How To Choose The Right Tablet PC

                                                                How To Choose The Right Tablet PC

Why would you want a Tablet PC? Before I bought my first one I was trying to figure out when I'd use it. I already had a laptop, why would a Tablet computer be anymore use? Would I be able to "retire" my laptop, and just use a tablet and desktop? I work from home some one the time, so I use a desktop when doing that as it involves a fair bit of typing, and a bigger screen is certainly of use. So, I would use mine for my work, due to lack of a keyboard and it having a smaller screen. I knew I wanted one, but what would I use it for? I think I was trying to justify buying another techno gadget.

People buy a tablet computers for many different reasons they more portable that a laptop, they are lighter, the battery lasts longer, they're easier to carry and boot up a lot faster. Have you ever sat around for several minutes waiting for a laptop to boot, when all you need to do is quickly check the football scores. You'll more than likely use your mobile phone to just hop on the WWW. With a tablet PC a the click on a switch it's available, just like a mobile, in fact you can look at a tablet PC as being like a mobile, but with a bigger screen - oh but with an inability to make phone calls of course.

Whether you're using it for business, or pleasure, they are actually far more than a mobile phone with a big screen. Most of them have a faster processor, better graphics capability. This means they are capable of running laptop type applications. Spreadsheets, word processors, any amount of productivity apps and of course games. The fact that they are so portable means they can be used as a recipe book in the kitchen, a reading book in the bedroom, or a games machine in the living room!

When it comes to choosing the right tablet PC for you, the best place to start is a budget. Decide how much you want to spend. They are available to suit any budget and you can get a cheap tablet PC for less than 70 quid. That's right, 70 quid. See our article on cheap tablet PCs for some further advice. Maybe the budget tablets are ideal for kids to use as well.

For those with a higher budget, there's obviously more choice. If you have a limitless budget (lucky you) maybe you should start with what you'll need the tablet PC for. How will you use it? What apps are you likely to run?

So far we've looked at budget, and use. In my opinion, if you have a "limitless" budget and are not too sure what you'd use it for, I'd go for an iPad every time. Before you Android lovers start sending me hate mail, there are downsides to the iPad; the reliance on iTunes, not USB, or SD memory slot, no flash - BUT, if you just want a tablet PC and have the money lying about, buy the ipad, you won't be disappointed. For those not sure of what they will actually use the tablet for Apple offer an amazing amount of apps, not all good of course!

However, for the vast majority of use, budget certainly is a concern, not only that but not everyone needs the latest whizzy, feature rich tablet computer.

Tablet PC Storage

Here's the thing, storage. Storage means something slightly different to disk space on a PC. Well, sort of. You shouldn't compare storage on tablet PC with disk space of a PC. A PC needs oodles of disk space. How much storage does a tablet PC need? Depends on how you're likely to use it. In the case of music for example, you don't need to synch your entire library, with movies you can synch the film(s) you want to watch, then leave them on your desktop when you don't want to watch them. Space management on a tablet computer has to be managed correctly, like on a mobile phone. You can't just constantly dump things on it. if you install an app you don't need or use, remove it. It's not as hard as it seems, honestly! So, in real terms your looking at a device with a maximum of 64Gb, which in PC terms doesn't sound much. With a tablet computer that has an SD slot, you can add extra storage if you need to.

Storage is different to memory and sometimes the terms get inter-twinned. Memory is the stuff that the operating system uses and is usually supplied in MB rather than GB (or at least not 10s of GB) Memory in this case would be used to make a tablet PC run quicker, so, the more the merrier if you're a bit stressed that something needs to run extremely quickly.

Tablet PC Processor

Memory can be used to make apps run quicker on a tablet PC, but the thing most people look at is the speed of the processor, and whether it's dual core etc. Processor speeds on a tablet PC don't tend to vary as much as on a desktop. Most are around 1-1.2 Ghz. A rule of thumb is that as the processor can't be upgraded you should go for the fastest you can afford. Having said that it also depends a lot of how well any particular app is written, if it's a poorly written app, no amount of memory coupled with the world's fastest processor will help!. Nvidia Tegra 2 is a popular processor on Android tablets, RIM, HP and Apple use a process specific to their own products.

Tablet PC Screen Size

Another piece of hardware that can't be upgraded on a tablet PC is the screen, don't be too alarmed through there isn't a great deal of choice in size. 10.1 inch, 9.7 inch and about 7 inch. So, maybe small, medium, and slightly larger. Just a quick note here on Android tablet PCs - if you have a 10.1 inch screen make sure it's running at least Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) as this has been optimised for the larger tablet screen, otherwise the OS actually thinks it's running on a mobile phone. This is more likely to be the case on budget tablet PCs. Have a look at our capacitive or resistive screen article just to make yourself aware of the differences.

Graham Bell is the editor of http://www.reviewtabletpc.co.uk and has been using tablet pc's for many years. Although a self confessed Apple fan, he also works with Linux as a day job, so understands the need for an "open" operating system, such as Android. They review both cheap and high end tablet computers, there's also the ability for you to right a review or comments yourself, look at tablet pc's using the compare feature. They also have a thriving Tablet PC Blog, where you can read comments and contribute yourself. Read their amusing and sometimes controversial blog you should also read their tablet computer reviews giving unbiased reviews and some good and bad comments on the devices reviews.

Graham Bell
Editor

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Graham_M_Bell

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6599487


NB: 'I just posted the following article on my blog and thought you would enjoy reading it.'

16 essential Android apps for IT pros

                                  16 essential Android apps for IT pros 
These apps can connect to servers, monitor systems, and scan networks, turning your Android device into an on-the-job dynamo

There are hundreds of thousands of Android apps, including many that are useful for IT professionals on the job. These apps can help connect to servers, monitor computers, access databases, analyze the airwaves, scan networks, and serve as a reference. Here are 16 of these apps, most of them free.

If you work with Unix-based servers or other network components that support SSH/Telnet connections, you can use this open source client to remotely connect. No need to get on the desktop or boot up your laptop. You can perform admin, maintenance, or troubleshooting tasks via command-line. Additionally, it supports local connections, so you can access the command-line of your Android.

ConnectBot supports generating and importing SSH keys. You can pan between multiple simultaneous connections and copy/paste between them or other applications. It keeps a history of previous sessions so you don't have to keep inputting the host address. Even better, you can create shortcuts to frequent hosts on your Android desktop.

AndFTP (Free or $5.59)

You can use this FTP/SFTP/FTPS client to download/upload files or perform administrative tasks from your Android. It features resume support and enables the basic admin tasks: renaming, deleting, updating permissions, and running custom commands. You can also send files via email, messaging, Bluetooth, and via other apps. The Pro version adds support for secure copy protocol (SCP) connections and enables remote/local folder synchronization.

Linux Monitor ($2.61)

If you work with Linux servers you can use this simple monitoring app to remotely keep an eye on the vitals: CPU load, RAM and disk usage, and network/port activity. View stats represented in numbers or via progress bars. Though you can monitor multiple Linux machines, you can't monitor or view them simultaneously. You must manually change the monitoring address to switch between them.

