Only your phone runs on Android?

Android not only runs on phone but several other devices too. This Linux-based, open source operating system has gained huge popularity and has occupied the major portion of the global mobile market. However many users are unaware about the other devices that is powered by this OS. Let us have alook at them:

Security System

There are home Security systems which are controlled by Android Touch Screen Controller. If you want to disarm or arm then this is required. Though it might be a bit slow but that’s not an issue if the job is done.  

Television

Android also has a mini PC which can be powered into the TV. Android functions as if it is on personal or small or personal screen. Exoon Power Pro runs Android 4.4 KitKat. SkyStreamX runs on Android 4.2 Jelly Bean.

Refrigerator

Samsung has a refrigerator called RF4289HARS with an 8″ LCD display which runs Android. It is available at some physical stores and online retailers. You can also tweet from the fridge. 

Mini PCs

Thses Mini PCs have the power of TV boxes. These function on own and run completely on this open source application. However the hardware makers have taken this lightly. Users would not get LG, Sony, Toshiba or Samsung products. These are made unknown brands which are yet to gain reputation among consumers. 

  

Cameras

This could not be avoided. Nikon has Coolpix S800c. Samsung has couple of Android Cameras and started Galaxy Camera that has been replace with the Galaxy Camera 2. They have the Galaxy NX hat is also powered by this OS.

Karaoke Machine

Lemon KTV is for Karaoke and the users can get a relative experience.

Car device

Parrot Asteroid is a touchscreen device to be installed in cars that has the standard size as 2-DIN. It has a complete range of ports for the speakers, USB ports for phone connections and storage, a 3.5mm headphone jack and SD card storage. It has no integrated 3G or 4G.

Ouya

Ouya is an open source gaming console that has popularized Android versions. It runs 4.1 Jelly Bean that has 1GB of RAM, 8GB storage and an Nvidia Tegra 3 system-on-a-chip. 810 games are available. Each of them is a development kit which allows people to develop games without any license or an SDK. It has a unique interface that revolves around gaming.

Amazon Fire TV

This is an Android based set-top box which runs FireOS 3.0 Mojito. This is Amazon’s altered version of Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean. It can access the Amazon App Store.

Smartwatches

Smart watches are gaining popularity. Motorola and LG would launch these watches based on Android Wear. The operating system has been designed for smartwatches.

This is not all as there are several devices running on this.

Free up space on iPad/iPhone

IPads and iPhones lack file systems the apps and the files do consume space.  You can obviously know as to which program is consuming that limited space.Each bit of data on the device is associated with an app. Videos are part of Videos app, Music files are part of Music app and photos are part of the Photos app.

View Storage Usage of Per-App

The device’s usage screen shows a view of the storage space that is used on the device and exactly how much is being used by each app. Just open Settings app, choose the General category and tap Usage to view it. The number that is provided to the right of each app includes the application files, cached documents and data as well as media files. Tap the app in order to view as to which part what part of the app is using up how much of space.

Erase Apps

Just make up more space by deleting the apps. Games occupy the most. Just tap an app in the list and tap Delete App in order to get rid of it from the device. The app can be reinstalled later. 

Get Documents & Data cleared

Some apps have “Documents & Data” which occupy space.  It includes the files and documents that has been created or downloaded by the app.   This is not easy to do. You can instead delete app altogether and if required reinstall it later. The temporary data of it can be cleared from within.  However not all applications have this facility.

Remove videos, Music, Photos and other related Files

Music, Videos, photos, podcasts and other media files are stored which is a part of the associated app. The Music and Videos which are in the storage list show the amount of space they are consuming. Just tap the Videos app in order to see the list of videos taking up space. Swipe a video to the left and tap Delete to remove it from your device, freeing up space. The Podcasts app allows you to delete downloaded episodes in a similar way. The Music app shows the amount of space used by music on your device. Swipe All Music to the left and tap Delete in order to remove music from your device.

