Google consolidating all your storage into one 15GB chunck

Until recently, each Google service had it's own distinct Google Storage and unused space couldn't be shared between services. As an example, you have 10GB of GMAIL storage but only 5GB for Google Drive. If you want to use 10GB for Drive and 5GB for GMAIL you couldn't.... until now.

The sultant of search has informed its citizens that it will henceforth consolidate all storage into one giant shareable pool of 15 GB. This means you can use any of that storage with any Google service you want (no more artificial storage walls or barriers.) If you decide to fork over some of your hard earned money for storage, it is now accessible from all services (in the past, extra storage wasn't accessible from Gmail.)

So go forth an rejoince in your newfound freedom citizen of Google-ville.

This consolidation has started to roll out but it may not have reached your account yet. Paid Google Apps account will see their storage bumped to 30GB.

Google blog post regarding the consolidation can be read here.

Rogers offers US roaming for $7.99 a day

In February, I wrote about a new Fido plan that offered US roaming for $7.99 a day. I wanted to remind Rogers customers that they too have the same option.

The plan costs $7.99 a day [for US bound travellers] which comes with 50MB of 3G data a day. Some some of us, 50MB seems extremely limiting but Rogers assures us that this is "twice the data a Rogers wireless customer would typically use per day while in Canada". 

Telus and Bell don't yet offer by the day plans for Canadians visiting the US: 

  • Telus has a plan that costs $40 and offers 100MB for 30 days ($1 per extra MB).
  • Bell has a plan that costs $40 and offers 100MB for 30 days ($0.40 per extra MB) 

My next blog entry will be about a Canadian service called Roam Mobility that offers another option for users who own unlocked smartphones. 

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PicShop HD for IOS – Photo Editor - Free today on itunes

PicShop HD is a universal IOS app (works on iPhone, Ipad mini and iPad) and allows you to easily perform basic editing on the go. It includes basic photo improvement tools, frames, stickers and of course filters.
You can save your masterpiece in the camera roll or upload it to Facebook or Twitter.
Normally PicShop HD is $4.99 but you can get it free on the itunes store today. 

Nokia teases upcoming Lumia “more than your eyes can see”

Nokia has started teasing the public about its upcoming Nokia device that will be announced tomorrow morning (May 14) at 5am ET. 
The video shows the device's camera, its "dual" flash and teasing "more than your eyes can see". Most expect Nokia to release the much rumored Lumia "Catwalk".
The "Catwalk" is a rumored codename for a device that is expected to have a 1.5GHz Snapdragon dual-core processor, 4.5" octaOLED display, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage and a 8.7 megapixel PureView camera. Nothing in the rumored specs are new and revolutionary so we'll just have to wait and see.

GoSleep pods make sleeping or sex at the airport affordable

The Abu Dhabi Airport has installed 10 GoSleep sleep pods (out of a total 35). These pods will be rented for $12 per hour and each pod provides a secure private sleeping area with internet access, electrical charging ports and a secure storage locker for your luggage. This is expensive for longer stays but much cheaper than a hotel room for short stays.
You can leave the privacy cover open, partially closed or completely closed. I love the concept for short power naps but have some concerns about cleanliness. I still haven't seen how the stations will be maintained. How will they keep it clean? What about more frisky passengers that use these as "sex pods"?
It is an interesting concept but I need more info about maintenance before I jump in.

Websites can now save directly to your Google Drive

If I want to save a web hosted file on Google drive, I have to download it to my PC then upload it to Google Drive. Google has now released a simple code snippet developers can add to their sites which will allow users to download files directly to their Google Drive (called "Save to Drive").
<script src="https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js"></script>
<div class="g-savetodrive"
 data-filename="My Statement.pdf"
 data-sitename="My Company Name"
 src="/path/to/myfile.pdf">
</div>
Read the Google blog post here.

Boston switches from Microsoft to Google services

Google has been on the offensive trying to convince customers to move from Microsoft to it's cloud services. Over the year, we have heard many high profile switches and now the city of Boston is jumping ship (and taking its 20,000 users with it).
The city estimates that switching from Exchange to Google Gmail will save it $280,000 per year
It’s not just the gee whiz factor: It’s also a matter of money. It will cost Boston around $800,000 to move over to Gmail, Google Docs for word processing, and Google’s cloud service for storing documents. But by dropping some Microsoft products, the city government will save at least $280,000 a year.
Obviously Microsoft argues that Google isn't a solid competitor and that companies moving to Google may find the cloud environment limiting.
Report by the Boston Globe here.

FocusTwist is a Lytro alternative for the iPhone

FocusTwist from Arqspin on Vimeo.

FocusTwist is a fresh app that simulates the Light Field Technology intriduced by Lytro (only it costs $2 instead of $400). The app takes several pictures at different focus settings and then creates a Lytro style interactive picture that can be "re-focused" after the fact.
It works best with subjects that don't move in well lit conditions. 
You can see sample picture taken by existing users and shared on twitter here. 

