For the iPhone users out there, great ebook reading experiences can be had with apps like iBooks and Stanza. But what about for us Android users?

As someone who has recently been getting sucked into reading more and more novels, I’ve been on the prowl for the best ebook readers on Android. So far, nothing has matched the sheer power and elegance of Stanza, but Aldiko has gotten close.

First released in 2009, Aldiko has been working towards offering the best-in-class ebook reading and management experience for Android users. Let’s take a look at what this app can do.

eBook Formats

Aldiko officially supports ebooks in the .epub and .pdf formats. However, if you have ebooks in a different format, you can use a program called Calibre to convert those files into .epub format. From there, Aldiko will be able to read it just fine.

Importing ebooks into Aldiko is extremely easy. All you have to do is connect your Android to your computer and drag the files onto your device. Then, from within Aldiko, you can search your device and tell it which files to import. Simple.

If some of your ebooks are locked by Adobe DRM, you can even sign into your Adobe ID to have those ebooks unlocked.

In-App Bookstore

At the time of writing this article, installing Aldiko on your device will result in a free ebook for you: White Fang by Jack London. For those of you who have never read this book, it is a small and unexpected treat.

However, one of Aldiko’s great features is an in-app bookstore powered by Feedbooks. Without ever having to leave the app, you can purchase books that have been recommended by other readers, books that have been featured in the New York Times Bestseller List, or books that are entirely free of charge.

On top of that, you can use the app to browse through ebook listings on Smashwords. Smashwords is a great place to find ebooks, both free and paid, across all genres and formats.

Library Management

Managing your pile of ebooks is extremely easy with Aldiko. You’ll be able to find the book you want to read almost instantly by sorting by title or by author–whichever you prefer.

Reading

If you want to bookmark a page–in case you have to stop reading for a bit, or if you want to return to a specific spot later–you just tap a button and label the bookmark.

If you want to look for a specific scene but don’t remember where it is, use the full-text search.

As you’re reading, you can bring up a context overlay with a single tap on the page. You’ll instantly see how far into the book you are, and you’ll be presented with a bunch of options for customizing your reading experience.

Settings and Customization

Aldiko allows you to change a lot of settings in order to maximize your comfort. Change the font face, the font size, the margin sizes, and the colors of the text and page. You’ll never be distracted by poor aesthetics again.

And it doesn’t stop there. There are a few other options that really add those finishing touches while you read.

Verdict?

Aldiko still lacks a few features that I would like to see, such as tracking your progress through the current chapter (as opposed to the whole book), more options for sorting your library, the ability to edit book details, etc.

However, compared to other ebook readers on the Android Market, Aldiko is definitely the best one I’ve tried so far. I would highly recommend it for anyone who plans on reading many ebooks on their Android device.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

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Nowadays, we are all signed up for so many different services, it can be hard to keep track of them all. We all have Gmail, Google Apps, Twitter and so many more accounts. When you need to find something specific, it can be a real hassle. CloudMagic is a service that is designed to help you search Google Apps, Gmail and Twitter, all from one convenient place. With one simple search query, you will be able to find results from these services, without having to check each one individually.

CloudMagic is available as an application for Android and iPhone, as well in your web browser via their website, a handy Google Chrome extension and a Firefox add-on. Basically, if you are looking for a way to make searching for stuff easier, there is a one hundred percent chance that CloudMagic offers a way for you to use their service. We all want to make our lives a little easier, and CloudMagic could be just the solution you need.

What Does CloudMagic Do?

CloudMagic allows you to import your Gmail, Google Apps and Twitter account so they can all be searched from one place quickly and easily. With CloudMagic, you can type in a search query, and it will scan all three of the accounts for that term.

Therefore, if you typed in the name “John”, for example, it would find any instances of John appearing in your Google Apps, any emails with the name John and tweets. This makes it much easier to find something that could be on any of the accounts.

Setting Up Cloud Magic

Of course, if you are going to be using the Chrome, Firefox, iOS or Android version of the app, you will need to download and install them. If you are using the browser-based version, you can simply point your browser to cloudmagic.com.

Setting up Cloud Magic is a breeze. Whether using one of their mobile apps or doing it from your browser, the first step is creating a new account. Creating an account only requires an email address and a password. It literally takes about two seconds.

Once you have created an account the next step is to link your account with your Google and Twitter accounts. To do this, you will need to click on “Settings” on the mobile app and “Services” on the browser-based app. From there you will need to click “Add New Service” and log in with whichever service you would like to add.

If you log in with your Google and Twitter accounts on your phone, these accounts will be there when you log in on the computer, and vice versa. This makes it easy to use your mobile app while on the phone and your computer when you are at home.

Using Cloud Magic

Using CloudMagic is a snap. Once you have your accounts synced, simply click the search bar and enter what you are looking for. It will quickly scan all of your accounts to find items matching the term you entered. The search is blazing fast; it is quite impressive.

You can narrow your search to only specific things. If you only wanted to find calendar events that match your query, you can simply click the “Events” button. This way, if you wanted to find a doctor’s appointment without seeing tweets and emails about it, you could do so.

Of course, simply showing you the results would be useless. That is why you can click any result to be quickly directed to the proper application, either from your phone or from your computer.

Conclusion

This is a great application for quickly finding what you need from select services. I hope that they incorporate other services such as Facebook and other email clients (but let us be honest, almost everyone uses Gmail). As it stands, it is a great solution for organizing your Google and Twitter account, and I definitely recommend checking it out on your platform of choice.

Web Link
iTunes Link
Android Link
Chrome Link
Firefox Link

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It is remarkable just how much cheap crap we, as a planet, produce each and every year. The environmental impact is worrying, landfills are swelling and carbon emissions must come down – yet more and more junk continues to roll out of the factory. In addition to this, many seem to think that adding USB connectivity (usually for a small amount of power as opposed to real interfacing) to aforementioned plastic junk instantly makes it more saleable.

So, would you spend your money on these peripherals?

USB Tie Fan Cooler….Thing

Feel like you’re tied to your desk all day and looking for the ultimate way to cool off? Look no further, all you need is the USB tie cooler from Thanko. Somewhat resembling the collar-bombs worn by imprisoned schoolchildren in the 2002 film Battle Royale, the fan clips to your neck and is then covered up with the included silk tie.

Of course, it’s USB powered – so it’s completely useless (yet still too embarassing to take off) unless you’re near a computer. Once you finally do get to your desk, find a spare USB port (by removing non-essentials like mice and keyboards) and you’ll be the coolest cat in the office.

That is until you suddenly get up to tell Brenda you need that report by 5, tearing your laptop off the table, showering your co-workers with coffee and publicly revealing the secret to your body temperature regulation. Still, at least you won’t be hot under the collar?

Chicken’s Foot 2GB USB Stick

There are a lot of overpriced USB sticks on the market in all kinds of novelty shapes, capacities and sizes but most of them have a valid use – removable storage – that makes up for it. I am actually having trouble with this particular USB flash drive however, as it appears to be in the shape of a chicken’s foot.

This of course means that the bloody thing will never fit comfortably in your pocket, and might also have trouble fitting into computers mounted on a flat surface (I do believe the toes would get in the way).

This rather small 2GB capacity appendage will sit on your desk for hours without falling over – though you’re probably better off spending the $30 on more space, rather than novelty form factor.

USB Mini UV Toothbrush Sanitiser

Nothing says “pearly whites” like a sterile toothbrush (I guess?) and now you can sterilise yours right at your desk! Excited? Well hold on junior, because there might just be a teency weency issue with aforementioned USB toothbrush sanitiser… and that’ll be the USB part.

Who keeps their toothbrush at their desk? Moreover, who would take it out and actually sanitise it using this bloody thing? If toothbrush sanitation is high on your list of priorities then I don’t think a mini USB toothbrush sanitiser is going to cut it – you’ll want the real deal.

Thus I conclude there’s probably not much of a market for semi-dedicated toothbrush sanitisers who stow their oral cleaning contraptions in the office. Next.

