First Look – Logitech Wireless Touchpad and Windows 8

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Stephen Pate

Point, swipe and scroll easily added to Windows 7 and Windows 8 Consumer Preview

Logitech Wireless Touchpad (image Logitech)

The Logitech Wireless Touchpad is one of the best and easiest ways to add multi-touch computing to Windows 8 (Win8CP) and Windows 7.

At half the price of Apple’s Magic TrackPad, the Logitech is a no-brainer.

Even better, it has one or two-finger swipe which has eluded me on the Apple TrackPad so far.

Nothing could be simpler than unboxing the Logitech Touchpad, placing it right or left of the keyboard and plugging in the USB 2.4 HZ stub-adapter. After that, the Touchpad just works. Continue reading →

A Piano From Germany With A Colorful Past

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Stephen Pate

Parrots and pianos live long enough to experience human history – my piano has 120 years of birth, death, business twists, war, hard times, and relationship endings

Gebr.Schulz baby grand klavier

By Stephen Pate – My piano has a colorful history. Built by a 120-year-old German company founded with Steinway who survived two World Wars, it was sold to a German ~~Canadian~~ who skipped town without paying.

Updated 3/8/2012 by Christoph Schulz – see end note

He shipped it to Canada and didn’t pay the customs duty in Halifax either. The piano was sold to a musician who traded years later to a music dealer. The dealer jacked the price up and traded it to me while stiffing me for an additional $7 grand.
Continue reading →

Apple developing new audio file format to offer adaptive streaming

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Stephen Pate

Format will provide high- or low-quality files to iCloud users

Neil Young, who has claimed that Apple co-founder Steve Jobs wanted to develop high-resolution audio options (photo Neil Young LeNoise)

Guardian.co.uk – Apple is working on a new audio file format that will offer “adaptive streaming” to provide high- or low-quality files to users of its iCloud service.

The new format could mean that users can get “high-definition” audio by downloading to an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. Alternatively, it could offer a streaming service – like that of Lala.com, the music streaming and online storage company, which Apple acquired late in 2009.
Continue reading →

Windows 8 Guide for Business tips hat to mobile and network performance

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Stephen Pate

Users will like the new pretty face – business will like Windows 8 for employee efficiency, enhanced security, network connectivity, multiple form factors, energy conservation, and Internet Explorer 10

Windows 8 soft keyboard user interface (illustration Microsoft)

By Stephen Pate – Aquilium Group - While some will focus on the touch interface, there are substantial improvements in Windows 8 that addresses energy costs, organizational security and productivity both within the corporate network and through mobile access. Continue reading →

Microsoft, Google, Apple, Amazon and RIM sign privacy accord

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Stephen Pate

In step with President Obama, the California Attorney General reaches signed agreement on consumer privacy

California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris signs accord with major IT companies (photo Government of California)

Aquilium Group – Within hours of President Obama’s announcement of the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, the State Attorney General of California, Kamala D. Harris, announced an accord to protect consumers’ privacy. (Related: Internet Privacy Gets White House Attention)

Signing on the accord negotiated with the Federal Department of Justice were Microsoft, Google, Apple, Amazon, RIM and HP. The agreement also includes major mobile service providers and is global in scope.

“Attorney General Harris forged the agreement with six companies whose platforms comprise the majority of the mobile apps market: Amazon, Apple, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft and Research In Motion,” said the press release from Harris’ office. “These platforms have agreed to privacy principles designed to bring the industry in line with a California law requiring mobile apps that collect personal information to have a privacy policy. The majority of mobile apps sold today do not contain a privacy policy.” Continue reading →

Internet Privacy Gets White House Attention

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Stephen Pate

President Obama to announce new regulations to control online use of personal privacy

President Barack Obama (White House photo)

Aquilium Group – The White House will announce today new sweeping regulations and seek Congressional approval of statutory authorities over the online privacy of consumers.
A paper was issued today signaling the President’s intentions entitled Consumer Data Privacy in a Networked World: A Framework for Protecting Privacy and Promoting Innovation in a Global Digital Economy. Continue reading →

Microsoft Windows 8 will link you to the Cloud more easily than Apple iCloud

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Stephen Pate

Microsoft SkyDrive will provide more almost seamless Cloud storage and streaming on Windows 8

Everything is The Cloud these days and Microsoft will up the ante in being your Cloud provider with free Windows 8 SkyDrive integration.

Download the Consumer Preview of Windows 8

The desktop, MS Office and Windows 8 Metro apps will allow you to automatically store your important files, photos and videos on your computer and in The Cloud. Any file you want will be available on our Windows Phone, laptop, desktop and wherever you go.
Continue reading →

DNT+ takes back your online privacy for free

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Stephen Pate

Free IE or Firefox plugin blocks advertising tracking site

DNT+, short for Do Not Track, is free browser plugin that stops advertising and online behavioral sites from tracking your every move on the web.

The software is from Abine The Online Privacy Company. You can download it free. If you use several browsers like Firefox and Internet Explorer 9, visit the site with each browser and a browser specific version is downloaded and installed. Continue reading →

Windows 8 consumer preview February 29 2012

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Stephen Pate

We’ve waited and it’s only a few days away for the next version of Microsoft’s popular operating system

Windows 8 Metro interface

Microsoft announced that the next step in releasing Windows 8 will occur with a Consumer Preview release of Windows 8.

Actually it didn’t announced the preview but did invite people to a special event in Barcelona, Spain after which consumers will be able to download the free consumer preview of Windows 8. Continue reading →

Lynda.com makes photo book production a breeze

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Stephen Pate

Online course explains how to plan, organize and publish a photo book on Blurb.com

Lynda.com Creating Photo Books with Blurb, showing book cover design

Self-publishing a book is a daunting task made relatively easy with the Lynda,com course Creating Photo Books with Blurb.

For example, if you want to create a really special Valentine’s Day photo book covered in How to make the best Valentine for under $50, the related Lynda course takes about 2 to 3 hours to complete and costs $25, or $37.50 if you use their sample files. The fee is a one month membership and you can also take other courses during the month. There also is a Lynda.com 7-day free trial.
Continue reading →

Google Chrome breaks computers again

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Stephen Pate

Installing Chrome browser with MS Office breaks the hyperlink feature

Sneak attack on MS Office and LiveMail

Google Earth comes automatically with Google Chrome browser. Installing Chrome on a Windows 7 computer which has either MS Office or Windows LiveMail will break the hyperlink feature.

Hyperlink allows to you to click on a link in a document and automatically go to the internet page in the link.

Continue reading →