Five Free Apps

How To Identify WordPress Plugins That Slow Down Your Site

Samantha O — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 04:22:11 +0000

When it comes to WordPress, there is a love/hate relationship that defines our use of what has to be the very best CMS/Blog platform that exists today.

Even though we all love how WordPress offers thousands upon thousands of plugins that can offer every type bell and whistle imaginable, all too often we find ourselves tempted to add just one more plugin to an ever growing assortment of plugins that eventually will slow our websites down to a crawl along with creating memory issues in our admin sections.

While some plugins can be used without tapping into your valuable memory resources and don’t require running lengthy scripts or make multiple resource calls, there are however some plugins that will not only slow down your front end page load times, but will also eat up so much memory in your admin section that you’ll start to notice Fatal Error messages related to Out of Memory issues, not to mention the dreaded White Screen of Death. While most developers will recommend placing the band-aid on the bullet wound by increasing your memory within the wp-config.php file and the php.ini, it is a much better idea to identify how much of a resource hog each plugin will become before you find yourself dependant upon it, and have to accept it’s downfalls.

One of the best ways to identify which plugins are going to cause you heartache and problems is to use, you guessed it, another plugin. But the big difference about this plugin is that it’s only activated and used when you need to identify the plugins that will slow down your site or eat up your resources. The name of this temporary utility is the Performance Profiler, or P3 for short made by a hosting company I don’t recommend, but I always end up going to them for purchasing domain names, Godaddy.

Amazingly enough Godaddy actually got this right, and the P3 plugin is well worth downloading and installing through the Add New Plugins section of your admin. Once installed, you can run a diagnostic that won’t affect the performance of the front end of your site while it runs, and afterward you’ll see a pie chart of which plugins are killing your site. Afterward you can simply deactivate the utility until you need it again (and again). Even though most people will run this utility on websites where their plugins are so deeply rooted into their overall functions that removing them is impossible, you can however use it to test any future plugins that you find yourself drawn to like a mosquito to a flame.

I do recommend that you run a diagnostic both before and after you activate any new plugins so you can determine whether or not the benefits will outweigh the costs resulting in the decline of both load times and memory resources.

About the Author

Samantha is a WordPress developer and SEO wordsmith that is currently devoted to promoting the satellite TV benefits of DISH deals and DISH channels at any and every opportunity.

The Absolute Best Windows Phone 7 Apps

Margaret — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 11:54:53 +0000

The Windows phone 7 is loaded with some of the best apps which any smartphone user would like to have. These apps make the life of the users simple and easy. The phone is stocked with a few social media apps which are a must, along with weather applications and a decent collection of games. Moreover, you can add a number of applications by simply downloading them from the internet or purchasing them at available online stores. If you are searching for some of the best and important apps for windows phone 7, just keep reading below to uncover them.

Fandango: This application is useful for people who love to find the latest movies releases and buy tickets using their windows phone 7 device. With the help of Fandango you can find movies being shown in your area and get your seat for the forthcoming show. You can also check movie reviews, the box office performance and movie description and synopsis. This app is available free of cost, however a pay version of the app offers a number of features not available in the free version. (Free)

Spotify: Spotify is an application meant for music lovers. While it’s free, use of Spotify requires a $9.99 per month premium membership to access it. You can literally find millions of tracks, create playlists and add any tracks and download music for your offline listening. Spotify is user friendly and a perfect choice for music lovers. (Free, but requires $9.99 premium service)

Google Voice: This app in Windows phone 7 lets you view your inbox, check call history and view all your voice mails. You’ll find a variety of features and capabilities in voicemail and SMS. While Google Voice is available on iOS platforms as well, Microsoft has overcome a few of the iPhone flaws in integrating it to the Windows 7 Phone. ($3)

PhotoBucket: Photobucket lets you upload videos from your windows phone 7 device to your PhotoBucket account. You can download text from PhotoBucket and use it as your contact icons or wallpapers. Additionally, you can use this app to search a number of picture categories. This is one of the official apps for Windows Phone 7 and hence comes for free in the device. (Free)

Yelp: If you want to check restaurant, bar and store reviews in your area, this application is a must for you. Yelp is free and is tailor-made thing for finding and bookmarking places around your local area.

