With the integration of touch technology into Windows, you might have expected Microsoft to have basic gesture commands built into its native video players, especially when it is touting the surface tablet; unfortunately, this is not the case. Not to worry, however, as Invisible Controls Video Player is here to save the day!

Supporting most major file formats, Invisible Control lets you configure gestures to the action of your choice. This allows for an unobtrusive interaction with your device while watching videos such as rewinding, fast forwarding, increasing the volume or changing to the next video on the playlist. The average user probably wouldn't find the lack of gesture control important enough to shell out the extra cash for it, like we did. After a couple of hours of using Invisible Control Video Player, however, we started wondering why this wasn't included the first place.

The Home Page

Installation occurs through the Microsoft Windows Store, so the hardest part is probably entering your credit card number and password. The app itself offers a one page tutorial to get you started. We suggest that you head on over to the setting page to check out the possible commands. The top and bottom of the screen act as an invisible playback bar and volume bar respectively. Tapping the top allows you to scrub the currently watched video and doing likewise on the bot... [Read more]

If you're going to be buying (or receiving) a new iOS device over the holidays, you're going to want to grab the hottest apps to see what the App Store has to offer. But with close to 750,000 apps available, it can be a bit daunting to figure out which ones to choose.

To get you started, I put together a list of apps that include both all-time hits and up-and-coming new software. Each of these is available for iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, and give you a sampling of what your new iOS device can do.

PhotoToaster There are a ton of photo-editing apps in the App Store with some made for social networks such as Instagram, and others that offer more features for tweaking your images. But in a sea of photo-editing apps, PhotoToaster is a great place to start.

PhotoToaster has long been a favorite of mine with easy-to-use basic editing tools, tons of effects you can preview by tapping your finger, and other handy tools to enhance parts of your images for the best look possible. When you're finished tweaking your photo, you can save it, e-mail it, send it via text message or to one of many social networking sites, and even make it into a physical post card.

(Cr... [Read more]

Firefox JavaScript performance on Mozilla's own Kraken benchmark.

A JavaScript engine called IonMonkey, Mac Retina compatibility, and better touch support move into the new Firefox Beta, released today.

Firefox 18 Beta (download for Windows, Mac, and Linux) arrives with a new "just-in-time" JavaScript compiler called "IonMonkey" for faster site load times. While it doesn't appear to have been independently tested yet, Mozilla's own IonMonkey benchmarks from September indicate that it will make the stable version of Firefox 18 about 25 percent faster than the current Firefox 17. The features are expected to reach the Firefox stable channel around the first week of January.

Firefox JavaScript performance on Google's V8 benchmark.

The new Firefox beta also allows you to disable insecure content at will on Web sites that have been secured with HTTPS. In the beta, the feature is only available thr... [Read more]

At first glance, the lock screen widgets in Android 4.2 may seem like a convenient feature. But you may soon realize having all of your personal information plastered on what was once a secure screen, isn't ideal. Removing the widgets is simple, but you're still left with the box outlines every time you wake your device, which can get annoying. And there's no way to disable widgets, or camera access for that matter, on the lock screen built into Android 4.2.

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