CarlBytes

Pixel Ruler - Measure Anything on Your Screen

2012-11-03T12:30:00.000+08:00

Pixel Ruler is a free program downloand and an on-screen ruler which you can measure display elements in pixels. This is a useful tool for graphic and web designers as well as bloggers. You can use it to measure screen elements such as graphic and photo.

Initially, its orientation is horizontal but with a left click of the mouse, you can change it to vertical. It will remain on the top of other windows as long as you didn't close it by right clicking.

DCPicker - Pick Any Color From Your Screen

2012-10-06T15:30:00.000+08:00

DCPicker / Chunter is a on-screen color picker which displays color in HTML and RGB code. This is a useful to to bloggers, web and graphic designers to quickly copy a color on the screen.

It features the ability to save your favorite colors and history of previously chosen colors.

Notepad++ - XML Source Code Color Editor

2012-09-01T12:30:00.000+08:00

Notepad++ is a free program download and a source code editor which you can use to edit the template XML file of your blog. It features a multi-color highlighting scheme so you can easily know the start and end of html tags used in your template. Multiple tabbed windows are also an additional feature.

In Settings menu, Style Configurator, under Select theme:, choose Vibrant Ink which is my favorite color template. Notepad++ also has a line code guide although when you encounter an error in Blogger's HTML editor, it doesn't coincide with the line number.

Windows Phone 7 Mango USB Storage

2012-08-04T16:30:00.000+08:00

Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 is the hottest news today in the tech world upon the revealing of Microsoft's Surface tablet and the features of WP8. Currently, if you want to get photos or media to and from your Windows Phone, you can use the Zune software that comes with your phone. Another way is to sync your files with SkyDrive.

If you want a simple USB storage enabler for your WP7 phone, you can download WP7 USB Storage Enabler, a free program.

You will just click the Enable button and your phone will show in My Computer or Windows Explorer. When you have finished copying your files, just click the Disable in the program and disconnect your phone from your computer.

Yahoo! Answers - Q & A Online Service

2012-07-21T12:30:00.000+08:00

Whenever I have some question regarding a new place, fixing something, etc., I can easily ask questions from an online community of Yahoo! Answers. This is a free online service you can use to ask and answer questions about everyting.

In its home page, you can ask a question, open a question or search for answer instantly.

To ask a question, simply type your question in the Ask form and select continue. You can give additional details so you can help users answer your question. Click Continue.

Now, Yahoo Answers will automatically select the appropriate category for your question. On the other hand, you can hand pick the category you want. You also have the option so Yahoo! Answers will e-mail you once you have received an answer. Click Preview then Submit.

After posting, you can extend the expiration of your answer and give additional details to your question. When you answer become the top answer of the question of another user, you will receive points. Hence, when you ask questions, you will be deducted also.

Google AdWords KeyWord - Find Best Tag

2012-07-14T16:30:00.000+08:00

Google Adwords provides companies and individuals to place ads on Google advertising network. It has a Keyword Tool that you can use to know the top and most common search terms an Internet user is googling. I found out that I can use this tool to search the best label / tag for my blog posts.

In its home page, go to Tools and Analyis tab and select Keyword Tool.

Put your word or phrase on the form. In want to know which keyword is most searched, tablet or slate. Below, I put tablet. Then I choose the Category, Computer & Consumer Electronics. Then, I type the captcha words only once.

For the tablet keyword, the result is around 30 million global monthly searches.

For the slate keyword, the result is around 3 million only. Which validates my assumption that tablet is more common search keyword term than slate.

You can also, find combination of additional keyword usually added to the main search term below of the results and its number of global monthly searches.

Wikimapia - Online Wiki Map Service

2012-07-06T16:30:00.000+08:00

Wikimapia is a free online service where you can an interactive map with description, address, Wikipedia link and category. It features a map with user marked-objects with useful description. The map is based on Google Maps.

I use Wikimapia if I want to search some location or I want to know which route is nearer by using its ruler feature. This is very useful when you are not familiar on a place or you don't have a printed map or GPS.

Under the Map type menu, you can choose either satellite, map, etc. Under the Categories meun, you can choose places such as restaurant, hotel, hospital, etc.

