How to get full websites on an Android phone - Minneapolis Star Tribune

QWhen using my HTC Inspire Android cell phone to surf the Net, I am usually redirected to a website's mobile page. I have fast 4G service, and I'd like to avoid this. How can I?

RAFAEL BORRERO,

PEMBROKE PINES, FLA.

AThe problem is that website operators think they're doing you a favor, even though they're not. But there is a work-around.

To cope with the limitations of traditional cellphones, websites often maintain both a standard Web page for computers and a downsized mobile page for cellphones that lacks most of the photos and graphics. The idea is that those images either won't display properly on a cellphone or will take too long to download.

How does the website know you're on a cellphone? Because it can detect your phone's operating system and then automatically send you the mobile Web page.

This is beginning to change because many smartphones can reproduce the full Web page without problems, and 4G wireless Internet connections can download the Web pages at speeds previously available only on wired Internet services.

For example, StarTribune.com sends the full Web page to iPhones and Android phones, while all other phones still get the mobile page.

But if you don't want to wait for other websites to change their ways, you can make your own choices with the Dolphin browser for Android phones (read about it at tinyurl.com/5vfupz2.)

Dolphin can imitate other devices, which will trick websites into sending your phone the full Web page that would normally be sent to a browser on a Windows PC.

Dolphin is available through Android Market, the app store for Google Android phones, or at tinyurl.com/3esf4uw. There's a free version with advertising and a $5 version without.

QWe have trouble when we try to print from the Yahoo Finance website. Only the header prints on the first page, and only about 1 inch of text prints on the second page -- and then it's to the far right side of the page. What should we do?

ORREN AND RUTH BRADLEY

SAHUARITA, ARIZ.

APrinting from Web pages is always a challenge because they are formatted in many different ways, not all of them printer-friendly.

If you're having trouble printing the original page, the best solution is to define and copy the text or chart you want, then paste it onto a blank page in a word processing program such as Microsoft Word.

While this may result in wrong-sized text or charts, you can easily resize them or change the margins before printing.

E-mail tech questions to steve.j.alexander @gmail.com, or write to Tech Q&A, 425 Portland Av. S., Minneapolis, MN 55488. Include name, city and telephone number.

Source : Click Here

Read More

Mozilla releases Firefox 5, first rapid-release version - CNET

 Microsoft's IE team congratulates Mozilla on every Firefox release with a cake. Here's the cake, complete with the updated IE9 logo, for Firefox 5. "We have streamlined our cake release process to keep up with Mozilla's schedule," quipped Microsoft's Sylvain Galineau about the cake.

(Credit: Damon Sicore/Mozilla)

Mozilla delivered two things today: Firefox 5 for personal computers and Android phones, and the promise to complete the new browser just a few months after its predecessor.

The organization, once the leading challenger to Microsoft's Internet Explorer, faces new challenges--notably Google's Chrome, new versions of which arrive every six weeks. Adopting a similar philosophy, Firefox now revs on a three-month cycle, and today Mozilla met its first deadline.

"The world of the Internet is moving at a faster pace than ever, so we realized we had to start innovating faster," said Mozilla Chief Executive Gary Kovacs in an online chat today to announce the product.

New features in Firefox 5 (download for Windows | Mac | Linux | Android) include the following:

• Support for CSS animations, a technology that lets Web page elements move around the screen. That's useful for more dynamic Web pages and Web apps.

• Firefox's new Add-on SDK, formerly called Jetpack. This foundation lets programmers build extensions out of Web technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript rather than the older XUL technology. The expected advantages: extensions will be easier to write and won't break when new browser versions arrive.

• In beta testing is the Add-on Builder, a Web-based tool designed to make writing extensions easier.

• Firefox's do-not-track technology, which lets people tell Web sites they don't want to be tracked for advertising or other purposes, now works on Android phones as well.

• Canvas, which adds two-dimensional graphics technology to browsers, runs faster now, and adheres better to the official specification.

Firefox 5 gives the do-not-track preference more prominence.

(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

• Mozilla worked on performance in various other areas, including JavaScript and launch time.

• On Android, Firefox 5 now supports the Web Open Font Format for downloadable typefaces to embellish Web pages.

• Also on Android, panning around a Web page should be smoother.

Firefox 4 was a major overhaul to the open-source browser, and Mozilla said it was downloaded more than 200 million times for personal computers and Android phones. The faster cycle means new releases aren't as dramatically different from their earlier counterparts, though.