The remote Linux machine(s) must be running the Apache web server with PHP, and you must upload a simple PHP script. You can download a sample version to get a feel for the app.

Server Monitor (Free)

This simple monitoring app can alert you if a server or a certain component/port of it goes down. This is great if you don't already have a monitoring/alert system put into place or you'd like redundancy. It supports TCP connections as well as SSH tunnels. You add a server hostname or IP address and then you can optionally add specific components or ports to monitor, including SSH over SSH. You can define the polling frequency and toggle sound and/or vibrate alerts. You can set the service to start up automatically during boot or enable manual control.

10 best Android tablet apps for news junkies

httpmon (Free)

This is another monitoring app, but designed specifically for HTTP servers. You can customize a request URL and check with simple pings or with customizable conditions: the response code or time and header or content contains using substrings, wildcards, or regular expressions. You can also set the desired User Agent used for all the requests, the connection timeout, and the read timeout. On failures, it can notify, flash, alert, and vibrate your phone and/or send SMS messages to others.


Cellica Database for Android ($39.99 after 10-day trial)

If you work with databases on a Windows server or PC, you can use this app to access and manage them from your Android. Once you install the required software on the server or PC, you'll have encrypted access to edit fields, apply select queries, filters, sorting, or even create databases. Supported databases include: Microsoft Access, Access 2007, Microsoft Excel, Excel 2007, Oracle, SQL Server, DB2, MySQL, PostgreSQL, FoxPro, dBase, R:BASE and any ODBC Compliant Database.

Phoenix MySql Client (Free)

If you only desire a simple connection to MySQL databases, you can use this free app to directly connect. You can then view tables, views, and stored procedures. You can perform SQL queries and execute statements: select, create, insert, etc.


Wyse PocketCloud (Free or $14.99)

This remote desktop client supports Microsoft RDP, platform-independent VNC (virtual network computing), and virtual VMware View connections to Windows, Mac or Linux machines via Wi-Fi and cellular connections. It supports both Android smartphones and tablets. You might use it to provide remote tech support or access a PC for its programs or files.

If you download and install their companion software to the Windows or Mac computer, it can auto configure the connection via your Google account so you don't have to mess with router settings or IP addresses. But you can always manually configure the connection as well.

The Pro version removes the advertisements and adds more features: multiple connections, encryption to secure the connections, sound support for RDP, and VMware View support to access virtual machines.

Android-VNC-Viewer (Free)

If you prefer VNC for remote desktop connections and don't mind configuring the router and have static IPs or a dynamic DNS host name, you might consider using this simple open source VNC client. It supports VNC connections to most VNC servers on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X via Wi-Fi and Cellular connections.

Unlike the Wyse PocketCloud client, this app doesn't display advertisements and gives you pinch zooming for free. On the other hand, it can't automatically secure your connections. You'd have to use a separate app, such as ConnectBot, to encrypt your connection to the computer/server you're trying to remotely access.

Spiceworks Mobile (Free)

If your organization uses the Spiceworks IT management solution, you can use this client app to view your network and PC inventory, manage trouble tickets, and access and manage users with support of Active Directory. You can also communicate with other IT pros in the Spiceworks community to get feedback, help, or research.

ActiveDir Manager (Free or $1.99)

This is a must-have app if you work with the Active Directory in your organization. It lets you view and manage users, groups, and computers right from your Android. You can reset user passwords, disable or edit user accounts, adjust group memberships, and perform other basic admin tasks. It supports Windows Server 2000 and later with StartTLS, SSL, or no encryption. It can directly connect to the Active Directory server via Wi-Fi or VPN.


The only difference between the free and paid version is that the paid version enables saving of the LDAP connection settings and options.

Wi-Fi Analyzer (Free)

If you work with the Wi-Fi network at your organization you may want to use this Wi-Fi stumbler and analyzer app when setting up access points, checking channel usage, troubleshooting Wi-Fi issues, or doing Wi-Fi security auditing.

You can view and export the details of access points: SSID, MAC address, encryption, channel, and signal in negative dBm levels via a graphical bar and text readout. You can view channel graphs showing each access point's channel and signal in real-time or a recent history. Then a channel rating page gives you recommendations on which channels to use. You can use the signal meter view to find the access points.

SharesFinder (Free)

This scans for Windows (SMB), FTP and HTTP shares/servers on the network you're connected to via Wi-Fi. It's useful if you're trying to access files on the network or when doing security auditing. For each share/server you'll see the IP and media access control address, SMB name, and vendor name.

This app also supports basic file transfers and management of the remote SMB files, such as creating and deleting files and folders. You can login as anonymous or input a username and password. For HTTP resources, it launches the web browser. For FTP resources, you can connect via a third-party FTP client, such as AndFTP.

Overlook Fing (Free)

If you do any networking work, this is a must-have app. It can do TCP port scanning, pinging, traceroute, and DNS lookups on a network via Wi-Fi. It also shows the network details (SSID, IP details, and speed) of your current Wi-Fi connection.

You can see and export the details (MAC address, IP and vendor) for each computer or device detected on the network, which are customizable with a name, icon or notes. You can also perform a port scan or ping a particular computer or device. It can also launch third-party client apps for SSH, Telnet, FTP, FTPS, SFTP, SCP, HTTP, secure-HTTP and SMB.

RouterPasswords (Free)

This is a must-have for anyone that works with networking gear. It's a simple database of the default login methods and credentials for over a thousand routers, gateways, modems and other network components. Though you can find the same info online, this gives you quick off-line access. Just start typing the model or brand and it will begin list matching entries.

Linux Commands (Free)

If you use Linux but aren't an expert at the command-line, this is a great app to have for reference. It lists more than 500 Linux commands that you can browse through. Select a command and you'll see the syntax, description, and any command options. You can even star your favorite commands and have them shown at startup and/or manually access your list of favorites. Though you can find the same info online, this gives you quick off-line access.

Geier is the founder of NoWiresSecurity, which helps businesses protect their Wi-Fi networks with a hosted RADIUS/802.1X service. He is also a freelance tech writer — become a Twitter follower or use the RSS Feed to keep up with his writings.





http://www.networkworld.com/slideshows/2011/091911-android-apps.html

http://www.infoworld.com/sites/infoworld.com/files/imagecache/slideshow_slide/media/image/img_091911-droid-apps-1.jpg

16 essential Android apps for IT pros

                                  16 essential Android apps for IT pros 
These apps can connect to servers, monitor systems, and scan networks, turning your Android device into an on-the-job dynamo

There are hundreds of thousands of Android apps, including many that are useful for IT professionals on the job. These apps can help connect to servers, monitor computers, access databases, analyze the airwaves, scan networks, and serve as a reference. Here are 16 of these apps, most of them free.

If you work with Unix-based servers or other network components that support SSH/Telnet connections, you can use this open source client to remotely connect. No need to get on the desktop or boot up your laptop. You can perform admin, maintenance, or troubleshooting tasks via command-line. Additionally, it supports local connections, so you can access the command-line of your Android.

ConnectBot supports generating and importing SSH keys. You can pan between multiple simultaneous connections and copy/paste between them or other applications. It keeps a history of previous sessions so you don't have to keep inputting the host address. Even better, you can create shortcuts to frequent hosts on your Android desktop.

