In some challenges the fruit will bounce down objects, so you'll need to be careful with your slices.

Fruit Ninja was one of the early hits at the iTunes App Store, and continues to endure as a perennial top-10 favorite in the paid apps category for its simple, but satisfying game mechanic.

Today Halfbrick--the makers of Fruit Ninja and hit game Jetpack Joyride--released another version of Fruit Ninja, but this time with a movie tie-in. Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots offers the same fruit-slicing action, but adds a new game type that fans of the game will definitely want to check out.

Though Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots is an obvious promotion for the upcoming Dreamworks Animations movie, HalfBrick seems to have really gone the extra mile to make paying another 99 cents worth your while.

You get two game types with Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots. Bandito mode has you play through three acts (movie theme) with four random challenges each (though you can pick the order you do them). In each challenge you'll be doing things like slicing 20 strawberries, trying to crack three coconuts, and other fun... [Read more]

The Kindle Fire incorporates Amazon's new Silk browser, which apparently will learn your reading/surfing habits and cache pages you return to frequently.

The Silk browser was only one of many revelations at Amazon's Kindle event last month, but it was a doozy. Expected to ship initially only on the Kindle Fire in November, Silk promises to learn how you browse and to predict where you're going to surf to next.

That kind of stickiness with your personal data left many security experts and some lawmakers uncomfortable. But the Electronic Frontier Foundation now says it believes Amazon will provide users with the tools to disentangle themselves.

The digital privacy rights group released a report yesterday analyzing several areas of concern it had with Silk,... [Read more]

Some Android browsers deliver all the content, while others cut back for faster browsing. Choosing the correct browser for your connection type each time can become tedious--but there's a quick fix.

With Smart Browser Chooser, a free app on the Android Market, you can decide which browser is used based on your connection speed. All it takes is a couple minutes of setup and whether you're on Wi-Fi, 3G, or 2G, your Android device will know which browser to load for the best user experience.

Note: In order to use this app, you need to have different browsers to choose from. A few suggestions to try (like the ones used in this how to) are Dolphin HD, Skyfire, and Opera Mobile

(Credit: Nicole Cozma)

Step 1: Install Smart Browser Chooser from the Android Market.

This is the list of browsers you can choose from.

You should see all of your choices under their respective connection speeds.

Step 2: Open the app and pick browsers from the drop-down menus un... [Read more]

Line2 HD lets you make and take phone calls on your iPad, and even supports conference calling with up to 20 participants.

It was just over two years ago that I wrote about Line2, a clever VoIP app that adds a second phone number to your iPhone.

Now developer Toktumi has released Line2 HD, an iPad-specific version of the app, which should prove popular among business users. It not only turns your tablet into a full-featured phone, but also provides a nice hub for managing calls and messages.

To get started with Line2, you need to sign up via the company's site. (Unfortunately, there's no longer an in-app sign-up option.) You can test-drive the app and service with a free seven-day trial.

Once you've exhausted that, Line2 offers two main service plans: Standard and Professional, priced at $9.95 and $14.95 per month, respectively. (Discounts apply if you prepay for a year.) Both plans entitle you to a new or transferre... [Read more]

The latest malware scam that has been found for OS X is a fairly obscure installer program that is being disguised as an Adobe Flash Player installer. It was first discovered in late September.

This Trojan horse is a minimal threat. It works by installing a payload executable file on the system and then configures environmental variables on the system so that the payload will be launched when certain applications are opened. The payload then communicates with a remote server in an apparent attempt to steal personal information.

The initial version of the malware installed the payload in various locations in the user's home directory, but the second revision, found earlier this month, changed this so the payload was placed in application packages like Safari and Firefox and launched when these applications were opened. Yesterday, the malware detection team at F-Secure uncovered a third variant of this Trojan, OSX/Flashback.C, which shows the criminals behind this malware are still trying to get a foothold for their scheme.

A video demonstrates how the attack could be accomplished. In this screenshot, a series of blue buttons are clicked on as part of a game and the webcam is turned on.

Adobe Systems is working on a fix for a Flash-related vulnerability that could be used by Web sites to surreptitiously turn on a visitor's microphone or Webcam.

The problem is in the Flash Player Settings Manager on Adobe's servers and not with software on customer computers, Adobe spokeswoman Wiebke Lips told CNET today.

"Engineering is currently working on a fix," she said in an e-mail. "Note that this issue does not involve/require a product update and/or customer action. (In other words, there will not be a security bulletin.) It's a fix we are making on our end online, and it is going to be pushed live as soon as QA [quality assurance] has completed their testing."

The vulnerability could be fixed by the end of the week, she said.

