class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/iphone_youtube_1.jpg" alt="" />Hardly a month goes by that Apple doesn’t release or update a new product or piece of software. Trying to keep up with all the best iOS apps and Apple-related accessories can be a little daunting for even the most devoted Apple fan. In addition to the hundreds of class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/tag/mac/">articles and several class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/pages/">PDF guides published here on MakeUseOf, there are also several popular YouTube channels that focus on Apple related hardware, software, and accessories.

Each of these channels has 10,000 or more subscribers, and they each contain well put together productions, useful for both new and experienced Mac users. I’ve selected seven popular channels, but I’m sure I’ve overlooked a few. So if you are a more experienced YouTube viewer, feel free to chime with your recommendations.

class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/user/Apple#p/u">Official Apple YouTube Channel

It didn’t dawn on me until I started researching this topic that Apple has its own official YouTube channel. Not surprisingly it has almost 180,000 subscribers, with over six million channel views.

width="580" height="430" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"> name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/v_gQHtXsLtU?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0&hd=1" /> name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /> width="580" height="430" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/v_gQHtXsLtU?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0&hd=1" allowFullScreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" />

The channel content consists of Apple’s television commercials, keynote addresses, and online promotional videos. It doesn’t invite comments, nor does it subscribe to other YouTube channels. But it does provide the official showings of its major hardware and software products.

class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/user/SoldierKnowsBest">SoldierKnowsBest

The vlogger who goes by the name of Mark (a.k.a Soldier Knows Best) appears to be the leading YouTube channel for reviews of Apple products. At the time of this writing, his channel has upwards of 242,205 subscribers, and similar to Apple’s channel, has nearly six million channel views.

width="580" height="430" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"> name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/n6oXZSQeGbk?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0&hd=1" /> name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /> width="580" height="430" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/n6oXZSQeGbk?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0&hd=1" allowFullScreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" />

Some of his latest videos are about his class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT9N52JINJM">favorite iPhone and iPad apps, class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6oXZSQeGbk">OS X Lion Tips and Tricks, his views about the latest class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u_tUDLMeR4">MacBook Airs, a class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YClPHeM27g4">Mac Mini giveaway, and Apple’s class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEDYXBnioOM">new Cinema displays. His channel content also features reviews of third-party Apple related products and gadgets.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/screenshot923.jpg" alt="Screenshot923" width="580" height="427" border="0" />

In addition, he has recently released class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/soldier-knows-best-official/id399855672?mt=8">an iOS app that links to the content on all his channels and provides push notification for when new videos are published, and much more.

class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/user/macintoshtipz">MacintoshTipz

Macintoshtips has over 25,000 subscribers and a couple of hundred thousand channel reviews. The channel content features a great collection of easy-to-follow how-tos about Apple and third-party related software.

width="580" height="430" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"> name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RsSSE7HRTsI?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0&hd=1" /> name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /> width="580" height="430" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RsSSE7HRTsI?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0&hd=1" allowFullScreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" />

Recent videos include tutorials on class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/user/macintoshtipz#p/u/4/RsSSE7HRTsI">advanced iMovie tips, the finger gesture application, class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1xFhreDR_k">BetterTouchTool, class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0V6MBZ11gA">iPhone jail breaking tips, as well as several product reviews and giveaways. All the content are homegrown productions, but they are well thought out and professionally done.

class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/user/macmostvideo">MacMost

Gary’s MacMost channel has been around since 2007 and has over 11,000 subscribers. MacMost content focuses mainly on professionally produced how-to videos about Apple and Apple related software.

width="580" height="430" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"> name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MQneUQaXYFQ?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0&hd=1" /> name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /> width="580" height="430" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MQneUQaXYFQ?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0&hd=1" allowFullScreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" />

Recent shows include several tutorials on the new features and applications in class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQneUQaXYFQ">Apple’s latest Lion operating system, class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1b2e9OED5o">cropping photos in iMovie 11, class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jnewDeJEn0">creating a quiz game in Apple’s Keynote, and class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjjzQR0JQq8">fixing iTunes sorting problems.

Gary’s videos are well paced and accessible for new and experienced Mac users.

class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/user/MattsMacintosh">Matt’s Macintosh

Matt’s Macintosh channel features a variety of content, including how-tos about class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gVL-pMv1FM">synching sound in iMovie, class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwhOmUehs1c">unboxing the latest MacBook Air, and even an interesting piece about how class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/user/MattsMacintosh#p/u/18/Qa_Er5ae33w">Apple’s Final Cut Pro X could work on the iPad.

width="580" height="430" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"> name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Qa_Er5ae33w?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0&hd=1" /> name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /> width="580" height="430" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Qa_Er5ae33w?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0&hd=1" allowFullScreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" />

Matt’s channel has over 21,000 subscribers and close to 300,000 views.

class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/user/iTalkApple#p/u">iTalkApple

iTalkApple includes over two million video upload views, and has nearly 25,000 subscribers. Weekly channel content focus on tutorials, app demos, and unboxings.

width="580" height="430" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"> name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/V48Z88P1mrg?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0&hd=1" /> name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /> width="580" height="430" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/V48Z88P1mrg?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0&hd=1" allowFullScreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" />

The latest productions include the class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cQiy9QJEuQ">best free iPad games, class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V48Z88P1mrg">notable Lion features, class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjJ3piuxUhA">unboxing of iPad 2, and class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVC4CafhlPw">Twitter apps for the Mac.

class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/user/wwwinsanelygreatmac">Insanely Great Mac

Insanely Great Mac has over 20,000 subscribers and thousands of video uploads for all types of Apple products and accessories, including iPhone and iPad cases and keyboards.

width="580" height="430" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"> name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/X8J8vwVxuR8?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0&hd=1" /> name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /> width="580" height="430" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/X8J8vwVxuR8?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0&hd=1" allowFullScreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" />

Current videos include reviews of the recently released class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8J8vwVxuR8">2011 Mac Mini, the upcoming class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7CWxH6tiUk">iCloud.com and the forthcoming class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZsSrm3E_Ow">features of iOS 5.

There are several other popular YouTube tech and gadget channels that also feature Apple product reviews and how-tos. Notable ones include class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/Jon4Lakers">TechnoBuffalo, class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/user/lockergnome#p/u">Lockergnome and  class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/user/CNETTV?blend=1&ob=5">CNETTV.

For other MUO articles about Apple-related software and products, start with these posts:

• class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/pages/?pagename=download&wpdm_page=18&mode=popup">The Awesome Automation Guide for Mac
• class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/pages/?pagename=download&wpdm_page=24&mode=popup">Your Step-By-Step Guide To Using GarageBand
• class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/pages/?pagename=download&wpdm_page=45&mode=popup">The FREE Mac Manual

Let us know about your favorite YouTube Apple-related channels and videos.

View full post on MakeUseOf

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/0_mobli.jpg" alt="iphone media sharing app" />Photo sharing apps have officially taken off, thanks primarily to mobile devices. These kinds of apps let you take pictures on your phone and share them with your social graph. There are a lot of great apps out there that promote social photo sharing, like href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/share-life-photos-free-instagram-app-iphone/">Instagram, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/color-hottest-smartphone-photo-sharing-app-androidiphone/">Color, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/path-personal-photo-sharing-app-waiting-iphone/">Path, and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/share-iphone-android-photos-style-picplz/">Picplz, for starters. Each of these applications has seen success in the mobile space and is helping to transform how we use our phones, and they all offer something unique that makes them worth using.

Enter Mobli, the iPhone media sharing app that instantaneously uploads your pictures and videos in the background while taking them. This app is hot on the scene with plenty of interesting features to get us all excited about. In this article, I’ll show you what those features are and why you should add Mobli to your photo sharing arsenal.

What Is Mobli?

href="http://www.mobli.com/">Mobli enables people to quickly and easily share high-quality photos and videos that are uploaded in real-time. With the integration of channels and geo-location, users can share their events and experiences with communities of individuals looking to do the same thing.

