12 Hot Tech Trends to check in 2014

Major technology changes are usually or mostly refinements of the pre-existing technologies.These days, innovation tends to happen on a nano-scale, which means most people cannot see or experience that evolution.Below are the 12 hot trends to check on the year 2014.

1. The car becomes a node in the Internet of things. 
All the major automakers will be at CES this year showing off their connected car projects. While some have been at the show before, this is the first year I see them really trying to make a strong statement about smarter cars and their connection to the Internet either directly via an embedded 4G radio or through a smartphone. This is actually a big deal and a highly competitive advantage for those that get it right. The more upscale cars will probably be the smartest, with smartphones figuring in to how they'll deliver a lot of top-notch services. However, Ford, Chevy, and other mid-range cars will also be adding Internet-connected intelligence.

2. 4K TVs and monitors will be cheaper.
At Dell World last week, Michael Dell said the company would have 4K monitors on the market sometime in 2014 for around $1,000. Its cheapest model now is $3,495. At least one television manufacturer is said to be launching a 4K TV at around $1,000 at the show, and I expect to see others that will probably be priced around $2,500. That's well below at the range of $3,500 to $12,000 that they go for today. I realize that there is very little programmed content available to take advantage of 4K, but I expect personal content will get quite a boost as I hear digital camera vendors will show 4K products at the show at much lower prices than we have today. Meanwhile, many studios are moving to the 4K format, so we could finally see some trajectory of these Super HD products starting in 2014.

3. Digital health moves to the forefront.
This part of the market is really poised to take off. There are already dozens of health-related products like Nike's FuelBand, Jawbone's UP, Fitbit, and Misfit's Shine that can be used as part of a personal health-monitoring system. iHealth has a digitally connected glucose testing kit and its digital blood pressure cuff uses the iPhone for controlling the cuff and delivering the data to a user.

4. 2-in-1s take off.
Intel has new ads out pushing 2-in-1s. Their theme is a tablet when you need it and a laptop when you want it. Some folks think these 2-in-1s represent the future of laptops and I tend to think this might be the case.

In a sense, CES will be the big coming-out party for 2-in-1s since we should see about 50 new models launch at the show. Intel, Microsoft, and pretty much all of the vendors will be showing new models in this category and although I don't think we will see huge volume in 2014, this campaign from these folks is a multiyear one since they are very bullish on this concept. Worth checking out if you are at CES or watching from the sidelines.

5. Curved televisions pull people in.
LG's 105-inch curved TV that will be introduced at CES is stunning. Samsung will also show off its version of a curved TV. This will be a big issue at the show as the TV makers strive to try differentiate themselves in a very crowded market. Although curved TVs are more about innovation, they could represent a new angle on the future of televisions themselves.

6. 3D printers revolutionize manufacturing.
While 3D has not caught on in TVs there is real interest in 3D when it comes to printers. We will see 3D printers as low as $499 at CES and many in the $999 to $1,299 range for what you might call a prosumer interested in 3D printing. Although these will really still be used for consumer experimentation, I see them as important to drive the learning curve within the prosumer and professional markets. I kind of liken the intro of low-cost 3D printers to the early days of desktop publishing (DTP) when it came on the scene in 1985. In the way DTP revolutionized the publishing world, 3D printing could become an important tool for visualization and light manufacturing.

7. Smart home and smart light bulbs come home.
We have been talking about smart homes for almost two decades now but only recently have we seen this area really become interesting. Products like Nest's thermostat andsmoke alarm and the many new smart light bulbs and other home devices with Internet connections are finally giving us a glimpse of what a smart connected home can be. This will also be a big theme at this year's show and another thing that will be interesting to follow.

8. Wearables continue trending.
While Google Glass had the big buzz in 2013, the concept of wearables is still in its early stages. The most successful wearables so far are ones used to monitor health, walking, pulse, and more. This year we saw some smartwatches hit the scene but they have years before someone brings the right form, function, fashion design, and technology into a smartwatch that really gets traction from mainstream consumers. CES has a dedicated education track on wearables this year as well as a small section focused on wearables. 2014 won't be a big year for wearables, but we will see some new and innovative products in this space and the products we see at CES could give us more insight on what wearables will mean to the tech market and their direction.

