ie8 fix

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How to get the Start menu back in Windows 8

Editors' note: This story was originally published on August 20, 2012. It has been updated several times since then to include additional programs and other details, most recently with Start Menu Reviver on May 15, 2013.

Still miss the classic Start menu in Windows 8? Never fear, alternatives are here.

Microsoft lopped off the Start menu in Windows 8 to force people to use the Start screen. And I'll admit it, the Start screen does offers several benefits.

Live Tiles can clue you in to the latest e-mails, appointments, news, and other information. You can easily search for any … Read more

Review: Soften your screen brightness with Screen Shades for Mac

When working in a dark environment, some users may find their screen to be too bright even when the brightness is already on the lowest setting. With Screen Shades for Mac, users will now be able to fine-tune their Mac's brightness even more.

Screen Shades for Mac is very basic freeware. The app is small in size and the installation only took a few seconds to complete. Upon launching the app, a menu will pop up, allowing the user to turn on the effect, which will add a tint and darken the screen of their Mac. Right below the … Read more

Projector tech explainer: All your front projection questions answered

For the biggest TV, movie, and gaming experience, you need a projector. On top of all the "normal" TV jargon, projectors have their own buzz words and marketing fluff that must be navigated. Then there's the additional complexity of wiring and screens. None of these things are difficult, especially if you're armed with a handy helpful guide.

Hey, this is a helpful handy guide! Behold, all your projector tech questions answered. … Read more

Sapphire phone screens not as strong as you think, says Corning

On the surface, smartphones screens made of sapphire sound superb -- they're naturally strong, extremely scratch resistant, can withstand flexing, and transmit light very well. That's the widely accepted story, at least.

Disputing this view is Corning, maker of the Gorilla Glass material that covers a majority of smartphone screens.

Corning, whose aeronautics branch has worked with lab-grown sapphire since the 1970s, says it tested the strength of sapphire claims -- a potential cover glass alternative -- in-house.

Corning's conclusion: that sapphire, the world's second-hardest material after diamond, just can't take the lumps that a … Read more

Tablets, touch-screen laptops to energize the PC market

Tablets and touch-screen notebooks will give a helping hand to the PC industry in the coming years, according to NPD DisplaySearch.

Shipments of mobile PCs are forecast to reach 762.7 million globally by 2017, up from 367.6 million last year, according to an NPD report released Monday. Most of that growth will come about as tablets replace traditional notebooks as the dominant device and as touch screens wend their way to more notebooks.

For the purposes of its report, NPD DisplaySearch classifies a tablet as another type of PC rather than as a separate, unrelated device.

"The … Read more

Review: Paint your Mac desktop black with Blank Screen Saver

Having a really cool screensaver can be fun, but if you can't make up your mind, or just want a total change, you can try a screen with absolutely nothing on it. Blank Screen Saver for Mac comes with no surprises. It is a basic, easy-to- install screensaver intended to increase the life of your computer screen.

At only around 42KB, Blank Screen Saver for Mac downloads in the blink of an eye and is just as easy to install. It is basically just a bare bones screensaver that displays a black screen. All the user has to do … Read more

The big picture: Projection screen basics

TVs are great and all, but if you want really epic entertainment, you need a projector. One-hundred-plus inches of high-definition awesomeness.

Projectors, though, are a two-piece system. There's the projector that gets all the attention, and the lowly screen that actually lets you see an image.

There are many choices when it comes to screens. Here's what you need to know.… Read more

Capture screenshots of entire pages with Barry for iOS

This may be a post only a tech blogger could love, but if you have the need to take screenshots of entire, full-length Web pages on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, please continue reading.

It's easy to take a screenshot on an iOS device by pressing the sleep/wake button and Home button simultaneously. But what if you want to capture an entire Web page, beyond what is merely visible on the screen? Enter Barry Webpage Screenshot, a 99-cent app that lets you easily capture entire Web pages.

There are two ways to capture an entire Web page … Read more

Does it make sense to buy a PC with a touch screen?

Smartphones with touch screens? Great! Tablets with touch screens? Duh. But PCs with touch screens? Meh.

Recently I purchased a Lenovo IdeaPad U310 ultrabook, my first-ever touch-screen-equipped computer. I didn't necessarily want the feature, but figured I might as well give Windows 8 the benefit of the doubt. It was, after all, designed to be touched -- which explains why using it with a mere mouse and keyboard is such a dreadful experience. Plus, it was priced only about 50 bucks higher than its non-touch-screen sibling.

Having worked with the system for a couple weeks now, I'm ready … Read more

Hands-on with the BodyGuardz ScreenGuardz Pure

We've all seen them: smartphones with shattered screens, the unfortunate victims of sudden outbursts of gravity. Your heart sinks a bit, watching your friends, loved ones, even total strangers slide their fingers over that sad, spidered glass, thinking, "There but for the grace of..."

Knowing full well the costs and hassles of replacing a busted screen, I pressed a BodyGuardz ScreenGuardz Pure onto my daughter's hand-me-down iPhone 4. At 13, well, she's been known to drop stuff.

And just the other day, she did. I'd been planning to write about the ScreenGuardz Pure already, just hopefully without any drop-test data. So much for that.… Read more