IT Tech Blog

Top 10 Pervasive Tech Myths That Are Only Wasting Your Time [Lifehacker Top 10]

Whitson Gordon — Sat, 19 May 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Ever been told that you should fully discharge your battery to prolong its life? Or that jailbreaking your phone is illegal? Or that you should wait for the newest Intel processor because it's going to be "so much faster"? These are tech myths we hear all the time, and likely spread to our friends—but most are just a waste of your time (and in some cases, they can actually harm your gadgets). Here are some of the worst offenders. More »

14 tips for making the most of the tablet for your business

TheNextWeb — Sat, 19 May 2012 14:32:08 +0000

Tablets are going to replace computers — or so we’re told. Despite divided opinions over tablet use in corporations, they’re coming… fast. While the screen of a smartphone may be...

Marketing Lessons Startups Need to Learn from Google’s Project Glass Concept Video

xkcd.ru — Sat, 19 May 2012 14:00:09 +0000

You may have seen it by now…Google’s concept video about its new Project Glass. These glasses will do what your smart phone will do only without having to hold anything…you actually see your options at the side of your view. You can get directions, send and receive texts, make calls, schedule tasks and even share your view with another person. It’s a really exciting idea…especially if you love technology. But the actual product is easily years out from becoming a reality. Was Google wise to release an idea so early? And should startups do the same?

Build a Self-Resetting Mouse Trap [DIY]

Lifehacker — Sat, 19 May 2012 14:00:00 +0000

We've covered many mouse traps over the years, but they all need to be reset once you've caught a mouse. This means if you have lots of furry intruders you'll need to have several traps or just build this version using a 5-gallon bucket, an aluminum beverage can, a small piece of wood, and a wooden dowel. More »

Newspaper Attacks UK Government For Its ‘Closeness’ To Google

xkcd.ru — Sat, 19 May 2012 13:39:33 +0000

UK tabloid newspaper The Daily Mail, has decided to raise the issue of Google's influence on the UK government, after uncovering the fact that Conservative Party ministers have held meetings with Google an average of once a month since the General Election two years ago. There have been 23 meetings between Tory ministers and Google since June 2010, with Prime Minister David Cameron meeting Google three times and George Osborne - who as Chancellor of the Exchequer is supposed to meet with business leaders - four times in two years. The story needs to be a seen in a wider context. The Conservatives have recently come under fire for having too close a relationship to another powerful entity, News Corporation (as did the Labour party during its tenure). A huge inquiry into Press standards has in large part focused on the ties between Rupert Murdoch’s media giant and the Conservatives. But what the report buries way down in the article, is the number of times the newspaper itself has met with the Government. A Google spokesperson told us: "It's absolutely right that governments speak with companies about issues that affect their citizens. The British Government makes the list of those meetings publicly available - including the Daily Mail’s 34 meetings over the same period." In other words, the Daily Mail has met with the Government almost one and a half times a month (on average) since they entered office - that's quite a bit more than Google has. It's likely those were high-level meetings, not editorial ones.

SpaceX’s Historic Launch Aborted Less Than A Second Prior To Launch

xkcd.ru — Sat, 19 May 2012 12:31:45 +0000

"Entering terminal count autosequence. 60 seconds to engine fire. #DragonLaunch," tweeted Elon Musk as his space company was less than a minute away from it's historic flight. But the launch didn't happen. Nothing happened as longtime NASA commentator George Diller counted down the seconds, "3..2..1......We've had a cutoff. Liftoff did not occur." Musk tweeted 11 minutes later at 5:06am EDT, "Launch aborted: slightly high combustion chamber pressure on engine 5. Will adjust limits for countdown in a few days."

Hyperlinks Are Dumb And Bleeding Money; How To Ensure Yours Aren’t

xkcd.ru — Sat, 19 May 2012 09:00:39 +0000

When an email hits our inbox, we know not only who it’s from but their entire web imprint. LinkedIn can point out the profile of the woman you interviewed for a sales role last week and the gentleman you spoke with earlier in the year at a conference. And rest assured that the dining room set you checked out over the weekend at CrateAndBarrel.com will haunt your online experience for the forseeable future. Data -- its collection and manipulation at scale -- has revolutionized how we interact online. Homepages, banner advertisements and what we see in our Facebook timeline are all tailored-to-fit the reader, and we don’t give it a second thought. But the hyperlink, the key feature that distinguishes hypertext from text has remained largely unchanged since Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the web.

Tutorial: How to control a PC with your Android phone

CrEEp.Ru — Sat, 19 May 2012 09:00:00 +0000

Control your PC with your phone

There's something deeply liberating about being able to get one over on those huge, faceless and cold-hearted corporations, and nothing does that better than building your own recordable TV powerhouse in your living room - especially as companies like Virgin Media have announced package price hikes for those customers stuck in a contract.

You can achieve this snub by installing a media centre PC next to your big screen.

Unfortunately, no matter how good you make your media PC - and modern systems are good, allowing you to watch, record and play back TV in perfect silence - there's often one weak point in DIY home media networking that will bring the rest of the house toppling down.