I am sure there will be a lot of other products that get attention, such as new consumer-related robots, Android running on Windows PCs, new digital cameras, and smarter digital video recorders. However, as I have surveyed the pre-show material and looked into my own research on CES trends, the areas I shared above I believe will represent most of the news coming out of CES 2014.

 9. Internet of things

At the 2013 IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin, technology company Philips demonstrated a concept called the HomeCooker Next that could time cooking, change temperature and stir food -- using a smartphone. The Nest thermostat not only can control your home’s temperature remotely, it also learns your behavior and makes adjustments accordingly.

The networking of our physical world will continue to boom in 2014. Connected devices are no longer just limited to smartphones and computers. Everything from door locks and home appliances to bikes and watches can now be networked.

 10. Robots on the rise

Will the machines become self-aware in 2014? We certainly hope not, but advancing technology in robotics and artificial intelligence are definitely on the rise.
Google acquired a portfolio of incredible robots with its purchase of Boston Dynamics in 2013, including the Cheetah, Petman and Atlas, making spectators wonder what the tech giant has planned for the machines.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is challenging robot-makers to address the need for rescue workers in dangerous emergency response situations. The DARPA robotics challenge is underway and will have finals happening at the end of 2014. Winners will receive a $2 million prize.

 11. Machines in the sky
Keep an eye on the sky in 2014 because unmanned aerial vehicles – or drones – are about to become a big part of the airspace.
Amazon made a big splash when CEO Jeff Bezos on “60 Minutes” revealed plans for a drone that would deliver packages in 30 minutes. But a handful of other drones garnered attention in 2013, including drones that could deliver beer at a festival and pizza to a home in the United Kingdom.

In 2013, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released its first annual roadmap to address concerns that are arising with the increased use of drones in American airspace, paving the way for clear regulations of the flying devices. The FAA recently announced the locations of six drone test sites in the United States, setting the stage for what could be the next booming industry.

12. Cloud wars

You'll hear a stronger desktop PC death rattle in 2014, as consumers finally embrace cloud storage. Consequently, they'll soon need a lot more than the 5-20 GB standard with most mobile services.
Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Google will get serious about marketing and advertising consumer cloud storage, access and work options. They'll also compete more directly, which may result in a price-per-gigabyte war.
Microsoft kicked the competition off in 2013 with 200 GB of free cloud storage — with a Surface 2 tablet purchase.
However, most consumers in 2013 still didn't understand how cloud-based storage works. The disparity of tools, interfaces and storage options is "clouding" what should be a clear picture: The days of storing locally are nearing an end.

In 2014, cloud storage producers will conduct an education, pricing and marketing offensive. By the end of next year, external hard drive sales will decline and cloud storage adoption will have skyrocketed.

By: thecodewhiz On 11:23 AM

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Google acquires its 8th Robot-maker company

Google announced that they’ve acquired Boston Dynamics, creators of quad- and bi-pedal robots like Big Dog and PETMAN. This is Google’s eighth robotics acquisition. The company did not disclose the details of the sale. The announcement appeared in the New York Times where Boston Dynamics CEO Marc Raibert said they would honor their DARPA military contracts although Google will not officially be a military contractor. The company, founded in 1992, has been working on standalone, gas-powered robots for the past decade. The robots are self-righting and very resilient. Robots like Big Dog can throw cinder blocks, handle rocky terrain, and run at 16 mph. The man behind the acquisition, Andy Rubin, stepped down as head of Googe’s Android business in march after turning a little-known mobile OS into a juggernaut. “His last big bet, Android, started off as a crazy idea that ended up putting a supercomputer in hundreds of millions of pockets,” wrote Larry Page on his Google+ page. “It is still very early days for this, but I can’t wait to see the progress.”

Watch these videos below to see the Big Dog in action...!






News:Courtesy of Techcrunch

By: thecodewhiz On 8:30 PM

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Facts about making money online:hundreds of ways to earn from the internet

Making money online requires that you be consistent .You HAVE to produce a lot of content on a very consistent basis. It is just all about consistency. Sure, someone might throw a video up on Youtube only to see it go viral and get passed around like crazy, but that type of phenomenon is often completely unexpected and heavily based on luck. The only way to make it work consistently is to produce content every day–or at least several times a week–and do it over and over and over again. You have to treat it like a second job.
In addition never expect earning money during the first year of putting in consistent effort. It does work at all but in case you really want to make few bucks within few days try something else.