USB Flower Pot Speaker

Introducing the USB Flower Pot Speaker – because there’s simply too much space on your desk! Or should that be Flower Pod Speaker, as the manufacturers have cleverly coined it? Regardless, not only does it require full use of a USB port for power but it also isn’t a real flower pot (which is a real shame).

Don’t try to water, plant or re-pot your new musical chum for he’s a static, lifeless plastic disappointment who produces no more than 2W RMS at the best of times. Maybe spend the money on some real speakers and a real plant instead…

USB Eye Massager

Unfortunately this isn’t a case of affixing the wrong photograph to the wrong product description, but a genuine product that is designed with an eye massage in mind. If you’ve not already peeked at the image below then now is the time – just look at it…

Eye massager? Really? Not torture device? Not “turn it round and make rude symbols at your boss” getting-fired device? I’m supposed to put this in my eyes? According to the manufacturer:

USB Eye Massager is the latest-designed health care Product specially for the Person which long time use their eyes, Such as the Computer operator.

I suppose that clears it up, then!

Conclusion

It’s not too late for new year resolutions, and here’s an easy one we can all stick to : in addition to the products on this list, don’t buy cheap useless USB crap. It might seem like a funny gift and even provide 5 minutes of laughter but will ultimately end up in a landfill as wasted money, time, energy and resources.

If you have any of your favourite crap USB gadgets then list them below, I’m dying to see what you’ve found…

Image Credit: Shutterstock

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It is remarkable just how much cheap crap we, as a planet, produce each and every year. The environmental impact is worrying, landfills are swelling and carbon emissions must come down – yet more and more junk continues to roll out of the factory. In addition to this, many seem to think that adding USB connectivity (usually for a small amount of power as opposed to real interfacing) to aforementioned plastic junk instantly makes it more saleable.

So, would you spend your money on these peripherals?

USB Tie Fan Cooler….Thing

Feel like you’re tied to your desk all day and looking for the ultimate way to cool off? Look no further, all you need is the USB tie cooler from Thanko. Somewhat resembling the collar-bombs worn by imprisoned schoolchildren in the 2002 film Battle Royale, the fan clips to your neck and is then covered up with the included silk tie.

Of course, it’s USB powered – so it’s completely useless (yet still too embarassing to take off) unless you’re near a computer. Once you finally do get to your desk, find a spare USB port (by removing non-essentials like mice and keyboards) and you’ll be the coolest cat in the office.

That is until you suddenly get up to tell Brenda you need that report by 5, tearing your laptop off the table, showering your co-workers with coffee and publicly revealing the secret to your body temperature regulation. Still, at least you won’t be hot under the collar?

Chicken’s Foot 2GB USB Stick

There are a lot of overpriced USB sticks on the market in all kinds of novelty shapes, capacities and sizes but most of them have a valid use – removable storage – that makes up for it. I am actually having trouble with this particular USB flash drive however, as it appears to be in the shape of a chicken’s foot.

This of course means that the bloody thing will never fit comfortably in your pocket, and might also have trouble fitting into computers mounted on a flat surface (I do believe the toes would get in the way).

This rather small 2GB capacity appendage will sit on your desk for hours without falling over – though you’re probably better off spending the $30 on more space, rather than novelty form factor.

USB Mini UV Toothbrush Sanitiser

Nothing says “pearly whites” like a sterile toothbrush (I guess?) and now you can sterilise yours right at your desk! Excited? Well hold on junior, because there might just be a teency weency issue with aforementioned USB toothbrush sanitiser… and that’ll be the USB part.

Who keeps their toothbrush at their desk? Moreover, who would take it out and actually sanitise it using this bloody thing? If toothbrush sanitation is high on your list of priorities then I don’t think a mini USB toothbrush sanitiser is going to cut it – you’ll want the real deal.

Thus I conclude there’s probably not much of a market for semi-dedicated toothbrush sanitisers who stow their oral cleaning contraptions in the office. Next.

USB Flower Pot Speaker

Introducing the USB Flower Pot Speaker – because there’s simply too much space on your desk! Or should that be Flower Pod Speaker, as the manufacturers have cleverly coined it? Regardless, not only does it require full use of a USB port for power but it also isn’t a real flower pot (which is a real shame).

Don’t try to water, plant or re-pot your new musical chum for he’s a static, lifeless plastic disappointment who produces no more than 2W RMS at the best of times. Maybe spend the money on some real speakers and a real plant instead…

USB Eye Massager

Unfortunately this isn’t a case of affixing the wrong photograph to the wrong product description, but a genuine product that is designed with an eye massage in mind. If you’ve not already peeked at the image below then now is the time – just look at it…

Eye massager? Really? Not torture device? Not “turn it round and make rude symbols at your boss” getting-fired device? I’m supposed to put this in my eyes? According to the manufacturer:

USB Eye Massager is the latest-designed health care Product specially for the Person which long time use their eyes, Such as the Computer operator.

I suppose that clears it up, then!

Conclusion

It’s not too late for new year resolutions, and here’s an easy one we can all stick to : in addition to the products on this list, don’t buy cheap useless USB crap. It might seem like a funny gift and even provide 5 minutes of laughter but will ultimately end up in a landfill as wasted money, time, energy and resources.

If you have any of your favourite crap USB gadgets then list them below, I’m dying to see what you’ve found…

Image Credit: Shutterstock

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/gaming.jpg" alt="" />One of the most anticipated games of this holiday season was The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Call of Duty and Battlefield are terrific games, but it’s delightful to see something a little different become a bestseller. I love first person shooters, but to see a game like Skyrim become a blockbuster success is a beautiful thing. Modern video games tend to hold the player’s hand and assist them a lot more than in the past. It is refreshing to see a game like Skyrim come along and sell millions of copies.

Even with all the critical accolades Skyrim is receiving, I’m sure there are gamers who are still unsure if it is for them. Maybe they are scared that a game of this scope is too much for them. Maybe some of the crazy glitches that are so prevalent in Bethesda games turn them off. If you are one of those people, I am here to ask you to reconsider. I only do this because the game is that special. It is a once in a generation game. Anyone who considers themselves a gamer needs to sit down behind a controller or a mouse and keyboard and play Skyrim.  Here’s why.

The Crazy Stories

The crazy things that happen in Skyrim make the game something truly remarkable. What makes them so impressive when compared to other games is that, in many cases, they are difficult to duplicate. Every video game has outstanding things happen. In fact, that’s one of the main reasons we play them. With Skyrim, it feels like all the stuff that’s happening is just for you. You can tell your friends about something silly that happened, and they will have their own stories that differ entirely from yours. Many times these differences will occur on the same quest.

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I’m about 30 hours into Skyrim. I recently had a fight with a couple of bears for a quest. My character is extremely magic heavy, and I wear light armor. Bears hit terribly hard, and my magic seemed to have minimal impact on them. After trying every creative strategy in existence to eliminate these bears, I decided it was impossible.

However, I realized there was a town near the cave, so instead of fighting the bears I decided to lure them to the town. It worked – the bear chased me all the way, and when he got there, the townspeople killed him with ease. However, I shot some fire at the bear during the epic battle, and my fire hit some of the townspeople. Thus, my celebration was shortlived, as the whole town attacked and killed me as soon as the bear fell.

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That is just one small example of the kinds of things that happen in Skyrim. They feel as if they happened to me and me alone; not just part of some scripted experience.

The Massive Scale

Skyrim is enormous. It would be easy to spend 100 or more hours playing this game. For me, that is an immense value proposition. I can go out and buy 4 or 5 games and perhaps still not have it match the amount of content in Skyrim. Realistically, the only games that can compete with Skyrim for the amount of time you can dedicate to them are multiplayer-heavy games like shooters and MMOs.

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What makes this game so special is not just that it’s massive; it’s the fact that almost all of the content in the game is so good. So many RPGs like Skyrim end up seeing the player doing a bunch of fetch quests and other useless tasks just to make the game longer. With this game, every little quest has a story, and every new area feels fresh and new. Making a long game is not necessarily spectacular; what is impressive is making a long game that has such rich content that it feels like a new game every time you play.

