Disk Defragmenters and Great New Hubble Photos

Editor’s Note: This will be my last blog for approximately a month as I head out tomorrow for more photographic adventures in the Arizona/Utah wilderness, eventually winding up in CA to do a close friend’s wedding.  If I can find a free Wi-Fi connection someplace, I will do a blog, if possible.  You can follow my further adventures on Twitter, FriendFeed and Facebook (all jcorkrum); or on a special page on my Website. I can send updates with my Blackberry (and even some photos) when I have signal. This should be a fun trip as I am seeing mostly new territory. Take care. - JRC

Bing 2.0 could be around the corner

Microsoft is getting ready to launch the next iteration of Bing, according to some wayward tweets.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Malware

There are probably several new malware variants out per hour somewhere around the world, but only a small fraction have impact.What distinguishes the truly effective malware from the great unwashed malware masses?

Butterfly Nebula image - Photos: Hubble's newest visions of space

The Hubble Space Telescope got back to business this summer after an intensive repair and upgrade mission in May by a crew aboard the space shuttle. NASA released a series of photos that offer fresh and spectacular glimpses of the interstellar realm.

Five Best Disk Defragmenters

Your computer's a busy beaver, rapidly accessing and utilizing files all in the name of bringing you what you want, when you want it. Sometimes it needs a little help tidying up, and that's where these five disk defragmenters come in.

MaxMem 1.01 (Windows), Free Download

AnalogX MaxMem is a realtime physical memory management program that automatically ensures that you always have as much physical memory available as possible.

Find and Remove Those Duplicate Files

Google Voice and Gmail are sort of merging

Two new little Google Voice features just made their way into Gmail. A new option lets text messages sent to Google Voice show up as e-mail messages in Gmail.

Seven Easy Ways to Integrate Your Google Apps

The information you keep in Google apps like Gmail, GCal, Reader, and Voice doesn't just live in one place. Check out a few easy but non-obvious ways to plug different Google apps together and share their data and features.

Prevent keyloggers from grabbing your passwords

Strong passwords are important, but even the best password won't keep you safe from keyloggers — hardware and software that's designed to secretly record your keystrokes.

09/09/09 - The Day the Record Industry Died - Anil Dash

Today brings two announcements of great import to music fans, but they're most notable for who's not involved: The major record labels.

Auslogics Duplicate File Finder 1.5.2.55 (Free)

Most people are unaware of how many duplicate files there are cluttering their hard disks. All those songs that have been downloaded twice, holiday photos uploaded multiple times, documents copied and pasted, so that you have them in two folders at once. All that wasted disk space can be reclaimed by simply deleting duplicate files. Version 1.5.2.55 has improved Duplicate File Finder support of removable and CD disk drives.

Apple’s Big Day

Steve Jobs at the Apple Event Today.

Here is a 2.5 minute video of Steve's "surprise" appearance at the big Apple event. As you know he had a liver transplant just five months ago and this is his first public appearance since then.

Apple announces new iPod touch, nano, shuffle, classic; iTunes 9

Here is a quick rundown of all the new Apple products announced at today's big Apple Event.

Make XP and Vista boot as fast as Windows 7

Have to have at least one Windows story to offset all the Apple stuff.  After all the complaints about Vista's slow startup times, Microsoft paid attention and addressed the issue in Windows 7, which in the experience of beta testers and RTM reviewers can be faster than XP. But if you aren't ready to trade up to the new OS when it comes out next month, there are things you can do to tweak your current operating systems and make it boot faster.

First Take: iTunes 9

iTunes 9 has been cleaned up for easier navigation, redesigned with a new layout and a new black tabbed-menu system across the top of the iTunes Store interface. These new tabs replace the old left-side navigation to choose between categories like music, apps, movies, and podcasts. The layout for new content in the iTunes Store has been improved as well, with more browsable content in every category.