So, what are the Rules for Making Money?

First of all, almost all money made online by content creators is either through advertisements or through selling the writing itself (as a Kindle book, for example). The Simple Dollar is paid for by the advertisements that appear on each page, appear in the emails, and so on. That's how the service keeps running.

The same is true for Youtube videos. Youtube sells ads on the videos that appear there and split the money between themselves and the creators of the video. Generally, ads are paid for "per view," meaning that whenever you see an ad, the person running the site or the person that made the video or the person who wrote the article makes just a little bit of money (we'll get back to that in a minute).

Whenever you post something new, it gets a small burst of attention. That burst comes from your regular readers, which grow and change over time. When a new article appears on The Simple Dollar, regular readers usually read it within the next few days or so. That burst of traffic grows over time as you build an audience. That's why consistency is so important. People who find your stuff and like it are likely to come back for more, but if there's nothing new for them to see, they're not likely to come back. You need new stuff to get people to come back.

You also need to make sure other people see your stuff. That's usually done by sharing it on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter or Google+ or Reddit or on topic-specific messageboards. That's how you pull in new readers for that initial burst.

The Long Tail

The second source of income–and it's often the biggest one–is what I call "the long tail." Your article or video gets listed on Google and when people type in the right search terms, they find your article or video. This can go on for years and years and years. Eventually, the "long tail" becomes your primary moneymaker, no matter how popular you are.

Think of it this way. Let's say for every 1,000 views your video or page gets, you earn $2. That's an approximation of what you might expect from most ad networks that new video makers and writers would be able to get into. If you have 100 people read each article you write, you get an initial burst of $0.20 per article. That's not really impressive.

But, let's say that each day, every old article you write gets 5 views. That's enough to earn one cent. So, you write an article, it gets $0.20 initially, and then you earn $0.01 per day for a long time afterward. You write another article, you get that $0.20 initially, and then it earns $0.01 per day for a long time afterward.

Let's say you have a daily schedule of this. Let's look at what that's like over the course of a month:

Day one: You earn $0.20 from that initial article.
Day two: You earn $0.20 from today's article and $0.01 from the "long tail" of yesterday's article, totaling $0.21.
Day three: You earn $0.20 from today's article and $0.02 from the "long tail" of the previous articles, totaling $0.22.
Day thirty: You earn $0.20 from today's article and $0.29 from the "long tail" of the previous articles, totaling $0.49.

You get the idea. It slowly builds on itself, though at this level, it's still not impressive.

Over time, what will happen is that all of the long tails will get just a bit stronger. So many people are just wandering onto your site–and some will stay and click around. The more material you have to click around on, the longer they're going to stay. This means all of your old articles will get just a bit more attention… and then a bit more… and then a bit more. Each article won't ever amount to a whole lot on its own, but if you have a thousand articles up there and each one earns $0.05 in ad revenue a day, you're looking at $50 per day.

Now, ideally, that first "burst" is also growing, too. As you get more and more content out there, you'll gradually attract more and more people and those people will start visiting regularly. (Of course, there's always a ceiling, as some people will stop visiting, too.) So, if you write for three years and have a thousand articles, you might have 10,000 regular readers who read your newest article. Also, each article is garnering 25 views per day on the long tail.

Here's what that month looks like:

Day one: You write article #1,001, which earns $20 from the initial burst, and the last 1,000 articles have 25 visitors each, which totals 25,000 views and thus earns you $50 from the long tail, totaling $70.
Day two: You write article #1,002, which earns $20 from the initial burst, and the last 1,001 articles have 25 visitors each, which totals 25,025 views and thus earns you $50.05 from the long tail, totaling $70.05.
Day thirty: You write article #1,030, which earns $20 from the initial burst, and the last 1,029 articles have 25 visitors each, which totals 25,725 views and thus earns you $51.45 from the long tail, totaling $71.45.

That's a little over $2,000 a month at that point.

Naturally, it won't be nearly that smooth. Some days will spike and other days will seem lower than usual. Your growth rate might be a bit slower or a bit faster. Still, regardless of all of that, the same principle holds true: you have to produce solid stuff consistently for a long period of time to earn money. It's only when you've produced a lot of it that it begins to earn money in a reliable fashion for you.

