Tech News Archives - Page 131 of 135

USB 3.1 set to double the already blazing speed of USB 3.0

Posted on August 4, 2013

A little over a year ago I wrote a tip explaining how to put your PC’s USB devices into overdrive by installing a USB 3.0 card. With a maximum data transfer rate of 5 Gbps and up to 1 amp of power available for attached devices, USB 3.0 was a vast improvement over the aging USB 2.0 specification.

Well, the specs for USB 3.1 have just been released, and once again the improvement is staggering. USB 3.1 will double 3.0’s maximum data transfer speed to 10 Gbps while maintaining backwards compatibility with legacy USB devices. [Read more…]

Google now accounts for a whopping 25% of all Internet traffic

Posted on July 23, 2013

If it seems like you spend a lot of your “Internet time” using one or more of Google’s popular web services, you certainly aren’t alone. But if you’re like me you’ll be shocked to find out just how many others do the same.

According to a new study by the folks at Deepfield Analytics, Google properties such as Google Search, Gmail, Youtube, Google + and others now account for roughly 1/4 of all the traffic on the entire Internet! [Read more…]

Google takes the Chrome O.S. offline with the new Chrome App Launcher

Posted on July 22, 2013

One of the biggest criticisms of Google’s Chrome operating system has always been the fact that any device it runs on is pretty much useless without an Internet connection.

Well, that criticism has apparently been taken to heart by Google because they have released a great new app that lets you do a number of constructive things with your Chrome-based device even when you’re offline.

The new Chrome App Launcher adds something akin to a “Start Button” to the Chrome O.S. taskbar. Just click or tap it and up pops Chrome’s version of a “Start Menu” from which you can launch any of your installed web-based apps – without ever leaving the Desktop! [Read more…]

SourceForge expands into the ‘Sneakware’ business

Posted on July 18, 2013

If you check out the tips I post on this blog on a regular basis, you surely know by now that I love telling my readers about all the great free software that’s out there to make our computing lives safer and more enjoyable. I love trying out new programs and apps and then sharing them with all of you if I find them to be beneficial in some way.

Whenever I recommend a piece of software, I always try my best to find a download site that offers an easily identifiable direct download link. Unfortunately, that task is becoming harder by the day as more and more sites begin sneaking other programs, apps and toolbars into the installer routine.

I call this unwanted software “sneakware” because they literally sneak these programs past unwary users and onto their computers while the software that you intentionally downloaded is being installed. [Read more…]

Alta Vista search engine to close for good on July 8

Posted on July 1, 2013

Those of you who have been using the Internet since its “Stone Age” days probably remember using a search engine called Alta Vista at some point during your online life. Back in the day, if you wanted to find something on the web, you more or less had two viable options: Yahoo or Alta Vista.

While Yahoo pretty much started the “indexing the web” business, Alta Vista soon became a formidable alternative (and my personal favorite) way of searching for whatever folks needed to find. But then along came the juggernaut that is Google, and the rest is history. And as of July 8, Alta Vista itself will be history. [Read more…]