Nextdoor - Facebook for Neighborhoods?

If you live in a Nerdy Neighborhood, you might want to check out the newest web service that’s making a buzz. It’s called “Nextdoor,” and it’s a social network for neighborhoods. Users can advertise garage sales, post community messages, and connect with others in their area. It’s been described as a “Craigslist and LinkedIn hybrid.”

Not too quick to post your home address online? You should be - identity theft is a growing problem. Fortunately, Nextdoor requires address verification, which means that everyone in a Nextdoor neighborhood must enter a PIN sent to their home address. Users outside of a neighborhood have no access to the groups within a neighborhood. As the CEO, Nirav Tolia, told Mashable, it’s “about problem-solving.”

The service also partners with local authorities, which means that neighborhoods can receive emergency alerts relevant to their neighborhood.

Nextdoor has a list of more than 18,000 neighborhoods on the site, and about 75 are added to the list everyday. If you can’t find your neighborhood on the site you are encouraged to put in a request. Once there are enough people interested in a neighborhood, the group is created and the interested users are sent postcards with PINs. However, the group’s status is contingent on enough users joining within a set time. Nextdoor gives a time period for users to invite a certain number of their neighbors to the service - if not enough people join, the neighborhood is removed from Nextdoor. As people join, the trial period is extended until the group finally becomes permanent.

Nextdoor has an iPhone app as well as a recently-released Android app, which allows users to quickly see group posts and messages relevant to their neighborhood.

For now, Nextdoor is only available in the United States, although they plan on expanding into Canada later in 2013 and other countries the following year.

Use Pinterest for Back to School

Use Pinterest for Back to School Tips

While it may seem like summer vacation just started (or perhaps for some, it feels like it will never end), the time to get the kids geared up and ready to head back to school is right around the corner. Pinterest can help take some of the guess work out of getting your little (or not so little) ones back to school. Here’s how to track down some of the most useful board highlighting gear, fashion, lunch inspiration and tips to help your students have a great year.

First, some tips on searching Pinterest. The huge variety of “pinners” and a relatively limited search tool means that it can be challenging to find exactly what you’re looking for using Pinterest’s site search. The search term you enter will have to appear in the description of the pin (if you’re searching pins) or the name of the board (if you’re searching boards). I like to search boards first using general terms like “back to school” or “school lunch” before searching for specific pins. The results returned when searching for boards will show you the image the pinner has chosen as their board cover image, as well as the most recent three things they’ve added to the board. This will let you scan through quickly for images that you find relevant, attractive or intriguing and then click through to see the rest of the links they’ve collected.


You could search by general category under Kids or Education to see the most recent and popular posts that have been categorized by the poster, but I find that overwhelming. Unfortunately, there’s no easy way to sort results further. I would find it much easier if I could search by a term and then sort by most popular or most re-pinned so as to find a good starting point of material but, alas, it is not an option. This can make cruising Pinterest a bit overwhelming, so I’ve tracked down some gems to get you started.

Encourage a love of learning. I am one of the over 450,000 people that love the links and information gathered by former teacher Allison McDonald of “No Time for Flashcards” (http://pinterest.com/noflashcards/). From boards dedicated to gear, after school activities, and setting up a study area, to countless projects and games to help your budding scholar get ready for the year to come, there’s something here for any parent with a kid under ten. Not only will you bring your A-game to back to school, you’ll find tools to help your son or daughter get the most out of their learning time, whether it’s at school or at home.

Master the art of lunch. If your kids complain that they can’t stand the thought of yet another peanut butter and jelly sandwich with apple side dish, check out the easy but amazingly creative lunch ideas at the “Easy Lunch Box Lunches” page (http://pinterest.com/easylunchboxes/easy-lunch-box-lunches/). Centering on the bento-box craze, links give you a huge variety of options to meet any dietary needs, from gluten or lactose free to catering to picky eaters. Creative presentation encourages little ones to try new veggies or wraps, particularly when themed to their interests (think, pirate booty box or butterfly extravaganza). It may sound too time consuming, but you’ll be surprised at what you can pull off quickly and easily with a few sandwich or vegetable shape cutting tools and some reusable packaging. It’s even eco-friendly so your kids won’t harass you about wasting plastic bags – win!

Cater to your fashionista. For any parent who finds themselves wandering aimlessly around the clothes section in August, only to return home with a bag of outfits that elicit an “aw, mom, really?” reaction, save yourself some headaches by cruising the style profile boards compiled by Zulily (http://pinterest.com/zulily/), an online “daily deals site for moms.” From “Classic Cutie” to “Mister Hipster,” boards are dedicated to a variety of styles and tastes. Sit your little fashion-forward offspring down and have tem tell you which kinds of outfits appeal to them.

Older style mavens may have better luck with the custom outfits posted to Polyvore’s page (http://pinterest.com/polyvore/). Scroll through their “Top Products” board together so that you can get on the same page before heading out to shop, or follow the links to Polyvore’s main site to have your teen put together some dream outfits with the site’s “Create” feature. Choose from a huge selection of tops, bottoms and accessories to build complete outfits. Not only will you get a chance to preview the digs your kids think are cool, you’ll have the opportunity to talk about anything that may not be school appropriate before you get to the store.

 

How to Use Google Better

Time-saving tips for navigating cyberspace

Even though more web users search with Google than any other search engine, take advantage of the full power of the tool at their disposal. From finding a quick answer to just about any question, query or calculation you encounter to more easily finding relevant results in weblinks, here’s how to get more from your Google search experience.


In mid-2012, Google rolled out Knowledge Graph, a way to view a quick summary of the information that the search algorithm determines to be most relevant to your query as well as quickly link to different results. For example, typing “Taj Mahal” in the search bar returns a page where links to other web pages appear on the left, but on the right is a summary of facts about the monument in India. Scroll down a smidge to see a box under the summary titled “see results about” which lets you jump to results about the musician or the casino. Another Knowledge Graph feature is that searching for a book, TV show, music album or DVD offers up a “People also search for” list of a few similar or related titles, like Amazon's "people who bought this also bought" feature.

Finding quick facts is Google’s specialty but you may not know of all the queries you can post directly in the search bar (or browser bar if you’re using Google’s Chrome browser):

Need to convert ounces to cups? Type “6 ounces into cups” and the answer will be listed at the top of your results page. Similarly, enter the equation you want answered (for example, 72x153) and the result appears without having to pull up a calculator application.

Find movie times in your area just by entering the name of the movie. See upcoming dates and events by entering the name of the venue, band or performance you’re interested in.

Review sports scores for any recent game by entering the name of the team. Quick results will show recent scores, record, standings, and upcoming games.

Get a five day forecast for anywhere in the world by entering “ weather.”

If, like me, you can never remember when Mother’s Day hits in the calendar year, just enter “2013 Mothers Day” to instantly see the date it falls on. It works for any holiday or major event, including using terms like Olympics, Election or NBA Draft.

Shave off the few seconds it takes to launch Google Maps and see instant directions and drive times by entering " to " in the search bar.

Search for items using just their UPC code or shipping tracking number.

The next time you need to find out your IP address, typing "IP address" in the search bar will reward you with the info.

Google’s site-specific search function allows you to limit search results to a specific webpage. Let’s say, for example, you’re looking for an article that you read on CNN a few months ago about nanotechnology. In the search bar enter “site:cnn.com nanotechnology” and all the results returned will be references to nanotechnology posted to CNN.