When I suggest to people that they should make Youtube videos or start a website to earn money online, I'm proposing a very long-term side business that takes very little initial cash investment, but a lot of time investment. It's also a side business that is going to have tiny returns at first and never go beyond that without a great deal of effort, but once the ball starts rolling, it builds on itself very nicely thanks to the "long tail."

This article almost perfectly describes my experience with The Simple Dollar. I have always pushed out more than an article a day and, early on, I produced several short articles each day. Still, for the first year or so of The Simple Dollar, I didn't earn very much. It wasn't until the second year when The Simple Dollar became enough of an earner for me to feel confident about focusing on it full time, and even at that point, it was due to having more than a thousand articles in the bank, accepting a significant drop in income, and having faith that it would continue to grow for a while.

Earning money online from writing and making videos is absolutely possible, but it requires a lot of work at the start for relatively little return. It's only when you break through that trend that you'll start seeing real returns on your invested time.
Hundreds of ways to make money online.
Well that is the reality…as adopted from Lifehacker. So what are the ways to make money online? The following infographic Designed by SurveySpencer.com  provides more than an answer.

Making money online Don’ts!

However, inasmuch as you make some money online there are things that you should avoid or aware of.

When using surveys as a way to earn your money:-

-Never pay for surveys.There are many legit surveys that are 100% free.
- Never share your credit card information and your SSN.Many scamers may request that information.
- Join many sites because legit surveys have a limited numbers o offers.By joining with more surveys, you’ll be making more money.
- To find legit surveys, you can go to Google and type something like: “How to find legitimate surveys for money”, for exampleIt will be better than using main keywords like surveys.

When publishing content/ selling a product or service:-

-Never mislead your customers by hiding information they should really know about your product and services. Remember, customers will come to know of it and will discontinue using your services.

-Never give wrong information to customers about your product. “Sour mangoes can be sold only once in the market.” It will not only discourage your customers to continue seeking your services, but will also destroy your reputation.

-Do not send links to your customers that may contain suspicious programs like virus, worms and so on which may harm your customer’s files, hardware or software.

-Avoid sending spam messages to people. People will not only start ignoring you but you may even end up paying severe penalties.

-Never violate the terms and conditions of the search engines. It will affect your website visibility and you may even be blacklisted by them.

-Avoid sending unnecessary links to your customers.



See also
  Monetize Your Blog Or Website With Ads: Top Adsense Alternatives
 The Complete Guide to Making Money in Your Spare Time

By: thecodewhiz On 12:52 PM

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10-Fantastic Features of Red Hat 6.5

The latest iteration of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) operating system has arrived and it is not only ready for the enterprise, it's ready to re-define and reset the bar for enterprise expectations. With a full host of improvements (and new features), RHEL could easily become the de facto standard for enterprise platforms.

If you're not sure of this claim, or simply cannot believe the claim, I offer up to you ten reasons why your enterprise should adopt Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

1. Precision Time Protocol

If your company requires time to be measured in microseconds, you need a platform that works with the Precision Time Protocol (PTP). PTP enables sub-microsecond clock accuracy over a local area network. If you depend upon high-speed, low-latency applications (such as those used in the trading industry), PTP is a must-have.

2. Easy application image deployment

There's a new tool in town (or at least a renamed tool), called Docker. With Docker you can easily deploy application images within containers. Each of these containers run the application as if it were on a virtual machine. This means you no longer have to suffer the overhead of deploying a full-blown virtual operating system just to run a simple application. This will not only make your virtual environment much more efficient, it'll also be far more cost effective.

3. Open hybrid cloud

RHEL 6.5 includes both OpenStack and OpenShift. OpenStack is an open source cloud computing platform and OpenShift automates the provisioning, management, and scaling of cloud computing platforms. Together these two pieces work to create a Platform as a Service (PaaS). This, in conjunction with Docker creates an incredibly flexible cloud environment that can serve the enterprise needs in many ways.

4. Enhanced security

RHEL 6.5 enjoys numerous security upgrades. Key to the enhancements is a centralized certificate trust store which provides standardized certificate access for all security services. There are also tools that support the OpenSCP 2.1 implementation of the Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP). This protocol was developed by US National Institute of Standards and Technology and is central for auditing and verifying security configurations. With this included standards-based technology, it is possible to ensure a RHEL server configuration meets very stringent standards.

