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CNET TV

June 19, 2009 2:36 PM PDT
When I first got an Xbox 360, I programmed my universal remote *not* to turn the Xbox off when I was done. I was downloading a lot of games and TV shows from Xbox Live and didn't want to interrupt the downloads.

I mentioned this on Buzz out Loud and a fistful of people wrote in and called to remind me that Microsoft fixed that issue a while back. Here's how to activate background downloads.

Go to My Xbox

Choose system settings

Then console settings

And go down and select shutdown

Then select Background Downloads

And select Enable.

Now when you turn off your Xbox, downloads will continue in a low-power mode until the download completes.

Hope that makes your downloading on the Xbox a little more convenient.

June 19, 2009 11:43 AM PDT

It's time to check in on the most popular products of the month, which usually means phones. This month is no exception. We do have one not-phone. And to keep the suspense, we don't know which of the phones will be number one. Note: this all came out before the iPhone 3G S.

So watch the video and come back here to post your answer to the lame-prize trivia question.

June 19, 2009 9:48 AM PDT

Its emphasis on getting screen captures and screencasts shot and shared makes the freemium application Jing extremely quick and easy to use for Mac and Windows users. I use its big brother, the professional capture app Snagit, at work (we take a lot of screenshots in these parts,) but I've often installed Jing on laptops and on other peoples' computers when I need something light and free.

The one irony for Windows users is that if you don't have the .NET framework installed, it adds a few more minutes of set-up time and a heftier footprint. The benefit is that you won't have to do much--Jing's installer takes care of the framework and of launching Jing after round one of the installation. This video takes on the Windows perspective for installation and use, but the program's main components will remain the same for Mac.

While Jing saves video clips and stills to your desktop, sharing is its specialty. Take your pick of publishing via Screencast.com, an FTP site, Flickr, or even YouTube, if you subscribe to the premium version for $15 a year. Upgrading also gets you access to recording from the Webcam, a neat feature you can use to narrate or introduce a screen recording.

Originally posted at The Download Blog
June 18, 2009 10:09 AM PDT

Try it | Full review

This week, Corel came out with a brand-new suite of office applications for XP, Vista, and Windows 7 users. Corel Home Office ($69.99) bundles in three applications: Write, the word processor, Calculate, the spreadsheet maker, and Show, the presentations builder.

Corel Home Office differs from other Corel office suites in two ways. First, it's been written with a new code base, so it's not a perfect continuation of Corel WordPerfect Office. It doesn't hurt that the suite is the near-spitting image of Microsoft Office 2007 in layout and design.

Second, it has been optimized for Netbooks, both in terms of a smaller footprint (just over 100MB) that translates into lighter features (Corel sticks to core tasks) and a couple concessions for the small screen. The best of these is the F11 button, which hides the menu bar, significantly increasing the amount of screen visible on a Netbook.

As a result of its lighter features and lighter footprint, the suite is aimed toward home users--both casual consumers and those operating home businesses. While there are strong features in this suite--like a built-in PDF maker in each of the three apps--there are detractions, too. Converting files from Microsoft Office into Corel Home Office was sometimes off, and the results from pasting data were imperfect. While it's meant for the budget-conscious, freebies like OpenOffice.org offer a full-featured suite for no cost and may be better suited for Netbook, laptop, and desktop users looking for more powerful tools. However, it may also provide casual users with more functionality than they really need.

Corel Home Office isn't for everyone, but it does hold its own as a midrange productivity suite. It has the added bonus of giving Microsoft users a very familiar workflow and feel in a smaller, cheaper, and less cluttered format. Try Corel Home Office for free for 30 days, or read more of the pros and cons in our detailed review (with images.)

Originally posted at The Download Blog
June 11, 2009 2:03 PM PDT
We say hello to a new iPhone and a Webby award and goodbye to the half-hour version of CNET Live.

Watch the show on CNET TV. Things we Crave

DTV: The transition from analog to digital

Eye-Fi rolls out Pro Wi-Fi for wireless transfers

News

WWDC Keynote wrap-up.

Webby Awards

Links we mentioned

Keep up on Jailbreak news at the Dev-Team blog. Or try the Unnofficial QuickPWN Beta 3.0

Jasmine ranks the best noise-canceling earphones.

How to install Safari 4 on an older version of OS X.

The Invisual iPhone case aids the visually impaired. The new iPhone will also read items from the screen.

That's it for the half-hour version of CNET Live. Now it gets big. Monday June 15 launches a CNET Live, the daily version. Instead of a weekly half-hour show, CNET Live will become a portal for all our live CNET offerings. Buzz Out Loud, MP3 Insider, Dialed In, Gadgettes, The 404, and more will all be available from the new CNET Live pages. Expect us to take more calls in these shows and answer your questions every day instead of just on Thursdays. Get ready for a show every day almost every hour. CNET Live the half hour may be going away, but you're going to get a whole lot more in its place.