Ever click on a page that resulted from your search only to not find the information you're looking for on the page? Google's Quick Scroll (free) is an extension to the Google Chrome browser that helps you quickly navigate to relevant text on a webpage resulting from a Google search. A box in the lower right corner shows a text excerpt from the page that Quick Scroll believes to be relevant to your search terms. Click on the box and you’ll be instantly taken to where the text appears on the page.

 

Dropbox Announcement Promises Much

Dropbox Announcement: They're "Replacing the Hard Drive"

With the amount of devices that the average person works on, it can take a lot of effort to keep track of your files. I can't count the number of times I've hunted for the latest version of a file on my phone, computer, or in the cloud. Today, Dropbox announced their plan to put an end to all of that. The Dropbox Platform, announced at their developer conference, aims to “replace the hard drive.”

Most of us are already familiar with the basic premise of the Dropbox Platform: if you've ever edited anything online, and then accessed that same file from another computer, you've used basic cloud sync features. Dropbox hopes to make “sync the new save.” Instead of having files that only exist in one location, like your phone or computer, they hope to make all of your files available wherever you need them.


The actual announcement was full of technical details for us nerds, but what it boils down to is this: Dropbox is providing Nerds and programmers with new tools to build apps for you. These apps will be able to share the same data via your DropBox account. That means your email, documents, and even progress in your Angry Birds games, will be available whenever and wherever you want them.

At launch, companies using this technology include popular services such as Shutterstock, Yahoo! Mail, and FedEx, as well as a number of smaller companies. As developers have a chance to use these tools more, we'll start to see more apps include the ability to save to Dropbox. Dropbox hopes to integrate this feature into as many apps as possible.

The three components of the feature are the Sync API, the Datastore API, and Drop-Ins. The two APIs allow programmers to interact with a user's Dropbox data without actually giving them access to the data. Basically it's a set of rules designed so that programmers can help you, but not hack you. The third component, Drop-Ins, are another set of tools for developers that speed up the development process, so that the time before their app has Dropbox functionality is reduced, and takes less work.

Following concerns over users' privacy in the wake of the NSA PRISM scandal, Dropbox has stated “We’ve seen reports that Dropbox might be asked to participate in a government program called PRISM. We are not part of any such program and remain committed to protecting our users’ privacy.”

Also announced at the conference was that the Dropbox service has now grown to 175 million users.

 

 

Teens Hiding Online: Study Reveals Shocking Data

What your Teen is Hiding Online: Part 1

A 2012 Teen Internet Behavior study commissioned by the security technology company, McAfee, reveals a surprising chasm between the number of teens hiding what they do on the Internet and parents who are confident that they’re in-the-know about their kids’ online activities. Perhaps most telling: 71% of teens have done something to hide their online behavior but only 56% of parents are aware of this. Over the next two weeks, we’ll explore what your teen may be hiding and how they may be doing it.


In the McAfee study, 2,017 online interviews were conducted in the U.S. Among respondents, 1,004 teens (age 13-17) and 1,013 parents of teens reported on their online habits and behaviors. The information gathered from respondents shows a fundamental disconnect between what teens are actually doing online and their parent’s perception of their activities. A surprising number of parents believe that they are aware of their kid’s activities and/or able to find out with little difficulty, while the majority of teens admit that they hide activities from their parents.

According to the McAfee report, “more than three in four parents express confidence they know how to find out what their teen is doing online, and half of parents live under the assumption that their teen tells then everything he/she does online. In reality, over two in three teens say their parents don’t need to know everything they do online...”

 

Here are some of the most common online activities that teens admit to hiding from their parents:

44.8% of teens visit a website parents disapprove of, but only 23.6% of parents are aware of it. In fact, the vast majority of parents interviewed (73.5%) trust their teens to not access age-inappropriate content online.

43% of teens intentionally access simulated violence online, but only 15% of parents are aware of it.

32% of teens intentionally access nude content or porn online, but only 12% of parents are aware of it.

In addition to visiting unsavory websites, easy access to technology has led many teens to participate in illegal or unauthorized activities. Most common, cheating in school: nearly half of teens interviewed (48%) admit to intentionally looking up answers to tests or assignments online while only 23% of parents expressed concern about their teen going online to cheat in school. A surprising 22% of teens have cheated on a test via online or mobile phones while only 5% of parents are aware.

Pirating of media is also more common than many parents are aware. About a third of teens (31%) pirate music or movies online, while only 12% of parents are aware. Since teens are likely using their parent’s internet connection to carry out the piracy, their illicit activities put their parents at risk of repercussions from entities looking to enforce copyright protection, such as the RIAA.

Even more disconcerting, some teens are engaging in dangerous behaviors and most parents are unaware of the risks their teen is undertaking: 12% of teens have met in person with someone they met online (that’s more than one out of every ten teenage respondents!) while only 4% of parents are aware. In fact, only 21.7% of parents think their teen can get in trouble online. Yet more than half of teens queried have posted private information like their email address or the name of their school online and almost a third (29%) have posted their cell phone number somewhere on the Internet. This puts them at risk for cyber bullying, identity theft, or even real-world victimization by those who’ve found them online.

What seems to be the cause of the disparity between parents’ perception and their teen’s actual behavior online? One in three parents believes that their teen is “much more tech-savvy than they are,” leading to a feeling of hopelessness when it comes to keeping ahead of their teen’s online activities. Many feel overwhelmed by technology (23% of respondents) and feel they can only “hope for the best when it comes to their kids online,” and just as many indicate that they don’t have the time or energy to monitor their kid’s behavior online.

The good news? Half of the teens who were polled stated that they would actually change their online behavior if they knew their parents were watching. Stay tuned next week for the most common ways that teens are hiding their online activities and what you can do to keep your kids safe online.

Bing vs Google: The Challenge

The Bing vs Google Challenge

When it comes to searching the net, Google is the far and away market leader.  In the U.S., Google captures an average of 67% of monthly queries with the runner-up, Microsoft’s Bing, accounting for just about 17%.  Microsoft wants to change the public’s searching habits with their “Bing It On” campaign wherein users are asked to perform a blind, side-by-side comparison of the two search engines and vote on which they prefer.  Can Bing take-on heavyweight Google?


I started off by taking the “Bing It On” challenge at www.bingiton.com.  You’re prompted to perform five searches.  Results are presented side-by-side with ads stripped and the pages looked remarkably similar.  The first time Bing was favored 3-1 with one “draw,” the second time I ended up with a straight tie with Bing winning two, Google winning two, and one draw. This surprised me.  I found that while in many cases results were nearly identical, Bing’s results were somewhat more pertinent and from sources that I found more reliable.

I then performed the same searches using my favorite browser (Chrome) with Bing in one tab and Google in another.

Typing www.google.com into my address bar resulted in a plain white page with the search bar.  Going to www.bing.com produced full-screen, colorful beach play scene with the search bar prominently placed near the top.  At the bottom of the page is a scrollable bar of images related to “Popular Now” news and interest stories.

Bing was a more colorful search home page, which I found more appealing.  Google is designed to be completely customizable so that you choose your own background, appearance and interest tabs.  However, I’m a lazy surfer and in all my years of using Google have never taken the time to change its default appearance.