CNET's full review Firefox 5 is a worthy expression of Mozilla's ideals. The browser is competitively fast, sports a new minimalist look, and includes some excellently executed features. Unfortunately, that describes most of Firefox's competition, too.

"Firefox 6, 7, 8, 9, 10--they're every bit as important, but they won't have this massive celebration," Kovacs said. "They'll just be part of how we deliver awesomeness to the Web."

In addition to the final release version of Firefox, Mozilla has added two faster-moving test versions, the beta version and the Aurora version for the more adventurous. (There's also a nightly version for those on the bleeding edge.)

One consequence of the faster cycle is of course that developers have to move quickly to catch the next release "train." Another, though, is that another train comes in another six weeks. That makes it easier to maintain the release schedule discipline, said Christian Legnitto, Mozilla's Firefox release manager.

"We were a little worried about the transition," he said, but the new schedule worked. "It's been amazing watching the project do an about-face."

Updated at 2:21 p.m. PT with IE cake from Microsoft and a little more detail.

(Credit: Mozilla)

Source : Click Here

Read More

The Atrix vs. iPhone - Wall Street Journal

Q: If you wanted a new phone, would you go with the Motorola Atrix or the iPhone 4? Also I heard that a new iPhone is due out this fall. Do you feel it is wise to wait or jump into one of the phones I just mentioned?

A: It depends on your needs and preferences. Unless you dislike Apple's iPhone operating system, called iOS; require a physical keyboard; or prefer Sprint or T-Mobile, I would wait if possible until the fall to see what the rumored new iPhone is like. That way, you will have a better basis for comparison.

However, if you wish to buy now, you should know that there are major differences between the two devices.

The iPhone 4 has roughly double the available third-party apps, and a somewhat higher resolution screen. But the Atrix, which is an Android phone, has a larger display, and can handle AT&T's 4G network.

Most importantly, it was designed to power a laptop-like dock and, when connected to the dock, can run the full PC version of the Firefox Web browser. AT&T is currently selling the Atrix and dock together for $300, after a $100 rebate, with a two-year contract. The iPhone 4 starts at $199 with a two-year contract.

Q: I have hundreds of MiniDV tapes from my camcorder that I'd like to transfer to a hard drive. The problem is that transferring them is incredibly tedious and time consuming. Is there a faster way of transferring this information to another format quickly?

A: If you're willing to transfer them to DVDs rather than to hard-disk files, I can recommend a service called Yes Video, which did a good job converting video tapes when I tested it some years ago. The service does business through the photo departments of several big retail chains, including Walgreens, CVS and Costco. More information is at yesvideo.com.

Q: Much is being made of iCloud and it is clear it has advantages when using Apple devices, but can it be used to move apps such as contacts, calendar, etc. from an Apple desktop to an Android phone?

A: Apple has said nothing about any such function, and I doubt it will be possible, not only for competitive reasons, but because apps that run on Macintosh computers and other Apple devices cannot run on Android phones.

Some functions of iCloud will, however, synchronize data between Apple devices and Windows PCs.

— You can find Mossberg's Mailbox and Walt Mossberg's other columns at the All Things Digital website, http://walt.allthingsd.com. Write to him at mossberg@wsj.com.

Source : Click Here

Read More

Hannspree Hannspad SN10T1 Android tablet computer - ComputerActive.co.uk

A cheap tablet computer, but with some fundamental flaws

Hannspad's touchscreen was very poor and, at times, was totally unresponsive

Arriving slightly late to the party, the Hannspad SN10T1 is tablet computer running the Android operating system.

Unfortunately it uses a version of Android (2.2) that is already out of date and designed for phones, not tablets. The company has applied a special ‘skin' on top of the operating system to make it more suitable for the tablet form but, while it looked good, the skin served only to block access to features.

The fundamental point of tablet computers is the touch-sensitive screen, but the Hannspad's touchscreen was very poor. In fact, it was one of the worst we've seen and, at times, was totally unresponsive. Even when it worked it required several taps before it was able to register what we'd pressed. The poor touchscreen here is akin to a laptop with a broken keyboard.

Even when the touchscreen did work, it didn't look very good, which is a surprise given that Hannspree is known as a monitor manufacturer. It's a widescreen display but quality was poor and the viewing angle very limited. Like a lot of cheap tablets we've looked at, the computer's screen reflected everything around it, which made it hard to use in well-lit rooms or sunshine.

The customised version of Android that's been put on the Hannspad limits its functionality dramatically. As well as being a bit slow, it doesn't include access to the Android Market for downloading apps, as it doesn't meet the market's hardware requirements.