Apple - iTunes - Download iTunes Now

Here is where to go to download the new iTunes V.9. It is a good upgrade. I managed to get on today finally and get my copy. I think it is a definite improvement over V.8 iTunes gets a lot of flack from some folks, but frankly I have not found anything better and use it on a daily basis.

Its Patch Tuesday!

Microsoft patches gaping Windows worm holes

Microsoft today released a peck of patches to cover at least seven documented worm holes in the Windows operating system. The most serious of the vulnerabilities addresses could lead to remote code execution complete system takeover attacks.

Microsoft granted stay of Word injunction

Microsoft has been granted a stay of a landmark injunction in a patent-infringement case that would have required the software giant to stop selling Word in its current form by next month. No surprise here.

Intel's new Core i7, Core i5 desktop chips bring faster CPUs to the mainstream

Monday's announcement of Intel's new, more affordable Core i7 800 series chips, as well as an even cheaper Core i5 CPU, will likely lead to Intel's most advanced chip penetrating the mainstream retail market. Fast, overclockable, and power efficient, the new Core i7 CPU meets Intel's goal of enabling system builders to sell fast PCs at lower prices.

Yahoo intros new iPhone and BlackBerry apps | Signal Strength - CNET News

Yahoo announced three new mobile applications Tuesday as the company continues to focus more on developing specific applications for the iPhone and other select smartphones like the BlackBerry. They are not dead yet.

Wallpaper Randomizer - Free

Wallpaper Randomizer is a small system tray wallpaper changer. It lets you: see a different wallpaper whenever you start Windows; change wallpaper on regular intervals; change wallpaper using a hotkey.

It’s Freebie Friday

Paint.NET - Free Software for Digital Photo Editing

Paint.NET is an Open-Source freeware image and photo manipulation editor with all the essentials, including tools to crop, rotate, resize images, adjust colors, and create collages. It features an intuitive and innovative user interface with support for layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of useful and powerful tools.

Process Hacker: A Simple, Powerful Task Manager Replacement

Task Manager, the built-in Windows app to manage running services and applications, is good and always there when you need it, but it's missing information that could help you determine exactly what application is behind an app or service, how long the service has been running, and whether or not the app behind it has crashed.

eLibrary 2.0.1 (Windows)

eLibrary is a free electronic books library organizer. Catalog, tag and search your books database with ease.

Mahjongg Solitaire

Mahjongg Solitaire is an online fast-loading web version of the classical Chinese board game, nothing to install - just click and play. The objective is to remove all 144 tiles from the board, for each pair of tiles removed you will get two points. The rules are simple: Starting from the sides, or from the central tile at the top of the pile, remove tiles by clicking on two equal symbols. If the tiles are identical, they will disappear, and your score will rise. Removeable tiles always must be free on their left or right side. If a tile sits between two tiles on the same level, it cannot be selected. Have fun!

Find the User Manual for Almost Any Gadget at Manuals Online

With Manuals Online, you can search for the product, find a downloadable PDF of the manual you need, and store it digitally so you never have to look for it again. If you still can't find the answer, you can engage the community at Manuals Online for help with your device as well.

3D TV’s Coming to Your Home Soon?

Sony plans to put 3D televisions in homes by the end of next year

Sony's decision to throw its weight behind the technology will be an important boost for the 3D industry, which has so far focused mainly on cinemas.

Is lower power consumption Windows 7's killer feature?

It’s no secret that I’ve been left struggling to come up with a Windows 7 killer feature. I think I might have found it, and it comes in the form of lower power consumption.

Are passengers safe from terrorists?

The TSA wastes a lot of time and money on an inefficient fight against the wrong enemy

Add Sports Team Schedules, Birthday Reminders, And More To Google Calendars

Want to keep track of Yankees games, Bristol Rugby matches, or the schedule of the Taiwan Beer team (for all of you fans of the Taiwanese Super Basketball League out there)? Now you can subscribe to the schedules of your favorite professional sports teams on Google Calendar. Just click on “Add other calendars” in the left-hand column and browse “interesting calendars.”

