Latest FireFox 39.0 LEAKS memory

FireFox

I don't know about you, but the latest Firefox is not working like the previous versions use too. I am running Firefox 39.0 on Windows 7 and it crashed on me few times. If not, it crawls down or completely blacks out so much that I find myself having to restart FireFox every 15 minutes. Well, I found out that it is LEAKING MEMORY really really really really reallllllllllllllllllllllllllllllY BAD. It leaks memory when running idle without going to any website for GOD SAKE. So, I went online for solution and many people have said that they are not having any problem. And then, there are those who are having problem just like me. It turns out that this memory leak has something to do with FireFox Addons.
 
 So, I disabled all the addons on my FireFox. It has helped a lot, but it still crashes or blacks out only that it takes longer.

When I run Firefox 39.0 with all the addons enabled, its crashes with memory at somewhere 1.5GB. And without any addons enabled, it crashes with memory at somewhere 500MB.

What is going on FireFox? Oh well, I guess good things can't last forever.

How to mount your encrypted USB hardrive?

Ubuntu

Cryptsetup

If you are running Linux OS like Ubuntu and you recently try to mount your encrypted USB hardrive, then you probably got error message "Unable to mount." If so, then you probably don't have cryptsetup utility installed on your system. It is needed to encrypt and decrypt device.

To install the cryptsetup, open terminal window and enter the following command as you see it exactly:
sudo apt-get install cryptsetup

Once it successfully installs, then you should be able to mount your USB hardrive after entering your passphrase using GUI or terminal.

How to fix No Sound in Windows 7 Home Premium Edition?

Windows 7 Home Premium Edition No Sound Fix

Before I give you my solution to Windows 7 Home Premium Edition No Sound Fix, lets make sure we are on the same page.

My computer system is Compaq Presario SR1817CL Desktop PC. For audio output, I have AC'97.

When I first installed my Windows 7, everything went well except for the sound. I went all over the Internet in search of fixes and there are plenty of them with different approaches and techniques. Being new to Windows 7 for the first time, I tried my best to follow their instructions and steps but nothing helped. In the process I may have screwed up my Windows 7 installation. However, all along there was a very simple solution to my sound problem.

After messing around with Windows 7 for about 2 hours, I learned that you CAN'T trust what Windows 7 says that it did or is doing. You should always try to enable or disable a process or function to see if the system is STILL having problem. What do I mean by that? Well, since my system was having sound problem, I saw the typical signs.

no-sound-in-windows-7-fix icon

System message: No Sound Device Installed

Windows 7 itself searched online for sound driver for my AC'97 output and it kept reporting that it can't find any driver. I tried to look for sound driver for my computer on the manufacturer website myself and still can't install it. So, I ended up shifting through more websites and then I came upon a piece of information on Windows 7. That is even if your system says no sound driver found or can't update driver, try enabling and disabling the component and then try updating for the driver.

So, this is what I did. I opened my control panel-->device manager. There in the tree view window look for device in the list with yellow warning triangle. Yours might be under OTHERS or Sound, Video and Game controller category. Right click on it. In the popup menu first click on DISABLE and then ENABLE. At this point, Window 7 might start to automatically search and download driver. If not, click on the UPDATE DRIVER SOFTWARE option. Then, another window might open asking if you want to yourself search or the system search online for driver. Just have the system search for the driver. At this point, it should successfully download and install the sound driver and you don't even have to reboot your computer system. For me as soon as it got done installing the driver, my speaker icon red X disappeared. I HAVE SOUND NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

This is what I did and it worked for me and I hope it does for you too. Thanks for visiting my blog.

Cheers!!!!!!!

How to install VitrualBox Guest Addition (VBoxGuestAdditions.iso) on Linux (Ubuntu)?

Honestly, I have to say that I never ever spent this long trying to install a simple ISO file before. I went through so many self-help forums and websites still couldn't get the Guest Addition installed, but there is obviously a simple solution, which I overlooked. The reason I wanted to install guest addition to my VirtualBox was because my virtual machine wouldn't go fullscreen but acted like it was only 1078x768 or something.

Here are the steps in installing Virtual guest addition (VBoxGuestAdditions.iso) on Linux (Ubuntu). I am using VirtualBox 4.3.10 for Linux.

1. Before you begin, you must have already created a virtual machine using an operating system of your choice as shown below. I installed Linux Elementary OS.

   

   Snapshot of Virtual Machine

2. Start your virtual machine(VM) by clicking on the start button. Once it is up and running click on the Devices pull down menu on your VM. In the bottom of that pull down menu, you will see an option "Insert Guest Additions CD Image..." Click on it.                                                                 
   
3. At this point, VM will either tell you that you don't have Guest Additions Image and if you want to download it now. Just go ahead and click on the download button, but if you still have problem, then you need to download Guest Additions ISO image yourself. Then, follow this step. If everything went well you probably won't see anything or even a confirmation saying that Guest Additions is installed. What that means is that it didn't install guest addition yet but you have only mounted the ISO file. Now, if you were like me who ran into "Can't mount Guest Additions Image," then you probably already have Guest Addition Image opened or linked to your VM. Then, you should move on to the next step, but make sure VBoxGuestAdditions.iso is linked to your VM by going to VM->Settings->Storage->Store Tree Listbox. Another way to verify that you have successfully mounted your Guest Additions ISO file to your virtual machine is by opening the VM folder and file explorer like dolphin. Once it is opened, you should see VBoxGuestAdditions.iso listed on the left hand side. Don't close the dolphin file and folder explorer yet. Leave it open for you will be using it in the next step.
4. Now, click on the VBoxGuestAdditions.iso mounted image listed in the left-hand side in the Dolphin files and folders explorer in your VM. When you do that, on the right-hand side Dolphin will display all the files and folders within VBoxGuestAdditions.iso. You will see bunch of .exe files and linux related files. If you are like me running Linux on your VM, then you should look for VBoxLinuxAdditions.run in the list.
5. Now, VBoxLinuxAdditions.run is the file you need to run to install Guest Additions ISO image for your VM. To run the file, first you need to find its absolute path to the file. So, right click on the file and click on properties. Just copy the direct path shown on that popup window. Then, open a terminal window. There type in the following after the prompt sudo ./your-direct-path-to-the-file/VBoxLinuxAdditions.run. Then, hit enter. At this point, it will ask you to enter the password. After that, it will run through the installation.
6. After installing VBoxGuestAdditions.iso, you will need to shutdown and restart your VM for Guest Additions to be applied to your VM. That's all. Now you should see your VM fullscreen.

