Friday, March 29, 2013

Good News: No Depressing Microsoft Stories Today

Every once-in-a-while, I get to do a Microsoft-free day. Oh, there are plenty of stories out there…trust me on that one. Just none that are really important. Today, I want to keep everything on a mostly positive note. The first story is a bit of a bummer, but the rest are interesting and may be of help to you.

My two favorite stories this day are #2, about the 10 new features now in Feedly…and #3 about the latest update to one of my favorite apps, Flipboard.

Feedly has become my RSS reader of choice. I hardly look at Google Reader any more. I’ve been able to customize Feedly to meet my needs…and the 10 new added features really make it better.

As for Flipboard, it is one of my most used apps on the iPad. Now, with the release of V.2, I can easily create my own beautiful magazines in just seconds. I’ve created two so far and am enjoying the experience. The good news is that I can also add stories to my magazine direct from the Web browser on my desktop computer. The bad news is no one can see my magazines unless they have Flipboard installed. I hope they fix that so my magazines can be seen by all. 

As I’ve said here before, I dislike publishing rumors as so many do not come to pass. Too many tech journalists publish rumors as if they are facts. But, occasionally, I will let you know some of the most possible rumors…just as long as you know they are rumors.

Current rumors floating around the tech world: Apple will announce its own streaming music service this summer; Another Apple rumor says the iPhone 5s will be announced in June; Facebook will announce their own branded Android phone next week; and some new code released by Microsoft indicates they may produce 7” Surface tablets in the future. Take them all with a grain of salt.

There is some other good information here including Part 5 of setting up a home network; some pricing comparisons for all the cell phone carriers; and some good info on charging your devices…some of it surprised me. So let’s get right to it. - JRC

Who's To Blame For The Huge Cyberattack Slowing The Web? Your ISP

The Internet is groaning today under the load of a huge cyberattack - one of the worst on record - that's clogged some of its most vital systems. almost no one is talking about the real villains here: the world's Internet service providers.

Feedly Updates with 10 New Features to Help Ease Your Google Reader Transition

Feedly has updated their interface to make it a bit more friendly to Google Reader converts, while making it easy to switch between all its different views. Its List View is denser now, similar to what Google Reader fans are used to, while also adding keyboard shortcuts, better sorting, and more.

Flipboard 2.0 Lets You Curate Your Own Stunning Digital Magazines

Flipboard remains one of the most beautiful ways to peruse the day’s news, photos and social media sharings. While the first iteration of Flipboard was all about consumption and discovery, today’s update adds a new dimension to the experience: content creation and curation.

Google Keep vs. OneNote vs. Evernote: We name the note-app winner

Think of these tools as sticky notes on steroids. They're great for managing day-to-day errands and stashing rich media content, but also exceptional for organizing tasks at work. (Hint: its not Keep)

What’s the best way to charge your mobile devices?

You're packing for a trip. You've already crammed the chargers for your smartphone and laptop into your bag. Then you ask yourself: "Do I really need to bring them all? Wouldn't one or two chargers do the trick?"

Google, LinkedIn, and Microsoft prove no cloud is too big to fail

Crashes are inevitable in the cloud. The trick to a successful cloud strategy is to design for the impending failure.

Home networking explained, Part 5: Setting up a home router

CNET editor Dong Ngo explains the best way to set up most Wi-Fi routers: via the Web interface. This guide can be applied to all consumer-grade routers in the market, save those from Apple.

4G data plans: Less choice than the competition might indicate

AT&T vs. Sprint vs. Verizon vs. T-Mobile. T-Mobile debuts its 'radical' data plans, which tend to cost less than competitors, but overall expenses are similar.

The 6 Most Popular eBook Formats To Know About

Here are the top e-book formats used by today's e-book readers, phones, and tablets. Tip: the terrific free program, Calibre, can convert one format to another to accommodate your device.

Calibre Portable Download

Calibre Portable is program to manage your e-book collection. It acts as an e-library and also allows for format conversion, news feeds to eBook conversion, as well as e-book reader sync features and an integrated e-book viewer. The most important companion you can have for any e-book reader.

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