Tag: ASKDLS

The mobile app marketplace is exploding; there are now hundreds of thousands of apps on the iOS, Android and BlackBerry app markets. Heck, even Windows Phone 7 just crossed the 10,000 mark! But alas, not all apps are created equal; some are way, way better than others. Which leads me to today's Ask DLS question: What is your favorite mobile app at the moment? We don't necessarily mean the ...

Here's one for our knowledgeable commenters: I recently bought my girlfriend an iPad. I, on the other hand, own an Android device. And now we're looking for games we can play using both devices. There's no dearth of multiplayer games either for Android or for iOS. But finding multiplayer games that can cross the platform boundary is an entirely different matter. Jay recently posted Words ...

Now that the Windows 7 SP1 download is available to the general public and it's also being pushed via Windows Update, we thought we'd check to see how smooth the upgrade process has been for you. It wasn't all unicorns and double rainbows here in the Download Squad bunker. One laptop refused to progress beyond 66% complete, even after several retries and reboots. Another workstation was left ...

Competition is a good thing, and the browser arena has been a fierce arena for years now. There are at least four "major" browsers each vying for your attention, along with lots of smaller spin-offs (SRWare Iron or Flock, anyone?). While the browser usage charts we share from time to time show overall browser usage amongst the Web at large, Download Squad readers are not exactly the average ...

Setting up a brand-new computer is a mixed blessing: On one hand it's a bit of a hassle, but on the other hand it often feels great to start off with a blank slate. It's a great opportunity to fix all those things that bugged you about the old system, or try out that new file organization scheme you were thinking about. While apps like Ninite make it easier than ever to download and install a ...

We're back with more of your questions, and more of our excellent answers. This week, with the high-profile Gawker Media hack, we've been innundated with commenters asking how to change their Download Squad password. Now, it's not the easiest thing in the world, and yes, we know our commenting system isn't the best in the world (and we know there are still a few 'Easter eggs' from the Switched ...

Every morning, as Lee empties the mail bag onto my desk, we pore through cries of help that range from the utterly banal -- "how do i install iTuns???" -- through to truly taxing technical teasers. The fact is, though, no matter how simple the question is, how blatant the answer might be -- "google it!" -- we try to answer them. After all, a problem is a problem. If something prevents you from ...

It's an odd thing; everybody seems to want to get out of the Great Firewall of China. Intensive googling has revealed nothing but ways to bypass, circumvent, or otherwise get around the firewall from within China. But what if I run a website, and I want to see what it looks like from within China? I don't mean just the website itself; I also want to see what search terms it shows up for, what it ...

I had gotten some very well-informed and interesting replies when I asked you guys about the stock market, so I figured I would try my luck again with something at least as shady, scammy and rife with get-rich-quick artists: Google AdWords affiliate marketing. The basic idea, to those of you unfamiliar with the concept: Company A offers its product for sale (say, an anti-virus). If I get ...

Today I tried doing something which seemed really simple at first glance: I set out to get a list of Facebook status updates on my desktop. Just the updates. No pictures, no pokes, no Farmville. I kind of wanted to be able to post replies, but that wasn't super-important. And after spending quite a bit of time, I simply couldn't find anything worthy. I found Seesmic and TweetDeck. Beautiful ...

We often get comments from readers who would like to be able to subscribe to specific feeds here on Download Squad -- Windows, Google, Firefox -- you get the picture. As it happens, you've always been able to do that. Here's how! The easiest method is to check out our Feeds Page. You'll find direct links to dozens of specific RSS feeds for the categories we use. Whether you're an Open ...

So Google finally let loose with a real glimpse at Chrome OS today, unveiling it at an event in Mountain View today. It's pretty much what we've thought all along: a bootable browser with an affinity for web apps - especially Google's. As you'd expect from a "browser OS," Google pretty much admits that Chrome OS isn't really intended for offline use. They see devices running Chrome as a ...

Ok, I know all the cool kids like to take shots at Internet Explorer. Heck, I'll admit it -- I've done it myself. And yes, I do prefer using Google Chrome. But there's something I just don't like about the way Google plans to get Chrome Frame onto users' systems. Group Product Manager Mike Smith and Software Engineer Alex Russell told TechCrunch that Google "won't be explicitly advertising ...

Late last night I posted about the infamous "hey that's my wife advertising a singles site" screenshot that Cheryl Smith blog shared on her blog. Hold the phone, says Facebook. That was an embedded ad in a third-party application. As AllAboutFacebook rightly points out, I got that part wrong: The information used for the photos were scraped while accessing Facebook applications by a third-party ...

Maybe you noticed this ages ago, but the thought just occurred to me (and most of the rest of our crew after I pinged the list) this afternoon. Why is it that every web browser has a round icon/logo? Don't get me wrong - we kicked it around on the list and there's the obvious roundness in the phrase World Wide Web. But is there any other sector where the iconography is this uniform? Netscape ...