Now you can video chat in Gmail with Hangouts

Hangouts is a popular feature in Google+, now this option is available and as a replacement for the Gmail video chat.


"You can now chat face-to-face-to-face in Gmail. 


Start a Google+ Hangout from Gmail to video chat with up to nine people at once, watch YouTube videos with friends, and more. To get started, click on the hangout button at the top of your chat list."


Via Gmail Blog.

Read More

Handwrite, a new way to search on Google

To enable this feature, go to Google.com in your mobile browser and do the following and refresh the browser:


"Go to Google.com in your mobile browser, tap on “Settings” at the bottom of the screen and enable “Handwrite.”

Read More

Smart Trashbox picks up the trash for you

The trashbox made in Japan senses (via Microsoft Kinect Sensors) where the trash is going to fall, moves and collects it with ease. It is very nimble as seen in the video:


"There's no shortage of automated trash collectors on the market today, but Japanese modder FRP has taken a slightly different approach with the Smart Trashbox — a Kinect-controlled waste basket that autonomously tracks and catches airborne pieces of trash. As FRP details in the video below, the system operates on a wheeled base that's hooked up to an integrated circuit board. To control it, the modder installed a Microsoft Kinect sensor above his room, and wrote a code that enables it to track the trajectories of airborne refuse and move the trashcan accordingly. FRP says he still needs to sharpen the system's accuracy, though it certainly seems as if he's off to an impressive start."

Via TheVerge.com

Read More

Ad: Google Nexus 7 - Camping

Nice ad from Google for its Galaxy Nexus 7 tablet.

Read More

Kickstarter: ReadySet Solar Kit for iPad, iPhone, Android & more

This ReadySet solar charger once fully charged can charge phones up to 10 times and can charge various devices such as iPad, iPhone, Android phones, cameras etc., in one unit. This could be very useful in developing countries, where electricity is not widely available. 


It is available as a Kickstarter project and closing soon.

What is the Fenix ReadySet?

The Fenix ReadySet is a plug & play renewable energy system that can power multiple electronic devices ranging from lights and radios to mobile phones, netbooks, and Wi-Fi hot spots. Unlike other systems, the ReadySet's intelligent battery can charge from a variety of different sources including solar panels, bicycle generators, micro-wind turbines, and more. The ReadySet's sleek yet simple design allows you to use this energy and power your devices from its two 12-volt Car Lighter Adapter ports and two 5-volt USB ports.

Each ReadySet Solar Kit includes:

• The ReadySet battery (54 WHr - that's about 10 phone charges) 
• 15 Watt Solar Panel with rugged aluminum frame (it's all weatherproof & waterproof)
• 23 Watt Power Adapter for grid charging
• 3 Watt LED light with socket, cable and switch               
• USB Universal Battery Charger that allows you charge any 3.7-volt Lithium battery (for phones, cameras, etc)
• Instruction Manual

Read More

How to get rid of Squirrels from bird feeder with Wrap-around Baffle

I have a beautiful feeder outside my home, the squirrel tries to take the top off to get the seeds directly though there is a steel barrier at the top. Every time I close the top down it comes back and removes it and tries to chew the opening, soon it will cut them open. It also tries to chew the twisted rope, luckily it is intact right now. 


I was trying to find a good solution for it and some suggested a baffle would squirrel-proof the feeder. So, I bought this baffle (Woodlink Kay Home ProductS 14-Inch Wrap Around Squirrel Baffle Bird Seed) from Amazon to go over the top of the feeder, will keep you posted how it works. I like this one with the opening so we can easily insert it on top of the feeder, there are other baffles too but I prefer this one.



I see rabbits near my feeder too but they don't do stuff like the squirrels, they are content with the seeds on the ground.

Read More

NASA | Tour of the Moon

Nice tour of the moon from NASA:


"Although the moon has remained largely unchanged during human history, our understanding of it and how it has evolved over time has evolved dramatically. Thanks to new measurements, we have new and unprecedented views of its surface, along with new insight into how it and other rocky planets in our solar system came to look the way they do. See some of the sights and learn more about the moon here!"

Read More

How To Perfectly Install a Screen Protector - Hinge Method

Installing a screen protector is a pain, but with the above method we can install it easily on any smartphone. You will be needing a masking tape and rubbing alcohol to install the screen protector.


Via Lifehacker.com.

Read More

Use GO Power Master to extend battery power in Galaxy Nexus Android Phone

I bought Samsung Galaxy Nexus from Sprint a month ago, though the phone was working great, the screen used to get hot unbearably. It literally tried to burn my fingers whenever I try to browse the screen or touch the screen. The reason for the device getting hot was whenever we used Wi-Fi or data uploads the stock battery in the device became hot very quickly. I think Samsung didn't design it properly. Rooted phones, however, don't have this problem because they have excellent power management tools available. If you have unrooted phones then follow this method.


A few of them suggested me to use Juice Defender and other battery power control apps. I tried Juice Defender Ultimate first, but I didn't see a noticeable difference. Then, Toby from Google+ suggested me to use GO Power Master. It has been a life saver of sorts.


