Facebook now lets you know if your friends are using mobile app or the web

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Facebook now lets you know if your friends are using mobile app or the web
We'd hardly call it a ground-breaking feature, but it's pretty nice that Facebook now lets you know whether the friends you're chatting with are using the mobile app or the website. To the right of a user's name you'll now see the words "web" or "mobile," letting you know whether or not a buddy is seated in front of their PC and ready to chat, or out and about firing off rather brief replies. People started noticing the new feature pop up yesterday, but now the social network has confirmed that it's rolling out the statuses globally. If you're not seeing it just yet, be patient. A few Engadget editors are seeing the web/mobile messages on the site already, but we're not having luck yet with the mobile app
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WiFi speeds drop precipitously in the evening

We have an Actiontec M1424WR Rev e router and Verizon FiOS. We have the Verizon Double Play bundle, Internet and Phone only, no TV, and with the iMac connected to the Actiontec via Ethernet cable, our speeds are excellent. E.g., On a Saturday morning, the iMac gets download speeds of 58mbps and upload speeds of 34mbps.
The internet signal comes into the Actiontec via Coax cable. The Actiontec is located on the third floor of a three-floor townhouse.

The WiFi signal to the AppleTV three floors is  dismal at prime time in the evenings. A recent Ookla speed test returned 1.47/ 3.58 (downoad/upload), 66 ping. During the daytime, the received speed at the AppleTV is 13Mbps.

I have seen posts indicating that the Actiontec M1424WR gets poor ratings for WiFi signal strength and have seen posts claiming that you can turn off the WiFi on the Actiontec and add a WiFi capable modem with a good reputation for wireless strength. Specifically, I see a lot of recommendations for ASUS routers. Can any of you network gurus confirm this?

Would this be a good plan for achieving better WiFi signals at the AppleTV?

Is there another way which does not involve pulling ethernet cable throughout the house?

Second thoughts…

I had assumed that the drop in wifi download speeds I am experiencing at night was due to increasing numbers of people on the net, many of whom are streaming movies. Were that the case, however, would not the speed results of my iMac, which has a wired connection to my Actiontec modem also drop? But of course, mine don’t.

Mine is a case of where the download speeds to the iMac, via ethernet cable to the Actiontec router, are pretty much constant throughout the day. It is only the WiFi speeds which slow to a crawl in the evenings.

I had thought of putting the Actiontec in bridge mode, purchasing and introducing an Apple Extreme Base Station into the mix and possibly even installing an Apple Airport Express in the basement, next to the AppleTV to boost the signal.

However, if the wifi speeds two feet away from the Actiontec are 1.5Mbps, no matter what I do, that’s all I am going to receive at the AppleTV, no? It would be like coupling a firehose onto a garden hose in the expectation that you will get more water out of the firehose. Ain’t gonna happen.

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Welcome to information technology

 

China's Suspension Giant Is 3,500 Feet Longer Than the Brooklyn Bridge

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China's Suspension Giant Is 3,500 Feet Longer Than the Brooklyn Bridge

The Yangtze River is the third longest in the world, and it's served as a critical artery in the beating heart of China's economic boom. It's also incredibly wide at points—which has forced China to become a top contender in the race to build the most advanced long-span bridges in the world. Taizhou Bridge is definitely one of those bridges.

The Taizhou won the 2013 Structural Awards this week, beating out dozens of other remarkable pieces of engineering. It's not the country's longest suspension bridge—that would be Xihoumen Bridge—but it is the longest of its unique, experimental type. It's the first-ever suspension bridge to link two long spans, each over a kilometer in length, using three 650-foot-tall towers. All in all this $400 million behemoth crosses over 9,650 feet of the massive (and deep, at 90 feet) Yangtze River.
The factories and farms along the Yangtze generate almost a third of China's GDP, so it's no wonder that it's served as the catalyst in China's incredible infrastructural drive. This looping, 3,900-mile long artery is host to the largest hydro-electric power station in the world, the Three Gorges Dam, as well as at least three of the world's ten longest bridges.
At the same time, the Yangtze has become a focal point in China's ecological crisis. This is the same body of water where 16,000 dead pigs were found in earlier this fall. It's also been periodically dyed blood-red by toxins. As a result, the Chinese government is attempting to right decades of wrong—a decade-old program that reconnects lakes to the river is seeing some progress. That doesn't mean it's swimmable—but it's a start.
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'Selfie' beats bitcoins, lab meat, twerking and a tiny mammal for word of the year

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'Selfie' beats bitcoins, lab meat, twerking and a tiny mammal for word of the year

