Hello everybody and welcome to another edition of AppleTalk Thursday. Last Friday the iPad 2 went on sale and quickly sold out as expected. Let’s see what is going on this week in the world of Apple!
Adobe Finds Backdoor for Flash into iOS Devices
Adobe has released a Flash to HTML5 conversion tool called Wallaby. What it does is convert Flash-based artwork and animation files (.fla) into HTML5 when viewed via mobile Safari on iOS devices. Some might say that Adobe found a way to get Flash into iOS devices but I see it as an admission by Adobe that HTML5 is clearly the standard going forward.
iOS In-App Purchasing Requiring Password Now
Last week I discussed new features in iOS 4.3, one of the minor changes is when you make an in-app purchase now, it will require your account password. This is great news for parents who’s children had apps with in-app purchasing that were ringing up mom and dad’s charge card (Smurfs).
More Evidence of Possible Bigger iPhone 5 Screen
A new image has leaked out showing an iPhone 5 design diagram that hints at a larger display screen for the next generation iPhone. Seems to match up with other speculation as well. We shall find out in June or July I guess.
How to get the iMovie iPad app on First Gen iPad
Last week Apple released an updated iMove iOS app. Of course the biggest update to it is the ability to run on an iPad or more specifically, an iPad 2. But never fear fellow iPad generation 1 owners, there actually is a way to run iMove on your iPad. So if your feeling daring, give it a try.
iPad Continues to Crush the Tablet Competition
This report came out prior to Friday’s iPad 2 release, but as you can tell the iPad commands a huge lead in tablet market-share and based on the numbers on iPad 2 sales, those numbers will grow even bigger. Another interesting bit of information comes from Piper Jaffray which says that according to their survey, about 70% of iPad buyers are new customers to the tablet device. One Wall Street analyst has gone so far to state that the iPad now has an “insurmountable lead”.
GarageBand for the iPad
With the new iPad 2 came a release of GarageBand for both the first and new iPad models. I played around with it myself and put together an awful hard rock tune. The folks at TUAW have a nice review on it as well. It is definitely for musicians and lacks the podcast feature found in the desktop version. But playing the drums is quite fun I must admit.
White iPhone coming in the Spring
With the released of a White iPad 2, many are wondering if this is the year we will finally see the long promised white iPhone 4. Well according to Phil Schiller via Twitter, it is indeed coming in the Spring and Phil goes on to state that “it is a beauty.”
Jon Bon Jovi hates iTunes
How many times have we heard this one, burned out rocker complaining how (fill in new technology) is killing music. We heard it before when the cassette and later the CD came out, we heard it from Garth Brooks who is too stubborn to put his music in any digital store, and now Jon Bon Jovi is saying that Steve Jobs is the antiChrist..Ok he didn’t say that, but he did say that Steve is personally responsible for killing music. Jon, go blow it out your *bleep*!!! Ok first off iTunes came about 2003 about 4 years after Napster. Maybe do your homework next time about digital downloads and how they came about Jersey boy!
Archive your email in Apple Mail
If you use Gmail then no doubt you are familiar with the feature to just archive your email messages and not have to worry about which folder they are in. Well, thanks to a little plugin, you can now do the same with your Apple Mail. Now me personally, I use Gmail via the web but if you use Mail then this may be a handy thing for you to try. MacWorld has an article of its own on how to better integrate your Gmail into Mail
Time Warner brings TV watching to the iPad...sort of
Time Warner has rolled out a new app for the iPad that allows you to watch a limited number of channels IF you are at home and using their internet. It will also allow you to change the channels on the TV as a remote and set DVR recordings which is similar to other TV provider services.
The Zune is Dead...Long Live the iPod!
Microsoft this week pulled the plug on the underperforming Zune media player and wannabe iPod. Although it does sound like they will maintain the Zune Marketplace for the Windows Phone 7 devices so if you have a Zune then the 2 of you will still be able to get your music that you have to pay a monthly subscription for to listen to...ownership beats rent people!
MacBundle Deal
Finally, check out this great bundle deal! Parallels itself would be worth $49 alone but there is over $300 in software here!
Well, that is going to do it for this week’s AppleTalk Thursday. Be back next week for more exciting Apple news!
Showing posts with label Gmail. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gmail. Show all posts
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Googling Friday #24
Hey everybody and welcome to another edition of Googling Friday. Let’s see what is going on this week in the world of Google.
Gizmo5 shutting down April 3rd
Gizmo5 the popular VoIP service which was bought by Google and later transformed into Google Voice, will cease operations on April 3rd. Customers in the US can have credits for their service transferred to Google Voice.
Google to Fortify Android Market
In light of last week’s malware issue on over 50 apps. Although not mentioning specifically just what that means, they did say they would build safeguards to prevent further instances of it happening again.
