Friday, 18 November 2011

Computer Tips [ The Weekly Tech News You Need To Know + Your Music And Movies At A Whole New Speed + Your Favorite Comics - Delivered Directly To You ] 11/18/2011

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Worldstart Computer Tips 11-18-2011

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Quick Tips

In The News 11-18-2011
Your Weekly Update In The World Of Technology

iTunes Match

Your Music: Brought To You By The Cloud

Earlier this week Apple activated its much anticipated iTunes Match service. The service, which comes with a price tag of $25 per year, allows users to store their iTunes purchases in the cloud, as well as matching and backing up all tracks not purchased through iTunes.

So how does it work?  iTunes Match will take time to search for your library and match up your files with songs that are already in the iTunes store.  This means you can play music at high quality, even if your current files are lower quality.  Existing iTunes store purchases are also thrown into the mix.  The songs that aren’t found in the iTunes store (such as that polka/jazz/heavy metal demo CD from the guy down the street) can then be uploaded to the cloud, making them available from any iTunes or iOS device.  You can then either stream or download these songs to your computer or mobile device.

iTunes Match is limited to 25,000 non-iTunes tracks.  If you have a supermassive music library, Match may not be a good choice for you.


Droid Razr

Razrs – Not Just For Shaving

Remember the Motorola Razr?  Many of us do because after its release in 2004, it became one of the most popular phones to hit the market.  Now seven years later, Motorola is trying to duplicate the Razr’s success by introducing it to the world of smartphones.

The Droid Razr, available through Verizon Wireless with a price tag of $300 (with contract), was released just one week ago on November 11.  It brings back a bit of familiarity, bringing back the slim design that made its predecessor so popular.  The Razr features a large touch screen and runs Android. However the newest Android update, Ice Cream Sandwich, will not be available until next year for the Razr.  With a width of just a third of an inch and a weight of only 4.5 ounces, it also proves to be the thinnest smartphone yet.

The small size may have many people interested in the new phone, though the hefty price tag  may have other people think twice.

Google X

The Secret World Of Google

We all know that Google is always cooking up something new, but what other ideas lie behind the curtain?  The New York Times recently reported on the existence of Google X, a secret lab where all sorts of new and crazy ideas are being cooked up.  Secret lab?  Crazy experiments?  I’m intrigued.

It seems as if Google is taking itself beyond the realm of computers and mobile devices and is trying to create a bigger influence in the world of technology.  Some ideas that have been spoken about include space elevators.  These elevators include a cable attached to earth that would carry things into space, essentially removing the need for rocketed space travel.  Another idea includes driverless cars, something that Google has already implemented in California last year.  Google is looking to put more effort into this idea and make it into a business.

None of this is official yet, as Google has yet to make a statement about it.  Regardless of how official it is, it’s hard to hide the exciting possibilities that Google X may come up with.

~Mike

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Announcements

*LOWEST. PRICE. EVER!*

16 MASSIVE GIGS...

One GOOD LOOKIN' Strontium Flash Drive...

UNBELIEVABLE PRICE!

JUST $22.97!

Tough As Nails! Awesome Design! It Gets NO Better Than This!

We've NEVER Sold 16 Gigs for This Ridiculously Cheap!


You Can Pay $40 - $50 Somewhere Else...

IF YOU'RE A TOTAL SUCKER!


When we got the new pricing for these, we were completely blown away!! I have seen 16Gb flash drives go for at least $50 all over the place! I've had staff - and even some friends - say things like "Really, these are 16GB's - brand new?" My answer is always the same - "Yep - you got it!"

These are AWESOME
16 Gig Strontium Flash Drives and they are gonna FLY outta here!

I just did some checking around to see what 16gb flash drives are going for retail right now - here's what I found: the "big box" stores are getting no less than $40 - $50! So when I say it's pretty amazing that we're able to do these for less than $23, you know that's not just a line, it's a fact!!

STRONTIUM is a KNOWN Name Brand - This beast is NOT a Generic!

These aren't second rate drives, they're Strontium drives so you know they're top of the line!

Plus - With 16 GB of space, it's like the Grand Canyon of flash drives! This is equivalent to carrying around 20- Count it -20 - CD-Rs!!

That's AMAZING!!

It is definitely your smartest portable storage solution, allowing you to carry a HUGE 16GB of your documents, spreadsheets, files, programs, photos, videos, music, and important back-up material, all in one extremely small device!

