Stories by Chris Head

Android hacks: CyanogenMod 6.1 release candidate available

The CyanogenMod 6.1 Release Candidate is now available for rooted Android devices via the Rom Manager app. This isn’t the final CyanogenMod 6.1 release, but should be stable enough to use full-time (of course your mileage may vary depending on device...

Geocities archive to be released via BitTorrent

It was about a year ago that Yahoo!-hosted Geocities sites started going offline. For the majority of Internet users, this event was met with little fanfare; Geocities had long gone out of fashion as a free web host and been replaced by sites like My...

Rumor: Froyo for Droid X coming soon?

Where is Froyo for the Droid X?

GPUs: Powering your gaming and cracking your passwords

Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute, led by Richard Boyd, have demonstrated that off-the-shelf GPUs (the same that power the video card in your PC) are better at cracking passwords than had previously been thought, according to a BBC r...

Android: A Gamer's Guide

The Android OS: It's on your phone (and maybe even your tablet PC), and it lets you run thousands and thousands of apps -- including games. But which phones are ideal for gaming? What kind of specs do you need to play the latest and greatest? Can you...

The state of the Android ecosystem

As the second-generation Android devices debuted, there were serious questions about the state of the platform. Unlike the release of the <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/product/39727/review/g1.html">HTC G1</a> (also known as the "Dream"), wh...

Geek 101: Multitasking and Your Smartphone

Multitasking is generally understood as the ability of an operating system to run several applications at once. While the definition is fairly simple, as we've seen with releases of Android OS and Apple iOS4, the reality can be significantly more com...

Flash 10.1 goes final at long last

Despite being buffeted by ongoing criticism from Apple and advocates for open Web standards, development on the Flash platform continues with today's release of a finalized version 10.1 of the Flash browser plugin.

Open source gaming console is just about ready to play

The OpenPandora project has created a Linux-based hand-held intended for hacking, gaming, and for use as an ultra-portable desktop. The ARM-based OpenPandora platform features OpenGL ES --the mobile version of the OpenGL 3D graphics API--and is capab...

Hack: Use a guitar as a fighting game controller

Are you a guitar hero whose tired of the same old songs? Or maybe you're a dancer whose ready for a new revolution? A few enterprising hackers have found some interesting pairings that just might change the way you think about that old Dance Dance Re...

Genius gamer creates working computer in-game

Dwarf Fortress is similar to many "God Games" in which the player assumes the role of an omnipotent being concerned with the care of a group of virtual followers. In Dwarf Fortress, the dwarves are in need of an underground fortress to call their own...

Touch input rumoured for Google's upcoming Chrome OS

Google has been focusing development on the netbook and tablet markets for some time now, using Android OS as a stepping stone into the sub-laptop operating system market. The first tablets featuring the Android OS have already arrived, with more on ...

Recycling: external drives give VHS tapes new life

Most external hard drives share the same basic aesthetic features: A plastic or metal shell and some blinking lights. For something different, check out the VHS hard drives offered on the Etsy (an Ebay-like site for handmade goods).

3D printing coming to the desktop

Hewlett-Packard, reigning inkjet giant, has partnered with Stratasys, a leading manufacturer of rapid prototyping machines, to bring 3D "printing" of solid objects to the desktop.The HP-Stratasys models have been described as small enough to sit on a...