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ie8 fix

3.3

The map to have

If you don't have a map app on your smartphone, download Google Maps. Now. The free mapping app gets more powerful and indispensable with every update. It can predict your location using GPS or cell tower triangulation, and use that fix to find businesses near you and calculate directions for driving, walking, even taking public transit. You'll be able to click to call locations, and send details to friends via text.

Map layers include traffic flows and points of interest on Wikipedia as you switch between satellite and map views. If you're into Google Latitude, a social-networking … Read more

Basic YouTube downloader

Free YouTube Download is an easy-to-use program that allows users to download YouTube videos and save them in a variety of formats. Although we've seen similar programs with more features, this program is a good choice for users who need a basic YouTube downloader.

The program's interface is somewhat sparse, but it's still pretty intuitive. Users simply go to YouTube, copy the URL of the video they want to download, and then paste it into Free YouTube Download. Users select the output folder and name, and then choose from among AVI, MP4, and FLV file formats, each … Read more

PS3 to go 3D by 2011

Sony has a strategy for upping the quality of its content and providing an incentive for gamers to upgrade their home entertainment systems next year, and it involves the PS3 going 3D.

A presentation to investors yesterday underlined that the PlayStation 3 will be a fully 3D-capable game console by the end of 2010, and that a firmware update would share this upgrade across all existing PS3s. A few demos of PS3 3D gaming have been shown previously, but the news of an across-the-board firmware update is new. Of course, a gamer would still need a 3D-capable Bravia HDTV and … Read more

Fast media player

All in One Media Codec Pack lets you play a variety of media types with one simple program. We were impressed that this program successfully took on the roles of a video viewer, a music player, and a picture viewer, and we were wowed by its quality.

The sparse, unattractive interface was definitely not the program's highlight. However, it was still simple to operate, and we never felt as if we needed the Help file's instructions. We were able to navigate a simple file-browsing tool to find the correct media file we wanted. We didn't find a … Read more

Excel helper

Spreadsheet Presenter is an add-on for customizing Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. It contains tools designed to give your Excel spreadsheets more panache. It adds color, takes screenshots, and automates formatting tasks.

Spreadsheet Presenter appears in Excel as several small windows with tool bars that you can click on to access their full menus. You can select palettes of colors to use to color-code data columns of your spreadsheet or just to give it more visual appeal. You can also move and arrange the windows so that they don't get in the way of your data. The Copy and Save Selection … Read more

Simple poker game

Poker Mania offers a single game of draw poker, but leaves a lot to be desired. While it was easy to pick up, we quickly grew bored with the program's lack of variety.

Even though we are not regular poker players, we felt instantly at home with this simple interface. The program's onscreen instructions were great and the Help file's list of winning hands clarified a lot. Poker has countless variations and we were expecting to find at least a few to choose from. Instead, we were quickly disappointed to find that the program only consisted of … Read more

Simple but powerful financial program

Account Xpress does what many programs--in particular, home budget programs--fail to achieve. Namely, the program manages to be both extremely powerful and easy to use. Account Xpress is a great fit for users who merely want to track their expenses and those who desire a detailed analysis of their monthly finances.

At first glance it's not entirely obvious where users should begin, but the Help file offers a very well-written Getting Started section that should have users up and running within minutes. The interface is divided into six sections, which are explained in detail in the Help file and … Read more

Xbox takes center stage, opens E3 2009

LOS ANGELES--It may be an off-year in the video game console, but you wouldn't know it by the lines outside the Galen Center at the University of Southern California, where Microsoft is having its annual E3 press conference.

Expected announcements include some form of motion-control system; new features and offerings for its popular Xbox Live service; and several hot new games, both from its own publishing outlets and third-parties. Among them is "Halo 3: ODST."

This blog followed Microsoft's announcements--including its new motion-control system, upcoming games, and several new features being added to the Xbox Live … Read more

For Googledom, start here

A vast improvement on its BlackBerry predecessor, Google Mobile App is primarily a search app that also serves as a portal to other Google Web apps. It's anchored by a search bar, with a string of icons along marching along the top. Click one to download or launch native Google apps like Gmail and maps, or to jump to mobile Web sites for the panoply of Google apps.

Warmly welcomed are autocomplete search suggestions, the ability to scroll through search history, and the ability to edit a misspelled search term and begin a new search. Brand new is a … Read more