Hands-On With Google Hangouts Unified, Cross-Platform IM & Video Chat

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The Google I/O keynote yesterday brought a lot of important announcements, but the revamped Hangouts service seems to have managed to cause the most excitement among them all so far, probably because it has already been rolled out for users all over the world. The iOS app is available in the App Store, while  lot of Android users have managed to get their hands on the Hangouts update for their Google Talk app as well. Google already offered its Google Talk (also called GTalk, Google Chat and Gmail Chat) already enjoyed integration with Google+ and Gmail but compared to the Hangouts feature of Google+, it wasn't too heavy on features. Some of you might have wondered why the plain old chat can’t become as cool as its Google+ variant. Even if you have never thought of that possibility, Google seems to have been thinking along those lines. The new Hangouts can be considered a consolidation of Google Talk and Google+ Hangouts that works on Android, iOS, Google+ and Chrome. The service offers everything from video calling to group chat, and even a huge collection of emoticons. Read More

Share Files With Facebook Friends, iPhones & PCs Via QR Codes Using Popsend

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There are a lot of ways of transferring files from one iOS device to another, and moving files between an iDevice and a computer isn’t a big deal either (even iTunes lets you do that). For an app from this category to be truly useful, however, it must let you freely share data between all devices you own, regardless of their platform. PopSend isn't the first iOS app that lets you do that, but it does take a novel approach towards file sharing. The app can be used to transfer files between iDevices and PC, but rather than manually establish a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connection between the devices, the transfer is initiated via QR codes. In the past, we have covered similar file sharing apps for other platforms, but PopSend can give any competitor a run for its money simply because of its ease of use and Facebook integration. Read More

Extract Image Files From Apps & Documents Using deJPEG For Windows

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deJPEG is a desktop application for Windows that lets you extract images from applications or documents, and save them as separate items. The tool mainly supports Microsoft Word files (DOC and DOCX) and EXE files, though it may (or may not) work with other files that generally have image resources embedded into them, as long as the images originally inserted into these files/documents by their developers or editors were in JPEG format. This means if the developer or the person composing the document used PNG or some other format for these images, deJPEG will not be able to extract them for you. The output files are stored as JPEG.  The application can prove extremely useful for those who need to use images found in a certain files or apps that can't be easily found elsewhere, and they would rather not waste their time by individually taking a screenshot of each image and go through the hassle of cropping it properly. The tool can analyze and extract all images it finds in one go, making the process simple and streamlined. Read More

Get Reverse Google Image Search Option For Facebook Photos In Firefox

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Google's reverse image search is a very handy feature. I've used it often to find the original source of an image, or in the case where I like an image for my desktop background, it has helped me find its largest available size. In the past, we've covered quite a number of extensions and add-ons that add Google's reverse Image search to browsers' right-click context menu, allowing you to right-click an image and search for it. Facebook Photo Appraiser is a similar add-on for Firefox that integrate with Facebook and adds a 'Similar images' option for all images on the social network, images allowing you to reverse search them. The search results open in a new tab. Read More

Get A Tiled, Option-Stacked & Customizable Start Menu In Windows 8

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Whether you like it or not, the new Start Screen in Windows 8 is here to stay. But if you’re having a hard time getting used to it and prefer to get things done the old way such as accessing applications, shortcuts and files, you just need to install a Start Menu replacement app. We've already covered a handful of Start Menu apps and Start Screen modifiers for our readers, including the likes of Pokki, Classic Shell and Start8. Today, we’re bringing to you yet another similar application called Start Menu Reviver. It’s a great option for those avid Start Menu users who think that the Start Screen simply slows them down. It offers almost all the features of Start Screen and lets you access your programs and favorite websites right from the desktop. Read More

Clean Up Webpages For Printing; Export To PDF, Cloud & More With CleanPrint For Chrome

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There are two ways to be eco-conscious: one, use less paper; two, make more of less. Since we may never be entirely paper-free, at least not yet, it’s important to exercise good judgment in keeping our waste levels down to a minimum. Printing a web page, for example, can seem indulgent and wasteful because there’s always peripheral content like ads and promos that take too much space, and increase your ink and paper consumption without serving a purpose. Firefox users already have the PDF & Print with Joliprint add-on to clear up their printouts. Chrome users have quite a few options, too, and we’ll be looking at one such today, the Print or PDF with CleanPrint extension. It allows you to strip all the useless content from web pages to prepare them for printing, along with giving you options to save it as a PDF or text file, email it to the intended recipients instead of sending printouts, save it to your Dropbox, Google Drive or Box account, or even send it to your Kindle for offline reading. The extension also supports Google Cloud Print. Read More