Improvements From Previous Elder Scrolls Games

This last reason is more specific to people whom some of the flaws from previous Elder Scrolls games have turned off. In the previous games, there was game breaking glitches. When I say game breaking, I don’t mean turn your console off and restart. I am talking glitches that would cause you to have to start the whole game over. This was obviously devastating. I had over 60 hours in Elder Scrolls IV, and then I hit a glitch where I was stuck in a spot, and there was no way for me to overcome said spot. I had to forget the 60 hours I had already spent and restart.

Thankfully, Skyrim seems to have none of these problems. There are some glitches, but they are all small. The game also keeps your last three auto-saves, so if you are stuck, it is easy to reload back and only lose a few minutes instead of dozens of hours.

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Bethesda improved the third person camera as well. In Oblivion the third person camera was completely useless, but in Skyrim the game is fully playable from a third person perspective.

They have also improved the characters during conversations. Previous games were always very uncomfortable when conversing with a non-player character. Now, the characters have a lot more life, and conversations feel much more relaxed. This is important, because you do spend a lot of time conversing in Skyrim.

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They took a winning formula and added much of what they learned from their experience with the Fallout games and made close to a perfect role-playing game.

Conclusion

I am going to go out on a limb here and say that Skyrim is certainly in the top five games I’ve ever played. I’m not writing a review in the traditional sense, but if I were to give Skyrim a rating I would have to give it a 10 out of 10. The bar for role-playing games is raised to an extent that I didn’t think was possible, especially in the current console generation. Please, if you fancy yourself a gamer, play Skyrim.

Let me know in the comments whether or not you agree with me, and if not, why.

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/sandybridgethumb.jpg" alt="" />Intel has just unleashed a new line of processors. It’s not based on a new architecture, but is instead an expansion of the current Sandy Bridge line. Now, instead of a maximum of four cores, you can buy a processor with up to six!

Of course, you could do that months ago –  but you’d have to purchase a processor using the Nehalem architecture. That made no sense, because the quickest quad-core Sandy Bridge options were almost as fast and hundreds less expensive. Does Sandy Bridge-E resolve that issue? Let’s take a closer look.

Behind the Name

Once again, Intel has created a name that’s not nearly as clear as they might have thought. What’s the E stand for? Efficiency? Eco? Extreme?

Nope. It stands for Enthusiast. The Sandy Bridge-E is built to be the best of the best, and as a result it’s not meant to appeal to a layman user who uses his or her PC for common tasks like web browsing and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/important-pc-gaming-terms-explained/">PC gaming. Instead, it’s targeted at people who need as many cores as possible, and use demanding applications that can actually take advantage of multiple threads.

Processor Details

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Two new processors will be offered at launch, the Core i7-3930K and the Core i7-3960X. The difference between these choices is clock speed and cache. The 3,930K offers a 3.2 GHz base clock speed and 12MB of cache, while Core i7-3,960X offers a 3.3 GHz base clock speed and 15MB of cache. Both have href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/hyperthreading-technology-explained/">hyper-threading, so the six cores can support twelve threads.

What about pricing? The MSRP is $555 for the 3,930K and $990 for the 3,960X. I’d expect retailers to actually ask more for these initially, as despite the already high prices, they will be in high demand. They are, after all, the most powerful processors money can buy.

That may sound dramatic, but it’s absolutely true. href="http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Processors/Intel-Sandy-Bridge-E-Review-Core-i7-3960X-and-X79-Chipset-Tested/Render-Tests">In testing by PC Perspective, the new processors were able to outperform the Core-i7 2600K by as much as 30%. As you might expect, programs with excellent multi-thread support revealed the largest gap between the quad-core and six-core Sandy Bridge entries. Software that doesn’t require the extra cores, such as games, show little difference between the new processors and the older quad-core Sandy Bridge products.

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Strangely, these new LGA 2011 processors do not come with a heatsink or cooler, making them the only processors sold by Intel in an OEM box without a cooling solution. Don’t forget to budget a processor cooler when purchasing one of these processors. Intel will offer its typical low-end cooler for $20, but also plans to offer a water cooler for around $80. Of course, for the same money you could purchase a third-party cooler. The choice is yours.

A New Chipset, Too

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In addition to the new processors, Intel is unleashing a new chipset, called X79. It is meant as a replacement for the X58 chipset that was once considered Intel’s flagship. Because X58 does not offer Sandy Bridge support, the chipset has been of questionable use since the release of the newest processor architecture.

X79 introduces yet another new processor socket, LGA2011. There are other changes, as well. RAM support has changed from href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/difference-ddr2-ddr3-ram-technology-explained/">tri-channel (as found on X58) to quad-channel, and the new chipset has been built to handle the high power requirements of the new processors, all of which are slapped with a 130W TDP. By comparison, a Core i7-2600K has a 95W TDP.

Chipset changes were also required because the new Sandy Bridge-E processors, like their previous brethren, entirely eliminate the Northbridge.

Should You Buy One?

So, you’re impressed by the performance. Now you’re wondering – should I blow my savings on one of these? Or is this not the best use of my cash?

That depends.

The title “enthusiast” doesn’t properly describe the exclusivity of these processors. I am an enthusiast, but I would never buy one of these, because I don’t run software that needs the extra cores. My most demanding tasks is gaming, which still sees only a small benefit from four cores, never mind six.

Instead, these products are aimed at people who use computers as important tools for doing work. If a 20% increase in performance can cut an hour off the time it takes for your PC to complete an encoding run, then you’re the kind of person this processor is for. If you regularly edit files with multi-gigabyte file sizes, you’re the kind of person this processor is for. If a computer crash effectively shuts down your business, you’re the kind of person this processor is for.

And in the hands of such a professional, yes, the high prices can be justified and may in fact pay for themselves in a matter of weeks by saving time that would otherwise be spent waiting for a task to finish.

Of course, there’s no accounting for taste. If you have a lot of money to spend on a PC, and you want the fastest possible, feel free to jump on the Sandy Bridge-E bandwagon. You may receive much better value from a less powerful configuration, but not every nerd cares about value as much as owning a stonking fast computer.

Conclusion

Sandy Bridge-E is an impressive step forward for Intel, and one that is perhaps overdue. The older Nehalem-based six-core processors were still commanding high prices, despite the use of a nearly three year old architecture and chipset.

With this new line, Intel will once again have a proper flagship that can leave both Intel and AMD’s best in the dust.

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/apple-ipad-apps.jpg" alt="" />Last April, I proclaimed the iPad the href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/ipad-device-photographers-mac/">best photo sharing device for photographers. Some readers took me to task for my opinion, but I still think its portability and classy design make for a much better photo display album than a laptop or disorganized photo prints. With the release of iOS 5, the Photos app for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch did not receive a major overhaul but it does benefit from the new wireless syncing, an album creation feature, and Twitter integration.

However, if you have just got your hands on an iOS device for the first time, you might find the new Photos app features a little confusing. Apple has made some useful changes, but there some issues you need to know about.

Wireless Syncing

The best iOS 5 upgrade for managing photos in the Photos library is wireless syncing. As with other iOS apps, you can now add and delete photos from your device’s Photos library without a wired connection to iTunes. I’m using the iPad, the first version, to explain the new features, but what I cover will apply to the other iOS devices too.

Whether you are using the iPad for the first time or upgrading from a previous operating system, you can access all of your photos in your iPhoto or Aperture library on your Mac through iTunes without having to use a USB connection.

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Simply click on your device in iTunes and then open the Photo section to select your albums and events. If you have lots of photos in the photo library of your computer, you probably would not want to sync all of them to your device because of the limited storage space on your device.

The wireless syncing process unfortunately does not take place on the fly. If, for example, you wanted to remove a few albums from your device, the process will not just focus on your photos. It will also sync any songs, apps, new contacts, and other related content during the process. In addition, your iOS device and iTunes will need to be sharing the same Wi-Fi network in order for the syncing process to occur.

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When you’re ready to sync, simply click the Apply button.

Photo Stream

By now, you might be familiar with Photo Stream – another new iOS 5 feature. Photo Stream, if enabled on your device and Mac, stores all of the photos and videos you take with your iOS camera and another camera and are saved to your Camera Roll. So Photo Stream has its own syncing process outside of iTunes.

