If you've been following tech news this week you probably saw the story of how an Apple engineer accidentally left an iPhone 4G behind at a bar. The story has been written about all over the tech sites, so I'll let you read all the details they were able to uncover about the device from the linked story by Erica Ogg. But for a different take on what led up to the iPhone 4G being lost, check out this "shocking" video over at the Buzz Report...It's great having coworkers with a sense of humor.

This week's apps include an app that lets you explore episodes from an extremely popular radio show and podcast and a sequel to a hit arcade airplane combat game.

This American Life ($2.99) lets you listen to episodes from the popular public radio show going all the way back to the show's launch in 1995. The first screen lets you select from the Radio show archive; TV shows shown originally on Showtime; a favorites section so you can save ones you like; or you can listen to episodes based on popular contributors. The app also has buttons across the bottom to find the latest shows (new shows are automatically downloaded to the app), a listing of all shows, a section for live streams, and a link to the blog. Basically, if you're a fan of This American Life, this app has everything you could want.

More than just a public radio listening app, This American Life gives you numerous features to help you explore the archive of episodes along with detailed descriptions of each episode to make it easy to pick ones you want to listen to. One word of warning: there have been reports of crashes on this app, but they are working to iron out the bugs. I had a couple of crashes initially, but after rebooting my iPhone I have had no problems listening to shows or navigating the various features. Let us know in the comments if you have problems with this app. Overall, if you're a fan of This American Life, or enjoy well produced stories and interviews from people across the US, this app is an excellent choice.

MiniSquadron Special Edition (Free) is the free sequel to the hit game Minisquadron, a 2D cartoony airplane dog-fighting game with excellent gameplay and tons of new content. Just like the original, the control system consists of an onscreen joystick on the left and a fire button on the right. In the game, you'll need to battle through 12 waves of different types of airplanes to complete a round. Completing rounds unlocks new airplanes (there are 50 new planes to unlock), each of which will have unique weapons, varying flying speeds, and other perks that will help you in the more difficult rounds. You can also choose between a few different game types including Classic, to go through the game and unlock new planes; Survival, where you'll need to fight of wave after wave of enemies; and Multiplayer, where you can have dog fights with your friends over a Bluetooth connection.

MiniSquadron Special Edition has a decidedly psychodelic theme, with battles taking place in front of fantastical backgrounds, and an early level that even has cats flying around to distract you from incoming planes. The thing that I like about this game (as well as the original) is the amazingly effective onscreen controls. The frenetic game play requires that you pull off amazing looping maneuvers to deal with the onslaught of enemies, and you almost always feel in control. Overall, MiniSquadron Special Edition is an excellent sequel to Minisquadron with an enormous amount of content and plenty of fun gameplay to keep you coming back for more. Frankly, I'm amazed (but extremely happy) that it's free.

What's your favorite iPhone app? Have you had any issues with This American Life? Are you amazed that Minisquadron Special Edition is a free game? Let me know in the comments!

There's no doubt that Windows 7 is the most polished operating system Microsoft has released, but that doesn't mean there's no room for improvement. This collection of free utilities great and small will give you tools to change a significant amount of Windows 7's behavior, from the look of the Start button to hulking out Windows Explorer with FTP powers.

Before we get to gritty fine-tuning apps, let's start with some of the more-aesthetic ones. The aforementioned Windows 7 Start Button Changer is a one-hit wonder. Calling it a "wonder" may be a bit of a stretch, too, but it does allow to users to change and backup the Start button icon without having to dig through dozens of folders and files. You can install your own custom-made Start button icons, or premade ones. DeviantArt is a good place to find icons that are free and ready to use. The app itself is noninvasive and glitz-free, but it could benefit from shorter button names and clearer indications that the buttons are actually buttons. Small hangups aside, this is an easy way to add a bit more of your personal style to your Windows 7 computer.

WindowsWhere addresses one of the minor annoyances of Windows, where program windows often but not always reopen in the same position where you last closed them. I've found this most useful when programs or pop-up windows open with the top of their frames hidden under my desktop taskbar, which is an occasional problem because I prefer to run my taskbar at the top of the monitor. This utility will also run on Windows Vista and XP.