Once you get windows phone 7, its time to load it up with the best and most useful applications. Your device already comes stocked with quite a few apps, however you can keep loading it up with pay and free ones to help spice it up.

About the author: Margaret is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on environment and technology. Beside this she is fond of books. She recently bought a Sofa Design. These days she is busy in writing an article on vertical farming.

Improve Your Internal SEO With Variations Of Key Phrases

Samantha O — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:49:31 +0000

Many years ago in the wild wild west of SEO, there once was a common belief that the more repetitious you were in filling up your content with targeted keywords, the better chance you had of raising your ranks up on the search engines through the elevated percentage of keyword density.

This old school method of SEO hit the bleak realization that those days of keyword stuffing are long gone when changes like the Google Panda update rolled into town and stated “there’s a new sheriff in town, and he don’t like them there keyword stuffers”. That Panda’s hanging posse promptly went forth to string up the violators, and in a very short period of time ranks were dropping like horse thieves on the end of the algorithmic rope line.

Just because the recent updates in search engine algorithms have done away with the more primitive methods of SEO doesn’t mean you still can’t provide optimization to your content that will ultimately help you signify that a particular page is relevant to a particular key phrase.

You can still use the key phrase within your all important title and description meta tags, your H1 and alt tags (limit it to only 1) and hopefully within the path of the URL, but now more than ever it’s important that you limit the overuse of the key phrase within the textual body of the content.

When writing a page of content regarding something like for example “car repair”, you should place that key phrase at the top and bottom of the content, but throughout the interior of the content you want to try and utilize some variations of it with something like “auto service” or even a few variations where there’s some pluralized versions of your substitutions, but under no circumstance do you want to keep repeating the key phrase that you want to target.

If possible you can make the bottom reference to your key phrase an anchored link that will direct back to a similar page that’s intended for that key phrase, but don’t overdo the anchored links or you’ll find all your hard work will be penalized for being too spammy.

In the end it all comes down to whether or not the page offers any true value to a human visitor, because what matters most is how the human traffic will ultimately convert into a desired result, be it an additional subscriber, sales, downloads, or recommendations to others that will become a conversion.

About the Author

Samantha is a WordPress developer and SEO wordsmith that is currently devoted to promoting the satellite TV benefits of DISH deals and DISH channels at any and every opportunity.

The Most Ridiculous Nirvana Music Mashup Videos

Brian Mongold — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 16:05:20 +0000

Being a music mashup fanatic, I dive into mashups regularly and have incorporated the best mashups I’ve found into my music library. While mashups are typically free and provide a creative blend of two or more artists, the combination isn’t always a hit.

The mashups below focus on mashups centering around Nirvana. While I actually like a few of the mashups below for different reasons (humor, creativity), I have to admit they are all pretty ridiculous.

Rather than highlighting the best mashups, I thought I’d change it up and show you some ridiculously hilarious ones which I’m guessing the mashup DJs probably created tongue and cheek.

Never Gonna Give Your Teen Spirit Up (Nirvana vs. Rick Astley)

Song 2 Smell Like Disco Fever

Supermassive Word Up Spirit (Muse vs. Cameo vs. Nirvana)

A Buffalo Ting (Neneh Cherry vs. The Ting Tings vs. David Bowie vs. Nirvana)

Smells Like Rockin’ Robin (Nirvana vs. Michael Jackson)

Best Of Bootie: Top 15 Music Mashups Of The Month (Feb 2012)

Brian Mongold — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 02:36:26 +0000

Following the release of Best Of Bootie 2011 compilation album, Bootie Mashup creator A Plus D is back with the 15 best music mashups of the month. As always, the blended album is free to download.

This is just a taste of all the great mashups they have to offer. Head on over to the Bootie Blog to get a ton of great mashup hits.

