k-9

Review: K-9 Mail includes all the settings you want, but setup is a bit hard

K-9 Mail brings support for multiple e-mail addresses and high-tech features, but it's not easy to set up. It leaves Microsoft users out in the cold for the most part, too. If you know how to manually set up an e-mail client, this app will delight you. If you don't, you might want to stick with the default app on your smartphone or tablet.

This app claims to not support many Hotmail or Outlook e-mail addresses. It will require an app-specific password if you want to sync with Gmail, too. If you're having trouble, you have to … Read more

Review: K9 Web Protection Browser is an effective content filter

K9 Web Protection Browser attempts to fill the gap in Safari's access filters by providing a secondary browsing experience for children, combined with adjustment of some security settings. The built-in protection settings on an iPhone or iPad are fairly decent but are in some ways limited, especially for younger children. The Web browser in particular allows open access to the Internet if not filtered in some way. This is what K9 Web Protection Browser strives to fix.

The K9 browser looks identical to the Safari browser built into the iOS design, and while there are certainly some limitations as … Read more

Review: Free Android app K9 Web Protection Browser filters explicit Web content

For parents, the Internet is an unlocked Pandora's box of every possible threat to their children. What could be worse? How about the Internet wherever they go, out of your reach, on their smartphones? Fortunately, you have options. Blue Coat's Web Protection is a popular desktop parental control and Internet filter program. K9 Web Protection Browser extends its robust filtering and security capabilities to Android devices. It can block inappropriate and adult-themed content, gambling sites, spyware-infected Web sites, or any site you want to block. It relies on the same filtering technology used by Blue Coat's enterprise … Read more

How tech protects the world's busiest border crossing

SAN YSIDRO, Calif.--They were hidden in the gas tank -- 17 tightly-wrapped packages of marijuana weighing in at 38.44 pounds.

The car was nondescript, a green 1999 Mazda 626. The driver was a male 50-year-old Mexican national, a resident of Tijuana who had presumably been hoping to make it into California without being stopped.

Instead, the man got caught with the massive haul of pot, snared by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers here at the world's busiest border crossing using several tools in their arsenal -- some high-tech, some very low-tech -- to find … Read more

BYD to unveil plug-in SUV, e-bus in Detroit

Chinese automaker BYD (Build Your Dreams) will debut two new SUVs and an electric bus at the 2011 North American International Auto Show next month. The world premiere of these vehicles is part of the manufacturer's "Three Green Dreams" lineup--which includes not only vehicles but other green technologies as well--and adds to the F3DM plug-in hybrid sedan that's currently being tested by the Los Angeles Housing Authority.

The 2012 E6 Premier is an all-electric crossover with a top speed of 87 mph and a range of 186 miles. The five-seater can be fully recharged in 6 … Read more

Tim Lincecum, motion capture star

NOVATO, Calif.--Sports Illustrated magazine called Tim Lincecum "the freak," and for the motion capture specialists at 2K Sports, getting a good computer model of baseball star Tim Lincecum's unique, and violent, pitching motion presented a special challenge.

Last month, Lincecum, a diminutive 24-year-old whom you would never pick out of a lineup as a superstar ballplayer, won the National League Cy Young award, given to the league's best pitcher. The same day, the San Francisco Giant found out that he'd been chosen as the cover athlete for Major League Baseball 2K9, 2K's hit … Read more

From Cy Young to video game fame

NOVATO, Calif.--We're about to see Tim Lincecum, the 2008 National League Cy Young award-winning pitcher, go deep.

"He's going to hit a home run, which is the first time in his life he's ever done that, including Little League," said Johnathan Rivera, an associate producer for 2K Sports, who was standing near the pitcher, explaining what he was about to do.

"Thanks," Lincecum said sarcastically.

The San Francisco Giants pitcher was here, at 2K Sports' motion-capture studio on Tuesday, because he's the cover athlete for the publisher's forthcoming Major League … Read more

How an NHL star becomes a video game actor

NOVATO, Calif.--Over on one side of the synthetic hockey rink, the director yelled out, "Motion-capture ready?"

The technician answered, "Ready."

The director then shouted out, "Actor ready?"

NHL star Rick Nash, a left wing for the Columbus Blue Jackets answered back, "Ready."

Nash was on hand, even as the Stanley Cup Finals are still in progress, because he's the cover star for 2K Sports' forthcoming hockey video game, NHL 2K9. And he was here, in this small studio in a nondescript office park for an all-day motion-capture filming session for … Read more

Motion capturing for 'NHL 2K9'

NOVATO, Calif.--I'm sitting outside a nondescript warehouse space in this Marin County town, and sitting right behind me is Rick Nash, an NHL all-star with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

All of us are chowing down on barbecue, and every single one of us is wearing comfortable clothes: jeans, T-shirts, and the like.

But not Nash. He's in a full-body motion-capture suit. That's because he's here to for a mo-cap filming session for 2K Sports' forthcoming hockey video game, NHL 2K9.

I'll run a full story on this later today, and a full gallery, most … Read more

Featured Freeware: K9 Web Blocker

For a free Internet filter, K9 Web Blocker does its job well, providing a broad collection of options for customizing your remote Web supervision needs. The app comes with a handful or so of predesigned filters and an option to customize. With more than 50 categories for organizing Web sites, and the keyword-free proprietary K9 rating system, the Web monitoring and blocking aspects of the software functioned well. K9 also has categories for blocking sites that have been detected as potential malware threats. Equally impressive--and a little bit scary--was the log that detailed not just blocked Web sites but also … Read more