The Windows Themes Installer may seem redundant to some, since Windows 7 comes with generally excellent theme support. However, this tool allows even better control of how your Windows 7 looks. It helps by easily installing the necessary theme files into their correct locations, similar to the Start button changer, without having to memorize or write down long file location strings. Note that there's no backup option as in the Start button changer, but there is a default theme restore option. Don't be afraid to create a system restore before you start mucking about with key Windows files.

Some of the best things about Windows 7 are the window-management tools under the Aero aegis. Aero Snap, Aero Shake, and Aero Glass do nothing less than make Windows 7 competitive with Apple's Snow Leopard on the window management front. The Aero tools pop visually, they're fun to use, and most importantly, they're useful. But that doesn't mean you can't tweak them, and for people who want more out of their Aero, there's AquaSnap.

AquaSnap changes the Snap/Shake/Glass functionality with the entirely new Aqua feature set. You can also use AquaSnap to toggle at will between Aero and Aqua, or disable them all. AquaSnap adds quarter-screen sizes to its Aero counterpart. There's also a custom option, and it's multimonitor compatible. For some odd reason, the Snap features required a reboot before they worked, when the Shake and Peek ones didn't.

AquaShake changes Aero Shake from minimizing all other windows to making them transparent. Users can toggle the transparency level and the shake sensitivity. AquaGlass actually doesn't change or improve on Aero Glass. Instead, it makes windows transparent when you drag them around the monitor. You can adjust the transparency here, too, but this is most useful when you click and hold on a window to quickly see what's beneath it. A useful but not killer feature.

During my tests, I found the quarter-screen resizing to be the most useful feature in AquaSnap. Perhaps the best thing about the app is that it works on legacy Windows systems, thus porting both the default Aero Snap and the expanded Aqua versions to Vista and XP users.

Alt+Tab Tuner straddles the line between granular control over parts of your system and an aesthetic tweaker. The app gives you customization power over Windows 7's Alt+Tab preview and window-switching hot-key combo. That's pretty much all it does, but it's an incredible depth of fine-tuning.

Users can adjust the margins on the top, bottom, or side of the global preview window; change the number of columns and rows that those previews appear in; and change the amount of spacing between each preview thumbnail. Users can also tweak the program icon location and size; the preview thumbnail size; the milliseconds the global preview window takes to fade out; and the opacity of the previews' transparency.

The interface is arranged like an equalizer, with slide controls, but each toggle also allows users to type in by hand a precise setting. Because the utility uses such a familiar design, there's practically no learning curve except when trying to figure out which slider controls which aspect of the Alt+Tab preview window. Since most Windows 7 customization utilities tend to ignore the Alt+Tab hot key, Alt+Tab Tuner is a must if you're looking for precise control over Alt+Tab behavior.

You'll find Ultimate Windows Tweaker to be a user-friendly optimizing toolbox. Snappily responsive and designed to look like it's part of the Control Panel, the UWT opens with its central pane showing your system information and its left nav offering tweak categories. The seven categories include: Personalization, User Account Control, System Performance, Security, Network Tweaks, Internet Explorer, and Additional Tweaks.

Except for the occasional slider, each tweak is based on a check box format for activating options, which users of all levels should find easy to manage and read. The range of choices looks solid, and there's something for everybody here, but it does tend to have more beginner's options than advanced ones. The basics are covered by tweaks such as restoring the last opened folders in Windows Explorer or disabling Aero Shake. More advanced options include disabling printer spooling, enabling NTFS self-healing, or limiting bandwidth for the QoS scheduler. The buttons included with each option category for Create Checkpoint and Restore Defaults should calm any user fears about repairing any accidental damage done.

Where Ultimate Windows Tweaker may lean ever-so-slightly toward less-confident users, 7plus goes just slightly in the opposite direction. It differentiates itself from competitors with a couple of feature surprises and Web links to a series of how-to videos. There are far too many tweaks to document here, but suffice to say that the drab interface houses five tabs of customizations: two for Windows Explorer, one for non-Explorer tweaks, and the ever-present Miscellaneous tab. Oh, and the kicker: the FTP tab. 7plus lets you upload files from Windows Explorer to your FTP site at the touch of a hot key, which is an unusual but very welcome addition.