The weak link in question is the remote control.

Many of us use the standard keyboard and mouse, or some kind of cobbled-together version of the two to control a media PC from a distance. Neither option is particularly good. You can purchase a third, more expensive option in the form of a media centre remote, but we don't think this is the best method available.

So what are you left with? Well, there's a solution, and you probably already own it: a smartphone. Not just any smartphone though - the mobile of choice for this kind of work comes from the hands of the smiling green bug of Android, allied to a little application called Gmote that gives you complete control of your media PC.

If you've never used it before then you're in for a rare treat - Gmote is an eye-opener to the world of Android. When such a simple app can work so harmoniously with the devices it's connected to, you start to wonder what else your smartphone is capable of.

As well as being a great way of controlling the media on your PC for playback on a big screen TV, you can also use Gmote to stream media from your PC to your phone or tablet. Here's how to install the app on your device as well as the software needed on your computer to communicate with it.

Installing Gmote

Turn your phone into a remote control and access media files from your couch

1. Get the app

Gmote 2.0 is available on the Android Market, so download and install it. The first time you open the app, it will inform you that you need to install the Gmote server on your PC by downloading it from the website. You can get Gmote to email you the link, or alternatively just go to www.gmote.org/server and select the right installer for your PC.

2. Allow it access

Now that you've installed Gmote on your Android phone and PC, allow the program access to the internet. Create a password for connecting to the Gmote server through your Android phone, then select the location of the media files on your hard drive. Click on 'Add path', then simply choose the folder (or folders) that you want to share with the phone.

3. Never too late

If, at a later date, you change your mind and decide to create a more secure password for your smartphones access or wish to add more folders to share, or even remove those folders that you've linked to previously, all you need to do is right-click the Gmote icon in your Taskbar tray and select the appropriate link from the Settings menu.

4. Start Android

Once your PC is ready for action, it's time to get your Android device into gear. Go back to Gmote and tap the button on the screen to let the application know that you have Gmote installed on your machine now.

The name of your PC should show up on the screen, so just tap it. If not, press the option below it to enter your computer's IP address manually.

5. Enter the password

You'll now see the remote control layout on your Android device's screen, complete with media playback controls and more. Tap any of the buttons on the screen and it'll ask you to enter the password you used earlier when setting up Gmote on your PC. Once that's done it'll connect to your computer - you've just got yourself a remote Android control.

6. Explore the controls

Using the Gmote remote is pretty intuitive, so it's quite self-explanatory really. Even so, it's worth mentioning that when you first open the application, you'll be presented with an array of media controls that you can use to play, pause and alter the volume of any media files that you open, whether they are music or video.

7. Find some files

Once you're acquainted with the first screen, you can start browsing for media files on your PC's hard drive. Tap the 'Browse' button in the top left-hand side of the screen and you'll see a list of folders that you added earlier. Just tap on the folder where your media is located and tap a file to open it on your PC - this will be your default program for the file type.

8. Play on tablet

You can also beam media stored on your PC to your Android tablet or smartphone. Streaming this way is easy - just go back to the file browser on your Android device, and at the top where it says 'Play on', tap 'Phone (beta)'. You can now search for media files as you did before. It's worth noting, however, that because this feature is still in beta, not all file types are supported.

9. Finger tricks

One of the app's best features is the ability to transform itself into a mouse and keyboard at will. Press the menu button and click on 'Touchpad' to turn the screen into a mouse touchpad. The real beauty of this is that when you tap the screen it will register as a left click of the mouse, and if you hold your finger down it will bring up the Windows context menu.

10. Type away

Even better, you can type directly on screen by simply tapping the keyboard icon in the top-left corner. Input responses are immediate, so you could type entire documents on your phone. Gmote has another neat trick up its sleeve too - tap the menu button once more and select 'Web (beta)' and you can now search the internet.

Personalization Is Not A Feature

xkcd.ru — Sat, 19 May 2012 06:00:56 +0000

We’ve all watched from the sidelines as companies have come out in a burst of glory, and then, two years later, spent their venture capital, lost their user base, and failed to monetize. This begs the question - what are the factors that drive a company’s survival, differentiate it, and ultimately make it a winner? In today’s online world, personalization is increasingly making or breaking companies. The companies that win are the ones making personalization a key company value – not just a feature. In the early days of the web, consumers were happy just to gain access to information. However, as technology became more sophisticated, and as more consumers and companies came online, we quickly moved out of the access age and into a state of information overload, often leaving consumers frustrated and confused. Companies that helped consumers cut through the clutter to reveal relevant information had a critical and sustainable competitive advantage in their respective areas. The concept of relevance is critical to the success of Google, for example.

Real Tech Alert: Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 Ready For Takeoff To International Space Station

xkcd.ru — Sat, 19 May 2012 05:41:42 +0000

SpaceX, the private space exploration company founded by PalPal and Tesla Motors co-founder Elon Musk, is ready to boldly go where no private company has legitimately attempted to go before: The International Space Station. (Live video of the rocket at Cape Canaveral in Florida is embedded above.)