Eric Dahl, PC World, Tom Spring

Few companies do more when it comes to embedding secrets into their products than Google. In tech parlance these hidden surprises are called Easter Eggs and range from whimsical images, entire games, or silly secret features that magically make teddy bears appear on your computer screen.

Tech Easter Eggs have nothing to with the Christian holiday Easter other than the fact that coders love to hide them and people love to find them -- just like the Easter Bunny delivering goodies and millions of kids carrying baskets searching for plastic eggs filled with candy.

Five months after Amazon debuted its $200 "game-changing" tablet, the Kindle Fire is feeling more like a McDonald's hamburger next to Apple's prime-rib, third-generation iPad.

But it doesn't have to be that way. Since PCWorld's first roundup of recommended Kindle Fire apps, a cavalcade of new apps, tips, and hacks that breathe new life into the tablet have surfaced.

Key members of the hacking collective known as LulzSec were arrested Tuesday morning, a move authorities are calling “devastating to the organization.” According to an exclusive report by Foxnews.com LulzSec’s alleged ringleader, Hector Xavier Monsegur of New York City, helped authorities with the arrest.

Credit: Foxnews.com's exclusive image of LulzSec's alleged ringleader Hector Xavier Monsegur.Tuesday’s arrests included five LulzSec members: two from London, two from Ireland, and one from Chicago. LulzSec, also known as Lulz Security, is an offshoot of the Anonymous hackers group. Together the two groups have been blamed for hacking into the CIA, FBI, Sony, defense contractors, and the government websites of Great Britain and Mexico.

LG introduced today today the Optimus Vu, a combo tablet-smartphone LTE device with a 5-inch display to support easier multimedia viewing and ebook reading.  

The Optimus Vu will be on display at the Mobile World Congress next week and will be introduced in Korea in March, LG representatives say; no global availability or pricing was disclosed.

Are you wondering how that mysterious icon ended up on your Android phone's start screen? Annoyed at the ads clogging your notification bar? You aren't alone. Thousands of Android apps now include software that shoves marketing icons onto your phone's start screen or pushes advertising into your notification bar--and many of the apps give you no warning about the ad invasion.

Many of these ads come from mobile marketing firms such as AirPush, Appenda, LeadBolt, Moolah Media, and StartApp. The companies work with app developers hungry for some way to make money from their smartphone software. By bundling their adware into popular Android programs, these marketing companies say they are now pushing ads to millions of new smartphones each week.

Few tools of modern technology have become as prevalent as the cell phone, which allows you to be in touch (almost) all the time, (almost) anywhere. And you can do more than just talk--today's phones let you send and receive email and text messages, surf the Web, and play music and videos. Sifting through the sea of service plans and handsets can be difficult, but we'll walk you through what you need to know to get the phone and service plan that are right for you.

If you don't have to own the latest and greatest smartphone, there’s no time like the present to buy a new one. From the newest iPhone to an Android superphone to a business-friendly Windows Phone, you can find the right phone for you. Before you hit the stores, however, do a bit of research and read our guide so that you'll know exactly what to look for.

Scareware has gone mobile: Users of Android devices are starting to see sleazy ads warning that they need to upgrade their device's battery. The supposed battery-saver apps that those ads prod you to download, however, could endanger your privacy or siphon money from your wallet--and generally they'll do nothing to improve your gadget's battery life, security experts say.

In some cases you don't even need to agree to download the apps. For example, PCWorld spotted one ad on an Android phone for a battery utility called Battery Upgrade. Tapping the ad--even by accident--launches the phone's Web browser, which automatically initiates the download of the app's installer file on the Android device.

For Apple's users, Steve Jobs was more than just a CEO -- much more.

For some, Jobs will be remembered as a consumer tech visionary developing groundbreaking products such as the Macintosh computer, iPod, iPhone, and iPad.

Here is the full text of Steve Jobs' resignation letter:

Wednesday August 24, 2011, 6:34 pm EDT

Hewlett-Packard confirmed Thursday it's considering spinning off its personal-computer business and gobbling up the UK-based software company Autonomy. The World's largest computer maker also said it would "discontinue operations for webOS devices, specifically the TouchPad and webOS phones." In a statement HP added it is considering a number of options for its PC division that include "full or partial separation of PSG from HP through a spin-off or other transaction."

According to a Bloomberg report HP may purchase Autonomy for $10 billion. HP confirmed it's in talks with Autonomy to buy the company but no financial terms were revealed.

Google helps us think, Facebook finds us friends, and Pandora plays our own personalized soundtrack. It's hard to say whether the computer algorithms that these services use to anticipate our needs and wants are turning us into puppets or geniuses. But algorithms have a huge impact on our tastes, buying habits, and decisions about our digital lives.

Back in the 20th century--the primordial age of algorithms--life was simpler and harder at the same time. We never knew what else we might want to buy at Amazon; we didn't know what the most "important" news stories of the day were; and before the Netflix movie recommendation engine, we had no mechanized assistance in determining which DVD to rent next.