Brandon Dimmel

Analyst firm Gartner has both good and bad news for Microsoft. The good news: Gartner thinks Windows 8.1 (otherwise known as 'Windows Blue' ) represents a major improvement for the firm's Windows 8 operating system (OS). The bad news: PC sales ... continue to slump, and it's unlikely Windows 8.1 will do much to right the sinking ship. In a recent report called "Windows 8.1 Could Become What Windows 8 Should Have Been," Gartner says Windows 8.1 effectively addresses all of the problems preventing the new OS from becoming a runaway success. Analysts Appreciate Windows 8.1's New Features What did ... (view more)

Google Drive 1.10.4769.0632 Google Drive allows you to create great-looking documents, spreadsheets, and presentations and easily collaborate with friends, family, and colleagues. Importantly, all of the changes you make are automatically saved via ... the power of cloud computing. http://www.google.com Earth Alerts 2013.1.140 Monitor real-time weather conditions with Earth Alerts, this exciting program for the Windows (XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8) operating system. Receive notifications and reports on developing weather systems in your region. http://earthalerts.manyjourneys.com This ... (view more)

Microsoft says it's willing to pay security researchers $100,000 for helping them discover and prevent attacks on the firm's upcoming Windows 8.1 (otherwise known as 'Windows Blue' ). The reward is part of a new campaign designed to beef up the ... security defenses of Microsoft products. One part of this new campaign is being called "BlueHat Bonus for Defense," which is based on a 2011 contest where Microsoft rewarded security researchers with a "BlueHat Prize". The new BlueHat Bonus for Defense project will offer up to $50,000 for new security ideas related to Microsoft products. (Source: ... (view more)

Facebook says six million of its users have had their personal data exposed. The issue stems from a security bug that allowed email addresses and phone numbers to be easily accessed by a user's Facebook 'friends'. The problem is associated with ... Facebook's friend recommendation algorithm, which is designed to help users find old friends, family, and contacts and establish new relationships with them. Facebook uses uploaded personal data, including email addresses and contact lists, to find new 'friends'. This system can also be used to invite friends who are not yet Facebook members to join ... (view more)

BulkFileChanger 1.25 This small and easy-to-use utility gives users the power to quickly and efficiently modify a large number of files. You can change their file attribute, run an executable, and copy, cut, and paste into Windows Explorer. This ... program is compatible with Windows 2000 through Windows 8. http://www.nirsoft.net Free HDD LED 1.75 Keep track of your physical hard disk drives with Free HDD LED. This great new program shows you your computer's hard disk drive activity in real time through the systray area. It also features a free disk space monitor that tracks any hard disks ... (view more)

One of The Pirate Bay's founders has been sentenced to two years in prison in his native Sweden. Gottfriend Svartholm Warg was convicted of multiple data intrusions, aggravated fraud, and attempted aggravated fraud. The verdict was handed down in ... Sweden's Nacka District Court late last week. It's worth noting that the two-year sentence was not related to Warg's activity as a co-founder of controversial filesharing site The Pirate Bay . Instead, the convictions are related to Warg's role in several hacking operations. IT Services Firms, Banks Targeted One of those operations involved the ... (view more)

TwInbox 2.2.0.128 Carefully integrate your Microsoft Outlook email client with your Twitter account using TwInbox. This program allows you to update your Twitter status directly from Outlook. You can also archive, manage, group, and search your ... tweets using this tool. http://www.techhit.com ArsClip 4.1 Keep you Windows clipboard organized with ArsClip. This program carefully monitors your clipboard activity and provides you with reports on past entries. Features include copy and paste automation and Windows 7 jumplist support. http://www.joejoesoft.com This freeware software program is ... (view more)

Spotify 0.9.0.153 The popular Spotify service gives you easy access to your favorite music. Spotify can be used on your computer, smartphone, tablet computer, and home entertainment system. It's even possible to download music to use when you're not ... connected to the Internet. http://www.spotify.com MouseWrangler 1.3 This program keeps track of your mouse activity through the simple right-click of your mouse. This program can simulate keystrokes or run programs and files to automate typical Windows tasks. It's also capable of performing more complex actions, such as triggering external macro ... (view more)

One of the world's largest hosting providers has deleted more than 600 servers with links to controversial filesharing service Megaupload. The action has caused Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom to angrily lash out at the company responsible. LeaseWeb, ... which is based in Europe, provides a wide range of hosted infrastructure features, including dedicated server hosting and cloud storage options. LeaseWeb previously leased more than 600 servers to Megaupload, a filesharing site owned and operated by New Zealand's Kim Dotcom. Megaupload has been at the center of a legal firestorm since last year, ... (view more)

Waterloo, Ontario-based Intelligent Mechatronic Systems (IMS) and BlackBerry recently took the stage at the Telematics Detroit conference. Their focus: showing people how they plan to bring a new generation of high-tech tools to the 'connected' car. ... IMS' major unveiling involved its 'DriveSync' device, which effectively turns any car into a connected car. 'Black Box' Tracks Driver Behavior How so? IMS' DriveSync involves a driver connecting a small black box to a vehicle's on-board diagnostics systems. From there, the device gathers critical information, including vehicle location, speed, ... (view more)