Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Tips and More Tips…and a Little News

So how is your Christmas shopping going? Mine is doing fine, thank you very much! I am down to 3 people to buy for (4 if I include myself), so that makes it much easier. Amazon and other on-line retailers make it even easier.

Against my better nature, I include a couple of Microsoft stories here. Sorry, I just felt they were important. I don’t want to be accused of Microsoft censorship. My favorite is story #2…about why Windows 8 is not selling. People don’t like it! That sums up my personal view in a nutshell.

But on the good side, I’ve included several good articles that may help you with your Christmas shopping and tips for making your technology time more productive. There is an old saying that says one teaches what one has most to learn. Count me in on that. I learn a great deal from many of the articles I publish here. I hope you do also.

With that said, let’s move forward. -JRC

Microsoft confirms Surfaces coming to non-Microsoft retail outlets

Currently only available in Microsoft stores, the company is going to expand retail distribution for its Surface tablet/PC devices starting in mid-December…just in case you want one for Christmas.

Opinion: Microsoft’s Astonishing Windows 8 Boondoggle

Herein rests a problem for Microsoft. People just do not like Windows 8. What a surprise!

Windows7, 8, RT to receive more critical patches next Tuesday

The patches are also aimed at the other current versions of Windows, including XP, Vista, and Windows 7, as well as Server 2003 and 2008. Five of the patches are rated critical, while two are deemed important.

On T-Mobile killing the subsidy: It's about time

Under this model, consumers either pay full price for the smartphone, or pay in monthly installments until the device is paid off. There will be no long term contracts under this plan. I wonder if and when other providers will be forced to do the same.

Tablets with the best screens

The importance of a tablet's screen quality cannot be understated. The vast majority of your interactions with a given tablet takes place on its screen. This year we've continued to see tablet screen quality jump by leaps and bounds, especially from the perspective of clarity.

Five lies your TV salesperson will tell you

Using the time-honored tactics of obfuscation, misdirection, and a little bit of fear, the people who try to sell you TVs can hit you with some heavy-duty lies. But when it's your dollar on the line, being prepared with some facts can only be a good thing.

Yahoo! Introduces New Mail

Yahoo! announced today that it has redesigned its once-dominant web email service to be faster, more intuitive, and easier to navigate. And it is accompanying this release with new or improved mobile mail experiences on iPhone, iPad, Android, and even Windows 8.

19 handy Google tricks that you weren’t aware of

There are many tricks hidden away that will help improve your Google experience. To help you out, here are a number of tips and tricks that you can use for four of Google’s more popular features: Gmail, Maps, Google Drive and Google News.

Get Organized: How to Digitize Your Recipes

Learn the best way to turn stacks of index cards and torn-out pages of cooking magazines into a digital, searchable, and sharable recipe collection.

A New Utility to Keep Your PC Clean and Protect Your Privacy

PrivaZer is a deep cleaner that removes traces of information that other cleaners miss and it does this quite quickly. Those who are concerned about privacy will appreciate the thoroughness of the program in removing traces of possibly personal information.

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