Photos Library Menu Options

When you launch the Photos library on your iOS device, the user interface for the iPad and iPhone/iPod touch are slightly different because of the differences in size of each device. Nevertheless they share the same menu items – Photos,  (consisting of imported photos and videos you sync from the photo’s app on your Mac or PC), Photo Stream, Albums, Events, Faces, Places, and Slideshow.

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These visible menu items are pretty easy to understand, but it’s the hidden/pop-up controls that get a little confusing.

Share Button

In your Photos collection, when you tap on the Share button on the far right of the app, you get the option to add selected photos to an Existing Album or a New Album.

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Being able to add photos to a new or existing album is great because you don’t have to rely upon the photo’s app on your computer to do that. Photos can be deleted from your albums, but they will remain in your main Photos library.

However, when you try to delete a photo(s) from your main library, they will also be deleted from any albums you copied it to. You will be asked, “Do you want to delete it everywhere?” but you don’t really have a choice in the matter.

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Your other options include copying selected photos and pasting them in other supporting applications, and sharing through email or print.

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More Sharing Options

When you open a photo in your library, you get more options. A few options have been there since day one, such as emailing and using a photo as wallpaper. New options include tweeting a photo, which requires of course a Twitter account, and assigning a photo to a contact.

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Editing

On iOS devices with a built-in camera, you also get the option to edit photos. The editing features includes Auto exposure correction, cropping and rotation, and red-eye removal options.

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The editing features are great, but there are some differences between how your photos are saved. If you edit a photo from your Photos library, ones that originated from the photos app on your computer, the edits will be applied to a copy of that photo and saved to the Camera Roll. So in this case it’s non-destructive editing.

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However, if you select and edit a photo you took with say your iPhone camera, those edits are applied to your original photo. So you will have to first duplicate the original photo if you want to retain the original and edited version.

There are href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-powerful-iphone-camera-apps-pictures/">3rd party iOS apps that provide href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-free-photo-editing-apps-ipad/">better options than what you get with Apple’s setup, but if your photo management needs are not that expansive, these recent iOS enhancements are okay, as long as you’re familiar with the limitations.

Let us know what you think of the Photos library features in iOS 5. Is it helping you manage your photos better?

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/androidtabletsecurity1.jpg" alt="" />As tablets become more popular, they’re serving as stand-ins for computers for some users. Although most people still own a PC, tablets are particularly nice for web browsing and online video, making them common couch-side companions.

This, however, could introduce some issues. If tablets are being used like computers, they could be exposed to the same threats. Which begs the question – how can you secure your Android tablet?

Permissions – Like The Phones

The entry to understanding Android on any device is href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/control-permissions-applications-permissions-denied-android/">permissions, and in this respect Android tablets work much like the phones. Heck, this same system isn’t even Android exclusive – Google has already adapted the same idea to Chrome extensions and web apps.

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Permissions are very simple. Before you download an app, you are given a list of permissions that app requests of your device. These are not optional – if you download the app, you are agreeing to the permissions. Once permission is given, it can’t be revoked unless you uninstall the app.

You therefore need to be very careful about what you download. Reading permissions can seem annoying – but do it anyway. An app that is malicious can easily get up to mischief without you knowing, and while such instances in the real world remain limited, they do exist.

Downloading An Antivirus App Is A Good Idea

As I point out in virtually every Android security article, antivirus apps for the platform remain a bit of an open question. Comprehensive, objective tests of their ability to defend again threats remain rare.

However, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/avcomparatives-reviews-android-security-apps-finds-flaws-news/">a recent A/V Comparatives study did show that most security apps were able to protect against a test selection of malware threats, and the study goes so far as to recommend that all Android users install antivirus software.

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Which one should you download? I’m a fan of  href="http://usa.kaspersky.com/products-services/home-computer-security/tablet-security">Kaspersky’s Tablet Security, and recommend it as a first choice, but does require a pricey $20/year subscription. That may seem like a lot, and if you want free, href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.lookout&feature=search_result">Lookout Mobile Security can work well – but keep in mind that the app’s $2.99/month premium option totals to almost $36/year.

Treat It Like A Laptop

When it comes to network security, tablets are much like laptops. They almost always connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi, and are subject to all the href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/combat-wifi-security-risks-connecting-public-network/">security risks that results from that. Fortunately, your Android tablet supports secured wireless connections, and that’s a feature you should always use whenever possible. The issue which is of concern is the chance that a hacker will be able to obtain your browsing data if you use an unsecure connection, and it applies to tablets just as with laptops.

One useful feature is Android’s built-in VPN support, which you’ll find in your tablet’s settings. Just enter the VPN address and your username/password for it, and you’re off! You can use this with many href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-completely-free-vpn-services-protect-privacy/">VPN services to provide yourself with secure browsing over unsecured networks.

Use Honeycomb’s Encryption

Android has not been particularly popular with enterprise users because of a general lack of focus on enterprise security, but there has been some inroads made in that direction, one of which is the encryption feature on Honeycomb tablets.

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The feature is found in the Location & Security section of Honeycomb’s settings, and can encrypt the contents of your tablet’s memory. Doing this does not make it unhackable, nor does it mean that someone couldn’t intercept your Wi-Fi transmissions, but it does means it will be difficult for anyone to steal your data if the tablet is lost or stolen.

If you do encrypt your tablet, remember that you also won’t be able to access the tablet’s data if you are locked out of your tablet. Backing up important files is, as always, a good idea.

Conclusion

Security for tablets is far from mature, just as the threats that may exploit a tablet are far from mature. There is some degree of security via obscurity available as of now, as many website exploits and viruses simply won’t work against tablets. That’s not going to last forever though. Security threats will become more and more common as the devices themselves become more and more popular. This process will take many years, but hey – it certainly doesn’t hurt to have a head start.

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/facebook_logo_300x300.jpg" alt="things you shouldnt post on facebook" />We’ve discussed things that href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/annoying-people-twitter/">annoy Dave on Twitter, and we’ve even talked about how you may have href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-ways-sold-soul-internet/">compromised your security on the Internet. However, it seems as if href="http://www.makeuseof.com/facebook">Facebook brings both of those topics together.

From security messes to major nuisances, there are a lot of things that shouldn’t be shared on the Internet. Get ready to readjust your security and delete your posts, for here are five things you shouldnt post on Facebook.

Current Locations

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Ladies and gentlemen, how many times must we tell you that nothing is sacred on the Internet? If you put it out there, anyone could see it, so why would you post truly sensitive information? Yes, Facebook offers you the ability to publish information about your href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/foursquare/">current location (and who you are with), but do you really want that online?

Consider the unfortunate New Hampshire tale of the thieves who used Facebook to find out when homeowners href="http://www.wmur.com/r/24943582/detail.html">happened to be away. The second you put it out there that you’re “going to party it up in Louisiana for the next three days with Gordon”, then your home is automatically open game (and so is Gordon’s). Furthermore, don’t tell me that you’re fine just because your account has private status updates. Your friends’ accounts could be compromised, so you never actually know who’s watching your feed.

New Technological Toys

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This one goes right in line with the first section of this article – “Hey guys, just got my brand new really expensive MacBook Air….gonna leave it at my house totally unguarded and out in the open while I’m down at the bar with Gordon! Hope no one finds the spare key under my welcome mat!”

As much as I want to celebrate with you on your brand new toy, you have to keep in mind that some people might want to do a little more than celebrate. They may just want to take it, so if you are unlike me and do not keep your Mac on you everywhere you go, then it might not be best to put that kind of information out in the open.

Facebook’s New Payment System

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Oh my goodness! My friends, Facebook has told you time and time again that they will never make it a paid service, so why do you insist on posting these status updates?

FACEBOOK JUST RELEASED THEIR PRICE GRID FOR MEMBERSHIP. $9.99 PER MONTH FOR GOLD MEMBER SERVICES, $6.99 PER… />

You’ve seen it before, folks. These chain updates have been passed around numerous times over the past few years, and nothing has ever come of them. Besides, I’m pretty sure Zuckerberg might have a better way of notifying us of a new paid service than an all-caps lengthy chain update, so please stop. If you want to check out how Facebook makes money, check out Steve’s article about href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-do-social-networks-make-money-case-wondering/">how social networks make money.

