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Twenty years on, the Web faces new openness challenges

Two decades ago today, the European particle accelerator called CERN gave birth to what's known as the open Web -- a technology that anyone can build without paying licensing or royalty fees.

But as the Web has grown ever more popular and sophisticated, proprietary technology poses a challenge to that philosophy of openness. The challenge is most clear in the area of video, where patents and copy protection are at odds with the Web's openness.

Tim Berners-Lee, a physicist at CERN, started developing what he called the World Wide Web in 1989. After CERN released the software for … Read more

World Clock for Mac 7.0 Review

Those who work or have family around the world have the need to track the current time across multiple countries. World Clock for Mac is easy to use and allows users to see the current time anywhere in the world.

While download took longer than expected on a high-speed connection, installation of World Clock for Mac completed quickly and without any necessary user interaction. The program is also very easy to use, making the lack of user instructions appropriate. Unfortunately, it did not appear that technical support was available. The program is essentially a map with different time zones. Moving … Read more

Always On: Best of Season 3

Well, folks, it's about that time again. That time when we head out into the world to get our hands on today's hottest gadgets and to explore the promising technologies of the future. And, of course, we'll keep an eye out for some clever ways to destroy those hottest gadgets, too. But, in the meantime, we've mustered up our favorite segments of Season 3 to make the wait for Season 4 less grueling.

First up, we head back to Mount Shasta Ski Park to watch Molly rev a snowmobile over the poor Kindle Fire, Nokia Lumia 920, … Read more

WorldCard Link 1.2.0 Review

There is something about a business card. That small piece of cardstock is the foundation of millions of networking success stories every year, making it a vital tool for anyone who frequently goes to networking events, business lunches, or conferences. Yet, increasingly contact lists and communication tools are online only, so the traditional business card holder isn't an option to organize all that useful information. This is why apps like WorldCard Link are becoming increasingly popular, providing a quick and easy way to digitize business cards and share contact information.

WorldCard Link is an ingenious blend of technology both … Read more

MsgTheWorld for Mac 1.0 Review

The sheer number of available screensavers makes finding the perfect one for your mood rather difficult. Those users who want to see famous and inspirational quotes as their screensaver will find MsgTheWorld for Mac appealing, but its problematic operation makes it difficult to use.

MsgTheWorld for Mac is available as freeware with no payments required to unlock. The screensaver downloaded quickly and installed directly into the System Preferences area. Upon opening, the screensaver window for the computer is brought up. There were no user instructions or technical support that appeared to be available. Essentially, the program is a screensaver of … Read more

Dinner Dash Animal Letters World for Toddlers 5.0 Review

The iPad is a natural learning device for toddlers and preschoolers. It is practically made for little fingers to swipe and pinch across games and learning apps as they absorb letters, numbers, and stories. But there is a very wide range of quality among toddler-oriented apps. Some are sublime and well- thought out. Others are obvious cash-in attempts directed at unaware parents. Dinner Dash Animal Letters World for Toddlers falls into the second category.

In fact, Dinner Dash Animal Letters is such a feature-barren app that it's hard to know exactly what its purpose is. The game essentially shows … Read more

App market soars with 13.4 billion downloads in Q1 2013

As people around the world become increasingly more reliant on their mobile devices, the app market continues to grow. New research from market analyst firm Canalys shows that the top four app stores hit 13.4 billion downloads worldwide in the first quarter of 2013. This is an 11 percent increase over all of 2012 combined.

"Apps have had a huge impact on the way consumers use mobile devices, what they value, and what they expect from smart phones and tablets," Canalys chief analyst for analytics Adam Daum said in a statement. "They are now central to … Read more

Street View hikes Endor-like Yakushima Island in Japan

When I hiked Yakushima Island a few years ago, it was the closest thing I'd seen to an alien planet from science fiction.

Famous for its staggering ancient cedar trees, the island off southern Japan has an interior that struck me as a mix of so many imaginary worlds I've seen on film: Endor, Dagobah, Pandora.

An hour into the hike, it began to rain. Biblically. It was coming down cats and dogs, or "earth and sand" as they say in Japanese, and it didn't let up for six hours.

Yakushima then seemed like Venus and its incessant, lethal rain like that in Ray Bradbury's "The Illustrated Man." My Nikon dSLR found itself swimming in an inch of water that got into my pack, and promptly died.

But I couldn't resist the island's enchanting scenery. It's said to have inspired Hayao Miyazaki's acclaimed anime film "Princess Mononoke." … Read more

Treat your Mac to World Backup Day

This Sunday, March 31, is World Backup Day, an independent initiative geared to raise awareness for data security and the importance of backing up computers and other devices that may contain important information. In light of this, you might want to consider taking the time to ensure that all of your systems are set up with a proper backup routine.

Backing up a system used to take a number of steps, and while there are many options and approaches for doing so, these days most devices include some sort of regular backup option that, if used, should be enough to … Read more

Google Earth for iPhone brings a virtual map to your phone

You know all that time you spend looking up your house and your friends' houses on Google Earth? Well, now you can do it anytime, anywhere with Google Earth for iPhone. It brings the popular virtual map service to your fingertips.

To begin, Google Earth for iPhone has a very helpful tutorial for navigating the app. For example, it uses circles to show you how to move up, down, tilt, zoom, and reset the view. We tapped the My Location button and gave it access to our current location. In just a few seconds, an overview of our neighborhood appeared … Read more