I really want this shirt. The end of IE6 lets celebrate
2011/2012 E-Reader Buying Guide
Kindle
The amazon kindle comes in 4 different flavers. The cheap $79 kindle original the kindle touch, kindle keyboard, and the top of the line kindle DX. Here at CS we recommend going for the $79 original if you can't sepnd an additional money for the kindle touch 3g. At only $79 it does everything it needs to do. Allows you access to the amazon market and helps you read books. The Kindle touch 3g at 149 allows you to do everything the 79 kindle does except you now can read everywhere and it's interface is a lot nicer with the touch features. The 3g is not through a carrier like tablets but through Amazon and it's free.
Nook
There is only one version of the nook avalable and it's on par with the kindle touch. $99 and 7.48 it's very respectable. if your not an amazon fan this item will perform just as well if not better then the kindle touch. it offers a large line of books and you won't be dissapointed. Although because of the flexibilty of the products and market behind it CS recommends the Kindle line.
Sony E-reader is outdated and absolutly not recommended. There are some other E-reader type of devices out on the market, but we consider those tablets, kindle fire, nook color etc. If it has a color screen and comes with apps it's not a E-reader period.
Ccleaner - best tool to Clean your registry and temp files
http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner
This tool cleans temporary files from windows as well as most common programs. This is including your Internet browser which can amass a lot of junk
This tool will also clean your registry with any cobwebs from old programs you un-installed long ago. Speaking of that this program will also do a better job of un-installing programs then windows does.
Cost, Nothing
Open source to boot
Best Free antivirus - Security Essentials
Windows Security Essentials
What more can i say it's free, it works well, and it's easy. If your looking for a free antivirus software stop here and collect $50 (avg cost of subscribtion AV software)
2011/2012 Computer and Laptop Buying Guide
Manufacturer
Processor
The processor is what does the real work, but it also relis on a lot of other compoenents. The core 2 stuff was product end in 2010 and the product line has been around since 2006. I would stick with anything from the Intel core i line of things. This is a much better product, built off of new platforms. The core I3 is for the regular everyday PC user, email and Internet. Core i5 is for the novice power user, hi def movies and power user of email and Internet. Core i7 is for the hard core user, video editing, graphic design, power email and Internet user. Core i3 and core i5 is where most people are going to end up
2011/2012 Tablet Buying Guide
Tablets are all the rage right now and with due respect. They are great devices that provide a lot of technoluge in a confortable small package. The problem with such a small UI focused device is getting it right. Even a crappy mobile phone can still make phone calls, if your tablet is crappy it's just a really expensive thin brick. Really right now there are only a few options for decent tables. If your not looking at this small list don't bother. They are ridden with bugs, hardware problems and general overall crappiness.
Amazon Fire $199
Amazon has expanded there kiddle E-Reader line with a full blown tablet. Amazon also is a power hosue of digital media to pack into any device they offer. The kindle fire boasts access to that powerhouse with video player as well as browsing the web with it's new silk reader. Amazon's Android app store is growing and becoming a real player. It is still missing the girth of google or apple but it's respectrable. All of the goto apps are there, facebook, netflix, email, etc. The best thing about the fire is it's price point $199. While there are other options that pack more features and are alittle more ironed out, at the price you might be able to live with some of the rough edges. The main compaint about the fire is the software is a littel buggy and the speed is not on par with it's name. Amazon is declaring that most of this can be fixed with a software update but we will wati and see. Personally, I'm doing just that it's real tempting but I'm going to wait until software update number 2 or 3. If they can fix it great otherwise we might see a fire2 that is smooth and everything we have hoped for. The downsides that also see are no expandable media and no 3g. Amazon's kidles come with free 3g, it would be awesome if that was included here. Although amazon offeres 5GB of free cloud space it's not weaved well into the fire. I wish it has a sd reader that I could prvoide myself like most smart phones do.
Ipad2
The ipad2 is the cream of the crop with tablets. It's the pioneer of the current tablet craze and rightly so. It's a great feature packed device that provides a lot fucntionality into a small package and it does it with less learning curve or complicated then other products. it also is at a price point that explains why it's so good. it's
Galaxy tab is an option while not as refined as the ipad or the firesale price of the fire it offeres a solid set of features at a comparable price.
Motorola Xoom, Xyboard = terrible
Rando andoird tablets = even worse.
CarrierIQ scandal: Is everyone spying on your phone usage?
You may have heard in the news of a dangerous virus that is installed on every mobile device and could be stealing everything about you. It might even be in your microwave steeling your food and in your car driving it when your not watching. The news agencies are hyping this one to be the unblinking eye of Mordor. All kidding aside, it's definitely a little scary, but I woudn't start freaking out. I wouldn't stop using your mobile phone any time soon, but read this article and make sure you're aware of the information. The problem with this story is not that companies are tracking your phone usage, it's the fact they are doing it without your explicit knowledge. Almost all companies track their products to know metrics of how to make it better, cell phone manufacturer and data providers are no different. The GPS on your phone is available to EMS and google maps, but at least you know that fact, when you install the application. The type of information tracked and what is done with that information should be made aware to the customer up front. The user should have the ability to opt out or control that information.
I have compiled a guide to CarrierIQ. You can read more in depth but hopefully this will give you the intel to find out how you can be affected and to possibly prevent any future privacy concerns.
What is CarrierIQ?
Taken from their website:
Carrier IQ is the leading provider of Mobile Service Intelligence Solutions to the Wireless Industry. As the only embedded analytics company to support millions of devices simultaneously, we give Wireless Carriers and Handset Manufacturers unprecedented insight into their customers' mobile experience.
