tools

The security protocol that enables Siri to communicate with Apple's servers and return information via speech recognition has been cracked by developer Applidium.

What does that mean?

In a nutshell, according to Applidium, "anyone could now write an Android app that uses the real Siri!" The technology that Siri uses to communicate with Apple servers is not HTTP, as many developers may suspect. In fact, Apple uses TCP to connect with Siri.

After some more digging, Applidium had discovered the server name and address that Siri uses. After finding the server, a valid certificate was needed. By … Read more

Free Windows Cleanup Tool is actually a bundle of free Windows utilities that can clean your system, defragment your registry, and perform other maintenance. It's a no-nonsense package that is simple to set up and use. It offers plenty of options, especially the cleaning tool.

Free Windows Cleanup Tool's interface is rectangular dialog with vertically arranged program icons, tree-view settings panel, and main window. The first tool, the Cleaner, requires users to select exactly what they want to clean, which keeps inexperienced users from accidentally deleting the wrong files. The cleaner settings included all major browsers, system temporary … Read more

If the mobile version of your Web site is a stinker, Google would like to have a word with you.

The company this week began pitching a new initiative (read: marketing push) to get businesses to create mobile versions of their Web sites using compatibility diagnostic tools, along with a directory of mobile-site developers, if the results turn out to be underwhelming.

The new initiative, called GoMo, is a blending of "Go Mobile." The site's name was leaked earlier this week, as spotted by blog Fusible, however it was behind a password-protected page, which, as TechCrunch notes, … Read more

Nothing lasts forever in the tech industry, and Nintendo's upcoming Wii U, the Sony PlayStation Vita, and all other one-trick portable gaming consoles are next in line to get the axe! At least that's what Jeff hypothesizes, although the trolls in his CNET editorial have opposing opinions.

After we sort through all the hate mail, we turn to a story about Internet domain squatters taking advantage of the #OccupyWallStreet trend to make money off the protesters.

And in the same way that Bacolicio.us set the veganism movement back several years, a new site called OccupyTheURL is turning the 99 percent into an online gimmick. Type in any Web site--the 404 homepage works--and your page will soon be flooded with graphic pop-ups of protesters blocking your access. We'd rather have bacon.… Read more

As freeware system cleaners go, Magix PC Check & Tuning Free offers a good balance. Some such tools are designed to be as easy to use as possible and give you few options and not enough information about what they're doing to your system. Others overwhelm beginners with options and detailed scan reports, and they often make it too easy to delete the wrong things. The freeware version of PC Check is designed to be easy to use yet useful to people with widely varying skills, yet it also lets you perform cleaning and tune-up operations separately as well … Read more

When it comes to sharing ideas and communicating stories, sometimes it's just easier to present your thoughts by drawing them out. Not just for Pictionary, online whiteboards are great collaborative tools to help you visualize your thoughts and brainstorm ideas. These Web apps not only throw out the smelly dry-erase markers, but also add a few tricks to make sharing your works faster and easier than ever.

A Web Whiteboard (AWW), developed by Senko Rasic, was designed to be minimalistic and simple to use like a real whiteboard. Coded in HTML5, AWW not only performs smoothly, but leaves little … Read more

Macecraft Software's PowerTools Lite is a freeware registry cleaner and system maintenance tool based on the company's Jv16 PowerTools suite. It places a lot of emphasis on safety and user control, which aren't always compatible in free system cleaners. It manages to be both safe and easy to use, on the one hand, and thorough and effective on the other, thanks to a PDF-based manual, clear explanations of each step, user-selectable safety levels, considerable built-in backup capabilities, and plenty of warnings when appropriate.

Setup takes 2 to 10 minutes, but it only has to be done once. … Read more

If you spend a lot of time perusing sites like eBay or Craigslist, you know what a pain it is to open each individual link for a sale to take a look at the pictures and information. Whether you open the link in your current tab and press Back often, or are a multi-browser-tab master, there has to be a better way to do this, right? Google found a better way by incorporating previews into its search results, so why not use that same idea across the entire Web? That's where the ezLinkPreview extension for Chrome comes in handy. … Read more

Facebook is in flux, or let's say, full epic swing.

On the eve of F8, Facebook's annual developer conference, the world's busiest social network is expected to undergo its most radical change yet.

Facebook, now 7 years old, appears on the verge of becoming a full-on consumer brand powerhouse--where entire industries like publishing, film, and television will live and conduct commerce at an unprecedented rate and scale, industry watchers say. As Facebook grows and evolves, it's also becoming a more complex platform to understand and navigate. That's why Platlas, the world's first social-networking "… Read more