Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brian_Withycombe
Monday, October 29, 2012
iPhone Tips and Tricks That Are Easy to Do and Set Up
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brian_Withycombe
Sunday, October 28, 2012
How cell phone cameras ruin real moments
On a recent episode of Leo Laporte’s podcast This Week in Tech, panelist Dwight Silverman spoke briefly about a concert featuring David Byrne and St. Vincent. Prior to the performance, Byrne told the audience that smartphone photography was encouraged, but that they should put down their iPads.
As anyone who has ever seen a 10-inch screen held aloft in a concert can attest, iPads can be a severe distraction, making Byrne prescient as ever. However, I don’t think he goes far enough. As great as ubiquitous camera access is, we might all be better off if we used our camera phones less often. Here’s why – whether you’re at a concert or just out for a walk in the woods.
It distracts others
Getting close to one of our favorite performers can make us want to document that experience. But no one wants an iPad screen blocking their view. Concerts are best enjoyed when there is little inhibiting the interaction between performers and audience. An iPad between you and the performer on stage will be a significant impediment to appreciating a performance. Bravo, David Byrne, for dissuading the inconsiderate from ruining things for the rest of the audience.
I would actually encourage him to go further, and ban all mobile devices. Phones may not be as large a disruption as a tablet, but they are a distraction nonetheless. Plus, where do you draw the line? “Phablets” like the 5.5-inch Samsung Galaxy Note 2 make the distinction so difficult, it would be far better to simply ban them all.
It distracts you
Not only is shooting video at a performance going to distract others, it will distract you as well.
Shooting video also prevents you from physically engaging with the performance. If you go see The Hives, you will want to dance or jump around far more than you will want to have a camera in your hands. Trust me.
Audio is better
Nobody wants to see that grainy cell-phone video that you shot from the 40th row. Bootlegging communities for bands like Phish and The Grateful Dead indicate that someone may want to hear an audio recording, though. In that case, you will need better microphones than those in your smart phone.
his can add a lot of overhead, and most non-photographers don’t have good workflows to get it done. For example: Why do I have a photo of the last pork tenderloin sandwich I had when last in Indiana? There was no reason to take it in the first place. Now it is a useless piece of digital clutter. Plus, it made my phone greasy when I took it, and now I really want a pork tenderloin sandwich — both big negatives.
It makes us worse people
Yes, your friend’s compound fracture is fascinating in a horrifying sort of way, but I might be better off if I didn’t have opportunities to see things like that online. There would be a lot less fodder for /r/wtf (not to mention even less-savory sub-Reddits) if we didn’t all have decent-quality phones in our pockets. And that’s to say nothing of the feelings of the injured party.
We may be at our very worst as a species when we’re rubber-necking for a longer glance at the suffering of others. Ubiquitous camera access feeds this behavior directly, as we take more time to get photos and personally appreciate them later, and vicariously, as we encourage others to enjoy another’s pain with us. Sites like Reddit make this even worse, as the most gruesome injuries will also be rewarded with viral attention.
If we were more restrained with our camera phones, perhaps there would be a little less celebration of the terrible things around us.
Conclusion
David Byrne would never get away with banning cell phones from his performances. The uproar would be too great. This one has to be on us.
The next time you are at a concert, put down the camera phone. Focus more on the performance and you might just enjoy it more. If you are hiking or camping, leave your phone in your pocket. Don’t miss the point of the whole endeavor. And, for goodness sake, if you happen to be at the scene of an injury, accident, or tragedy, have some decency and don’t snap a shot to share online. We might just all be better off.
Source: http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/stop-instagramming-and-get-a-life-how-cell-phone-cameras-ruin-real-moments/#ixzz2AcBsf2LU
Apple’s Phil Schiller on the State of the Mac
But this newsiest of tech news weeks also turns out to be a reasonably significant one for the Mac. Much of Apple’s Tuesday event was devoted to new models, including a substantial overhaul of the 13″ MacBook Pro with a Retina display, two absurdly thin new iMacs and an updated Mac Mini.
The profusion of new models was good news for Mac fans who have been known to fret that the Mac is being neglected as the iPhone and iPad become ever more important to Apple’s bottom line and future.
As usual, Apple teed off its announcements with happy recent stats. I was aware that the Mac has outpaced the rest of the PC industry in sales growth for years, but I didn’t know that the MacBook is the best-selling notebook line in the U.S., and the iMac is the best-selling desktop. Those achievements are more evidence that Apple’s Mac strategy — build premium machines, sell them profitably and don’t obsess over market share — doesn’t mean that it can’t end up with impressive market share anyhow.
Getty Images
After the Tuesday presentation, I sat down with Apple Senior VP of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller, who did the presenting of new models on Tuesday, and chatted with him about today’s Macs, and how they got that way.
I began by asking him about the streamlining of Mac hardware that’s been going on for years now. Apple has put its computers into unibody cases, sealed in the batteries, removed the optical drives, dumped hard disks when possible and either shrunk or eliminated many once-standard connectors. Rather than adding new features with abandon, as tech companies usually do, it’s whittled the Mac down to its elegant essence.
Many of these changes have been controversial, at least briefly, at least among some observers. But they don’t seem to have hurt Mac sales. What was the overarching strategy, I asked?
“This is what Apple has always been about, and the Mac has been about, from the first Mac and first iMac,” Schiller said. “It’s always been about making the best Mac we know how. Among the many benefits are making it easy to use and affordable, with great features. This high level of integration is part of delivering on that.”
Schiller pointed out some of the downsides of the technologies it’s removed or downplayed: rotating hard disks, for instance, use more power and are more likely to have reliability issues than solid-state storage.
“These old technologies are holding us back,” he said. “They’re anchors on where we want to go.”
“We find the things that have outlived their useful purpose. Our competitors are afraid to remove them. We try to find better solutions — our customers have given us a lot of trust.”
Apple began removing DVD burners from portable computers, where weight and thinness are paramount — at least to Apple — years ago. But the new iMacs are the first ones without optical drives. I asked Schiller if that was a more difficult decision.
“It actually comes from similar thinking as with the portables,” Schiller said. “In general, it’s a good idea to remove these rotating medias from our computers and other devices. They have inherent issues — they’re mechanical and sometimes break, they use power and are large. We can create products that are smaller, lighter and consume less power.”
Schiller pointed out that one major application for optical drives, software distribution, has gone largely digital. As for video, he said that “Blu-ray has come with issues unrelated to the actual quality of the movie that make [it] a complex and not-great technology…So for a whole plethora of reasons, it makes a lot of sense to get rid of optical discs in desktops and notebooks.”
His preferred Blu-ray alternative? iTunes, of course, which lets you buy a movie and then watch it on all your Apple devices.
Once upon a time, people assumed that Macs’ lack of Blu-ray was a delay, not a permanent decision to fast-forward past it. I told Schiller that I imagined folks don’t ask about it much these days. “Correct,” he said.
I noted that for years, pundits thought Apple would, or at least should, start making much cheaper Macs. I said that drumbeat seems to have come and gone, and asked Schiller if everyone finally understood that Apple was content with its strategy of sticking with the high end of the market.
“Our approach at Apple has always been to make products we’re proud to own and use ourselves,” he told me. “…We wouldn’t make something cheap or low quality. When the economy is difficult, people care a great deal about the things they spend their money on. Customers have come to understand that Apple’s products aren’t priced high — they’re priced on the value of what we build into them.”
Saturday, October 27, 2012
The King of Fighters 2002
The King of Fighters 2002 brings the series back to its roots by retiring the strikers and swapping the excessive features from the past three games for an enormous selection of characters. Now nothing stands between you and your opponent as you battle for dominance!
The King of Fighters 2002 is a 2002 competitive fighting game produced by Eolith and Playmore for the Neo Geo. It is the ninth game in The King of Fighters series and the second one produced by Eolith and developed by SNK Neo Geo (formerly Brezzasoft). The game was ported to the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, and the Xbox. The PS2 and Xbox versions were released in North America in a two in one bundle with the following game in the series, The King of Fighters 2003.
NONA returns to do character artwork, as he has since the previous installment.
SNK Play more has produced a remake titled TheKing of Fighters 2002 Unlimited Match for the PlayStation 2, which has been released on February 26, 2009 in Japan. The Xbox Live Arcade version was released on November 3, 2010.