“Mobli is a real-time visual media platform made up of subject-based channels such as people, places, and topics. Mobli enables users to see the world through other people’s eyes!”

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-23-at-1.07.50-PM.jpg" alt="iphone media sharing app" width="324" height="483" />

Simply put, Mobli is great for seeing what’s going on somewhere you couldn’t be and for showing others the cool places you do go to. Whether you’re at a concert or sporting event, Mobli gives you the platform to connect with others and watch “Channels”.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-23-at-1.06.30-PM.jpg" alt="iphone photo sharing app free" width="323" height="480" />

For instance, let’s say it’s Sunday and your favorite football team is playing. If you are at home watching the game, you can use Mobli to view your team’s Channel and see any photo or video taken during the game in your feed. You can interact with other fans and “see” the game from different angles, making it feel like you are there. If you are there, you can share content directly from your seat.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-23-at-1.06.43-PM.jpg" alt="iphone photo sharing app free" width="322" height="481" />

On Mobli, you can see what is happening as it happens through a live feed, as well as view what is going on around you at any time. You can also leave comments and interact with others socially through pictures and videos.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-23-at-1.07.30-PM.jpg" alt="iphone media sharing app" width="323" height="483" />

If you would like to share the photos and videos you take with Mobli with your personal networks, you can connect the app to your Facebook, Twitter, and email accounts as well.

Conclusion

Mobli is currently available for href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mobli/id426679976?mt=8#">iOS devices (iTunes link) with versions of the mobile app for Android and BlackBerry still in alpha. You can head over to Mobli’s href="http://www.mobli.com/">homepage to check out what’s popular and see the types of Channels and photos you’re likely to find on the app.

I’m a fan of social photo sharing apps, and even though there is certainly a lot of competition in this space this generation of apps seems to be thriving. I like the idea of using my photos to help depict an event I’m at rather than just putting them on display for everyone to see.  What do you think? />
/>Need Assistance? Ask questions to MakeUseOf staff and thousands of other readers on href="http://www.makeuseof.dev/answers/" target="_blank" >MakeUseOf Answers!

/>

 

Read comments: href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/mobli-view-mobile-photos-videos-love-iphone/#disqus_thread">Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here …

 

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More articles about: href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ios/" title="iOS" rel="tag">iOS, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/iphone/" title="iphone" rel="tag">iphone, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/iphone-apps/" title="iPhone Apps" rel="tag">iPhone Apps, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/iphone-tips/" title="iphone tips" rel="tag">iphone tips, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/mobile-apps/" title="Mobile Apps" rel="tag">Mobile Apps, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/photo-sharing/" title="photo sharing" rel="tag">photo sharing, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/photos/" title="photos" rel="tag">photos, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/social-media/" title="social media" rel="tag">social media, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/video-sharing/" title="video sharing" rel="tag">video sharing, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/videos/" title="videos" rel="tag">videos />

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View full post on MakeUseOf

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/0_mobli.jpg" alt="iphone media sharing app" />Photo sharing apps have officially taken off, thanks primarily to mobile devices. These kinds of apps let you take pictures on your phone and share them with your social graph. There are a lot of great apps out there that promote social photo sharing, like href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/share-life-photos-free-instagram-app-iphone/">Instagram, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/color-hottest-smartphone-photo-sharing-app-androidiphone/">Color, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/path-personal-photo-sharing-app-waiting-iphone/">Path, and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/share-iphone-android-photos-style-picplz/">Picplz, for starters. Each of these applications has seen success in the mobile space and is helping to transform how we use our phones, and they all offer something unique that makes them worth using.

Enter Mobli, the iPhone media sharing app that instantaneously uploads your pictures and videos in the background while taking them. This app is hot on the scene with plenty of interesting features to get us all excited about. In this article, I’ll show you what those features are and why you should add Mobli to your photo sharing arsenal.

What Is Mobli?

href="http://www.mobli.com/">Mobli enables people to quickly and easily share high-quality photos and videos that are uploaded in real-time. With the integration of channels and geo-location, users can share their events and experiences with communities of individuals looking to do the same thing.

“Mobli is a real-time visual media platform made up of subject-based channels such as people, places, and topics. Mobli enables users to see the world through other people’s eyes!”

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-23-at-1.07.50-PM.jpg" alt="iphone media sharing app" width="324" height="483" />

Simply put, Mobli is great for seeing what’s going on somewhere you couldn’t be and for showing others the cool places you do go to. Whether you’re at a concert or sporting event, Mobli gives you the platform to connect with others and watch “Channels”.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-23-at-1.06.30-PM.jpg" alt="iphone photo sharing app free" width="323" height="480" />

For instance, let’s say it’s Sunday and your favorite football team is playing. If you are at home watching the game, you can use Mobli to view your team’s Channel and see any photo or video taken during the game in your feed. You can interact with other fans and “see” the game from different angles, making it feel like you are there. If you are there, you can share content directly from your seat.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-23-at-1.06.43-PM.jpg" alt="iphone photo sharing app free" width="322" height="481" />

On Mobli, you can see what is happening as it happens through a live feed, as well as view what is going on around you at any time. You can also leave comments and interact with others socially through pictures and videos.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-23-at-1.07.30-PM.jpg" alt="iphone media sharing app" width="323" height="483" />

If you would like to share the photos and videos you take with Mobli with your personal networks, you can connect the app to your Facebook, Twitter, and email accounts as well.

Conclusion

Mobli is currently available for href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mobli/id426679976?mt=8#">iOS devices (iTunes link) with versions of the mobile app for Android and BlackBerry still in alpha. You can head over to Mobli’s href="http://www.mobli.com/">homepage to check out what’s popular and see the types of Channels and photos you’re likely to find on the app.

I’m a fan of social photo sharing apps, and even though there is certainly a lot of competition in this space this generation of apps seems to be thriving. I like the idea of using my photos to help depict an event I’m at rather than just putting them on display for everyone to see.  What do you think? />
/> Follow href="http://twitter.com/MakeUseOf" target="_blank" >MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras.

/>

 

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/0_mobli.jpg" alt="iphone media sharing app" />Photo sharing apps have officially taken off, thanks primarily to mobile devices. These kinds of apps let you take pictures on your phone and share them with your social graph. There are a lot of great apps out there that promote social photo sharing, like href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/share-life-photos-free-instagram-app-iphone/">Instagram, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/color-hottest-smartphone-photo-sharing-app-androidiphone/">Color, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/path-personal-photo-sharing-app-waiting-iphone/">Path, and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/share-iphone-android-photos-style-picplz/">Picplz, for starters. Each of these applications has seen success in the mobile space and is helping to transform how we use our phones, and they all offer something unique that makes them worth using.

Enter Mobli, the iPhone media sharing app that instantaneously uploads your pictures and videos in the background while taking them. This app is hot on the scene with plenty of interesting features to get us all excited about. In this article, I’ll show you what those features are and why you should add Mobli to your photo sharing arsenal.

What Is Mobli?

href="http://www.mobli.com/">Mobli enables people to quickly and easily share high-quality photos and videos that are uploaded in real-time. With the integration of channels and geo-location, users can share their events and experiences with communities of individuals looking to do the same thing.

“Mobli is a real-time visual media platform made up of subject-based channels such as people, places, and topics. Mobli enables users to see the world through other people’s eyes!”

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-23-at-1.07.50-PM.jpg" alt="iphone media sharing app" width="324" height="483" />

Simply put, Mobli is great for seeing what’s going on somewhere you couldn’t be and for showing others the cool places you do go to. Whether you’re at a concert or sporting event, Mobli gives you the platform to connect with others and watch “Channels”.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-23-at-1.06.30-PM.jpg" alt="iphone photo sharing app free" width="323" height="480" />

For instance, let’s say it’s Sunday and your favorite football team is playing. If you are at home watching the game, you can use Mobli to view your team’s Channel and see any photo or video taken during the game in your feed. You can interact with other fans and “see” the game from different angles, making it feel like you are there. If you are there, you can share content directly from your seat.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-23-at-1.06.43-PM.jpg" alt="iphone photo sharing app free" width="322" height="481" />

On Mobli, you can see what is happening as it happens through a live feed, as well as view what is going on around you at any time. You can also leave comments and interact with others socially through pictures and videos.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-23-at-1.07.30-PM.jpg" alt="iphone media sharing app" width="323" height="483" />

If you would like to share the photos and videos you take with Mobli with your personal networks, you can connect the app to your Facebook, Twitter, and email accounts as well.

