TrickiTips

Ten Simple Reasons To Remove Spyware From Your Computer

2013-01-26T04:48:00.002-08:00

Ten Simple Reasons To Remove Spyware From Your Computer

Has your computer been running slower than normal? Are you worried someone may be able to access your computer and steal your private information and use it against you? If so, these are feelings I have shared with you in the past. XWNZEJ2KJAT9

Some time back, my 3-year old computer was running so slow that I had to buy a new computer. Or at least I thought I needed a new computer. Then within a matter of weeks of surfing on the Internet, my new computer was also running so slowly. In addition, some programs did not run well on my computer, and I did not recognize some of the programs that were running on my computer. That scared me most. Were these programs that were tracking my keystrokes on my computer or programs I just not remember installing? I knew I had to find a answer and solution fast.

The truth is, we can all put up with a slow computer, but very few of us would want others to have access to the information on our computers, but that is exactly what can happen when spyware or malware is loaded on our computers without our knowledge.

According to Spyware Nuker’s web site, “Spyware applications are programs and files that hide on your PC’s hard drive without your direct knowledge. These programs allow hackers and advertising companies to track your every move, both online and even when you work offline. They can track the websites you visit, the items that you buy online, the emails you send and receive, your Instant Message dialog, and worst of all they can even record your credit card number, personal identification numbers, and all of your passwords. If you use dial-up to connect to the Internet then spyware can be used to bill 900 numbers to your phone bill. This is just a short list of the harm that spyware can cause.”

The web site also provides statistics that show spyware is a huge problem affecting many people. “27.3 million Americans have been victims of identity theft in the last five years, including 9.91 million people or 4.6% of the population in the last year alone.”

In addition, it is very easy for your computer to become infected with spyware as “The majority of all downloadable games, music, screensavers, etc., can infect your computer with SpyWare or AdWare. Most people do not know that after simply clicking on a random “pop up” ad, their computers may have been infected with SpyWare or AdWare.”

No matter how we get spyware, here are 10 very real reasons you don’t want spyware on your computer.

1. Your computer may start running slower
2. Some programs on your computer will not run correctly
3. You may not recognize programs that are now on your computer because they may have been installed there by a spyware related web site or program you loaded on your computer.

In addition, you might be worried that:

4. Someone might be able to read your e-mails
5. Someone might be able to access your e-mail list
6. Someone might be able to see you track the keystrokes you type
7. Someone might be able to access your credit card information on your pc
8. Someone might be able to access your passwords list on your computer

Two Marketing Strategies to Make Money Online with Affiliate Programs

2013-01-25T22:37:00.001-08:00

The first strategy to make money online is building a list.

This plan is usually the key phase to remain to make cash long lasting. Should you not have already some form of autoreponder system you have to acquire just one. Don’t always be inexpensive in this article possibly due to the fact your own entire business will joint on this just one piece of software.

You possibly can develop your own listing numerous methods. You possibly can buy leads byreliable listing making companies and acquire all of them straight into your autoresponder. Many excellent listing making companies can have a choice in order to send an email for aautoresponder therefore you don’t have to personally suggestions the actual lead’s information.

One more powerful technique of making your own listing is usually by the traffic that trips your internet site. This, which in turn is probably the most effective, can need you to have a very internet site so as to implement a good opt-in listing type. Of program should your Internet system does offer an email list operations assistance then you could send visitors towards the internet marketer WEB ADDRESS, yet When i don’t advocate the item because you will usually not necessarily be able to electronic mail the full listing along with promotions.

In order to maximize your own opt-in type and acquire the actual most signups, you must input it within your website wording. It should best rategically situated in the actual gross sales wording when you current a problem. This title of your own autoresponder electronic mail line should tackle the condition by means of providing asolution. Inside the instance down below many of us will presume I always feel marketing a new hosting package as well as I’d prefer opt-in clients in order to my personal electronic mail program for back-end gross sales.

Case in point: You need to use the actual pre-built internet sites or maybe develop yourown. A lot of people think that building an internet site is usually hard, yet I can provide you with how easy it is. Carry my personal 10 morning electronic mail program “Build a web site along with Ease”[signup type here].

The second strategy to make money online is driving traffic to your website

While I claim visitors, When I don’t merely suggest almost any old visitors, I mean site visitors, people who find themselves encouraged as well as able to acquire could as well as will make an individual cash. You need to use software programs as well as tactics for instance Search engines Adwords, bloging, web content writing as well as linking to push site visitors aimed at your site. Google Adwords is often a resource provided by Search engines throughout which you may payfor your site for being display as soon as specific search phrases usually are queried within their search engine.

The key in order to applying Adwords seriously isn’t in order to bet at the top of well-known search phrases. Rather, whatever you perform is usually uncovered similar search phrases that however describe your internet site, yet usually are used much less typical. These kind of search phrases cost a smaller amount in order to bet in all of which will allow you in order todistributed your cash out there in excess of numerous search phrases, obtaining the majority of bangfor your own money. You need to use this specific convenient minor application to get similar search phrases: http: //inventory. overture. com/d/searchinventory/suggestion

Bloging is usually yet another greatway to push site visitors aimed at your site. To find the the majority of because of this techniquethe website must be located on the same internet site for the reason that website witch backlinks toyour internet marketer system. After its build almost all you should do is usually fill up your own blogwith high quality written content.

I propose creating your own personal written content which in turn specificallyrelates for ainternet marketer system as well as or maybe goods. Once you’ve many contentyou must post your own Rss towards the as many website yahoo and google while youcan. It will fit your blog on the market for some other site owners to make use of while written content for on the internet sites.

This win-win scenario enables site owners to have qualitycontent on the internet site, which in turn boosts the value of that internet site whiledriving site visitors right to an individual.

This can be carried out through the WEB ADDRESS hyperlink that youconveniently placed directly under your own name following your website had been prepared. Which means that the hyperlink is usually over a website feed that may be onthousands regarding internet sites. Not just perform folks simply click individuals backlinks yet Search engines seesthesebacklinks directed back to you as well as perceives that you’re well-known so you arerewardedwith a higher page rank.

Articlewriting is simply similar to bloging with the exception of theinformation in the content have to have much more valuable written content and be pepperedwith search phrases how the site owners are searhing for. Immediately after filling out yourarticle you will post (syndicate) the item in order to written content web-sites rather than blogsearch applications.

Articles web-sites usually are locations wherever site owners head to findspecific written content to offer the followers. Should you be a superb author you might atsome position develop a new name yourself as well as finagle a new cope with a new webmaster to write exclusives for his / her website. His followers acquire wonderful exceptional written content as well as you get extremely encouraged site visitors.

Relating could very well be the most trusted kind of increasing visitors as well as page rank. However, if done incorrectly you may wind up negatively affecting your own Search enginespage rank as well as ultimately loosing potential buyers. You will need your own personal internet site for this approach as you need a new ‘links’ page to use your own reciprocal backlinks in.

A lot of people get as well as post the WEB ADDRESS backlinks in order to hyperlink plants in an attempt to trick Search engines straight into going for an improved page rank. This can NOT work; in truth Search engines continues to be known to penalize internet sites for engaging in these activities.

The key in order to linking should be to uncover internet sites within your niche market that have a new Search engines page rank regarding 4 or maybe previously mentioned as well as enticing the actual webmaster to listing your own hyperlink on the internet site. You may think that selecting helping your competitors, very well selecting. But your competitors will be supporting you as very well. It’s advisable send leaving behind visitors with associate than simply possessing them close the web browser eye-port, as well as do not forget that operates both methods.

This methods detailed in this article perform work and in addition they will increase an individual gross sales as well as residuals the item carried out correctly. Reciprocal linking,Bloging and Article marketing usually are wonderful ways to take significant variety of excessive quality targeted visitors aimed at your site. People methods combined with a good effective sales page with an incorporated opt-in electronic mail listing will make your company explode to new height. You possibly can all of which will generate profits with this system, Secured!

Tips For Making Money Online

2013-01-25T22:33:00.000-08:00

There are several ways to make money on the Internet – even if you don’t have a product to sell. Keep in mind that running an online business takes time and effort, just like running any business. However, you can get started without any products, which is one less roadblock for most people wanting to start a business.

You don’t need to be a computer expert to run an online business, but you do need to either be able to set up a website, or have the resources to pay someone else to do it for you.

Here are 3 simple ways to make money online even if you don’t have your own product:

Affiliate programs

Being an affiliate means you are selling other people’s products, and you get a percentage of the sale, or you make a small fee for each person who requests more information. Most major retailers offer affiliate programs, along with many smaller retailers (with lots of good products and services). It’s not a good idea to try to compete with an established retailer like Wal-Mart, Target, or Circuit City. A better way to make money is to find a “niche” that serves a smaller group of people, that you can easily reach.

For example, rather than selling sporting goods to everyone, you might start a fishing site that sells canoes and fishing products to people who like fresh water fishing. You can also find smaller retailers who may offer more specialized products to those who know a lot about fishing, while selling the basics from Wal-Mart to beginners.

A good place to start is Commission Junction , and you’ll get an idea of the products you can offer. Be creative in finding your niche, start with something you know a little about, or enjoy doing, and before long you can be making money online!

Adsense from Google

Adsense is an advertising program from search engine Google.com (there are other advertising programs you can offer, but for now Google’s is the biggest and most popular). By placing ads on your site, you earn money for each person who clicks on the ad. Google will automatically determine which ads are best for your site, based on the topic of each web page. All you have to do is place the code on your web page, and Google does the rest.

You can also sell individual ads, and determine your own terms and price. But using a program like Google is simple, and if your set gets a lot of visitors, you can make good money. Again, the best way to succeed is to find a niche, create a website around that topic, and Google will be able to determine the best ads for your visitors.