Google Allowing Users to Block Sites in Search Results
Google has yet another feature, in addition to bringing instant preview to mobile devices, it now gives the user the option to block certain sites from search results. So if you don’t like a certain site being shown in search results, block away! Uh, MSNBC, HuffPost, and Daily Kos...guess what!
Gmail and Smart Labels
So do you get a mass email from a newsletter that you just don’t need to taking up your inbox space? Well, Gmail has a new feature called Smart Labels to move them somewhere else besides your Inbox. It is in the Labs section of your Gmail settings if you want to play around with it.
Well, this week I don’t have a Google product review for you. But if you know of something I haven’t reviewed yet, let me know and I will take a look at it. Until then, see you all next week!
Gizmo5 shutting down April 3rd
Gizmo5 the popular VoIP service which was bought by Google and later transformed into Google Voice, will cease operations on April 3rd. Customers in the US can have credits for their service transferred to Google Voice.
Google to Fortify Android Market
In light of last week’s malware issue on over 50 apps. Although not mentioning specifically just what that means, they did say they would build safeguards to prevent further instances of it happening again.
Google Allowing Users to Block Sites in Search Results
Google has yet another feature, in addition to bringing instant preview to mobile devices, it now gives the user the option to block certain sites from search results. So if you don’t like a certain site being shown in search results, block away! Uh, MSNBC, HuffPost, and Daily Kos...guess what!
Gmail and Smart Labels
So do you get a mass email from a newsletter that you just don’t need to taking up your inbox space? Well, Gmail has a new feature called Smart Labels to move them somewhere else besides your Inbox. It is in the Labs section of your Gmail settings if you want to play around with it.
Well, this week I don’t have a Google product review for you. But if you know of something I haven’t reviewed yet, let me know and I will take a look at it. Until then, see you all next week!
Friday, March 4, 2011
Googling Friday #23
Hey gang and welcome to another edition of Googling Friday, a weekly blog about all things Google and Android related. We have a few interesting things to get into this week so let’s get right into the news.
Did Gmail eat your Mail?
This week a small percentage, about 0.02% of users found their email in Gmail was GONE! Just into thin air vanished! Luckily Google has been working hard on it and has now fully restored all email accounts effected. Still this may give some people some pause when it comes to cloud based email. About once every month I open up my Apple Mail application so I have everything in mail backed up locally.
Google pulls an App from Android Market over In-App Payment Policy
So for all the people that think Google is the good guy vs Apple when it comes to being friendly to apps, I would point you to this incident where Google pulled the Visual VoiceMail app after it collected payments after a free trial through its website and not through the app directly. Now personally I don’t have a problem with Google doing this, all the developer has to do is resubmit it with the option to purchase within the app. It is just a lot more easy for the customer than going to the developer’s website and buying it there. But for those that like to nit pick Apple for doing it, I’m just pointing out that Google is not without sin either.
Several dozen malware apps pulled from Android Market
So maybe Apple does have the right model for an App Store after all, to Google’s credit they pulled the apps pretty quick. One thing Apple has always stressed is virus free environments from its Macintosh computers to its iOS devices. Obviously Apple has a gate keeper for any app submitted to their store and one of the things that will get an app rejected is malware. Just something for Android to think about.
DoubleTwist Review
So you have all your media content run through iTunes but you have an Android based phone. How do you get your iTunes stuff into your new phone? Well, there are a number of ways, but one software developer has made it a lot easier to get that done. With this application it is easy to move your music, videos, and photos to your Android device. Also it has a built in Android Market so you can look at apps for the Android like you can via iTunes for iPhone apps. Install the doubleTwist app on your Android device and you can WiFi sync your files to it without connecting wires to your computer. DoubleTwist runs on both Mac and PC and is free so check it out if this describes you.
Well, that is going to do it for this week’s Googling Friday. See you all next week for more news from Google!
Did Gmail eat your Mail?
This week a small percentage, about 0.02% of users found their email in Gmail was GONE! Just into thin air vanished! Luckily Google has been working hard on it and has now fully restored all email accounts effected. Still this may give some people some pause when it comes to cloud based email. About once every month I open up my Apple Mail application so I have everything in mail backed up locally.
Google pulls an App from Android Market over In-App Payment Policy
So for all the people that think Google is the good guy vs Apple when it comes to being friendly to apps, I would point you to this incident where Google pulled the Visual VoiceMail app after it collected payments after a free trial through its website and not through the app directly. Now personally I don’t have a problem with Google doing this, all the developer has to do is resubmit it with the option to purchase within the app. It is just a lot more easy for the customer than going to the developer’s website and buying it there. But for those that like to nit pick Apple for doing it, I’m just pointing out that Google is not without sin either.
