pandas

HP offers free apps to TouchPad tablet owners

Hewlett-Packard isn't stopping at the deeply discounted $100 TouchPad tablet--it's throwing in free apps too.

The TouchPad has become a mini-sensation after HP began unloading the WebOS-based device last Friday for as little as $100. In fact, the TouchPad has the distinction of being the only tablet outside of Apple's iPad to generate long lines at stores.

And HP is sweetening the deal. "If you have an HP TouchPad...We've selected six apps that normally sell for as much as $14.99 and we're making them available at no cost to HP WebOS customers for a limited time," HP said on its Palm Web site today. The promo codes below will expire on August 31, the company said.

Without further ado, here's a sampling:… Read more

Rename them all

Animal Software's Panda Batch File Renamer is a free tool for making stir-fry. No, it's actually a batch file renamer, a tool that renames files in large numbers all at once, the technical term for which is "batches." So, you're mildly impressed but wonder, "Do I need it?" Well, if you have a digital camera or camcorder or an MP3 player, you may have noticed that your pictures and songs don't always make themselves easy to find. It's much easier to rename all of one artist's songs or one summer'… Read more

'Cosmic Panda' puts a shine on YouTube

It looks like YouTube is going slicker, simpler, and darker. Take a look at the experimental redesign rolled out today. Dubbed "Cosmic Panda," it boosts the old, cluttered, entirely-too-white video portal into the realm of contemporary Web design in many ways. It's about time, but I'll take it--it's pretty good.

Videos and thumbnails are easier on the eyes, controls are more intuitive, and you can do more channel customization.

Videos are set against a dark background to lower the contrast between the page background and video content. Thumbnails are bigger, and on playlists they show up immediately below the playing video. Videos come in three sizes rather than two, plus full-screen. And the Like, Add to, and Share buttons are visually set off from the video controls to cleanly separate viewing from organizing.… Read more

Anonymous, LulzSec spawn 'one of worst' quarters

Cyberattacks from Anonymous and LulzSec and breaches against everyone from Sony to Lockheed Martin turned the second quarter into "one of the worst on record," according to a new report from Panda Security.

Released this week, Panda's second-quarter report (PDF) examined the security landscape from April to June and highlighted a string of alarming incidents.

Pointing to the attacks by Anonymous and LulzSec against the likes of Sony, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Spanish police, and several government sites, Panda said that the line between "hacktivism" and criminal behavor has gotten fuzzier.

Panda clearly questioned the methods of the new breed of hackers, saying that Anonymous calls its actions "peaceful protests," even though such actions are illegal. Also mincing no words with LulzSec, Panda said that "if you took the most irresponsible and brainless members of Anonymous and put them all together, they would be considered the most refined gentlemen compared to LulzSec."

Though LulzSec recently announced that it would be ending its attacks, the group urged other hackers to carry on the fight via operation Anti-Security, or AntiSec.… Read more

User-suggested features come to Panda Cloud AV

Significantly faster scanning speeds, advanced configuration options, better reporting tools and a spate of bug fixes arrive in Panda Cloud Antivirus 1.5, released yesterday by Panda Security.

Stating that many of the enhancements in the update were originally suggested by the program's users, Panda senior research adviser Pedro Bustamante said in a blog post that the changes made since version 1.4 tweak the program's interface and installation, as well as offer deeper improvements to performance and to the program's feature list.

The performance improvements ought to be noticeable quickly. These include faster scanning speeds and … Read more

The 404 843: Where we got the band back together (podcast)

After a week of trips back and forth from LA, all three of us are back together again, and I'm personally glad to be back because somebody has to step up and defend Los Angeles!

After sticking up for the West Coast, we're also talking about a dating Web site that's for beautiful people that's been getting hacked, KFC's latest monstrosity, and five fake sounds in tech to make stupid people feel better.

Plus we review some of the latest movies in theaters now, including "Green Lantern," "Kung Fu Panda 2," and "Super 8."

The 404 Digest for Episode 843

" Green Lantern": Revenge of the lame superhero movie. KFC supports diabetes research with an 800-calorie, 56-spoonful-of-sugar "Mega Jug." Dating Web site for "beautiful people only" dumps 30k members. Five fake sounds in tech to make stupid people feel better.

Episode 843 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Report: Google Panda update 2.2 coming soon

Google is making more changes to its search algorithm, the company reportedly confirmed at the SMX Advanced conference in Seattle this week.

According to Search Engine Land, which puts on the event, Google's Matt Cutts said that his company plans to launch Panda version 2.2 at some point in the near future. The update will reportedly tackle the issue of sites that republish content being placed higher in search results than the original source.

Google launched a Panda update earlier this year. At the time, the company's goal was to improve results on queries that had previously … Read more

Panda 2012 focuses on building a better virus trap

A new interface capstones changes that otherwise are under-the-hood improvements made by Panda Security to its 2012 suites, released today exclusively with CNET Download.com. There are four available to download: Panda Antivirus Pro 2012, Panda Internet Security 2012 for Netbooks, Panda Internet Security 2012, and Panda Global Protection 2012. Many of the features that Panda is touting as new were in fact soft-launched in last year's updates. Along with some decent gains in program benchmarks, the new and updated features include file encryption and shredding, remote access and control, system optimization, safe browsing, and silent mode.

The new … Read more

Demand Media results beat the Street

Demand Media handily beat Wall Street expectations in its first-quarter results today after the markets closed.

The company reported revenue of $79.5 million and 6 cents a share in adjusted net income.

Wall Street was expecting the company to report about $69.6 million in revenue for the three months, with 4 cents a share in adjusted profits.

On a GAAP basis, net loss per share was 13 cents compared to 94 cents a year ago.

The decent results could boost Demand's stock, which has been hit hard, since Google launched "Panda," an overhaul of its … Read more