iPhone ringtone roundup

Ringtones say a lot about you, your style, and your attitude. Yet, for some reason, the iPhone-the undisputed king of all smart phones-is limited in terms of ringtones. And they can be a helpful aural cue to alert you to exactly who is calling. You can use either the small default selection that comes on the phone or purchase tracks from the iTunes store to convert for 99 cents each.

There's also a way to create customized ringtones using GarageBand ( Macworld rated 4.5 out of 5 mice ), but that's a complex process that likely will not appeal to folks who don't otherwise use the program. If you're looking for ringtone variety, that's an awfully expensive way to go. Fortunately, there are alternatives in the form of standalone apps that let you create custom ringtones. These apps are specifically designed to help you easily create a new set of ringtones that make your iPhone sing the tunes you want it to. I took a few of the available choices out there for a spin: PocketMac's RingtoneStudio 2 for iPhone; Xilisoft's iPhone Ringtone Maker for Mac 1.0; Pixel Research Labs' Ringer; and AMG's Make Ringtones on your Mac.

PocketMac RingtoneStudio 2 PocketMac RingtoneStudio 2 for iPhone lets you create a new ringtone with a few clicks. RingtoneStudio exports the new ringtone to iTunes automatically, ready for syncing. Just drop a music file onto the interface (which looks like an iPhone), select the portion of the tune you want to use-up to 30 seconds, Apple says-and click Create. The current version of the product adds fade-in and fade-out options, volume boost, and a new waveform editor that looks similar to waveforms found in sound editing software. In my tests, the program worked quite well.

RingtoneStudio lets you zoom into a waveform up to 16x, and now features unlimited undos for volume adjustments. I converted about 10 music tracks, including the song In Exile by Thrice (my current favorite), and RingtoneStudio turned the MP3 into a ringtone in seconds. RingtoneStudio had trouble with a 2GB file (the movie Miracle at St. Anna, converted from DVD using HandBrake). Volume adjustments took over 15 minutes to apply, and the program became sluggish. The program supports the same formats as QuickTime, so that includes MP3, AAC, M4a and QuickTime movies-although you can't convert MPEG-1 videos (because the audio and video are stored as one file). Unlike Xilisoft's iPhone Ringtone Maker 1.0 (which I'll get to shortly), RingtoneStudio 2 shows you a thumbnail preview of the video, not just the audio portion, so it's possible to find that one jocular moment in Pink Panther 2 (and there is only one, by the way) and make it your ringtone. PocketMac says the slowdown is a result of how RingtoneStudio analyzes the file and-for volume adjustment-changes the actual sound level, as opposed to just the QuickTime setting. RingtoneStudio 2 works well, but a few extra features like zoom and video preview do not justify the slightly higher price of $20 compared to $15 for Ringer and Ringtone Maker, especially since this app has a few bugs and supports fewer file formats than Ringtone Maker.

PocketMac suggests using just a portion of the video to speed things up. Xilisoft iPhone Ringtone Maker 1.0 Xilisoft iPhone Ringtone Maker 1.0 is compatible with a much wider variety of video and music formats than PocketMac's RingstoneStudio 2. In fact, Ringtone Maker supports just about every format I can think of: MP3, WAV, Windows Media, XviD (a popular BitTorrent file format), DivX, and more. The look and feel of the program reminds me of a Windows app circa 1999, with large bulbous buttons and goofy-looking shading. Ringtone Maker gets the job done-but without any flare. But no matter: in testing another 10 audio files, including the single by Echo & the Bunneymen called I Think I Need It Too (the smooth retro-synth song works well as a ringtone), Ringtone Maker rocked: it never introduced any audio glitches and worked extremely quickly.

One complaint: you can't see video clips as you edit, although you can select a portion of the video using sliders and hear the sound from the video. The app even handled a large 2GB movie file-the same Miracle at St. Anna feature film that RingtoneStudio choked on. Another oddity: I could select any segment of music or video no matter how long, although the iPhone itself only plays the ringtone for a set length-until you answer or the call goes to voicemail. Pixel Research Labs Ringer For the same price as Ringtone Maker ($15), Ringer actually has more in common with RingtoneStudio because it supports the same file formats as QuickTime (MP3, AAC, MOV, MP4, M4V) but no specialized formats, such as XviD or DivX. Yet, like Ringtone Maker, Ringer does not show you the video clip when you want to create a ringtone from your favorite Hollywood epic. I'd prefer a warning that says the clip is unnecessarily long. One of its best and most unusual features: Ringer actually taps directly into your iTunes library.