Google and Bing both softly pre-fill with frequently searched suggestions while you type your inquiry; however I liked that Google also provided sample search results as I filled in details.  This allowed me to start with a relatively generic search, “best family vacations” and use the suggested search options and actively updating results to modify my search.  I ended up with “best deals all inclusive family vacations” based on Google suggestions and results returned before I even finished submitting my query.  Bing doesn’t return results until you submit, so I found that I had to search and go back, search and go back, a few times until I was able to narrow down the results to the information I was interested in.  This resulted in Google returning more relevant results more quickly as it helped me figure out what I was really looking for.

This may explain Google’s higher “click-through” rate.  According to Slingshot SEO, the first result that appears on Google’s search engine results page is clicked (to see the resultant page) approximately 18% of the time vs. Bing’s approximately 10%.  This indicates that Google results are more often pertinent to what the user is looking for. Both search engines include ads, with “featured” results (paid listings) in a highlighted box at the top of the search results page.  However, Google’s right portion of the screen is dedicated to a list of additional ads while Bing returned only one ad on the right followed by a list of related searches.  I liked Bing’s related search options for quickly surfing for additional info.  I also find that a large amount of “sponsored results” can be visually confusing when looking for accurate results.

The amount of ads on Google is indicative of the popularity of their search engine and resultant appeal to advertisers.  If Microsoft is successful in gaining converts with their campaign it may result in an increase in sponsored results.

 

 

Get the Most out of Travel Booking Websites - Part 2

Tips for Using Travel Booking Websites - Part 2

by Andrea Eldridge

Over the last few weeks we’ve been exploring online tools to plan a great summer vacation.  From finding the best deals to doing Disney to cruising, the Internet offers a wealth of resources to get you where you want to go with fewer headaches.  Now that we’ve covered deciding where and when to go, we wrap up our travel series with sites that can help stretch your travel dollars.

Twitter (https://twitter.com/) has become the place for travel companies to announce insider sales that seem too good to be true.  Followers receive first-dibs on fare cuts before they hit the web, most often for last-minute getaways.  For example, Spirit Airlines (@SpiritAirlines) recently offered tickets from Washington, D.C. to Fort Lauderdale, Florida for $54 each way.  JetBlue (@JetBlueCheeps) is known to offer noteworthy deals on its airfare.  Hotel specialist Quickbook (@Quickbook) informs followers of discounts on hotel stays in major cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago.  Follow your favorite airline or hotel to get first crack at special offers.


Wondering if the best time to book your getaway is now or if you should wait a few weeks?  Nothing saps the glee from finally booking your trip like seeing the price drop significantly a week later.  Bing (www.bing.com/travel) search results include a "price predictor" that tells you whether the price is likely to increase, stay the same, or decrease depending on how fares are trending.  Keep in mind that the hotel "rate indicator," which tells you whether a rate you've been quoted is typical for the hotel, is limited to certain cities in the U.S.

After hours of scouring the net for the best flight deal, there are few things more frustrating than discovering that the flight that saves you $40 adds six hours to your travel time.  Hipmunk (www.hipmunk.com) searches return a list of air and train travel options by cost, duration, departure and arrival times, showing results on a quick-scan graph.  But we love the included "agony factor."  Hipmunk sorts trips so the best options for both price and your sanity appear at the top of the list, moving the most painful flights (like red-eyes and those with multiple or long layovers) to the bottom.

Car rental prices fluctuate constantly, but who has the time to keep searching for deals in the weeks leading up to your trip?  Reserve your rental through AutoSlash (www.autoslash.com) and they'll continuously check prices after you book.  If the price drops, your rental will be automatically re-booked for free, with the confirmation details sent to your email.  Sometimes you can even garner a free upgrade from a smaller to a larger car.

If you're trying to decide whether to fly or drive, or determine if it’s worth it to drive farther to an airport with a cheaper flight, AAA can help.  Before you try to calculate the combination of distance + fuel costs + number of people driving (and possibly hurt your brain with the higher math), check out their "cost to drive" calculator at http://fuelcostcalculator.aaa.com/.  Simply enter the starting and ending cities and some details about your car, and it'll do the math for you.

A few notes about bundle deals and consolidators:

Shop each component separately so you can price compare with the combined price.  Some hotels and airlines save the best deals for those who book directly with their site and making changes to reservations can be easier than when you’ve booked through a third party.

Some airlines (like Southwest) don't list their tickets with the big bundle sites like Travelocity and Orbitz, so make sure you check “discount airlines” separately.

Don't forget to include those pesky baggage fees when comparing prices.  The $100 you save on a cheap ticket may be outweighed by the charge for checking bags.

Flights by low-cost foreign airlines such as EasyJet (based in the UK) don't show up on Expedia either.  Book a ticket to a hub like Paris or Rome on a major carrier, then use Skyscanner (www.skyscanner.com) or Momondo (www.momondo.com) to reserve the low-fare airline to a smaller city abroad.  You can save a bundle flying like the locals.

If you’re buying airline tickets for the whole family, consider purchasing tickets individually.  When you buy tickets together, the airline reservation system sells everyone in your party the same highest price tickets, even if there are individual tickets available for less.  If you end up seated separately you may be able to call ahead to consolidate seats or rearrange seating when you get to the airport.

Happy trails!

Nerds On Call Reviews Summer Travel Websites: Save Precious Vacation Time

Summer Travel Websites for Saving You Time

Summer vacations hold a special appeal to me, harking back to the excitement heralded by the final bell on the last day of the school year, so many years ago.  But now that I’m grown up and have to do the leg-work to plan the trip, I’m often exhausted before I get out the door.  The wealth of online resources dedicated to travel planning can make it hard for me to make a decision.  How do I know when I’ve found the best use of my vacation dollars?

Over the next three weeks, we’ll explore some great online resources to simplify your travel planning (no, really!), as well as tips for how to make sure you get the best price and fewest headaches when booking travel online.


Before you dedicate a week to checking every travel deal site on the net, these consolidators scour the web for the best deals so that you don’t have to.

When you don’t have a specific location or travel date set, using the Internet to find a good deal or a great resort can be particularly overwhelming.  One way to get inspired: keep an eye on Travelzoo’s Weekly Top 20 (www.travelzoo.com/top20/ ). It’s a collection of the best deals from airlines, hotels, cruise lines and travel consolidators like Travelocity, Cheap Caribbean, and many more.  They sort through all the travel deals posted to the net each week and then present the “best of the best,” all in one place.

The drawback is that the best deals can sell out fast, so if you know you’ve found what you’re looking for don’t delay.  You can sign up for the Weekly Top 20 to be emailed to you when it’s released if you want to be sure not to miss out.

If you already know where you want to go, Kayak (www.kayak.com) does a quick search across hundreds of airline and travel agent options for your specific trip needs.  You’re then presented with a list of results tailored to your specific trip that Kayak has filtered to put the best deals first.  If you want to be sure that you have done a thorough scouring of the net, Kayak offers a one-click simultaneous search across competitor travel sites like Expedia, Travelocity, Bookit and more, so you can compare the best offers all at once.

Planning to do Disney?  Believe it or not, there are ways to save if you know the insider info.  Check out Mousesavers (www.mousesavers.com) for a collection of the best deals on all things Disney.  In addition to tips on how to get the best price on tickets, dining, and special Disney experiences, discover where to book to get the best rates on hotels, what you can expect on Disney cruises, even what’s planned for upcoming park, resort and ship improvements.

