Google Drive Is Here

Google Drive announced on 24th April 2012 ...

Whilst Google Drive has been announced, as a Google user you may not yet have access to your free 5GB. This is supposed to happen over the coming days. To checkout your status, go to  drive.google.com/start and look for a status message in the top right corner. You can ask Google to notify you by email when your 5GB is ready for use.

In the meantime, the article below is a good overview of what's happening in the Cloud Space.

With Google Drive, 'personal cloud' will soon overshadow the PC: The launch of Google's cloud storage and synchronization service -- Google Drive -- means hundreds of millions of tech users will now be introduced to file sharing, collaboration and integrated document search.

Tablets - most user's choice?

Looks like good news for tablet manufacturers ...

Personally, I think Forrester Research may be right. Laptops were going to replace desktops then netbooks were going to replace laptops - neither of which happened. Choice of a computing device is still based on the nature of the job to be done. However, laptops and netbooks were just smaller versions of desktops whereas tablets are a completely different "always on" computing device with a simple and fast user interface. If checking Email, Browsing, Facebook and Skyping is all you want to do then a tablet more than fits the bill.

Tablets will be most users' main computing device, Forrester says: Tablets will become most users' primary computing device within the next four years after a period of explosive growth, a Forrester Research analyst believes.

Windows 8 Preview in June

Here comes Windows 8 probably on sale in October ...

Still no word on pricing or how it will relate to Windows 7 but the success of tablets is driving Microsoft to get Windows 8 out there as soon as possible lest they lose too much ground against Apple iPad and the Google Androids.

Microsoft slates Windows 8 'release preview' for early June: Microsoft's top Windows executive today said that the company will ship an almost-complete version of Windows 8 the first week of June.

Asus Transformer Pad 300

ASUS supercedes Transformer Prime after only 6 months ...

Those following the latest Android Tablet reviews will know that the ASUS Transformer Prime was the first or second tablet to give the Apple iPad a run for its money. ASUS is really moving fast now releasing the Transformer Pad 300 with quad core and the Android OS Version 4.

Asus quad-core Transformer Pad 300 tablet ships for $379: Asustek on Sunday started shipping its Transformer Pad 300 tablet in the U.S., with the company pitching the tablet as a gaming device and laptop replacement.

SkyDrive Loyalty Offer

For those who already have a Skydrive account ...

The Cloud storage scene is really hotting up! Microsoft is streamlining its Skydrive service and reducing its original free allowance of 25GB to 7GB unless existing users nominate for a free "once only" upgrade to 25GB. Get in now if you already have a Skydrive account.

Take advantage of limited time SkyDrive loyalty offer from Microsoft: Get a free SkyDrive upgrade to 25GB just by clicking the right link, but don't wait too long.

Android Photo Apps

Awesome Android apps for photographers ...

Contribution from Terri Weston for all those budding photographers that buy Android tablets and want to do some photo editing on the go!

http://www.advancedphotography.net/10-awesome-android-apps-photography-enthusiasts-2/

iPad vs Asus Transformer

iPad given a run for its money ...

This 15 minute video is quite interesting if you are struggling to decide between an iPad and an Android tablet. The guy who tests out the Asus Transformer Prime is really an Apple user so his comments about the Asus Transformer Prime are really interesting!

Tech Clash: The iPad vs. Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime: If you're trying to decide whether to get the new iPad or spring for an Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime TF201, check out our video clash between Computerworld Editor-in-Chief Scot Finnie and News Editor Ken Mingis about which one is better.

Windows 8 Editions

Wonderful Microsoft marketing strikes again ...

Microsoft details Windows 8 editions: Redmond's upcoming OS will come in standard Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro, Windows RT, and Windows 8 Enterprise flavours.

Google Drive 5GB for free?

The Cloud is about to get bigger ...

Google Drive details leaked: 5GB for free: Google Drive could be available to internet users as soon as next week, based on details that leaked on Monday.

Asus Transformer Pad 300

Asus Transformer Prime Tablet already superceded ...

Asus will ship quad-core Transformer Pad 300 tablet April 22: Asus' latest Transformer Pad 300 will start shipping in the U.S. on April 22, the company said Friday. The tablet is being pitched as a laptop replacement with 4G LTE network capabilities.

Ransomware via MBR

Another reason to have Acronis full image backups ...
Ransomware stops Windows from booting by replacing its master boot record: A new ransomware variant prevents infected computers from loading Windows by replacing their master boot record (MBR) and displays a message asking users for money, according to security researchers from Trend Micro.

New Look for Google+

Google+ claimed to have 170 million users ...
Google+ gets 'more functional, flexible' design: Google Wednesday morning said it has started rolling out a redesign of its Google+ social network.

Email Phishing Scams

A must read article on Phishing ...
How to Tell If an Email Is a Phishing Scam: Email phishing scams have grown more sophisticated since they first began popping up in corporate inboxes in the 1990s. Early phishing emails were relatively easy to detect as they were characterized by poor grammar and spelling. No legitimate business would send an email to customers chockfull of typos.