You can use Ringer that way if you want, but it's easier and faster to just click an artist name or album and select a song. With other tools, you drop media onto the app and select the portion you want for a ringtone. You can also choose songs from your playlist or click Movies to see any and all movies on your Mac, even video files you did not remember you had. Audio files loaded in seconds. Ringer took about three minutes to load the movie Miracle at St. Anna that caused problems for RingtoneStudio.

The interface for selecting a portion of a clip is easy to use-just drag the mouse to select the portion you want. The default view on Ringer shows a large window of the audio waveform-you can make the app larger on screen to see an even closer view. Unlike Ringtone Maker, you can't select more than 40 seconds. However, the zoom functions and fade in or out controls are more limited. AMG Make Ringtones on your Mac AMG (Advanced Media Group) Make Ringtones on Your Mac is essentially a collection of loops and GarageBand songs that you can use to create ringtones.

For example, Zoom just maximizes the window without actually zooming. As such, it's a departure from the PocketMac and Xilisoft offerings, and is even different from how you'd normally create ringtones with purchased songs (by paying 99 cents and converting them). For the do-it-yourself approach, AMG has created a fun tool. Instead, they are mostly techno/dance/trance loops that work well as ringtones. The loops and samples from this collection are not recognizable songs. You can use a John Q ringtone for an easy-going vibe, or The Low End for an attention-grabbing chime.

I built several custom ringtones, and I like the loops-there's lots of variety. Make Ringtones on Your Mac also provides a tutorial on how to add ringtones to iTunes (just drag and drop), export them from GarageBand (most are already set to loop correctly and are about 30 seconds long), and set the current ringtone on your iPhone. You get a wide assortment of techno music to suit any mood, and I was impressed with the quality. You can start with a basic GarageBand song and add your own loops, either from the included library or your own samples. There are about 300 ringtones and hundreds of loops and song clips to choose from. However, AMG does not include any software, so you could just buy the loops you really like (even from AMG's own Samples-now.com site) and follow the ringtone creation steps for GarageBand.

Macworld's buying advice Choosing the best ringtone app was not easy-there is no single tool that outperformed all the others in the group I tested. You'd save plenty of cash that way. However, my nod goes to Pixel Research Labs' Ringer because it works quickly, costs less than RingtoneStudio, and lets you select songs easily. Make Ringtones on Your Mac has a lot going for it as a ringtone maker, but it's not really a program, and is more than double the price of its competitors. I wish it showed video clips, and if you really need that feature, go with RingtoneStudio.

For $40, if it included a simple song-to-ringtone converter, the package would make more sense. It even supports fade-in and fade-out and creates iPhone-specific tones. [John Brandon is a freelance technology writer based in Minnesota.] As it stands, you can buy just the loops you like online and go through the work of making ringtones in GarageBand for a lot less. (You can use its loops for other purposes, though-including creating an entire song.) For folks interested in the no-frills route to ringtones, I'd also suggest having a look at Audiko, a free, online utility that supports ringtone conversion from an audio file.

Personal data of 24,000 Notre Dame employees exposed online

In an embarrassing security gaffe, personal data on more than 24,000 past and present employees at the University of Notre Dame was made publicly available on the Web for more than three years. Files containing the data are believed to have been posted on the site in August 2006 and remained there until this October this year when they were finally discovered and reported to university officials. The breach resulted when an employee inadvertently posted files containing the names, Social Security numbers and zip codes of the employees on a publicly accessible university Web site. The files have since been removed and secured and there is no evidence that the information has been inappropriately used, said Dennis Brown, Notre Dame's assistant vice president for news and information.

All of those affected by the breach have been notified and the university has offered to pay for credit monitoring services, he said. Included in the list of those affected by the breach are a "large number" of on-call and temporary employees, Brown said. Notre Dame last suffered a data breach in January 2006 , when unknown intruders broke into a server and accessed records belonging to an undisclosed number of individuals. On Sunday, a blogger discovered online a sensitive security manual containing detailed information on the screening procedures used by Transportation Security Administration agents at U.S. airports. This is the second time this week that an organization has found itself in the news over an inadvertent data leak.

