Mozilla wants to cut down on the number of people who complain about Firefox not working properly, and they're giving you a one-click way to do it.

A new feature called Reset Firefox gives you the ability to "reset" the browser while keeping your personal data. Currently available in Firefox 13 beta for Windows, Mac, and Linux, the feature works by migrating your bookmarks, passwords, cookies, and form data to a new default profile. Then it kills off the old one, and you've got a clean Firefox installation without having to troubleshoot anything.

It does not save add-ons, Sync setttings, open tabs, or tab groups, and it's not clear at this point if those are planned for Reset Firefox or if saving them would prevent it from working properly.

According to a blog introducing Reset Firefox by Michael Verdi, who works on Firefox Help, the troubleshooting team has wanted this feature "forever" because it cuts out the vast majority of the sometimes-complicated troubleshooting steps.

The feature is quite simple to find. Go to the Firefox menu button, choose Help, then Troubleshooting Information, and then click the Re... [Read more]

The new Audio category lets you view the available recommended news, music, and podcasts you can listen to while you read.

Flipboard (free) is already many people's go-to app for flipping through the latest news and social network updates. But today, a new update lets you connect Flipboard with SoundCloud to offer audio clips created by major news services like NPR, and audio clips created by your friends and people you follow.

You can sign into the new SoundCloud component by using a previously created SoundCloud account, by starting a new account, or by using your Facebook account. Once connected, Facebook and Twitter posts, and any story that includes audio, can be listened to with a handy player that resides on the lower left of your screen. You also can browse all the available recommended audio feeds in the new Audio category tab in the Content Guide.

Access the player's basic controls in the lower-left corner by tapping the musical notes icon.

Audio plays another important role in the latest update of Flipboard with added accessibility options, enabling it to read stories out loud for the visually impaired.

One feature t... [Read more]

The latest version of Evernote for Android brings some much-needed improvements to the interface.

Much as I have mad love for Evernote, I've always found its apps to be a little, well, challenged in the usability department. Not much to look at, either.

With the newly released Evernote 4.0 for Android, all that changes. And as an iPhone user, I've rarely been more jealous.

The update brings a completely new look to the smartphone version of the app, starting with a beautifully overhauled home screen. It not only provides one-tap icons for creating a new note, snapshot, recording, or attachment, but also gives you quick access to your existing notes, notebooks, tags, and places. It's a simple, effective, attractive design.

Navigation has been improved as well: you can now swipe from the home screen to your note list and back again -- a fine improvement over the previous back-button method. Also, you can swipe between notebook, tag, and place views, another welcome tweak.

Evernote's redesigned note list is a little cleaner, with a smarter, easier-to-"figger" toolbar, but I miss the high-contrast section headers. Now everything just sort of blends together. That's one change I coul... [Read more]

Roamz, the "intelligent" local discovery app for iOS, has just made its way to Android, bringing its social-powered local content to a swath of new users. The Android app has the capabilities of Roamz 2.0 for iOS (released in March 2012), but of course, it's wrapped in the stylings of an Android app, with its main navigation up top.

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If you're not familiar with Roamz, it pulls data from Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and Instagram in order to show you what's happening in your area. This means you get to see pictures of events, check-ins to nearby hot spots, and a variety of other status updates that are particularly relevant to your current location. And because it pulls content not only from your friends, but also from strangers, Roamz provides a unique way of discovering new, hid... [Read more]

A look at the updated Metro Photos app for the Windows 8 Consumer Preview.

Microsoft is tweaking its core Metro apps for the upcoming Windows 8 Release Preview.

Already showing up in the newest internal builds of Windows 8, the updated apps offer new features, changes to the user interface, and the removal of the "app preview" title, says The Verge. Included in the revamp are the Windows 8 Mail, Calendar, People, and Messaging app; the Photos App, the Music app, and the Microsoft Reader.

Some of the updates are floating about internally at Microsoft but are not available for the Windows 8 beta, aka Consumer Preview. Instead, Microsoft will unveil them all as part of the Windows 8 Release Preview.

But Windows Store preview pages of certain revised apps are now popping up online.

The updated Photos app displays a revamped start page with a full background photo and smaller thumbnails of your local library and your SkyDrive, Facebook, and Flickr albums. Release notes fo... [Read more]

LG's Optimus UI 3.0

One of the nicest things about Android is that vendors can place their own user interface on top of it to deliver a unique experience to customers. And LG is taking advantage of that.

The company today introduced the Optimus UI 3.0 for Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) devices it sells. A key ingredient in the new user interface is an enhanced Quick Memo feature, allowing users to use their finger to quickly take notes. In addition, Quick Memo information can be shared via social networks, or sent as a text message or e-mail.

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The update is by no means groundbreaking, but according to LG, will make it "faster, simpler, and more c... [Read more]

European authorities who earlier cracked down on Microsoft's browser behavior are now are keeping an eye on its upcoming Windows RT operating system -- but they aren't saying yet whether they have any objections.

Mozilla last week criticized Microsoft's choice to deny browsers other than Internet Explorer privileges necessary to make what it sees as a competitive browser on Windows RT, the new version of the operating system for ARM processors. Specifically, IE gets access to deeper Win32 interfaces, but Firefox, other browsers, and any other third-party software only get access to the new and more limited WinRT interface. Google shares Mozilla's concerns about browser limits on Windows RT.

In a statement, Antoine Colombani, the spokesman for European Commission's competition work, had this to say:

The commission is aware of these allegations and will remain vigilant that Microsoft fully complies with its commitments under the commission's 2009 decision on browsers. This decision applies to Microsoft's Windows operating system for PCs.

The 2009 decision refers to a ... [Read more]