Tag Archives: featured

[Ask The Readers] HTC One vs. Samsung Galaxy S4: Which Flagship Android Smartphone Are You Getting Next?

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This year’s flagship offerings from popular smartphone manufacturers have been more on the evolutionary – rather than revolutionary – side. Sure, they’ve got high-res displays with super-high pixel densities, 4G LTE, and amazing cameras, but they don’t make any truly big leap; the sort of leaps that we saw in 2010-11 with smartphones like the iPhone 4, Galaxy S II: 300+ ppi displays, significantly improved 8MP cameras, and console-like graphics. Still, if you look at these phones on their own merits, they are mind-blowing. Now, Samsung and HTC’s frontrunners for the year 2013 – the recently announced and soon-releasing Galaxy S 4 and One – are set to go head-to-head this year in what looks to be the ultimate Android smartphone matchup. Check out our comparison of the two beasts after the jump. Read More

New In Firefox 20: Private Window, Improved Download Manager & More

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Firefox 20 is out on the stable channel and it’s packed with good stuff, this time mostly for end-users. The previous few versions have all or mostly focused on something for developers, making the browser more secure, or adding support for new web technologies. We’re not saying any of that isn’t important, but Firefox already commands a huge developer audience in its user base and it needs to up its offering for the ordinary user. This release sees the implementation of side-by-side private and normal browsing sessions, a new download manager, protection against extensions or apps that try to hijack your default search engine, a faster way to stop plugins that are unresponsive, and support for blend mode added for HTML5 canvas. Read More

How To Setup SSH Access On iOS & Change Default Password

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Transferring files wirelessly between iOS and PC isn't as easy as it is with Android. If you have a jailbroken iPhone, iPad or iPod touch though, you can get a similar experience by using the Secure Shell (SSH) file transfer protocol. The process basically requires running an SSH service on your iDevice and accessing it with any SSH client on your PC. In what follows, we will discuss how you can quickly create an SSH connection between your iPhone and your desktop PC for no-frills file transfers. Read More

Mac OS X Tips & Tricks That You Might Not Know About

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OS X has some really great features that Windows’ users might envy; There are the well documented and much talked about features like Mission Control, Desktop Spaces, and the Launchpad, but OS X is also stocked full of several smaller and less hyped about features and tricks that even some veteran Mac users are unaware of. Regardless of how long you've been using the platform, it's always nice to learn a new trick or two that your Mac can do, and we've complied whole list of them to help you use your Mac more efficiently. Read More

Chrome Extensions To Make Viewing Twitter Images & Videos Easier

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Very few people use Twitter’s web interface. Some need support for multiple accounts, other want to schedule tweets; some like to automate and filter tweets in their feed, while others just look for simpler features like the ability to edit a tweet before retweeting it. Twitter itself isn't very nice to third party clients and with its mounting list of restrictions, you might find yourself forced to use the web interface. One of the shortcomings you will come across on Twitter’s web interface is the image viewer. You can no longer see previews for Instagram images in tweets, and that's only the beginning of it. Here's a list of extensions that will help you view images and videos more easily. Read More

[Ask The Readers] What’s The Size Of Your Smartphone’s Display?

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Smartphone displays seem to be getting bigger and bigger lately, don’t they? Consider Samsung’s flagship smartphone series – the Galaxy S: it started out in 2010 at 4-inches, expanded to a reasonable 4.3-inches in 2011 with the Galaxy S II, blew up to a massive 4.8-inches in 2012 with the Galaxy S III, before settling on a 5-inch full HD display that dominates the front of the recently announced Galaxy S4. Apart from this, there's also the Galaxy Note 'phablet' line that started in late 2011 with a 5.3" screen, which was bumped up to 5.5" in 2012 with the Note II. Read More

Google Keep vs Evernote vs OneNote vs Notes vs Simplenote

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Now that Google Keep is live, it wouldn't be right if we don't compare it with other popular note taking services out there. In our detailed review of Keep, we've mentioned that its features are rather basic at the moment, especially if you compare it with note taking giant Evernote. However, Evernote isn't the only impressive notes service out there, and it’s only fair to broaden our comparison. After considering just what features does it takes to make a good note taking service, we ended up with quite a list. Not all services here share the exact same feature set, but each of them has its own pros and cons and as a user, this comparison should give you a quick idea of which one of them is right for you, and whether switching to Google Keep will work for you, or should you stick with the one you're currently using. Read More

