Windows 8.1, it'll be available for Windows 8 and Windows RT devices alike, and it will cost you the low, low price of zip, nada, zilch.

Microsoft struggles to re-start Windows 8

With an upcoming fix for Windows 8, Microsoft finds itself in a strange position: It has to make the faithful happy by shaping the experience to be more like the respected Windows 7 while, it must continue to support the modern "Metro" interface.

May's Patch Tuesday to fix two critical flaws in Internet Explorer

Starting today, Microsoft will issue fixes for 33 vulnerabilities in total, including two critical flaws relating to Internet Explorer, affecting all versions of Windows.

Microsoft improves photo management in SkyDrive

Microsoft is rolling out changes to SkyDrive to enhance management of photos in the cloud storage service. The improvements include a new “all photos” view that displays thumbnails of all the pictures, organized in a monthly timeline grid.

Amazon releases Amazon Cloud Drive Photos to compete with Apple Photo Stream

The free app allows you to upload all your iPhone or iPod touch photos to the cloud. The images can be accessed from your iOS device, from your Mac, or from any web browser.

Google Drive triples free storage to 15GB

Google announces just ahead of its I/O conference that free storage across Google services -- Gmail, Google+, and Drive -- is leaping from 5GB to 15GB. But why?

Firefox 21 lands with "health report" and Android update

Firefox Health Report tracks "health information" about the browser, such as boot time and the number of crashes, helping to highlight any problems needing attention.

Maj! Bing adds Klingon language translation

Go galactic with the newest addition to Bing Translator, an automated Klingon translation service that has you covered whether you're translating tribbles (yIHmey) or "Star Trek" (Hov trek).

When tech titans fall from grace

Here are 14 once-elite tech companies that fell off their pedestals due to unforeseen circumstances, arrogance, ineptitude, or all of the above

Google's Schmidt: The Internet needs a delete button

Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt says mistakes people make when young can haunt them forever.

XnSketch (Desktop version)

XnSketch enables you to convert your photos into cartoons or sketches by applying different image effects that mimic various sketching techniques. Free!

Very Little News this Day…Just Real Good Stuff

I love it when there is little news and I can focus on bringing you free apps, good Web sites and some how-to’s. That is what is happening here.

Let me just point out a couple of things…check out how Google is showing us how the earth has changed over the last 25 years…good or bad…you decide.

My favorite is the new Microsoft Website where you can browse and download hundreds of themes and wallpapers for Windows 7 or 8. I’ve been using themes since Windows 7 first came out, but this new site offers some new, beautiful themes. I‘ve already downloaded a couple. I love the one on London Architecture.

But wait…there’s more. Find out who makes the best free antivirus software and how to buy some great smartphones for under $100. As the headline says, this edition is packed with good stuff. So why don’t you get started. -JRC

FBI says it doesn't need a warrant to snoop on private email, social network messages

An FBI guidance manual says the law enforcement agency is able to access U.S. residents' email, Facebook and Twitter messages, and private documents, without breaching the Fourth Amendment.

Windows 8.1 “Blue” Public Preview to Arrive in June

As expected, Microsoft will issue a public preview of Windows 8.1 “Blue” in late June at its annual BUILD developer conference, giving enthusiasts and other users an early peek at the coming update to Windows 8.

Google's Timelapse project shows how the Earth has changed over a quarter of a century

Google has expanded its mapping platform to launch a new project called Timelapse, taking you back through time to see how our planet has changed over the last 25 years.

Avast targets Facebook and VPN

One of the most popular anti-virus software products adds a new VPN service to their entire line, a day after acquiring Secure.Me.

Going Google (apps) Part 3: Share/collaborate

If you’ve ever tried to share documents or struggled with merging edits from multiple collaborators, Google’s productivity apps make the process easy. Here’s how to share and collaborate with Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides — three apps that are both capable and free.

How to Get a Big Collection of Free Windows Themes and Wallpaper from Microsoft

There have always been a lot of Windows themes and desktop wallpapers scattered around the giant Microsoft website. But the site is not always easy to navigate and finding things there can be problematical. So, if you wanted a new theme or desktop background, it could be quite a search. Fortunately, Microsoft has finally consolidated its many such offerings at a single site. It is called the Personalization Gallery

How hackable is your password? McAfee offers password tips

How do you create a password that's strong yet easy to remember? That's the challenge we all face, and one that's prompted a few words of wisdom from McAfee.

The Best Free Antivirus for 2013

Clearly there are plenty of choices for free antivirus protection, some of them quite good. The nicest part is, if you're not fond of the free antivirus you've installed, you're free to replace it. You'll definitely find something to like from among these products.

How to Add Your Favorite Folder or Program to (My) Computer in Windows 7 and 8

Would you like to have that favorite folder or program that you use all the time listed in Computer along with all your drives so it is really easy to access?

Creating complex smart playlists in iTunes

Creating playlists in iTunes can be as simple as dragging a few songs, or as complex as creating smart playlists that refer to other playlists and use nested conditions to pick songs that meet specific criteria.

Best smartphones for $100 or less

Whether they're on sale or just naturally affordable, here are CNET's top picks for on-contract phones that won't break the bank.