If you want to remove individual songs, open Music app itself, swipe a song to left and tap delete. The Photos & Camera app in the Usage list shows the amount of storage that is used by photos on your device. In order to remove these photos, you need to open Photos app, choose the photos that you want to remove and tap Delete button.

Wipe out Browsing Data

The Usage screen displays several types of browsing data when the Safari app is tapped. Just tap Website Data to and tap ‘Remove All Website Data’ to eradicate cookies and cache. Swipe to left on ‘Offline Reading List’ and tap ‘Delete’ to rub out other types of data.

In case of Google Chrome, clear cache by opening Chrome app, accessing Settings screen, tapping Privacy and clearing browsed data. The browsing data appears as Chrome’s “Documents & Data” on Settings screen.  

In case you are unable to determine as to how to clear the data and documents of an app, uninstall it and if required reinstall.

Know how to secure iphone or ipad with a complex password that no body except you can manipulate your device or important document. 

Turn off twitter email notifications

Twitter enables for its users email notifications by default. You would get emails at regular intervals regarding stuff that is happening on the network. 

Twitter divides the details into activities which are related to you as well as the tweets made by you to retweets, twitter updates and network activities. You might like some of the details given but not all. If you are hanging around on Twitter or even use one of the apps of service regularly, email notifications are not required. 

Twitter uses a sophisticated system as far as email notifications are concerned. Just turn off notifications if you prefer or others in which you are not interested. Smart notification is used by default that tries to reduce number of emails which you receive.

You can turn off twitter email notifications follow the steps given below:

·         Visit the notifications page on Twitter. Just go to the link directly: https://twitter.com/settings/notifications or open it manually. Thereafter click on options icon which is at the top right, choose settings from it and then email notifications.

·         Sign in to the account. Click on ‘turn off’ button in order to disable the email notifications.

·         Click on save changes button which is at the bottom of the page subsequently.

·         In case you do not want to disable notifications by email completely, go through the individual email options in order to disable the ones in which one is not interested. In case you do not want to receive any twitter updates just disable them completely by unchecking the options which are listed under "updates from Twitter" section.

·         This is applicable for retweet, network activities and tweet. Now customize each of the notification individually. The “activity related to you and your tweets" section does provide nine different options for notification. Here notifications can be disabled when somebody is following you. However you would get notice when a direct message is delivered on twitter.   

·         You can enable all or some of the email notifications any time by reversing the changes that have been made.

Twitter has a useful twitter alert system. Through which subscriber of any organization could get regular alerts about important event or natural calamity or reminders. Know how to set and get regular twitter alerts to secure or prevent valuable human resource.

Backup options for your PC

Backing up the system is a form of assurance that you need not worry. You are relaxed as even if the system fails whatever be the reason no files would be lost. You can backup through few options which are mentioned below: 

We would provide various backup options for safeguarding your data on which you can rely. 

External Hard Drive

External hard drive is one of the most popular methods for storing data on the PC as they are easy to set up. The hard drive is connected to the system through FireWire, USB or eSATA. Several external manufacturers provide such application with their drives which can be used as unusual solution for backing up.  

USB Drive

In case you do not have huge data to backup say less than 128GB then simple USB drive would do. This basically moves data from on PC to another or other device but high capacity ones are popular. They are very effective. For additional capacity there are manufacturers who offer 128GB USB drive which are purposed for that including ready backup software installed onto the drive. 

Additionally, some USB drives slot in a physical single touch button on actual drive that works with the backup software. Just tap the button on USB drive and the backup is ready. 

Backup Internal Hard Drive

If only single computer needs backup then you can add an extra internal hard drive to the system. Since hard drive would be connected directly to motherboard extra speed would be offered which can be connected through USB. If you have a spare hard drive then install it on the PC n the manner the hard drive is connected. You can buy an extra SATA cable in order to connect the drive. Now choose a reliable back up program, an external hard drive and you are ready. 

