Table of contents for Mar-15 in PCWorld

RadioShack first opened its doors in 1921 to serve radio officers stationed on ships in Boston Harbor. On February 5, 2015 RadioShack filed for bankruptcy (go.pcworld.com/radioshack). We hate to see our beloved nerd emporium shut its doors. Sure, the retail chain may not be relevant today, but for decades it epitomized consumer electronics. Intrigued? Then join me on a tour of vintage RadioShack moments. The Early days The image above was shot in 1931 at a store in Boston. Then as today, customers visited RadioShack to listen to audio equipment before making a purchase. Listen to this RadioShack says it invented the in-store audio equipment listening experience—a service that pure audiophile shops adopted many years later. Here you see the audio room of a RadioShack location in Boston (year unknown).…

THE U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY and its intelligence partners are reportedly sifting through data stolen by state-sponsored and freelance hackers on a regular basis in search of valuable information. Despite constantly warning about the threat of hackers and pushing for their prosecution, the intelligence agencies of the U.S., Canada and the U.K. are happy to ride their coattails when it serves their interests, news website The Intercept reported (go.pcworld.com/intercept). “Hackers are stealing the emails of some of our targets... by collecting the hackers’ ‘take’ we 1) get access to the emails ourselves and 2) get insights into who’s being hacked,” a page from an internal wiki used by the agencies reads. The page (go.pcworld.com/page), last modified in 2012, was among the files leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden to…

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES SHOULD investigate whether Verizon Wireless’ use of so-called supercookies to track the online activities of its subscribers amounts to privacy violations, three U.S. senators said Friday. Verizon’s use of the respawning, hard-to-defeat cookies on its mobile sub-scribers’ phones raises serious privacy problems, said the senators, all Democrats. Senators are considering new legislation to rein in the use of hard-to-delete cookies, said Senator Bill Nelson of Florida. News reports last year also identified AT&T as using supercookies, but the company later dropped the activity. Nelson said he would rather see consumers have to opt in to tracking. “This whole supercookie business raises the specter of corporations being able to peek into the habits of Americans without their knowledge or consent,” Nelson said in a statement. ”That’s why I think…

WHEN IT COMES time to choose a wireless carrier, most Americans just go with AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon. Recently, more and more people have been tempted by T-Mobile’s cost-slashing “Uncarrier” moves, but that’s about where it ends: the four major carriers. And that reluctance to look beyond the big guys could be costing you money. Did you know there are a host of different carriers in the U.S. that use the same networks as the big companies but offer some serious discounts on your monthly bill? They’re called mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) and piggyback on the major carrier’s networks. How the Alternative Carriers Compare If you’ve never heard of MVNOs, you soon will. Google (go.pcworld.com/gmvno) reportedly wants to get in on the MVNO game and offer its own cell…

QUOTE: “IT OVERCOMES the limits of existing options by dramatically boosting mobility, performance, responsiveness and capacity.” Wow. Veteran storage dude and professional cynic that I am, I supposed Samsung’s claims for their new T1 external USB 3.0 SSD (go.pcworld.com/t1ssd) were hyperbole. Well, dye my hair red and call me Harpo— they’re not. I want one. Your reaction when unveiling the T1 might well be “Is that all?” Apply the best possible connotation. The T1 is less than three inches long, a little over two inches wide, and a mere third of an inch thick—71 x 53.2 x 9.2 millimeters, to be metrically precise. Horizontally, that’s smaller than a credit card. Even better— the T1 weighs practically nothing. Indeed, the 512GB model’s 26 grams of heft is so inconsequential, it’s easy…

WHAT DO YOU call a tablet that’s large enough to serve as your desktop computer? A Lenovo Horizon 2s (go.pcworld.com/horizon2s). What do you call a battery-powered all-in-one that’s small enough to carry? A Lenovo Horizon 2s. What do you call a computer that lies on the table and offers an engaging experience for two or more people? Atari Pong! Or, the Lenovo Horizon 2s, of course. Atari Pong, the first commerically successful arcade game, was available in a cocktail table version. Two people sat around it, sipping aperitifs while twisting a knob that moved a virtual paddle about the screen to whack an electronic pip. That socialize-around-the-table, board game-like functionality and interaction is part of what Lenovo’s aiming for with the Horizon series, and in particular—the 2s. The company provides…