Microsoft Acknowledges They Might Fix Windows 8…Maybe

The folks at Microsoft have finally admitted there is a Windows Blue coming this summer and that it will included changes that many Windows users are screaming for. That’s a big admission for a super-secret company like Microsoft…but in fact they didn’t let much else out of the bag…yet.

They did promise to slowly tell us over the next few weeks what changes are coming…guess they want to heighten our expectations. For more information be sure and read our first story.

In other news, the Senate approves an Internet sales tax. But it may not be smooth sailing for the bill in the contentious house.

Google Now (story #5) looks like an interesting product. It may be the next evolution of search. I probably won’t get it as I am retired and I don’t think it would be of much use to me. But you younger folk should take a long, hard look at it.

Besides all that, there is some good info here, especially for Windows users. Well, I found it interesting. So why don’t you stop listening to me and start reading. -JRC

What Microsoft is now saying (and not) about Windows Blue

Microsoft is ready to fire up the Windows Blue disclosure machine. Here's what to expect and when, according to company officials.

Small Windows tablets on the way to satisfy no existing market

The tech world reacted with buzz to leaked information about a small tablet in the works that runs Windows 8. I understand the knee-jerk excitement, but I'm not sure who small tablets might be aimed to please.

U.S. Senate approves Internet sales tax

The Senate's vote of 69-27 for the Marketplace Fairness Act late Monday sends the bill to the House of Representatives, where it may face opposition from many antitax Republicans. U.S. President Barack Obama has voiced support for the bill, meaning he would sign it into law if the House passed it.

Camera megapixels: Why more isn't always better

A 16-megapixel smartphone camera sounds great, but an 8-megapixel shooter could still produce better pics.

Google: The future of search is Now

Google Now is the company's big bet to maintain market share as people leave the desktop and search on mobile and wearable devices.

Outlook.com Tip: Send Email from Another Account

With "Send Email" option, and you can now safely aggregate all of your other email accounts through Outlook.com and send mail from any one of them.

Get Organized: 5 Tips for Microsoft Outlook

hen it comes to email overload, Microsoft Outlook sometimes feels like part of the problem, but with these five essential features, it will once again be part of the solution.

Easy Way to Download and Install Free Fonts from the Google Collection

Google has just made its collection available for download with an app called "SkyFonts" from Monotype. The app installs fonts that you select from the collection and comes in both 32- and 64-bit versions.

Create Free Ringtones for iPhone, Android and Windows Phone

Fried Cookie’s Ringtone Maker, it allows you to turn full-length song into a 30-second ringtone and works fine on all your iPhone, android and windows mobile devices.

10 Essential Windows Apps for Novices

We've all got a tech-challenged relative or friend who nevertheless wants a computer. Here's what software you'll need to install for them--inexpensively.

How to Make an Atom a Movie Star

Be sure and read our first story and watch the short movie. All the actors are atoms…that’s right…atoms. Those tiny,tiny little particles that make up our universe. IBM had wowed us all with this short film. They even show you how they did it.

But wait…there’s more. Want to know more about Google Glasses…like what they heck they are? It’s all explained here. Plus the latest results in the on-going browser war…and which point and shoot camera should you buy. We are a fountain of information here, so let’s get started! -JRC

World's Smallest Movie Is IBM's Science Blockbuster

Scientists precisely pushed atoms into place to create a stick figure and his pet atom, but the real story is about pushing the physics envelope for future technological advances. Amazing movie.

Hotmail is dead, Outlook.com has 400 million users

Microsoft has been actively migrating customers from Hotmail to its Outlook.com service over the past six weeks. That migration ends today, as Microsoft announces completion of, not only the big move, but also that the company now has instant success from the latest web-based email offering.

Windows 8 inches up in desktop OS market

Microsoft's latest OS is creeping up in popularity but lags behind the milestone that Windows 7 had reached at this stage, according to new numbers from Net Applications.

Windows RT: Who loves ya, baby?

Microsoft insists that Windows RT has a grand and glorious future. But if the accumulated Web usage statistics from the past six months can be trusted (always a dicey proposition), the operating system doesn't even have a pulse.

IE10 doubles share in April; Chrome continues decline as Firefox leads in second

Internet Explorer 10 has seen a recent bump in users, thanks to Microsoft's move to make the browser available on Windows 7. Meanwhile, when will Chrome gets its mojo back?

Hands on with Google Glass

The very first question we at CNET get about Google Glass is: "What is it?" The next two are "What's it like to wear?" and "Why would you want to?"

How to Get Breaking News on Twitter

Twitter is arguably the fastest way to get the latest breaking news, but it requires a little know-how to take full advantage of this tool.

26 Free Cross-Platform Productivity Apps to Help You Get Things Done

You can essentially become a productivity machine without spending a penny. Here are 26 free productivity apps to help you get things done and will work on a wide range of computing machines.

Eight Tips on How to Make Your Smartphone Battery Last Longer

If there is one thing that can be annoying about a smartphone, it's a battery that runs down too soon. Here are some tips on how to keep that battery power flowing. The details of configuring settings vary somewhat among the different platforms but these items are worth looking at.

The Best Point-and-Shoot Cameras

Thankfully, it is possible to find a camera that's highly capable of capturing the important moments in your life that you can slide into your pocket—and won't cost you a fortune.

First ever website brought back to life at its original URL

The World Wide Web entered the public domain exactly 20 years ago