assistance

Windows 8 Release Preview: How to download and install it

Those of you who want to try out the new Windows 8 Release Preview can install it from an ISO file or run a full setup that guides you through the upgrade process.

If you want to skip to the chase and just download the ISO file, you can find it at Microsoft's own site or through CNET's Download.com.

Microsoft provides both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 8 RP across a variety of languages. After you download the ISO file, you can burn it onto a DVD using the Windows Disc Image Burner in Windows 7 … Read more

IBM partners with Honeywell to create mobile shopping app

IBM is introducing its own in-store shopping companion app.

Dubbed the "digital shopping assistant," this mobile app allows consumers to scan items they want to purchase at retail stores with their smartphone and then use an IBM self-checkout station to pay.

"Retailers can now deliver a more personalized shopping experience that is less of a chore and more of a convenience for consumers," IBM Retail Store Solutions vice president John Gaydac said in a statement. "By enabling consumers to scan and check-out a wide variety of products at their own pace, retailers can not only … Read more

How can I spruce up my subpar stock stereo? (Roadside Assistance)

There are quite a few reasons why one would want to remove a stock stereo system from a car. Like most things with moving parts -- in this case, speakers -- components wear out, which results in degradation of sound quality over time. Sometimes, a nearly new stock stereo just isn't loud enough or clear enough for the driver's tastes and needs a good overhaul.

That's why in this week's Roadside Assistance, I'll be helping two readers replace the worn, outdated, and underpowered components of their stock stereo systems and avoid some of the pitfalls … Read more

FBI quietly forms secretive Net-surveillance unit

The FBI has recently formed a secretive surveillance unit with an ambitious goal: to invent technology that will let police more readily eavesdrop on Internet and wireless communications.

The establishment of the Quantico, Va.-based unit, which is also staffed by agents from the U.S. Marshals Service and the Drug Enforcement Agency, is a response to technological developments that FBI officials believe outpace law enforcement's ability to listen in on private communications.

While the FBI has been tight-lipped about the creation of its Domestic Communications Assistance Center, or DCAC -- it declined to respond to requests made two … Read more

Roadside Assistance: An iPod receiver and in-dash navigation

Greetings Car Tech fans and welcome back to CNET Roadside Assistance. Listeners of the podcast formerly known as Car Tech Live will no doubt remember that we used to devote an entire segment to answering user e-mails. Well, we're back, only in a less auditory format. So if you've got a car tech question you'd like to have answered, and you may find the answer to your query right here on the Car Tech Blog.

And now, let's get to the questions. "Twoheadedboy8" asks:

I am looking for a car stereo that focuses its … Read more

We're partial to Aomei Partition Assistant Home Edition

Many people prefer to use a standalone disk management utility instead of the Windows Disk Manager for resizing and moving partitions, formatting disks, and other critical tasks. Until recently, most such tools have been premium software, but Aomei Partition Assistant Home Edition is a full-featured freeware disk management utility that can even be used commercially, which is great news for home and small businesses.

It can create, convert, hide, format, delete, wipe, resize, copy, split, merge, and move partitions, including altering existing partitions without data loss or corruption, on hard drives, flash drives, and similar storage devices. It works in … Read more

Wireless charger could power tiny heart pump

With more patients needing heart transplants than there are hearts available, a tiny heart pump called a ventricular assist device (VAD) can be a lifesaver. But the pump, which is inserted into the aorta via a catheter that helps blood flow, requires wiring leads that run out of the patient's body to a battery pack, and this setup can easily result in infection.

So a team of computer and electrical engineering students at Rice University have devised a method to power the VAD without wires breaking through the skin.

The team used a small coil and a battery inserted … Read more

Colorblind Assistant, can you help me? (eyes-on)

1979: I might have had a crush on her, but that didn't change the fact that she was wrong. My classmate Stacy mocked me for coloring a clown's lips green instead of red. I asked our kindergarten teacher to please explain to my cute but misinformed friend that she was wrong.

"Actually, Jeffrey," she said, "Stacy's right. This is green."

Thus, in short order, I learned some things:

I was red-green color-blind. So was my maternal grandfather. I may as well throw crayons away if the wrappers come off, since reading the name was the only way I could be sure what color I had.

The thing of it is, I see colors, just not always the right ones.

The main drawback of this for me (aside from never being able to work on a bomb squad, at least not more than once) is that with all the confusion I had with colors, it was hard to, you know, learn the right names for the right colors. True story: last week, I had to Google "chartreuse" when my son asked me what color it was. … Read more

Protect your data with BackUp Maker.

Ascomp's BackUp Maker is a free data backup solution for Windows. It automatically backs up your files and folders on schedule or when something changes, and it can create new backups or add changes to existing backups. It doesn't create system images, so it can't restore your entire system, though Windows Backup already does that. What it's best for is backing up critical files and folders on a daily basis. BackUp Maker Standard Edition is fully functional freeware that displays a nag screen at startup and when backups complete.

BackUp Maker's user interface shows prominent … Read more