5. Network activity views

If you're an administrator that likes to know specifically what is going on with your network, RHEL 6.5 has what you're looking for. The latest version of Red Hat offers a comprehensive view of all network activity. With these new capabilities, administrators will be able to inspect Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) data in order to list multicast router ports, multicast groups with active subscribers (and their associated interfaces). 

6. Improved virtualization tools

There are plenty of improvements to the virtualization tools included with RHEL 6.5. High on this list is the ability to dynamically enable or disable virtual processors in active guests. With this new addition, RHEL can now better interact with cloud-based elastic workloads. Virtual guest memory has also been improved, with configurations that support up to 4TB of memory on the Linux built-in, kernel-based virtual machine hypervisor.

7. Subscription management

RHEL 6.5 now boasts a revised Subscription Management. With this new tool you have the choice of having your server connect to the Red Hat Customer Portal or to an on-premise subscription management service set up using the Subscription Asset Manager. With the server and the service connected, your company will enjoy centralized control of all subscription assets. Another benefit of this service is that you gain enhanced reporting for multiple systems.

8. Faster dump files

If you've ever had to deal with large kernel dump files, you know they can cause problems. That is no more with RHEL 6.5 The new system is now capable of handling incredibly large dump files faster. Thanks to a new compression algorithm (LZO), dump files are created far faster than previous iterations. Enhancements to the dump tools tracing and testing commands provides additional even monitoring capabilities.

9. Improved storage

Anyone working with RHEL 6.5 will see a marked improvement of storage. One reason for this is the improved control and recover when working in iSCSI or Fiber Channel Storage Area Networks. The latest release also includes a solid state driver (SSD) controller interface as well as support for NVM Express-based SSDs. It is also now possible to configure over 255 (Logical Unit Number) LUNs connected to a single iSCSI target.

10. Improved overall performance

Above everything, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.5 enjoys an over all performance increase that is noticeable  – which, in turn, translates to more reliable environments, cost savings, and happier end users/CTOs. This improved performance means your critical applications can be run more effectively – which translates to a better bottom line.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.5 could very easily herald a new king of the mountain in the enterprise. With the newest release, your company will enjoy more reliability, more security, and an improved ROI. 

Courtesy of tech republic

By: thecodewhiz On 5:57 AM

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How technology has ruined your memory

How many phone contacts can you remember off-head?Probably VERY few.Technology seems to be taking over...we have to rely on gadgets and other technologies for easier storage of information or simply for easier remembering or finding information that we may already be knowing. Big question:How effective or ineffective is this technology in relation to our memory? New neuroscience YouTube channel BrainCraft discusses how technology has changed the way our brains store memories. watch it right here...

By: thecodewhiz On 8:29 PM

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Monetize your blog or website with Ads: Top Adsense alternatives.