7plus is mainly built around hot keys, and as such is a keyboard fanatics dream. You can set hot keys for opening text or image files in an editor of your choosing, opening files, creating new folders, copy folder paths with file names, and append files to the clipboard instead of replacing what's currently there. 7plus can create "fast folders," which are specific folder paths accessible from the center wheel mouse button or the open/save places field. Outside of Explorer, users get an array of mouse-button and hot-key features, including one-click options for keeping windows on top, toggling wallpaper, or "slide windows" for keeping windows open but off-screen.

There are many more features in the utility, not the least of which is one aimed at XBox players who have a joystick or gamepad connected. They can use those peripherals to control the mouse when not in full-screen mode. 7plus's how-to videos are a smart touch, but the interface lacks compared to Ultimate Windows Tweaker. Also, the hot-key combinations can not be separated from their associated functions, so you can't customize your own preferred keys. Users should note that while many of the features will work on Windows XP, some are limited to Vista and 7, and a few will work only on 7 itself.

Bonus app: If you're the kind of person who likes at-a-glance weather updates, WeatherBar will add weather updates to your Windows 7 taskbar. The icon displayed on your taskbar indicates the general weather conditions, while the progress meter indicates the relative humidity. The app's jump list offers a full four-day prediction including highs, lows, and a predictive icon.

Do you have a favorite Windows 7 utility? Tell me about it in the comments below.

Believe it or not, my stomach is looking forward to the arrival of my iPad (hurry up, UPS!) just as much as my brain. That's because I can envision the tablet on my kitchen counter (sitting upright in a dirt-cheap stand, of course), serving up page after page of delicious recipes, each with tantalizing photos and large, easy-to-read text.

In the meantime, I'm making due with my iPhone (or my wife's iPod Touch--whatever's closer). The print may be a little small, but the cooking/recipe apps are first-rate. Here's a list of my five favorites:

AllRecipes.com Dinner Spinner  An oldie but goodie, Dinner Spinner taps thousands of recipes from the popular site (home of some of my favorite chocolate-chip cookie recipes, FYI). You can search the library for specific recipes or use the "spinner" to browse by dish type, ingredients, or prep time. The app is free, though you may want to spring for the $2.99 ad-free Pro version.

Epicurious Recipes & Shopping List  Stocked with a whopping 28,000 recipes from leading magazines, cookbooks, and chefs, this app almost crosses over into overkill. Search for something generic like "cookies," for instance, and you'll likely end up overwhelmed by the one-recipe-per-page results. Still, I love being able to browse, search, save, and e-mail (a new feature in the just-released 2.0 version) all the recipes. And, hey, it's a freebie, so what do you have to lose?

How to Cook Everything  Based on the eponymous book by renowned chef Mark Bittman, this app is more than just a recipe book--though it has a couple thousand of those. It's also a how-to guide, covering everything from kitchen equipment to cooking techniques to meal planning. The interface gets a little quirky in spots, but ultimately this is one of my favorite cooking apps--and it's a steal at $1.99. (The hardcover costs $35.)

Grill-It!  I'll cop to being pretty clueless when it comes to manning the grill. This app from online magazine GrillingCompanion.com teaches you everything you need to know about flame-broiling burgers, dogs, chicken, veggies, and just about everything else. The info is solid (and helpful), but the interface has the annoying habit of cutting off recipe titles. "Tips on How to Cook Perfect...", for example. Perfect what?! Price: 99 cents.

Martha's Everyday Food  My wife and I subscribe to (and enjoy) the print edition of "Martha's Everyday Food," so we jumped at the chance to get the recipe library in app form. Just one problem: although you can search Martha's database, you can't browse it! That's a rather stunning oversight in an otherwise worthwhile app, which includes a convenient grocery-list builder and a dinner recipe of the day. Price: 99 cents.

OK, your turn. What apps keep you company in the kitchen? Hit the comments and list your favorites. Anything dealing with cooking, baking, drinking, or foodery in general is OK by me.

Originally posted at iPhone Atlas

This is an update of a deal post from back in February.

As I've mentioned before, I have mixed feelings about security and utility software. Sometimes I think they do more harm than good.

However, I have no doubts whatsoever about getting something for nothing, especially when it's a software bundle worth $180.

