Club Tech News

Best QR code reader for iPhone

2011-12-22T11:24:00.000-07:00

QR codes have made it easy to share content throughout the smart phone world. With a quick scan you can view websites, text, coupons, and much more. Searching on the Apple App Store, I've found that there are many QR code readers that you get, but the reader by Tap Media is my favorite.

It is called QR Reader (a very unique name right?). Out of all the readers I tested, this one allows the most customization and ease of scanning.

Most other readers only let you create codes that scan to web url's. QR Reader's options are many.

I think anyone looking for a good app to scan QR codes should get this. It is simple, easy and has lots of features.
Download it from the App Store!

3 Greatest things about the Kindle Fire

2011-11-28T20:09:00.001-07:00

I recently purchased the new'ish Kindle from Amazon. For the price, it's very hard to resist buying it, especially because it has been the Apple iPad's only slight competitor. Of coarse I have my dislikes, since I am an exclusively IOS User, but I will talk about that in a later post. Here is 5 things about the Fire that I am loving:

1. Quick Options Bar.

A big part of the Fire is that it has only one button on the hardware. The power button, no home button, no lock button, and not even volume buttons. This is irritating for some, but I like it because Amazon made it easy to go home, go back to the previous page you were on, see extra options in a menu, and even search the page/app. That is all easily accessible from the bottom of the kindle screen no matter where you are.

2. Everything is saved in the Cloud.

I'm guessing you've probably already heard this before, but I don't think you know how awesome this feature can be. Lets say you find an interesting fact in a newspaper article you were reading. You mindlessly finish, delete the paper, and forget that little fact you just read! No need to completely redownload or even buy the paper again, just quickly grab it from your Amazon cloud.

3. The Price!

Who doesn't a great tablet for $300 dollars less than the iPad. It is a total no brain'er! I am not suggesting that the Fire and the iPad are on the same level, but the Fire could deffinetly be sufficient for some people.

I really love my Kindle Fire and I can't wait to see how it progresses in a few years. I hope this helps you make a decision if you would like to purchase this Kindle.

10 Amazing CSS3 Effects

2011-11-15T13:19:00.000-07:00

CSS3 has revolutionized the web greatly. Some of its tools have gotten rid of the need to use Photoshop or Flash. Here is a list I created of awesome CSS3 effects.

1. Text Shadow Box.

2. 3D Meninas

3. Pure CSS Coke Can

4. AT - AT Walker

5. Dynamic Stacking Cards

6. Halftone Menu (with JQuery)

7. CSS3 and Mootools Transitions

8. CSS hover effects

9. CSS3-Man

10. CSS3 Clock

Microsoft launches service for online drawing

2011-11-10T12:52:00.001-07:00

Art of Touch lets you create free online paintings. It uses HTML5 and gives you a few different types of brushes to work with. After you finish your painting you can save it using your Facebook profile or use/create your Art of Touch account.

Microsoft mainly uses the site to advertise there Touch Mouse family.

The senior director of marketing, François Ruault, says “We wanted to reinvigorate the magic of technology in a dynamic and new way by redefining what a mouse can create, and we welcome everyone to contribute to the communal canvas,”

Why I am confused with Google+ Pages

2011-11-09T08:31:00.001-07:00

Just a few days ago, Google added pages to their (newest) social network, Google+. So far it looks fairly impressive, although it does seam very close to Facebook Pages.

Google+ Page's resemblance to Facebook isn't what confuses me though.

Since Google+ started as a personal network at first, celebrities had made + accounts and had been verified.. Now with Pages, celebrities are able to create a page about themselves.. But wait, didn't they already have a normal profile which is almost the same thing? Remember, this is not like Facebook, Circling someone is definitely not the same as Adding someone as a friend.

This makes me wonder why Google+ Pages is available for people and not just Businesses.

In my opinion, a + profile is just about the same thing as a Facebook page about a certain person.

~

Google+ Pages

2011-11-08T21:11:00.003-07:00

The fairly new social network, Google+ came out with a feature that is very simaler to Facebook Pages.. It even has the same.. Google+ Pages allows you to create a social page for your business, organization, or almost anything you want. Before, you were only able to create personal pages.

Google also added a feature to Google+ where you can search through Pages by placing "+" in front of the word (ex: +google).

2 Easyest ways to earn money from your website

2011-10-21T12:46:00.003-06:00

Online businesses have grown like crazy these past few years. Many people have been taking advantage of the ability to get income from the Internet. With the right tools and some advice you can also get some extra cash with these easy tasks.

1. PPC (Pay Per Click) Ads. This is definitely the most popular method but it is not uncommon to start getting cash very quickly. The basic idea behind this is advertisers pay to get their ads shown on a service like Google AdWords, then we use another service like Google AdSense to show those ads on our websites. Each time a visitor clicks one of those ads, you get a few cents. You're probably wondering how you would really earn money with this, but with good traffic, it's easy.

