Amy Vernon
Amy Vernon
Opinions and content posted by HotHardware contributors are their own.
Recent posts
If you knew that giving up one of your precious electronics would help save the Earth, would you?Don't lie - a new survey claims fewer than half of Americans would give up their iPods. Specifically, only 42 percent would be willing to, according to the study, conducted by The Shelton Group.And Apple-haters shouldn't get too smug. iPod owners...
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In a bold swipe at Microsoft's share of the office (both the office as in location and Office as in program) software market, IBM today announced the newest version of its Lotus Symphony could fully support any files from Office 2007.The kicker: Lotus Symphony is a free business productivity software suite. In this economy, companies...
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Engineers from Apple have applied for a patent on an "emergency" mode for cell phones that would squeeze every last drop of energy out of the batteries.The phone would recognize emergency calls when the user dialed an emergency number, such as 911 in the United States. But a number also could be stored as an "emergency number" on the phone...
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The day so many had hoped to put off forever is almost here: June 12. That's the day when all broadcast channels must transition to digital broadcasting and millions of viewers across the nation will end up without TV service. The horror!While most people — anyone with cable or satellite television, for example — won't be affected, there are...
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Just when you thought it was safe to turn on your computer ... Microsoft and Adobe inform their users they have all sorts of security flaws and even Mac users are affected.First, Adobe: Not only do the "critical vulnerabilities" in Adobe Reader 9.1.1 and Acrobat 9.1.1 "and earlier versions" cause the applications to crash, but they also can...
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You've done it. Don't even try to deny it.Even if you live in a state with laws requiring the use of a hands-free headset while speaking on the cell phone, it's almost a certainty you've at least once broken that law.Even if you truly, honestly believe it's dangerous to do so, you just can't help yourself when your snappy, downloaded ring...
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In an effort to "provide the best video viewing experience possible" on our "lappity-toppity boxes," Hulu has launched a desktop app that eliminates the need for a browser when watching vids.They thought of all their fans, and created a PC and a Mac version. It gives you a full-screen view that you can control with your mouse and keyboard...
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It's not your imagination. You are getting more spam in your e-mail inbox.Symantec, which focuses on Internet security and storage, issued a report this week that said a stunning 90.4 percent of e-mail on corporate networks this month was unsolicited. That's a 5.1 percent jump over April.The report highlights:• Spam – 90.4% in May (an...
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All those cell phones, Kindles, PCs, laptops, televisions, iPods and everything else that needs to plugged in, charged up and otherwise re-energized are gobbling up 15 percent of household power. In another 20 years, that figure is expected to triple, necessitating a lot more generating capacity. A study by the International Energy Agency...
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Those wondering how much Windows 7 is going to set them back have only a few weeks longer to wait - the prices for the six SKUs are expected to be revealed in mid-June.TechARP said retailers were finding out prices this month and the public prices would be released next month. Retailers had to sign non-disclosure agreements to keep the prices...
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Just in time to prepare for an upgrade to Windows 7, the U.S. Army is upgrading to ... Windows Vista.The upgrade will include getting rid of all the Office 2003 programs and installing Office 2007 in its place, and is scheduled for a Dec. 31 completion date. Half the Army's computers (they have 744,000 desktop units) have Office 2007 so far...
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Microsoft took a gigantic leap into online entertainment this week with a new partnership with Netflix, the online/mail-order movie rental service. More than 12,000 movies and television episodes from Netflix can now be watched immediately on a PC that has Windows Media Center and runs Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate. Of course, you...
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Perhaps a couple of decades ago, someone like Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt would have been urging college graduates at their commencement to turn on computers, learn the latest technology, spur us forward.This being now, Schmidt instead suggested to graduates at University of Pennsylvania and Carnegie Mellon University that they turn...
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Remember back in ancient computer times, say the late '80s and early '90s, when your only choice for a computer screen was black, with white, orange or green typeface?That model has long since been discarded in favor of full-color screens, which are much easier on the eye and, frankly, more attractive. But then the Kindle e-book reader came...
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It's easy to sit at your desk at home, telecommuting and think how much you're saving the environment by not driving one of those fossil-fueled cars on the Interstate.Today, New Scientist had this to say about that: Not so fast. Estimates quoted by the magazine were that it may take 152 billion (yes, with a B) kilowatt hours per year to power...
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Maybe the new slogan for the ailing airline industry should be, "Fly the wi-fi skies."Perfect for the folks who start getting the shakes when they get on an airplane and are cut off from Internet access for the duration of their flight, more and more airlines are offering wi-fi Internet access, reports CNN. And those that don't are working...
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Hewlett-Packard announced a new line of notebook PCs that "merge business functionality with sophisticated design." In other words, a notebook computer that's a bit pricier than some, but gives you what you need for business use.The HP ProBooks start at $529 and weigh starting at 5.7 pounds and come with:• Windows Vista Business 32,...
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Mozilla released Firefox 3.0.9 yesterday, fixing more than nine security flaws - some of which were termed critical, causing crashes in Firefox 3 and, occasionally, in Firefox 2. Some of the crashes corrupted memory.One of the issues dealt with JavaScript running in mail programs on Firefox and Thunderbird (which shares the Firefox browser...
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Sometimes when searching for images on the web, you have a very specific look in mind. A color, a drawing vs. photograph, only extra-large images.With that in mind, Google's rolled out several filters on its image searches that allow users to do just that.Need photographs of purple orchids? Got it:How about only photos of orchids that have...
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The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is working on a plan to solve the problem of nationwide access to high-speed Internet service.The three main issues the agency is tackling first are, figuring out how to improve availability, quality and affordability, according to the Washington Post. Acting FCC Chairman Michael J. Copps held a meeting...
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Google knows where you live (approximately) and it's not afraid to use that knowledge in your search results.The search engine/e-mail/aggregator giant announced on its blog that it's finished its "worldwide rollout of local search results on a map." Even if you don't type in a location with your search — i.e., "restaurants in Dallas" — Google...
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Imagine being able to keep track of everything in your pantry, in your CD collection and in your DVD cabinet.For just (just?) $250, you can. The Portable Barcode Scanner holds up to 250 (ironically) barcodes at a time and fits right in your hand.If you're one of those folks who's always lending out books or movies or games to friends and have...
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