Conclusion

Mobli is currently available for href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mobli/id426679976?mt=8#">iOS devices (iTunes link) with versions of the mobile app for Android and BlackBerry still in alpha. You can head over to Mobli’s href="http://www.mobli.com/">homepage to check out what’s popular and see the types of Channels and photos you’re likely to find on the app.

I’m a fan of social photo sharing apps, and even though there is certainly a lot of competition in this space this generation of apps seems to be thriving. I like the idea of using my photos to help depict an event I’m at rather than just putting them on display for everyone to see.  What do you think? />
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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/intro8.jpg" alt="buying a laptop computer" />Are you familiar with dying laptop syndrome? Is your mobile workstation showing signs of wear, tear, age and abuse? I know you’re both probably very attached to one another, but it might be time to let go…

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/buying-tips/">Buying a new laptop computer can be both frustrating and expensive. Brand loyalty will only get you so far, and before long you’ll find yourself carefully studying specifications, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/choosing-a-laptop-9-great-review-sites/">reading countless reviews and examining every online shop you can find for the best price. Even if you’ve only got a modest budget in mind, you’re going to have to spend a lot of time with your new machine – so it pays to make the right decision in the long run.

Sandy Bridge

Intel’s second generation of Core-i “Sandy Bridge” processors landed in March, albeit a couple of months late thanks to a recall. The evidence of this is clear all over the web, manufacturers like Dell, Asus, Acer and Apple already have models sporting the speedier, more href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-ways-to-reduce-the-power-consumption-of-your-computer/">energy efficient chips.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/sandybridge.jpg" alt="buying a laptop computer" width="580" height="344" />

You’ll also probably notice many of the first generation Core-i processors floating around in numerous deals, as retailers try to shift “old” stock. The last generation aren’t bad processors by any stretch of the imagination, though if you’re really looking to future-proof yourself then the newer chips are by far the better choice.

Sandy Bridge processors run on average 5-10% faster than the previous generation, operate at cooler temperatures, are more energy efficient and the href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/apu-technology-explained/">on-board graphical processors (GPU) provide impressive performance for an integrated, non-dedicated solution.

USB 3.0

In 1996 USB 1.0 was standardised with a maximum transfer rate of 12 Megabits per second. By April 2000 USB 2.0 set the bar higher with maximum theoretical speeds of 480 Megabits per second (in real terms 60MB per second), and now href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/usb-30-technology-explained">USB 3.0 is here to change the game again.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/usb.png" alt="what to look for when buying a new laptop" width="580" height="303" />

With realistic transfer speeds of 3.2 Gigabits per second (that’s a mighty 400MB of data every second) why wouldn’t you want USB 3.0 on your next laptop? Notebooks often require additional, external storage (especially for href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/backup/">backup purposes) so buying into speedier technology early is bound to pay off once you’ve invested in some USB 3.0 devices.

Good Screen Resolution & Colour Reproduction

One thing that repeatedly lets down well-equipped laptops is a poor screen. If you intend on doing more than just word processing and web surfing; fancy playing games, watching videos or editing photos on your laptop then don’t forget a decent display.

Despite promising “HD resolution”, many notebooks still only carry a 720p compliant screen. For some serious visual real-estate, invest in a full HD model (1080p or better). If you’re concerned about accurate colour representation then look out for RGB LED backlighting (possibly as an upgrade, for example Dell’s latest XPS machines).

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/rgb.jpg" alt="buying a laptop" width="580" height="468" />

Unlike “white” LEDs which are blue with a coating of yellow phosphor to appear white, RGB LED backlighting provides a purer white and richer colours especially in the green and blue spectrums.

Chiclet Keyboard

style="text-align: left;">Vaguely resembling Scrabble tiles, chiclet keyboards are (among some manufacturers, at least) all the rage at the moment. The keys certainly make for a refreshing look, but also offer the benefit of not having gaps between the keys.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/chiclet.jpg" alt="buying a laptop" width="580" height="433" />

This means your keyboard should gather far less dust, fluff, crumbs and other desk-related paraphernalia over time. Reviews suggest that some of these keyboards are excellent, offering superior action and a much more href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/the-best-free-apps-to-help-you-start-touch-typing/">comfortable typing experience over traditional keyboards.

For real wow-factor look for a backlit model and as always, read your reviews and if possible try it out before you buy – every manufacturer and model can differ.

Housing & Build Quality

As a Linux and occasionally Windows user even I’m aware that Apple have produced some wonderful laptops over the years. I’m not referring to the operating system, and I’m not referring to the hardware either – it’s the chassis that always impressed me.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/hp_envy_13.jpg" alt="buying a laptop" width="580" height="393" />

Finally, it seems, that “normal” laptop manufacturers have started to do the same. HP’s original Envy line took a well-executed metal leaf out of Apple’s (Mac)book, featuring a sleek aluminium chassis, flush screen and huge touchpad. It was the first laptop to dare try on an Apple dress in the Windows market, it looked great and it was built like a tank.

Build quality can make all the difference, especially if you’re prone to breaking things or expecting your purchase to last a while. It doesn’t have to be metal to be well-built (Toshiba’s business laptops are proof of that) but you’ll want to make sure you know what you’re in for before buying.

Solid State Storage

Traditional hard drives are electromechanical (keep strong magnets well away) and contain spinning disks to store an arm to access data. They are fairly susceptible to shock, have a tendency to die when you least expect and are on the way out in favour of solid state storage.

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Okay, so traditional hard drives are here to stay for a while yet (especially considering the constant reduction in price) but SSDs offer some great benefits, if you’ve got the spare cash. Not only are they faster, with no spin-up time and lower latency but also hardier (with absolutely no moving parts) and silent. We’ve recently published a guide here at MakeUseOf all about SSDs, so make sure you href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/download-hard-drive-future-guide-solid-state-drives/">give it a read if you’re interested.

Conclusion

You’re probably not going to opt for a laptop that has all of the above, and if you do be prepared to pay top dollar. Always do your research before buying a laptop computer, either by reading reviews or asking owners. Users of forums like href="http://www.notebookforums.com/">NotebookForums or href="http://forum.notebookreview.com/">NotebookReview can offer valuable insight into potential purchases such as href="http://www.makeuseof.com/service/linux/">Linux performance and heat output. Good luck in your quest for the perfect laptop!

Have you recently bought a new laptop? Are you considering one? Any killer selling points? Let us know in the comments below.

Image Credits: rel="nofollow" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&searchterm=laptop+isolated&search_group=&orient=&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&commercial_ok=&color=&show_color_wheel=1#id=75193636&src=50a251b9f101f2602a459628b107178b-1-135">Shutterstock, Chiclet Keyboard: rel="nofollow" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephen_bolen/5515082415/in/photostream/">Stephen Bolen, RGB LED: rel="nofollow" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/flakepardigm/3538195638/">flakeparadigm />
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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/intro6.jpg" alt="system restore not working" />When your computer works smoothly, don’t you wish it would always stay this way? Even if you exercise caution with the programs you download, regularly perform defragmentation and do other things to ensure your system runs at its best, problems may still arise without warning.

System Restore may work wonders and save your behind in those cases. If however you find system restore not working, there might be a number of things to check before you reinstall Windows. If you’re sure System Restore is turned on, but it’s still not working properly, try the following.

