A lot of cool stuff came out of Google I/O last week. Let’s take a quick look at some of them in this sweet two-part series.

Google I/O is Google’s big annual developer bash. Like Microsoft Build and Apple’s WWDC, Google I/O is designed to showcase Google’s latest goodies and achievements. The idea is to attract new developers to use the new features and functionality that will in turn attract more consumer and enterprise customers to the Google side of the mobile world.

This year, Google rolled out a number of new developments in both the desktop and mobile platform spaces. Over the next couple of days, I’m going to highlight some interesting developments from both areas and try to show you where you might find value for yourself. Today, we’re going to concentrate on mobile.

Mobile Developments

Galaxy S4 with Stock Android
Google has chosen the latest Samsun Galaxy S phone, as its Nexus phone and will offer a version of the S4 with a vanilla version of Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. The phone is scheduled to cost a steep $649 for an unlocked version of the device which should work on any GSM carrier.

Enhanced Google Maps
Google Maps has pretty much set the standard for a maps on demand GPS solution, at least in the Android part of the world. If you have an Android device, you have Google Maps; and as long as you live in an area with decent cell coverage, there’s no need to look for or use any other navigation solution.

As part of I/O, Google announced that it will be rolling out updates to maps that make searching larger maps more personal. Using technology that powers Google Now, Maps learns what your searching for and future results will get better the more it’s used.

Auto Enhance
Most people use point and shoot cameras to take digital photos vs. those that use DSLR’s. Most of those point and shoot cameras are actually cellphones. Digital camera technology has come a long way in the past few years with many cellphone camera specs rivaling those of dedicated point and shoot models. Your cellphone is most always with you , too.

Google is introducing Auto Enhance, a tool that offers users a way to improve brightness, contrast, saturation, structure, noise, focus and a number of other photo attributes automatically. The tool allows you to upload photos and to open a light box to see what Google improved for you.

Google+ Hangouts App
Google+ Hangouts offer members a virtual gathering place where they can chat, discuss and congregate with other members. Hangouts are often used for podcasting and live shows, sharing files and photos; but are also used for collaborative work.

Google has announced the release of a standalone application for Hangouts that works across Android, iOS and the desktop. Gmail users can now replace GChat with Hangouts. All they have to do is click the “Try it out” link on their chat lists.

Google+ Redesign
Google+ is the Google’s contribution to social networking; and its recently been updated with 41 new features, including design elements, updates to Hangouts, photo editing tools, additional storage, etc. While I’m certain that the Google+ mobile app has been updated, you can best see all of the design changes and feature editions on the desktop. If you haven’t seen Google+ lately, you need to check it out.

The one big disappointment out of the Google I/O keynote was the lack of a new Android OS or Chrome OS announcement. Perhaps Google is taking the time to delay a new version of either OS to address fragmentation and symmetry issues. This would be a GREAT idea in my opinion. The many different flavors of Android available and in use today are issues that Google needs to address.

At some point, Google will want to retire some versions and insure that those that can update do. This is going to be challenging, though, as many mobile carriers have control of what’s updated on what devices on their networks.

Google I/O – The Cool Stuff: Part 1

Related Posts:

• Google I/O – The Cool Stuff: Part 1
• Macroscop – interactive medical infographic based on Google searches
• Industry In-Fighting is Really Starting to Tick Me Off
• Connected to the ultimate technology – Through Google Glass
• Don’t get Scroogled by Google, use Outlook – Says Microsoft

A lot of cool stuff came out of Google I/O last week. Let’s take a quick look at some of them in this sweet two-part series.

Google I/O is Google’s big annual developer bash. Like Microsoft Build and Apple’s WWDC, Google I/O is designed to showcase Google’s latest goodies and achievements. The idea is to attract new developers to use the new features and functionality that will in turn attract more consumer and enterprise customers to the Google side of the mobile world.

This year, Google rolled out a number of new developments in both the desktop and mobile platform spaces. Over the next couple of days, I’m going to highlight some interesting developments from both areas and try to show you where you might find value for yourself. Today, we’re going to concentrate on the desktop.

Desktop Developments

Quick Actions in Gmail
When you get an actionable email message from someone, don’t be surprised when you can act on the item from right within Gmail. Google is rolling out Quick Action buttons that show up next to actionable items. For example, you’ll be able to RSVP for events from within the invite. Flight information will also be a featured action. Its Google’s intention to solicit their developer partners for ideas on additional buttons.

Gmail Payments
Send money via email, just like PayPal, only its Google Wallet. If you have a Google Wallet account, you can send money to anyone else with an email address. They don’t have to have Gmail, but will have to have a Wallet account.