KOF 2002 discards the 4 VS 4 "Striker Match" format used in the previous three games in the series and returns to the 3-on-3 Battle format originally used in the series up until KOF '98.
The game also revamps the Power Gauge system into a format similar to the one used in KOF '98. Like previous games in the series, the Power Gauge is filled as the player attacks the opponent or performs Special Moves during battle. The number of Power Gauges the player can stock up increases by one with each member of the team, with the first member of the team being able to stock up to three Power Gauges, while the third member can stock up to five. A single Power Gauge stock can be used to perform a Counterattack and Evasion technique while guarding an opponent's attack, use a Super Special Move, or initiate the MAX Activation state.
During MAX Activation, the player's offensive and defensive strength is increased for a short period and can cancel any attack into another. In this state, a Super Special Move can be used without consuming a Power Gauge stock. There are also MAX Super Special Moves, which are Super moves that can only be performed during MAX Activation with one Power Gauge stock, and MAX2 moves that require two stocks.
Source http://muhammadniaz.blogspot.com/2012/10/TheKingofFighters2002.html
Wolverton: Microsoft's Surface tablet no iPad, but better than other rivals
I found a lot to like about Microsoft's new Surface tablet.
It's generally a pleasure to use. It has innovative features. And it appears to be well-built. For Microsoft's first effort at designing a mass-market computing device, it's a remarkable achievement, and it rates at or very near the top of the 10-inch tablets that compete with Apple's (AAPL) iPad. It's also a much easier device to understand and use than rival tablets based on Android, and unlike those tablets, it runs Office.But as might be expected of a first-generation gadget, it also has numerous shortcomings, and because of those, I can't recommend it over the iPad. For the same $500 base price, Apple's tablet is simply better.
At first glance, the Surface looks unremarkable. It's a black slate with a glass screen, much like many of the other tablets on the market. It has a thin case with sharp edges that looks more like a utilitarian office device than something that will excite design fetishists.
But look closer and you'll find some nice features. Unlike many of the iPad's competitors, its case is made of magnesium, not plastic, so it feels solid. It has a unique kickstand that folds out of its back allowing you to prop it up on a table. And it has a full-size USB port and an SD card slot, allowing users to transfer files from external drives and cards.
For its new tablet effort, Microsoft designed a version of its Windows 8 operating system to run on ARM processors, the low-power chips that underlie the iPad and nearly all other competing tablets. Thanks to its ARM chip, the Surface is as thin as the big iPad and only slightly heavier. And like the iPad, it's ultra quiet, because it doesn't have a fan.
The new version of the operating system, dubbed Windows RT, looks a lot like the versions of Windows 8 that will run on traditional PCs. It has the same "Metro" start screen with "live" application tiles that offer up-to-date information, including the current weather and snippets from your latest email messages. And it has a version of the traditional Windows desktop.
I'm not a fan of the Metro start screen on traditional PCs. But the interface, which you navigate by swiping, tapping and pinching, was made for a touch-screen device like this. Some of the gestures take getting used to, but for the most part interacting with Metro is natural and easy.
One compelling feature in the Metro interface is the ability to split the screen between two applications. So, for example, you can play "Cut the Rope" while continuing to monitor your email. It's not the same thing as actually having windowed applications, but I'm not sure you need that feature on a tablet, and the screen-split feature is one you don't get on the iPad or on the typical Android tablet.
Another cool feature about Surface is that unlike the iPad, it supports multiple users. So you and your family members can share the device without having access to each other's email.
The Surface comes with a nice collection of built-in Metro apps, including a photo gallery, a maps application, email and calendar programs and different news readers. But what is likely to be the most attractive to Windows users is that Surface ships with versions of some of the core Office programs, including Word and Excel.
Those Office programs look and work just like the Office applications that run under traditional Windows. In other words, Microsoft hasn't redesigned those applications, so you can easily interact with them on a touch screen. Fortunately, the company is offering covers for the Surface that include keyboards and trackpads to navigate the desktop and the Office programs more easily.
For all that there is to like about Surface, though, it does have several notable shortcomings. Its screen resolution is significantly less than that on the new iPad.
Similarly, its cameras are lower resolution than the ones on the iPad, so the pictures you take with it will be noticeably fuzzier. And the Surface lacks both an intelligent assistant feature like Siri and the ability to transcribe speech to text.
But its biggest shortcoming is the number and range of applications available for it. Although the Surface runs Windows, it won't run any traditional Windows programs other than ones it comes with, and even among those, it's missing Outlook. The only programs you can add to the Surface are those designed for its new Metro interface and offered through Microsoft's new Windows Store -- and that offering is relatively slim right now.
So, the Surface is a compelling tablet with a lot of potential, but unless you're dead-set against an iPad, it doesn't yet measure up.
Source:mercurynews
Friday, October 26, 2012
Your Tablet PC
The Tablet is a computer which you can hold with only one hand and use at any place or any time.
Even though a Tablet is more practical than a Laptop, it had to compensate on some of the features since a Tablet has a smaller memory. In terms of usability, a Tablet is somewhere between a Laptop and a Smartphone. It's for that reason that the tablet is intended to work on small documents on the go in order to transfer them afterwards onto a Laptop or Desk Pc.
Bottom-line: All the 'small' actions which you used to do on your laptop or are now possible on your tablet
The difference between the first generation of tablet computers and the current generation are enormous. The first tablet generation came with a stylus pen. This pen allowed the user to control the tablet. The new tablets are based on an advanced touchscreen. They only need the touch of your finger in order to perform. Unlike a Laptop, a Tablet has no need for a separate keyboard. The Tablet's keyboard is combined with its touch screen. But for those who prefer, users are able to buy an extra accessory to link an external keyboard. So those who are not familiar with the touch screen can use the Tablet Pc with ease.
Early examples of a Tablet concept originated in the 20th century mainly as prototypes like Alan Kay's Dynabook of 1968. Microsoft picked up the idea in 2000 and creates the Microsoft Tablet Pc. This relatively unsuccessful product was intended for a niche market like hospitals and outdoor businesses.
In 2010, Apple released the iPad, which became the first successful tablet on the commercial market. This has sparked a new market for tablet computers and a variety of other manufacturers have produced versions of their own.
The removal of the Stylus has been an important evolution for the Tablet. Since it's most important feature is convenience in mobility. Without the Stylus you are capable to use your tablet where ever you want without external attributes. Furthermore, the ease of a Tablet is enlarged by the use of applications. Applications simplify internet use since it predefines your actions.
Your tablet, like any other computer device, has no restrictions on the global use of the internet through a Wi-Fi connection or a data-provider.
So thanks to your Tablet you are globally connected in the most convenient way.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7337401
Microsoft's next big job: luring users to Windows 8
The moment Microsoft has been building toward for years has finally arrived: the launch of Windows 8, the radical overhaul of the company's flagship operating system and its great shining hope for the rapidly expanding mobile market.
Now comes the really hard part: getting people and businesses to buy it.
Windows 8 became available for sale via download, on software discs and on new Windows 8 devices starting at 12:01 a.m. Friday.
Microsoft's challenge is not only to convince longtime Windows users they should use an operating system with an interface very different from what they're used to. It's also to convince those in the market for a mobile device that they should give Windows 8 a go.
Microsoft has not said how much it's spending on advertising and marketing for Windows 8, but estimates have placed the figure at more than $1 billion.
Microsoft executives at Thursday's launch event, held at Pier 57 by the Hudson River in New York, gave their best shot at making a convincing case for the new operating system.
"Windows 8 shatters perceptions of what a PC really is," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said.
Ballmer talked about the different form factors inspired by Windows 8 — from tablets to ultrathin ultrabooks to convertible/hybrid devices that can change from tablets to laptops.
He talked about how the new Windows 8 interface "lights up" users' lives and keeps them connected by displaying on the tiles in the start screen everything from friends' social-media updates to news updates.
And he talked about how Windows 8 works well with Microsoft services, including Xbox music and games and its SkyDrive personal online storage service.