Several dozen malware apps pulled from Android Market
So maybe Apple does have the right model for an App Store after all, to Google’s credit they pulled the apps pretty quick. One thing Apple has always stressed is virus free environments from its Macintosh computers to its iOS devices. Obviously Apple has a gate keeper for any app submitted to their store and one of the things that will get an app rejected is malware. Just something for Android to think about.
DoubleTwist Review
So you have all your media content run through iTunes but you have an Android based phone. How do you get your iTunes stuff into your new phone? Well, there are a number of ways, but one software developer has made it a lot easier to get that done. With this application it is easy to move your music, videos, and photos to your Android device. Also it has a built in Android Market so you can look at apps for the Android like you can via iTunes for iPhone apps. Install the doubleTwist app on your Android device and you can WiFi sync your files to it without connecting wires to your computer. DoubleTwist runs on both Mac and PC and is free so check it out if this describes you.
Well, that is going to do it for this week’s Googling Friday. See you all next week for more news from Google!
Friday, February 11, 2011
Googling Friday #20
Howdy folks and welcome to another edition of Googling Friday. I realize it has been a couple of weeks but family medical issues and a snow storm got in the way, thankfully both have resolved themselves. So lets get down to business!
Google to make changes to spur sales in Android Market
Google struggling with lacking sales compared to the iOS app store, are looking at ways to increase sales in the Android Market through methods such as in-app purchases something popular in the iOS apps already. Course this also re-enforces my belief that iPhone users on average have more of a disposable income compared to Android users. But we will see if these changes help.
Android 3.0 Honeycomb
Google recently previewed its Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablet OS. At first look it is nice looking but tends to be more of a tablet PC look than an iPad killer. It focuses on running widget apps across several screens something Mac OS X and Windows 7 can do already. It seems more of a competition to Netbooks instead of the iPad at first look.
Gmail brings Priority Inbox to the iPhone
Google’s web-based Gmail on the iPhone now supports Priority Inbox. As discussed earlier, Priority Inbox uses an algorithm to determine messages that are of more importance to a user and keeps them separate from other emails in a users inbox.
Google Translate to iPhone Review
In addition to Priority Inbox, Google has also released an app for the iPhone based on their popular Google Translate app. Very handy if you are visiting a foreign country and not that familiar with the language of the locals. It has a record button to say a phrase you want to translate which is really cool if you just want to avoid typing words while on the go. It works with about 50 languages but audio wise only works with about half of them. But it is a free app and can be found here.
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of Googling Friday. See you all next week for another edition.
Google to make changes to spur sales in Android Market
Google struggling with lacking sales compared to the iOS app store, are looking at ways to increase sales in the Android Market through methods such as in-app purchases something popular in the iOS apps already. Course this also re-enforces my belief that iPhone users on average have more of a disposable income compared to Android users. But we will see if these changes help.
Android 3.0 Honeycomb
Google recently previewed its Android 3.0 Honeycomb tablet OS. At first look it is nice looking but tends to be more of a tablet PC look than an iPad killer. It focuses on running widget apps across several screens something Mac OS X and Windows 7 can do already. It seems more of a competition to Netbooks instead of the iPad at first look.
Gmail brings Priority Inbox to the iPhone
Google’s web-based Gmail on the iPhone now supports Priority Inbox. As discussed earlier, Priority Inbox uses an algorithm to determine messages that are of more importance to a user and keeps them separate from other emails in a users inbox.
Google Translate to iPhone Review
In addition to Priority Inbox, Google has also released an app for the iPhone based on their popular Google Translate app. Very handy if you are visiting a foreign country and not that familiar with the language of the locals. It has a record button to say a phrase you want to translate which is really cool if you just want to avoid typing words while on the go. It works with about 50 languages but audio wise only works with about half of them. But it is a free app and can be found here.
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of Googling Friday. See you all next week for another edition.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Googling Friday #16
Hello everybody and welcome to the first Googling Friday on 2011. It has been a couple of weeks so let’s see what is happening in the world of Google.
Google looking to launch digital newsstand
The Wall Street Journal has an interesting piece on how Google is looking to launch a digital newsstand for Android devices similar to Apple and Amazon but offering to take less of a percentage of sales than the other 2. If Google really wants to do this right they could utilize their new Bookstore app as the distribution point offering it to iOS devices as well and not just Android. It wouldn’t benefit Google to be a closed platform service when they are known for their openness, an advantage they have over Apple.
Google makes free calling to US and Canada via Gmail for all of 2011
Google announced that calls made to the US and Canada via Gmail will continue to be free in 2011...YAY!! I was hoping this would be the case and it gives them an advantage over rival Skype in this area. The best way to take advantage of this is to sign up for a Google Voice account as it gives you a dedicated phone number. Oh if your not using Google Voice by now, then you really should cause you won’t need a long distance plan on your landline if you are still even doing such a thing.
