If you're among those switching to Google's browser, you'll find add-ons enriching your browsing experience. Here are 10 more essential add-ons, many exclusive to Chrome, that are sure to please and help you with your day-to-day online activity.
StayFocusd
When it comes to productivity, you are often your own worst enemy. StayFocusd can help. It lets you set a daily time limit for browsing time-wasting websites of your choosing; once your allotted time is up, the sites are blocked until the following day.
Chrome to iPhone or Google Chrome to Phone
Both send links, images, phone numbers and other important information right to your smartphone when you click on an in-browser button. With push notifications, the ability to set default actions for different data types and multiple handset support, they help streamline your digital life.
Things to Do
The add-on makes your duties inescapable by turning Chrome's New Tab page into a customizable to-do list. Each bullet point on your list can be dragged to a new position for easy prioritizing. Editing and deleting items is as simple as just clicking on them.
SpeakIt!
Multitaskers, meet your new best friend. Install SpeakIt!, highlight on-screen text on a non-encrypted Web page and click the SpeakIt! toolbar button to hear the text read aloud to you while you get work done. It's also a great add-on for eye-strained Web users in need of relief.
AddThis
AddThis is your one-stop shop for all things sharing. Click the in-browser AddThis button and you'll be able to broadcast content to over 300 different Web services. That simple browser button lets you tweet, share or email links without the hassle of switching between pages.
1. Touch computing
Tablet computers such as the iPad might seem like a nice alternative to desktop and laptop computers, but we believe they're more than that: They are becoming replacements. Just as the command line (remember that?) gave way to graphical user interfaces, so the mouse will be superseded by touchscreens.
3. NFC and mobile payments
Near Field Communication (NFC) essentially lets you replace your credit cards with your phone: Wave an NFC-enabled phone near the credit card reader in a store (or taxi cab), and the money is deducted from your account. By 2013, 1 in 5 cellphones are expected to be NFC-equipped.
5. TV Everywhere
So you thought you'd be able to watch all your favorite shows online and get rid of your cable subscription for good? Not so fast! The cable companies have a cunning plan: They'll let you watch live TV, plus on-demand movies and TV shows, on your connected devices IF you keep your cable subscription. Dish Network, Time Warner and Comcast are among those offering the service.
6. Voice control
Here's another trend that's got a moderate chance of taking off in 2012: Voice control (Siri).
The novelty of Siri on the iPhone 4S -- which allows you to send texts, create reminders, search the Web and much more using just your voice -- may be the start of a new trend in voice controlled devices.
5. HTML5
HTML5 lets developers create richer, more interactive applications than ever. Why does this matter? As developers tire of building applications for every operating system out there -- from Android to iOS to Windows Phone and beyond -- HTML5 offers the opportunity to build an app once and have it work everywhere.
In summary, 2012 is all about new ways to interact with our devices through touch and voice control, new lightweight ways to share content, a revolution in mobile payments and a overabundance of rich Web applications -- not to mention the hundreds of new innovations that we've yet to dream up.
Most of us have multiple accounts with different passwords, so how do we keep track of all them? Many of us use the same password for every account, but studies show that can lead to your accounts getting hacked. What other options do you have?
- Password Managers: For many people, this is probably the best way to protect their passwords. They use the cloud or a local drive like a USB thumb drive. It’s an easy way to secure your passwords but the obvious risk is that someone could gain access to this device and, thus, to your accounts.
- Old-Fashioned way: Writing down your passwords on a piece of paper is still the main option for a lot of people. While this works, there is an obvious risk that you could misplace your list, or someone else could get access to it, putting your online information at risk.
- Memorization: The key to memorizing passwords is to be creative in altering something you've already memorized, such as song lyrics, the first names of family members and first names or place names from your past. Mix things up to create passwords no one else could ever guess.
Most of us have multiple accounts with different passwords, so how do we keep track of all them? Many of us use the same password for every account, but studies show that can lead to your accounts getting hacked. What other options do you have?
- Password Managers: For many people, this is probably the best way to protect their passwords. They use the cloud or a local drive like a USB thumb drive. It’s an easy way to secure your passwords but the obvious risk is that someone could gain access to this device and, thus, to your accounts.
- Old-Fashioned way: Writing down your passwords on a piece of paper is still the main option for a lot of people. While this works, there is an obvious risk that you could misplace your list, or someone else could get access to it, putting your online information at risk.
- Memorization: The key to memorizing passwords is to be creative in altering something you've already memorized, such as song lyrics, the first names of family members and first names or place names from your past. Mix things up to create passwords no one else could ever guess.
As we enter the New Year, many of us adhere to the old saying, “Out with the old, in with the new.” If you believe now’s a good time to check out the latest technology, here are a few items which look to be hot in the coming year:
- Samsung Galaxy 7.7 Tablet: Only 7.89 millimeters thin and weighing in at just 12 ounces, this device has a battery that provides up to 10 hours of video playback time.
- LG Smartscan Mouse: Allows users to click the Smart Scan button on the left side of the mouse, then swipe it over material to be scanned.
- Toshiba No-Glasses 3D TV: No need to wear bulky glasses with this TV, which creates the illusion of depth by sending images of different perspectives to the right eye and others to the left eye.
