When it debuted on Mac OS X Leopard, Stacks became an immediate hit, a clever and visual organizational tool for keeping groups of related programs, files, or folders easily accessible from the dock. While Windows 7 finally gave Microsoft's operating system some visual pop that was also useful for taskbar access and previewing, it didn't come with a feature like Stacks. Two utilities for Windows aim to address that deficit, and while 7stacks and StandaloneStack are good considering they're teaching Windows a new trick, both have plenty of room to improve.

7stacks ports the stacking feature in a reasonable but not quite perfect manner. The program does an effective job once you've created your stack, but it lacks some of the smoothness that hallmarks its Mac progenitor. A clean design makes creating a stack easy, but what's not clear about the process is that the "Create shortcut on Desktop" button is a necessary step. Once you've created the shortcut, you can drag it onto your unlocked taskbar. Left-click on the stack taskbar icon to expand the stack and access its contents, right-click to get options.

When creating a stack in 7stacks, you can customize the folder you choose to stack including Libraries, use the default folder icon or select your own, and toggle options for exploring the folder, browsing subfolders, hiding file extensions, or displaying image thumbnails. There are three stack view options: vertical, which presents the stack in a column; grid, which arranges the stack into rows and columns; and menu, which makes the stack look like a Windows Explorer right-click context menu. Text for each item can be turned on or off in grid and vertical modes, and both icon size and text size can be adjusted via slider.

You can't drag and drop items directly into or off of a stack, which means that you can only change what's in a stack from Windows Explorer. The utility could use a hot-key hook to create a new stack, although you can right-click on an already-existing stack to see stack options such as create new stack, edit current stack, and browse as menu. More than that, the process for creating and editing stacks should be smoother than it is, and even on computers with top-shelf hardware, the stacks don't open or close as fast as they should.

Other docking apps have brought stack-style features to Windows, but 7stacks and StandaloneStack focus only on stacking. They're also two of the few that don't require drain resources the way many docks can. StandaloneStack integrates with the Windows 7 taskbar the same way that 7stacks does: first you create a shortcut on your desktop, then you drag it to the taskbar. StandaloneStack is far better at providing instructions for this, though.

It also offer a far more comprehensive range of options, from basics like customizing your icons and changing fonts to showing hidden files and adjusting the dock placement when it opens according to specific X and Y coordinates. Creating a stack is simple. Once you've got a folder that has what you want to stack, you go to the "New Stack" option, give it a name, peg it to the folder location, hit Create Stack, and then hit Create Shortcut to send it to your desktop. From there, you can add it to your taskbar. Customizing icons requires adding images to the StandaloneStack images folder. There are instructions in the program, but it's not as fidgety as it might sound.

The level of customization offered and telescoping arc of folders and files felt smooth and fit in naturally with Windows 7, but StandaloneStack is not problem-free. Despite changing the stack direction, it only opened up, never down or to the sides. Also, even after disabling caching in the options menu, most of the post-creation changes we made were not reflected in the link. Users who favor the grid option or prefer their taskbars on the bottom of their monitors will get a lot out of this utility, but StandaloneStack's performance needs to improve.

StandaloneStack and 7stacks get points for doing a reasonable job of bring this useful feature to Windows, and they're both compatible with Windows XP and Vista so legacy operating system users won't get left out. Their deficiencies are too glaring to recommend either of them more enthusiastically, unfortunately.

Mac gamers who have been eager for Valve to port over its Steam game distribution software to OS X now have a date to look forward to. Valve on Thursday finally set Wednesday, May 12, as the day when the software will be made available to the general public.

Valve has been testing the Mac version of its Steam client in a private beta since the end of March. Screenshots and videos of the pre-release software began leaking out just a few weeks later.

As mentioned in previous coverage, the software promises to bring the same digital distribution for games that PC users have been taking advantage of since Valve launched the service back in late 2003. It will also add a feature called Steam Play that will let gamers play a purchased title on both the Windows and Mac--that is, if the game is available on both platforms.

One detail that remains unconfirmed by the company, and that was apparently mentioned to a high-level Steam forums user with sources inside Valve, is that those who signed up for the Mac beta will gain access to the software ahead of the May 12 release date. That could be welcome news to those who can't wait another two weeks.

