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Unless you've been living under a rock (or maybe just don't read tech news) you probably already know that next Tuesday, October 4, is when Apple makes its next major announcement. While the company is tight-lipped as usual, we know that it will probably announce at least one new iPhone and when it plans to launch iOS 5, the operating system that powers the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad.

One of the big known features of the new iOS is Twitter integration. Apple generally does a great job of creating intuitive interfaces for just about everything and what we've learned of Twitter on the iPhone sounds great, as you'll be able to tweet directly from Safari, Photos, YouTube, and Camera. But if you're a serious Twitter user, you're still going to need a third-party app to get all that Twitter has to offer.… Read more

Children off the streets and in the classroom? Shorter days? New security suites? Yes, it's that time of year again, when most makers of computer security suites implore you to update to the latest version. We've looked at nine new premium suites so far. Some have made only incremental changes, and others were so eager to ditch their dirty bathwater that they almost lost the baby, too.

Note that as other suites get released, we'll be updating this story. And for those of you who like the wayback machine, here's last year's roundup.

So far … Read more

The legal spat between Apple and Samsung that has stretched around the world took on additional weight this week, with a new claim lodged against Apple by Samsung in Australia.

Bloomberg reports that Samsung this week went ahead with plans to file a cross claim with a federal court in Australia that takes aim at Apple's iPhone and iPad for infringing on seven wireless patents it holds. The claim also aims to invalidate patents held by Apple that have been used against the company, Bloomberg said.

Last month Samsung announced it would be taking retaliatory action against Apple, which … Read more

Apple has sued Samsung in the U.K. courts, further expanding the myriad countries in which it has taken legal action against the Korean manufacturer over its Android products.

The suit was filed on Monday, Samsung told ZDNet UK, explaining that it was a countersuit against action Samsung filed with the High Court in June. Details of both suits remain sketchy, as the patents in question have not been identified in these cases.

Apple's U.K. action against Samsung takes to at least 20 the total number of patent suits between the two companies that are currently under way. … Read more

The last time we saw a wholly new version of ESET's NOD32 and Smart Security, ransomware didn't exist, Anonymous had just started its campaign against the Church of Scientology, and the first Stuxnet attack hadn't even been launched. The latest versions from ESET bring its suites up to speed with the competition, but except for an innovative education tool, ESET doesn't surpass what's already out there. The basic antivirus suite NOD32 version 5 (download) and the more feature-rich Smart Security version 5 (download) are available exclusively today from CNET Download.com.

ESET is known for … Read more

A lawsuit filed last week by software company Droplets takes aim at Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook, Yahoo, and YouTube for infringing on its patented Web technology.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division, the Droplets suit alleges that the group of tech giants infringe on one or more of two patents it holds "for developing and delivering highly functional and scalable applications over the Internet." The company seeks damages as well as future royalties on the use of those patents.

The two patents in question are United States Patent No. … Read more

While AVG has made some important security improvements in its latest major release, including important protection against fake antivirus and ransomware, how the suite impacts your PC is the focus of AVG 2012. Available at no cost as AVG Anti-Virus Free 2012 (download), or as a paid upgrade to AVG Anti-Virus 2012 (download) or AVG Internet Security 2012 (download), AVG's 2012 offerings hang their hats on major performance gains.

Specifically, the company says that it has reduced by 40 percent the size on your hard drive of the virus signature database. That database is a major component of how … Read more

Wow. You people know your freeware! A few weeks ago, when I asked you to name your freeware favorites, I never dreamed I'd get more than 400 responses--some of which listed programs and utilities that were new to me. (And here I thought I knew them all.)

I'm still sifting through those replies, looking for recurring favorites and investigating some of the suggestions. In the meantime, I thought I'd share a handful of freeware goodies that I know and love--and that I neglected to mention the first time around.

Fences: Best. Program. Ever. This fantastic utility corrals … Read more

Google's surprise buy of handset maker Motorola Mobility yesterday gives the search giant a fully packed war chest of patents, but it also means Google is inheriting a sizable amount of intellectual property litigation.

As noted by my colleague Marguerite Reardon, Google's Motorola buy boosts its patent portfolio with more than 17,000 patents, along with another 7,500 patent applications that have been filed and are pending approval. That's a giant step up for Google, which investment banking firm MDB Capital Group estimated to have just 317 mobile device patents granted within the United States at … Read more