Windows Phone 8 / Apollo OS Feature

2012-06-21T13:37:00.001+08:00

Fresh from a Surface tablet introduction, Microsoft just released the details for its upcoming Windows Phone 8 / Apollo OS for mobile phones. It will be available this last quarter together with Windows 8 OS and Surface tablet.

This phone OS update will complete the shared ecosystem with Windows 8 for PCs / tablets. Developers will only do minimal coding for their apps to be compatible with the two systems. It is interesting how can they show PC gaming on mobile phones with WP8. Perhaps, what I'm eagerly waiting is how I can use Windows 8 tablet / laptop with WP8 phone.

The features include:

1. A new start screen
2. Support for muti-core processors, new screen resolutions, removable micro SD
3. DirectX and Direct3D support
4. Shared core and API with Windows 8
5. Skype calls
6. Wallet thru NFC on the sim
7. Nokia maps with offline support
8. Enterprise features for business
9. IE 10 buit-in
10. Encryption
11. SQLite
12. Background location (new multi-tasking feature)
13. Voice / speech enhancement.

For current Windows Phone 7.5 / Mango users, an incremental update to 7.8 will be available and not Windows Phone 8. The update to 7.8 includes:

1. The new start screen
2. Nokia maps added features.
3. Nokia drive
4. Nokia Music 3
5. Camera added features.

It is not clear yet if Windows Phone 7.8 will include the new APIs and native code, VOIP, wallet, new multi-tasking features, but the new apps made specifically for Windows Phone 8 will not run on Windows Phone 7.x phones. Bummer! Obviously, Microsoft failed to impress current Mango users as they will not be able to fully enjoy new software features of WP8. It is fully understandable that on the hardware side. I will just sell my HTC Radar and buy that cool Surface table and WP8 phone combo later this year :)

Microsoft Surface Tablet w/ Windows 8 OS

2012-06-19T13:42:00.001+08:00

Microsoft just announced Surface, a tablet with Windows 8 OS and detachable colorful keyboard which will convert it to a fully fledged laptop / notebook.

From this 1 minute video, you can see a sleek tablet with USB 3.0, micro-SD XC, front and rear facing camera and a kickstand feature for use as a laptop or for movie viewing. The display is 10.6", 16:9 widescreen HD (RT / Arm) and Full HD Display (Pro / Intel).

There are two types available of detachable magnetic case with keyboard and trackpad. The 3mm thick Touch Cover, available in 5 colors features pressure sensitive technology which uses senses keystrokes as gestures. If you prefer typical clicky keyboard, the 5mm thick Type Cover is also available. There is a new Windows OS logo at the bottom center of the screen as well as on the kickstand. It weights 1.5 pound and 9 mm thick for the RT / Arm version and 2 pound and 13 mm for the Pro / Intel. The Pro vesion also features a stylus pen which makes it a true and real productivity and office tablet.

For the internal components, it may use Nvidia's Tegra 3 quad core CPU for RT / ARM and Intel Core i5 3rd generation Ivy Bridge for the Pro version. The Surface is made with molded magnesium casing which will be a good choice for portability. The tablet will be available in 32gb or 64gb storage for the RT / ARM and doubles it with the Pro / Intel version.

The most exciting part of this new tablet is the availability of office and productivity programs that comes with the Windows platform. Imagine, I will dump my other tablet (multimedia, portability and internet) and laptop (productivity and office use) and use this all in one device.

I hope this new tablet will compete with iPad and Android devices in terms of price. For sure, many users comfortable using Windows on their laptop and desktop will be eager to have a demo on this.

Google AdSense - How to Block / Allow Ad

2012-06-17T16:30:00.000+08:00

You may want to customize the contents of your ads to prevent Google AdSense displaying sensitive ads. This will be helpful if your blog will be viewed by young visitors. Although in the Blogger's Layout editor, you can add an AdSense ad gadget, you cannot customize the category of the ad it will display. This is a free online service from Google.

Go to Google AdSense website . In the Allow & block ads tab, under Blocking options, you can go to General categories and Sensitive categories. Just click on the Allowed or blocked column to allow or block a particular ad category.

Here, in the General categories, I blocked the category Gambling.

Likewise, in the Sensitive categories, I blocked the category References to *** & *********.

Q & A : Do I Need to Buy an LED / LCD TV?

2012-06-09T16:30:00.005+08:00

A: Yes, buy an LED / LCD TV if you want to save space and electricity bill.