AndFTP (Free or $5.59)

You can use this FTP/SFTP/FTPS client to download/upload files or perform administrative tasks from your Android. It features resume support and enables the basic admin tasks: renaming, deleting, updating permissions, and running custom commands. You can also send files via email, messaging, Bluetooth, and via other apps. The Pro version adds support for secure copy protocol (SCP) connections and enables remote/local folder synchronization.

Linux Monitor ($2.61)

If you work with Linux servers you can use this simple monitoring app to remotely keep an eye on the vitals: CPU load, RAM and disk usage, and network/port activity. View stats represented in numbers or via progress bars. Though you can monitor multiple Linux machines, you can't monitor or view them simultaneously. You must manually change the monitoring address to switch between them.

The remote Linux machine(s) must be running the Apache web server with PHP, and you must upload a simple PHP script. You can download a sample version to get a feel for the app.

Server Monitor (Free)

This simple monitoring app can alert you if a server or a certain component/port of it goes down. This is great if you don't already have a monitoring/alert system put into place or you'd like redundancy. It supports TCP connections as well as SSH tunnels. You add a server hostname or IP address and then you can optionally add specific components or ports to monitor, including SSH over SSH. You can define the polling frequency and toggle sound and/or vibrate alerts. You can set the service to start up automatically during boot or enable manual control.

10 best Android tablet apps for news junkies

httpmon (Free)

This is another monitoring app, but designed specifically for HTTP servers. You can customize a request URL and check with simple pings or with customizable conditions: the response code or time and header or content contains using substrings, wildcards, or regular expressions. You can also set the desired User Agent used for all the requests, the connection timeout, and the read timeout. On failures, it can notify, flash, alert, and vibrate your phone and/or send SMS messages to others.


Cellica Database for Android ($39.99 after 10-day trial)

If you work with databases on a Windows server or PC, you can use this app to access and manage them from your Android. Once you install the required software on the server or PC, you'll have encrypted access to edit fields, apply select queries, filters, sorting, or even create databases. Supported databases include: Microsoft Access, Access 2007, Microsoft Excel, Excel 2007, Oracle, SQL Server, DB2, MySQL, PostgreSQL, FoxPro, dBase, R:BASE and any ODBC Compliant Database.

Phoenix MySql Client (Free)

If you only desire a simple connection to MySQL databases, you can use this free app to directly connect. You can then view tables, views, and stored procedures. You can perform SQL queries and execute statements: select, create, insert, etc.


Wyse PocketCloud (Free or $14.99)

This remote desktop client supports Microsoft RDP, platform-independent VNC (virtual network computing), and virtual VMware View connections to Windows, Mac or Linux machines via Wi-Fi and cellular connections. It supports both Android smartphones and tablets. You might use it to provide remote tech support or access a PC for its programs or files.

If you download and install their companion software to the Windows or Mac computer, it can auto configure the connection via your Google account so you don't have to mess with router settings or IP addresses. But you can always manually configure the connection as well.

The Pro version removes the advertisements and adds more features: multiple connections, encryption to secure the connections, sound support for RDP, and VMware View support to access virtual machines.

Android-VNC-Viewer (Free)

If you prefer VNC for remote desktop connections and don't mind configuring the router and have static IPs or a dynamic DNS host name, you might consider using this simple open source VNC client. It supports VNC connections to most VNC servers on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X via Wi-Fi and Cellular connections.

Unlike the Wyse PocketCloud client, this app doesn't display advertisements and gives you pinch zooming for free. On the other hand, it can't automatically secure your connections. You'd have to use a separate app, such as ConnectBot, to encrypt your connection to the computer/server you're trying to remotely access.

Spiceworks Mobile (Free)

If your organization uses the Spiceworks IT management solution, you can use this client app to view your network and PC inventory, manage trouble tickets, and access and manage users with support of Active Directory. You can also communicate with other IT pros in the Spiceworks community to get feedback, help, or research.

ActiveDir Manager (Free or $1.99)

This is a must-have app if you work with the Active Directory in your organization. It lets you view and manage users, groups, and computers right from your Android. You can reset user passwords, disable or edit user accounts, adjust group memberships, and perform other basic admin tasks. It supports Windows Server 2000 and later with StartTLS, SSL, or no encryption. It can directly connect to the Active Directory server via Wi-Fi or VPN.


The only difference between the free and paid version is that the paid version enables saving of the LDAP connection settings and options.

Wi-Fi Analyzer (Free)

If you work with the Wi-Fi network at your organization you may want to use this Wi-Fi stumbler and analyzer app when setting up access points, checking channel usage, troubleshooting Wi-Fi issues, or doing Wi-Fi security auditing.

You can view and export the details of access points: SSID, MAC address, encryption, channel, and signal in negative dBm levels via a graphical bar and text readout. You can view channel graphs showing each access point's channel and signal in real-time or a recent history. Then a channel rating page gives you recommendations on which channels to use. You can use the signal meter view to find the access points.

SharesFinder (Free)

This scans for Windows (SMB), FTP and HTTP shares/servers on the network you're connected to via Wi-Fi. It's useful if you're trying to access files on the network or when doing security auditing. For each share/server you'll see the IP and media access control address, SMB name, and vendor name.

This app also supports basic file transfers and management of the remote SMB files, such as creating and deleting files and folders. You can login as anonymous or input a username and password. For HTTP resources, it launches the web browser. For FTP resources, you can connect via a third-party FTP client, such as AndFTP.

Overlook Fing (Free)

If you do any networking work, this is a must-have app. It can do TCP port scanning, pinging, traceroute, and DNS lookups on a network via Wi-Fi. It also shows the network details (SSID, IP details, and speed) of your current Wi-Fi connection.

You can see and export the details (MAC address, IP and vendor) for each computer or device detected on the network, which are customizable with a name, icon or notes. You can also perform a port scan or ping a particular computer or device. It can also launch third-party client apps for SSH, Telnet, FTP, FTPS, SFTP, SCP, HTTP, secure-HTTP and SMB.

RouterPasswords (Free)

This is a must-have for anyone that works with networking gear. It's a simple database of the default login methods and credentials for over a thousand routers, gateways, modems and other network components. Though you can find the same info online, this gives you quick off-line access. Just start typing the model or brand and it will begin list matching entries.

Linux Commands (Free)

If you use Linux but aren't an expert at the command-line, this is a great app to have for reference. It lists more than 500 Linux commands that you can browse through. Select a command and you'll see the syntax, description, and any command options. You can even star your favorite commands and have them shown at startup and/or manually access your list of favorites. Though you can find the same info online, this gives you quick off-line access.

Geier is the founder of NoWiresSecurity, which helps businesses protect their Wi-Fi networks with a hosted RADIUS/802.1X service. He is also a freelance tech writer — become a Twitter follower or use the RSS Feed to keep up with his writings.





http://www.networkworld.com/slideshows/2011/091911-android-apps.html

http://www.infoworld.com/sites/infoworld.com/files/imagecache/slideshow_slide/media/image/img_091911-droid-apps-1.jpg

16 essential Android apps for IT pros

                                  16 essential Android apps for IT pros 
These apps can connect to servers, monitor systems, and scan networks, turning your Android device into an on-the-job dynamo

There are hundreds of thousands of Android apps, including many that are useful for IT professionals on the job. These apps can help connect to servers, monitor computers, access databases, analyze the airwaves, scan networks, and serve as a reference. Here are 16 of these apps, most of them free.