Hands-On With Google Keep: Notes & To-Do Lists For Web & Android

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Google’s new note-taking web service Keep is now live, along with its Android app. Keep lets you create notes and to-do lists that sync over Google Drive. Notes may contain text, voice or images. Notes and lists can be color-coded, and are searchable. With Keep, Google aims to let you collect and consolidate all your thoughts, ideas and useful information together that will be synced and accessible across all your computers through your browser, and across all your Android devices using the Keep app. Let's take both the web service and its Android app for a spin and see what it's all about. Read More

The Best Video Players For iPhone, iPad & iPod touch

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There can be no denying the fact that thanks to their high resolution Retina screens, Apple devices can hold their own against any smartphone in terms of display. The screen resolutions and other display aspects just keep getting better and better with each new iDevice release, but what’s the use of having such extraordinary hardware if you can’t play even the most popular video formats on your iPhone? While this could have been a real problem if users had to rely solely on the stock Videos app, thankfully there are a lot of quality video players available on App Store as well as Cydia. Many iOS users might not even be aware that their iPhone can play just about any video file, thanks to some awesomely feature-rich apps. It’s all about finding the right app for your device, and that’s what we are going to help you with. In what follows, we will take a look at some of the best video players available for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Read More

Best Free Google Reader Alternatives For Web, Windows & Mac

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Google Reader will be gone soon and the faster you start looking for ways to move on, the better. It isn't going to be easy though; scores of developers have created apps or services that integrate and sync with Google Reader. The feature itself was not merely important, but rather considered by many to be an integral part of any worthwhile RSS reader. Times have changed though and with Reader soon to be no longer available, it’s time to consider alternatives. Understandably, Google Reader users might be looking for either a web service or a desktop app to fill the void, and we've compiled a list of free options for each platform: web, Windows, and Mac. Our Emphasis was on two key features - the app or service must be free, and it should be able to import from XML files since that is what you get when you backup your Google Reader subscriptions. With only two exceptions in our list that only partially meet these requirements, we’re hopeful you will find something that’s just right for you. Read More

How To Export Google Reader Feeds And Import Starred & Liked Items

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Google is retiring Google Reader, and we just don’t know what to do with our lives - well, our RSS feeds actually - anymore. Fortunately, the grace period before Google Reader goes the way of the dinosaurs gives us ample time to back up our feeds in order to jump ship to an alternative, and Google has provided a simple way to do so. This post details how to export and save your current Google Reader subscriptions so that they can later be imported to any RSS service or app. In addition, we'll also show you how you can back up the items you've ‘starred’ in Google Reader for later access. Read More

25 Best Windows 8 Themes & Visual Styles

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Anyone would get bored looking at the same computer screen day after day. Changing the look of your system with new wallpapers and themes every now and then makes it feel fresh. Applying new themes isn't all that hard; it's looking for the perfect theme that takes a fare bit of time. Back in 2009, we compiled a list of great themes for Windows 7, and now, after a long time, we have put together for you a collection of awesome Windows 8 themes. While the themes remain roughly the same, a major (and much needed) addition in Windows 8 personalization now allows you to apply a different wallpaper to the each display in a dual-monitor setup. In what follows, you'll find some of the best themes from deviantArt and Windows' own downloads page, plus a little surprise for our dual-monitor users. Read More

A Look At The New Features In Avast 8

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Avast is known for creating some of the best security tools in the industry. The company has been producing robust, reliable and efficient antivirus and security applications for the past several years, winning many accolades and certifications from critics and computer security experts. Avast! 8 is the latest incarnation of their long running antivirus suite and we've got to say it does pack a serious punch of features. The security juggernaut has debuted the program in four flavors: Avast Free Antivirus 8 (the one reviewed here), Avast Pro Antivirus 8, Avast Internet Security 8 and the top of the line Avast Premier 8. Let’s see take a closer look at the new features added in Avast 8. Read More

