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Get five free Windows programs from Ashampoo

This is an update of a deal from last year. Also, I'm on vacation this week, so deal posts will be few and far between.

Could you use a good tool for sharing and organizing your photos? How about a utility that optimizes Windows? And maybe something that helps with home design?

Software developer Ashampoo is giving away all that and more. Specifically, you can get five Ashampoo programs (Windows) absolutely free. Just enter coupon code ASH-3BGO, click "Get downloads now," and then download whichever program(s) you want.

Your choices are as follows:

Burning Studio 2010 … Read more

'Untitled DVD' folders remaining in Finder sidebar

When a blank CD or DVD is handled by the Finder, a special burn folder is created for that disc which appears on the Desktop or in the Finder sidebar. Burn folders in OS X usually are static folders that remain until you remove them, but the ones representing optical discs should be created when the disc is inserted, and then destroyed when the disc is either ejected or burned. Despite this, some people may find that after managing a number of blank CDs or DVDs, the Finder will retain a few burn folders in the sidebar that are labeled &… Read more

When LEDs and math equal high art

reporter's notebook SAN JOSE, Calif.--Can math make art? Can logic inform patterns and sequences that are visually compelling? Is light a medium suitable for the artistic canvas? Clearly, the answer to all those questions is yes, and people like James Turrell and M.C. Escher have offered years of proof of that.

But now anyone in or near Silicon Valley has a chance to take in a fantastic collection of light works by the New York-based artist Leo Villareal at the San Jose Museum of Art (see videos below). And having gotten a chance to see the show … Read more

Oops! Facebook mistakenly censors Burning Man art

One of the most popular pieces of art at Burning Man two weeks ago was Bliss Dance, a 40-foot-tall metal sculpture of a nude dancing woman. Think Michelangelo's David, only female and lit up spectacularly at night.

A friend of mine, Dave Simon, posted one of his photos of the sculpture on his Facebook page in an album he set to be public. On Tuesday, after the photo had been up for five days, Simon got an e-mail from Facebook saying that the image was removed for violating terms of use, which ban posting photos that contain nudity.

"… Read more

Double rainbow at Burning Man: 'What does it mean?'

BLACK ROCK CITY, Nev.--If you ever wanted a perfect blend of Internet meme phenomenon meeting a large-scale gathering of its fans and the circumstances that created it, Burning Man provided it on Monday.

For days, the weather here, in the Black Rock Desert of northwestern Nevada has been unusual--cold August daytime temperatures, for example--and extreme, with two days of structure-destroying winds. But on Monday, as thousands of new arrivals passed through the just-opened gates, the skies opened up, the rain fell with vigor, and then, there it was a double rainbow.

As anyone who has been paying attention to … Read more

Flames scorch Canon 7D, but flash card survives

Laudably, camera makers are steadily improving how rugged and weatherproof their products are. But there are limits, and being in a flaming car is one of them.

So discovered Swedish photographer Petra Hall and her fiance, whose Canon EOS 7D didn't survive when the MG convertible it was in caught fire inexplicably. It and the 24-105mm lens attached were reduced to a camera-shaped mass of scorched, bubbled plastic.

Happily, no humans were injured in the fire, according to Hall's account of the fire. Gear fetishists, though, might want to avert their gaze before seeing the traces of the red band around the rim of the lens indicating it once was one of Canon's high-end and expensive L-series models.

But here's the happy ending: the SanDisk CompactFlash memory card survived within the camera, and necessary photos were retrieved with no trouble once the card was extracted from the camera body's remains.… Read more

Burned discs not being recognized on Macs running Snow Leopard

A growing support forum is highlighting issues with Macs running the latest update to Snow Leopard (10.6.4) having issues reading previously burned discs. Users claim the discs had been operable on previous versions of Snow Leopard as well as earlier operating systems and even work on other machines.

The Apple Support Discussions forum thread, started by user c9ky6qk3, has yet to offer a concrete solution, though some suggestions that may work for other users are present. The problem, as reported by c9ky6qk3:

"So I'm not sure when this started happening exactly, but my Mac stopped being … Read more

Apple Japan to replace iPod Nano batteries

Apple's Japan unit is offering to replace the batteries of first-generation models of the iPod Nano, a device that has seen its share of complaints about overheating that triggered fires and burns for some customers.

A notice buried deep within the Web site for Apple Japan links to an Apple support page that advises customers concerned about their first-gen iPod Nanos overheating to contact AppleCare for a new battery. Any customer who has actually experiencing an overheating incident can contact AppleCare to receive an entirely new iPod Nano unit, Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr told CNET.

The overheating battery, which Apple says occurs in very rare cases, is symptomatic of iPod Nanos sold between September 2005 and December 2006, and could prevent the unit from working or deform its casing. Apple Japan says that the issue was traced to a single battery supplier and that it's received no reports of similar problems with other iPod Nano models.… Read more

The iMovie app adds style to videos

It's iPhone 4 launch day and we're sure there are many happy new owners of the iPhone 4 (review) even among those who are apparently finding some problems with Apple's latest device. To help you get started using your new front- and rear-facing cameras to make videos, Apple has released an iMovie app to the iTunes app store, and we think it's worth the extra five bucks.

iMovie for iPhone ($4.99) lets you create great looking HD movies with themes, all just using your iPhone. You can start your project by either shooting fresh footage (… Read more