Windows XP Users: Here Are Your Upgrade Options

Windows XP Users: Here Are Your Upgrade Options: "Windows XP won’t be officially supported for much longer. Sure, you could keep using it — it won’t just stop working one day. It will just become more insecure over time as Microsoft and everyone else stops supporting it.

Let’s face it, Windows XP has had a good run. It has been officially supported for more than a decade. If you’re still using Windows XP, you should be making plans to upgrade to something that will be supported."

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How to Calibrate Your Laptop’s Battery For Accurate Battery Life Estimates

How to Calibrate Your Laptop’s Battery For Accurate Battery Life Estimates: "So you’re using your laptop and, all of the sudden, it dies. There was no battery warning from Windows — in fact, you recently checked and Windows said you had 30% battery power left. What’s going on?"

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Why You Don’t Need an Outbound Firewall On Your Laptop or Desktop PC

Why You Don’t Need an Outbound Firewall On Your Laptop or Desktop PC: "Windows has a built-in firewall that blocks inbound connections. If a program wants to act as a server, Windows will prompt you. Some geeks don’t like the built-in firewall because it doesn’t offer the same prompts for outgoing connections."

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Automate this: Smart devices for every corner of your home | Appliances - CNET Reviews

Automate this: Smart devices for every corner of your home | Appliances - CNET Reviews: "When you talk about smart appliances, the first things that come to mind for most people are Wi-Fi-enabled washing machines or refrigerators with touch screens built into the door. But some of the smartest upgrades of all might actually lie in the world of home automation, where an explosion of new smart gadgets is offering homeowners entirely new levels of functionality for their day-to-day lives. Best of all, unlike that Internet-ready washer or touch-screen fridge, a home automation upgrade isn't likely to cost you thousands of dollars"

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Insteon LED Bulb Review - Watch CNET's Video Review

Insteon LED Bulb Review - Watch CNET's Video Review: "The good: The Insteon LED Bulb is about as easy as home automation gets -- just screw it in, add it to your network of devices, and start scheduling away. With only 8W of energy usage and a life expectancy of 52,000 hours, this is a power-saving bulb built to last."

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HDMI 2.0: What you need to know | TV and Home Theater - CNET Reviews

HDMI 2.0: What you need to know | TV and Home Theater - CNET Reviews: "The HDMI Forum, the nonprofit body that oversees the HDMI specification, recently announced version 2.0. There were numerous changes, not least support for higher frame rates than are possible with the current 1.4 specification."

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iOS 7 Makes the iPhone More Secure than Ever | PCMag.com

iOS 7 Makes the iPhone More Secure than Ever | PCMag.com: "Apple is notoriously tight-lipped about security, usually letting the glitz of its products do the talking (and also not wanting to invite trouble)."

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Which Devices Will Run iOS 7? | PCMag.com

Which Devices Will Run iOS 7? | PCMag.com: "The new operating system comes out September 18. It will be free to download, and you'll be able to install it via Wi-Fi or by connecting to a computer. There's no reason not to upgrade—unless your device can't run iOS 7."

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Hands-on with Windows 8.1: A solid update, but not a game changer | ExtremeTech

Hands-on with Windows 8.1: A solid update, but not a game changer | ExtremeTech: "Microsoft is betting that Windows 8.1 will be enough to jumpstart stalled sales of new Windows PCs and to coax reluctant Windows 7 users into making the leap. After using Windows 8.1 RTM (essentially the version that will ship with machines when it is officially released) for several days on several different types of machines, I’m impressed by its many subtle improvements over Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 Preview, but it hasn’t addressed any of the fundamental issues slowing Windows 8′s adoption."

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Tablet sales forecast to pass PCs, laptops in 2013, IDC says | PCWorld

Tablet sales forecast to pass PCs, laptops in 2013, IDC says | PCWorld: "Tablets and smartphones will contribute 16.5 percent and 70.5 percent respectively to the worldwide smart connected device market by 2017, according to IDC Worldwide Quarterly Smart Connected Device Tracker.

The total PC sales are expected to drop to 13 percent by 2017.

This year, the global smart connected device, which includes PCs, tablets, and smartphones, is set to be $622.4 billion and out of this $423.1 billion will come from the smartphone and tablet segments collectively."

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