LED / LCD display is thinner than their CRT (old TV design, yeah that bulky one) counterpart. Their common thickness is around 1 inch to 2 inches. They are much lighter too and you can carry them easily in sizes of 32 to 40 inches. Interior designers will love their minimalism aesthetic design. You can hang them on your wall. LED is the thinnest of the three.

LED and LCD displays consume also less electricity. Some 32 inches LEDs have 80 watts power compared to 140 watts of 29 inches CRTs.

3D (with or without 3D glasses), borderless or Smart TV are the newest versions of LCD TV. In 3D TV, you can watch your favorite 3D movies not only on cinemas but on your own living room. Smart TV features connectivity options such streaming video directly from your phone and online services like Facebook, YouTube and games.

How about plasma monitor? They use more electricity than LED / LCD TV, have shorter life but have superior contrast ratio (deeper blacks) and wider viewing angles. The market seems leaning towards LED and LCD displays.

Although pricier than both LCD, Plasma and CRT... in terms of design and space, LED display is my pick.

Q & A. If you want to ask questions about computers, Internet, gadgets and technology, comment below or e-mail me.

DDPB - Install or Side Load PlayBook Bar

2012-06-02T16:30:00.000+08:00

DDPB Installer (DauDen PlayBook) is a free program download where you can install bar files into your BlackBerry PlayBook without installing from the App World. You can now install also ported Android applications by downloading the OS2 update to your Play Book.

Here are the steps:

Download DDPB Installer.
You need to enable Development Mode in your PlayBook by going to Settings, Security and then click On in Use Development Mode.
At DDPB Installer, click Scan and then enter your password.
Click Add to browse your bar files. You can add and install multiple bar files at the same time.
Click Install and wait.

Wikipedia - Online Wiki Encyclopedia

2012-05-26T18:50:00.002+08:00

Wikipedia is a free online service and a web-based encyclopedia which volunteer users can collaborate and edit articles. This online encyclopedia is always up to date within minutes. It is available in multiple languages with almost 4 million articles and 27 million pages in total.

Anyone can find huge amount of information about anything. Usually when you search for something on search engines, Wikipedia's articles is on the top searches. The main advantage of Wikipedia over printed encyclopedias is it is always updated and of course it is free. Its weakness is it's credibility although administrators instantly remove vandalism on their articles.

Facebook Photo Fix and Rotate

2012-05-20T16:30:00.000+08:00

In my Facebook wall, I sometimes notice that some of my friends' uploaded photo is not properly posted. Either it is rotated to the right or left and even upside down. In order to fix this. Click the picture to be rotated, at the bottom, click Option then choose Rotate Left or Rotate Right. It is that simple.

WolframAlpha - Online Search Engine

2012-05-12T16:30:00.000+08:00

Wolfram|Alpha is a free online service where you can find answers by doing computations base on collection of data rather than providing a list of web sites that might contain the answer like a Google, Yahoo! or Bing might give you.

It also features capability to answer natural language-based questions like "How many moon landings?". It will have an input interpratation of "Apollo landings" and answers of 6 and more details such as mission, launch date, lunar landing date, lunar landing site map locations and coordinates.

You can compute how much is the present value I need to have $1000 in 3 years at 3% (interest)

Weather in Philippines (weather)

Boracay (island)

5 coin tosses (probability) and so much more.

It covers mathematics, statistics, data analysis, physics, chemistry, materials, engineering, , astronomy, earth sciences, life sciences, computational sciences, units and measures, dates and times, weather, places and geography, people and history, culture and media, music, words and linguistics, sports and games, colors, shopping, money and finance, socioeconomic data, health and medicine, food and nutrition, education, organization, transportation, technological world, web and computer systems and new areas are added continuously.

Xmarks Bookmark Sync Error Fix

2012-05-06T16:30:00.000+08:00

In my previous post on Xmarks, a free online service, I have shown how to synchronize your bookmarks to different OS and devices. Now, when I used Google Chrome on different computers, Xmarks duplicated my bookmarks and folders. One solution is to to use the deduplicate and empty folder removal features on the tools menu on Xmarks' website. Sometimes, a window will pop up like this:

In order to fix this, go to your Chrome's wrench icon at upper rightmost, click Settings then on Personal Stuff, in Sign in area, click Advanced... . Instead of Sync everything, choose Choose what to sync and then uncheck Bookmarks.

