programming

Max Spyware Detector quickly scans your system to find and remove spyware. In addition to being a little expensive, this download is bloated and lacks some high-end performance when it comes to spyware blocking. For as huge as it is, it should be stocked with goodies, but instead it doesn't even offer active protection from viruses.

To call this download big would be an understatement. It checks in at about 182MB, which would take some time to download even on faster connections. It starts scanning automatically once you start the program, though. The download hogs most of your computer'… Read more

To discourage media companies from proliferating Web-based entertainment, pay-TV operators such as Time Warner Cable are using tactics like offering higher payments or threatening to drop programming, according to a report by Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources.

Such goading is meant to keep programming out of the hands of digital entertainment services that companies like Intel and Apple are pursuing.

As cable companies negotiate distribution agreements with content providers, a chief interest is keeping as much hold on exclusive content as they can. That gatekeeper status has long been a cable company strategy to keep customers and fend off digital competition. … Read more

Revo Uninstaller adds some serious power to uninstalling programs, but not a lot of speed. It certainly runs circles around the default option in Windows. However, it's not the most convenient way to kick programs off of your hard drive. It tucks many of the best features behind a paywall, too.

Revo Uninstaller comes with the free trial, which lacks some of the high-end features of the pro version. Though it can delete some registry errors that usually come with deleting programs, it doesn't remove all of them. To do that, you need to upgrade or use a … Read more

Wise Program Uninstaller Portable forces annoying programs off of your computer, but it comes with its own nuisances, too. There are some weird pop-up ads to put up with and it doesn't delete programs quickly. However, it's helpful in a pinch and is nice to have since you can stick it on a USB drive to take with you.

This program downloads as an executable file, which may make your anti-virus software flag it as suspicious. During testing, the program didn't behave suspiciously, but it did bring an unnecessary pop-up ad out of nowhere. It was for … Read more

Web-based photo editing took a second step forward Tuesday with the release of WebRaw, a tool that uses Mozilla's ASM.js technology for the computationally intense process of handling raw photos.

Raw photo formats, available on high-end cameras, offer better image quality and more editing flexibility, but they also are much more of a hassle than standard formats like JPEG, in part because they're so burdensome for computers to decode. That's why the demo, from Mozilla's Vladimir Vukicevic, is interesting: processing raw photos is the sort of chore that only a couple of years ago would … Read more

With a project called Portable Native Client now making its way into Chrome and potentially onto the Web itself, Google is violating its own principles for its Blink browser engine, a Mozilla programmer said Friday.

Portable Native Client, or PNaCl, is a Google technology to let Web apps run specially created software at nearly the speed of the native apps that run on operating systems like Windows or iOS. It plugs into the browser with an interface called Pepper.

Mozilla representatives have been frosty toward Native Client for years, but one programmer, Robert O'Callahan, issued a new criticism Friday, … Read more

Several miscellaneous bits and pieces of the first moon mission have orbited back into our field of view lately.

In March, it was pieces of the rocket that propelled Apollo 11 spaceward, kindly dragged from their watery grave by Amazon CEO and space enthusiast Jeff Bezos.

And more recently, the auction block played host to Buzz Aldrin's space jammies, as well as Neil Armstrong's jumpin' heartbeat as he first set foot on the lunar surface.

Now, thanks to Karen Nelson, a tidy archivist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, about 20 forgotten vials of moon dust collected by Armstrong and Aldrin have been rescued from a grave of their own: a warehouse at the Berkeley lab, where they'd sat quietly gathering, um, Earth dust for the last 40 years or so.… Read more

Sometimes there are instances where the stock uninstaller for Windows just isn't enough: Revo Uninstaller is a deep cleaning uninstallation utility that does more than just remove a program from the surface.

Once you open the program, you'll see a ribbon-like menu with a couple of options. Programs can be listed via icons or in list form with details that include installation dates, file sizes, version number, uninstall strings, and more. To uninstall a program, select one or more installed applications and choose either "Uninstall" or "Quick Uninstall."

The main difference between the two … Read more

REDMOND, Wash. -- When it comes to creating original content, Microsoft has had a hard time making up its mind.

In the 1990s, Microsoft developed online programs for its MSN service, such as the soap opera "475 Madison" and the travel program "Mungo Park." In 2007, Microsoft inked a deal with Reveille to produce a number of Web programs including "Mr. Robinson's Driving School," starring Craig Robinson, who plays Darryl on "The Office" (another Reveille production).

As those efforts sputtered, Microsoft backed away, leaving original programming to the folks in Hollywood.… Read more