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The Download Blog

Flight+ has a ton of flight tracking tools

When you're taking a vacation or just picking up mom at the airport, a flight tracking app can be an invaluable tool. Indeed, I've downloaded more than my share with Mobiata's FlightTrack Pro holding its place one of my top picks. Recently, though, I discovered a more comprehensive app called Flight+. Developed by International Airport Flight Track Technologies, Flight+ combines flight tracking with a trip diary and an airline/airport information hub. It's complete, slickly designed, and for an airline geek, almost perfect.

Before I get started, though, it's pretty irritating that you have to … Read more

Add text to your iPhone photos with Tiny Post

If you've grown bored with Instagram and are looking for a new photo-sharing app, Tiny Post might fit the bill. This free iPhone app lets you add three lines of text to photos, creating one of those hilarious or poignant images you undoubtedly see daily in your Facebook News Feed or elsewhere on the Internet.

Tiny Post boasts a slick interface and a number of sharing options. After signing in via Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail, you can find other Tiny Post users to follow by tapping the people button in the upper-right corner. Tap the camera button in the … Read more

Indie Gala Mobile 2 bundles more good games for good causes

Need some new games to while away your flight, train ride, car trip, or time in line at the post office with?

In terms of bang for the buck, it's hard to beat a bundle. Like this one: the Indie Gala Mobile 2 bundle lets you set your own price for three (or more) popular Android games -- and support some worthy causes in the process.… Read more

How to configure Firefox plug-ins to load only when clicked

Firefox is a powerful Web browser, in part, because of its support for plug-ins. Unfortunately, some of those plug-ins can cause problems with security and stability, especially if you have a lot of them. In Firefox 14, you can now configure plug-ins to load only when clicked. Seth Rosenblatt first reported on the feature with Firefox 14 Aurora. Now that the stable version of 14 (technically 14.01) is finally out, here's how to enable and use opt-in plug-ins in Firefox:

Enable opt-in plug-ins in Firefox

Step 1: In the address bar, type "about:config." When you … Read more

Bitdefender's iOS privacy app yanked from the App Store

Bitdefender's iOS app that let users see what information installed applications had access to, has been removed from the App Store after being approved nearly two months ago.

In a statement, Bitdefender said Apple alerted the company to the removal of the Clueful app -- which was first released in late May -- "after initial approval and sale." A Bitdefender spokesperson elaborated on that, saying it was actually removed on June 29.

The software made use of a proprietary database, which told users whether a particular application gathered analytics or accessed things like unique identification numbers and … Read more

XP and Vista users, no Office 2013 for you

Still running XP or Vista and eyeing Office 2013? Sorry, you're out of luck.

Unveiled Monday, the upcoming new Office suite won't support Windows XP or Vista, meaning users who need or want Office 2013 will have to upgrade to Windows 7 or Windows 8.

Microsoft confirmed the tighter requirements on its Office 2013 Preview Technet page. Only Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server 2008 R2, and Windows Server 2012 will be able to run the new suite.

Users will also need a PC with at least a 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM for the 32-bit version (2GB … Read more

Microsoft touts touch in Office 2013

Microsoft is aiming Office 2013 at touch-screen devices as well as PCs. So the company is starting to pull out the stops to convince tablet users that the new Office is just right for them.

In a blog post yesterday, Clint Covington, a lead program manager for Microsoft's User Experience team, explained how touch works in the new suite. Products such as OneNote and Lync have been redesigned from the ground up to fully support touch. The other applications in Office have been "touch-enabled," which means they support certain touch features but remain true to their roots … Read more

Checkmark offers slick location-based reminders

Apple's Reminders app, introduced in iOS 5, works perfectly well at notifying you according to your time- or location-based criteria. But a new app called Checkmark (99 cents for a limited time) gives you location-based reminders using your GPS and important locations you enter, and with a great-looking interface that's easy to navigate.

You start by adding locations important to you such as Home, Work, the Gym, and a friend's house you often visit. You can locate yourself via GPS, but you also can search for an address on a map and add a location pin that way. The next step is creating reminders based on your locations.… Read more