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While there's still not a short code service to send in Pownce updates from your mobile phone, yesterday the service quietly rolled out a new mobile interface (m.Pownce.com) to let members both post and browse Pownce updates, including files. While I couldn't manage to get any sort of attachment to load, the interface itself is a big step up from having to load the entire page--especially on BlackBerry and Windows Mobile devices; however, iPhone users are getting the best end of the deal as the site seems designed specifically for fingers and the large, portrait screen.… Read more

Although taxes aren't due until April, many people like to get an early start in step with the new year. Services from the two most popular digital tax-prep brands are available to try or buy, although state forms won't trickle in until mid-January.

As e-filing and online tax preparation become more popular, boxed applications and their Web-based counterparts offer most of the same tools and interface elements. As a rule of thumb, online products are ideal for one filer, while installed software can handle a bigger household. Although there are no revolutionary changes to TurboTax and TaxCut from … Read more

Every computer user needs a solid file compression program. Not only are they mandatory for opening downloaded software, they offer several other useful features for tasks like creating e-mail attachments, performing backups, and saving space on your hard drive. Most people use WinZip because it comes pre-installed on a lot of Windows PCs, but WinZip isn't the only program available for file compression.

There's certainly nothing wrong with WinZip, but some programs offer better file compression or features that may be more in tune with what you need. For instance, some apps make efficient compression their focus, while … Read more

Microsoft on Tuesday released its December 2007 security bulletin, which includes seven updates: three are designated as critical by the software giant and four are deemed important.

On the Windows side is a cumulative update for Internet Explorer, plus patches for the Windows Kernel, DirectX, Macrovision Driver, and the Windows Media File format--the latter three suggest concern that criminal hackers are targeting media files for exploitation. There are no Microsoft Office updates this month. All Microsoft security patches for Windows and Office software are available via Microsoft Update or via the individual bulletins detailed below.

MS07-063: Important Entitled "Vulnerability … Read more

Files that have been uploaded to hosting sites tend to have a short shelf life, but there are few that manage to keep them around indefinitely. In many cases, users will simply forget about a previously uploaded file, or have no more use for it. To help give these orphaned files a second life is FilesTube, a search engine that monitors files that have recently been uploaded to a handful of file-sharing sites and makes them easily searchable. While the files aren't in any way hosted to FilesTube, the service acts as a middleman to point you to where … Read more

Navigating your hard drive using Windows Explorer is pretty straightforward. Double-clicking a directory like My Documents brings up a list of items you have in that folder. You're given a couple of options for how you view the contents of a folder, such as arranging by date or by name. You also can view your documents using icons or tiles. The Windows Explorer window shares some of the features of Internet Explorer as well, like Favorites and toolbars. Clearly, this is nothing new to anyone who has used a Windows machine, and like many of you, I have my own ideas of how it could be made better.

We can probably agree that the options available with Explorer are adequate for navigating your hard drive, but a little more information and flexibility would go a long way. I found a few programs that add much more to file navigation, such as tabbed and paned directories for drag-and-drop file transfers and document previews so you know what you're opening before you open it. These Windows Explorer replacements offer tons of information about your files at a glance, like expanded properties and sorting capabilities not available with the default Windows setup. Some also feature much more intuitive methods for moving files around.… Read more

If you need to send files to someone and they are too large to email, there are untold numbers of web sites offering this service, both for free and commercially. However, if you need to transfer very big files, your choices are more limited. When I recently needed to transfer some files of 650MB to a client, I tried a handful of these services. Previously I wrote about free services from SendThisFile and EatLime. Here I relate my experiences with the free services from DropSend and TransferBigFiles.

All these services operate by letting you upload files to their servers, notifying the recipient that the files are ready to be downloaded and providing a link that points to the file(s). Some of the services have optional software, but installing software scares me, so I used nothing but a web browser (except in one instance).

DropSend

DropSend offers to send files up to 1 gigabyte for free (the same limit applies to their paid accounts). They allow only five file transfers per month, but also include 250MB of permanent online storage. The limit of five transfers does not apply to uploads to the permanent storage. … Read more

Shortly after writing about SendThisFile, I had to transfer some large files to a client. It's one thing to read about a product and kick the tires, but quite another to battle-test it. Here was a battle.

Since transferring large files can take hours, you need to be concerned with your computer going to sleep midstream. Many computers go into assorted suspended states when they haven't been used in a while. For example, the Power Options in the Windows XP Control Panel lets you set time limits after which the hard disk stops spinning, the entire computer goes … Read more

When I bought a gaming PC for home use a little over a year ago, I bought a middle-of-the-road machine that had everything I needed with a little room to upgrade later on down the line. I got a 2.2GHz processor, a high-end (at the time) video card so I could play the latest games, 2 gigs of RAM (on the advice of a gamer friend), and I opted for a 120GB hard drive to save a little money.

At the time, it seemed like 120GB would be more than enough. After all, I can remember when a 1GB hard drive was the pinnacle of storage capacity--120GB ought to be able to hold anything right? Games these days generally take up a few gigs each so I thought I would never run out of space. I now know I was wrong. If you wait long enough, even the biggest hard drives will fill up.… Read more