How-Tos

If you're an avid online gamer, it's likely that you and your friends show up at your computer desks for scheduled events. By scheduling a time to show up, everyone can enjoy the company of people they know, instead of always relying on random players from the Interwebs.

While playing your game of choice, you also are likely to use some form of voice chat, since it is much faster and more efficient than typing. One of the most popular choices for this type of communication is Ventrilo -- a real-time voice client. The ability to chat on … Read more

The Java SE 6 runtime that has shipped with past versions of OS X and which has been available on-demand for Lion users is the last version that Apple will officially support in OS X, but this does not mean Java for OS X is dead. Java's parent company Oracle has taken up the reins for Java development in OS X, and yesterday announced the first version of the upcoming Java SE 7 runtime for OS X.

This update is good news for Java developers, and for end users who run Java code on Mac systems, as it is … Read more

It is my sincere hope that this post makes up for some of the benign deceit I've been involved with for the past few years here at CNET. Typically when a new product rolls in the door, we're quick to show you an unboxing, and we'll follow that up with a formal First Look video, but we tend to gloss over the nuts and bolts of setting things up.

Arguably, we've been sparing you the boring, unsexy business of setting up your tech. But I suspect that you're at least a little curious to see … Read more

Looking through the comments on the Google Play Store for the official Facebook app, you're likely to come across quite a few complaints. These will range from "loads way too slow," to "app crashes often," and finally "crashes phone." Unfortunately, comments like these have persisted throughout the last few versions of the app. That's why other apps exist to help you connect and share with friends on Facebook.

FriendCaster is a newly remodeled app that does everything the official app does and then some. You might wonder why to use an app … Read more

Phone calls can turn into long, drawn-out conversations once you land on a tangent or 10. This is why a lot of people use texting as their primary way of communicating when they just want to share a quick thought or piece of info. Unfortunately, a lot of emotion can get lost on a text message. The person on the other end might take something seriously that was supposed to be a joke.

Voxer is a great app for people who prefer sending a quick voice message over a text. The app is available for Android and iPhone, and can … Read more

If you've mirrored your computer on your television for Internet video streaming, music playback, or even general computer usage, you know the setup can be cumbersome.

The biggest challenge here is finding a reliable solution for typing and navigating from the seat of your couch.

Unified Remote solves this dilemma and turns your phone into a keyboard and mouse, and also offers "quick launch" functions for doing things like prompting the Start menu, managing files, controlling playback, stopping tasks, and even shutting down the computer.

Previously we shared a simple keyboard and mouse solution for Android, and … Read more

Adobe Flash Player and Reader are some of the most popular Web plug-ins, and as a result malware developers commonly use them as a disguise for their programs. The recent Flashback malware is one example of this, where it originally was released as a fake update to Adobe Flash, and thereby confused a number of Mac users who installed it thinking it was a legitimate update they needed.

In order to notify Flash and Reader users of available updates, Adobe's software will display a notice regarding the availability of the new software; however, if you see such a notice … Read more

The greatest thing about the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 is its price. The Tab 2 7.0 strikes a balance between features and performance that allows the tablet to be sold for as low as $250.

If the tablet's price had been higher -- say, $350 -- it wouldn't be worth the money. Don't get me wrong, it's a very good tablet, but at the end of the day, it's a depowered version of Samsung's own $350-$400 Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus.

Getting its price down to $250 puts it right smack-dab in front of the Kindle Fire, its gauntlet tossed between the two. The Tab 2 7.0 is a full Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) tablet with dual cameras and expandable memory. The Fire was designed to deliver to users Amazon's books, video, and music services in the simplest and most straightforward way possible.

Given that, can the Tab 2 7.0 hope to match the Fire as an Amazon consumption device? Let's be honest, the chances are slim, but it doesn't mean it won't be fun finding out just how close it can get.

Quick note, though: this is not a prizefight or a dual review. I won't be comparing these tablets based on everything they can do (see the conclusion of the Tab 2 7.0 review for that). I will however focus on each tablet's strengths as Amazon media consumption devices with an emphasis on books, video, and music. End over-explained disclaimer.… Read more

Recently the Mac platform has been hit with a few malware attacks, the most notable being the Flashback malware. The same vulnerabilities that this and others have used are now cropping up in other malware as well. These include yesterday's news of the SabPab malware and its MacKontrol variant, and also the Olyx malware that is a variant of the Tibet malware we previously discussed.

Some of these attacks are targeted for specific groups in China or Tibet, but others like Flashback are more widespread and have targeted as many Mac systems as possible, by exploiting vulnerabilities in the … Read more