Just look at all this can hold! Amazing!

1 Up to 9600 Photos!
1 Thousands Of Documents And Files!
1 4000 MP3 Songs (that's over 8 days worth!)
1 48 Hours Of MPEG4 Movies!

Oh, and setup is soooo easy! For XP, Vista, and 7 computers, you just plug it and you're good to go. The drive will show up under My Computer. Just drag the files over you want to put on the drive! That's it!

Seriously - This Price is UNBELIEVABLE AND UNBEATABLE!

Again, the price is AMAZING, so now's the time to buy! Just $22.97 and US shipping is FREE! $40-$60 retail!! It's crazy not to grab a few a this kind of price! Here's the link:

http://store.worldstart.com/product/6587

PS - We're not sure how long our inventory is going to last on these as it is a limited time deal! So, get to the site as soon as you can ~ before our supplier increases the price!!

Warning - The price will increase to $32.97 IF there's any left tomorrow...so get to ordering!


http://imgsrv.worldstart.com/ct-images/sick-of-ads.jpg



Computers 101

Rhonda from WI asks:

I love my comics! Is there a way I can get them delivered to me instead of seeking them out every day?

Many of us cannot wake up without a cup of tea/coffee in hand. Some cannot do without a newspaper. And a few others cannot do without a Dilbert in their inbox. With one cool website, you can now follow all your favorite comic strips online, and in the comfort of your inbox.

First off, following a cartoon is the same as following a blog through RSS (Rich Site Summary) feeds. When subscribing to RSS feeds, you get the latest comics from the sites you are interested in, be it Dilbert, Dork Tower, Pearls Before Swine or Geek & Poke. Some sites that will help you facilitate that include dilbert.com, gocomics.com and xkcd.com, among others.

Just click on the ‘RSS’ button at the bottom of the Dilbert site, and FeedBurner will make it easy for you to receive content updates in My Yahoo!, Newsgator, Bloglines, and other news readers. On other sites like gocomics.com, just click on ‘Subscribe free’ or ‘Email me this daily’ button and you are good to go.

Similarly, on rabbit-comics.org, you can subscribe comics to your inbox by just sending an email to the ID specified on the ‘Subscribe’ page.

It’s like getting live updates from your favorite cartoon channel, except it’s on the Internet and on topics relevant to you. A consolidated and shortened form of news that is emailed to you lets you get updates so you know what to follow up on when you have more time. The best part? You don’t have to subscribe to each site’s newsletter, which eliminates spam and junk piling up in your inbox.

~Zahid Javali

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MS Office

How to Use the Ribbon in MS Office

If you made the transition to the Ribbon User Interface when Office 2007 was released, the upgrade to Office 2010 really wasn’t a big deal for you.

There are changes, but not in a way that gives you that “I’m lost” feeling so many people felt with their beginning efforts in Office 2007.

But, if you’re one of the many who didn’t use Office 2007, and jumped right to Office 2010, then you were in for a bit of a shock.

OK, maybe “a bit of a shock” is a little to mild of a phrase for some of you… in some cases, I’m betting that overwhelmed may work as a better description of how you feel.

If this is you, then I have a resource to show you today, that may speed up the adaption process for you.

Just as they did when Office 2007 was released, Microsoft has created interactive guides that will allow you to choose a command from an Office 2003 program and then it shows you were to find it in Office 2010.

Click here to read the rest of this Office Tip!

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Tip of the Day

Speed Up and Slow Down Your Music and Movies

I’m on this new efficiency craze lately, and it has carried over to my time on the computer. Did you know that you can still comprehend information from audio and videos even when it is being played two times or even three times as fast? Lately, when I want to listen to a lecture or audio book, I download it and increase the playback speed. Using this little tip, I can watch a one hour lecture in only 20 minutes! If you’d like to utilize my trick, then keep on reading.

We’ve mentioned the VLC media player before here at WorldStart, because it is compatible with nearly every audio and video file type. But did you know that it also contains a super nifty playback speed control feature?

If you don’t already use VLC player, you will need to download it from their website. Simply select Download VLC and follow the on-screen instructions.

When VLC opens, you are greeted with the following interface.


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Today's Feature

Friday Funnies!

neutered

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Amanda's Coolsite

Indeed

So, you want to find a new job or you need to find one and you don’t know where to begin your search. Well, now you do! Start your search here at Indeed, where you get to search job sites, newspapers, associations, career pages and much more, all in one place.