The problem was brought to light by Feross Aboukhadijeh, a Stanford University computer science student, in a blog post yesterday that includes a live demo. The attack uses a technique that has become popular on sites like Facebook an... [Read more]

When it comes to sharing ideas and communicating stories, sometimes it's just easier to present your thoughts by drawing them out. Not just for Pictionary, online whiteboards are great collaborative tools to help you visualize your thoughts and brainstorm ideas. These Web apps not only throw out the smelly dry-erase markers, but also add a few tricks to make sharing your works faster and easier than ever.

A Web Whiteboard (AWW), developed by Senko Rasic, was designed to be minimalistic and simple to use like a real whiteboard. Coded in HTML5, AWW not only performs smoothly, but leaves little doubt to its functionality: users are given seven basic colors, three brush sizes, and a menu with sharing options. AWW doesn't strive to provide all the bells and whistles of modern whiteboards in the cloud but aims to simulate the elegance of quickly jotting notes and doodles--the basic features of a physical whiteboard. Its user interface only includes three buttons, freeing users from extraneous tools or widgets. Users can collaborate with others in real time by enabling sharing in the menu and passing the URL to their friends or team members.

AWW can publish drawings to three major outlets : Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit. Users can also save their images in PNG format.

If A Web Whiteboard's strength is in its simple and approachable interface, t... [Read more]

The Dolphin browser has long been regarded as one of the best alternative Android browsers for its support of gestures, add-ons, Webzine, and swipe-to-switch tabs. Released today, Dolphin HD 7 (download) adds synchronization to that list. Like Firefox for Android, which was the first Android browser to gain syncing powers, the feature leverages data hosted in the cloud. Called Dolphin Connect, it lets you line up identical browsing preferences, bookmarks and gestures on all your Android devices running Dolphin.

Dolphin HD 7's new look for Webzine.

Unlike Firefox, though, there's no desktop counterpart for Dolphin. Also, Dolphin Connect won't work yet in the iOS version of the browser, although it is being worked on.

Another big change in Dolphin 7 has been to the Webzine feature that emphasizes the Dolphin community's 16 most popular Webzine channels on the home screen as an alternative to the Speed Dial feature. Webzine also has undergone a visual refresh to simplify the interface and make it easier to jump between Webzine, mobile, and desktop site rendering via a location bar button.

Shadowgun

With the iPhone picking up steam as a gaming platform, one of the biggest announcements for gamers was that the iPhone 4S' graphics would be seven times faster than its predecessor's. Even though no developers have released a game optimized for the device so far (Infinity Blade II is set to launch December 1), I decided to put some of the more high-quality current games side by side on the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 4S to see if we could spot any difference.

The reason for all the extra speed is the iPhone 4S' dual-core A5 processor, which supposedly has enough horsepower to render complex 3D graphics with significantly high frame rates. This bump in processor power should become particularly apparent once we see some of the new games being developed for the device, but I simply didn't want to wait that long.

Instead, I picked out a group of graphically demanding games and grabbed screenshots from both the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. Not all the games showed a significant difference in quality, but in a couple the 4S definitely had a leg up on last year's iPhone 4. One thing that was easily noticeable was that the 4S looked better in action in all the games; looking around a 3D world was smoother, atmospheric effects were more pronounced, and details like reflections were much more realistic.

Of the six games I picked, ... [Read more]

Moby, the free, multiplatform location-sharing app, has just extended its reach to Android.

Previously the app was only available on the iPhone and BlackBerry platforms, but it appears Contigo Systems, Moby's developer, is making good on its promise to connect families no matter what devices they may be carrying.

Considering the release of Apple's Find My Friends app and the continued adoption of Google Latitude, some might feel like Moby is pushing its way into increasingly dangerous territory. But to Moby's credit, it seems to be taking a different route from the others. While most of the location-sharing apps out there seem focused on connecting friends, mostly for social interactions, Moby's mission is to facilitate private location sharing for families, as a safety measure. It has a built-in messaging platform and a really convenient emergency alert function. It also lets you request check-ins from other users, which, as you can imagine, is a useful feature for protective parents.

With big dogs like Apple and Google already on the location-sharing bandwagon, it's no secret that the category is a hot one. Glympse is another popular app as well. But if Moby continues to develop features specifically to keep families connected and safe, it may just be able to sidestep them all.

... [Read more]

iOS 5 has been out for less than a week, but the mobile operating system has rapidly gained a foothold among iOS-based device owners.

According to mobile app analytics company Localytics, which examined iOS device usage between Wednesday and yesterday, 33 percent of all iOS-based devices, including the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, are running iOS 5. If the new iPhone 4S is taken out of the equation, 31 percent of Apple's mobile products are running its latest mobile operating system version.

