This week I've gathered up some 2D snowboarding games that are not as good as being in the actual snow, but might be the perfect time-waster while we wait for winter to settle in.

As we hunker down for the winter months in the northern hemisphere, many are dreaming of another great season of winter sports. While there's probably nothing I can offer on the iPhone that will give you the feeling of snowboarding on powder-covered slopes, maybe these apps will make the days slip by a little bit faster.

This week's collection of iOS apps are all 2D snowboarding games. The first uses rag-doll physics as you pull off tricks down the mountain. The second has you playing as a rat on a snowboard going for distance. The third challenges you to master difficult tracks while pulling off big flips as you head to the finish line.

While not a bad game, you can even see in the screenshot how the rider leans to one side.

Super Trick Snowboarder ($1.99) is a 2D snowboarding game that uses rag-doll physics as you jump, flip, and spin down the slope, but it might be a bit too rag-doll for its own good. The game features nice-looking cartoonlike graphics as your snowboarder makes his way past obstacles ... [Read more]

After upgrading to OS X 10.7, a number of people who use Apple's iWork productivity suite have found that its Keynote application was having some problems, with one of the big ones being hangs when managing large presentation files. While the program would handle basic presentations just fine, for presentations over a few hundred megabytes in size, the program would slow down and eventually freeze.

Keynote is Apple's alternative to Microsoft's PowerPoint presentation software, and it offers a number of enticing features that a number of Mac users have come to rely on. When this bug happened a number of people were affected (1, 2), and a few were forced to downgrade their operating systems to Snow Leopard so their presentations would run properly.

Check Software Update if you installed Keynote outside of the Mac App Store.

Recently Apple released version 5.1.1 of the Keynote program, which in addition to other stability improvements is supposed to address the hangs and freezes when managing large presentation files.

For people who have installed Keynote through the Mac App Store, the update should be availa... [Read more]

Now you can keep your favorite parts of any video.

With the holidays coming up, your creative side may be seeping into your thoughts. If you have a collection of videos of family, friends, or even events, you can do neat things with clips from these. VLC offers a superfast way to create clips for later editing or enjoyment.

Begin by downloading and installing VLC.

Step 1: Open VLC and open the menu labeled View. In this menu, select Advanced Controls.

Step 2: Open the video you wish to take a cut from. Use the slider to navigate to the time you wish to begin recording. The Frame by frame button, located to the right of the Advanced Controls, will allow you to pinpoint the exact time you will wish to begin recording.

Step 3: Press the Record button on the left end of the Advanced Controls. Once recording is toggled, press Play and allow the video to play through the section you want saved. At the end of the desired section, press the Record button again.

The video cut will be saved automatically by VLC (in Windows 7 the video will be placed in the Videos library). Share your clip with your friends or keep that treasured moment for later.

Does not having access to your phone leave you feeling cut off from your social world?

Whether you work somewhere that does not allow you to carry your cellular phone, or you forgot it at home, the lack of your constant connection can add to your stress level. Stop worrying about missing important calls or texts by following these steps.

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma)

Step 1: Download and install SMS2Gmail from the Android marketplace.

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma)

Step 2: Press the option labeled Gmail address and enter your Gmail username. Repeat this process for your Gmail password.

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma)

Step 3: Set up an activation code by pressing the option labeled Activation keyword. For best results, keep from choosing a commonly used word.

Should you find yourself separated from your phone, all you need to do is text your phone with another device or service (ask a friend, use Google Voice, etc) with the passcode you set in step 3. After that, all SMS and missed calls will be forwarded to your Gmail account for your viewing until you deactivate the service manually.

Simply choose between TV Shows and Movies and you're on your way to discovery.

TV and movie fans: one of the best streaming media and entertainment discovery apps for iOS just got better with three new content providers.

Fanhattan for iOS (download for iPhone or iPad) already let you discover and watch TV and movies on your iOS device from many popular services including Netflix, Hulu Plus, iTunes, Vudu, and ABC. Starting today, Fanhattan has added a wealth of new content from PBS, Crackle, and Lifetime.