At Thursday's event, Microsoft also showed off Surface, the company's first branded computing device, which also is available starting Friday. This version is called Surface with Windows RT, a "lite" version of sorts of Windows 8 that's meant for devices with ARM-based processors. (Such processors are notable for conserving battery life.) The Surface starts at $499 and goes up to $599 and $699 for versions that include super-slim covers which double as keyboards.
Microsoft executives Thursday made a point of highlighting some positive reviews about Surface — especially regarding its software — but made no mention of the negative reviews, especially over the Windows RT software.
They also reiterated some of the highlights of Windows 8, from its swiping gestures to features such as "snap," which allows more than one app to be on the screen at any time, and the ability to easily share items within an app. None of that was new to people who've been following the development of Windows 8, but may have been new to some in the audience of 600 bloggers and media attendees from around the world.
The explanations from Microsoft execs are a way for them to shape the story around Windows 8.
"Microsoft's idea is that they want to create one seamless user experience across all devices," said Americus Reed II, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. Reed teaches a class that has focused on marketing challenges with Windows Phone, a device platform that shares a common user interface with Windows 8.
Microsoft's biggest challenge, he said, is "making sure you're communicating a consistent brand identity across these different delivery platforms."
The company will have to "figure out exactly what the right story is to tell people about what it represents as a brand, when people think about this new way of interfacing with Windows."
Apple's iPhone, for example, is "about creativity and being hip and about being easy to use and intuitive," while Google's Android devices are about "customization and 'you can do what you want to do with it,' " Reed said.
But the challenge for Microsoft right now, he said, is that for most people, "it's hard to identify what Microsoft is beyond productivity software."
So if Microsoft wants to expand its footprint in the mobile arena, it needs to focus more on what in its Windows 8 user interface is different and how those changes "allow people to have a more enhanced life," Reed said. "If they can tell that story, in a consistent way, over time, across multiple devices, then they have a chance."
How crucial it is to get people to buy in to Microsoft's story — and buy its products — is evident in some figures recently released by research firm Garner.
Currently, Windows is the dominant operating system across devices (including PCs, tablets and mobile phones) worldwide, operating on about 1.5 billion. But Garner predicts that Windows will lose that lead to Google's Android by 2016, when Android will be installed on 2.299 billion devices and Windows on 2.284 billion.
That's why Gartner analyst Michael Gartenberg says that the real challenge for Microsoft isn't about what happened Thursday: "It's tomorrow, next week, next month, next year."
For Microsoft, the challenge now is the marketing and getting consumers to understand how Windows 8 is different.
"This is about evangelizing and educating," he said.
Source:
http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2019526277_microsoftwindows26.html?prmid=4939
Thursday, October 25, 2012
How to Transfer Media to Your Android Phone
Method 1: Kies Air—Wireless Transfer
Works for: Music, photos, recorded videos, other files—non-DRM protected content only
Overview: Kies Air makes it simple to transfer and manage multimedia content, text messages, bookmarks and more between your mobile device and a PC or Mac when they share the same wireless access point or router.
Why this way is great: Kies Air doesn’t require any additional software to be installed on your computer or mobile device while providing a powerful and intuitive tool for managing your content.
Requirements:
Windows
Internet Explorer 7 or higher
Mozilla Firefox 3.5 or higher
Google Chrome 9.0 or higher
MacOS
Safari 4.0 or higher
Mozilla Firefox
Google Chrome
Step-by-step Instructions:
1. To connect to Kies Air from your Samsung device, touch Applications > Kies Air > Start.
2. If not already connected to a Wi-Fi® network, you will be asked to connect, or (if available) turn on your device’s Wi-Fi hotspot capability. Note: Your Samsung device and computer (PC or Mac) must be on the same Wi-Fi network in order to connect.
3. Kies Air will display a URL. Enter that URL in your computer’s web browser.
4. On the Samsung device, touch Allow to grant access to the device.
5. Download or manage files from the web-based interface on your computer’s browser.
6. Touch Stop on the handset to end the syncing session.
Method 2: Drag & Drop—USB Wired Transfer
Works for: Music, photos, recorded videos, other files—non-DRM protected content only
Overview: Just plug your device into your computer using a USB cable, adjust some settings and start dragging and dropping files and folders.
Why this way is great: This method is great when you’re used to working with files and folders or just have a few files that you want to move.
Requirements: USB Cable that shipped with your Samsung device or a USB Cable that fits both your computer and Samsung device.
Note: The method described below applies to newer Samsung smartphones like the Galaxy SII and Galaxy Note running Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). For device-specific instructions, visit samsung.com/support and click Mobile. Search for your specific device and instructions for USB connecting.
Step-by-step Instructions:
1. Attach your Samsung device to your computer (PC or Mac) using the USB cable. If this is the first time you’ve connected your device to your computer, it will install the necessary drivers on your computer.
2. On your Samsung device, touch Applications > Settings > Wireless and network > USB utilities.
3. Remove the USB cable from you Samsung device.
4. On your Samsung device touch “Connect storage to PC.” You will see a warning: “USB utilities / Connect USB cable to use mass storage.” Insert the USB cable into your Samsung device while the message is still on the screen. Do not touch “Cancel.”
5. The screen will change to “USB mass storage” with a picture of a green Android and a message that says “USB connected.” Touch “Connect USB storage” at the bottom.
6. Your Samsung device is now connected to your computer. The device’s internal storage will appear on your computer as an external drive. If you also have a microSD card installed, this will show up as a second external drive.
7. You can now drag and drop files directly from your computer or iTunes to your device. You can create folders on your device as necessary to organize your files. Your device will automatically index these files and make them available in your media player.
8. IMPORTANT NOTE FOR MAC USERS: Before you disconnect your device from your Mac, you must eject the disks on your Mac, just as you would eject any disk or flash drive. After the drives have been ejected, touch “Disconnect storage from PC” on your Samsung device.
9. When you’ve moved all of the files you need to, disconnect the USB cable.
Method 3: DoubleTwist—USB Wired Transfer
Works for: Music, photos, recorded videos, playlists—non-DRM protected content only
Overview: Manage and sync your iTunes music, photos and videos with this popular and lightweight software. It’s easy to use and completely free. Also supports wireless sync with the Air Sync client ($4.99 on Google Play).
Why this way is great: This method not only syncs your media, but also your playlists and track ratings.
Requirements: Visit doubletwist.com for additional details.
Step-by-step Instructions:
1. Download DoubleTwist from Google Play on your Samsung device.
2. On your computer (PC or Mac), use your browser to go to doubletwist.com, and use the link to download DoubleTwist. Follow the installation instructions.
3. Follow the instructions on the app on your device and the computer to set up synchronization between DoubleTwist on your computer and Samsung device.
4. NOTE: If DoubleTwist has trouble recognizing your Samsung device when it is attached to your computer’s USB port, follow the instructions below to connect your Samsung device as a storage drive. Once complete, try the synchronization process again.
a. Attach your Samsung device to your computer (PC or Mac) using the USB cable. If this is the first time you’ve connected your device to your computer it will install the necessary drivers on your computer.
b. On your Samsung device, touch Applications Settings > Wireless and network > USB utilities.
c. Remove the USB cable from your Samsung device.
d. On your Samsung device touch “Connect storage to PC.” You will see a warning: “USB utilities / Connect USB cable to use mass storage.” Insert the USB cable into your Samsung device while the message is still on the screen. Do not touch “Cancel.”
e. The screen will change to “USB mass storage” with a picture of a green Android and a message that says “USB connected.” Touch “Connect USB storage” at the bottom.
Method 4: Google Play Music—Wireless cloud service
Works for: Music—non-DRM protected content only
Overview: Google Play stores all your music purchases and up to 20,000 songs from your personal collection for free. Listen on the web and your mobile devices without the hassle of wires.
Why this way is great: This method stores all of your content in the cloud and makes it available to stream or download to almost any device. It also plays music already loaded on your device, and allows you to purchase new tracks.
Requirements: Visit play.google.com/music for more details.
Note: Streaming music is only available through the Google Play Music app and not the native device Music Player. For devices that do not have the Google Play Music app pre-installed, it may be downloaded from Google Play.
