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ie8 fix

3.5

Innovative editing

In a world overflowing with image-editing software, DxO Optics Pro is a shining star. The DxO online database allows users to select from any number of manufacturers' camera bodies and lenses, and then use the optical characteristics of said cameras and lenses to fine-tune their images and correct for the particular shortcomings on Camera X or Lens Y. That's definitely not something you see every day.

The program features a very intuitive workflow. Select, Prepare, Process, and Review modules separate the tasks most photographers will use to process their images, but the Process module is where DxO Optics Pro … Read more

Sony delivers floppy disk's last rites

The days of the 3.5-inch floppy disk are now officially numbered.

Sony, which boasts 70 percent of the anemic market, announced Friday that it would end Japanese sales of the ancient storage medium in March 2011, according to a report in the Mainichi Daily newspaper.

The 3.5-inch floppy was a ubiquitous and necessary component for storing and transferring files between personal computers for nearly three decades. Sony pioneered the 3.5-inch floppy disk in 1981, eventually replacing the 5.25-inch floppy disk that had previously been the popular storage format.

However, as the size of files and programs … Read more

Play poker with Bettie

Poker is more popular than ever, thanks to both interactive online games involving real poker players and good old video poker games that let you kill time while you sharpen your playing skills. Poker 2010 is the latter, a basic video poker game with a built-in slideshow to add some visual appeal. While you can install your own pictures, it comes with a "vintage" photo set featuring risqué black-and-white images from the 1950s that probably won't be to everyone's taste.

This poker game sports a colorful but low-resolution interface. Depictions of the various winning hands … Read more

Fleet-footed P2P

Hermes P2P from Mp3Torpedo bills itself as "the fastest file-sharing program in the world," an assertion mirrored in its name, that of the wing-footed messenger of the Greek gods. Though some might argue with the claim, citing the many factors that determine file-sharing speed, there's no doubt it's one of the fastest free peer-to-peer (P2P) clients out there. It's an adware-free, Java-based, BitTorrent Pro-compatible application that works with a proprietary embedded tracker or an external tracker. You can add multitracker information to your torrents as well as add hashes for other networks such as Gnutella … Read more

Mediocre media player

XMPlay is a basic media player that allows users to play audio in a variety of formats. Although it works well enough, some aspects of the design could stand to be improved, as could the creators' attitude.

XMPlay's interface isn't awful, although its compact design also means small buttons and sliders, which can be a bit tedious to use. Because the program generally follows the usual conventions of media player design, it's fairly easy to figure out, especially with mouse-over tooltips that provide labels for each button. Still, we couldn't help but feel annoyed when the … Read more

Gateway to Google

A vast improvement on its BlackBerry predecessor, Google Mobile App is primarily a search app that also serves as a portal to other Google Web apps. It's anchored by a search bar, with a string of icons marching along the top. Click one to download or launch native Google apps like Gmail and maps, or to jump to mobile Web sites for the panoply of Google apps.

Warmly welcomed are autocomplete search suggestions, the capability to scroll through search history, and the capability to edit a misspelled search term and begin a new search. A My Location feature that … Read more

Virus buffer

BufferZone Pro for Vista is security software that functions as its own environment. You can surf the Internet through the program's interface and be protected from threats like viruses and malware.

BufferZone Pro for Vista has an attractive and easy-to-navigate interface with a lot of good features to help enhance your computer's security. You have the option to monitor activity on computer peripherals such as CD-ROM drives, flash drives, and USB hard disks, which is a nice benefit. The program comes with its own Firewall and it also has an Event Log that you can check to see … Read more

Spyware checker

Autorun.inf Check scans your computer and looks for autorun.inf files. The program will remove or back up autorun.inf files.

The program's interface is minimal and contains no instructions or Help file, so we based our summations of its operations and functionality on educated guesses. The About link on the interface takes users to a forum created by the program's manufacturer, but it offers little useful information. Autorun.inf Check's job is to scan your computer for autorun.inf files, which are files that automatically run programs when triggered. You have the option to tell … Read more