Looking for ways to make some money online, but don’t have approval for Adsense to your blog or site? Or, has your Google banned your Adsense account?  Don't  you worry, there are a couple of alternatives to Google Adsense. However always remember that earning money online really depends on many other factors but nothing beats quality and original content. Well, someone may say it depends its traffic...yes that is right but your blog or website can not get traffic minus quality product, service or content. Listed below are some Google Adsense alternatives worth exploring.Try them and find out which one will work for you.
1. Clicksor
Clicksor is reliable alternate of Google Adsense but good enough, it offers banner, text and pop up ads. Clicksor is very easy to approve, there is no such requirements to get approve you can just sign up and you can get account here,  clicksor CPC Range is 0.01$ – 0.5$, $2+ per 1000 views of pop-ups (CPM), you can receive payment via. Payout if you have account balance more then 50$.
 2. Yahoo! Bing Network
There is no doubt that YBN is a very good contextual Adsense alternative but it’s also so hard to approve, they give you two payment options Paypal and Wire Transfer. The minimum payout threshold is $100 and it’s very simple to achieve if you have got an honest traffic. YBN CPC Range is 0.05$ – 1$.
3.Tribal Fusion
Very good alternate of Google Adsense, Tribal fusion is one of the popular CPM Ad network but so difficult to get approve, there are some requirement such as more then 50,0000 page preview per month, you need top-level domain URL, A professional and attractive site design and few more, if you have good enough traffic then you can get account here, you can receive Tribal Fusion payment via. Paypal, CPM Rates of Tribal Fusion is $0.20 to $ 1.
 4. Chitika
Chitika, Inc. is a search-targeted advertising company. Chitika is a PPC ads network, I personally used Chitika few years on my blogs, if you have good amount of traffic on your blog, and you can get really good CPC clicks. Approval on Chitika is very easy, need of specific page view or traffic, Chitika CPC Range is 0.01$ – 1$, you can receive payment via  PayPal when your balance crosses $10 or you can receive payments via check (minimum balance must be greater than $50).
 5.  Infolinks
I am also using infolinks on my other two blogs, this is also best alternate of Google Adsense, for infolinks approval you need a textual website or blog, if you have 15-20 textual post then you will approved by infolinks, there is no need of any other things, Infolinks will pay you according to PPC, Infolinks CPC Range is 0.001$ – 0.30$ and payment method also very easy, if you have 100$ you can receive payment via. Western Union, Wire Transfer, you can receive by Payoneer pre-paid debit card.
6. BuySellAds
I think second largest ad network in the world after Adsense, they will not pay you like Google Adsense or PPC, they will pay you for Ad space sold, mean to say that you have no need to search best advertiser, they will give to advertiser, advertiser will buy space on your website, about payment they will pay you 75% of payment and 25% they will keep.
7. Media.net
Bing Network Contextual Ads program enables web publishers to easily and earn advertising revenue. Media.net is providing its user the best rates for ads as well as the best ads. You can receive payment via through Paypal if you cross 100$.
8. Bidvertiser
I think one or two time I use this program but I was not really impressed by it but you can try it, approval of Bidvertiser is so easy but it has very low CPC, I think CPC Range is 0.01$ – 0.2$ which is very low cost, you can receive pay via Paypal if you cross balance limit 10$.
9. Kontera
Not too impressive ad network is but good enough, it is in-text ad service like Infolinks that only works well if you have US/Canada and other European traffic, it’s is a good alternate of Google Adsense but it’s not for world wide, it is very easy to approve, CPC Range of Kontera is 0.001$ – 0.4$, you can receive payment via Paypal if you have minimum balance $50.
10. Exit Junction
Another alternate of Google Adsense is Exit junction, if you have good amount of traffic on your website then you can earn more effectively by this program, it work different ways, it will show relevant Ad as a pop up window to a visitors, so you can get easily account here, Exit Junction has a fairly good CTR, You can receive payment if you have minimum amount $50.
Other include;
Adversal
Undoubtedly it is an excellent Ad network and a newer as well. The users looking for a good alternative to Google Adsense would definitely prefer it. It provides Pop Ups and full page banners. The users having Western World’s traffic would be able to get benefits from it.
iSocket
It is quite similar to BSA (Buy Sell Ads) in its functions, but somehow it is better than BSA according to my point of view. The users cannot get approval for their site in iSocket. It facilitates you the direct Ad Sale and also in various best sites online. It requires your site having at least 1000,000 unique visitors/month. So visit and apply for approval quickly.
Finally, you can too try affiliate marketing.
See also: Facts About Making Money Online: hundreds Of Ways To Earn From The Internet

By: thecodewhiz On 11:48 PM

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25 smart keyboard shortcuts that can improve your twitter experience

It is generally acknowledged by  that you can increase your productivity and accomplish more tasks by using the keyboard shortcuts. In other words, it’s easier and gets your job done faster.However, there are tasks that are much easier done with the mouse, take the example of browsing the web pages and clicking links but at the same time you can use the keyboard to navigate within the page or between tabs.Modern web have be designed in a manner that incorporates use of keyboard shortcuts.Twitter is a web app used by millions of individuals all over the world and following below are some cool and smart keyboard shortcuts that will improve your experience while using the app.


B = Block User


F = Favorite


J = Next Tweet


K = Previous Tweet


L = Close Open Tweets


M = New Direct MessageImage courtesy of Kristel Hayes

N = New Tweet


R = Reply


T = Retweet


U = Unblock User


GA = Activity Page


GC = Connect Page


GD = Discover Page


GF = Favorites


GH = Home


GL = Lists


GM = Messages


GP = Profile


GR = Mentions


GS = Settings


GU = Go to a Profile


Space = Page Down


Forward Slash = Search


Period = Load New Tweets


Question Mark = Load Shortcut Menu

By: thecodewhiz On 11:29 AM

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World’s thinnest 2TB hard drive

The thinnest hard drive you can buy today is just 5mm thick. However, in order to offer a drive that thin, storage is limited to a still healthy 500GB. Increase the thickness and you also increase the storage capacity and potential speed of the drive. The current capacity limit for a 2.5-inch drive is 2TB, but that required a 15mm thick drive until now.