After using GO Power Master and GO Launcher (you can use any other launcher with it, now I am using Launcher Pro with GO Power Master), the battery life in Galaxy Nexus is much better. It varies from 26 hours to 70 hours. It is very easy to use, you can change the settings according to your needs. 


I use Seidio Extended Battery available in Amazon for Galaxy Nexus phone. GO Power Master seems to be a better choice than other Android apps available in Google Play.

Read More

Video: Anchorage, Alaska by Winter

Nice time-lapse video of Anchorage, Alaska.


So this is what I did over this past winter when I was not making people coffee. It's all time-lapse footage shot in and around Anchorage, Alaska, with the emphasis on the nature around the city rather then on the people and buildings. This is a collection of the nicer stuff I shot of the northern lights, stars, sunset, and the tide. All of this was shot between October 2011 and April 2012. The music is Aston's Classical Cover of the song You've Got The Love by Florence & The Machine. youtube.com/astonmusic

Anchorage By Winter from Zan Butler on Vimeo.

Read More

SignNow: Signature App for iOS and Android to Sign PDF, Pictures, Word Documents

If you want a good signature app in iOS and Android devices, this SignNow (for iPad app, for iPhone app, for Android App), is the one to have and use. This free app is very easy to use. Once you install it, you can open any email document or a Dropbox document and enter your signature in forms and documents. You can sign it with either hand or a stylus pen for iOS. I used my fingers to draw a signature and SignNow app was able to put it at the right spot where we want the signature to be.


The app is very easy to use. It is a must have for corporations, agents, businesses and others.


App Store - SignNow - Sign and Fill PDF & Word Documents

Read More

Google+ Translate Extension automatically translates languages in Google+

I have been noticing this recently in Google+ with Google+ Auto Translation extension, foreign languages are automatically translated. Before we had to hit the translate button to see the translation, now it is automatic.


I used one of the posts of +Heinz Udo Zemlin, another great painter in Google+, for illustration purposes. 


The translation is not the best but at least it saves us from hitting the translate button too many times. To see how the words are translated just hover over the translated portion, you will see the original language. It's another good way to learn a new language. 


This automatic translation seems to work only in Google Chrome obviously because of this particular Chrome extension.


We have to thank Google+ engineers for it. 


Do you see the same thing?

Read More

Google+ iPad App now available in iTunes

Finally, Google+ app is now available customized for iPad viewing. You can download it from iTunes here.

Stay connected and share life as it happens with Google+ for iPhone and iPad. Join a Hangout, post a photo, or see what friends are sharing while you’re on the go.


Features:
* New iPad-optimized layout brings your stream to life 
* Share photos directly to Events for all your friends to enjoy
* Video chat with up to 9 friends with mobile Hangouts
* Turn on Instant Upload to sync photos from your phone to a private Google+ album
* Chat with a friend or all your friends at once with Messenger from your phone
* Check out the What’s Hot stream to see popular posts
* View the Nearby stream to see what people near your location are saying
* See vibrant, high-resolution images on Retina display devices

App Store - Google+

For more information checkout the Google Blog article.

Read More

Free Blu-ray Copy – Backup Blu-ray disc/folder to blank disc/folder and ISO files for free

If you want to make a backup of your Blu-ray disc or Blu-ray movies, then you can use this free Windows software "Blu-ray Copy".

This Free Blu-ray Copy is professional and easy-to-use Blu-ray copying/cloning software. It can help users copy almost all Blu-ray disc/folder to Blu-ray disc or ISO files. This software allows users to copy full Blu-ray disc or just the main movie.


This Blu-ray Copy can provide users with the best output Blu-ray video quality. And the user-friendly interface of this powerful software makes Blu-ray copying operations much simple. And this software is absolutely free.

Via Cnet.com.

Read More

Breaking Bad: Be a Blowfish

From Breaking Bad, TV show, one of the best in the modern television. Season V starts July 15th, 2012.

WALTER WHITE Jesse, look at me, you are a blowfish.

JESSE PINKMAN What?
 
WALTER WHITE A blowfish, think about it. Small in stature, not swift, not cunning, easy prey for predators, but the blowfish has a secret weapon, doesn't he? Doesn't he? What does the blowfish do, Jesse? What does the blowfish do?
 
JESSE PINKMAN I don't even know what...

WALTER WHITE The blowfish puffs up, okay? The blowfish puffs himself up four, five times larger than normal but why? Why does he do that? Because it makes him intimidating, that's why. Initimidating so that the other scarier fish are scared off and that's you. You are a blowfish. Don't you see? It's just all, all an illusion. It's nothing but air. Now, who messes with the blowfish, Jesse?

JESSE PINKMAN Nobody.

WALTER WHITE You're damn right.

JESSE PINKMAN I'm a blowfish.

WALTER WHITE A blowfish. Say it again.

JESSE PINKMAN A blowfish!

WALTER WHITE Say it like you mean it!