Instead, there is a rather sparsely populated App Centre. The apps that came pre-installed on the tablet were decent enough, covering all the usual areas: weather, clock, internet, email, calendar, music, photos and video. While they've been customised for use on a tablet, we didn't think they were as good as the standard Android apps available on other models.

The lack of a camera is also a strange oversight, although it does have an HDMI socket for displaying video on a flat-panel TV.

The Hannspree Hannspad SN10T1 is very cheap compared with other models, but you get what you pay for and this model fails to get the basics right. With the poor screen, lack of apps and out-of-date operating system, it's hard to recommend.

It's available from Carphone Warehouse.

> See more Tablets

...but it's not good value; poor touchscreen; lack of apps; no camera

Get your PC back up to speed with our 30 expert tips

We show you how to save, share and organise website bookmarks

We explain how open data is being used to develop helpful services

A powerful but accessible set of video-editing tools, aimed at home users

A set of files seen by Windows as a separate hard disk.

Source : Click Here

Read More

Demystifying cloud computing for consumers - USA Today

Apple and Google are each rolling the dice on competing visions of cloud-based media, placing high-stakes bets on digital delivery of entertainment at a time when confusion runs high for such services.

Darr Beiser and Kris Kinkade, USA TODAY

Darr Beiser and Kris Kinkade, USA TODAY

The problem is, most of the people they want to market those services to only have a vague notion of what "the cloud" means.

"It's not just consumers and lay people who struggle with the cloud, it's experienced IT people who struggle with it," says Gartner analyst David Smith. "The whole idea from a consumer perspective is … it's supposed to be a magical cloud in the sky."

There's a huge digital disconnect. Only 40% of Americans understand such cloud services as Google Docs for documents, according to a report from market researcher Ipsos OTX MediaCT. Even fewer — 9% — actually use such services, according to the survey of 1,000 U.S. respondents.

Stakes are high for technology companies to define the consumer cloud. The winner gets the keys to the digital media kingdom. Forrester Research forecasts the U.S. market for personal cloud services will hit $12 billion and 196 million consumers by 2016.

For tech companies to reap benefits, they'll have to answer a nagging consumer question: What is the cloud?

In a way, the cloud is as old and simple as the Internet itself. The cloud is really just about accessing storage or software remotely from a computer via the Internet. It's a modern twist on an old concept of timesharing on giant mainframe computers dating back to the '60s, industry experts say.

Think of TurboTax online, the Internet-based tax preparation service from Intuit. Log on. Crunch numbers. File from TurboTax. That's a cloud service.

Or easier yet, consider uploading images on the photo-sharing sites from Google's Picasa or Yahoo's Flickr. "In some ways, consumers have been using the cloud for a long time. There's a million online photo galleries where you've been leveraging a Web-based cloud service," says IDC analyst Danielle Levitas.

Truth be told, the consumer cloud is simple. It's the many places we go on the Internet to access such things as Google's Gmail and Docs. That type of Web-based access is far different from using e-mail software such as Microsoft Outlook, installed on a PC, and Microsoft Word, which saves to a computer's hard drive.

The difference with Google is that you use its free online software and store your documents in the search giant's cloud. That's what keeps the brass at Microsoft up late at night, knowing that Google has given away online access to Docs, Calendar and Gmail — all software applications that mimic Microsoft's and is accessed over the Internet in the cloud.

Even Facebook is a cloud company. All those photos and comments that are uploaded via smartphone or computer are nestled in its cloud, or armies of server storage. To the user, it's just a visit to a popular website. But behind the scenes, your Internet activities are shuttled to massive data centers. Nothing is stored or lives on a person's PC or smartphone.

Think about those eggplants you recently harvested on FarmVille, the game from Zynga that operates on Facebook. Nothing about that game play lives on your PC. Your crops, your coins — it's all stored somewhere else: the cloud.

Cloud marketers

While consumers may unknowingly use a handful of cloud-based services, their concerns over privacy and security run high. The report from Ipsos said nearly 40% of Americans feel that saving to the cloud is not as secure or private as saving to a hard drive.

Apple, Google and Amazon have plenty of boilerplate security promises about their cloud services.

But that doesn't stop people from worrying about lost documents or privacy breaches that could nab credit card numbers on something as widely misunderstood as the cloud. Those concerns are only made worse by recent breaches of Amazon that left companies that rely on its cloud offline.

On the flipside, experts point out that there are risks to storing music, photos and other data on a laptop or PC. Devices are vulnerable to theft, loss or unrecoverable data damage.