Set Any Tweet To Auto-Delete After Set Time With Efemr For Twitter

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Self destructing messages and notes à la Mission:Impossible franchise have been around on the internet for a while now, and services like SnapChat and Facebook poke have been offering such option in several forms. Though ever wished you could send a tweet that could self-destruct after a set time, without you having to remember to manually delete it later? It is a new concept in its entirety recently introduced by Efemr. If you're thinking why would anyone want to destroy their own tweets, there can be many use case scenarios, one of which is a limited-time sales promotion. Whatever it may be, Efemr has a lot of potential in letting you post self-destructing tweets that are automatically deleted after a specified time. Read More

Bundle Multiple JPEG Images As A PDF Album With JPGasPDF

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If there's one problem with picture albums, they are comprised of multiple files and between transferring them or editing their copies, one can end up missing out on a few. While there is still no standard or universal format for photo albums, PDF files support image content and can be perfect for the purpose, since most of us have access to PDF viewers on our computers and mobile devices. Though not many of us would want to use a PDF editor just for this purpose. Fret not - compiling your JPG/JPEG images into PDF albums is now as easy as it gets, thanks to the quick and nimble JPGasPNG. Although I would've liked to see a couple more options included, such as support for other popular image formats such as PNG (after automatic conversion to JPG to keep the file size in check), the software is quite flawless in its execution, and leaves little to gripe about. Not convinced? Take a closer look after the jump. Read More

Sol For iPhone Compares The Weather Of Mars With That Of Your City

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Sol iOS
Apps like Star Rover offer a lot of information regarding space and the universe on the whole. The way augmented reality plays a major role in most space-related apps clearly shows that the genre has the potential of expanding way beyond its present status of being a mere novelty. For now, however, there are a lot of limitations when it comes to apps dealing with the cosmos. You might be able to glean the name of a distant object from Star Rover, but the data is rarely real-time, and acts as nothing more than an interactive encyclopedia. There is no easy way of learning a planet’s current temperature just by looking at it on a map, but you aren't likely to find an entry for Jupiter in Yahoo! Weather either. Now though, someone has come up with the idea of developing a weather app that is capable of showing current weather stats from both Earth and Mars. Sol has a great interface, and collects weather data for Mars from the Curiosity rover that landed on the red planet last year. Read More

WeatherSignal Uses Android Device Sensors To Read & Crowdsource Local Weather Info

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Weather can't always be  predicted accurately since it can changes quite fast and unexpectedly. When and where you get your weather report is also important but weather forecasts are for a set period of time. They aren't always updated constantly at every source and often, one of the best ways to get an accurate and live weather report is from social media. WeatherSignal is an Android app that tackles accurate weather predictions by crowd-sourcing them. The app uses the built-in sensors in your device (some features are limited to certain handsets) and allows you to measure the temperature, humidity, air pressure, magnetic flux and more. You can also submit your own weather report. The report will only ask you if it's raining, snowing, hailing, etc. Each one of the reports that WeatherSignal generates can be added as a widget to your screen. Read More

Create & Share Rich Photo-Music Slideshows On Windows 8 Using Whip

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If you like to share your photos with friends, family or others in general, you should really consider trying out Whip. It’s a Windows 8 and RT app - with mobile versions available for iOS and Android - that enables you to create slideshow-style photo presentations spiced up with music, varying background styles and templates, depending on your preferences. These meticulously curated  photo albums can then be shared with other Whip users. It’s a fascinating app that - despite not bringing something unique or groundbreaking to the table - holds on to a fun factor of its own. Lets see how it works. Read More

Listacular Is A Gesture-Based, Collaborative To-Do List iPhone App With Dropbox Sync

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Thanks to its huge collection of apps, iOS is capable of letting its users perform any task in a variety of ways. When it comes to reminders and to-do lists, there is a stock app already available on the iPhone for this purpose. Though if you are a minimalist, Clear is there for you, while anyone who is a stickler for details is sure to enjoy Astrid. Having said that, there is always room for improvement, or at least uniqueness. Listacular for Dropbox is a new task management app that lets its users create to-do lists using gestures and elaborate text formatting. As the name of the app suggests, Listacular boasts tight integration with Dropbox, which lets you use task lists on multiple devices and collaborate with others on different tasks. Although linking a Dropbox account with Listacular greatly enhances the overall experience of using the app, it not mandatory by any means. Read More

What Is Cydia Substrate For Android & How To Install Winterboard On It

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The Cydia store has always been there for the rescue of many iOS users when their Android-wielding friends start mocking the iPhone for its lack of customization options. Admittedly, even a host of tweaks and themes cannot match the level of modification a custom ROM or root-level tweaks and mods for Android can offer, but having a collection of such root-level tweaks that can be applied to the device without having to flash files from recovery does have its advantages. So, some might find it bit absurd that Saurik has released Cydia Substrate and Winterboard in the Google Play Store, it can potentially take Android customization to a whole new level! In what follows, we'll take a more detailed look at Cydia Substrate, and show you how to install it on your Android device, and get Winterboard (or any other extensions, as they become available) up and running afterwards. Read More