Impersonal Personal Messages

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This one is a little more of nuisance than the other ones, but it is definitely worth mentioning. For some reason, people feel the need to vaguely express their feelings about others through status updates. Sometimes, they will even write seemingly indirect messages that are actually meant for someone else.

“I wish SUMBODY hadnt cheated on meh wit SUMBODY that MITE B mii best fran!!!11!1!”

I don’t think I really have to go into it much further, for one of two things will happen because of this. Either the people reading this status update know exactly who you are talking about, or the people reading this status update don’t know who you are talking about, and quite frankly, they probably don’t care. Help stop wall pollution by refusing to publish this type of status update, and as a matter of fact, spread the word!

Your Vacation Pictures

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This one is mostly directed at the ladies, but I can think of a few situations where it might affect the men, too. Look, I’m not here to judge you on what you do in your spare time, but I thought you might want to know that some of your vacation pictures – particularly ones of you at the beach – may end up on the Internet in places you would prefer they weren’t.

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You see, there’s a download link next to mostly every picture – real easy to find. Keep in mind that you may have added a few creeps on Facebook “just to be nice”, and they may have a tendency to make use of it. Also, like I mentioned above, anyone’s account could be compromised.

Oh, and this goes beyond your vacation pictures. Halloween is coming up pretty soon, too.

Conclusion

I obviously can’t tell you what to stop posting on Facebook, but I can do everything within my ability to explain why you should stop posting these things. It’s really your choice on the matter, but keep in mind that this advice goes for other social networks too (like href="http://www.makeuseof.com/google-plus">Google+ and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/twitter">Twitter).

What types of things do you think people need to stop posting on Facebook? Do you disagree with any of the items mentioned above?

View full post on MakeUseOf

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/image76.png" alt="" />When I first got my class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ipad/">iPad, I knew I wanted to use it for class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/drawing/">drawing and sketching. Not that I’m an artist by any means, I can barely draw a stick figure, but when you own an iPad it seems almost impossible not to get drawing apps. The device calls for it. It wants it.

Not having many requirements in the area, I focused my energy on finding free drawing apps. None of them were really good, and I resigned myself to the possibility that I would have to get a paid app, like class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sketchbook-pro-for-ipad/id364253478?mt=8">SketchBook Pro, which I’ve heard a lot about and knew would be way over the top for me. Then I found class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sketchbook-express/id410871280?mt=8">SketchBook Express.

SketchBook Express (or SketchBookX) is completely free, devoid of any ads, and it’s awesome. It’s also available on many platforms (Mac, iOS, Android). Here I will focus on the iPad version.

Brushes

The basic part of any drawing app are the brushes, and there are plenty here. To access the brushes you can either tap the brush icon at the top or swipe downwards with three fingers. From here you can access many types of brushes, control size, color and opacity and fill in whole spaces. There’s even an eye-dropper tool for re-using existing colors on your canvas. In the small white window at the top you can see what the exact brush you chose will look like.

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I mentioned that there are no ads, and that’s true, but if you wish to expand your brush collection, you can either upgrade to the Pro version or just buy a pack of brushes for $0.99. Not too bad.

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Even after you choose your brush, you don’t have to access the brush screen again to change the basic things. Tap the small circle icon at the bottom of the screen to access some brush properties.

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Now you can simply swipe up and down with one finger to change the opacity and swipe left and right to change the brush size. This is limited to the type of brush you already chose, so if you chose a highlighter, for example, it will always remain somewhat transparent even if you set opacity to 1.00 from here.

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As in any drawing application, you can choose between a free line, a straight line and some shapes. There aren’t many options here, so no ready-made intricate shapes, but don’t worry. There is a different way to creates these.

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Tap the symmetry drawing icon at the top, and every line you make will be duplicated in a symmetric way. This allows you to create any shape you want without worrying about it being all crooked and bent out of shape. Here you can see me in the process of drawing a perfect set of blue lips!

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Layers & Text

Swipe upwards with three fingers or tap the layers icon to enter the layers manager. From here you can add layers and edit their features. You can also add a photo into a different layer if you wish. Each layer in your drawing will be editable regardless of any other layers. You can also make a hidden layer (see the X on the eye icon below).

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If you make a hidden layer and then try to draw in it, you will not be able to. You can immediately turn it into a shown layer, though.

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Now for the really cool part. Draw your flower and your bee in two different layers. Now you will be able to control the bee and the flower separately. This means changing size, position, rotation and so on. So you can very easily turn this:

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Into this:

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There are many more options to editing layers. You can set anchor points and change your image around them. You can flip, turn and change things every which way. It’s very flexible and you can create almost anything you want.

Another layer you can add is text. Tap the text icon on the top and a keyboard will pop up. Aside from the regular keys, you’ll find color, size, font and opacity controls for your text. Start by entering the text you want to have in your drawing.

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The text is automatically created as a different layer, so when you finish writing it you can manipulate it exactly like any other layer.

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Exporting & Importing

All the drawings you save will appear in the gallery. From here you can view them all, duplicate them, delete them and export them.

If you have it set up, you can print your beautiful picture right away. If not, you can export it to your photo library.

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SketchBookX also allows you to edit existing photos. From the gallery you can import a photo from your photo library, and start playing with it.

You can see below that I played with the zoom. This is done by a simple two-finger pinch. You can do this with any drawing, not just pictures.

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You can easily add drawings and text to the image to create that very special greeting card or just for fun!

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Conclusion

SketchBookX is the most wonderful drawing application I’ve had on my iPad. If I were an artist, I would seriously consider getting the paid version. As it is, having the capabilities you’ve just seen, I think the free version will provide me with a few months of experimenting before I might need anything else. I probably haven’t even scratched the surface of what this app can do.

Looking for more free drawing apps? Check out these class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-free-doodling-software-apps-ipad-mac/">3 free doodling apps for the iPad.

Know of a better drawing app? Want to share your experience with SketchBook? We’re waiting for your comments!

View full post on MakeUseOf

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Assistance.png?54167" alt="reddit help" /> class="vt-p" href="http://www.reddit.com">Reddit is a miraculous little site that yields the potential to either make or break the Internet but when its users are not spreading memes like a disease, they are caring for people that are truly in need.

So what if you end up actually needing assistance? It’s a good thing that the philanthropic users of Reddit and their lovely alien named Snoo are here to help.

Some Pointers

Let’s be straight about a few things. The people of Reddit typically want to look after those who are already existing members of its online community. Furthermore, they will only provide relief if you can prove that you genuinely need it. That is really sad to say, but we all know that the Internet is full of liars. Consider the last time you received an email from that Nigerian prince. You really should refer to our wide assortment of work concerning  class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/scam/">internet scams.

All in all, if you are not a Redditor, it would be best to try one of these options:

• Find a friend who is a Redditor who can go speak to the masses on your behalf.
• Include yourself in the community prior to requesting assistance and just wait it out.
• Using a new account, ask for help, provide some proof, and hope for the best.

Also, if you are already a Redditor, do not make a throwaway account for this type of request. This is one situation where Reddit karma pays off. Reddit can be a nice community, but it also isn’t afraid to unleash its cyber-missiles on those who may be even the most innocent of users. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

In MakeUseOf’s past article concerning Reddit -  class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-cool-reddit/">5 Cool Things You Should Know about Reddit - the sections known among the general community as “subreddits” are lightly touched upon. Below, MakeUseOf provides you with three different subreddits that are good to remember.

class="vt-p" href="http://www.reddit.com/r/assistance">r/Assistance

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This subreddit is for the general requests and offers on Reddit. Here you can find anything ranging from requests to relieve medical needs all the way to support with housing troubles.

Often, there will be those that cannot assist you financially, but they will provide you with advice that can help you get around any financial woes. Sometimes that is better than anyone sending a few dollars your way. However, since this subreddit is full of people trying to do goodwill unto others, they do not like to be conned, so be prepared with some proof it you really need some help.