If you work with Unix-based servers or other network components that support SSH/Telnet connections, you can use this open source client to remotely connect. No need to get on the desktop or boot up your laptop. You can perform admin, maintenance, or troubleshooting tasks via command-line. Additionally, it supports local connections, so you can access the command-line of your Android.

ConnectBot supports generating and importing SSH keys. You can pan between multiple simultaneous connections and copy/paste between them or other applications. It keeps a history of previous sessions so you don't have to keep inputting the host address. Even better, you can create shortcuts to frequent hosts on your Android desktop.

AndFTP (Free or $5.59)

You can use this FTP/SFTP/FTPS client to download/upload files or perform administrative tasks from your Android. It features resume support and enables the basic admin tasks: renaming, deleting, updating permissions, and running custom commands. You can also send files via email, messaging, Bluetooth, and via other apps. The Pro version adds support for secure copy protocol (SCP) connections and enables remote/local folder synchronization.

Linux Monitor ($2.61)

If you work with Linux servers you can use this simple monitoring app to remotely keep an eye on the vitals: CPU load, RAM and disk usage, and network/port activity. View stats represented in numbers or via progress bars. Though you can monitor multiple Linux machines, you can't monitor or view them simultaneously. You must manually change the monitoring address to switch between them.

The remote Linux machine(s) must be running the Apache web server with PHP, and you must upload a simple PHP script. You can download a sample version to get a feel for the app.

Server Monitor (Free)

This simple monitoring app can alert you if a server or a certain component/port of it goes down. This is great if you don't already have a monitoring/alert system put into place or you'd like redundancy. It supports TCP connections as well as SSH tunnels. You add a server hostname or IP address and then you can optionally add specific components or ports to monitor, including SSH over SSH. You can define the polling frequency and toggle sound and/or vibrate alerts. You can set the service to start up automatically during boot or enable manual control.

10 best Android tablet apps for news junkies

httpmon (Free)

This is another monitoring app, but designed specifically for HTTP servers. You can customize a request URL and check with simple pings or with customizable conditions: the response code or time and header or content contains using substrings, wildcards, or regular expressions. You can also set the desired User Agent used for all the requests, the connection timeout, and the read timeout. On failures, it can notify, flash, alert, and vibrate your phone and/or send SMS messages to others.


Cellica Database for Android ($39.99 after 10-day trial)

If you work with databases on a Windows server or PC, you can use this app to access and manage them from your Android. Once you install the required software on the server or PC, you'll have encrypted access to edit fields, apply select queries, filters, sorting, or even create databases. Supported databases include: Microsoft Access, Access 2007, Microsoft Excel, Excel 2007, Oracle, SQL Server, DB2, MySQL, PostgreSQL, FoxPro, dBase, R:BASE and any ODBC Compliant Database.

Phoenix MySql Client (Free)

If you only desire a simple connection to MySQL databases, you can use this free app to directly connect. You can then view tables, views, and stored procedures. You can perform SQL queries and execute statements: select, create, insert, etc.


Wyse PocketCloud (Free or $14.99)

This remote desktop client supports Microsoft RDP, platform-independent VNC (virtual network computing), and virtual VMware View connections to Windows, Mac or Linux machines via Wi-Fi and cellular connections. It supports both Android smartphones and tablets. You might use it to provide remote tech support or access a PC for its programs or files.

If you download and install their companion software to the Windows or Mac computer, it can auto configure the connection via your Google account so you don't have to mess with router settings or IP addresses. But you can always manually configure the connection as well.

The Pro version removes the advertisements and adds more features: multiple connections, encryption to secure the connections, sound support for RDP, and VMware View support to access virtual machines.

Android-VNC-Viewer (Free)

If you prefer VNC for remote desktop connections and don't mind configuring the router and have static IPs or a dynamic DNS host name, you might consider using this simple open source VNC client. It supports VNC connections to most VNC servers on Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X via Wi-Fi and Cellular connections.

Unlike the Wyse PocketCloud client, this app doesn't display advertisements and gives you pinch zooming for free. On the other hand, it can't automatically secure your connections. You'd have to use a separate app, such as ConnectBot, to encrypt your connection to the computer/server you're trying to remotely access.

Spiceworks Mobile (Free)

If your organization uses the Spiceworks IT management solution, you can use this client app to view your network and PC inventory, manage trouble tickets, and access and manage users with support of Active Directory. You can also communicate with other IT pros in the Spiceworks community to get feedback, help, or research.

ActiveDir Manager (Free or $1.99)

This is a must-have app if you work with the Active Directory in your organization. It lets you view and manage users, groups, and computers right from your Android. You can reset user passwords, disable or edit user accounts, adjust group memberships, and perform other basic admin tasks. It supports Windows Server 2000 and later with StartTLS, SSL, or no encryption. It can directly connect to the Active Directory server via Wi-Fi or VPN.


The only difference between the free and paid version is that the paid version enables saving of the LDAP connection settings and options.

Wi-Fi Analyzer (Free)

If you work with the Wi-Fi network at your organization you may want to use this Wi-Fi stumbler and analyzer app when setting up access points, checking channel usage, troubleshooting Wi-Fi issues, or doing Wi-Fi security auditing.

You can view and export the details of access points: SSID, MAC address, encryption, channel, and signal in negative dBm levels via a graphical bar and text readout. You can view channel graphs showing each access point's channel and signal in real-time or a recent history. Then a channel rating page gives you recommendations on which channels to use. You can use the signal meter view to find the access points.

SharesFinder (Free)

This scans for Windows (SMB), FTP and HTTP shares/servers on the network you're connected to via Wi-Fi. It's useful if you're trying to access files on the network or when doing security auditing. For each share/server you'll see the IP and media access control address, SMB name, and vendor name.

This app also supports basic file transfers and management of the remote SMB files, such as creating and deleting files and folders. You can login as anonymous or input a username and password. For HTTP resources, it launches the web browser. For FTP resources, you can connect via a third-party FTP client, such as AndFTP.

Overlook Fing (Free)

If you do any networking work, this is a must-have app. It can do TCP port scanning, pinging, traceroute, and DNS lookups on a network via Wi-Fi. It also shows the network details (SSID, IP details, and speed) of your current Wi-Fi connection.

You can see and export the details (MAC address, IP and vendor) for each computer or device detected on the network, which are customizable with a name, icon or notes. You can also perform a port scan or ping a particular computer or device. It can also launch third-party client apps for SSH, Telnet, FTP, FTPS, SFTP, SCP, HTTP, secure-HTTP and SMB.

RouterPasswords (Free)

This is a must-have for anyone that works with networking gear. It's a simple database of the default login methods and credentials for over a thousand routers, gateways, modems and other network components. Though you can find the same info online, this gives you quick off-line access. Just start typing the model or brand and it will begin list matching entries.