June 11, 2009 1:38 PM PDT

I'm not necessarily looking to pile on Microsoft Bing or jump on the #bingfail bandwagon. But a lot has been written about how Bing's video searches often return full-motion porn that's not easily blocked, while its SafeSearch options are incredibly easy to turn off. Lately, I've run into a very specific issue with Bing that is both hilarious and indicative of the problem with overly broad filtering. Perhaps it's easiest to simply illustrate the problem.

Here's what happens when I conduct a Google image search for my name.

Google's image search results for "Molly Wood"

Here's what Bing returns.

Bing's image search results for "Molly Wood"

As it turns out, there is an adult film star who shares the name Molly Wood. I know. Bummer for me. So, Bing has apparently decided that any image search for my name is simply too dangerous to return any results at all. And the only recourse for me to find the perfectly innocent images you see in the Google results above is to turn off the SafeSearch filter and take my chances on the porn star showing up. So, I tried that. And I am scarred for life. (Do not do this!) Apparently Bing doesn't even know I exist, but I now know a whole lot about the other Molly Wood, if you know what I'm saying.

I know this isn't a problem most of you are likely to run into, but to me, it's indicative that Bing's got some pretty big kinks to work out (so to speak), in terms of its algorithm and determining relevant results. Then again, Yahoo seems to think I'm a puppy. Maybe I just have some personal SEO issues.

UPDATE: As of today (one day after this post was published), a Bing image search on my name returns plenty of perfectly SFW images, and many of them are even of me! I am a little curious about this guy, though.

Originally posted at Webware
June 11, 2009 9:56 AM PDT
Military research projects fascinate me. They usually involve crazy ideas, robots, lasers, and explosions. So what's not to love? DARPA recently announced its top research projects. You remember DARPA. They invented the Internet.

So watch the Top 5 video to see what I think are its most fascinating projects and then come back here to post an answer to the trivia question and win your own military research project. It's a toy. Don't get too excited.

June 5, 2009 12:09 PM PDT

This week's Top 5 looks back over the past three months at the ratings our reviewers have given products. What gear got our very highest ratings? It wasn't the Palm Pre. In fact it wasn't even a phone.

Watch our video to find out what the highest-rated tech products were, and get a chance to win a CNET patch, made by CNET fan Joe, a Pi joke calendar from 2008, and a copy of Mass Effect.

June 5, 2009 12:05 PM PDT

Much has been made about the Palm Pre naturally syncing with iTunes at launch. But Boy Genius Report pointed out, and LifeHacker seconded the motion, that any device can sync with iTunes, if you have a little third-party software help along the way. I'll show you in our video.

For Windows folks, try iTunes Agent which you can get at CNET Download.

If you don't have the latest .NET framework for Windows, you'll get an error, so go to Microsoft.com and get the latest version and install it.

Also, make sure you have iTunes installed, or it might have trouble communicating with iTunes.

Once you have iTunes agent up and running it will prompt you to configure it. If you've never used it before, just say no. You're indicating you don't have a previous profile you need to transfer. If all goes well, iTunes will launch and a pop-up will tell you iTunes Agent is ready to sync your devices.

To add a new device, make sure it's connected to your computer, then right click on the iTunes Agent icon in the system tray and choose preferences.

Press New. You'll get a warning letting you know that the first time you sync, all the data on the new device will be erased. So, be sure you have everything off the device before you go ahead.

Then fill out the fields, naming your device, and so on. Point the folder to the place on the new device where you want the music to go. You can choose particular playlists to associate with this device. Once you're done, press save.

To sync, right click on iTunes Agent and select synchronise devices.

Your selected songs will now be synced to the device.

Mac users should look up iTunemyWalkman from Ilari Scheinin, which is similar to iTunes Agent.

June 4, 2009 1:58 PM PDT
We get our hands on the new Palm Pre, as well as catch up on what happened at the E3 video game show.

Watch the show on CNET TV.

Things we Crave

Microsoft expands Xbox Live audio and video offerings

Charging gadget redefines power-walking

First Look

Palm Pre

News

Brian Tong's E3 2009 wrap-up.

Download of the Week

Hulu Desktop

Cheapskate

Replace your iPhone 3G battery for $6

Links we mentioned

MacRumours Buyer's Guide

OldApps.com

OSX86 Project for running OS X on PCs.

Run Leopard (Mac OS 10.5) on a Dell Mini 9

CNET Live will be undergoing a metamorphosis after the June 11 show. Thursday June 18 is Buzz Out Loud's 1,000th episode, and the following week launches a much bigger CNET Live. Instead of a weekly half-hour show, CNET Live will become a portal for all our live CNET offerings. Buzz Out Loud, MP3 Insider, Dialed In, Gadgettes, The 404, and more will all be available from the new CNET Live pages. Expect us to take more calls in these shows and answer your questions every day instead of just on Thursdays. The bad news is that June 11 will be the last day of the CNET Live show. So be sure to watch that show, and then after June 18 get ready for a show every day almost every hour. CNET Live the half hour may be going away, but you're going to get a whole lot more in its place. So we will see you one last time next Thursday, 4 p.m. Eastern, 1 p.m. Pacific, 10 a.m. Hawaiian.

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