Once you've purchased the additional events, you'll be able to practice or compete in the games.

With almost 550,000 active apps in the iTunes App Store, you get plenty of variation, and one developer continues to release games that are downright silly.

Many iPhone gamers will probably remember Justin Smith's Enviro-Bear 2010 (99 cents) from Captain Games. When the game came out in 2009, our Mac and iOS freelance reviewer, Paul Hughes, started the review by saying, "Enviro-Bear 2010 is part game, part joke, part art piece, and part game-design experiment." In Enviro-Bear 2010, the premise is that you are a bear getting ready to hibernate and you must drive a car and run over enough food to make it through the winter.

Of course, in real life a bear can't drive a car, so the car was notoriously (and purposely) extremely difficult to control. The game's graphics were not exactly top-of-the-line either (pretty terrible in a funny way), but that didn't stop people from scooping up this game by the thousands. Enviro-Bear 2010 was simply hilarious to play, with a silly concept that had to be seen to be believed.

While my jumps weren't pretty, at least I cleared a couple in the equestrian event.

(Cred... [Read more]

Chrome's Omnibox is about to get precognitive powers

Google is preparing some important changes to Chrome's browsing behavior, with predictive powers and better download scanning protocol landing in the latest beta update.

Released today, Google Chrome 17 beta for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Chrome Frame.

Of the multiple improvements and fixes noted in Google's Chrome 17 beta changelog, these two have the potential to affect users the most. The change in security behavior expands Chrome's safe browsing technology to scan not only Web sites visited, but downloads as well. It will analyze installation files downloaded with the browser, starting with Windows-based EXE and MSI. Google hasn't clarified if the scan will also include other Windows-based file types or installers from Mac and Linux operating systems. The feature is important for blocking the threat of ransomware "fake antivirus" program... [Read more]

Windows 8 will provide a refresh option that can automatically restore your PC to a clean state without erasing all your data and customized settings.

Due to appear in the Windows 8 beta that will debut next month, the refresh option makes good on Microsoft's earlier promise that it would give users an easy way to restore Windows in the event of a problem.

As described in yesterday's Building Windows 8 blog by Desmond Lee, a program manager on Microsoft Fundamentals team, the new OS will actually offer two ways to bring Windows back to factory condition:

• The refresh option will keep all personal data, important settings, and Metro style apps, and then reinstall Windows.

• The reset option will securely remove all data, settings, and applications, and then reinstall Windows.

Refreshing Windows would typically be the first option to try if the OS isn't behaving properly. And it's one that Microsoft promises will be completely automated, meaning there's no need to back up your files or settings beforehand.

To accomplish this, your PC boots up into Windows RE (Recovery Enviro... [Read more]