The document was supposed to have been redacted before it was posted on a government Web site, but wasn't. As with the Notre Dame incident, the document was quickly removed once the lapse was reported but not before numerous copies of the document were posted at sites all over the Internet. This June, a 267-page document listing all U.S. civilian nuclear sites , along with descriptions of their assets and activities, became available on whistleblower site Wikileaks.org days after a government Web site publicly posted the data by accident. Though data breaches involving external hackers get most of the attention, inadvertent data exposures such as these latest examples are not all that uncommon. The sensitive, but unclassified, data had been compiled as part of a report being prepared by the federal government for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In another incident in October 2007, a student at Western Oregon University discovered a file containing personal data on student grades after it had been accidentally posted on a publicly accessible university server by an employee. Numerous others breaches, including at government agencies, have also inadvertently leaked confidential and sensitive data over file-sharing networks.

Rivals mock Microsoft's free security software

Although one of the top consumer security vendors welcomed Microsoft's Security Essentials to the market, another dismissed the new free software as a "poor product" that will "never be up to snuff." Earlier today, Microsoft launched Security Essentials , its free antivirus and antispyware software suite, which has been in development for almost a year. "I think it's a good thing that they're in the market," said Carol Carpenter, the general manager of Trend Micro's consumer division. "We look forward to the competition ... and I think Microsoft's targeting of developing countries and the unprotected is a good approach." Microsoft has pitched Security Essentials, which replaced the now-defunct for-a-fee Windows OneCare, as basic software suitable for users who can't, or won't, pay for security software. And now they've decided to go for the free market, but that's a very crowded market. Not everyone, however, agreed with Carpenter. "Security Essentials won't change anything," said Jens Meggers, Symantec's vice president of engineering. "Microsoft has a really bad track record in security," he added, ticking off several ventures into consumer security that the giant has tried, including Windows Defender, an anti-spyware tool bundled with Windows Vista and Windows 7; the released-monthly Malicious Software Removal Tool; and OneCare. "Like OneCare, Security Essentials is a poor product," said Meggers. "It has very average detection rates. There's not much room to grow there." In a company blog, another Symantec employee called Security Essentials a "rerun" of OneCare , and said: "At the end of the day, Microsoft Security Essentials is a rerun no one should watch." It's no surprise that top-tier security vendors like Trend Micro and Symantec dismissed Security Essentials today.

At the time, a Symantec executive said it was a capitulation by Microsoft, which was tacitly admitting it couldn't compete . But Meggers' take today was even more bearish. "We don't like the notion of 'basic,'" he said. "That makes me very worried, because the risk on the Web today is far too high for 'basic.' Tossing a bunch of little basic tools into the computing environment doesn't make it safe." Even Carpenter had some unkind words for Microsoft. "It's better to use something than to use nothing, but you get what you pay for," she said. "But I don't think it will worry the main security vendors. They did the same thing last year, when Microsoft announced the upcoming demise of OneCare and said it would ship a free, streamlined product. If I were a free, focused security company, trying to get my upsell over time, like AVG [Technologies], then I'd be concerned." Symantec's Meggers also wondered what took Microsoft so long to come up with Security Essentials. "It takes them an entire year to remove features from OneCare, to make something even worse than OneCare?" Meggers asked. "I could have done that with three developers in three months." And that's a good clue that Microsoft won't be able to keep up with the likes of Symantec, Trend Micro and McAfee, Meggers added. "Look how long it took them to build it. When was the last time that Microsoft innovated?" The free Security Essentials can be downloaded for Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 from the Microsoft Web site. Security needs constant innovation.