The only error I see now is there are duplicate folder bookmarks that contains different bookmarks. May be it's a bug on their side.

Tablet Vs PC, Which to Pick ?

2012-05-05T16:30:00.000+08:00

When Apple released the iPad in 2010, the consumers eagerly bought the new device with some of them don't know it's edges and limitations. The first thing you should ask is: where will I use it? Or yet, better ask yourself: do I need it? I will help you decide if you need a tablet or stick with your computer. Then, I will recommend the best platform to choose.

Notebooks, laptops and desktop PCs are still the best productivity and content creation devices. The main reason is that office and productivity softwares are full featured in notebooks. Organizing your files such as documents, photos, videos and MP3 is a breeze. Using a mouse is also an advantage in engineering software such as AutoCAD. Typing in a physical keyboard is a big plus. Disadvantages of PCs are they are heavy and have short battery life. Most mobile PCs have 2 to 5 hours battery life, except for some notebooks and all ultrabooks which are capable of 8 to 10 hours battery life.

Tablets are best used for media consumption especially on the go although netbooks and ultrabook are portable also. Maybe the best instance is when you are sitting in the couch or lying on your bed. Advantage of tablets are most have good battery life of 4 to 10 hours. Disadvantages of tablets are they are not full featured in terms of productivity and office software and unavailability of full featured expansion such as ports.

Android Tablets

Google introduced version 1 of Android OS for a phone in 2008 and now with support from various manufacturers in a form of tablets. Android's main advantage is customization on UI specifically you can add widgets. You can even load different custom ROMs so you can try manufacturer's unsupported version of Android or for faster usage. Availability of good application and wide range of hardware are advantages. Numerous accessories and feature of USB storage in some units are available. 3G/4G sim card and memory card expansion are availble.

I have use Android Cupcake (version 1.5), Donut (1.6), Froyo (2.2) and Gingerbread (2.3) in my phone and it seems there is a lag in the user interface. I hope that the latest version 4 of Android (Ice Cream Sandwich) fixes this one. Android also need a much higher hardware requirement compared to others. Dual core processors are standard now and even quad core processors are available. Support for productivity application is also limited.

Several manufacturer's have different models and sizes. If you want a 7" and a 3G sim card slot, Samsung Galaxy 7.0 Plus is a good tablet. If you want a 10", Acer Iconia Tab A100 is preferable. Now, if you want the mightiest, then Asus Transformer Prime is the best choice.

iPad

App Store and numerous accessories powers the iPad to the top. Availability of good applications and developers support is also an advantage. The latest iPad (3rd Gen) features a stunning display which is only noticeable in arm's length. It is also available in 3G/4G variants.

You can not still make it as an external hard drive and Microsoft Office and Windows application support is second to none. I only notice that iPad is not available in smaller tablet form factor (such as 7 inches) and the iOS is almost the same when it is released 5 years ago. UI is base on icons and buttons. Cost, memory card slot unavailability are also cons.

Discounted prices is now available to iPad 2. If you have own an iPad 2, there is no reason to upgrade to iPad 3. But if you own an iPad 2, faster processor and graphics, front camera for self-portrait shot and better rear camera are the reasons to upgrade.

BlackBerry PlayBook

RIM introduced the PlayBook last April 2011 in the hope to complement BlackBerry phones. With the release of OS 2 (QNIX technology base), native e-mail, calendar and contact, deeper integration with BB phones and more support for Android app, the PlayBook became a main stream competitor. Discounted prices of the PlayBook helps boost RIM's disappointing sales. The OS is fast and the UI is good. BB10, RIMs next gen OS later this year will support PlayBook.

Sometimes, when I open multiple tabs in the browser, it crashes. Maybe it happens only on my device or a software fix is needed. Availability of native application is also a disadvantage. The PlayBook is only available in 7 inches. 3G/4G sim and memory card slots are not supported although tethering and bridging are supported.

This is the best time to buy a PlayBook, OS 2 is just released and the prices of 64 gb now is comparable to prices of 16 gb early this year.

Windows 7 / 8 Tablets
If you will use your tablet for productivity and office applications, then this is the top choice. Full support for MS office, AutoCAD, Primavera, PhotoShop and usb devices such as flash drives and mouse. Memory card slot is supported.

