collections

Congress wants hearing over Google Wi-Fi

Google told a congressional committee in a letter this week that it doesn't believe its Wi-Fi data-gathering scandal broke any laws, but that might not be enough to satisfy their inquiries.

File it under the what-else-are-they-going-say department, but Google's letter to three members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee apologized for the personal wireless data gathered as part of its Street View project and said it had stopped gathering all data on wireless hot spots in the U.S. Google disclosed in May that in addition to collecting wireless data that helps improve mapping services, it had … Read more

AppTools: 100 apps for 99 cents

Remember App Genie, an iPhone app that combines 27 handy tools into a single 99 cent app? What a rip-off!

I'm kidding, of course--I still like App Genie and consider it a great value. It's just that the new AppTools raises the bar to a whopping 100 tools, all for that same 99 cents. Let me say that again: 100 apps, 99 cents. I think that sets a new record for the "toolbox app" category.

Ah, but are the apps any good? And are they organized into a simple, efficient interface?

Let's start with the apps. Here's a small, random sampling of what you'll find inside AppTools: a bubble level, a mosquito repellent, a talking compass, a talking mortgage calculator, a non-talking car-loan calculator, a magic 8-ball, and a unit converter.

There's value in some of these tools, like the various calculators, the pedometer, the "Where Am I?" location app, and the flashlight. I particularly like the Search DVD Preview app that scans DVD-case bar codes and then finds matching clips in YouTube. Try it out the next time you're trying to decide on a movie at the local video store.

But as you might expect from an app collection that numbers in the three digits, AppTools serves up some stinkers. For example, know what you'll find inside iRecipes? Exactly five recipes, one each for brownies, cheesecake, cookies (variety undisclosed), pear cake, and turkey.

I could go on--and on--but I'll just leave it at this: There's a lot of junk in here.… Read more

Logitech wants to click with your fantasies

Logitech is ready to indulge your deepest fantasies--if, that is, those fantasies involve a pink or blue computer mouse with a pattern on it. The device maker is out with a new Fantasy Collection, a series of peripherals including mice, keyboards, portable lap desks, and Webcams, in various colors and designs.

The Blue Swirl motif, for example, features asymmetric, overlapping rings inspired by the ripple effect from a raindrop on a still pond. The Pink Balance design, described as "daring, exciting, flirty, playful, and spirited," shows an artful leaping acrobat. All offerings in the Fantasy Collection (more than … Read more

IBM software to help states grab back taxes

States hungry to grab billions in back taxes can now call in the big guns in the form of IBM.

Big Blue announced on Monday new Tax Collections Optimizer software designed to help state governments more effectively collect money owed from deliquent taxpayers.

The software uses data analytics to determine the total amount of back taxes owed. It then compares those findings with the existing workload and available staffing at state tax agencies and recommends the best methods for collecting those taxes.

Specifically, the software analyzes certain taxpayer information, such as the total amount of money due and an individual'… Read more

Link locker

Although many people are devoted users of a single browser, many others find themselves switching back and forth between different browsers, depending on what they're doing. We tend to favor Firefox, for example, but we often find ourselves testing add-ons for Chrome and Internet Explorer and then--in the case of Chrome, anyway--hanging around in that browser for a while. This gets to be a problem when we want to visit a site we have bookmarked, only to find that we never bookmarked the site in the browser we're using. Link Commander Lite is a simple solution to this … Read more

What Apple's and Microsoft's patent threats mean for start-ups

Perhaps retirement doesn't suit former Sun Microsystems CEO Jonathan Schwartz.

Just weeks into his post-Sun life, Schwartz offers some delicious anecdotes in a blog post, summarizing Apple's and Microsoft's threats to sue Sun for patent infringement as more about bluster than substance.

But that's not the lesson I learn from Schwartz's commentary.

Instead, what is immediately obvious to me is that a) the technology industry is a morass of conflicting patent claims, b) since there's really no way to completely avoid others' patents the best defense is to have a hefty counterbalancing patent portfolio … Read more

MAME tamer

ROMs are files that emulate and save data from read-only memory (ROM) devices such as video game cartridges, and most are just that: software images of old-time, old-school video arcade games, Atari games, and other obsolete gaming system cartridges that many gamers collect like trading cards. They use MAME (multiple arcade machine emulator) software to recreate the original software environment for realistic play and preservation. ROMs can pile up on your hard drive quickly. ClrMamePro is a free ROM management tool that makes it easy to keep your game collection up-to-date with each new release and every deleted set. It'… Read more

Make slick-looking databases of just about anything

Bento is a database app from the makers of Filemaker offering plenty of great features, but its deliberate lack of focus may make it difficult for people to grasp its usefulness. Bento is loaded with templates to create databases of people, places, or things using nice-looking graphics. The interface takes some time to get used to, but with a little poking around (and once the major features become clear), the true power of Bento starts to materialize.

Bento can be used to catalog just about anything in any number of ways. Comic book collectors could use the program to catalog … Read more

iCatchall: 27 apps for free--Monday only

What's better than 27 apps for 99 cents? Why, 27 apps for zero cents, of course.

That's what you get from iCatchall, which, like last week's App Genie, delivers more than two dozen tools under one app roof. Normally it's 99 cents, but in conjunction with previously mentioned Free App a Day, iCatchall is free on Monday (and only this Monday).

As you might expect, there's a bit of overlap between these two kitchen-sink apps--but less than you might think. iCatchall is actually a mix of tools, games, and sound effects.

Instead of cramming everything … Read more