SKYPE IS AN essential business and communications tool, but it can also be a pesky one. Here’s how to get its more annoying features under control. Skype can’t seem to find my webcam, speakers, or microphone 1 One of the most common complaints with Skype is that it loses its connection to some essential component—either your camera, speakers, or microphone. While some of these problems can be traced to hardware problems, driver issues, or simple Windows errors that rebooting can fix, many are caused by Skype’s own confusion. Your first troubleshooting stop is under Tools >Options. Click Audio Settings, then Show advanced options. Here you’ll find a list of all the audio devices your computer has ever utilized. If you have, say, a headset that you occasionally plug in, it…

WI-FIIS THE most wonderful home convenience—except for when it isn’t. That’s why it’s a good idea to have a mental checklist on hand for common issues that might be causing the problem when your Wi-Fichecks out. Everybody has their own favorite way of handling Wi-Fiproblems, but here are mine. Reboot your router The simplest reason is often the most likely cause of problems. If your router’s lights are not displayed in the usual order, turn off your router, wait five to fifteen seconds, and turn it back on again. This is also a good time to ensure that all your cables are connected correctly. As an alternative to simply switching the router on and off, first try disconnecting it from the power source. Now take out the cord that…

MICROSOFT’S DIGITAL ASSISTANT isn’t content to conquer Windows Phone and Windows 10: Cortana is a-coming to Office, too. That’s according to The Verge’s Tom Warren (go.pcworld.com/verg), who went digging after the folks at WMPowerUser (go.pcworld.com/wmpu) discovered an odd Work Assistant app in the Windows Phone Store, locked down to internal Microsoft beta testers alone. The Work Assistant app is a prototype that can be used to open, edit, and share documents via voice commands and Cortana, Warren reports. Apparently the end intention is to integrate Cortana fully inside of Office on phones, tablets, and PCs. Microsoft recently announced that Office 2016 will ship later this year, and released a preview of touch-capable Office apps (go.pcworld.com/16preview), ahead of an official launch closer to the release of Windows 10. The story behind…

DELL JUST LAUNCHED a sleek new MacBook Pro competitor running Linux, and the freedom-obsessed Purim Librem 15 (go.pcworld.com/ purim) laptop blew past its crowdfunding goal. But Richard Stallman’s Free Software Foundation doesn’t approve of either of these powerful, tightly designed, Linux-running laptops. Instead, the FSF recommends you buy the “LibreBoot X200”—which is actually a refurbished ThinkPad X200 from 2008 (go.pcworld.com/fsf). That’s insane… at least on the surface. But the story isn’t quite that simple. On the one hand, the FSF looks comically out-of-touch by endorsing this hardware, which spectacularly few people—even hardcore free software geeks—will want to buy. But on the other hand, the FSF is sticking to its guns, and making a good point about how hard it is to get hardware with completely open code. Only two laptops…

CORPORATE PASSWORDS FOR sale, $150 OBO. That, apparently, is how little some employees may take in exchange for compromising their company’s security. SailPoint’s Market Pulse Survey (go.pcworld.com/survey), compiled from responses from 1,000 workers from large companies with at least 3,000 employees, offers vivid examples (go.pcworld.com/ex) of how easily one person can create a lot of risk—and why passwords alone are simply inadequate. The reuse of passwords is particularly alarming. “Employees may have moved away from the post-it note password list, but using the same password across personal and work applications exposes the company,” said Kevin Cunningham, president and founder of SailPoint, in a statement. Sharing passwords with other coworkers is probably seen as a friendly or expedient thing to do. Unfortunately, it makes it much more difficult to contain or…

AS PC FAN boy No. 42, I cannot lie: Apple’s MacBook Air 11 has had us whupp ed. It’s slim and light, offers great battery life, and damn—the $900 price tag of the entry-level configuration just can’t be beat by most PC vendors. PCs are all about great performance at low, low prices, right? Oh, the burn! Well, I’m here to tell you that the MacBook Air just lost all its luster. Dell’s sexy new XPS 13 (go.pcworld.com/xps13) just rolled into town with a list of features that eerily sound like every MacBook Air rumor story you’ve read on CultofAppleRumorMongering.net for the last few months. Dell’s new ultralight is essentially the storied-but-not-yet-released MacBook Air unicorn (go.pcworld.com/air) that every Apple fan wants, but just can’t have. (At least not yet.) The…