Step-by-step Instructions:
1. On your computer (PC or Mac), use your browser to go to play.google.com/music/.
2. In the upper-right corner of the Google Play Music page, click on the “UPLOAD MUSIC” link.
3. From the “UPLOAD MUSIC” tab that appears, click on the “Download Music Manager” link.
4. Follow the instructions to upload your music to Google’s Music cloud. This process will take some time and will vary depending on the number of songs you choose to upload. You only need to complete this initial upload once. This initial upload process could take a few days, continuously uploading, or even longer, depending on how much music you have and the speed of your Internet connection.
5. Once your music has been uploaded, open the Google Play Music app on your Samsung device. Touch Applications > Play Music.
6. NOTE: You must be logged into a Google account to use Google Play Music. The first time you open the app, you will be asked to select your Google account.
7. Google Play Music may take a few minutes to synchronize your playlist to your Samsung device. Once your music appears, you can start playing.
Source
Apple iPhone full guide
1. Simple introduction about iPhone
Screen resolution: 320 by 480 pixels (160 ppi),Operating system: OS X
GSM Quad-band (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), Wireless data
Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) / EDGE / Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
Battery: Talk Time: Up to 8 hours; Standby Up to 250 hours; Internet Use Up to 6 hours; Video Playback Up to 7 hours; Audio playback Up to 24 hours.
iPhone Supported Video format:
H.264 video, up to 1.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Low-Complexity version of the H.264 Baseline Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats;
H.264 video, up to 768 Kbps, 320 by 240 pixels, 30 frames per second, Baseline Profile up to Level 1.3 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats;
MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats
iPhone Cost: $59.99 a month for 450 minutes of talk time, $79.99 for 900 minutes and $99.99 for 1,350 minutes along with unlimited data service. There also is a $36 activation fee. Customers can pay extra for plans to get more talk time or text messages. Several family-style plans also are available, ranging from $80 a month for 700 shared minutes to $120 for 2,100 shared minutes.
Full iPhone Demo Guide: Apple - iPhone - A Guided TourFor more iPhone info: IPhone - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia2. How to rip DVD and IFO to MP4 for iPhone
Step1. Download "Aimersoft iPhone Converter Suite", install and run it. For Windows Vista user, you may have to run this program as Administrator, right click the program shortcut and click "Run as Administrator".
Step2. Run the DVD to iPhone Converter. Load your DVD by clicking "Load DVD" button, you also can load IFO file from your hard drive by clicking "Load File" button.
Step3. Click the drop download list to select the Audio and Subtitle you want, you also can change the output location. A regular DVD movie has several titles, such as MTV DVD, by default, this software will merge all the DVD chapters into one video clips, you can check the click box before the title list to select any DVD clips you want to rip.
As format: This software supports three Apple products: iPhone, iPod and Apple TV. It can rip DVD to MP4, M4A; it also can rip audio from DVD to MP3, AAC. Just select "iPhone Video MPEG-4 (*.mp4)"
After you finish the settings, click "Start" button to start the conversion.
3. How to convert AVI, MPEG, FLV, WMV, MOV, ASF, MP4, DAT, RM, RMVB, MPG, 3GP to MP4 for iPhone
1. Click "Video to iPhone Converter" to load the Aimersoft Video to iPhone Converter. Then click "Add" button to load video files. This software supports batch conversion, so you can add several video clips at one time.
2. The operation is similar with DVD to iPhone Converter, this software can join several different video clips into one file, if you want to join video, just check the box "Merge into one file". You also can customize the resolution, video bit rate, encoder, frame rate, audio bit rate, channel, etc in the setting panel by clicking the "Settings" button. The program also lets you create a profile and save it, then you can use different settings for each video clips.
3. Click "Start" button to start the conversion after you finish the settings.
Tips:
1. This software provides rich video editing functions for you to trim, crop and edit DVD movie. Click the "Crop" button, and then you will see a pop up window (See the figure below). There is a frame in dashed line around the movie video; you can drag it to cut the black edges.2. You can click the "Effect" button and customize the brightness, saturation, contrast, volume, etc . You can even apply special effects such as "Emboss", "Negative", "Old film" and "Gray" by selecting an effect from drop-down list.
3. This software can capture pictures from DVD movie, there is a small camera icon below the preview windows, click it when you preview the movie, it can save picture as JPEG and BMP.
How to rip DVD and convert video to iPhone with Cucusoft iPhone Converter Suite?
1. Download Cucusoft DVD to iPhone + iPhone Video Converter Suite, install and run it. Click "Open DVD" button to load DVD file from your DVD drive or hard drive.
2. Click on "Setting" and go to menu "Subtitle" to select the subtitle and select the audio.
3. The converter will automatically detect the main movie of your DVDs, it will popup with below window to let you make a decision, just keep the setting of "Record from movie start point" and output file size setting, the default setting is the best for good quality and compact output file size, click "Yes" to start ripping DVD to iPhone video files.
Run iPhone Video Converter and click "open file" to load videos. Then click 'Output' and choose the path where you want to save your video files. Click 'Convert' to start converting video to iPhone MP4 video.
For more iPhone converters, you can refer this iPhone Converter review:
DVD to iPhone Converter review
Wondershare(win): http://www.dvd-ripper-copy.com/iphone-converter-suite.html
Videora(win): http://www.videora.com/en-us/Converter/iPhone/
SUPER(win): http://www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html
handbrake(mac): http://handbrake.m0k.org
Imtoo(win): http://www.imtoo.com/dvd-to-iphone-suite.html
Xilisoft(win): http://www.xilisoft.com/dvd-to-iphone-suite.html
Lenogo(win): http://www.lenogo.com/dvdtoiphoneconverter/index.htmTrouble shooting:
To convert RM/RMVB real media files to MP4, you may have to install Real player:
http://www.real.com/freeplayer4. Where to download free video and rip CD to MP3 for iPhone
1. iTunes store: $0.99 for one song, $9.99 for one movie, $1.99 for one TV show. Just install iTunes and visit the iTunes store.
2. Limewire is fast and popular file sharing freeware working on Windows, Linux and Mac OS. Through the P2P (peer-to-peer) network, you can free download various files by its category or keyword searching.
3. Other stream video website such as video.yahoo, Myspace, etc. here is a list of free stream video website
here is a guide to show you how to download stream video with vixy.net : Online FLV Converter : Download online videos direct to PC / iPod / PSP. It's free!KeepVid: Download videos from Google, Youtube, iFilm, Putfile, Metacafe, DailyMotion!and Firefox.
step by step guide download free youtube, google, yahoo video to computer for free
the download stream video is flv file, if the free online flv converter couldn't deal with it, you can use trySUPERorAimersoft iPhone Video Converter, and they can convert flv video to any format you want.
4. Rip your own CD to MP3 for iPhone; iTunes can help you to do that. Install and run iTunes, click "Edit -> Preference -> Advanced -> importing tab" to change the "Import Using" to MP3 Encoder, you can also customize the audio bit rate here. Then click OK and put your CD into your disc drive, iTunes will automatically recognize that you've loaded a CD. Now you can either choose individual songs for import by checking only the tracks you want and un-checking all the rest (all songs are selected for import by default). Simply click the Import button on the upper right corner of iTunes and let the software do the job. All of the selected files will be encoded into MP3 digital music files and saved in your iTunes music directory by Artist and Album. (If you're not sure where to locate your files, you can find out by going back to the "Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced tab". Here you can see the default iTunes Music folder location.
Transfer music and video to iPhone
You need iTunes version 7.30 or later to sync music and video to iPhone.If you don't have iTunes yet, you can download free from here.
http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/
If you already have iTunes, just create a play list; drag your music and video to the list (set your
iTunes to "manually manage music and video"), connect your iPhone to computer via USB cable, then click iTunes "File -> Sync iPhone", Done.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andy_Law
Exploring The Many Benefits Of Changing Your Desktop Wallpaper
People spend so much time on their computers or laptops these days that they don't seem to worry about the television anymore. Some stay on the computer a lot because of their work. But others just love to hang around in the cyber world even more than in the real one. They spend hours and hours each day surfing the net, playing games, or just loitering in social networking sites. Of course, there are also those who run businesses online so they have a legitimate excuse for their addiction. The only problem is that spending too much time in front of the computer or laptop can lead to a lot of eye strain. So how do you remedy this?
Apart from the usual medical tips that you should take a few minutes off for every hour you spend in front of the computer, there is also another way to ease your eye strain. This is choosing a soothing desktop wallpaper or background so that you can still sit in front of it without stressing your eyes. There are so many kinds of high-quality desktop wallpapers you can choose from that can soothe and stimulate your visual senses. For example, try nature photos in bold, beautiful colors that will make you feel as if you're really sitting near a waterfall or lying on the grass. Landscapes are good, too, particularly movie scenes of beautiful places like the city of Paris or cherry blossom festivals in Japan.
Now this is not the only benefit you can get out of a great, high-definition desktop wallpaper. Did you also know that just changing your wallpaper can actually change up the look of your computer or laptop as well? Even if it isn't really a new unit, you can still make it appear attractive by switching your desktop wallpaper for a more eye-catching one. Anyone wanting to use your laptop will be intrigued at the lovely images. And of course, you also feel better about it yourself! Moreover, changing your background also allows you to explore your creativity. How is this so? Well for one thing, lots of people these days have taken to making their own wallpapers for their desktops. Using simple Photoshop programs, it's pretty easy to blend images to create better ones. Or, you can really make your own from scratch.
Last but not least, changing your desktop wallpaper has been proven to reduce stress, not just on your eyes. Take for example if you're feeling really depressed. It won't help if your old wallpaper sports gloomy colors or scenes of gore and despair. Just by picking a new one that showcases happier and more hopeful images can initiate a difference in your mood. If this doesn't convince you, why don't you try it out sometime. For example, if you're feeling particularly irritated, why not put up a wallpaper of that celebrity crush or lead singer in that band you've been drooling over for practically forever. Somehow, you will feel even just the slightest change of mood for the better!
You can download hd wallpaper with different themes like nature, movies, sports, and more for free from numerous sites online.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Edgar_Pharo
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Edgar_Pharo
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Android tips
How to Switch between Open Apps
When running an app, you can minimize it by simply tapping the Home icon. Getting back to it is not just one click on the task bar like the way you do in Windows. But the Android way is pretty straightforward too.Tap the Recent Apps icon to reveal the apps that you recently opened. (Note 2)
Slide down to see more recent apps.
Tap a screenshot from the list to instantly switch to the app.
Note 1: You can clear the recent apps from the list by swiping them sideways one by one.
Note 2: On Android 2.x, touch and hold the Home button to reveal recent apps.
How to Close a Running App
The Android system doesn't need you to close a running app for every instance. But in some cases you may need to force stop an app that's misbehaving, or like playing a game, you may need to actually close the app in order to start a new level rather than continuing the last. Here are the steps to follow:Run the Settings app and tap Apps under DEVICE.
Select the app you want to close.
Tap the 'Force stop' button and tap 'OK' to confirm.
How to Set and Clear a Default App
In Android, you can set a file to open with a certain program by default as you do in Windows. For example, if you have installed an image viewer such as QuickPic, the system will ask you to select an app when you try to open an image file (See the screenshot).To set a default app to open the file, check 'Use by default for this action' before you tap that app.
The next time you tap an image file, it will always open with the app you've selected without asking you again.
What if you need to clear the default app?
Run the Settings app and tap Apps under DEVICE.
Choose the app you do not want to launch by default.
Tap 'Clear defaults' under LAUNCH BY DEFAULT.
How to Uninstall an App
Installing apps from the Google Play store to your Android device is convenient, likewise removing them is pretty straightforward.Tap the All Apps icon on the tray and select the Apps tab on the top.
Touch and hold the icon of the app you want to uninstall.
Drag and drop the app icon over the Uninstall icon then tap 'OK' to confirm. (The Uninstall icon appears only for the app that can be uninstalled from the system.)
Alternatively, you can run the Settings app, tap Apps under DEVICE then select the app you want to uninstall from the list.
How to Add and Remove Icons from Home Screens
When you install an app, the system often adds an app icon on your home screen. This icon works as a shortcut to run the app. In case you need to manually add an app icon or a widget icon yourself, it's pretty easy.Tap the All Apps icon on the tray.
Select the Apps or Widgets tab on the top.
Touch and hold the icon you want to create a shortcut.
Drag and drop the icon on a home screen you like.
To remove an icon from your home screen:
Touch and hold the icon of apps, widgets or shortcuts until the Remove icon appears on the top.
Drag and drop the icon over the Remove icon.
Note: On Android 2.x, you can add a shortcut icon by touching and holding an empty location of a home screen or press Menu then tap 'Add'; On Android 3.0, touch the customize button at the top right of a home screen to add a shortcut icon.
How to Re-arrange Icons
When you install new apps to your Android, the system stacks up the icons automatically without asking you to select a home screen. But you can subsequently re-arrange the icons on the home screens and on the tray.Touch and hold any icon on your screen for a second.
Drag the icon to a different spot on the screen, or even to or from the tray, except for the permanent "All Apps" icon.
You can also drag an icon to the left or right edge of the screen until it starts sliding, then drop the icon to another screen.
How to Create, Rename and Remove Folders
Other than the apps on the tray, sometimes it's difficult to quickly look for an app to open if you have many icons spreading across a few home screens. Why not create a folder to group similar apps together? It's much easier than you might think.Touch and hold any icon for a second.
Drag the icon over the top of another. The system then automatically groups two app icons in a folder.
Touch the folder, then tap "Unnamed Folder", key in a name for the folder and tap "Done".
You can rename a folder at any time—tap a folder then tap its name to rename.
While the system auto creates a folder for you, it does the same to removing a folder automatically—tap a folder to expand it, then clear all grouped items inside the folder—just touch and hold, then drag them out from the folder one by one.
Note: Older Android system doesn't support this feature, but you can rely on a third-party app such as GO Launcher EX to achieve almost the same effect.
How to Type Faster with Multiple Spaces
Instead of typing a period at the end of each sentence and follow by a space, you can tap the space bar twice to get the same result.
How to Type Special Characters
If you often need to switch between the on-screen Alphabet and Number keyboards just to type a comma in a sentence, then why not check out below to find out more?While on the Alphabet keyboard:
, (comma) => touch and hold the Full-stop key (.)
' (single quotation mark) => touch and hold the Full-stop key, and slide to choose the single quotation mark (')
" (double quotation mark) => touch and hold the Full-stop key, and slide to choose the double quotation mark (")
Turn caps lock on/off => double-tap the Shift key to lock, single-tap to unlock.
Special letters not on the keyboard? => touch and hold a key, then slide to choose a variation (See the screenshot).
Need just a digit or symbol from the Number keyboard? => touch the ?123 key and slide to a digit or symbol key, and you're back to the Alphabet keyboard automatically.
While on the Number keyboard:
Symbols not on the keyboard? => touch and hold a key, then slide to choose a variation, or tap the #\< key to find out more.
Often type an equation? => touch and hold the #\< key, tap a sign and you're back to the Number keyboard when you release the #\< key.
Need just a letter from the Alphabet keyboard? => touch the ABC key and slide to a letter key, and you're back to the Number keyboard automatically.
How to Cut, Copy and Paste
This looks simple but can be tricky sometimes when you use different apps. In general, these steps can be used in Email or some other apps:Double-tap or touch-and-hold to select a word.
Drag the handles to adjust the area if needed, then tap Cut or Copy.
Tap an insert point, and drag the handle to adjust it if needed.
Select Paste (Hint: tab the handle when the 'Paste' button doesn't appear).
Note: When working in a web browser such as Android's Browser, use touch-and-hold to select a word since "double-tap" has been used to enlarge or reduce a webpage.
How to Turn Off Auto-Correction
When you're typing through, the system checks your spelling and suggests a few words. Unless you've selected one of them, the highlighted suggested word overwrites your word when you finish typing it followed by a space, punctuation mark or return character. If you feel that's annoying, you can turn off Auto-Correction.Open the app Settings and select 'Language & input' under PERSONAL.
Tap the Quick Settings icon next to 'Android keyboard'.
Select 'Auto correction' under TEXT CORRECTION.
Select 'Off' to turn off 'Auto-Correction'.
Note: As an alternative, whenever a word is replaced not to your liking, you can tap the Delete key immediately after which and the system returns the word you've typed.