Submitting a scan of some medical documents or even a picture of your damaged home should be good enough. Even better, place a handwritten sign featuring your username next to both types of images while creating them.

class="vt-p" href="http://www.reddit.com/r/food_pantry">r/Food_Pantry

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No one should have to go hungry, and Reddit makes sure of that with r/Food_Pantry. The formula of this subreddit is quite similar to r/Assistance, but the primary focus is on giving away food.

As the Internet’s soup kitchen, users take on a high responsibility of caring for the public. On this subreddit, you will find generous Redditors openly offering gift cards, pre-bought food items, and whatever else people might lack.

Redditors in need can request help by making a simple post explaining their situation and general location. Those that see the post can offer their assistance by shipping non-perishables or working with local grocery stores that are able to class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/grubhub-food-delivery-search-engine/">deliver.

class="vt-p" href="http://www.reddit.com/r/random_acts_of_pizza">r/Random_Acts_of_Pizza

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While pizza may not appeal to the lactose intolerant or picky six-year-olds, I think we can all agree that it is a standard food that is cheap, filling, and plentiful. Although it is in the same spirit of r/Food_Pantry, this subreddit is a little bit more lighthearted than its other philanthropic counterparts, and it offers a more open environment for making requests.

Basically, if you are hungry and can’t afford a hot meal, just make a post explaining what’s all going on. Let Reddit do the rest. There is no shame in asking for a pizza here, but it helps if you keep the “pay it forward” mentality.

Pizza donors primarily use two methods to send you pizza. For instance, they may just call it in themselves if they are in your area, or if you are at a distance, they will send you an class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/desktop-dining-the-best-places-to-order-pizza-online/">eGift Card for the pizza place of your choice. Also, if there are any other delivery services in your areas, this Reddit can adjust to whatever your starving palate desires.

Conclusion

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/redditserversdown.png?54167" alt="reddit help" width="462" height="464" />

To recap, Reddit is a site that is chock-full of generally good folks. Even in the midst of the heavy debates and questionable controversy that may end up on the site, it is quite obvious that those items can be set aside to aid someone. Also, if you want to check out some success stories about how people have helped others, take a gander at class="vt-p" href="http://www.reddit.com/r/todayyoutomorrowme">r/TodayYouTomorrowMe.

So why don’t you tell us what you think of the helpful sections of Reddit? Have you ever received help from one of the subreddits? Have you ever given help to someone?

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/touchpadthumb.jpg" alt="" />If you walk into a retail store and ask a sales rep to explain a laptop to you, chances are you’ll receive a long list of hardware information focusing on what’s inside. You’ll be told what the processor is, you’ll be told the size of the hard drive, and you’ll be told the RAM installed.

This is information you’ll want to know, but in today’s world of speedy processors and cheap RAM, many users will rarely ask about all their laptop has to give. As a result, the difference between a good laptop and a great one comes down to the little things, like the touchpad. Yet the touchpad itself is a mysterious item. It’s there, it works, and it has for years. Not all touchpads are built the same however.

The Basics Of Touchpad Technology

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/touchpad.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="375" />

The first class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-disable-the-touchpad-while-you-are-typing/">touchpads made their debut in the early 1990s, and were one of several responses to the problem of providing an portable input solution with a portable computer (trackpointers and trackballs were also common). The first laptop to have a touchpad –or trackpad, as it was officially called at the time – was the Apple PowerBook 500.

Modern touchpads use a technology called capacitive touch. This is the same tech used by most modern class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/touch-test-touch-screen-test-app/">touchscreens, and it works by detecting the electrical current of a human finger as it comes into contact with the touchpad surface. This allows for smooth, easy navigation that doesn’t rely on physical pressure.

However, capacitive touch does have one minor disadvantage, and that’s the inability to detect inanimate objects or gloved human hands. Special touchpads, like the tablets from class="vt-p" href="http://www.wacom.com/">Wacom, are required for use with a class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/answers/tag/stylus/">stylus. Fortunately, only artists and Eskimos routinely bump into this problem.

The Differences Between Touchpads

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/touchpad4.jpg" alt="" width="412" height="530" />

While virtually all touchpads use the same basic technology to detect input, there are a wide variety of ways to use this technology, and a wide variety of touchpad sizes and textures.

The most important feature to look for in a touchpad is multitouch gesture support. Although this has become a common extra, it’s not ubiquitous. For example, I recently tested a MSI GT680R gaming laptop, priced at about $1,500, which did not have multitouch. Determining if a laptop supports this feature is easy if you can use it hands-on. Just try scrolling down a webpage with your middle and index fingers.

If a laptop doesn’t have multi-touch, it should at least have scroll space available. This is a small vertical area, usually on the right side of the touchpad, that’s exclusively designed to translate finger movement into an up/down scrolling motion.

Material quality, although low-tech, is critical. Most inexpensive laptops will simply construct the touchpad out of the same plastic as the surrounding laptop, and that works alright, but it doesn’t result in the smoothest feel. More expensive laptops, like the MacBooks, use a glass surface because it provides less resistance to finger movement. You’ll occasionally find other materials used, as well. The class="vt-p" href="http://event.asus.com/notebook/bamboo/index2.html">ASUS Bamboo series, for example, crafts the touchpad out of the same bamboo you’ll find on the rest of the laptop.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/touchpad6.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="411" />

Finally, the touchpad buttons are important. The best option is a touchpad that offers two separate physical mouse buttons, but many touchpads use what is called a rocker-style button. This means there is one individual with a rocker in the middle, which means the button operates like a seesaw. Rocker-style buttons look sexy, but they can be annoying to use because pressing the button near the rocker requires more force than pressing the button at the edge.

The perfect touchpad should offer multitouch support, a smooth surface, and two individual buttons with great tactile response. Finding all of these features together is difficult, particularly in inexpensive laptops, but it’s not impossible.

The Importance Of Software Support

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/touchpad7.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="394" />

Although your touchpad’s hardware is important, the software being used also has an impact on how your touchpad performs.

For example, Windows did not even support multitouch until Windows 7 ( class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/easily-activate-finger-scroll-windows-laptops/">although there are ways to hack it), even if the hardware was capable of it. Although much has been made about the inclusion of multitouch as it relates to tablets, its impact on laptops has been more immediate and obvious. Navigating Windows with a touchpad is much easier than before.

With that said however, there are still clear differences between Windows 7 and Mac OS X, which offers incredible multitouch support. Much of the difference between navigating Windows and Mac OS X on a laptop comes down not to the hardware (although the MacBook’s glass touchpad is nice) but to the software support. Ubuntu also offers full multitouch support as of version 10.10.

Conclusion

It’s easy to forget about the touchpad when a sales rep is gushing to you about the great hardware packed inside the new laptop you have your eye on. Don’t let that distract you. The touchpad is something you’ll be using a lot, and it cannot be replaced or upgraded, so you need to be sure to buy a laptop with a touchpad you like. />
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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/shutterstock_69143623.jpg" alt="facebook job hunting">Can there ever be too many good ways to look for new jobs? I don’t think so – and I think most job seekers would agree that if it leads to work it’s worth a try. In the Door has created a new, innovative way of searching for work by using your Facebook contacts as leads for jobs that are already advertised.

href="http://www.inthedoor.com/">In The Door revolves around the adage that “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know”. It’s true – what you know merely gets your resumé on the pile along with that of every other talented jobseeker, whereas the people you know can tell the person doing the hiring that you’re the one for the job. In The Door seeks to make it easy to match who you know with the jobs out there.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/In-The-Door-Logo.png" alt="facebook job hunting">

Using In The Door

The process is simple. You sign up to In The Door with your Facebook login and a list of contacts is automatically generated for you. The contact list features any of your contacts who have entered employer or location information – it’s not limited to people who have already signed up with In The Door. This makes it easy to get started, since you don’t have to wait for a critical mass of friends signing up to In The Door. You may wish some more of them would add relevant information and make it shareable to applications, but if you have enough friends on Facebook it won’t matter that not all of them share this information.