This is nearly the EXACT same model as PayPal, which BTW, does pretty well. Like their other “me too” app Google+, which competes directly with Facebook, I expect this to have the same amount of success. People may give it a shot to see how well it does or doesn’t work, but then will either revert back to their PayPal account or simply abandon it entirely. Google’s been trying to get into the payments game for a while now with NFC and Google Wallet, It hasn’t had a lot of luck, and I don’t see Gmail Payments providing them with any kind of competitive advantage over the very well established and widely accepted PayPal.

Voice-Powered Desktop Search
This new development is meant to compete directly with Apple’s Siri. It’s been rumored that Apple would be bringing Siri to the desktop in Mountain Lion, but that update never materialized. While many Apple users are still looking for it, Google beat them to the punch with the introduction of conversational, voice powered desktop search. I would expect to see this as part of most Chromebooks as well as an extension available via Google’s Chrome browser.

Google Now Cards – Cool Reminders
This is another feature that catches up to Apple Reminders. Supporting both time and date, Google added geo-fencing to Now’s reminders. You can get a reminder to trigger in Google Now when you arrive or leave a specific geographic location.

Geo-fencing has been a bit of an issue for Apple, and the feature doesn’t work as intended. At least I’ve never been able to have it work correctly. Hopefully Google’s vast experience with Maps will help it better trigger these events and its performance will be much better than Apple Reminders’; cuz it kinda sucks…

Streaming Music Service – All Access
This is yet another area where Google beat Apple to the punch. Apple’s iRadio has been rumored to be in the works for a few years now. Unfortunately, the much anticipated and much sought after service has not materialized behind Apple’s Walled Garden of content and services.

I’m not sure how Google pulled it off, but they got to the party first with All Access. For about $10 bucks a month, you can stream “millions” of songs out of the Google Play Store or your own Google Music library. Available in the US now (and other countries in the coming months), users get a 30 day free trial with the service billed automatically after that. If you signup before 30-Jul-2013, you get the service for $8 bucks.

If you plan to use the service and don’t have a fat data plan, you better make a trip over to your cell carrier of choice and make sure you’ve got the bandwidth to support the service. Usually those people who use other streaming services like Pandora or Rdio find that once they start, they can’t stop. This is a huge win for Google as the new service works on the desktop as well as your mobile device. Hopefully, as details of the fine print come to light, we’ll find that it’s worth the cost.

Come back next time, as we’ll dive into some cool mobile developments that came out of Google I/O. It may be that the best is yet to come!

Google I/O – The Cool Stuff: Part 2

Related Posts:

• Fast and Fluid Future at Mobile World Congress 2012
• Navigating the Mobile Landscape: Ecosystems #2
• Google Wallet has been officially launched in the States
• Google I/O – The Cool Stuff: Part 2
• RunKeeper – Your personal fitness trainer.

Online privacy is one of the hottest topics in computing today.  Keeping your surfing habits and personal information to yourself is of huge importance to many who don’t want their identities stolen, their computers infested with adware or filled with other malware. This is one of the reasons why I like applications like Platinum Hide IP. It’s an internet privacy tool for Windows.

Platinum Hide IP can help you keep your real IP address hidden. With it, you can surf anonymously, secure all the communication protocols on your PC and provide full encryption of your online activity. With your true IP masked, your online activity can’t be tracked by others.

Platinum Hide IP helps you protect your identity.  Anonymous web surfing enables you to prevent identity thieves from stealing your identity or other personal information. It keeps your computer safe from hacker attacks or other risks. Proxy lists of many countries are enabled and you decide which country should be used in the Choose IP Country window. You can check the current IP address directly.

Platinum Hide IP helps you send anonymous emails through any web based mail system such as Gmail, Hotmail, etc.  You can also use it to get unbanned from any forums or other blocked websites that have ever banned you.

Platinum Hide IP does a decent job of masking your current IP address so you can’t be tracked online. The app is simple and easy to use, and is relatively cheap.  However, you may find its focus limited for the price you do pay.

download Platinum Hide IP

Related Posts:

• Secure your home or businesses internet connection with Wifi Protector
• Keep your private files away from inquiring minds with MyWinLocker
• Keep inquiring minds away from your sensitive files with SafeHouse File Encryption
• Protect your privacy and identity with this awesome Internet tool
• Don’t get Scroogled by Google, use Outlook – Says Microsoft

For MS to make a difference in the tablet market, it needs to think about how it approaches its smaller

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes had a good article published on ZDNet the morning of 16-May-2013 speaking about how price, not size, is going to determine the success or failure of Microsoft’s rumored 7″ Surface tablet. He’s right; but I think there’s more to it than just price. There are 3 areas that MS has to address, not just 1:

