Saturday 28 December 2013

Lenovo Yoga Tablets

Lenovo's aggressive pricing shakes up the Android space ...
Yoga Tablet 8 and Yoga Tablet 10I really like the look of these new Android tablets from Lenovo. Currently available directly from Lenovo Australia for $314 (8") and $359 (10") including GST and delivery!

Lenovo Yoga Tablet 8 and 10: Unique design on a budget (hands on) | ZDNet:

Streaming music takes off

Some background to the music streaming revolution ...
Music streaming has certainly taken off in the last couple of years. This short article explains some of the reasons why.

The joy of streaming music - Technology - The Retriever - University of Maryland Baltimore County:

Google self-driving cars

Google self drives cars are now a reality ...
The pod on the car roof is the LIDAR unit which is a combination of six lasers and multiple radar. This analyses all objects in the immediate vicinity and then combines this data with Google Maps to provide fully functional software called Google Chauffeur that can drive the car anywhere including drive-in takeaways and drive-in banks!

Google: self-driving cars safer than professional drivers - Cars:

Protect Facebook accounts

Something for Facebook users to be aware of ...
Two factor authentication is now  more common since applications like Dropbox and Google started to offer it as a way to improve your account security. Now Facebook has launched a similar system.

Protect your Facebook account from hackers with two-factor authentication - Computerworld:

Friday 27 December 2013

Google+ jumps to 540M

Here comes Google+ - watch out Facebook ...
I am seeing more and more articles about the reducing popularity of Facebook. Maybe Facebook is going to go the same way at MySpace. Google+ could become the next "flavour of the month" in social networking! 

Google+ popularity jumps with 540M monthly users - Computerworld:

Best small tablets

Always interesting to see what makes "the best of" ...
Google Nexus 7 (2013)My choice would be the Nexus 7 without hesitation!

Best small tablets - Tablets:

Devastating new malware

Watch out for this malware ...
As per the advice in the last paragraph, keep your OS and Antivirus software up to date. Keep you important files backed up and don't open email attachments from people you don't know!

Devastating new malware: pay up or lose your files - Security Software:

Tablets grow 53% in 2013

Interesting growth statistics for 2013 ...
So Android is top of the heap for all devices at 38%!

Tablets shipments to mushroom by 53% in 2013 - Computerworld:'

Tuesday 17 December 2013

Bits & Pieces Community

A Reminder ...
For those readers who do not use RSS to notify them of posts to this blog, it is a good idea to join the public Bits & Pieces Google+ Community and that way you will get notification from Google+ that I have posted new items. You can also add comments to my posts or post your own thoughts.

Monday 16 December 2013

Best Android smartphones

Overview of the best Android smartphones ...
Samsung Galaxy Note 3Always interesting to see which smartphones get a mention!

Best Android smartphones - Smartphones & PDA Phones:

Remote PC access

Microsoft launches mobile apps for remote PC access ...
May be of interest to some! I actually use the Android TeamViewer app for this purpose.

Microsoft launches iOS, Android apps for remote PC access - Mobile Apps:

Best Tablets

An overview of the currently available tablets ...
Google Nexus 7 (2013)A wide choice that should satisfy every need!

Best tablets - Tablets:

Whirlpool goes to Cloud

Another 30,000 employees move to the Google Cloud ...
Whirlpool has decided to maker the shift to Google Apps taking 30,000 employees.  I like the comment   " ... the decision to switch to Apps was also driven by people's familiarity with Google's online services in their personal lives."

Whirlpool CIO says Google's consumer-driven innovation led him to Apps - Computerworld:

Sunday 15 December 2013

Windows 8 uptake stalls

Windows XP at 34%, Win 7 at 51% and Win 8 at 10% ...
Microsoft should be worried when you consider that after the same 13 months, Windows Vista was 8.9% of all Windows platforms!

Windows 8 uptake needle sticks as growth stalls - IT industry, net applications, Microsoft, Windows, software, operating systems - Computerworld:

Chrome lifeline for XP

Good one Google ...
Google throws Chrome-lifeline to Windows XP usersThere will still be, at very least, tens of millions still using Windows XP in April 2014 so this is a good move from Google. Windows XP users should abandon Internet Explorer on Windows XP PCs in favour of Google Chrome.

Google throws Chrome-lifeline to Windows XP users | News | TechRadar:

Best Windows 8 laptops

Good read if you are buying a Windows 8 laptop ...
Best Windows 8 laptops: the top Windows 8 notebooks we've reviewedProvides a good overview of some of the models currently available.

Best Windows 8 laptops: the top Windows 8 notebooks we've reviewed | News | TechRadar:

Microsoft drops RT brand

An improvement but confusion still reigns ...
The Microsoft Surface 2 tablet goes on sale in Australia later this month.Whilst dropping the "RT" from the Microsoft Surface 2 may help with reducing the confusion, I doubt that most consumers understand the difference between the Surface 2 and the Surface 2 Pro - other than the price!

Microsoft dropped RT brand to minimise Surface "confusion" - Surface 2, Microsoft, Microsoft Surface 2, tablets, Surface, Windows tablets - Good Gear Guide by PC World Australia:

Chromebook diaries

For those considering the purchase of a Chromebook ...
The author of this series of articles decided, as an experiment, to use a Chromebook as his sole work computing device for a week. He reports on the issues and his final verdict.

Chromebook diaries: the verdict - Laptop & Notebook computers: