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Ever find it frustrating trying to copy or move files in Windows? Then some long-overdue improvements in Windows 8 should be welcome news.

Admitting that file management or the "copy jobs" feature now in Windows can be confusing, Alex Simons, a program management director on Microsoft's Windows engineering team, yesterday revealed four enhancements destined to surface in Windows 8.

Contributing to the latest installment of Microsoft's ongoing "Building Windows 8" blog, Simons said that copying, moving, renaming, and deleting files are the most heavily used features in Windows Explorer, accounting for 50 percent of … Read more

HP has permanently cut the price on its low-end TouchPad price to $399 as it seeks to stand out in a crowded tablet market.

The 16GB TouchPad had been cut briefly from $499 to $399 over the weekend at various resellers. But that drop is permanent now, as HP's Web site clearly shows.… Read more

There are plenty of those awkward moments in the kitchen when your hands are covered in raw chicken bits or eye-searing chile and you're trying not to touch anything. There's only so much you can do with your elbows.

This is why it makes sense to bring touchless technology into the kitchen. Restaurant and gas station bathrooms have been using touchless paper towel dispensers for years. Now there's a fancy version for the home.… Read more

If Research In Motion is going to take a scalpel to its work force, it should start at the top.

Monday's move to cut 2,000 jobs is designed to cut costs--RIM calls it a "prudent and necessary step for the long-term success of the company." But for RIM to remain in the game as a major player in the wireless industry, it needs to look at its management structure.

With two chief executives and two chief operating officers, RIM is the epitome of a top-heavy company. You've seen the consequences over the past few years: … Read more

The U.S. government is aiming to pull the plug on hundreds of unneeded data centers over the next few years in an attempt to save taxpayers some hard-earned cash.

In a blog published yesterday, the White House's Office of Management and Budget admitted that instead of consolidating data centers as many businesses have done in recent years, the government went in the opposite direction. Between 1998 and 2010, federal agencies actually quadrupled their number of data centers despite increases in the efficiency of data storage.

And, of course, taxpayers have been stuck paying the bills for those data … Read more

Expectations for Nokia's second-quarter earnings couldn't be any lower. But what about the future?

The Finnish company, which is still the No. 1 cell phone manufacturer in the world in terms of volume, has been struggling to keep up with competitors Apple and Google. The company reports its second-quarter earnings tomorrow.

In an effort to jump-start its ailing smartphone business the company announced in February that it will ditch its traditional Symbian operating system for Microsoft's Windows Phone platform. But the transition from Symbian to Windows Phone is proving to be a difficult one. Nokia isn't … Read more

Apple's MacBook Air is getting cheaper at retailers, following earlier discounts on the MacBook Pro. This would almost lead you to think that resellers are making room for new models. Well, actually that does appear to be the case for the MacBook Air.

Best Buy now lists the low-end 11.6-inch MacBook Air "on sale" for $938.99, while Mac Connection has it for $948.49. That model comes with the Intel 1.4GHz Core 2 Duo Processor, 2GB Memory, and a 64GB flash drive. Apple sells this configuration for $999.

Meanwhile, MacMall now lists the same model for $938.94. (Note as of Tuesday night there had been an "instant discount" of $28.17, dropping it to $910.77 at MacMall, but that extra discount had been discontinued as of this morning.) … Read more

Fruit Ninja is a simple, but well-made game that challenges you to slice and dice fruit with a ninja sword as it flies onto your Android screen. The controls are extremely simple, requiring you to swipe your finger through a flying fruit as you would slice with a ninja sword. There are three game modes: Classic, Zen, and Arcade. In Classic you're challenged to slice fruit as it flies on screen while avoiding occasional bombs that will end the game immediately or allowing three fruits to drop below the bottom of the screen. In Zen mode you won't … Read more

Too busy to keep up with today's tech news? Here are some of the more interesting stories from CNET for Friday, July 1.

Google+ contributor and Mac pioneer talks with CNET (Q&A) A core feature of the new Google+ service is Circles, which makes it drag-and-drop easy to build "circles" of friends in the browser. Meet Andy Hertzfeld, the man behind Circles--and the original Mac. More

Living life without unlimited data CNET's Maggie Reardon helps current Verizon customers understand their data options, and also offers pointers on choosing among Apple, Google Android, and RIM … Read more