Apple launched iOS 5 last week. The operating system delivers a host of improvements, including a new messaging platform, called iMessage, and support for Apple's cloud-based service, iCloud. Perhaps most appealing to iOS 4 users, the operating system also comes with a new Notification Center to make it easy for users to find all app and system notifications in one place. The platform also includes full Twitter integration.

Related stories: • Apple sells 4 million iPhone 4S units in first weekend • Big mo: In one week, Apple iCloud hits 20M users; 25M use iOS 5 • ... [Read more]

BitTorrent has achieved stability on the Mac with the release today of the newly stable version of its "mainline" client, an update to the stable μTorrent for Mac, and the launch of a new remote management Web interface that's been optimized for iPad users. BitTorrent for Mac (download) and μTorrent for Mac (download) transports the most popular features of those programs from Windows to Mac, including RSS feeds, a scheduler, remote access, and power user controls.

The uTorrent Remote Web interface has been redesigned and optimized for iPads, although it will work on any platform.

As with the Windows versions, the features are fairly robust. The RSS feeds can be set to automatically grab and start downloading torrents. The scheduler includes time-based bandwidth throttling for people on metered or shared networks. Advanced controls, accessible via Command+Option+, include better logging, fine-tuning for ports, network configuration, download/upload speeds, and labeling.

Meanwhile, the HTML5-powered remote access Web site for μTorrent Remote has been optimized for the iPad, circumventing the lack of an app for iPhone and iPad users, although BitT... [Read more]

Lookout Mobile Security revealed a free app for the iPhone and iPad today, porting some of its security tools from Android in its first moves to attract customers of Apple's mobile operating system.

Lookout for iOS (download) brings some mobile-specific security enhancements, such as a System Advisor, Contacts Backup, and Missing Device tools, but it lacks a scan for malicious apps and other traditional app or program-based local threats.

Lookout Mobile Security for iOS will warn you when connected to an insecure public Wi-Fi.

This is by design, Kevin Mahaffey, Lookout's chief technology officer, said last week in an interview at the CNET office in San Francisco. "How do we create a security tool for 95 percent of users? The key problems we've tried to solve are the most prevalent," he said.

Those problems include the hydra-headed whopper of educating the public about what security risks can bloom into legitimate threats on iOS, when Apple touts the operating system as being eminently secure and when many of the threats demonstrated exist so far only in proof-of-concept form. This differs from Android, where more of the threats--such as malicious apps designed to steal personal data or wreak havoc on your phone--have snuck into the Android Market.

To that end, Mahaffey said, Lookout's iOS app contains features to ... [Read more]

Mango users say their keyboards are disappearing.

Mango may have been bitten by its first big bug.

Users who have upgraded to the version 7.5 of Microsoft's Windows Phone are complaining that their keyboards randomly disappear or fail to appear when needed. Both Twitter and the XDA Developers forum have received a swarm of messages from Mango users reporting the glitch.

Apparently, people will either touch the input field only to find that the keyboard fails to pop up or be typing an e-mail or IM or other text, and the keyboard will suddenly vanish. The issue appears to be affecting a fair number of people, at least among those reporting it online, though other users say they have yet to run into it.

Windows Phone enthusiast site WM Power User said that the bug doesn't seem to be specific to any one make or model but is affecting a cross section of Mango-powered phones. Posts from people on the XDA Developers forum confirmed that as well. WM Power Users also noted that several of its commenters claim the issue existed in the Mango beta but was never fixed for the final version.

Related stories: • ... [Read more]

Long before the iTunes Store was a glimmer in Steve Jobs' eye, Download.com launched in 1996 as the most comprehensive, safest place to get all your software, from the latest drivers and codecs to professional-grade programs. It was, and still is, notable for scanning and testing its software catalog to ensure that none would infect your computer. We take a look at the history of the software world before Download.com, the rise of modern software, and where software stands now.

Click the image to see the full infographic.

The software world before Download.com: The software world grew rapidly throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1983, for example, Microsoft actually distributed the first version of Word as a free insert in PC Magazine. Microsoft's Windows 1.0 wouldn't even debut for another two years. By 1986, the first computer virus, called Brain, began making its way around the world, and within in a year, the VIRUS-L mailing list began discussing how to stop computer viruses. Early participants included Eugene Kaspersky and John McAfee, who would later lend their names to their antivirus programs, which are still in use tod... [Read more]

When it comes to performing do-it-yourself fixes or upgrades on your Mac, one of the main resources to use is the online take-apart guides from iFixIt.

