Apple’s App Store has been a smashing success. Last week, Apple announced that more than three billion apps had been downloaded from the App Store since its inception 18 months ago. It’s almost hard to imagine the time when there were no third-party apps. But have Apples’ actions, coupled with web technologies, threatened the future of the App Store?
Apple’s missteps with the App Store have been well-publicized, from the pulling of all apps that supported Google Voice, to the seemingly random approval and rejection of some apps. Naturally, certain app developers became disgruntled over events like these. Can you blame them? Would you want to invest significant time and money to develop an app, and not know if you’d ever be able to sell it? Developers now have other options.
If you’re like me, you have the contents of your laptop bag down to a science. Over time, you’ve figured out what items you need in the bag, and what items you don’t. (Although if you’re like me, your definition of "need" is a bit liberal). Inspired by similar posts on other sites, here is a look at what I carry in my laptop bag. At the end of the article, I’ll have some links to those other sites, where you can find similar lists by other authors. In the comments, let us know what essential items you carry in your laptop bag.
My main computer is a gaming rig, and as a result consists of a large tower with multiple vents and fans. Over time, these vents and fans become filled with a thick layer of dust. I’ve been meaning to clean out the tower for some time in order to improve cooling, and finally had the perfect excuse after receiving two new sticks of RAM for Christmas. I figured that while I had the case opened up to swap in the new RAM, and since the new year is a good time to tidy things up, I should also clean out the inside. I took it one step further, and also cleaned the monitor, and my keyboard. A few of the benefits I’m hoping for include lower operating temperatures, a clearer monitor, and a happy wife due to reduced dust in the room. Here are the steps I took to clean my computer. 
If you’re like us, you spend most of your computing time in the cloud, using online applications. And, if anything, the trend towards online apps is gaining momentum as time passes. The days of desktop applications aren’t gone, but they sure are diminished as more and more web-based applications catch on. There are some apps that we use more than others, though. As 2009 draws to a close, we take a look at the five web applications that we used the most this year.