Posts Tagged Perspective

Windows Tips And Hacks You Should Know About

Posted by on Sunday, 29 January, 2012

The Windows Operating System has many beneficial features that most users don’t even take advantage of. Our focus in this article is Windows 7, but a lot of the tips can also be used on previous editions of Windows. You can speed up your computer and make your tasks much more convenient by getting familiar with a few simple tricks that Windows let’s you perform. All niche audiences congregate in particular places, and we have visited a lot of web sites where prostate vitamins has been the subject of considerably discussion. Even though that is certainly all happening, perhaps people are becoming more conscious of what is going on and why it matters so considerably. Our expertise has been along those very same lines, and learning more regarding the little issues has helped us. This post was made from the perspective of searching at the overall which really should no less than touch on some of your issues. But with all that said, our expertise of this subject is quite solid which makes it possible for us to feel confident the following will be of service to you.

At times, you may want more than to just maximize your view and view something in full screen mode. This really is nice if you are watching a video or looking at a beautiful photograph. The detail will be more awesome if you view it in full screen mode. This way, you’ll only be seeing your image, rather than the usual header at the top of the screen and taskbar at the bottom. To go to full screen mode, open your photograph or start your video with Windows Explorer or Windows Media Player, then hit F11, which is in the top row of your keyboard. To go back to the view you had before full screen, press the ESC key (escape). This only works with Windows XP or Windows 7.

Another program you should investigate and run regularly is the Defragmentation tool. Some folks don’t defrag their hard drives because they’re afraid they’ll do something wrong and other people just don’t bother. If you want to improve the performance of Windows, make it a regular habit to defrag your hard drive. If you create or download many files it’s even more important to do this. What happens when you delete files is that it leaves empty spots on your hard drive. Defragmentation realigns the files on your hard drive, putting all the empty space together. Therefore, your files run faster. Open Windows Explorer, click on a hard drive, choose Properties>Tools and them you will see the defragmentation tool. The only time defragging your hard drive will take a long time is when you have a lot of files on your hard drive and haven’t used the defrag tool for a while. Otherwise, it’s very quick. You can also automate defragmentation, so that your computer performs it on a regular schedule so you don’t have to think about it. We think that is fairly wonderful, and to think that you’ve barely scratched the surface about sun valley map. What exactly is also thrilling to us is coming to a full realization of how critical it really is to be totally conscious of all of the numerous implications. Needless to say you’re here simply because you’ve a need to have to know much more, and naturally you need some additional assistance within the way of leveraging the work of others. Not everybody has the initiative to discover much more in any truly meaningful way. Even if you can’t control a lot, and who can, you will be a lot better ready by means of studying and amassing information.

Have you always wished that the charge for the battery of your laptop or notebook computer would last longer? On Windows 7, you can request an energy report so that you can find ways to extend the life of your battery. It’s not hard to generate this Energy Report. Open the Start menu and type CMD in the search box; right click on the command prompt that appears at the top and select ‘Run as Administrator.’ The next screen with be a familiar DOS screen. Then you have to type in “powercfg -energy.” Makes sure to leave the space as shown. Your computer will then analyze your energy usage and give you recommendations on what you can do to increase your battery’s efficiency. It will also tell you if there are upgrades or drivers you may need to make your computer more efficient. Follow what this Energy Report suggests and your battery charge should last longer.

With Windows, you have simple commands that are easy to learn. However, there are so many more possibilities to explore and learn. Don’t forget Microsoft’s goal of making Windows user friendly. Even folks who have never owned a computer before have no trouble learning how to use their computer and the world wide web. Most people become at ease with the basic uses of Windows, and it only stands to reason that they are then ready to add some of the tips we’ve talked about here into their routine. As it relates to this specific area of concern, what are your feelings following getting this far? All you’ll want to do is take a close appear at this, and you’ll be in a position to tell that it truly is appropriate on and specifically with the supporting study. You have to understand that personalized name art can be a wide field of understanding that needs your due diligence. But do not rush into something specifically when it comes to moving forward on the information you find. Articles, as you are able to rightly guess, are by no means adequate space to include all of the pertinent details or even other useful techniques, ideas, and so on. There is certainly considerably a lot more even in case you take just 1 strategy or technique and discover it for the fullest.


LuxeYard puts a social spin on high-end flash sales

Posted by on Tuesday, 24 January, 2012

LuxeYard, a members-only e-commerce website that sells discounted high-end furniture and home decor products, is launching Tuesday to users in the United States and Canada. Yes, it’s technically another flash sales site. But what’s interesting about LuxeYard is that it’s doing things a bit differently from the established players in the space such as One Kings Lane and Gilt Groupe.