Seagate is today claiming the world’s thinnest 2TB hard drive. The company’s Samsung HDD division has used the highest areal density available to fit 2TB of storage inside a drive just 9.5mm thick. The Samsung Spinpoint M9T will actually be available in both 1.5TB and 2TB options, and Seagate sees it being used in PCs, laptops, external hard drives, and even as a replacement games console drive.

Laptop manufacturers will certainly be interested in the new drive, especially as Ultrabooks have strict specifications to adhere to including a thickness no greater than 23mm. External storage will also benefit greatly from the new drive. We should see 2TB USB 3.0 drives that come close to 10mm thickness in the near future including their casing.

The M9T includes a SATA 6Gb/s interface and Seagate is promising very quiet operation due to the inclusion of its NoiseGuard and SilentSeek technology. The first product to use the M9T is set to be Samsung’s own portable external drives. It seems likely the M3 Portable drive will be upgraded to include the new drive. The M3 is currently 17.5mm thick, so that should come down significantly once fitted with an M9T.

By: thecodewhiz On 3:44 AM

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Firefox vs Chrome: Browser Review by Lifehacker Readers

Chrome Is More Polished, Firefox Is More Customizable

Google put a lot of work into making Chrome look nice and feel more polished than your average browser. As a result, you get a great experience out of the box. Firefox, on the other hand, offers a lot of control over how it looks and operates. While many people made this argument, our own Whitson Gordon summed it up most concisely

Chrome is a much more polished browser. It's smoother, it feels faster, and it's got a lot of cool extra features like application shortcuts and packaged apps. It is, without a doubt, the browser I'd recommend to most people, and it feels like a more mature browser despite the fact that it's older.

Firefox, though, still beats it in level of customization. It may be a little slower and clunkier, but with things like about:config you can really tweak every tiny corner to your heart's content (here are some of my favorite tweaks), which is pretty killer. It may not have as many big features, but the features it does have you can configure to the tiniest detail. And if you're a person that likes things just so, that's hard to give up

In a way, it's like the iOS versus Android argument. Chrome, like iOS, has its limitations—just far fewer of them. Firefox, on the other hand, will let you do almost whatever you want.P

Chrome Is Better for Developers

Developers tend to use Chrome. Why? Perhaps because Google employs many of them. Reader dougoftheabaci has another theory:

I could go on, I truly could, but there is no doubt in my mind which is superior. I would even gladly speak for all the developers I work with (about 20 or so) who all use Chrome as their primary. In fact, most devs and designers I know use Chrome as their primary browser, both for personal use and for testing and development. Why? The same reason chefs always have the best kitchens: We know what's the best and we don't want to use anything else.P

Of course, you as a developer you kind of have to use multiple browsers. As a primary, however, Chrome tends to win out but whether or not that's because it's the best is a matter of opinion. It is more popular in general, however, so Chrome would have to be significantly worse for developers if Firefox were to take the lead with that specific group.P

Firefox Has Better Extensions

Chrome has a lot of extensions, but some users feel Firefox has better, more capable ones. Reader missem falls into this camp:

Firefox wins on extensions, privacy and security. Chrome wins on simplicity and smoothness. However FF is working on both simplicity (australis) and smoothness (electrolysis) for next year. That said, they are more equal then many realize. FF favors the power user with many tabs and extensions. Chrome favors the average user with only a couple of tabs open and no extensions.

While others still look at Chrome very much as a browser for power users as well, Firefox (as noted earlier) offers more fine-grain control.

Chrome Offers Better Syncing Capabilities

Chrome syncs just about everything you do in the browser so you can log in on one computer or mobile device and essentially pick up where you left off. Of course, you have to use Chrome everywhere to have this benefit. Vrekk argues this point:

Chrome for Android syncs together well with the desktop and is just plain fast. (Not saying Firefox isn't though). Now I will say I tried Firefox for android the other day, and I loved it there. Really fast and plugins made things like lastpass a lot more usable on mobile where it is kinda impossible to use with Chrome. But the Desktop version of firefox can't match the Desktop version of Chrome, and because of all the sync features I use Chrome on both.

