Saturday 31 March 2012

Android vs iPad Apps

Android apps still have a way to go ....
Terri Weston sent this link to a very interesting comparison of apps currently available for Android tablets compared to the equivalent apps for iPad. Despite the fact that tablet hardware between Android and iPad is roughly on par, it appears that app developers for Android still have some catching up to do! Early Android buyers should be aware this.

Google Drive to offer 5GB?

More Cloud storage on offer ...
Soon you will have access to more free storage in the Cloud than you are likely to use in a lifetime!  Assuming, of course, you don't want to store every one of your movies, pictures and songs online!

Google Drive will offer 5GB of free storage, leak suggests
It looks as though Google will offer users 5GB of free cloud storage space on its new Drive service.

Evernote - App in the Cloud

Already a fan of Evernote ...
Whilst the review at the link below is mainly business oriented, Evernote is a great free application that can run on any device and synchronize itself via the Cloud. I find that its ability to clip things directly from web pages and insert them in a new note is a great time saver. Have a look!

Evernote is much more than a note-taking utility. Andy Makar highlights some of the ways that your company can use Evernote as a feature rich, collaborative tool.

Awesome Android Gadgets

Looking for Android Widgets ...
Here is a collection of 11 awesome ones (according to Computerworld):

Deleting Skype Call History

In answer to a Skype question ...
(The answer from Skype Help section)

How do I delete my conversation history?
It is not possible to delete individual conversations on Skype. However, you can delete your entire conversation history. This removes your entire history, which includes:
  • Instant messages
  • Calls
  • Voice messages
  • Text messages
  • Sent and received files
When your conversation history has been deleted it can't be recovered.
To delete your conversation history:
  1. Sign into Skype
  2. In the menu bar, click Skype then Privacy ...
  3. Under Keep history for, click Clear history

Friday 30 March 2012

Blog Layout & Design

Changing Blog design already ...
You will notice that I have changed the layout and design of this blog! I was originally using a new Blogger Template called Dynamic Views but unfortunately some standard blog features are not yet working in that Template so I have reverted to a more traditional layout and design which is more flexible. I will be refining this new layout and design over the next few days so don't be surprised if you see a few things changing each time you visit!

Thursday 29 March 2012

Download YouTube Videos

Popular Topic ...
DownloadHelper is an extension to Mozilla Firefox and actually the method I use - not sure why it is not listed in the article below! DownloadHelper is available at: http://www.downloadhelper.net/

Check out these three ways to download video from websites like YouTube and Vimeo.

Wednesday 28 March 2012

Office Suite for Android

An MS Office compatible office suite for Android
This free Office Suite from Kingsoft looks really good!
Kingsoft Office: Finally, a real Office suite for Android tablets
Find out why Jack Wallen is so impressed with Kingsoft Office, a free mobile application for Android tablets.

Tuesday 20 March 2012

Skype Download

Confusing and also frustrating ...
Recently Skype has required you to "Sign In" or "Create an Account" before it would download the Skype set-up file. Whilst this is frustrating when encountered, it is not always the case. Some Windows PCs go straight to downloading the set-up file without this unnecessary step whilst others require it. So far, I have not found the reason for this variation between PCs. In the meantime, if you are running Windows, you can click on the link below to get directly to the Skype set up file without needing to "Sign In" or "Create an Account".

http://www.skype.com/intl/en/get-skype/on-your-computer/windows/downloading 

Monday 19 March 2012

Windows 8 Tablets

Here comes Microsoft's Windows 8 Tablets ... 
Windows 8 is due for official release late 2012 according to the current rumours. This article gives some clues as to what various Tablet manufacturers are planning for Windows 8. Click the link below:
With the launch of Apple's new iPad out of the way, it's time to look ahead to the next big tablet launch on the horizon.

Cloud Services Compared

Some free cloud storage ...
Link below is to a CNET Australia review of current free Cloud Services.
This makes interesting reading for those wanting free Cloud space. I already use DropBox, SkyDrive and EverNote but ADrive also looks good!

Free Cloud Services Compared

Sunday 18 March 2012

FedEx Virus

Beware
One of our members recently had a lot of trouble with a virus that was attached to the FEDEX emails that are currently doing the rounds.

Do not open an email from FedEx with content similar to that below:

From: FedEx Express Services
Subject: Your package is available for pickup
Email Message Content:
Your package has been returned to the FedEx office. The reason of the return is - 
"Error in the delivery address". Please print out the invoice copy attached and collect the package at our office.

Opening the attachment then infects the PC with a "difficult to remove" virus!!

Personal Clouds

I came across this article a few days ago ....

Personal clouds will be on 90% of devices by '15

By Brandon Butler
March 6, 2012 01:48 PM 
Network World - Within three years the personal cloud will be ubiquitous on consumer devices, Gartner predicts in a research report released Tuesday.
Consumer cloud services that allow users to store, synch, stream and share content over the Internet will be integrated into 90% of consumer devices by 2015, the paper predicts.
Technology vendors must stretch their offerings across multiple devices -- including smartphones, tablets, televisions and PCs -- in order to tap into the $2.2 trillion that consumers are expected to spend in 2012 on content, devices and services, Gartner said. 

"The shift to the personal cloud will accelerate rapidly in 2012 as consumers learn how to use new services on their devices," said Andrew Johnson, a Gartner analyst. "As cloud services become part of people's lives, device vendors and platform providers must integrate cloud services in order to win customers in 2012 or risk being displaced by those that offer these services."
Brands such as Netflix, Google Apps, Amazon Music, Microsoft SkyDrive and Apple's iCloud are market leaders in this space already, the report says.
While online backup and synchronization are not new technologies or products, the advancements in how consumers are using them will be the greatest shift in coming years.
Still though, the study estimates that less than 10% of consumers will use cloud services as their main storage in 2014, citing the continual need for traditional storage functions.

You Tube Email Virus

Non friendly family You Tube ...
There appears to be a new You Tube email virus doing the rounds! It tries to get you to open a link to a You Tube video that someone has made of your family. Beware of any unsolicited emails purporting to be from You Tube. If you hover over the link you may see that it is going to send you to a website that has nothing to do with You Tube.

First Post

Hopefully interesting and useful information ...
This is my very first post on Google Blogger. I am hoping that this will be the quickest and most efficient way to disseminate interesting information about all aspects of home computing to my friends at Computer Pals and my many "PC Repairs & Support" clients. The items published may be news items, security issues, how-to articles, links to useful free software and anything else I think may be of interest or useful!