As Windows advances, one important part of it remains as imperfect as ever: Windows Explorer. It may be enough to navigate around your files but if you value a little comfort or miss the old split-view (present up to Windows 95), you're out of luck. Why Microsoft doesn't offer a decent alternative is beyond me! Luckily, there are better, more feature rich and often free file managers out there - and one piece of software that has been painfully missed for over a decade is making a return!
Sometimes, you develop an almost personal relationship with a program. You know its quirks, follow its development over the years and appreciate the little features that make it unique. When the downfall of Netscape was on the horizon, I sorrowfully began looking for a new browser - and found an alternative that was just a little different: quirky but fast, customizable, and with various features other browsers only slowly adopted a few versions later. And despite all temptations and marketing buzz from rivals with more marketing power, Opera still remains my browser of choice to this day.
I always feel uneasy when my computer performance becomes laggy. In most cases, Windows is performing maintenance work in the background, an update is being prepared or the antivirus software is running a scan. If the process takes longer and the fan spins up, I'll usually get a little suspicious and look into the task manager. And when I see the browser gobbling up all of my CPU resources, something's likely awry: maybe someone else is making money off my PC
Almost a year ago, I wrote that Chrome will soon block several types of ads, purely for the sake of its users, naturally. The ad blocker has recently been enabled and the feedback is as divided as was to be expected. Because what Google initially announced with the promise of salvation can also be considered an attack on their rivals in the ad industry. As reasonable as it is to rid the Internet of the most annoying ads, one fear remains and that is the notion that, from now on, the fox will be guarding the henhouse. Read on to learn more about Google's plans and the types of ads that will soon disappear forever.
Facebook collects data - this insight is as old as Facebook itself. What many don't realize is that their data collecting doesn't stop at the gates of their portal. By means of their own and external sources, Facebook is creating comprehensive user profiles to the point where German, Russian and French authorities have begun to step in. They're focusing on two problem areas: Facebook's enormous market power and the extent of their data collection activities. In other words: once you know enough about billions of people, you'll be able to fix ad prices and likely violate several laws in the process. This even affects non-Facebook members!
