Monday, June 22, 2015

5 Myths About Charging Phones

We have all heard those crazy stories about phone chargers. Some are so farfetched that they borderline on superstition. There are a lot of rules regarding charging phones. Some of them are true and should be followed by everyone. However, some are just plain foolish. Over the years, batteries have evolved just as much as phones had. These batteries will last for around three to five years if taken proper care of.
Here are the top five myths about charging phones that have been proven untrue-

5. MYTHDifferent chargers will destroy the battery
Truth- Different chargers work fine as long as they are not replicas
Image Credit: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/277323289530491479/
People claim that using different chargers for different phones will affect the battery of the phone. Now this is nothing but a myth. Different chargers work just as fine as the original charger. The performance may not be optimum, but it will charge fine without damaging the battery. The problem is using knockoff chargers. Those things can and does damage the batteries.

4. MYTHCharging all night will kill your battery
TruthYour battery knows when to stop.
The myth about charging overnight is a common one. People think that charging all throughout the night will damage and eventually kill the battery. The truth is that your batteries are equipped to take the overnight charging. Once it reaches maximum charge, it stops charging altogether. This means that the battery isn’t even in use at all. However, that does not mean you will charge your phone all night every day. Keeping the phone charged between 40% to 80% will allow your battery to last longer.

 3. MYTHShouldn’t use the phone while it is charging
Truth- Using it is fine as long as the chargers are original.
Image Credit: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/56928382764031328/
There are legit concerns over this charging myth. People believe that if you use the phone while it is charging then the phone will explode. Some say that you can be electrocuted if you are using it while the charger is on. There have been a few incidents where the phone did explode. However in all of those cases, the user was charging their phones with fake charges. Those things can be deadly. If you are using the manufacturer approved charges then there are no risks of the phone exploding. So you can use it as much as you want.

2. MYTH- Never turn off your phone.
Truth- Turning off the phone helps the battery.
Everything has its limits even if the thing in question is a phone. Turning off your phone every once in a while helps the battery life. According to an Apple expert, turning off your phone from time to time will maximize the battery life. So if you are somebody who is always on the phone, it is advisable that you turn off your phone at night to get the best out of your battery.

1. MYTH- Charge your phone only when it is completely dead.
Truth- Frequent charging is better than deep charging.
The idea that your phone should be charged only when it is completely drained is actually wrong.  If you constantly let your batteries drain till 0% then the battery becomes somewhat unstable. So it is better to charge your phone every now and then.

BONUS FACT – Heat will destroy your battery.
There is no denying the fact that heating will damage your battery. Lithium-ion batteries heat up as you charge them. So if you place them near a hot surface then chances are that they will be damaged. Similarly, cold temperatures also affect the batteries. Cold batteries die quicker in low temperatures.

Monday, June 15, 2015

Unlock your phone using your EAR

Forget fingerprint identification, Amazon has developed a way to unlock phones using the shape of a user's ear.

 
Amazon Ear
The ear is as unique as a fingerprint and could be used to unlock phones

Amazon has received a patent for technology that would see a smartphone scan a user's ear to unlock itself.
A smartphone's front-facing camera would be used to scan the user's ear shape, which can be as unique as a person's fingerprint.
The image would then be matched with the saved image and outline of the user's ear, unlocking the device.
Amazon Ear
The smartphone would take a photograph of the ear
The abstract of the patent paper said: "An electronic device can attempt to capture at least one image including at least a portion of a user's ear when the user utilises the electronic device for certain purposes, such as to receive a call or listen to an audio file."
Researchers have previously said the ear is one of the most reliable biometric identification devices as it does not change much as someone ages.
Amazon Ear
It would then process the image to try to match it to the user
The next version of Android - Android M - will add fingerprint recognition to phones, following Apple's Touch ID system which was launched on the iPhone 5S.
Amazon could try to use to ear-unlocking system to differentiate itself from two of the big players in the smartphone market.
There is also a possible alternative use for the ear recognition technology - automatic speaker-phone volume adjustment based on the distance from the phone to the user's ear.