- Designer 3D TV Glasses: If you want to look fashionable while watching 3D television, this is the way to go. A range of designer 3D glasses from the likes of Lacoste and Calvin Klein is available.
- The World's Slimmest Digital Camera, the Cyber-shot TX55: This camera’s back panel has an 8.3cm/3.3 inch touch-screen for showing off photos and movie clips.
- Toshiba Ultrabook: This device weighs about 2.5 pounds (1.12 kg) and is less than a half-inch (15.9 mm) thick.
As we enter the New Year, many of us adhere to the old saying, “Out with the old, in with the new.” If you believe now’s a good time to check out the latest technology, here are a few items which look to be hot in the coming year:
- Samsung Galaxy 7.7 Tablet: Only 7.89 millimeters thin and weighing in at just 12 ounces, this device has a battery that provides up to 10 hours of video playback time.
- LG Smartscan Mouse: Allows users to click the Smart Scan button on the left side of the mouse, then swipe it over material to be scanned.
- Toshiba No-Glasses 3D TV: No need to wear bulky glasses with this TV, which creates the illusion of depth by sending images of different perspectives to the right eye and others to the left eye.
- Designer 3D TV Glasses: If you want to look fashionable while watching 3D television, this is the way to go. A range of designer 3D glasses from the likes of Lacoste and Calvin Klein is available.
- The World's Slimmest Digital Camera, the Cyber-shot TX55: This camera’s back panel has an 8.3cm/3.3 inch touch-screen for showing off photos and movie clips.
- Toshiba Ultrabook: This device weighs about 2.5 pounds (1.12 kg) and is less than a half-inch (15.9 mm) thick.
Since the launch of the iPhone 4S last month, one of the major issues users have been reporting is a short battery life in the device.
We did a bit of research and found 5 helpful tips to keep your iPhone 4S battery lasting longer
1. Shut Siri Up
We know you love to hear her voice but she does take up a lot of processing power. Turn Siri off until you absolutely need her.
2. Turn offPing
A lot of people don’t even use this app (Ping= Social Media for Music Lovers). If you don’t use it, turn it off under Settings < General < Restrictions
3. No need to Push
Push means every time someone sends you a new message, it immediately gets "pushed" to your phone. That means your phone is always using cellular data. Turn it off and check your e-mail manually instead
4. Turn Down the Bright Lights
Your LCD screen can suck a lot of power. Turn off Auto-Brightness and adjust the screen manually
5. Location Service
Turn off all features and apps on your phone that transmit your location under Settings < Location Services
Google recently announced that it will no longer be supporting the Gmail app for the RIM Blackberry. If you already have the app, it will continue to work, but the download will be pulled and Google will cease actively supporting the feature. The support and availability of the application for Gmail will end on November 22, 2011.
The removal of the Gmail app will unquestionably be an inconvenience to Blackberry users who have grown accustomed to having access to their Gmail account on the go. However, according to RIM, the large majority of users who access Gmail on their BlackBerry smart phone already rely on the native support (provided through BlackBerry Internet Service) rather than the separate Gmail app so many will not be affected by the change.
About a third of Americans have had someone get access to their Facebook, Twitter, MySpace or other Internet accounts and impersonate or spy on them. That’s almost double the level seen in 2009.
To prevent this from happening to you, we have compiled a few security tips for you to follow so you don’t become the next victim:
1. Change That Obvious Password (and do it often!)
Use a password generator tool (like this one) to create a password that would not be susceptible to a hack. Having something like “zu9ruCEw” as your password is obviously a lot more secure than “goASU”
2. Limit Access
Grant access to accounts on a need-to-have basis. Don’t post passwords on intranets or send via e-mail.
3. Don’t Stay Logged In On A Mobile Device
Phones are easily lost and stolen. As soon as that happens, you’ve granted unauthorized access to all your accounts.
4. Don’t Get Carried Away With the Clicks
Do not click on links in mass emails sent out via Facebook or mass tweets on twitter or other spam items as these links may have viruses that can hack into your computer and ultimately your social media sites.
5. Careful With Who You Are Friends With
Be careful who you accept as a friend or who you follow. If you accept or follow too many spammers or the wrong person, your account could end up contaminated.
More and more Americans are multitasking while they watch television. A new study by Nielsen, the company that measures TV ratings, finds that a majority of us use devices like smartphones, tablets and e-readers while we’re also watching TV.
Here are some stats from the study:
- Of Americans who own tablets, 42% use their device while they watch television.
- About the same percentage of smartphone users – 40% – turn on their headsets while they’re watching a show.
- Just 14% of e-reader owners use their device every day as they're watching a television show.
- Only 12% of tablet owners and 13% of smartphone owners never use their devices while they watch TV.
- A large percentage – 45% – of e-reader users never pick up their device when a program is on.
What are all those people doing as they watch TV? According to Nielsen:
- 60% check their e-mail while the TV is on, and almost the same percentage – 59% – check e-mails during commercials.
- Surfing the web for information that isn’t related to the show they’re watching is the norm for 46% of us, while 45% are looking up information about the show that’s on.
- 42% of respondents check in with social networks while 30% check sports scores.