Jim Rapoza

The Mozilla Foundation recently released the first alpha of Firefox 3.0, and when people refer to this release of the browser as a developer version, they arent kidding. In fact, the only difference that a regular Firefox user will notice between this alpha and the current shipping version of Firefox 2.0 is that the top […]

In the wake of the massive releases of Microsoft Windows Vista and Office 2007, it will be easy for people to overlook the release of a Microsoft product with an unfamiliar name. But in the modern world, where Web applications and service-oriented architectures are becoming as important—or even more important—than desktop-based products, the release of […]

Along with the release Dec. 4 of Expression Web, Microsoft is also releasing a beta of another component of the Expression Suite. Called Expression Blend, the application was originally announced under the code name “Sparkle” and then was called Interactive Designer and was widely touted by some in the technology community to be a Flash-killer. […]

Ten months ago: Finally, a bit of free time. Is there anything I can do to save time for later on? I know! A new version of Microsoft Office is due out at the end of the year. Since nothing is ever truly new in Office, I can pull lines from my past Office columns […]

Welcome to the all-new Tech Directions column, now of a higher quality than ever before! I hope that all of you will enjoy the clearer, more insightful content that comes from this greatly improved column platform. Now, on to the content! Wait. Just a second. The specialized “security” software that comes with my new column […]

Although Internet Explorer 7 has been out for several weeks now, users of the Microsoft Web browser have yet to see all of its new features. Thats because the version of IE 7 included with Microsofts Windows Vista operating system has a few capabilities that arent found in the version that runs on Windows XP. […]

Im really excited to be finally trying out this new car. It supposedly uses the latest in driving interface technology. Hmm. It drives quite nicely. Im a little cold, though. Ill just turn up the heat and … whoa! What the … ? A giant pop-up climate control window is blocking half the windshield—I can […]

Captivate 2 is a huge upgrade over the previous version of the product, bringing the Adobe software simulation tool fully into modern times. Captivate 2 also has outstanding usability. In fact, when we first launched and began testing Captivate 2, we were able to record an application and create a very professional-looking software demo in […]

When we reviewed Camtasia Studio 3.1 less than a year ago, we found it to be one of the easiest software demo tools that we had seen at that time. Adobes Captivate 2 may have stolen some of Camtasia Studio 4s usability thunder, but the TechSmith product continues to be a very good option. And, […]

Two new versions of popular software simulation products focus heavily on providing easy-to-use yet powerful demonstration tools. Adobe Systems Captivate 2 and TechSmiths Camtasia Studio 4 make it very simple to record any action from an application, a presentation or a Web site. Users also can add quizzes, directional aids and learning tools and deliver […]

In March 2005, I wrote a column that questioned the rush to put RFID tags in everything from passports to credit cards. In that column, I wondered about the potential threat to privacy, personal safety and credit lines. Then, as now, I felt that RFID tags—which make it possible to wirelessly read information on everything […]

Its a familiar and sad story: A business traveler, on her way to an important meeting, entered a busy airport. Her laptop was taken, along with sensitive company information and all the data needed for that vital meeting. But Im not talking about a traveler whose laptop was stolen while she was stuck in a […]