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Samsung approaches BlackBerry about buyout


(Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) recently approached BlackBerry Ltd (BBRY.O) (BB.TO) about buying the smartphone maker for as much as $7.5 billion in a play for its patent portfolio, according to a person familiar with the matter and documents seen by Reuters.
South Korea's Samsung proposed an initial price range of $13.35 to $15.49 per share, representing a premium of 38 percent to 60 percent over BlackBerry's current trading price, the source said.
Executives from the two companies, which are working with advisers, met last week to discuss a potential transaction, the source said, asking not to be identified because the conversations are private.
It remains unclear whether Blackberry, which has regained some of its lost swagger under CEO John Chen over the past year or so, was open to the approach. Representatives for the company declined to comment.
News of the meeting, which sent Blackberry shares up nearly 30 percent, comes as the smartphone maker looks for renewed growth and for how to regain market share it has lost to Apple Inc, Google Inc and Samsung.
A deal would give Samsung access to Blackberry's patents, which the source said would help it take on arch rival Apple (AAPL.O).
Any tie up with Samsung would have to have the blessing of Prem Watsa, whose Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd (FFH.TO) is a major Blackberry shareholder. Fairfax helped bankroll a debt recapitalization that led to Chen's arrival in November 2013 as CEO of the one-time investor darling that pioneered the smartphone.
BlackBerry launched its long-awaited Classic model on Wednesday, hoping to help win back market share and woo customers still using older devices with a keyboard. The phone resembles its once popular Bold and Curve handsets.
In the third quarter, revenue at Blackberry fell to $793 million from $1.19 billion a year earlier, falling short of analysts' expectations of $931.5 million.
Shares of Blackberry jumped as much as 30 percent on heavy volume in afternoon trading at $29.71 per share in New York.
The offer price would imply an enterprise value of $6 billion to $7.5 billion for BlackBerry, assuming conversion of $1.25 billion of convertible debt, according to the documents.
BlackBerry announced a high-profile security partnership with Samsung in November. The partnership will wed BlackBerry's security platform with the South Korean company's own security software for its Galaxy devices.
Representatives for BlackBerry declined to comment while Samsung and Fairfax could not be immediately reached for comment.
(Reporting by Jennifer Ablan and Liana Baker in New York, additional reporting by Alastair Sharp in Toronto Editing by Soyoung Kim and Christian Plumb)

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

TextBlade fits a QWERTY keyboard in 8 smart multitouch keys

 

No matter how good on-screen keyboards get, we’re still left with the inescapable fact that they take up valuable screen real estate. You could always carry a physical keyboard, but that’s no more convenient. TextBlade is a Bluetooth keyboard for iOS and Android devices that tries to make carrying a physical keyboard less annoying. It’s less than a third the size of an iPhone and crams a full QWERTY layout on just eight physical keys.
TextBlade is composed of four pieces, all of which snap together into a small block for storage and transport. There’s a stand, a spacebar, and two keyboard halves with the buttons. The spacebar and the two parts of the keyboard connect magnetically and tether to your phone or tablet over Bluetooth 4.0.
Each of the eight keys has several letters, symbols, and modifiers on it. Each time you press a letter, the entire key depresses, but TextBlade uses multitouch technology to keep track of which letter your finger was on when the button activated. So it knows the difference between W and X, even though they both trigger the same physical switch when pressed. Simply having a physical button to press will probably speed up touch typing dramatically. There are also a few key combinations that you’ll have to learn for functions like text selection and cursor control.
The spacebar might look a little bulky, but there are several reasons for that. First, it houses the battery, which has a little USB dongle for easy charging sans wires. Supposedly it runs a month on a charge, but that sounds optimistic. It would be impressive if true. The spacebar is also where you’ll find the function key — simply press on the lower right section of the spacebar and the green layer of key markings become active (numbers, lesser-used symbols, and so on).
TextBlade looks quite impressive on video, but we’ll have to wait and see if the familiarity with QWERTY is enough to make this form factor workable. The TextBlade is currently available for preorder at $99, but all units through late late March are spoken for already.


