The new TweetDeck.

The new TweetDeck (download for Windows and Mac) has launched, and it's the first version since Twitter bought the company. There's a new logo and blue skin to reflect that, but far bigger changes happened under the hood.

It's not entirely clear when the new versions were released, since Twitter didn't announce them, but the company has completely abandoned the old program. Gone is the cross-platform program built on Adobe AIR, and gone are many of its features. In its place, Twitter has built two new programs native to Windows and Mac, respectively, and streamlined their functionality to more closely reflect the official Twitter workflow. TweetDeck is still available as a Chrome Web App, and for iOS and Android, although they haven't recent an upgrade like the Windows and Mac clients.

Before its purchase, TweetDeck had released native clients alongside the AIR version, but the new releases appear unrelated.

The basics of TweetDeck's functions remain, including multiple Twitter and Facebook account support and customizable columns, while new-Twitter style retweeting and direct messaging have been improved. There's also separate columns for Facebook newsfeeds and Faceboo... [Read more]

If you've been browsing the Internet at all over the past couple of months, you've probably come across several Flash advertisements on pages that produce sound.

While this isn't a problem if the sound is muted by default, several of these ads begin playback immediately while also defaulting to max volume. Flash Control, an extension for Google Chrome, blocks these Flash applets from loading until you say it's OK.

Begin by downloading and installing the Flash Control extension.

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma)

Navigate to a page with a Flash applet on it. You'll notice it no longer automatically loads. You can load individual applets by left-clicking on them.

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma)

Alternatively, you can choose to enable Flash applets by clicking on the Flash Control icon in the navigation pane.

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma)

A menu of options will appear from which you can choose to enable Flash until the session closes (that is, until you close this window), just for this page, or you can add the Web site to your whitelist (recommended for sites like YouTube).

Not only does this extension improve user experience by blocking really annoying ads, there are other practical bonuses to it as well. For one, the applets that don't load won't be wasting any of your bandwid... [Read more]

Windows 8 activity among developers and other early adopters has fallen over the past three months, says a new study from ad network Chitika.

Looking at ad impressions for the Windows 8 Developer Preview on its own network earlier this month, Chitka found that they were measurably lower than ones seen in September.

Specifically, the new data compared impressions during the week of December 4 with those found toward the end of September, shortly after Microsoft launched the Developer Preview to the public. The stats released on September 26 showed a healthy jump in online activity in just a one-week period. But since then, impressions have gone down.

Chitika expressed surprise over the decline in activity, especially with Microsoft due to release the Windows 8 beta in February and recently spilling the beans on its ... [Read more]

In a move that would have been shocking a decade ago, Microsoft has made it possible for others' instant-messaging software to tap into its Windows Live Messenger.

Instant-messaging networks--the big ones are run by Microsoft, Yahoo, and AOL--once were well-defended strongholds, and developers of third-party programs like Trillian had to work hard to reverse-engineer their inner workings. But whatever residual excitement IM possessed has faded as new communication methods such as Facebook and Twitter have seized the spotlight.

I'm inclined to blame the companies involved. Had they banded together on a standard, IM could have become a staple of real-time communications over the net as important as e-mail is for communications that people access when it's convenient.

Instead, we have a tower of babel. There are incomplete alliances--one-off deals that have let Yahoo Messenger users reach Windows Live Messenger users, Gmail Chat users reach AOL Instant Messenger users. There are third-party tools such as Apple iChat, Pidgin, Adium, Trillian, and Meebo, but they rarely support all the features such as chat rooms and videoconferencing. And worst of all, there are new instant-messenger networks sprouting up such as Twitter direct messages and Facebook Messenger.

There have been encouraging moments. In 2008, Yahoo raised hopes of instant-messaging alliances cemented through a tec... [Read more]

BlueSprig, one of the newer PC utility developers on the block, is today pushing out full versions of its JetBoost and JetClean apps, both of which launched in beta earlier this year.

Tipping the scales at around 3MB each, JetBoost and JetClean are meant to be lightweight, easy-to-use utilities that can speed up and clean out your computer with minimal input.

JetBoost's main interface on the left, and JetClean's repair screen on the right

At a click, JetBoost scans your PC and selectively halts active processes and services in order to boost your performance. You can choose to optimize your computer's performance for work or gaming, or you can manually halt processes individually. In similar fashion, JetClean scans and scrubs your system registry, file system, apps, shortcuts, and RAM. It also offers a host of other tools including an uninstaller and defragmenter.

The full versions of JetBoost (download) and JetClean (download) are available for free download now, and are compatible with 32-bit or 64-bit PCs running Windows 2000, XP, Vista, or Windows 7.

The current IE6Countdown.com numbers indicate that worldwide use of Internet Explorer 6 has decreased by almost 6 percent since the previous year.

Known in the past for taking a soft touch when it comes to forcing users to update their browsers, Microsoft's pulling off the kid gloves and going for a bullet to the head.

Come January, the company will start forcing people to update from older versions of Internet Explorer. If you have Automatic Updates enabled in Windows Update, Microsoft says that the update will occur in a seamless, Chrome-like experience.

The company already provides security updates to Internet Explorer through Windows Update, but this means that legacy browser users will see a full-point jump. Windows XP users on Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Explorer 7 will be upgraded to version 8, and Windows Vista users will be pushed up the stairs to Internet Explorer 9. IE9 doesn't work on Windows XP.

"As we've talked to our customers about our approach [to upgrading,] everyone benefits from an up-to-date browser," said Ryan Gavin, Senior Director of Internet Explorer for Microsoft. "But from a security perspective alone this is important. Ninety percent of infections t... [Read more]

SlimCleaner 2.0 includes a recommendation engine for software alternatives to programs that plague you.

A bucket-load of community data, Facebook-styled "like" and "dislike" of user comments, and a pile of interface tweaks that make the program easier to use capstone SlimCleaner 2.0 (download), available exclusively today from Download.com.

The update to its sophomore version makes some big changes from version 1.6's collection of robust tools. There's a registry cleaner, for sweeping up all the detritus left by unruly programs after you uninstall them, a faster scanning engine, and recommendations for similar programs. The recommendation engine appears to be accurate, so if you're looking at Adobe Reader, you'll see suggestions on the right for Foxit Reader, Nitro Reader, Sumatra PDF, Nuance PDF, and a button at the bottom to view more suggestions.

At first glance, the interface changes won't be that apparent. The program has the same layout and uses the same candy-colored ratings system. However, the list of tools on the left nav have been reworked, so that there's now a section for browsers, and the main windows have been tweaked so that you won't need a scroll bar to see all of them.

I still think that its a tool for power users, or at least for people who want to control more ab... [Read more]

Given how fast the Web is changing, it can be hard to see what's going to happen next week, much less next year.

After simmering for a few years last decade, the Web has been a frenzy of activity in the last few years. Developers are advancing what can be done, people are spending more time on the Web, and browser makers are locked in intense competition.

Broadly speaking, it's easy to see that Web technology will get more important and more sophisticated. But if for some detail, here are my five predictions for what'll happen next year.

IE10 knocks our socks off Internet Explorer 9 was the warning shot across the bow for Web developers and rival browser makers, but Microsoft was playing catch-up after years of neglect. Watching the pace of development for IE10 reveals that the company is on fire. It's moved from catch-up to leading-edge. Where IE once was years behind Firefox, Safari, Opera, and Chrome with support for new standards, it's now neck-and-neck, and Microsoft is actively contributing to standards development.

Microsoft has more than pride resting on IE10. It's a foundation for the new Metro-style apps on Windows 8, which means all that work to bring fancy animation effects and hardware acceleration to the W... [Read more]