THE SPROUT (sprout.hp.com), HP’s innovative new PC, towered above my desk. An array of cameras and a projector (collectively called the Illuminator) loomed over its 23-inch touch display. I put a toy on the Touch Mat, a work surface extending from the front of the Sprout like a huge mousepad. Lights flashed from the Illuminator. Shortly thereafter, a vivid image of the toy appeared on the Touch Mat. Using my fingers, I slid it onto an existing image. I had just made a new picture, without ever touching a keyboard or a mouse. With the Sprout, HP is inaugurating a new approach to computing called “blended reality.” In plainer terms, it’s a PC designed to work with imaging and touch technologies, paired with software that makes tasks more tactile and…

I BARELY LASTED a week with the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge (go.pcworld.com/galaxyedge). Here’s the gist: I was really excited when I received word that the Verizon variant of Samsung’s phablet-sized curved phone was on its way. I was eager to try something different from the usual cadre of flat-faced smartphones that rule the Android world. The Note Edge had a certain je nais se quoi about it, too—something I hoped extended beyond just its curved right edge and would convince me the display wasn’t just a gimmick, as I’d thought when I first laid eyes on the phone last year (go.pcworld.com/galaxynote4). But I was wrong. There’s really nothing special about it. The Galaxy Note Edge seems to be nothing more than an experiment from Samsung to see what customers want…

GOOGLE’S CHROMECAST IS the perfect gadget to have if you’re looking for the simplest way to stream movies, TV shows, YouTube (and other web videos), and music from your mobile device to a TV. Just plug the Chromecast into one of your TV’s HDMI inputs, download the official app, and start streaming. Whether you’re new to the Chromecast party, or the device is a permanent part of how you watch content, you should have this collection of apps in your library. You can find even more by searching the Google Play (go.pcworld.com/gp) store for titles that support “Google Cast” (the official name of Google’s streaming technology). Whatever you like to watch, you’re bound to find something that suits your taste. So consider our list a jumping-off point. NETFLIX The king…

WISH IT WERE a little easier to type in ALL CAPS on your Android or iPhone, or ever get stumped while looking for the em dash? What about typing letters with accent marks, or dealing with cumbersome URLs? Or maybe you’re just hankering for an alternative to tapping on a slippery glass screen. Read on for ways to make typing on your iPhone, iPad, or Android device a little easier, from how to turn on “caps lock” to a simple shortcut to the exclamation mark. “.com” made easy (iOS) WANT TO TYPE a URL directly into the address bar in Safari (on iOS) or Chrome (for Android)? Don’t bother with laboriously tapping in “.com” or “.net” Instead, just tap and hold the “.” key; when you do, a pop-up balloon…

THE MICROSOFT OF today is not the Microsoft of yesterday. Embrace, extend, extinguish? That’s all gone, replaced by a new era of openness and collaboration. The Windows 8 debacle? It’s quickly being forgotten thanks to the far more palatable Windows 10. It’s truly a new era at Microsoft, and the catalyst for the transformation was a singular event: Satya Nadella’s appointment as CEO one year ago today. Sure, not all of the major events that occurred on his watch began on his watch—Windows 10 has been in the works for a while—but it’s nevertheless been a year swelling with a sea of changes. It remains to be seen whether the reimagining of Microsoft will pay off. But one thing’s already certain: Nadella’s reign is off to a rocking start. Office…

GOOGLE HAS DONE a good job at keeping data-stealing Trojan apps out of Google Play, but attackers still find ways to monetize rogue apps through the store. Avast Software researchers recently found three apps on Google Play with hidden adware functionality that was designed to activate days after the apps were installed. The rogue applications—a game called Durak, an IQ test and a history app—had been downloaded millions of times. When people first install Durak, it looks and acts like a normal gaming app, Avast researcher Filip Chytry said in a blog post (go.pcworld.com/blog). “This impression remains until you reboot your device and wait for a couple of days. After a week, you might start to feel there is something wrong with your device.” Specifically, every time users unlock their…