Users nervous about Oracle's acquisition of MySQL

The European Union is not the only one antsy about Oracle taking possession of the open source MySQL database should the commercial database giant's merger with Sun Microsystems get final approval. On its Web site, Oracle merely notes that "MySQL will be an addition to Oracle's existing suite of database products." "I wish that Oracle would broadcast its intentions a little bit more" on the Sun acquisition, says Duane Kimble, a Linux technologist who works in the banking industry. So are MySQL users. (The E.U.'s executive arm has held up approval of the merger, fearing that Oracle's acquisition of MySQL could reduce competition in the database market, as well as harm the open source nature of MySQL. Sun's stockholders and the U.S. Justice Department have approved Oracle's $7.4 billion acquisition of Sun.) "We've got a fair number of databases and Web applications that use those databases in MySQL. If Oracle does something that sort of makes it look like MySQL's days are numbered or something is going to change that we don't like, we'll probably look at alternatives," says Ernest Joynt, a contractor for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. [ Relive Sun's storied history in InfoWorld's slideshow "The rise and fall of Sun Microsystems." | Learn why attendees at the JavaOne conference were skeptical of Oracle's buyout of Sun. ] Anand Babu Periasamy, CTO of clustered storage technology company Gluster, expresses doubts that Oracle would add enterprise capabilities to MySQL. "I hope that they will retain MySQL. [But] I am doubtful [that] they will ever improve MySQL to take it mid-enterprise level, but at least it will help them compete with Microsoft SQL Server on the low end," he says. (Gluster uses MySQL for its Web site operations.) Thus far, Oracle has said little about its intentions for MySQL and declined to discuss the issue with InfoWorld.

For him, Oracle's ownership of MySQL is a specific cause for caution. His firm has begun looking at other enterprise-scale open source databases such as EnterpriseDB's Postgres database in case it has to replace MySQL. Standing to reap a harvest from unease about the Oracle-MySQL pairing are open source database vendors EnterpriseDB and Ingres. MySQL users start looking at alternatives A key issue is that Oracle is a main competitor to MySQL, notes Timothy Dion, CTO of mobile and Web apps builder Sensei. "I'm very concerned about what that means," he says. EnterpriseDB, which builds its products on the PostgreSQL open source database, has been hearing from concerned MySQL users, says Larry Alston, EnterpriseDB's vice president of product management and marketing. "They're telling us that they're nervous" about the future of MySQL, he says. Doubts remain over the fate of other Sun technologies Users remain concerned over the fate of other Sun technologies such as Java and Solaris, not just of MySQL. "We are rethinking our Solaris deployments," says Linux technologist Kimble. "We are moving swiftly toward more of an AIX and Linux environment, depending on the size or the scale of the project." Although Kimble notes it is "too early to say whether we'll move off [Solaris] or not," he does say his employer is rethinking its Solaris commitment: "Certainly, we're not going full-bore with Solaris as we were before the merger." Kimble does see a positive side to the Sun acquisition: "I think it kind of simplifies the platform offering somewhat.

Ingres also sees opportunities. "The phones ring a lot," says Ingres CEO Roger Burkhardt. Oracle is a strong company and if they keep Sun Java, which I'm sure is what they bought [Sun] for, I think it will make Java a better product." But Bryce Pier is not so sure. Another large company buying another large company reduces competition," he says. The senior systems engineer at Target sees no benefits of the buyout - at least not yet. "I'm not really certain that it's going to be good for anybody. Pier expects the acquisition to cause Target to move away from Solaris to Red Hat's Linux over time. Oracle, said Craig Muzilla, Red Hat's vice president for middleware, was very active in the Java Community Process for updating Java and has strived for openness in Java. "We don't see anything from Oracle that [would indicate that] they would do anything" that would differ with the past, he said.

One reason is the uncertainty: "We're just not sure what Oracle's commitment is going to be to the Java stack and to maintaining it as an open source project." Another is Oracle's reputation for extracting revenues from customers: "We certainly fear that all of the subscription fees are going to change for everything from Sun." At its recent conference, Red Hat sought to reassure customers about the continued openness of Java-based JBoss technology, which Red Hat owns, now that Oracle is buying Java founder Sun.

Advice to beginners

One of my colleagues asked me to substitute for her in a systems engineering course that I used to teach until a few years ago. With the instructor's agreement, I decided to discuss some beliefs, attitudes and behavior that can help students entering the workforce for the first time as interns or new employees make the best of their opportunities. The assigned topic was how students could best work effectively in software development groups.

Some of these topics may be helpful to a wider audience. The first steps to success in any new job are to observe and learn: listen, watch, think! From this point on, I'll simply address readers rather than using the past tense. 1) How to enter a new work group The worst approach a new employee can take – especially a recent graduate or an intern – is to swagger into a new workplace and start comparing the way things are done to the style at a previous workplace – or worse, to what some professor told the student in a course. Keep your opinions to yourself until you have learned more than superficial impressions about your new work environment. If you don't mind the idea, keep a notebook (file) about what you learn. 2) Making suggestions Keep your opinions to yourself until you have earned credibility by doing your job well and being thoughtful, courteous and helpful. Watch, listen, learn, and think.

If you do see opportunities for improvement, find out who is likely to be responsible for making the changes you think might be useful. Describe your impression of the current situation, define the problem neutrally (avoid emotional language), and ask your contact about what she thinks about it. Don't launch into a diatribe about how rotten the current situation is: ask the person if she can discuss the specific issue you are concerned about. Then offer your suggestion respectfully (not arrogantly, not from a position of assumed superiority, not rudely) and be prepared to listen to a different perspective. Take every opportunity to share knowledge, lend a hand, prevent an accident – you will win as a worker and as a human being. Don't assume that just because you think something ought to be changed that it will be. 3) Work (and life) is not a zero-sum game Helping someone to do better (at work, in your family, in your marriage, in your life) does not subtract from your success.

Don't believe the cynics who tell you that the individual is all that counts, that there is no valid social group beyond the family, and that everyone should maximize their gain at the expense of all comers. When we write or code, we sometimes see in our work what we want to communicate rather than what a reader or a computer will see and execute: our assumptions are often implicit and invisible to ourselves. Life does not have to consist of a battle with every person competing against every other. 4) Egoless work Suggestions for improvement to code or writing are not attacks on you. Thus an editor or a code reviewer may challenge a passage of an article or a section of code and point to improvements. For more on this topic, see an article I wrote in this column in 2006 and the essay "On Writing." 5) Don't blindside your boss Always work to make your boss look good. Be grateful, not resentful.

In particular, keep your boss informed of anything out of the ordinary: the last thing you want is to have your supervisor challenged by a superior officer demanding to know what you have been doing – and have the supervisor unable to answer. 6) Be honest Do what you say you will do: don't pretend. In Eric Berne's famous book, "Games People Play: The Basic Handbook of Transactional Analysis", the author describes the why-don't-you-yes-but game, in which someone asks for advice and then proceeds to show why every possible solution is wrong or impossible to implement. For example, if you are seeking someone's opinion, listen honestly and openly – don't go through the motions. A typical application of this game is for a dishonest manager to ask for employee opinions about a planned or existing policy and then to ignore or discount every comment as meaningless or wrong. Don't do that.

The manager is being dishonest. So endeth today's lesson. Go forth and be good human beings.

IBM aims at Google, Microsoft with new Webmail

IBM has launched LotusLive iNotes, an on-demand e-mail, calendaring and contact management system meant to compete with the likes of Gmail and Microsoft Exchange, the company said Friday. IBM is aiming the software at large enterprises that want to migrate an on-premise e-mail system to SaaS (software as a service), particularly for users who aren't tied to a desk, such as retail workers. Pricing starts at US$3 per user per month, undercutting Google Apps Premier Edition, which costs $50 per user per year. It is also hoping to win business from smaller companies interested in on-demand software but with concerns about security and service outages, such as those suffered by Gmail in recent months.

While alluding to Google's service outages, Poulley acknowledged that no company can guarantee 100 percent uptime for on-demand applications. LotusLive iNotes is based on technology IBM purchased from the Hong Kong company Outblaze. "What we brought to Outblaze and to the marketplace is what you'd expect from IBM in terms of security, reliability and privacy," said Sean Poulley, vice president of online collaboration. But IBM has a long-standing track record of running "the world's mission-critical systems," he said. Overall, the main point of interest in IBM's announcement is price, said Gartner analyst Matt Cain. "Outblaze always sold low-cost mailboxes and that's what this is," he said. "Google's long been in it, Microsoft's long been in it. IBM will also have an opportunity to win customers from Microsoft who aren't ready to migrate to the upcoming Exchange 2010 release, given the headaches and investments involved, Poulley said. Now IBM's in it." However, that's not to say IBM's brand on the software isn't of some value, Cain added. ."From an enterprise perspective, you'd rather buy e-mail from IBM than a company called Outblaze." It's unlikely that IBM's pricing strategy will cause competitors to lower fees for their offerings, according to Cain.

For one thing, Microsoft already has a $2 per month Exchange Online option called "Deskless Worker," Cain noted.

CA looks to ease encryption key management

CA today unveiled key-management software that helps automate the storage and distribution of encryption keys for multi-vendor tape encryption purposes. According to CA's director of storage product marketing Stefan Kochishan, CA intends to add support for other vendor tape-encryption methods in the future. "This product will manage the keys," Kochishan says. "If there's a call for centralization of management of either public or private keys, that can be done. Cool new products of the week CA Encryption Key Manager is z/OS-based software (it also runs on Linux, Unix, Windows and Solaris platforms) that can support the IBM TS1120 and TS 1130 tape encryption devices as well as the CA Tape Encryption subsystems from the same interface.

You can also set up key stores in various sites and those sites will be updated when there's a change. CA Encryption Manager allows tracking and monitoring of encryption keys and digital certificates as well as deletion once a key is no longer used, Kochishan notes. It's full life cycle key management." CA Encryption Key Manager will also interface with security systems that include IBM RACF, CA ACF2 for z/OS, and CA Top Secret for z/OS for public/private key and digital certificate storage. Changes are propagated via SSL-encrypted TCP/IP. The goal is to let IT managers more easily share encryption keys across business units or with outside business partners. Mark Depathy, senior infrastructure engineer there, indicated it has simplified key distribution for business-to-business tapes and other uses. "It's something that gives you real-time key distribution," Depathy says, adding it allows for a common database related to keys. Peoples United Bank in Bridgeport, Conn., has been beta-testing the CA Encryption Key Manager for the past month.

CA Encryption Key Manager, available now, starts at $16,000.

