Category Archives: Facebook

Do you like Facebook Home?

Facebook Home as the center of our world has escaped into the wild – have you tried it and what’s the verdict?

Facebook Home 1 268x430 Do you like Facebook Home? photo

Facebook Home / Nexus 7

Facebook Home is Facebook’s launch point for Android smartphones and soon to be tablets.

Install it and you may have something to dazzle your friends with for a nanosecond.

While officially only available for a week on select HTC devices in select countries, you can get it working on most Android gear with a patch from Modaco. (see installation notes below)

After a few false starts, I got it working on my Nexus 7.

It’s cool. It’s wonderfully visual.

It’s cryptic and slightly weird. Continue reading →

First Look: Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone Makes Sense

The Nokia Lumia 920 is slick, easy on the eyes, fast and puts Office 365 on your phone

Nokia 920 screen shot 1 180x300 First Look: Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone Makes Sense photo

Nokia 920 home screen

{rating}  The killer feature for the Nokia Lumia 920 Windows Phone 8 is Office 365.

The speed boost with the Lumia 920 versus the iPhone 4 is phenomenal.

I made the switch to Windows Phone this week from an iPhone 4 to a Nokia Lumia 920.

This is my second Windows Phone smartphone. I reviewed the Samsung ATIV S in December.

Of course, the larger 4.5 inch screen is easier on the eyes. Isn’t every smart phone larger than iPhone these days? Apple is so passé.  Continue reading →

Windows 8 Mail Calendar and People apps get refresh bugs still unfixed

Windows 8 Mail Calendar and People embedded apps get refresh with many rough edges yet and a hidden security gotcha from Office 365

Mail calendar and people Windows 8 Mail Calendar and People apps get refresh bugs still unfixed photo

Mail Calendar and People get mid-term update on the road to real app-dom

The much ballyhooed update of core Windows 8 apps came over night on Monday. You may miss the subtle changes if you don’t look closely.

SkyDrive also got an upgrade that seems positive. I’ll research that a little more and report back.

My personal hopes of seeing People fixed so that social media Sharing would work were dashed. People is still an unorganized and buggy app to avoid.

This is a slow march for Microsoft towards creating a Windows-8-only world in which we don’t or can’t fall back on our favorite Desktop applications like Outlook and Facebook.  If that is good or bad is up to you to decide. Continue reading →

Why Did Microsoft Change The Rules of Social Engagement?

Sharing pictures on Facebook, Pinterest. Google+, etc. are regular pastimes, unless you use Windows 8 which limits who can see your favorite posts.

NBC Share 300x180 Why Did Microsoft Change The Rules of Social Engagement? photo

Social media sharing in Windows 8

Windows 8 sharing of pictures or posts is a difficult task, especially when using Windows 8 Apps.

This breaks the rules for social engagement that users find interesting and businesses have adopted as a strategic strategy. There is a suggestion this is part of a new “web intents” function.

Microsoft has changed the rules from using a web page applet like Shareaholic or Discus to their internal operating function - the Charms Bar Share.   Continue reading →

How Windows 8 Broke the Facebook Like Button And How to Fix It

Windows 8 uses a new Charms Bar Share feature that makes social media sharing a hard job – here’s how to fix it

Start Screen Social Media 300x268 How Windows 8 Broke the Facebook Like Button And How to Fix It photo

Windows 8 Start Screen with Social Media apps

Sharing pictures and posts on Facebook, Pinterest. Google+, LinkedIn and Tumblr are regular pastimes for most of us. Forget the Like button because Microsoft has banished it to be replaced with a tile.

For reasons known only to Microsoft, they broke all the established norms of social media engagement with Windows 8 Charms Bar Sharing. It makes for a confusing and frustrating experience. This article will help you get what is available working.   Continue reading →

Post Smartphone ERA says CES exec

Smartphones used less as phones and more as personal computers

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Smartphones as information hub – Samsung ATIV S (photo S. Pate/NJN)

Mid-sized devices like 5″ and 7″ tablets are replacing the small format smartphone as the lines between device categories blurs.

Shawn DuBravac, chief economist at the Consumer Electronics Association, told reporters that making phone calls on smartphones is not their main purpose.

My wife and children could have told him that. They text, message, Tweet, Pin and Facebook but they don’t take calls on their iPhones, Android and Blackberry phones.

Companies like Microsoft with Windows 8 are also trying to blur the border between smartphones and computers so users become device independent.  Continue reading →

iPhone 5 blows away iPhone 4s if your life depends on milliseconds

Say it ain’t so – the iPhone 5 is not that fast

TechCrunch did a side-by-side speed test video of the new iPhone 5 compared to the iPhone 4s. (see copyright notice below)

Guess what? The speed difference on the supposedly faster iPhone 5 is almost non-existent. Facebook loads less than one second faster and a game about 2 seconds faster.

Is that important in life – I doubt it.   Continue reading →