Just click to download all tracks in one convenient zip file or right click to download each individual track.

Best of Bootie ZIP file

Bogoss – Sexy Boys And Girls Know It (LMFAO vs. Blur) – France

Brat – Rhiannon’s Teardrop (Fleetwood Mac vs. Massive Attack) – Los Angeles

DJs From Mars – Fade Into Someone Like You (Adele vs. Avicii) – Italy

The Hood Internet – Without Kimmi (Usher vs Twin Sister) – Chicago

Lobsterdust – Bonfire Vision (Childish Gambino vs. Joker) – New York City

Lobsterdust – Changed The Way You Relax (Frankie Goes To Hollywood vs. Example) – New

MadMixMustang – New Years Eve Party Anthem (Pink vs. LMFAO vs. Queen vs. James Brown vs. Chemical Bros. vs. Europe vs. Rick James) – The Netherlands

DJ Schmolli - Super Bowl Anthem (LMFAO vs. Madonna vs. Europe vs. Queen House Of Pain vs. Reel 2 Real vs. Tag Team vs. The Vinyl Rippers vs. Labrinth ft. Tinie Tempah vs. MC Hammer vs. Queen vs. Metallica vs. White Stripes) – Vienna

Marc Johnce – The Sign In The U.S.A. (Ace of Base vs. Miley Cyrus) – Germany

Mashup-Germany - Paradise (Infinity And You Know It) (Coldplay & Fedde le Grand vs. LMFAO vs. Guru Josh Project vs. Martin Solveig feat. Dragonette) – Germany

DJ NeilBeats – Be Faithful Single Ladies (Fatman Scoop vs. Beyoncé) – New York City

Robin Skouteris – Barbra Streisand Strikes A Pose! Vogue! (Madonna vs. Duck Sauce) – Greece

DJ Schmolli – Titanium 500 (The Proclaimers vs. David Guetta feat. Sia vs. Midnight Oil) – Vienna

DJ ShyBoy – Working Supermodel (RuPaul vs. Michael Jackson) – Los Angeles

Titus Jones – Don’t 69 In The Dark Without Jagger (David Guetta & Usher vs. No Doubt vs. Dev vs. Bryan Adams vs. Maroon 5 & Christina Aguilera vs. Eurythmics) – Nashville

Let me know what your favorites are by commenting below.

iPhone vs Droid Bionic vs Droid Incredible 2

Margaret — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 23:38:18 +0000

Motorola’s Droid Bionic and HTC’s Droid Incredible 2 are two key Android handsets in competition to the iPhone 4S from Apple. Droid Bionic and Droid Incredible 2 hit stores in and around the second half of 2011 aiming a clear fight against the 2011 iPhone version, which unfortunately came in October only. Anyway, the Bionic and Incredible 2 are two notable handsets in the Android side versus the iPhone 4S. Here we make a short comparison between iPhone 4S, Bionic and Incredible under some essential categories.

Display screen

The Droid Bionic rocks the largest display in the three handsets. The Bionic sports a 4.3-inch Pentile TFT LCD display with 960 x 540 pixels. The Droid Incredible 2 has a slightly smaller 4-inch S-LCD capacitive touchscreen with 800 x 480 pixel resolution. The iPhone 4S, in the meanwhile, is up with a small 3.5-inch 960 x 480 Retina Display. Of course, customers of various tastes can pick Bionic, Incredible 2 or iPhone 4S as per their discretion regarding screen size.

Operating System

Droid Bionic came up preinstalled with Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread. Whereas its HTC rival the Incredible 2 was running Android 2.2 Froyo on release, but was later upgraded to Android 2.3.4. As of now, both Bionic and Incredible 2 are two major Gingerbread handsets. On the other hand, the iPhone 4S rocks iOS 5, Apple’s best iOS upgrade ever.

Processor

The iPhone 4S and Droid Bionic mount dual core processors, while the Incredible 2 has a single core CPU. When a 1GHz dual core Cortex A9 Apple A5 processor powers iPhone 4S, the Bionic sports a 1GHz dual core TI OMAP 4430 CPU. The HTC handset packs in a single core 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 Snapdragon processor, at the same time.