Linux Commands (Free)

If you use Linux but aren't an expert at the command-line, this is a great app to have for reference. It lists more than 500 Linux commands that you can browse through. Select a command and you'll see the syntax, description, and any command options. You can even star your favorite commands and have them shown at startup and/or manually access your list of favorites. Though you can find the same info online, this gives you quick off-line access.

Geier is the founder of NoWiresSecurity, which helps businesses protect their Wi-Fi networks with a hosted RADIUS/802.1X service. He is also a freelance tech writer — become a Twitter follower or use the RSS Feed to keep up with his writings.





http://www.networkworld.com/slideshows/2011/091911-android-apps.html

http://www.infoworld.com/sites/infoworld.com/files/imagecache/slideshow_slide/media/image/img_091911-droid-apps-1.jpg

mLearning and the Global Classroom

Adults and adolescents with Atopic Dermatitis in the USA, expectant mothers in Ghana, young teachers in Finland and pharmacists in Uganda all have one thing in common, they are part of the growing mobile learning community, or mLearning.  Educators use cell phones, PDAs, laptops, and other mobile devices to reach students who are mobile, are isolated, lack internet access, or have limited resources for travel but have a mobile phone.  mLearning in action.  When 90% of the world’s population has access to a mobile phone, according to the International Telecommunication Union, it is no surprise that educators have already realized the potential of mobile devices to enhance and extend the classroom.



Adults and adolescents with Atopic Dermatitis in the USA received information and medication reminders via text (or SMS) from Massachusetts General Hospital.  Throughout the study, 96% of the participants changed at least one behavior after receiving informational texts about self-care practices.  These patients are not alone in their improved health behavior due to educational texts.  In Kenya, patients undergoing Advanced Retroviral Therapy for HIV received text reminders about their dosage and appointments and had positive behavioral change related to their adherence to their treatment in a recent study.  Expectant mothers in Ghana received voice and text messages regarding self-care during pregnancy and the care of their children.  But sure, mobile phones can help adherence to medication regimens, improve information about healthcare and self-care and serve as reminders of appointments, but what about extending the more traditional classroom?

Young teachers in Finland use mobile phones during the teacher training period that includes heavy travel to and from training sites, to send feedback to other trainees, receive feedback from supervising teachers, to report back to supervising teachers, and to send photos of trainees and their classes back and forth to trainees and instructors.  Using mobiles to send photos enhances the learning experience by connecting participants immediately through their own eyes. Students in Uganda also engaged in mLearning to extend their research while they travelled throughout rural regions of the country.  These students communicated with their research supervisor via their mobile to reach benchmarks on the research progress and to overcome electricity and internet limitations at their research locations.  The study recommends to combine mLearning tools, especially voice calls and SMS texts with more traditional distance learning approaches, using the internet when possible. Pharmacists in Uganda had the same experience as they underwent a “Virtual Pharmaceutical Training program” online and recommended the addition of mobile technologies and other blended approaches to eLearning.

mLearning in resource constrained environments presents an opportune space for teachers and instructors to reach their students more conveniently and efficiently.  mLearning for adult education is only one form and the examples listed here are not exhaustive.  Children who have access to mobile devices send SMS questions to teachers, teachers SMS parents regarding student progress, and learning laptops reach students in resourced environments.  The important aspect of mLearning is that it is scalable to the needs and resources of students and teachers, patients and doctors, rural clinics and urban hospitals.  As Jordan Hosmer-Henner discussed in his post “Marking the m-Health Movement,” mobile technologies are a game changer for development entrepreneurs throughout the world.  mLearning is one more way mobile technologies are expanding the way we think and the way we interact with each other, making the classroom truly global.

mLearning and the Global Classroom

Adults and adolescents with Atopic Dermatitis in the USA, expectant mothers in Ghana, young teachers in Finland and pharmacists in Uganda all have one thing in common, they are part of the growing mobile learning community, or mLearning.  Educators use cell phones, PDAs, laptops, and other mobile devices to reach students who are mobile, are isolated, lack internet access, or have limited resources for travel but have a mobile phone.  mLearning in action.  When 90% of the world’s population has access to a mobile phone, according to the International Telecommunication Union, it is no surprise that educators have already realized the potential of mobile devices to enhance and extend the classroom.



Adults and adolescents with Atopic Dermatitis in the USA received information and medication reminders via text (or SMS) from Massachusetts General Hospital.  Throughout the study, 96% of the participants changed at least one behavior after receiving informational texts about self-care practices.  These patients are not alone in their improved health behavior due to educational texts.  In Kenya, patients undergoing Advanced Retroviral Therapy for HIV received text reminders about their dosage and appointments and had positive behavioral change related to their adherence to their treatment in a recent study.  Expectant mothers in Ghana received voice and text messages regarding self-care during pregnancy and the care of their children.  But sure, mobile phones can help adherence to medication regimens, improve information about healthcare and self-care and serve as reminders of appointments, but what about extending the more traditional classroom?

Young teachers in Finland use mobile phones during the teacher training period that includes heavy travel to and from training sites, to send feedback to other trainees, receive feedback from supervising teachers, to report back to supervising teachers, and to send photos of trainees and their classes back and forth to trainees and instructors.  Using mobiles to send photos enhances the learning experience by connecting participants immediately through their own eyes. Students in Uganda also engaged in mLearning to extend their research while they travelled throughout rural regions of the country.  These students communicated with their research supervisor via their mobile to reach benchmarks on the research progress and to overcome electricity and internet limitations at their research locations.  The study recommends to combine mLearning tools, especially voice calls and SMS texts with more traditional distance learning approaches, using the internet when possible. Pharmacists in Uganda had the same experience as they underwent a “Virtual Pharmaceutical Training program” online and recommended the addition of mobile technologies and other blended approaches to eLearning.

mLearning in resource constrained environments presents an opportune space for teachers and instructors to reach their students more conveniently and efficiently.  mLearning for adult education is only one form and the examples listed here are not exhaustive.  Children who have access to mobile devices send SMS questions to teachers, teachers SMS parents regarding student progress, and learning laptops reach students in resourced environments.  The important aspect of mLearning is that it is scalable to the needs and resources of students and teachers, patients and doctors, rural clinics and urban hospitals.  As Jordan Hosmer-Henner discussed in his post “Marking the m-Health Movement,” mobile technologies are a game changer for development entrepreneurs throughout the world.  mLearning is one more way mobile technologies are expanding the way we think and the way we interact with each other, making the classroom truly global.

mLearning and the Global Classroom

Adults and adolescents with Atopic Dermatitis in the USA, expectant mothers in Ghana, young teachers in Finland and pharmacists in Uganda all have one thing in common, they are part of the growing mobile learning community, or mLearning.  Educators use cell phones, PDAs, laptops, and other mobile devices to reach students who are mobile, are isolated, lack internet access, or have limited resources for travel but have a mobile phone.  mLearning in action.  When 90% of the world’s population has access to a mobile phone, according to the International Telecommunication Union, it is no surprise that educators have already realized the potential of mobile devices to enhance and extend the classroom.



