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Accessing your iTunes library from other computers and iOS devices is the chief benefit of iTunes Match, but it's not the only benefit. You can use iTunes Match to upgrade the low-bit-rate tracks in your library to 256kbps AAC files.

After subscribing to iTunes Match and letting it back up your library, all you need to do is create a Smart Playlist to round up all the songs in your library with bit rates less than 256kbps, take the leap of faith of deleting those files, and then use iTunes Match to download 256kbps versions of the songs you just deleted. Here are the steps required to perform this audio upgrade:… Read more

Finally out of beta, you no longer need an invite to use the free Google Music service. For now, it's available to anyone in the U.S. with a Google account.

Two new features that weren't available in the beta are Google+ sharing and a music store in the Android Market. If you want to try the music service du jour, here's how to get started with Google Music:

Uploading music: To upload your own music to Google Music, you need to install the Music Manager (Windows XP/Vista/7, Mac … Read more

If you are like me, you have a number of Webmail accounts. I have two Gmail accounts, an old Hotmail account I use for filling out Web forms, and a Yahoo Mail account for fantasy baseball purposes. Thankfully, I can keep an eye on all of these accounts with a single Firefox extension.

WebMail Notifier is a simple Firefox extension that alerts you when new e-mails arrive from a variety of Webmail clients, including Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, and even ol' AOL. After installing WebMail Notifier, you'll see that a small envelope icon gets added to your Firefox toolbar. It's gray when no new messages await (or before you add any accounts). When you have unread e-mails, the envelope turns yellow and displays the number of unread messages to the right. And by default, a subtle audio alert plays when new messages arrive.… Read more

After weeks of speculation, Apple finally launched iTunes Match yesterday. For $24.99 a year, iTunes Match grants you access to a copy of your iTunes library stored in the cloud. Subscribing to and setting up iTunes Match is a snap; all you need is patience commensurate with the size of your iTunes library.

First, make sure you are running the latest version of iTunes. On a Mac, go to iTunes > About iTunes to see which version you are running. If it's not version 10.5.1, go to iTunes > Check for Updates to download and install the latest version. On a PC, you can access the About iTunes and Check for Updates menu options from the Help menu.… Read more

Google removed the "+" operator from searches a few weeks ago, but the replacement hasn't been received with open arms.

According to Google, the plus operator was being used incorrectly and was used in a very small amount of searches. In its place, double quotation marks were implemented and seen as operators that would be used more efficiently. However, a lot of users were not excited by this alternative.

To please the masses, Google is rolling out another way to make sure you're searching for something worded in the exact way that you typed it in: meet … Read more

There's one thing you can do to avoid being the victim of identity theft: follow this 10-step PC security plan.

Encrypt your network connection Most popular sites offer HTTPS connections at least some of the time. In Gmail, click the gear icon in the top-right corner and select "Always use https" under the General tab.

To select Facebook's HTTPS setting, click the down arrow in the top-right corner and choose Account settings. Select Security in the left pane and Edit in the Secure Browsing section of the main window. Check "Browse Facebook on a secure … Read more

Despite our best intentions, we never seem to add that one language to our repertoire. Tech is making it easier to get beyond language restrictions, though, and Google Translate is a great example of how to make life easier for travelers, publishers, and more. Here are seven great Google Translate tricks that are easy to deploy.

Add Google Translate to your site. It's easy to add a translation widget to your Web site that will automatically convert your wisdom (or kitten photo captions) into any of more than 50 languages. Just point your browser here, twiddle with the … Read more

Maybe you woke up from a long night and realize you've made a horrible mistake, posting dozens of embarrassing pictures (or worse) to Facebook. Maybe you've just decided that your five years on Facebook were experimental and you'd rather move on.

In either case, deleting more than a couple of posts or pictures can be a major pain. CNET's Elinor Mills recently wrote up a neat Android tool called Exfoliate that can scour your Facebook history and permanently delete some or all content. (iPhone users should see it come to the App Store soon.) … Read more

If you're one of the many Facebook users who was disappointed with the newsfeed changes back in September, you'll be glad to know that Facebook was listening.

As reported by Laura Locke a few days ago, Facebook is restoring the ability to sort the News Feed by recent stories first. Once you get the new(old) sort feature, here's how to use it:

Step 1: Click on the new "sort" link, located at the top of your newsfeed.

Step 2: By default, you'll see that "Highlighted Stories First" is checked. Click on &… Read more