"With the cloud, if your system does fry, there are copies out there," says Levitas.

The latest iterations of consumer cloud services promise to shuttle and store digital media for Apple, Google and Amazon. The cloud services come as use of smartphones and tablet computers is on the rise and record amounts of photos and data are being shared across Facebook.

But these emerging services will have to find ways to embrace the cloud without ostracizing consumers. Thus far, there's a general consensus that marketers have done a poor job of explaining the cloud to consumers.

Hazy perceptions of cloud services may require these companies to hone their pitch to be understood.

Cloud marketers may need to either educate consumers or stop referring to the cloud altogether, the Ipsos report says. Apple chose to embrace the cloud in its recent iCloud debut, while Google downplayed the cloud in its launch.

Apple wants to "brand (the cloud) and own it for sure," says Ipsos analyst Todd Board.

Google, on the other hand, chose not to make cloud-specific references when it launched its cloud-based Chromebook tablet computers. The search giant instead focused on such language as "nothing but the Web" to describe the services.

Ipsos says that influential consumer cloud players — Apple, Google and Amazon — will have to stay focused on fixing user perceptions.

Here's a look at recently announced consumer cloud services from the three key companies:

Amazon?s Cloud

Amazon was the first of the bunch to embrace the consumer cloud for digital media.

Its Cloud Drive is intended to help store music, videos, photos and documents at Amazon.com. The online retailer provides 5 gigabytes of free online storage. Those who purchase one album at Amazon's MP3 Store will be granted 20 gigabytes of storage for up to a year.

Customers can purchase up to 1,000 gigabytes of storage for $1,000 per year, capable of housing roughly 200,000 songs.

People can access content from the service across multiple gizmos.

It works on PCs, Android and BlackBerry devices, but not on Apple's iOS mobile operating system for iPods, iPads and iPhones.

Don't expect the service to sync content across all devices. "They're really not there yet," Levitas says.

What Amazon lacks in user-friendly synchronization, it makes up for in the sheer size of its cloud infrastructure, analysts say. But Amazon's cloud security has come under scrutiny of late.

Amazon is still recovering from the black eye of its cloud services crash.

The company's cloud-serving businesses went down in April, taking with it Foursquare, Quora and Reddit, among numerous other websites.

Worse, Amazon's EC2 cloud service has also been fingered for its use as a staging ground for the hack attacks that brought down Sony's PlayStation Network.

"There's a critical mass of that kind of concern for understandable reasons," Board says.

Google?s Cloud

Google is taking a different tack. Last month, at its Google I/O developer conference, it announced its cloud services, touting Music Beta by Google and Movies on the Android Market. Google's Movies service allows Android users to rent movies, play them back on Android devices and keep copies for offline consumption.

Music Beta by Google allows people to copy digital music to the cloud, stream tunes to Android devices, and keep some songs locally for playback offline.

Google also bolstered its cloud-based office software presence, detailing Chromebooks. Think of a Chromebook as a dummy terminal laptop. The laptop isn't intended for local storage of documents; rather, it accesses software and stores it on the cloud. For $20 a month, students can use a Chromebook that will have tech support and Google's online office productivity software among online applications. The service runs $28 per month for businesses. The notebooks are Wi-Fi ready, but 3G plans cost extra.

"For the foreseeable future, it's not a good product for the average consumer," says Levitas.

Google's Web-based laptop will likely concern consumers because it lacks internal storage and assumes that everyone has access to Wi-Fi at all times. Also, it gets pricey to add on a $30 per month wireless plan for those who want to be always connected and assured about storage concerns.

Still, Google was brave to "put a flag in the sand" with Chromebooks, Board says.

Apple?s iCloud

Of the three, industry experts say, Apple is poised to offer the best consumer services across devices.

Apple's iCloud is intended to house media and pipe it across devices wirelessly. The service will update applications running on Macs, PCs, iPads, iPhones and iPod touch devices. ICloud is set to start with updates to the iOS 5 mobile operating system in the fall.

Among other features, iCloud's Photo Stream will automatically upload to the cloud any photos taken on an Apple device and wirelessly push them to all of one's devices and computers. The service will put to work Apple's new $500 million data center. Apple's iCloud should be self-explanatory to use and automatic in sending and retrieving from the cloud.

Industry experts say iCloud will simplify management of music, videos and photos across Apple devices.

"ICloud is an enhancement that builds on top of what Apple is already doing, bringing together these disparate devices," says Levitas.