2009 PC World 100, Listed by Category

Bluetooth Motorola T305 [#66] (bluetooth car speakerphone kit) Full review | Check prices Aliph Jawbone Prime [#49] (bluetooth headset) Full review | Video | Check prices Blu-ray Player LG BD390 [#85] More info | Check prices Broadband AirCell GoGo [#33] (in-flight Wi-Fi service) More info Novatel Wireless MiFi 2200 [#19] (Wi-Fi card) Full review Browsers Google Chrome [#58] More info | Download Mozilla Firefox 3.5 [#42] Full review | Download Camcorders Canon Vixia HF S10 [#41] Full review | Check prices Kodak Zi8 [#20] Full review | Check prices Panasonic HDC-TM300 [#47] Full review | Check prices Cameras Canon PowerShot G11 [#40] More info Canon PowerShot SX200 IS [#8] Full review | Video | Check prices Nikon D300s [#4] More info | Video | Check prices Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 [#30] More info | Check prices Samsung TL225 [#81] More info | Check prices Chargers Duracell MyGrid [#53] More info iGo Netbook Anywhere [#36] More info Kensington Auto Power Inverter with USB Power Port [#97] Site | Check prices E-Book Reader Amazon Kindle 2 [#15] Full review | Video Game Consoles Nintendo DSi [#99] Full review | Video Sony PlayStation 3 [#67] Full review | Check prices Games Beatles Rock Band by Harmonix [#9] More info | Check prices Uncharted 2: Among Thieves [#100] Full review | Video HDTVs Samsung LN40B650 [#18] Full review | Check prices Samsung LN46B750U [#10] Full review | Check prices Input Device Hillcrest Labs Loop Pointer Remote [#86] More info iPhone Apps App Store [#1] Site | PC World App Guide Atebits Tweetie 2 [#29] More info | Video | App info Navigon MobileNavigator [#75] More info |App info Laptops (Full-Size) Alienware M15x [#32] Full review | Video | Check prices Dell Latitude Z600 [#6] Full review HP Envy 13 [#28] Full review Lenovo ThinkPad T400s [#24] Full review | Video | Check prices Media Player Microsoft Zune HD [#22] Full review | Video | Check prices Monitors/Touchscreens HP DreamScreen 100 [#98] (Internet touchscreen) More info | Check prices HP W2558hc [#91] (monitor) Full review | Check prices Netbooks Asus Eee PC 1101HA [#82] More info HP Mini 311-1000NR [#17] Full review | Check prices Networking Kits and Hardware Belkin Powerline AV+ Starter Kit F5D4075 [#51] Full review D-Link DIR-655 Xtreme N Gigabit Router [#73] Full review | Check prices Linksys Dual-Band Wireless-N Gigabit Router WRT320N [#94] Full review | Check prices Operating Systems Microsoft Windows 7 [#11] Full review | Video | Check prices Ubuntu 9.04 Desktop Edition [#84] More info PCs (All-in-One) Dell Studio One 19 [#80] Full review | Check prices Lenovo IdeaCentre A600 [#76] Full review | Check prices Printers HP Officejet 6500 Wireless [#44] Full review | Video | Check prices Lexmark C734dn [#72] Full review | Check prices Processors AMD Phenom II [#13] More info | Check prices Intel Core i7 [#12] More info | Check prices Projectors Samsung SP-P410M LED [#71] Full review | Check prices 3M MPro120 [#37] More info | Check prices Remote Control Sonos Controller 200 [#54] More info Search Engines Microsoft Bing [#7] More info Wolfram Alpha [#83] More info | App info Services Blip.fm [#56] (music service) More info Boxee [#25] (video service) More info | Download Digsby [#65] (message service) More info | Download Dropbox [#68] (storage service, getdropbox.com, also iPhone app) Full review | App info Evernote [#69] (content manager, also iPhone app) More info | App review | Download Facebook [#16] (social media service) More info FanSnap [#79] (ticket service) More info FileHippo Update Checker 1.035 [#93] (update-managing service) Site Google Books [#62] (searchable book service) More info Google Picasa 3.5 [#60] (photo-sharing service) More info | Download Google Voice [#2] (telephony service) Full review Grooveshark [#48] (music service) Site LastPass 1.51 [#46] (password manager) Download NinjaVideo [#95] (video-playing service) More info Qik [#39] (video service) Site Retrevo [#57] (shopping service) Site Sendmehome [#64] (identification service) More info Slacker [#96] (streaming music apps, also iPhone app) More info | App info SlideRocket [#74] (presentation service) Site Transmedia Glide OS 3.0 [#87] (content access service) More info Twitpic [#38] (photo-sharing service) Site Twitter [#5] (social media service) More info UStream [#63] (broadcasting service, also iPhone app) Site | App review Valve Steam [#52] (digital game distribution service) Site Wordnik [#89] (online reference service) Site Smartphones Apple iPhone 3GS [#27] Full review | Video HTC Hero [#21] Full review | Video Palm Pre [#14] Full review | Video RIM BlackBerry Tour 9630 [#61] Full review | Video Software Acronis True Image Home 2010 [#88] (backup software) Full review | Download Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 [#70] (photo editing software) Full review | Download Adobe Premiere Elements 8 [#78] (video editing software) Full review | Download Avira AntiVir Personal [#35] (security software) Full review | Download G-Data Internet Security 2010 [#23] (security software) Full review | Check prices | Download Intuit Mint [#90] (accounting software) More info Nova Development Parallels Desktop 4 [#45] (virtualization software) Site | Check prices PC Tools Threatfire 4.5 [#77] (security software) Full review | Download Seesmic Desktop [#34] (social media software) Site | Download Xmarks [#31] (Firefox add-on) More info | Download Storage Devices Clickfree Traveler [#43] Full review Intel X25-M Solid State Drive 160GB [#3] More info | Check prices SanDisk Extreme Pro CompactFlash Card [#26] (memory card) More info Seagate Replica [#55] Full review | Check prices Synology DS209+ II [#59] Site

Verizon updates Droid software; Users hope it fixes echo problem

An over-the-air software update to the Droid smartphone started yesterday, but it wasn't clear whether the 14 enhancements address a voice echo problem that hundreds of users complained about in online forums. The enhancements come from Verizon Wireless, Motorola and Google, which is behind the Android operating system that runs on the Motorola Droid. The much-anticipated update went to a "small percentage of handsets" yesterday and the update, identified as ESD56, will be phased in over the next week or so, a Verizon Wireless spokeswoman confirmed early today via e-mail. An update to the Droid Eris smartphone from HTC is "planned but a date has not yet been confirmed," the spokeswoman added.