How to fix no sound on Ubuntu 14.04, 13.10, 13.04 and Older versions

I am a huge fan and user of Linux operating system (OS) especially Ubuntu. And like any other Linux OS, I often find myself trying fix something or other after installing the OS. In particular, I would find myself trying to fix NO SOUND problem. I have found several steps that can help anyone having NO SOUND problem with their Linux OS.

1. Check your volume. By clicking on the speaker icon on the toolbar or opening system setting->Sound Settings, you should be able to adjust your system volume. Sometime user tends to over look this obvious mistakes.

   

   Volume Setting

   

   Linux Volume Setting

2. Check your ALSA Mixer.
   PulseAudio controls underlying ALSA-level volume controls. To change the ALSA-level volume controls directly, you can do the following:
   Open a terminal. (The quickest way is the Ctrl-Alt-T shortcut)
   Enter “alsamixer” and press the Enter key.
   You will now see a user interface like below.
   
   

   

   ALSA Mixer

   
   
   In this user interface, you can do the following:
   
   
   1. Select your correct sound card using F6 and select F5 to see recording controls as well
   2. Move around with left and right arrow keys.
   3. Increase and decrease volume with up and down arrow keys.
   4. Mute/Unmute with the “M” key. An “MM” means muted, and “OO” means unmuted.
   5. Exit from alsamixer with the Esc key.
   
   A caveat here: When you mute or unmute something, pulseaudio might pick it up and mute and unmute other controls, as well as PulseAudio’s main mute.
   
3. Reinstall Alsa and Pulse Audio.
   Try to reinstall pulse audio and Alsa, open terminal and enter the following commands:
   
   Purge Alsa and Pulse audio using the command:
   

   sudo apt-get remove --purge alsa-base pulseaudio

   Now install again Alsa and Pulse Audio:
   

   sudo apt-get install alsa-base pulseaudio

   Then, reload Alsa:
   

   sudo alsa force-reload

   
   Done. Check now the sound if it is working, if not, try step 4.

4. Install Ubuntu Audio Development Team Driver

   Note: This PPA is not updated to 14.04 yet.
   
   Upgrading your sound drivers may fix the nosound issue, you will need to make sure to uninstall the previous override before trying a new one.
   Open terminal and enter the following PPA:

    sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-audio-dev
    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get dist-upgrade 

    
5. If all else fails, try the following command.
   
   

   alsactl -F restore 

Hope this helps someone. That's all for now....Cheers...

How to change Blogger line spacing?

Blogger Line Spacing

I recently needed to change the line spacing for my blog. Everywhere I searched online, their information seemed to be outdated. In my quest to change the line spacing for my Blogger blog post, I figured out how to do it. So, I want to share this new information with the world.

Line spacing in blogger blog:

How to  Change Line Spacing in blogger blog :

step 1 : Go to Dashbord
step 2 : click on template 
step 3 : click on Edit HTML

Search for line-height within #main in that template html code. You need to change line-height number as you like it. The higher you go the more spacing there will be between lines of a main body of your blog. It is by default set for 1.5em. You might want to change it to 1.8em. Just change the number and leave the "em" at the end.

#main {
  float: $startSide;
  width: 460px;
  margin-top: 20px;
  margin-$endSide: 0;
  margin-bottom: 0;
  margin-$startSide: 0;
  padding-top: 0;
  padding-$endSide: 0;
  padding-bottom: 0;
  padding-$startSide: 1em;
  line-height: 1.9em;
  word-wrap: break-word; /* fix for long text breaking sidebar float in IE */
  overflow: hidden;     /* fix for long non-text content breaking IE sidebar float */
  }

 

Apple Will Let Mac Users Try Out OS X Betas (Finally!)

Apple OS X Beta

Good news for early adopters. Will iOS be next?

If you’ve got a Mac and like trying out new software, Apple has a proposition for you. Join its new OS X Beta Seed program, and you’ll be able to download free test versions of future editions of OS X from the Mac App Store, before they’re released to the general public.

As with all beta programs, what’s in it for the software developer in question is real-world testing. Apple will be able to get feedback from program participants while it’s still possible to fix any glitches which turn up.

With any other product and any other company, this wouldn’t be news: It’s the way things work, generally speaking. For instance, Microsoft released a free consumer preview of Windows 8 in February 2012, months before the final operating system shipped in October.

Apple, however, has usually held its betas close to the vest. It’s distributed them to people who pay $99 a year to register as an OS X or iOS developer, but doing so has required those folks to sign an agreement saying they won’t discuss the pre-release software in public.

Actually, that mandate is still in place: As the Verge’s Chris Welch points out, signing up for the Beta Seed requires you to agree that you won’t blog, tweet, share screen shots or otherwise spill the beans.