Apple wants to take the pain out of manually moving photos, videos and music among devices. It's "customer lock-in" for Apple, she says.

ICloud also makes a move into Google's online office sandbox. Apple's Pages (a Docs rival), Numbers (for spreadsheets) and Keynote apps will automatically push out changes made on one device to all devices. People will get 5 gigabytes of storage for documents, e-mail and backup.

Forrester noted in a report that Apple's iCloud "takes the lead" in personal cloud services.

For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.We've updated the Conversation Guidelines. Changes include a brief review of the moderation process and an explanation on how to use the "Report Abuse" button. Read more.

Source : Click Here

Read More

How to edit documents on a mobile device - PC Advisor

Now it's easy to manage digital documents on the move thanks to a suite of free to use software tools.

You no longer have to be chained to a desk or even a laptop with ThinkFree, and a tablet PC or smartphone

One of the great aspects about owning a mobile device is that it'll allow you to stay much more productive, no matter if you're at home or out and about on the move. Not so long ago, working on documents usually meant long hours sat in front of a home or work PC, which was okay if you didn't mind being chained to a desk, but didn't offer much in the way of freedom or convenience.

All that has changed thanks to the advent of mobile computing, with laptops initially getting the ball rolling when it came to editing documents on the go. Laptops are fine for allowing you to stay productive, but they can be cumbersome, whereas truly mobile devices such as much smaller netbooks, smartphones and now tablet PCs have revolutionised our busy lives.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab, which runs the Google Android operating system, is a prime example of a tablet that gives you the ultimate in flexibility for editing documents, no matter what your location. Although it's a relatively small device, the screen area of the Galaxy Tab makes an ideal environment for working on anything and everything, from word processing documents through to spreadsheets. Of course, one of the big selling points of tablet computers is the ability to download and install software applications, or apps, and there are numerous that offer the ability to edit documents on the go.

However, if you're still finding your feet with a Galaxy Tab, or similar Google Android device, then the good news is that there's an application that comes preinstalled on this exciting gadget, which allows you to do any kind of task in relation to working with Office-style documents.

It's called ThinkFree Office and sits in the default collection of widgets that you'll see when you first start exploring the Samsung Galaxy Tab interface. If you don't see it on the first screen when you start up then swipe your finger across the desktop and it'll doubtless be listed on the next page. Using this great little piece of software is also wonderfully straightforward. All you need to do is tap the ThinkFree Office icon and it'll fire up for the first time.

After pressing ‘Accept' for the End User Licence Agreement you'll be able to set up and run the app and get stuck into editing all manner of documents. It's a little bit like being able to take your home or work office with you, pretty much wherever you go. ThinkFree Office is rather similar to productivity software suites such as Microsoft Office or the free open source program OpenOffice, so at its core are the four main program areas that are word processing, spreadsheet, database and presentation options that most of us are familiar with and use on a regular basis.

Although it's perhaps not a complete replacement for the multiple options that you can find in those other sophisticated software applications, it is perfect for browsing through documents while you're in transit, and for making handy edits or amendments along the way too. If you've got a deadline looming and little in the way of time, or simply want to dip in and out of documents that need to be tweaked, then launching ThinkFree Office, no matter what the location, can be an ideal way of staying on top of your document processing chores.

NEXT PAGE: a step-by-step guide to editing documents on a tablet device >>

Source : Click Here

Read More

Amazon media tablet specs, timing revealed? - The Seattle Times (blog)

Component manufacturers may have spilled the beans on the tablet computers that Amazon.com is expected to release later this year, giving the company an iPad-like gadget to sell alongside its Kindle.

The devices will launch in August or September, in time for the Black Friday holiday sales kickoff after Thanksgiving, according to a report from Taiwan's DigiTimes.

Amazon's device will be assembled by Quanta Computer and have processors from Texas Instruments, touch panels from Wintek, LCD drivers from ILI Technology, according to the report.

It said 700,000 to 800,000 units are expected to ship per month and noted that the device will play movies streamed by Amazon.

I've asked for comment from the company next door but haven't heard back yet. Most likely it will decline to say anything at this point.

Speculation about Amazon producing an Android-based tablet has increased since the company began operating an Android app store in March.

In Monday's column, I wrote about how Amazon is likely to take a path similar to Barnes & Noble, which started out trying to add computer-like features to its first e-reader but has now decided on a two-tiered approach with its Nook, offering a low-end black and white model and a higher-end color version that's morphed into an Android tablet.

Source : Click Here

Read More