Archive

The battle between Apple and Google in the smartphone market heated up further Monday with the introduction of the iPhone 4 and new information about iOS 4, the next-generation operating system for iPhones, iPod touches and iPads. In the other corner of the ring stands Android, and it's fired up as ...

Open source software is often considered more secure than proprietary counterparts by virtue primarily of the many sets of eyes that can find and patch any vulnerabilities, but a new report suggests otherwise. In fact, the broad visibility of open source code serves to make it more easily exploitabl...

A group of high-tech firms, led by ARM, Freescale Semiconductor, IBM, Samsung, ST-Ericsson and Texas Instruments, have formed a nonprofit organization to promote the use of Linux software on smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices. To that end, the organization, called "Linaro," will develop t...

When it comes to designing Linux apps, one program's look and feel often is too much like others' in a particular category. So app developers often rely on feature sets and ease-of-use tricks to distinguish their programs from others in the field. The GnomeBaker CD/DVD Writer is a good example. Gnom...

It's difficult to talk about the Gxine multimedia player as a separate app from Xine. Both do pretty much the same tasks -- let you watch videos and listen to audio files. Both of these apps hale from the same Linux library of codecs and other gutsy stuff, Xine-lib. The key difference between these ...

Pandigital, the company best known for its digital photo frames, on Monday entered the e-book reader fray with an Android-powered device featuring a $199 price point and a 7-inch color display. Through a partnership with Barnes & Noble, the Pandigital Novel also includes an integrated e-bookstor...

Google on Thursday took the wraps off "Froyo," the next version of Android that's been bolstered with new speed, tethering capabilities and Flash support. Announced at Google I/O, version 2.2 of Android -- the seventh platform release since it was launched in 2008 -- includes a raft of new features ...

Google is planning to open an app store for its Chrome browser to make it easier both for users to discover Web applications and for developers to reach a large potential audience. Chrome users who find apps in the Chrome Web Store will be able to create shortcuts in Chrome for easy access, Google s...

Google on Thursday announced WebM, a royalty-free media file format for online video. With WebM, Google has thrown the gauntlet to H.264, the codec backed by rivals Apple and Microsoft, among others. Buried within the new format's FAQ was news about another Google project: Android. The next iteratio...

Using a scanner in Linux is somewhat different than using that same scanner hardware in Windows. This week's Linux Picks focuses on how the XSane scanner app handles that process. In the Windows world, scanner hardware is TWAIN-compatible through manufacturer-developed scanning software. By comparis...

Google's Android Market website got a face-lift sometime in the past few days, but the update has many scratching their heads over the continuing lack of search and other capabilities. Layout changes have resulted in a simpler, more straightforward desktop interface, with incrementally easier browsi...

Linux fans tend to be a loyal bunch, showering their favorite operating system with rightfully deserved praise at every opportunity. When they do complain about Linux, however, the topic is often gaming. Lack of games on Linux, that is -- a factor many consider crucial to Linux's ultimate mainstream...

Lucid Lynx, Canonical's latest desktop release of Ubuntu, sports a new look and feel designed to attract new users, both in business and at home. No doubt the launch of a music store component for the Ubuntu One cloud service available through the Ubuntu OS will give consumers a reason to consider o...

The ubiquitous CD/DVD platter may be on its way to Legacyville, one town away from the FloppyTown and the once-popular ZipDisk City. Large-capacity USB and micro disk storage media go where the CD/DVD cannot go -- small mobile gadgets. But for laptop and desktop storage and bulk transfer needs, CD/D...

Linux aficionados gained a new option Monday, thanks to the release of Peppermint OS. Checking in at under 512 MB, Peppermint is a Linux-based operating system that's designed to be cloud/Web-centric, ready to use and "insanely fast," its makers said. As a fork of Lubuntu, the system is based on --...