Fun and games with Opera 10 widgets

If you've just started using Opera for the first time with the release of Opera 10 (see yesterday's blog), you're probably looking to add some widgets to your browser. But finding exactly what you need might take some time. That's why it's best to start with Opera's "Fun and Games" widgets.

IE Users Continue to Switch to Other Browsers

Internet Explorer posts largest loss since '08; Firefox, Chrome, Safari gain

Internet Explorer dropped 1.1 percentage points last month, to 66.6 percent. The slide was the browser’s steepest since last November, when it dropped by 2 percentage points, according to Net Applications.

Gmail outage caused by overloaded servers

A worldwide outage of Google's Gmail online e-mail system on Tuesday was caused by a traffic jam on its servers, according to Google's official Gmail blog. The problem was that some recent changes designed to improve traffic flow on request routers, servers designed to direct Web queries to the appropriate Gmail server, overloaded the system after workers took some Gmail servers offline to perform routine upgrades.

Sold! eBay jettisons Skype in $2 billion deal

With the sale, eBay acknowledged that things hadn't worked out as planned with Skype, which it acquired for $2.6 billion in 2005 with the plans to offer customers the ability to discuss their transactions in real time. Over the course of the four years since then, eBay found that its acquisition failed to provide what it sought.

NFL bans tweeting before, during, after games

The NFL said that it will let players, coaches, and other team personnel engage in social networking during the season. However, they will be prohibited from using Twitter and from updating profiles on Facebook and other social-networking sites during games. In addition, they will not be allowed to tweet or update social-networking profiles 90 minutes before a game and until post-game interviews are completed.

Opera 10 browser is here

If you've been keeping up with the beta updates, the final build of the cross-platform browser shouldn't surprise you. Opera Turbo, the browser's much-publicized compression engine for slow-poke connections, remains a feature highlight. Opera claims that Opera Turbo runs the browser up to eight times faster on suffering connections than do competing browsers.

Google Reader – A Second Look

A couple of weeks ago here, I did a comparison of My Yahoo vs iGoogle.  In it , I mentioned Google Reader as a place to collect various blogs and news stories that might be of interest to you.  At that time, I said why have both Google Reader and iGoogle when My Yahoo could do them both?

Well, based upon an idea I got from Leo LaPorte, I might not have given Google Reader a fair look.  So I decided to go back and look at it again…and in doing so, am now a fan and use it on a daily basis.  Let me explain.

First, I use My Yahoo to collect info on everything I am interested in…from news to the NFL, computers, TV, astronomy, tech, and much much more. It is wonderful and I still use it on a daily basis. Lots of interesting stuff to read.

But, Leo uses Google Reader to collect technology news from all over the Net and read it to prepare for his shows…all collected in one place.  Since I write a tech blog, I decided that might be smart for me to do also.

So, following Google instructions, I set up a Google Reader account and started setting up RSS feeds for sites I use.  Before long, I had a nice list of different sources to look at.  And even better, instead of just headlines like I see in My Yahoo, I got a synopsis of each story.  That makes looking for blog topics much easier.  And I am not limited to six stories at a time…no, I see all the latest stories and it keeps track of the ones I have already read.

But wait, it gets better.  Google recently added Google Bundles to Google Reader.  With Bundles, I can now look at what other people’s subscriptions and add them to my own.  So now, I have Leo LaPorte’s list as part of mine.

And it works for just about any subject or persons you are interested in.  You can search for reader lists by subject and by people.  It is quite an excellent, well rounded program…free, of course.

Summing up, I used My Yahoo for a broad look at lots of different subjects…and Google Reader for specialized RSS feeds.  Give it a try.    

Could the Internet become ObamaNet?

Bill would give president emergency control of Internet

The new version of previously introduced federal legislation would allow the president to "declare a cybersecurity emergency" relating to "non-governmental" computer networks and do what's necessary to respond to the threat.

Get Windows 7 Professional Free

Microsoft is launching Windows 7 by hosting free events in major cities in the USA. Sign up for an event in a city near you, attend the event, and receive Windows 7 Professional for free.