Cloud

Many people use cloud storage in order to backup important files as well as data on their computers. This is used as a storage location for some important data. Create new folder or location by using a cloud provider of your preference and name it as “backup.” Copy important data to cloud and PC. You can encrypt the data too.

Network attached storage

Network attached storage is a good option if there are multiple devices or PCs which you want to back up to centralized location.  If you have multiple computers or devices that you want to backup then choose a centralized location. Most of the NAS storage options involve connecting an external hard drive or backup device to the router or network.

Tape Drive

If you have important data which needs to be backed up and archived for a particular time period then a tape drive is the best answer.  It uses reels in order to wind magnetic strip. Chronological access storage is offered where device like standard HDD hard drive make use of random access storage. Tape drive is a good choice for durational or archive backup and they are reliable good qualities of data preservation.  It is not suitable for consumer backup tasks and standard storage purposes. These are expensive and are coupled with a more costly backup application.   

DVD / CD /Blu-ray

Burning of CD/DVD burning is a known method for creating periodical and incremental backups. This is not cheap and reliable. As you are backing up certain data or executing system backups to removable media, create a defined data backup and keep the CDs/DVDs safely.

To know more about Antivirus, online backup and service. You could visit https://www.protectandaccess.com/online-backup.php

Zip and unzip files on Chromebook

There are users who find Chromebooks very useful and some others lament its purchase. Users are confused about its functionality of whether it has the ability to unzip or zip files. Chromebook users have three options in this regard.

Zip or Unzip Using the Chrome OS

ZIP files are dealt with unconventionally. However both are not compatible.  Unzipping is not difficult as several methods used are known to Windows and Mac users. Just right click on zipped file and extract its contents to new folder. You can also double click that zipped file.

Chrome OS treats a zipped file like external drive. If you double click on it, file is mounted thereby allowing you to browse through those files. If you have decided the files that you want, just copy them to Downloads folder or Google Drive by using the Chromebook’s File app. The ZIP file should be saved locally in Downloads folder. It is bewildering to create a zipped file but simple enough for an inexperienced user.

However if you try to create it form the files saved in Google Drive then it is highly confusing. If you choose the files you want to zip, right click, ‘Zip selection’ option would be unavailable. Just move the files to Download folder before zipping them.  Chromebooks save documents automatically in the cloud by default, once the files are moved to local storage and then create a ZIP file you would see that ‘Zip selection’ option is available now.

Unzip with the help of apps in Chrome Web Store

You need not use Chrome OS to unzip files. Use an app from Chrome Web store. There are several third-party zipping tools for Windows and Mac. There is not much choice as far as Chrome OS is concerned.  

Unzip with the help of a Cloud-Based Service

In case you do not want to use Chrome OS, apply a web-based service like ‘ZipShare‘. It is developed by WinZip makers, this extraction tool allows to upload ZIP files from local machine or online storage spaces before placing the unzipped files in the personal online ZipShare account. It has a 50 Mb upload limit. It allows sharing of unzipped files through several social media platforms.

Add useful toolbars to Windows taskbar

Windows desktop can be a lovely pace to work provided it has been set up properly. Native toolbars would make it more efficient by placing details and shortcuts at your fingertips. If you are located in Windows taskbar then you would not have to close windows or open folders and files through Windows Explorer to access them. We can see how these toolbars can be useful:

How to add Toolbar

Just right click Windows taskbar, choose Toolbars from menu and either choose an existing toolbar, or click on new toolbar. When adding new toolbar, choose a folder on your computer which contains the apt content. Create a new folder as you would pick the location and later add the content. 

Useful toolbars from Windows: 

Address: Open the latest used folders type the application names, files, folders as well as launch websites in default browser. If you want to go to the address toolbar with the help of keyboard shortcuts, click Windows + B, followed by Shift + Tab.

Links: Add the favorite websites and make them the default browser. This is same as Internet Explorer Favorites Bar. You can search as well as edit the content of the folder in the Windows user folder under Favorites.

