An artist's artist, nine-time Grammy-award-winning musician John Legend remains sought-after for collaborations by the likes of Lauryn Hill, Kanye West, Jay Z, and Alicia Keys. His respect within (and outside of) the music industry is testament to his commitment to excellence -- and the primary reason that speaker leaders Definitive Technology called upon Legend to be their first-ever brand ambassador.

As part of a multiyear partnership deal, Legend, whose fourth solo studio album, "Love In The Future" drops Sep. 3, will serve as figurehead and muse for the brand's upcoming audio rollouts including the Sound Cylinder Bluetooth speaker (available at retailers such as Magnolia Home Theater). Made of durable aluminum and magnesium injection molding, Definitive Technology's first portable speaker creates lifelike sound for people on the go, in three ways -- via Bluetooth connection, clamped to a laptop, or acting as a tablet stand to improve each device's built-in speakers -- which should come in handy for heavy "Love In The Future" listening.

I Am Legend: The Grammy-winning soul singer brings "babymakers" to the mobile market with Sound Cylinder.

(Credit: Matthew Williams) John Legend chatted with Download.com about his soulful new album, his collaboration with Definitive Technology, and how apps will change love in the future -- he also offered up a definitive list of his top five m... [Read more]

On Tuesday, Google announced a new update to the Chrome browser, adding improved omnibox suggestions based on the most recently visited Web pages. The update also brings a fresh reset feature, similar to Firefox's own browser reset button. This is helpful for eliminating all those unwanted extensions and unintended add-ons that you may have accumulated over the years inside your Chrome extensions. Your themes, bookmarks, and Chrome apps should still remain intact.

Mac users also get rich notifications support for in-app- and extension updates.

Grab the Chrome updates here:
• Windows
• Mac

[Read more]

The error rate for IE has dropped significantly in Sauce Labs' testing of Web sites and Web apps.

(Credit: Sauce Labs)

Microsoft is making progress revamping Internet Explorer to shuck its bad reputation among Web developers, newly released measurements of browser reliability show.

Sauce Labs' Selenium service has run 55 million automated tests of Web sites and Web apps over the years, and the company kept track of the results. Although IE was the worst performer overall, newer versions show much lower rates of troubles bad enough to crash the browser, according to a Sauce Labs blog post Tuesday.

Related stories

• Microsoft backs away from Flash ban in IE10
• IE reborn: Internet Explorer 10 arrives on Windows 7
• Why does your company force you to use IE?

Overall, IE's error rate was 0.25 percent. But that's largely because of IE6's 0.31 percent rate and IE7's 0.29 percent rate. IE8 dropped to 0.22 percent, IE9 to 0.1 percent, and the latest halves that aga... [Read more]

Chrome 29's new Reset button.

(Credit: Google)

Your personal stew of settings changes, add-ons, and other customizations can sometimes weigh down your browser, which is why Google has introduced a reset button in the latest build of Chrome stable.

Chrome 29 (download for Windows, Mac, or Linux) also includes more of your personal information in its Omnibox search suggestions, while Chrome 29 for Android (download) gets rudimentary Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC) support.

Related stories:

• Despite DRM opposition, Chrome for Android to get Google's Widevine
• Google Chrome said to unveil 'Supervised User' controls
• Chrome password security issue stirs debate
• ... [Read more]
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

In a move that paves the way for watching Web-based Netflix videos on an Android device, Google is adding its Widevine digital rights management software to its Chrome browser for Android.

Google engineers on Monday announced their intention to build the DRM feature into Chrome for Android on a mailing list for Blink, the browser engine at the heart of Chrome and its open-source foundation, Chromium. Google acquired Widevine in 2010; Netflix and Blockbuster use the technology for barring unauthorized copying and optimizing online streaming.

DRM in the browser has been a touchy subject. Ian Hickson, for years a central figure in HTML standardization, doesn't like the idea, and nor does the Free Software Foundation, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Creative Commons, and other groups. Google and Microsoft pushed on anyway and helped to create a standard called ... [Read more]

OnStar RemoteLink app.

(Credit: General Motors)

If you lock yourself out of your General Motors car, but have a Windows Phone in your pocket, good news: you can now use your phone to get back in your vehicle.

Related stories

• GM exec: Apps coming to select cars later this year
• GM lops $5,000 off Chevy Volt price for 2014

Tuesday General Motors and Microsoft launched the OnStar RemoteLink app for Windows Phone, three years after the app launched with the Chevy Volt in 2010. The app is also available for iOS, Android, and BlackBerry.

RemoteLink lets you unlock and lock your doors, remotely start your vehicle, and turn off and on your horn and lights, all fro... [Read more]