index

Edison tops Jobs as world's greatest innovator

A group of 1,000 young people consider the world's greatest innovator to be Thomas Edison, whose crowning left the late Steve Jobs in second place.

Edison, the creator of the light bulb and phonograph, among many other inventions, earned the top title among 52 percent of those polled by Lemelson-MIT, a program that tries to honor inventors who have improved our lives and gauge peoples' perceptions about innovation.

Often lauded for his spirit of creativity, especially following his death, Jobs took second place with 24 percent citing him as the greatest innovator of all time.

The results surprised … Read more

Better file-searching tool

If you're not satisfied with the power or flexibility of the Mac's built-in Spotlight search, you should check out HoudahSpot. This app isn't a Spotlight replacement, but rather a more versatile front-end for Spotlight--as it actually uses the technology behind Spotlight to help you find files on your computer. HoudahSpot works in much the same way as Spotlight, and you can pull it up with a key combo or a menubar icon. Once you do, though, HoudahSpot offers many more search options--and it waits until you've finished forming a query rather than immediately returning results as … Read more

Offline Google Docs starts playing peek-a-boo

One of the big criticisms of Google's Chromebooks is that they're significantly less useful when you don't have an Internet connection or are paying by the megabyte for a wireless data plan. That drawback is particularly glaring when it comes to Google Docs.

And unfortunately for Google, the company missed the Chrome OS launch window with one important upgrade coming to Google Docs, the ability to use the word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation software while not connected to the Net.

Offline Google Docs was slated to arrive early this year, but Google pushed it back. In May, … Read more

Global stock display

Stock Index News Clock may not be the most imaginative name, but it's certainly an accurate description of this interesting freeware. A rotating globe displays the time and stock prices for exchanges around the world, while a scrolling ticker displays news and business headlines along the bottom edge. It accesses all major global exchanges, too.

Stock Index News Clock, or SINC, is portable freeware, so it requires no installation. We extracted the compressed program file and opened SINC's compact, two-piece interface. A small window displayed a rotating animated globe with latitude and longitude lines as well as national … Read more

Spotlight slow and not showing search results

While Apple's Spotlight search function is a useful tool, sometimes it may fail to show you items that do contain the search terms you're using. At other times Spotlight may take a while to show you search results, or even bog down your system while it is organizing results. When these problems arise there are a few things you can do to correct them.

In the case of expected results not showing up, try checking your Spotlight preferences to see if you have any folders in Spotlight's privacy list. If so, remove them and wait for Spotlight … Read more

It's time for Google Docs to work offline

Google is betting on a future with ubiquitous, affordable, wireless, high-speed Internet access. That may be smart in the long run, but last week that philosophy drove me straight back into the arms of Microsoft.

My technology choices generally come down to pragmatic rather than religious choices, and it was pragmatism that led me to embrace Google Docs last year. I like the fact that I can work simultaneously on multiple computers--indeed, even on mobile phones these days--and that multiple people can easily collaborate. My requirements for advanced formatting and formulas are low enough that I generally can put up … Read more

New Norton CyberCrime Index rates your risk

A new free tool from the makers of Norton attempts to quantify the real-time state of cybersecurity. It makes its debut today alongside the latest version of Symantec's all-in-one consumer security suite, Norton 360.

The Norton CyberCrime Index lies somewhere between a weather report and the United States' threat level advisory system, and Norton 360 version 5 launches with a direct link to it.

The CyberCrime Index uses a statistical model based on information from Symantec's Global Intelligence Network, ID Analytics, and DataLossDB. At the top level, the CyberCrime Index takes this data and creates a number evaluating … Read more

Firefox beta getting new database standard

The ninth beta version of Firefox, due imminently, is set to get support for a standard called IndexedDB that provides a database interface useful for offline data storage and other tasks needing information on a browser's computer.

"IndexedDB allows Web apps to store large amounts of data on your local system (with your explicit permission, of course) for fast offline retrieval at a later time. We're hoping that Web mail, TV listings, and online purchase history will one day be as convenient to access offline as they are online," Ben Turner, who develops IndexedDB for Mozilla'… Read more

Lookout raises $19.5 million for smartphone security

Lookout Mobile Security, which specializes in armoring smartphones from hackers, said today that it's raised an additional $19.5 million in funding.

The San Francisco-based startup says it now has nearly 50 employees and about four million registered users of its software, which includes a spyware scanner, remote backups, and a stolen phone locator. That's up from a reported two million users in September and three million in November.

Lookout's security apps currently are available for Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile. In an interview with CNET, Lookout CEO John Hering said an iPhone version will be "… Read more