This Twitter look-alike requires 1,400 characters

Sometimes it's hard to know why people do things. But it's easy to see why some creative minds have come up with Woofer.

Free Antivirus Software Review by PC World

You can find lots of free software made to stop worms, viruses, and other malware. We tested several such programs to find the free antivirus you can depend on.

Make Firefox Faster by Vacuuming Your Database

Firefox tip: Firefox 3.0's Awesome Bar added all kinds of features to the 'fox, but unfortunately it's also created some performance issues—for example, by upping the default history time, leading to larger, fragmented databases. This quick hack speeds things up.

Cybercrime and Laptop Searches

Editor’s Note: There was no blog yesterday because Google scanning software identified me as a possible spammer and my blog was temporarily locked out. What? Thought it was a joke at first but it was true. I immediately appealed and the lock doesn’t appear anymore on the blogger main page now, but I have not been officially notified that I am innocent. Remember friends, and indictment is not a conviction and I have spent no time in spammer jail.  Have a good weekend! - JRC

We're losing the war on cybercrime

While we chase after two-bit malicious hackers, cybercrime syndicates remain untouchable

Homeland Security says laptop border searches will continue

When the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced last summer that it could seize anyone's laptop, mobile phone, or camera at the border to analyze them for an indefinite period, the criticism was immediate. Sen. Russ Feingold, a Democrat, called the move "alarming," and the ACLU denounced it as "surrendering your Fourth Amendment rights at the border."

Best free Online backup sites

Do you want to back up your data ? I can help you with that. if you have some important data in your computer like documents, photos, music and videos etc.. you should back up these data regularly to avoid data loss due to hardware failure and system failure.

Twitter Is the New CB Radio - John C Dvorak

How will the popular social network meet its end? We can look to the rapid rise and fall of CB radio for some clues.

Photology Freeware

Photology is a unique photo manager that allows you to quickly find images from your collections that match your criteria, without the need to add any tags or organize them into categories. Download for free.

Buying Your First Netbook Computer

 

55,000 Web sites hacked to serve up malware cocktail

Security researchers are raising an alarm for a potent malware cocktail — backdoor Trojans and password stealers — being pushed to Windows users from about 55,000 hacked Web sites.

Free Software Foundation throwing a hissy fit over Windows 7

The open source zealots over at the Free Software Foundation have left us slightly speechless over a press release dropped in our never-ending pile of random crap from around the Internet. It would appear the FSF is pulling out all the stops in their new campaign (read: crusade) entitled Windows 7 Sins.

File sharers hold vigil for Pirate Bay

The Pirate Bay--the BitTorrent tracker revered by file sharers across the globe and reviled by some of the world's biggest entertainment companies--is under siege like never before.

How to Buy a Netbook

If you're not thinking about buying a Netbook, you should be—they're powerful, portable, and even more inexpensive than a year ago. Here's what you need to know before you buy.

Photology Freeware

Photology is a unique photo manager that allows you to quickly find images from your collections that match your criteria, without the need to add any tags or organize them into categories. Download for free.

U.S. Internet Speed Sucks

U.S. lags other nations in Internet speed

The average Internet download speed in the U.S. is slower than that in 27 other countries, according to a new report by the Communications Workers of America.

Google patches severe Chrome vulnerabilities

With one attack on Google's V8 JavaScript engine, malicious JavaScript on a Web site could let an attacker gain access to sensitive data or run arbitrary code on the computer. BTW: If you haven’t tried Chrome you should.  It is pretty darn fast.

Sony adds wireless e-reader as Kindle rival by Reuters

Sony Corp on Tuesday unveiled its first wireless electronic reader, a move to challenge Amazon.com Inc's momentum in the growing digital book market. At $399, the "Daily Edition," features a 7-inch touch screen, and an aluminum body, and will go on sale in December. AT&T will provide its 3G wireless Internet service. Sony previously introduced the "Pocket Edition" for $199 and the "Touch Edition" for $299

The 10 Audio Commandments

Simple rules to make your iPod, MP3s, earphones, and PC speakers work for you.

