The Download Blog

For his contribution to seven Dream Theater albums (including such memorable tracks as the No. 4 single "Wither" off 2009's "Black Clouds & Silver Linings" and Grammy-nominated "On the Backs of Angels" off 2011's No. 8 album "A Dramatic Turn of Events"), Jordan Rudess is widely recognized as one of the finest keyboardists of all time. In fact, MusicRadar.com bestowed the honor upon him back in 2011.

These days the synth wiz is applying his technical savvy to the development of new apps that allow fans to unleash their … Read more

Your iPhone's camera is good for a lot more than just snapping photos. For example, it can translate foreign-language signs, menus, and other printed materials in real time. And grade the foods at your grocery store. And scan documents on the go.

CamFind turns your camera into a search engine, allowing you to look up information just by pointing the lens at any real-world object or location. And it's pretty darn cool.… Read more

As Chrome usage grows on mobile devices, the latest iOS version of the browser finally arrived Monday with the same voice search feature that its cross-platform siblings have.

Chrome 27 for iOS (download) incorporates voice search, which uses Google's own voice-recognition database and not the Nuance-driven Siri.

As with other Google services that use its voice search, including Google Now for iOS, voice search in Chrome for iOS will read back to you your query as it pulls up the familiar blue-link list of Google search results.

One interesting difference between voice search on Chrome for iOS and Chrome … Read more

Skype (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android)--the free VoIP app that lets you voice- or video-chat with other Skype users across the world--has become an ubiquitous tool for everyone from grandmas and grandkids to multinational corporations.

Now, the VoIP software ventures into the realm of interior design, with a "Cool My Couch" photo contest that promises the winner a free couch and Skype-enabled TV. To enter, simply submit a photo of your couch along with a caption explaining why you deserve to win. That's it.

The photo contest is open to all U.S. residents who are members … Read more

In the past I've written about Babbel for mobile and Rosetta Course (mobile version of Rosetta Stone) for language learning when you have spare time. Now another contender enters the ring, and has a lot of promise.

Duolingo turns learning a language into a game, more so than the other apps. You are given a few hearts (representing your health pool) that you don't want to lose during the learning levels. Hearts are lost by answering questions incorrectly. Once you finish a lesson with hearts remaining, you'll earn an achievement to track your … Read more

If a profile like Christian Rudder's turned up in an OKCupid user's search results, it would certainly merit a deeper look. As a Harvard graduate, who's helped launch and sell two successful companies (SparkNotes, in 1999, which sold to Barnes & Noble; OKCupid, in 2004, which sold to Match.com) and an indie musician who's appeared in the romcom, "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist," he'd be a catch by most standards.

Download.com caught up with Rudder, who's also OKCupid's General Manager and Editorial Director, to discuss his company's … Read more

SO.HO by Inq Mobile wants to be the first thing you see when picking up your Android smartphone by replacing your launcher -- TouchWiz, HTC Sense, stock, and so on. Instead of only offering access to Facebook updates from your connections, SO.HO lets you see updates from Twitter and Instagram as well.

To get started, you'll need to install the most recent version of SO.HO on your Android. Then, connect the social-media accounts you want to see updates from. Once finished, you can easily switch social-media accounts from the top left-hand corner menu.

The … Read more

When watching a YouTube video in Firefox, you may want to switch to another tab in your Web browser to research something you just saw or heard, or maybe to a word processing application to take notes. If keeping your eyes on the video isn't a priority, then you don't need to worry about finding the pause button before doing either of these things. However, if you want to pause, there's a browser extension called YouTube Smart Pause that can do it for you automatically.

YouTube Smart Pause offers options to pause YouTube videos when … Read more

Evernote, the popular note-taking app available on the Web and on mobile devices, has some new security features.

The company announced the new features on its blog on Thursday, saying that it's now offering three security tools that it didn't before. First up is two-step verification, which requires that users input both a password and a security code that can be sent to their mobile device. The company says that the two-step verification will only happen when users install Evernote on a device or access the service from the Web. It's also optional, so it can be … Read more