Storage

The iPhone 4S comes in three memory options; 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. The Droid Bionic and Incredible 2 lack better internal memory options. Both devices are up with 16GB of built-in memory with the Bionic having the advantage of a 32GB expandable microSD slot over its HTC rival.

Camera

When it comes about camera, all handsets highlight 8-megapixel rear cameras. While the iPhone 4 and Droid Bionic, recent products of the three, tout Full HD 1080p video capturing, the Incredible 2 features only 720p HD video recording.

Price

Apple has put iPhone 4S in three pricing options; $199 for the 16GB version, $299 for the 32GB and $399 for the 64GB. Meanwhile, Verizon sells the Droid Bionic and Droid Incredible 2 for a price around $200 with two year contracts.

To spot a winner from iPhone 4S, Droid Bionic and Droid Incredible 2 is a big task. We can simply judge that the Incredible 2 is almost an outdated phone with a single core processor and limited storage option. But a fight between iPhone 4S and Droid Bionic is still reasonable because the Bionic is a high-end Android phone with 4G LTE and many incredible features.

About the author: Margaret is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on environment and autos. Beside this she is fond of books. She recently bought a sports car. These days she is busy in writing an article on punk clothing.

How To Prevent Google From Tracking You

Shannen — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:00:17 +0000

I guess it’s pretty self spoken that nobody wants to feel like they are being followed. I mean, who would want some unknown person to know where they are all the time? Well, it seems that Google can do just that and more.Want to stop it?

Google has had to change many of its policies recently. Question yourself, what average internet user would ever read through all the changed policies and security changes? Nobody would as it is absurd to waste that much time. However, if you did go through it, you will realize that Google has been a bad boy.

Google can practically track your location all around the world. It does not matter how safe your internet browser is, what device you use norif you are using inPrivate browsing, as it can all be tracked. However, all is not lost as there are still ways you can prevent Google from tracking you.

Find Something Else

Quite possibly the easiest way to prevent being tracked by Google is to not use their services – it’s that simple. Try using a different email service or search engine but whatever you do, don’t use a Google related service. As long as you have a Google account active, and logged in, your activities can quite possibly be tracked.

One way Google makes your life supposedly easier is by integrating all your uses into one simple browser; Google Chrome.This integration has made a lot of things easier but it has also improved Google’s ability to track you.

Most of the features of Google Chrome only function when you connect the browser with your Google account. Google plus, YouTube, social media services and your internet searching, although simpler, is all monitored.To prevent yourself from being tracked, use a different browser that does not require you to connect an account to make use of all it features.

Deny Access to Google

Although this may seem like a far-fetched idea but rest assured, you can do it. With the new changes made, Google can use your personal data. Of course, most of the personal data you give them access to while other types of information are taken by Google.

The Google privacy policy allows various services and companies to use the personal data collected by Google. This includes services such as AdSense, Gmail, YouTube, Google Docs, Blogger and Picasa. When you use these services, Google can collect information and use it to their or their partners’ benefit.

When you log into your Google account, go to the dashboard area and look for the “Websites authorized to access the account” selection.

This will show you a list of services and websites that have access to your Google account and can use the information you enter online to “enhance” their without services.

Disable AdSense

AdSense is a new preference system that can automatically detect all related interests you have and show you ads relating to it. For example, if you are a fan of video games, Google will show you ads that have anything and everything related to video games. This may seem interesting at first and quite handy but it is not.

Google uses your information without you even knowing. Although you can add your interests later, the initial sign-up changes your setting such that AdSense becomes automatically enabled.Google can use this information and improve its own earning potential.

To disable it, simply go to the “ads preferences” section from your account’s dashboard and choose to “opt out” of Google AdSense.

Install an Add-on

Google Analyticsis a service that many web publishers utilize in order to find out a visitor’s preferences and the pages he/she has viewed. Perhaps you are on the AT&T website and you want to look at various mobile plans. Google Analytics can be used to see which plans you prefer and why you preferred them (name, stated price, etc).