Current discounts and promotions are highlighted on the front page and updated regularly – from how to get the most out of a Disney Visa card discount program to coupon codes and special offers that would otherwise be tough to ferret out.  You’ll find up-to-date info about shows, freebies, and tips to make the most of your trip, including how to spend less time in line and more time enjoying your trip.

Before you make plans to embark on a cruise, check out Cruise Critic (www.cruisecritic.com) for reviews of cruise lines (by editors and site users) and tips to help you decide the best cruise before you book.  The “Deals” tab collects the top bargains by destination, cruise type or departure port.  Explore the “How to Cruise” tab for detailed guides and expert advice on how to choose, book, and finalize your trip, including things you need to know before you go and how to make the most of shore excursions.  Find the best deals, including the best seasons to book by destination, and tips to ensure you set sail on the cruise that best fits your needs and style.

Finally, before you book, submit specific details of the trip you’re considering to Cruise Compete (www.cruisecompete.com) to give travel agents the opportunity to find you a better deal.  Simply create an account, submit a request for a quote, and travel agent’s offers will be submitted online with no obligation and without revealing your contact info.

Stay tuned next week for easy ways to ensure you get the best price without sacrificing your sanity when using online resources to book your summer get away.

 

Facebook Home Initially Disappointing; Will Evolve

Facebook Home In Early Stages

Facebook recently released a new kind of app called Facebook Home, and the reviews are lackluster so far. But if the tech giant's history proves to be any indicator of long-term success, this is just the beginning of a long relationship with the software.


Facebook Home, launched April 12, 2013, promised to turn the user's phone into an all-in-one social hub with pictures, live updates, and easier chatting with Facebook friends. But reviews over the days since its launch have not been favorable. Complaints frequently mention how much battery the app consumes, though many people seem hopeful to use it if certain features were included. The likely reason behind this reception is the choice of phones that Facebook chose to support the app.

The phones that support it so far are high-end Android smartphones like the Galaxy SIII and the Galaxy Note II. The people using the app so far are more concerned with bleeding-edge functionality than a much larger user-base would be. Early media reports on Home's "Failure to Launch" seem to ignore the limited user base that it has been released to.

Facebook has been working on better integrating user feedback into their designs, after having gained a reputation for inconsiderate and abrupt homepage redesigns. Their latest site redesign therefore focused on usability and good design. Home only achieves the latter, but is clearly hoping to improve its product based on the less-than-congratulatory reviews online.

The official Facebook app has had almost 7 million installs, customers which Facebook is no doubt looking to convert to the new Facebook Home app, so it makes sense that they would polish the app on high-end devices before releasing it to a broader user base. As always, computer repair experts and Nerds look forward to seeing where this trend is headed - Facebook never does anything small!

Image from Facebook

Looking for a Weather Site? Try Forecast.io

Great New Weather Site: Forecast.io

If you’re not a Nerd constantly combing the web for new info, you’ve probably missed the release of yet another app in the sea that seems to surge in daily. But those of us who spend our days wading in that briny ocean occasionally find a pearl worth bringing back to land to show off. Today’s pearl is called forecast.io.
Forecast.io is a new way to get your weather. Rather than go through a major corporation like weather.com for your weather, forecast.io gives you real-time coverage of the weather in your area as well as minute-by-minute forecasts for the next week.

And…when we say minute-by-minute, that’s what we mean. You can use the site to track down to the minute when it will start raining or snowing and how long it will last. Now you can plan around those surprise storms!


Now this already is pretty impressive – but there’s more. Forecast.io allows you to play an animation of current weather trends, just like on TV. The site plays smoothly on any modern browser, thanks to the HTML5 technologies in use. Translated from Nerd-speak, this means that if you’re using Chrome or a similar modern browser, you’ll be able to keep up on the weather just like your local news station. The site can also be used on your Smartphone, which will automatically detect your location.

In addition, it includes a “time machine” feature. This allows you to look at historical data from various locations. You can check what the weather was in hundreds of places over the globe for any date back almost a hundred years! The impressive part about that data though, is that the website creates a model of how particular dates in the future might occur. This means that if you’re planning an outdoor even in six months, you’ll be able to make a much more educated guess on what weather conditions will be like then.

Forecast.io is made by the same developers as Dark Sky, a popular app for Apple devices that includes the basic functionality of predicting and displaying weather patterns, but this makes the data available to all, not just iPhone and iPad users. The company is planning to expand the product’s features in the coming months.

How much does it cost to subscribe to this service? Nothing at all. Just visit Forecast.io on your web-enabled device to get started!

Health Websites to Keep you to your Resolution

Trying to Keep your Resolution? Try these Health Websites

Now that 2012 is nearing its close (and we all made it through that “end-of-days” Mayan calendar thing), the dawning of 2013 heralds a new opportunity to make those life changes you shelved over the busy holiday season.  Over the next few weeks, we’ll explore ways your computer or mobile device can help you keep this year’s resolutions, from eating better to learning a new skill.

One of the most common resolutions year after year is to eat better.  Whether it’s to lose weight or simply be healthier, the temptation to fall off the wagon assaults you every time you grab a bite.  This year, use your computer or mobile handheld device to help you stay on track.


Sparkpeople (http://www.sparkpeople.com/) is a great wellness resource, offering tools and information to help you make healthy lifestyle changes in diet and fitness as well as offering articles on skin care, mental health, and more.  Membership is free and allows you to use their online food and fitness trackers, create personalized meal plans, and access expert advice via articles and message boards.  Meal programs are customizable, allowing you to tailor suggestions to your health goals, such as “low sodium” or “high protein.”

The site offers motivational tips when you login as well as “challenges” that you can accept with other users (such as skipping fast food for a week).  You can even set up a meal plan using the database of recipes and printable shopping lists.  Their statistics boast that it’s the “#1 Health Website,” with the highest average amount of time spent by users on the site - visiting various pages to enter data, gather information and get guidance.

Most diet and nutrition experts will tell you that a key factor in improving your eating habits is to maintain a food journal, detailing what you eat and tracking calories ingested.  A study published in the August 2008 edition of the American Journal of Preventative Medicine found that dieters who kept a food diary lost about twice as much weight as those who did not.

Yet maintaining a hand-written journal can get tedious – writing notes, looking up food values in a book, tallying up your day’s calories.  This leads many to ditch the practice before they gain the true benefit: becoming aware of the food they eat and how much they’re truly consuming.

Sparkpeople’s online food journal makes it easy.   Its food database is extensive and easily searchable, allowing you to quickly and easily log your intake.

However, if you find Sparkpeople’s  social aspect and motivational tidbits more annoying than helpful, Fitday (www.fitday.com) is a great basic, free online diet journal and calorie tracking tool.  Just about any food (even brand name or prepared meal items) is included in their database, allowing you to add items with a few clicks.  Create a free account to start your personalized log.  Enter a keyword such as oatmeal and select the specific oatmeal product and amount (easy drop-down options) to add it to your daily intake log.

With both sites, calories are automatically calculated and tallied for you.  You’re prompted to log your daily activity in order to compare calories ingested with calories expended.  The selection of available activities is more extensive at Fitday than Sparkpeople, but the food database is harder to navigate.  For example, that “oatmeal” keyword entry on Fitday gives you twelve pages of results in which you have to locate the specific oatmeal you’re looking for.  However, it gets faster once you enter some of your favorite foods, get familiar with its categorization and learn how to effectively search.

