The newly released AT&T Call International for Android, BlackBerry, and iPhone might be an awesome VoIP app for making calls overseas. Note the word "might."

According to AT&T, the Call International app lets you use a Wi-Fi connection to place international phone calls from their supported AT&T phones, to anywhere and from anywhere in the world--for a fee, of course. Just sign up for a Call International account, download the app from the provided link, and make your calls. Your credit card will be billed on a monthly basis, and you'll be able to manage your account online.

While the rates do seem reasonable--calls to landlines in Canada, Mexico, and the U.K. cost 2 cents, 8 cents, and 4 cents, respectively--we're not so sure they're the lowest available. Interested parties might want to check out other VoIP apps like Fring, MagicJack, Skype, and Google Voice, all of which could offer some better options, depending on the country you're calling to, y... [Read more]

Windows 7 is a good operating system right out of the box, but tweaking some of the settings and using keyboard shortcuts can enhance the Windows experience.

Here are seven useful Windows tips and tricks to help you get more out of Windows 7:

1. Bypass the Recycle Bin The Windows Recycle Bin is a good safeguard against accidental file deletions. However, when you know you want to permanently delete a file, you can bypass it. Instead of pressing the Del key, press Shift+Del, then Shift+Enter to confirm.

If you prefer, you can also permanently disable the Recycle Bin. First, right-click on the Recycle Bin, then choose Properties. Click on the drive you want to disable the Recycle Bin for, then select "Don't move files to the Recycle Bin. Remove files immediately when deleted." Click the OK or Apply button to save the changes.

2. Open Windows Explorer faster Are you still mousing over to a Windows Explorer icon or double-clicking on My Computer to browse your files? Try pressing Windows Logo+E instead, to instantly launch Windows Explorer.

3. Enable underlining of keyboard shortcuts Windows has many menu shortcut keys, but they're hidden by default. To enable the underlining of the shortcuts, go to Control Panel > Ease of Access Center > Change how your keyboard works. Click on the box next to "Underline keyboard shortcuts and access keys," then hi... [Read more]

Adobe Systems just crippled Flash Player, but it hasn't put the browser plug-in out of its misery.

Today, Adobe confirmed that it's extinguishing the Flash Player plug-in for mobile devices. The move came as a surprise, given how hard Adobe worked to develop and promote the software and given that a key benefit of Flash is its promise to help programmers create software that spans many different computing devices.

But in context, the cancellation wasn't a complete surprise. Flash has plenty of opponents, and the biggest one, Apple, also happens to the single most powerful player in mobile computing. By banning Flash on the browser responsible for 62 percent of mobile Web usage, Apple effectively exercised third-party veto power over Adobe's ambitions.

The news triggered a jubilant round of ding-dong-the-witch-is-dead crowing. "Good riddance to bad rubbish," concluded John Gruber, who long has agreed with former Apple Chief Executive ... [Read more]

Day 1 of Streaming Media West included a highly anticipated demo of Google TV, the much maligned, though much improved media platform for your living room.

To get you up to speed, Google TV came out last year to a lukewarm response. Very few people adopted it, which prompted a complete redesign. That redesign was then realized last week with the release of Google TV 2.0, but unfortunately, at least one critic still found the updated platform plagued with problems. For instance, while CNET's Matthew Moscovciak conceded that the new Android Honeycomb interface is sleek, he still considered the overall experience clunky and frustrating. And I'd have to agree.

But at the same time, I am still very hopeful when it comes to Google TV's future, mostly because of that little thing called the Android Market. The Android Market is fully integrated into the platform, and it's a huge key to its growth. At this point, it's a bit thin when it comes to apps developed specifically for Google TV, but it does have a few goodies like Clicker, ... [Read more]

ZoneAlarm Free Firewall 2012 has a new look.

A significantly improved installation procedure and a new look are the notable improvements to ZoneAlarm Free Firewall 2012 (download).

ZoneAlarm borrows its new look from the full ZoneAlarm security suite, replacing the old horizontal buttons with three large icons and boxes. One takes you to settings for your computer's security, the middle focuses on Internet traffic, and the third addresses your identity and data.

ZoneAlarm Free has for some time offered 2GB of online storage and credit monitoring gratis.

The new ZoneAlarm installer also takes a page from its suite siblings, so that you only have to download a small "stub" executable, which then grabs the entire program from the cloud when you run it. The stub is around 5MB.

For people not familiar with ZoneAlarm, the firewall is highly respected for bolstering Windows 7's lax outbound controls, while significantly enhancing the notoriously wimpy outbound and inbound firewall on Windows XP.

What's new in ZoneAlarm Free Firewall 2012?

Facebook has acquired Strobe, a startup focused on the open-source SproutCore software--but CNET has learned that a new startup called Tilde looks to be picking up where Strobe is leaving off.

SproutCore is a package of prebuilt JavaScript code designed to ease the creation of Web sites and Web apps, including those that work on mobile devices. Charles Jolley has worked on SproutCore for years, including for a period of time at Apple where SproutCore was used in MobileMe services, before striking off on his own to form Strobe.

Several programmers left Strobe in October to begin a new start-up called Tilde. Co-founders are Yehuda Katz and Tom Dale, and others from Strobe who are involved include Leah Silber and Carl Lerche, Katz said.

"My new company Tilde is building several large-scale SproutCore 2.0 apps. We're investing heavily in the future of the framework," Dale said in a tweet yesterday.

Despite abundant competition for developer att... [Read more]

Apparently experiencing what Adobe Systems called the "full Web" on mobile devices isn't so important after all.

In a momentous about-face, Adobe Systems is scrapping its high-profile effort to bring its Flash Player software to smartphones and tablets, Jason Perlow at sister site ZDNet reported today. Such a move would mean Adobe's pragmatism won out over ambition.

Adobe did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Wednesday morning it confirmed the news in a blog post.

The browser plug-in is widely used on personal computers but only reached a fraction of the mobile phone market after years of work on Adobe's part. The move, if confirmed, would undermine a selling point many Android phone makers had used in an effort to stand out above Apple's iOS devices, which barred the plug-in.

According to an Adobe e-mail briefing sent to business partners quoted in the ZDNet report, though, the Flash Player technology will live on as a cross-platform programming tool through Adobe's AIR technology for packaging Flash-based apps into standalone apps. The e-mail stated the change in plans this way:

Our future work with Flash on mobile devices will be focused on enabling Flash developers to package native apps wit... [Read more]