The company has detailed how to open and access internal components of many Mac models, and has gained a reputation for quickly tearing down newly released Apple hardware and outlining what's inside.

iFixIt's manuals can now be viewed cleanly on iPhone and iPod Touch devices.

The manuals and high-quality detailed images offered by iFixIt can be invaluable, but if for some reason your Mac is not working and you need to use one of the manuals to replace a component, then you will need to access the manuals with another device. The use of Apple's mobile iOS devices is great for this, but while the company has had an iOS app for its manuals available, until now the program was only available for tablets like the iPad. This meant that unless you had an iPad, you had to access the iFixIt Web site using Safari, which, although not a bad experience, might not be the most convenient one.

To tackle this, iFixIt today has released a new version of its iOS application, which allows its manuals to be browsed and accessed quickly on iPho... [Read more]

Need to read PDFs on the go? Adobe announced the availability today of Adobe Reader for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.

When you search for a word, Adobe Reader highlights it in the document. Hitting the arrows moves on to the next usage.

Adobe says that the app works just like the desktop version, letting you read and interact with the widest variety of PDF files on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.

You'll be able to open PDF files from the mail app, the Web, and any app that supports the "Open In..." option. You'll be able to access ePortfolio (PDF Portfolios), PDF Packages, annotations, and drawing markups. You'll also be able to open and view encrypted PDF files and access files secured by Adobe LiveCycle Rights Management.

For getting around within PDF files, the app lets you search text for specific words, create bookmarks to jump to the information you want quickly, or you can scan through large files by browsing thumbnails of the document.

Adobe Reader for iOS also supports AirPrint so you can create a hard copy on the go, or you can quickly e-mail a PDF document as an attachment.

With auto-scrolling, the capability to view documents as a continuous page, and controls optimized for the touch screen on any iOS device, the officia... [Read more]

iOS 5's Find My Friends is visually compelling and simple to use.

When it comes to GPS-based friend-finding apps, you either love them or you don't.

Google has been a big believer on its Android platform for some time, integrating Google Latitude into all of its Android phones. Apple's iOS 5 update brings a separate downloadable app, Find My Friends (shortened to Find Friends once it installs).

In many cases, it's another iOS 5 feature that's very similar to those existing on rival mobile platforms, but there are some features all its own. This weekend, I buddied up with some CNET friends to see how Find My Friends differs from Latitutde and which of the two apps I prefer. One thing to note: Latitude and Find My Friends only work within their respective ecosystems.

iOS: Find My Friends The free app is easy to download, once you know to look for it in the App Store. Otherwise you may be searching maps wondering how to activate the feature.

Right off the bat, this is a graphically rich app, with a textured, leather-bound look in sepia tones. It's also incredibly simple to navigate, part of that simplicity owing to the fa... [Read more]

NoScript for Firefox for Android (download) debuted today, tightening up security for users of the mobile version of Firefox. The new Android version is notable, according to a blog post by the people who develop NoScript, for including all the major features of the desktop version such as client-side clickjacking prevention and per-site permissions, as well as a new Web app firewall.

NoScript ports its script controls to Firefox for Android .

Many of NoScript's popular on-demand features have made it into the mobile version, so you can blacklist sites at will; set up JavaScript rendering so it's click-to-play, which means that only a placeholder icon will load until you tap it; run a whitelist of sites which will always load their JavaScript; and the "full protection" option which blocks all content, even on trusted sites, until you tap it. Also included is the ability to emulate JavaScript-only navigation on sites that are otherwise blocked.

Other features include synchronizing NoScript settings across Android devices with the Enable Remote Sync option. The fact that NoScript for Android is "Resta... [Read more]

Remember The Milk, the popular, whimsically themed task-management app, just got a major Android update. Not only has the app's user interface (UI) been completely redesigned, but also the basic version of Remember The Milk is now free for everyone. Previously, only paid Pro account holders were given free access to the RTM Android app.

Remember The Milk's new UI includes several features that should make managing tasks significantly easier. Most notably, there is an Action Bar at the top of the screen, with sync, search, and Smart Add buttons, all of which can be used from anywhere in the app. There's a brand-new dashboard screen, which gives you an overview of all your tasks, multiple task-editing capability, a new "This Week" view, and more.

Also, since the basic app is now free to everyone, Pro RTM users are getting to keep a few new features just for themselves. Pro users get reminders in the notification bar and app dashboard and a few new widgets for even better task management from the Android Home screen. What's more, they get unlimited automatic syncing, while free users only get one manual sync per 24 hours.

Smart Bar widget, Badge widget, and List widget, all available to paid Pro users