The main disadvantage of Windows 7 tablets are the user interface. Windows 7 buttons and UI is too small for touch usage. This may change in the upcoming Windows 8 OS which features a revamp UI specifically designed for tablets.

If you want a Windows tablet that will support windows snapping in the upcoming Windows 8, Samsung Series 7 Slate PC (i5 2nd gen processor) is the choice but it is pricey. Some devices such as Acer Iconia W500 (AMD Dual Core C-50 1 ghz) will not support windows snapping in Windows 8 because its resolution is lower than 1366 x 768.

Summary

If you have money and you will use it for media consumption such as web browsing, games and reading e-books, buy an iPad (iOS) or Asus Transformer Prime (Android)

If you want great customization on user interface and OS, buy an Android Tablet like Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, 7.7, 8.9 and 10.1 on a higher price and Acer A100, A200 and A500 on a cheaper price. LG, Toshiba, Motorola also have some models.

If you want a bang for a buck and an added integration if you own a BB phone, your best choice is a PlayBook.

If you really need office and productivity applications but it's ok with you the small buttons and odd interface for touch (until the release of Windows 8 later this year), a Samsung Series 7 Slate PC is a good but pricey choice.

Generic and cheaper tablets usually have resistive screen, slower processor, smaller RAM and flash storage and outdated OS.

Windows Movie Maker - Fix to Rotate Video

2012-04-27T16:30:00.000+08:00

Have you experience when you shot a great video and then you suddenly notice that it has wrong orientation. Sometimes it's up side down or rotated to the left or right. Usually, we forget the correct shooting position in our phone, camera or video cam. You only need to download a free program .

Here's a simple trick to fix this annoyance.

1. Download Windows Live Movie Maker.

2. Make a back up of the video you want to rotate.

3. Drag the video to Windows Live Movie Maker.

4. In the Editing ribbon area, click Rotate Left or Rotate Right until your video is properly rotated.

5. In the Share ribbon area, click Save Movie then select Create Custom Setting.

6. In the Setting drop down menu, click your selection (I choose For Computer).

7. Go back to Share riboon area, now click the icon and save.

Organize Your File

2012-04-21T18:22:00.000+08:00

When you organize your files in your computer, searching for a particular file will be easy.
You don't need to even use the search function of your OS. In the old days of MS-DOS, you need to memorize syntax and type commands to organize your files. Luckily, OS's of today use mouse and user-friendly GUI such as folders and icons.

In Windows, your files are located in C:/Users/Your User Name. There are several folders under there such as Desktop, Downloads, Favorites, Links, Saved Games, Searches and your main folders such as My Documents, My Music, My Pictures, My Videos.

Windows includes now a feature called Libraries where you can add folders of different locations to a common Library folder. What it does is it groups thes folders. For ex., in Library Documents Folder, you can add locations of your documents folders such as My Documents (C:\Users\Your User Name\Documents), Public Sovuments (C:\Users\Public\Documents) and Some Folder (C:\Users\Your User Name\Some Folder).

For pictures, you can organize your files by year and specific day. Put first the year then the month then the day. Make sure to add 0 in 1 for January, ex. 01 and 0 in 7 for 7th of the Month, ex. 07 so it will sort correctly. Include the name of event for quick searching. In each folder, I also add a Facebook folder so I can place my uploaded pics which I resize before.

For music, you can organize your MP3 by genre, then by band and finally, by album. You can also add My Picks folder so you can easily know your favorites.

For office documents, you can classify it per project then by type of documents (ex. Monthly Report, Program, Drawings, etc.), finally by year.

For personal documents, you can categorize your files by current, urgent, archive and other folders.

Currently, all my folders and files are in Desktop. So when I open my computer, I can easily access my files. For me, you don't need to name your files accurately, a simple file name is enough and you just need to put them in the right organized hierarchy of folders. Sometimes, it is hard to find files even if you use the search function of your OS.

Pinnacle VideoSpin - Create Your Video

2012-04-14T12:53:00.000+08:00

I capture videos on my phone usually. I copied / synced it to my computer and put a backup copy of videos I want to join. I'm using a free program download Pinnacle VideoSpin to edit and join my videos before I upload to Facebook. In this way, in 1 video, I can show many videos in a short time.

