applications

Mac App Store downloads reach 100 million

Apple's Mac App Store is officially a success.

The company announced today that the store, which is available to Mac OS X Snow Leopard and Lion users, has reached 100 million application downloads. Given that success, Apple is calling the service the "fastest growing PC software store in the world."

Apple launched the Mac App Store in January as a free download for Snow Leopard users. The marketplace, like Apple's mobile App Store, allows users to sift through both free and paid programs and download them to their devices. Apple shares 70 percent of the revenue … Read more

Android Market gets better filtering on reviews

Android handset owners looking to see what apps are available in the Android Market will now have a better way to see what others thought of a given program.

When users click on an application in the online Android Market store and choose user reviews, they'll be able to filter those in many more ways. Users can now arrange reviews by star rating, as well as the application's version, though the latter option is limited to "all" or "latest."

Best of all, the store now lets users filter reviews by individual devices registered to … Read more

Soda brings 3D to PDF readers

Soda 3D Reader is Lulu Software's answer to Adobe Reader. While it may not be the most powerful Adobe alternative out there, it does have some nice features and unique 3D functionality that make it worth a look.

The program's interface is clean and inviting, with ribbon-style navigation that should be familiar to Microsoft Office 2010 users. The tabs at the top act as your main menu, with submenus that open up beneath them as you click. And along the left, there's a page preview pane, if you choose to enable it. The program's controls are … Read more

Apple patent applications detail noise-cancellation tech using voice recognition

In a series of patent applications, Apple has outlined how it plans to combat noisy environments by using voice recognition to activate and control noise-cancellation technologies.

By changing the noise-cancellation process to fit specific voices, Apple thinks it can better manage noise-ridden spaces, especially for mobile devices while making calls or recording voice memos.

Four patent applications relating to this technology were uncovered by AppleInsider at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office:

User-Specific Noise Suppression for Voice Quality Improvements Active Noise Cancellation Decisions in a Portable Audio Device User Interface Tone Echo Cancellation System and Method for Removing TDMA Audio Noise … Read more

Flipboard services down following iPhone app launch

Flipboard's iPhone app is so popular, the company's service has gone down, it announced today.

"Due to high demand, our service is currently down," Flipboard tweeted out to followers this morning. "We are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience."

Flipboard launched its social-magazine application on the iPhone yesterday. Like the iPad version, which has proven wildly popular, the app lets users pull information from Facebook and Twitter accounts, check out professional news content, and more, all within its unique interface. CNET editor Rafe Needleman took the application for a spin yesterday, … Read more

Android app tells you if Carrier IQ is on your phone--kinda

All the controversy surrounding Carrier IQ has prompted a developer to create an application that helps Android device owners determine whether their handset is running the software.

Dubbed Voodoo Carrier IQ detector, the application, which is available in the Android Market, helps "you find out as easily as possible if your Android device hosts CarrierIQ rootkit or not." The free application is open source, and its developer, "supercurio," says he's willing to work with others "for collaboration and contributions."

But before you download the program, beware that it might not be so accurate. … Read more

Apple to explore digital handshakes

Apple is looking to get into the business of unique device identification, Patently Apple reports, filing a patent that details plans for a "digital handshake" using next-generation cameras capable of reading specially coated, invisible ink.

The technology would be used for enterprise, social networking, and gaming applications.

While technology already exists that can transfer information between two devices quickly and securely (such as Bump and PayPal), Apple plans on revolutionizing the process and the media used to create a more robust, yet simpler transfer method.… Read more

Golden Filter Premium has its eye on your computing habits

Golden Filter Premium v3.0 Safe Internet browsing filter is categorized as Parental Control freeware, and its installer and setup wizard depict shocked children viewing a computer screen. But its developer, Gsi Egypt, points out companies, universities, coffee shops, and other places can use it "for controlling computers and Internet from preventing adults from watching inappropriate content." It's designed to be hidden from users in daily operation, and it can't be uninstalled except from inside the software.

Despite an army of red flags, we downloaded and installed Golden Filter Premium. We're glad we found out … Read more

Is software customization passe?

The ability to customize purchases has become the norm across so many industries, but it wasn't always so.

In the PC industry, for example, small local retailers built custom "white box" PCs going back to the fairly early days. But it wasn't until Dell went the build-to-order route in the 1990s (PDF) that it became commonplace. Today, although retail stores stock standard configurations, the option to order a custom config online is the norm.

It's therefore notable that the increasing shift, for some types of applications from on-premise software to software-as-a-service (SaaS) reverses this customization … Read more