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Updated: February 17, 2010 at 11:40 a.m. PT. Google has changed the disabling procedure for Google Buzz. You can read about the change here. February 11, 2010 at 12:15 p.m. PT to share a new rollout that Google implemented to better manage (and block) contacts. Also added a note about profile privacy.

My colleague Molly Wood called it a privacy nightmare, but to many, Google's new social-networking tool Buzz is at its root an unwanted, unasked for pest. The way some of us see it, we didn't opt in to some newfangled Twitter system and we don't particularly want to see updates from contacts we never asked to follow creep up in our Buzz in-box. Call us what you will, but for curmudgeonly types like us, Buzz isn't so much social networking as it is socially awkward networking. We tried it, we didn't like it, and now it has to go.… Read more

LAS VEGAS--Even with the advent of robotic text-to-speech turn-by-turn directions, I still really enjoy playing with the different prerecorded voices on the GPS devices that I test. There's something about getting directions in a funny accent that's just comforting to me, which is why Garmin's new Voice Studio software is so intriguing.

The downloadable software will allow users to record and upload their own voice prompts to compatible Nuvi GPS devices, so that they can hear turn-by-turn directions in their own voices. The software guides users through recording replacements for the 65 words and phrases that the … Read more

TomTom U.S. & Canada is the third full-feature turn-by-turn flat-fee navigation app with built-in maps in the App Store that covers the entire U.S. and Canada.

Like the first two apps, Navigon and iGo My Way, the TomTom app will turn your iPhone 3G or 3GS into a decently dependable driving navigator. However, like the other two, it's far from perfect.

The TomTom app took about 6 seconds to load on my iPhone 3GS, which is very fast (the other two apps took about 15 seconds), and displayed a very easy-to-use interface with big buttons. It also offers a quick and convenient way to enter an address or to find a point of interest (POI) from its very large database of POIs.

After almost a week of use, I found that both the map and POI database are slightly outdated. It once couldn't find an address and twice showed me POIs that were no longer in business. During this recession, however, it's not exactly the app that's to blame.

Good news is, like the Navigon after its first update, you can tap on a POI to dial it up, and I would highly recommend doing this before you decide to go there, just to make sure that it's still in business.

Similar to the Navigon, the TomTom can also pull addresses from the phone's contacts, which is a very convenient feature. However, while the Navigon is very good at reading contacts' addresses, the TomTom is very picky. It seems to only understand addresses that have a zip code. Take the zip code out and it will ask you to enter the address manually. This means more than 60 percent or so of the addresses in my contacts won't work. This is sort of strange, as the app won't require a zip code when you type in addresses manually.

The TomTom took very little time (a few seconds) to pick up a GPS signal on my iPhone 3GS, and its navigation was accurate enough. Once in a while it would probably lead you to a location that's slightly off from the actual address, but that happens with every GPS navigator I've used.

Of the three apps, the TomTom has the largest selection of voices, including many languages from English to Danish, Thai, and Chinese. With English alone, you'll find 11 different accents, both male and female. Still, like the other two apps, it doesn't have text-to-speech where it can read you the name of the street that you're supposed to turn onto.

The TomTom's map view, unfortunately, is not as good-looking as that of the Navigon or the iGo My Way.… Read more

Gokivo seems to do it all: search for destinations, pair with Bluetooth, play iTunes songs and fade out and in when dictating directions, and deliver turn-by-turn navigation. In our road test, it just didn't perform all these functions uniformly well. The app possesses the navigation basics, plus those one or two surprises with iTunes and shaking the app to get alternative routes. You can switch between map, satellite, and hybrid view thanks to Google Maps, and can specify your route preference, like fastest, and variables to avoid, like carpool lanes. We like the address book tie-in to get directions … Read more

We expected a slew of turn-by-turn GPS navigation apps when Apple's iPhone 3.0 software emerged, and we'll get it--slowly. AT&T's Navigator app entered the App Store today, preceded almost a week ago by Gokivo. We're still waiting for TomTom's offering.

Gokivo is made by Networks in Motion, the same company behind AAA Mobile, Verizon's VZ Navigator, and AT&T's Yellowpages.com, so we expected a little sophistication. It has been in our testing queue since last Wednesday, but some technical difficulties impeded our progress. Mainly, a possessed in-app purchase … Read more

The first two installments of Turn 10's Xbox 360-exclusive Forza Motorsport series received some incredibly high marks, so racing fans are pretty stoked to hear that version three is on the way. In October, Forza 3 will hit stores, and it looks as impressive as ever, with a new game engine, "hundreds of cars" to choose from, and a video-editing feature that allows you to create and edit your own driving videos and upload them to the Forza community.

Check out the screenshots:

This week, Apple surpassed an amazing milestone at the iTunes app store: one billion downloads. Apple had been running a contest called the Billion App Countdown promotion with prizes including a chance to win a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card, a MacBook Pro, an iPod Touch, and more. Though the contest ended once they reached their mark (winners will be announced soon), it's still an amazing feat and clearly implies the apps are going to keep on coming. That's great news for iPhone app lovers like us!

It's no secret that the most popular apps at the … Read more

Our first impression of Turn Off Monitor was not a good one. We had to use our Task Manager to stop the program because it caused problems from the get-go.

Immediately after installing the program, our monitor went haywire, turning itself off and on without us clicking a single button. After stopping the program, we were able to get a better idea of how it worked, or better yet, how it didn't work. Turn Off Monitor installs not one, not two, but three icons on your desktop. There's an icon to immediately turn off your monitor, an icon … Read more

Every so often there is an app in the jailbroken market that reminds us about the limitations of the App Store. xGPS is one of those apps. It brings turn-by-turn navigation to jailbroken iPhones. This type of navigation is something that non-jailbroken iPhone users have been demanding for a long time.

We covered this topic several times in the past and even noted changes to the iPhone OS that could readily support turn-by-direction directions and outside vendor development of apps providing these kinds of directions here, here and here.

xGPS takes advantage of the iPhone access to Google's map … Read more