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It can be hard to remember to routinely clean out your computer — whether that means running virus scans or organizing your files. That’s why having a day devoted to making sure that your computer is working well and that you can find anything you need on it is a good idea. The Institute for Business Technology originally sponsored a National Clean Out Your Computer Day several years ago, assigning it to the second Monday in February. It’s a holiday well worth adding to your calendar.

Clean Up Your Operating System

It seems to be a fact of life that the longer your operating system has been installed on your computer, the slower it gets. I recently had to back up all my data and reinstall my operating system, and the difference it made is incredible. Even if you aren’t prepared to completely wipe your system, there are some things you can do to speed things up.

Microsoft recommends running built-in utilities, like Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter, on a regular basis. There are comparable utilities in every operating system. You can also use an external tool, like Iolo Technologies’ System Mechanic, which can fix common problems and reduce demands on your system, like unused background programs.

Clean Out Files

Even as hard drives keep getting bigger, we keep coming up with files to fill them up. While sorting through all your files may not be necessary, doing a little spring cleaning can make them easier to manage. Personally, I try to get the files I don’t think I’m going to need again off my main computer and on to a separate hard drive every so often, if only to make sure that I have space for more.

It may not be a bad idea to go through what you have on other storage media. I recently ran across a stack of floppy disks, only to realize that I didn’t have access to anything that could actually read them at this point. There are a few files there that I’d like to have, but otherwise, there’s no reason to cart around old floppy disks.

Don’t Forget the Hardware

Even if the only part of your computer that you can actually see is the monitor, it’s worthwhile to occasionally knock the dust off. We’ve discussed cleaning laptops before, and cleaning desktops isn’t too different. Wipe down those monitors, clear out vents and maybe even clean your keyboard and mouse while you’re at it. Just getting rid of the dust can extend your computer’s life.

Make Your Progress Permanent

Once you’ve gotten your computer cleaned out, it’s worth taking a little time to make sure that it stays that way. One of the best options is to make sure that any tools you’re using are set up to run automatically — virus scanners, backups and so forth should be running regularly without you needing to remember to start them up.

Don’t forget to mark Clean Out Your Computer Day on the calendar for next year!

Source: Thursday Bram, webworkerdaily.com

The newest game in designer Sid Meier’s illustrious Civilization franchise will be begin beta testing with Facebook users this June, according to Variety.

The Facebook platform game — calledCivilization Network — was announced a few months ago, and both gamers and the press noted that Civilization and Facebook seem like an excellent match. It’s easy to picture the addictive-but-relaxing, turn-based gameplay of Civilization IVor Civilization Revolution adapted to the same platform that plays host to FarmVille — and we all know how huge that game is.

Unfortunately, some fans of the series had gotten the impression from the original announcement that the game would be coming sooner. Not so. Meier said he’d be looking for beta testers “soon” and that the “full game will be available next year.” Game publisher Take Two Interactive didn’t say whether or not the beta will be open to everyone.

If you want to know more about the game, you’re pretty much out of luck; not much has been announced yet. You can become a fan on Facebook to receive future updates, though. For now, here’s what Meier said about it.

“You can coordinate your strategy to win great battles, share your technology to jump ahead of your rivals, lobby your family and friends to form your own government and win vital elections, manage and grow your cities to maximize production and happiness, spy on your enemies, and work with your friends to create the great Wonders of the World. The game will offer everything you enjoy in Civ in a fully persistent environment – you can play as much as you like, whenever you like, and it’ll be free to play.”

Source: mashable.com

MEH!

Source: Digg

Looks as though the third installment to the F.E.A.R. series is in the works, with an official viral video promo slated hit the Internet soon. Details from a recent LA casting call–which took place on January 14 and 15–reveal that the web promo will be directed by Marcus Nispel, the man behind the recent remakes of Texas Chainsaw Massacre andFriday the 13th. VG247 reports that this advert will also reveal “significant” plot and character details.