Run System Restore From Safe Mode

If you get any problems while running System Restore, or System Restore did not complete successfully, try running System Restore in Safe Mode. To run Windows in Safe Mode, restart your computer and press F8 (if you have Windows installed only). If you have a dual-boot configuration, select Windows and press F8 before the Windows logo appears. You can also make the system go into Safe Mode by typing ‘msconfig’ in the Start search box and enabling Safe Boot in the Boot tab.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/31.png" alt="system restore not working" width="566" height="381" />

When you’re on the desktop in Windows Safe Mode, type ‘System’ in the Start search box and press Enter when System Restore is highlighted. You should be able to run System Restore at this point. If System Restore works in Safe Mode, then perhaps your antivirus program or a corrupted file is preventing it from starting. You may need to adjust your antivirus program (like turn off Norton’s Tamper Protection feature) or perform scans before attempting to run System Restore again.

Sometimes, your System Restore files may also have become corrupted. You may have to use an earlier restore point (especially if you’ve tried the more recent ones without success), but if that doesn’t work, you may need to switch System Restore off (this will delete all your existing restore points), restart your computer and turn it on again.

Configure Disk Space Usage (300MB)

If you still can’t get System Restore to run properly, try adjusting the disk space allocated for System Restore since you might have run out of it. Microsoft href="http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/System-Restore-frequently-asked-questions">recommends at least 300MB of free hard disk space and since System Restore might actually use up to 15% of space, you might look into increasing the allocated space or deleting old restore points.

To adjust disk space for System Restore, type ‘create restore’ in the Start search box and press Enter when Create a restore point is highlighted.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/4.0.png" alt="system restore does not wor" width="412" height="555" />

Now click on the Configure button and move the slider in the next dialog.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/4.5.png" alt="system restore does not wor" width="426" height="474" />

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/4.6.png" alt="system restore does not wor" width="421" height="472" />

To delete old restore points, you can use the option below the slider to delete all restore points and previous versions of files (which I would not recommend), or only delete older restore points while still keeping the last, most recent one. To do the latter, type Disk Cleanup in the Start search box, right-click on the first item and choose Run as Administrator.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/11.5.png" alt="system restore disabled" width="377" height="162" />

Now click on More Options, and then on Clean up.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/11.png" alt="system restore disabled" width="389" height="476" />

Try System Image Backup Programs

System Restore may have always worked for you, but if you’ve tried a lot of things and System Restore just doesn’t work at all, try performing system image backups. These will create an image of your system when it’s stable and performing smoothly so you can restore your machine to that state in case it runs into problems. Windows 7 already has a function for you to create system repair disks and images. Just type ‘repair’ or ‘system repair’ in the Start search box and follow the instructions to create a repair disk.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/13.png" alt="system restore disabled" width="411" height="514" />

To create system images, type ‘back up’ in the Start search box.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/62.png" alt="" width="409" height="552" />

Click on Create a System Image on the left of the window.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/12.png" alt="" width="316" height="224" />

You’ll be prompted to choose somewhere to save your system image so you can start saving the backup. To restore image backups, read href="http://www.sevenforums.com/backup-restore/89828-system-restore-doesnt-work-2.html">this.

You can also use href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/free-advanced-hard-drive-cloning-solution-from-clonezilla/">Clonezilla, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-prepare-yourself-for-system-restore-from-scratch/">Paragon’s Drive Backup Express or any of the excellent 5 tools in href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-ways-to-clone-and-copy-your-hard-drive/">this list.

If you would rather reinstall Windows, read href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-reinstall-windows-without-losing-your-data/">Jorge’s guide for reinstalling without losing your data.

Additional Consideration: Make Sure Restore Points Are Being Created

Just to be on the safe side, check regularly that restore points are being created because the last thing you want is to find out your System Restore function doesn’t work after your computer has gone awry. Type ‘rstrui’ in the Start search box. Click Next on the dialog and on the next screen, make sure there are recent restore points.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/10.png" alt="system restore not working" width="580" height="465" />

How do you deal when System Restore is not working? Let us know in the comments!

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/things-icon.png" alt="linux task manager">Don’t just manage your tasks; deal with them. Getting Things Gnome, a program with an unfortunately stupid name, is a simple yet complete Linux task manager.

MakeUseOf readers know the web can be a distracting place. A good to-do list can help by reminding you of the tasks you need to accomplish. That’s not all you need, however; your task list should show you the things you need to do, but also be flexible enough to store notes about your various tasks. Getting Things Gnome offers this, along with a tagging feature of quick sorting. Organize your life and accomplish what you set out to.

id="more-67265"> /> href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/midnight-inbox-classic-inbox-life-mac/">Midnight Inbox, a task manager for OS X, recently became a free application. That’s great for Mac users; Getting Things Gnome offers similar functionality for Linux.

Managing Your Tasks

Fire up Getting Things Gnome for the first time and you’ll see a simple task list. Items in this list can teach you functionality offered by the program, so read them to really learn what’s possible.

Once you’ve read and deleted those items you can start adding your own tasks. Adding a task is simple:

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/things-newtask.png" alt="linux task manager" width="580" height="223" />

Editing tasks is similar to editing any document, with a few specific rules. The first line of text is your task’s name; this is what you’ll see in Getting Things Gnome’s main interface later. The rest of the field can be used to store whatever information you like, such as contact information for people involved or a brief summary.

Use the “@” symbol, as seen above, to add tags to a given project. This can help a great deal in arranging your tasks.

That’s not the only organizational structure offered. It’s possible to make a certain task a sub-task. This is great for projects that involve several steps, as you can break these steps down into smaller pieces while keeping them part of a larger project.

Once you add a few tasks, you’ll have a basic to-do list:

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/things-main.png" alt="linux task scheduler" width="578" height="193" />

From the main page you can complete a task, or open any particular task to edit it.

Want to quickly access your tasks from the panel? You can, with a plugin, make your task list into a drop-down menu like this:

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/things-taskbar.png" alt="linux task scheduler" width="428" height="171" />

The plugin is included; click “Edit” followed by “Preferences” to find it.

Use With Remember the Milk

Do you like the interface Getting Things Gnome provides, but you are already using online task manager Remember the Milk? Don’t worry; a plugin offers the ability to sync this program with everyone’s favorite online program. Find it under the preferences menu and a new button will be added to the toolbar. Click it and you’ll have to go through the confirmation process:

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/things-rtma.png" alt="linux task manager" width="576" height="209" />

Of course, there are other ways to href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/ways-remember-milk-linux/">use Remember The Milk on Linux, but Getting Things Gnome is a great addition to that list. Sadly syncing is not instant, and will require you to remember to click the button on the taskbar, but I’m sure this will get better as the program continues to develop.

Installation

Ubuntu users, as always, are lucky; they need only href="apt:gtg">click here to install Getting Things Gnome. Note that you’ll need Ubuntu 10.10 for that link to work! Users of other Linux versions, or earlier versions of Ubuntu, should href="http://live.gnome.org/gtg/install">read the installation instructions on the Getting Things Gnome website; everything is explained there.

How do you like Getting Things Gnome? Fill us in with your comments below, and be sure to recommend any other Linux task manager you may prefer! />
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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/2011/02/intro1.jpg" alt="tablet pc consideration" width="200" height="108" />Back in January I wrote href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-buying-netbook/">an article about 5 things you might want to consider before href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/netbooks-buy-today-gadget-corner/">buying a netbook. The option of buying a shiny new tablet PC made it onto my list, although these devices come with their own list of advantages, compromises and considerations.

So in order to restore a bit of balance, here’s a brief shortlist of tablet PC considerations to consider before you take the plunge and break the bank. I’ve found myself pondering these five points for a good few months now…

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Which One?

You may or may not already have a model in mind. Maybe you’ve been to the Apple store and fallen in love with iOS. Maybe you’re firmly set up in camp Google and have your heart set on an Android whim?

Then again there’s Windows, probably the least favourable href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/operating-system/">operating system for use with touch controls. But don’t forget Bill’s OS will give you unparalleled software compatibility and Flash support out of the box. But if you’re leaning towards Windows wouldn’t a href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-killer-apps-to-maximize-your-netbooks-potential/">netbook be better?