The Fitday site is simple and sleek, making it easy to use but not necessarily compelling.  It’s a tool, pure and simple.  For those seeking information and support as well as a tool to track diet and exercise, Sparkpeople is a great option.

Finally, if you are looking for a more tailored diet program, keep in mind that the most well-known names in dieting now maintain extensive web-based resources.  You can join Weight Watchers, NutriSystem or South Beach online (fees vary) to gain access to the programs you’d normally have to sign up for in person.

 

Image from Vanier College. Some rights reserved

Daily Dose of Funny Websites

Funny Websites to Brighten your Day

When I was working in an office, the latest joke email circulating was always there to give me a chuckle and brighten my day.  Nowadays, my LOLs come from many places and social media makes it easier to share the laughs with friends and family.  There are lots of online sources for a daily dose of smiles.  A word of caution: while I attempted to find as-clean-as-possible recommendations, racier videos and pictures cropped up everywhere I looked.  There are plenty of alternatives if one doesn’t suit you, but clicker beware!

If you ever think, "it's funny because it's true," one of the best laugh-out-loud websites I've found is Some E-Cards (www.someecards.com).  Whether you're looking for a birthday card that says exactly how you feel, or just crave a little sarcasm, look no further.  Click "share" to post to a friend's Facebook wall or Twitter feed.  If you find yourself really LOLing, you can have images placed on coffee mugs, tee-shirts and tote bags.  Very similar to Some E-Cards and also easily sharable is Lolsotrue (www.lolsotrue.com).  Example: "I'm glad my pets can't talk. They know too much."  And speaking of sarcasm, I love the little messages people are leaving for each other at Passive-Aggressive Notes (www.passiveaggressivenotes.com).  Heck, they say it themselves: "many of the notes on this site are not passive-aggressive. Many of them are just plain aggressive" - in a funny sort of way.


Animal lovers should check out an old favorite Lolcats for funny animal pictures and videos, mostly for cat lovers, and those craving a daily dose of cuteness.  Another I've recently discovered is Dog Shaming (www.dog-shaming.com) - a must-see if you've ever had a "bad dog" in your life.  Users post pictures of their puppies, looking pathetic, with a sign in front of them telling what dirty deed they did that day.  My favorite so far: "we are the reason Mommy and Daddy can't have nice things."  Yes, that about covers it.

Since America's Funniest Home Videos first aired, people have been obsessed with funny videos of our human foibles.  We are human, after all.  Break (www.break.com) aims to connect you with as many videos and pictures as possible, with new submissions daily.  Several of their collections are snippets of funny videos under a subject heading like "funny things kids say," or "your pet is sort of a jerk."  Want more video fun? More can be found at VideoBash (www.videobash.com/videos/funny).

Most of us have worked in the customer service industry at one time or another, enough to know "the customer is always right," right?  Not necessarily.  Not Always Right (www.notalwaysright.com) strives to share those funny and sometimes crazy stories we all experience at work.  Make sure to check out the Hall of Fame favorite: Pepperoni Pizza With a Side of Pointless Paranoia.  More funny customer service stories abound at Clients from Hell (www.clientsfromhell.net).  They aren't really "from hell," but they're certainly good for a laugh.

Facebook can also be a good source of your "daily dose."  Search out your favorite comedian and "like" his or her page so you'll see their daily posts.  My favorite person to follow is actually not known for his comedy: George Takei.  You remember Mr. Sulu from the old Star Trek episodes?  His Facebook page has over 2.5 million followers, and for good reason.  He posts an average of two times a day and I find myself laughing out loud at least once or twice. They're too funny not to share.

Lastly, if you need a break from mainstream news stories, websites like The Onion (www.theonion.com) and Fark (www.fark.com) may be your answer.  The Onion tells the news “like they're pretty sure it happened” (meaning they're mostly, if not all, satire).  Fark takes real news stories on topics from sports to politics and highlights the funny and notable news, so you get a more entertaining twist on what's actually happening in the world.

 

Image credit 4chan

Great New Year's Resolution Websites

Resolution Websites for the New Year

Whether you've dreamed of making delicious meals like a professional chef or would like to become fluent in French, this is the year you've resolved to make it happen.  In the past, you would have had to enroll in a class at your local college, requiring that you accommodate your work or personal commitments around the class time parameters.  Today you need only a computer and access to the Internet to dive into the abundance of knowledge available online – in many cases for free if you know where to look.

Start Cooking Like a Pro.  We love Epicurious (www.epicurious.com) for their inventive recipes and delicious food ideas, and now they offer online classes in conjunction with The Culinary Institute of America.  Learn everything about Italian cooking or how to concoct the perfect dessert.  The first class is free, and then you pay about $50 for several hours of video instruction on the topic of your choosing.


Become More Crafty. Always wanted to learn how to knit a sweater?  Maybe you've thought about baking a unique cake for your son's 5th birthday party, but don't know where to begin.  Craftsy (www.craftsy.com) offers courses on knitting, baking, jewelry crafting and much more.  Costs for full individual classes vary, but there are many free mini-classes you can try, and they offer a money-back guarantee.  Watch classes from any device with an internet connection – they even offer an app for iPhones and iPads.

Pinterest (www.pinterest.com) is also a great resource for inspiration and links to craft how-to’s, most are free with photos or videos. Many are geared toward the novice so you can learn from your fellow hobbyists how to tie-dye, create your own candles, decorate adorable cupcakes, and much more.

Become your Own Handyman (or Handywoman).  If you feel like your home is falling apart, one leaky faucet at a time, look no further than www.diynetwork.com for everything home-improvement.  VideoJug (www.videojug.com) is another great resource for short videos showing you how to complete a bevy of common repairs - they promise to help you "get good at life."  The “DIY & Home” tab gives you a wide selection of tutorial videos on topics like Electrical, Plumbing, Interior Design and much more.

Learn to Play the Guitar.  Learn a little about music theory before you get started.  Get yourself a music lesson from Ricci Adams' Music Theory (www.musictheory.net). Choose from two apps for iOS devices, designed to teach you the fundamentals of music and to practice what you've learned.  Once you've mastered the basics, check out Justin Guitar (www.justinguitar.com) for your free guitar lessons.  Improve your Internet karma and donate if you can to support the cause.

Wrap your Tongue Around a New Language.  Rosetta Stone may be effective, but it’s pretty pricey.  The BBC has a nice program for complete learning of upwards of 40 languages (www.bbc.co.uk/languages) with step-by-step courses including pronunciation, grammar and exams.  Once you're beginning to master the language, you can test your knowledge further by listening to BBC World Service broadcasts in the language of your choice.

Anki (http://ankisrs.net/) can help you learn more quickly.  It's a flashcard program that runs on computers and smartphones and is designed to put a large number of words into your long-term memory rapidly while allowing you to "study" anywhere you have a few minutes to spare.

Feed Your Intellect. We all have that class that "got away" while we were attending university, but never fear: there are resources for free online education aplenty.  Apple device users should start at iTunesU (www.apple.com/education/itunes-u/).  With courses from hundreds of universities, including Stanford, Yale and MIT, you can watch lectures and take entire courses on all subjects from biology to economics.  It seamlessly integrates with iBooks in case you want to purchase the textbook for future reference.

