points

Do you travel a lot? If so, you've probably encountered hotels that have weak or non-existent Wi-Fi, or that charge extra for it while offering Ethernet-based connectivity for free.

A good travel router can save the day, turning that laptop-only Ethernet connection into a Wi-Fi hot spot for all. For a limited time, and while supplies last, Mwave has the Powerlink PT-AP2403 mini travel router for $19.99 shipped. It sells elsewhere for as much as $35.

Update: Aaaand...sold out. Sigh. But it's worth checking back later in the day in case Mwave releases more inventory. Trying … Read more

Microsoft Points are no longer the default means to pay for digital music and movies in Windows 8, according to a published report.

Points are still accepted, but Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft has replaced Points as the default means of conducting online transactions with credit cards, according to a report today in the Verge.

Microsoft created Points to avoid paying credit card fees, but critics have long complained about the company's funny money. In the United States, 80 points is equal to $1, and those who disliked Points noted that figuring out the true cost of a 79-point song (… Read more

PowerPoint Viewer 2007 is free software you can use to view your presentations from Microsoft PowerPoint 97 and beyond without opening the program. It's a quick and convenient way to view PowerPoint files on your computer.

There isn't much to be said about the interface, since there is almost nothing there: as soon as you open the program, it opens a window to select the file you want to view. It's just like viewing a presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint except you can't alter or edit anything. You can print the presentations, which is a bonus. PowerPoint … Read more

Time to learn German for Wednesday's tech news roundup:

Microsoft is aiming Office 2013 at touch-screen devices as well as PCs. So the company is starting to pull out the stops to convince tablet users that the new Office is just right for them.

In a blog post yesterday, Clint Covington, a lead program manager for Microsoft's User Experience team, explained how touch works in the new suite. Products such as OneNote and Lync have been redesigned from the ground up to fully support touch. The other applications in Office have been "touch-enabled," which means they support certain touch features but remain true to their roots … Read more

Microsoft today released a preview build of a new toolset codenamed "Napa," which is aimed at those building application add-ins for the coming versions of Office and SharePoint.

The Office 365 development tools (Napa) are designed to accommodate the "new Cloud App Model" in the more cloud-centric Office 15 wave of products, according to a new blog post from Microsoft Corporate Vice President Jason Zander. This new model allows apps to be hosted on SharePoint, Windows Azure Web sites or a user's own server.

The new Office apps and add-ins -- which are codenamed "Agaves" … Read more

SEATTLE--A new company that plans to track millions of retail shoppers through a unique ID emitted by their smartphones says it wants to be privacy-friendly.

Will Smith, co-founder and chief executive of Euclid Elements, showed up at the PII privacy conference here today to say that identifying repeat visitors by these unique IDs -- the so-called MAC addresses broadcast when Wi-Fi is turned on -- shouldn't be an issue.

"We put a sensor in the store," Smith said. "It passively detects smartphones that come near the store."

Euclid, which is based in Palo Alto, Calif. … Read more

Yahoo activist investor and general thorn in the company's side Third Point is back at it with a new letter to the company's board of directors.

Third Point CEO Daniel Loeb today wrote to the board asking it to fire CEO Scott Thompson over errors related to the college education listed on his resume, and replace him with chief financial officer Tim Morse or Head of Global Media Ross Levinsohn as an interim chief executive.

"It appears very clear to us -- and to many corporate governance experts, Yahoo employees, and fellow Yahoo shareholders -- that Mr. … Read more

In today's show, Google takes the wheel, Microsoft listens to your movements, and 'resumegate' fires up:

Yahoo's "resumegate" has claimed it's first victim -- but it's not the CEO. Yahoo board member Patti Hart said she plans to not seek re-election to Yahoo's board. She's tied up in the drama because she was in charge of the search to hire the chief executive and vet his resume. The scandal, which has been developing for nearly a week now, surrounds Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson and his bios that claimed he had a computer … Read more