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/galaxytab1.jpg" alt="tablet pc consideration" width="500" height="244" />

Android and Windows devices can vary greatly, so do your research and read as many reviews as possible before reaching for your wallet. I can’t speak for every Android or Windows tablet, but I know that Apple’s href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/tag/ipad/">iPad doesn’t support a user-replaceable battery and Apple charges $99 to replace the lithium polymer cell once it dies.

The only way to really tell if you and a new piece of kit are made for each other is by trying it out. Go to a shop and play with everything they have for a good half hour. If it suits, go home, go on the Internet and buy it cheaper (if you’re that way inclined).

Are They Too Touchy?

Generally speaking, tablet devices require a touch input to function. Granted, you might get one or two buttons on the front, maybe a volume rocker on the side but that’s about it.

“Gorilla arm” is the rather humorous name for the act of obscuring the screen you’re using with your arm, primarily due to the layout and touch nature of the device. This is always going to be an issue with touch input, so you’re going to have to live with it.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/brokenipad.jpg" alt="buying a tablet pc" width="500" height="265" />

On another note; if you’re particularly heavy handed or have a habit of breaking things then you’ll either want to reconsider or take out accidental damage cover when you buy. Once that lovely capacitive touch screen dies it’s pretty much game over.

Are You A Consumer?

By consumer in this instance I mean do you waste enough time on the Internet or is your online time usually put to better use?

As this latest generation of tablet devices has slowly matured, it has become fairly evident that tablet PCs are devices aimed more at consumption than production. The lack of a physical keyboard is fairly indicative of this.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/ipadgame.jpg" alt="buying a tablet pc" width="500" height="375" />

Instead you’re more likely to find this generation’s average tablet user href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/streaming-video/">streaming video, playing games, reading RSS feeds or eBooks – that sort of thing. Sure, Twitter and email won’t cause a sweat but I’d rather not have to produce a lengthy document using an onscreen keyboard – would you?

Do You Really Need One?

So you’ve got your iPhone to keep your thumbs in shape, your netbook for computing-on-the-go and your home PC answers to the call of duty when you finally get home at night. Where would a tablet fit into your digital lifestyle?

If you don’t already own one then maybe a netbook would be a wiser purchase. You’ll get more bang for your buck, a proper operating system and the reassuring touch of a physical keyboard. You can also easily href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/basic-parts-computer-upgrade-technology-explained/">upgrade RAM and replace a dud battery in a netbook, and you won’t need an external keyboard or iPad keyboard dock to get some work done.

Then again maybe you’ve recently been pining for the perfect couch-potato device and find yourself demanding a big touch screen to do some serious browsing….

Should I Wait?

Often a burning question when it comes to any serious hardware purchase – what will the next generation hold? Dual-core Android devices are  href="http://www.theandroidphone.com/dual-core-android-phones-in-2011-95851/">just landing resulting in faster, more capable (and pricier) tablets being produced.

style="text-align: center;"> class="alignnone size-full wp-image-65313" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/ASUS_EeePadSlider_2.jpg" alt="tablet pc consideration" width="500" height="345" />

One of those dual-core devices is the Asus Eee Pad Slider (above) which runs Android, has a hidden keyboard, promises 1080px video and proper Flash support.

It’s also not in Apple’s style to let the competition run away with the show, and timely releases are vital in order to keep up with competitors. At the moment of writing, rumours are circulating the Internet of the iPad 2 having already gone into production – time to decide whether you want a shiny new Apple product or the shiniest new Apple product when it finally surfaces.

Conclusion

Tablet PCs didn’t really work first time round. Very few consumers found a need for laptop-cum-tablet hybrids with big swivelling resistive touch screens. This time round tablets are back with vastly improved innards, capacitive touch technology and a distinct lack of keyboard.

This time round there’s still an unclear target market, partly due to the fact that you’re probably not going to get a whole lot of work done on a tablet. Instead they’re aimed at reading, watching, playing and browsing; making the tablet PC a very passive device indeed.

Would you buy a tablet? Do you own one? Is a netbook a better purchase? Have your say in the comments below.

Image Credits:  rel="nofollow" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/3bilder/5113921668/">Samsung Galaxy Tab, rel="nofollow" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/visualities/4645426651/in/photostream/">Broken iPad, rel="nofollow" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gorekun/4624210662/in/photostream/">iPad Game, rel="nofollow" href="http://ces2011.asus.com/photos/eee/eee-pad-slider/">Asus Eee Pad Slider, rel="nofollow" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/frostwire/5034231193/in/photostream/">Android Phone />
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style="border: 0px none;margin-left:20px;float:right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/intro1.jpg" alt="fun things to do online" />With so much content available, the internet is fast becoming the one-stop solution for boredom worldwide. Sometimes just browsing, reading or watching isn’t enough – especially if your creative juices are flowing.

There’s no reason ambling around the internet should be a waste of time. Who knows, you might learn something amazing, discover something you love or find one of the many pick-up-and-play services that’ll engage your browser and your brain.

Here’s a few ways of channelling your creative genius down the phone line.

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Discover Better Music

One of my favourite fun things to do online when I’m bored is to go looking for more href="http://makeuseof.com/tags/music">music to add to the collection and I never really feel like I’m wasting my time whilst doing so.

style="text-align: center;"> class="alignnone size-full wp-image-63053" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/edmnguide.jpg" alt="fun things to do online" width="580" height="433" />

Many years ago whilst looking for href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/internet-radio/">internet radio stations I discovered href="http://techno.org/electronic-music-guide/">Ishkur’s Guide to Electronic Music, a toungue-in-cheek look at the history of music that was only possible with modern electronic instruments. Whilst even the author has admitted that the guide is opinionated and will never be finished, it still makes for an educational and entertaining stay.

Another good way of discovering artists directly via their music is to use href="http://www.unsigned.com/">Unsigned.com, a catalogue of unsigned and budding musicians who have willingly posted their music on the internet. You might just find someone you like.

style="text-align: center;"> class="alignnone size-full wp-image-63054" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/grooveshark.jpg" alt="things to do online" width="575" height="412" />

Finally for a comprehensive cloud-based solution to a complete lack of music there’s  href="http://www.grooveshark.com/">Grooveshark. It’s like href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/stream-music-for-free-with-spotify-invites-available/">Spotify for your browser, with less ads and it works a treat with the fantastic new href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/6-chrome-web-apps-check/">Chrome web app.

Make Sweet Music

So you’re inspired, and fancy laying down your own rough mix – href="http://www.looplabs.com/">Looplabs can probaby help.

style="text-align: center;"> class="alignnone size-full wp-image-63056" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/looplabs.jpg" alt="fun things to do online when you are bored" width="580" height="247" />

With 5 Flash-based virtual studios for you to choose from (including an Adidas sponsored effort, a Dubstep Studio and the Electro-House Blender) the team at Looplabs continue to produce very capable cloud-based music apps.

For a very impressive module-based creation suite try href="http://www.audiotool.com/">Audiotool. The suite provides a number of tools, including a number of digitally recreated classics. Using virtual wiring, you have the freedom to create your own unique set up, and your own unique sound.

style="text-align: center;"> class="alignnone size-full wp-image-63050" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/aviary.jpg" alt="fun things to do online when you are bored" width="580" height="413" />

href="http://www.aviary.com/tools/music-creator">Aviary’s free Music Creator is another online production suite (with a fantastic loop editor, might I add) and if you’re a Daft Punk fan who has never done the Daft, then you’d better href="http://www.dothedaft.com/idaft/">dothedaft.com. Finally, if you’re lucky enough to own a guitar and clever enough to get the basics right there’s thousands of songs just waiting to be learned at href="http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/">Ultimate-Guitar.

Set Up A Blog

Obviously, if you’ve already got a website then this won’t really apply. However, if it’s been on your to-do list for a while then there’s no point in putting it off, especially now it’s easier than ever to establish your own little patch of cyber-space.

style="text-align: center;"> class="alignnone size-full wp-image-63051" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/blogger.jpg" alt="fun things to do online when you are bored" width="580" height="474" />

Harness that creativity by providing yourself with a platform on which to engage the web, so that the next time you’re bored you might just think “oh, I’ll blog”. For a quick no-nonsense setup you’ll probably want to try href="http://www.wordpress.com/">WordPress.com, href="http://www.blogger.com/">Blogger, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/publisha-universal-blogging-publishing-alternative-wordpress/">Publisha or even the notoriously light href="http://www.tumblr.com/">Tumblr. These services will provide you with a place to write, though you’ll miss out on your own domain.