Finally, the Open Courseware Consortium (www.ocwconsortium.org) is a worldwide community of institutions that provides free continuing education, complete with notes, memos and examinations.  They also have a list of member schools so you can take courses online directly with the university.

Use Amazon at Your best

Get the Best when you Use Amazon.com

Whether you’re in the market for the latest hit movie, coffee, electronics, or even a drum set, Amazon.com has just about anything you can imagine buying online. In addition to massive selection, Amazon is known for its competitive pricing. Save even more time and money by taking advantage of some of its shopper incentive programs.

While the $79 price tag may seem steep at first glance, Amazon Prime entitles users to more than just free 2-day shipping on eligible items – though that’s a big selling point. One-click shopping stores your billing and shipping information so you don't have to type it in every time or navigate multiple confirmation screens. Stream a large selection of on-demand movies and TV shows for free over the Internet to any device that supports Amazon Prime Instant Video (including your computer, most gaming consoles, and many TVs and set-top boxes). Kindle owners can take advantage of the Kindle Owner’s Lending Library to borrow one e-book a month to read on your Kindle device with no late fees or due date. There are currently over 145,000 titles available.


Even if shipping is the only Prime benefit you’re likely to use, one holiday’s worth of shipping to family members throughout the U.S. can make it break even: you need only make about 13 purchases a year for it to pay for itself.

If you're already a Prime member, share your account with up to four other people for added value. In the upper right-hand corner after logging in, click on "Your Account." Under the Settings section, select "Manage Prime Membership." Just below your membership information is a section labeled "Invite a Household Member." Enter their name, relation, email address and birth date. Each person you invite will need to know your birth date to confirm their identity. Once they're set up, they'll benefit from unlimited two-day shipping, but not Amazon Prime Instant Video or Kindle Owner’s Lending Library benefits.

The Amazon Mom program (www.amazon.com/gp/mom/signup/info) is free to join and benefits caregivers of small children with three free months of Prime membership, 20% off diapers and wipes subscriptions, and exclusive deals and discounts.

Students currently enrolled in a college or university with a valid .edu e-mail address can sign up for Amazon Student (www.amazon.com/student). Membership includes six months of free Prime membership and the option to continue Prime for up to four years at $39/year. One caveat: you can't share an Amazon Prime Student account.

You probably wouldn’t consider Amazon a good place to pick up a jar of peanut butter - shipping costs as much as the item, unless you buy in bulk and have more than you need. Amazon's new Add-on Program now offers thousands of small, low-priced items, available to be "added on" to orders of $25 or more. These items can be combined with free super saver shipping or Amazon Prime accounts for additional savings.
While e-books are great for tomes that would be bulky and unmanageable in hardback, there are some books you want to hang on to. Harry Potter series, anyone? With Amazon Upgrade, you can have the best of both worlds. Purchase a physical book from Amazon that's part of the program and Upgrade lets you obtain a digital copy for a discounted price. You can even upgrade past purchases, so long as you've made them through Amazon and the titles are included in the program.

Lastly, if you find yourself purchasing certain products regularly, consider Amazon's Subscribe and Save program. Eligible items include everything from toothpaste and deodorant to diapers and cereal, and garner up to a 15% discount in addition to free shipping. Simply choose an eligible product and the quantity you'd like to receive. Customize your delivery schedule, from once-a-month to once-every-six months. Amazon sends an email notification a week prior to shipment, so you can delay or cancel at any time. You're only charged when the order ships and subscriptions are managed through the Your Account page so you can manage or update them any time you like.

What is Twitter: Microblogging 101

Asking "What is Twitter?" - Some Helpful Tips

What is Twitter? Well, when I think of Twitter, the first thing I think is: too much information. Do we really need to share the blow-by-blow of our lives with the world, or follow along on our friends’ every move? Yet with over 300 million users, it’s the second most popular social media outlet (following behind Facebook’s behemoth 850+ million users) – they can’t all be wrong, right? I set out to figure out what I’ve been missing, or rather, if I’m missing something about Twitter.

What makes Twitter different from other forms of social media? Facebook helps you stay connected with your circle of friends and family, but Twitter connects you with people all over the world. Search for subjects that interest you and join the conversation, even if it’s with someone you’d never connect with in real life, like your favorite celebrity or a politician. If you like to stay on top of what’s hot (i.e., “trending”) online, Twitter’s little "sound bites" from around the globe are a constant stream of instant information.


Every user has a unique username, or "Handle," used so people can follow you. People can link their tweets to you by "Mentioning" you, using the @ symbol in combination with your handle. For example, @CNN links to CNN News. Users are notified when their handle is mentioned, and it allows you to conduct discussions in a public forum. Lastly, "Hashtags" (#) are used to notate a topic of larger conversation, linking words together without spaces: say, #BatmanBegins or #BarackObama. It's used as a discovery tool that allows users to find tweets related to a particular subject as it allows you to see all the tweets that mention the topic in real time, even from people you're not currently following.
Ready to start tweeting? Signing up is simple. Visit www.twitter.com, create your account (name, password, email) and you're off and away. You start by building your Timeline, which looks a lot like your Facebook Wall (in Twitter-world it's called a "feed"), filled with the Tweets people have posted. You can choose to "follow" anything or anyone you're interested in, whether it's your favorite TV show or celebrity, or even your brother George if you can find him within the myriad of Georges. Twitter can suggest friends from your Facebook list, or you can search for people you know using Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail or AOL accounts.

Once you're signed up you can begin tweeting right away, but the best way to get your voice heard is to reply to tweets you're following and use your @mention liberally. The power of Twitter is the one-on-one connection you can have with some very influential people. The more you interact, the more you'll be heard, and who knows? Maybe they'll even strike up a conversation with you! To see the power of Twitter in action, look no further than last year’s wave of political protests across the Arab world: Twitter is credited with having a large influence, as activists used social networking sites to publicize and mobilize the movements (http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/facebook-and-twitter-key-to-arab-spring-uprisings-report).
Businesses are connecting with their customers through Twitter. With millions of active users and over 300 million tweets sent per day, it's likely your industry and competitors are already in the midst of the conversation. Use it to get the word out about your brand while gathering insights about what your customers want so you can deliver.

It's no surprise that Twitter applications are available for your Smartphone. The official Twitter application is free and will help you when you're starting out, but check out Tweetbot (http://tapbots.com/software/tweetbot/, iPhone, $2.99) when you're ready to get serious about your tweeting. It allows you to create lists of tweets you're following so you can easily separate your world news from your friends' with the tap of a finger. Its fun to use, too, with its cute sounds and animations and easy integration with other Twitter apps you're using. All other users should check out TweetCaster (http://tweetcaster.com/, all platforms: ad-supported is free, otherwise $4.99). The paid, pro version has extra features and no ads. Links are shared easily with a handy copy-paste feature and a simple-to-use interface.

Travel Pages on Pinterest: Trip Out

Travel With Pinterest

Whether you’re compiling your own personal “1,000 Places to See Before You Die,” planning your summer vacation, or just collecting gorgeous images for your desktop screensaver, Pinterest’s many travel boards offer ample material. If you just love drooling over white sand beaches, iconic landmarks, and picturesque cityscapes, there’s more than enough inspiration for a thousand daydream vacations. You’ll also find useful tips to make your trips more enjoyable and insider information to visit like a local, making Pinterest a great resource for planning a real-life getaway. With so many amazing destinations to discover, the hardest part will be narrowing it down to the places you want on your travel “bucket list.”