Samsung's Electronic Paper?

Giving LG a run for its money ...
Samsung's flexible Youm AMOLED screens coming soon?: Samsung has quietly bestowed a name to its flexible AMOLED technology, an indication that we may soon see it on retailer shelves.

Microsoft XP Retirement

The writing definitely on the wall for Windows XP ...
April 8, 2014 is current target date to cease all support for Windows XP and Office 2003.
Microsoft starts XP retirement countdown: Microsoft yesterday kicked off what it called a "two-year countdown" to the death of Windows XP and Office 2003.

Text to Speech Software

An alternative to reading ...
A friend of Sandra Self asked if she knew of any available software that would turn screen based text into speech. After some research, I found numerous software vendors and it was a case of which one would I buy for this purpose. After trialling both, I think the best two are TextAloud from Nextup.com and NaturalReader from NaturalSoft. Have a look at the links below for more comparative information. Both offer free trials of the software but have only the robotic voices included in the trial software. These voices would drive you mad very quickly! I consider it essential that you buy at least two natural voices which are a huge improvement. TextAloud with two natural voices costs about AU$55 and offers a "Whole House Licence" (multiple PCs) for an extra AU$10. The NaturalReader software offers one licence with two natural voices for US$49.50. I think the NaturalReader may be a simpler interface but the TextAloud seems to offer more functionality and seems to have a higher reputation! I would buy Text Aloud but you can try both!
http://www.honestas.ca/?page_id=195
http://www.pacer.org/stc/pubs/ComparingTexttoSpeechtools.pdf

CCleaner Install & Update

Use CCleaner to minimise rubbish on your PC ...
This is a great free utility for keeping your PC as rubbish free as possible. Unfortunately, many people of have trouble finding the program on the Internet when they want to install it or later, update it. Updating CCleaner just overwrites the old version with the latest version so the process is actually identical.


Watch the YouTube video below:

The link used in the video to download CCleaner is:

http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner

Google Reality Glasses

What next, you may ask ...

Google tests augmented-reality glasses: After months of leaks, Google has finally acknowledged that it's testing a prototype set of eyeglasses that can stream data to the wearer's eyes in real time.

Phablets??

Cross between a phone and a tablet ... 

Kindly sent to me by Terri Weston

Jenneth Orantia from Sydney Morning Herald

Never heard of phablets before? They are – quite literally – the next big thing in mobility. Slightly larger than a smartphone and a fair bit smaller than a tablet (especially the iPad-sized ones), the idea is that they occupy a happy middle ground for power users that want a single device that does everything.

The only thing that irks me is the name. Phablet. There's a special place in hell for whoever coined this word. It's on the same level of stupidity as hybrid celebrity names like “Brangelina” or “Bennifer”. I'm taking a stand: from now on, I'm calling them tablet-phones.

Whatever you want to call them (and please make it “tablet-phone”), the latest sales figures indicate there's definitely a demand. Recently, Samsung announced that it had sold five million of the new Galaxy Note tablet-phones worldwide in the first five months of its release. Not bad for an as-yet unproven form factor, especially since it wasn't available in the United States until February and only just launched in Australia this month.

Androids Reviewed

A few good Androids ...

The Club is getting the ASUS Transformer Prime and the Toshiba AT200, not the AT100 reviewed here.

The best (and worst) Android tablets: For better or worse, there are now over a dozen Android tablets available to buy in Australia. We take you through our favourites, and those that have failed to impress.

Home Computing Evolves

In the beginning... 
After the hobbyists had finished building their computers and the emergence of several versions of desktop computing, the IBM Personal Computer (PC) came along and provided a standard platform for what we know today as the Desktop Computer. Microsoft soon got into the act and sold us a standard Operating System – first DOS then our beloved Windows! We then happily bought packaged software like Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop etc. For our Internet connection we originally thought that Dial-Up was fantastic for email but then found that browsing the World Wide Web on Dial-Up was akin to watching the grass grow!

DNSChanger Trojan

Potential loss of Internet connectivity ...

Kevin Johnson sent me this SMH article that is quite disturbing! To check if you have been infected by the DNSChanger Trojan virus you should go to dns-ok.gov.au. A message at the top of that page will let you know if your PC or home network has been infected.

Ten thousand Australians face web blackout

PayPal Payments

Better way to shop online ...

Many people want to shop online but are hesitant to give their credit card details. The way around this is to open a PayPal Australia account and let them pay any merchants you deal with. Yes, you have to give your credit card or bank account details to PayPal but only PayPal. If there are any payments made that you did not originate then you know who to blame and who to contact. More and more merchants are accepting PayPal so have a look at the PayPal  Australia website at the link below. There is a great video introduction to PayPal and the necessary Sign Up links if you want to proceed.

http://www.paypal.com.au

Electronic Paper Display (EPD)

What next ...

Another gem from Terri Weston. I wonder where and to what this will lead!

LG unveils flexible e-paper display