How to Lock Screen Orientation
The Android screen switches to either the portrait or landscape view in response to the way you hold the device when you run certain apps. What if I want to lock the screen orientation to one view so that the screen doesn't rotate to another? Easy.Run the Settings app.
Tap Display under DEVICE.
Uncheck "Auto-rotate screen".
Your screen will then lock to the portrait mode. To unlock it, check the above option.
How to Print Screen
Where’s the PrintScreen button when you need to take a screen shot of your Android device? Instead of using one button, try a combination of two:Press and hold down the Power and Volume-down buttons simultaneously.
Open the Gallery app, and you can see your screenshot already saved in the Screenshots album.
Note: Older Android system doesn't support this feature, but it has a more complicated way to take screenshots using Android SDK such as this without rooting the device.
How to Select Wallpapers for your Android
You can easily select a wallpaper from a collection of a few in your system and set it as wallpaper for your Home screens.Touch and hold an empty location of a home screen.
Choose either Gallery, Live Wallpapers or Wallpapers from the pop-up menu.
Select an image and set it as wallpaper.
Alternatively, you can run the Settings app, then go to DEVICE > Display > Wallpaper, and continue with the step 2 above.
How to Access Notifications
At the top of your screen, you will see notifications which report calendar events, alarms, incoming mails or other ongoing events. Swipe down from the top of the screen to reveal the list of notifications, then swipe up from the O-sign to hide it.Depending on the notification type, you can swipe a notification sideway to dismiss it, or tap the X-sign to dismiss all from the list.
To access a notification, tap it and you're taken to the related email, reminder, message or app. The notification then clears automatically from the list where applicable.
Note: When you slide down from the top of the screen, you can also see this Quick Settings icon. Touching this icon is equivalent to running the Settings app.
Source
windows 8 best tricks
Windows 8 is coming, and the recent Consumer Preview showed it's very different to what's gone before.
Out goes the Start menu, in comes the new touch-oriented Metro Start screen, new apps, new interface conventions - even experienced PC users may be left feeling a little lost.
Don't despair, though, help is at hand. We've been investigating every part of Windows 8 Consumer Preview, uncovering many of its most important tips and tricks, so read our guide and you'll soon be equipped to get the most out of Microsoft's latest release.
1. Lock screen
Windows 8 opens on its lock screen, which looks pretty but unfortunately displays no clues about what to do next.
It's all very straightforward, though. Just tap the space bar, spin the mouse wheel or swipe upwards on a touch screen to reveal a regular log in screen with the user name you created during installation. Enter your password to begin.
2. Basic navigation
Windows 8 launches with its new Metro interface, all colourful tiles and touch-friendly apps. And if you're using a tablet then it'll all be very straightforward: just swipe left or right to scroll the screen, and tap any tile of interest.
On a regular desktop, though, you might alternatively spin the mouse wheel to scroll backwards and forwards.
And you can also use the keyboard. Press the Home or End keys to jump from one end of your Start screen to the other, for instance, then use the cursor keys to select a particular tile, tapping Enter to select it. Press the Windows key to return to the Metro screen; right-click (or swipe down on) apps you don't need and select Unpin to remove them; and drag and drop the other tiles around to organise them as you like.
3. App groups
The Start screen apps are initially displayed in a fairly random order, but if you'd prefer a more organised life then it's easy to sort them into custom groups.
You might drag People, Mail, Messaging and Calendar over to the left-hand side, for instance, to form a separate "People" group. Click the magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to carry out a "semantic zoom", and you'll now find you can drag and drop the new group (or any of the others) around as a block.
Right-click within the block (while still in the semantic zoom view) and you'll also be able to give the group a name, which - if you go on to add another 20 or 30 apps to your Start screen - will make it much easier to find the tools you need.
4. Simplified Start menu?
The Windows 8 Developer Preview had a very basic Start menu which you could access by swiping from the right side of a touch screen, or moving the mouse cursor to the bottom left corner of the screen. This has changed a little in the Consumer Preview: now you need to right-click in the bottom left corner (or hold down the Windows key and press X) for a text-based menu which provides easy access to lots of useful applets and features: Device Manager, Control Panel, Explorer, the Search dialog and more.
5. Find your applications
The Win+X menu is useful, but no substitute for the old Start menu as it doesn't provide access to your applications. To find this, hold down the Windows key and press Q (or right-click an empty part of the Start screen and select All Apps) to reveal a scrolling list of all your installed applications. Browse the various tiles to find what you need and click the relevant app to launch it.
6. Easy access
If there's an application you use all the time then you don't have to access it via the search system, of course. Pin it to the Start screen and it'll be available at a click.
Start by typing part of the name of your application. Windows 8 Consumer Preview makes it more difficult to access Control Panel, for instance, so type Control.
Right-click the "Control Panel" tile on the Apps Search screen, and click "Pin to Start".
Now press the Windows key, scroll to the right and you'll see the Control Panel tile at the far end. Drag and drop this over to the left somewhere if you'd like it more easily accessible, then click the tile to open the desktop along with the Control Panel window, and press the Windows key to return you to the Start screen when you've done.
7. Shutting down
You've finished your first Windows 8 session, and would like to close your system down - but with no Start menu it's not exactly obvious how this can be done.
It's easy enough when you know the secret, though. Just move the mouse cursor to the bottom right corner of the screen, click the Settings icon - or just hold down the Windows key and press I - and you'll see a power button. Click this and choose "Shut down" or "Restart".
Some of the tricks available in previous versions of Windows still apply. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del, for instance, click the power button in the bottom right-hand corner and you'll be presented with the same "Shut down" and "Restart" options.
And if you're on the desktop, press Alt+F4 and you'll be able to choose Shut Down, Restart, Sign Out or Switch User options.
Source
iPad Mini vs Nexus 7
Apple has just announced the new iPad Mini, a smaller 7.9-inch iPad priced starting at $329 for the lowest WiFi model. Of course, with a more affordable iPad there is only one question to be answered – will it beat the Android competition?
Like all other Apple products there is no doubt this little guy will sell, and probably sell unlike any other iPad to date. It is Apple, after all, and people will go for the brand, but is it really a better deal? Apple is getting very competitive and has decided to compare the iPad Mini to the Nexus 7 in its own keynote announcement, but let’s jump in and see it from an objective point of view.
After selling 100 million iPads since the line’s debut in 2010, the iPad mini walks in sporting a 7.9 inch IPS display with 1024×768 resolution, Apple’s A5 processor, 16-64GB of internal storage, and more. It may not be as affordable as the almighty Nexus 7, but it has its lures. It is very thin and portable at 7.2 mm thick and 308 grams light, and will offer the speed and smoothness from iOS 6. But let’s take a look at more of the main key differences:
As you can see from the chart above, the iPad Mini is no bad contender, but it is lacking a few things. An obvious one is NFC. Apple’s known to take the wait and see approach so we weren’t necessarily surprised to see it absent as it was in the iPhone 5. It has the same resolution as the iPad 2 (1024×768), but that is not quite Retina Display. Heck, it’s not even quite HD ala the Kindle Fire HD and Nexus 7. You’re getting higher pixel density over the iPad 2, of course, but it won’t best the Nexus 7.
It also boasts 10 hours of battery life (the Nexus 7 doesn’t do bad at all in this category) and a 5 megapixel iSight HD camera with a front-facing FaceTime camera opposed to the Nexus 7′s 1.2 megapixel front-facing camera.
Compared to its big brother iPad, which is now in its 4th generation with an HD FaceTime camera and an A6X processor, it doesn’t seem to be much more than a smaller version without as fast of a processor. But Apple’s looking to attack a sector of the market that they feel the Nexus 7 and even Amazon’s Kindle Fire simply won’t be able to match them in.
You see, the Apple brand will always be the Apple brand. People will forever be enthralled by its products no matter what you say, and even at a starting price of $500 the iPad has dominated the market. Imagine those folks who’ve always wanted an iPad but the tablet was just too rich for their blood — suddenly things get a little worrisome for Google and Amazon, don’t they?
Paying $329 instead of $500 to be able to say you have an iPad will be huge for many people, and the can of worms Apple’s opened up might just be the hardest outbreak to contain in the tablet space yet.
