Control

Microsoft may be looking to integrate Internet Explorer 9 into Xbox 360 consoles sometime in the near future, according to The Verge. Redmond is also said to be testing the use of Kinect voice and motion control to help users browse the Web.

This move would bring Microsoft closer to integrating more of its products into the same ecosystem. Right now, Xbox 360 has Bing video search and Kinect voice recognition. Although some users are pleased about not having to type in TV show and movie names, the feature has gotten mixed reviews from consumers who say they have to speak loudly and use very specific commands.… Read more

Microsoft has already come up with a neat way to interpret motion by way of a camera. Now it's using sound to accomplish the same goal.

The SoundWave technology recently unveiled by Microsoft Research allows users to control the software on their computers with only the movement of their hands. However, unlike the company's Kinect, which uses cameras to achieve that functionality, SoundWave is able to pick up motion based on sound.

According to Microsoft, SoundWave relies on a speaker and microphone to work. The technology emits an inaudible tone from the speakers that is interrupted when people … Read more

Amazon released a small software update for the Kindle Fire, but it does have something a lot of people have been demanding: the ability to enable password-protection for purchases, a feature the iPad has always offered.

On top of that, the update has additional parental controls, including the ability to disable access to specific content libraries and block access to the Silk Web browser.

You can manually update you Fire's software by following the instructions on this page or wait for your Kindle to automatically update itself in the next few days when you log onto a Wi-Fi network. … Read more

Longtime CNET readers know that we've always liked Harmony remotes (even in the days before the original Canadian company, Intrigue Technologies, was purchased by Logitech). Harmony models pioneered the idea of "Web-programmable" consumer electronics: tell the software which products you own and how they're connected, and the software uploads all of the codes to the remote, preprogrammed into task-based activities such as "Watch TV," "Watch a movie," "Listen to music," and so forth.

As of now, however, the lineup of Harmony remotes is arguably as good -- and as affordable -- as it's ever been. But with eight current models (and several more older ones that are still available through various retailers), distinguishing among them can be a bit confusing. So we decided to create this cheat sheet to make choosing as easy as possible:… Read more

By midafternoon, I usually have so many tabs open, I can't keep track of them all. It's really a nuisance when I have music playing on one of my many tabs and can't locate it quickly to mute the song that's playing to answer the phone. Enter Music Controller, a Chrome extension that adds a button to the right of your URL bar. The button, which features a music note, provides access to any song currently playing on any tab in your current Chrome window.

Music Controller claims to work with Google Music, Grooveshark, Mog, Rdio, … Read more

It's easy enough to childproof a computer, to keep kids away from the Web's unsavory spots. But what about their Android smartphones and tablets? Google's browser offers no parental controls to speak of, no filtering or monitoring or search guards.

Here's an easy fix: Mobicip Safe Browser for Android ($4.99), which offers a familiar Web interface, but with a raft of protections designed to keep kids safe. (It's also available for iOS.)… Read more

Windows users who want to access and control their Macs can set up a connection using the free Splashtop Remote app.

Accessing a Mac from a PC has always been doable by setting up VNC (virtual network computing) sharing on the Mac and installing a VNC client on the PC. But many people may find it quicker and simpler using Splashtop to create the connection.

Setting up access requires installing the Splashtop Remote app on your Windows PC and the Splashtop Streamer app on your Mac. Both are free and easy to install.

First, download and install the Splashtop Remote app … Read more

At CES this year one of the most interesting announcements involved Samsung's Smart Interaction, a new feature on its 2012 TVs that utilizes a built-in camera and microphone to enable you to control the boob tube just by speaking and/or gesturing to it. I've spent the last few days doing just that, much to the amusement of my co-workers, and boy are my arms (and at least one finger) tired.

My takeaway? Smart Interaction has promise but feels half-baked and more like a gimmick than a compelling upgrade. Once the novelty wears off, its usefulness is limited (at best) to those times you don't have a remote in-hand. … Read more

I spent the better part of my twenties pursuing electronic-music rock stardom. Obviously, I failed.

I had some fun along the way, though, which is a rare achievement in a music genre that traditionally splits the duties of creating the music (studio-dwelling producers) and performing the music (fun-loving DJs).

Through trial and error, and many horrible shows, I had a profound realization. The secret to a great show as a DJ or electronic musician is to stop worrying about the audience having fun and focus on entertaining yourself. If an audience can see that you're happy and engaged in something you love, they're more inclined to have fun too.

This same philosophy can be found in the products made by San Francisco-based DJ TechTools. The company made its name by customizing existing DJ products with oversize arcade buttons, letting DJs wail on their gear in a far more expressive way than traditional controls allowed. Since then, the company has evolved its own line of DJ products, which continue to put fun at the forefront of the design. … Read more