PriceLet’s be clear, as Kingsley-Hughes goes into great detail in his article – Surface RT stars at $499. Surface Pro starts at $899. The iPad mini and Kindle Fire HD are similarly sized tablets that have starting prices of $329 and $199 respectively. For this tablet to be successful, the 7″ Surface needs to be priced under $300; but seriously, the lower priced the better.
Windows RT not Windows 8The 7″ Surface should be a content consumption device and NOT a small ultrabook like its larger Surface RT and Surface Pro siblings. In order to hit the lower price points I’ve outlined above, the device needs to shy away from x86 microprocessors. They’re too expensive and don’t provide enough storage or battery life.The smaller tablets are more appropriate as a content consumption device – media players, eBook readers and the like – as opposed to a very small ultrabook. In order to make sure this happens and happens well, Windows RT needs a fundamental change. It needs to be more tablet-centric as opposed to Windows-centric. Windows RT needs to lose Desktop mode and most – if not all – of its familiar desktop Windows paradigm elements. Windows RT needs to be a tablet specific OS. The sooner it does this, the better off it will be; and the better chance it has to being accepted by a Windows familiar public.
Nook or Not; and if Not, then What?There’s been some speculation that Microsoft would buy all of the Nook digital assets from B&N. There are a number of different reasons on both sides of the issue – for and against – the acquisition of the assets as well as developing a version of Windows RT that will run on the ARM-based Nook tablets.If MS does buy the Nook digital assets and doesn’t modify Windows RT to run on the Nook (which may actually be the 7″ Surface tablet we’ve heard about…), then it doesn’t make a lot of sense for them to acquire the assets, at least in my opinion. If they don’t buy Nook, then you really have to wonder what new hardware device is going to be introduced to the market. It also calls into question the price and OS version concerns I’ve outlined above.

Microsoft has a lot of hoops to jump through to make a 7″ Surface tablet work for them. Time will tell if they get it right.

Related Posts:

• Will Microsoft do a Redo with Windows Blue?
• Microsoft Behind the [Mobile] 8-Ball
• Microsoft Should Focus on Innovation
• We Have Seen the First Windows RT Tablets
• Microsoft unveils its own tablets running Windows 8

iOS 7 is going to need revolutionary instead of Apple’s standard evolutionary changes. This is what I think they need to be for iOS to be innovative again

Introduction

When the iPhone was introduced in 2007, it brought PDA/PIM data together with your cell phone, your music and videos, and made everything work, and work well. Since its introduction a few years later, Android has matured, and matured well. Windows Phone has been reinvented and revisioned and now the iPhone isn’t the only player on the block that knows how to do convergence and content consumption.

The iPhone turns six soon and it’s still got the same interface and launcher introduced with. It’s time for an interface refresh. So, here are my suggestions for the upcoming release of iOS 7.

Redesigned Launcher

Currently, iOS users can put app shortcuts on any number of home pages.  Users can also organize icons and create folders to hold application icons by placing one icon on top of another. The interface has remained largely unchanged over the past 6 years.

A launcher is nothing more than a way to sort, manage and launch applications. The launcher in iOS is used on all iDevices, and its clearly in need of some improvement, update or change.  Android allows users to install a number of different 3^rd party launchers; and while I’m certain that Apple isn’t going to allow users to install a custom launcher, a lot of ideas can be gleaned from apps of this type from other OS’.

Have at it Apple. Wow us and give us something modern and new.  However, choice is important. It would be nice if in giving us a new UI, Apple would allow users to revert to the current UI as well.

Changes to the Notification Tray

This is one of the most valuable features in Android, and it’s been there for quite a while.  While the iOS notification tray is nice, it could, and should, do a whole lot more.  Shortcuts to specific device functions – like turning radios on and off, or pairing with specific devices – would be very valuable.

I’d like to be able to include info from other apps, like recent phone calls or place shortcuts to favorite numbers there so I can call them quickly. I’d also like to be able to customize this a bit, so please, give me more than can fit so I can put my own personal spin on things, or change things as my needs change.

Settings Redesign

A general reorg of settings would be helpful and seen as a big improvement. Some of the options in this area  are quite buried.

One of my biggest complaints with iOS 5 was that it was really difficult to get to the settings switch to turn Bluetooth on and off. You had to go into Settings, get to General, Wireless and then Bluetooth before you could get to the switch.  iOS6 changed that a bit, by bringing both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth settings up to the top of the Settings menu.  However, you still have to dive in to each category to get to the on/off switch and any other options, like pairing with a specific device.

I’d really like to see a complete tear down and rebuild here. The way Apple has all of its underpinnings and options setup and configured is long in the tooth.  I know I’m likely not to get what I want here, but it would be nice to see some work on organization and logical groupings. It isn’t always clear what is and isn’t stuffed into Settings and what might be tweaked in the actual app.

next page

Related Posts:

• What Siri Really SHOULD Be – Part I
• How I Jailbroke my iPhone 5 for all of 27.5 Minutes
• iOS 6.x Woes – What Apple Needs to Do
• iTunes and iOS6: A Wish List… of Sorts – Part 2
• Thunderbolt vs. the Standard 30 Pin iOS Connector

It began in Windows 3.x – shortcuts on your desktop. By the time many users upgraded their PC’s to Windows XP, it was hopeless. Many desktops were nothing more than row after row of shortcuts. I saw it and lost my mind. It went against everything that was in me to be neat and organized. It’s also one of the major reasons why I like applications like Cecil. It’s a desktop organizer for Windows.