1. Open Pinnacle VideoSpin. Go to 1 Edit Tab.

2. In the Show Titles (T), select any option and drag to timeline below. Double click the title you drag to edit.

3. In the Show Transitions icon (lightning), select any option and drag to timeline below. Go to the upper right, then click the Play button. Now, your title clip is done.

4. In the Show Videos icon (video cam), browse to the location of videos you want to join. VideoSpin will automatically generate scene thumbnails if the clip is long. Drag the thumbnail (ex. 3rd thumbnail) to the timeline after the Title you put earlier.

5. If you want to split the clip (ex. 3rd thumbnail), move the timeline vertical bar where you want to split the clip or play the clip until you reach the scene you want to split (ex. 0:00:45.01). Delete the scene you don't want to include (ex. 0:00:45.02 onwards).

6. If you want to add more clips, text or transitions, follow step 2 onwards.

7. Go to 2 Make Movie Tab.

8. In File Type and Preset drop down menu, choose your option. I select MPEG-4 and Full size (best quality).

9. Click Create File, save and wait. Save also the project if you want to edit again later.

Flash Drive Quick Remove

2012-04-09T16:38:00.000+08:00

Tired of seeing this every time you plugged your USB drive?

The reason you see this is because you didn't properly remove your USB drive before. Here's a tip to quickly remove a flash drive.

You can easily accomplish this by closing all opened files located in your USB. Then, click the up arrow in the right side of your taskbar, then click the usb icon with green checkmark and click eject for the USB drive. If necessary, close also the programs you opened when accesing files in your USB.

There is a better way to not see this message. Go to My Computer, Control Panel, System, Device Manager, Disk Drives. Then, right click your USB drive and click Properties. A new window will appear, go to Policies, then select Quick Removal, finally, click ok.

Now, write caching on the drive is disabled but you can unplugged immediately it without using the Safely Remove Hardware notification icon in your taskbar. Again, make sure you saved and closed your USB files. This option is advisable for USB drive, but if you are accessing a bigger external drive, it's better to choose Better Performance option for faster access and safety on power interruption.

Google - lize Your Life

2012-04-01T15:40:00.001+08:00

Google began their free online service in the 90's as as search engine competing with Yahoo! After establishing as the no. 1 search provider, they provided other online services such as Gmail, Google Maps, Docs, Translate, etc. .

The big acquisition of Blogger (2003), Picasa (2004), Android (2005) and Youtube (2006) puts them on top of web service providers ahead of Microsoft and Yahoo!. Mid last year, they launched a social networking service called Google+ which is a direct competitor with Facebook.Most of their products now feature multiple log-in so you don't need to log off and log in to another account. Google's integration with their products provides users a seamless approach on using the internet.

Here are the brief explanation of their services and products. I might give more details on my coming posts.

Gmail provides the best web-based e-mail service. The features are plentiful and user interface is sleek and user friendly. E-mails can be categorized by labels and grouped by folders. The Inbox can be changed to different types to suit your preferred Inbox's e-mail groupings. Filters, forwarding and POP/IMAP, checking other mails by POP3, chat, themes and experimental Lab features are available. Integration between multiple Gmail accounts including other e-mail services is a big plus so you don't need to log-in to another e-mail account. Spam protection is superb.

Google Search includes searching by everything, images, maps, videos, news, shopping, books. places, blogs, flights, discussion, recipes, applications, patents. You can filter your search results by time, for ex., for the past hour or even the past year. You can also add " " (quotes) between your search terms so it will search exact terms or put - (minus) on a term which you want to exlcude. After Google did a search, you can click the >> beside the searched items to quickly preview the website.

Google Maps provides online street by street details. I used Google Earth which is a free software to quickly provide me information on a certain area including terrain, traffic, actual pictures, etc.

Google Docs features online creation of spreadsheets, document, presnetation, etc. You can even upload your Microsoft Office files and modify them online. Created files in Google Docs can also be downloaded as a Microsoft Office, Open Office or PDF files. Though, features is not completed like Microsoft Office. Sharing and collaboration of files with other people is a plus.

Google Translate offers translation of text or websites. This is very handful if you don't understand other languages. Many websites offer Google Translate so you can easily switch between languages. Most of the time, the translation is correct except for the grammar.

