pop-ups

Amuse co-workers and friends

The Talking Moose is a desktop utility that features a funny animated cartoon-like moose that will pop up when least expected and deliver a funny line, a witty quote, or insult the user. There are versions of The Talking Moose for the Mac and mobile devices as well as Windows, and the moose even has his own Facebook page and Twitter accounts.

The Talking Moose has been around in electronic form since 1986 and was one of the first animated figures on computers. Once installed the user will see the interface with links to the official Talking Moose Website and … Read more

For a big launch, Microsoft readies tiny holiday pop-up stores

It's lucky the Microsoft Surface RT is small, because Microsoft's coming pop-up stores look like they're going to be very compact.

Microsoft is planning to open 34 holiday pop-up stores in the U.S. and Canada. (The just-added two, announced this week by the company, are a Chicago and Times Square New York.) They are opening on October 26, the day that Windows 8 and Microsoft's Surface RT tablets/PCs are generally available.

I guess I was envisioning temporary full-size Microsoft stores -- like two-dozen-plus permanent brick-and-mortar stores they are operating already -- when I … Read more

Microsoft announces plans for 32 holiday pop-up stores

Microsoft officials have gone public with the full list of its planned 32 holiday pop-up brick-and-mortar stores.

We knew about a dozen or so of these from earlier leaks. But there are going to be more pop-ups than we expected in both the U.S. and Canada.

Other than saying these stores will open "this fall," Microsoft isn't providing exact dates as to when they will go live. I asked if any of them would be open by October 26, as this is the launch date for Windows 8 and Microsoft's ARM-based Surface RT tablets, but … Read more

Microsoft pop-up stores coming this holiday season

Microsoft officials said earlier this summer that they planned to open a number of temporary "pop-up" holiday stores this year. At the time, they didn't specify where these stores would be.

Braintree, Mass. Chicago (downtown) Cleveland, Ohio Manhattan, N.Y. Miami, Fla. Natick, Mass. Portland, Ore. San Antonio, Texas San Francisco St. Louis, Mo. Vancouver, B.C.

Microsoft Stores sell Windows PCs, Windows Phones, Microsoft and third-party software, games, peripherals and more. Microsoft also is going to sell its recently announced Surface PC/tablets through its Microsoft Stores in the U.S. and through select online Microsoft … Read more

RIM, Samsung accused of emoticon patent infringement

The latest in the everyone-sue-everyone patent war is an alleged infringement by Samsung and Research In Motion for installing emoticon shortcut menus on their mobile phones, according to tech news site Ars Technica.

A firm called Varia Holdings began the process of suing both cell phone makers on Thursday for using its "emoticon input method and apparatus" patent, reports Ars Technica. The company asserts that it owns the idea of pop-up emoticon menus, which let users easily insert a happy or frowny face without having to type out the characters one at a time.

"It is known … Read more

Intel goes flash mob style to pimp Ultrabooks

What the hell is an ultrabook?

That's an excellent question that's been raised by CNET editor Scott Stein, among others, and one Intel is trying to answer, in part, by going out and performing some flash mob-style theatrics.

The Pop-up Theater is an Intel ad campaign where a team of 60 individuals descend upon various spots around Los Angeles to wow passersby and unassuming individuals with messages splayed across a digital wall of ultrabooks.

Such stunts include standing in front of the Grauman's Chinese Theater on Hollywood Blvd. to spell out "I heart Ultrabooks." In another example, the team brings a virtual crowd to a game of 3-on-3 basketball by displaying shots of cheering fans whenever someone scores. … Read more

Disable the Skype Home window pop-up

"Oh, hey there, Skype Home window. I was going to watch this movie but I see you've decided to randomly open a window over it instead. Thanks!" Sound familiar? If you're a Skype user who's updated to version 5.5, you've probably come across this issue (only happens if you use Compact mode). There isn't a way to disable the pop-up in the application (yet), so follow these steps if you'd like to get rid of it:

Step 1: Download and install the Kill Skype Home program from SourceForge.

Step 2: … Read more

Mac Trojan Horse poses as Adobe Flash Installer

The latest attempt from digital wrongdoers to infect your Mac has been spotted taking on the look and feel of Adobe's Flash Installer.

Despite your feelings on whether you like Flash on your Mac, this Trojan poses a fairly serious threat to those unsuspecting users who may think they are simply updating Flash Player.

F-Secure has named the Trojan Bash/QHost.WB and have provided some insight as to how it works.

Once installed, the Trojan adds entries to the hosts file to hijack users visiting various Google sites (e.g., Google.com.tw, Google.com.tl, et cetera) … Read more

Timbuk2 Pop-Up case fits both iPad and iPad 2

With a lot of people buying Apple's magnetic Smart Cover to go along with their new iPad 2's, many iPad accessory case makers are starting to tout the ability of their sleeve-style cases to accommodate the iPad 2 with that Smart Cover left on. The idea, of course, is that when you travel, you'll want a little more protection for your precious Apple tablet, and the sleeve is the perfect way to completely cover your iPad 2.

Timbuk2's upcoming Pop-Up case is kind of a hybrid sleeve/hard case, with a rigid front for added protection, … Read more