Originally posted at Web Crawler

Browser add-on Xmarks has introduced a major new synchronization feature over the past few weeks for its multiple browser plug-ins that lets users sync open tabs across multiple browsers and computers. The new feature (download Xmarks for Firefox | Chrome | Internet Explorer | Safari) offers far better control over tab opening than merely forcing all your tabs to appear on all your computers and browsers. Instead, Xmarks politely tells you which tabs are synced under which browsers and lets you open them individually.

Once the add-on is installed, you'll be asked to create an account if you don't have one. The add-on also defaults to syncing your bookmarks, its primary function. You can opt-out of that feature, though, and run only the tab sync. Cancel the initial sync that it wants to walk you through and jump into the add-ons Options menu. Go to the Sync tab and make sure that the Open Tabs box is checked. Just below it, you can rename the computer and specify the browser, as well as toggle sync settings. Hit OK to close the Options menu, then force the add-on to sync, and your browser tabs will be added to your account.

From there, you can hop into another browser and either install the add-on or navigate to your Xmarks account page, which can also be reached from your mobile browser.

Click on the add-on button, open the Remote Tabs pane, and you'll see a list of your synced tabs. Somewhat annoyingly, there's no way to open a batch of tabs, but at least you're not forced to clutter a browser with all of your open tabs. The syncing process was practically instantaneous even with dozens of tabs.

Xmarks is one of the most useful browser plug-ins around, and this just makes it even more so. Syncing open tabs is one thing, but being able to access them at will and from any browser is an extremely useful trick to be able to pull off.

Now that the dust has settled on Opera Mini for iPhone's dramatic entry into the App Store and subsequent million-download day, the browser company has gotten to work addressing some user complaints in Thursday's Opera Mini for iPhone update.

The fixes, however, are subtle. The most significant one rights a network issue that caused Opera Mini to freeze at start-up. This release also set the app's fallback language to English rather than Arabic, as it previously was (in other words, an error with a language pack will now revert back to English.) Opera Mini is now also available in Hungarian, and the company says it has fixed backend bugs and stability soft spots.

However, Opera's mini update may disappoint some users who are on the lookout for Opera Mini to adopt multitouch pinch-to-zoom capabilities, finer-detail zoom levels, improved page rendering, and support for iPhone-optimized Web pages.

The fact that Opera Mini is a proxy browser that more or less beams an image of a Web page to your screen courtesy of Opera's servers, can account for some of the user grievances. For instance, Opera Mini isn't a native iPhone app, and therefore doesn't have access to the pinch-to-zoom technology of iPhone's Safari browser.

In the meantime, a brand-new entrant into the mobile browser space should have Opera reconsidering its position.

Skyfire, a previous Opera Mobile competitor on Windows Mobile and Symbian phones, has also on Thursday introduced Skyfire beta browser for Android. Skyfire's browser is based on the same open-source WebKit engine used to build Safari--as such, it already employs pinch-and-zoom. Skyfire definitely has its sights set on a version for iPhone, which would bring it into direct opposition with its Opera Mini rival.

While Opera has gone on record boasting that it's found a way around Apple's browser restrictions using its own software code, the company's stubbornness could lose users who care more about pinching the screen than they do about how quickly pages load.

It's also worth noting competitor Skyfire's buzzed-about ability to transcode and stream Flash video through the company's servers. That, combined with multitouch support, could give Skyfire, and not Opera Mini, the next iPhone edge. Flash video has been the hot topic in mobile of late, with Google affirming that its Android OS update 2.2 will carry it, and Apple CEO Steve Jobs' going on record to bestow his kiss of death for Adobe Flash on iPhone.

Opera may yet have a little breathing room to rethink its strategy before Skyfire and others make their iPhone move. Skyfire's CEO Jeff Glueck told CNET in an interview that while an iPhone version of their native/proxy browser hybrid is certainly in the works, the company wants to make sure it can handle server hits comparable to a million new users in one day, assuming their success were to follow Opera's in the first full day of its iPhone release.

Not to leave out Firefox, Mozilla also made its first foray into Android this week, which could make this game of browser leap-frog ever more interesting in the months to come.

