Technology & Business
Remotely access your PC from your iPhone and Android with Splashtop
There are lots of good reasons why you may want to remotely access your PC from your phone or tablet (iphone, Android, iPad, Nexus, etc). If you’re looking for a way to do this without a monthly service fee then your options are limited. You can always buy the LogMeIn Ignition app for $129.99 (not a typo) and this is an app I like a lot but it has one limitation, you can’t stream audio or video from the PC to the remote device.
A fantastic $60 headphone amp
If you are wondering why you may need a headphone amplifier (amp) then take a look at my previous blog entry here. After buying a decent pair of headphones, a headphone amp is the next best investment if you want to get the best possible sound quality out of your media player (e.g. iphone, Android, ipad, Cowon media player or other). Chu Moy headphone amp The Chu Moy (CMoy) headphone amp is an extremely popular do-it-yourself headphone amplifier project that can be fun and easily customized to your equipments specifications.
The iPad is cannibalizing PC sales
Traditional PC OEMs quickly dismissed the iPad as a PC add-on, but now Forture is reporting information from a Needham & Company that clearly shows that the iPad is eating the OEMs lunch. It seems more and more customers are choosing the iPad instead of a traditional PC. As an example Mac shipments to schools in Q3 2012 fell by 0.1% while overall PC sales dropped by 13.9% (keep in mind Apple sold 1 million iPads to schools during the same period).
Order Windows 8 upgrade for new PCs now
If you bought a new windows 7 equipped PC after June 2 2012, you are entitled to purchase an upgrade to Windows 8 PRO for only $14.99 and you can do it now here. Unlike the older Win 7 upgrade offer which moved you from Vista to a basic home version of windows 7, the new offer moves you to the best Win 8 version available. Windows Media Center If you use Windows Media Center, you may be disappointed to learn that it will be a purchasable upgrade in Windows 8 Pro.
Apple's next press even is scheduled for September 12
This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone but Apple has finally confirmed that it will hold a press conference on September 12 at 1300EDT. Although they don’t mention what will be announced, analysts assume it will be the next iPhone and iPod. Pundits and Apple watchers believe the 7 inch mini-iPad will now be announced and released in October. Now we wait and see.
Spotify coming to Canada
In the latest management report published by the Luxembourg based Spotify, Canadians were given some good news, Spotify will expand into Canada. The world's biggest streaming music service currently operated in 15 countries and their Canadian expansion is part of a larger move solidify its leadership position (other possible expansions include Asia and South America). Although revenues are increasing rapidly, Spotify is still losing money hand over fist. The biggest US competitor Pandora still has no announced plans to re-enter the Canadian market (because of the high per song royalty fees demanded in Canada).
CHROME EXTENSION - Tab Packager
There are dozens of free web URL shortening services (like bit.ly, goo.gl, etc) but what about sharing a bunch of open tabs? Why would you want to share tabs? Students may do it while working on projects, workgroups conducting research, etc. Instead of having to copy all the URLs one by one, you simply install the tab.bz Chrome extension, click on one button, choose which tabs to share and voila.
CHROME EXTENSION - Clearly by Evernote
I love Evernote and the way it captures ideas. At the end of 2011, they released a browser plug-in called Clearly. It is an extension with sole job is to make reading the web easier and more pleasant. What does it do Anytime I see a worthwhile article, I click on the Clearly extension in my browser, and it automagically transforms the page by getting rid of navigation, advertising, links and other superfluous content not related to the article. For multipage articles, it automagically merges everything into a single page nicely flowing layout.
Chrome extension - Awesome Screenshot
For various reasons, Google's Chrome browser has won my heart and mind. Sure it has some annoying shortcomings but overall it's an excellent browsing experience. Over the last couple of months, I have discovered some interesting extensions that increase my productivity when working with Chrome. This blog entry is about one such extension called Awesome Screenshot. Once installed, it allows you to quickly take a snapshot of an entire webpage or her chosen subsection.once the content has been captured, you can then add various annotations (such as circles, lines,arrows and text).
Microsoft Windows 8 Pro will cost $199 after the $39 promo ends
The Verge is reporting that Microsoft Windows 8 will cost $199 once the initial promo price of $39.99 for the online downloadable (or $69 for the retail) ends January 31 2013.