According to the data sheet supplied to the applicants, Paxton Fettel will be returning to this third installment. The description calls for a “malevolent genius with a diabolical sense of humor.” Although he’s strong and powerfully built (aka “meaty”), his features are “twisted” by the dark psychic power he commands. Although it appears that he may make a major comeback, Fettel will be narrating the promo.

Also included in the promo will be Fettel’s mother, Alma. She’s apparently given birth to a third child although the sheet doesn’t reveal its age or gender. It also specifies that she’ll be consumed with revenge, leading us to believe something may have happened to that third child. Alma’s eldest son, Point Man, also plays a role in the video, turning his allegiance to his new-found mother.

Although Monolith and Warner Bros. have not officially announced the game, F.E.A.R. 3 was rumored to be slated for 2010. Monolith was discovered to be hiring for a new project last June, however the developer has yet to reveal it’s details. Based on the recent casting call, it’s safe to assume the developer is hammering out the new installment.

Source: Kevin Parrish, tomshardware.com

The thought of your iPhone or iPod touch falling into the wrong hands is enough to scare anyone. The iPhone does have the passcode function to keep prying eyes out, but what if that’s not enough?

In a corporate environment, the loss of a device like this is a major ordeal. Apple has touted the MobileMe remote wiping capabilities, but what if you don’t use MobileMe? If you are in a corporate environment, you probably connect to an exchange server for mail. Using OWA (Outlook Web Access) you can remotely wipe your lost or stolen iPhone/iPod touch and breath easy knowing your data is safe.

As I stated, this relies on using the Exchange email push functionality in the iPhone OS. I have only tested this with Exchange 2007 so I can’t verify how or if this works in older versions of Exchange. OWA is Microsoft’s fancy name for web mail so the first thing you need to do is access your company’s web mail.

1. After you successfully login, click on the Options button in the top right.



2. Now click on the Mobile Devices option in the left-hand menu.



3. You should now see your iPhone or iPod touch device listed. Click the radio button next to your device and the click Wipe All Data from Device…



4. You will get a confirmation dialog to confirm you really want to do this. After you confirm, the Status will change to Pending Wipe.



5. The next time your iPhone/iPod touch has an internet connection and checks in with Exchange, a secure wipe is initiated. This is what the screen looks like to the user.



6. After the wipe has been started, the status for the device in OWA will change to Wipe Successful and you can remove the device from the list.

You can give this a try on your own device if you want to see the magic. Be advised that it will take about an hour to wipe the device so you can’t use it during that time. After the wipe, you can restore from a backup in iTunes. Since this is done in OWA, you don’t even have to bother your Network Admin. Maybe you are a little embarrassed that you lost your iPhone. This way no one has to know.

Source: Andrew Flocchini, theappleblog.com

Who’s the Big Daddy? LMAO!

Source: buzzfeed.com

As of today, the source code of Symbian 3 mobile OS (the successor of previous Symbian versions, S60, S40 and others) is open and free to use. Nokia had acquired Symbian back in 2008, turned the consortium that makes the software into the Symbian foundation, and has now decided to make it available to all phone manufacturers. The source code is published under the Eclipse Public License (EPL).

Although it’s the most popular mobile OS, powering some 330 million phones, Symbian has been in limbo lately. On one side, it competed against the increasingly popular (and completely closed) iPhone (), while many manufacturers, such as Motorola, opted to use the open source Android (), which offers a much more similar experience to iPhone than most Symbian phones.

Lee Williams, executive director of the Symbian Foundation, claims that the new, open Symbian has an advantage over Android. Symbian is fully open, he says, while “about a third of the Android code base is open and nothing more. And what is open is a collection of middleware. Everything else is closed or proprietary.”

Still, one can’t help but wonder whether Symbian is a bit late to the game here. Many manufacturers have already all but ditched Windows Mobile and Symbian in favor of Android, and some of them (like Motorola with their Droid) have been quite successful with Android-based devices. Whether the new version of Symbian, together with the move to open source, will be enough to make Symbian interesting to manufacturers, remains to be seen.

