PC Magazine May 2010

At Home with the iPad In my home, the Apple iPad is batting .250. That’s not bad for a new, not-quite-market-tested product. Extrapolated to the general population and one in four people may want Apple’s first tablet. I don’t live in an Apple-centric home. While I’ve used Macs on and off over the years and even trained people on early Apple systems and software, there isn’t a single Mac in my house. There are, however, three iPods: two touches and one nano. My two children (one almost 12 and the other 15) instantly recognized the iPad as, essentially, a giant iPod touch. So when I brought the iPad home for a visit, I was not surprised that both of my children knew all the interface and navigation metaphors in advance. They were…

In late March, those in the technology world were talking about little else than the Apple iPad. But at the same time, in a Boston courtroom, a chapter was closed with little fanfare on the biggest case of online identity theft in U.S. history. U.S. District Judge Douglas Woodlock sentenced Miami resident Albert Gonzalez, 28, and two Russian co-conspirators to 17 to 25 years in prison for hacking into, among others, Heartland Payment Systems, a business that creditcard companies and vendors use to process sales transactions. The three men stole some 130 million credit-card numbers and reportedly made up to $4 million on the scam. Gonzalez and his cohorts hacked their way into those databases using a method called SQL injection. Many companies are exposed to SQL injection hacks because of…

APPBRAIN AppBrain is a database of popular Android apps that can sync with your phone and keep track of the apps you have installed and how frequently they update. FRIENDGIFTR This Web service lets you give gift cards from more than 140 retailers online by choosing the store and then directing Friendgiftr to the social network of the recipient to deliver the gift. SUITE ARRIVAL This site lets you order travelsize toiletries and other goodies ahead of time so they’re waiting for you at your destination.…

Google, Microsoft, and AT&T have joined a coalition to push Congress to update electronic privacy laws, which they believe have been antiquated by the explosion of social networking and cloud-based storage. Called the Digital Due Process Coalition, the group includes other industry companies and trade groups, and is targeting changes to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). When Congress passed the ECPA in 1986, it struck a balance between the user, law enforcement, and businesses as to how their digital information could be accessed. But there is increasing concern that the ECPA no longer fits the way technology has evolved and the way people have built this technology into their daily lives, says Jim Dempsey, vice president for public policy at the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT). As more and more people…

On Microsoft’s campus in Redmond, Washington, there lies Building 50. Inside this building is where the world’s most used browser—Internet Explorer—is put through its paces. During an advance briefing on IE9, Microsoft partner test manager Jason Upton gave us a rare peek into the workings of the Internet Explorer Testing Lab. First of all, the lab is an impressive sight— aisle after aisle of desktops lined up like an army of digital soldiers. According to Upton, there are 948 PCs and 119 servers in the lab, each individually configurable through an automation system. Why so many? Upton says that the lab’s vast capabilities let Microsoft configure its browser testing to get the finest possible slices of data. Microsoft’s opt-in customer improvement program takes in data from around the world, letting the labs…

GOOD CLEAN TECH Fight Vampire Draw We’ve all heard about the “vampire effect” of keeping battery chargers plugged in. Well, now there’s another answer than simply unplugging and replugging your chargers. The EcoCharge energyefficient wall charger draws zero power when no device is connected or a connected device is fully charged. The EcoCharge is able to charge two devices at once and comes in mini USB and micro USB versions, each for $29.99. And an iPhone/iPod version will be available by the time you read this. —Troy Dreier AT WORK Free Trial of Management Tool Stacks, from interactive design agency Imulus, is a group task-management tool that gives members of a project team instant views into the project’s status. Stacks sorts, filters, and visualizes task information. Business users can try out Stacks for free for…