Adults and adolescents with Atopic Dermatitis in the USA received information and medication reminders via text (or SMS) from Massachusetts General Hospital.  Throughout the study, 96% of the participants changed at least one behavior after receiving informational texts about self-care practices.  These patients are not alone in their improved health behavior due to educational texts.  In Kenya, patients undergoing Advanced Retroviral Therapy for HIV received text reminders about their dosage and appointments and had positive behavioral change related to their adherence to their treatment in a recent study.  Expectant mothers in Ghana received voice and text messages regarding self-care during pregnancy and the care of their children.  But sure, mobile phones can help adherence to medication regimens, improve information about healthcare and self-care and serve as reminders of appointments, but what about extending the more traditional classroom?

Young teachers in Finland use mobile phones during the teacher training period that includes heavy travel to and from training sites, to send feedback to other trainees, receive feedback from supervising teachers, to report back to supervising teachers, and to send photos of trainees and their classes back and forth to trainees and instructors.  Using mobiles to send photos enhances the learning experience by connecting participants immediately through their own eyes. Students in Uganda also engaged in mLearning to extend their research while they travelled throughout rural regions of the country.  These students communicated with their research supervisor via their mobile to reach benchmarks on the research progress and to overcome electricity and internet limitations at their research locations.  The study recommends to combine mLearning tools, especially voice calls and SMS texts with more traditional distance learning approaches, using the internet when possible. Pharmacists in Uganda had the same experience as they underwent a “Virtual Pharmaceutical Training program” online and recommended the addition of mobile technologies and other blended approaches to eLearning.

mLearning in resource constrained environments presents an opportune space for teachers and instructors to reach their students more conveniently and efficiently.  mLearning for adult education is only one form and the examples listed here are not exhaustive.  Children who have access to mobile devices send SMS questions to teachers, teachers SMS parents regarding student progress, and learning laptops reach students in resourced environments.  The important aspect of mLearning is that it is scalable to the needs and resources of students and teachers, patients and doctors, rural clinics and urban hospitals.  As Jordan Hosmer-Henner discussed in his post “Marking the m-Health Movement,” mobile technologies are a game changer for development entrepreneurs throughout the world.  mLearning is one more way mobile technologies are expanding the way we think and the way we interact with each other, making the classroom truly global.

How to Make Your Internet Connection Faster, Better

OpenDNS to the Internet Connection Performance Rescue


Have you ever pointed your browser to a Web site and had to wait an inordinately long time for the page — or at least the full page — to load? This kind of slow browsing experience can be traced to a variety of causes, but among the most common are problems with the servers that are responsible for actually locating all the sites you visit, your DNS (Domain Name Service) servers.

 A free service called OpenDNS can not only help your browser display Web pages faster it also offers some useful fringe benefits such as address typo correction and phishing protection, plus site blocking, content filtering and more. Before we delve into how to use OpenDNS, let's briefly outline how the DNS system works for those who may not be familiar with it.

What's the Deal with DNS?

 Every time you type a Web site address like www.practicallynetworked.com into your browser, that "friendly" address needs to be translated into the actual IP address for the computer hosting that site. The job of the DNS server is to take the text address you type in, look it up against a database of IP addresses, and then return the correct address to your browser so that the site can be accessed.

 The DNS database is actually distributed across countless servers all over the Internet, but the specific DNS server(s) you use are generally provided by your ISP. When your router obtains its IP address information from your ISP (usually through DHCP), the addresses for the DNS servers are provided as well. These DNS server addresses are in turn passed along to each of your computers via DHCP on your own network so that they all know where to go to look up Internet addresses.

 Long story short: If DNS servers get overloaded or experience other technical problems, they may take a long time to respond to lookup requests or they may not respond at all. Some ISPs are better than others when it comes to maintaining their DNS servers, but problems are not at all uncommon. Sometimes when your Internet connection seems to be down, it may be fine but simply appear down because your ISP's DNS isn't working properly.

 But you don't necessarily need to use your ISP's DNS servers, which brings us back to OpenDNS. OpenDNS, which has been around for about 18 months, is a free DNS service anyone can use, and is more than likely faster and more reliable than the one you're using now. (I've been using it for almost a year now and like many others have found the performance to be excellent.)

How to Use OpenDNS

 So how can you take advantage of OpenDNS? All you need to do is go is update your router's DNS settings via its administrator control panel. After you've logged into your router, look for settings related to DNS — the exact location will vary depending on your router, but you'll often find it under the LAN heading or sometimes even on the first settings page you see.

 When you find the DNS configuration area, you'll probably see that it's set to automatically obtain DNS servers from your ISP. Select the option that allows you to specify your own DNS server addresses, and then enter 208.67.222.222 as the primary DNS and 208.67.220.220 as the secondary DNS (as you might guess, the secondary is used if the primary isn't available).

 Your router may or may not reboot itself once you apply the new DNS settings, but in order to make sure each of your computers is using the OpenDNS servers, you should manually obtain a new DHCP address for each of them. An easy way to do this in XP is to right-click your network connection's tray icon and select Repair. In Vista, you can verify that a particular system is using OpenDNS if you see "You're using OpenDNS" message when you browse to welcome.opendns.com.)

 After some time spent using OpenDNS, you should notice that your browser generally takes less time to find and display Web sites. Even if you don't see a perceptible increase in performance, you'll still be able to benefit from several security and convenience features. For starters, OpenDNS can fix typos in the URLs you type, so if you accidentally type www.practicallynetworked.cmo — or .co, or .cm — you'll still be taken to the site you intended instead of being greeted by error message, or worse, an ersatz site from Cameroon (which owns the .cm domain).

 If you happen to type a nonexistent site name, instead of a not found error you'll see an OpenDNS Guide page with suggested alternate links (as well as some sponsored ones, which help keep OpenDNS free). For example, I sometimes inadvertently try to access the PracticallyNetworked.com site by typing in "pracnet.com" (PracNet is an internal nickname for the site), and when I do, PracticallyNetworked.com is first among the OpenDNS suggested links. Last but not least, using OpenDNS also gets you automatic phishing protection, so if the site you want to go to is known for phishing, OpenDNS won't take you there.

How to Make Your Internet Connection Faster, Better

OpenDNS to the Internet Connection Performance Rescue


Have you ever pointed your browser to a Web site and had to wait an inordinately long time for the page — or at least the full page — to load? This kind of slow browsing experience can be traced to a variety of causes, but among the most common are problems with the servers that are responsible for actually locating all the sites you visit, your DNS (Domain Name Service) servers.

 A free service called OpenDNS can not only help your browser display Web pages faster it also offers some useful fringe benefits such as address typo correction and phishing protection, plus site blocking, content filtering and more. Before we delve into how to use OpenDNS, let's briefly outline how the DNS system works for those who may not be familiar with it.

What's the Deal with DNS?

 Every time you type a Web site address like www.practicallynetworked.com into your browser, that "friendly" address needs to be translated into the actual IP address for the computer hosting that site. The job of the DNS server is to take the text address you type in, look it up against a database of IP addresses, and then return the correct address to your browser so that the site can be accessed.