Apple TV ad: Every day, more photos are taken with the iPhone than any other camera

KLYPAPP for iPhone review - take pictures by clapping (free app)

My go to camera app on the iPhone is Camera+ but I thought some of you may find this useful so I am sharing it. Klypapp is a new app by Manfrotto, the kingpin of photo accessories and enables you to take pictures by simply clapping your hands (great for group shots you want to be in).
  • It has a basic settings menu where you can set timer, delay, number of photos per activation, etc.
  • There is a night mode that increases the camera's sensitivity (clearer shot in darker situations but a hige increase in noise).
  • Ability to perform basic editing (crop, basic filters, color correction, etc).
  • Ability to share photos quickly via Facebook and Twitter.

This app is FREE so why not try it now. Link to appstore here.

 

Best video recording app for the iPhone

For most iPhone owners, the built-in camera and video app is more than enough. For the rest of us, there is FiLMiC Pro. 
  • Best App Ever Awards: video nominee 2011, 2012
  • Best App Ever finalist, Tap! Magazine
  • Gizmodo Essential App 2011, 2012
  • Best Video App of 2011 - TUAW, Editors Pick
  • 5 Stars, Editors Review, cnet.com
  • App of the Week, Time.com/Techland
  • Editorʼs Choice - Wired, Film Riot, Macworld
During the Zacuto "Revenge of the Great Camera Shoot Out", Filmic Pro was used with an iPhone 4s and put against some major competitors (one costing $5,000  and the other $13,000) and won out during a blind "taste test" shootout.
Why is Filmic Pro so good? It offers amazing quality and personalization options. Truth is, you won't need any other video apps. First important difference (compared to the stock Apple app), you can lock exposure, focus and color. This means your video will look consistent throughout. 
It supports extremely slow motion video all the way to super speed recording (and everything in between). Most of the time, you'll set it and forget it but there are times when the slow motion feature comes in handy. As an example I slowmo recorded my daughter on a roller coaster. It was a wonderful way to enjoy the moment (at normal speed, I would have missed her facial expressions and the moment would have been over in a fraction of a second).
Using the app can be as simple as point and shoot but it offers many features professional expect such as an audio meter (stereo capable if you have an external input), aspect ratio overlays, ability to choose frame rate, audio quality and super simple upload and sharing options.
I have tried dozens of video apps in the last 12 months and none come close to the power and quality of Filmic Pro

Samsung pushing OTA update for Canadian Galaxy S4 devices

SamMobile is reporting that Samsung is pushing an update (I337MVLUAMDJ) to its Kies servers. This is typically the first step of the general availability of an Over The Air update. Based on their analysis, it seems to be a bug fix release improving performance and stability.

Typically the update should become available in the next week or so.

 

Facebook may be interested in WAZE GPS

Mark Zuckerberg is clearly taking mobile very seriously and want premium placement on your smartphone. We all heard of the Instagram acquisition last year and the release of Facebook home [for select Android phones]. Israeli newspaper Calcalilst is now reporting that Facebook may be interested in snapping up Waze. 
Acquiring Waze and mapping users to their Facebook accounts would provider incredibly valuable signals to the social goliath it can use to further target ads.  It will be interesting to see if this $1 billion deal actually materializes and if it does, how Waze's existing users will react.
Original article can be found here.

Paper cup and stir stick in one

Yanko design has created a simple paper cup, called the +4.5 paper cup, that has a built in stiff stir stick. 
Simple, cheap and ingenius. 
Yanko webpage here.

#OPUSA Looks like some Saudi anonymous groups have joined in

Site hacked : http://2flirt.us

 

#OPUSA 5000 Facebook accounts hacked

http://pastebin.com/NRvmnYFe

 

#OPUSA 608 hacked websites

This link shows a list of all hacked websites

http://pastebin.com/evHAziX7

 

When you go to one of the hacked sites in this list, you see

#OPUSA is scheduled today

#OpUSA is an Anonymous attack on targetted USA websites scheduled for today (May 7 2013)

So far we have seen the following:

Defacement Embassy of Cape Verde in the US

http://www.minsaude.gov.cv/x.html

 

DB User Table Leaked - Blood Bank of USA

http://bloodbanker.com/

Info sumped here : http://pastebin.com/fUmPjPDt

I blurred part of the screenshot

 

Defacement - firstcommunitybank.us

Site has been cleaned up and all traces of the defacement are gone.


30 person inflatable seating

 

The Beach 7 AirLounge is an quick to setup 30 person inflatable seat (and table). When your event is over, you can deflate the kit and storage it easily. 

Inflation takes 10-15 minutes (with the included pump). How much does all this goodness cost? Only $US7,000. 

Microsoft SkyDrive celebrates 250 million users

Since the launch of Windows 8, Microsoft has been under attack about forcing users to a less usable Operating System. That is why its doubly nice to see Microsoft having cause to celebrate. Microsoft is celebrating 250 million SkyDrive users. 
Microsoft is forcing Windows 8 on consumers buying a new PC and SkyDrive is intimately tied into windows 8 so it is logical that the giant's online cloud storage service got a bump in usage. It is a decent competitor to Google Drive, Box and Sugarsync but falls short of Dropbox.
Microsoft blog article.