We’re not saying the sky is falling below the point of no return, but Apple will no doubt be able to secure a huge chunk of market share with this device, and it’s going to be much harder for the competition to win it back than it was for smartphones.
Source
iPad Mini Fist look
Apple's iPad Mini will bring a lot more excitement and a little more confusion to the holiday shopping season.
It only takes a few minutes playing with the iPad mini to realize the scaled-down tablet computer will be a sure-fire hit with longtime Apple disciples and potential converts who've been looking for a more affordable entree into the mobile computing market.
With a 7.9-inch screen, the iPad mini is perfectly sized to be stuffed in Christmas stockings. Recipients who will discover the pleasure and convenience of being able to take pictures, surf the Web, watch video, read books and listen to music on an exquisitely designed device that's pancake thin.
As enticing as that all sounds, the iPad mini also causes a dilemma, albeit a pleasant one.
The new option will make it even more difficult for holiday shoppers to figure out which mobile device to buy for their loved ones -or for themselves.
I felt the pangs of indecision within a few minutes of picking up the iPad mini for the first time.
As the company usually does at its product unveilings, Apple Inc. only provided reporters with limited, strictly supervised access to the iPad mini on Tuesday. That meant I could only experiment with it for about 15 minutes, but as an experienced user of the iPad 2, I could quickly see that the smaller tablet does just about everything its bigger brethren does.
Even though the mini's screen is 1.8 inches smaller than the standard iPad, the movie "The Avengers" looked lush, even in a side-by-side comparison with the larger tablet. When I pulled up the latest issue of the New Yorker, I didn't have to strain to see the text or pictures on the smaller screen. A quick check of other websites verified that the mini's screen isn't so tiny that it's going to cause a lot of squinting. After I took a very crisp picture of another reporter testing out a mini, I decided to email it to her to test how easy it was to use the keyboard on the smaller screen. No problem there. Best of all, the iPad Mini can be held in one hand and is about half the weight of the larger iPad.
The Mini worked so much like my standard iPad that it immediately caused me to have second thoughts about a decision I thought I had already made. I like my iPad 2 a lot, but it's just too big to carry with me wherever I am. But there have been times I really wish I had it with me, like when I spot something that would make a great picture or when I've needed to check something on the Web. For various reasons, I didn't want a smartphone that would require a data plan, so I had my mind set on buying the latest iPod Touch, which has an iPhone-size screen and superb camera.
Now, the iPad mini has me vacillating. Apple isn't making it easier with its pricing strategy. The latest iPod Touch with 32 gigabytes sells for $299. An iPad Mini with 16 gigabytes of storage sells for $329. I'm tempted.
Like others who will no doubt be weighing the same decision, I'll have to make up my mind. Do I want something that can fit in my one of pant pockets like the Touch? For starters, it comes in more colors than the black-or-white Mini and offers more storage capacity for a cheaper price.
Or do I want to pay a little more for another tablet computer that can slip into a coat pocket and offer a richer experience with a screen nearly two times larger than the new Touch?
The iPad mini is so mighty that I can't believe the iPad 2 will be on the market too much longer. The iPad 2's $399 price now looks like too much, given that the iPad mini can do just about everything it does on a slightly smaller screen. The iPad 2 still may have some appeal for people who want a larger tablet at a lower price the newest iPads, but I can't see too many consumers buying Apple's second-generation tablet now that the mini is available.
Consumers who aren't set on buying one of Apple's devices will have even more choices to make. The iPad mini is clearly aimed at siphoning sales away from the Nexus 7 tablet that Google Inc. began selling four months ago and the longer-established Kindle Fire from Amazon.com Inc. Figuring out which one is best-suited for you (or that special someone on your shopping list) will likely come down to weighing price against performance.
Amazon is sells a Kindle Fire HD with 16 gigabytes of storage and 7-inch screen for $199 and a similarly sized Nexus 7 goes for $249. That means an iPad mini will cost $80 to $130 more, a price that Apple believes is justified because it boasts more features, such as front and back cameras. The mini's reliance on aluminum instead of plastic for its exterior also makes it look more stylish and more enjoyable to hold.
If the speculation on technology blogs pans out, Google might make things even more interesting and dizzying for holiday shoppers by introducing a $99 version of the Nexus 7 in the coming weeks.
Source
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
10 Key Features in Windows 8
Released just last week in Developers Preview mode, Windows 8 already contains more than 300 new features. At its Build developers conference, Microsoft pointed to plans to keep adding more new capabilities until Windows 8 evolves into a shipping product. Which of the existing features are most important to get to know about right now?
1. Support for both x86 PCs and ARM tablets
Windows 8 is the first edition of Windows to operate on both ARM-based tablets and traditional x86 PCs based on ARM processors from Intel and AMD.
“Support for ARM-based chipsets, touch, and sensors makes Windows 8 work beautifully on your choice of a full spectrum of devices, such as 10-inch slates with all-day battery life, ultra-lightweight laptops, and powerful all-in-ones with 27-inch high-definition screens,” Microsoft contends, in a Windows 8 Guide distributed with Windows Developer Preview
In addition, the ARM edition of Windows 8 includes a new mode dubbed “always on, always connected,” designed to let tablets act like smartphones. Tablets can remain in standby mode without disconnecting from the Internet, and then wake up instantly.
Windows 8 is designed to work seamlessly across both PCs and ARM tablets. Yet until developers get a real start on apps for Microsoft’s still empty Windows Store, it’s tough to tell whether that will be universally true.
2. Touch-centric, Tiles-based User Interface (UI)
Although Windows 8 might look and feel like an entirely new “user experiemce,”, Microsoft is actually layering a new animation-enabled user interface (UI) on top of an only somewhat upgraded Windows 7.
The Windows 8 Start Menu is customizable through a mosaic of tiles, which differ from traditional desktop icons by letting you view live information from Windows 8 Metro style apps without actually accessing the apps.
In demoing the tile-based UI at last week’s Build conference , Microsoft showed how the tile for a Windows 8 weather app is able to display the current temperature in a city – along with projected temperatures for the next two days – without requiring you to open up the app. A tile for Windows Live Mail will show you your latest message, while a tile for a social networking app will show you notifications.
“The [Metro] apps are full-screen. They’re beautiful.They’re designed for touch, but of course, they work great with a mouse and keyboard as well if that’s what you have. We wanted to make it really fast and fluid for you to switch between them,” according to Jensen Harris, lead program manager on the Microsoft Office User Experience..
Windows 8 users are also able to access Windows 7 apps. “Everything that runs on Windows 7 will run on Windows 8,” maintained Steven Sinofsky, president of Microsoft’s Windows and indows Live division, during a keynote at the Build conference. However, in order to access Windows 7 apps, you need to switch to a different built-in UI.
3. Charms
In large part, ‘charms’ is a new implementation of the traditional Windows start bar. Charms can also be used to quickly configure settings for individual apps. On an ordinary non-touch PC, charms are accessed by dragging the mouse to the bottom-left corner of the screen, to the same spot as the old Windows start button. On a tablet, you swipe from the right side of the screen to bring up charms.
Microsoft recently applied for a trademark on charms. The charms sidebar offers five sets of options, supporting both app-specific settings and system settings such as volume and brightness. The options include Start, Search, Share, Devices, and Settings. The Start option returns the user to the home screen. The Devices option presents a list of connected devices. Under the Share option, users can see social network sharing apps.
4. Snap Multi-tasking
‘Snap multitasking” is designed to make it easy to run two apps in Windows 8 side-by-side, to resize them, and to switch between them. On the right-hand side of the screen, you can snap an app into place.
You can make an app smaller or larger by dragging the bar for the app. To switch between apps in Windows 8, you swipe from the left-hand part of the screen.
However, Windows 8 does not allow you to view all of your running apps on a single screen.
5. Windows 8 Control Panel
Beyond revamping the Windows task manager, Microsoft has also redesigned the control panel for Windows 8. New options include Personalize, Users, Wireless, Notifications, General, Privacy, Search, and Share.
As Metro style apps become available, you'll be able to use the Personalize menu to customize the Start menu with tiles for calendar, music, e-mail, Netflix, and much more.
In a demo at Build, Julie Larson-Green, Microsoft's corporate VP of program management for Windows, showed how you’ll be able to position these Metro apps on the screen, and also to combine them into groups such as friends and games.