Crowdsourcing the inventory selection

Firstly, rather than populating its site with objects selected by a group of buyers operating autonomously based on their own taste, LuxeYard is taking cues from its users on what items to sell. LuxeYard members can post photos of the type of items they’d like to buy on social media platforms, and other members can vote up on products they would also like to buy. Essentially, the items for sale on site will be crowdsourced according to users’ wants.

LuxeYard screenshot (click to enlarge)

“We’re really establishing a pattern of listening,” LuxeYard COO Steve Beauregard said in a phone interview Monday. “We’re really trying to build a conversation around certain pieces, and that will help focus our buyers and attune them to our users’ tastes, rather than just buying something they think is interesting.”

Taking group buying one step further

Secondly, LuxeYard is employing truly flexible group buying. This is where members use their social networks to encourage their friends to buy the same product on LuxeYard they’re buying, thereby driving down the price of that item. For example: I could buy a chair on LuxeYard for 0, and then post about that chair on Facebook. If a certain number of other people end up buying the same chair, the final cost for everyone buying the chair could be driven down to 0.

A unique financial starting point

And another unique thing about LuxeYard is that it’s hitting the ground running from a financial perspective. The company has raised .5 million from private investors, but has technically already gone public by conducting a reverse merger into a publicly-held shell company. Details are still being ironed out, so there is no public float to LuxeYard’s stock, but it will begin trading under the ticker symbol “LXRD” at some point in the coming months. Access to public market investors will potentially give LuxeYard the monetary wherewithal to compete head-to-head in the flash sales and group buying space already filled with solid players such as Wayfair, One Kings Lane and others, not to mention more general e-commerce sites such as Amazon.

But how long can exclusivity last?

Now, LuxeYard also claims it will be more choosy about the items it selects to sell on the site. According to Beauregard, if a company’s products are already being sold on existing e-commerce sites or major chain stores, LuxeYard will not sell any of its products. That’s an honorable goal, but true exclusivity is not always an easy thing to maintain when you’re also balancing the demand from investors for constant growth. And being that LuxeYard is starting out as a public company with notoriously demanding Wall Street-style investors, that could be an even harder balance to strike. But overall, LuxeYard’s offering seems unique enough that the company has a good shot at success — even in the hyper competitive world of e-commerce.

Here’s one more screenshot of LuxeYard (click to enlarge):

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

  • Defining work in the digital age: an analysis by GigaOM Pro
  • Going social: Recommendations engines need to factor in consumer reviews
  • NewNet Q4: Platform mania and social commerce shakeout



alt=''
border='0'
/>


GigaOM


Review: The Galaxy Nexus from an iPhone owner’s perspective

Posted by on Monday, 28 November, 2011

While I most often use an iPhone as my primary mobile device, I’m not an Android-hater by any means. And resisting the lure of Google’s Android reference device is nearly impossible for an early adopter like me. This year, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is that device, and it’s the first phone to ship with Android 4, otherwise known as “Ice Cream Sandwich.” Here’s what I think of the Nexus, and the latest iteration of Android, and how both stack up to the iPhone 4S and iOS 5.

First impressions

The Galaxy Nexus feels like a very different device compared to the iPhone; almost enough that it seems like it could belong to a different device category. Of course, it’s to be expected that a smartphone with a plastic back and much larger 4.65-inch screen would feel different than one made of metal and glass, sporting a 3.5-inch display. And the screen plays a big part in the different feel, making the Nexus appear to have more in common with something like the 7-inch Kindle Fire than it does with the iPhone, in a lot of ways, including its suitability for consuming media like feature-length movies.

But  not everything about the Nexus impressed me off the bat. I actually managed to nick the plastic back within about 15 minutes of opening the box, for instance. Maybe I should have a cleaner desk, but maybe Samsung should use stronger materials.

Also, the display, while stunning for blacks and whites on high brightness, shows some faint criss-crossing lines when brightness is turned down on whites, or when brightness is turned up on grays. This is something users of other Samsung Android devices have complained about before, and might be easily resolved by a software update. Plus, I’ve had iPhone screen issues on new devices as well, which were fixed in time, so it’s not something I’m counting against the Nexus too much. Likewise, the volume bug some customers are experiencing, which Samsung has said it will soon fix.

How big is too big? Hint: Surprisingly, not 4.65-inches.

