How to Supercharge Your Dropbox or Google Drive with Wappwolf

Opera has been in the browser game for years and commands a loyal, but small, following. The last several years have seen Opera gain success on mobile devices, offering an alternative browser on many platforms..

14 Ways to Make Skype Rock

Skype is kind of a big deal. You know it, I know it, But… the one thing that you likely don’t know off the top of your head is all the different ways you can maximize your VoIP-chatting experience through the use of third-party Skype add-ons, software tweaks, and more!

Extend Your Smartphone's Battery Life

A detailed How-to on Extending Your Smartphone's Battery Life...

Transfer Pics from Facebook to Google+

A detailed how-to guide to sucessfully Transfer your Pics from Facebook to Google+

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Nokia N900 gets an early build of Ice-Cream Sandwich OS


Nokia may be reluctant to start bedding with Google for its OS needs, but efforts are being made to get their yesteryear flagship dev phone, the N900, to at least have a one-night stand with Google’s latest issue, Ice-Cream Sandwich.  A developer going by the name of Drunkdebugger seems to be making some headway in this regard, with an early version of the build now up and running on the Nokia N900.
As you can see from the video, the build is really young and is not ready for use as your primary OS, but this should offer hope to many Nokia fanboys out there who want something more than Meego or Windows Phone 7 on their devices.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

HTC Zeta Leak, Sports An Interesting Humpback Design and 2.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor


Simply known internally as the ‘Zeta’, HTC’s future smartphone seems finally ready to show its face out in the wild. The folks over at Engadget were able to snag a clear press shot of the handset in all its humpback glory.
Reportedly, the Zeta is expected to rock a 2.5 GHz quad-core processor,1GB of RAM, 4.5″ 720p HD display, 32GB of internal storage, 1830mAh battery, Beats Audio, Bluetooth 4.0, 8MP rear camera, and a 1.3MP front camera. All of these fancy specs are also expected to ship alongside Android’s latest operating system platform, Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich).
Hard to tell if the Zeta is in fact the real deal yet, as HTC has yet to confirm any details surrounding the handset. However, with its brag worthy list of specs and innovative design, here’s to hoping it’s HTC’s next big thing.


Saturday, November 19, 2011

Apple Granted New "Slide To Unlock" Patent, Expect Lawsuits To Start Flying Soon


As if Apple’s ridiculous tablet design patent didn’t hold enough ominous tidings for the mobile tech industry, the US Patent and Trademark Office just awarded the company another ludicrous claim: that's right, “slide to unlock” is officially an Apple patent. That means all the non-Apple phones and tablets that use the omnipresent unlocking maneuver are possibly infringing on Apple’s intellectual property – which could lead to complex legal battles that tie up competitors’ products, as Apple has done with the Samsung Galaxy Tab in Australia.
Even 9to5Mac, which broke the news, admits that’s it ridiculous – but it’s legal until a court finds prior art against it or declares it invalid. Interestingly enough, Apple tried using an older “Slide to Unlock” patent in an injunction attempt against Samsung in the Netherlands, but the Dutch judge tossed out the claim and declared the patent invalid. According to FOSS Patents, Apple filed the original version of the European patent on December 23, 2005; a company called Neonode had released a Windows CE phone earlier that year that already had a slide to unlock feature. How’s that for prior art? In the Dutch case, Samsung also cited a publication from 1992 that discussed touchscreen slide to unlock technology. Plus, CNET amusingly points out that the head-hunting Predator used a slide to unlock feature on his alien gadgets way back in 1987.
Since the European version of Apple's original slide to unlock patent, patent 7,657,849, was declared invalid, the new US version includes the following additional verbiage: In addition, there is a need for sensory feedback to the user regarding progress towards satisfaction of a user input condition that is required for the transition to occur. Presumably, Apple is banking on the fact that the Neonode phone did not have any type of sensory feedback and is trying to stop US court arguments before they begin. But does sensory feedback really make the iPhone version of slide to unlock a new, patentable invention compared to the Neonode version?
Hopefully, US patent 8,046,721 won’t stay valid for long; no doubt Google, Samsung and others are already picking it over with a fine-toothed comb and preparing legal strategies to combat it.

Google Gets Pattern Unlock Patent


Apple has the patent on “slide to unlock”, but Google isn’t sitting on the sidelines when it comes to seemingly inconsequential user interface tricks. The Android OS maker has been granted a patent on its pattern unlock feature, or as the patent calls it, “Touch Gesture Actions From A Device’s Lock Screen.” This has been a staple of Android phones since the beginning, and now it’s locked down, more or less.
Pattern locking is a way for users to protect their phones with a custom pattern of dots that must be drawn on the lock screen. It has been shown in the past that the system is far from perfect, with finger smudges occasionally giving the pattern away. Some OEMs have also replaced the Android lock screen with their own custom UI, but pattern locking is usually lurking someplace behind the scenes.
Google also received a patent on gestures performed anywhere on  a lock screen to initiate an action, like checking upcoming events. This might be a hint at future capabilities in Android. 

