More Do Not Track options are coming to Firefox. But will they have any impact?

Firefox has readied a more nuanced approach to how it implements the controversial "Do Not Track" setting and the Android version of the browser has a new font face in the browser's latest betas.

Firefox 21 Beta (download for Windows, Mac, and Linux) introduces more user choice for the Do Not Track header. The header, first introduced two years ago in Firefox 4, sends a signal to Web sites to not track where people who have activated it go as they bop around the Web.

Up until now, implementations of it have been limited to "On" or "Off." Sid Stamm, the lead privacy engineer at Firefox, described the original option as "user says nothing" and "user says don't track."

But, notes Tom Lowenthal, another security engineer at Firefox, there are actually ... [Read more]

Better-looking calendars in Chrome 27 beta.

The latest update to Chrome beta refocuses its attention on speed through better memory management, as well as making numerous HTML5 and offline improvements in today's release.

Google reports that Web site content loaded in Chrome 27 beta for Windows, Mac, and Linux, should appear about 5 percent faster because of how the browser manages its resources. Basically, the browser's resource scheduler gives more priority to critical resources, over preloaded content.

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Microsoft announced today that it will end support for Office 2008 for Mac on April 9.

Office for OS X has been a staple in integrating OS X systems with many work environments that rely on Microsoft's popular office productivity suite. With its Mac Business Unit, Microsoft has maintained a dedicated development team for its Mac software which has spearheaded development of Office 2004, 2008, and the latest 2011 and 365 offerings.

With this development, those who use Office 2008 will still be able to do so, but will not be able to get any official support for the program from Microsoft. Additionally, while no new patches for the software will be available after this date, current ones will continue to be available on Microsoft's site until April 19, 2014.

This announcement does not mean you have to upgrade your version of Office right away, but Microsoft is encouraging Office 2008 users to try Office 365, which comes with a subscription at $100 per year or $10 per month. In addition, Microsoft is offering its latest standalone Office 2011 suite for between $140 and $220.

Microsoft has not commented on its plans for Office 2011, but for now this suite continues to be fully supported.

Questions? Comments? Have a fix? Post them below or document.write('... [Read more]

Whether you're new to Windows 8 or a seasoned veteran, it's always good to have a few tricks up your sleeve. Let's face it: without a touch screen, Windows 8 can get a tad tedious to use. Here are the most essential Windows 8 shortcuts for accessing and working with the Charms menu, and system-wide. You can thank us later.

Useful keys to access Charms in a touchless world

• Windows Key + C: Opens Charms Bar
• Windows Key + I: Access the settings or control panel for active app
• Windows Key + Q: Search your applications
• Windows Key + Z: Open the apps bar to see all your installed programs

Useful keys for display setup

• Windows Key + P: Switch displays
• Windows Key + D: Switch to Desktop
• Windows Key + Comma(,): Peek at Desktop

Useful keys for Search and multitasking

• Windows Key + Tab: Like alt tab, but for Modern UI
• Windows Key + Number (1,2,3...): Selects active apps on taskbar
• Windows Key + Period(.) or Windows Key + T: Cycle through open apps on the taskbar

Useful keys for active window

• Windows Key + Shift + Period(.): Snap current Modern app to the side
• Windows Key + Left/Right Arrow: Snap current window to the left/right
• Windows Key + Up Arrow: Maximize window
• Windows Key + Down: Minimize window
• Windows Key + Home: Minimize everything but the active window

Useful keys for power u... [Read more]

Facebook Home on Android

Facebook unveiled a new "Home" on Android at a press event at its Menlo Park, Calif., headquarters today -- a family of apps meant to keep mobile audiences always affixed to its social network.

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Facebook Home consists of a set of the social network's apps that become the home of your Android phone. With Home, the device's home screen transforms into "Cover Feed," or a visually rich and swipe-able version of News Feed for your phone. Home also includes a more picture-perfect version of messaging,... [Read more]

Having healthy demand for your product is ideal, but Raj Singh, the CEO behind popular calendar app Tempo, knows that it's not good to keep people waiting in line too long.

That's why starting today, people will get access to Tempo twice as fast, Singh told CNET. "The goal is we want to get rid of the line. We know nobody likes lines," he said, adding that there are a few thousand people left on the wait list.

And although Tempo, the iOS app that had thousands waiting to use it at launch, isn't done providing access to everyone in the U.S. line, it's also opened up the cue for Canadian users today.

The app integrates relevant information into your calendar, including adding the contacts and related files to scheduled meetings. So if you schedule a meeting with so-and-so, then that person's contact information will show up on the created event along with any documents you may need to reference.

The app will also pull up directions to meeting locations, and with one tap, dial conference call numbers and access codes -- or if you're running late, send late messages to the people at the meeting.

Tempo's promo video, featuring a class show-and-tell scenario, describes the app as... [Read more]

Blink, Google's new fork of the WebKit browser engine, is alive.

Yesterday, Google announced the project, which splits its browser work from Apple's in the open-source WebKit project. Today, Blink is up and running.

The first updates -- including a new list of 36 Blink "owners" who have authority to approve changes -- are arriving.

"Chrome 28 will be the first blinking release," Chrome programmer Mike West said in a Hacker News comment. The current stable version of Chrome is version 26; new versions arrive about every six weeks.

?part=rss&subj=software&tag=embed"The repository seems to be mostly up and working and commits are coming in," Eric Seidel, one of the Blink leaders, added in a message on the new Blink-dev mailing list. The brain surgery Google has in mind will have to wait until things settle down, though. "Our focus this first week is to make sure everyone gets up and running smoothly."

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AntTek Quick Settings provides offers easy access to settings and a seemingly endless customization.

As one of the more handy options in Android 4.2.2, the Quick Settings menu gives users easy access to common device settings.

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Accessible by swiping down from the right side of the notification bar, the menu allows for toggling of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, brightness, and more.

Unfortunately, only 2 percent of today's Android smartphones run An... [Read more]

Amazon's Cloud Drive is one of many online storage services like Dropbox, Google Drive, and Microsoft's SkyDrive where you can save pictures and documents for access on another system with Internet access.

While the Cloud Drive service has been available for a while, one of its lacking features has been a well-integrated file sync option that makes use of the online storage seamless. Additionally, Amazon's older tools for accessing the drive were written in Java, which is no longer included in OS X and which many are avoiding because of security issues.

To bring its service up to speed, Amazon has released a new version of its Cloud Drive application that now gives users a similar experience as Dropbox. The application is a small download from Amazon, which when launched will register the current computer with your Amazon account, and create a Cloud Drive folder in your home directory and Finder sidebar. Files you add to this folder will then be synced automatically with the Cloud Drive account and other systems registered with it.

Similar to Dropbox, the application will reside in your menu bar and give you updates for storage usage, sync status, and quick links to the Amazon drive Web page and the local Amazon Drive folder.

Unfortunately for now Amazon does not have an iOS app to access its Cloud Drive, so for those with iPads and iPhones, services like Dropbox and Google Drive may be most compatible; however, one compelling feature ... [Read more]