Tidy up the Windows 8.1 Apps screen by removing unwanted shortcuts
When you install an app or desktop program in Windows 8.1 it gets added to the Apps screen. From here you can add it to the Start screen by right-clicking to summon the Customize menu, and then selecting "Pin to Start". You can also "Pin to Taskbar" if you want regular quick access to it while working in the desktop.
The Apps screen, which you can set as your default view, can be ordered by Name, Date Installed, Most Used, or Category -- to make it easier to find the apps and desktop programs you want. You can also have desktop programs show up first when the Apps screen is sorted by Category. To do this, right-click the taskbar and select Properties. Click the Navigation tab and tick “List desktop apps first in the Apps view when it’s sorted by category”.
Dell Latitude 6430u owners complain the ultrabook smells like cat piss
In what could very well be the funniest and most bizarre news of the week, a large number of Latitude 6430u owners have complained on Dell's Community forums that their shiny new business-grade ultrabooks smell like cat piss. As far as I know, the US company has not announced a new, peculiar scent that would differentiate the ultrabook from its competitors.
The lengthy thread, that dates back to mid-June 2013, is filled with posts from Dell customers complaining about the unusual smell. As you can imagine, this has lead to some embarrassing moments. One of the users has taken it so far as to allegedly kill his cat, after assuming the animal was to blame for the problem. Others have been less extreme in their actions, with most owners focusing on highlighting the issue and asking for a solution.
Windows 8.1 + OneNote: Why the digital notebook is finally a reality
In the mid-2000s, walking into a college classroom holding a laptop that came with a stylus for the purpose of note-taking was without a doubt out of place. The smartphone craze was still years away, and for all intents and purposes, touchscreens were relegated to two platforms: the Nintendo DS, and the last hurrah of Palm devices like the Treo. So when I sat in my undergrad classes taking notes in OneNote 2003 on my Thinkpad X41, people looked at me like I was an alien. Professors even asked from time to time whether I brought my paper notebook to class, so I wasn't playing with my "toy" the whole time.
Tablet PCs had a real personality dilemma way back then. Aside from OneNote, they were a sort of a pariah in the PC industry. Cool, sleek, powerful, and usually fairly light -- but they were held back in one major way: the operating system. I bless Microsoft for taking chances in areas where no one else dared, which undoubtedly led us to the current revolution being driven by Windows 8.1, but the first wave of Tablet PCs had real potential. The hardware was there, but the operating system was the large bottleneck by far.
Lenovo Yoga Tablet -- a better way is here
When it comes to Android tablets, they are all rather ho-hum; big rectangular slabs. In an effort to use them comfortably as a display or for watching a movie, clunky cases and folios must be purchased in order to prop them up. Sure, you can lean it against something and hope it doesn't fall over, but that is risky business.
Lenovo feels the pain of Android users and has created a new solution -- a better way, if you will. The company has been teasing a device for three weeks now, but it is finally unveiled. Meet the all-new Lenovo Yoga Tablet.
Google+ Hangouts and Photos gain a raft of new options
Google is in the process of rolling out a series of new features to Google+ Hangouts and Photos, many of which have been designed to save users time. Hangouts gains a new option that enables broadcasters to schedule Hangouts On Air, while a management page in the form of the Control Room can be used by moderators to eject unruly participants should the need arise.
Video call quality sees improvements not only to quality, but also to automatic lighting adjustment. It doesn’t end there for Hangouts. The chat tool also gains the ability to send and receive SMS as well as location sharing. But it is Photos that sees the largest number of changes and additions. Something that will please mobile users who have enabled the autobackup feature is the introduction of full sized backups (rather than scaled) and background syncrhonization.
Plex unveils Cloud Sync, puts your media everywhere
Plex brought media server and end-client apps to the masses, making the process easy for even the average computer user. Install the server app on a computer, walk through the simple setup process and then enjoy your music and videos from other computers, mobile devices, consoles and set-top boxes.
Now the company has unveiled its latest improvement to this system -- Cloud Sync. Plex Sync was unveiled last November, and the company claims it has been a major success, stating that "users have synced hundreds of terabytes of media to their iOS and Android devices, and we’ve heard stories from people using it to make their plane trips less boring, vacations more fun, and long commutes more palatable".
Microsoft Remote Desktop -- over one million downloads on Android, iOS and Mac
It was only two weeks ago that Microsoft shocked the world and made Microsoft Remote Desktop a cross-platform affair. Today, Microsoft shocks us again and announces that over one million people have downloaded the app.
In other words, over a million people found OS X or their mobile devices to be insufficient in meeting their needs. After all, if a user can satisfactorily accomplish one-hundred percent of their needs on an iPad or Android tablet, there would be no reason to download the app and connect to a Windows machine.
What to expect from the Gigabit Explorer Challenge
Gigabit Internet has arrived, and it's time to figure out just what we should do with it. A gigabit is a billion bits per second. Average Internet speeds today range around 5 million bits per second. It's a bit of a speed mismatch, the cheetah vs. the caterpillar -- and the cheetah gets a head start. At these speeds, the "what" and "how" to use it far outreach the way we use the Internet today.
