The Download Blog

(Credit: Avast)

Czech Republic-based Avast issued an update late on Wednesday to its antivirus software that mistakenly flagged hundreds of innocent files as a Trojan. It fixed the situation five and a half hours later.

Falsely labeled as malware were programs from Adobe, Realtek, sound card drivers, and various media players, among others, according to a blog post on the Avast Support Center.

The errant update had been issued around 12:15 a.m. GMT. A new update was issued at 5:50 a.m. GMT that corrected the problem. Customers who did not use their computers between that time will most likely not be impacted, the company said.

The software was identifying the good files as the Win32:Delf-MZG Trojan, according to Avast.

Avast, based in Prague, did not respond to an e-mail late on Wednesday seeking comment.

False positives happen in the industry. In July, Computer Associates' antivirus software was falsely tagging a Windows XP system file as a virus, and last year AVG falsely identified a file from security provider ZoneAlarm as a virus.

What's new? Let's start with the Now Playing and What's Hot buttons.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)

Fans of Midomi, the song-identifying app for iPhone, will still recognize the app when the iPhone prompts an update to version 3.0, even if they don't recognize the new name: SoundHound. The app's core remains the same with its outsize orange button you tap to sing, hum, or record a song you want to ID, buttressed by another button for shier folk to speak the artist or song name, and a text field for old-fashioned typing. What's new is big, and it centers on two additional tabs below, one that lets you browse music trends and another that links up to your iPod library.

Tap "What's Hot" to pull up trend charts for the most popular songs on the Midomi network; the songs that are played more through Midomi than they are on the air; and a list of the most recently "grabbed" tunes that SoundHound and Midomi.com users have identified.

Following any musical entry pulls up an info page from which you can flow into an artist bio, bookmark or share the details, buy the song via iTunes, or watch available YouTube videos. A new lyrics feature presents the words to the tunes within the Midomi app; if that's not available, tapping the "lyrics" button produces Google search results, still within the app.

Midomi's SoundHound also cleverly hooks into your iPhone's iPod library through the "Now Playing" button. The songs you play through SoundHound get funneled into the Midomi network, so you can rapidly interact with your ditty as you would had you sought it out by typing, talking, humming, or recording the tune. Even better, SoundHound can show lyrics for your iTunes song as it plays. Likewise, if your music search turns up a song you've already got, an icon denotes the fact, and lets you play the tune from your own collection.

The robustness of the lyrics feature and the trend charts crowd in on TuneWiki's territory, and threaten to overtake it. Shazam, the other popular music discovery app, could also find itself on SoundHound's lunch menu, except for its loyal following and free price. Even the premium Shazam Encore may continue to appeal to some for its now slightly cheaper price tag and a handy offline mode, but its features pale in comparison.

The cost of owning Midomi 3.0/SoundHound does jump in this release from $4.99 to $6.99, presumably to accommodate the cost of licensing lyrics, though we haven't been able to confirm this yet with the app's publisher, Melodis. What we do know is that with this release, SoundHound is jetting to the front of the music discovery pack, which can only mean more sophisticated improvements down the line for its competitors.

(Credit: Google)

Before Wednesday, you could star a map as a favorite on Google Maps online, and you could star one on Google Maps for Mobile, but you could never connect the two.

A small but significant update that Google added to Google Maps for Mobile 3.3 now syncs your starred locations between the map app on your Symbian and Windows phones, and your online account.

To start your syncing, press Menu and then Starred Items. You'll need to log into your account from the Starred Items screen to start syncing favorite maps. If you're upgrading from a previous version of the maps app, you'll be asked if you'd like to sync your favorites. Say yes.

Then, you're able to mark your favorite places in one location and have it surface in the other, as long as you remain logged in. This type of syncing is ideal for quickly locating that dinner spot you're headed to, or for pulling up driving directions to or from a starred location. Sure, it might make you lazy, but it'll also keep you from wasting precious time first looking up a location and then seeking directions or a phone number.

You can download Google Maps for Mobile by pointing your mobile browser to m.google.com/maps.

(Credit: Yelp)

Yelp is no longer a newcomer to BlackBerry smartphones (not since last August, anyway,) but the BlackBerry app has only been available outside RIM's marketplace, BlackBerry App World. Starting on Wednesday, Yelp for BlackBerry (review) will also have a presence in the BlackBerry App World, both in the downloadable storefront on the phone and in the online catalog.

Downloading Yelp via App World takes advantage of App World's My World tab, which tracks the apps you install on your BlackBerry, and which can reinstall applications on a new smartphone if you switch devices.

