Track your stolen laptop
There’s a super sweet program out there called GadgetTrak. If someone grabs your computer thinking they go a free laptop they’re wrong as long as you have this program installed.
It can locate your laptop or phone using its GPS chip (if your mobile computer has one) and wi-fi positioning. It’s amazing and it locates your device to an exact area. What’s even cooler is that if your laptop has a camera (and what laptop doesn’t these days) it will activate the webcam, start taking pictures and sending them to you. Chances are good you’ll get some useful information out of that (at the very least it will be super cool).
Laptops, tablets and smartphones are exceptionally popular to steal these days, so it would be wise to invest in a program like this that will protect you from thieves looking to profit from your trusting nature. To cover all possible kinds of users, there are Windows, Mac OS X, iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry and Android versions of GadgetTrak, so whatever device you use, you can install this security program on it.
Also, the last but not the least important thing – be sure not to leave your laptop or phone unattended for even a little bit of time. People can be awfully mean and steal from you.
Best Free Android Apps Out There
With more and more manufacturers offering android on their mobiles, the demand for android apps has seen a manifold rise and so now we have many popular free apps that come under the category best free Android apps. Android, Google’s OS, that started a bit after Apple’s iOS has steadily eaten into Apple’s pie and is now a force to reckon with. But with so many apps being launched every single day, the attention span for each app has seen a gradual decline. But there are still many apps that continue to top the popularity ratings.
It is no surprise that social networking apps are the most highly rated. Here are some of the best free Android apps
Seesmic
In a sea of twitter apps out there, this app just stands out. With its incredibly beautiful design and interface, it is a treat to use. What’s more? It even supports multiple accounts. This surely is a winner even among the best free android apps.
Facebook is extremely popular. No one can deny the fact that the rise of Android and other smartphones has also helped Facebook in getting a stronger holding in the market. The Facebook app also helps in this. It is extremely quick and also very easy to use. While most of you Android users would be having it, it is an obligation for me to say it – this app indeed is a must have.
Google sky map
Now this one is pure fun. Not of much use for most of us out there, it never fails to amaze you. Just hold your phone towards the sky and see the magic. It tells you what all star constellations are visible at this moment and for the astrology freaks, what the current position of your concerned planet is.
Winamp
While most of you new geeks would not have heard much about this windows media player, it certainly has a pretty good app on the Android platform. Yes, most of you would not need it with your incredibly advanced phone music players, you cannot deny that giving that this app is free, it does pack a punch with sync for mac and iTunes support.
Android, being an open source platform, has some really incredible apps. Anyone with a bit of knowledge of app development can create a wonderful and see his or her app in the best free Android apps list.
Get protected with anonymizing services
If you’re an avid web browser and you’re venturing into some of the darker or less safe corners of the internet then you might want to consider an IP anonymizing service. Perhaps you already use one. If not, you should consider it to protect your anonymity.
The truth is, the more information businesses on the web can gather on you the more money they can make off of you. If they know your search history then can aim targeted ads at you. If they know where you’re from they can do the same. Also, if you’re dipping into stuff that’s not technically legal (like downloading music, say) then you might want to protect your IP address to feel as safe as possible.
For the most basic protection in this realm there are free anonymizing services. To put it as simply as possible, they tell the website you’re visiting that you’re coming from a totally random IP. Your true location is never revealed. It’s a simple and elegant solution and for the most part it will protect you when you’re on the web. There are plenty you can use for free so it’s not hard to find the right service for your needs. Generally they have you install a small program on your computer and it works in the background to mask your IP from the sites you’re visiting. It couldn’t be easier, although they’ll likely try to get you to buy upgraded protection. They have to make money in some manner, after all.
The free services don’t protect everything though. If you use an FTP program to connect to servers for downloading files, etc, then your IP will be revealed. That’s when you need to upgrade to a VPN service. It’s a far more comprehensive solution that protects all internet traffic leaving your house. These services almost always require a subscription but if you’re serious about your security you’ll go for it and you won’t regret it. You couldn’t make a better investment.
Battery Eater: Laptop Battery’s Benchmark
You know how frustrating it can be when a fully charged laptop battery that should supposedly last you over 3 hours, quietly dies after one hour of operation leaving you with work undone, movie unwatched, email unsent or Skype call unfinished. Running out of battery life when you’re on the go can certainly ruin your day and if you’ve already been in such situation, you’ll certainly want to avoid it in the future.