Originally posted at iPhone Atlas

I've now been an iPad owner for exactly four hours. First impressions? It's heavier than I thought, and I'm furious with iTunes for hanging--repeatedly--during my initial sync attempts. (Weird workaround: After successfully syncing my iPhone, the iPad started syncing normally.)

Newspaper apps? Fantastic. JamPad? Dazzling. Netflix? I think a tear escaped my eye. But you know which app I'll probably end up using the most? The ingenious 99-cent Desktop, which divides the iPad screen in half so you can run two apps at once.

Well, OK, not apps, but any of the 10 "applets" built into Desktop. These include a Web browser (complete with thumbnail-enhanced bookmarks, a nice touch); an e-mail composer; Google Maps; unit and currency converters; a calculator; a dictionary; and a weather monitor.

So think of it: when your iPad is pulling desk duty (resting in one of these five cheap/DIY stands, no doubt), you can keep, say, a browser and calculator running all the time. Or a unit converter and iPad stat monitor. It's your choice, and Desktop gives you the option of dividing the screen side-by-side or top-to-bottom. (You can also run any tool full-screen if you prefer.)

Great idea, right? Just one problem: Desktop lacks a few tools it desperately needs, and a few of the tools it has aren't fully baked.

For example, the calculator barely fills a quarter of its half of the screen. While making it "full half-screen" might slow down data entry, it looks awkwardly small the way it is. What's more, the weather applet is little more than a text-based list of temperatures. It could use some pizazz.

And where's the notepad? The world clock? The RSS feed reader? Currently, they're MIA, but you'll be glad to know developer Dan Yadgar says they're coming soon--along with a voice recorder and various improvements to the existing tools.

Alas, the one widget I really want--a photo viewer--can't be done with the current iPhone SDK, Yadgar says. That's a shame, as it'd be great to have a photo slideshow running on one half of the screen and, say, Facebook and Twitter updates on the other. (The latter will be part of the upcoming feed reader.)

Even so, Desktop is a worthwhile addition for anyone who keeps their iPad propped up on a desk or countertop. It's good now, and about to get much better.

Originally posted at iPad Atlas

Just because threats to your PC continue to mutate doesn't mean that you need to pay for peace of mind. CNET editor Rafe Needleman explains his reasoning for why you should go free when it comes to security programs, and in that spirit we've collected some of the top free antivirus programs around.

There are currently six excellent free security programs on CNET Download.com that are rated four stars or higher. These include the three most popular programs on the site: AVG, Avira AntiVir, and Avast, as well as ThreatFire from PC Tools. There are also two cloud-based security solutions in the group, Microsoft Security Essentials, which replaced the company's OneCare paid suite, and Panda Cloud AntiVirus.

This can't be stressed enough, but none of them will replace smart browsing habits. For example, Google announced earlier this week that fake antivirus scams account for 15 percent of all malware. Check out our Security Starter Kit for a collection of additional free security tools, including spyware removers and in-browser security.

Native Flash support for Android phones may be only a month away, but in the meantime, mobile browser-maker Skyfire presents a workaround in its brand-new beta app for Android phones.

Skyfire 2.0 beta for Android looks and acts like your typical souped-up WebKit browser for Android phones, with the exception of a tool that lets you stream Flash video--and soon Silverlight. WebKit doesn't currently support either technology.

When Skyfire detects a broken embedded video on a Web page, it signals Skyfire's servers to fetch the video and transcode it from its original format to HTML 5 video.

What's more, Skyfire's servers will adjust the video resolution to performance factors like your phone's screen size and your network speed in order to provide smoother streaming. Videos certainly played without lagging or buffering interruptions in our demo with Skyfire on the Motorola Droid, and in our own tests on the Nexus One.

Skyfire's Flash-support-by-proxy isn't an all-in-one solution by any means. It doesn't detect every video in a playlist. Occasionally, it crashed a browser tab. And it doesn't address Flash games or other interactive sites; we're still waiting for a seamless way to read Flash-based menus online.