App World features the latest version of Yelp for BlackBerry, version 1.3, which adds a link for getting directions to a business. In addition, Yelp 1.3 for BlackBerry is now compatible with the standard BlackBerry keyboard shortcuts.

Mozilla updated its nearly-baked Thunderbird 3 Tuesday night, fixing one critical error and addressing three others. The critical bug fix affects the Windows, Mac, and Linux versions of Thunderbird 3 Release Candidate 2. It had caused the previous version to hang on shutdown, consume too much memory, and close all IMAP connections.

The other fixes in this version enable downloading new messages automatically by default for POP3 accounts, label the default theme as version 2.0, and fixes the "download more dictionaries" option, which had been failing to open properly.

Already a year off from its original release schedule, Thunderbird 3 has also missed its most recent revised deadline, which had been planned for the end of November 2009. However, I've been using the beta and release candidate builds and have found them to be as stable as Thunderbird 2, but with far less memory hogging.

Good news for BlackBerry business users who are pinching pennies: a free version of the Gwabbit contact manager for BlackBerry is expected to surface in the BlackBerry App World--and only in the App World--on Tuesday, December 8. The current version of Gwabbit for BlackBerry costs $9.99 for a yearlong subscription.

Gwabbit (formerly Technicopia) came out with Gwabbit the BlackBerry app back in May 2009, as the mobile version of its Outlook e-mail add-on. Gwabbit scans incoming e-mail for a signature block. If it finds one, the software compares the contents to your address book contacts. If there's no previous match, or if it looks like there's been a change, Gwabbit will prompt you to add or update the contact.

We were impressed with the convenience Gwabbit gives business users who build up their contact lists from their smartphones. Moreover, we noted how effectively and quickly Gwabbit processed the e-mails, but only so long as the sender's contact details are conveniently organized in the signature block. Gwabbit lacks the sensitivity to pull possibly relevant details from elsewhere in the e-mail.

How could Gwabbit's publisher give away its $10-a-year product for free? ... Read more

We live in a digital age, so why do business cards refuse to die? They're a hassle to store and an environmental suck to produce. Plus, who among us has time to manually transcribe contact info into a phone, PDA, or PC?

Needless to say, I was geeked to try Business Card Reader, a $5.99 app that turns business cards into iPhone Address Book entries.

Specifically, BCR leverages your iPhone's camera to take a snapshot of a card, then uses built-in optical character recognition (OCR) to convert the image into text and populate the appropriate contact fields.

After snapping a photo, Business Card Reader scans the card and adds the data to a new contact.

That's the theory, anyway. In practice, BCR requires near-perfect lighting conditions and decidedly non-fancy cards to achieve reliable recognition.

Make no mistake: This is a terrific app, one I'd absolutely buy despite its limitations; it's just that handy. But let's not overlook those limitations.

For starters, it requires an iPhone 3GS. Older models lack the autofocus capabilities necessary for sharp close-ups (though you might be able to get by with one of those third-party macro lenses).

Next, while BCR does a decent job identifying names, e-mail addresses, and phone numbers, in my tests it rarely got the company name right. Likewise, if a name included a middle initial, it placed that initial in the Last Name field and ignored the actual last name altogether.

It's also a challenge to get sufficient lighting while avoiding glare off the card itself--particularly if it's a glossy card. And what with all the fancy logos, layouts, and color schemes these days, it's no wonder BCR encounters its share of difficulties.

That said, when it works well, it's a thing of beauty, and it's a lot faster and easier to edit a few OCR mistakes than it is to manually enter the information.

I also like the app's option to look up a contact on LinkedIn and/or merge the scanned card data with an existing iPhone contact. Plus, it recognizes not only English, but also French, German, Italian, and Spanish.

Another perk: the Card Holder view, which stores the actual scans in a slick-looking mock-leather "holder."

Business Card Reader may not be perfect, but it's about $150 less than a dedicated bizcard scanner--and it works right on your iPhone.

Have you found another card-scanning app you like better? If so, hit the comments and tell me about it!

Roughly speaking, powering a desktop PC with a 17-inch LCD 8 hours a day, 20 days a month costs about $35 a year. That's according to the energy-use calculator on Michael Bluejay's Saving Electricity site.

The same site indicates that computers and electronics represent less than 10 percent of the average energy bill in the U.S. That's about the same amount we spend to power our refrigerators and a third of what the typical home pays for heating.

