Posts Tagged ‘Android’

Do you hate Facebook’s new Timeline? Here’s how to fix it. May 22, 2012 No Comments

facebook-timeline-screenshotRecently Facebook has been working on finishing their roll out of the new Timeline profile to all of its users (including us.While Facebook and its 3rd party apps may be less secure than they used to be, the new profile view is, frankly, beautiful. The two-column display shows your photos in all their (relatively sizable) glory, and highlights what Facebook thinks is major events in your life, making them more prominent on your page. Profiles are much more attractive this way, but they also feature a new capability that may leave some uneasy, myself included.

Facebook’s Timeline features just that, a timeline, on the right hand side of your profile. Friends can now click through by date to view your history. While this makes sense for Facebook, and is pretty cool in theory, it might be slightly less so in practice. When I heard about Timeline, I was really, really excited. I love innovation on the web, and this seemed like some real change for Facebook. Additionally, it looked gorgeous, and I like that. What I didn’t realize at first though, was that this doesn’t just enable what I’ve deemed advanced, super easy Facebook stalking. It actually almost forces it. And that’s the part I’m not a fan of.

Today, I am a different person than I was yesterday. More to the point though, today I am an extremely different person than I was 1, 2, 3 or more years ago. While looking at my photos, this isn’t much of a problem. But when you start to look at individual wall posts, comments, etc. that are all being taken completely out of context (no, I don’t think you can get  feel for where I was in my life at the time by reading a few surrounding posts…) you could get a picture of me that is not at all who I am now, and possibly not who I wanted to be. We’ve talked before about how this can be a problem, particularly when applying to college or a new job.

That being said, Facebook doesn’t give you any particularly easy way to remedy this. You can go to your Activity View, and go post by post, deleting what you don’t want, but if you’re like me and have 5+ years on Facebook, this is just not an option. The good news is, there are ways to get this done satisfactorily, and I’m here to show you them. So read on for the beginner’s guide to cleaning up your Facebook Timeline.

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Why I’m switching from Android to iOS, and why you may want to consider it, too. May 16, 2012 2 Comments

Android vs. iOSThe argument has waged on for years…What is the better mobile OS and ecosystem for a certain person, Android or iOS? (Windows Phone may be starting to become part of the conversation, but its nowhere near as prominent as these two competitors.) And for as long as this arguments been around, the answer has been a similar one: it depends largely on you. How dependable do you want your phone to be, versus how much customization do you want it to be able to do? Do you absolutely love iTunes, or could you spend your money elsewhere? There are many more of these questions that techies like me have turned to in order to give good phone buying advice to friends, family, and colleagues over the years. However, with recent news, and some pretty basic realizations, I think the answer is more one-sided than many, myself included, previously thought…

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How Google can fix the Android ecosystem (and make sure we hear about it.) March 8, 2012 No Comments

This article was originally posted on The Verge Forums. Click here to see it, and be sure to participate in the ensuing discussion.

Android Ecosystem

Android has a problem. Actually, Android has several problems. (Don’t freak out, its okay. Every platform has several problems.) Many of them we already know about. The half-baked Google TV. The lack of cohesion across different Android devices. Apple. Windows 8 with Metro. These are but a few (and likely the biggest) challenges the platform is facing going forward. But this post isn’t a list of problems. This post is the start of a conversation about how to fix them.

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Droid Bionic Launch Date Leaked, Just Over 2 Weeks Away? July 16, 2011 No Comments

So…This is huge. Looks like we’ve finally got what appears to be a concrete release date for the Droid Bionic by Motorola. Even crazier than having it though, is the date itself – August 4th. While everyone was basically expecting this phone some time this summer, late August was the general consensus.

Furthermore, the Bionic was delayed, delayed, and delayed some more, leaving us all half-expecting it to not be out until fall. With a normal phone delayed this much, we’d be a little wary of the specs, as all too often a phone’s release will be pushed back due to contract negotiations or some other business function, and the phone won’t be updated in the meantime. Then, when the phone releases, its specs are already out of date. The Bionic though, appears to be a different story. Supposedly, the Bionic was delayed when the iPhone 4 came out, in order to be able to better compete with what Motorola felt will be the Bionic’s competition, which we hope Moto knows is the iPhone 5.