The Galaxy Nexus has one immediately striking difference from the iPhone 4S in terms of hardware: A screen of epic proportions. It isn’t quite as large as that found on the Galaxy Note, but at 4.65-inches, it beats the 4S by more than an inch measured diagonally. Some of that extra screen comes from a lack of hardware buttons, but the Nexus is still much larger than the iPhone, as you can tell from this image of the two stacked atop one another.

Surprisingly, however, the larger footprint doesn’t actually add up to a much bigger-feeling device, overall. Thanks perhaps to the curved screen and back, or just to smart distribution of the extra surface area, the Nexus feels comfortable both in my hand and in my pocket. It actually feels better than the 4S when you’re using it to make a call, as the curved surface wraps your face in something like a light embrace. Sound silly, but it feels good.

The Galaxy Nexus might be too large for some smaller hands, however (mine are larger than average), so be sure to get to a store and try one out before you make a purchase if you’re concerned about that.

Sparring screens

Both the Galaxy Nexus and the iPhone 4S have beautiful displays. The 4S’s Retina Display, despite being a year old, still renders text more crisply than the Samsung phone, at least to my eyes. But the Nexus does blacks very, very well. So well, in fact, that I use a basic black background as my wallpaper; icons appear to float out of nowhere on an otherwise completely powered down display as a result. Both devices boast very high pixel densities, with the Nexus managing 316ppi and the 4S managing 330ppi, so any differences are down to the use of LED backlit IPS panels for the iPhone, vs. Samsung’s Super AMOLED technology, and preference for either is going to be a matter of taste.

var galleryData = [{"title":"iphone-on-nexus","caption":"","thumbnail":"http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/11\/iphone-on-nexus.png?w=48&h=48&crop=1"}, {"title":"galaxy-nexus-5","caption":"","thumbnail":"http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/11\/galaxy-nexus-5.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1"}, {"title":"galaxy-nexus-4","caption":"","thumbnail":"http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/11\/galaxy-nexus-4.jpg?w=48&h=48&crop=1"}, {"title":"Galaxy-nexus-3","caption":"","thumbnail":"http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/11\/galaxy-nexus-3.png?w=48&h=48&crop=1"}, {"title":"galaxy-nexus-2","caption":"","thumbnail":"http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/11\/galaxy-nexus-2.png?w=48&h=48&crop=1"}, {"title":"Galaxy-nexus-1","caption":"","thumbnail":"http:\/\/gigaom2.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/11\/galaxy-nexus-1.png?w=48&h=48&crop=1"}];
 

The Galaxy Nexus is a much better device for watching movies and video on, as I mentioned above, partly because of the deep blacks, and partly because of the huge screen size. If you use your device to watch a lot of video, go for the Nexus. If you spend more time reading than watching on your smartphone, the iPhone is the better choice.

Battle of the batteries

Switching between Android and iOS devices, I’m always reminded of just how weak most Android-powered handsets are when it comes to battery life. Even the Galaxy S II, which was strong in most respects, faltered in this one. But the Galaxy Nexus, maybe because of Android 4.0.1 power optimization, has managed to make this a much tighter race. In my use, I managed to get a whopping three days of usage out of a single charge on the Nexus, admittedly with very little movie watching, but using apps and the browser with fair frequency. Given normal use, about two days looks to be very possible, putting it on nearly even footing with the iPhone.

I’m still a little wary, since I often find that battery life on Android devices can be highly erratic depending on which apps you happen to be using at any given time, but the Galaxy Nexus definitely improves in this regard.

No contest for cameras

The iPhone 4S takes better pictures than the Galaxy Nexus. The 4S feels like an adequate replacement for most point-and-shoot cameras, while the Nexus feels like what the Nexus S was; a decent shooter for a smartphone. Discerning mobile photogs should stick with Apple, even though the Galaxy Nexus might have a very slight edge when it comes to shooting speed, but if you’re upgrading from an iPhone 4 you’ll probably appreciate the speed advantages of the Android device more, since photos are otherwise of similar quality.

Mobile OS match-up

Of course, the Android vs. iOS debate will rage endlessly, and Ice Cream Sandwich likely won’t do much to sway either side that much one way or another. But it is a solid update for Android, bringing a level of polish to Google’s platform that it hasn’t really seen thus far.

Android 4.0.1 on the Galaxy Nexus feels like it actually borrows more from Windows Phone 7.5 than iOS, at least in terms of aesthetics, and everything in general seems to work better and smoother. That also might be the result of the dual-core processor powering the Nexus than its software. The new software buttons work well, too, and though I miss the context-sensitive Settings button among them, and don’t quite use the new multitasking tray that replaces it enough to appreciate the change, I don’t find myself missing hardware controls.