Saturday, January 10, 2015

Server Settings for Popular Email Providers

Below is a list of email providers that support IMAP (Internet message access protocol).  Most major email providers support  IMAP because it  provides a better method to access your mail from multiple devices. If you check your email at home, on your mobile phone, and again at work, IMAP ensures that new mail is accessible from any device at any time.
Cloze requires an IMAP connection. Below is a list of popular email providers and their corresponding IMAP server. If you do not see your email provider listed below, please refer to their support for additional IMAP help.

Provider   Type Incoming Address (IMAP)     Port SSL Outgoing Address    (SMTP) Port SSL
AT&T IMAP imap.mail.yahoo.com 993 Yes smtp.mail.yahoo.com 587 Yes
1and1.com IMAP imap.1and1.com 993 Yes smtp.1and1.com 587 Yes
Ameritech IMAP imap.mail.yahoo.com 993 Yes smtp.mail.yahoo.com 587 Yes
AOL (America Online) IMAP imap.aol.com 993 Yes smtp.aol.com 587 Yes
AIM mail IMAP imap.aim.com 993 Yes smtp.aim.com 587 Yes
BT internet IMAP imap.mail.yahoo.com 993 Yes smtp.mail.yahoo.com 587 Yes
CableOne IMAP imap.gmail.com 993 Yes smtp.gmail.com 587 Yes
Centurylink IMAP pop.centurylink.net 993 Yes smtp.centurylink.net 587 Yes
Charter IMAP mobile.charter.net 993 Yes mobile.charter.net 587 Yes
Clearwire IMAP imap.gmail.com 993 Yes smtp.gmail.com 587 Yes
Comcast IMAP imap.comcast.net 993 Yes smtp.comcast.net 587 Yes
CompuServe IMAP imap.cs.com 993 Yes smtp.cs.com 587 Yes
Cox IMAP imap.cox.net 993 Yes smtp.cox.net 587 Yes
Cox Business IMAP imap.coxmail.com 993 Yes smtp.coxmail.com 587 Yes
Eircom IMAP webmail.eircom.net 993 Yes mail1.eircom.net 25 Yes
Frontier IMAP imap.frontier.com 993 Yes smtp.frontier.com 465 Yes
Gmail (Google Mail) IMAP imap.gmail.com 993 Yes smtp.gmail.com 587 Yes
GMX IMAP imap.gmx.com 993 Yes mail.gmx.com 587 Yes
GoDaddy (Unlimited) IMAP imap.secureserver.net 995 Yes smtpout.secureserver.net 465 Yes
GTE IMAP imap.mail.yahoo.com 993 Yes smtp.mail.yahoo.com 587 Yes
Hotmail IMAP imap-mail.outlook.com 993 Yes smtp-mail.outlook.com 587 Yes
Mail.com (Premium) IMAP imap.mail.com 993 Yes smtp.mail.com 587 Yes
Netscape IMAP imap.aim.com 993 Yes smtp.aim.com 587 Yes
Outlook.com IMAP imap-mail.outlook.com 993 Yes smtp-mail.outlook.com 587 Yes
Prodigy IMAP imap.mail.yahoo.com 993 Yes smtp.mail.yahoo.com 587 Yes
QQ Mail IMAP imap.qq.com 993 Yes smtp.qq.com 465 Yes
RocketMail IMAP imap.mail.yahoo.com 993 Yes smtp.mail.yahoo.com 587 Yes
SBC Global IMAP imap.mail.yahoo.com 993 Yes smtp.mail.yahoo.com 587 Yes
Sky IMAP imap.tools.sky.com 993 Yes smtp.tools.sky.com 587 Yes
US Army IMAP imap.us.army.mil 993 Yes mailrouter.us.army.mil 465 Yes
Verizon IMAP imap.mail.yahoo.com 993 Yes smtp.mail.yahoo.com 587 Yes
Zoho Mail IMAP imap.zoho.com 993 Yes smtp.zoho.com 465 Yes 

15 Ways to beat procrastination

If you find yourself constantly scrambling at the last minute to get done what you managed to put off as long as possible, don't worry--you're not alone.

Some people find they actually work better under pressure, but for a lot of people, procrastination is a bad habit that keeps them from ever feeling caught up.

It's a huge time suck. Productivity suffers. Putting everything off to the last possible moment creates unnecessary pressure and stress.

