Make your presentations zing with PointerStick
Often, during a presentation, you’ll want to highlight a particular area of the screen. The obvious solution is to use the mouse cursor, and sometimes -- if you’re using a large projector, say -- that may be enough.
Mouse cursors are generally unobtrusive, though, which is why you might lose track of yours even when you’re sitting in front of the screen. So if you’d like to make your point rather more obviously, then you may benefit from a new free tool, PointerStick.
This is how you sell a smartphone
Google's Galaxy Nexus TV spot is simply exceptional. Good advertising is aspirational, and the 60-second commercial is every bit. Something else, and this is particularly true for gadgets: Good marketing emphasizes benefits, not features.
Sales started today in Europe, and I'm feeling oh-so cheated here on the other side of the Atlantic. Where's my Ice Cream Sandwich?
iPhone overtakes BlackBerry as top workplace smart phone
Research In Motion's BlackBerry has lost its long held position as the top smartphone among business users, a new study finds. Mobility services company iPass found that the iPhone is now the most commonly used smartphone in the workplace, with the Android platform also showing impressive growth.
The survey of 2,300 workers found that 45 percent use iPhones, up from 31.1 percent a year ago. BlackBerry usage fell to 32.2 percent from 34.5 percent a year ago. Android now is 21.3 percent of the market, up from 11.3 percent a year ago. Overall, RIM market share isn't collapsing as much as other platforms are gaining acceptance in the workplace.
New Skype betas add Facebook video chat
Skype’s integration with Facebook is nothing new, but the latest beta version of the cross-platform chat and VoIP tool takes this to a new level. Skype for Windows 5.7 Beta and Skype for Mac 5.4 Beta bring further advantages to connecting your Facebook account with your Skype one. Now, as well as being able to make use of Facebook chat from within the app, it is now also possible to conduct Facebook video chats.
This can all be carried out from within Skype itself without the need to visit the Facebook web site -- just as it has been possible to conduct text-based chats with your Facebook contacts, the same is now possible with face-to-face VoIP calls. Improvements have been made to Skype’s video rendering, which helps to give a smoother overall experience, and there are a number of other new features to explore.
Malware on Android begins to spiral out of control
Malware aimed at the Android platform has increased five-fold since July, raising questions on the open-door policy Android has in installing apps. IT company Juniper Networks says the reason for this is the Mountain View, Calif. company's own lax attitude when it comes to oversight.
"With no upfront review process, no one checking to see that your application does what it says, just the world’s largest majority of smartphone users skimming past your application’s description page with whatever description of the application the developer chooses to include", it says. Of course, Juniper's description of how the review process works in Android is generalized and somewhat inaccurate.
Tablets take top spots on holiday wish lists
What are bargain hunters going to be looking for this coming Black Friday and what’s on everyone’s holiday gift wish list? The latest Retrevo Pulse Study asked consumers about what they want for the holidays and what they’re going to be looking for in the bargain bins. For bargain hunters, tablets top the list followed by HDTV sets, laptops and smartphones.
Would you get up at four o’clock in the morning to get a deal on a tablet or laptop computer? Apparently there are plenty of bargain hunters who plan of braving the elements this Black Friday to buy electronic things. Although we don’t expect to see too many doorbuster deals on iPads or even other tablets, it’s at the top of the bargain hunter’s list this year.
Your kid wants iPad 2 for christmas
What? You expected something more reasonably priced, given the recession? Bwhahaha. You're gonna be Grinch if you give anything less. Today, Nielsen released its holiday wish survey for kids ages 6 to 12. It's what they want to buy in the next six months, but Santa comes sooner.
Holiday shopping for school-aged pre-teens isn't what it used to be. Bicycles, train sets, Barbies, Hello Kitty goodies aren't good enough for the youngest Millennials. Forty-four percent want iPads, up from 31 percent last holiday. I guess not enough six-to-twelves got Apple tablets last year.
Galaxy Nexus brings Ice Cream Sandwich to UK, Galaxy S II, Nexus S updates to follow
Today was the launch of Samsung Galaxy Nexus in the UK, bringing the first flagship Android device running Ice Cream Sandwich, the newest build of Google's mobile operating system to the British Isles.