In addition to video streaming, Skyfire also adds its twist to the Android's WebKit browser with a button for viewing more relevant content, like headlines, images, and Twitter updates, and a link-sharing module. There's a browser tab-switcher, a shortcut to easily switch between desktop, Android, and iPhone mode (known as user agents,) and a drop-down menu with access to the settings, download list, text selection, and other tools. The quintessential "back" arrow and bookmarking are also present. On Android phones running OS 2.0 or higher, Skyfire also supports multitouch pinch-zooming.

There are some known issues and limitations with the Skyfire beta's video support and browser in general. It won't currently stream back Windows Media, Silverlight (that's next), or Quicktime video, and it intentionally won't provide video or additional content for secure sites. On some sites, swapping browser modes (the user agent) will force-close the app. The Help function was turned off when we tested the app before its official launch, and there are some interface issues with the Explore window on the Motorola Backflip while in "backflip" mode.

Although Skyfire's browser for Android is officially labeled 2.0 (beta), it is, in fact, the company's first offering for Google's mobile platform. The browser's front and backend designs are what diverge it from earlier 1.0 and 1.5 models for Windows Mobile and Symbian phones, which were coded entirely by Skyfire and built to look like a traditional desktop browser. With Android, the company layered additional features onto WebKit, much like Dolphin Browser, xScope, and others.

Skyfire CEO Jeff Glueck confirmed in an interview with CNET that we should expect to see a version of Skyfire for BlackBerry soon after OS 6.0 emerges with a new WebKit-based BlackBerry browser. We're also keeping our eyes trained on the iPhone--after Opera's success getting its proxy browser into the App Store, Skyfire made it no secret that it intends to follow suit, this time bringing unprecedented Flash video transcoding and streaming to an OS the CEO of which has emphatically declared will never carry Flash.

You can try Skyfire 2.0 beta for Android free from the Android Market on your phone and at get.skyfire.com.

Originally posted at Android Atlas

After the recent disaster of an antivirus app update from security vendor McAfee, I took a quick look at what the laptop and PC companies--from whom most people get their security software--were offering in the way of security software on new computers.

Here's what I wanted to see: computers pre-packaged with with Microsoft's free antivirus software, Microsoft Security Essentials (download), which I've found to be robust enough for all users except the most cavalier sloppy clickers out there. MSE is also lightweight enough that it doesn't slow your computer and is largely invisible when doing updates. And it's free. Did I already say that?

It's not that free software is better by nature. The full-feature, paid security suites are robust computer and information protectors, especially for people who might otherwise get themselves into trouble online due to a lack of education on basic computing security practices. There's nothing wrong with saving these folks from trouble. But are you one of them?

McAfee-type flubs are also rare, and nothing's magically protecting Microsoft, AVG, Avast, and any other free antivirus apps from the same fate. But I say, given the problems that you might have with any antivirus app, why pay money for features you don't need? It's not like your money buys you complete peace of mind.

So where can you buy a computer with MSE pre-installed? Microsoft confirms that no top-tier computer maker is yet offering it pre-installed on new PCs. That's a shame. In Microsoft's own retail stores, though, MSE is part of the included software suite.

The standard offering now is a trial (time-limited) version of either Symantec's Norton security suite or McAfee's, for no charge, or the option to select either Norton or McAfee. On some product lines you can opt out of the pre-installation of either of these products and get a computer completely unprotected if you ask. Others will let you opt out of the setup of a pre-loaded security suite when you first power up your computer. On these machines, you can easily download MSE and install it yourself.

Keep in mind that connecting an unprotected computer to the Internet is not the smartest thing in the world to do. While I do not believe the hype that a new, unprotected computer will be instantly taken over and turned into a zombie for the Russian mafia, if it connects to the Net over Ethernet or Wi-Fi without running security software, you still don't want to do much, if any, surfing without a protection app installed. (One way to stay belt-and-suspenders safe: download the installer for MSE from a protected computer, put it on a flash drive, and then install it on your new computer before you let it connect to the Net.)

So why can't you get the excellent Microsoft app pre-installed instead of Norton or McAfee? Because the companies that make the paid apps pay the manufacturers for converting trial users to subscribers. Microsoft Security Essentials is free, and Microsoft pays computer makers nothing for installing it. So it's in the manufacturers' financial interests to keep offering you security suites that are too big, too expensive, and frankly too flaky.

