client

Sharing files and desktop screens easily

Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 is an official add-on from Microsoft that is designed to allow better collaboration and communications between several individuals. At the core, Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 contains an IM and voice call component, with the ability to share desktops and videos between participants. Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 downloads and installs seamlessly.

Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 integrates with Office tightly and adds to the ways you can share documents, spreadsheets, presentations and other files with others. Sharing is configurable down to the individual user level, so not everyone on a call will have the same permissions, for example. … Read more

Enhance your VoIP with the easy-to-use features of X-Lite

A communications freeware product made for those with a VoIP phone system or a high-speed broadband Internet connection, X-Lite supports instant messaging, traditional phone use, and video or conference calls. It has a number of very desirable features such as call recording and is a great way to cut phone expenses while still maintaining quality communications with friends, family, and business contacts.

X-Lite has a unique interface; it resembles a traditional cell phone with all 10 numbers and working buttons, such as redial and mute. The user can dial the phone just like a traditional cell phone or use the … Read more

Reuse an old router to bridge devices to your wireless network

Many smart or connected devices come with wired-only connections (Ethernet), like your TV, game console, DVD player, TiVo, or other streaming-media device. Unless your Internet modem or wireless router happens to be at the same location as those devices, connecting them to your wireless network can be a challenge.

Possible solutions include, power-line adapters, dedicated wireless adapters for each device, or installing Ethernet jacks. Unfortunately, those options can get expensive and each has its unique drawbacks. Another option is using a wireless bridge. A wireless bridge connects two wired networks together over Wi-Fi. The wireless bridge acts as a client, … Read more

Home networking explained, Part 3: Taking control of your wires

Editors' note: This post is part of an ongoing series. For the other parts, check out the related stories.

Now that you have learned about the basics of home networking in Part 1, and how to optimize your Wi-Fi in Part 2, in Part 3, it's time to get your hands dirty and learn how to take control of your network completely.

All home networks start with a network cable. Even if you plan on using all wireless clients, in most cases you will still need at least one cable to connect the wireless router and the broadband modem. … Read more

Message your friends

Yahoo Messenger (Classic) for Mac is the Mac version of the popular Windows YM, a communication app for anyone with has a Yahoo account. Considering that its Windows-based version is one of the most-used messaging apps, we were eager to see how the app performed. What we found were some nice features but nothing that really stands out over other messaging apps.

The application's user interface is well-designed and has all the control buttons available at a glance. What we liked is that the platform is finally opening its doors by adding support for MSN, Lotus Samtime, and LCS … Read more

Surface tablet less than 2 percent of market, says Dell

Michael Dell said today he expects sales of Microsoft's Surface to be "relatively small."

The Dell founder and chief executive commented on Microsoft's upcoming tablet during the PC maker's second-quarter earnings conference call this afternoon.

"I think there's an understanding of the number of units that they're likely to sell is a relatively small percentage. Maybe in the 1 [percent] to 2 percent range of total PC units during next year," Michael Dell said in response to analyst's question.

CFO Brian Gladden also had something to say. "[About] Microsoft … Read more

Home networking explained, Part 2: Optimizing your Wi-Fi network

Editors' note: This post is part of an ongoing series. For the other parts, check out the related stories.

Since my last post on the basics of home networking, which is Part 1 of this series, I've been flooded with even more e-mails than I had been before (which explains why some of you haven't heard back from me). The good news is that nobody is asking about what a router is anymore. I guess I did an OK job explaining that in my previous post.

Most of the e-mails this time asked about how to have the … Read more

Home networking explained, Part 1: Here's the URL for you

Editors' note: This post is part of an ongoing series and was updated on February 13, 2013, to add information about hubs, switches, and the new 802.11ad Wi-Fi standard. For the other parts, check out the related stories.

As the guy who reviews networking products, I generally receive a couple of e-mails from readers a day, and most of them, in one way or another, are asking about the basics of networking (as in computer to computer, I am not talking about social networks here.)

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate e-mails because, at the very least, it gives me the impression that there are real people out there amid the sea of spam. But I'd rather not keep repeating myself. So instead of saying the same thing over and over again in individual e-mails, I'll talk all about home networking basics, in layman's terms, in this post.… Read more

Twitter for iOS soars

As a whole, Twitter's official mobile app is solid. The interface is sleek, and it brings with it most of the features you'd expect from a Twitter client produced in-house.

All of Twitter's features are housed in four different navigation tabs. Home is your primary Twitter feed, just as you would expect. Each time you boot up the app, it opens to your Home screen and lands on the last tweet that you read. You can tap the Home tab to quickly jump to the top. The Connect tab charts your interactions with your Twitter friends, showing … Read more

Twitter for Android soars

As a whole, Twitter's official mobile app is solid. The interface is sleek, and it brings with it most of the features you'd expect from a Twitter client produced in-house.