commands

Vlingo 3.0 introduces premium voice features

Mobile voice search company Vlingo on Wednesday released Vlingo 3.0 for BlackBerry. Like Vlingo 2.0 before it, Vlingo 3.0 uses your voice commands to text other Vlingo BlackBerry users, search the Web, dial a number, create a note, update Facebook and Twitter, and open other applications. New to Vlingo 3.0 is a robotic voice that reads back your actions (like, "calling Home"), plus two premium features. One lets you text any contact (not just others using Vlingo's BlackBerry service), and the other creates, replies, and forwards e-mails based on your dictation. These two … Read more

Defrag Windows from the Command Prompt

If it were up to me, I'd never defragment my PC's drives. I'm one of those people who prefers to have Windows' maintenance operations done in the background, without my direct intervention.

So it comes as no surprise that I'm a big fan of Vista's automatic-defrag setting. But I also know better than to put all my faith in Microsoft's ability to keep my system healthy. Last year, I started using Auslogics' free Disk Defrag utility, which works with Windows 2000 and up.

If you prefer to use Windows' defragger, you can open it … Read more

Simple daily reminders

Users looking for a way to get daily reminders without using a complicated calendar system may find Reminder Commander to be the answer. This program's limitations could be seen by some as its greatest asset, but may be a drawback to others.

This free 30-day trial is as basic as a reminder system can get. If users are seeking programs to send e-mails every Thursday, open up Web sites at noon, keep a list of contacts, or other complex features, they should look elsewhere. This basic program has a calendar, from which you can select a specific date and … Read more

Pencil and paper battle

Scribattle Lite is a free preview of Scribattle, a very fast-paced arcade game with an original look and interface that evokes pencil-and-paper games. You control three stationary warriors--stick figures drawn on graph paper--with a fixed amount of ammo per level (similar to classic games like Missile Comand), as they fire up at wave after wave of scribbled, fast-moving enemies. To fire, you touch a warrior and then quickly flick up to determine the speed and direction of each shot.

The multitouch controls mean that you can fire from one, two, or three warriors at once, which makes for interesting tactical … Read more

Abt has the Audiovox Commander MT XM Satellite Radio Receiver for $139.65, after $39.35 savings.

Save $39.35 on the Audiovox Commander MT XM Satellite Radio Receiver from Abt >> Regular price is $179 >> Sale price is $139.65 >> Savings $39.35 (21.98%) >> Click here for deal

A lot to take in

Billed as "an all-in-one application for organizing, editing, sharing, and presenting photo collections," Ashampoo Photo Commander makes some big promises. Ultimately it delivers, but this isn't a program for the casual user.

The interface struggles to present the various (and numerous) options. It's overwhelming at first, and with so much going on, the black background makes it a little difficult to read. "How-to" pop up windows were a welcome sight, and they helped us get our bearings. Presentation issues aside, the program really proved its stuff in action. Photos are easily imported and scanned … Read more

Are voice commands on GPS worth it?: Ask the Editors

Q: I am writing to ask you about what GPS device is the best for someone interested in traffic updates (preferably free), as well as Bluetooth capability. I also like the idea of Lane Assist because I fear missing exits. Also, is the voice response option really a practical one at this phase? Hope to hear from you soon. --Alex via e-mail

A: Hi Alex. I'll start with your last question first. Voice command functionality is just starting to show up in portable navigation devices, letting you enter addresses and perform some other tasks simply by speaking to the GPS. As with any new technology, I can understand your apprehension. Is it good enough? Is it actually useful? In other words, is it ready for prime time?

In the case of voice commands and GPS, it's not quite there yet. The idea behind it is good. The ability to enter addresses and perform certain functions with the sound of your voice would seemingly save you the time and trouble of going through various menus and tapping onscreen buttons to achieve the same goal.

Being able to do things like increase system volume and zoom in on maps via voice commands is particularly useful since you can keep your hands on the wheel instead of reaching over to fiddle around with your PND's touch screen.

However, in practice, the technology still needs some work. Voice command functionality is available on a handful of GPS models, such as the TomTom GO 930 and the Magellan Maestro 4250, but of the current offerings, there are only two models where I'd consider the voice command feature satisfactory: the Garmin Nuvi 880 and Navigon 7200T.

These two systems returned fairly accurate results when dictating addresses, and the Nuvi 800 had the bonus of offering 30 voice commands to perform other functions, including volume control and activating the hands-free speaker system. Unfortunately, they're also on the pricier side ($700 to $1,000 for the Garmin and $300 to $500 for the Navigon), and I wouldn't say the voice command functionality is so great that it's worth the extra expense. … Read more

Back to the future: 1939 wireless remote control!

If you're under 40, you might think TVs always had remotes. The early ones were called "clickers," "channel changers," or "selectors."

Sure, there were TV remotes as early as 1956, notably the Zenith Space Command, but remote-controlled TVs didn't really enter the mainstream until the 1970s.

It's true that there weren't many channels from which to choose at that time, but changing channels or volume without a remote was a matter of getting up from the sofa, walking over to the set, and turning big, clunky knobs on the TV.… Read more

Getting to know Windows' system commands

Exactly one year ago in this very blog, I promised to describe how to use commands to manage Windows. The earlier post linked to a comprehensive list of system commands on Microsoft's TechNet site.

The problem with the TechNet list is that it's a little too comprehensive. It's easy to lose the very useful ping, ipconfig, and tracert commands among the dozens of obscurities, such as atmadm, nbtstat, and unlodctr. You'll find a much more accessible list at Victor Laurie's site, which includes a page describing commands for renaming, deleting, backing up, and otherwise managing … Read more