The Beta Seed site never says that signing up for the program entitles you to get every new version of OS X early. In fact, the only version of OS X it mentions by name is Mavericks, the current major release. So I don’t think it’s a given that Beta Seed testers will get immediate access to the next version after Mavericks when it comes along, possibly at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in June. But it would be nice if they did: It will have major new features, and any further Mavericks updates probably will not.
It’s traditional in stories such as this one to include a stern disclaimer that installing beta software can cause major problems and therefore isn’t for the faint of heart. I guess that’s true. Full disclosure, though: For years, I’ve installed most betas the moment I can get my hands on them. So far, I’ve lived to tell the tale. It may be risky, but it can also be a rewarding experience.

How about iOS? Apple isn’t making any mention at all of its mobile operating system, and it would be a much bigger decision for it to let consumers install such betas. Early versions of smartphone operating systems are far more likely to have crippling problems than desktop ones, and it’s tougher to reverse the process if you regret installing them
 
I can’t imagine that Apple wants to provide tech support for people who install an iOS beta and then discover that their phone no longer functions as a phone. Maybe the company will cautiously provide seeds of very late, almost-done betas–also known by names such as “release candidates,” and typically just about as polished as final software. Here’s hoping.

How to increase Internet traffic using simple and easy techniques?

Easy ways to increase Internet Traffic

If you are a webmaster or someone who owns website(s), you know how hard it is to get visitors or increase web traffic and keep them coming all the time. It is a constant battle that you need to keep advertising your website for Internet traffic. However, there are very simple techniques you can use to increase your Internet traffic to your website easily.

1. CONTENT with KEYWORDS - your website must contain relevant content with keywords. For instance, if you own a website that sells dog food, then you would have a section devoted to information related to dog food. You might every now and then post an article that you wrote about dog food that would talk something about the dog food you are selling like "Why is organic dog food is better than the other kind?" or "Why dogs love Chow brand?" Having article posted with content with relevant keywords will bring targeted visitors to your website and search engines love to index articles with keywords. For example, I have an online game website. Within that website, I have an article section where once a week I post article I write with keywords. I have noticed that these articles are indexed by Google for specific keywords.
2. EZINEARTICLES.COM or GOARTICLES.COM - If you are good with writing simple one page long articles on anything that is related to your website you are trying to promote, then write an article with all the keywords and post the article(s) on article websites like the ones mentioned above. Your article not only provides link from these website for your website but also other people who are interested in your article will take it and post it in the article section of their website. This in turn builds your backlinks for your website.
3. PICTURE or IMAGE - Every website these days are expected to have images of some sort somewhere on their website. These days space is not a problem. So, therefore you should take the time to post relevant images on your website. However, as before, don't over do it.
4. ALTERNATIVE or ALT - If you are a webmaster or guru you know how important ALT attribute of an image markup tag is. It is not only displayed when your image is not able to be displayed, but search engines tags these ALT values as a searchable items for your image. In other word, if someone searched on Google for organic dog food image and you happened to have a tagged dog food image, your image will show up and there is a chance that he or she will click on the image be taken to your website.
5. TITLE OF A PAGE - It may not sound as important but I have noticed from my experience that search engines tend to index webpages with keywords in its title. So, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have keywords in their title.
6. SITEMAP - sitemap of a website doesn't just give a visitor an overview of your website but it also enables search engines to index specific webpage within your website based on your sitemap file. There are different ways to create sitemap and there are sitemap generators online that will automatically create one for you like Google sitemap generator. However, you must have sitemap for your website.
7. URL SUBMISSION - Once a month it is recommended that you submit your website URL manually to search engines. Plus, it is safe to do so. Just do it once and no more than that. If do, you may get banned. There are automatic URL submission service but they will cost you money.
8. BACKLINKS - It is not a recommend practice anymore. However, it is still the easiest trick in the book and accepted technique amongst webmasters. You exchange links with other webmasters as long as they link your website from their website. Search engines like Google used to accept websites with ton and ton of backlinks to other sites, but not anymore. These sites are looked down upon as hack, irrelevant or simply useless. So, you need to be very picky on who you are exchanging links with. It must be related to your website. Again, don't over to do it.
9. WEB-DIRECTORY - If the above techniques is not for you, then simply setup a web-directory for your website. There are a lots of free directory scripts out on the Internet like cpLinks - web directory. It is very easy to setup and integrate into your website. Then, you wait for people to submit links to post on your website. This over time will build back-links for your website.
10. FORUM or MESSAGE BOARD- Nowadays, it is a norm for websites to have a community forum where people can request for or share information about things related to your website. Again, there are free forum or message board scripts out on the Internet like minibb - message board. This script is so simple to use that you will have it installed in couple of seconds and be up and running.
11. SOCIAL MEDIA - I don't think I need to explain this one. By now, we all should know how important social media is. Therefore, it is very very important to have links to social media pages for your website. It is just one more ways to get traffic. Social media includes but not limited to Facebook and other similar websites.
12. YOUTUBE VIDEO - this step can be part of number 11. However, it is very important to tap into popular website's Internet traffic. We all know how popular is YOUTUBE and thus it is a must that you create simple videos related to your website. Then, post to Youtbe website along with a direct link back to your website. It's true you may not get as many visitors from Youtube. However, you will get more and more visitors as time goes on. In the meantime, you should post videos whenever you have a chance.

After completing as many techniques I have listed above, you will start to see an increase in your Internet traffic to your website. I am sure there are more simple and yet powerful techniques for increasing Internet traffic to your website. I will update this list as I discover them, but for now you have something to work on based on this list. Good Luck.

How to start a website?