Mark Zuckerberg Nearly Starts Panic Talking About Facebook IPO


According to sources inside the company, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg nearly set kicked off full-scale pandemonium at the Facebook offices when he recently told employees the long-awaited IPO was coming soon. Facebook has been teasing the market for the better part of a year with speculation that it would file its S-1 papers and sell stock publicly. For employees, that would mean a chance to finally cash in on all that stock.
The S-1 could go through in less than a month, sources say. There are a few reasons that Facebook is eyeing a short time line for filing. The markets have settled down after turmoil earlier in the year, for one. Facebook also crossed a major threshold recently. It now has more than 500 private shareholders, which means its financials have to be disclosed, per SEC rules. If the company has to do that, it makes sense to go all the way and go public.
The offering is likely going to be the biggest tech IPO since Google back in 2004. For those not in the market for highly over-priced stock, this will at least be a chance to get a good look at how profitable social networking and data mining really is.

How To Tether Your Android Phone without Needing the Market or Root


Apparently, Verizon and AT&T users can no longer find tethering apps in the Android Market (thanks to Google hiding them from those devices after being bugged by the carriers to remove them). So for those users, here’s how to still be able to tether without needing the Android Market.
1. Download the PDANet apk file and save it somewhere on your computer.
2. Transfer the .apk file to your device’s SD card or internal storage.
3. Download a file manager from the Market if you don’t already have on (Astro File Manager is a good, free option).
4. Install the apk by clicking on it in the file manager app.
5. Open the app and click on the tethering method of your choice (Bluetooth or USB).
6. Download the tethering desktop program to your computer from PDANet.
7. Run PDANet on your computer and follow the installation instructions.
8. Plug in your device via USB cable to your computer.
9. Done!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

How To Use Google+ Sparks


One other thing you may have noticed about Google+ that you don’t see on Facebook is Sparks. You may be wondering then, what these “sparks” are for and when you would use them. Let’s shed some light on them.

I. Setup Some Spark Topics

1. From the Google+ home page, click on Sparks at the left under your Circles in your Stream.
2. You can then choose from the categories that Google has already setup, or you can type any keyword into the search box at the top and then hit enter.
3. It will present you with a list of stories that that keyword brings up. If you like the kinds of stories that are coming up, then click the Add Interest button underneath the search box to add it to your Sparks.
4. Repeat this until you have a nice list of Sparks you find interesting.

II. Using Sparks

1. Now, whenever you feel the hankering to check out stories about a specific topic, just click on that topic under your Sparks on the left on your homepage.
2. You can then browse the stories and click on ones to read more, you can also share them easily with your Google+ followers by clicking Share under the post excerpt (remember to also use those circles to share the story with people you think might be interested).

Saturday, November 12, 2011

How To Install Windows 8 on a Mac


Want to try out the new Windows 8 Developer preview but you happen to have a Mac (being a Mac owner and even thinking such thing puts you in danger of self combusting, I’m pretty sure)? Well, if you’re willing to risk setting fire to your couch, here’s CultofMac‘s very informative video on how to do just that. If you like the video, please feel free to head to CultofMac’s site and let them know!
UPDATE: We’ve added a few sections to help with installing the bootcamp software once in Windows 8 so things like the Wifi, and trackpad work.

I. Install Windows 8 on a Mac

1. Download the software from Microsoft.
2. Burn the .iso image to a blank DVD by clicking on Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility and clicking on Burn at the top left then select the Windows Developer .iso file and put in a blank DVD and wait for it to finish.
3. Next, go to Applications > Utilities > Boot Camp Assistant and open it.
4. Select the last option in the list and click continue.
5. Select the size of the partition for Windows to sit on.
6. Follow the rest of the directions in the prompt and when you come to it asking which partition to install Windows on, select the one with the words BOOTCAMP at the end, click on Advanced Options and click format then it will let you click continue.
7. Follow the Windows installation guide until Windows boots up.

II. To Boot Back Into Mac (Added)

1. Hold down the power button until the computer turns off.
2. Turn the computer back on by holding down Power AND Option, let go of Power after a few seconds but keep holding Option until the screen with all the different harddrive images shows up.
3. Then select the Mac hard drive to boot into Mac instead of Windows and vise versa.

III. Install Mac’s Drivers on Windows 8 (Added)

1. After following section I, follow section II to boot back into Mac.
2. Next, go to Applications > Utilities > Boot Camp Assistant and open it.
3. Select the Download the Windows Software from Apple option and continue.
4. Insert a new blank DVD when asked and let it burn the software to the disc.
5. Now, boot back into Windows 8 (by following section II and selecting Windows instead of Mac).
6. When it boots up click on the Desktop and Windows Explorer.
7. Then click on Computer to highlight it and then search in the search box at the top right for setup.exe
8. When it finds it, click on it once to highlight it and then select Application Options at the top of the screen and choose Compatibility.
9. After it tries to figure it out on it’s own, click on the second option and then select worked in a previous version of Windows and click on Windows 7 then continue and it should install.
Source for Section I

How To Message People on Google+


So you may have realized by now that there is no way to “write on someone’s wall” in Google+. They have to post something and then you can comment on it only. So what if you want to send a quick message to one of your friends? Here’s how.