Travel Channel

http://pinterest.com/travelchannel/

It’s no surprise that the people who compile content for a channel dedicated to travel have a pretty amazing collection of places, cultures, foods and natural wonders to explore around the world. It’s tough not to get lost in the undeniably gorgeous images which link back to their primary site, www.travelchannel.com for more information about the destination. Whether you’re drawn in by the idea of hanging in a hammock by the ocean, looking to explore your inner champion with skiing, golfing, or fitness boot camps, or planning a family vacation on a budget, you’ll find links to helpful articles and the Travel Channels many “best of” lists. The “Travel Bucket List” board is full of fodder for your own must-see file, while the “Daily Escapes” board offers a different awe-inspiring image for (you guessed it) just about every day of the week. There are also boards devoted to behind-the-scenes peeks at their most popular shows, including “Destination Summer,” “Man v. Food,” “Off Limits,” and many more. Whether you’re looking for amazing hotels or the ultimate romantic locales, you’ll find it here.

Travel Hyper

http://pinterest.com/travelhyper/

Created by down-to-earth travel blogger Julie, Travel Hyper explores ultimate vacation destinations, to be sure, but with a more down to earth approach that allows you to translate your dreams into real trips. There are boards organized by place, from Australia to Bulgaria to Spain and just about everywhere in between; boards devoted to Disney, “Vacation Reads”, maps, and much more. Travel vicariously with her “2012 Vacation” board, tracking her route through Western Europe, or escape for a one-of-a-kind experience with inspiration from “2012 Events.” There are boards to help you plan your trip, from budgeting to keeping the kids copacetic on a plane, tips for packing or capturing your memories with “Travel Photo Tips”. If you plan your trip around where you’ll stay as much as what you’ll see, explore “Amazing Hotels,” “Castles,” and “B&B Love.” It’s hard to balance awesome escapes with a sense of achievability – Travel Hyper makes you believe you could one day make it to that beach in Jamaica, not just fantasize about it.

Thrifty Travel Mama

http://pinterest.com/thriftytrvlmama/

While I may wistfully imagine a relaxing beach vacation, toes in the water and margarita in hand, my reality is planning travel around nap schedules and kid-friendly entertainment. For that, I love Thrifty Travel Mama. From the gear that will get you where you’re going with the least amount of “are we there yet?” headaches, to ideas for making memories when you get there, there are solutions to any of the hurdles standing in the way of you taking your kiddos on that amazing getaway.

Conde Nast Traveler

http://pinterest.com/cntraveler/

One of the most well-known travel magazines has created one of the most massive Pinterest pages dedicated to all things travel, with 2,500 pins of inspiring images, tips and links to their picks for the best places to visit across the globe. While not always particularly budget conscious, the peek behind the first class curtain is fun while balanced with some great ideas for the rest of us. I didn’t know that “glamping” was a thing, but apparently so. Boards dedicated to just about any major destination are full of breathtaking images, from Shanghai to Charleston to Egypt. Get ready to ooh and ahh your way through page after page of pictures that will make you want to pack your bags.

Photo Copyright Flickr User Gael LE HIR


 

 


&

Data Backup Basics

Easy Steps to Get Started With Data Backup

There are certain things we all know we should do: change the oil every 3,000 miles, choose different passwords for every online login, and back up our computers. Though I know better, I sometimes get to 5,000 miles before changing the oil, I can’t remember 500 different passwords, and I rarely back up my computer. I am a bad person. While mom showed me how to balance a checkbook (thanks mom!), no one ever showed me how to back up my computer. Now I can return the favor and teach my mom, and you, how to back up your system.

Your computer’s hard drive has moving parts and all mechanisms with moving parts eventually break. Sometimes it takes years, or decades, but it’s usually when you’re in the middle of a doctoral thesis. Modern technology has created a new type of drive to combat this problem, a Solid State drive. While this type of drive doesn’t have any moving parts, it still runs on electricity. What all this means is simple: one day your hard drive will fail. The only thing you can do is prepare for that day with a regular and reliable backup system. There are two types of data backup methods and you can use one, or both. It depends on how badly you’ll miss the pictures of your kids’ first steps… hint, you should do both.

The Basic External Backup

The Cloud Backup

The second system is to create an off-site backup. If you’re as lazy as me (um, as busy as me…), this is the option for you. Crashplan works on both Windows and Apple computers. Choose to back up to another computer on your network, a friend’s computer, a local external drive, or to their servers. I recommend you use their servers for several reasons. First, it’s cheap. For a mere $3/month you can backup one computer, or for $6/month you can backup as many as 10 computers with unlimited storage. Second, it’s reliable.

Backing up your computer to another computer on the network or a friend’s computer has the same risks as backing up to an external drive - they will all eventually fail. Crashplan has redundant servers, so your data is backed up on multiple servers for safety. After running through their simple setup, access your files through the program installed on your computer or through their website.

Not sure if you’re protected from data loss disaster? Send me a note at www.callnerds.com/andrea for my list of most often neglected, but necessary, files to include in your backup.

[transcript]

Hi. I'm Ryan from Nerds on Call. Today we're going to talk about data backup basics. There's certain things in life we should all do. Change our oil every 3000 miles, use different passwords for every website we go to, and, of course, backup our data. But not a lot of people know what to do when you say backup your data.

There's three main methods of backing up your data. One, you can back it up to another computer. You can back it up to an external hard drive, or you can back it up to the Cloud. One of the easiest ways to backup your data is using an external hard drive. We really like Seagate because it comes with software for free. It will allow you to go through your system, choose the files you want backed up, and then keep them backed up automatically. The second system is to create an off-site backup. We really like CrashPlan.com for this. What you can do is you can create a backup to another computer on your network, your computer at work or a friends computer. The best part is it's totally free.

The last method that we would use to do backup is to backup to the Cloud. Now, when you say that, basically the Cloud is just a series of servers that are hosted by somebody else. They handle all of the backup and redundancy for you, so you don't have to. Again, CrashPlan.com does a great job with this, and for most people it's only about $3 to $6 a month.

[/transcript]

Can An iPad Replace A Laptop

iPad vs. Laptop: Can an iPad replace a laptop?

As the new school year approaches, the question I get asked most often is, "Should I buy a laptop or a tablet?" Apple's Steve Jobs has asserted that we are living in a "post-PC world". can an iPad replace a laptop?

To test the theory, I traveled to Florida with my 2-year old, bearing my iPad 2 but no laptop. When an article needed editing, I realized that while it would be possible for the iPad to do everything I needed, it wasn't going to work for me straight out of the box. It needed modification.

If you are considering ditching your laptop, whether it's for a trip or for good, here's my guide to making it possible.

Touch screen vs keyboard

Microsoft Word vs iWork
With or without a keyboard, creating or editing a document or spreadsheet on your iPad isn't going to be easy unless you make an aftermarket modification. Microsoft Office isn't available on the iPad, but Apple's iWork suite will give you most of its functionality at a fraction of the cost. Pages, Numbers and Keynote handily replace Word, Excel and PowerPoint , and cost $5 each through the Apple app store. All the content you create in these programs is cross compatible, so if you edit a Word document on your iPad using Pages, you can open and edit it later in Word with no difficulty.

