The newly-minted Chrome 18 beta expands the scope of hardware acceleration in the browser to older computers, but it's still not available to all. Meanwhile, Chrome 19 dev goes bleeding edge with JavaScript.

Released today, Google Chrome 18 beta for Windows, Mac, and Chrome Frame improves 2D Canvas support and introduces a software rasterizer. The new features are not yet available on Chrome 18 beta for Linux.

Basically, this means that games and animations based in the HTML5 Canvas tag ought to run faster and appear smoother. Google noted in its blog post announcing the changes that this was hard for them to implement because of the "numerous hardware and operating system configurations" that people use.

It's complicated enough that to display 3D content on older computers or those running Windows XP, Google went out and licensed a software rasterizer called ... [Read more]

Better late than never, Firefox finally gets a personalized New Tab page.

Chrome's got it. Internet Explorer's got it. Safari's got it. And Opera was the first to debut it. Finally, and currently available in the developer's Aurora build, Firefox users will be able to get a personalized New Tab experience.

Much like the competition, Firefox's version bases the sites shown to you in the New Tab page by the most commonly visited sites in your location bar. Previously, Firefox could only show a visual representation of favorite or recently visited sites in a New Tab through third-party add-ons.

You must be running Firefox 12 Aurora (download for Windows | Mac | Linux) to test out the new New Tab page. Mozilla plans to turn it off on February 16 for testing purposes, but it won't be hard to use beyond that. You can simply type "about:config" into the location bar, and set the browser.newtab.url to "about:newtab" and browser.newtabpage.enabled to "true".

Realizing that the feature is still in development, it's nevertheless a fair b... [Read more]

Apple offers a number of options for securing your data on a Mac, including enabling FileVault for whole disk encryption in Lion (or home folder encryption in prior versions of OS X), and encrypted disk images for securing collections of documents.

In addition, as with other software developers, Apple has included options to secure individual documents for some of its programs, such as those in its iWork productivity suite.

To do this in iWork, create or open a document in Pages, Numbers, or Keynote, and then open the inspector window by clicking its icon in the toolbar or by pressing Option-Command-I. Then select the "Document" section in the inspector and check the option to require a password to view the document. After supplying a your password and confirming it, the document will now require you supply this password whenever it is opened.

While Apple uses 128-bit AES encryption in its password-protected documents, unless you use a good password, then it is quite feasible that the password can be cracked. Recently, Russian forensics cryptology company ElcomSoft issued a press release claiming it has updated its Distributed Password Recovery tool so it can recover the password used for securing iWork documents; however, while some recent efforts such as ... [Read more]

Star Wars Pit Droids.

At first blush, Star Wars Pit Droids might seem like a hasty attempt to cash in on the theatrical re-release of "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace."

Instead, it's merely the appropriately timed app version of a Windows game that debuted almost 13 years ago. And you know what? It's as terrific now as it was then.

The droids in Pit Droids are the saucer-headed ones you saw clanking around Tatooine before the Pod Race. Owing to some shoddy programming, all they can do is march single-file in one direction. Watto (remember him?) assigns you to deploy directional arrows to get the droids to their proper destination.

Simple premise, challenging execution. Each level consists of a tiled grid, and to earn the maximum number of stars, you have to create the shortest route from A to B, using the fewest number of tiles.

It's easygoing for the first couple levels, but before long you're having to direct different-color droids to different destinations using specialized arrows, all while avoiding obstacles and preventing collisions.

The... [Read more]

There must be hundreds, if not thousands, of to-do-list management apps in the iTunes App Store, but which one should you choose?

I found a couple of new task management apps recently that add something extra to the category. But using them made me realize that an old favorite of mine still stood up to the test of time and remains a great choice for lists and tasks.

It's no secret that many people like to use lists to get through daily projects, but when you have a task manager on your iPhone, you get handy additions like alerts, notifications, and editable tasks when your goals change. Whether you're just making a grocery list or planning a big business project, a good task management app can focus your efforts and keep you on point for success.