Google looking at mobile payment system
Imagine going to the grocery store and buying groceries and simply waving your mobile phone at the register to pay for everything. Well, that is what Google is looking to do. I admit this idea has both a great potential and a security issue concern. But I will be interested to see how it plays out and deployed.
Google Translate Review
For this week’s review, I wanted to tell you about Google Translate. Pure and simple, you type in words in the language you speak and it will translate how to say it in another. They even support Latin which as a Catholic I am very happy about.
Pretty cool huh? It’s an easy interface and as you can tell from the picture, it even has a listen button so you even know how to pronounce it. Google Translate supports over 50 languages (sorry but Aramaic is not one of them). It is a free web-based service so go give it a try and it also works in reverse, you can copy and paste in a foreign language and it will translate it for you. Pretty cool!
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of Googling Friday. See you all next week!
Google looking to launch digital newsstand
The Wall Street Journal has an interesting piece on how Google is looking to launch a digital newsstand for Android devices similar to Apple and Amazon but offering to take less of a percentage of sales than the other 2. If Google really wants to do this right they could utilize their new Bookstore app as the distribution point offering it to iOS devices as well and not just Android. It wouldn’t benefit Google to be a closed platform service when they are known for their openness, an advantage they have over Apple.
Google makes free calling to US and Canada via Gmail for all of 2011
Google announced that calls made to the US and Canada via Gmail will continue to be free in 2011...YAY!! I was hoping this would be the case and it gives them an advantage over rival Skype in this area. The best way to take advantage of this is to sign up for a Google Voice account as it gives you a dedicated phone number. Oh if your not using Google Voice by now, then you really should cause you won’t need a long distance plan on your landline if you are still even doing such a thing.
Google looking at mobile payment system
Imagine going to the grocery store and buying groceries and simply waving your mobile phone at the register to pay for everything. Well, that is what Google is looking to do. I admit this idea has both a great potential and a security issue concern. But I will be interested to see how it plays out and deployed.
Google Translate Review
For this week’s review, I wanted to tell you about Google Translate. Pure and simple, you type in words in the language you speak and it will translate how to say it in another. They even support Latin which as a Catholic I am very happy about.
Pretty cool huh? It’s an easy interface and as you can tell from the picture, it even has a listen button so you even know how to pronounce it. Google Translate supports over 50 languages (sorry but Aramaic is not one of them). It is a free web-based service so go give it a try and it also works in reverse, you can copy and paste in a foreign language and it will translate it for you. Pretty cool!
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of Googling Friday. See you all next week!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
The Yahoo! Survival Guide
So by now you have probably read about how Yahoo! is facing some hard times with layoffs and some services being eliminated. As a Yahoo user, you may be quite concerned about everything from your email to photos to discussion groups being effected. Well not to worry, by the end of this blog, you will know how to setup some alternative services and backing up what is important to you. So let’s get started then.
Yahoo Mail
Obviously the biggest concern for many Yahoo users, is their email account. Now, I want to say I don’t think anything will happen to your Yahoo email. If Yahoo were to ever go out of business in the extreme case, they would most likely find a buyer for their email service and allow you to maintain your email account. But say you want to be cautious and think it may be time to have an alternative email address and if you don’t have an alternative email address then you really should.
Yahoo Mail to Gmail
I’m going to speak about Google’s Gmail service for this setup. They are well established, have great integration, and even have built in messaging as part of Gmail. So, what is the first step to get there? First, you need to setup a Gmail account and this is very easy, just go to Gmail.com and click on “Create an Account”
From there, you will be prompted to enter in standard information to get your Gmail account going. Once you are logged in, go to Settings in the upper right hand corner and click on that.
After doing so, you will see a list of options, one of them is called, “Accounts and Import” click on that.
Next, you will see “Import Mail and Contacts” click on that.
At this point you will enter in the information for your Yahoo email account.
Now it will ask just what you would like to import over to Gmail from Yahoo Mail. Select what you want, and click on “Start import”
At this point it will give you a confirmation message that your email and contacts are being imported over to Gmail. Although it says it could take 2 days, it is often done in minutes.
After a few minutes, your Gmail inbox will show the email in your Yahoo inbox and any folders you setup in Yahoo Mail will be converted to Labels which is Gmail’s term for folders.
So that is how you can convert your Yahoo Mail over to Gmail. In my next edition of The Yahoo Survival Guide, I will show you how to backup your Flickr photo albums. As always, please let me know if this was helpful for you. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Yahoo Mail
Obviously the biggest concern for many Yahoo users, is their email account. Now, I want to say I don’t think anything will happen to your Yahoo email. If Yahoo were to ever go out of business in the extreme case, they would most likely find a buyer for their email service and allow you to maintain your email account. But say you want to be cautious and think it may be time to have an alternative email address and if you don’t have an alternative email address then you really should.