If you’re a bit more knowledgeable on the subject of web design and site maintenance then setting up your own website or blog might appeal. Take a look at href="http://www.wordpress.org/">WordPress and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/wordpress/">our many associated articles – we’ve got everything covered, from themes and plugins to social network integration and SEO. If you’d like to test it out locally then you can, with href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-set-up-a-wordpress-blog-on-your-pc-using-a-local-host/">XAMPP.

Get The Digital Paints Out

For a fresh look at the creativity behind image-manipulation try href="http://www.psykopaint.com/">Psykopaint. We’ve href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/psykopaint-turn-your-pictures-into-paintings/">mentioned it before, and many readers loved the snappy presentation, UI and results that can be achieved either from stock photos, a blank canvas or your own personal snaps.

style="text-align: center;"> class="alignnone size-full wp-image-63057" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/psykopaint.jpg" alt="things to do online" width="580" height="341" />

For generic Photoshop-type web apps then both href="http://www.pixlr.com/">Pixlr and href="http://www.splashup.com/">Splashup make for quick image editors, whilst we were satisfied that href="http://www.flauntr.com/">flauntR is href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/flauntr-a-killer-online-image-editing-tool/">one of the most powerful online editors. I have to give an honorary mention to href="http://www.onemotion.com/flash/sketch-paint/">Sketch & Paint which provides a lovely interface from which to sketch and then colour in your doodles.

Build Something

If you’ve ever played Sim City and thought “this is for me” then maybe you should check out my href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-fun-online-city-building-games-run-browser/">recent article about city building games. Amongst them were a few delightfully pixelated isometric projects, much like href="http://www.themaninblue.com/experiment/Cubescape/">Cubescape.

style="text-align: center;"> class="alignnone size-full wp-image-63052" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/cubescape.jpg" alt="fun things to do online" width="580" height="320" />

Like a digital isometric box of Lego, Cubescape allows you to build your own angular world, block by block. If you like 8bit pixel art but are too lazy to make your own then Cubescape should suffice. Of course, you could just get your old Lego out and make something.

href="http://www.peeron.com/">Peeron is a database of all things Lego, complete with over 3000 sets of scanned instructions. If you’ve got a big box of Lego with no papers to help you out, Peeron is the only resource you need to rediscover the fun of plastic building blocks.

If you’d rather make real things that actually work then there’s always href="http://www.instructables.com/">Instructables, the href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/instructables-webs-biggest-show/">web’s premier DIY resource.

Conclusion

Boredom is generally solved by the internet. Here at MakeUseOf you’re bound to find some fun href="http://www.makeuseof.com/service/games/">games, the odd href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-awesome-free-documentaries-watch-online/">documentary, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-amazing-short-films-free-software/">short movies and even href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-10-standup-comedy-videos-youtube/">stand-up comedy to enjoy. Don’t get carried away though, haven’t you got some work you ought to be doing?

Any awesomely creative things you’ve discovered on the internet? Any websites that inspire you? Helpful guides? Silly games? Let us know in the comments.

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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/2010/10/0-fbfd-intro.png" alt="facebook tips" width="233" height="233" />We have written a lot of articles about Facebook in the past. For the hardcore Facebook fanatics out there, we’ve shown you how to class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-4-cool-ways-customise-facebook-profile/">customize your profile, add class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/add-facebook-widgets-buttons-website/">widgets and buttons to your website, save your class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/save-complete-facebook-chat-history/">chat history and customize your class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/customize-facebook-fan-page-welcome-tab/">fan page, as well as adding dozens of other class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/add-dozens-features-facebook-account-ffixer/">cool features to your account. We’ve also taken you behind the scenes to see how class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/facebook-work-nuts-bolts-technology-explained/">Facebook works.

Don’t have a Facebook account? Last time I checked, there were more than 500 million people in the world, so I know there are a few of you. If you are new to Facebook, there are some tips you should definitely do on your newly created account that take priority over everything else. In this article, I’ll show you what those things are.

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I Created A Facebook Account, Now What?

The first thing Facebook recommends that you do upon creating a new account is locate your friends via your email address. This is funny to me, because it’s actually the last thing I think you should do when you first create an account.

Why would you want to start friending people when you have a blank profile?

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In the next step, Facebook asks you to fill out your profile information. I suggest skipping this step as well, at least for now. Besides, they only ask you for your high school, college/university, and employer information, most likely because they don’t want to overwhelm you.

Step 3 we can do, so that is where I would like to start.

1. Upload A Profile Picture

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Facebook is called Facebook for a reason. Before adding friends it’s important that you have a profile picture, preferably of yourself so everybody will recognize you. I don’t have any statistics on this, but I’d say less than 1 percent of legitimate accounts don’t have a profile picture. It’s a rarity.

If you need a more practical reason to upload a profile picture, you’ll be pleased to learn that once you do this step, you will get a new tab on your profile: the Photos tab. This is where you’ll go later on to create photo albums to share your experiences with others.

2. Tweak Your Privacy Settings

You were probably wondering when I would get to the Facebook privacy issue, so lets get it out of the way now. Facebook has a multitude of privacy settings that control everything about your profile, how it’s viewed by others, found in search and accessed by applications.

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To view your settings, just go up to your Account tab and select Privacy Settings. Once there, you can click Customize settings to begin altering them to meet your needs.

If you want to learn more about these settings, check out our latest guide, class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/download-unofficial-facebook-privacy-guide/">The (Very) Unofficial Facebook Privacy Guide.

3. Fill Out Your Profile Information

Now it’s time to fill out your profile information. If you head over to your Profile page, click on the Info tab and select Edit, you will have all kinds of fields to fill out information about yourself.

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You can choose to fill out as much or as little information as you like here. If you’ve taken your privacy settings into account and feel confident with who will be viewing your profile, you can list more information than you maybe would have otherwise.

4. Join A Network

Once you’ve filled out your basic information, likes and interests, education and work, etc. you should join a network. Once again, head up to your Account tab and go to Account Settings. Then, click on the Networks tab.

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Facebook networks typically consist of colleges, regions and places of work. For instance, the two networks I belong to are Penn State (my college) and VaynerMedia (my employer). One network is enough, but if you want to be able to share and connect with more people, you can join more.

5. Set Up A Username

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Although you’ve missed the gold-rush on this one, I still think it’s important for you to claim whatever username you can. On the Settings tab in your Account Settings, click on Username to claim your vanity URL (e.g. facebook.com/stevenjcampbell). It will ask you to verify your account via text message before allowing you to pick your name.

As a word of advice, try to use your real name here if you can. Facebook profiles are really close to becoming our online identities if you ask me, and it’s important to claim your name from a personal branding standpoint.

[Bonus] Find Your Friends

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Now it’s time to add your friends. Chances are you will find a lot of them in the same network(s) you’ve chosen, but you can search for them using your email contacts and standard Facebook search as well. If you completed the steps above, they will have a nice, professional looking profile to look at when they first accept your friend request, rather than a barren wasteland.

Are you excited about getting a shiny new Facebook account now? If you already have a profile, is there anything you’d like to add? />
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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?

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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?

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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

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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/2010/09/LCD01.png" border="0" alt="lcd computer monitors" width="300" height="195" />Are you tired of your old computer monitor and in dire need of a new one? Maybe you should make yourself familiar with LCD computer monitors. LCD stands for style="text-decoration: underline;">liquid style="text-decoration: underline;">crystal style="text-decoration: underline;">display and are also known as flatscreens.

LCDs have been used for a while, for example in digital clocks and laptops. In recent years they have become a standard for desktop monitors. During the same time, LCDs have also conquered the TV market.