JESSE PINKMAN I'M A BLOWFISH! BLOWFISH! YEEEAAAH! BLOWFISHIN' THIS UP!

Blowfish: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetraodontidae

Read More

Books Recommended by CEOs and Entrepreneurs via Bill Gates

The following are the books recommended by the top business leaders and researchers and it was shared by Bill Gates, Microsoft's co-Founder, in his blog. The books are of diverse nature, they are in different fields such as Business, Economy, Science, Religion, Philosophy etc.




Recommended by Vinod Khosla:


The Score Takes Care of Itself  by Bill Walsh, Steve Jamison and Craig Walsh


The Lean Startup by Eric Ries


The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gwande


The Creative Destruction of Medicine by Eric Topol


The Power of Habit  by Charles Duhigg


The Viral Storm by Nathan Wolfe


Willpower by Roy Baumeister & John Tierney

Recommended by Vaclav Smil:

R. F. Burton: Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to al-Madinah & Meccah (The University of Adelaide University, Free eBook)

M. Beerbohm: Zuleika Dobson

G. von Rezzori: The Snows of Yesteryear  

G. von Rezzori: Memoirs of an Anti-Semite

J. Crace: Continent

J. Renoir: Renoir, My Father

The Path to Power (The Years of Lyndon Johnson, Volume 1) by Robert A. Caro

The Passage of Power by Robert A. Caro

J.M. Allwood and J.M. Cullen: Sustainable Materials with Both Eyes Open

B. Berge:The Ecology of Building Materials

M.N. Eisler: Overpotential

P. Nolan: Is China Buying the World?

Recommended by Nathan Myhrvold:

A Universe from Nothing, Lawrence Krauss

Knocking on Heaven's Door: How Physics and Scientific Thinking Illuminate the Universe and the Modern World, Lisa Randall

The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World, Daniel Yergin

The Honest Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone---Especially Ourselves, Dan Ariely

Recommended by Arne Duncan:

How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton Christensen

Creating Innovators by Tony Wagner

Recommended by Steven Pinker:

Peter Diamandis, Abundance

Henry Hitching, The Language Wars

Rebecca Goldstein, 36 Arguments for the Existence of God: A Work of Fiction 

Recommended by David Christian:

Steven Pinker, The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence has Declined

Anders Aslund, How Capitalism was Built

Anders Aslund, Russia's Capitalis Revolution: Why Market Reform Succeeded and Democracy Failed

Anders Aslund, How Ukrine became a Market Economy and Democracy

Brian Cox, Jeff Forshaw, The Quantum Universe: And Why Anything that can Happen, Does

Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw, Why does E = mc2: (And why should we care?). 

Sam Kean, The Disappearing Spoon: And Other Trues Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements

Jan Zalasiewicz, The Earth after Us: What Legacy will Humans Leave in the Rocks?

Recommended by Charles Kenny:

A Splendid Exchange by William Bernstein

Recommended by Atul Gawande:

The Swerve – Stephen Greenblatt

The Green Eagle Score and The Black Ice Score – Richard Stark (pen name of Donald Westlake for his Parker novels)

Alien vs. Predator – Michael Robbins

The Kings of Cool – Don Winslow

What books you recommend to others?

Read More

Word Lens - Instant translation app is now available for Android

Word Lens, previously, was available for iOS only (iPhone app, iPad app), now they are available for Android OS at Google Play. It is a cool way to get instant translation for signs, noticeboards, bill boards, menus (preferably printed formats) etc. 


"Word Lens gives you translation on the go: 
- NO NETWORK required - results appear immediately on your video screen when you need it, anywhere in the world. 
- Easy to use, like the regular camera 
- Look up translations by typing them in, or clicking on a word.
Notes for getting the best quality out of your translations: 
- Best used on clearly printed text (e.g. signs, menus) 
- DOES NOT recognize handwriting or stylized fonts 
- It's not perfect, but you can get the general meaning! 
- Keep text in focus by holding it at least one hand-length away and tap-to-focus if autofocus is struggling.
- Turn on the flashlight (if available on your device)
- Zoom in (if available on your device)"


The World Lens app currently charges $4.99 for each language pack (available in Spanish, Italian and French languages). Other languages will soon follow. 


If you think it is priced high, you can use Google Goggles in your Android phone but is not as quick or instantaneous as World Lens app.

Read More

Free $3 MP3 Credit in Amazon, No Purchase Necessary

I received this (screenshot above) promotion from Amazon, click this link and use your Amazon account to get the $3 credit in a day or two (after they finish processing). You can use it purchase any MP3 songs up to $3 for free from Amazon MP3 store.


Please note the offer should be used by July 12, 2012 or it expires.

Read More

Incredible voice search options in Android Jelly Bean OS

Impressive voice search options in Android Jelly Bean OS. It works much better than Apple's Siri.

Read More

Comparison: Siri vs. Google Search (Jelly Bean)

Google Search with Jelly Bean OS is faster than iOS and Siri.

Read More