A Look At The New Features In Firefox 21

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The next installment of Firefox i.e. version 21 is now available. The new version brings something for both end users and developers alike. For users who are conscious about their privacy or wondering why their browser is running so slow, Firefox 21 will be a welcome update. Mozilla has added three different settings to its Do Not Disturb feature, as well as a ‘Health Report’ that collects information on how your browser is performing. The health report can be checked any time, and a third feature will use the data gathered by the report to tell you if your browser’s startup time is getting effected due to its health or not. Developers will be pleased to learn about the new Remote Target profiling feature that allows them to connect devices running either Firefox Mobile or Firefox OS to the desktop browser and view them in a separate Developer Tools window of their own. Read More

Set System Clock To Move Faster For App Testing With Accelerify

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Testing time-based software or app features can be quite painstaking, because, well, it takes time. Like when you’re not sure if your alarm will ring when it’s supposed to, your backup will launch when it’s expected, or what will happen when a trial software you’re using expires. You could manually change your PC’s time and find out, but what about those programs that have a little more complex relationship with time – say an app that auto-adjusts your screen’s brightness multiple times throughout the day, or your calendar app that holds all your appointments for many months ahead? Well, you can now Accelerify time to test them! It’s a tiny app with a fully automated approach towards incrementing your system clock at regular intervals; all you need to do is set the acceleration rate and see what happens. Read More

Pinterest For Android & iOS Gets Push Notifications, Mentions & Auto-Suggestions

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Pinterest hasn’t been around for as long as some of the other social networks, but its popularity is evident from the fact that a lot of services have been trying to emulate its concept and interface. The official Pinterest client arrived for Android only last year, but lacked many of the features that are necessary for making such a mobile app successful these days. There were no push notifications, creating new posts was a bit tricky and it wasn't possible to mention your friends in comments on pins. It was a similar story for the iOS variant, as both apps have only minor differences. Finally though, the Pinterest team has rolled out an update for their mobile clients that addresses most of the issues we just mentioned. Read More

[Giveaway] Play PC Racing Games With Your Android Or iPhone Using Tilt Racer

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Though the trusty old keyboard and mouse combo works well for almost all PC games, the avid PC gamer never settles for anything less than what fits each genre the best, like the arcade fighting stick does fighting games and the Sidewinder does the racing genre. However, if your enthusiasm for PC games isn't at the point where you'd want to spend the dough required to buy a separate controller, you can always settle for using your smartphone or tablet as one. There are now more than just a couple virtual gamepad apps available for both Android and iOS; some meant for all genres - such as DroidPad and WiFiPad - and others, like FlyPad for iPhone, that are focused on racing games. New to the market, Tilt Racer for Android and iOS aims to improve upon the latter with a better control scheme. Join us past the break to learn what it has to offer. Read More

Easily Create & Conduct Dot Voting Polls Online With dotvoting.org

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We have all come across scenarios where we were asked to vote for or select our favorite item from a list, and we couldn't decide which to choose because of having multiple favorites there. What if - in contrast to normal voting - each participant is given a fixed number of votes, and is able to freely assign them to to emphasize favor for one or more items according to their priority level? Dot Voting, of ‘dotmocracy’ fame, is a method used to do just that, by letting voters identify things of interest out of a set of topics. This concept now has a web service of its own that lets anyone conduct an online dot voting poll for free in a few easy steps. Participants don't need to register for the service in order to cast their votes, and you can view and visualize the results any time during or after the poll. Read More

Quickly Launch A File Type With An Alternative Or Portable App Using Coffee

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Often when you hear the word coffee, what exactly does come to your mind? Is it that energizing warmth of winters, or the refreshing aroma you simply find irresistible? Whatever it may be, the app we're about to review has nothing to do with your daily dose of caffeine. Coffee is an open-source portable application for Windows that allow you to associate different applications with a single file type (based on its extension), so that you can easily open any file of that type with either of those applications without having to use the 'Open with' entry of the right-click context menu. To keep things simple, you can assign two different apps to a single file type, allowing you to open a file in secondary app whenever needed by holding the ALT key while double-clicking it. This can be extremely useful if you have a set of portable applications that you want to use for opening files on the go; you can simply carry Coffee on the same flash drive as those apps and run it first on the computer you're using, and it will open your configured file types in the apps you have associated with those files in Coffee. Read More

Auto-Set Google Now Backgrounds As Android Wallpaper By Time Of Day

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Those of us who often use Google Now on their Android devices running Jelly Bean are bound to be awed by the background images of the app. What makes those wallpapers awesome is the way they automatically change based on your current local time. All of this however is restricted within the the app itself. Enter GoogleNowWallpapers – the wallpaper app that brings Google Now wallpapers to your home screen, from stars lit in the sky to a bright sunny sky. The app also changes them according to times split into Day, Dawn, Dusk, and Night. You can customize the time after which wallpapers will change to reflect the time of the day. Let's take a closer look at this simple but distinct app after the jump. Read More