Write a “How-To” booklet

If you don’t want to sell other people’s products, but don’t have a lot of money to create your own, a simple way to get started is to write your own “how-to” booklet. Pick a topic you know enough to write about, and start writing. Information products are always good sellers – the key is to solve a particular problem. “How to catch fresh water fish” or “How to plan a fishing vacation on a tight budget” are possibilities for the fishing niche mentioned above.

To learn more, do a search for “creating information products” or “writing e-books”, and you will find lots of resources. Once you create your product, Clickbank offers a simple service to help you sell your information product, and there are others to help you get started.

Again, be creative, there are lots of problems out there that people need help with. And offering a good solution can make you lots of money!

Making money online takes more than just building a website. You need to pick the right products or services. Then you need to find the right audience to sell those products and services. Then you need to promote your website to enough people so you can make money. For now, you should have enough ideas to get you started – even if you don’t have a product

FaceFlow Video Chat for BlackBerry 10 Unveiled!

2013-01-19T00:31:00.002-08:00

FaceFlow Video Chat for BlackBerry 10 Unveiled

FaceFlow proclaimed a few weeks ago that they’d be delivering their app to BlackBerry 10 at kick off . To demonstrate their support further they’ve made a sneak peek video of FaceFlow for BlackBerry 10.

FaceFlow is a totally free video chat application for mobile devices and web users. Take a look at the video below and be on the lookout for FaceFlow once BB10 is unveiled.

WeatherCube: Minimalist, Gestural iPad Weather App

2013-01-18T23:52:00.001-08:00

WeatherCube : Minimalist , Gestural iPad Weather App

WeatherCube is a minimalist , gesture-driven iPad weather app . It’s obtained a practically invisible user interface that’s all about easy taps and gestures to navigate through your weather info .

I think it’s probably one of those apps you’ll either love or hate. If you like minimal UI style apps like Clear for task management, then you’ll probably enjoy WeatherCube. If you are not a fan of this sort of minimal UI, then you’ll likely want to steer away from this one.

Check out my screencast demo of it above for a good look at how the app works. I don’t think it’s going to replace Weather HD as my go-to weather app, but I do think it’s nicely done and a clever idea.

Let me know in the comments what you think of the app / the demo.

Six Methods To Optimize AdSense Ads To Increase Earnings

2013-01-18T23:19:00.002-08:00

Six Methods To Optimize AdSense Ads To Increase Earnings

Yesterday, we mentioned some things you should think about before starting off your blog in 2013, and in that, we discusses about some SEO-related points. For a lot of blogs around, the major function is to make money, So today, we'll keep on the idea, and discuss Google AdSense. For beginners along with advanced users, the begin of a new year would be a good time to start thinking about your AdSense campaign. Are you making the most out of your ads? Now would be a good time to review your ad performance, and make changes accordingly. So here, we'll provide you with a checklist of 6 things you can try out to optimize AdSense and make the most out of your ads.

1. Are you utilizing your ad spots?

This is the first questions you should be asking yourself. AdSense won't allow you to add as many ad units as you like. But are you even utilizing all the ad-spots that it doesallow? For every page on your website, AdSense will only let you place three AdSense for content units. These vary in size, so you can utilize the best possible locations your ads can fit in. But you can only place one 300x600 ad unit. Apart from this, you can use three text-ad units, and two AdSense for for search boxes units. Before placing all these ad-units though, take some time to consider whether you have a sizable quality content to ad unit ratio. It just doesn't make sense if all the ad spots have been used, but there is no actual content on that page.

2. Take a look at your ad sizes

Generally speaking, wide ad units tend to perform better than tall ones. For example, the 728x90, 336x280, and 300x250 ad sizes are usually the highest performers. You should try on multiple ad sizes, and find out for yourself what works best for you. The ad size should also correspond to the placement of your content. For example, a tall and thin ad-unit doesn't make sense within a written post.

3. Use text and images too

Usually, publishers just focus on image ads, and forget about the other options available. Adding text ads is a good idea as well, because they compete with the image ad units for the same space. Using a combination of text and image ads can help you earn a lot more.

4. Add search boxes

As mentioned above, image ads are not the only thing in the world. AdSense will allow you two AdSense for search boxes units per page as well. They let you place a custom search engine on your site to provide users with web search. And you might earn from relevant ads on the search results page.

5. Make your ad units accessible

Pay special attention to where you actually place your ad units. They should complement, and fit in with your content. And also, users should be able to easily identify and access them. Generally, ads should be above-the-fold. Google offers a lot of guidelines to help you place your ads.

6. Check out color combinations

Last, but not the least, use trial and error, and play around with various color schemes and ad styles. They can play a big part in how much revenue you earn. There are three strategies you can choose from. Blend, Compliment, and contrast. Compliment is normal placement, where ad units are used within content, and are distinguishable. Blending ad units into content means using the same colors, so that it is hard to distinguish the ad unit. Contrast means you use contrasting colors that scream out an ad-unit's presence. You can use any of those, as long as you follow the guidelines from Google.

That was it for now. Stay tuned for more on AdSense. For any questions, please use the comments section below. Peace :)

Learn How to Back-up your FeedBurner Email Subscribers List Safe and Sound

2013-01-18T22:30:00.003-08:00

Learn How to Back-up your FeedBurner Email Subscribers List Safe and Sound

FeedBurner is a widely-used email subscription service, and even aside from you're on a premium service like Aweber, it is likely that you are implementing FeedBurner as well. For some, FeedBurner could possibly be everything that they need. However for more advanced bloggers around, some premium services appear to offer a lot more benefits. And the proven fact that FeedBurner ran into difficulties a couple or so months ago doesn't go very well in its favor either. Regardless of what the case though, it is always recommended that you back things up. No matter if you want to move your subscribers to another service, or you just want to make a backup, you have got todownload your FeedBurner subscriber list. Here, we'll tell you how to backup your FeedBurner Email Subscribers list.

FeedBurner isn't so renowned with reason. It has many features to offer, such as subscription management, email branding, customizable delivery and communication preferences, and a lot more. You can view and sort your subscriber list, activate/deactivate and delete individual emails, and receive emails when people unsubscribe. Besides, it has the export option, so you can export your list to excel or .csv format.

Downloading your FeedBurner email subscribers

To start off, log into your FeedBurner account. FeedBurner previously had problems displaying subscriber counts, but it seems to be all right for most people now. Just click on the blog name for which you want to backup your subscriber list.

You will then be directed to a dashboard. Click on the Publicize tab in your dashboard.

Under the publicize tab, you will see an option for Email Subscriptions in the left sidebar. Once you click it, you will see some further options. Now click on Subscription Management.

Now, you can see the number of your email subscribers. When you first log into FeedBurner, what you see is the total number of your subscribers for both email and RSS combined. But what you need is just your email subscribers' list, and not RSS subscribers' list. On the Subscription Management page, if you scroll down all the way to the bottom, you will see the number of your Total Subscribers, which only counts your email subscribers.

If you click on the View Subscriber Details option (shown in the picture above), you will options to export the list.

Just click on Export: CSV, and you're done! You will be prompted to save a file, which contains all your email subscribers. You can do whatever with this file; either store it on your computer, or upload it to a cloud storage, your call.

In the meantime, if you have questions, feel free to ask. Good luck :)

iPad Tricks : A Much Faster Approach to See Drafts in Mail App

2013-01-16T21:55:00.002-08:00

iPad Tricks : A Much Faster Approach to See Drafts in Mail App

Here’s a clean and also easy very little iOS 6 trick I found out this morning that gives faster access to your email drafts in the iPad Mail app:

Tap and hold on the Compose button at the very top right of the Mail screen. Below the New Message button you’ll see a list of your previously saved drafts , with the most recent one shown first.

This is incredibly easier compared to navigating to the Drafts mailbox in the Mail app.

New Milestone for Windows 8

2013-01-16T04:57:00.003-08:00

New Milestone for Windows 8

Microsoft proclaimed a new milestone for Windows 8 , that has currently reached 60 million licenses sold as it launched last October.

The figure encompasses both upgrades from Windows 7 and completely new installations , which also contains license sales to PC as well as tablet manufacturers that maytake the method of bulk orders.

In late November Microsoft announced attaining 40 million Windows 8 licenses sold , which means that around 20 million new licenses were increased during December.

This keeps Windows 8 in line with preliminary sales for Windows 7 , which averaged 19 .7 million license sales monthly for its first nine months.

Optimistic Outlook

Unfortunately, Microsoft provided very little context to track what trends those 60 million in license sales might show.

What Microsoft did say is that there are now more than 1,700 systems certified to run Windows 8 and Windows RT, which would include desktops, notebooks, and tablets.

Microsoft did not comment on how upgrades sales compared to new installations. It also did not specify what portion Windows RT accounted for of total license sales.

Windows 8 had a strong showing at CES this year, with manufacturers revealing new all-in-one desktops, notebooks, tablets, and Vizio refitting its PC lineup with touchscreens to take advantage of the OS.

Microsoft's own Surface Pro tablet is also on the way, with full Windows 8 Pro instead of RT, which gives an optimistic outlook for steady Windows 8 sales in the months ahead.

Windows Phone Eventually Outsells Symbian Owing to Lumia Handsets

2013-01-16T04:44:00.000-08:00

Windows Phone Eventually Outsells Symbian Owing to Lumia Handsets

Nokia ultimately stuck a break this week with much better than estimated sales of its Lumia as well as Asha smartphones , yet the real story might be precisely how Symbian has finally been surpassed by the Windows Phone platform.

Unwired View reported Thursday that Nokia was performing some well-deserved chest thumping in a press release touting 4 .4 million Windows Phone-powered Lumia handsets sold in Q4 2012 , a 51 percentage increase over the 2 .9 million sold in Q3.

