dummies

Get Windows 8 for Dummies: Pocket Edition e-book for free

I've made no secret of my total hatred of lack of excessive fondness for Windows 8. I think unless you're getting it on a tablet or smartphone, the OS is best avoided.

That said, plenty of users have no doubt taken advantage of Microsoft's upgrade offer, and plenty more will end up with Windows 8 on their next desktop or laptop. And I think it's a safe bet that most of those users will need some help learning to navigate, operate, and, ultimately, tolerate 8.

To that end, Dell is offering a free copy of "Windows 8 for Dummies: Dell Pocket Edition" in e-book form. … Read more

Crash testing the maybe-not-so-Smart ForTwo

If you live in the San Francisco Bay area, I'm sure you're probably familiar with the little golf-cart looking car called the Smart ForTwo. These trendy little things are gas efficient, eco-friendly, and easy to drive, but are they safe? Today's video demonstrates just how potentially dangerous these things are in an accident, so pay attention.

It's been noted that this video has an affiliation with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, although this claim has been disputed by some Web viewers. Regardless, this video is neat as it shows the testers setting up the crash … Read more

Gmail gets another tool for dummies: Name check

Gmail's labs section is full of tools that help advanced users fine-tune the interface of the free Web mail service. What may be more impressive, though, are its tweaks for the not-so-advanced users, the kind who need a little hand-holding to keep them from firing off e-mails while intoxicated, or missives that they didn't mean to send in the first place.

To add to these two features, Google on Tuesday introduced "got the wrong Bob?", a very simple tweak that, based on first names, will give you a subtle nudge if it thinks you're sending … Read more

Ford's crash-test smarties

Ford Motor offered a glimpse into one of its testing labs on Tuesday. The showcase was assumably to promote the new safety features in its upcoming lineup of cars, and as you can imagine, the peek into this world of crash test dummies is rather amusing.

One of the technologies Ford talked about testing was a new air bag system, which was put in the 2009 F-150 and will be in the 2010 Ford Taurus. Instead of being acceleration-based, the new sensors are pressure-based, which makes them more accurate, according to Ford, but also more sensitive.

The company wanted to … Read more

A plea for simple MP3 remotes

Note to industry: If you must make tons of remote controls for MP3 players, please don't make them as complicated as the six or seven we need to watch our TV right now.

We haven't yet laid hands on Keyspan's "TuneView for iPod" but fear that it may be going down this treacherous road. There's one obvious reason: Its manufacturer claims to have introduced a bevy of features that'll all make life simpler. Where have we heard that before?

The product language scares us already: "TuneView for iPod consists of a 2-way … Read more