6. Web Navigation by Touch
The Internet Explorer (IE) 10 browser built into Windows 8 is designed to offer faster browsing through greater hardware acceleration, along with rapid gesture-based zoom, pan, and Web site navigation.
As in other areas of Windows 8, you can quickly access Windows 8 charms, as well as the two keyboards described below.
7. Two Touch Keyboards
Windows 8 also contains two soft keyboards: an “enhanced” traditional keyboard, plus a new thumbs keyboard for non-touch typists.
In efforts by Microsoft to make typing on a virtual keyboard faster and more accurate, the revised edition of the conventional keyboard suggests words on the screen as you type. You can then tap to selected a suggested word. Microsoft also provides a spellcheck-like feature designed to automatically correct mistyped words – although like any other spellchecker, this feature carries the potential to cause its own errors.
The keyboards are also aimed at automatically adjusting to whaever human language you choose for Windows. These language settings will automatically apply to the entire computer, instead of only to specific apps
8. ‘Enhanced Copy Experience’
Windows 8 also introduces the ability to perform all current copy operations into a single dialog box, instead of requiring you to perform file copying in separate dialog boxes for each app.
The new dialog box for file copying lets you pause, resume, and stop each sopy operation currently under way. It will also warn you if you’re beginning to copy one version of a file on top of another.
Microsoft has also added a realtime throughput graph. “Now each copy job shows the speed of data transfer, the transfer rate trend, and how much data is left to transfer. While this is not designed for benchmarking, in many cases it can provide a quick and easy way to assess what is going on for a particular [copy] job,” noted Alex Simons, director of program management with the Windows 8 management team.
9. Native USB 3.0 Support
New USB 3.0 ports operate at speeds up to ten times faster than )SB 2.0. To better support these speeds, Microsoft is outfitting Windows 8 with native USB 3.0 drivers.
Meanwhile, though, USB 3.0 will purportedly continue to work under Windows 7, through the use of third-party drivers.
“By 2015, all new PCs are expected to offer USB 3.0 ports, and over 2 billion new ‘SuperSpeed’ USB devices will be sold in that year alone,” said Dennis Flanagan, director of program management for the Windows 8 Devices and Networking Group, in a blog post. “There are also billions of older USB devices that Windows must remain compatible with.”
10. Better Support for Multiple Monitors
Windows 8 also brings increased support for multiple monitors, The Developers Preview of the new OS includes first-time capabilities for extending the taskbar across two PCs, without any need for third-party apps. You can also stretch wallpaper across two monitors, or display the Start screen on one PC and the desktop on the other, for instance.
It's also easy to switch between multiple monitors. The primary monitor has a start button, and the secondary monitor has a switcher button. Clicking or tapping on the switcher button will swap it out for the start button, allowing you to turn the secondary monitor into the primary one.
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It's a Tablet! It's a Computer!
I love hearing about new gadgets and technology, so when Microsoft introduced its new tablets, with a detachable keyboard and the new Microsoft Windows 8 operating system, I was pretty excited about the new opportunities the tech would create.
From the technical side of things, the tablet has a step up on Apple's iPad with the detachable keyboard -- making it not just a tablet, but a small computer. Apple still seems to have the advantage
of an easier operating system, though: While Apple's OSX (in whatever jungle cat variety you happen to own) is seen as pretty idiot-proof, Windows 8 takes some getting used to.
But rather than focus on this particular tablet, I think it's interesting to think about the potential for this tablet (and those like it) to engage voters and canvass more effectively before elections.
From the voter side of things, tablets provide a less expensive alternative to computers. I've talked about this in a past blog post, but for voters who can't afford to pay both a monthly Internet bill and also pay for a pricey laptop or PC, tablets mean access to information. This Microsoft laptop in particular could serve poorer families as a workable laptop, and would also work well for older Internet users who want to be able to send email and keep up with news, but don't necessarily want to shell out for a computer.
From the organizing perspective, these tablets have untapped potential for canvassing -- something near and dear to my heart. The technology puts more information at a canvasser's fingertips in less space. It could slowly phase out the use of paper voter rolls in door knocking and phone banking, and make updating information much easier, much faster, and much more environmentally friendly.
The problem I found canvassing with paper was having outdated information. I and my friends were pounding the pavement in Southend-On-Sea, Essex, UK, trying to get undecided voters to vote for the Labour party. All of our volunteers had clipboards with at least half of a paper ream's worth of voter rolls -- many of which were out of date. We ran into a lot of homes where people had moved, changed names, changed party affiliation, or passed away. But those voter rolls were all we had to work with, save for a pen and a wooden spoon (a pro-tip for anyone leafleting houses with angry dogs and a mail slot in the door).
With a tablet, canvassers would be able to update information as soon as they got it -- which could potentially solve the information gap between paper and reality. If there was Wi-fi in the area (or they paid for a hotspot), canvassers would be able to update voter rolls instantly, rather than having some poor intern do the data entry later.
And with the tablet, they would be able to access campaign materials instantly, and have the ability to email the materials to voters and friends rather than spending a ton of money on direct mail. They would also be able to get voters to act instantly -- if there's a petition to be signed or a donation to be made through the web, they would be able to do this instantly as they stand on the doorstep. And with groups like NGP VAN creating applications to connect voter rolls with Facebook and geographic location, the opportunities for social networking and canvassing are endless -- something that simply can't be done with paper.
It may seem like an odd connection between tablets and political canvassing. But to truly target voters where they live, we have to find their home in every sense -- both their physical residence and their online presence. If progressives can merge the two and build a comprehensive canvassing strategy, this new technology can only help us win the future
Source
Read more ►
From the technical side of things, the tablet has a step up on Apple's iPad with the detachable keyboard -- making it not just a tablet, but a small computer. Apple still seems to have the advantage
of an easier operating system, though: While Apple's OSX (in whatever jungle cat variety you happen to own) is seen as pretty idiot-proof, Windows 8 takes some getting used to.
But rather than focus on this particular tablet, I think it's interesting to think about the potential for this tablet (and those like it) to engage voters and canvass more effectively before elections.
From the voter side of things, tablets provide a less expensive alternative to computers. I've talked about this in a past blog post, but for voters who can't afford to pay both a monthly Internet bill and also pay for a pricey laptop or PC, tablets mean access to information. This Microsoft laptop in particular could serve poorer families as a workable laptop, and would also work well for older Internet users who want to be able to send email and keep up with news, but don't necessarily want to shell out for a computer.
From the organizing perspective, these tablets have untapped potential for canvassing -- something near and dear to my heart. The technology puts more information at a canvasser's fingertips in less space. It could slowly phase out the use of paper voter rolls in door knocking and phone banking, and make updating information much easier, much faster, and much more environmentally friendly.
The problem I found canvassing with paper was having outdated information. I and my friends were pounding the pavement in Southend-On-Sea, Essex, UK, trying to get undecided voters to vote for the Labour party. All of our volunteers had clipboards with at least half of a paper ream's worth of voter rolls -- many of which were out of date. We ran into a lot of homes where people had moved, changed names, changed party affiliation, or passed away. But those voter rolls were all we had to work with, save for a pen and a wooden spoon (a pro-tip for anyone leafleting houses with angry dogs and a mail slot in the door).
With a tablet, canvassers would be able to update information as soon as they got it -- which could potentially solve the information gap between paper and reality. If there was Wi-fi in the area (or they paid for a hotspot), canvassers would be able to update voter rolls instantly, rather than having some poor intern do the data entry later.
And with the tablet, they would be able to access campaign materials instantly, and have the ability to email the materials to voters and friends rather than spending a ton of money on direct mail. They would also be able to get voters to act instantly -- if there's a petition to be signed or a donation to be made through the web, they would be able to do this instantly as they stand on the doorstep. And with groups like NGP VAN creating applications to connect voter rolls with Facebook and geographic location, the opportunities for social networking and canvassing are endless -- something that simply can't be done with paper.
It may seem like an odd connection between tablets and political canvassing. But to truly target voters where they live, we have to find their home in every sense -- both their physical residence and their online presence. If progressives can merge the two and build a comprehensive canvassing strategy, this new technology can only help us win the future
Source
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