Controller

From everyday office work to Web browsing or even casual gaming, (X-Mouse Button Control) (XMBC, but not to be confused with the open-source media-center software XBMC) lets you control your computer mouse like a hardcore gamer. With customizable mapping features and numerous profiles setup, X-Mouse Button Control lets you do so much more than your standard pointing and clicking.

Most modern PC games let you customize the mapping of your keyboard and mouse buttons, but strangely, Windows provides very few options for tweaking your mouse functionality. The basic Mouse Control will only let you make minor adjustments to cursor sensitivity … Read more

After updating to OS X 10.8.2, a number of people who use Apple's Parental Controls feature have reported that it is rejecting all Web sites that use the secure HTTPS protocol, which can include financial and educational sites, but also some popular commercial sites like Google.

Parental Controls allows an administrator to set time limits and content filters for a specific user account, including restrictions on Web access. Since secured Web sites that use the HTTP protocol cannot be properly examined for approval by this service, when site filtering is enabled they are blocked by default and … Read more

Ever wonder how the sausage is made around here? I can't reveal all the tricks of the cheapskate trade, but I do want to shine some light on the "exclusive" deals I occasionally post.

Every so often a developer or vendor approaches me to ask if I'll spotlight one of their products. If it's a killer deal, I'll usually say yes. If it's a product or service I know well and really like, I'll usually say yes.

But sometimes I'll tell the rep or owner outright: This isn't a good … Read more

How many smartphone or tablet games have you abandoned in disgust because your fat fingers couldn't master the onscreen controls or blocked too much of the action?

The solution, of course, is a game controller, one that connects wirelessly and is therefore compatible with most any mobile device. Just one problem: most of the controllers currently in development are on the larger side, meaning they're not practical to tote around in a pocket. So much for gaming on the go.

Black Powder Media's iMpulse is a Bluetooth-powered game controller that's small enough to attach to your … Read more

Kids can't do it alone. Parents can't do it alone.

Making sure children have safe access to technology requires the participation of hardware vendors, app developers, service providers, educators, industry leaders, and the media. But ensuring the safe use of tech products by children begins and ends with parents.

They're the ones who gauge how much technology the child can handle, who establish the parameters for the child's use of computers and phones, and who keep a close-but-not-too-close watch on how the child is using the technology.

Monitoring your children's use of the family computer … Read more

Welcome to the dark side of 3D printing.

The hobby is best known for creating colorful toys and trinkets, but some enthusiasts are working on design files that would allow anyone to print a working gun. These don't exist yet, but some believe it's only a matter of time.

Why would a 3D-printed gun be appealing? For one, it could potentially be cheap. You can buy a preassembled 3D printer for about $500. A spool of ABS plastic to print with goes for $50. Depending on where you shop, you can buy .38 Special ammunition for 30 cents a round. The plans will undoubted be distributed free like so many MP3s. … Read more

Most "smart home" automation systems require a significant investment in additional equipment in order to smarten up your otherwise not-so-smart gear.

Sony and Control4 want to simplify the buying process, and bring home automation to a much wider audience, by integrating a full Control4 "brain" into Sony's new ES line of receivers. … Read more

TeamViewer is a free tool that makes it incredibly easy to set and use a VPN connection; a Virtual Private Network that lets you take complete control of another PC from your own computer, whether they're separated by a soda can or a continent (and as long as both machines are running TeamViewer). It enables two-way connections in which users can flip control back and forth. TeamViewer also lets you hold virtual meetings with multiple participants (again, they all must have TeamViewer installed). With a name like TeamViewer, you'd expect it to be an enterprise-ready tool, and you'… Read more

If you're one of the 15 to 26 million people who use Spotify to listen to music on the regular, you'd probably appreciate being able to control it remotely from your iPhone, Android, or other device, so you don't have to walk over to your computer, Android, or iPhone in order to skip a song, queue up a new playlist or album, and so on.

Luckily for you, we've found several apps that let you do exactly that, whether you're trying to control Spotify on a Mac, Windows, or even an iOS or Android … Read more