While that may sound remarkable , the truth is that Nokia's Windows Phone quick sales made up a mere 1 .7 percent of the total smartphone market from July to September last year , a number that jumps to 3 .7 percent while Symbian devices are added to the mix.

Those numbers were nearly reversed in Q4, but Symbian isn't quite dead and buried just yet.
Symbian lives on

It hasn't been quite two years since Nokia announced the retirement of Symbian, but the aging platform still managed to squeak out an impressive 2.2 million units during the last three months of 2012.

The fourth quarter was more notable for Windows Phone sales finally eclipsing Symbian for the first time, mostly led by strong sales for Nokia's newest Lumia smartphones.

Nokia won't release its full earnings report for Q4 2012 until January 24, but analysts are likely already looking ahead to the first quarter of this year to see if the onetime mobile giant can maintain its momentum.

Top 50 Android Jelly Bean Hints, Tricks and Tips

2013-01-16T03:26:00.002-08:00

Top 50 Android Jelly Bean Hints, Tricks and Tips

Step By Step Take advantage beyond your brand new Android phone or even tablet using these tips

Jelly Bean is probably not the similar huge leap ahead as Ice Cream Sandwich, nevertheless it still delivers a great deal of brand new features and also overall performance to the operating system .

Some of these are enhancements to the smoothness of rendering on the unit - it also briefly raises the level of the CPU whenever the screen's switched on to create things super smooth and speedy . Google dubs these minor functionality and software changes as "buttery" , assumedly making reference to a few nice spreadable Lurpak rather than a solidified hunk of congealed milk.

The other big addition here is Google Now. This adds personalised recommendations and information based on your browsing history. Some people love its perceptive usefulness, others hate its pervy, intrusive nature.

One thing's for sure though: the Siri-like voice search feature is awesome.As ever, these tips are based on the vanilla installation of Android, so your mileage may vary depending on how many layers of extra "features" have been added by your phone or tablet's manufacturer.

1. Say "Google" to search

If you're in America, you can open Google Now and say "Google" followed by your query to search the net. If you're not in America, you can trick Android into thinking you are. Open the settings on your device, choose "Language and input", then switch Google Voice Typing's language from "Automatic" to "English (US)". Next go to Google Now's settings and again change the language to "English (US)". You should see "Search or say Google" in Now's search bar. Faking an American accent: optional.

2. Now settings

You can open now in two ways - either swipe up from the Home icon, or swipe the lock icon up when the screen is locked. When you first start it, Now will run through the basics of what it does, and even show you some example cards. In Now's settings, you'll find each card has its own notifications settings, which apply to both the Now homescreen and the Notification shade. Standard means that new cards are accompanied by a ringtone and vibration, Low priority places them at the bottom of the list without any notification, and off, well, turns them off altogether.

3. Talk to Google Now

Google Now also includes Siri-like functionality, supplying spoken answers to your inane questions. Try things like, "what time is it in Kuala Lumpur?", "when's Tom Cruise's birthday I want to send him a card?", "how do I get home?" or "will it be sunny tomorrow?" and Now will speak the answer back at you or search the web for relevant pages.

4. Get more Google Now cards

Google Now presents relevant information such as weather and places on "cards". To begin with it may be a little sparse, but searching the web from any device will give you more. Just make sure your web history is enabled: visit history.google.com, hit the settings cog and ensure that Web History is on and not paused. Next, search Google for favourite football teams, planned flights and destinations and the relevant cards will pop up automatically.

5. Notification Shade

We previously referred to it as the "pully-down menu thing", but apparently it's officially called the "Notification Shade". Niftily, certain notifications in the shade can be expanded by sliding two fingers outwards on them, giving you an overview of the subject headers in your email inbox, for example. Moving two fingers inwards on a notification neatly contracts them, too.

6. Rotation lock

You're sitting on a plane watching a vid in horizontal orientation. Suddenly, the plane banks sharply to the left and - oh no! - the video changes orientation. This worst-case-scenario can be avoided by tapping the rotation lock in the Notification Shade, which keeps the screen in its current orientation. Tap it again to unlock the rotation.

7. Turn notifications off

Install enough apps and the notification bar at the top of your Android device becomes the digital equivalent of an unending stream of ticker tape. In fact, Airpush is an entire advertising company that makes money in this way. Fortunately, each and every app you install in Jelly Bean has the option to turn this off. Go to its info page under Apps, uncheck the box labelled "Show notifications" and enjoy your empty notifications bar.

8. Equalise your music

The ability to adjust those all-important bass and treble settings has been sorely missed on Android devices - so much so that a bunch of apps have been made to enable it. It's fixed in Android's stock music player, though. Open a music file in the stock player, hit Settings then choose Equaliser. Here you'll find manual sliders, a load of presets and bass and 3D effects. Unfortunately it doesn't work for the whole device, but it will give your tunes a little more oomph.

9. Rearrange your home screens

Long-press on any icon or widget on your homescreen and you can move it around, and other icons and widgets will shift out of the way to fit it in. Bigger widgets can also be resized by long-pressing and releasing them, and then dragging the circles that appear on the edges. It's actually quite fun and satisfying. We just spent three hours doing nothing but this.

10. Fling to remove

Homescreen app clutter (surely the worst of all types of clutter) can be quickly and easily defeated. Long-press an icon or widget, then fling it upwards and it'll ascend into shortcut heaven. This won't uninstall the app, though - it'll still reside in your app drawer.

11. Owner info

Wait! Put down that blunt rock you were about to use to chisel your contact details into the back of your Android device! Jelly Bean includes the ability to display a few lines of contact details on the lock screen, such as your email address, name and phone number. You'll need to enable a screen lock from Security, and then you'll see the Owner info option appear. This information is mirrored across all Jelly Bean devices, too.

12. Access App info

The all-important App info screen - which allows you to uninstall, stop and disable apps - can be accessed in a completely new way with Jelly Bean. Pull down the notification shade, long-press on an open task and you'll be taken straight to the settings page for the relevant app. It's handy if you don't know which app displayed the notification.

13. Volume controls

You can now set the volume for all the noisiest bits of your Android device individually. Press the volume up or down key and you'll the familiar little slider with a settings icon to the right of this. Tap this and you'll see separate sliders for media, and notifications and ringtones. Bonus tip: each of these sliders can be, er, slid, with your finger.

14. Talkback

Designed for blind and low-vision users, Talkback provides an ongoing narration of what's displayed on your phone or tablet. You can turn it on via Accessibility, and then you'll be taken through a tutorial of its functions. It's a very different way of navigating your device, and quite interesting to experience. It also supports braille input and output devices via USB and Bluetooth.

15. Blink to unlock

While face unlock is smart and quick, more paranoid users may worry that a ne'er-do-weller could somehow steal an image of their face - or their actual face - and use it to access the device. Android's Liveness check requires the user to blink before the device is unlocked, preventing access if a quick eye-shut isn't detected.

16. Offline speech-to-text

Being able to dictate long and rambling texts to loved ones is quite an old Android feature, but it's just got a whole lot better with an offline mode. Go to Google voice typing settings under Language & input and choose Download offline speech recognition. Now you'll be able to dictate that great novel without being distracted by Reddit.

17. Beam it across

Android Beam works with near-field communication (NFC) to enable fast data exchange between two devices. You'll need to make sure it's enabled first - you'll find it under Wireless & networks. You'll also need to know where the NFC area is on your device. This isn't a problem for phones, but it can be just about anywhere on the back of a ludicrously large tablet, so do a quick Google to find out where it is.

18. Simple secure pairing

Simple secure pairing works alongside NFC to provide a quick and easy way to connect Bluetooth accessories such as headsets, speakers and keyboards. You don't actually need to do anything other than activate NFC to use it, but make sure whatever you're pairing with is Simple secure pairing-compatible.

19. Calendar notifications

Any events you've been invited to via Google Calendar will show up in the notifications blind. From here you can expand it and quickly send a pre-defined response (Such as "I'll be there in 10 minutes") or type your own. Quick responses can be edited from within the General settings of the Calendar app itself. Perfect for you social butterflies.

20. Gallery views

Android snappers will love its new gallery features. Pinch on photos to zoom out into a filmstrip mode, where all your pics are displayed side-by-side. Swipe left and right to browse all your snaps quickly, and slide up and down on individual images to delete them. The gallery then gives you just enough time to realise you've canned the wrong thing and undo your delete.

21. Wi-Fi savings

It's all too easy to run up costs when you're on public or mobile WiFi. Tethering a tablet to a phone can suck a surprising amount of data, and public WiFi, such as that found in hotels, sometimes have ridiculously strict usage policies. In Jelly Bean's Data usage settings you'll find the option to designate certain WiFi networks as Mobile hotspots, which stops background apps accessing data and could save you lots of cash. If there's another Jelly Bean device on the same network it'll pick up its Mobile hotspot settings, too.

22. Try the stock keyboard

The Swiftkey keyboard is enormously popular among Android users, and for good reason: it monitors your typing and grammatical style uses this to predict words. Jelly Bean's keyboard now offers the same functionality, using bigram prediction and correction to complete words and sentences. We've found it to be every bit as good as Swiftkey, and even slightly faster and slicker.

23. Reboot to safe mode

Ah safe mode, the saviour of so many Windows PCs. Thanks to the sheer amount of dodgy apps on the Play Store it's on Android now, too. Long-press the power button, then long-press the Power off option. Choose OK to reboot in safe mode, which completely disables all third-party apps on your device. Then hunt down and destroy that nefarious bit of software..