Starting a website is one of the easiest things to do and in fact there are a lots resources online for you to get started RIGHT AWAY. If you contact web-development companies, they will make it sound like there is no way you will be able to build and release your website without their help or without them doing it for you for thousands of dollars.

Start a website

For those who don't know how the web works, let me explain. The Internet or the web is nothing but computers connected to each other such that they can share information. This information can be pictures, sound file, text file, encrypted documents or anything that can be packaged into digital format. When you go to a website, your browser displays the website as presented by the server. In reality, what you see on your computer when you go to a website is not how the server sees it when transmitting the website. All it sees is bunch of characters or texts and numbers. Your browser takes all that information and renders it according to the HTML markup language.



So, how do you start a website?

1. You need a computer and an Internet access.
2. You need a server to serve your website from. Today, you don't need to have your own server to start a website. There are plenty of free web-hosting services online for next to nothing. Just go to Google and type $1 dollar web-hosting. If you don't feel like paying, then simply start a blog for free just like this one and post your content.
3. Once you have a server, now you need to build your website. There are plenty of free website templates online - flash, html, or PHP websites. You just need to choose the website template that you like for your website. If you don't want to start with a template of your own, then your web-hosting company often time will provide you with a FREE website-builder. Just simply run through their wizard to create your new website the way you like it.
4. Once you have your website layout setup, now you need to populate it with your content. In the beginning, you will most likely have very basic content and as time goes on, you will have more content to add.
5. Now, that you have a website build, you need to upload it into your web-hosting space or server. For this, you need a file transfer program like Filezilla or CuteFTP. There a lots of free FTP programs for you to download and install. Once you have your FTP program, point your ftp program to your website server with login credential. Usually, your web-hosting company will give you all this information as soon as you open an account with them. Then, simply transfer the file into your server. Usually, you will have folder called www, public_html or name of your domain name for a folder. This where you need to upload your file into.
6. Now, your website is on the Internet for the world to see. However, it is not ready yet. Nobody knows your website or where to find your website on the Internet. This is where your URL or domain name comes in. URL or domain name is the string of letters you type into your browser to go to a website. As it is right now with your generic URL that you may get from your web-hosting company, the world can still visit your site. However, nobody knows it and an generic domain name won't be unique like for instance www.google.com. If you do need to give your website a unique name and corresponding unique domain name, then you have to register your domain name of your choice with a domain name registrar like GoDaddy.com or FXdomains.com. Often time, the webhosting company will help you register your choice of domain name for your website during your account signup process.
7. Now, you are done. You got yourself a website with unique domain name to be seen by millions of visitors. The only problem is that nobody knows your domain name or your website. This is where you have to advertise your website to the world. So, everyone knows to visit your website. To do this, first you have to submit your website to all the major search engines, web directories, social media and many places on the Internet like Google, Yahoo, Altavista, etc. As you keep advertising your website on the Internet, you will start to see traffic to your website increase over time. The only problem is that advertising step is a never ending process. In other word, just because you got website linked at 50 different places on the Internet doesn't mean you are done advertising. You have to keep on doing everything and anything you can on the Internet to let the people know about your website just like the coca-cola company advertising everyday to once a week...

Now you have a website of your own. It is simple as that. I have bunch of website of my own. www.goody-games.com, www.careylist.com, www.usa-roadtrips.com and others. They only cost me about 40 dollars/year....

BBM for iPhone and Android semi-functional launch page goes live

We’ve known for some time that a BBM app for Android and iOS will be coming, but nothing had been set in stone as far as launch dates go. Last week, user guides for both varieties of mobile operating systems leaked, hinting that BlackBerry messenger would likely be arriving soon, and that conclusion seems to have been spot-on, with a landing page going live over on BB’s website briefly.

BBM App for Android and iPhones

To familiarize users of Android and iPhones with the BlackBerry-centric messaging service, BlackBerry has created a basic sign-up-for-notifications page that allows the curious to sign up for notification about the app’s launch. In addition to that is a link to a BBM support page that contains, among other things, a full user guide for the service.

Not too long ago, however, someone apparently pulled the trigger too soon and a semi-functional launch page was posted, complete with links to download the Android and iOS versions of the app (that didn’t link to anything yet). That URL now redirects to the notification sign up page, but the folks over at Crackberry managed to grab a screenshot of the launch page before BlackBerry pulled it.

And with that — considering the semi-functional page, leaked user guides, and whatnot — it seems we can expect an official launch any day now. There’s still no word on when the apps will be available, however, so those who have been waiting patiently will need to keep doing so. What do you think? Let us know in the comments!

Android 4.3 spotted on HTC One Google Play edition

The next version of Android appears among the specs for Google's stock version of the HTC One.

Android 4.3

Where's Android 4.3?

(Credit: Louis Gray) 

 

Android 4.3 appears to be playing a game of "Where's Waldo?," seemingly popping up in one upcoming smartphone after another.

The latest sighting comes courtesy of the Bluetooth SIG, which uncovered an application for Google's version of the HTC One that listed Android 4.3 as the operating system. Revealing Bluetooth certification for the phone, the application was submitted on June 18 and approved on July 5.

The design name PN071xx_Android 4.3_G specifically refers to the HTC One and the operating system version, while the G likely stands for Google.

The request for Bluetooth certification on an existing phone may have been necessary since Android 4.3 will include Bluetooth 4.0 LE, according to PhoneArena. The new LE, or low-energy, flavor of Bluetooth 4.0 will support a greater array of devices, including fitness and health monitors. It also promises to be easier to set up and manage than the current version of Bluetooth.

Android 4.3 has also reportedly been spied on other phones in the wild, including the Google Play Galaxy S4 and the Nexus 4.

