Get Google Now on Ice Cream Sandwich
People that want to try out Google's latest voice assistant on green droid devices are confined by the search giant to use either of the two Jelly Bean iterations. However, Google Now also makes its way onto Ice Cream Sandwich through third-party app GNow Handlebars.
Previous to GNow Handlebars, the process of installing Google Now onto Android 4.0 mostly involved flashing files in a custom recovery like ClockworkMod or TWRP. Now the same result can be achieved simply by opening the app and selecting the voice assistant to kick off the installation. There is also a restore option available that brings back the older Google Search, which should come in handy if something goes wrong.
Rename thousands of files in one click
Download a few files from the Internet and one problem you’ll soon notice is that they won’t exactly follow any sensible naming conventions. Some will leave out key information you need to tell what they are; others will add unnecessary extras, like dates or numeric IDs; and they’ll be in a mix of upper, lower or mixed case -- a real mess.
Renaming one or two names in Windows Explorer is easy enough, of course. But if there are any more then it all becomes just too tedious. Unless, that is, you install a batch processing tool such as the free Solid Renamer.
UK number one for internet TV, shopping and mobile browsing
Ofcom’s seventh International Communications Market Report, which examines take-up, availability, price and use of broadband, landlines, mobiles, TV, radio and post across 17 major countries, has discovered that people in the United Kingdom typically spend more on online shopping, watch more TV on the web, and download more data on their mobiles and tablets than any other leading nation.
I’m British, do all my shopping online (even groceries), almost never watch live television and access the web on the go pretty much daily, so this news doesn’t come as any great surprise to me, but even so the gap between my country and other much larger nations is a bit of a revelation (and also slightly suspect in some cases).
Unofficial CyanogenMod 10.1 available for the international Samsung Galaxy S III
Just over a week ago, Steve Kondik, the founder of the popular custom distribution CyanogenMod, revealed that CM10.1 builds based on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean will soon be released for US variants of the Samsung Galaxy S III. However, the highly anticipated custom ROM is already available for the international model, albeit with unofficial tags.
Galaxy S III users that want to install the unofficial builds can expect a similar functionality to the official CM10.1 releases available today. As the feature porting process is not completed, it won’t come as any surprise that some of the features included in previous CyanogenMod iterations are still missing or not yet adapted for Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. Due to the unofficial nature and the infancy of the source code, users may also encounter some bugs as well.
The unofficial CyanogenMod 10.1 release can be installed just like any other by flashing the available build and the adjacent Google Apps package using a compatible custom recovery tool such as ClockworkMod or TWRP.
Freemore Audio Video Suite -- a one-stop shop for all your media conversion and editing needs
Working with media files generally requires a whole library of software: download tools, editors, authoring applications and more. That’s not a problem if you’ve built up your own collection of favorites over a number of years, but if you’re a PC novice then it’s not easy to know where to begin.
But that’s where Freemore Audio Video Suite comes in, as the package claims to include a host of tools to help you create, edit, convert and share your media files, and all for free.
Google Maps gives iPhone much needed direction
What Apple takes away, Google gives back. Early this morning, Google Maps arrived for iPhone, replacing the app removed by Apple with release of iOS 6. The company's homegrown product proved nothing short of disastrous, for the fruit-logo brand and customers using the app/service. Earlier this week, law enforcement in Australia warned against using Apple Maps, after motorists were misdirected and their lives put at risk.
Reviews rightly have been scathing, while iPhone users cried not to Apple but Google for direction. Now that it's here, irony comes along. Android's developer may do more for current iOS than its maker. A surprising number of people held back iOS 6 upgrades or iPhone 5 purchases, not wanting to give up Google Maps or take on Apple's replacement.
Zeitgeist 2012: Google is the only site to get it right
We have seen top-10 lists now from Yahoo, Twitter and Facebook. Sure, all of them provided the raw data pertaining to the most-searched for and most-talked about products, events, people and more from the past year. Google, with it's popular Zeitgeist release, did the same. But the search leader took it one step further and, in so doing, was the real winner in this 2012 popularity contest.
Google provides perspective and emotion to raw, boring statistics and creates something that is appealing to basic human instincts. The company put together a video that will jog your memory, make you smile and bring a tear to your eye.
Samsung Galaxy Note II for Verizon Wireless now has an unlocked bootloader
Among the modding community, Android devices from Verizon Wireless are known for limited modding capabilities. Samsung Galaxy Note II is no different, however, its stigma is slowly fading. The handset can run apps with elevated privileges, and now the bootloader can be unlocked as well.
