The Download Blog

Microsoft on Wednesday announced you can now use its free service which rewards you for searching with Bing, called Bing Rewards, on iOS and Android. Unfortunately, those with Windows Phones will have to wait, as the company its still working on bringing this feature to its own mobile operating system.

It's worth noting this not an app you can download in the App Store or Google Play, but instead a specially designed mobile site that tracks your search behavior so that you can earn rewards.

With Bing Rewards you earn points which you can redeem for gift cards from … Read more

Mozilla lit up Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last year with its flashy debut of Firefox OS, the light, browser-based mobile operating system intended to sweep across emerging markets as a low-cost Android alternative.

While several handsets did see the light of day, including the Alcatel OneTouch Fire and a trio of Geeksphones, the OS certainly felt underbaked to us.

Now, Mozilla will return to the mobile megashow with a press conference to spread its message like wildfire, and to show off its latest progress and products. We'll be there on the ground, following the action.

For some folks, that elderly computer saddled with out-of-date software just turned into a ticket to a shiny new machine.

That's because NursingJobs, a site that connects nurses with employers that want to hire them, said it'll buy computers for some of its customers who are still using Microsoft's old IE7 browser.

"We are offering to buy a new computer with a modern browser for any of our customers who are stuck with IE7," said NursingJobs' Robert Gentel in a blog post the other day. "We determined that it would cost us more to … Read more

Tomfoolery, a company co-founded by former Yahoo employee Kaku Srivastava, that makes apps to improve collaboration and communication in the workplace, might soon be acquired.

Yahoo is currently in the "advanced stage" of talks with Tomfoolery to acquire the app-maker for $16 million, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people who have knowledge of the discussions. The Journal's sources couldn't say whether the Tomfoolery apps would remain available or if the technology would be used internally at Yahoo.

Yahoo has been on an acquisition-spree since Marissa Mayer took over the company in 2012. Earlier … Read more

There is no shortage of Internet radio services. From freeware like Pandora and Rdio to premium services like Spotify and Google Music, you can listen to all the songs you want, when you want them. Streamus allows you to search for songs by tapping into the world's largest music database, YouTube.

Just download and install the extension and start listening to your favorite tune. You can search directly from the Omnibox (the address/search bar) by typing in "Streamus" and hitting Tab, or you can search within the extension and create your own playlist.

You can get … Read more

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, one of the most popular titles in the franchise series, has made its way to Windows Phone just a month after it arrived on Android and iOS.

Rockstar Games launched GTA: San Andreas to Windows Phone on Monday for $7. The game follows the same storyline as the console versions that launched years ago. In addition to downloading the game, players will also need to download an additional 2.5GB to get the full title onto their devices.

For now, GTA: San Andreas is available on just a handful of Windows Phone devices, including the … Read more

It can be hard to say no to an idea with some merit -- especially after already saying yes.

But that's the position Google is in with an Adobe Systems technology for bringing more sophisticated, magazine-style layouts to Web publishing through a technology called CSS Regions. Google changed its mind after deciding that it was too complex and that it would hamper one of Google's top 2014 priorities, making Chrome faster on mobile devices, according to Google Chrome programmer Eric Seidel.

Adobe had been working on CSS Regions for years, developing the idea as part of its effort … Read more

Handsets with the Google Experience Launcher, like the Moto X, allow you to launch Google Now by simply saying "OK Google." To add this functionality to most Android phones, you'd have to install the Google Launcher, which would override the launcher currently in use (even custom ones).

With the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, you don't have to override your current launcher to get convenient access to Google Now; the always listening feature is built-in, it's just pointed to the wrong app (S Voice). By using one app, S for Switch Voice, you can use the … Read more

So, you've completed every level of Angry Birds known to man and now you're looking for something else to while away your free time. What's next, Candy Crush Saga? For many casual gamers, that answer is yes. But, before you go down that road, take a look at Juice Cubes, a matching game from Rovio, the developers behind the wildly popular bird-flinging franchise.

Game-makers have been putting their own spin on match-three games for years. While some require players to move tiles or icons around to match up three or more like designs, others have them drawing … Read more