Review: Acer Iconia W3 - Windows 8 on a tiny tablet

 Acer Iconia W3 -  a tiny tablet

Brandished on stage at Microsoft's Build conference last week by Steve Ballmer himself as the next great thing in Windows 8 tablet hardware, Acer's Iconia W3 is the first 8-in tablet with the ability to run the full version of the company's latest OS, rather than falling back on the ARM-based Windows RT.

Further reading

 

This theoretically crams all the advantages of a desktop PC into a compact tablet, and in fairness to the W3, a fair amount of those benefits do shine through.

On the other hand, while £279 seems a bargain for a small, yet fully functional Windows 8 tablet, users will more or less get what they pay for in terms of the realistic usability of such a scaled-down Windows 8 experience.

To get the specs out of the way, the W3 sports an 8-in WXGA multi-touch LCD screen, powered by Intel's Atom Z2769 processor, and runs the 32-bit edition of Windows 8.

It has 2GB of RAM onboard, with 64GB of storage space, and fore and aft cameras for video conferencing and photography.            

As specs go, these are fairly respectable for the money, even if the overall build quality of the tablet's shell suffers from Acer's customary cheap and cheerful approach.

But compared to, say, Google's heavily-subsidised Nexus 7, this is a significantly more powerful offering, especially when you factor in the Windows 8 licence cost.

However, with the stock Windows 8 installation (bear in mind we also installed the Windows 8.1 preview build as well) taking up 49GB of the drive, this leaves only 32.1GB left for your own data. The W3's Micro SD slot supports a further 32GB external storage too, though.

Drive space will probably be of little concern in the long run, anyway, because this tablet feels unlikely to become anybody's workhorse ‘road warrior' device.

 Acer Iconia W3 -  a tiny tablet

Bluntly, the W3 is just too small for any serious Windows 8 use. With a choice of only two screen resolutions - native 1280 x 800 and the OS's minimum supported 1024 x 768 - trying to use the Windows 8 desktop mode quickly becomes a bind on a visual and interactive level.

Such a high resolution on such a small device makes touchscreen use a hit and miss affair, not to mention successfully reading any icon or taskbar labels in desktop mode. While increasing font sizes helps, picking out options on the taskbar or even successfully tapping icons can be taxing, and you'll often find yourself giving up and quitting back to the Modern UI, queuing up your most-used apps as Charms on there. That's probably the way Microsoft wants it anyway, of course.

There's no native stylus support either, so while Surface Pro's big, clear screen also enjoys pinpoint Wacom accuracy, the W3 is all-too reliant on fingertips that are just too big and clumsy.

While using most Modern apps and general web browsing is straightforward, enterprise users will find the pokiness of the desktop mode a real disadvantage.

DeskNotifier – cool app lets you receive and reply to SMS messages and Android phone notifications on your PC instantly [Freeware]

DeskNotifier App for SMS messages

We don’t know about you, but we often miss important messages or SMS texts coming in to our mobile phone because we’re working on the computer in another room, or the phone is buried in a pocket or bag and we don’t hear the alert chime. Now if only there was a way to link the PC and the phone together we could avoid the problem and stay updated constantly.
 
DeskNotifier is a cool little app and computer freeware program which connects your phone and PC together, either over USB or via WiFi, so you will always receive notifications and messages even if you’re working on the computer away from the handset.

DeskNotifier App for SMS messages

To set it all up, you simply download the PC Windows software and install it, and then install a small free app on your phone. You can set the system to connect only via USB cable, or do as we did and select WiFi as your connection method, which makes things much easier. Once the computer and the phone are connected via the phone’s IP number on your network (easy to do via the menus) you’re good to go.

DeskNotifier App for SMS messages

From then on, every time your phone receives a message or notification, it will automatically be sent to your desktop via a task bar popup. The really cool thing is you can respond instantly to the SMS by clicking on the pop up and entering in the return message, which means you don’t have to touch your phone to carry on a text conversation. You can also initiate new SMS conversations using the PC as well. Very neat.

DeskNotifier App for SMS messages

The software can cope with call notifications, SMS messages, WhatsApp, Viber, Facebook and other incoming notifications, in fact most 3rd party apps. There are two versions, the free one and a $0.99c Pro version, which offers more functionality such as notification filters, password protection and file transfer between phone and PC. The software is well written and works as promised, although it is a little disconcerting to stumble across German menu text from time to time, where the developers have not finished translating properly.

We would also like the ability to store and recall past alerts and conversations, because at the moment the notifications disappear after a while and you can’t retrieve them on the computer or store them for later action. Nevertheless, despite these niggles, we’re really enjoying the new functionality, and will definitely keep this puppy installed for the duration. Definitely worth checking out!

Rogers, Vidéotron to share new LTE network

20-year agreement will see firms split cost of expanding high-speed wireless network

High Speed 4G Wireless Network

LTE technology, sometimes called 4G, allows more data to be carried more quickly across wireless networks. Rogers and Vidéotron announced Thursday that they would be teaming up to build up their LTE network in Ottawa and parts of Quebec. (Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

Rogers Communications and Vidéotron are teaming up to expand their LTE networks in Ottawa and parts of Quebec to save on operating and capital costs.

"The agreement we have reached will enable us and Rogers alike to make more efficient use of our spectrum, and to derive maximum benefit from our investments," said Robert Dépatie, CEO of Vidéotron and of Vidéotron's parent company Quebecor, in a press release Thursday.

"The required capital expenditures will be less than if the two companies would have built out parallel LTE access networks."

LTE, or long-term evolution, is the latest technology for carrying signals across a wireless network. It allows more data to be transferred faster and more efficiently across the same amount of radio spectrum. LTE networks, sometimes called 4G networks, can transmit data 10 times faster than 3G networks. They're about three times faster than advanced High-Speed Packet Access+ (HSPA+) networks.

To share cost of operation, deployment

Under the 20-year agreement, Rogers and Vidéotron will pool resources to build up their existing LTE networks faster than they had planned.

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They will share the cost of deploying and operating the shared network, each providing services to the other, the companies said in a press release. On balance, Rogers will receive $200 million for the services while Vidéotron will get $93 million —payable over 10 years.

The co-operation with Rogers to offer greater LTE coverage will allow Vidéotron to expand its handset offerings, said CEO Robert Dépatie. (Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)

 The new network will enable Vidéotron to offer a broader range of handsets since LTE networks cannot be accessed with handsets that are not LTE-enabled. Rogers already has several LTE devices and LTE networks in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa and other cities.

The two companies have also reached a deal that will give Vidéotron the option of selling its unused AWS spectrum in the Greater Toronto Area to Rogers for $180 million. If the sale is approved by regulators, Rogers would take over the spectrum licence Jan. 1, 2014.

"This network- and spectrum-sharing agreement, combined with the expansion of our LTE footprint, will allow even more consumers to experience the superior connectivity and incredibly fast speeds that LTE delivers," said Rogers president and CEO Nadir Mohamed.
"This is excellent news for our customers and our shareholders. This agreement will enable us to go farther and to do it faster."

AMD: PC Gaming Is Coming Back in a Big Way.

 

 AMD Sees PC Gaming Prospering

PC Gaming

While some people believe that games on personal Computers and – top-notch microprocessors and high-end graphics cards – have lost their charms, it seems like they not only haven’t, but they are gaining. Moreover, they are gaining in a way that was unbelievable a year from now.

“Most people would say that it has lost some of its charm I say that our commitment and work with game developers to bring back some of PC gaming stimulus. I’ll give you an example: My father is a PC gamer.But for a few years, he has pursued other interests. When Tomb Raider came out, my father saw the images TressFX hair simulation and wanted the game. TressFX for us is just the beginning of a whole series of things that we will do together with game developers have to make PC gaming more exciting,” said corporate vice president of global channel sales, said in an interview with Heise.de web-site.
Being an excellent PC game, the all-new Tomb Raider is a good example of a revenue driver for a developer. EA’s Need for Speed: Most Wanted has clearly earned loads of money thanks to three DLC packs released for PCs in March, which brought the actual price of the game to rather whopping €85/$85.

3D PC Game Tomb Raider

Keeping in mind that publishers want maximize the revenue from games by setting higher price per title, whereas companies like AMD want to sell hardware, it is rather logical for the latter to finance development of titles designed. However, AMD has never done so, albeit its financial support was crucial for such major titles as FarCry 3.

Best iPhone and iPad apps this week

Best iPhone and iPad apps this week

Turn your iDevice into a spycam, and indulge in a sizeable dose of retro in this week’s pick of the best iOS apps.

The Other Brothers

The Other Brothers

1.99c App Store
Two brothers, moustaches, sewers, and a damsel in distress might sound rather familiar, but this modern twist on a platformer follows the story of the ‘other brothers’ Joe and Jim, racing through levels against the clock and taking on boss fights to save a girl named Tavy who’s been captured by the Mob. Calling itself the “new retro”, it features excellent 16-bit graphics but with modern mechanics and a mixture of linear and non-linear environments – though you still employ the satisfyingly retro technique of jumping on the heads of the bad guys to see them off.

Badland

Badland

$4.49 App Store
We’ve seen a number of excellent atmospheric side-scrollers recently, and the award-winning Badland is the latest. Set in a forest that has been filled with traps and obstacles, you take control of one of the forest’s rather strange-but-cutesy inhabitants. Simple one-touch controls see you dodging all manner of spinning saws, turning cogs and shooting spikes in this gorgeous-looking game – there’s even a local multiplayer mode that lets up to four people play on the same device.

Slayin

Slayin

99c App Store
Slayin is one of those games that seems quite simple in theory – but in practice it's plenty challenging. Confined to the size of your device’s screen, it’s an endless RPG that sees you simply pacing backwards and forwards, hitting enemies with your sword and avoiding their strikes when your back is turned. There are weapon upgrades and spells that you can buy as you level up, and character upgrades to unlock as well – but once you die in this game, it’s game over. Retro graphics, an old-school on-screen control pad and an excellent chiptune soundtrack only add to its simplistic charm.

Prescence by People Power

Presence by People Power

Free App Store
If you’ve got an iDevice sat at home when you’re not, this app can turn it into an instant Wi-Fi video camera, offering real-time audio and video streaming, motion detection and a two-way conversation mode. All you need to do is ensure it is connected to the internet, plug it into the power and leave it in the spot you’d like to monitor. Once you've downloaded the app onto the iDevice you carry around in your pocket, you can check in to it whenever you like, wherever you are – you can even get an alert with a short video clip every time motion is detected – handy if you’re using it as a security measure. Or if you want to see what the dog gets up to when you're out.

Download The Croods for iPhone and iPad – Free

The Croods by Rovio Entertainment Ltd

The Croods on Apple's App Store

Angry Birds maker Rovio Entertainment Ltd. in cooperation with DreamWorks Animation has released The Croods, a free game for iPhone and iPad based on the upcoming motion picture.

Players must trap and tame 10 pre-historic creatures, including the Girelephant and the Molarbear, create inventions with Grug to open and explore new areas, and decorate their world with caveman accessories.

The list of features also says, “Meet your favorite characters from the feature animation film from DreamWorks Animation!”