2. Affiliate Marketing. Although this is more of a website idea, people like Jeremy Palmer, have made millions in a short amount of time. The way this works is you signup for a affiliate plan at a certain business's website. They will give you a link that you can put on your blog, email signature, or forum signature. Most of the time you create a website that promotes the product or service, and then give the link to the business's site. Remember, you normally only make money if the visitor clicks the link and signs up for there service or buys there product. You can make from $1 to $1000 each time someone signs up.

3 reasons Google+ is good for Bloggers

2011-10-17T09:25:00.001-06:00

It had been a few weeks since Google+ has been completely public. Whether you think it has failed or been successful, it has made a great tool for Bloggers.

As you know, Google+ was only available for developers for quite some time. Eventually Google gave out invites that you could give out to your friends, but you could only give out so much. This created a lot of irritation, especially among the large anti-Facebook group. With all the irritation, some people just gave up on Google, leaving Google+ for mainly developers etc. That brings us to number one.

Google+ is a geek paradise. A whole social network that consists of mainly geeks definitely make a great source for sharing links, getting other opinions, etc.
Easy Search Engine Optimization right off the bat. Everyone that has you in their circles will get the pages that you +1 higher up in the search results.. Get it? If you and a few friends +1 your blog or website, you instantly have better chances of getting some more traffic or readers. This really comes in handy if you have a lot of fans on Google+.
Connecting with your readers. Google+ makes it easy to contact almost anybody that uses their service. You can chose to make it possible for anyone to be able to email you straight from your profile. Or you can use the Hangout feature. This allows you to video chat with people in your circles.

Text effect for Mail in IOS 5

2011-10-14T14:22:00.000-06:00

With the new mobile operating system released, many people have been searching around on their Apple devices looking for “hidden” features. Apple has definetely brought out some cool new features that aren't to hard to spot if your looking in the right places. Here are instructions for you to give the Mail app some more functionality:
1. Open Mail and compose a new message.

2.Write some text, then select it.

3. Click the left arrow button.

4. Click the BIU button.

5. You now have the ability to go Bold, Italic, and Underlined, or all of them.

Error 3200 on Apple's Servers

2011-10-13T10:27:00.000-06:00

The much anticipated mobile operating system from Apple has been released to the public yesterday, but to throw water on the excitement, Apple's Servers are going haywire. The problem with the servers is Error 3200, which means that the server is very overloaded. It is said that Apple has only been able to accept roughly half the requests, and the waiting time is up to 3 hours.

Since there servers are so full with requests, it might take a week until things start to cool down (slightly). The problem is explained well by FudZilla.com "there are too many fanboys hitting the servers at the same time and they have created a fruity DoS which is a bit like an electronic smoothy bought in Starbucks. The problem starts when your device tries to contact Apple servers for authorization and many of the requests were not being fulfilled. As a result, many users are reporting trying over again."

Facebook IOS Update

2011-10-13T10:12:00.002-06:00

Facebook released a new Facebook update for their IOS app. It has a whole new interface completely, and it resembles the normal Facebook.com much more than the last update.

One of the main features is that their is no main menu. It instead, has a bar that slides from the right, with a much more elegant look and taking the IOS 5 look into consideration.

A great part of this update is that in the new menu bar, it shows a list of all of your Facebook Apps. This means that all of your IOS apps that you use Facebook to sign in with are on the bar and with a simple click, you are on the app. One not so good feature about the Facebook Apps in the bar, is that you cannot click or view apps that you use on your Facebook account on Facebook.com. (ex: My Friend Secrets).

Text effects in your Google+ posts

2011-10-11T23:00:00.000-06:00

If your looking to add a little bit of pizzazz to your Google+ post, Google has released text effects that alow your to make your text bold, italic, and with a strikethrough.

To make words bold, write your text with astericks around it, like this: *This is my Text*

To make words italic, write your text with under scores around it, like this: _This is my Text_

To make words ~~with a strikethrough~~, write your text with dashes around it, like this: -This is my Text-

All of these will produce this in a Google+ post:

This is my Text
This is my Text
~~This is my Text~~

Google releases new Blogger Dynamic Views

2011-10-11T22:03:00.000-06:00

Blogger from Google has just added new themes that give your Google Blog a dynamic view. There are 7 new themes, called Classic, Flipcard, Magazine, Mosiac, Sidebar, Snapshot, and Timeline. You can find these new themes in the Blogger Template Designer on your Blogger Dashboard.

Google+ Widget for your blog or website

2011-10-11T10:00:00.000-06:00

The website WidgetPlus.com has released a widget that alows you to have your Google+ profile linked on your website or blog. It is a great tool for connecting with people who read your blog.

If you have a little bit of trouble creating your widget, this may help:

It asks you to paste in your Google+ ID.

1. Go to Google.com/Plus, and Sign In.

2. Go to your profile and take a look at the URL bar.

3. The long list of numbers is your Google+ ID.

4. Now copy and paste it into the ID section.

(remember, this Google+ ID is not yours, you will have to find it at your profile. But you can go ahead and add me)

Another way you can do this without a widget, is to have a direct link to your profile:

1.