But if you're looking to reduce your carbon footprint along with your electric bill, minimizing your computer's power consumption can make a difference. Here are four steps you can take to use less power.

Adjust Windows' power plans
You probably set your PC to go into standby, sleep, or hibernate mode after a period of inactivity (please tell me you don't still use a screensaver). In March 2008, I described how to customize Vista's power plans and XP's power schemes. Greg Schultz of Tech Republic examines the new feature in Windows 7's PowerCfg command-line utility that analyzes your current power plan and spots problem areas.

Turn your PC and monitor off completely
It's true that Windows' various power-down states save almost as much energy as pulling the plug entirely, but that little trickle of electricity drain adds up quickly. According to Penn Computing's estimate of PC power use, the machines are draining a watt or more of power when they're off and plugged in.

Many organizations with huge PC networks have been paying attention to these numbers and have invested in sophisticated power-management systems for all their office equipment. Networked PCs may need to be activated remotely to apply patches and perform other maintenance tasks. But for most home computers, there's no need for them to be left in standby, or even to be plugged in when they're not in use.

Take the hardware approach to power conservation
TrickleStar sells products designed to turn off your PC's peripherals when you turn the machine itself off. This might be a great way to save energy, but according to Gizmos for Geeks' review, it could take as long as 12 years for the device to pay for itself in lower energy bills.

Hang on to your old machine a while longer
As Netbooks become more popular, I can't help but think we've entered the age of the disposable computer. And that's not good. It takes a lot of energy to build and deliver a new PC. And while Windows 7 has convinced a great number of people that the time is right for a new system, that old one has to end up somewhere--perhaps in an unregulated landfill in Asia.

It's true that dumping your CRT in favor of an LCD will reduce your monthly electric bill, but be sure to dispose of your old equipment responsibly. Last March, I discussed the pros and cons of recycling vs. donating your old PC.

Tools help you save energy around the house
Since your computers and other electronics equipment represent less than a tenth of your overall energy consumption, you might be wondering how you can minimize the other 90 percent. The Environmental Protection Agency's Climate Change site lists energy-saving tips for home owners, travelers, office workers, and schools. The site also features a Household Emissions Calculator.

Enter information from your gas, electric, and other utility bills to find your estimated annual CO2 consumption. Then find out how much CO2 you can conserve by driving less, washing your clothes in cold water instead of hot, and taking other energy-saving measures.

With or without the money savings, using less has got to be good.

Opera Mini 5 and Opera Mobile 10 betas share a Speed Dial design.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)

In mid-September, Opera surprised us with a redesigned Opera Mini beta browser for Java phones, including BlackBerry. It had tabbed browsing, a first for Opera Mini, and Speed Dial, a carryover interface from Opera desktop browser (Windows|Mac) that you encounter each time you start the browser or open a new tab. Two things it didn't have: a download manager and Opera Link, the account-based tool that syncs bookmarks, Speed Dial options, and browsing history among your Opera browsers. With it, Web surfers can quickly get to favorite sites on their desktops, laptops, and smartphones.

On Wednesday, both Opera Mini 5 beta and the similar Opera Mobile 10 beta that followed it for Symbian Series 60 and Windows phones get an update that includes both Opera Link and a download manager.

These new beta builds aren't the first adjustment Opera has made to the redesigned betas. A previous tweak partially resolved a problem where Opera's mobile browsers weren't inputting the font style needed to render several Asian languages.

Plenty of other known issues still exist, including the browsers' tendency on Symbian phones to pop open a virtual onscreen keyboard when you flip the phone into landscape mode and start typing away on the phone's physical QWERTY, and the lack of support for non-touch-screen Windows phones. Opera provides a full list of known issues for Opera Mobile 10 beta here. I've also noticed that Opera Mini 5 beta rarely loads a page I've linked to from some other application on the BlackBerry I've been testing with. You may encounter the occasional bug as well in this not-quite-set beta release. If you find others, share them in the comments.

If you're curious how Opera Mini 5 beta and Opera Mobile 10 beta look and work, you can cash in on some instant gratification with this video. If you don't have a Symbian phone, don't let the fact that Opera is modeled on one in this video bother you--the builds are exceedingly similar for Java, Symbian, and Windows phones.

You can try the free cell phone browsers for yourself by pointing the mobile browser on your Java-based cell phone to http://m.opera.com/mini/next/. Download Opera Mobile 10 beta 2 for Windows Mobile and Symbian Series 60 phones by navigating to http://www.opera.com/mobile/download/.