An unlocked bootloader may not appeal to less demanding users, but holds a great deal of importance to enthusiasts that want to install custom Android distributions, third-party recoveries or kernels. But in order to get even a whiff of all the goodies, Galaxy Note II users first have to install a new Partition Information Table and a custom ROM. Afterwards an exploit must be run in order to install the PIT file (again) and flash the insecure (unlocked) bootloader as well as the new recovery.
Flickr jumps into the photo filter game with new iPhone app
Within the past few days Instagram has divorced Twitter and added a new filter, Twitter got into the Instagram game by adding photo filters and now Yahoo-owned photo sharing service Flickr has joined the fray with its new iPhone app update. You can probably guess where this announcement is going.
Yes, Flickr has added a set of filters that users can access upon snapping a photo. Like Instagram and now Twitter, there are a standard set of filters including black and white and 15 others that are now part of the built-in editor, which also allows you to crop your image right on the spot. You can then share it via Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or email.
Use this tool to convert 613 units across 21 measurement types
Centigrade to Fahrenheit, miles to kilometers, pounds to kilograms -- everyone needs a unit conversion tool occasionally. And if you’re working with simple units, and are online at the time, then a quick web search will probably find a service to help. Or you can often use Google directly: just type 55F in C into the search box for a quick temperature conversion, for instance.
If you’d like some offline assistance, though, or need to run more unusual conversions, then the free ESBUnitConv is a great place to start.
The things people will do to get Chromebook
This morning, Amazon greeted me with email promoting the ARM Chromebook. Well, hell, back in stock is a story. But what a surprise I got clicking the link. Rather than the expected $249 price, one of the retailer's third-party sellers demanded $342.92 for the WiFi model and $448.45 the 3G. There were five WiFi Chromebooks hours ago. They're sold out now -- 3G as well from the one seller. Another has one 3G unit left for $441.90 -- or about $112 more than the official selling price.
I'm a big Chromebook fan and last week made the $249 ARM model my main PC, even though Samsung's Series 5 550 is faster. I simply like the smaller portable's ergonomics and keyboard better. But my Chromebook enthusiasm stops with paying way more than Google's selling price. I've got to wonder: Why are these people paying premium price? Is it you? Is Chromebook really that much in demand?
This Chrome extension masks your email address
Sign up for an account with a website and you’ll usually see them promising not to share your details with others. “We hate spam as much as you do”, they might claim, although none of this seems to prevent the endless torrent of junk which pours into our inboxes on a daily basis.
It could be a better idea to simply never give out your main email address in the first place, then. And MaskMe is an excellent Chrome extension that can help.
Mrs. Claus is naughty and nice in Samsung Galaxy S III spot
Six weeks ago, Samsung sauced up Galaxy S3 marketing with a dad going on a work trip commercial. His girls prepared a video, which the wife beams by touching phones together. She has one, too, but "you probably shouldn't watch it on the plane". A new version is out, with the Clauses, and the plump Mrs. still has spunk. She prepares a video for Santa, "but you probably shouldn't watch it on the sleigh".
What? Will Santa's cheeks burn as red as Rudolph's nose? Mr. Kringle is supposed to reward those kiddies who are nice and give coal to those who are naughty. But what happens to the naughty and nice, like Mrs. Claus? Samsung leaves that to your imagination. But what you can imagine! I know, thinking of Santa and Mrs. Claus in bed together isn't much different than thought of your parents. But, hey, those elves came from somewhere.
WinPatrol 2013 protects your PC from unwanted changes
BillP Studios has launched WinPatrol 2013, a brand new version of its snapshot-based security tool that alerts users to program attempts to make significant changes to key areas of a PC.
Version 26.0.2013 focuses on making the program more Windows 8 friendly than before, largely by tweaking program settings to accommodate new Windows 8 conventions such as cookie storage in Internet Explorer 10.
Microsoft is right to expand Surface RT availability -- too bad about timing
Microsoft's plans to greatly expand Surface RT sales to third-party retailers accomplishes two things. One: Rebuts unfounded rumors that the tablet sells poorly or that the company has cut fab orders by half. Two: Makes the tablet available in enough places to be truly successful. Honestly, I am so fraking sick of so-called professional blogs (and some news sites) writing rumor stories based on a single source -- or worse using another site's report based on unnamed source(s).
Just a week ago, I explained why "Surface RT sales are probably quite good, you just don't know it". In a number-crunching analysis you shouldn't have missed, I refuted pundit claims sales are weak by looking from the perspective of actual distribution, which isn't much through 66 North American company shops or Microsoft Store online in seven countries. If Surface has any problem, it's limited distribution. Too bad the company waited so late in the holiday season to expand Surface RT availability.
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