changing

People can't always be trusted to behave properly on computers that aren't theirs (or, for that matter, on computers that are theirs). Whether you're trying to limit the online shenanigans of your employees or the general public, Public Fox can help. This clever Firefox add-on limits the browser's ability to download files and perform other functions that may pose a risk to security or productivity. We can think of many places where this could be useful, from workplaces to libraries to teenagers' bedrooms.

Public Fox installs easily and is surprisingly simple to configure. The Options menu … Read more

Microsoft today announced that Bob Muglia, the president of its server and tools business, is stepping down and will be leaving the company sometime this summer.

In a memo to Microsoft employees, CEO Steve Ballmer said that Muglia will stick around for the transition as Ballmer does "an internal and external search for the new leader," and that Muglia would "complete additional projects for me."

The company would not comment on what Muglia plans to do next.

Muglia joined Microsoft in 1988. Before heading up the company's server and tools business, he was its senior … Read more

Hewlett-Packard today launched its most aggressive assault on networking giant Cisco Systems: a trade-in promotion to rip and replace existing gear.

HP's promotion, dubbed "A Catalyst for Change" to play off the brand name for Cisco's switches, is aimed at networking gear that will be nearing the end of its useful life at the end of 2011.

Under the terms of the trade-in promotion, HP will shave 20 percent off the list price of its A-Series and E-Series switches for customers who trade in Cisco equipment. The minimum deal size is $100,000 list price.

Read … Read more

Wi-Fi may not be a tree killer after all.

Or it might be.

In any case, recent headlines about a connection between Wi-Fi signals and an increase in tree sickness were apparently not the place to look for an answer.

According to a story in The Wall Street Journal, Dutch researchers have called into question data that prompted the widespread reports that Wi-Fi signals were to blame for a jump in poor-health indicators among urban trees in the Netherlands and perhaps elsewhere.

The people behind an investigation in the Dutch city of Alphen aan den Rijn say that numbers involved … Read more

Apple has removed an iPhone app considered anti-gay following a wave of protests sent through the online petition site Change.org.

Initially approved and available in the App Store in October, the Manhattan Declaration app was submitted by members of the Manhattan Declaration, a movement launched last year by a number of Christian leaders espousing their condemnation of both gay marriage and abortion rights.

In approving the app, Apple originally gave it a rating of 4+, meaning it had "no objectionable material."

But described by Change.org as an application that invites people to join anti-gay and anti-choice … Read more

Web publisher Gawker Media plans to drastically change the way users interact with its network of sites with a redesign launching next year that lets users jump through stories and interactive advertising akin to using an RSS reader.

The new design was unveiled earlier today by Gawker founder Nick Denton as being the "most significant change in the Gawker model since the launch of Gizmodo and Gawker in 2002," and something that "represents some convergence of blog, magazine and television."

What that means to end users is that they'll be able to cycle through news … Read more

Random BackGround from RealityRipple is a free desktop wallpaper utility. It displays a randomized slideshow of selected images that changes at regular preset intervals. It can handle JPEG, GIF, DIB, and BMP images. It does its job well enough, but it's a step back from the built-in wallpaper features in the latest Windows offerings.

When we installed and opened Random BackGround in Windows 7, a warning message appeared and the setup closed. However, when we left-clicked the program's system tray icon, we got a file menu. We clicked New Background with no luck, but clicking Settings opened a … Read more

WASHINGTON--U.S. environmental regulators said on Wednesday they will not force coal plants and manufacturers to adopt specific technologies to cut greenhouse gas output, but will push them to become more energy efficient to comply with looming climate rules.

The move by the Environmental Protection Agency helped relieve some fears in the industries that the agency would require emitters to quickly invest in expensive, unproven technologies to cut output of gases blamed for global warming. But industry groups did complain they would not have enough time to comply with the rules.

The EPA is taking steps to regulate greenhouse gases because Congress failed to pass a climate bill this year. Some lawmakers and industry groups are trying to stop them from regulating.

Beginning January 2, the EPA plans to start requiring big emitters such as power plants, refineries, and cement manufacturers to obtain permits for polluting greenhouse gases.

"We believe this approach will in most cases lead to improvements in energy efficiency," Gina McCarthy, an EPA assistant administrator on air and radiation, told reporters in a teleconference.

The agency released on Wednesday guidance on the best available control technologies, or BACT, that companies should use to cut emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases. The companies will have to adhere to the guidelines when expanding or building new plants or factories, and work with state and local air authorities to decide which technology works best for them. … Read more

Big Republican wins in yesterday's election will not only kill chances that the U.S. Congress will pass a broad climate bill during President Barack Obama's first term, but may also hurt his strategy of winning even scaled-back energy legislation.

Republicans, who had slammed any attempt to put a price on carbon emissions as an "energy tax," won control of the House of Representatives and picked up seats in the Senate.

Despite predictions by U.S. scientists that 2010 could be the warmest year on record, Obama's hopes of signing a bill any time soon … Read more