$99

Mix up to four audio or video streams with djDecks for Mac

djDecks for Mac is a software mixer and audio player for the MacOS platform. There is a free download available, but the full copy of djDecks for Mac will cost ?80 (around $110 US). The software installs easily and can be told to read your existing library of music.

The djDecks for Mac interface shows two mixers for two audio streams in the lower part of the interface, and a graphic frequency display in the upper part. Sliders and knobs let you adjust the audio streams and the mixing. In addition to audio, video and karaoke clips can be played … Read more

Google planning cheaper Nexus 7, report claims

Google is planning low-ball itself with an even cheaper Nexus 7, according to an Asia-based report.

Google and Asus wowed consumers with the $199 Nexus 7 and now they're aiming at price points below $150, ultimately going as low as $99, according to Taipei-based Digitimes, citing sources at display component maker O-Film Tech.

The lower-priced Nexus 7 should be released by the second quarter of next year, said the technology site, which covers device manufacturers and component suppliers in Asia.

O-Film started shipping components for the lower-priced Nexus 7 in December, the report said. The company's touch-screen glass-glass film … Read more

The other 1 percent: Audiophiles

I'm definitely in the figurative 1 percent audiophile group, but I'm not wealthy. I know it might seem old-fashioned, but there was a time not so long ago when all sorts of people listened to music at home over a hi-fi. They weren't necessarily audiophiles, but they had a turntable or CD player, an amplifier or stereo receiver, and a pair of speakers. They also listened in cars, but the home hi-fi was where the bulk of their music collection was. Nowadays audiophiles might be the only people listening -- really listening -- to music at home; … Read more

Lightroom 4.2 supports large swath of new cameras

With the Photokina show in Germany producing so many new high-end cameras, it's evidently been a busy season for Adobe Systems' Lightroom team.

That team just released Lightroom 4.2, which supports 22 new cameras, 43 new lenses, and lets people shoot with 11 new cameras tethered to a computer. It takes work to figure out how to decode each camera's proprietary raw format.

Here's the full list of new cameras supported, but note that the Nikon D600 support is "preliminary and there is a minor risk that the appearance of your images may change when … Read more

Amazon renting '21 Jump Street,' 'Dark Knight,' others for 99 cents

Big day for Amazon. First came news of the new Amazon Instant Video app for iPad. Now, the company is offering dirt-cheap rentals on a bunch of new-release movies.

For just 99 cents, you can rent any of the following titles:

"21 Jump Street" "Act of Valor" "American Reunion" "Big Miracle" "Friends with Kids" "Lockout" "Mirror Mirror" "Safe House" "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" "Wanderlust" "Wrath of the Titans"

Not a bad list, eh? Amazon is offering … Read more

Windows 8 Pro upgrade set for $39.99, Media Center too

Microsoft is trying to make the Windows 8 upgrade more tempting by cutting the upgrade price and throwing in Media Center, too.

Those with Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 will qualify for an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for $39.99 in 131 markets, Microsoft said today.

And Media Center can be added "for free" through the "add features" option within Windows 8 Pro after the upgrade, according to Microsoft.

That might not seem like much but Microsoft said previously that Media Center must be "acquired" via "Add Features to Windows 8" … Read more

Microsoft goes after the 99 percenters with Windows Phone

BARCELONA, Spain--Microsoft wants to be known as the people's smartphone company.

The software giant said today that it had lowered the minimum requirements to build a Windows Phone, a move that allows vendors to construct less-expensive devices that can appeal to more budget-conscious customers and first-time smartphone buyers.

The shift represents an attempt to expand Microsoft's addressable market, vital to the company's bid to regain a measure of relevancy in the smartphone business. The company had previously maintained a strict list of specifications that vendors had to follow, which at the time made the devices fairly high-end. … Read more

Five predictions for security in 2012

This was an exciting/anxious year in the Internet security community, with big tech firms like Sony and RSA getting hacked, putting consumer data and corporate networks at risk, and with reports of attacks on utilities.

Scary things that go bump in the night are actually happening to computer systems that matter and it's only going to get worse. Here's what I think will happen in 2012.

Malicious Android apps will increase As a target for malicious software, Android is the Microsoft of the mobile platform. Android has more than 50 percent of the smartphone market, eclipsing all … Read more

Verizon Wireless to sell Galaxy Nexus tomorrow

Verizon Wireless confirmed today that the Galaxy Nexus will finally hit stores tomorrow.

The Samsung device, which is the first to run on the Ice Cream Sandwich version of Android, will cost $299.99 with a two-year contract, the carrier said in an e-mailed statement.

The phone has been eagerly anticipated since its unveiling in Hong Kong in October, and is designed to be a showcase for Ice Cream Sandwich, which includes a number of new features and combines the tablet and smartphone interfaces into a common experience.

It's also the latest Verizon device to run on its 4G … Read more