As many as 1 in 5 adults might be procrastinators, but it's not a life sentence. Whether your tendency to put things off is driven by anxiety, fear, or some other demotivator, it can be remedied.
Check out these 15 procrastination-beating techniques from Essay Expert:

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Transfer Files Between a PC and Android Phone using WiFi


The future is wireless and the trend is now being carried over by android phones too . These days a very few people actually prefer to use USB cables for transferring files between their PC’s and their phones / tablets . The reason being transferring files wirelessly is very convenient than transferring files through a USB cable and adding to the advantages, you don’t have to wait beside your PC until the transfers complete. While your files are being transferred to your phone you can carry on with your other works .
Advertisements
There are many apps on the android store that can help you to transfer files wirelessly between your PC and Android phones . Among these apps,  some come with bare and basic features like simply transferring files over WiFi and some add many more exciting features apart from the basic file transferring feature. For me, when it comes to features, i believe in the more the merrier. So in this guide I will make make use of an feature packed app to transfer files between a PC and an android phone .

How to Transfer files Wirelesssly between your Android phone and PC

AirDroid is one such popular and feature packed free android app which i use primarily to transfer files wirelessly across my phone and PC . The app can be used to both receive and send files wirelessly between your PC and android phone. Airdroid is basically an android app which helps to manage your android phone from your PC’s web browser .  The web interface of the app is very neat and the usability is the best among all the apps in its class. All in all its simple, beautiful and highly effective .
Usually while transferring files using AirDroid , i always get transfer speeds in excess of 3.5 Mbps, which is pretty much good. Apart from the file transferring feature, the app has many more useful features like :
  • You can view photos from your phone
  • You can send send SMS messages from PC
  • You can play music / videos from your phone
  • You can use your phone’s camera on your PC
  • You can take screenshots of your Phone
  • You can backup app as apk on your PC
All of this and more can be performed from AirDroid’s PC interface itself . Now lets move ahead and find out how we can use airdroid to transfer files wirelessly between your PC and Android phone over a WiFi network .
Advertisements

Instructions to transfer files wirelessly from your PC to your Phone

  • Step 1: Install AirDroid from the Google play store and open the app on your phone .
  • Step 2: Connect to your PC’s wifi network from your android phone . ( If you are using a USB WiFi dongle like me then you can use Connectify to create a Wifi hotspot )
  • Step 3: Open the AirDroid app and Instantly the app will detect your WiFi network and start the AirDroid  server . The app will provide you with an ip address , which you have to type into your PC’s web browser to connect to the AirDroid  server . 
airdroid-app-screenshoot
  • Step 4: Manually type in the ip address provided by the AirDroid app in your web browser and press enter  . Simultaneously You will see the below screen and your android phone will prompt you to accept the connection .
accept-airdroid-connection-on-phone
  • Step 5: On your android phone , tap on accept and you will be able to access the AirDroid interface on your PC’s web browser .
accept-connection-request-on-android-phone
  • Step 6: To the right of AirDroid web interface , there is a toolbox , click the file icon and next you can select from the folder / files icon to transfer a file or folder to your android phone .
send-files-through-airdroid
  • Step 7: To transfer a file to you android phone select the file tab from the AirDroid toolbox and click on the folder /file icon to select from any file from your PC .  As soon as you select the file , AirDroid will start transferring the file to your android phone . similarly you can also transfer entire folders to your android phone .
files-transferring-to-android-phone-from-pc
The files will be stored in the following locations on your phone : SD card/airdroid/upload

Transferring files from your Phone to your PC

If you want to transfer files from your Android phone to your PC , then you have to use the Airdroid web interface on your PC . All you need to do is click on the files icon from AirDroid’s web interface and select a file from the file browser that opens up , right click on any file and select download to download the file to your PC .
transferring-fiels-from-phone-to-pc-over-wifi
The file will be downloaded as regular downloads in your web browser and can be accessed from the download menu . Here is a screenshot of the transfer speed i was getting while downloading files from my android phone . I was able to get a constant  download speed of 3.5 Mbps which peaked around 4Mbps .
transfer-speed-over-wifi
My fav is AirDroid <this is not an endorsment>