Carrier IQs statement on their security models
In providing our products and services, Carrier IQ enables our customers to gather information on Mobile User Experiences. Carrier IQ's products were developed from inception to respect and protect user privacy and security. We have established "Best Practices" approach to privacy and security. Our products are designed and configured to work within the privacy policies of our end customers and include functions such as anonymization and encryption. When Carrier IQ's products are deployed, data gathering is done in a way where the end user is informed or involved.
Carrier IQ software, which consists of embedded software on mobile devices and server-side analytics applications, enables mobile operators and device OEMs to understand in detail a wide range of performance and usage characteristics of mobile services and devices. These include both network-facing services such as core voice and data offerings, as well as non-network-facing capabilities such as music players, cameras and other side loaded media, in order to assist with product and service development and roll-out. (From http://www.carrieriq.com/company/PR.CIQ-SeriesC.2009-01-27.pdf )
In a nutshell CarrierIQ's software enables phone providers to gather any information they want, it's then up to the developer to secure that data and use that data responsibly. CarrierIQ provides an ability for them to facilitate security and responsibility, but we will learn that companies may not be using it. User traking software is usually not a problem and are in 99% of all software out there. The problem here is the fact that phone manufacturers or carriers do not provide a great way for you to opt out, or tell you where your information is going. They are either taking the provided feature out of CarrierIQ or CarrierIQ is not including it. Now this isn't the case in ALL instances, but more on that later.
If you want to get technical, check out more at Android security test
Awesome shipment tracking app, Slice
I have always wanted a way to track all of my shipments online. With an array of different shipment options it's difficult to have all your current online purchased tracked in 1 easy way. Now it's a really simple and you don't even have to do anything.
Slice is currently in beta but it's a free web application that works really well. If you have a yahoo or gmail email account, it will scan your emails for recent purchases. It then will enter them into your slice account, tracking cost, shipment, and delivery. For icing on the cake it will also detect price reductions for companies that give rebates on that kind of stuff. Other features include alerts and total price calculator. I have quite the love/hate relationship with that last feature. I spent that much in the last x months!.
I have been using it for a month and while it does have a few kinks, it's exactly what I have been looking for. In 1 website or iPhone app I can get 1 stratified view of all my purchases and shipments. I buy everything online except for fresh groceries and some apparel. I usually have at least 1 package on it's way at all times. The website layout is easy to navigate and customizable. You can hide companies you don't want to show, like perhaps your itunes purchases and such. The iphone app is layed out very well too, providing quick access to the information I want. It quickly answers the question; Where is my stuff right now? They don't have an android app at this moment, but i wouldn't expect it to be long before that come along.
There are a few kinks mostly around parsing the emails for correct information. Sometimes the picture or tracking number might be off, but for the most part you can update them once they get into your slice account. 90% of the time they are close enough for the app to do it's thing. If slice doesn't pick up an email that was sent to you, you can also send it to your account with a provided email. It will detect your send from email and apply the changes to your list. It also hooks up with Google maps and provided a view of where your shipment was last updated. There are a lot of ways to send feedback to them on how they did parsing or tracking your shipment. Please do, this will help them imporve there email parsing program so you will have to do less.
It's definitly ready to check out and start using, just expect a few rough edges. I expect this application to be well used and be more refined over time. The parsing of emails will take time and a lot of trial and error.
Overall I give this application 4 stars and highly recommend it for people who buy a lot of things online Expect it to be a 5 star app when it comes out of beta.
If your on android and feel left out check out Parcels via Gizmodo best package app for android
Get rid of all of your cds, please
Almost everyone these days has itunes. Whether you have an ipod, iphone or just really like podcasts you have downloaded itunes at one point in time. At this point in this guide you should update it to the latest, it takes a while so a cup of coffee may be in order. If it's not up to date already you should consider yourself talken too. Always update your stuff, Number 2 tenant of computer ownership.
After that follow this video to rip all of those cds to mp3s. Then get rid of your old cds for your and my sanity. There is no reason to use cds, records are different story. There is no nolastic or audio phile reason for cds. You can pick up a used ipod shuffle for the price of a case of microbrew beer. Less then $40. It's pretty easy and once you do it once, put your piles of cds next to your computer and do 1 cd every time you sit down.
You can find awesome videos like this on our youtube page.
I wish every error message looks like this. 404 page is MIA
We have all been there, we find the greatest search result or link and when you take that jump it lands on a unkown page or 404 error. Most sites simply say page not found or some cheeky message like your page got lost or gremlins hard at work.
The food app Nosh put some production value into there 404 message. Taking a seen from a bad Vietnam war movie about a rogue page that went off on its own. I enjoy the fact they put a code 500 in there as well. I wish all error messages were this fun. It would make my job as a computer technician just that more fun.
Nosh: 404 from Firespotter Labs on Vimeo.
NOSH is a food app for android and iphone that focuses specifically on the food. The idea is that users take pictures of the food as well as there review. whereas most sites you never see in the inside or the food itself it gives another dimension to the regular Restaurant review app.
For those less knowning of the code of the internet here are the definitions of these 2 errors.
404 Not Found: The requested resource could not be found but may be available again in the future. Subsequent requests by the client are permissible.
500 Internal Server Error: A generic error message, given when no more specific message is suitable.
Richard Dreyfuss dramatic reading of User aggrements.
Like most people I have never read most if not all of the User aggrements I agree to. If there were all recited with this dramaticly I may listen to a lot more, maybe 1 out of 10. Hearing Richard Dreyfuss portray apple's agreement as dramatically as Shakespeare was worth a chuckle.
Richard Dreyfuss is a successful actor that has had many dramatic roles. He is also a successive boradway star, since the 1960s.
Hopefully this can perk up your Monday.
Please read, Your responsibility, Damages, Effective until
http://www.cnet.com/8301-30976_1-20068778-10348864.html
Thank you CNET