It was a triple header day in the world of hi-tech. Amazon gave us a brand new smartphone; Adobe gave us huge updates to all their major products; and T-Mobile gave us seven day free trials on their phones and music streaming that doesn’t count against your data caps. Now that is a good day.
The Amazon Fire Phone is a brand new entry into the world of smartphones. By that I mean it is not running Android, iOS, or Windows Phone operating systems. It has its own operating system. But that also means you don’t get as many apps as the others offer. But it does has some amazing new features never seen before (read our first two stories for all the new features).
But, like all their products, this phone is designed to keep you in the Amazon Ecosystem. Take the phone into any store, scan the barcode of any item, and Amazon will give their price instantly…and you can place the order for it right on the spot. That ought to make many retailers very unhappy.
On the other side of the U.S., Adobe gave us a great show of upgrades for all their Creative Cloud products. Now, the majority of us don’t need most of their products…they are for folks in the design world. But, there are two products that interest us very much: Photoshop and Lightroom, designed for photographers…and there are more of us than there are designers.
As you may know, Adobe no longer sells their products individually…rather they bundle them into packages that you rent. The full Adobe Creative Suite, for instance, is $50 per month. However, the good news for us photographers is that the Photoshop/Lightroom bundle is only $9.95 a month. For this small amount, your software is continually upgraded to the latest version. When you take into account the former price of Adobe upgrades, $9.95 is a steal! So I joined right away. I already have the latest version of Lightroom, but now I also have the latest Photoshop with all the new bells and whistles. And it is impressive.
But for my $9.95, I also get Lightroom installed on my iPad and iPhone and a brand new product for the iPad call Photoshop Fix. PS: You can currently download both those products on to your iPad for free for a limited time.
If you would like to see a replay of yesterday’s announcements, they are available on the Web at their respective Websites.
This edition is full of good information, including great tips and tricks for your desktop and laptop Windows computers. Be sure and read those! So I will shut up now and let you get on with it. Have a great weekend!! -JRC
Tech News and Opinions
Amazon announces the Fire Phone, $199 with 2-year contract for 32GB
The phone's most-hyped capability, of course, is its motion-tracking screen—four cameras on the front of the device track your head as you move it around, along with infrared lights to make sure the feature works even in dark rooms.
Firefly is the Amazon Fire Phone's secret weapon
Analysis: With contextual search, price comparison, and checkout all rolled into one, Firefly is the key feature that brings Amazon's fight to the doorstep of every retail store.
Adobe unveils 2014 Creative Cloud updates
Adobe has announced a major update to Creative Cloud, updating all 14 of its applications, including Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign...and introducing us to some new products.
Former FCC Commissioner: “We Should Be Ashamed Of Ourselves” For State of Broadband In The U.S.
Since the 2010 net neutrality rule was vacated in February he has been urging the FCC to reclassify broadband ISPs as a common carrier service. He has also advocated against continued media consolidation and big telecom mergers
Why you'll keep getting hacked
Hacked companies have exposed the personal details of 110 million Americans -- that's half of the nation's adults. Here's why it keeps happening.
Computer Tips and Tricks
How to upgrade an old PC: No-brainer improvements anyone can do
Your PC’s hardware isn’t actually becoming slower. Startup programs, junk files, and even clumps of dust are just weighing it down. If you give your PC’s software and hardware a quick tune-up, it should run like it did the day you bought it. Inexpensive hardware upgrades can even make your PC run faster than it ever did.
Top 10 fixes for common PC problems
Here are 10 Answer Line articles from the last two years that every Windows user should read.
If you need a robust PC cleaning tool for your machine, Advanced Uninstaller Pro is a must download. This free tool contains numerous tools that others charge for, uses minimal resources on your machine, and doesn't overwhelm you with ads or pop-ups, making it a perfect download if your PC needs a tuneup.
Review: The best password managers for PCs, Macs, and mobile devices
6 local and cloud-based password managers make passwords stronger and online life easier for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone users
Data-encryption alternatives to TrueCrypt
It seems as if everyone who kept sensitive files secure did it with TrueCrypt. Edward Snowden depended on it. So did I. But now that the popular disk-encryption app is effectively dead — at least for the foreseeable future — it’s time to look for a replacement.
Mobile Computing
T-Mobile goes nuts at today's Uncarrier 5.0 and 6.0 event
T-Mobile wants to make it simpler to test their network. They have introduced T-Mobile Test Drive, in which they allow you to “cheat on your carrier” for 7 days. John Legere is calling it a “7-night stand”. All for free! And, they announced music streaming will not count against your data pool. WOW!
Adobe Lightroom For iPhone, Photoshop Mix For iPad Released
Adobe has been busy preparing for a series of updates and new additions for iOS over the past few months, and today, has launched Photoshop Mix for iPad in conjunction with the roll-out of a Lightroom app for iPhone users.
20 Siri tips that'll make your life easier
There are so many ways Siri can make your life easier. But if you don't know the proper commands, you might get a lot of unwanted sass.
Stay Safe While Staying Connected to Your Tablet
Thanks to wireless technology, all-day battery life, and a bevy of useful apps, tablets give you the power to get online and stay productive from almost anywhere. But it only takes one security mishap to bring everything crashing down.
iOS 8 features already available on Android
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery -- well, many of Apple's "new" features are already available on Google's operating system and have been for quite some time.
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