The folks at Twitter announced Monday that the standalone TweetDeck apps for mobile will no longer be supported after May of this year. While Twitter says that it is putting more resources toward the Web version (which can easily be used on the desktop), there are surely plenty of people who are upset that their beloved mobile clients are going away.

For those of you looking for an alternative to TweetDeck, here are a few mobile apps that should prove adequate for your tweeting purposes.

TweetDeck alternatives for iOS

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

Tweetbot ($2.99) is an extremely popular Twitter client for good reason -- it has a well-designed interface, gesture-based controls, multiple timelines, and all the tools you need to browse and interact with the site. You will have to pay for it, but it comes with a lot of features and is completely ad-free.

Tweetbot doesn't have the swipable columns you used in TweetDeck. But you can just as easily use the buttons at the bottom to quickly navigate between your timeline, mentions, and direct messages, and you get two more buttons with pop-up menus where you can assign your most-used actions.

The... [Read more]

If you are considering security software for your Mac there are a number of options out there, including those from popular companies like Sophos, Symantec, and Intego. There are both free tools and paid subscriptions to choose from.

A while ago I gave Intego's SecurityBarrier X6 suite a spin, which in testing has been found to be one of the better-performing anti-malware tools for OS X; however, the software did require a bit of a technical approach that was not too appealing to the average user.

In order to cater to a broader range of people, with its 2013 security suite Intego has adjusted its approach to bring more simplified and streamlined security options to OS X.

Both VirusBarrier and NetBarrier offer quick setup options to get you started, which may be far more appealing to those who just want to install something and be back to work instead of spending time configuring the software.

Approach The 2013 suite is meant for both home and... [Read more]

Have you ever wanted to watch the latest movie trailers and music videos or stream shows in the background while you work? Now you can with a little homegrown program called VideoGhost from Greedy Glutton Software.

How does it work? VideoGhost can be installed on your computer or run as a standalone product. After launching, you will see that it is a third-party browser with a controllable opacity setting and options to stay fixed on your desktop. The process is relatively simple with these hot keys:

• Remember to hit Set!

  (Credit: Screenshot by Tuong Nguyen/CNET) Set URL to the video you want. (Alt+Up)
• Resize to desired resolution and hit Play.
• Move transparency slider and hit the set button to lock. (Alt+Right)

  Change options from the taskbar.

  (Credit: Screenshot by Tuong Nguyen/CNET)
• Go do your work while video plays in the background.
• You can unlock and send to the... [Read more]
  
  

Angry Birds is now free.

The most popular mobile-gaming franchise in the world is now a bit easier for you to get your hands on.

Customers who head over to the App Store today will find that the iPhone and iPad versions of Angry Birds are available for free. Previously, the iPhone version was on sale for 99 cents. Angry Birds HD for the iPad was available for $2.99. Rovio previously offered free versions of the titles, but those were limited to only a few levels. Those now appear to be gone from the App Store.

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Angry Birds was the game that ... [Read more]

Google's server-assisted browsing only works for unencrypted Web pages. Encrypted ones use a direct channel to the secure Web page.

Taking a page from Opera and Amazon playbooks, then writing on it some more, Google is using its own servers to speed up page loading on its mobile version of Chrome.

The feature, called proxy browsing, is enabled in the Chrome 26 beta for Android, though it must be manually activated through the chrome://flags interface by selecting "Enable Data Compression Proxy." With proxy browsing, a server with a fast Internet connection and more processing horsepower than a mobile device loads the Web page on behalf of that mobile device.

Related stories

• Google to add password sync to new version of Chrome
• Google adds sharing, history features to Chrome for iOS
• Apple's Safari challenged by rival mobile browsers

The chief advantage of the approach is that the page can be shrunk down, something Google does with its ... [Read more]