A Dell rep even told me that the suite you're more likely to be offered depends on the "deal of the month" that Dell has with the security vendors (Symantec or McAfee). It's like walking into a Best Buy, she said: some days the big in-store displays push one product; some days another. It depends on the deal.

Sure, this is capitalism at work, and we can't really fault that. But in this case I call foul. Users' computer security is more important than making a few bucks from them, and not all security suites are created equal, certainly not equal enough to be swapped out based on the deal of the moment. It's time for computer vendors to do the right thing for users, and that means offering good free security apps if they're better for users. And for many users, they are.

See also: Why it's time to move away from McAfee.
See also: Top free security suites.

Originally posted at CNET to the Rescue

A few weeks back we put together some screenshots of games on the iPhone versus their iPad iterations. It was a resounding hit with the exception of our execution, which was to shoehorn the lovely, full-size comparisons into a little under 600-pixel-width screens. To make amends for this, we're giving it another go. But this time we're taking a look at some popular non-game applications, as well as bringing it to you in pixel-for-pixel goodness.

You'll find that not all of the apps on this list are necessarily better than their pocket counterparts. In fact, in a few cases they look or function a little worse. There are, however, quite a few that offer a dramatically different experience than what's available for smaller screens. Read on to see what we dug up.

Editor's note: To see the full-size version of each screen, you just need to click on it. Hitting the back button in your browser will bring you right back to the story. You can also click through these in slideshow form by hitting the link just below this text.

1. Evernote (free, universal)
Evernote is an office favorite and one of the few note-taking and archiving apps that's a free download on just about every platform under the sun. As you can see, the difference in the amount of notes you're able to see is quite dramatic. Not shown are the extra options you get when creating a note, including being able to record audio as you type, as well as actually see what you're typing since the keyboard doesn't get in the way as much.

2. Box.net (free, universal)
We got a preview of the Box.net iPad app ahead of its launch. The obvious benefit (as seen below) is that you can see the source list of a folder alongside its content. When held sideways, this list stays on screen--that is, unless you want to hide it. As mentioned in an earlier look, the iPad version is miles ahead of its pocket-size sibling in ease of reading and skipping around but is currently missing a way to upload files to your account. Both versions are also missing a way to store files locally--something we've been told is coming.

3. eBay (free: iPad version, iPhone version)
For skimming things like item descriptions and checking out the close-ups of a used gadget you want to buy, the iPad version of eBay is far more efficient. It's also got a neat way to narrow down how much you want to pay for items in the search results by selection a portion of a timeline--just as if you were editing a movie clip in QuickTime or on the iPhone 3GS. Sadly missing from the iPad version, however, are push notifications. This means you won't be able to get a quick heads up if you've been outbid on an item. You're also unable to view other items from a seller, which can be a good way to tell if you're barking up the wrong tree on what you think is a one-of-a-kind piece.

4. Soundhound (free, universal)
Midomi's Soundhound (formerly known simply as "music identifier") is an app that can ID whatever music is playing in just a few seconds. Fortunately, it has made a graceful transition to a larger screen.

Just like the iPhone and iPod Touch version of the app, it can be set to start listening to a song right when you launch it. The big difference is that the app automatically begins showing you the most popular songs that have been tagged on the service, as well as tagged items that aren't getting radio air time. Both of these lists can be expanded and sit on top of a ticker of the most recently tagged songs by users.

5. Shazam (free: iPad version, iPhone version)
Like Midomi, Shazam is a music identification service. On the iPad, all the UI has been pushed from the bottom to the sides where you can now hop around the various features by tab. The core identifier, however, remains unchanged.

6. Pandora Radio (free, universal)
Pandora is one of the more dramatic face lifts in this group. Like Apple's rejiggering of the iPod app to more closely resemble the company's iTunes jukebox software, iPad users can now do other things within the Pandora app while the music is playing--all without losing access to the player controls. Other niceties include being able to see the album art of the last few songs that have played and start a search no matter what part of the app you're using.