Although the information collected is aimed at enhancing many websites, it does not mean that the only information collected is about your site visits or your searches.

To opt out of Google Analytics, all you have to do is install a simple add-on (available for almost every browser) that is available from the Google Analytics Opt-out Site.

Even when you enter the tiniest bit of information, Google will know where you are and what device you are using.Although it is not as problematic to most users, it can be for many who feel their privacy has been breached.

Just because Google can collect your information does not mean that you should let it. With the many hackers lurking through cyberspace, it is almost impossible to keep that information contained. The above four ways are simple and effective ways of preventing Google from tracking you.

Fun Educational Apps: 10 iPad Games Your Kids Are Going To Love

Brianne — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 02:42:57 +0000

If there is anything in the world kids are obsessed with owning, it is the iPad. The iPad is the most popular gift for kids and wins hands down when compared head-to-head with any other toy. iPad apps are so simple and attractive that even toddlers learn to use the touch screen that unravels a new world for them. Kids happily play on the colorful screen to learn their alphabet, numbers and other basic skills effortlessly. The graphics and themes in the iPad are amazingly educational and so addictive that even adults start enjoying the games on the sly! Let’s dig into 10 of the best apps your kid will have a blast playing.

1. Kids Song Machine ($2.99 in iTunes App Store)

This is a fun musical app that is educative as well as stimulating. Kids can sing their favorite nursery rhymes with enchanting fun graphics that move with touch. Surveyed as one of the top ranking apps in 65 countries, this app is sure to keep junior dancing and clapping.

2. Ace Writer – Alphabet Series ($1.99 at iTunes App Store)

A great app for learning alphabets. Each letter has to be traced to be completed so the child learns to draw the shape of each letter. This is accompanied by the sound and a word starting with the same letter. For instance the letter’d’ is traced with its phonetics and the word ‘dog’ pronounced with a barking sound. So the kid gets the complete picture.

3. Animal Matching HD ($0.99 in the iTunes App Store)

In this app different funny animal pictures have to be paired and matched. Hilarious sounds follow each correct guess to keep toddlers entertained for hours. 4 backgrounds with 4 levels of difficulty keeps the child engrossed.

4. Kid Art for iPad ($0.99 at the iTunes App Store)

A no-complications version which allows children free access to colors and, scenes and animals that are pre-drawn. Cartoon figures and objects can be placed anywhere. Kids go wild as they dapple with colors of their imagination and the whole scene springs to life. It is the best app for art and costs only 99 cents.

5. Toy Story 3 Read Along ($5.99 at the iTunes App Store)

Toy Story takes you along a thrilling adventure with coloring pages, actual movie clips, sing-along tunes and fun-filled pages. There are two modes, one where you can read aloud and another where you can get it read for the children. You can also record your own narration. Puzzles and games in the adventure that too with 3D stills are other features that make it a thrilling reading experience.

6. Smurfs’Village (Free at iTunes App Store)

Built on the lines of city-ville, this game is all about building a village. You have to lay gardens and grow crops, harvest them and expand the village. Fruits and vegetables pop up for harvesting that’s delightful for kids apart from building bridges and houses. The blue boys get smarter and faster with magical berries which have to be bought.

7. Talking Carl HD ($0.99 at the iTunes App Store)

A rib tickling app that is very popular. Carl looms up on the iPad to listen and repeat what you say in exactly the same tone. You can tickle and scratch him or make him grumble and groan with a pinch. Kids have hours of fun and entertainment with this app.

8. Tuzzle (Free at iTunes App Store)

If a jigsaw puzzle can be animated, it can be called Tuzzle. Because Tuzzle is just that. There are 42 picture puzzles like steam boats and trains. The puzzle pieces are dragged and clicked into place with funny sounds. On completion the picture say a horse, starts moving around with sound effects.

