Patrick Nelson Archive

Google's All Access Music Service Starts on the Right Note
May 24, 2013

Google has refreshed its music app. It's a big deal, because Google has introduced custom radio and an a la carte music streaming service, All Access, for an introductory price that's $2.00 cheaper than a la carte streaming leader Spotify. You can try the service free for 30 days, and if you start a trial by June 30, it will then cost $7.99 a month to continue.

All Things Appy: Top 5 Firefox Social Networking Tools
May 22, 2013

This week we take a look at the top five must-have social networking tools for the Mozilla Firefox desktop environment. Social networks have taken mobile by storm, but the PC is still a player -- particularly based on its copious screen real estate. Aggregation across social networks, one-click helpers, easy search, sharing, and detailed image viewing present themselves well in this field.

MX Player Pro Lets You Bypass the Fiddling and Enjoy the Movie
May 17, 2013

I often run into issues playing video media on mobile devices. It's haunted me since the days of Windows Mobile on the Palm Treo -- remember those early smartphones? Believe it or not, it's still an issue years later with current tablets and smartphones. The problems that I've encountered have generally manifested themselves as either the file not playing or audio and video being out of sync.

How to Work at Top Performance From Home
May 16, 2013

It's not ink cartridges, printers and faxes anymore. The cloud and smart devices have changed the home office landscape -- for the better. There are now numerous free apps for instant messaging, video conferencing and cheap calls; plus it's easier than ever to keep coworking teams on the same page. Working from home lets businesses reduce real estate costs while boosting worker productivity.

All Things Appy: 5 Best Windows 8 Games
May 15, 2013

Man vs. machine has always been in play on Windows machines. This week we've picked the five strongest Windows 8 games for your collection. Four are upgraded tried-and-tested classics, and one is a new concept -- brilliantly simple. All are free. Download a few of these must-haves and see how far the graphics and game-play have developed for this slick new operating system.

Aereo's Audacious Ambitions
May 13, 2013

Aereo -- the lawsuit-embattled company that provides Internet-streamed, live, and recorded over-the-air broadcast television content -- may have started a trend. None other than Time Warner may be considering the redistribution of public broadcast content over the Internet too. What it comes down to is that a bunch of micro-antennas in a Brooklyn warehouse may change everything.

GrooVeIP's a Great Backup for Minute-Slurping Calls
May 10, 2013

My first question to the desk clerk at a hotel in a strange country is no longer, "What time does the restaurant close?" It's more often, "Where I can get a SIM card?" $2-a-minute voice and $10-a-megabyte Internet roaming in many parts of the world make acquiring a local card a must. I recently had a pleasant first morning in an Egyptian town center haggling for a data-only 3.75G SIM card.

The App-Driven Gadget Floodgates Are Open
May 10, 2013

Peruse any big consumer electronics box-store aisles, and you can't help but notice a new style of peripherals hugging the displays. App-driven devices are appearing on store shelves that let homeowners manage and monitor home systems like thermostats and security using a smartphone or a tablet. There are sensors, styluses and add-ons. Later this year, we'll likely see a plethora of smartwatches.

How to Identify Bogus Banking Emails
May 09, 2013

There are ways to stop spam, but what do you do about bogus email -- that is, email that appears legitimate but isn't? Fake emails are sent by criminals in order to get your money, or to take advantage of your computer's processing power and Internet connection to launch Web-clogging Denial of Service attacks on other networks.

All Things Appy: Top 5 Ratings Apps for iOS
May 08, 2013

Whatever you think of the controversy that periodically springs up over some ratings websites, they are undoubtedly useful for gathering information about businesses, products and services. Here we take a look at some of the best specialist ratings and search apps for iOS. At the top of the list is Yelp, which provides crowdsourced localized search for businesses close by.

Adobe Photoshop Touch Is Almost Picture Perfect
May 03, 2013

With tablets possibly on track to overtake PCs within a few years, one might wonder just how that's going to happen. Can tablets really perform as well as PCs in professional environments? I for one am still unpacking my laptop when it comes to power applications like imaging. Well, Adobe claims it now delivers its core Adobe Photoshop functionality in an app for Android tablets.

Buying Into the Bitcoin Craze
May 03, 2013

Although the peer-to-peer currency Bitcoin is unlikely to replace traditional banking, it might have a role to play in e-commerce. The costs associated with Bitcoin transactions are significantly less than with other payment networks. Bitcoin has no central issuing authority and isn't tracked by any authority. However, the currency's value exceeds that of some small countries.

How to Get Breaking News on Twitter
May 02, 2013

News, in particular, breaking news and events, is now easily obtained through Twitter feeds. Here's how to go about building a news feed, and how to follow breaking news events through this new medium. First you'll want to create a News list populated with sources of your choice. Start by accessing Twitter with a Web browser and sign in to your account.

All Things Appy: Top 5 Android Camera Apps
May 01, 2013

As the geek world drools over the first 13-megapixel smartphone camera -- the Android-driven Samsung Galaxy S4 -- we take a look at the current state-of-play in the must-have camera app genre for Android. Ready, set, go. Occasionally an app comes along that blows everything else away.

Mixing Work and Play: The High-Tech Hotel Lobby
April 26, 2013

Work is not only spilling into our leisure time at home, but also taking over our downtime on the road. Work has always eaten into road downtime somewhat, often because of communications inefficiencies. Today overwork is demanded by bosses, globalization, general competitiveness and tight budgets. It's also a response to the seductive call of the smartphone.

How to Silence Telephone Spammers
April 25, 2013

We've been seeing a gradual reduction of spam in our email in-boxes due to efforts by ISPs and email providers, new laws and education. However, the same isn't true for junk phone calls and text messages. Laws provide some protection from marketing intrusions, and it's possible to thwart much of the legally sanctioned bombardment with a few simple steps.

All Things Appy: 5 Best Windows 8 Sports Apps
April 24, 2013

You can do a whole lot more than watch your favorite sports on television these days if you take advantage of a second screen. The concept is simple: The big TV screen provides the visual action, while your laptop or tablet dishes out in-depth analysis and social media commentary on the side. Windows 8 has some superb apps for this purpose.

Hailo Is a Hellaciously Good Taxi-Hailing App
April 19, 2013

Chicagoans and Bostonians, you have a new way of hailing a cab. It's called "Hailo," and it lets you grab a taxi by app command, rather than an arm raise at the curb. Hailo is coming soon to New York and Washington, D.C., and already is available in Toronto and several European cities. Hailo is different from some other taxi apps in that its relationship is with the individual driver, not with an entire fleet.

Preparing for a Disaster: Keeping Communications Alive
April 19, 2013

Disaster communications tech has become a hot topic, spurred in part by last fall's Hurricane Sandy, where major swaths of New York City were rendered without some business-level communications such as those provided by cell networks. Just how does a business approach mid- to long-term communications continuity in the event of a natural disaster?

How to Get Loopy With Vine
April 18, 2013

A flash-in-the pan, or a truly spellbinding new way to share video? Vine is a free Twitter product that is designed to let you share short video, and its popularity is escalating fast. Vine's social video clips are limited to six seconds. They loop. The idea is to be as comedic or creative as possible within the limitations of the medium, and many of the videos are indeed captivating.