SURE, YOU COULD go without a password manager—if you want to try to remember all of your super-secure passwords and log-in credentials on your own, or if you live dangerously and use the same password for all of your accounts. But let’s get real: There’s no reason to do that, not when there are so many excellent password managers out there that can store passwords securely for you, and generate them, too. LastPass LastPass (lastpass.com) has long been my favorite desktop password manager, but I’ve never been bowled over by its mobile version, available for Android, BlackBerry, iOS and Windows Phone devices. The desktop version just works: Install it as a browser extension and never worry about remembering a password again. But I always found the mobile version too clumsy…

THE BATTLE FOR PC gaming’s “sweet spot” has a new challenger. With the GeForce GTX 980 and 970 firmly in command of the premium graphics card market, Nvidia’s setting its sights on the crucial 1080p enthusiast segment with the GTX 960, the first truly mainstream iteration of its powerful, yet stunningly power-efficient “Maxwell” processor architecture. The GTX 960 (geforce.com) delivers outstanding 1080p gaming capabilities, rocking a silky-smooth 60 frames per seconds in even demanding titles with most of the bells and whistles turned on. And priced at just $200, the GTX 960 is poised to make some waves. Meet mainstream Maxwell Let’s take a quick, high-level look at the GTX 960’s key points before diving into real-world benchmarks. The GTX 960 has a scant 120 watt TDP, and it runs…

OFFICE FOR ANDROID (go.pcworld.com/officeandroid) is a key piece of Microsoft’s conquer-the-cloud strategy. The promise is you can work on any device, yes even on Android, with the productivity suite you know and (maybe) love. Preview versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint have been in the Play Store since November, and we were impressed in our initial hands-on (go.pcworld.com/officeandroidhandson). I tinkered with the final builds before they went live. While there were no sweeping changes, the apps are maturing into a compelling productivity suite that could challenge the dominance of Google’s productivity apps (Docs, Sheets, and Slides) on Android. Get started with a Microsoft account To use and edit each of these Office files, you’ll need a (free) Microsoft account. This connects you to OneDrive, Microsoft’s cloud syncing service. This way…

IT FINALLY HAPPENED. After two years of hands-off demos, multiple delays, and et cetera, I finally got my grunny hands on The Witcher 3 (thewitcher.com)—not just for a piddling few minutes or a tightly controlled demo, but for four hours. CD Projekt basically sat me down at a computer, booted the game, and said “Go.” And I went. I finished off the tutorial, completed a half-dozen side quests, and got through the story basically to the end of what I’ll call “Chapter One.” In other words, right when things started to get interesting? That’s when I ran out of time. Here’s what I noticed, nevertheless. On tutorials I love The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings. I loathe The Witcher 2’ non-Enhanced Edition opening. If you haven’t played it: You get…

DESPITE STILL BEING very much an early preview, Windows 10 is already brimming with dozens of handy tweaks and tricks—and, because the operating is still in preview, a handful of those tricks unlocks powerful functionality hidden to everyday users. Others, though, simply let you mold some of Windows 10’s new features into the shape you see fit. Here are some of the most useful Windows 10 tweaks, tricks, and tips we’ve found. Be warned: Some of these may break as the operating system evolves. This is(n’t quite) Sparta(n) LET’S START BY unlocking one of those powerful new features. Microsoft’s building a lightweight new browser for Windows 10: Project Spartan. And while Spartan isn’t available in the latest Windows 10 builds yet, you can enable its experimental Edge rendering engine in…

Don Semler asked “Why are so many new laptops being offered without optical drives?” Optical drives, that can read and write CDs, DVDs, and sometimes Blu-ray discs, have been an important part of the PC universe for a long time. But there’s less and less need for them. I haven’t received software on discs in years—and in my job, I have to look a lot of software. I download it all from the Internet. Most users download and stream music and movies these days rather than buy them on a shiny five-inch disc. PC manufacturers have good reasons not to include the drives. Unlike CPUs and SSDs, optical drives can’t shrink much. They therefore add bulk to laptops, and nobody wants a bulky laptop. But in my opinion, they…