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One of the more frustrating things I experience in daily usage of my Mac is opening a file that launches an unexpected application, which can sometimes result in a failure to open the file. One of the primary examples is when a PDF is created using an Adobe product, associating it with Adobe Reader instead of Mac OS X's built-in PDF reader, Preview.

Luckily if you find that Finder is not opening a particular file type in the proper application, you can change the file associations for all files of the same type. The process is quick and easy … Read more

Despite the press, geolocation service Foursquare is still pretty small. But it's proven influential in another way: the phenomenon of "checking in" has spread beyond telling people where you are, and a handful of services now focus on letting you "check in" to what you're doing--whether it's attending a concert or reading one of those ubiquitous Stieg Larsson novels.

One of them, GetGlue, announced Wednesday a partnership with HBO to promote its current series "True Blood," "Hung," and "Entourage," in which users who use the GetGlue iPhone … Read more

Smartphones are hot, but it's the mobile applications that make the devices so appealing to wireless subscribers.

Discovering new applications and figuring out which ones to use are not as easy as it sounds. A couple of readers have asked questions for help. And I've enlisted the help of CNET mobile-app expert, Jessica Dolcourt to find the answers. Also, what happens when you've got your phone loaded with apps and you want to get rid of it? I've answered a question about how to wipe your smartphone clean.

And finally, I've tried to take the … Read more

Regular system backups are a matter of emphasis for us, and we like them thorough and often. Windows' built-in system recovery and backup utilities do a pretty decent job, but like many built-in features, they have their limitations, and they can be confusing and even daunting for many users, especially those who need them the most. There are more third-party backup utilities than you can shake a Registry at, however, each offering a different combination of power, flexibility, and ease of use. MagiCure Professional 9 from AdvantEDGE Solutions is aimed at less-experienced users, since its goal is to simplify the … Read more

New York has the highest bedbug infestation rates out of any city in the States, but the latest invasion at our sister CBS building here in New York City has us all feeling terribly itchy this morning.

Well, it's either that or all the McDonalds breakfast we consumed for our annual Eat-McDonalds-right-before-the-4th-of-July-3-day-weekend holiday. Check out this Youtube video of our trip that Wilson shot, edited, and uploaded all on his new iPhone 4!

Always the smart one on the show, Jeff went for the sausage, egg and cheese sandwich, while Wilson took two bites of his breakfast burrito and … Read more

GetJar, a mobile app store that offers software for most major smartphones, said Thursday it has picked up $11 million in financing.

GetJar said it will use the Series B funding generated by Accel Partners to continue to innovate its site and its services for customers and developers, including Pay-Per-Download, App Download Page, and App Catalogue Express.

GetJar is not nearly as well known as the Apple, Android, and BlackBerry mobile app stores. But according to GetJar, it has counted more than 1 billion downloads since its launch in 2005. GetJar describes itself as the world's second largest app … Read more

Flash video technology has revolutionized the way video is accessed on the Internet, making it lightweight and quick to view and share. As Flash video has grown in popularity, numerous programs have sprung up to help viewers make the most of it. We've seen many applications that perform a single task, such as downloading FLV files or converting them to different formats. GetFLV combines several such tools into in one program that makes it easy to download and work with FLV video files.

GetFLV's interface is not the most beautiful we've ever seen, but it's well-organized … Read more

You knew it had to happen some time. But now that the time has come, it's hard not to feel sad. According to MacRumors, and confirmed by a visit to the Apple site, the company has removed the "Get a Mac" ads from its site and now transfers visitors to a more prosaic "Why You'll Love a Mac" area.

Actor Justin Long had rather let the horse pull away from the cart last month, when he floated the idea that the "Get a Mac" campaign was done.

Still, the removal of the ads from the site does feel a little like the removal of a president's statues from an Eastern European city's main square in preparation for the introduction of a new regime.

As Google showed with such unusually biting vigor this week, it now considers Apple its Darth Vader, something that seems to consign the Apple/Microsoft contretemps to the level of a mere old-school video game. … Read more

Apple's "I'm a Mac/I'm a PC" ads have been widely regarded as one of the company's most effective campaigns. But they may be over and done with, if Justin Long, the "Mac" in those ads, is right.

Speaking to The Onion's non-satirical A.V. Club site in a interview published Wednesday, Long said that he heard from his co-star in those ads, John Hodgman, that Apple plans to "move on" and try something else.

"You know, I think they might be done," Long said in response … Read more