Cecil is a desktop organizer, a launcher and a task automation application. It keeps everything organized in a slim, yet powerful menu, and can automate repetitive operations on-the-fly BATCH scripting and via JavaScript, if you’re up on the language.

Cecil, or Command Centered Intelligent Launcher can be used to organize or automate anything you use your computer for, from checking mail, updating your status on Facebook, or just about anything else. The app adds logic to the way commands are taken care of.

Cecil is an ok application. I like the organization concept and its automation capabilities are nice, but unfortunately, the concept is somewhat out dated. While launchers are big on the Android Smartphone side of the world, they aren’t so hot on the desktop computer side of the fence. At $15, I wasn’t so hot for the app; and honestly, there are likely better apps out there at a better price point.

download Cecil 2.0.358

Related Posts:

• JetClean – takes the heartache out of cleaning your OS
• Clean, protect and maintain your PC with Ashampoo WinOptimizer 10
• Microsoft Behind the [Mobile] 8-Ball
• Get maximum flexibility over your desktop with Dexpot
• Manage your monitors with MultiMonitorTool

Online video streaming is one of the more popular ways to get content to the mobile device of your choice.  However, it’s not all sunshine and daisies.  DRM issues aside, sometimes, you’re not allowed to view certain content due to your geographical region.  When you bump into this type of problem, you should take a look at Hola Unblocker. It’s a web extension for use on Windows machines.

Hola Unblocker has been available as a Chrome and Firefox extension since December 2012. It has recently been expanded to include websites like CBC, Fox and BBC’s iPlayer TV. All you have to do is installing the extension, and then go to the website with the region-blocked content you want to access. You don’t have to restart your computer.  You don’t even have to restart your browser. The main difference between Hola Unblocker and other VPN/proxy services that we’ve found so far is its ability to unblock content without slowing everything down.

There have been some reports of the extension suddenly not working on a particular site, as well as a few glitches here and there. The developer indicates that BBC iPlayer TV worked in Chrome, but not in Firefox. Hulu also worked as advertised. The software is still technically in beta as of this writing, everything seems to be working as designed.

download Hola Unblocker

Related Posts:

• HMA! Pro VPN will hide your Internet activity for real
• Run a guest OS on your PC with VMware Workstation
• Keep your web surfing habits private with Ultrasurf
• Create and manage virtual machines with Paragon’s Virtualization Manager 12 Professional
• Make Internet apps run even through your office network

I love digital photography. Unfortunately, I was bitten by the camera bug quite a while back, and I am constantly on the lookout for a new lens, new picture tweaking or developing software and new information to help my pictures become more professional looking. Tools like Scarab Darkroom really fit the bill, too. This Windows based app is something that most every owner of a supported camera should have.

Scarab Darkroom is a digital camera file converter with support for over 100 different camera models. Many digital cameras can take pictures and save them directly as a JPG or other compressed file format, but doing so really limits your ability with what you can do to the file, post production. Many cameras have their own native formats, often called RAW. Most image editing apps don’t support them out of the box. Scarab Darkroom does.

The compression algorithm in JPG’s is popular as a storage format – files are usually small and easily transported from one computing system to another. JPG’s are also very popular with web sites like Facebook , Flickr, and Shutterbug. However, when you try to tweak a JPG, you lose a lot of information and detail.

Scarab Darkroom provides support and tools for editing RAW files directly. It allows you to edit fill light, brightness, contrast and black levels and provides a way to edit simple tone curve adjustments. You can also tweak color temperatures and gives you the ability to pick white balance from a gray area in the picture, among other editing options. When you’re done, it provides a lightning fast conversion with excellent detail rendition using a proprietary demosaic algorithm. Basic editing options – crop, resize, etc. are also supported.

Scarab Darkroom is a decent application. Its support for many RAW file formats from Nikon, Sony, Canon, Olympus, Panasonic and others is something that can provide value to a great many enthusiasts. The anticipated Pro version is said to have all of the freemium features as well as others including more color controls, a grayscale mixer and noise reduction, among others. A Mac version is also anticipated next year.

Download Scarab Darkroom

Related Posts:

• Give your digital photos the professional touch with PhotoFiltre
• Convert your photos to the universally accepted DNG raw format with Adobe DNG Converter
• Xion Audio Player
• Keep your DVD collection up to date with EMDB – Eric’s Movie Database
• CyberLink Media Suite – All You Need to Enrich Your Digital Life