24. Reset app preferences

Android gives you loads of different options for each installed app, and on the whole this is a very good thing. Sometimes it can be a bad thing, though: you may find your phone playing up because a crucial app has been disabled, or you've changed the notifications for something important like emails. In the apps drawer, you'll find Reset app preferences under the settings. This resets all your apps on a global level, returning actions and data settings to their original levels.

25. Add emojis

"Emojis" are the Japanese version of emoticons, and like most things from Japan they're much better and cooler than their western counterparts. You can enable emoji support for the default Jelly Bean keyboard by choosing Language & input in the settings app, then going to the settings for the stock Android keyboard. Here, choose Add-on dictionaries and select Emoji for English words. When you next type certain wordsyou'll see its symbol appear in the predictions bar. It's like Wingdings never died.

26. Sound search

The good news: Google has created its own version of Shazam. Known as What's that Song?, the widget works in much the same way, matching snippets of music to its database and providing you with the artist, track and album. The bad news: due to licencing restrictions it's only available in certain countries, and we don't live in one of them. Keep an eye on your widgets tray when you update, though - Google could well re-implement it in the future.

27. Add accounts

Android devices - especially tablets - are great for passing around and sharing. But until now switching between various Google accounts has involved wiping the whole device and starting again. Jelly Bean's handy Add account feature takes pride of place in the settings app, making it easy to add multiple Gmail addresses to your device. There's still no quick way of switching users, but it is a step in the right direction.

28. Take and share screenshots

The number of times we've pressed the power button and volume down to take a screenshot is truly astonishing. It gets even better in Jelly Bean - as soon as you've taken a screenshot, you can expand its notification from the blind and share it from there. Perfect for showing off just how handsome and brilliant Android is to your iOS friends.

29. Device encryption

Paranoid users with sensitive materials on their devices love encryption: it basically scrambles all your content so it can't be read by hackers or thieves. It's been a part of Android for a while, but Jelly Bean gets it spot on, even periodically reminding you to encrypt your device. You'll find Encryption under your phone or tablet's security settings.

30. Voice searches on the go

Plug an Android-compatible headset into your device, then long press its button and voila: Google voice search. You'll get spoken results and answers straight into your brain, and it comes in especially useful if you're lost but don't want to stop listening to your banging, disorientating tunes.

31. Add quick controls to the browser

One of the options buried beneath the Labs section of Android 4.0's web browser is the Quick Controls option. This adds a pop-out menu to the browser, which pulls in a little semi-circular collection of shortcuts to the main browser features, removing the URL bar and giving you more screen to play with. Also, holding down the Back button is the Android standard way of bringing up the bookmarks and history tool, too. But that's been around for years.

32. Long-press to uninstall

Long-pressing on an app within the app drawer lets you drag it to a Home screen, but it also pops up a couple of menus along the top of the screen. App Info gives you the boring technical stuff about how much memory it's taking up, or you can fling it off the other way to uninstall it.

33. Flying Android screensaver

One odd undocumented little secret within Android 4.0 is this strange little collection of flying Androids, which you can... look at. Look at for as long as you like. To activate it, head into the phone's About screen and hammer away at the Android Version tab and it'll all happen.

34. Save your eyes with inverted rendering

Inverted rendering is a posh way of saying it makes the pages black and turns the text white, so it looks like you're reading the internet from 1997. It also supposedly saves battery, plus is easier on the eyes if you're reading in the dark. It's under the browser's settings tab, within the accessibility area - and there's a contrast slider, too.

35. Set a custom rejection text message

When your Twitter action is rudely interrupted by someone actually telephoning you, there's a polite way to give the caller the boot. Android 4.0 lets users ping a rejection text message to callers - and you're able to customise this too. Just answer a call and ping the lock screen notification up to access to custom rejection messaging area.

36. Stop app icons automatically appearing

One of the many new ICS features is the way Google lets apps automatically add shortcuts to themselves on your Home screen when they've finished installing. It's useful, but if you're a control freak and wish to remain 100% in charge of your Home layout, head to the Google Play app's settings tab and untick the Auto-add Shortcuts toggle.

37. There's a Settings shortcut in the Notifications pane

That little settings icon in the ICS notifications area isn't just art to fill the space. It's a shortcut to your phone or tablet's settings area. So use that instead of giving it a Home screen icon slot all to itself.

38. Manually close apps

Google's lovely new recent apps multitasking menu also lets you close apps quickly, should you suspect one's gone rogue. A Long-press within the Recent Apps listing lets you visit the app's info page, from where you can easily force close it.

39. Remove the lock screen

It's possible to entirely bin your Android 4.0 lock screen, making the phone instantly turn itself on when you press the power button. It's a security nightmare, but if your phone lives entirely on your desk and you demand instant access without any unlocking, head to Security > Screen lock and select none. Then be very careful.

40. Folders in the dock

Android's new official love of folder formation makes it dead easy to combine app shortcuts and make folders, simply by dragging one icon on top of another. You can make these groups of apps even easier to access by dragging a folder onto the ICS floating dock, meaning you can squeeze stacks more content on to each creaking Home screen.

41. Take photos while recording video

The Android 4.0 camera app that arrived with the Galaxy Nexus has one cool little extra feature - the ability to fire off still photos while recording video clips. Simply tapping the screen takes a shot at full resolution, which is saved to the phone's gallery while the video's still happily recording away.

42. Bin animations and transitions

Hidden within the Developer Options section of the Ice Cream Sandwich software are quite a few nerdy ways to adapt your phone. Most won't be of any use to those who are just using their phone as a phone, but if you want it to feel faster, or at least look a little different, the scrolling, zooming effects on windows and menus can be edited in many ways.

43. Take a grab of your phone

Screen grabbing of your phone's display is finally in Android. On the Galaxy Nexus, it's activated through holding the power button and volume down switch. On HTC's new models it's done by holding the power button and pressing Home. Other phones had different techniques for doing this before Ice Cream Sandwich, but it's good to see this now becoming part of the standard Android feature set in Android 4.0.

44. Long-press dotted words

When typing on the Android 4.0 keyboard, you may see some suggested words appear with the "..." icon beneath. Doing a long-press on this one will pop up a much bigger window of suggested words, letting you bail out on some of that tedious typing a little quicker.

45. Add additional faces

The ICS face unlock feature, as found in the Galaxy Nexus, lets you unlock it by scanning your face with the front camera. Which is great, but what if you haven't shaved for a month? The software can actually store multiple images of your face, so you can do left parting, right parting, shaved, unshaved - or even add a trusted a friend to the visually verified user list.

46. Experiment with GPU settings

Another hidden little gem found within the Development options tab is the hardware acceleration 'Force On' toggle. This makes ICS attempt to boost the performance of any apps that don't already use the feature. It may also break them in the process, though, so it's something of a trial and error fiddling exercise to do on a very rainy day.

47. Type like an adult

Make a stand for grammatical standards in this day and age by long-pressing on the stock Android 4.0 keyboard's full stop button. This brings up such doomed punctuation as commas and speech marks, plus even a semicolon for the extra brave mobile typist.

48. Nick wallpapers off the internet

Found a lovely photograph of some stars, a pretty computer generated planet or even the mighty Professor Brian Cox himself? Long-pressing on any image in the web browsers lets you instantly set it as your wallpaper, without the hassle of saving it, finding it, and setting it the long way.

49. Limit background process

If you fancy an even more serious bit of fiddling, the same ICS developer area contains the option to "limit background process" demands by the OS. You can use this to stop your phone or tablet storing so many apps in memory. Whether this has any effect of the actual battery life of us users is up for debate, but again, it's something to play with and see if it suits your phone use patterns.

50. Quickly access Notifications

There you are! A simple yet huge change Google's made in Android 4.0 - the Notifications pane can be accessed from the lock screen. Press power, touch the Notifications area, then scroll down to read your latest messages. Obviously it's a bit of a security risk and lets anyone access your messages, so best be careful.

New and Old Android Phones New Tricks

2013-01-16T01:30:00.001-08:00

New and Old Android Phones New Tricks

There's the latest crop of Android mobile phones on the market — including a new list of hidden shortcuts to make using your own mobile phone that much easier . As well asif you have an older model , I'll share the best resources to allow you to get the same overall performance you would get with a the newest device .

Camera Tricks

One of the most effective things about latest phones is that you now can take advantage of a reasonably high-quality camera with you at all times . But as awesome as that is , it can be unbelievably frustrating how long it will take for the camera to start . How many instances has this happened to you : As soon as you've woken up the phone , unlocked your screen , and opened the camera app , you've forgotten the moment .

Launch the camera in just one move. On most phones running the latest Android OS, you can customize your lock screen for fast access. On the Samsung SIII, for example, you can simply press and hold the center of the lock screen, rotate the phone 90 degrees while still holding the center of the screen — and boom; the camera launches. To enable this feature, go to Settings, Security, Lock Screen Options, and then turn on CAMERA QUICK ACCESS. On older android phones you can use an app like WidgetLocker to get the camera icon onto your lock screen. Added bonus: With WidgetLocker, you can customize your lock screen with whatever functions you like to access quickly.

Voice Control

Once you get the camera fired up, many newer Androids also offer voice control. Set your camera on a tripod or Gorillapod and say "Shoot." After a one-second delay (just long enough to smile), the camera will snap the shot. This is great for self-portraits and group shots.

If you have an older Android phone, Camera ZOOM FX gives you the same voice control, plus some awesome additional powers — stabilizer, time lapse, and Burst Mode, which lets you take up to 10 shots in a second.

Screen Capture

Say you want to do a screen grab of a web page — or maybe you have a cute sequence of texts you want to save forever — whatever. Depending on the model and flavor of Android you have, some key combos will do the trick. On some versions, press the Home key and Power buttons at the same time; on others, it's Volume Down and Power. On older phones, you can get an app like Screenshot It, which enables you to capture what's on your phone's screen, just not with the quick key combos of newer phones.