9. Dress up with Angelina Ballerina ($0.99 at the iTunes App Store)

Angelina, Gracie and Viki have to get ready for their performances. You have hundreds of outfits to choose from and in different combinations. The outfit has to match the type of performance like baller, hip hop or tap. The app also has memory and mix and match games.

10. Sound Touch ($3.99 at the iTunes App Store)

Seeing is believing. Imagine images of 312 animals, birds, instruments, vehicles and other household objects can be selected to fill the screen. It comes with the accompanying sounds. A cat comes to life on the screen with a ‘meaow’. Absolutely thrilling for toddlers.

About the author: Brianne is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on technology and luxury. Beside this she is fond of books. Recently an article on LED Bulbs attracted her attention. These days she is busy in writing an article on world s most expensive coins.

Tips To Improve The Appearance Of A Technical Document

Margaret — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 12:26:42 +0000

Most companies spend a lot of time and money to hire copywriters and media specialists to make visually appealing advertisements. User manuals, product maintenance instructions and other technical documentation, which can impact the user’s experience with the product are left to the engineers, often without any significant involvement even of the product sales or support teams.

All of us have come across examples of jargon filled technical documentation where we have to search to find the information we need. These documents also tend to be poorly produced. For example, a mobile phone user manual is often printed on a booklet of the size of the phone, making the font size difficult to read and the sketches impossible to understand. A car maintenance manual does not recognize that it would get handled with greasy hands when the car user has a problem.

A few simple tips could help improve the appearance of a technical document.

Make the document specific to the reader

The technical document should be written with the reader firmly in mind. The user manual for an appliance will have both first time users and people who have used similar appliances in the past. It would be a good idea to include a separate section for first time users that an informed user can skip.

The material should be written in short simple sentences, containing no more than 8 to 10 words per sentence. Longer sentences are more difficult to understand. Use simpler words. Avoid the use of overly technical terms or acronyms. Where these are unavoidable, explain what these are the first time you use them in the text. Use only one term throughout the document. If you substitute one term with a synonym, the user may not recognize that you mean the same item.

Make the document visually attractive

A crowded document filled with dense text makes for difficult reading. An important requirement for a visually appealing document is to use lots of white space. The margins should be adequate on all sides. The right font size and line spacing can help improve appearance of the document. Align only the start of each line of text, leaving the end spaces to vary naturally with word length in the text.
The text should be broken up into paragraphs with sub-headings. Each of these paragraphs should contain one core idea and should be written to be self-standing. The reader should understand the core idea from that one paragraph without needing to go back and read previous paragraphs.

The use of tabulations for select information or bullet points in the text adds to the visual appeal. Important points or messages can be highlighted using italics or bold text. Using capital letters for emphasis makes the text more difficult to read.

Add photographs and sketches

The old saying “A picture is worth a thousand words” applies to technical documentation. Adding a photograph or sketch makes it easy to communicate. Research has shown that the human eye gets drawn first to a photograph or sketch in a document page before the printed text.

The photographs need to illustrate the specific point being explained in the accompanying text. General product photographs may not add value. The same applies to sketches. Reproducing an engineering drawing with too many details or having unnecessary dimensions and notes simply confuses the reader.

Good technical documentation adds to the user experience with the product and deserves greater attention. Poor documentation can leave the impression of a poorly made product. Well made technical documentation can help reduce the number of product complaints or service calls.

About the author: Margaret is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on design and technology. Beside this she is fond of books. She recently bought a Sofa Design. These days she is busy in writing an article on vertical farming.

Which Is Better? iPhone Or BlackBerry?

Brianne — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:49:29 +0000

A debate is raging in the smartphone world and opinions are divided when it comes to choosing a Blackberry over iPhone or vice versa. Many have opined that iPhone stands nowhere near the ever dependable Blackberry but then opinion differs from person to person. So I suggest that you go through this comparative study and decide on your own which one to buy. Each has its pros and cons so consider your options very carefully.

iPhone

The iPhone is very popular across all generations as it is very easy to use. The phone comes with a 2-sided leaflet which means that you will be operating this phone in quick time. You can access multiple email accounts and you can surf the net using the Safari platform. If the 3G or wi-fi network is good then you will experience really fast browsing. The screen can be used as portrait or landscape and you can even make the screen bigger if you wish to. The 3G model comes with a 3MP camera which enables video capturing that can be uploaded to YouTube. The best part of the iPhone is the App Store. You can download thousands of paid or free applications from the Store. You can have direct access to stores like eBay and Amazon.