Hellcarrier - Free Game

Pilot your top class helicopter in a set of varying missions. Take out hostile forces, rescue POWs and make sure you upgrade your helicopter to stand a chance in the final fight against the terrorists.

AT&T is Going to Make Some People Angry

Report: AT&T to require smartphone data plans

AT&T customers buying or upgrading to a smartphone must subscribe to a data plan starting September 6, according to reports. Most who buy a smartphone do subscribe, but now you have no choice.

Wal-Mart recalls fiery DVD players

If you have a Durabran DVD player, you should get a fire extinguisher--or head to your local Wal-Mart and return it for a full refund.

OS X: Apple to Set Snow Leopard Loose Friday

Though Apple said at its WWDC conference in June that its next operating system upgrade to OS X, called "Snow Leopard", would come around in September, it looks as though Cupertino's set to spring the software a little early. By pouncing on the market sooner rather than later, Apple could catch extra back-to-school sales and get a leg up on Microsoft, which is set to launch Windows 7 in October.

Twitter getting location data

Biz Stone from Twitter has announced that the service will soon get a new feature in its API: the capability to optionally put geolocation data into tweets. Currently, geo-focused apps like Foursquare must hack location data into updates by linking them to Web pages. Once Twitter lets developers embed geo into tweets themselves, a new and interesting world for developers will likely open up.

Hands On: Windows Live Movie Maker

Microsoft's entry-level consumer video editing software, Windows Live Movie Maker, finally exited beta today. Here's a look at what you can expect from this powerful free download.

Microsoft Making More Customers Angry

Xbox 360 failure rate is 54.2 percent

If this is true, Microsoft has some explaining yet to do. Actually, I'm surprised it's not higher.

Microsoft Hotmail users angry over pulled photo feature

Windows Live Hotmail users have been venting their frustration at Microsoft for the past month since the software maker suddenly removed a popular feature because it created a security hole. The "Attach Photo" feature allowed users to directly add photos, images or graphics into e-mails. Users are allowed to quickly edit and add captions to the photos, which are automatically compressed by Hotmail, enabling users to attach more images per e-mail.

Price drops in ultrathin laptops may squeeze netbooks

The dominance of low-cost netbooks could be threatened by an emerging category of ultrathin laptops, which could compete on features and price, analysts said. Ultrathin laptops are a new category of lightweight laptops that are as portable as netbooks and provide adequate performance to run most applications such as high-definition multimedia or casual gaming.

Google Wave (Developer Preview) - At A Glance - Reviews by PC Magazine

Perhaps one of the most talked about web apps/services in years, Google Wave could be the most innovative communication and collaboration tool we've ever seen. Or it could all be one big crazy mess. PCMag took it for a test drive and has some answers.

TweakNow PowerPack 2009 - Free

TweakNow PowerPack is a fully-integrated suite of utilities that let you fine-tune every aspect of your computer's operating system and Web browser. The Registry Cleaner module provides you with a safe and simple way to clean Windows Registry. To keep your computer always at top performance, we recommend to clean your registry at least once a month. For Windows tweaking lovers, the suite provides more than 100 hidden Windows settings in the Windows Secret section.

A Cornucopia of Tech News

Symantec identifies 'Dirtiest Web Sites of Summer'

Symantec is out with its "Dirtiest Web Sites of Summer 2009," which it's calling "the worst of the worst" when it comes to malware threats. The security vendor says that "48 percent of the Dirtiest Web Sites are, well, dirty--sites that feature adult content." That means that more than half the sites cover a wide range of other categories including legal services, catering, figure skating, and electronics shopping, according to the report.

Use any version of Windows 7 free for 120 days

There's an easy way to stretch Windows 7's 30-day free-trial period to 120 days so you can determine whether Microsoft's new operating system meets your needs.

