New Technology : Should You Download Adobe’s Creative Cloud Android Apps?

adobe-mobile-apps

Back in April, Adobe promised to pay more attention to the Android side of its mobile app collection. Over the next several months, new apps were added to the Play Store and continued to receive regular updates. But the real question is, have these apps progressed enough to be worthwhile? If you expecting Adobe to replicate the desktop photo-editing experience on mobile devices, prepare to be disappointed. Mobile devices just aren’t equipped to handle that kind of workflow. As such, the Creative Cloud mobile apps are more like supplements than replacements. The good news is that these apps can all...

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New Technology : OpenHAB Beginner’s Guide Part 2: ZWave, MQTT, Rules and Charting

openhab-guide-two

Free doesn’t always mean “not as good as paid”, and OpenHAB is no exception. The open source home automation software far exceeds the capabilities of any other home automation system on the market – but it’s not easy to get set up. In fact, it can be downright frustrating. In part 1 of the guide, I walked you through installing OpenHAB on a Raspberry Pi, introduced the core concepts of OpenHAB, and showed you how to add your first items into the system. Today we’ll be going further: Adding ZWave devices Adding a Harmony Ultimate controller Introducing rules Introducing MQTT, and...

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New Technology : 5 Ways Cheap Android Smartphones Beat the Flagships

budget-android

Android used to have a budget phone problem. Customers would try out a cheap, under-powered device that never received updates and conclude from that experience that the entire platform was no good. But these days you really can get a decent piece of hardware without spending much money. In some ways, owning a cheap Android phone (as long as you pick the right one) has become better than throwing your money at a flagship. Here’s why. 1) Affordability Let’s get the obvious out of the way first. Budget phones aren’t going to put nearly as big a dent in your...

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New Technology : How You Could Have Upgraded to Windows 10 by Accident & What to Do

windows-10-auto-upgrade

Windows 10 hit the ground running. With an estimated 110 million installs completed since the July 29 release, Microsoft is well on its way to achieving the one billion devices milestone the company has set itself. But some users have reported issues with the somewhat aggressive tactics deployed by Microsoft during the lead-up to the Windows 10 release, and those issues haven’t stopped there. Microsoft is dogged by rumors and confirmations that Windows 10 silently installs in the background without permission, and the latest twist has seen Windows 10 attempting (and succeeding in some cases!) to install itself by eliminating other updates...

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New Technology : How the Oculus Rift Works and Why You Need One

oculus-rift

You don’t know why people are so hyped about the Oculus Rift? That’s understandable. A lot of systems, from the Kinect to 3D movies, have claimed to be “immersive” over the years, but none of them are all that special — and the last time you tried virtual reality, it made you feel sick and it wasn’t all that fun. So why should you get excited for the Oculus Rift, a device that shows every sign of being a dumb gimmick? It’s hard to explain if you haven’t actually put one on and tried it for yourself, but I’m going to...

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New Technology : How to Get Free Trello Gold & What You Can Do with It

trello-gold

One of the best project management apps, Trello just passed the 10 million users mark. To celebrate, they’re gifting a month of Trello Gold membership to all users. What does that get you and how can you use it? Trello asks everyone signing up for the free Trello Gold to share on Twitter how they use Trello. The tweets offer an insight into how to make use of the advanced features for managing tasks as well as using Trello for things other than project management. What Is Trello Gold & How to Get It Trello has four classes: Free, Gold, Business Class, and Enterprise Class. Trello Gold usually...

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New Technology : How to SIM Unlock Your Android Smartphone or Tablet

android-sim-unlock

You want to change networks, but your new SIM card won’t work in your phone. Baffled, you call the new network, only to learn that your smartphone is locked to the first network, and there’s not much you can do about it. Of course, this isn’t strictly true. If you’re using an Android device (we’ve already covered SIM card unlocking for iPhones), there’s always something you can do. A SIM Unlock Is Not Rooting Before we proceed with our look at unlocking Android phones, let’s briefly look at what unlocking the network/SIM is, and what it is not. It’s simply the...

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New Technology : 7 Amazing Halloween Props You Can Make with a Raspberry Pi

halloween-props-raspberry-pi

With Halloween almost upon us, you might be wondering how you’re going to decorate your house. Now, you could just go to the supermarket, and buy something. But where’s the fun in that, when you can create your own, and make them extra-spooky by using a Raspberry Pi. Here are 7 you can make at home. Much like our similar, Arduino-focused take from 2013, we’re going to be ranking each one based on their spookiness factor, and how difficult they are to build. The Spooky Porch Scare Factor: 7/10 Complexity: Medium Created by Cabe Attwell, The Spooky Porch uses the full...

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New Technology : High-Resolution Audio: The Future of Music or a Scam?

high-resolution-audio

Generally speaking, audiophiles and their money are easily parted — but genuine audiophiles are actually quite discerning with the equipment they choose to buy. They won’t drop $200 on some Beats by Dre headphones (which look gaudy, are overpriced, and sound utterly mediocre). Instead, they’re likely to spend more but on the things that matter, dropping thousands of dollars on ultra-high-end headphones and/or speakers. But would they spend $400 on an MPR player just because its feature-list boasts something called “High-Resolution Audio”? Good question. What Is High-Resolution Audio? From the get-go, I want to stress something really important: High-Resolution Audio is...

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New Technology : The Fool Proof System to Plan & Manage Multiple Projects

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Having multiple projects both at work and home is like a mildew that grows on your cubicle walls. A mildew that oozes anxiety and dismay as you plummet further behind, losing track of where you’re up to and what’s left to be done. Thankfully, there’s a relatively simple system on offer to clear up that mildew, reliably steer those projects back on track, and keep it that way. Enter Full Horizon Planning This system is called “Full Horizon Planning” (FHP), a term coined and illustrated by Mathematics Professor and productivity sage, Cal Newport. FHP is a workflow system that takes your largely...

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