As much as we'd all love to be paper-free, there are inevitably times when you need to print something. You can search the iPad for a USB port, but to no avail. Printing something off your iPad will require accessing a printer wirelessly. To make the process as painless as possible, look for a printer that is compatible with Airplay, Apple's proprietary wireless application.

Universal Acsess
Finally, sometimes I need a particular program that isn't compatible with the iPad, or I need to transfer content to another device. The lack of a USB port or disk drive can make this challenging. But with Logmein Ignition ($30 in the app store), you can remotely access your home or office computer via the Internet. Install the companion app on your laptop or desktop and leave it running while you are away. Now you can access everything on your home or office system from your iPad, from World of Warcraft to your accounting software.

What do you think? Can an iPad replace a laptop? If you're still nervous about unplugging from your laptop or desktop, share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.


[transcript]
Hi, I'm Ryan from Nerds On Call and today we're going to talk about whether you can replace your laptop with your iPad. There's nothing cooler than an iPad, but when you start using it, after a while you start to think do I really need both a laptop and an iPad? Well, one of the first things you're going to notice is when you start using an iPad there's no keyboard, you tap on the screen. Well, that can be fantastic for short emails or Tweets or Facebook updates, but let's say you have to do a long email or a very long document. You'll find that tapping on the screen can get kind of tiresome and correcting is really difficult, but if you buy a keyboard like the one from Zagg.com, you could connect it to your iPad with Bluetooth and it turns it into a laptop.

With or without a keyboard, editing a document on an iPad is kind of difficult. While you get the touch screen so you can move around your cursor and decide exactly what you want to edit. It's not as intuitive or easy to use if you're used to a mouse and a keyboard. Another thing to keep in mind about the iPad is if you're used to using Microsoft Office for Word and Excel, you don't get those on an iPad, but what you do get is Apple's version called Pages or Numbers. So you'll have to learn a new kind of software just to get some of the basic stuff done that you're already used to.

As much as I'd like to live in a paper-free world and have everything go digital, I still have to print things every now and then. Well, with a laptop it's relatively easy, I don't even have to think about it anymore. But with an iPad only AirPlay enabled printers will work. One of the saving graces for the iPad though is a little piece of software called LogMeIn. For $50 in the app store you can use your iPad to access your computer or your Mac and do everything that they can do. So can you replace your laptop with your iPad? Yeah, it can be done, but you're going to have a lot of compromise and if you're willing to take that step, it could be kind of cool.
[/transcript]

Use Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest to follow the candidates

Nerds On Call: Getting Political

From 24-hour news streams to Facebook rants about hot-button issues, the Internet allows so many voices to shout that it can feel like a lot of noise. Yet it also allows the candidates to present themselves and what they stand for, communicating with constituents in a way that is unparalleled. I searched out where to go to see what they have to say, not what CNN, MSNBC or Fox News wants me to hear.

The best place to start is at each candidate’s website: Use the candidate’s name followed by .com (not .gov as I anticipated). You don’t have to enter your email address if you don’t want updates; just click “Enter the Website” or “Continue.” Read updates from the campaign trail, choose to follow them via Facebook or Twitter and, if you’re inspired, you can make a donation or volunteer. Learn about their stances on topics that are important to you so you can make a more informed decision at the polls.

If you’re one of the more than 900 million people who regularly log on to Facebook, consider following your candidate of choice, or both if you’re undecided, by “liking” their page. You’ll get regular updates posted to your newsfeed and have the opportunity to join the debate among the more than 26 million following President Barack Obama or roughly 2 million following former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. You can even personally message the candidates — I’d love to hear if you get a reply!


YouTube allows the opposing camps to post videos describing where they stand on issues, motivating followers or bashing the other side’s position. You can also view ads if, like me, you use your DVR to skip them during your primetime TV watching.
Pinterest profiles are image-heavy and primarily focused on personal interest. For example, each candidate’s page maintains links to recipes. Romney’s page is run by his wife, Ann. This medium appears to be the candidate’s way to connect with constituents on a more day-to-day level, centering on family, personal lives and behind-the-scenes photos from the campaign trail.

When politics are involved, it’s difficult to tell fact from fiction when perusing the latest sound bites. Enter Politifact (www.politifact.com), a Pulitzer Prize-winning website run by the Tampa Bay Times. It claims to be your nonpartisan fact-checker when it comes to just about every public political statement out there. The “Truth-O-Meter” lets you browse by subject or truthfulness, from True to “Pants on Fire,” with links supporting their judgment of accuracy. The mobile application lets you track the progress of the campaign, even after it’s over, to see if the winner follows through on his promises once elected.

If you spend more time on your smartphone than your computer, Pulse (www.pulse.me, free) allows you to set up a custom reading list of RSS feeds, from news sites like Fox News or The Wall Street Journal, to your favorite blogs. Politico (www.politico.com, free) delivers late-breaking headlines, analysis and opinions about the 2012 elections to your mobile device. You can even download content to your phone, in case your connection’s sketchy.

Holiday shopping for electronics? Nook vs Fire

 
 
 

One of the hottest items on many a gadget lover's holiday list is a tablet PC, often the iPad. Just in time to muddy the waters, two more budget-friendly tablet e-readers have arrived on the market. I'll review their pros and cons.

The primary draw of Amazon's Kindle Fire and Barnes and Noble's Nook tablet is undoubtedly price. The Kindle Fire starts at $199 and the Nook starts at $249 -- both considerably less than Apple's iPad2, which this week could be found online for $541 and up.

Both e-readers offer ultra-clear, 7-inch, full-color touch screens and weigh about 14 ounces.

Both devices have limitations. They're meant primarily for entertainment: reading e-books, streaming videos or music, and surfing the Internet. Unlike some versions of Apple's iPad, neither can access the Internet over 3G, so users will need an open WiFi network to take advantage of the device's full capabilities.

The Kindle Fire packs some impressive benefits at the lowest price on the market for a tablet alternative. Users can purchase virtually any media content -- music, movies, books -- from Amazon Marketplace, which has a broad selection comparable to the iTunes store. The Amazon Appstore for Android, an established alternative to the Android Market, offers most of the popular apps, including free daily downloads.

The Fire's main drawback is limited onboard storage -- a mere 8GB, of which only 6GB is available to the user. But Amazon-purchased content can be stored for free in the Amazon Cloud.

The Nook, costs $50 more than the Kindle Fire, carries some added benefits for the investment. It boasts twice the RAM (1GB vs. Kindle Fire's 512MB) and twice the onboard storage (16GB). Even better, it has a micro SD card slot, so users can expand the storage capability up to 32GB. Its USB slot lets users upload their own video, music, photo and text files. The device supports PDF and Word, so there's some added work-friendly functionality.

The Nook's main drawback is its lack of access to a large content source other than for e-books. Music and video have to be streamed through Netflix, Hulu or Pandora, or uploaded from your own library.

In choosing among tablets, your decision will come down to what you want to do with the device and whether you already have an established content library with Amazon or Barnes and Noble. To watch videos and hear music you already own, go with the Nook. However, the Kindle Fire makes it far easier to purchase new music and video content, and its app store has a huge selection of games and applications.

I'd put my money on the Kindle Fire, for the simple fact that tablets are entertainment-driven and Amazon offers a great selection at reasonable prices.