I prefer iOS 5′s notification systems to Android’s, as the lock screen still tells me very little about what’s happened while I’ve been away. But the Galaxy Nexus does get one thing I love: A notification light. Practically, it’s really not all that useful; I’m going to check my notifications on either device with about the same amount of frequency, light or no light. But it’s good-looking and provides one more avenue of feedback for users who want one.

In the end, though, Android still has the same problems it always did: it’s harder for new and inexperienced users to get into and navigate, and apps either may or may not work with the device depending on what version of Android they’re coded for and/or what devices they support.

A much tighter race

The Samsung Galaxy Nexus is a great smartphone that gets a lot of things right, and is more forward-looking than the iPhone 4S in a number of ways. It’s better at consuming mobile video, for one, and it features a lot of on-board connectivity options the iPhone doesn’t, including NFC and Wi-Fi Direct.

But in terms of the average smartphone user’s priorities right now, I still believe the iPhone 4S is the superior device. The iOS web browsing experience is still better (text rendering is better, the interface is more usable, and double-tap zooming is a necessity for one-hand browsing), text looks better all around, it has a much better camera for capturing mobile memories, and with iOS 5, notifications provide exactly the right kind of information exactly where you want it.

The Galaxy Nexus is the best Android device yet, and ICS is the best version of Android to date, and they do a lot to narrow the gap between Google and Apple’s mobile efforts, but they don’t close it, at least not completely.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

  • Mobile Q2: Smartphone growth surges; iPad’s rule continues
  • Connected world: the consumer technology revolution
  • Mobile Q3: the fight for OS domination continues



alt=''
border='0'
/>


GigaOM


Georgian Army Rented for Russia-Hating War Flick

Posted by on Thursday, 1 September, 2011

The shooting has long since stopped in the 2008 Russia-Georgia war. Or, at least, it’s given way to a different kind of shooting: a hokey, blockbuster propaganda movie, directed by the guy behind “Die Hard 2.” Titled “Five Days of War,” it tells the war from Tblisi’s perspective — unsurprising, considering the Georgian government helped finance it and even lent Harlin its army to use as props.



Wired Top Stories


On Iraq’s Walls, the Graffiti of War

Posted by on Monday, 20 June, 2011

Veterans travel back to Iraq to capture the perspective of the survivors — through their graffiti. “Each image represents a moment in time, when an emotion was captured in ink, paint, or pencil, an unconventional historical record of this generation’s war,” one veteran says. Exclusive images.



Wired Top Stories


Why Instagram Can Become The Mobile Social Hub

Posted by on Tuesday, 31 May, 2011
Trey Ratcliff, creator of 100 Cameras and I

Trey Ratcliff, creator of 100 Cameras and I

Of all the apps on my iPhone, the ones that get most attention for me involve photos — from the built-in Camera app to Camera+ to photo filter apps such as Noir, ColorBlast and Hipstamatic. But it is photo-sharing network, Instagram that has become the center of my “photo” universe.

All photos taken and modified on my iPhone almost always end up on Instagram, where I share them with others. Nevertheless, it is not an easy process. I take photos, process them, save them and then have to import them into the Instagram app. I have often wondered why we couldn’t just simply export to Instagram or export from Instagram into other apps.

Click to enlarge

Today, half of that wish came true, when Trey Ratcliff, a computer programmer turned photographer emailed to let me know that his 100 Cameras in 1 iPhone/iPad photo app can now export photos manipulated by his app directly to Instagram. 100 Cameras and 1 is a photo filter software that allows you to add more effects to your photos.

This makes 100 Cameras in 1 the first app ever to be integrated with Instagram. It already allows you to share photos via email, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, SmugMug, and DropBox, as I mentioned in my review of the app from earlier this year.

From Instagram’s perspective, this is a good move. The company had announced an API in February and since then a raft of new apps have come up to capitalize on it. While filters might have jumpstarted Instagram, the company which already has over 4 million subscribers, has to focus on its core value proposition – community and the social interactions around unique visual experiences.

I hope Instagram allows more apps to export directly to its network. By opening itself up to other apps and services, it has the potential to slowly become the hub of our mobile photo experiences. And in the end, that’s is what would make Instagram so much more valuable and in the process become the Flickr of mobile photos.

Here is a video interview with Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom.



Watch this video for free on GigaOM · Tech News, Analysis and Trends

Related content from GigaOM Pro (subscription req’d):

  • Mobile Wrap-up: Q1 2009
  • The Case for Increased M&A in 2011: Actions and Outlooks
  • The Structure 50: The Top 50 Cloud Innovators



alt=''
border='0'
/>


GigaOM · Tech News, Analysis and Trends