(Credit: CNET)

Yesterday, I posted a review of Mad Skills BMX, an excellent sequel to the popular Mad Skills Motocross game that uses a completely new control system. If you haven't checked it out, I highly recommend Turborilla's latest game.

There are a ton of side-scrolling racing games in the App Store that I've played and reviewed over the years, but only a few can match the level of polish and challenging gameplay found in the Mad Skills games. I've added a couple more to the list here, but if you have a good one you're playing, let me know in the comments.

This week's collection of iOS apps consists of two excellent side-scrolling racers that I recommend wholeheartedly. The first offers a Trials-like experience that has you restarting tracks over and over to get the best time. The second is a recent release with (mostly) lifelike physics as you race giant four- and six-wheel drive vehicles.

MotoHeroz (99 cents) is a mix of Trials-like platforming games (it's made by the same developer as Trials HD) and rally racing that makes for a fun diversion as you go for the best times. Featuring several colorful worlds to master, the game challen... [Read more]

Google Search homepage.

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When searching Google for something such as a specific product, it's likely you have come across a content farming Web site or 10. These sites are meant to draw you in to click on their ads or buy their products, which are usually unrelated to the topic or item you were searching for to begin with.

To combat this issue, Google created a Personal Blocklist extension for its Chrome Web browser. The idea behind the extension is to help users easily block content-farming Web sites easily, so they can find what they are actually looking for. Here's how to get started with it:

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma/CNET)

First you'll want t... [Read more]

CNET How To blog front page.

You can add bookmarks, favicons to the toolbar, or just type the Web address to get to your favorite Web site. But what if you want something even faster? Evidently the development team behind Google Chrome feels the same way.

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma/CNET)

Thankfully, the process is very simple: just navigate to a Web site you want extra-fast access to, and then click the wrench icon near the top right-hand corner of the Chrome window. From there, pick Tools and then select Create application shortcuts.

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma/CNET)

In the pop-up window that appears, pick the places you'd like to have a shortcut for the current Web site. The Taskbar pin is probably the fastest choice, and saves your wallpaper from being decorated with extra icons.

Click Create and the favicon for the Web site will appear in the chosen places. That's it!

Sample of the shortcut on the Windows desktop.

Sample of shortcut on Windows taskbar.

(Credit: Google)

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When you're mobile, running errands, or even traveling, there may not always be time to write a response to those who contact you. It's easy to forget what you need to do with an e-mail you've already read sitting in your inbox. Maybe a family member sent you something they want feedback on, or maybe a business client needs a question answered. In either case, you want to let the person on the other end of the e-mail know what's going on with you and when you'll be able to devote time to their requests.

You may recall a Gmail Labs feature called Canned Responses that lets you set up prewritten responses to your e-mail -- this app is the mobile counterpart to it. After all, you're more likely to be away from... [Read more]

The podcasts are back.

Podcast applications have made their way back to iTunes.

When users type "podcast" or "podcasts" into Apple's desktop iTunes application, they'll find a full listing of programs that allow users to subscribe and listen to audio and video podcasts.

Apple's store surprised some searchers yesterday when only the iPhone maker's official Podcasts app was displayed after inputting those queries into the program. Upon searching for the same queries on the iPhone or iPad, all available apps were listed.

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[Read more]

Opus backers argue the codec provides better sound quality and spans a much wider range of network conditions and audio needs.

For more than three years, Skype has worked to improve online audio through involvement in a project now called Opus. But perversely, Skype's new owner, Microsoft, is undermining Opus just as a Web standards effort is poised to carry it into the mainstream.

Opus is an audio "codec" -- technology to encode and decode media streams for efficient transmission over the Internet or storage on computing equipment. Opus backers besides Microsoft's Skype division include Google, Opera, and Mozilla.

Opus has a lot of potential to improve online audio, something that's increasingly important as more communications and entertainment move online. But the Internet is littered with codecs that faltered when rivals clashed over support or when patent land mines exploded, and it turns out Microsoft itself has thrown a wrench into the works by trying to put the kibosh on a new standard that uses Opus.

That standard is called WebRTC, and it's designed for browser-based voice communications and videoconferencing. Mozilla, Opera, and Google are all building WebRTC support into their browsers.

And at the end of July, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IE... [Read more]