7. Google (free, universal)
The voice-powered search app for the iPhone and iPod Touch is not all that much different for the pocket-size version, except for the fact that iPad users are getting the "full" version of Google's search results. While the mobile version can do Web, image, local, and news searches, the iPad version tacks on shopping, blogs, books, and translate (just to name a few). While the two apps may not be all that different right now, we wouldn't expect it to stay that way for long.

8. Wolfram Alpha ($1.99, universal)
Wolfram Alpha is now a much more affordable app than when it first came on the market. Those with an elephant's memory will remember that when it first became available on the App Store, it cost $49.99. It was later dropped down to $19.99, then returned back to $49.99 At the beginning of April, the company dropped the price to $1.99 for good, as well as giving everyone who bought it a refund.

On the iPad, the Wolfram Alpha app shines. This is the case not only for the results, which often contain large, colorful charts but also for the enormous, three story keyboard that stretches out like a cat waking up from a nap. On the iPhone you need to scroll through three different sub menus to view all the keys, whereas on the iPad it's all there for you--all at once.

9. Kayak (free: iPad version, iPhone version)
Kayak's travel search is essentially the same as the iPhone app, but its menus have been snapped together in a four-up display. Surprisingly, this ends up working rather well. One thing iPad users do miss out on though, is the neat pop up effect the iPhone/iPod version has when jumping around the various search features. On the other hand, when browsing through the business end of Kayak, which is filtering through search results, the iPad version blows it out of the water. There, you can see close to three times the number of flights as well as what airlines you want to pick from--all on the same screen.

10. WordPress (free, universal)
WordPress is another app that like Google's may not be all that impressive with a screenshot, but it really is when you think about what you're supposed to do with it. Penning a blog post on the iPhone never really felt like it was designed to be a normal task. If anything, it felt more like an app that was set up to let people manage comments and make small changes while on the go. On the iPad, however, it has the larger area to work with and larger landscape keyboard lends itself more easily to crafting a full post. That said, it's a long way from being as easy to use as WordPress' own Web interface, which works fairly well in Safari as long as you don't want to add images or media.

11. Air Video (free, $2.99, universal)
Media-viewing apps looking better on the iPad is a bit of a no-brainer, and in the case of Air Video this rings true. The two apps are almost identical in appearance in functionality. The big change in the case of the iPad version is that you can see a preview of what the videos look like alongside the source list. The app can also be set to transcode your media content to the larger screen.

12. Amazon Kindle (free, universal)
Amazon's Kindle app is an alternative to Apple's iBooks service and lets users access books they've purchased off Amazon's Kindle store onto the iPad. The differences between the iPhone version and the iPad version are night and day. Yes, both have the same features, but the amount of page you can see on the iPad version is (obviously) much larger. Though one shortcoming that remains in both applications is that the app will jettison you out to Safari to go browse and purchase new titles for it, which can be a bit jarring.

13. Tweetdeck (free: iPad version, iPhone version)
Tweetdeck is popular Twitter browsing and posting software. This is one of the few apps on this list that's actually more desirable on the iPhone for reasons of performance. In our testing, we were able to get new tweets and search results to load faster on the iPhone version of TweetDeck, long before they loaded up on the iPad.

The one obvious benefit of the iPad is that you can turn it sideways and get three columns in view at once. The only bummer there is that the iPad's optional dock accessory puts the device in portrait mode, so you wouldn't be able to leave it in this position on your desk without propping it up some other way.

14. Twitterrific (free: iPad version, iPhone version)
Twitterrific is another application for Twitter. Its iPad version is simply super-size and adds a very large and simple options panel that drops down from the top of the screen, or sits in sight when your device is in landscape mode.

The really odd thing about Twitterrific for the iPad is that it doesn't end up giving you that many more tweets to see, even though you've got extra pixels for days. This certainly makes tweets easier to read from a few feet away, but it involves what feels like quite a bit more scrolling on your part to work your way down the timeline. It's also missing any way to change the size of the text in tweets, which is something you can do on the pocket-size version.

15. USA Today (free: iPad version, iPhone version)
USA Today has always had a very good looking iPhone app, and the publication's iPad app follows suit. What's really neat about the iPad version is that it goes out of its way to emulate the look of a real newspaper, complete with a feathered edge on top of the screen and a textured page grip on the side of the page. These, along with the zooming animations of articles, opening up go a long way to make the experience feel more organic.

