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Google funds Photoshop-on-Linux work

Google is funding work to ensure the Windows version of Adobe Systems' Photoshop and other Creative Suite software can run on Linux computers.

For the project, Google is funding programmers at CodeWeavers, a company whose open-source Wine software lets Windows software run on Linux. Wine is a compatibility layer that intercepts a program's Windows commands and converts them to instructions for the Linux kernel and its graphics subsystem.

"We hired CodeWeavers to make Photoshop CS and CS2 work better under Wine," Dan Kegel, of Google's software engineering team and the Wine 1.0 release manager, said … Read more

Killer Download: Background apps for security and speed

With so many potential threats on the Internet, it is an absolute necessity to prepare your computer for the Web. Whenever I get a new computer, the first programs I download include antivirus, antispyware, and firewall software. Frankly, if you don't have at least these three types of programs running on your computer, it's like driving at night without your lights on--sure it's possible, but don't be surprised if it ends in a crash (har har).

Fortunately, there are a lot of great security programs available at Download.com. Recently I've written Killer Downloads about both the best firewalls and the top antivirus programs. This week I'm doing a software roundup of a different type. In recent scouting of new (and new to me) software I came across some great Windows programs that work behind the scenes to keep your computer running smoothly and also keep your data secure.… Read more

More DemoFall: Enterprise software for small businesses

Wait, there are still more tools for small businesses to get stuff done shown here at the conference this morning.

CashView.com lets small business users see all their documents online. It's a service for sending and receiving invoices, approvals, and commenting on them. There's also a calendar that shows when money is due or to be paid to you. It lets you review and zoom in on documents. The docs get online by faxing them to CashView and they upload them for you. Some people might actually have to buy a fax machine first.

Batch Book is … Read more

Swap online-photo services with Migratr

There are already a lot of useful plug-ins for downloading or uploading from online sites such as Flickr, Picasa Web, Snapfish, Webshots (disclaimer: owned by CNET Networks), and the rest, but most applications only work with one specific service.

If you want to move all of your images from one site to another (if you're one of those unhappy Flickr users, for example), and you're not looking forward to manually downloading and uploading hundreds of pictures, Migratr might be able to help. A home-brewed tool from independent developer Alexander Lucas, Migratr automatically downloads all of your photos from one site, and uploads them to the other.

It sounds great, so what's the catch? Well, Migratr only currently includes support for Flickr, Picasa Web, 23HQ, SmugMug, and Zooomr (which shouldn't even be counted because it has temporarily disabled bulk uploaders). However, downloading and uploading among the four available online photo services worked wonderfully for me. I must admit, however, that I was transferring tens of files, not thousands.… Read more