iOS software

Already known for its speed, Google just boosted Chrome's Web site rendering speed by another 5 percent.

The latest stable release of the browser, Chrome 27 (download for Windows, Mac, or Linux), received the small improvement by managing its resources better. To boil down the jargon, the browser's internal resource scheduler now favors more critical resources over preloaded sites.

Chrome engineer James Simonsen wrote in the company's blog announcing the update Tuesday that, across the hundreds of millions of people using Chrome, the amount of time saved equals around 510 years-per-week. But what we're really talking … Read more

Google Reader will soon be closing its virtual doors. In a move that shocked the Web, Google's SVP Urs Hölzle announced on March 13 that, despite the RSS service's "loyal following," the company would "retire" Google Reader on July 1. More than any of the other 69 products that Google has killed over the past two years, Google Reader's demise has shaken a longtime community that depends heavily on the service.

Foofaraw and conspiracy theories (about why Reader was killed) aside, if you use the service and want to save any … Read more

If you feel bad about leaving Fluffy home alone, consider giving her the laser treatment.

Petcube is stylish box that lets you play with your pet when you're away. It beams leasers around the room while you control it from afar via smartphone.

Connected to your home Wi-Fi network, Petcube is a 4-inch cube that has a wide-angle camera, microphone, and low-intensity laser pointer.

The prototype is made of glass and aluminum and is being developed by robot enthusiast Alex Neskin, along with Yaroslav Azhnyuk, and Andrey Klen. The Ukranian startup recently showed it off at Seedcamp Week Berlin. … Read more

It's one thing to share your photos on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, but sometimes you just want old-fashioned prints. You know, the kind you can stick to your fridge, clip to a board, hang on a wall, and so on. That's especially true if you want to share fond memories with friends or family members. You know, the kind you get from a wedding, vacation, birthday party, and so on.

Printic turns your iPhone photos into Polaroid-style prints, then delivers them to one or more recipients. It's a simple concept, done well.… Read more

Mozilla is taking steps to lock down mixed content Web sites for Firefox in an update Friday to Firefox 23 Aurora.

In Firefox 23 Aurora, the pre-beta version of the browser for Windows, Mac, and Linux, Mozilla will block by default mixed active content. Mixed content is a term that refers to a Web site secured with HTTPS that loads some of its content, such as images or scripts, from standard HTTP sources, and can lead to eavesdroppers and man-in-the-middle attacks.

Mixed active content describes things like scripts because they can actively change how you interact with the site. Mixed … Read more

As one of the longest-running and most successful Web comics of all time, Penny Arcade has garnered an enormous and devoted fanbase who lives for the topical, no-holds-barred commentary of gamer characters John "Gabe" Gabriel and Tycho Brahe. The Web comic has also spawned the annual gaming convention PAX (Penny Arcade Expo) and multiple video games.

In a recent e-mail interview with Download.com, Penny Arcade's co-creator and writer Jerry Holkins, the man behind Tycho, discussed, among other things, his experiences developing games, current gaming trends, and his top five mobile game apps.

When is On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness … Read more

The next major update of Apple's iOS software is almost upon us! But which features does Apple's grid-based operating system desperately need to add, and which ones will Tim Cook and pals probably ignore completely?

That's what we're asking in this video, so hit play on the clip above as we rattle through the apps and tweaks that we want to see in iOS 7, as well as the things we probably won't. A fresh, "flat" redesign? How about some kind of "kids" mode' to stop pesky kids spending your cash … Read more

Good assistants -- the kind you can't live without -- are hard to come by. For starters, they should always be on time; any lag simply won't do. They should also get things right the first time, because who has time for inaccuracies? And, last of all, the assistant should be so good, they're always a few steps ahead of their boss.

Those are pretty high expectations, but Google and Apple both think they've got the magic to meet all those requirements and more. The secret, it turns out, is to hand off the work to … Read more

The quest to free the browser from plug-ins that can impede performance took another step forward on Thursday when Mozilla activated by default Web Real-Time Communication in its latest Firefox beta.

WebRTC, as it's known, is the HTML5 standard for streaming files, video, and audio on the Web. Mozilla activated getUserMedia in Firefox in April, which WebRTC uses to access the Webcam and microphone. Now, PeerConnection and DataChannels have been turned on in the Firefox 22 Beta, available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

PeerConnection lets the browser set up real-time video and audio calls, while DataChannels enables peer-to-peer data … Read more