Source: Stan Schroeder, mashable.com

I sure wish we’d have Japan’s average broadband speed too…

Source: focus.com

If you’re a web developer, you’re almost certainly constantly looking for ways to improve your skills, expand your technology arsenal, and keep on top of the latest trends in development and design. Whether you need to pick up a new coding language, get informed about new standards, brush up on best practices, or simply get inspired by great examples from your peers, we’ve collated a number of great resources to help you stay at the top of your game.

Have a look at some of the online repositories for great development information and inspiration below, and be sure to tell us about any other trusted sources we haven’t included in the list that other developers should check out.

1. W3 Schools

Featuring one of the largest collections of tutorials and reference articles for web developers on the internet, W3 Schools offers a huge assortment of learning and training resources on just about every relevant language and web service in use on the web today. You’ll find content tailored towards the full range from beginner to expert developer along with code examples, quizzes, tutorials, and reference guides in a relatively clean and well-organized site complete with a well-trafficked forum community.

2. A List Apart

Taking a holistic approach to the subject of web development, A List Apart is “for people who make websites” including designers, developers, and online content creators of all stripes. From its origins as a mailing list in 1997, to its official launch as a website the following year, and on into today’s ALA 4.0 incarnation, A List Apart has consistently produced and curated top notch content at the intersection between design and development for the web.

3. Webmonkey

Now a property of Wired Digital, Webmonkey has been a resource to developers on the web with a long and storied history stretching back to 1996. Having been brought back to life twice during that time, Webmonkey now operates as a wiki, featuring contributions from the developer community to an extensive code library, reference section, and tutorial clearinghouse.

4. Dev Shed

Combining extensive coding tutorials with an active forum community, Dev Shed is one of a family of interconnected sites offering free guides and instructional material to web developers. From language tutorials to webmaster tools to example scripts, the Dev Shed collection has something for webdevs at various skill levels and technology needs.

5. Smashing Magazine

Aimed at both web designers and developers, Smashing Magazine is a frequently updated and independent web publication serving up quality information and community discussion surrounding best practices and techniques on the web. Though the heavier emphasis is on design, the articles, resources, and tools address dynamic HTML technologies, WordPress template coding, and development software as well.

6. Developer Tutorials

Dedicated to “helping ordinary people create extraordinary websites,” Developer Tutorials has offerings for major languages and multimedia production software. In addition to free scripts and extensive developer manuals, the site also has sections for finding reputable online services for common development needs, and to help with projects where you may need to outsource certain components.

7. Ajaxian

A great resource for folks building dynamic web content, Ajaxian is a long-running blog featuring news, editorials, podcasts, resource links, code examples, and more. Less a repository of tutorials and more a timely resource for news and developments of interest to dynamic web builders, Ajaxian also features an active community of readers and commenters in addition to its experienced staff of writers and practitioners.

8. DZone

The simplest analogy is to think of DZone as Digg for developers. The link-sharing community surfaces great resources of interest to webdevs as well as providing free reference cheatsheets, white papers, and original editorial articles as well.

9. IBM developerWorks

A clearinghouse for tutorials and articles on a wide range of development topics, IBM’s developerWorksexplores dynamic web content technologies as well as related fields including systems administration and open source applications. Various learning resources and downloads are offered surrounding a wide variety of web projects from PHP and DHTML to wikis and web service mashups.

10. Sitepoint

Having waxed and waned in popularity over the years, Sitepoint has survived the changing tastes and standards on the web to currently bring fresh perspectives and information for both developers and designers. Instructional videos are available in both free and paid series flavors, a well-organized reference section covers CSS, HTML and Javascript, and an active forum community round out this resource for webdevs.

11. O’Reilly

Best known for its extensive book series covering a wide variety of technical topics, O’Reilly’s online site is also home to a number of web resources both free and paid of interest to web developers. An Answers platform provides a community knowledge base, original blog and video content provide news and commentary, and the Safari Books Online service gives access to thousands of technology reference books from major publishers for a monthly subscription fee.