Flatscreen monitors are much thinner and lighter than CRT (cathode ray tube) monitors. They also require less energy, emit no electromagnetic radiation, and the technology enables clearer images, higher resolutions, and a flicker-free display, which is easier on the eyes.

id="more-53413"> /> These are only a few key arguments to finally replace the old CRT monitor. This article explains the various features of monitors in general and flatscreens in specific. It will help you understand what you should watch out for when buying a new LCD computer monitor.

Screen Size

The screen size is measured in inches, diagonally from the bottom left to the upper right corner of the display. Available sizes range from 15″ to 30″. The most common size for a desktop monitor today is 19″ to 22″, but it is not uncommon to buy larger sizes.

Bigger sizes usually means you will have more room on your desktop. You might finally be able to view multiple open windows in parallel. However, bigger monitors also take up more space on your desk and they tend to be more expensive.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/LCD04.png" border="0" alt="lcd computer monitors" width="580" height="245" />

Aspect Ratio

Aspect ratio describes the relative number of horizontal to vertical pixels in a display. Standard CRT monitors were almost square with an aspect ratio of 4:3. Today, you will find widescreen monitors that have aspect ratios like movie theater screens, i.e. 16:9 or 16:10. 16:9 is also called HD (high definition).

If you’re watching DVDs on your computer, you can avoid the black bars across your screen with a widescreen display. Wide ratios are also the most convenient solution for viewing multiple windows in parallel. The only reasons to go with 4:3 is that you either prefer it for some reason or you don’t have sufficient space on your desk for a wider monitor.

Resolution

Resolution is the number of pixels displayed horizontally and vertically. Due to the nature of LCD technology, flatscreens have only one optimized or native resolution. Hence, their native resolution describes the absolute number of pixels present horizontally and vertically.

Unlike CRT monitors, using a lower than native resolution on a flatscreen, leads to fuzzy images. Hence it is important to choose the right native resolution from the start as you can not change it, unless you accept a loss of image quality.

Higher resolutions mean sharper images, higher clarity, and more desktop space. This is perfect if you multitask or enjoy to watch movies on your computer. On the other hand, text become much smaller and harder to read. Thus a high resolution is to be avoided if your eyesight is less than perfect.

Crunch Gear has produced a great comparison chart of aspect ratios and available resolutions. Click the respective links for the class="vt-p" title="Cruch Gear Article" href="http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/12/09/handy-chart-for-understanding-aspect-ratio-and-resolution/">article or the class="vt-p" title="Aspect Ratio and Resolution Chart" href="http://www.crunchgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/799px-aspect_ratios_and_resolutionssvg.png">full size image.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/LCD02.png" border="0" alt="lcd monitor" width="580" height="437" />

Contrast Ratio

Contrast ratio describes the difference between the brightest white and the darkest black the LCD computer monitor can display. Higher contrast ratios equal whiter whites and blacker blacks, as well as a greater degree of gray values in between. The best contrast ratio you can get is 1,000 : 1.

Contrast ratio is a difficult topic. You cannot really compare the values between different manufacturers. Also, sometimes you will find the term dynamic contrast, which is not the same as contrast ratio and can be deceiving.

Brightness

LCD monitors are illuminated by several backlights. Brightness is measured in candelas per square meter (cd/m2). A higher rating of at least 300 cd/m2, i.e. higher brightness, is to be desired if you want to watch movies or play games on your computer. For office work and browsing a lower rating of 200 – 250 cd/m2 is fine.

Viewing Angle

The higher the viewing angle, the better people who look at the monitor from the side will be able to see its display. Compared to CRTs, LCDs have a limited viewing angle. However, this feature is only interesting if you expect yourself or guests to look at your monitor with an angle. You can ignore it if you’re always going to sit straight in front of your monitor.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/LCD05.png" border="0" alt="lcd monitor" width="580" height="181" />

Ports

All this time I’ve only been talking about the display and the LCD technology. But a monitor is more than just a display. It needs to be connected to a computer and possibly other devices. Hence, you need to know what type of port you will need and then make sure the monitor has it. Most importantly, check which connector your video card supports.

Here is a brief overview of the most common ones:

• DisplayPort /> The latest digital display interface, produced since 2008.
• HDMI /> style="text-decoration: underline;">High- style="text-decoration: underline;">Definition style="text-decoration: underline;">Multimedia style="text-decoration: underline;">Interface, a digital audio/video interface produced since 2003.
• DVI /> style="text-decoration: underline;">Digital style="text-decoration: underline;">Video style="text-decoration: underline;">Interface, the first digital video interface. Produced to replace VGA since 1999.
• VGA /> style="text-decoration: underline;">Video style="text-decoration: underline;">Graphics style="text-decoration: underline;">Array, the old analog connector, first produced in 1987.

The image below shows the ports mentioned above. From left to right: DisplayPort (blue), HDMI (black), VGA (white), and DVI (white).

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/LCD03.png" border="0" alt="lcd computer monitors" />

In addition to these you may find component video, S-video, and composite video connectors.

I didn’t go into class="vt-p" title="LCD Monitor Response Time" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Response_time_%28technology%29">response time, which can be neglected, and class="vt-p" title="LCD Panel Technology" href="http://www.pchardwarehelp.com/guides/lcd-panel-types.php">panel technology, which basically doesn’t matter if you make up your mind about the above features.

To summarize, you should first pick a desired size, aspect ratio, and resolution. These characteristics should meet your needs. In the next step you can compare all available models for further features, most importantly contrast ratio, brightness, and available ports. Finally, the price will decide which model you can afford.

What is the most important factor for you when buying an LCD computer monitor?

Image Credits: class="vt-p" title="retro screen" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.sxc.hu/photo/988277">miamiamia, class="vt-p" title="monitor" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.sxc.hu/photo/440069">hugama, class="vt-p" title="Crunch Gear" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/12/09/handy-chart-for-understanding-aspect-ratio-and-resolution/">Crunch Gear, class="vt-p" title="bridge" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1257044">somadjinn />
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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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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/2010/08/nirvanalogo.png" alt="getting things done" />Getting things done, or GTD, is a popular category of web application software. We have covered class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/manage-tasks-online-gtd-methodology-plancake/">many class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/some-more-gtd-personal-productivity-with-timegt/">GTD class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/gtd-getting-things-done-roundup-time-to-organize/">programs in the past and they each have their own little pros and cons. I am going to introduce you to another one called class="vt-p" href="https://www.nirvanahq.com/">Nirvana ( class="vt-p" href="http://twitter.com/nirvanahq">@nirvanahq on Twitter) and go over some of the things that make this particular product unique and useful.

Before we start, I should mention that Nirvana is currently in private beta. However, Christiane over at Nirvana has kindly offered us beta invites for 500 lucky readers!

id="more-52251">

Getting Things Done (GTD)

A brief summary of Getting Things Done is appropriate here. GTD is a productivity philosophy created by class="vt-p" href="http://www.davidco.com/david_allen.php">David Allen which basically says that in order to maximize your productivity, you need to empty your mind of the tasks on hand and focus on one task a a time.

GTD apps do this by doing a “brain dump” of everything on your mind, giving you the peace of mind that you won’t forget anything yet allow you to work on one project at a time. In today’s fast paced, multitasking world many people (including myself) have found this to be a refreshing take on things, allowing us to “get things done” in the most efficient way possible.

What Is Nirvana?

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/nirvanahq3.png" alt="getting things done" width="550" height="356" />

We have previously covered class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/gtd">lots of GTD apps so I wanted to focus on what makes Nirvana different rather than a list of features, most of which are similar to other task applications.

The one thing that sets Nirvana apart from other GTD apps is its strict adherence to the basic tenets of Getting Things Done. Many apps I’ve seen have gone feature crazy and the end result is an overbloated, complicated mess of a task manager. Toodledo has been my go-to app for managing my ever growing task list, and it has been great to me. However I think Nirvana’s brilliance is in its simplicity.