Vonage makes free international calls standard

Vonage will include unlimited calls to more than 60 countries in a new standard plan that costs $25 per month, replacing a plan of the same price that included unlimited calls to just six countries.

How to Buy an MP3 Player

Which MP3 player is the best to handle the soundtrack of your life? Here's how to find the perfect portable audio device at the right price.

Tabbloid makes printable PDFs from your RSS subscriptions

HP has a site called Tabbloid that will allow you to enter RSS feeds for sites you'd like to follow, and it will automatically format and send you PDF files on a schedule populated with the contents of the feeds you entered.

Today’s Emphasis: Security

Malware is Evading Detection, Researchers Say

Several well-known products including PC Tools' Anti-Virus, Fortinet's Forticlient, and CA's Internet Security Suite, achieved detection levels below 50 percent when configured in their default mode.

XP, Vista, or Windows 7: Which OS is more secure?

In both previous installments, Vista had a significant edge edge over XP, with far fewer updates required. Has Vista maintained its security advantage over the past year? And are there any indications as to how Windows 7 will fare, now that it’s been released to manufacturing?

Social media is dead; film at 11

To hear some people tell it, social sites like Facebook and Twitter are on the wane. Robert Cringely thinks they're just getting warmed up

Last chance to get free Windows 7 test copy

You have less than 24 hours left to get Windows 7 Release Candidate. Download it now, set up a new partition on your hard drive and Win 7 will set up a dual boot for you.

Immunet releases free cloud-powered antivirus for Windows

The key advantages of Immunet? Less bloat, no massive, frequent pattern updates to download, and an added splash of community collaboration to thwart malicious software. It's also light on system resources, barely impacting CPU usage and sitting just under 32Mb of memory during a system scan.

Special Edition - Laptops

$299 laptop specials keep back-to-school shoppers happy; would you buy over a Netbook?

Specials for fully-featured notebook PCs with $299 price tags are helping laptops stake out ground against the popular 10-inch Netbook segment in a tough economy. With bigger screens, optical drives, much more memory and some graphics horsepower to speak of, the $299 laptop is, believe it or not, giving 10-inch Netbooks a run for their money,

Ask the editor: Should I buy a new laptop now, or wait for Windows 7?

Most consumers purchasing Vista-powered PCs from June 26 through January 31, 2010, are entitled to free upgrades to Windows 7. But how you get the upgrade varies from manufacturer to manufacturer--and includes some caveats and asterisks.

Should Starbucks ban laptops?

some coffee shop owners have decided to fight back against the laptop squatting fraternity.

Five ways to keep laptop thieves from jacking your data

Laptops and netbooks are everywhere, and thieves love snatching them from coffee shops and cars. There are a number of simple security measures you can take, however, to ensure that your data is reasonably protected in the event that your laptop is nabbed.

Notebook BatteryInfo - Free

Notebook BatteryInfo displays the mobile computer battery charging capacity. By default Windows has only a small battery icon in the Taskbar as capacity display. BatteryInfo places a battery symbol panel left beside the Taskbar Icon area. The battery symbol can display additional information like current power consumption or the remaining time.

Security Patches May Bring Uninvited Software

Sun, Apple, Microsoft install unwanted chaff with patches

When you apply a security update for one of the programs on your PC, beware of uninvited software that wants to come along for the ride. Vendors are more and more often going over the line, piggy-backing unsolicited commercial products and services onto crucial security patches.

Study: Texting while driving increases crash risk 23-fold

It isn't exactly breaking news that texting while driving is a bad idea. But a study released Monday night reveals just how dangerous it really can be.

Video game sales in free fall

In a stark reversal of the trend on display just a few short months ago--when general retail sales were plummeting even as the video games industry was still showing growth--cautious optimism in retail is now being offset by many losing months in video games.

Stopping the Newspaper Death March - John C. Dvorak

Newspapers, magazines, and just about everything else is doomed because of the Internet. This will be the continuing theme for the next year or two as newspapers and magazines go under. I have a solution. First, though, let's take a look at the problem.

