stuff

StuffIt Expander is a file compression and expansion utility that can handle a number of different file archive formats. It's a free app available from the App Store and several other Web sites, and it installs quickly.

StuffIt Expander supports a number of file formats, including ZIP, ZIPX, 7ZX, RAR, and TAR. The StuffIt Expander interface is clean, allowing you to create archives by the usual drag-and-drop method or by menu actions. Clicking on an archive file can unpack that archive. You can add password protection to your ZIP files. There is a registration nag that appears with StuffIt … Read more

I was fascinated with high-end audio long before I owned any of the good stuff, but I always loved the way the best ones looked.

I remember the soft blue glow radiating from McIntosh Labs' components way back in the 1970s, and they still look great. Exquisitely machined metal and sumptuous curves are responsible for some high-end cars, boats, and audio's eye-catching allure. Of course, high-end gear's sound doesn't always live up to the aesthetics, but the products in the slideshow below are all exceptional performers.

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.--He might be the most famous airman in the history of the U.S. Air Force, and he's a graduate of the Test Pilot School.

In 1947, Capt. Chuck Yeager became the first person to break the sound barrier, hitting Mach 1.0 in a Bell X-1 rocket plane 42,000 feet above this Mojave Desert outpost. And today, to commemorate the import of the event that ushered in the supersonic era, the aircraft hangs from the ceiling in the entryway of the Smithsonian's Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Yeager … Read more

Have you ever sent an e-mail you later regretted sending? If you want to send sensitive or confidential information via e-mail without leaving a digital trail, or if you just want to feel like a spy, give Burn Note a try. You compose a message on the Burn Note site, which then gives you a link to send to your friend or double agent. When the recipient opens the Burn Note, a timer starts counting down before the message is destroyed.

You don't need to create an account to send messages with Burn Note. Simply type in a message … Read more

At first glance, the title of the video "Sneak Peak Greatest Toy in the Universe!" sounds like a showboating claim conceived by a lunatic.

As the video progresses, you meet a remote-controlled toy spider wielding powerful weapons, and suddenly realize maybe creator Jaimie Mantzel is onto something. After all, it takes part genius and part luck for an independent person to get nearly half a million hits in one day for a YouTube video about a toy robot. We also recommend you check out the official promo video for the spiderbot, which is set for release later this year.

Mantzel's 7-minute, 29-second video showing off his creation highlights the arachnid's weapons, which include Ping-Pong balls, darts, and flying discs. It even has removable armor. The spider seems to move around well, and if it doesn't cost a fortune, this could just be the hottest toy of 2012. The operating noise does seem loud, though. … Read more

People can't always be trusted to behave properly on computers that aren't theirs (or, for that matter, on computers that are theirs). Whether you're trying to limit the online shenanigans of your employees or the general public, Public Fox can help. This clever Firefox add-on limits the browser's ability to download files and perform other functions that may pose a risk to security or productivity. We can think of many places where this could be useful, from workplaces to libraries to teenagers' bedrooms.

Public Fox installs easily and is surprisingly simple to configure. The Options menu … Read more

Katie Goldman is a first-grader living in Evanston, Ill., and she's a huge "Star Wars" fan. If you're a Crave reader, chances are you are, too. The thing is, the 7-year-old was recently being teased at school because of her ardent love of all things "Star Wars." The bullies, you see, were under the impression that "Star Wars" is for boys only.

That is, of course, ridiculous. Since I was a kid in the '80s I've known girls who were into "Star Wars." The bullies were wrong, but Katie was having a bad time of it, even telling her mom she didn't want to take her "Star Wars" water bottle to school anymore.

So Katie's mom, Carrie, who contributes to a blog for Chicago Now about her life as an adoptive parent, wrote about it.

Carrie Goldman told her daughter it was OK to be different. In the November blog post, Carrie relayed what Katie said in response:

"I don't want to be too different," Katie lamented. "I'm already different. Nobody else in my class wears glasses or a patch, and nobody else was adopted. Now I'm even more different, because of my Star Wars water bottle."

The blog post got many positive comments. But then something happened that can only happen on the Internet: her story spread like wildfire.

Soon Katie was getting thousands of blog comments in support of her being a "Star Wars" fan, some from members of the "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" TV show, including Catherine Taber.… Read more

UPDATE January 7, 2010: This bundle has SOLD OUT and is no longer available. Check out our Software Deals page. for other great offers!

Got a new PC?

If you are one of the millions of shoppers in the market for a new computer this holiday season, you won't want to miss CNET download.com's "New Year, New PC" bundle. We've teamed up with AVG, IObit, Smith Micro and Foxit to offer you this exclusive deal for a limited time only - a $170 worth of software essentials for just $30. That's a total … Read more

Looking for a food cart in Portland, Ore.? There's probably one right in front of you. But maybe there's one up the street that's better. Now you can find out such things with a new mapping layer from Microsoft for its Bing Maps service.

Having grown up in Portland, I can tell you that most locals know where the best carts are, along with the food item to get at those places. But one thing the locals won't always be able to tell you is the location of the traveling food carts--the ones that are not … Read more