How can you already have a favorite character from The Croods? The film isn’t even out yet.

The game is free to play but it does come with some paid goods inside, so be careful with that in-app purchases toggle when you give your iPad to the kids.

Also, Rovio asks customers to note that the game requires a network connection to work. It’s also chock-full of third-party ads. Yep, not exactly an ideal gaming experience. But we’ve come to learn that about Rovio in the past year.

The good thing is that The Croods runs on pretty much all iDevice models. It only requires iOS 4.3.

Download The Croods for iPhone and iPad (Free)

Your Galaxy S IV Will Probably Be Plastic, And That’s For The Best, Says Samsung VP

Samsung Galaxy S IV

We’re just over a week away from the Galaxy S IV’s official unveiling in New York City, and the pieces are starting to fall into place. Sure, we still don’t know what the thing is going to look like, but persistent rumors have pegged the device as sporting the same sort of plastic body that Samsung has been (in?)famous for.
While she wouldn’t weigh in on the Galaxy S IV specifically, Y.H. Lee, executive VP of Samsung’s mobile unit that the love-it-or-hate-it plastic chassis endemic to the company’s gadgets aren’t going anywhere just yet.

According to Lee, it’s just as much about practicality as it is about style: In order to churn out (and sell) as many devices as Samsung does, the company has to pay plenty of attention to how efficiently they can be made. Naturally, Samsung can’t just pump out loads of shoddy devices and call it a day, so durability weighs heavily on the company’s mind when it comes time to picking out materials for a final design.

Meanwhile, would-be rivals like HTC have embraced metal with open arms in its latest flagship device designs. The benefits are as plentiful as they are subjective — the adjective that seems to be bandied about most often is “premium,” since these metal-clad devices tend to feel more weighty and substantial when compared to the sorts of flimsy plastic bodies that many Android-friendly OEMs still cling to. I’ll be the first to admit that I prefer handsets that feel like they could withstand some abuse, though in fairness I’ve found that devices like the Galaxy S III and the Galaxy Note II can handle their fair share of turmoil despite having light, plastic bodies.

Granted, I can see how the choice of materials could prove to be occasionally problematic for the companies involved here. Crafting a device like the HTC One or an iPhone 5 out of aluminum can be more exacting (and therefore more time-consuming), not to mention more expensive than sticking with a less ornate body.
But here’s the thing — Samsung doesn’t need to play by those same rules. It’s an undeniable juggernaut in the smartphone space, and has proven ably over the past months and years that yes, people will often buy their smartphones even when faced with alternatives that arguably feel more premium. That’s not to say that Samsung will never rethink its position on the materials it uses. Lee concedes that the company “listen[s] to the market” and tries to accommodate it, so that sentiment could soon change if the masses demand it.

Press Event Reawakening Facebook Smartphone Rumors

FaceBook SmartPhone

Facebook has scheduled to hold a media event on Tuesday, reawakening rumors that the social netowork will launch its own phone.

The event, set to be held at Facebook's headquarters on January 15, is prompting - for one more time - speculations that a Facebook smartphone is on the works.

Last November reports surfaced that HTC had been working with Facebook to develop a phone, code-named the Opera UL. However, the phone never materialized Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg had denied the rumors.

TechCrunch is now claiming that the launch of a phone is imminent, indicating that "multiple sources have told us that they expect some sort of Facebook Phone to be on display on Tuesday."

Sony Vaio Duo 11 review

Sony's first attempt at a laptop-tablet convertible

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Product Sony Vaio Duo 11
Website Sony Europe
Specifications Intel Core I5 or I7 CPU, up to 8GB RAM, 1920x1080 11.6in capacitive touchscreen, integrated Intel HD 4000 graphics, 128GB or 256GB SSD storage, 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, 1x USB 3.0, 1x USB 3.0 with USB charge, VGA out, HDMI out, Memory Stick Duo and SD memory card combined slot, one front-facing and one rear-facing webcam, Windows 8 Professional, 320x199x18mm, 1.3kg
Price £849

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THE VAIO DUO 11 is Sony's first attempt at luring those in the market for both a laptop and a tablet to save money and buy a device that is both.

Unveiled at the IFA electronics expo in Berlin back in August, the Vaio Duo 11 runs Windows 8 and transforms from a tablet to a laptop via an HD display that slides up in what Sony calls a "Slide Surfer" style to reveal a full size QWERTY keyboard hidden underneath.

Sony Vaio Duo 11

Transformation
The Sony Vaio Duo 11's most obvious selling point is that it is a hybrid device that has two different modes: laptop and tablet. When in tablet mode, this transformation is achieved by supporting the back of the lid with one hand while pushing the front of it backwards so that it pops up via a hinge, exposing a keyboard and mouse track button underneath.

Sony Vaio Duo 11

Going from one to the other isn't the easiest transition we've experienced on a hybrid device, nor is it the smoothest. Your first try with the Duo 11 certainly won't be the last attempt before the display lifts up. Unless you're completely used to and have developed the knack for opening it correctly, it's going to take a few attempts before getting it right first time. We think Sony should have spent more time developing a less fiddly sliding mechanism that is easier to operate, such as a slide button for instance, so that you don't have to use both hands to open it up. However, this might just take some getting used to.

The mechanism used on the sliding action also doesn't feel as sturdy as we would like when moving from tablet to laptop mode, and this worries us a little.

Design and build
Aside from the weak feeling slide mechanism, the Vaio Duo 11 is nicely finished and projects a premium but minimalist style. Its all-black chassis has a high gloss shine to it, with sharp edges that make it look stylish and worth the £850 it costs.