 The DNS database is actually distributed across countless servers all over the Internet, but the specific DNS server(s) you use are generally provided by your ISP. When your router obtains its IP address information from your ISP (usually through DHCP), the addresses for the DNS servers are provided as well. These DNS server addresses are in turn passed along to each of your computers via DHCP on your own network so that they all know where to go to look up Internet addresses.

 Long story short: If DNS servers get overloaded or experience other technical problems, they may take a long time to respond to lookup requests or they may not respond at all. Some ISPs are better than others when it comes to maintaining their DNS servers, but problems are not at all uncommon. Sometimes when your Internet connection seems to be down, it may be fine but simply appear down because your ISP's DNS isn't working properly.

 But you don't necessarily need to use your ISP's DNS servers, which brings us back to OpenDNS. OpenDNS, which has been around for about 18 months, is a free DNS service anyone can use, and is more than likely faster and more reliable than the one you're using now. (I've been using it for almost a year now and like many others have found the performance to be excellent.)

How to Use OpenDNS

 So how can you take advantage of OpenDNS? All you need to do is go is update your router's DNS settings via its administrator control panel. After you've logged into your router, look for settings related to DNS — the exact location will vary depending on your router, but you'll often find it under the LAN heading or sometimes even on the first settings page you see.

 When you find the DNS configuration area, you'll probably see that it's set to automatically obtain DNS servers from your ISP. Select the option that allows you to specify your own DNS server addresses, and then enter 208.67.222.222 as the primary DNS and 208.67.220.220 as the secondary DNS (as you might guess, the secondary is used if the primary isn't available).

 Your router may or may not reboot itself once you apply the new DNS settings, but in order to make sure each of your computers is using the OpenDNS servers, you should manually obtain a new DHCP address for each of them. An easy way to do this in XP is to right-click your network connection's tray icon and select Repair. In Vista, you can verify that a particular system is using OpenDNS if you see "You're using OpenDNS" message when you browse to welcome.opendns.com.)

 After some time spent using OpenDNS, you should notice that your browser generally takes less time to find and display Web sites. Even if you don't see a perceptible increase in performance, you'll still be able to benefit from several security and convenience features. For starters, OpenDNS can fix typos in the URLs you type, so if you accidentally type www.practicallynetworked.cmo — or .co, or .cm — you'll still be taken to the site you intended instead of being greeted by error message, or worse, an ersatz site from Cameroon (which owns the .cm domain).

 If you happen to type a nonexistent site name, instead of a not found error you'll see an OpenDNS Guide page with suggested alternate links (as well as some sponsored ones, which help keep OpenDNS free). For example, I sometimes inadvertently try to access the PracticallyNetworked.com site by typing in "pracnet.com" (PracNet is an internal nickname for the site), and when I do, PracticallyNetworked.com is first among the OpenDNS suggested links. Last but not least, using OpenDNS also gets you automatic phishing protection, so if the site you want to go to is known for phishing, OpenDNS won't take you there.

How to Make Your Internet Connection Faster, Better

OpenDNS to the Internet Connection Performance Rescue


Have you ever pointed your browser to a Web site and had to wait an inordinately long time for the page — or at least the full page — to load? This kind of slow browsing experience can be traced to a variety of causes, but among the most common are problems with the servers that are responsible for actually locating all the sites you visit, your DNS (Domain Name Service) servers.

 A free service called OpenDNS can not only help your browser display Web pages faster it also offers some useful fringe benefits such as address typo correction and phishing protection, plus site blocking, content filtering and more. Before we delve into how to use OpenDNS, let's briefly outline how the DNS system works for those who may not be familiar with it.

What's the Deal with DNS?

 Every time you type a Web site address like www.practicallynetworked.com into your browser, that "friendly" address needs to be translated into the actual IP address for the computer hosting that site. The job of the DNS server is to take the text address you type in, look it up against a database of IP addresses, and then return the correct address to your browser so that the site can be accessed.

 The DNS database is actually distributed across countless servers all over the Internet, but the specific DNS server(s) you use are generally provided by your ISP. When your router obtains its IP address information from your ISP (usually through DHCP), the addresses for the DNS servers are provided as well. These DNS server addresses are in turn passed along to each of your computers via DHCP on your own network so that they all know where to go to look up Internet addresses.

 Long story short: If DNS servers get overloaded or experience other technical problems, they may take a long time to respond to lookup requests or they may not respond at all. Some ISPs are better than others when it comes to maintaining their DNS servers, but problems are not at all uncommon. Sometimes when your Internet connection seems to be down, it may be fine but simply appear down because your ISP's DNS isn't working properly.

 But you don't necessarily need to use your ISP's DNS servers, which brings us back to OpenDNS. OpenDNS, which has been around for about 18 months, is a free DNS service anyone can use, and is more than likely faster and more reliable than the one you're using now. (I've been using it for almost a year now and like many others have found the performance to be excellent.)

How to Use OpenDNS

 So how can you take advantage of OpenDNS? All you need to do is go is update your router's DNS settings via its administrator control panel. After you've logged into your router, look for settings related to DNS — the exact location will vary depending on your router, but you'll often find it under the LAN heading or sometimes even on the first settings page you see.

 When you find the DNS configuration area, you'll probably see that it's set to automatically obtain DNS servers from your ISP. Select the option that allows you to specify your own DNS server addresses, and then enter 208.67.222.222 as the primary DNS and 208.67.220.220 as the secondary DNS (as you might guess, the secondary is used if the primary isn't available).

 Your router may or may not reboot itself once you apply the new DNS settings, but in order to make sure each of your computers is using the OpenDNS servers, you should manually obtain a new DHCP address for each of them. An easy way to do this in XP is to right-click your network connection's tray icon and select Repair. In Vista, you can verify that a particular system is using OpenDNS if you see "You're using OpenDNS" message when you browse to welcome.opendns.com.)

 After some time spent using OpenDNS, you should notice that your browser generally takes less time to find and display Web sites. Even if you don't see a perceptible increase in performance, you'll still be able to benefit from several security and convenience features. For starters, OpenDNS can fix typos in the URLs you type, so if you accidentally type www.practicallynetworked.cmo — or .co, or .cm — you'll still be taken to the site you intended instead of being greeted by error message, or worse, an ersatz site from Cameroon (which owns the .cm domain).

 If you happen to type a nonexistent site name, instead of a not found error you'll see an OpenDNS Guide page with suggested alternate links (as well as some sponsored ones, which help keep OpenDNS free). For example, I sometimes inadvertently try to access the PracticallyNetworked.com site by typing in "pracnet.com" (PracNet is an internal nickname for the site), and when I do, PracticallyNetworked.com is first among the OpenDNS suggested links. Last but not least, using OpenDNS also gets you automatic phishing protection, so if the site you want to go to is known for phishing, OpenDNS won't take you there.

Intel, Google team to optimize Android for smartphones

Intel and Google announced Tuesday that they would partner to optimize future versions of the Android OS for smartphones and other mobile devices using Intel chips.
Intel CEO Paul Otellini demonstrated a smartphone with the upcoming Medfield chip running on Android during a keynote at the Intel Developer Conference being held in San Francisco. However, Otellini didn't mention the version of Android running on the smartphone.