Fast Reboot

Powering down your phone normally takes two moves, and restarting takes a third. But if you hold down the power button for 10 seconds, it'll reboot with just one move. This should work on most Android phones.

Managing Battery Life & Speed

The best way to improve your phone's battery life and speed is to keep the number of open apps to a minimum. But how do you know what's open? Answer: The Task Manager lists the programs that are currently operating in the background, draining your battery. But instead of scrolling through menus to find the Task Manager, you can launch it immediately by holding down the Home key. You should now be able to see a list of all apps that are currently running. From the same screen, you can close anything that isn't mission critical.

Not All Androids Are Created Equal

One caveat for all these shortcuts: they may or may not work depending on what version of Android you're running or which brand of phone you have. So let us know what worked for you and share your favorite shortcuts on our Trickitips Facebook page.

Make your iPhone 5 Dance

2013-01-15T20:55:00.000-08:00

Make your iPhone 5 Dance

Working with an app generally known as Cycloramic you possibly can make your iPhone 5 rotate in a complete 360-degree cycle by itself. Whilst recording a video of yourenvironment. You must check this out.

After I initially read Rafe Needleman's tweet exactly where he suggested his iPhone to dance , I shrugged it off . And then I clicked on the cycloramic .com link in the tweet and also watched certainly one of the videos posted on the web site . I shook my head in disbelief as I watched an iPhone 5 spin in a circle -- hands-free -- whilst standing on end . I was satisfied there had to be some type of special effects or motion picture magic going on. Obviously it was a prank. Right?

Boy was I wrong. So I followed the link to the App Store, forked over the 99 cents for the app, and ran it on my iPhone 5. I couldn't believe it. My iPhone 5 was spinning in a circle on my end table, without me even touching it. While it was spinning it was also recording a video of my surroundings. Don't believe me? Watch the video above.

This app is a great way to impress your friends and family members, maybe even win a bet or two. Just make sure you're using an iPhone 5, as the iPhone 4 and 4S will struggle with turning itself around. I tested the developers warning about it not working on older models and I can confirm, an iPhone 4 will not spin around at all.

What a great idea. If you want to join in on the fun, download Cycloramic from the App Store.

Space Station to Analyze $17 Million Inflatable Room

2013-01-15T05:07:00.001-08:00

NASA tend to use Bigelow's Expandable Activity Module to figure out the potential advantages of inflatables for exploration as well as commercial space function .

NASA possesses honored an agreement to explore methods to possibly increase the International Space Station .

The agency proclaimed last week that Bigelow Aerospace continues to be honored a $17 .8 million contract to produce to the agency an inflatable expansion for the space station . In accordance with NASA , the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module "will illustrate the benefits associated with this space environment technology for future explorationand even commercial space plans ."

Inflatable space technology is nothing new. In fact, the first passive communications satellites -- Echo 1 and Echo 2 -- were both inflatable. NASA determined in 1958 that the satellites would be too big to fit into the Thor-Delta rocket, so scientists decided to allow the satellites to inflate when they got into space.

The idea of a self-contained inflatable habitat for space exploration has even been in place for decades. However, due to NASA budget constraints, the so-called "Transit Habitat," which was to help get crews to Mars with inflatable technology, was cancelled in 2000.

Bigelow, founded in the late 1990s, has been working on its own inflatable habitats for years. The company currently offers a BA 330 inflatable habitat that can be both added on to existing stations or operate on its own. The BA 330 has 330 cubed meters of volume and support up to six crewpeople for an extended period of time. According to Bigelow, the BA 330's radiation protection can at least match that of the International Space Station. The habitat's "aluminum can" design includes four large windows for occupants to look out into space.

It's unknown at this time no matter whether the BA 330 or another habitat has been commissioned by NASA . Nevertheless , the space agency plans to hold a press functionwith Bigelow on Wednesday to discuss their programs .

Guessing the Upcoming Major Factor up Mark Zuckerberg's Sleeve

2013-01-15T04:54:00.002-08:00

On the eve of Facebook's major media party , we rounded up the attestation and also theorize concerning the possibility of a Facebook mobile phone , web search engine , as well as other disclosed releases.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg won't be phoning it in another day when he highlights some thing rumored to be quite huge.

Will certainly he opens up a Facebook phone, a search engine , a reimagined model of the mobile News Feed, a measly Messenger app for iPad, or perhaps most of the above ? Anything would seem achievable at this moment . Possibly , the only thing we know for particular is what he will probably be dressed in : jeans , his characteristic tee ,as well as potentially that popular hoodie.

A Facebook Phone
Ring-a-ding-ding, could it be? Will we finally get to feast our eyes on the mythical Facebook Phone, a years-old legend that probably isn't an actual phone made by Facebook, just one optimized to run the social network to an extreme degree. MG Siegler said as much over the weekend, and we've heard a few credible whispers ourselves, though we can't confirm the existence of said phone just yet.

Should Zuckerberg show off a phone tomorrow, it will probably be a piece of hardware manufactured by a partner like HTC running a forked version of Android with Facebook at the core of the experience, a.k.a. a Facebook mobile operating system. Now that would be some interesting news that would continue to move the needle on the company's stock onward and upward. Shares have already been bolstered by phone-related reports in recent days.

Verdict: Likely. Our friends at Facebook have led us to believe that this announcement is a big deal, which means we'd be sadly disappointed if all we got was some silly Messenger application for iPad. Here's another hint: Facebook is also participating in the Open Compute Project on Wednesday. Wouldn't it make sense that company executives used the summit to talk more about how to build around or optimize for a Facebook OS? Yes, yes it would.

Messenger for iPad
Speaking of Facebook Messenger for iPad, Alexia Tsotsis at TechCrunch said sources are pointing to the release of an iPad application that emulates the features of Messenger for iPhone and Android.

Verdict: Very likely. Dry as it may be, this one seems like a no-brainer. Facebook has been regularly improving and expanding on Messenger, so an iPad app would round out the company's alternative to traditional texting and email. But did Facebook invite the media elite to Menlo Park just to see this app? Heck no, they didn't.

A visual redo of the mobile News Feed
Boy, wouldn't it be great if Facebook didn't merely replicate the Web experience for News Feed on mobile devices? Josh Constine at TechCrunch has apparently laid his eyes on an experimental version of Facebook for mobile devices that parses out the News Feed into sections based on content type such as news and photos. The reworked News Feed experience on mobile is entirely image-based with text overlaid on top of full-screen photos, he said.

Verdict: Possible for tomorrow but more likely for a later date. Facebook's mobile application users are still adjusting to and enjoying the faster, more native experiences the social network recently gave them on iOS and Android. It seems like a stretch of the imagination for Facebook to risk pissing people off (so soon after pleasing them) with such a dramatic redo, unless it's a separate application like Poke or Camera.

Video ads that auto play in News Feed
Just a few weeks ago, rumors were swirling that Facebook was preparing to launch a video ad unit that would auto play in members' News Feeds.

Verdict: Not happening. If Facebook was planning to unveil a new ad unit, the company would arrange to do so in New York in front of a media-buying audience. Plus, we believe the focus of tomorrow's press event will be mobile, and the video ads sound like they're hitting the desktop app first.

A Facebook search engine
"Facebook is pretty uniquely positioned to answer a lot of questions people have," Zuckerberg said in September in regards to creating a search engine. "At some point we will do it."

The admissions are fueling speculation that the social network could launch a much improved search experience tomorrow. The company has already taken baby steps in this area. A December update to the Nearby section of Facebook's iOS and Android apps gave members access to a list of places sorted by an algorithm that factors in friends' activities and preferences. The release highlights how Facebook is capable of mining pals' data to provide people with recommendations for unspoken queries.

Verdict: Maybe. There's no real evidence to suggest that a bonafide search engine is coming soon, but any improvement to the status quo would be welcome and good for Facebook's bottom line.

A cool new campus
Tuesday's press invite clearly states "come and see what we're building," which one could easily read as a literal clue suggesting the unveil of a funky second campus just for engineers.

In August, Facebook talked up plans to break ground on an engineering campus designed by celebrated architect Frank Gehry in "early 2013." That space is a single room, warehouse-style office with cafes, break-away spaces, a rooftop garden, and an underground tunnel to 1601 Willow Road.

Verdict: No way, Jose. Yes, it's early 2013, and the word "building" in the invite is more than a little suggestive, but this would be so anti-climatic that it would send Facebook's stock spiraling in the wrong direction. Facebook is too smart to set itself up for failure.

Fitness Gaming Tech Explosion

2013-01-11T21:25:00.001-08:00

"Up until recently 2 years , we've witnessed fitness gaming just about increase twofold with regards to usage," said Kevin Tillman , a senior research analyst at CEA. "By creating fitness more of a more competitive game , you give consumers a compelling reason to working out more often over time. They commence to think about doing exercises as getting to the 'next level' in the real world by reshaping their bodies."

With the holiday seasons in the backside view mirror , numerous who did very much indulging have begun to observe a bulge that they might want to lose in the new year . It is possible to make and subsequently break new year's resolutions -- nevertheless the convergence of technology and fitness could help make it easier to keep them .

The consumer electronics industry has begun to embrace the fitness trend. At the 2013 International CES in Las Vegas, an expanded amount of floor space was devoted to fitness tech.

The wearable device market, in particular, has been expanding as fast as some waistlines. It is expected to reach 90 million shipments in 2017, according to data from ABI Research.

"By 2016, the mobile [health] application market is expected to reach US$400 million, and the expected number of body monitors that will be worn is 300 million, so this is starting to become a major topic of discussion," said Julie Sylvester, coproducer of Living in Digital Times.