Sony Vaio Duo 11 laptop tablet

Weighing 1.3kg, it's heavy enough to feel expensive while not feeling too heavy to carry around in a bag. Measuring 320x199x18mm, it does feel a little chunky when in tablet mode, which is a shame, and if it was just a few millimetres thinner it would feel better to use.

KeyboardThe keyboard is perhaps our least favourite aspect of the Vaio Duo 11. This is because there is no track pad. When typing we found our fingers naturally wanted to move to a track pad due to the location of the mouse buttons. The mouse button is irritating to use and doesn't provide an enjoyable experience.

Sony Vaio Duo 11 laptop tablet

Seated and using the Vaio Duo 11 at a desk, it can also feel a little restrictive, as the small keyboard doesn't offer space for your hands to do the usual swift movements on a larger sized keyboard. However, those looking to use it for long periods of time at a desk can always invest in a full size portable USB keyboard and mouse to accompany it.

Sony Vaio Duo 11 laptop tablet

Though it looks and feels well built, it's fair to say the keys are a little too far apart and also quite small, meaning you can miss certain letters occasionally while typing. We can't help but think that Sony could have made the Vaio Duo 11 keys bigger and thus closer together to improve typing accuracy.

Display
One of our favourite features of the Vaio Duo 11 is its touchscreen display. This is due to its Opticontrast panel, which means it has a special resin layer that Sony says helps to absorb any diffused light delivered from the backlight for high contrast and natural colours. The 11in display panel also reduces glare from light sources, with little light reflected when in use.

Sony Vaio Duo 11 laptop tablet

The Vaio Duo 11's screen resolution is set at 1920x1080 and though it provides brilliant viewing for movies, for general use it feels a little too high for its 11in screen. Text appears tiny so if your eyes aren't great, it's probably worth changing it to 1600x900. However, it is worth noting that the screen doesn't seem as crisp overall at this setting. 

The Vaio Duo 11's built-in accelerometer, which ensures that the screen display rotates to whatever viewing angle you are holding the device, is not as responsive as in other tablet/hybrid devices we've seen, such as the Lenovo Ideapad Yoga 13. It takes a while to turn around from one position to the other and you sometimes have to go out of your way and lean it forward for it to come back to a horizontal view.

Sony Vaio Duo 11 laptop tablet

One other downside to the screen is that it attracts smudge prints a little too easily. Though this is expected with all touchscreen devices, in our tests we felt it showed them up a little more than other screens on the market, which made it look rather greasy. This isn't really an issue when the screen brightness is turned up, however.

Performance and OS
Running the Windows 8 operating system, the Vaio Duo 11 is powered by a choice of Intel Core I5 or Core I7 processors and up to 8GB of RAM. It costs £849 for the most basic Core I5, 2GB model, with prices jumping up by £320 for a Core I7 processor, and another £30 for 4GB of RAM, or £100 extra for 8GB. Windows 8 Professional is also available for an extra £40.

Our review model was an 8GB Core I7 processor model and scored a Windows Performance Index score of 5.6. The score is determined by the lowest sub-score, in this case desktop graphics performance, and not an average result of the performance of components.

sony vaio duo 11

Though the score was pulled down by the Vaio Duo 11's Integrated Intel HD 4000 graphics power, all other results scored much better, with processor calculations per second scoring 7.1 out of 9.9, disk data transfer gaining a 8.1 score and RAM operations per second earning a score of 7.9.

Unless you're using the Vaio Duo 11 for gaming on high graphic settings - which the device hasn't been built for anyway - you're not going to notice much lag, as in our tests both touchscreen and non-touchscreen operations seemed fluid, with the Vaio Duo 11 responding very quickly to commands. As an ultrabook convertible device, we found it will perform all your daily needs effortlessly. However, we tested a more powerful configuration of the Vaio Duo 11, so cheaper options might not perform as well as our test model did.

Overall, the Vaio Duo 11 handled the Windows 8 OS very well, with very little lag when swiping between pages, and programs popping up almost as soon as we selected them. However, after installing a good number of applications and storing a sufficient amount of data, we can imagine it will slow a bit.

Connectivity, storage and battery life
In terms of battery life, we thought the Vaio Duo 11 performed pretty well. When starting on full charge at 11am, it ran out of power at 5:30pm, and that was while in continual use performing general tasks. This included watching movies and web browsing without letting the screen turn off or go into sleep mode.

Sony Vaio Duo 11 laptop tablet

There's also a variety of connectivity options available on the Vaio Duo 11, which is unusual for such a portable device. There's your standard 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0 alongside one USB 3.0 slot and one USB 3.0 slot with USB charge so that devices can be charged even when the device is turned off. There's also a VGA out, HDMI out, and a Memory Stick Duo and SD card combined port. There's even a dedicated Ethernet port for those who rely on a wired internet connection.

The Vaio Duo 11 comes with either a 128GB or 256GB SSD drive to store all your data. Prices reflect these accordingly, with the larger of the two storage options costing an extra £180 on top of the £849 starting price.

In Short
The Vaio Duo 11 looks better on paper than when you test it for yourself and use it in real life situations. In tablet mode it will probably be a little too bulky for most people, and the hinge doesn't feel as strong as it should when sliding it into laptop mode.

As a notebook, however, it does perform really well, and the HD screen is high quality, and very clear and enjoyable to use with Windows 8. The small keyboard is a big factor here though, but if you can live without a trackpad, you will most probably just get used to its more compact design. But for £849 for the least powerful configuration, we think it is a little too expensive for what you get.
 
The Good
Vibrant display, portable, well built.
The Bad
No track pad, a little chunky, not great as a tablet.
The Ugly
Weak feeling sliding mechanism makes it difficult to operate.
Bartender's Score
6/10