How To Get The Windows 7 Look & Feel On Your Windows 8 PC

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Change has always been hard for most people to accept; they generally want things to keep running in a set pattern that they are used to, and any deviation from their regular practices can cause them a lot of panic. That is exactly what happened with Windows 8. With such a huge shift from the conventional Windows UI, Microsoft managed to displease a lot of people, including some critics as well as a significant user base. However, as people came out of the initial effects of the shock, a lot of them decided to stick with Windows 7 for now,  some decided to try and adapt to the new system, and the more tech-savvy lot with the knowledge of coding started writing programs to bring the old Windows 7 interface back in Windows 8. As a result, different tools surfaced, promising to bring back the Windows 7 UI to Windows 8 either by installing the missing features, or by disabling the new Windows 8-specific ones. If you are among those looking to transform your Windows 8 to Windows 7 in terms of the interface, here is a list of some of the best tools out there that can help you achieve that. Read More

Internet Explorer 10 Now Available For Windows 7; Here’s What’s New

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When Windows 8 was first revealed, the general feelings of most people towards the new Modern UI were that of apprehension. The new interface was the focal point for most people discussing Windows 8, but it had something else worth noting as well: Internet Explorer 10. At that time, the latest version of Microsoft’s browser was available for Windows 8 only, but Microsoft made it available for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 in form of a release preview in November and today, the stable version of IE 10 has finally been released for Windows 7 SP1 as well as Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1. Internet Explorer has declined significantly in popularity, but this latest version comes with features that put it back in line against the likes of Chrome and Firefox. The release does not have all of the features are available in the Windows 8 variant of the browser (like Flip forward), but here are some of the salient new features of IE 10 that might make you want to give it another shot on Windows 7. Read More

Ubuntu Touch Preview: A Complete Hands-on Feature & Interface Analysis

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Since smartphones and tablets got into the hands of masses from being niche devices after the release of the iPhone in 2007, we have seen many players such as Android, Windows Phone, WebOS and MeeGo enter the field, some of which have stuck around and done well, while others have been pushed into oblivion by the tough competition. Nevertheless, it’s a lucrative industry that’s been attracting several other big names lately, the latest among them being Ubuntu Touch for Phones and Tablets. Recently, Canonical released the first Developer Preview of its touch-centric Linux-based OS to give users an early taste of things to come. Does it have what it takes to survive in today’s highly competitive industry, or is Canonical too late to the game? Let’s find out in our review of Ubuntu Touch Developer Preview. Read More

Install Ubuntu Touch Preview On Nexus Devices The Easy Way From Recovery [Complete Guide]

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The announcement of Ubuntu for Phones and the more recent one of Ubuntu for Tablets had sparked huge interest in the entire smartphone enthusiast community and kept countless Nexus device owners waiting to get their hands on the Ubuntu Touch experience.  Finally, the wait is over, as Ubuntu Touch Developer Preview has landed on the Nexus series of devices including Nexus 10, Nexus 7, Nexus 4 and Galaxy Nexus, just as Canonical promised it would.  Though if you have rushed to the original installation method provided by Canonical at the official Ubuntu Wiki, many of you must have been disappointed at learning that the method required you to be running Ubuntu on your PC in order to install it. A Linux based OS running PC is not everyone's cup of tea and it’s hardly fair to install or even dual boot a new OS only to be able to install a new one on your mobile device – and one that is already highly experimental at this point. Luckily, there is an easier and much more more familiar way to get Ubuntu Touch up and running on your Nexus devices, irrespective of the OS on your PC. That's right - we are talking about the usual flashing from a custom recovery. So let's get on with it. Read More

A Look At New Features In Firefox 19

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Firefox 19 will be officially released tomorrow, but it’s available for download right away for those eager to try it out ASAP. Most end users will have little or nothing to look forward to with this update, with the only noteworthy change being you no longer need the PDF.js extension developed by Mozilla installed in Firefox to natively open PDFs. The native PDF viewer has been greatly improved, and you can now view PDF files in the browser without having to rely on any add-on for the purpose. Apart from that, Firefox comes with a new about:telemetry page that allows you to see the the performance data collected by the browser. The feature to collect this data was introduced in Firefox 7, and now after twelve versions, Mozilla has given it a dedicated page. An add-on is also available now to replicate this page on older versions. Apart from these, there are the usual bug fixes, security updates and a Browser Debugger tool for add-on and browser developers. Read More

6 Productive Tasks Your PC Can Perform When You Aren’t Using It

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So you bought a really powerful PC on Cyber Monday; it comes with a quad-core CPU, a dedicated graphics card and more RAM than you can handle. The question is: are you putting it to good use? Or is it a $999 Facebook / Reddit machine? If that’s the case, we’ve got 6 things your PC can do while it is idle that will help make the world a better place. Check them out after the jump. Read More