Auslogics Duplicate File Finder 1.5.2.50 – Windows

Most people are unaware of how many duplicate files there are cluttering their hard disks. Duplicate File Finder can reclaim all that wasted disk space by simply deleting duplicate files. Auslogics makes excellent free software.

My Yahoo vs iGoogle

My Yahoo has been around for many years. I first started using it in the 20th century.  iGoogle is a relative newcomer.  So what are they?

They used to be called “Portals,” your personal gateway to the wonders of the Internet.  With a good Portal, you design your own page for the information you want to see.  For instance, when I use my personalized My Yahoo, I see news from around the world, around the nation, and even news from Tucson. For sports, I have the NFL news from several different sources.  I also have photography information, tech news and reviews, astronomy and many many other bits of information from my favorite on-line magazines and blogs…all organized my way and my own selections.

On a more personal level, it shows my calendar info from Yahoo Calendar, my Yahoo email’s, scores and schedules from sports of my choice, local weather and more.

They are constantly updated as most are RSS feeds, so when new information is put on sites, it is automatically posted to My Yahoo. You can even select my blogs to be on your My Yahoo page (just click on the RSS feed link on either of my blog Web sites…no pressure), then select My Yahoo.  It is easy use and most blogs have an RSS link.

As I said, I’ve been using My Yahoo for many years.  I love it and use it many times a day. It has been updated and changed by Yahoo to take advantage of new Web capabilities.

But, how does it stack up against iGoogle? To put it succinctly, iGoogle stinks! It doesn’t even come close to being a decent portal. If My Yahoo is an A+, iGoogle is an F-. Maybe I should just give it an incomplete grade. It cannot even read my GMail because I choose to use a secure encrypted connection (SSL). Its selection of content is pathetically weak.

To be fair, Google does have another program that is more useful. It is called Google Reader. It’s designed for reading your favorite blogs and other Web sites. You add your favorites and it keeps you up to date. It is a good program, but not as personalized as My Yahoo.  To get that you need to run both iGoogle and Google Reader.

Why do that when My Yahoo does it in one location. My Yahoo scores a big win in this category.

In an upcoming blog I promise to find some really good Google programs.  There are some, to be sure. 

Judge Orders Microsoft to Stop Selling Word

Note: I thought I would interrupt my Yahoo vs Google reviews for a little hard technology news.

Judge orders Microsoft to stop selling Word

A judge on Tuesday ordered Microsoft to stop selling Word, one of its premier products, in its current form due to patent infringement. Judge Leonard Davis of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a permanent injunction that "prohibits Microsoft from selling or importing to the United States any Microsoft Word products that have the capability of opening .XML, .DOCX or DOCM files (XML files) containing custom XML," according to a statement released by attorneys for the plaintiff.

Microsoft to roll out IE 8 with new defaults on Patch Tuesday

On August 11, amid the myriad patches and updates that Microsoft will roll out to users as part of this month’s Patch Tuesday bundle, there will be a new version of Internet Explorer (IE) 8 that includes different default-installation settings.

Another attack hits Twitter

Twitter's servers were on the fritz again on Tuesday, with members receiving server timeouts and third-party applications unable to access the microblogging service. This appears to have begun around 11:45 a.m. PDT.

Facebook buys FriendFeed: Is this a big deal?

Surprise! Facebook has acquired FriendFeed, a Bay Area-based social-network feed aggregation start-up. "Facebook and FriendFeed share a common vision of giving people tools to share and connect with their friends," FriendFeed co-founder Bret Taylor said in a release. "We can't wait to join the team and bring many of the innovations we've developed at FriendFeed to Facebook's 250 million users around the world." This one took most of us by surprise.

Which is The Best Webmail – Windows Live Hotmail, Gmail or Yahoo! Mail?

Since I wrote about my opinions of Yahoo Mail vs Gmail on Monday, I thought I would share a different point of view.