The downside of the phone is the battery life which is poor to say the least. Apple says that the phone will last for 300 hrs on standby but we hardly buy an iPhone to keep it on standby for such a long time. The camera is disappointing as there is no flash even though it is a 3MP camera. The internet browser, Safari, but Apple devices do not support Flash and this one is no exception.

Blackberry

Blackberry started its journey as the ‘phone for the businessman or woman’. But now it has reached a far wider audience. It comes in various models and majority is available on a pay-as-you-go basis. The battery life is much better than iPhone and you can choose to have your email and social notifications switched on permanently. The phone is not a touchscreen one which is a blessing in disguise. It has a trackball which facilitates smooth navigation. The call qualities are superior and the email attachments can be opened easily and you can even edit excel and word docs. The camera on most models is 3MP and unlike iPhone it has the flash. The photos can be easily uploaded to Facebook and Twitter. Sharing photos and documents are a lot easier as the phones come with full Bluetooth capability.

The browser on the Blackberry is good for basic internet browsing only. But you can download other browsers on a Blackberry. The Blackberry App World is not huge as the iPhone App Store. The choice of a phone will actually depend upon your personal preference. If you want a phone that works like a phone then opt for a Blackberry only. The apps on the iPhone are cool and great for showing off but you will have a love-hate relationship with the phone once the novelty wears off. Once you start using Blackberry you will never feel like using or going back to your iPhone.

About the author: Brianne is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on technology and luxury. Beside this she is fond of gadgets. Recently an article on Gaming chair attracted her attention. These days she is busy in writing an article on blue screen of death.

5 Geeky Office Toys To Launch An All-Out Assault On Those Unsuspecting Coworkers

Brian Mongold — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:31:55 +0000

There is no better way to welcome your office buddy back to work than to unleash an assault on them when they are least expecting it? If you’re like me, you have a locker full of toys to get the job done. My personal arsenal of weapons consists of a marshmallow gun with plenty of tasty ammunition, an air gun and a few other tricks up my sleeve. Here’s a few toys that will catch them off guard.

The ThinkGeek EvilTron $9.99 (currently out of stock, but will be in 1-3 weeks)

Just a bit bigger than a quarter, the EvilTron is a sneaky little device to scare or atleast annoy coworkers. It offers five different preset sounds along with random. The sounds include my favorite (and the most effective in my testing) a whispering voice that goes off every few minutes asking the unknowing victim “hey, can you hear me”. With the small size and magnetized back, you can hide the EvilTron just about anywhere. I can tell you from experience that it’s best used in a quiet environment such as an office occupied by one person, a car or even a bedroom. My EvilTron spooked a few people before it was smashed off the wall after scaring the wrong person. Here are the different sounds available with the EvilTron…

Something unsettling creaking
Unidentifiable scratching sounds
Gasping last breath
Sinister child laughing
Eerie whispering of ‘hey, can you hear me?’
Random Mode

Marshmallow Blaster ($27.99 at ThinkGeek)

My favorite geeky toy has to be the Marshmallow Blaster. Though you can only fire one marshmallow at a time, this geeky gun packs a punch firing up to 40 feet away. Just load the marshmallow and pump the gun 10 to 12 times then fire away. Nothing breaks office tensions like the Marshmallow Blaster. Don’t let your marshmallows dry out too much or you’ll get a little more of a bite with the shot. I felt a dry marshmallow at close range across the side of the face. Good times.