"That is up about 40 percent from the predictions that we were seeing two years ago," Sylvester told TechNewsWorld. "People love gadgets, and routine [workouts] can be boring."

Tracking to Motivate

The concept behind the health tech appeal is that users will more conveniently track their efforts in real time . People have long been able to wear specialty tools such as heart rate monitors , but these days many of these devices have added in connectivity with smartphones and websites in which they can share their improvement .

Until the widespread adoption of the smartphone, there simply wasn't one device that allowed this level of interaction.

"The smartphone has been huge in becoming the hub of fitness technology," said Kevin Tillmann, senior research analyst at the Consumer Electronics Association, producer of the International CES.

"Not only can consumers use apps as fitness-tracking programs, but we are also seeing the smartphone as the display and primary interface for syncing devices like the Nike FuelBand, for example," he said.

"This is allowing devices relying on sensors to become more affordable by using the display that over half of all consumers already own and continue to buy at a torrid pace," Tillmann told TechNewsWorld.

This connectivity could be a way to keep those who might normally fall off the fitness wagon coming back for more.

"It's not only the tracking that is keeping people motivated, but the community support most of these trackers have created," said Living in Digital Times' Sylvester. "Whether it is a reward or point systems, donations to charities, or just the visual 'atta girl,' they all make people want to try harder to be fit."

Fitness Business

For the consumer electronics industry, which as a whole has seen consolidation with a still somewhat stagnant economy, the fitness market could also be a way for manufacturers to break out and get fit.

"Pricing for these technologies may play a small factor in the ability for fitness devices to be more profitable for manufacturers," said CEA's Tillman.

Fitness technology is also seeing convergence with other sectors of the CE space, including video games -- an area that was once as far from fitness as it could get.

"In the past two years, we've seen fitness gaming nearly double in terms of usage," Tillman stressed. "By making fitness more of a competitive game, you give consumers a compelling reason to exercise more often over time. They begin to think about exercising as getting to the 'next level' in real life by reshaping their bodies."

Fitness technology is also crossing other sectors.

"We may see some convergence of fitness devices as the major players create more 'Swiss Army Knife' products over the next few years in the fitness space," added Tillman. "The key is to create interfaces that make the data manageable and simple for consumers to use in decision-making. As we've seen in our research, consumers primarily use just one or two fitness apps because they don't want to spread the information across too many channels."

Too Much Information

Of course, the biggest threat to fitness technology is still the fact that users need to remain motivated to return and work out. In some cases all the information, tracking and monitoring could be just one part of the overall downsizing.

Too much information can allow people to see the burning of calories -- but until that translates into how users see themselves in the mirror, that real-time data just might not be enough.

Disillusionment can spring from a number of mistakes, including misinterpreting the data or tracking the wrong things.

"This happens in research, so it can most certainly happen to an individual using the latest fitness gadget," said Dillon Martin, triathlon coach and professional fitness trainer.

"With a seemingly infinite number of things to track, you can end up focused on the wrong metrics," he pointed out. "For instance, using a stroke counter, you may become focused on decreasing the number of strokes it takes to swim a lap -- but this doesn't necessarily lead to the most efficient swim stroke."

Despite those concerns, Martin does believe the future of fitness -- as well as fitness training at all levels -- lies in what technology has to offer.

"Immediate feedback helps us know that we are progressing even when we may not feel much difference," Martin told TechNewsWorld.

It can also help users make corrections in areas where they might be lacking, he added.

"You might be a great runner when it comes to distance, but you may need to work on your foot speed," said Martin. "These training tools allow coaches to monitor and track your progress using empirical data. Goals and results must be measurable, and our training devices give us a way to do just that."

Blogger Posts Custom Permalinks

2013-01-11T21:05:00.001-08:00

A permalink ( as well as permanent link ) is a URL that points to a particular website entry after it has got passed from the front page to the archives. Blogger creates this permanent link according to your post title( If the title is in English ) . As an example in case your post title is “Hello World” , the blog post’s permalink could well be something like http ://yourblog .blogspot .com/2012/06/hello-world .html Until date Blogger never allowed the user to control whatever the permalink should be nevertheless it rather assigned a permalink on it’s own .

This has now changed and Blogger now allows YOU to decide what the permalink of your new post should be.

This feature is currently available in Blogger’s Draft Version. So if you would like to check it out, head straight over to http://draft.blogger.com and create a new post. In the post options you will see a permalink option.

If you select the “Automatic URL” (the default option), then Blogger will generate the permalink on it’s own. If you want to specify a custom URL, opt for the “Custom URL” option and you can enter your custom post permalink over there. It will allow you to enter alphabets, hyphens and underscores. It will just ignore underscores. So I just used a combination of hyphens and alphabets to create my post permalink

The Final Permalink will be something like

http://yourblogaddress/yyyy/mm/the custom URL that you specified

In my case it came to something like

http://myblog.blogspot.com/yyyy/mm/custom-permanent-link.html

Blogger doesn’t allow you to modify the Permalinks of old posts but you can make use of this new feature on your new posts There seems to be no limit to the length of this Custom URL at the moment but Blogger might impose some length limit in future.

Android Test the iPhone in Every Single Category

2013-01-11T20:46:00.001-08:00

For the past calendar month , I have already been working with an HTC Droid DNA , which has comparable specifications to the revealed upcoming Samsung Galaxy S4 . People deal with me at grocery stores , airports , coffee shops , also on the streets and ask me regarding the phone . The unit is really quite persuasive , even from a distance.

The HTC DNA possesses an incredibly brilliant 1080p HD display with a greater resolution than Apple's iPhone 5 Retina display . The operating system is latest with dynamic widgets that tell you straight away what's going on . The applications such as Facebook , Twitter , and such are similar to those available to iOS , and Google Apps such as Google Now , voice recognition , and Google Maps are streamlined and modern . This is definitely a better device than the iPhone 5 , and people seem to intuitively understandit.

What phone would I recommend for my mom? An iPhone. It's safe, predictable, and uniform. What would I recommend for anyone under 40? Definitely one of the new breeds of Android phones. Android might still be a bit quirkier than an iPhone, but it's definitely not confusing for people who interact daily with a variety of advanced technology. Samsung really nailed it in its commercial where a young woman is waiting in line for a new iPhone and it turns out she is holding the spot for her parents.

The new breed of Android devices exceed the iPhone 5 in every category -- hardware, operating system, and apps.

The spec is alive and well -- and killing Apple

Hardware from Samsung, HTC, LG, and others has now caught up and eclipsed Apple's devices. Smartphones don't really have that many specs to evaluate, and each of the specs actually means something tangible to an average consumer. After five years of advanced smartphones, specs like screen size, screen density, screen brightness, camera speed, camera megapixels, physical dimensions, physical weight, amount of memory, and battery life are easily understandable and relevant to even the average smartphone consumer. Even specs like the number of processor cores and speed that are typically not easy to understand are easily understood when framed as "faster than the iPhone 5."

Conversely, the spec is definitely irrelevant when purchasing Apple products. There are so few products to choose from that decision making is essentially boiled down to a Goldilocks-style small/medium/large decision mainly driven by cost rather than actual features. While this is great for my mom and MG Siegler, the lack of spec-based decision making is not necessarily a good thing in a world where consumers actually understand each of the specs and would like to choose how to balance them out relative to cost. Apple has been a follower on many specs, particularly in terms of form factors, trailing the market in both 4-inch phones and 7-inch tablets.

iPhones are definitely gorgeous devices, but they are relatively uniform and monotone. Aluminum is definitely great. I was surprised by how many women commented on the red accents on the HTC DNA, which are part of the DNA's crossbranding with Beats Audio. People like colors and variety, and they don't necessarily like having to completely cover a phone's shell and make it bulkier in order to express themselves.

Let's not forget that all of those Samsung Galaxy phones you see cost the same as an iPhone -- their owners are not bargain shoppers; they are spec and style shoppers.

The screen should actually show you something!

As mobile app developer Ralf Nottman recently noted, the new generation of Android 4 Jelly Bean is a fundamentally better operating system than iOS -- better rendering, better cross-app sharing, better app/OS integration, and more polished.

But the real standout for Android is the customizability of the display. Rather than iOS static icons with embedded notifications, with Android, apps are front and center, displaying the time in different time zones, the weather, appointments, emails, texts, whatever you want in numerous themes that can completely reinvent the user interface.

Windows Phone 8, the dark horse in this race, is actually even more integrated, with a unified messaging interface that consolidates emails, texts, and Facebook messages into a single thread, and a consistent tile interface with which apps can display information on the home screens.

The operating system is not as important as the apps, and this is where Android is beginning to shine.

The cloud behind the app is more important than the app

In a world where the hardware and operating system have become commoditized, the apps are the differentiator, and more and more, the apps are a viewport into a cloud service driven by machine learning.

The vast majority of Internet users rely on Google Search, Maps, YouTube, Mail, and such, and spend more time in those apps than in the mobile operating system itself. As people are beginning to note, Google's apps are way better than Apple's. What good is Siri if it thinks "Hurricane Sandy" is a hockey team, when Google knows what's actually going on? Google Now is adding ambient awareness to Android devices, letting people know what's going on around them and what they need to do in a very personal way, with features like a notice that you need to leave for your next meeting because there is now traffic en route.

Perhaps, as is rumored off and on, Apple will start snapping up cloud services such as Waze.However, it is hard to buy and integrate a new type of product category into a large company that doesn't have it in its DNA. Competing with Google, an entrenched, dominant player in machine intelligence that recently added Ray Kurzweil to its roster is going to be a challenging affair. Microsoft actually had a better track record of delivering large-scale cloud services, such as mail, mapping, and storage, than Apple.

