customization

CNET's Antuan Goodwin shows you how to change your entire Android home screen with a custom launcher.

Users of T-Mobile are the most satisfied customers among the top four wireless carriers in the U.S., according to new data out today from J.D. Power and Associates.

Grabbing a score of 758 out of 1,000 for customer satisfaction, T-Mobile managed to outshine Verizon Wireless, which scored 743. That left Sprint-Nextel in third place with 731 and AT&T in last with 729. T-Mobile took top honors from J.D. Power for the second time in a row, with its live customer support reps earning praise. Verizon Wireless also received kudos for the performance of its … Read more

With the Super Bowl less than a week away, U.S. law enforcement officials have seized the domain names of 10 sites accused of illegally streaming live sports events.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in New York said today that it worked with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to shut down such sites as Firstrow.net, HQ-Streams.com, Rojadirecta.com, HQ-Streams.net, Ilemi.com, and Iilemii.com. The seizures were made Tuesday.

The Department of Justice and ICE said that streaming live events without authorization is harmful to sports leagues and broadcasters.

"The illegal streaming of professional sporting events … Read more

There's no reason why Windows 7 users have to settle for whatever interface Microsoft sets as the operating system's default. Customizing Windows 7's start, log-on, and desktop backgrounds isn't as easy as it might be, but it's eminently doable.

Deactivate the "Close Encounters" start-up animation The animation that plays as Windows starts is irritating primarily because it never changes. If you're like me and would prefer to see nothing than to sit through that micro-advertisement for the umpteenth time, turn it off.

Press the Windows key, type system configuration, and press Enter … Read more

Apple outscored both Dell and Hewlett-Packard in overall satisfaction with tech support by phone, though its problem-resolution rates took a bit of a hit in a study released today by consumer feedback firm Vocal Laboratories.

Based on interviews with customers from July 2009 to December 2010, Apple's lead in phone support over Dell and HP dipped a bit in the second half of last year compared with the first half, according to the study from Vocal Laboratories (Vocalabs).

But Apple customers seeking tech support still proved the happiest, with 66 percent saying they were "very satisfied" with … Read more

Download accelerator and manager DownThemAll gives a swift kick in the pants to Firefox's download manager, providing the browser not only with heightened downloading chops, but with an effective tool for sniffing out media content on Web pages and getting it on your hard drive quickly.

New in version 2 are some sweet tools for making it all happen faster. While support for Firefox 4 was essential to the add-on's continued life, the granular controls over download speeds are a welcome surprise. You can now set different maximum download speeds by individual download, by server, or as a … Read more

A doctor who, in a fit of strangely modern communication, complained online about the service he received from an Apple support company in Greece, has won a partial victory.

Dimitris Papadimitriadis was not a happy man after he put his iMac in for a little repair with an official Apple support company called Systemgraph. There were gray shadows all over the screen.

However, there were gray shadows all over Papadimitriadis' face when Systemgraph sued him for telling his story (in a very polite way, for an angry man) online.

The company demanded 200,000 euros, which seemed a little steep … Read more

Apple has released to developers a beta of iOS 4.3, the newest operating system update for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. iOS 4.3 will include several feature upgrades including the addition of personal Wi-Fi hot spots, new multitouch gestures for iPad, and customizable messaging alerts.

Also included in the first beta of iOS 4.3 is the return of orientation locking by using the hardware switch on the side of your iPad. Users will be able to toggle the usage of that switch from its current function, muting, to the new orientation lock.

The App Store app has … Read more

Westone started out in the late 1950s making custom molds for hearing aids and ear protection devices. Once I learned that little factoid I wasn't surprised to hear Westone was the first to introduce custom-molded in-ear headphones in 1993.

This is my first Westone review, so I'm starting with its best headphone, the Elite Series ES5 Musicians' Monitor ($950). The company offers a range of more affordable universal-fit in-ear headphones, like the UM-1 ($109).

I hope to soon do a follow-up review with a universal-fit Westone to better describe the sonic differences between universal and custom-molded in-ear designs.

For now I will say that no universal in-ear headphone from Etymotic, Monster, Shure, Ultimate Ears, etc. has anywhere near the sound-isolating capabilities of custom-fit designs. I always hear more detail, overall clarity, and upper treble air and delicacy with custom-fitted in-ear headphones because those sounds aren't masked by noise. The ES5 is handcrafted at Westone's factory in Colorado Springs, Colo. … Read more