Phantom Keystroker V2 ($12.49 at Amazon)

The Phantom Keystroker V2 is a tiny flashdrive looking device to prank your coworkers with. Simply plug it into their computer’s USB port and prepare to be entertained. The keystroker will make random mouse movements, type strange garbage text and phrases. You can set the device to select garbage typing, caps lock, annoying mouse movements or use all three. You can also set the duration between events. The device works with any OS, but caps-lock doesn’t work on Mac.

Parking Tickets ($2.99 at Amazon)

In addition to attacking the cubicles, another ideal area to prank your coworkers is in the parking lot. How many parking tickets can you write for your coworker before they catch on? Give them some tickets and watch them sweat it out.

Liquid Ass ($5.13 at Amazon)

So, the cubicles are covered and you’ve already hit the parking lot. What else can you get your friends and coworkers with? How about their sense of smell? A little Liquid Ass will go a long way. This horrible smelling fart spray is highly concentrated and “smells like ass.”

“Once unleashed, this power-packed, super-concentrated liquid begins to evaporate filling the air with a genuine, foul butt-crack smell with hints of dead animal and fresh poo. The funny pranks you can pull with Liquid ASS are unlimited. Watching the facial grimaces of people and hearing their comments about the part-your-hair, gagging stench will have you laughing until it hurts.”

What’s your favorite prank to play on coworkers and friends? Have you tried any of the geeky office toys above?

Top 5 Free Apps For Finding Cheap Gas

Brian Mongold — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:45:22 +0000

With gas prices constantly on the rise, it’s a treat when you can find a station that has a price that’s slightly lower than others nearby. Even saving a few cents per gallon adds up in the long run – especially if you put a lot of miles on your car.

So, whether you’re at home looking for the cheapest prices in the city, or are on a road trip filling up the tank of your cheap car hire and wishing you weren’t spending an arm and leg on gas, there are a few smart phone apps that are here to help. Below you’ll find some of our top picks:

GasBuddy (Android, iPhone, BlackBerry)

Perhaps one of the most well known apps is GasBuddy, as the non-mobile version has been helping people find cheap gas prices for years. It’s available on several types of smart phones – and, they also have a mobile site in case your phone isn’t supported. The app locates gas stations nearby and lets you see their current gas prices so you can find the cheapest.

Local Gas Prices (iPhone)

If you’re an iPhone user, check out Local Gas Prices. You can input your zip code or let the app track your current location. Then, sort by price or location to find prices for Regular, Plus, Premium, and Diesel in your area. After you find an affordable option, you can click on it to open a map that will help guide you to the right place.

Cheap Gas (iPhone)

Created by GasBuddy, the Cheap Gas app uses GPS to give you up-to-the-minute gas prices in your area. Or, you can search by city or zip code to find what’s cheap. A benefit of this app is that it awards users for reporting prices in their area – in fact, they give away a gas card each week.

AAA TripTik (iPhone)

TripTik provides you with several things you’ll need when exploring a new city. Aside from finding up-to-the-minute gas prices, the app also helps you find nearby restaurants, attractions, campgrounds, auto repair facilities, and more. After you select the gas station or venue you’re looking for, the app provides you with a map and directions to get to your desired destination. As an added bonus, you can get turn-by-turn narrative directions and have the ability to zoom in and move around on the map so you know exactly where you’re going.

Where (Android, iPhone, BlackBerry, Palm, Windows Phone)

This app is designed to help you find all kinds of places in your area – like restaurants, hotels, theaters, and grocery stores. But, perhaps most helpful is its ability to help you find nearby gas stations. Access a list or map-view of nearby stations and when you find the cheapest, click on it for details about the business.

So, whether you’re embarking on a road trip or just looking for cheap gas nearby, take advantage of one of the above apps – they may save you quite a bit of money.

About the Author:

Laura Murphy could never be considered a homebody – in fact, she is quite the opposite. She has traveled all over the world, never staying in one place too long and always anxious to explore new territory. A gig like hers –writing for the cheap car hire site NovaCarHire.com – is a dream come true! She hopes you’ll continue to follow her as she explores the globe…and who knows? Maybe you’ll even learn a thing or two about budget traveling!