The good news: we're apparently a little less obsessed with acronyms than we have been in past years. The bad news? It seems we're still addicted to taking photographs in bathroom mirrors for posting on social networks. According to the Oxford Dictionary, use of the word "selfie" has increased by leaps and bounds over the past year, up some 12,000-percent. That's enough to earn it the honor of becoming the academic reference book's word of the year. And, this being the Oxford Dictionary, there's naturally a nice etymology involved, tracing the word's usage to a self-reportedly drunken poster on an Australian messageboard who smashed their lip on a flight of stairs. So...congrats? Also on the shortlist: binge-watch, bitcoin, schmeat (synthetic meat, naturally), showrooming, twerk and olinguito, an adorable raccoon relative from Colombia. Don't worry, you're all winners in our book

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Wireless Charger for Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 available today on Google Play

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Wireless Charger for Nexus 5 and Nexus 7 available today on Google Play

Google's Nexus Wireless Charger, designed to work with the Nexus 4 and 5 smartphones and the Nexus 7 tablet, is available for purchase today on Google Play. The compact Qi power cube ships with a 9-watt AC adapter and a micro-USB cable, and it may make it to your doorstep by the end of the week (if you opt for the $17 overnight delivery). The charger will run you $50 plus tax on its own, and another $5.29 for ground shipping. Snag it now at the source link below

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The best smartphones make the best gifts

welcome to  Information technology

The best smartphones make the best gifts

 

Looking for a deal on a red-hot smartphone? You've come to the right season. Carriers and big-box stores like Best Buy, Target, and Walmart slash prices to entice you to fill your shopping cart. For high-end devices hat are typically backed by a lot of dollar signs, a seasonal buy-one, get-one deal or other deep discount could be enough to put a smile on your face, and a new smartphone in that lucky someone's pocket. That lucky someone might even be you.

Make Money online and earn money from the Internet more way to earn money from the Internet and work at home

Make Money online and earn money from the Internet 

more way to earn money from the Internet 

and work at home

Use Google chrome to View Pdf files, Fill Out Forms and Save Web Pages As PDF

Use Google chrome to View Pdf files, Fill Out Forms and Save Web Pages As PDF

You first need to check if you have enabled PDF Viewer in Chrome. Head to the Omnibox and type:
chrome://plugins

If you see ‘Disable’ as a link under Chrome PDF Viewer, it’s already switched on. If you see ‘Enable’, click that and restart the browser.

The Chrome PDF Viewer can be used to read any PDF, whether online or stored locally. For local files, open a new tab and drag-and-drop the document.

With that out of the way, let’s see what you can do with this handy utility.

Fill Out Forms And Save Them

If you need to fill out a PDF form — which most government documents require you to — it can be done easily through the Chrome PDF Viewer. Not only is it faster, but it also looks more professional.

Open the fillable form in Chrome and just start typing. It really is as simple as that. Chrome smartly detects spaces to fill out and lets you type there. However, this isn’t a foolproof method and there are some forms Chrome can’t detect. For example, I tried it with an Indian railway form where half the text was in Hindi and it didn’t work.

Still, the bigger problem is saving the form after you are done. If you hit the “Save” button in the toolbar, it will just save the blank original PDF without the text you entered. To save the text, you need to again hit the Print option, choose ‘Save as PDF’ in the Destination and click Save to download the filled out form.

Save Web Pages As PDF

The Chrome PDF Viewer can also be used to save any web page as a PDF file for you to read later or offline.

Hit Ctrl+P (or Cmd+P on a Mac) to bring up the Print options. Choose the pages you want, layout (portrait/landscape), whether you want to include headers, footers, background colours and images, and set the margin. The ability to set custom margins is a pretty cool feature here.

Once you’re done, again, use the Print -> Save as PDF -> Save method to download the file to your hard drive.

The Perfect Designer Workstation Every Designer’s Dream Workstation

The Perfect Designer Workstation Every Designer’s Dream Workstation

Designers have it tough. They need to be constantly inspired in order to please their clients and come up with brilliant design concepts. To let you in on what designers would love to have in their workspace, here is Vanessa Medina’s (also known as Vanesaurus) take on the dream designer office.

What would you add?

Want to Make Your Windows Computer Speak To You, 5 Ways To Do that

Want to Make Your Windows Computer Speak To You

Make Microsoft Word Read To You

Here’s something you might not know: the ability to read text back to you is actually built into Microsoft Word itself. The problem: it’s not included in the ribbon interface you’re used to. No matter: here’s how to add a “Speak” button to the top of every Word window.