Yahoo Mail to Gmail
I’m going to speak about Google’s Gmail service for this setup. They are well established, have great integration, and even have built in messaging as part of Gmail. So, what is the first step to get there? First, you need to setup a Gmail account and this is very easy, just go to Gmail.com and click on “Create an Account”
From there, you will be prompted to enter in standard information to get your Gmail account going. Once you are logged in, go to Settings in the upper right hand corner and click on that.
After doing so, you will see a list of options, one of them is called, “Accounts and Import” click on that.
Next, you will see “Import Mail and Contacts” click on that.
At this point you will enter in the information for your Yahoo email account.
Now it will ask just what you would like to import over to Gmail from Yahoo Mail. Select what you want, and click on “Start import”
At this point it will give you a confirmation message that your email and contacts are being imported over to Gmail. Although it says it could take 2 days, it is often done in minutes.
After a few minutes, your Gmail inbox will show the email in your Yahoo inbox and any folders you setup in Yahoo Mail will be converted to Labels which is Gmail’s term for folders.
So that is how you can convert your Yahoo Mail over to Gmail. In my next edition of The Yahoo Survival Guide, I will show you how to backup your Flickr photo albums. As always, please let me know if this was helpful for you. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Friday, December 10, 2010
Googling Friday #14
Hey everybody and welcome to another edition of Googling Friday. This week I want to talk about Google’s new eBook reader but as always, we have Google news for the week.
Groupon says no to Google
There has been speculation last week and indeed Google made an offer to buy Groupon the daily-deal site. However Groupon declined the offer. I’m guessing they were looking for a higher dollar amount than the $6 billion that Google offered or maybe they see a niche and want to explore it, remember a few years ago Mark Zuckerberg turned down Yahoo’s offer to buy Facebook and I think that turned out well for Facebook.
Google updates Priority Inbox
Earlier this week, Google announced it has updated the algorithm used to determine what is a priority message in your Inbox in Gmail. It will also offer insight in a message as to why it is considered priority. You can find this message by hovering over the yellow arrow above the message. Hopefully this will make Priority Inbox even more accurate.
Google Books
On Monday, Google unveiled its eBook store and ebook reader applications for iOS and Android devices. Upon initial review of both the application and the store it is Ok but missing some key features that people maybe used to in the Amazon Kindle Store. For example, there doesn’t seem to be a way to highlight or make notes on certain lines in the book. From a store perspective, it has a general search box but not a search by option, so if you say search works by Earnest Hemingway, it will display both his books and books about him. These are minor fixes via software update, but it is also missing a key thing, Kindle support. It does support Sony and Nook, but not Kindle as of now. Obviously it is a 1.0 product right now so it will be interesting to see how it evolves. For now, here are some screenshots.
The shot on the far left is the boot up screen on the iPhone, the middle is what your bookshelf looks like, and the third is the online store. Also, Google has a video explaining their eBook reader application and store and its advantages.
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of Googling Friday. Stop by next week for another helping of all things Google! Have a great weekend!
Groupon says no to Google
There has been speculation last week and indeed Google made an offer to buy Groupon the daily-deal site. However Groupon declined the offer. I’m guessing they were looking for a higher dollar amount than the $6 billion that Google offered or maybe they see a niche and want to explore it, remember a few years ago Mark Zuckerberg turned down Yahoo’s offer to buy Facebook and I think that turned out well for Facebook.
Google updates Priority Inbox
Earlier this week, Google announced it has updated the algorithm used to determine what is a priority message in your Inbox in Gmail. It will also offer insight in a message as to why it is considered priority. You can find this message by hovering over the yellow arrow above the message. Hopefully this will make Priority Inbox even more accurate.
Google Books
On Monday, Google unveiled its eBook store and ebook reader applications for iOS and Android devices. Upon initial review of both the application and the store it is Ok but missing some key features that people maybe used to in the Amazon Kindle Store. For example, there doesn’t seem to be a way to highlight or make notes on certain lines in the book. From a store perspective, it has a general search box but not a search by option, so if you say search works by Earnest Hemingway, it will display both his books and books about him. These are minor fixes via software update, but it is also missing a key thing, Kindle support. It does support Sony and Nook, but not Kindle as of now. Obviously it is a 1.0 product right now so it will be interesting to see how it evolves. For now, here are some screenshots.
The shot on the far left is the boot up screen on the iPhone, the middle is what your bookshelf looks like, and the third is the online store. Also, Google has a video explaining their eBook reader application and store and its advantages.