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Finding Jobs

Using the site, you will realise that you can browse by location, search for specific keywords or location, or browse the companies represented by your friends. This gives you a wide variety of ways to find work using In The Door. When you find a job you’re interested in, you can always view your contact at the company, allowing you to arrange an introduction.

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Browse Companies

Currently, In The Door is still quite new and most of the jobs are USA only. But this will expand quickly and doesn’t completely stop non-USA users from making use of the site. Browsing the companies your friends work for still has advantages, since you could use that information to chat to the friends you know who work (or previously worked) at the company of your choice. It’s easy to see at a glance where your friends work using In The Door. It’s certainly much easier than browsing your friends’ Facebook profiles individually or searching all the companies that sound appropriate.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Jobs.png" alt="">

Once you find a company you like, the jobs available there are clear to see.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Price-Waterhouse.png" alt="facebook job hunt">

Search by Keywords

Searching by keyword means you can narrow down the exact role you’re interested in, or you can search by role as well as location. Handy if you’re not willing to move!

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Writer-Search.png" alt="facebook job hunt">

Location Search

The location search page works on the assumption that you’re most likely to want to live in cities with your friends – that and that most of the jobs available via your friends will be in those cities. The cities best represented by your friends will be easy to spot, then you can quickly click a link to see the jobs available in that city.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/San-Francisco.png" alt="facebook job hunt">

Competition: Other Places to Find Work

href="http://www.inthedoor.com/">In The Door has plenty of competition in href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/signal-learn-linkedin/">LinkedIn, the Facebook marketplace and a number of similar href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/8-sites-for-beating-the-job-hunting-blues/">jobseeking sites with much the same idea, such as href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/jibe-connects-facebook-linkedin-job-search/">Jibe. But with href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/job-search/">job searching being such an important process, there can never be enough options, really. Unlike Jibe, In The Door is able to be used instantly and permanently without any need to sign up your friends.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/In-The-Door-Get-Started.png" alt="facebook job hunting" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-72865" />

How did you find your last job? Through advertising or friends? Do you think In The Door would be useful to you next time you need to search for work? Let us know in the comments!

Image Credit: rel="nofollow" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-69143623/stock-photo-business-people-walking-in-the-office-corridor.html">ShutterStock

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class="align-left" style="border: 0px none; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 5px; float: right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/harddrives1.jpg" alt="buy hard drive" width="252" height="252" />Your computer’s hard drive is its only form of long-term storage. Music, photos, documents, games – it all goes on your hard drive. There isn’t a lot you can do to increase the capacity of your hard drive, either.

You can always try to compress files, but that’s not much fun, and this often just delays the inevitable. If you’re running out of hard drive space it’s only a matter of time before you need to buy a new drive. But what should you buy?

id="more-57693">

Inside or Out?

First things first – before anything else, you need to decide what type of hard drive you’re looking for. External or internal?

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/harddrive2.jpg" alt="buy hard drive" width="400" height="230" />

These drives are very different. External drives loiter outside your system and connect to your computer via class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/usb/">USB, eSATA or FireWire connection. These hard drives are portable and incredibly simple to use – most are plug and play.

However, external drives are generally more expensive per gigabyte of storage than internal drives. They also take up space on your desk, which may not be ideal. Finally, external drives usually don’t perform as well as internal drives, so you may notice that copying files to and from the external drive takes a long time.

External drives connected via class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/usb-30-technology-explained/">USB 3.0 are an exception to this – but remember, connecting an external hard drive via USB 3.0 requires that both your computer’s motherboard and your external drive support the standard. If your motherboard doesn’t support USB 3.0 you’ll need to buy an expansion card and install it inside your computer.

Internal drives are better value overall, but an external drive is fine if you’re not comfortable mucking about inside your PC.

External Concerns

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/harddrive4.jpg" alt="choose replacement hard drive" width="342" height="320" />

Let’s assume you decided on an external drive. If you went internal, skip to the next section.

There are two general types of external drives. On the one hand you have small drives based off 2.5” mechanical hard drives. These usually connect via USB and are powered via USB. They’re often small enough to carry in a pocket. Seagate offers a 1.5 TB drive in this category – all other options max out at 1 TB.

On the other hand you have large external drives based off 3.5” mechanical hard drives. These drives sometimes require power from a wall socket. They’re heavier and not fun to lug around without a bag, but they’re available in capacities of up to (and beyond) 3TB. They’re usually better value, too. The choice here is simply one of portability vs. storage capacity and value.

You should also pay attention to how a drive connects to your computer. The quickest connections are USB 3.0 and eSATA, but these are also the least common on desktops and laptops, so check to make sure you have the proper connection before buying. USB 2.0 and FireWire connections are more common, but not as quick.

The spindle speed of an external hard drive should also be considered – higher is better. The fastest external drives available max out at 7200 RPM.

Internal Affairs

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If you’re comfortable installing a hard drive you’re probably best off going internal. Doing so opens up a world of options.

You don’t have to worry about the portability of internal drives, so picking an internal drive is a straight compromise between performance, storage capacity and price. You do have to worry about size, however, because laptops and desktops use different drive sizes. Laptops use 2.5” drives, while desktops generally use 3.5” drives. Be careful, though – some of today’s slim systems and all-in-one PCs do use 2.5” drives.

Performance is determined by the spindle speed and cache available on a hard drive. The maximum spindle speed on consumer drives is 10,000 RPM (enterprise hard drives are quicker still, but forget about them – they’re outrageously expensive). Cache is usually between 16 and 64 MB.

Storage capacity is incredibly various. The smallest internal drives offer about 80 GB of space, while the largest external drives tops out at 3TB.

Prices rise with performance and capacity. For example, Western Digital sells its low-end “green” 1TB 3.5” internal drive for $60. Upgrading to the high-performance “black” version requires that you hand over an extra $30.

Connection type isn’t really an issue with internal drives. Almost all internal drives use SATA. You only need to worry if you have a computer older than 5 years, as it may use a legacy connection instead of SATA. You can add SATA support by installing an SATA expansion card.

A Note About Solid State Drives

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/harddrive51.jpg" alt="buy hard drive" width="440" height="330" />

Everything I’ve said so far applies to mechanical hard drives. These are still the most popular by far, but the performance a class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/why-trim-important-to-solid-state-hard-drives/">solid state drive can offer is hard to ignore.

If you are considering a SSD, keep in mind that they’re virtually always 2.5” drives. They can be installed in a desktop, but you may need an adapter to secure the drive. Also, be sure to read the reviews. Spindle speed and cache size give a good impression of a mechanical drive’s performance, but there is no easy way to guess the performance of an SSD without reading a review.

External SSDs are basically just thumb drives. They’re very expensive, but extremely portable. As with internal 2.5” drives there is no easy way to guess performance without researching first.

Conclusion

Almost everyone runs out of hard drive storage eventually, but this is nothing to worry about. It’s easy to buy a new hard drive, and most drives with less than 1TB of storage can be had for under $100.

Just be sure to do your homework – otherwise you may end up with a drive that is slower than you hoped, or a drive that doesn’t work with and/or fit in your computer.

 

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class="align-left" style="border: 0px none; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 5px; float: right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/boxeebox.png" alt="boxee" width="300" height="198" />The upcoming class="vt-p" href="”http://www.boxee.tv/box”">Boxee Box has the tech world buzzing. Will this startup, armed with the power of open source, be able to compete with Google and Apple’s offerings in the TV marketplace? I think so, mostly because of the many amazing things you can make Boxee do.

Don’t believe me? Try it out. You don’t need to buy the box to use the service: you can install it on any Windows, Mac or Linux machine and then plug that into your television (or just use on your computer as is!)

id="more-55260"> /> It’s easy to think of Boxee as a one-trick pony: a neat way to bring the likes of Hulu to your television. There’s more than that though: Boxee can compile videos from your social networks, aggregate your podcasts and even serve as a decent launcher for your favorite games.

One of those apps I can’t live without, I think that class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/boxee-beta-an-app-that-will-change-how-you-think-about-television/">Boxee is the best media center around. To really get the most out of the application, though, you need to set it up well. Here are five tips to get you started.