Flip through shows on the bottom, search for shows using the magnifying glass at the top, or sort by new, popular, or other criteria.

The Fanhattan App offers a great layout for entertainment discovery. To get started, you choose between TV or Movies on the home screen. From there, Fanhattan offers several ways to dig in to your favorite shows, letting you swipe to browse related content like reviews from Metacritic, trailers, actor and crew bios, and much more. The app also lets you know if the show you're browsing can be viewed immediately through popular serv... [Read more]

A look at how the Android ecosystem breaks down.

Android 2.3, aka Gingerbread, has officially taken over half of the Android ecosystem, according to new data.

As of yesterday, Gingerbread's many versions were running on 50.6 percent of all the Android devices in the wild, data published on the Android developers page shows. Android 2.2 (Froyo) trailed with 35.3 percent market share. The only other Android version with notable market share--Android 2.1 (Eclair)--captured 9.6 percent of the space during the 14-day period.

Honeycomb's various flavors, which are running on the majority of Android-based tablets, were only able to nab 2.4 percent share.

Gingerbread's rise has come quite quickly, considering the operating system debuted about a year ago. However, when compared to iOS 5, its adoption might seem rather slow.

Last month, online ad network Chitika reported that iOS 5 was running on 40 percent of all Apple devices. That report followed a data dump from mobile app analytics company Localytics, which said ... [Read more]

A public beta of Windows 8 will launch in late February of next year, says tech news site The Next Web.

Citing "sources close to Microsoft," TNW pointed to February for the beta's debut but said the release date for the final version of Windows 8 remains a mystery, though it's expected to ship next year.

Mary Jo Foley of CNET sister site ZDNet said she's heard that the beta would appear after next month's Consumer Electronics Show, which runs from January 10 to 13, but Foley said she isn't aware of any specific dates.

If the February timeframe holds true for the beta, the RTM (release-to-manufacturing) version of Windows 8 could hit the market as early as June. The final shipping version would then see the light of day in the third quarter, just in time to land on PCs and mobile devices for the 2012 holiday season.

This past June, Dan'l Lewin, Microsoft corporate vice president for Strategic and Emerging Business Development, ... [Read more]

A screen capture of Voodoo Carrier IQ detector.

All the controversy surrounding Carrier IQ has prompted a developer to create an application that helps Android device owners determine whether their handset is running the software.

Dubbed Voodoo Carrier IQ detector, the application, which is available in the Android Market, helps "you find out as easily as possible if your Android device hosts CarrierIQ rootkit or not." The free application is open source, and its developer, "supercurio," says he's willing to work with others "for collaboration and contributions."

But before you download the program, beware that it might not be so accurate. Supercurio admits in the app's listing that its "results are not reliable yet" and that he plans to provide several updates that will eliminate the current false positives it's generating.

Carrier IQ quickly became a target for the privacy community last month after Android researcher Trevor Eckhart exposed what he called, the company's "rootkit" running on Android-based devices. Carrier IQ's software, Eckhart argues, ... [Read more]

Mozilla has begun notifying Firefox 3.6 users that now is a good time to upgrade to Firefox 8.0.1--and to the browser's new fast-moving ethos.

The change had been planned for at least two other occasions in recent weeks, but Mozilla postponed it. And then yesterday, Mozilla flipped the switch so that when Firefox 3.6 checks with a server to find out if there's an update, it'll find the newest version of the browser.

"It's live, and users should see an update in the next 24 hours," said spokeswoman Erica Jostedt. Mozilla has a Web page for users to check whether they have the latest Firefox version.

Mozilla released Firefox 3.6 in January 2010. After Firefox 4 a year later, Mozilla moved to a rapid-release philosophy in which new versions of the browser come every six weeks with smaller changes.

Firefox 8 is the most widely used version of Mozilla's browser, accounting for 7.3 percent of personal-computer browser usage in November, according to statistics from Net Applications. Firefox 3.6 is next, with 5.3 percent, s... [Read more]