Above the ribbon you should see a small toolbar, by default containing only the Save, Undo and Redo buttons. This is called the Quick Access Toolbar, and you can add more buttons to it – including one for speaking highlighted text. Click the arrow to the right of the toolbar to get started:

 

 

Click the “More Commands” button to begin exploring the vast world of Microsoft Word functions. Explore the “Commands Not In The Ribbon” section and you’ll find the “Speak” option:

Click the “Add” button between the two columns, then click “Okay”. There is now a “Speak” button in your Quick Access Toolbar:

Click this button and Word will read, out loud, whatever word your cursor is next to. Highlight a block of text before hitting the button and you’ll hear every word in that selection. If most of the reading you need to do is in Word, congratulations: you probably don’t need any other program. Just hit CTRL+A to highlight your entire document, then press play.

Narrator: Built Into Windows

Windows also comes with built-in screen reading technology. It’s called Narrator, and it’s mostly intended for the blind. Start it up and Narrator will immediately begin reading every bit of text on every window that you open – which is great if you’re blind, but annoying if you just wanted Windows to read a bit of text for you.

Happily, Microsoft offers a list of keyboard shortcuts for the software. Check this out if you want to become familiar with it, but honestly, it’s probably better to try some third party software instead. It’s just easier.

Balabolka

If you’re not afraid of a few extra features, check out Balabolka. It’s interface is less straight-forward than other options, but you gain control over things like speed and pitch:

Balboka is notable for being able to open DOC/DOCX, TXT, PDF, EPUB and ODT files directly – meaning you can open your favorites in moments. It can also convert files to MP3, making it easy to listen to a document on your phone or MP3 player. There’s even batch conversion, if you want audio copies of multiple documents.

Read more about Balabolka for Windows, because it’s probably the app you will want to use.

TypeIt ReadIt

With a simple interface and the ability to export your writing to a text or WAV file, TypeIt ReadIt is a great free program. Paste any text into its window, or open a TXT file directly. If you want something read to you quickly, this is a great app to try.

The interface is simple yet functional, though it is a little odd how the buttons scale if you make the window bigger. The software uses the voices that come with Windows. Use this app if you want something simple and free.

Natural Reader Free (Windows, Mac)

The free version of Natural Reader can’t export to MP3, but if you want a simpler interface for pasting and hearing text you’re going to like it. Paste any text into this window, then hit the clearly-visible play button:

It doesn’t get easier than that, right? If you like the program, but need more features, the Personal version starts at $69. Additional features include exporting to MP3 and additional voices – but it’s probably worth checking out Balabolka before you spend your cash. Still, the free version is attractive and functional so check it out.

Google Street View - Tools To Take An Auto-Guided Google Street View Tour

Google Street View : Tools To Take An Auto-Guided Google Street View Tour

Google Maps is a nifty navigation tool and all the information embedded in the maps make it a great travel guide, too. Now you can even set Street View on auto-pilot and let it take you on the world’s most scenic drives. Here are 5 tools that make this possible.

Gaiagi Driving Simulator

This online driving simulator will drive your computer nuts because it requires a ton of resources, but it’s totally worth it.

Open the site and enter the start and end point of your tour in the top left. Directions will be shown directly below and you will see your trip marked on the map in the top right.

When you Start the Driver mode, your progress will be shown in the satellite and map view on top, while you can enjoy the scenery in Street View mode in the bottom left. The bottom right shows either an up-close birds view or Panoramio pictures that were taken along the way.

If you enjoy this tool, you should know that you can stop your tour and resume it anytime. While the simulator is paused, click on Config in the top left to play with the settings.

In case the driving simulator is a bit too resource hungry for your taste, try one of the lighter tools below.

Google Maps Streetview Player

This tool stitches Google’s panoramic street view data into a short GIF movie. At the top of the page, you can enter the start and end location of your trip. As you click Play, the route is marked on the map to the right and the images will load and start playing on its left. If alternative routes are available, they can be selected from a table below the map. You can control the pace of the timelapse and pause the playback. If you enjoy the views, you can download the images as an animated GIF movie.

Google Maps Street View API Driving Directions

This tool is a GMaps samples project. Enter a route in the bottom left, click Route, directions are shown on the right and — if available — you can click Drive at the bottom to be taken through the route’s Google Street View images, which will be shown on the top. You can take the timelapse movie into full screen and pan and zoom as the vehicle moves forward.

Presently, the tool only supports Street View in the US. Although you can set the speed to fast, it is still painstakingly slow. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to adjust the route.
 

