tools

Is computer-based recording ruining music?

I get a fair number of promo CDs in the mail, but don't be jealous, most of them are instantly forgettable or just awful, and only a few are worth a second listen. Greg Garing's self-titled CD was an immediate standout, and its rootsy, blues-infected grooves hit me hard. The music has a lot of soul, and sounds like it was made by a group of really talented players who were having a good time together. That happens so rarely nowadays I had to learn about how the record was created.

The Garing CD was produced by Lower East Side Records, … Read more

Zip it good! Save 83% on CNET's highly rated archive

In this day and age, there is so much talk about the cloud solution and how you can share files in a snap. Well, that's great and all and I'm a huge fan, but what if you don't want to share your files in the cloud? For example, my mom loves to send me photos of her outings with her friends and my adorable nephews and niece--except that she literally sends out 10 e-mails with at least 10 photos attached to them. So, how can I help her help me, so I don't have 100 pictures, … Read more

Add-in translator

TransTools, or Translator Tools, adds a useful set of free translation-related utilities to Microsoft Word, Excel, and Visio and Autodesk AutoCAD. It speeds up translations, checks to see that translations are complete, localizes numbers, and performs other useful functions from inside these powerful applications.

TransTools installed itself in our copy of Word by default, but we could check boxes to install it inside Excel, Visio, and AutoCAD. We clicked Add-Ins on Word's toolbar and selected the TransTools menu. From this menu, we could perform a Language Check, including finding and removing highlighted words. We could also replace multiple items … Read more

Twintegrated browser

The browser wars used to be a superpower slugfest, but these days it's more like a free-for-all. Ironically, more browser choices doesn't necessarily mean a lot of different browsers to choose from, due in part to an emerging commonality in design and features. Tabs, integrated address bars, sidebars, extensions, add-ons, and widgets add useful features and let users customize their browsing experience. Element Browser offers most of what the others do, but with some unique features, chief of which is shelves, which are like souped-up tabs that display open content in thumbnails, and the Personal Hub feature that … Read more

Adobe shows off Edge HTML5 tool

Vimeo launches a new Pro service for $199 a year that offers a large amount of video storage and streams, Logitech drops the price of its Google TV-powered Revue to $99, and Adobe releases a preview of a new HTML5 design tool called Edge.

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

Firefox world loses Web dev guru to Chrome

For years, an extension called Firebug has been a powerful tool that kept Web programmers loyal to Firefox.

But now, as browser makers add their own tools geared to attract those who build Web sites and applications, the lead Firebug programmer has taken a job with Chrome, CNET has learned.

"Monday, I start work on next-gen Web dev tools at Google on the Chrome browser team. Consequently I will no longer be contributing routinely to the development and maintenance of Firebug for Firefox," John J. Barton told members of a Firebug mailing list yesterday.

The change reflects the … Read more

Apple's iOS 4.3.4 jailbroken

Apple last week released its latest iOS update to fix a security flaw exploited by a jailbreaking tool, but the new version--4.3.4--has itself already been jailbroken.

Detailed by the folks at Redmond Pie, the custom PwnageTool now lets users jailbreak any iOS device running iOS 4.3.4 with the exception of the iPad 2. The jailbreak was created and launched Friday, not too long after 4.3.4 was released.

Offering a step-by-step guide for those either brave enough or foolhardy enough to jailbreak their device via the PwnageTool, Redmond Pie says it tested the jailbreak to … Read more

Fully Loaded Burger Stuffer handles the hard work

You need more kitchen gadgets. You can never have enough zesters, colanders, and cake molds. You might as well expand your horizons to include a gadget that gets in on the popular burger stuffing trend, the new Fully Loaded Burger Stuffer from Headchefs.

In case you've been skipping "Man v. Food" and don't subscribe to the Food Network, you may have overlooked the burger stuffing mania that has been sweeping the nation. As you would expect, it involves cramming items that would normally go on top into the innards of the burger patty.

This is easier said than done. Hand-forming a patty around contents like blue cheese, roasted red peppers, or chile (that's New Mexico chile with an "e"), can be challenging and counter to the laws of physics.… Read more

More signs of an iPhone panorama tool emerge

The trail of code leading to a unannounced and unreleased iOS 5 panorama photo capture feature has gotten a bit stronger, suggesting its inclusion in an earlier beta of the software was not a fluke.

9to5mac has pulled up a new bit of code from the latest beta of iOS 5 (which was delivered to developers on Monday afternoon) that now offers directions on how to use the feature that would let users take superwide photos of their surroundings using iOS' built-in camera app.

The code instructs users to move their phone from left to right, as well as keeping … Read more

Tool-using fish creates underwater kitchen gadget

Cats like iPads and laser pointers and can carry around their own tracking sensors. Dogs dig treadmills and have translator devices that turn woofs into words. Now fish are getting in on the gadget action, too.

Fish aren't yet ordering iPhones or hooking up HD television sets underwater, but a recent paper published in Coral Reefs, the journal of the International Society for Reef Studies, dove into some interesting behavior from an enterprising black spot tuskfish.

A diver at the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia observed a tuskfish breaking open cockleshells on an anvil to get at the tasty tidbits inside. A series of images show the clever critter in action. … Read more