How does it work? It’s easy! You can search by your location and get all the listings for your area. Or, you can search with a keyword and your location to narrow down the results a little more.

If that isn’t specific enough, you can click the Advanced Search link found under the Find Jobs button and tailor your search even more. You can also check out the Preferences link under the Find Jobs button and change how your results are displayed.

To learn more about the site and how it got started, as well as, what its purpose is, check out the About section. The Blog section feels more like a news section to me, as the blog was about what was happening recently with Indeed. You can check out the Forum sections for job related topics and a chat room as well.

I used to work as a cashier and I know the turnover rate is high, so I decided to use “cashier” as my example search. There were a lot of results, especially now that everyone and their brother are hiring for seasonal help. What I really liked though is that the newest additions to their database were marked as new, so there was no doubt as to whether or not the ads were recent.

So, if you’re looking for work or a career change, this is a great place to get started!

http://www.indeed.com/

~Amanda

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Do you have a cool, non-commercial site that you want to share?

Send it to Amanda at
amanda@worldstart.com

Monthly Wallpaper

"Everyone Wants My Earbuds!"

Your Poor Ears Haven't LIVED - Till They've Tried On These Babies!

Bendy-z

Take One Part Absolutely Remarkable Sound, One Part Ultra-Comfort...

And You Get THESE Phenomenal Earbuds!

Noise Reduction! Extra Bass!

Sends Every Other Set Of Earbuds Cryin' For Their Mommas!

If you've ever tried to listen music with hard plastic earbuds, you've probably had the same gripes that I've had with 'em. Yeah, they're lightweight but the trouble is your ear has to be just the right size to fit them. You have to jam them in your ear - hoping and praying that they stay. But they always end up falling out... so you have to jam 'em so far into your ear that they're REALLY uncomfortable.

That's why I was so excited found the PERFECT solution! We've just come across an incredible set that sound GREAT (YES...they're STEREO, have EXTRA BASS & are NOISE REDUCTION! ) and are VERY comfortable.

Let's face it, if earphones aren't comfortable, who cares how they sound, cuz you'll never wear 'em to ever find out! Well, these stream-lined earphones really deliver not only on great sound but comfort too!

Here's why these Stereo Earbuds work:

Each earpiece features a soft silicone earpad and they will fit in almost any ear. They create a slight suction - so when you place the earpiece in your ear it stays there ...comfortably, and doesn't fall out!

These truly are a have a great set of earphones that you can take where ever you go! In fact, you can use these at your computer desk if you're working on your computer late at night or early in the morning and you need to keep the sound down.

And the cord is long enough (4 foot) without being too long so as to get tangled and in the way (another small point but something I've noticed as a problem with other earphones I've tried!)

And in case you were wonderin', this is the common plug (3.5 mm) that fits into the front and your computer and most other audio devices, like portable radios, laptops, cd /dvd/mp3 players, iPods etc.

Do NOT let the low price fool you on this. We just happened to get a great deal on these so we're passin' along the savings! Believe it or not, today these are just $8.97 and shipping in the US is FREE!

http://store.worldstart.com/product/6928

PS - At this price, might want to consider picking up 2 or three of these so you have one at your computer, one in the car and one you can stick in your pocket or purse for walks or bike rides!

Warning - This price is set to increase soon! Don't pay $14.97 for 'em later - grab 'em today!



Monthly Wallpaper

November Wallpaper!

Ready for November? Yeah, neither am I. However, time marches on and we have some new wallpaper for your to check out :)

All the desktop wallpaper below is 100% free. Head on over and check it out!

http://www.backcountrygallery.com/wallpaper/

Mosquito Beach Stormy Rainbows

This was easily one of the toughest photos I’ve ever created.

It was taken one cold, rainy morning in Pictured Rocks National Lake Shore along Lake Superior - Mosquito Beach to be exact. I had backpacked in and set up camp to facilitate... (More)

Blue Hen Falls In Autumn

This is one I’ve been trying to bag for awhile – since my film days in fact! See, each time I’d stop to shoot the falls (usually in autumn), I’d end up with VERY little water flow. Instead of the nice robust waterfall you see here, I would typically... (More)

Stormy Sunset At Sleeping Bear

We had been trying for three days to get something – anything – at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

The first evening saw a sunset that was blocked by clouds, the second was clear and colorless, so this was our last chance. If we didn’t get something here... (More)

It can all be found here:

http://www.backcountrygallery.com/wallpaper/

~ Steve

 

 
 

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Copyright, Disclaimer, Etc.