This is where a program like Battery Eater comes handy. It is a benchmarking tool for your laptop’s battery that tests your battery’s performance; estimates the minimum working time of a laptop, given all power saving options are turned off. The software is 100% free and the size of a download is less than 800 kb, so there’s no reason you shouldn’t try it ASAP.
Download and install the Battery Eater, and click on the “Begin test when disconnecting AC” option in the main window. Then, make sure the battery is fully charged and unplug the AC adapter to begin the test. The program will run CPU and GPU-intensive tasks until the battery of your laptop runs out which will give you an idea how many hours of operation you can expect from a laptop with a fully-charged battery. There are less intense tests as well, when the laptop is tested in “Reader mode” and “Idle mode” (these can be activated on the “Options” page). Upon completion, the program will generate a Discharge report and a log file that you can view and analyze.
In some cases the information you get may have an awakening effect on you, so much the discrepancy between the producer’s announced battery life and the real values will be. Hopefully, knowing the accurate information about your battery’s potential will motivate you to charge it more often and help prevent loss of any important data.
Free iPad apps for musicians
There an explosion in apps for music fans happening on iPad and iPhone and while there’s an abundance of excellent paid applications, there is also a number of free iPad apps worth checking out.
A free iPad app that will help You learn basics of music and play the piano. The sound quality is really good, in fact it delivers much more that You could expect from a freebie. It allows for playing chords with up to 5 fingers, shifting octaves and notes. A remarkable feature is a “duette” mode that lets two people play at once my flipping a second keyboard. The full paid version should You decide to get it, also offers tuning, recording and other exciting features.
This free iPad app that simulates the sound of a classical guitar with nylon strings could be even better in some way than Apple’s headliner, GarageBand. Although You’re limited you to playing with only six chords and “playing” itself doesn’t really resemble one of a real guitar, You can create your own chord sets. This makes this free iPad app really useful for playing or writing basic songs.
This particular loop-based DJ-style free iPad app has two virtual decks and is aimed at pro musicians. You don’t need a separate mixer, as two decks are always playing together. Just select one of decks, position the crossfader, tap play and you’re guaranteed to get a perfect mix. For non-professional musicians, there is a choice from 5 free bundled dance music tracks.
Beatwave is a simplified synth that lets even people without any musical ability create amazing tracks with this free iPad app. Beatwave has an impressive range of instrument samples and You can build pleasing tunes just by prodding a grid. Using just your finger you can rapidly create professional sounding compositions, save them and share with your friends via email. Additional instruments are also available via in-app purchases.
Rj Voyager is a free iPad app for DJs that enables you to create wild mixes of synthesizers, drums, reality effects grabbed through the mic and filters. It’s possible to choose one of bundled tracks and tweak its attributes in real-time via an intuitive, futuristic interface.
Adobe rolls out Photoshop applications for iPad
Adobe has announced a soon launch of three new iPad tools that are able to interact with Adobe Photoshop CS5: Adobe Eazel, Adobe Color Lava, and Adobe Nav. Each of the tools is supposed to run in conjunction with Photoshop and supply easier ways to do certain things on the iPad that represent different aspects of Photoshop.
Color Lava is a paint mixing tool that resembles a real palette and allows you to use the iPad’s touch functionality to mix colors together with your fingertips and then port swatches to a PCs.
Adobe Nav is a productivity tool that frees up precious space on your computer’s desktop by turning the iPad into a spare screen where You can browse and files, access toolbars.
Adobe Eazel is a painting tool for the iPad that uses touch controls to mimic real painting. The paintings created on your iPad then can be transferred back to Photoshop for further editing and re-rendered with a higher resolution.
These applications are expected to hit the App Store next month and will range from US$2 to US$5.
Angry birds: now available for PC
Those of You who envied Your friends playing Angry Birds on their iPads & smartphones should rejoice and get a piece of the action now! Rovio has just released their killer Angry Birds game for PCs, so now You can hunt for some port at Your Windows XP or Windows 7 system. The game is available at Intel AppUp store for $4.99, including 195 levels with free updates and additional levels to the game in the future.