Windows software

The Opera Software browser brain transplant that began on Android is now complete for Windows and OS X users, too.

The Norwegian company has been rebuilding Opera on the same browser engine Google uses within Chrome, scrapping its own Presto engine. The first fruits of the transformation arrived on Android devices, but now the new Opera 15 has been released for personal computers, too.

A browser engine's job is to process all the HTML, JavaScript, and CSS instructions on a Web page or Web app then render the result on the screen. Although Opera is following Chrome at this … Read more

Attention "American Idol" superfans: if you've been in major withdrawal since Candice Glover won Season 12 of Fox's blockbuster talent competition last May, you'll get your fix soon enough. On July 19, the American Idol Live! tour--a 30-stop national extravaganza, featuring the top 11 contestants--makes its way across the U.S. to a city near you. Expect to see Amber Holcomb, Angie Miller, Burnell Taylor, Candice Glover, Curtis Finch Jr, Devin Velez, Janelle Arthur, Kree Harrison, Lazaro Arbos, Paul Jolley, and fan-saved Aubrey Cleland re-creating your favorite performances from this past season and surprising you … Read more

Safari, the top browser in terms of mobile usage, lost a little share to three rivals in June.

The Apple browser dropped from 60.0 percent of usage in May to 58.0 percent in June, still well ahead of competing browsers, according to statistics released by tracking firm Net Applications on Monday. Google's unbranded Android browser, in second place, also dipped, from 20.7 percent to 20.6 percent.

Picking up the slack were Opera Mini, which rose from 10.5 percent to 11.2 percent; Google's Chrome, which rose from 3.2 percent to 3.8 … Read more

Before I bought a Macbook Air, I began to fear the hassles that could potentially come with sharing files between my other devices, particularly my Android phone. What's the easiest way to transfer files between my two most beloved devices? Droid NAS is one elegant solution.

Droid NAS lets you send files back and forth between your Mac and Android phone. The app makes this possible via Wi-Fi and the built-in Bonjour protocol inside OS X.

Download and launch Droid NAS from your Android phone. Make sure that your Android device and your Macbook or Mac are all connected … Read more

Mozilla debuted a new Firefox for Android 23 beta (download) on Thursday that brought with it a flatter but more Web-friendly version of the familiar browser logo.

The new logo has been designed, wrote Sean Martell, Mozilla's lead visual designer, with "SVG compatibility and color consistency" in mind. It doesn't ditch detail just for the sake of it, he said in his blog post about the change, but actually adds more detail in some areas.

One major detail he pointed out that has changed is the fox's arm. It now comes from its shoulder, instead … Read more

Superstar Seth Green is perhaps best known for his work on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," three "Austin Powers" films, "Party Monster," "Family Guy," and his Emmy Award-winning, stop-motion-animated series "Robot Chicken."

What many fans might not know is that Green, who will soon appear on-camera in the upcoming feature "The Identical," the upcoming miniseries "Delete," and on fall's Fox comedy series "Dads," is quite the pro behind the camera as well, as his online photo album demonstrates. Green opened up about his Hipstamatic … Read more

Founded in 2004, award-winning tech blog Engadget has brought a lot of shiny and new aspirational gadgets and software into the light through the years. Tim Stevens--named "the nicest guy in tech" by "Fortune" magazine--has acted as the blog's editor-in-chief since 2011. Tim was gracious enough to share some of his latest and greatest software finds--for work and play--with Download.com readers.

What are your top five apps and why? 1. Gmail: I'd be lost without this app. There are some mail apps that are a little better, but none integrate with labels, filters, … Read more

On Wednesday, Microsoft released their highly-anticipated preview build of Windows 8.1. Windows 8.1 promises numerous improvements to search, the Windows app store, cloud storage, and enhanced personalization features. In particular, Windows 8.1 also promises a potential "revival" of the oft-missed Start button.

Microsoft has also released an in-depth preview guide for users to showcase some of their major changes to the flagship OS.

We'll be taking 8.1 for a preview spin, but the preview update is free to download. Just remember to back up any sensitive files in case you need to revert … Read more

Today, Bitdefender released the 2014 version of its flagship Bitdefender Total Security product, replete with an interface redesign, adaptive technology, and noticeably absent version-number attribution.

With this year's release of Total Security comes the debut of Bitdefender Photon, an adaptive technology that aims to optimize the speed and performance of your PC as it adjusts to your computer.

Photon was actually introduced earlier in Bitdefender 2013, but since then the company has made major improvements while minimally impacting performance. Now, Photon officially becomes its own product component.

Bitdefender Total Security also introduces an online credential aid called Wallet. Not … Read more