I. Send a Private Message

1. Head to your Google+ homepage.
2. Type whatever you want to say in to the person in the stream update text box (as if you were posting a “status update”).
3. Instead of just hitting Share though, delete the Public icon underneath the text box (if it’s there), then click Add circles or people to share with and start typing in their name. Once they pop up select them.
4. Now hit share. This message will ONLY be visible to that person and any and all comments you both make back and forth will also only be visible to you both.
5. Keep in mind that you can also add other individuals to the message or even entire circles and only those people can see them and respond.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

How To Use Google+ Circles


Trying to figure out what’s so different about Google+ over Facebook? Well, one of the big features are called Circles and they are pretty cool. Problem is, most people, aren’t quite sure how to use them. Let’s see if we can show you how these groups can be used to your advantage.

Highlights

  • Circles can be used to avoid sending messages to everyone when you may only want specific people to see them (talking about a drunken night to friends, might not want to be shared with coworkers or family members etc.)
  • You can also use them to stop people from being annoyed with your posts by creating some for topics and then sending posts to those topic groups only when appropriate. I.e. You can create one for technology and put all of your techie friends in there, this way when you feel the urge to nerd out and talk about the latest iPhone rumors etc., you can post specifically to those people only and your other Circles won’t see it.
  • You can create circles within circles. Say you have friends that live in your area, so you might put them in their own circle (and keep them in your other circles as well) this way you can click on their circle in your stream to see what your local friends might be up to tonight.

How To Invite Others to Google+



Excited about Google+? Want to force your friends to join so you aren't talking to no one with your posts? No problem. Here’s how to invite them.


I. Before You Invite Them

1. Keep in mind that they MUST have a Gmail account (Google Apps accounts don’t work either, must be @gmail.com) in order to be invited.
2. If they don’t have one, tell them to go to mail.google.com and create an account.

II. Invite Them

1. Head to your Google+ home page (you can get there by going to Google.com, logging in at the top right if you aren’t already logged in, and then clicking on your name on the far left side at the top).
2. Scroll down and look at the bottom right of the page, you will see an Invite People to Join Google+ link. Click it.
3. Now, type in the email address of the person you want to invite (remember it has to be a gmail account) and then click Invite.
4. After you have sent the invite, you can select what Circle to put them in automatically when they join if you want, or you can wait till they join.

How To Transfer Pictures from Facebook to Google+


Wish you could get all of your Facebook pictures over to Google+ easily? Fortunately, there is an easy way to do just that using a simple Faceook app. Here’s how.

I. Setup FotoLink

1. Click and install the Facebook App called FotoLink and Allow it access to your Facebook acount.
2. Once you have granted it access, click on the app to see all of your albums on Facebook.
3. Click on Photo Accounts at the top right of the app and click on Picasa.
4. Login with your Google+ email and password (the name section at the top of the form, you can just call Google or whatever you want)

II. Create the Albums in Google+

Since you can’t create an album of copy an album to Picasa using FotoLink, you have to create one first then copy the photos to it.
1. Head to your Google+ account and click on Photos.
2. Click Upload New Photos and choose any picture you want (we’ll just delete it later).
3. Make the Album name the same is it is in Facebook (or change it if you feel like it).
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3, uploading just one picture per album until you have all of the albums you originally had on Facebook.

III. Copy the Pictures Over

1. Head back to the FotoLink app on Facebook and refresh the page (you should now see all of those albums you created in Google+ just now under Picasa on the left side).
2. Click on the Facebook album you want to copy and then click Select All at the top right.
3. Then click Copy underneath that.
4. Select the Picasa album you want to transfer them to and then click Paste.
5. Repeat steps2 through 4 until you have copied all of your photos over. Enjoy!

Android App of the Week: Opera Mobile


There are few topics as hotly contested among PC lovers as to which web browser is best. Internet Explorer had a leg up for many years due to its integration into the Windows OS, but Firefox has become a challenger, and Chrome is also putting up quite a fight. Opera has been in the browser game for years and commands a loyal, if somewhat small, following. The last several years have seen Opera gain success on mobile devices, offering an alternative browser on platforms that had none.
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Opera Mobile for Android is now in version 11.5, and is one of the most mature alternative browsers for Android. Offering plug-in support and synchronization options for Opera Desktop users, Opera Mobile is a favorite for users that need a premium web browsing experience. The latest update to Opera Mobile allows you to monitor your data usage and savings when using Opera Turbo, Opera's proxy-based rendering engine. Opera Turbo provides you cost savings by rendering the web pages you browse on a server, and compressing the text and images, allowing you to use your allocated data more efficiently.
om three            om four
Opera Mobile is available as a free download from the Android Market.

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