You can enter tasks by themselves, or group them into Projects. The tasks entries are fairly straight forward, with the following options available:

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/nirvanahq2.png" alt="getting things done" width="235" height="159" />

• Scheduled For
• Due Date
• Effort (Time)
• Energy

Tasks and projects can also be broken down into Areas, such as home, work or school; allowing you to separate these areas and use Nirvana for each particular focus area of your life.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/nirvanahqticklers.png" alt="productivity software" width="316" height="261" />

Another important tenet of GTD are “ticklers.” In an old office setting these were folders which you would put things that were due for that particular day – 43 folders of them (12 for months, 31 for days). In Nirvana, this is accomplished by email ticklers.

On each day, you can be reminded of what tasks you have scheduled or due on that day. This is handy for remembering to pay bills, or tasks that have been given due dates by your superiors. These are set up in the account settings, where you can also find a specific email address you can use to send tasks to from anywhere.

Mobile

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/photo-e1282741174125.png" alt="productivity software" width="350" height="525" />

Many apps now have iPhone and/or Android applications to complement their web offerings and I think this is an important aspect of keeping in tune what you need to get done. Often I do my best thinking when I am in the car and it is essential to be able to get my thoughts down into my task manager.

Nirvana is no different. Instead of going the ‘App’ route, they actually have created a compelling mobile website which is customized to your platform. When using this on my iPhone, the web app is responsive and feels like a native app, which impressed me the most. Transitions are intact and everything feels very fluid.

An iPhone native app is planned for the future, and I would be keen to try this out as well.

The Future

The future also looks very bright for Nirvana. Nirvana is a startup based in Montreal and their team is very accessible if you have feature suggestions or bug inquiries. They have a list of class="vt-p" href="http://help.nirvanahq.com/faqs/site-updates/whats-next">things they are actively working on, which includes a developer API, feeds and an improved import/export. One feature I see lacking, and this may actually be a plus, is the lack of any type of group organization or task management. For some I see this as a benefit, however if you are looking for a group task manager it would be best to use another GTD style app.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/nirvanahq1.png" alt="productivity software" width="550" height="198" />

On to the beta invites! Use the code ‘makeuseofgtd‘ in the class="vt-p" href="https://www.nirvanahq.com/account/signup">New Account Signup box to receive your invitation instantly. When you enter your email on the first page, they will confirm your email address and continue with the signup process.

Let us know how you find Nirvana, we found this app to be refreshing in its simplicity and design and hope you find it useful as well. />
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Any basic POS systems you may see on a typical retail establishment consists of a cash register with or without a built in cash drawer, monitor, receipt printers, and an input device. It can also be a touch screen monitors, programmable keyboards, or scanners and handheld devices for inputting data into the POS system.

Touch Screens: Many restaurants find touch screen monitors as more intuitive to use than keyboards, as it can reduce mistypes and can easily cancel inputted orders within a second, and because it provides flexible user interfaces and programming. Aside from that, touch screens are easier to position in any counter and even uses less electricity, although, they can be more prone to breakdowns.

Handheld devices: Restaurant harware devices like PDAs, which are commonly wireless devices that transmits data back to its base station and into the POS system. You can also use the newer version, which is the write-on handhelds that allows you to write information such as the orders and sends them directly to the kitchen! These types of handheld devices are perfect for your staff who interacts with your customers, when up-selling desserts and drinks roaming around table per table.

Keyboards: You’ll find that most grocery and convenient stores prefer to use this type of POS hardware because it allows them to program individual keys for specific item codes and prices. A standard keyboard consists of 101-key, which can be seen with any computer. Others are small and flat, which are common in fast food outlets. POS keyboards often has a built-in magnetic stripe readers for processing credit cards.

Scanners: This restaurant hardware reads bar codes and converts it before inputting it’s details to a POS system computer. This device speeds up transactions and provide accurate data on products or services being purchased by a customer. Scanners connects through Y-connectors called wedges that make them function as an extension of the keyboard.

Volume of customers: For different volume of customers, using different types of scanners can be very helpful. If the line has several customers, your staff can easily use a CCD scanner or entry-level laser scanner. If the line is loaded with customers, then an  autosensing laser scanners would be better. This type of scanner  turns on when an item is placed in front of it, scans its code, and then turn off again. But if the counter line is overflowing with customers, you could sure use the help of an omnidirectional scanner, where it can scan a bar code from any angle with its 15 or 20 lasers simultaneously!

Additional Restaurant POS

Cash drawers: Used to store cash, credit card slips, gift certificates and other important papers. When looking to buy a cash drawer, look for a sturdy construction of at least 18-gauge steel, don’t just buy one because your local vendor tells you that it’s the latest or simply because it looks fancy. Go for the most reliable cash drawer since the usable life of cash drawers are measured, you also have to make surer that you can replace rollers, bearings, and other parts. A typical cash drawer opens only when it is signaled by the POS printer.

POS printers: An addition to your restaurant POS system is a printer, every retail business needs one to complete a sales transaction. A POS printer is needed for printing a receipt and creating credit card slips. There are two types of POS printers, the dot matrix printer and the thermal printer. The dot matrix printer uses ribbons and regular paper to print. On the other hand, Thermal printers are slighly expensive than the dot matrix printers because they are more realiable, they have less moving parts, faster and quieter when printing.

Customer displays: A customer display or pole display lets your customers view the price of the item they’re about to purchase, and can sometimes be used to support advertising. Just make sure that your customer display has the right height and width to perfectly fit in to your counter table, as well as it’s compatibility with your POS software.

Check readers: If you’re still thinking if you’re going to buy one, now would be the best time to say yes! This little device can help prevent fraud by verifying essential account information on cheks that are presented by your customers. It can save you money and eliminate flushing money down the drain because of fraud.

Magnetic stripe readers: This piece of restaurant hardware is used to read credit cards. You can also purchase keyboards and touch screens has a built-in magnetic strip readers for convenience.

Fingerprint ID readers: If you want to limit which POS terminal can a staff use, then this type of restaurant hardware can be handy. You can also use this for employee logins thus preventing any of your employees from logging in inplace of somebody.

Always rememeber when purchasing a restaurant POS system, hardawre or software, you have to make sure that you review their details first. No matter how expensive or cheap a POS equipment is, consider the environment where you’re going to use it. Regular cleaning keeps your keyboards and touch screens in top shape, vacuuming dust and lubing your receipt printer can extend its life and maintaining an over all clean workstation can help protect your POS terminal from dust and spills. You can always request for a FREE POS system quote online where local suppliers will offer you competitive price lists of any restaurant hardware and software you need based on the the information you provide them. So you would never have to waste money buying the wrong POS systems.

Portable mp3 player has changed the way people use and listen to music. Because of new technological innovations both in software and hardware has kept this field fresh and exciting and a bit confusing for any first time purchaser.

Today there are many portable mp3 players available in the market and it might seem difficult to choose the right mp3 player for you. So you need to gather some information about the mp3 players available and their price range and then compare their features and decide which one shall suit you the best. This is because if you are a music lover you would always wish to have an in built FM tuner or if you love to play games then you would ask for something else. There are different accessories and lots of add-ons available.

The major criteria for mp3 player comparison would include its music store download system, its capacity in gigabytes, music storage in hours, music formats supported, video formats supported, image formats supported, built-in FM tuner, built in microphone, accessories included, other third party accessories available, navigation, dimensions, weight and price.

Open and closed systems
The primary factor that differentiates between players is that whether they form a part of a closed download music store system or an open one. Closed systems have all elements such as online music store, PC music store, portable software and portable player that are fully integrated to work together. An example of closed system company is the Apple ipod that operates iTunes.

Open system provides you a selection of music stores and portable players from different companies and because they share the same music file format you can easily mix and match players and services. Microsoft’s windows media audio is the largest such open system.

It is also important that the terms “closed system” and “open system” describe the online music store to software to portable player relationship and the copy protection their respective formats use. You can download and play mp3 files from other kinds of internet websites such as band websites and pod casters. You can also import music from your personal CD’s to your computer and then transfer the songs to your portable player in your preferred format of mp3.

For further information, visit our recommended website freedownloadmp3song.info