Cfc responds that Firefox handles this just as well:

Firefox syncs across my desktop and my Android device, just like Chrome would. Likewise, with the default configuration, Firefox will automatically update itself — again, just like Chrome does. The two are nearly identical on the vast majority of features.

So while people generally feel Chrome handles sync better, others find both browsers to be evenly matched.

Firefox Offers Better Privacy

According to reader missem, Firefox wins on both user privacy and security. Let's start with the privacy argument:

FF does not make money of user data. They go to such pains to protect their users that I think seeing how both Chrome and FF are both good browsers, this issue alone should be enough to drive people into Mozilla's arms.

And now, security:

I think that out of the box Chrome is likely to be very slightly more secure then FF due to its sandboxing model (which is why Chrome is also worse in memory usage). That said, FF's security extensions are so powerful that overall I think FF is superior in this category. Adblock plus, No Script, Ghostery, pdf.js and soon Shumway will lock your browser down like Fort Knox. But for inexperienced users who don't want to customize there can be slight benefits to using Chrome.

Furthermore, Chrome has an insecure password manager and you should use a third-party option instead. Overall, it's hard to argue against these points. Google does have something to gain by collecting data about you whereas Firefox does not—on the surface, at least. With third-party extensions—which Mozilla doesn't intend to lock down to prevent installations from outside of their own site—you can do a lot more to stay secure. If either of these things matter to you greatly, you may prefer Firefox.

Chrome Crashes More—No, Firefox Does!

Depending on who you ask, both browsers crash a lot. Let's start with TiredOfHypocrites:

I tend to have lots of tabs open, and leave them open. I went from Firefox to Chrome, and now back to Firefox. The reason? Chrome eats up far more memory for the same amount of tabs than Firefox. Also, Firefox would always recover the previous session if it crashes; Chrome on the other hand, has failed multiples times.

Henry Floyd disagrees:

I have had the exact opposite experience. Firefox eats up an obscene amount of memory, to the point where it becomes nearly unusable. Chrome has never done that to me.

Rguitargod suggests a Chrome extension to solve the problem:

I use a Chrome extension called The Great Suspender that automatically suspends tabs after a set amount of time (I think default is 15 minutes)... So the tabs are still there, but they're not using any memory.

For the record, I'm a big fan. I think it helps a lot. TiredOfHypocrites doesn't:

I conduct a lot of media research, and a lot of times a single site will lead me to 10 others. I keep them open for faster access when I need to find a specific image. Yes, I do need more organization, but for the time being Firefox is working out well for me at least.P

So what's the takeaway? Both browsers have their issues if you open a bunch of stuff in them, especially on a lower-powered computer like a laptop. The solution isn't really switching browsers, but managing your tabs more effectively. Close more and use an extension like The Great Suspender to help out if needed.

Both Are Not Internet Explorer 6

Remember Internet Explorer 6 (IE6)? Some of you don't have to because you still have to use it at the office. It failed to work with most web sites since the day it came out, and while later versions of Internet Explorer have improved you don't see too many people using them. Firefox and Chrome both offer significantly better experiences for those who want to do more with the web (and, I think, in general as well). So you could be—and in some cases, may still be—stuck with Microsoft's beast that just won't die (even though they officially killed it and a funeral was held in celebration). Whether you prefer Chrome or Firefox for the little things one does better than the other, just remember how bad things used to be and cherish the modern browser you've got.

By: thecodewhiz On 9:07 PM

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How to Block irritating Friends and Apps on Your Timeline

Your friends are having a fun time with some trendy new Facebook app and you don't want to be the cranky curmudgeon that complains, but you also don't want to see their posts. What do you do? Block the app of course.

While this feature isn't particularly new, it can prove very handy if you're one of the growing number of people who don't like to see certain apps. To permanently end the flood of posts from a particular app, here's what you need to do:

• Click the drop down menu attached to the post itself.
• Select "Hide all from [app name]." (Note: if you're using the new interface, you may have to select "Hide" and then choose to block all from that app.)
• Have fun.

 If you ever need to unblock the app for whatever reason, you can undo it by going to your Facebook Settings and, under Blocking, removing the block on the app. Though, in certain cases, you may never even want to.This trick works for people too, as we've mentioned before, but we thought this was worth revisiting with the rise in certain apps.

Source: Lifehacker

By: thecodewhiz On 10:18 PM

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