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OCRFeeder is a document layout analysis and optical character recognition application. It is a type of software that leaves much to be desired on the Linux desktop....

The line between TVs and computers is increasingly blurring, with TVs becoming smarter and more connected than ever. As interactive, Web-connected appliances, smart TVs have search and navigation capabilities, can interact with tablets and smartphones, and offer access to downloadable apps. In short, smart TVs provide the kind of always-on connectivity that consumers have come to expect in the rest of their lives.

Google canceled its New York press event Monday due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Sandy on the East Coast, but that didn't stop it from announcing its new Nexus 10 tablet, along with the Nexus 4 smartphone and Android 4.2, an update to Jelly Bean. A step up in size from the Asus-made Nexus 7, released in July, the Samsung-made Nexus 10 wil...

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week in a copyright infringement case involving textbooks resold on eBay. The outcome could have lasting effects for those who sell products in the U.S. that were made abroad. The case centers around Thai student Supap Kirtsaeng, who partially financed his education in U.S. universities by reselling tex...

In a meeting with Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, French President Francois Hollande urged the search giant to reach an advertising-revenue agreement with French news publishers before 2013 If no agreement is reached, then France could adopt a law that would charge search engines like Google for displaying links to French news articles....

Smartphones can perform all kinds of neat tasks, such as instantly directing owners to the nearest sushi bar, or providing inning-by-inning updates of the World Series. Beyond these eye-catching consumer conveniences, the potential for more substantive uses for mobile telecom is enormous One such area is healthcare, including a wide range of servic...

This story was originally published on July 16, 2012, and is brought to you today as part of our Best of ECT News series Most businesses recognize the need to be on Twitter to post about their latest products, services and recommendations. In addition to such marketing uses, however, it can also be used to manage customer relations.

Wireless carriers are putting more energy into prepaid. It's a normal evolution. As quality phones became cheaper, prepaid brands like Sprint's Boost and Virgin Mobile have been able to offer better phones -- even a selection of smartphones, including the iPhone. Those better products, along with the availability of 4G network speeds, have increased prepaid demand...

Microsoft on Monday officially launched Windows Phone 8 at an event in San Francisco, hot on the heels of its Windows 8 launch last week Windows Phone 8 "is not just having a lot of apps to choose from," Microsoft Vice President Joe Belfiore said during his presentation. He dismissed the "static grid of icons" introduced by Apple, which has become...

The last thing people probably consider when buying a new gizmo or gadget is how hard it might be to fix, but according to the teardown team at iFixit, Microsoft's shiny new Surface tablet is easier to repair than the latest iPad, but it is still difficult to take apart ...

Federal authorities arrested Paul Ceglia on charges of mail and wire fraud last week. Ceglia is accused of tampering with, destroying and fabricating evidence in a scheme to defraud Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg of billions of dollars Ceglia originally filed suit in 2010, claiming that while Zuckerberg was a student at Harvard, the two signed a cont...

If Pandora had been hoping that the earlier reports of Apple exploring a streaming-radio venture were exaggerated or downright wrong, those hopes have been dashed. Last week, news surfaced that Apple is indeed serious about the advertising-backed venture and has intensified talks with major music labels. The parties are discussing how to split ad ...

So you wanna play that game, huh? China Unicom will take over one of China's main networks from Cisco Systems because of -- what else? -- security reasons....

Forty-seven percent of all social media users have used their networks to get customer service from a company, with usage as high as 59 percent among 18-24 year olds, according to a new study from NM Incite. Almost one in three social media users said they preferred to contact a company that way, and companies have learned to respond in kind.

You really don't get a sense of just how limited the iPad is until you actually explore the Surfacetablet that Microsoft released last week. It is like the designers sat down over beers and argued over everysingle shortcoming they found in the iPad and then built into Surface just the right features to make the iPad look inadequate. It is as if th...

Windows 8 finally made it to prime time last week. This version of Microsoft's operating system makes significant improvements in its security stance, said Alex Balan, senior product manager at Bitdefender, but some of them are likely to be undermined by users wedded to old programs The way the Windows 8 user interface handles applications is a sig...

Barnes & Noble revealed this week that PIN pad devices at 63 of its stores nationwide were hacked, putting some of its customers at risk. The company discovered the hacking in September, and for the past month, the FBI has been investigating the case Fewer than 1 percent of Barnes & Noble PIN pads reportedly were affected, but customers who swiped ...

Barnes & Noble revealed this week that PIN pad devices at 63 of its stores nationwide were hacked, putting some of its customers at risk. The company discovered the hacking in September, and for the past month, the FBI has been investigating the case Fewer than 1 percent of Barnes & Noble PIN pads reportedly were affected, but customers who swiped ...

With recent news of Softbank's proposed US$20.1 billion investment hovering in the background, Sprint Nextel has reported less-than-pretty earnings for the third quarter 2012. The carrier posted a net loss of $767 million, compared with a net loss of $301 million in the third quarter of 2011. It also lost about 459,000 contract customers for the q...

The Microsoft Surface tablet made its official debut on Thursday, and while a book should never be judged by its cover, many are judging this tablet by its two magnetic keyboard options ...