Apple offers Snow Leopard for free to MobileMe subscribers

According to an email from Apple sent to MobileMe subscribers, the company has begun giving away free copies of Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6). Although a seemingly charitable move on the surface, this may actually be a necessary action to keep customers happy. The giveaway appears to be an attempt to convert MobileMe users over to iCloud before the service is laid to rest on June 30, after which time the deal expires.

Currently, only Lion (OS X 10.7) provides official support for iCloud. With the imminent death of MobileMe closing in and Apple's reluctance to integrate iCloud into older versions of Mac OS X, the company has decided upon this convoluted fix -- issue free Snow

Gmail Meter analyzes your e-mail account for patterns, generates stats

A person's e-mail account can offer insight to that particular person. For example, do you promptly reply to other e-mails or do let them stew for a while? Are your replies paragons of brevity or do your replies blossom into complexly flowing, compartmentalized works of artisanally crafted, nuanced literature? Gmail Meter promises to give you greater insight into your Gmail habits and by extension, greater insight into yourself.

Developed by Romain Vialard, Gmail Meter is a Google Apps script which analyzes the contents of your Gmail account and

Sony launching PlayMemories Online next week with 5GB of free storage

Sony has announced that their media-sharing service will go live next week in six countries. Users in Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the UK and the US will have access to 5GB worth of free media storage starting May 25.

Dubbed PlayMemories Online, the content-sharing service will allow users to upload images and videos from their Sony camera using PlayMemories Home software on either a Windows PC or Mac.

Adobe announces Creative Suite 6, moves to subscription pricing

Adobe today announced the latest version of its Creative Suite software package for designers, web developers and other creative professionals. The latest release, CS6, includes updated versions of Photoshop with new content-aware tools and hardware acceleration support, Premier Pro with a much simplified UI and new image stabilizing features, as well as Dreamweaver and Flash with the latest web technologies.

Dropbox improves sharing capabilities with public link feature

Dropbox already offers arguably the simplest solution to synchronize and access your own files across PCs, tablets, and smartphones. Now, the company is taking a step further by making it much easier to share files with others, even those that do not have a Dropbox account. All you need to do is share a public link.

Microsoft SkyDrive takes on Dropbox with app for Windows and OS X

Google is expected launch its cloud storage service any time now and Microsoft's competing service SkyDrive received a major overhaul to prepare for battle. Similar to Dropbox, Skydrive now has dedicated apps for Windows and OS X, which integrate right into the OS by creating a folder where users can drag-and-drop files and have them automatically uploaded to their online lockers and synchronized accross devices.

Microsoft to showcase cross-platform Spotify competitor at E3 2012

Microsoft is expected to preview their new music service during E3 2012. Sources familiar with the company’s plans say the Zune replacement will be a cross-platform service that works on browsers in Android, iOS, Windows 8 and on the Xbox 360.

Codename Woodstock, the service will allow users to share tracks and create group playlists alongside heavy integration with Facebook. There could also be a “scan and match” function similar to iTunes Match that would let users scan their existing music library and match it with higher quality offerings.

Valve confirms Steam and Source engine for Linux

It's been a long wait but it looks like Linux users will finally get some native gaming action on Steam soon, according to Michael Larabel of Phoronix. Despite denying the existence of a port last year, the revelation comes straight from Valve's headquarters in Bellevue, Washington, where Larabel met with Gabe Newell to discuss their plans for the open source operating system.

Firefox 12 released with long-awaited automatic updates

Mozilla has released the latest version of Firefox which, among other changes, introduces automatic updates on Windows. After updating Firefox 12, the browser should download and install future builds entirely on its own. This offers at least two immediate benefits: you'll have one less application nagging you about updates, and it should put Mozilla on track to having a less fragmented installed base.

Those points are especially relevant since the developer initiated its rapid-fire six-week release cycle in early 2011. Of course, if you'd rather not receive updates automatically, you can quickly the

Microsoft Security Essentials 4.0 released, free anti-virus without the nag

Microsoft has just released version 4.0 of its free anti-virus utility, Microsoft Security Essentials. Since MSSE's release in 2009, its effectiveness, speed and features have been well-received. As a result, the anti-virus program enjoys a great deal of popularityin the U.S. and remains a TechSpot Editor's Pick along with two other solid, free AV offerings: Avast!and Avira.

A Microsoft spokesperson had this to say about the new release:

Catalyst 12.4 brings anti-aliasing improvements, XP support for HD 7000

Like clockwork, AMD has unleashed its monthly driver update for Radeon owners, bringing new features and the obligatory list of bug fixes. Among the more notable additions is support for the Radeon HD 7000 series on Windows XP -- something missing in previous versions. AMD also promises various image quality enhancements when using super sampling anti-aliasing, morphological anti-aliasing and texture filtering in certain situations: