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World's biggest open-source company? Google

Red Hat is generally credited as the industry's leading open-source company, but it's a distinction that is as meaningless as it is incorrect. While Red Hat's revenue directly derives from the open-source software it develops and distributes, other companies like Sun, IBM, and Google actually write and contribute far more open-source code. It may be time to stop talking about open-source companies and get back to the importance of open-source code.

Open source is increasingly the foundation upon which software and Web companies depend. MySpace made waves on Tuesday by open sourcing Qizmt, a distributed computation framework (… Read more

Line2 adds a second number to your iPhone

One iPhone, two phone numbers. That's the idea behind Line2, a new telephony app that effectively adds a second line to your handset.

Despite Apple's curious claims that iPhones aren't for business, Line2 should come as good news indeed to business users. It provides a new local number, a ported existing number, or an 800 number.

Whichever option you choose, the number comes with voicemail, call history, and an independent contacts directory. (The Line2 app provides one-tap switching between your iPhone and Toktumi phone books, a nice touch.)

Using Line2 requires signing up for Toktumi's "… Read more

Command-line app

This app allows users to tap into the library of commands available through CMD.exe to provide additional flexibility to Windows and Windows apps.

Take Command launches a nicely designed interface similar to the typical e-mail client. The similarity will relieve some of the intimidation many users will experience by seeing such a packed window: four panes with unfamiliar titles like "Command Input" and "TCC Prompt," and a command-line interface within the last-named pane. The Help feature, however, is adequate for dispelling such concerns and providing info for mastering this app. Take Command performed well in … Read more

PocketDock brings line-out, mini-USB to iPhone

The SendStation PocketDock Line Out Mini USB solves two problems--both of which you can probably guess from the name. First, it adds a line-out jack to your iPhone (or nearly any iPod model).

What's the big deal about line-out? Well, if you're plugging your device into, say, a home or car stereo, the headphone jack just doesn't cut it. It's not sufficiently amplified, and it doesn't deliver quite the same audio fidelity.

Second, the PocketDock supplies a mini-USB port, meaning you can use any industry-standard mini-USB cable to charge and sync your iPhone (and at … Read more

Screen cap creator

CaptureXT Screen Capture allows users to take standard screenshots, but also provides tools to customize them. With a large collection of options and high usability, this program really excels.

The program's interface was incredibly simple thanks to a nice layout and excellently labeled commands. In addition, the program's initial screen is a three-step instruction on operation, and there is a nice Help file for bigger questions. The program begins offering users a little something extra right from the get-go. By clicking on the Capture button, users are given options for standard items like full-screen, windows, or a rectangular … Read more

Draw your way to safety

iDork Lite is a free, 15-level preview for iDork, a path-tracing game similar to other arcade/puzzle games for the iPhone and iPod Touch in which you use your touch screen to draw a path to help a stick figure avoid various obstacles--in this case, animated pencils, protractors, erasers, and other deadly school supplies, since your "iDork" is "lost in a world of school paperwork."

Once you trace a line for your iDork to walk on, you move him by placing a virtual thumbtack where you want him to go, and pressing a jump button for … Read more

Basic palm readings

MB Palmistry guides users through an analysis of their hands to determine what the user's life holds. The program isn't bad, although it's a bit skimpy on the analysis.

Like all programs from Mystic Board, this one opens with a screen cluttered with Mystic Board ads. Users then enter their name and gender, and the program guides them through a series of images. The first few images are horrible drawings of gnarled, creepy-looking hands; we were relieved when these gave way to photos of a normal-looking palm. For each characteristic--heart line, life line, and so on--users view … Read more

Logitech introduces new PC speaker lineup

Logitech has four new PC speakers for 2009, ranging in price from $69.99 to $129.99. None of the new speakers are USB-powered and all feature what the company calls "360-degree sound," which "helps project audio evenly in all directions."

The company's gone away from the modern, squarish design of its USB-powered Z5 omnidirectional speakers and gone with a more traditional PC speaker design. Two of the new models ship with subwoofers and two don't. Logitech says all its new PC speaker systems will ship this month (we'll be getting review samples … Read more

Wolfram Alpha's baseball info just a bit outside

It's been two months since Wolfram Alpha launched, and in some ways, the "computation knowledge engine" is still fouling off pitches.

Wolfram used the occasion of Major League Baseball's 2009 All-Star Game--otherwise known as the three most boring days of the baseball season--to highlight the ability of Wolfram Alpha to process baseball-related queries. "...what we at Wolfram Alpha love about baseball are all of the fast statistics that can be quickly computed and returned as easy-to-read graphs," the company said in a blog post.

A few examples were provided, such as the ability … Read more