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The Device Doctor is a software application used to scan devices on your computer for driver updates. Once the scan is finished, this application also offers a way to download the missing updates to improve the speed and quality of your device.

Once you bring Device Doctor up on your desktop, the steps are very simple. It says to plug in any external devices and then to press Begin Scan. After a short wait, you will be given a list of devices that require driver updates. The first time we did the scan, it came up with 20 devices that … Read more

Apparently Verizon Wireless has been offering users several high-GB data plans without publicly announcing it. According to Computerworld, a company spokesperson confirmed that the carrier is giving users a choice of five more data tiers for their family plans than those previously announced with Share Everything.

The five tiers have been offered to customers since June through customer service on the phone or in stores. They include, 12GB for $110 a month, 14GB for $120 a month, 16GB for $130 a month, 18 GB for $140 a month, and $150 for 20GB a month, according to Verizon spokesperson Brenda Raney.… Read more

With so many free firewalls to choose from, products need to stand out in some way. TinyWall emphasizes simplicity, flexibility, and unobtrusiveness. This free firewall is designed to harden and add more control to the existing firewall in Windows 7 and Vista. Instead of constantly hitting you with pop-ups asking you to allow or deny access to a program or Internet address, TinyWall lets you quickly add allowed sites to your white list in several ways. For example, you can use a hot key and click any open window to add that app to your white list, or you can … Read more

OAuth 2.0 promised to improve authentication on the Net, but its author has resigned from the project after concluding the standard "is a bad protocol."

"When compared with OAuth 1.0, the 2.0 specification is more complex, less interoperable, less useful, more incomplete, and most importantly, less secure," Eran Hammer-Lahav said in a blog post yesterday. "I resigned my role as lead author and editor, [withdrew] my name from the specification, and left the working group...Deciding to move on from an effort I have led for over five years was agonizing." … Read more

Consumers still interested in Research In Motion's BlackBerry PlayBook may get a chance at the long-awaited 4G model.

The new model tablet is expected to launch in Canada through Bell and possibly other Canadian carriers on July 31. Citing an internal document from Bell, blogging site MobileSyrup says the tablet will be priced at $549.95.

The specs revealed by the document point to a 7-inch 1,024x600-pixel display, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage.

Running BlackBerry OS 2.0, the tablet will offer a 5-megapixel rear camera capable of 1080p videos and … Read more

Iron Portable from PortableApps is a fully functional browser that its makers tout as the browser of the future. The browser is based on the same Chromium source code as the Google Chrome browser, but it doesn't have the unique IDs, time stamps, and other components that allow user tracking and other privacy-compromising functionality.

The browser presents a simple no-nonsense interface and is used just like any other browser. Chrome users will note the obvious similarities between the two browsers. In fact, since they're based on the same code, they have compatible add-ons and extensions as well as … Read more

The number of waterproof rugged cameras has exploded over the past few years. The segment was basically owned by Pentax and Olympus, but now all of the major compact camera manufacturers have a rugged model, if not two or three.

The upside to that is there is something for just about everyone at various price points, starting at just more than $100. The more money you spend, the tougher the camera, though, so make sure you get something that meets your needs.

And if you're more interested in shooting video than photos, check out the two minicamcorders that follow the camera list. … Read more

Window Hide Tool is a freeware "boss key" app. They go by many names, but the object is always the same: to instantly hide an open window that you don't want someone else (like the boss) to see, simultaneously preserving both the illusion of productivity and whatever it was you had going on that would shatter it. The best boss keys let you program hot keys that quickly and unobtrusively drop the target window while you type or click. Window Hide Tool is one of the best we've tried. You can program basic commands such as … Read more

Time was that fools masquerading as Windows users could delete just about any file in the system, with immediate and disastrous consequences. Windows has gotten better about keeping users from deleting critical system files, to the point that it sometimes keeps you from deleting files you should be able to delete because they're in use, locked, or otherwise busy. Free File Unlocker from 4dots software restores your ability to wreak havoc on your operating system by giving you the power to unlock and delete files that are currently in use, locked, busy, or undeletable for various reasons. Used carefully, … Read more