Blogger / Blogspot provides blogging services. It provides bloggers templates, gadgets, Google Analtyics functions and AdSense support. Google Analytics provides web administrators and bloggers detailed information such as tracking of their web site activities and visitor information. AdSense provides advertisements on website which will result to profits for the website owner. The advantage of Blogger over Wordpress is it is user friendly.

Picasa is a software where you can organize, edit and share your photos. Initially, it scans your entire hard drive for photos. Picasa is very good in displaying thousands of pictures compared to Windows Explorer or any other photo viewing software. Picasa Web Albums is an online sharing service where you can upload, edit and share your photos.

Android is a linux base mobile phone operating system. It features great optimization compared to iOS and Windows Phone 7. Developers offer plentiful of applications. Google's own services is tightly integrated with Android. The UI is base on icons much like the iPhone iOS. The latest version, Ice Cream Sandwhich (4.0) offers sleeker interface.

Youtube is an online video sharing service where you can upload your videos and watch other user's videos. Mostly, I watch MTVs, top 10 of everything and funny videos here.

Google Chrome is a web browser with minimalist interace and optimize tab viewing. It's very fast and highly customizable. It offers synchronization and password manager among others.

Google+ feauture social networking services such as photo sharing, status updates, messaging and Hangouts (video cam). It is a competitor to Facebook. Instead of using Lists to group your friends, they are using circles. Multiple video chat is an advantage to Facebook video chat. Most features are pretty much the same.

Basically, I use Google everytime I'm on the web. I hope they provide a web storage service where I can host my files such as Dropbox. What keeps Google on top of web companies? They keep innovating.

Facebook Privacy Setting

2012-03-24T20:48:00.002+08:00

I recently have a post regarding Facebook account settings. Here, I will thoroughly explain the privacy settings. Go to uppermost right section, then click the down arrow and choose "Privacy Settings". Be sure to at least configure the settings in bold blue color. Some settings are self-explanatory so I didn't tackle them.

1. Control Your Default Privacy - Choose any of the 3 options. This will control the default privacy settings for you status updates and photos. I choose "Custom".

I categorized my friends lists into 3 different groups (Family, Close Friends and Friends) so it will be easier for me to customize my viewers whenever I upload photos or shout-out. In addition, you can add friends to "Restricted" list if you're not to close with them.

2. How You Connect - You can choose "Everyone", "Friends of Friends" or "Friends". If you choose "Everyone", there is a great chance that your friend outside of Facebook will be able to search for you. But if you only want certain group of people to connect with you, you can change your settings here.

3. Timeline and Tagging

3.1. You should enable the "Review posts friends tag you in before they appear on your timeline" and "Review tags friends add to your own posts on Facebook" so you can approve first when a friend tags you or someone before they appear on your timeline and posts.
3.2. Enable "Allow friends to check you in with mobile places" if you want friends to tag you when they check-in a certain place. Be sure to disable this if you're going to a red zone ahhah, or your wife / GF will know haahahah (^_^)

4. Apps and Websites

4.1. Apps you use - This section lists all 3rd party application you use with Facebook. Click "Edit Settings" to allow/restrict access of these apps to all/some of your Facebook account and data. You can also remove unwanted apps or turn off all apps.
4.2. How people bring your info to apps they use - Your friends can use your info when they use apps. Apps and website can use this info so your friend's experience will be better and more social. Personally, I check only "If I'm online".
4.3. Instant personalization - Uncheck "Enable instant personalization on partner website" if you don't want a customization base on your Facebook data when you visit other websites partnered with Facebook.
4.4. Public search - If you enable this, people who are searching for you by your name in search engines will be able to see a preview of youre timeline.

5. Limit the Audience for Past Post - Facebook is giving you a chance to change the audience of your old posts on your timeline from "with friends of friends" and "Public" to "Friends" only. People who are tagged and their friends may see those posts also.

6. Blocked People and Apps - Here, you can add friends to your Restricted list, block someone so they cannot message or add you as a friend, app invites, event invites and apps.

Come back for Facebook Timeline / Profile settings.

Facebook Account Setting

2012-03-23T15:00:00.000+08:00

Facebook has 3 general sections for setting up your account. These are Account Settings, Privacy Settings and Timeline Settings. I will let you understand these settings in 3 parts. First, I will thoroughly discussed the Account Settings.