<a href="https://plus.google.com/103089794083591741137">
<img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EfbrGTiIRdk/TpRu7ZDmB9I/AAAAAAAAAS4/lKjdIj_qed4/s1600/addtocircles.png" alt="Google+ Add Button">
</img>
</a>

2. Download Google+ Add picture

Credit: Google

Apple's Steve Jobs Dies

2011-10-06T09:22:00.000-06:00

Apple's Steve Jobs was reported dead last night. He died at only age 56 of rare cancer called pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer. Jobs created a company that set the standard for technology. Apple encourages people to send your thoughts, memories, and condolences to rememberingsteve@apple.com.


Apple

iPhone 4S

2011-10-05T08:29:00.000-06:00

Apple has just releced the highly anicipated new iPhone 4S.. Wait 4S? It came as a big surprise to many, since almost everyone was expecting an iPhone 5.

Let us be honest here, the 4S is really not that much different than a iPhone 5. My reason for saying this is because IOS 5 is throwing out some magor features, but with no design changes (besides a slight gain of one ounce).. it would seem wrong to call is a whole new iPhone.

Some of the great new aspects of the 4S is 1080p video recording, longer talk time, and a 8 mp camera.


Apple

Should Apple be scared with the new Kindle Fire

2011-09-30T09:52:00.001-06:00

It seems that Apple has finally found a tablet that may be a little challenge for them.

Probably the best part about this tablet is the price. PC World says, "At $199, the Kindle Fire falls into territory that won't make a huge dent in consumers' pocketbooks, and it's almost, but not quite, an impulse buy". That is completely true because the features in the Fire don't even compare with some of the features on the iPad, but with a price like that, who can resist. Amazon clearly wanted people to get the feeling of "Why not". This is easy to see because they give you a month of Amazon Prime, plus you get free two day shipping for your new Fire.

If you ask me, I think Apple has nothing to worry about. As the Kindle Fire gets a little exposed, I think people will start getting bored of it and all its attention will go away. We will see how the release date, November 15, 2011 comes together with the possible release of the iPad 3.

(credit: Amazon)

Apple launches new online stores for Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, UAE

2011-09-19T13:51:00.000-06:00

Apple now has 37 countries have the online store. Before today people in those countries could not buy Apple products directly from Apple, they would have to buy it from an Authorized Apple store or have it imported. Apple gladly put up some banners on each countries website telling everyone that they are available in their country. The confetti in the banners is the countries flag colors.

Google Wallet payment service

2011-09-16T19:41:00.001-06:00

Google anounced a payment system that will make you want to get rid of those bulky, old fashioned credit cards and replace it with a nice, new Android phone.

As of right now, the service only supports Citi Mastercard. The only phone that will be available so far is the Sprint Nexus S 4G. Google does mention that more phones will be available "over time".

Google Wallet is set to be fully realesed this coming Summer.

New iPhone Blogger App

2011-09-15T08:48:00.002-06:00

Google has just released a Blogger IOS app. Although this has been requested for quite a while, it does not quite have enough functionality to succeed.

After you login with your Google account, it shows you a list of all you posts and even your drafts.

Their are three main buttons on navigation bar at the bottom a "New Post" button, a button that gives you a preview of your blogger site, and a setting button. The settings button is pretty much the same as everything else, simple and bland.

If you will use this app for just the basics then go for it, it will definitely help you but if you need even a little bit of functionality then you will find this app very boring.

Gamestop may start selling IOS Devices

2011-09-07T08:46:00.000-06:00

Gamestop has already started accepting trade ins. Their have been many rumors that they will start also buying and selling. It is believed that the IOS devices will start coming in this upcoming month when supposedly the iPhone 5 will be released.

Since gaming has sky-rocketed through Android and IOS, it seems obvious that Gamestop would start selling them sooner or later.

New Toshiba Thrive Tablets

2011-09-02T07:42:00.000-06:00

At IFA 2011, Toshiba announced their new Honeycomb tablet. Being 7.7 mm it is the thinest Honeycomb tablet yet. A great 10.1 inch screen with Adobe Flash capabilities. With USB, SD, and HDMI ports, it has one step ahead of the competition.

The price for the Thrive is currently at $400 for the 8gb, $430 for the 16gb, and $500 for the 32gb. We will see where the tablet heads and how it effects the tablet world.

Fake wooden Ipad for $180

2011-08-31T15:42:00.000-06:00

Ashley McDowell, a 22 yr old woman from Spartanburg, S.C. ran into a few men at a McDonald's Parking lot that gave here a deal that is to good to be true earlier today.

The only problem is that the deal was way to good to be true. The men stated that they would give Ashley a new Apple iPad to her for the "great" deal of $300. They showed her another brand new iPad and said it would be just like this one. She only had $180 dollars on her. The men decided that it was good enough, so Ashley, knowing that you can't find deals like this everyday, accepted.

They happily handed her a Fed Ex box, that supposedly had a brand new iPad inside.

Ashley did not care to open it to check if the iPad was valid, but instead drove home.

She found when she go to her house that she did not get that once in a lifetime deal but actually a wooden iPad covered with electrical tape, fake Apple stickers, and even a Best Buy sticker.

Would be awesome if it worked!