Well, that is going to do it for this edition of Googling Friday. Stop by next week for another helping of all things Google! Have a great weekend!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Googling Friday #5
Hello folks and welcome to another edition of Google Friday. This week I really don’t have a review as much as I want to share how I have used Google to keep me on top of things with my contacts and calendar both in the cloud and on the desktop. But first, as always, some Google news for the week.
Google Searching goes Instant
On Wednesday, Google updated its search engine to now present search results as you type them. What this means is after you type just 1 or 2 letters it will start to present results based on your past search history. This is going to be great for power users as it will save quite a bit of time. Here is a screen shot I took just to give you an idea and then go try it for yourself...it’s OK...I’ll wait.
Pretty snazzy huh? What will Bing and Yahoo do in response?
Gmail Priority Inbox Initial review
Last week I told you how Google was adding a new Priority Inbox to Gmail. It has since been made accessible to me and it is very good. It does a great job on recognizing important email to me from the regular day to day email. For example, anything job related goes right to my Priority Inbox where as my mailing list stuff goes to the regular Inbox. Also, if you star email in either section it will place in in a third Starred email section within your Inbox. So basically your Priority Inbox has 3 sections: Important and Unread, Starred, and Everything else.
Chrome 6
Google released version 6 of its Chrome web browser. It is a lot faster and a newer interface. Well worth the update.
Google launching Music Store?
Google apparently is negotiating with major music labels regarding a music store. My thoughts are cool, I will continue to use iTunes, but if they can offer me music cheaper and still have it sit within my iTunes player like Amazon does, then great! I love competition for my dollars.
Staying in touch from the cloud and the desktop
Now for my thoughts this week. I love using Google Calendar and Contacts in conjunction with my desktop applications BusyCal and Apple Address Book. I really don’t update anything within the Apple Address Book as I do within Contacts in Gmail, but with BusyCal I do quite a bit and it syncs back nicely to Google Calendar which then syncs to my iPhone and iPad. So whatever device you are near, you can update it and it will reflect to your other devices. What this means for me is coming up in January, I will probably cease my MobileMe membership as the Google Calendar and Contacts are free. With BusyCal it has a side view for a ToDo list which really helps me stay on top of things. I’m using it to remember to call people back. My wife still writes things down in a planner, I have gone digital, so if it is written down and not in my calendar, I will probably forget it.
So that is what I wanted to share this week, see you all next week for another edition of Googling Friday.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Googling Friday #4
Hello everybody and welcome to another edition of Googling Friday. This week I will be talking about the Google Chrome browser. First, lets see what has been going on this week in the world of Google.
Google rolls out Priority Inbox
Google announced on Monday a new way filter Gmail that identifies priority email over regular email and places them in a Priority Inbox. If it makes a mistake in misidentifying priority email you can mark it as so and will learn as it goes along. Users should see it roll out this week.
Google purchases Angstro
In another move that shows Google is setting up to challenge Facebook in the social networking world, Google has bought Angstro and hired its founder to help out with its social networking product Google Me. Google Me...that sounds like something familiar.
Google Chrome browser
Now time for this weeks Google app review. Unlike other apps this one is not a web based application. Google Chrome is a desktop based web browser just like Firefox, Safari, and that one browser made by the evil empire from Redmond.
So what stands Google Chrome apart from the others? In a word...speed! The browser opens up fast and launches websites fast. When you think of Chrome vs Firefox, think of a cheetah racing against an elephant. I no longer use Firefox and just have Chrome and Safari on my Macs.
Another cool function is the extensions. Google Chrome has quite a selection of available extensions that sit to the right of your search/web address bar. Speaking of which when wanting to do a search in Google Chrome you use the web bar to search. It is smart enough to determine searches from web addresses.
When it comes to bookmarks, Google Chrome will sync them across multiple computers. This is great if you use Google Chrome at work and at home as whatever you bookmark on one, will be on the other as well.
So go check it out, I highly recommend Google Chrome and if you are using Firefox you will soon find you no longer need it.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Googling Friday #3
Hello folks and welcome to another installment of Googling Friday. Lets look at some Google news before we dive into this weeks Google app review.
Google brings Google Voice to Gmail
Google announced on Wednesday the ability to dial a phone number from within Gmail. It will appear on the right hand side within the chat list. As shown below:
Course what this means is you will no longer have to visit the Google Voice page directly to make a call and you can now directly talk to someone right from your computer and don’t need it to dial one of your phones first.
Now for this weeks Google app review, Google Calendar
Google Calendar
With Google Calendar, you can view your events and tasks from any computer connected to the internet. Also BusyCal has a desktop based calendar application that can interface with Google Calendar, iPhone, and iPads. Google Calendar has pretty much replaced iCal for me as my default calendar application. It is pretty straight forward and is part of your Gmail account with its own link at the top of your Gmail page. So check it out, I really like it.