In the upper rightmost corner of Facebook, there is an arrow pointing down beside the Home. Click it and choose "Account Settings". Then on the upper left, you can see a list of settings you can customize. Make sure to at least configure the items in bold blue color below. Here are the explanations:

GENERAL

1.1. Name - You can put your real name, nickname or just your first name.
1.2. Username - A shortcut to your Facebook Timeline URL so friends can easily remember like http://www.facebook.com/carlbytes Remember that you can only set once your username. You can't change it again.
1.3. Email - This is where notifications will be sent and also in case you forgot your Facebook password (a must).
1.4. Password - Choose a password which is easier for you to remember but harder for others to know. You can use alphanumeric characters, symbols or in caps.
1.5. Networks - Show your joined networks such as schools, companies or organizations.
1.6. Linked Accounts - Account from other websites that you linked to Facebook.
1.7. Language - Choose your Facebook default language.
1.8. Download a copy of your Facebook data - This is a must. In case you forget your password and there is no other way to recover or reset it or you want to have a backup copy of your Facebook profile, photos, etc.
SECURITY

2.1. Security Question - In case you forget your password, Facebook will asks you this question and you will provide the answer.
2.2. Secure Browsing - The URL will be changed to HTTPS instead of the usual HTTP which is less secure (enable this).
2.3. Login Notification - If you login to your Facebook account from a device you haven't use before, it will send you an e-mail (enable this).
2.4. Login Approvals - It will require you to enter a security code first before an unrecognized device tries to login your account. Facebook will sent a security code to your mobile
2.5. App Passwords - Password so you can access your apps.
2.6. Recognized Devices - Lists all devices that you allowed to access your account.
2.7. Active Sessions - Lists all logged in activities including previous ones. You can check if someone is using your account without your permission. It will show the location and time of previous access/usage of your account.
2.8. Deactivate your account - It will temporarily disable your account. Your friends will not see any updates from you.
NOTIFICATIONS

3.1. Email Frequency - Facebook will e-mail you regarding privacy, security, payment, phot tag notifications and popular activities (enable this).
3.2. Recent Notifications - Lists all notifications today and past weeks.
3.3. All Notifications - You can configure this so any events on a certain Facebook feature, you will be notified via e-mail. If you don't want to receive numerous e-mails from Facebook, uncheck all (like I did :)
SUBSCRIBERS

4.1. Enable this so even if they are not your Facebook friends, they can still receive your public posts.
APPS
5.1. Lists all apps that you authorized to interact with your account. You can remove the apps you don't want to access your account. Be careful in allowing apps to access your account. Make sure they are not spam. Check the app on Google and do a search.
MOBILE

6.1. If you want to send SMS to your phone and use Facebook feautures, enable this. However if you have already installed a dedicated Facebook app in your phone you don't need this except if you want to send SMS.
PAYMENTS

7.1. Credit Balance - Your credits to buy items in playing games.
7.2. Credit Purchase History - Lists all previous purchases.
7.3. Payment Methods - Manages you credit card linked with your account.
7.4. Preferred Currency - Change currency units.
7.5. Facebook Adds

7.5.1. Edit third party ad settings - Currently, Facebook does not give 3rd party applications or ad networks the right to use your name or picture in ads. If they will allow this in the future, show you information to "No one" (only you) or "Only my friends".

7.5.2. Edit social ads settings - When Facebook display an ad to your friends and consequently you like this ad also, it will show to your friends that you like this. In "Pair my social actions with ads for", choose "No one" or "Only my friends".

More info on my coming posts about Facebook "Privacy Settings" and "Timeline / Profile Settings".

Sony Sola Phone No Touch

2012-03-19T12:30:00.000+08:00

Fresh from a Sony Ericsson Breakup, Sony just previewed an interesting Android phone, the Sony Xperia Sola. The main feature is a 3.7 inch touch screen with hover navigation feature.

The Sola features a non-touch hover screen

The new no-touch feature will let you use your phone screen without touching it. Wow! The phone features also traditional capacitive touch screen display.

Another interesting feature is the included NFC Smart Tags where you can instruct your phone to turn on its Wifi connection and launch your favorite cooking website when you are in your kitchen or switch to vibration mode when you move to your bedroom. These can also be configured with up to 10 commands.

Release date will be on 2nd Quarter of 2012.