For the ridiculously good specs on the phone, click through to the full story!

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Rumored Nexus 4G Specs and Release Date! June 17, 2011 No Comments

Nexus 4GSo a quick summary of a few different rumors around the Internet…We saw an interesting amalgamation of news this week surrounding the supposed “Nexus 4G,” including some crazy specs, and a potential release period.

While Google hasn’t really mentioned anything about a new Nexus device (and of course neither have any carriers) we have assumed one is forthcoming. With the success of the prior two Nexus devices, and Google’s constant desire to put skinless Android on a fast, marketable device, you can pretty well count on a new Nexus phone every once in a while.

For more on the phone, including hardware, and some interesting software specs, hit up the read link!

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Google announces onslaught of new apps May 18, 2011 No Comments

Google I/O 2011In addition to the aforementioned Music by Google and Google Tasks API, Google announced a boatload of apps and upgrades at Google I/O 2011 this past week. From movies and entertainment to operating system upgrades and laptops, this year’s I/O was like none seen previously. For the complete list of major announcements and a heads up on what they’ll mean for you, click through the link below!

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Watch Netflix on your Android device! May 15, 2011 No Comments

Netflix LogoSo this started as some decent news last week, and very quickly became awesome news. Netflix finally released a complete app for Android, giving users the ability to watch their streaming content on the go. From TV shows to movies, the entire streaming collection is available. Initially though, the list of devices it was available for was incredibly limited. Even today, the devices that can download it from the market are limited, but read on to see if your device is supported, and instructions on getting it working even if your phone’s not on the list!

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Music by Google announced…Your music, wherever you go. May 12, 2011 4 Comments

For what has seemed like forever and a day, Google has been rumored to be working on its own competitor to iTunes, appropriately titled Google Music. Finally though, yesterday at Google I/O, Google Music became real. And while it may not be exactly what everyone expected it to be, its definitely got features that make it not only worth a look, but actually head and shoulders above certain aspects of its competition. So what does Google Music offer, how does it compare to iTunes and Amazon’s offerings, and how can you get in on it? For these answers and more, continue reading via the link below!

 

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The Droid 2 Review November 2, 2010 3 Comments

The technological war that has been raging on between the Android smartphones and iPhones (regardless of the carrier) appears to have no end in sight. However, if you are stuck between which phone is the one for you, perhaps you will find this review of the Droid 2 helpful. Before I begin here’s a little bit of background information on the Droid 2. The phone is manufactured by Motorola, and sports a 3.7″ touchscreen along with a slideout keyboard and 5.0 megapixel camera. Overall, on Verizon Wireless‘ website the phone has been given a 4 out of 5 star rating.

What did we think in trying it out for a while though?  Read on to see what we thought of the service, appearance, and more! Read the rest of this entry »

Sync All Your Media With Your Motorola Smart Phone Super Easily October 30, 2010 No Comments

Motorola has released a new version of its Media Link Software, and its actually surprisingly nice.  Media Link, with its iTunes-like interface, serves basically the same purposes as Apple’s iTunes does for Apple devices, but for your Motorola ones, including the Droid, Droid 2, Devour and Backflip.  Just plug in your device and the software takes care of the rest.

With photo, video, and music syncing, Media Link takes care of all the media you want on your device, and helps you to organize it.  It even includes the ability create custom ringtones, and while iTunes does this as well, it does have iTunes beat on one cool feature. Media Link allows you to crop and edit photos right in the application, making it perfect for quick improvements to those mobile photos.

Media Link is available now for Motorola smart phones at the link beloew, but unfortunately is currently Windows only, meaning Mac users are still left wanting.

Do you know of some good syncing software for Macs?  Let us know below!

Source – Motorola