Well see you all next week for more cool stuff from Google!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Tuesday Tech Talk #13
Ok sorry for the late edition of Triple T but lets get down to it.
Gmail Push for the iPhone
Reading my Google Reader today I cam across this story on MacRumors on Google finally offering Push email on the iPhone. There is some manual entry of information you will have to do though. Basically you set it up using Microsoft Exchange setting but here’s the rub, if you already use Exchange on the iPhone, you can’t set it up as you can only have one Exchange client at a time on the iPhone. You can also sync your Google Calendar and Contacts to push as well.
3 Days until MMS on the iPhone
I got a text message on my iPhone today saying, “Picture & video messaging (MMS) will be available for iPhone on 9/25. While we prepare your account for MMS capability, the current ”view my message“ experience will be turned off but your ability to send and receive text messages will not be affected.” Basically I never used the “view my message” web site so any time I got the message from a friend I simply deleted the message. Congrats AT&T, it only took you 2 years to get a technology on the iPhone that my wife enjoys on her Sony-Ericson phone. But what would you expect from a company who’s logo looks too much like the Death Star.
Wii price drop to $199
For those waiting for the Wii to take a price drop, your wish is finally coming true starting Sunday. The Nintendo Wii will drop $50 to $199.
The AT&T 3G MicroCell
Well speaking of the Death Star, if you are lucky enough to live in the Charlotte, NC area, you can use the MicroCell and increase your signal strength within a 40 foot area. Just put it near a window oh and btw it costs $150 with no additional fees.
This Week’s iPhone/iPod touch apps
Pingle - Someone asked me earlier what Pingle was after I posted a screen shot of my social media apps on my iPhone. Well quite simply, Pingle is a web app interface for Ping.fm with a couple of enhancements. One, you can post a photo direct from your camera or photo album on the iPhone attached to your post and 2, you can include your location with your post.
GSPN.tv - If you are a fan of Cliff Ravenscraft and his many podcasts then you will love this app. Basically it allows you to play an episode on your iPhone. It even has an area to enter your GSPN Plus membership information to get all the episodes offered.
Shazam - Ever find yourself at a public place like a restaurant, coffee shop, or even a party and a song starts to play that you really like but don’t know who sings it? Well just set the “Tag Now” on this a handy free app and let it do the work for you. It will even give you a direct iTunes Store link to buy the song on the spot.
Sportacular - Another great free app for the sports fan is Sportacular, this app gives you the upcoming schedule and current scores. It even offers the point spread on a game. Plus you can specify to just show your favorite teams.
MobileNavigator - Well I finally gave in and bought a GPS app for my iPhone. After the TomTom received a look warm reception, Navigon exploited a weakness in the TomTom and added Text-to-Speech voice guidance, oh and for good measure they are selling it $10 cheaper than the TomTom. Just make sure you have the 1.44GB available on your iPhone for this one. We used it on our trip to Memphis last week when we saw Matt Maher in concert and the directions were right on the money.
Here is a screen shot on our trip to Memphis.
Well that is it for this week’s Triple T. See you all next week!
Gmail Push for the iPhone
Reading my Google Reader today I cam across this story on MacRumors on Google finally offering Push email on the iPhone. There is some manual entry of information you will have to do though. Basically you set it up using Microsoft Exchange setting but here’s the rub, if you already use Exchange on the iPhone, you can’t set it up as you can only have one Exchange client at a time on the iPhone. You can also sync your Google Calendar and Contacts to push as well.
3 Days until MMS on the iPhone
I got a text message on my iPhone today saying, “Picture & video messaging (MMS) will be available for iPhone on 9/25. While we prepare your account for MMS capability, the current ”view my message“ experience will be turned off but your ability to send and receive text messages will not be affected.” Basically I never used the “view my message” web site so any time I got the message from a friend I simply deleted the message. Congrats AT&T, it only took you 2 years to get a technology on the iPhone that my wife enjoys on her Sony-Ericson phone. But what would you expect from a company who’s logo looks too much like the Death Star.
Wii price drop to $199
For those waiting for the Wii to take a price drop, your wish is finally coming true starting Sunday. The Nintendo Wii will drop $50 to $199.
The AT&T 3G MicroCell
Well speaking of the Death Star, if you are lucky enough to live in the Charlotte, NC area, you can use the MicroCell and increase your signal strength within a 40 foot area. Just put it near a window oh and btw it costs $150 with no additional fees.
This Week’s iPhone/iPod touch apps
Pingle - Someone asked me earlier what Pingle was after I posted a screen shot of my social media apps on my iPhone. Well quite simply, Pingle is a web app interface for Ping.fm with a couple of enhancements. One, you can post a photo direct from your camera or photo album on the iPhone attached to your post and 2, you can include your location with your post.