Intel wants to make x86 the architecture of choice for smartphones, and porting Android will provide a larger opportunity to the chip maker in the smartphone market, Otellini said.

"This is a significant step forward to bring Intel phones to market," Otellini said.

Intel doesn't have a presence in the smartphone market yet, but Otellini said a smartphone based on the chip would reach the market in the first quarter next year. Medfield includes a low-power Atom processor. A smartphone with the chip was due in the third quarter this year, but has been delayed multiple times. Intel also is holding a technical session at IDF to show Medfield running on tablets.

Intel and Google will work on optimizing "all" future Android releases for Intel mobile chips at the kernel level, and also in specific areas such as memory management and graphics, said Andy Rubin, senior vice president for mobile at Google, in an on-stage appearance.


Some versions of Android, such as Android 2.2, code-named Froyo, have already been ported to Intel. By porting all future Android versions, Intel and Google are now expanding their relationship, Otellini said.

Intel faces the tough task of unseating ARM, whose processors are found in most smartphones. Intel chips are considered more power-hungry than ARM processors, but the company hopes that it can establish a beachhead in the market as it continues to advance its manufacturing process to make faster, more efficient chips.

During the keynote Otellini also shared more details about the upcoming chip code-named Haswell, which is due in laptops by 2013. Haswell will achieve a 30% power reduction in standby compared with current Core i5 laptops that go into laptops. The company is engineering a new low-power framework that will enable "all-day usage" of laptops, Otellini said.

The Haswell chips are targeted at ultrabooks, which Intel is promoting as a new category of thin and light PCs with tablet-like features. Intel hopes to deliver 10 days of standby time on always-connected ultrabooks using Haswell chips, Otellini said.

The Haswell microarchitecture is a follow-up to Ivy Bridge, due early next year for ultrabooks, and also more power-efficient than current Intel Sandy Bridge chips.

Otellini also said Intel wants to drive power consumption of chips down to a point where solar cells could run computers. To illustrate Otellini's point, an Intel engineer demonstrated a computer powered by a solar panel running a small animation. But once the solar source was blocked, the computer froze. Otellini said the point of the demonstration wasn't to productize the prototype chip, but to show where Intel wants to take its chips on power consumption.

Haswell will be on ultrabooks and a range of other devices, the engineer said during the demonstration.

Use Google Calendar to Organize Yourself

A personal assistant can perform time management tasks for you. But if you do not have one then there is nothing to worry about. You can easily have a solution by using Google Calendar on your Desktop.The need to organize is a part of human nature especially if you are at some important position in a company; even if that is not the case, there are many people around you who expect you to remember their birthdays, wedding anniversaries and other related stuff. With the pressure of work or studies, it is physically impossible for a person to keep track of so many dates. Many of you must have had the embarrassing experience of making a commitment with your wife or a close friend for dinner or shopping and then having to cancel it because of any important meeting that was scheduled weeks ago and that somehow slipped your mind.

The desktop Google calendar helps you organize yourself in a better way. It has a number of features other than just being a plan calendar which ensure smoothness in your day to day planning. The most important feature in this regard is that it connects to your Google calendar directly, so all you have to do is to update your online calendar while checking your emails. You can put in birthday reminders, events, meetings, appointments and wedding anniversaries reminders etc. in your calendar. You will get emails and reminders on your desktop about all the upcoming events. But there is a problem here; the Google calendar on your desktop is read only meaning that you cannot update it directly like a number of other desktop applications. The editing, deleting and adding of new events has to be done from Gmail calendar.CLICK here to Download

Technology in Environmental Education

In a world where we are frequently exposed to controversial high-tech headlines about self replicating miniature robots, attempts to download human brains into computers, and cars with night vision and heads up displays, (note) I am often asked what does technology have to offer environmental educators and their students? When it comes to technology, we are of two minds. We hate TV, but we have a favorite show. We hate deforestation, but we love beautiful wood-grain furniture. We hate electronic eavesdropping. But we love it when it's used to capture a fiendish criminal. Technology. We love to hate it. We hate to love it. (note.) In the next few pages, I will explore the philosophy and examples of how we try to embrace (if not love) Technology in our programs at IslandWood.

In a recent survey of environmental centers, Bethany Lesure found the most common reasons for integrating technology into educational programs are "audience demand", "State Ed. Requirement", a way to "Reach Out", and that "Kids Relate" to technology (Lesure, 2002). While these are very pragmatic reasons, I would argue that we need to be more deliberate in our choices � after all, isn't much of Environmental Education about considering the consequences of one's actions? (note.)

Integrating technology into our educational programs provides students with additional tools to enhance their learning. So you might wonder, "What are the benefits of taking this approach to help students explore and understand the world around them?"

Technology supports our efforts to appeal to different learning styles. With a variety of learning tools, students can understand their experiences through verbal, written, spatial, quantitative, and/or graphical means. As a result, many more students become engaged in the learning process.

Technology supports our multidisciplinary approach to learning. Integrating different disciplines helps students combine their mathematical, logical, scientific, linguistic, artistic, and social knowledge to make their lives and interactions with the world clearer.

iPhone 4 – Redefining Mobility in Education

This journal, Educational Technology and Change, is built in a WordPress web publishing environment. I hesitate to call it a “blog” because people tend to immediately close on it and can’t see that WordPress is no more a blog than the smartphone is a phone.

I’ve had my iPhone 4 for about two months, and it’s already changing my view of what it means to be connected. WordPress and iPhone, together, are redefining the publishing landscape for me. They’re not only placing publishing in the hands of the many, but they’re making it possible for them to do it from anywhere at anytime. It’s no longer a matter of waiting until I can get to a computer with web access. Instead, I have it with me at all times wherever I am, eliminating the waiting altogether.


I can now write an article using the built-in notes application and a Bluetooth wireless keyboard that I originally purchased for the iPad. In fact, I’m writing the first draft of this article on the iPhone. A couple months ago, I would’ve scoffed at the idea of composing on a screen the size of a credit card. Impossible, I would’ve sworn. But I’m doing it now, and I find it just as comfortable as my laptop or desktop.

But the clincher is mobility. The iPhone is tiny: 4.5″ x 2.3″ and less than half an inch (0.37″) thick; it weighs 4.8 ounces. It can easily fit in my shirt pocket, the backpocket of my jeans, etc. The most comfortable method for me is a little leather case that hooks onto my belt. I can quickly hook and unhook it, slide it to the front, side, or back, depending on the activity. It’s as much a part of me as a belt, and it doesn’t restrict my activities.

It charges quickly and goes for hours without recharging. The spec sheet claims up to 10 hours on wi-fi, but some have found that this is very conservative. For me, it’s never run down despite constant use throughout the day. I simply plug it in overnight, and it’s good for an entire day.

I no longer have to lug a backpack holding a notebook computer, an extra battery, an AC adaptor with a tangle of cables, and a wireless USB modem. The batteries were always a hassle. I had to make sure they were both juiced, and over time they’ve lost their capacity to hold a charge. Now, I can barely get an hour out of each, and replacements are expensive and often unreliable.
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