productivity

Less than two months after his high-profile exit from Microsoft, Steven Sinofsky looks to be staying in the tech dialog.

The former Microsoft Windows president is penning a new blog that he launched today called "Learning by Shipping." Sinofsky writes that the aim of his blog is to offer thoughts and perspectives on product development and management.

While working for Microsoft, Sinofsky wrote extensively for the company's Intranet about several of its major products, such as Windows, Internet Explorer, and Bing, as "an effort modernize the communication channels."

Here's some of his first blog post: … Read more

Apple's built-in Calendar application in OS X is a convenient calendaring tool to have; however, its default method of entering calendar dates may be a bit cumbersome by first appearances.

When you first enter an event in Calendar, you select the calendar you wish to use and then double-click the date on which to create the event. You can then title the event accordingly. By default this action creates an all-day event that will further need to be refined by editing it to adjust its time frame. While those who use Calendar may find this somewhat acceptable though a … Read more

The latest update to the Gmail app (4.2.1) for Android has provided some welcome new features, like pinch-to-zoom and swipe-to-delete. But another useful feature you might not be aware of is hiding check boxes.

To select multiple e-mail messages in Gmail for Android, you have to tap the tiny check boxes to the left of each message. If you miss the check box and tap the message instead, the message launches and you have to go back to the conversation list and try again. Luckily, there's a Gmail setting that will remove the check boxes entirely, and … Read more

Watchers of Apple and the industry no doubt recall Tim Cook's comments in a recent interview about bringing some Mac production back to the U.S. in the coming year. But which Mac might the Apple CEO be talking about?

DigiTimes thinks it knows. A new report from the Asia-based blog cites "sources from the upstream supply chain" as saying that it'll be the Mac Mini. Keep in mind, however, that DigiTimes' reports aren't always reliable. And then there's this: Earlier in the month, Fortune's Philip Elmer-Dewitt laid out several reasons why he … Read more

Samsung mobile devices can be managed from a computer using the Kies desktop software, but it requires software to be installed on your computer and the use of a USB cable. If you don't have a USB cable handy or if you avoid using cables whenever possible, the Samsung Kies Air app may be just what you're looking for.

The Kies Air app allows you to connect to your Samsung smartphone or tablet from any device or computer with a Web browser as long as both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network. The Kies Air app basically … Read more

Key Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn is reportedly at work on some "initial testing" on Apple TV sets, according to a new report.

Citing a source at Hon Hai (otherwise known as Foxconn), Focus Taiwan says the manufacturer is at work on some early testing of TV sets that range between 46 and 55 inches.

The report comes a week after similar claims from The Wall Street Journal that work had begun on an Apple TV set as part of a partnership between Sharp and Hon Hai.

As for timing, Focus Taiwan's source says the production schedule hints … Read more

Yahoo has announced that it is terminating its music service in China as of next month, according to The Next Web.

Apparently the closure comes as the Web giant looks to rework its product strategies.

"Thank you all for your continued support of Yahoo's products," a statement posted on the Yahoo China's music search portal read, according to The Next Web. "As part of an adjustment to our product strategy, we have decided to stop providing the Yahoo [China] Music service starting January 20, 2013."

With new CEO Marissa Mayer on board, Yahoo has … Read more

It's actually somewhat difficult to track down CNET's lowest-rated reviews of 2012. Our whole site is designed to surface the best, most-worthy products to the top and help you make a smart shopping decision. The losers all tend to sink into obscurity. But with some careful sorting I was able to cobble together all of the reviews of the past year rated under three stars.

But we're a pretty ruthless bunch here at CNET, so narrowing the list down to just five selections wasn't easy. For this list, I went with my personal picks. That meant leaving out the abysmal ZTE Score M, since I already roasted that thing in my "Top 5 phones to avoid." I also left out products like the HP Pavilion HPE Phoenix h9z and Kodak ESP 3.2 All-in-One Printer, because they were more chronically disappointing than truly awful. … Read more

You can now upload a photo to a specific Facebook album using the iOS and Android apps. There have been various methods in the past to get a photo into a preferred album, but the process is now streamlined.

iOS users will have the ability to add a photo, or photos, to an existing album or create a new album during the upload process. Android users will only be able to upload photos to an existing album. Before uploading a photo, however, Android users can create an album by visiting the Photos tab from the menu and tapping on the … Read more