3.1.2

Both kids and adults sometimes need help to keep their computer use under control, and this can come in the form of limiting the amount of time spent on the computer or blocking specific Web sites or programs. Romaco Timeout performs these tasks and more, providing a comprehensive tool for limiting time spent on the computer.

The program has an attractive tabbed interface that's easy to navigate. We were first asked to create a password to restrict access to its configuration settings, and then we went about exploring what Romaco Timeout is capable of. There is a variety of … Read more

Built-in administrative tools let you configure and even customize how Windows works. You can change everything from start-up to display and folder options, but the controls aren't all in one place. They generally require a bit of knowledge and experience to get the most out of them without making things worse, all the more so when the Windows Registry is involved. GIGATweaker from 7room C0DE is a powerful tool for optimizing Windows that not only collects Windows' built-in functions in one console-style interface, but also offers clear explanations of what each change does as well as its implications for … Read more

Foxmediatools' uTorrent Turbo Booster is a plug-in download accelerator for uTorrent, one of the most popular BitTorrent peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing clients. Like most download accelerators, it offers to speed up your file transfers by maximizing your Internet connection's bandwidth and by minimizing the overall impact on system resources, either from your downloading activity or from Turbo Booster itself, which boasts an ability to run in the background, unattended and unnoticed.

Turbo Booster also claims an efficient, intuitive, and attractive interface, and that's certainly no stretch; the simple dialog is functionally appealing, even elegant, with a few controls, a … Read more

Once upon a time, desktops were the tops of actual desks, and nearly all of them had a paper dictionary on or near them. The best dictionaries were so huge they needed their own stands. You can still see them in libraries. But nearly everyone who has a computer uses a Web-based dictionary, such as the cleverly named Dictionary.com, or some kind of software-based reference. TheSage's English Dictionary and Thesaurus is the latter sort. It's a free utility that maintains a huge dictionary and thesaurus locally, not online, so it's completely portable, though it can access … Read more

On Apple's iPhone discussion boards, people are complaining about a bug in iPhone OS 3.1.2 that causes the iPhone to search for service at random times. According to the 3.1.2, Searching for Service thread on the forums, people are blaming the problem on the iPhone OS because users are seeing the same problem on AT&T in the U.S. and on Rogers Wireless and Telus in Canada.

According to the thread, there is no indication that the iPhone 3GS is affected, since so far the complaints focus on the iPhone 3G. Both new … Read more

iPhone OS hacker GeoHot has announced the successful creation of an iPhone unlock for the iPhone OS 3.1.2 baseband. The new app called, Blacksn0w, will allow iPhone users to use their phone on non-Apple sanctioned carriers.

You'll have to wait a bit though, since the application will not be released by GeoHot until November 4th, 2009.

GeoHot also posted this YouTube video demonstrating the exploit:

Although Microsoft introduced Office 2007 with promises of more powerful features, it seems that for the average user--and especially the user who has to share files with other people--the new docx and xlsx formats have been nothing but trouble. DocXConverter is a simple utility that allows users to convert documents created by the 2007 versions of Word and Excel, as well as ClarisWorks documents, into formats that can be read by other programs. With a simple interface and intuitive operation, docXConverter is a commonsense solution to the problem of incompatible files.

The program's interface is simple, consisting merely of … Read more

iPhone OS hacker, GeoHot, released Blackra1n this weekend, a new jailbreak utility for iPhone OS 3.1.2.

The new Windows-only utility follows on the heels of Purplera1n and you can download it now. Windows users can use it to jailbreak iPhone OS 3.1.2 on all iPhone and iPod Touch models regardless of their hardware generation. Using the application is simple. You just plug in your iPhone or iPod Touch using the standard USB sync cable and follow the instructions below.

Difficulty level: Easy

What you need: >PC running Windows XP or Vista >Download Blackra1n using … Read more

Apple on Thursday released an update for the iPhone SDK, bringing the current version of the SDK to 3.1.2.

The new SDK 3.1.2, which now includes Xcode 3.2.1, is available in versions that are compatible with Leopard and Snow Leopard for iPhone and iPod Touch developers.

The update, according to information we received from a developer, contains general bug fixes for the SDK and Xcode. Dashcode is reported to now support the creation of Web applications that are optimized for Safari on the iPhone, PC, and Mac.

If you've seen and used this … Read more