software

Get a 1TB portable USB 3.0 hard drive for $39.99

How much do you hate rebates?

They're as bad as root canals and tax returns. A lot, but if it's an especially good deal, I'll deal with it. Don't mind them at all. They're a great way to save!

If you answered with No. 1, thanks for stopping by, I'll see you tomorrow. Everyone else, listen up.

For a limited time, and while supplies last, TigerDirect has one of the best hard-drive deals I've ever seen: The Western Digital Elements 1TB USB 3.0 portable hard drive for $39.99, plus around $4 … Read more

Ericsson eyes Microsoft's mobile-TV service -- report

Ericsson is in talks with Microsoft to buy the software giant's mobile-TV service, according to a report.

Microsoft for years has operated a software division that provides mobile carriers with the technology to deliver television service over their connections. The company is now in talks with Ericsson to sell the division so it can focus on delivering this service through the Xbox, according to Bloomberg, which cited people with knowledge of the discussions.

For Ericsson, the upside of acquiring Microsoft's division would be the opportunity to deliver another service to its wireless customers. The company's strategy is … Read more

New Microsoft study says your software is counterfeit

In a new IDC white paper commissioned by Microsoft, cleverly titled "The Dangerous World of Counterfeit and Pirated Software: How Pirated Software Can Compromise the Cybersecurity of Consumers, Enterprises, and Nations...and the Resultant Costs in Time and Money" ( full PDF), there's a boatful of interesting statistics around "the prevalence of malicious code and unwanted software -- such as viruses, Trojan horses, keystroke-capturing software, authentication backdoors, and spyware -- in pirated software and on the Web sites and peer-to-peer (P2P) networks where such software is found."

"[U]sing information from a 10-country survey of … Read more

Get a $32 Mac app bundle for free

You can't get something for nothing. There's no such thing as a free lunch. If you love something, set it free...

Oh, sorry, that last one doesn't really apply. And as it turns out, neither do the first two. Because today, you can get something for nothing -- and you'll save more than enough to buy yourself lunch. Dinner, even.

If you're a Mac user, head over to AppyFridays, where you'll find three Mac apps that have temporarily gone free. Their combined value when they're not free: about $32.

Here's a rundown … Read more

China chooses Ubuntu as state-endorsed operating system

Canonical, the organization behind popular Linux distribution Ubuntu, is working alongside the Chinese government to deliver a state-endorsed operating system.

According to Canonical, it's working alongside the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to bring a suitable Ubuntu version to China. The operating system, which will be known as Ubuntu Kylin, is expected to be released in April.

Ubuntu Kylin is part of a broader strategy on China's part to increase the adoption of open-source initiatives in the country, according to Canonical. China's ministry was deciding between several different Linux distributions before ultimately choosing Ubuntu.

"… Read more

Apple tightening design and software teams, report says

Secrecy at Apple is alive and well, though there's less of it going on between its hardware and software groups, a new report says.

Citing unnamed sources, The Wall Street Journal says Apple's industrial design team now lets the company's software teams in on plans for future devices earlier than ever before, a process that was once made more secret with the use of "stealth software developers."

The change come some four months after a change within Apple's top ranks that more closely tied Apple's hardware and software teams. Jonathan Ive, who was … Read more

Garageband for iOS update adds Audiobus support

A new update to Apple's Garageband software on iOS adds compatibility with popular third-party audio app Audiobus.

As part of the change, users can play and record from Audiobus-supported apps back into Garageband. That includes iOS apps from Korg, along with Animoog, DM1 - The Drum Machine, Loopy, ThumbJam, and others.

Other changes include a fix for a feedback issue from the headphone jack, along with the option to turn off grid snapping.

Audiobus came onto the scene late last year as a way for music apps to share data and continuity between one another. It's since been … Read more

Petting Zoo: An eccentric picture book that comes to life on iOS

Christoph Niemann, a visual columnist at The New York Times and an illustrator whose works appeared on the cover of several magazines covers including The New Yorker and Wired, launched an iOS app recently called Petting Zoo.

For kids, but has wide appeal Aimed toward children ages 4 and up, this app is categorized under games, but it's more of an interactive picture book than anything else. Each drawing constitutes as a chapter, but there is no overall narrative story that takes place. Instead, it simply contains 21 of Niemann's hand-drawn animals that each react in different ways … Read more

Verizon's Samsung Galaxy Nexus gets Android 4.2.2

Verizon announced today that it's making the Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean software update available for the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.

Verizon says it'll push the update in "phases," which means that you may need to exercise a bit of patience if your phone doesn't receive the update in the first round.

At long last, Verizon's "pure Google" Samsung Galaxy Nexus has finally caught up with its Sprint counterpart in running the latest version of Android. Launched as the first Android device to run version 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the Galaxy … Read more