Source: mashable.com

Google is trying to one-up Apple, showing off designs for a new tablet computer based on its Chrome operating system that would be a direct rival to the iPad.

Just weeks after launching its own iPhone competitor in the US, the Nexus One, Google might soon extend its competition with Apple further as it seeks to push its search and other products on to as many devices as possible.

Google’s user interface designer, Glen Murphy, published mock-ups of a Google tablet on the search giant’s Chromium.org website, along with a video of how users would interact with the device

Late last year Google announced Chrome OS, an operating system predominantly for small netbooks that would be based around the web browser, providing quick boot times and easy access to Google’s array of online services.

The first Chrome OS netbooks are due to arrive this year, but Google is now considering extending the platform to other devices including tablets, desktops and even big screen TVs.

Chrome OS is a separate project to Google’s Android platform for smartphones.

Google’s tablet video shows the user interacting with the multi-touch touchscreen in a similar way to the iPad, using similar gestures to resize and interact with windows and launch applications. The device would include a five- to 10-inch screen and an on-screen keyboard.

On his blog, Murphy published an image showing the full range of hand gestures that would be supported by the tablet.

Google chief executive officer Eric Schmidt was on the board of Apple until August last year, when he resigned citing a conflict of interest over its Android phone platform and Chrome OS.

Now, the companies are increasingly at each other’s throats.

Apple chief executive officer Steve Jobs reportedly told staff at a recent “Town Hall” meeting that Google was the one that began competing with Apple by entering the phone industry, labelling the company’s “Don’t be evil” corporate mantra “a load of crap”.

Earlier, Google released an unofficial, browser-based versionof its Google Voice app for the iPhone, which allows users to make cheap mobile calls using the internet. This effectively bypassed Apple, which had previously declined to allow Google Voice to be included in its App Store.

Microsoft has unsuccessfully tried to push tablet computers for the past decade, to no avail, perhaps because its designs were bulky and resembled regular laptops. The main difference was that the screens were touch-sensitive and could swivel to lie flat in a slate format.

But Microsoft also sees potential in the new iPad-style, multi-touch tablets, with some gadget sites late last year publishing images of a Microsoft “Courier” prototype. The images suggested it would include two touch screens that face each other in a book format.

Other manufacturers – including HP, Lenovo and Dell – are planning to launch tablet computers based on the Windows 7, Linux and Google Android operating systems.

TechCrunch reported today that, according to anonymous sources, Apple is working on a larger version of the iPad that would function more like a Mac than an iPhone.

Gartner analyst Robin Simpson said other companies including Google would have trouble competing with Apple’s iPad because Apple had already developed a strong ecosystem around its products, allowing users to buy content from iTunes with one click.

“You can make great hardware, you can have a fantastic, easy-to-use operating system, but to make it commercially successful I think you need an ecosystem that encourages lots and lots of independent third party development and makes it really easy for users to discover content and buy content,” Simpson said in a phone interview.

“It’s easy to do hardware, it’s really hard to create an ecosystem and Apple’s got a head-start on everybody because they’ve been doing this for four to five years, based around iTunes.”

Google would not say when or if it would start selling a tablet, saying, “Chrome OS is still in development and we are constantly experimenting with various user interfaces to determine what designs would produce the best user experience.”

The tablet models would compete heavily with netbooks, which are small, lightweight laptops designed for accessing the web, editing documents or working on email while on the go.

To differentiate netbooks from the tablet competitors, PC makers are adding significantly more grunt to their netbook offerings, to such an extent that it’s difficult to describe them as netbooks.

Dell today launched its Alienware M11x, which is an ultra-portable laptop with an 11-inch screen but includes a top-of-the-line graphics chip and processor. Dell described the machine as “the fastest sub-12 inch laptop in the universe”.

Source: smh.com.au