This week's iOS apps are all to-do-list managers that go the extra mile to simplify your projects. The first is an old favorite of mine that separates tasks into color-coded tabs and lets you store notes and ideas. The second turns your task list into a role-playing game with experience, leveling, and loot to reward your hard work. The third relies on simplicity and excellent design to make task management easy.

Color-coded categories make it easy to get the lists you want immediately.

... [Read more]

Make no mistake, software updates are important.

Updates can occur for many reasons: new features being added, fixing bugs, or, most importantly, patching security flaws.

Sometimes it's irritating getting notified of updates to programs when you're working or playing a game, and it isn't uncommon for automatic updating to lack a disable button. If you find yourself annoyed with update notifications that you can't disable, there's a way to get around that.

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma)

Step 1: Open the Windows Start Menu and enter Task Scheduler in the search box. Run the Task Scheduler program from the list that appears.

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma)

Step 2: Expand the Task Scheduler Library list by clicking on the small triangle next to it.

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma)

Step 3: Select the program author from the list.

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma)

Step 4: In the middle pane, select the program that you want to stop from being scheduled.

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma)

Windows 7 (Professional) Step 5: Click on the Disable option from the list of options that appears in the right pane.

If you can't disable ... [Read more]

According to PaperKarma, the average U.S. household receives 850 pieces of junk mail each year. That's a ton of wasted paper.

PaperKarma, a multiplatform mobile app, allows you to snap a picture of the junk mail sitting on your counter, upload it, and never worry about receiving anything from that company again. It couldn't be easier.

You will need to create an account with PaperKarma, handing over some personal information such as a phone number and the address you're receiving junk mail at. After the initial setup, the process to submit a request is all of two steps.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Cipriani)
1. Take a picture of the offending mail. You don't need to include any of your personal information in the picture, but make sure the company information is clearly visible.
(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Cipriani)

2. Submit the picture to PaperKarma. From here, you will see the request as pending until you have successfully been unsubscribed.

After submitting a picture to PaperKarma, it will send an unsubscribe request to the company in the picture. Once the request has been processed, you will receive an alert on your device letting you know you have been unsubscribed.

The app is available for iOS, ... [Read more]

Nobody likes to be that person who forgets a friend's birthday.

Facebook is great for avoiding awkward moments like these, but sometimes having a notice on Facebook about a birthday isn't enough. After all, getting a daily reminder of your brother's birthday a week in advance might make you forget about it by the time his big day arrives; or you may not even log on to Facebook to see the reminder. Luckily for Android users, there's an app that can post a birthday message for your Facebook friends automatically. So if you forget, or just get busy and don't get to it, your friends won't feel forgotten. Here's how to set it up.

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma)

Step 1: Download Birthday Scheduler for Fb Lite from the Android Market.

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma)

Step 2: On the first run of the app, you will have to enter your Facebook credentials and allow the app access to your Friend List.

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma)

Step 3: For each friend you'd like to set up this service for, click the + symbol next to the name.

(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Cozma)

Step 4: Click on the pencil icon to open the customization options for that ... [Read more]

Apps Builder lets people create basic apps that will run on multiple mobile devices as well as on the Web.

In the battle between native apps and Web sites, an Italian startup called Apps Builder wants to help those on the Web side defect to the enemy.

The company offers a subscription-based Web service that converts Web sites into mobile applications. Last month it added Windows Phone app support to its earlier options--iOS, Android, HTML-based Web apps, and Chrome Web apps. And it's seeing some significant usage of its service.

Specifically, the company just passed the milestone of 20,000 apps developed through Apps Builder, and those apps have been downloaded a million times from their various app stores, said Chief Financial Officer Alessandro Perrone.

The tool costs $19 per application per month for the basic service, $49 per application per month for the advanced service, or $799 per application per year for the professional service in which the company does the app migration itself.

There's also a free version that creates only a Web-app version of the app; it also includes a banner touting the company that's removed for the paid versions.

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