Beyond Google's apps, the reality of the app market is that all of the applications that matter are now on Android, and it actually will soon have more apps than iOS. Dan Lyons of ReadWrite is lambasting the Silicon Valley tech press for living in an iPhone echo chamber, and he does have a point. Pundits are lauding Google Maps features on their iPhones that have been available on Android devices for literally years. Bloggers breathlessly reveal new Facebook iPhone app features such as "Find Friends Nearby" that had been available for over a month on Android.

The feedback loop of the echo chamber is that developers initially develop apps on iOS, much like the recently popular Cinemagram. However, developers like Nottman like cool devices, and are starting to shift over to Android. In addition, developers are feeling limited by iOS user interface patterns and its skeuomorphic apps and are branching out. Like the Mac OS of the early '90s, the consistent UI across applications will likely splinter.

The numbers speak for themselves. Android has a 75 percent smartphone worldwide market share, as evidenced by the hordes of Samsung devices in use throughout Europe and Asia. While Apple is regaining market share in the U.S. with the iPhone 5, it is about to face an onslaught of 5-inch Android phones with specs that far exceed the iPhone 5's. Wall Street clearly sees a shift coming, and has hammered Apple's stock price over the past quarter.

The average consumer has moved past the days of pious, scruffy haired, unshaven, thick glasses-wearing dudes lecturing us on how Apple is so cool. Perhaps soon Silicon Valley will catch up. When you see someone in a cafe with a MacBook Air, iPad, and iPhone on the table in front of them, is "Think Different" really what comes to mind?

How You Can Copy and Paste in the Windows Command Prompt

2013-01-10T12:56:00.003-08:00

How You Can Copy and Paste in the Windows Command Prompt

It is sometimes hassle-free to copy some thing from a document or file and paste it into the Windows command line . Long commands tend to be mistyped as well as a copy-and-paste operation is often the best way to move forward , The usual keyboard shortcut Ctrl+V doesn’t work but there is an easy way to make it possible for copying and pasting into the command line . Here is the procedure :

Open a command prompt
Click the little icon in the upper left corner of the command prompt window (outlined in white in example figure on right)
In the menu that opens, choose “Properties” (Example shown in figure on right)
In the dialog box that opens, make sure the "Options" tab is selected and then place a check by “QuickEdit Mode” (Shown in figure below)
Click the “OK” button (not shown in figure)

Now whenever you want to paste some text into the command prompt, copy it to the clipboard the usual way and then right-click on the desired location in the command line. The copied text will be pasted.

This tip applies to Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8. And there you have it - no more struggling with trying to type long complicated commands.

Effortlessly & Instantly Rip DVDs Using These Windows Apps

2013-01-10T12:46:00.001-08:00

Effortlessly & Instantly Rip DVDs Using These Windows Apps

A lot of people have recently been ripping DVDs for decades , as a result many people believe it’s a completely solved problem . That’s not the situation . Searching Google for “rip dvd” will certainly present many different options and also articles . A few are valid . Some are for paid software , or perhaps software which either does not work , or attempts to install adware.

You may still find only a few free DVD ripping utilities which are of high quality , consistently stable and capable of handling the majority of movies on your shelf . Let’s take a look at the alternatives.

Freemake Video Converter

This software is (relatively) new among the contenders, and it shows. Its big advantage over other free video conversion suites is a friendly interface that’s easy to understand. Most video converters are not that complex, but they have a tendency to obscure the interface behind an archaic GUI or strings of technical text that look like nonsense to most users. Freemake doesn’t make these mistakes.

Of course, ripping DVDs is only one of many functions this software can fill. It’s a multi-purpose video converter that is designed for people with a variety of different devices and media, which makes it a good choice if you’d like a multi-purpose utility.

On the downside, Freemake will ask to install some extensions and DIVX software. It didn’t appear to even ask before attempting to install a Chrome extension. These extras aren’t malware according to Avira antivirus and Comodo firewall, but it’s annoying to see installation attempted without user permission.

ImgBurn

This software is based off an excellent tool that was known as DVD Decrypter. That software ran across legal issues because it was specifically designed to defeat DVD encryption. You can still download DVD Decrypter from an unofficial website but development on the project has halted.

ImgBurn looks a lot like the software it is based on – which isn’t exactly a compliment, as that software ceased development in 2005. Still, creating an image of a DVD only requires a few clicks.

Although ImgBurn does not claim to decrypt DVDs, it had no problem handling most of the DVDs I used when evaluating these programs. Only The Dark Knight tripped it up – but I’ve yet to use free software capable of ripping that movie.

This is an disk imaging program with rip capability, not a converter, and that means DVDs are saved as .ISO image files. You can view the finished .ISO file with VLC and other free media players.

HandBrake

Handbrake is one of the most well-known free video converters, and for good reason. It is free, quick, and comprehensive. It also doesn’t try to install any third-party software.

Perhaps the only problem with HandBrake is an interface that can be a bit difficult. A destination must be selected to save a file, but you’re not prompted for one automatically. Instead it must be manually selected.

There are options for things like cropping, filters and more. Power users will appreciate these fine details, but newbies may feel overwhelmed. We’ve published several articles about Handbrake over the years, so check them out to learn some of its tricks.

With that said, Handbrake does include some device-specific presets that are useful for iPhone and Android owners. That’s great if you want to rip DVDs so you can watch them on a mobile device.
Conclusion – Be Cautious

Lots of people want to rip their DVDs. Many of those people are not geeks or technology enthusiasts. They just want to rip a DVD as quickly as possible.

The result? Many suspicious programs and websites. Browsing and attempting to install various freeware options constantly sent my security suite and my firewall into a rage. There’s a lot of bogus software out there.

There are also a lot of DVD rip tools no longer supported by their developers. They aren’t a threat, but are often buggy. These three video converters are all programs I’ve used in the past on various computers and they’ve proven reliable.

Do you know of a high-quality free DVD ripping alternative that was missed? Let me know in the comments.

Secret of Mouse Tricks in Windows 8

2013-01-10T12:25:00.001-08:00

"How can i do just about anything ?" That’s the reply of most once they initially see Windows 8 . Mouse as well as keyboard users are frequently confused by the new Start screen filled with unfamiliar tiles . Everything seems oriented to touch screens . But mouse users are not disregarded.

The secret to mousing is in the corners. The mouse still lives and here are some tricks and shortcuts for using it.

Mouse tricks on any screen

Moving your mouse cursor to the upper right or lower right corner brings up the Charms bar.
Moving your mouse cursor to the upper left corner opens a thumbnail of the last app you visited. You can click the thumbnail to switch back to the previous app.
Place the mouse cursor on the lower left corner and right-click the thumbnail that is displayed to bring up the very useful Quick Access menu (also called Simple Start) If you have only opened the Start Screen, you won’t see any thumbnail. The Quick Access menu is shown on the right.
If you want to display all your open apps (including an open Desktop), place the mouse cursor on the upper left corner. When the thumbnail for the previously visited app opens, move the mouse cursor down along the left side of the screen. Thumbnails for all your open apps should appear.

Mouse tricks on the Start Screen

Click the minus sign in the lower right corner to reduce the Start Menu tiles to a smaller size so that all tiles can be seen on the screen at the same time. Click again to restore normal size.
Place the mouse cursor on the lower left corner to display a thumbnail of the previous app you visited. If you have only opened the Start Screen, you won’t see anything.

Mouse tricks on the Desktop

Place the mouse cursor on the lower left corner to open the Start Screen icon. You can click it to go back to the Start Screen.
Right-click the Start Screen icon to open the Quick Access menu.

And there you have it. Even Windows 8 has uses for the mouse.

Tips For Launching Your Own Blog

2013-01-10T08:37:00.000-08:00

Tips For Launching Your Own Blog
Web Blogging has developed from a specialized hobby to a full-time occupation. Many bloggers/writers live off of their blogs, and anyone with something unique to say can gain an audience and a steady paycheck with the right techniques.

Starting A New Blog
Launching a blog requires some planning. This starts with the name and address of the blog.

It’s important to pick a good domain name, as the URL of a website is one of the most powerful tools that a blogger has at his disposal for repeat traffic. Think of a domain name as a 21st century toll free number: It has to be memorable or it won’t be effective.

blog’s domain name should be descriptive of its subject and preferably a bit unusual. For example, a blog about arrowheads could simply be titled, “Arrowheads And How To Identify Them,” but something like “As The Arrowhead Flies” would be more memorable.

Bloggers should also try to pick a unique subject or to bring a unique perspective to the entries. Writing about hundreds of subjects will rarely lead to a successful blog. Content should be focused and direct. Visitors should know exactly what type of information that they can find on the blog, and using direct and simple approach improves the chances of regular traffic.

Blog Hosting Providers

Most bloggers use a hosting provider like WordPress.com or Blogger. There are several major advantages to these services. They’re inexpensive and may even be free until a blog develops large amounts of regular traffic. Also, the online blogging software provided by these hosting services offers instant, easy organization for a blog of any size.

Many bloggers know only basic HTML and don’t really want to invest a lot of time into things like page design. For these individuals, integration with a hosting provider can keep costs down while streamlining the blogging process. They’re also ideal for first time bloggers because they simplify the process. By using a hosting provider you’ll spend more time writing and less time worrying about page design and web programming languages.

Professional and amateur bloggers will need to consider the price and uptime of various hosting providers before making a selection. The service packages of websites like WordPress.com and Blogger change quite often in both price and offerings. It’s usually a good idea to start out with a package that offers at least 50% more capability for incoming traffic than you plan on using each month. This way, your blog won’t suddenly crash if you write a successful post.

Blogging services can quickly become expensive. They’re worth the money in the long run, as they’ll allow you to keep all of the earnings from ads on your new blog–which is something that free alternatives with “unlimited bandwidth” won’t offer you.

