More Desktop Apps In Depth

Microsoft server and tool upgrades demand CIOs' attention

CIOs and IT directors tracking the barrage of major upgrades for Windows and Office also need to stay tuned to the refresh cycle for Microsoft's servers and tools, including Windows Server 2012, SQL Server 2012, System Center 2012 and Visual Studio 11.

Hands on with Facebook Camera for iPhone

Facebook on Thursday launched Camera, a new standalone iPhone app for browsing your friends' photos and sharing new ones of your own. Were Instagram owned by anyone else, it might be sweating bullets right now.

Corel VideoStudio Pro X5: CPU Optimization and HTML 5 Output

With its latest version of VideoStudio Pro, Corel is aiming to crack the Web video production nut. VideoStudio Pro X5 ($80 as of April 30, 2012) is a video-editing application capable of handling everything from start to finish, supplying all that you need to produce videos that you can host, and that play in any HTML 5-compliant browser. But you'll need a computer with one of the latest CPUs to produce cutting-edge video.

Gifting Mac App Store apps, emailing videos, and more

It's time to flush out the latest collection of too-short-for-a-full-entry Mac 911 questions and answers. We start with reader SuSu:

Learn the Basics of Using Pinterest for Business

Should businesses be interested in Pinterest? On the surface, you might not think so: the service would appear to be little more than a showcase for cool jewelry and favorite recipes.

Organize videos by groups in iTunes

In iTunes, there are two ways to categorize your videos: as either Movies or TV Shows. Movies are displayed individually, but TV shows are organized in groups, as they would be if they were episodes in the same show. One anonymous Mac OS X Hints reader takes advantage of this to organize all kinds of videos, regardless of their actual source. He uses his Movies library for very large files and puts everything else in TV Shows. So, for example, in his TV Shows library, he has groups called YouTube Videos, Home Videos, Work Stuff, and so on.

Bobsled Calling for iPhone and iPad

It's tempting to treat Bobsled Calling as a variation on Skype. And while there are a lot of similarities between the two apps, there are also some crucial differences.

Bugs & Fixes: From Mail crashes to HTML5 video failures

It's bargain day at Bugs & Fixes. This week's column offers three separate items for the price of one.

Google Drive review: Adding cloud storage to the mix

The new Google Drive cloud storage service offers 5GB of storage and some nice features, but it's not yet an undisputed winner.

How Secure Are Your Facebook Apps?

How well do Facebook apps protect your privacy? Before you download something new and agree to share information, check out how Privacyscore rates its first.

Three Smart Ways to Use Evernote in Business

It's easy to see why Evernote has legions of fans. It's like a digital brain for all your ideas, a way to capture and organize the volumes of information that might otherwise slip through your fingers.

Should I Scan an External Drive for Malware?

1gynRat258 asked the Hard Drives, NAS Drives, Storage forum if one should scan a flash drive or an external hard drive for malware--such as a virus or Trojan.

Music Artists Get 'Listen' Button on Facebook

Facebook added a "Listen' button Tuesday to the pages of music artists on the social network.

Ban.jo for iPhone

Feel like you're missing nearby friends or nearby fun? Ban.jo, a free iPhone/iPod touch app, is designed to fix that problem.

Make Distinctive QR Codes With QR Hacker

QR (Quick-Response) codes are those square blocks of black-and-white dots that are popping up everywhere these days. Most of us tend to be on the receiving end of these codes: Manufacturers and advertisers put them into ads, hoping that we will scan them with a smartphone and launch ourselves into their part of cyberspace via the URL they contain. But what if you wanted to create such a code yourself--and give it a little visual pizzazz? That's where web-app QR Hacker comes into the picture. If you're just looking to create a QR code for fun, QR Hacker is free. If you're creating codes for your own business, it's $59 per year, and if you're creating codes for clients, it's $99 per year.

Wal-Mart Launches Vudu Disc-to-Digital Store Program: Here's How It Works

Want to turn your bulging library of digital video discs into high-definition video streams that you can access anytime without spending a fortune?

Free Image Editor MAGIX Photo Designer 7 Gives You Pixel-by-Pixel Control

It's hard to know what to expect from a free image editor. After all, if all was fair, we'd be getting Photoshop minus about $700 worth of features. But many free editors, MAGIX Photo Designer included, have great strengths that serve a niche, and make them invaluable: If they do what you need them to.

Make a Radiant Portrait

No doubt you have heard someone be complimented with the effusive expression, "You are positively radiant!" I love the sentiment, but I've never quite seen it in real life. Who has skin that actually glows? Perhaps I'm being too literal. Nonetheless, regardless what you think of this in real life, you can create a radiant glow in your digital portraits through some clever photo editing trickery. Using a technique similar to the Orton Effect--which works very nicely in still life and landscape photographs--you can add a warm and romantic glow to your portraits. Here's how.

Play Around With Flash Photography in This Virtual Lighting Studio

If you ever wanted to try your hand at flash photography, you might want to take whirl with this Virtual Lighting Studio. It's a completely free--and awesome--way to test out different lighting setups from within your browser.

How Not to Spam Twitter: 5 Tips

Twitter served notice to spammers earlier this month that it's beefing up its anti-spam measures, and it has filed a lawsuit against five "aggressive tool providers and spammers" to keep its feeds clean. How can you keep your business off of Twitter's radar while still conducting some form of commerce using the tool? These five tips can help.