The device is expected to launch in the United States on Verizon Wireless soon.
Can't wait for Firefox 64-bit? Try Waterfox 8
Each new release of Mozilla’s Firefox brings improved performance to this popular open-source web browser. But despite these welcome tweaks, Firefox remains hobbled in one major respect: it’s resolutely 32-bit.
There is an experimental 64-bit build of Firefox Nightly for Windows and Linux, but it’s an extremely early, unstable release and isn’t recommended for the casual user. So how can you enjoy Firefox in 64-bit without major risk? The answer lies with Waterfox 8.0.
Shortmail makes iOS debut
Shortmail is now available for iPhone, tapping into capabilities from iOS 5. The service brings Twitter concepts to email, limiting messages to 500 characters (It's 140 for Twitter). Startup 410Labs took the wraps off cloud service Shortmail in June. The iOS app debuted on November 16.
On the web, users can claim their shortmail address by logging into their Twitter account. "Using the Twitter integration in iOS 5 (which is required), we instantly convert your Twitter accounts into Shortmail accounts. No hassle, no signups, no passwords. It 'just works'", says 401Labs CEO Dave Troy.
Facebook says it knows who is responsible for image spam attack
Facebook says that it identified those responsible for an attack earlier this week that spammed Facebook users with pornography and violent imagery, and will investigate its options to prosecute those responsible. The attack is believed to have been exploited through a browser vulnerability, BetaNews is told.
"During this spam attack users were tricked into pasting and executing malicious JavaScript in their browser URL bar causing them to unknowingly share this offensive content", spokesperson Andrew Noyes explained. "Our engineers have been working diligently on this self-XSS [cross-site scripting] vulnerability in the browser".
A 40" AMD-powered touchscreen device from Samsung? Must be Surface 2.0
Microsoft Surface, the touch interface for interactive advertisements and signage was given a massive technology overhaul and revealed at CES 2011. Instead of a huge, foot-thick table that utilized cameras to detect user touches, it shrunk down to just 4" in thickness, using "pixel sense" touch detection for 50 simultaneous points of contact.
Today, nearly a year after Surface 2.0 was revealed, Samsung's next generation Microsoft Surface device is finally up for sale.
I'm sure Steve Ballmer is shaking in his boots
How else could he react to the stunning news that Macs now have 5 percent global PC market share. Surely the Windows monopoly is teetering on its foundations. OMG! It only took Apple 10 years to achieve this stunning milestone. Steve Jobs set the 5 percent goal a decade ago when launching the first Apple Store. Quick send the EMS team to Ballmer's office!
Needham analyst Charlie Wolf claims the 5 percent number, really 5.2 percent, globally, based on IDC third-quarter data on PC shipments. Apple Insider posted the numbers late yesterday. I haven't seen the report yet today. But who would make up something like this or stretch the numbers by X percent? So in a break from form I'm sourcing Apple Insider until the report reaches my bursting inbox. Usually, I wait on the original source.
BlitzBlank kills malware your security software can't
Malware removal is normally an entirely automatic process. Your PC encounters something unpleasant, your antivirus package deletes it, and you carry on as before: easy.
Sometimes, though, life isn’t quite as straightforward. In particular, if you’ve spotted a suspect process that your security suite doesn’t recognize yet, then you’ll probably want to remove it manually. And that can be a real challenge.
Five reasons to quit XP for Windows 7 [contest winners]
Last in a series. I've got a box full of Microsoft mice cluttering up the living room, and my wife begging please to get rid of them. So with that pressure, I must finally announce winners of our "Five Reasons to Quit Windows XP" contest. My apologies for the delay. Winner for the Windows Phone 7 contest will come quicker.
Before continuing, I offer heartfelt thanks to Microsoft's hardware PR team for providing the mice five lucky winners will receive. In appreciation, let's plug Microsoft's "The Art of Touch" contest. Click the link to create online art, which I can say from trying works better with some kind of touch device. According to Microsoft:
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