Speaking of money, you’ll have to be on the lookout for ways to make a profit from a blog. Most blogs use ads from Google and Amazon Marketplace. Many bloggers also offer other services and products directly from their sites.

Promoting Your Blog

Blogs need to be promoted in order to flourish. It’s very rare for a blog to receive large amounts of traffic from search engines like Google alone, especially when the blog’s just getting started. A good promotion strategy is absolutely essential, and a strong promotion strategy begins with social media websites.

Promote each blog post from a new blog on websites like Twitter and Facebook. Don’t spam your friends and followers; only post a single link to each blog post, and try to reach out to other bloggers through social websites. Developing a relationship with other writers will allow you to learn about the good habits that lead to regular traffic. You can even ask another writer to post a guest entry on your blog from time to time. This is a good way to build an audience of regular readers.

Always check the comments for each entry and respond to your readers. Cultivate a sense of community by interacting with each commenter and even addressing some of their questions or comments directly in new blog posts. This encourages the return traffic that is important for a new blog.

Finally, blog regularly. Any blog will fail if it doesn’t have regular posts. Posting once a day or more will keep visitors coming back and will quickly lead to better opportunities for money and better traffic. Every blogger should consider consistency to be extremely important–keep a consistent stream of quality entries for the best possible success.

Improve Your Computer’s Performance

2013-01-10T08:14:00.000-08:00

Improve Your Computer’s Performance

Tips for Speeding Up Your PC
Few things are as frustrating as dealing with a slow, sluggish computer. When a computer is brand new, it works wonderfully well. Over time, though, its performance can slowly begin to worsen. This happens for a number of reasons, but the biggest culprits are things like spyware, adware and other computer threats that are unwittingly downloaded along with other content while online. You don’t have to download thousands of MP3s, movies or other items to experience these problems, either – nobody is immune to them. Instead of accepting the situation, there are plenty of techniques and strategies that you can use to make it better – a few of the best ones are outlined below.

Strategy #1: Clean Your Computer’s Windows Registry

The biggest cause of slow, sluggish PC performance is errors and problems within its Windows registry. Adware, spyware and other threats usually target the registry, damaging or misplacing important files within it. When it comes to PC cleaning, a daily Windows registry cleaning should be at the top of your list of priorities. However, this should never be done manually – there are too many opportunities for major errors that could seriously damage your PC’s operating system. Instead, invest in a high-quality Windows registry cleanup program and configure it to run once per day – you won’t believe the difference that it makes.

Strategy #2: Remove Unneeded Files
Every time you log on to the Internet or otherwise use your computer, temporary files are generated. They are usually only needed once; however, they don’t disappear on their own. Instead, they accumulate over time until they are cluttering up your computer’s file system and affecting its performance. While it’s possible to remove these files one-by-one, it’s much easier and quicker to use a PC cleaning tool that’s designed for the purpose. Try to do so about one time per week to keep your computer humming along with ease.

Strategy #3: Remove Unneeded Programs

Like many people, you probably download and try out many different programs each month. How many of them do you actually end up using on a regular basis? Chances are, not very many of them. By getting into the habit of uninstalling unused and unneeded programs, you can keep your computer’s file system a lot less cluttered. In turn, your PC’s performance will improve dramatically. You can optimize your computer in this way by using its Add/Remove Programs feature. Its location varies by operating system, but you should be able to find it somewhere in the Control Panel.

Strategy #4: Empty the Recycle Bin
When you click “delete” on a file or a program, it doesn’t go away for good – not immediately, anyway. Instead, it sits in a kind of purgatory in your computer’s Recycle Bin. As things pile up in the Recycle Bin, your computer can start exhibiting some very annoying problems. If sluggish startups and frequent crashes are occurring with increasing frequency – and your computer’s recycle bin is very full – go ahead and empty it. From then on, get into the habit of doing so about one time per week. This small but important strategy can make a huge difference.

Strategy #5: Perform a Disk Defragmentation
Windows isn’t very efficient when it comes to storing files. It actually splits them up, depositing them into whatever spaces are available. The more spaced apart the pieces of a file are, the harder your computer has to work to make them run. The Windows disk defragmentation system tune-up utility works to piece all of those files back together again. The process is a long one, though, and only needs to be done about four times per year. Set it up to run automatically once every three months. By doing so, you’ll be able to keep your computer running in tiptop shape.

When it comes to keeping your computer running optimally, small but regular maintenance is the best way to go. Protecting your PC only does so much; even the most careful Internet users in the world unintentionally download malicious software from time to time. By using basic system tune-up tools, cleaning your computer’s Windows registry regularly, performing regular file-cleaning maintenance and otherwise optimizing your PC, you should be able to keep it in like-new condition for a lot longer. Even if your computer has been performing slowly for some time, beginning this regimen is sure to produce results. In the end, you’ll be able to enjoy a computer that flies along – instead of one that spins its wheels.

Top 4 jQuery Plugins in Creating Thumbnail Gallery

2013-01-10T07:59:00.000-08:00

Here are somes benefits that you will see as soon as you start using this JavaScript library.

Simplicity. jQuery allows you to use lesser code in order to do a number of common tasks. Normally, such tasks would require many lines of JavaScript code to be entered. However, jQuery simplifies matters because of its uncomplicated syntax unlike other JavaScript libraries.

Open source. The fact that jQuery has a plethora of plugins proves that it has a strong community. These individuals are constantly working to remove all the crinkles in jQuery so that more people can benefit from them. The script is quite secure, as well.

Ajax friendly. This is one the main reasons why web developers prefer using jQuery. Ajax enabled sites allows actions to take place on a page without complete reloading. This offers a much better looking website. Ajax templates can be easily designed with the use of jQuery.
The last point brings us to the action of creating an image gallery using this JavaScript library.

First of all, you shouldn’t worry about compatibility. jQuery is compatible with all browsers, even if you’re using IE6.

Top 4 jQuery Plugins in Creating Thumbnail Gallery:

SlidingGallery

This jQuery plugin allows you to add a stylish gallery to your site or blog. It offers users a cyclical design. One image is present in the center and site/blog visitors can choose from other image options on either side of the middle one. Use SlidingGallery if you have seven or more images to display. Anything less than that and the plugin will repeat images.

PrettyPhoto

If you’re looking for a media lightbox clone, then PrettyPhoto is what you should be using. This jQuery plugin is versatile as it offers support for videos, iFrames, flash and YouTube clips. Setting up is a walk in the park and it brings up a box with the image clicked on.

AviaSlider

A pretty nifty slideshow jQuery plugin that works brilliantly in a number of sites. The fact that there are a variety of transitions makes it a good choice for developers. Depending on the need, one particular style can be chosen. The added image pre-loader is a huge help. This makes the slider start only when the image is completely loaded.

Galleriffic

If your site requires a large number of images to be loaded, then you will be concerned about bandwidth. Galleriffic allows you to save bandwidth and still put up crisp images for display. The thumbnail gallery has some great effects you can work with.

The four plugins mentioned here can really help your site stand out. Don’t forget about functionality while checking out these various jQuery plugins.

A thumbnail gallery is a must for most sites, so make sure, yours is not clumsy-looking. The jQuery JavaScript file is relatively small; so you don’t have to worry about it eating up server space.

Redirecting One Page to Another Page in Blogger

2013-01-10T07:40:00.000-08:00

Redirecting One Page to Another Page in Blogger
SEO for Blogger has launched an Array of Search Engine related features and one of them is the ability to create Custom Redirects. Technically Blogger allows you to create 302 Redirects which are used to specify that the Web Page has temporarily moved to a new location.

What is a redirect ?
A visitor coming to a particular web address is redirected to another web address. This process is called Redirect. Blogger allows you to create Internal Redirects which means that you will be able to redirect the user coming to a particular URL on your blog to another URL on your Blog.

When are Blogger Redirects Useful?
Consider a situation where a page on your Blog was really popular and later you decided to delete it for some reason. Since that page is popular, references to that URL might be there at multiple Blogs/Websites which linked to you. The users coming to that popular URL will now be greeted with a 404 Page not Found Error. You might be loosing some potential readers/subscribers here. One way of resolving this would be to redirect the guy to some other relevant page. This is exactly what Blogger’s Custom Redirects do.

You can also use the Blogger Redirection Tool to create short links. For example you might want to redirect yourblog.blogspot.com/yourname to your contact page. You can do that easily using the Blogger’s Redirect Tool.

How to add Redirects?
I will describe this using an Example. I had a post about Meta Tags on my Blog. This entry was made some 4 years back and when Blogger launched the new Search Options, it became irrelevant. So I just deleted that post and made a new entry in my Blog with the new details. Now the visitors coming to that 4 year old URL from various sources would be greeted with a 404 error. I don’t want that to happen but I need that user to be sent to my new Blog Post.

1. To do a Redirect you should have 2 URLs. The first one is the URL which should be redirected to the target. The target is the second URL where the user should be redirected to.

2. The second thing that you have to do is to get the relative paths of these URLs.e.g.: The relative path to http://www.yourblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/meta-tags-for-blogger-blogspot.html is /2008/06/meta-tags-for-blogger-blogspot.html . You might have already figured out that you should remove your Blog’s home page URL from the URL to get the relative path. You should also make sure that the Relative path starts with a slash (/)

3. Similarly you have to figure out the relative path to the Target URL. I opted for /2012/03/add-meta-description-tags-to-blogger.html

4. Once you have got these 2 Relative paths, you can do the Redirect at Settings > Search Preferences > Errors & Redirects > Custom Redirects Add the From and To Fields there and click on the Save link and then on the Save Settings Button.

5. You can add more Redirects in a similar way.