One of the areas where USA Today's iPad app really shines is in its "day in pictures" feature, which is a compilation of news photography. On the iPhone, this feature works well enough, but on the iPad you can read captions without them overlapping onto the photos, as well as scroll your finger through a timeline viewer at the bottom of the screen to change photos.

16. New York Times (free: iPad version, iPhone version)
First things first, it's probably a little unfair to compare the two different iPhone and iPad apps from The New York Times, but we're going to do it anyway. The main reason not to is that the one on the iPhone is the full version of the publication, whereas the current iPad iteration is a selection of articles that have been picked by NYT editors. Still, a quick comparison to the front page section of both apps is filled with the same stories.

On the iPad version you get a very similar experience to what can be found in USA Today's, with an off-white background and aesthetically pleasing column widths. The one area where the iPhone version actually outshines the iPad version is in how you can then share an article you're reading. On the iPad you've got e-mail, whereas on the iPhone version you can send it to Twitter and Facebook, or to someone's phone by text message (even if you're on an iPod Touch).

17. LogMeIn Ignition ($29.99, universal)
LogMeIn Ignition for the iPad easily tops our list as the most dramatically better experience than what can be had on the iPhone or iPod Touch. Don't get us wrong, accessing your computer's desktop while out and about on an iPhone is just awesome, but it doesn't come close to using it on a display that's four times larger.

As far as functionality goes, using it on the two devices is the same (it is, after all a "universal" application), though we noticed that it was easier to mouse around the page and not cover up what you were trying to click on when using the iPad. And on the iPad version, it's a bit easier to "throw" the mouse in any given direction using a quick swipe. This makes it easy to get around if you're connecting to a machine with a considerably large resolution.

18. Zagat To Go ($9.99, universal)
Zagat's food, drink, hotel, and shopping ratings app has made a very slick transition to the larger screen. The most obvious way to show this off is to head to the map view, which is given more than two-thirds of the screen. The use of the map in the iPad version more closely resembles Google Maps, so instead of clicking the back and forth button like you do on the iPhone, you can simply click on a Zagat pin to see what restaurant it is. Here again, the app makes use of the extra screen real estate and will give you a quick breakdown of what it is without leaving the map mode.

One really nice thing about the iPhone and iPod Touch version (which the iPad version does not yet have) is a way to download Zagat's ratings database for offline use. This stores a locally cached version of the ratings onto the device, so you don't have to worry about tracking down a data signal when you want to do a search. Since Zagat's app requires an Internet connection to pull up results, it's more likely to be useful with users who pick up the version of the iPad with the 3G hardware on board. We've been told the offline functionality will be brought to the iPad in the next big update.

19. Epicurious Recipes and Shopping List (free, universal)
You probably shouldn't put an iPad near a pot of boiling water, but people have been doing it with their laptops and cell phones for years. Epicurious' universal app seems like it was meant to be used on the iPad, and between the two screens below, you'll probably agree.

The one edge the app has when being used on a smaller device is that it fits more easily in your pocket, which can be useful when taking advantage of the app's shopping list feature. But if you're in the kitchen and cooking something, using this app in landscape mode (not pictured) puts the ingredients side-by-side with the instructions--something that makes a recipe easy to hop back to if you prop up the iPad on something.

20. The Weather Channel (free: iPad version, iPhone version)
Apple did not include its pretty, Yahoo-powered weather app on the iPad, which means you've got to go elsewhere to find out whether to bring an umbrella or a pair of sunglasses when leaving the house. The difference between the two apps is remarkable. While the iPhone version takes a tabbed approach, you can quite clearly see the current weather, a 36-hour forecast, six days of a 10-day forecast, and live radar all on one screen. The iPad version is even animated.

The iPad version is also packing something the iPhone and iPod Touch version isn't, which is a list of official Twitter feeds from The Weather Channel and its anchors, which you can view right within the app. You could quite easily create your own list like this and do it in a Twitter app like the aforementioned TweetDeck or Twitterrific, but it's a nice thing to have in this case.

Any big ones we missed? Leave them in the comments.

Originally posted at Web Crawler