ISSN: 1529-336X
Copyright 2011, WorldStart. All unauthorized reproduction strictly prohibited.


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Thursday, 17 November 2011

OS X Daily: Quickly Search the iTunes Store & iOS App Store from Anywhere in iTunes

OS X Daily: Quickly Search the iTunes Store & iOS App Store from Anywhere in iTunes

Link to OS X Daily

Quickly Search the iTunes Store & iOS App Store from Anywhere in iTunes

Posted: 17 Nov 2011 02:17 AM PST

Option Return searches the iTunes Store

You can quickly search the iTunes Store and iOS App Store from anywhere within iTunes, all you have to do is hold down the Option key while hitting Return in the standard search box.

That’s really all there is to it, with Option+Return you search all purchasable content through the online stores whether its an iPhone app, movie, song, artist, anything, rather than the iTunes local media library.


Minecraft for iPhone & iPad Released

Posted: 16 Nov 2011 08:27 PM PST

Minecraft for iPhone

The highly anticipated official version of Minecraft for iPhone and iPad has been released to the iOS App Store. For those who don’t know, Minecraft is a virtual sandbox building game with a focus on creating your own worlds and structures that are subject to in-game physics. Thanks to basic electrical circuits and logic gates, some extremely elaborate creations can be built in your own virtual world, it’s kind of like virtual Legos on crack, and is known to be very addictive.

Here’s the official description from the App Store:

Imagine it, build it. Create worlds on the go with Minecraft – Pocket Edition

Minecraft – Pocket Edition allows you to build on the go. Use blocks to create masterpieces as you travel, hangout with friends, sit at the park, the possibilities are endless. Move beyond the limits of your computer and play Minecraft everywhere you go.

* Randomized worlds
* Build anything you can imagine
* Build with 36 different kinds of blocks
* Invite and play with friends to your world (local wireless network)
* Save multi-player worlds on your own phone

Minecraft for iPad

There are a ton of nonsensical knock-off titles trying to capitalize on the Minecraft name on the App Store, so be sure you either click directly through a verified link or search for “Minecraft – Pocket Edition” , making sure it’s by Mojang.


Run Skyrim in Mac OS X with an Unofficial Port

Posted: 16 Nov 2011 07:05 PM PST

Skyrim for Mac Port

For the truly dedicated, you can now run Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim directly in Mac OS X thanks to the Porting Team’s unofficial Mac port of the freakishly popular game. The game is played either through a Cider wrapper or Wineskin, the latter being easier but the former apparently having better performance, but in both cases you’ll need to own a Windows copy of the game to get it working (frankly the game is going to run a lot better natively in Windows through Boot Camp anyway), leaving this in the realm of determined die-hards.

Neither the Cider or Wineskin methods are the easiest thing in the world to get working, and if you have no experience with this sort of thing you should probably just buy the game for Xbox 360, PS3, or stay with booting into Windows on your Mac. Nonetheless, if you’re committed, here’s what you’ll need:

If you run into problems getting it setup or if it’s not running that well, the Porting Team forums are very helpful to sort things out. Below is a screenshot of the game in OS X from their forums:

Skyrim in Mac OS X

My advice? You’re buying the game for Windows anyway to get the thing to work on a Mac, just run it in Boot Camp and get the best performance possible.


Run Mac OS X Lion 10.7 in a Virtual Machine on Top of Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard

Posted: 16 Nov 2011 11:59 AM PST

Install Lion in a VM over Snow Leopard

If you don’t want to deal with dual booting between Lion and Snow Leopard, another option is to run Mac OS X Lion in a virtual machine atop an older 10.6 Snow Leopard installation. This is not supposed to work with 10.6 without a quirky configuration, but it does, and it’s easy to do.

For the record, this also works in OS X Lion if you want to run a VM of Lion atop Lion for testing purposes or whatever, that is also perfectly acceptable in the EULA.

Requirements:

VirtualBox and Parallels may work also if you’re installing Lion on top of an existing OS X Lion base, but it doesn’t seem to work with Lion on 10.6.