Tablet PC Input Panel of Windows 7 or Touch Keyboard of Windows 8: This button launches a keyboard which would respond to touch input on the touch screen. It works with mouse too.

Desktop: View the desktop items in a single long list. This maintains easy access to shortcuts when the desktop icons are hidden to make it look clean.   

Quick Launch Bar: This is a list of icons which are embedded in taskbar. It is no more featured as a toolbar anymore but is an important component of Windows OS even in Windows 8. If you want to launch programs quickly it’s great. Files can also be added by launching your most used programs, but you can also add files you need to access frequently.

If you want to customize it, right-click and unlock Taskbar. Now right click Quick launch and remove checkmarks for Show text and title.  Taskbar is not locked they, Quick Launch can be dragged to a different location. 

Short Notes & Lists  

If you keep looking at bits of information repeatedly then keep it organized and accessible through toolbar located in the taskbar. If you want to find your things quickly then this is the best solution.   

Custom Toolbar  

In order to create this list, form a new toolbar and then fill it with files. Since note is title of the shortcut file, the characters and its length are limited. Notepad files can be used which can also be saved as.LNK files. You can choose custom icon: right-click on file, choose Properties, and click Change Icon… button.

Start Menu Toolbar

Those who are using Windows 7 OS, you can use as well as customize existing Start Menu. If you are using Windows 8, install a third party Start Menu.  Make use of toolbar to re-create Start Menu. Just create a new toolbar, take it to folder which contains content of the substitute Start Menu. Add the desired content to respective folder, and finally move toolbar to local Start Menu location which is on the far left of taskbar.

Start Menu    

You can use the combination of Win+X Power User Menu. This open as you click Windows + X keys; then right-click Windows 8 Start button.

For any technical support for windows you could contact protectandaccess.com. 

Be in shape with Chrome apps

Winter is a season in which one tends to grab all oily snacks and other heavy items. However summer is just the other way. In short it’s time to get that perfect size! 

Good news for you! Chrome has introduced apps in the web store which has free workout apps for health conscious people like us.

GAIN Fitness: This app allows you to create customized workout regimes for home and gym. They are based on scientific and fitness theories. It also has plans from health experts. There are more than seven hundred individual workouts suitable to all fitness levels. There are some which require other equipment. However most of them can be done if you have the will to do. You can also tell the app if there is any gym or equipment in the home and the app would build accordingly the workout. 

The workouts include fitness methodologies. iPhone users can get to see it in iOS format.   

BodBot: This has become one of the inevitable fitness apps. This app allows planning the work schedule as per your stamina while taking care of food requirements as a comprehensive food plan is generated. The workouts are personalized and based on the fitness ambitions. It also informs the user as to which items can be used for exercises at home. It can also make use of ladders, footballs, chairs and beds to build the workout equipments. 

The app would also help you manage goals as well as schedules by administering the available equipment and exercise history. It would also offer new workouts and regimes based on the progress of the user. When fitness improves workout decree would be difficult. 

Personal Trainer- Yoga: There are people who do not like to hit gym regularly or even have no time. You can consider doing yoga which is best for flexibility, mental health and musculoskeletal problems. This is one of the best yoga apps for Chrome. You would be able to learn simple yoga postures and provide beneficial and therapeutic options. You would be guided through a warm up before making a customized routine depending on your likings. Each position is coupled with a step-by-step diagram and clues to maintain it and how to prevent injuries.

Fitocracy: If you are a social networking bee then this app would inspire and motivate you to be in shape. It tracks workouts as well as provide feedback. This is created around the social element which allows you to make friends with users by following them, motivating them, and commenting on performances and scores. This also has a gaming feature which allows you to earn points for the workouts. It also has an iOS as well as Android version.

Google chrome has become one of the most popular browser in internet. Through google chrome we could do a lot of useful things and solve a significant number of problems. Here are the few post regarding Chrome and its usefulness.

Zip and unzip files onChromebook

How to prevent auto playingHTML5 and flash in Chrome

How to Create Addthis Button in Google Chrome Browser