GSPN.tv - If you are a fan of Cliff Ravenscraft and his many podcasts then you will love this app. Basically it allows you to play an episode on your iPhone. It even has an area to enter your GSPN Plus membership information to get all the episodes offered.
Shazam - Ever find yourself at a public place like a restaurant, coffee shop, or even a party and a song starts to play that you really like but don’t know who sings it? Well just set the “Tag Now” on this a handy free app and let it do the work for you. It will even give you a direct iTunes Store link to buy the song on the spot.
Sportacular - Another great free app for the sports fan is Sportacular, this app gives you the upcoming schedule and current scores. It even offers the point spread on a game. Plus you can specify to just show your favorite teams.
MobileNavigator - Well I finally gave in and bought a GPS app for my iPhone. After the TomTom received a look warm reception, Navigon exploited a weakness in the TomTom and added Text-to-Speech voice guidance, oh and for good measure they are selling it $10 cheaper than the TomTom. Just make sure you have the 1.44GB available on your iPhone for this one. We used it on our trip to Memphis last week when we saw Matt Maher in concert and the directions were right on the money.
Here is a screen shot on our trip to Memphis.
Well that is it for this week’s Triple T. See you all next week!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Tuesday...errr...Wednesday Tech Talk #8
Well it has been a long time but I’m back with another Triple T Wednesday edition. Quick note if you despise Google then you will not find this post of much interest, then again if you despise Google you might want to read it and maybe I can sway that opinion.
The Great Google Cloud!
Gmail
So this past weekend I decided to plunge headlong into Gmail. I never realized how much capacity it offers (7.3 GB). Which is more than enough for me. I uploaded all my mail folders from my Apple Mail.app to Gmail and had all my email accounts forwarded to it as well. After the big move I am using a whopping *drum roll* 3% of my total storage capacity. You can also send email from any of your accounts from within Gmail.
The upside to this is I have less apps running now which is better on the processor. I run Firefox with a tab for Gmail, Google Reader, Plurk and Facebook at all times now. That means I am not running Apple Mail & NetNewsWire. The one app where I may have to expand my capacity is on is Picasa. I am at 91% there and I want to upload my whole iPhoto library up to it as a secondary backup as I already have a WD HD to run back ups locally via Time Machine.
Google Reader
I also made the jump to Google Reader after NewsGator announced plans to integrate with it. They have a new beta version of NetNewsWire that will sync up with Google Reader. The transition was smooth as it maintained the folders I keep my RSS subjects in i.e. News, Sports Politics, etc.
Blogger
Google does make a blogging site that they bought. It’s called Blogger and it will get you up and running with a blog pretty quick. But I like my WordPress and it’s abilities to customize so I will stick with it. But I have setup a blog on Blogger that will contain strictly tech related news including Triple T. You can find it here.
Google on iPhone
Oh and one more thing Google has a nice little app on the iPhone with links to it’s many services. Check it out here. It’s my favorite price...FREE! Now the GoogleVoice app is a whole different issue I will dive into later on. I got my Google Voice invite yesterday and have just started playing around with it. That will be in next weeks Triple T. But that is all for now. Stay tuned!
The Great Google Cloud!
Gmail
So this past weekend I decided to plunge headlong into Gmail. I never realized how much capacity it offers (7.3 GB). Which is more than enough for me. I uploaded all my mail folders from my Apple Mail.app to Gmail and had all my email accounts forwarded to it as well. After the big move I am using a whopping *drum roll* 3% of my total storage capacity. You can also send email from any of your accounts from within Gmail.
The upside to this is I have less apps running now which is better on the processor. I run Firefox with a tab for Gmail, Google Reader, Plurk and Facebook at all times now. That means I am not running Apple Mail & NetNewsWire. The one app where I may have to expand my capacity is on is Picasa. I am at 91% there and I want to upload my whole iPhoto library up to it as a secondary backup as I already have a WD HD to run back ups locally via Time Machine.
Google Reader
I also made the jump to Google Reader after NewsGator announced plans to integrate with it. They have a new beta version of NetNewsWire that will sync up with Google Reader. The transition was smooth as it maintained the folders I keep my RSS subjects in i.e. News, Sports Politics, etc.
Blogger
Google does make a blogging site that they bought. It’s called Blogger and it will get you up and running with a blog pretty quick. But I like my WordPress and it’s abilities to customize so I will stick with it. But I have setup a blog on Blogger that will contain strictly tech related news including Triple T. You can find it here.
Google on iPhone
Oh and one more thing Google has a nice little app on the iPhone with links to it’s many services. Check it out here. It’s my favorite price...FREE! Now the GoogleVoice app is a whole different issue I will dive into later on. I got my Google Voice invite yesterday and have just started playing around with it. That will be in next weeks Triple T. But that is all for now. Stay tuned!
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