Installing OS X Lion in a Virtual Machine Over Snow Leopard

Proceed to install VMWare as usual, and make sure you have the OS X Lion installer .app somewhere that’s easy to access. Everything else is just as straight forward:

  • Launch VMWare and use the Virtual Machine assistant to create a new VM, configure it how you want
  • At the “Installation Media” section, drag and drop the OS X Lion Install.app into the window, so that “Use operating system disc or image” is checked and the ‘Install Mac OS X Lion.app’ is the media
  • Install Mac OS X Lion in VMWare

  • Click on “Continue” and configure the VM, then boot it so the OS X Lion installer is loaded
  • When Mac OS X Utilities is loaded, select “Reinstall Mac OS X” and click “Continue”, clicking through the familiar Lion installer

Installing Lion in a Virtual Machine

Don’t expect the virtual machine to perform at nearly the same level as a native installation, but it works if you’re in a pinch for quick testing. If you have a real need to run both Mac OS X 10.6 and 10.7 for app compatibility, you’d be best served using the dual boot method we mentioned before for performance reasons.

Enjoying the whole virtualization thing? We’ve covered a few more OS’s that you can run atop Mac OS X (or Windows and Linux for that matter), and they’re all free:


Steve Jobs was Asked by Creator of LSD to Help Promote Therapeutic Uses of the Drug

Posted: 16 Nov 2011 09:47 AM PST

Steve Jobs, LSD, and Albert Hoffman

The late Steve Jobs has always been unapologetic about his usage of LSD, openly proclaiming his experiences with the drug were some of the “most important things I have done in my life” and even criticizing Bill Gates for not indulging in the substance. Those statements didn’t go unnoticed by Albert Hofman, the man who created LSD in a Swiss lab in the 1930′s, who wrote Steve Jobs a letter in 2007 asking for help to promote the chemical for therapeutic studies. That letter was obtained by Yahoo News, and is repeated below:

Dear Mr. Steve Jobs,

Hello from Albert Hofmann. I understand from media accounts that you feel LSD helped you creatively in your development of Apple Computers and your personal spiritual quest. I’m interested in learning more about how LSD was useful to you.

I’m writing now, shortly after my 101st birthday, to request that you support Swiss psychiatrist Dr. Peter Gasser’s proposed study of LSD-assisted psychotherapy in subjects with anxiety associated with life-threatening illness. This will become the first LSD-assisted psychotherapy study in over 35 years, and will be sponsored by MAPS.

I hope you will help in the transformation of my problem child into a wonder child.

Sincerely
Albert Hofmann

The last line of the letter relates to Albert Hofmann’s famous book “My Problem Child“, which discusses his accidental discovery of LSD and how its misuse drove it to become illegal and eventually fuel the 1960′s counterculture movement.

There’s no word on if Steve Jobs responded to the request. Albert Hofman passed away a year after sending the letter in 2008, and Steve Jobs passed away on October 5, 2011.


iPad 2 vs Kindle Fire [Video]

Posted: 16 Nov 2011 08:59 AM PST

iPad 2 and Kindle Fire

The Kindle Fire is out, but if you’re like me you’ve sat on the sidelines to wait for reviews and videos of performance before pulling the buy trigger. Those are starting to appear now, and while it’s obvious the iPad 2 blows the Kindle Fire away in speed and overall utility, the Fire holds up reasonably well considering it’s just $199.

How does it stack up to the iPad 2? The video below from iDownloadblog is a pretty fair comparison for some basic tests of booting, loading web pages, and streaming videos:

We also embedded The Verges video review of the Fire below, it’s not a comparison but it’s a good quick look at the device:

Is the Kindle Fire worth buying? Hard to say but it certainly looks interesting. Judging by the overall excitement and the cheap price, it’s seemingly guaranteed to be the next most popular tablet, although just how much share (if any) it takes from the iPad remains to be seen.


Show All System Preferences from a Quick Menu in OS X Lion

Posted: 16 Nov 2011 08:25 AM PST

Rather than rearranging all of the System Preferences to be sorted alphabetically, you can access a quick pull-down menu of all the panels that is sorted by name.

Pull Down System Preferences list

Try it yourself, access System Preferences from the  Apple menu, then click and hold on “Show All” to see the full list of preference panes available sorted by their name.

This trick is limited to Mac OS X Lion.

Thanks for the tip and screenshot James