Forget the speed, for a moment. Not to downplay the value of instantaneously downloading a season of The Wire but ultrafast Internet is about more than speed. Innovation grew in the space where 50 kbps Internet was once seen as lightning fast -- a space with email, file transfers and remote logins. What modernization will emerge from this new space?
Windows 8.1 on 2013 Apple MacBook Air -- doable, but not a great experience
One of the biggest advantages to owning a Mac, and one of the main reasons why I purchased a 2013 Apple MacBook Air, is the option to run both OS X and Windows natively, without using virtualization software. Apple actively supports Microsoft's PC operating systems by releasing drivers, firmware and documentation, that Mac users can leverage to install Windows and make the best out of a different situation -- after all, Windows is not designed to work on Macs.
The portal to running Windows on Macs is Boot Camp. The OS X software is designed to simplify the process for users, by offering an easy to follow wizard that can be used to create bootable Windows USB drives (and DVDs for older Macs), download drivers, partition the internal drive to make room for the new OS and kick off the installation process. It is very, very user-friendly. Well, most of the time...
Microsoft security report warns of risks from unsupported operating systems
Microsoft has released its latest Security Intelligence Report detailing the threat intelligence gathered from more than a billion systems worldwide.
With Windows XP support due to end in April 2014 the report takes a close look at the risks posed to consumers and businesses of using unsupported operating systems. According to StatCounter, XP and older systems still account for around 21 percent of those in use.
Samsung smartphones capture record market share, leave iPhones behind
According to new quarterly reports from IDC and Strategy Analytics, Samsung has increased its lead on the smartphone market in Q3 2013. The South Korean maker's shipments were higher than those of the next four-largest vendors, combined, according to the IDC data.
Samsung's smartphone shipments surpassed 80 million units (IDC -- 81.2 million; SA --88.4 million), leading to a market share above 30 percent (IDC -- 31.4 percent; SA -- 35.2 percent). Once again, the two research firms, both of which count shipments, provide different data sets for both shipments and market share. However, both reports say that in Q3 2013 smartphone shipments reached record levels (IDC -- 258.4 million; SA -- 251.4 million).
Amazon releases MatchBook for Kindle
It has been nearly two months since online retail giant Amazon announced its MatchBook feature for Kindle, complimenting the previously unveiled Autorip service for music. Now, the company finally shows the feature the light of day, unveiling MatchBook availability effective today.
If you aren't familiar, MatchBook for Kindle provides customers with the opportunity to purchase a Kindle version of any book already bought through Amazon in physical form. You could, of course, do this previously, but only by paying full price for each copy. With MatchBook, prices range from free up to $2.99 for the digital version.
Sophos launches cloud-managed security for business
Organizations face a constant challenge to balance keeping their systems secure against the time taken to maintain that protection. Security specialist Sophos has announced an answer to this problem in the form of a product that can be managed from the cloud, providing a simplified approach combined with protection from the latest threats.
Sophos Cloud provides endpoint protection for all sizes of enterprise but because it's cloud-managed it can protect users regardless of physical location. This makes it attractive for companies that have multiple sites or a home-based workforce.
Nokia sells record-high 8.8 million Lumias, but is the growth slowing?
Finnish mobile maker Nokia has released its Q3 2013 financial results, revealing record-high Lumia sales of 8.8 million units. The Windows Phone strategy appears to be paying off, with sales showing noticeable growth quarter-over-quarter, in the past year. The latest report, however, indicates that the Lumia momentum may be slowly burning off.
Quarter-over-quarter, Lumia sales increased by just 19 percent, from 7.4 million units in Q2 2013. By contrast, the sales increase in Q2 2013 from Q1 2013 was 32 percent, 27 percent in Q1 2013 from Q4 2012 and 51.72 percent in Q4 2012 from Q3 2012 (Q3 2012 is notorious for terrible Lumia sales of just 2.9 million units, so it's more of an oddity rather than a rule -- Q2 2012 Lumia sales were 4 million units). This indicates that, even though sales are higher, the significant growth will not continue for a long time. Seeing as Nokia is the largest Windows Phone vendor, this could lead to a stagnating (or decreasing) share for the tiled smartphone operating system.
Redbox Instant debuts on Sony PS3
Redbox Instant by Verizon debuted its streaming video service back in January of this year, taking a successful DVD rental model and putting it into direct competition with the likes of Netflix and Amazon. The service was originally exclusive to Microsoft's Xbox, at least as far as game consoles go, but has since been confirmed for Sony's next-generation PS4 console as well.
Now customers who own Sony's current console will also get the opportunity to choose Redbox Instant as their streaming movie service. "Later today, Redbox Instant by Verizon will be available on PS3, giving you access to thousands of streaming movies. You’ll also be able to find and reserve new releases on DVD and Blu-ray at more than 43,000 Redbox kiosks right from your console", announces Sean Bordenave, product manager for Redbox.
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