Enable Twitter/Facebook/Buzz

This is just awesome: every video shared by your social media contacts is aggregated on Boxee. Head over to class="vt-p" href="http://www.boxee.tv/">Boxee.tv and log in. Click the Services button and you can authorize Boxee to access your social networks.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/boxee-services.png" alt="boxee" width="578" height="209" />

Sign in to all your services here and they’ll integrate really nicely into Boxee. Then, when you get to your TV, you’ll be able to browse all the videos your friends are sharing. This could be footage of your newborn cousin, or class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X21mJh6j9i4">an insane panda shared by an Egyptian colleague. (thanks, Nancy!) Point is, you can watch these videos from the comfort of your couch instead of at your desk at work.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/boxee-feed.png" alt="boxee tv" width="578" height="214" />

To me this is a valuable way to keep work and play separate: I only watch web videos while at home. It’s nice to have quick access to these videos from my couch.

RSS Feeds

While you’re logged into Boxee, you might as well add some RSS feeds. Click the Feeds button and you can very quickly add your favorite podcasts:

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/boxee-feeds.png" alt="boxee tv" width="578" height="282" />

Any RSS feed can go here, so be creative. If there’s a show Boxee doesn’t have an app for you can add it this way, as I did with Homestar Runner (although they sadly don’t update much these days). It’s also how I get my all-important weekly fix of The Bugle (which someone really needs to develop a Boxee App for, but I digress).

You’ll find your feed in the RSS app, once you add them. If you don’t have this app already, find it by opening the Apps section, then browsing to the App Library. Search for “RSS” and you’ll quickly find the feed.

Explore The Apps

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/boxee-weather.png" alt="boxee tv" width="580" height="326" />

While you’re looking at the App Library, I highly suggest you explore. You’ll find a great app for keeping track of the weather, another one for watching Funny Or Die videos and channels for many of the web’s hottest shows. Heck, there’s even a Justin.TV app you could use to class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/watch-sports-broadcast-country/">watch sports not broadcast in your country. Browse the app library and I promise you’ll find something you like.

Add The Master Repository

But if not, consider adding FuzzTheD’s excellent master repository. This can quickly give you access to plenty of apps not found in the App Library. Doing this is really easy; just open the Apps section on Boxee, then bring up the left panel. At the bottom of the left panel you’ll see this button:

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/boxee-repos1.png" alt="boxee box" width="580" height="287" />

Click it, and you’ll see an option to add a repository. Add dir.fuzzthed.com and you’re in business: you now have access to an alternative collection of apps. Some of these may well find their way into the library eventually, but it’s fun to be able to stay on the cutting edge. Let me know what kind of jewels you find here in the comments below.

Set Up Games & ROMs

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/launcher.png" alt="boxee" width="568" height="204" />

While you’re playing around with that repository, you might as well add the Launcher app and class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/turn-boxee-ultimate-rom-game-launcher/">turn Boxee into the ulitmate ROM and game launcher. I find this rounds out my television nicely, giving me access to my favorite retro games. It works really well with class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/author/justinpot/">Multi-emulator Mednaen.

Got Any More?

Can you guys think of any more must-do tweaks to Boxee? I’d love to hear them below. Go ahead and share them and you just might find yourself mentioned in an upcoming MakeUseOf post. />
/>Do you like MakeUseOf articles? Don’t forget to target="_blank" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/share-share-share-spread-word/">share our articles with others! It’s really important to us. />
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style="border: 0px none;margin-left:20px;float:right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/intro1.jpg" alt="open source facebook"/>For a project that received $10,000 funding within the first 12 days of its announcement, href="http://joindiaspora.com">Diaspora has quite a lot to live up to. When you factor in that the funding href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/196017994/diaspora-the-personally-controlled-do-it-all-distr">eventually reached $200,641 and donors to the project include Facebook frontman Mark Zuckerburg (describing it as a “cool idea”) then this href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/the-5-best-open-source-social-networking-software/">open-source social network venture starts to sound quite exciting.

The word diaspora originated from the Greek meaning “a scattering of seeds”, an apt name for any decentralised social network. In modern usage, a diaspora is defined as a group migration, but will the promise of tighter security and an open source attitude be enough to tempt people away from social media giants like href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/is-facebook-safer-than-myspace/">Facebook or MySpace?

id="more-54237">

What’s It For?

Diaspora came about when a group of New York University students from the Courant Institute of Mathematical Science were inspired by a speech about freedom and privacy online. Columbia University law professor Eben Moglen described centralised social networks as “spying for free” and the developers came up with Diaspora.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/diaspofficial.jpg" alt="open source facebook"/>

On April 24 2010, the project was announced on href="http://www.kickstarter.com">Kickstarter. Within a few weeks the team had a few hundred thou’ in the bank, a goal to aim for and the open-source world on their side.

The developers aim to create an alternative social network, with the added option of choosing where your data is stored rather than have it sit on the same centralised server. They’re also pretty big on keeping work and play separate, so your boss remains oblivious to what you get up to on a Friday night.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/workmates.jpg" alt="open source facebook"/>

The project’s main “opposition” (for want of a better word) is undoubtedly Facebook, which has been making headlines for a while over security lapses and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/the-complete-guide-to-facebook-privacy/">privacy boo-boos. Even if the project isn’t a massive success, Diaspora’s direct approach with privacy and data security will hopefully further encourage Facebook and pals to improve things on their side.

So How Does It Work?

Users are able to set up their own servers (known as “seeds”) to store their data, these seeds can then interact with other seeds to href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/review-of-5-online-photo-sharing-sites-as-free-alternatives-to-flickr/">share photos, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/openbook-search-facebook-status-updates/">status updates and everything else the internet likes to do.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/status.jpg" alt="open source facebook alternative"/>

Not everybody needs to set up a seed, but through having these separate “hubs” you are able to choose where your data is hosted – rather than putting it straight on someone else’s servers. Your data remains on the seed you choose, and you have control over what is done with it.

Data migration has also been addressed and developers have said that if a user would like to move data to another seed, Diaspora will support seamless migration from one seed to another and still work afterwards.

Diaspora is still somewhat of a business, much like Facebook. When the platform is finally launched there are plans from the developers to offer paid hosting for seeds, complete with support. Those of you interested in this thinking “No thanks, I’ve got hosting” probably don’t care, as long as you’ve got support for Ruby in your hosting package.

Apart from that, it all reads a bit Facebook really. The main Diaspora interface looks like Facebook though the current version isn’t exactly full of features and consumer-friendly.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/aspects.jpg" alt="open source facebook alternative"/>

The ability to separate your work life and social life is a nice touch, and highly customizable. Diaspora refers to groups of people as “aspects”, and contacts are added to these as required. When you post an update online you can then choose to only post to work, family or even just your drinking buddies.

What State Is It In?

The current build is a developer preview, with a consumer alpha due in October. There’s undoubtedly still a long way to go, but the open-source nature of the project should help move things along.

At the moment you can post status updates, upload photos, add contacts and edit your profile. The current build is also chock-full of security holes, but that’s no surprise as it’s still pre-alpha.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/addfriend.jpg" alt="open source facebook alternative"/>

Developers have promised a “battery of add-on modules” are making their way to Diaspora, and these are intended to enable “any type of communication”. They are also planning their own href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-security-tips-to-protect-yourself-from-instant-messenger-hacks/">instant messenger (because you haven’t got enough of those already) and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/technology-explained-how-does-skype-work/">VoIP integration.

Also on the to-do list is integration with href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/openid-overview-and-four-awesome-providers/">OpenID, to facilitate logging in and the distribution of encrypted backups between seeds. It all sounds great, it’s just not built yet.

Can I Have A Go?

If you do want a play with the current development build then you can register on href="http://openspora.com">Openspora and take a look around. Remember – don’t go adding too many personal details and your wedding photos. This is still a preview!

Those of you who want something a little more stable and actually usable will have wait for that consumer alpha coming in October.

Diaspora is still in its infancy yet already receiving a lot of interest. If you’re concerned about privacy, data protection and what Facebook are planning next then it is probably worth keeping an eye on this one. Whether it’s going to be a real contender for the social networking crown remains to be seen. />
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