Fry's is once again offering Norton Internet Security 2010 (three-user license), Norton Utilities 14.5 (three-user license), and Norton Ghost 15 absolutely free--if you're willing to jump through a couple hoops, that is.

Here's the deal: If you purchase these products separately, they would run you $179.97. Fry's sells them as a bundle for $74.99. Fry's has that bundle on sale for $69.99 with free shipping and a pair of mail-in rebates knocks your total cost down to $0.

Rebate No. 1 (PDF) nets you a $45 prepaid Visa card. Rebate No. 2 (PDF) is good for a $25 prepaid Visa card--but this is where the hoop jumping comes in.

To get rebate No. 2, you need to supply proof that you're upgrading from an earlier version of "any Norton or Symantec software or another company's antivirus, firewall, antispam, antispyware, utility, or backup software product."

What constitutes proof? You name it: a receipt, the first page of the manual, an e-mail confirmation, or even a screenshot of the software's Help/About screen. It shouldn't be too hard to scrounge up one of those.

Both of these rebate offers are available until April 29, but there's a good chance Fry's will sell out before then. That's what happened last time, so if you're interested in this, act fast.

By the way, CNET gave Norton Internet Security 2010 fairly high marks, and PC Magazine awarded it an Editors' Choice. I haven't found any worthwhile reviews of the other two apps, but both products have good reputations.

Bonus deal: Calling all gamers: Valve's Steam service is offering Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Game of the Year Edition for $14.99. This is the PC version, naturally, and it's delivered via download. Find out why GameSpot called this game "a fantastic package."

Originally posted at The Cheapskate

It's been a rough week for McAfee, but an even rougher one for many of its customers.

Acknowledging the chaos it caused by pushing out a buggy antivirus update on Wednesday, McAfee apologized to its customers in the form of a late-night blog on Thursday.

Barry McPherson, executive vice president of support and customer service, issued the apology on behalf of McAfee, saying the company was sorry for the headaches it caused for so many customers.

At 6 a.m. PDT Wednesday, the company released a faulty update to its antivirus software that hosed computers running Windows XP with Service Pack 3. The update, a DAT file, misidentified a key Windows file called svchost.exe as a virus, causing PCs to crash or keep rebooting. The problem affected customers worldwide, including chipmaker Intel, Rhode Island hospitals, Kentucky police, University of Michigan's medical school, and an Australian supermarket chain

In response, McAfee staffers have been working around the clock to help customers get their systems back online, McPherson said. The company believes most impacted PCs are back up.

He also detailed the fix that McAfee quickly patched together for early Thursday morning. The SuperDAT Remediation Tool stifles the updated driver that creates the false positive and then restores the svchost.exe file. McAfee said support reps are available for anyone who needs further help.

How did this problem occur in the first place? The short answer: poor testing. McAfee recently changed its quality assurance process, leading to the buggy DAT file to get past the test environment and onto the PCs of customers, MacPherson said.

To help ensure this doesn't happen again, McAfee will add new QA steps to address any update that directly affects crucial Windows system files. McPherson also said the company will beef up its Artemis system, which provides users with cloud-based virus identification, to include a more comprehensive list of Windows system files to leave alone.

McPherson closed his blog with another apology. "Again, on behalf of McAfee, I'm very sorry for how you may have been impacted by the faulty DAT file update and thank you for your continued support and cooperation as we work to remediate the situation," he said.

Will the apology and fix be enough to soothe angry customers? Based on some of the comments to the Thursday-night blog and to another McPherson blog on Wednesday, that may not be so easy.

Among the more than 100 comments to the Wednesday blog, a large number vented about lost hours of business and productivity and a lack of confidence in McAfee. Many also disparaged a company claim that the problem affected only a small number of customers.

There were only a few comments to the Thursday blog at press time, but a couple made their frustration clear.

"First of all let me say I am glad we have switched nearly 75 percent of our clients away from your product prior to this happening," wrote one commenter. "I can't imagine the chaos if we hadn't. It was chaos enough for us running all over town and billing our clients for a software glitch on a program that we recommended to them."

Wrote another: "If you expect customers to buy your product you...better make sure what you release is as solid as a rock. You shouldn't be on the list of risky software downloads!"

Originally posted at News - Security