However, it remains unclear whether the list of official fixes offers any relief to hundreds of customers who have complained of a voice echo heard by recipients of calls made from Droid phones. The Motorola Droid update is based on Google's release of a software developer kit for Android 2.0.2 on Dec. 6. The most noticeable modifications improve the Droid's camera autofocus capability and the phone's voice reception, the spokeswoman added. At least 300 comments at a Motorola online support forum refer to the subject, " Droid phone sound quality is not great ," and most comments refer to audio echo problems noticed by people whom Droid users are calling. Despite the many online complaints of a similar problem from Droid users, he couldn't get Verizon store officials to listen to him, he said. "Each time I returned to the store, now three times, I have been treated increasingly like an Android from out of space until [a recent] Friday when I threw a nutty in the store and screamed out for attention," he wrote. "The techs were clueless." Davis said his son, an engineer at Cisco Systems Inc., helped him decrease the echo somewhat by adjusting the phone's settings so that when the echo shows up, Davis must fidget with the speaker button to lessen the echo. One Motorola Droid user, John Davis, said he has enjoyed all aspects of his Droid except for the phone itself. "Almost from day one there has been an annoying echo primarily with the person on the receiving end," he wrote in an e-mail to Computerworld . Davis, a physician, bought his phone the first day it was available at a Verizon store near Boston.

But Davis was still awaiting the update, which was rumored to start on Dec. 11, but now appears to have started four days earlier. However, the official update documentation says only that one of the 14 improvements is listed as "audio for incoming calls is improved." A separate improvement says that Bluetooth functions are improved with "background echo ... eliminated" but only in reference to Bluetooth usage. Davis said his son believes the update is designed to address the issue, and so do many on an online forum. The full list also includes improvements to OS stability, battery life and camera auto focus. Ironically, many reviewers of the Motorola Droid found it has superlative sound quality , so the echo problem could be a function of networks as well as the Droid, many forum users have noted. Davis said he had no significant problems with his camera, but is still eager to have the update for the camera focus.

A Motorola support forums manager, identified online only as Matt, called attention to the update yesterday with a link to the separate Motorola forum on sound quality, implying that the improvements could help the echo problem. Verizon has noted that to get the free update, the Droid device needs to have 40% or more power available if it's not connected to an external power source and 20% power available to it if connected to a power source. The Verizon spokeswoman did not answer directly whether the updates fix the echo problem, saying only that descriptions of the audio problem on forums are "subjective," but she offered to provide a fuller explanation later.

Hiring budgets begin to thaw

Employers could be filling IT positions in the coming months, research suggests, as the number of positions expected to be created could begin to outpace anticipated job cuts in some industries. Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reports that employers in September began to detail plans to hire more workers than they did in 2008. Through September 2009, employers have announced plans to hire 169,385 workers this year, marking an 88% increase over the nearly 90,000 planned hires announced in the first three quarters of 2008. The sectors planning the most hires include the retail, government and nonprofit, and enterprise and leisure industries. Where the IT jobs are: 10 American cities Hiring budgets could be coming out of the deep freeze initiated at the start of the economic recession, according to industry watchers.

Employers in the telecommunications industry announced 6,339 planned hires for 2009, compared to 2,689 last year. Electronics companies are expecting to add 1,765 new jobs, another decline from 2008's 3,013 planned positions. Aerospace and defense employers intend to add 2,618 new position, less than the 4,709 in the previous year. E-commerce vendors reported they would augment staff with 1,572 new openings, an increase over the 500 added in 2008. And while the computer industry reportedly announced 7,717 new hires, the data Challenger, Gray & Christmas tracked so far this year shows the industry isn't planning any new hires so far in 2009. "These figures represent just a tiny fraction of the hiring and available jobs out there. There simply are more job seekers than there are jobs. We track hiring announcements," said John Challenger, CEO at the outplacement firm, in a statement. 20 most useful career sites for IT professionals Challenger, Gray & Christmas also cited recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data that showed 2.4 million job openings as of August, down from 3.9 million in 2008. And the same government agency reported that 4 million workers were hired in August, despite the unemployment rate nearing 10%.  "There is no doubt that this is a tight job market.

However, it would be a mistake to assume that no one is hiring," Challenger said. David Foote, CEO and chief research officer, said in a statement that while high-tech industry segments have been posting job losses, they are losing fewer jobs and in some cases adding positions. Separately, IT research firm Foote Partners also found cause for optimism in recent government statistics. For instance, "five IT bellwether job segments" have posted collective job losses of between 4,000 and 11,000 jobs each month (including 4,300 lost in August), but also showed gains such as 7,400 positions in July.  "Consider that according to the Department of Labor's labor market segmentation there has been a net loss of 32,600 IT related jobs since January 2009, but a net gain of 1,400 since July, it's clear that we're heading in the right direction," Foote said. "We continue to maintain optimism for the rest of the year, for IT services sector in particular." Do you Tweet? Follow Denise Dubie on Twitter