Hyperlapse

Hyper-lapse is a technique in photography that combines time-lapse with sweeping camera movements, often focused on a point-of-interest. Teehan-Lax Labs have combined the technique with images from Google Street View to create Hyperlapse, which we previously introduced.

Hyperlapse is a demo product. Right now you can create your own video by placing A and B markers on a Google map, wherever Google Street View images are available. Short stretches work best. Note that while the hyperlapse video unfolds, you can pan and zoom as you would on Google Maps.

Street View Traveler (Android)

The Android app Street View Traveler is a proof-of-concept to demonstrate that you can travel the world for free with Google Street View.

Click Menu, then Load to enter a place you want to visit. You can also select from a number of presets, including natural sights, European roads, or peaceful drives. In case you’re standing still, click Move It! You can speed up or slow down via the respective menu on the left-hand side. In Manual Mode you will be asked which turns to take, while in Auto Mode the app decides for you. When you get bored, click Jump! and you are transported to a random place. Clicking Jump Here! (under Menu) will take you to your device’s current location, provided it is known.

This is a great app to do online sightseeing and discover new places on your Android phone. Unfortunately, it works with a general set of popular locations only. The one feature I would like to see is being able to select a distinct route.

What is Microsoft windows Update every thing about Microsoft windows update

Microsoft  Windows Update

Microsoft  Windows Update enabled on your PC? If you don’t know the answer to that, you should — Windows Update keeps Windows, Internet Explorer, and Microsoft Office up-to-date with the latest security patches and bug fixes, ensuring your computer is as secure as possible. However, Windows Update can also cause problems — particularly by nagging you to reboot when you’re trying to use your computer and automatically restarting your computer overnight.

While Windows Update can be obnoxious, it keeps your computer secure and is well worth using. It can also be made less obnoxious with a few quick settings changes. 

open the Windows Update

 open the Windows Update Control Panel tool, press the Windows key on your computer, type “Update” without quotes, and click the Windows Update shortcut that appears. On Windows 8, you’ll have to click the Settings option before you see the Windows Update shortcut.

If you’ve set updates to not happen automatically, you can click the Check for updates link in the left pane to check for new updates and click the Install updates button to install any available updates.

Microsoft releases most Windows Update patches on “Patch Tuesday” — the second Tuesday of each month. This allows system administrators to schedule updates all at once. However, if a security flaw is being exploited in the wild, important security patches may be released immediately. Patches for Windows could show up at any point in the month.

 Automatic Updates Enable/Disable

To enable automatic updates, click the Change settings link in the left pane of the Windows Update window. Select one of the following options:

    Install updates automatically: Windows will automatically check for, download, and install updates at the time you choose. You’ll get your PC automatically update without requiring any of your attention, but Windows will start harassing you to reboot your computer after installing the updates. If you want to leave your computer running overnight, you may find that it was automatically rebooted while you were away.
    Download updates but let me choose when to install them: Windows will check for new updates and download them in the background, displaying a notification in the system tray when new updates are found. When you’re ready to update, you can click the system tray icon, install the updates, and reboot your computer. Windows won’t install updates until you say so, so you can select this option and choose to only install the updates when you’re prepared to reboot.
    Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them: Windows will only check for updates and display a notification in your system tray. This can be useful if you want to save bandwidth and only download updates when you’re on a specific connection — for example, this could prevent Windows from automatically downloading updates on a tethered Internet connection and consuming your mobile data.
    Never check for updates: Windows won’t automatically check for updates, forcing you to manually check for updates or not update Windows at all. You shouldn’t use this option, as you’ll miss out on important security updates.

From here, you can also choose whether you want to receive recommended updates (updates that aren’t as critical for security), update other Microsoft products in addition to Windows itself, or see notifications about new Microsoft software, such as Bing Desktop.

Do you want to Control What’s Updated

If you’re updating manually, you can click the “updates are available” text in the Windows Update window and see what updates will be applied. Click each update to view more information, if you like. Uncheck an update and it won’t be installed. To have Windows ignore an update in the future, just right-click that specific update and select Hide update.

Password Protect a Flash Drive

Password Protect a Flash Drive

If a flash drive contains sensitive information--such as bank account statements, credit card numbers, or your own unique, brilliant plans for world domination--you should password protect, if not the whole drive, than at least those particular files.

You've got two options for protecting data on a flash drive: You can use encryption software, or you can buy a special, encrypted flash drive.

Jon L. Jacobi recently wrote The Best Encrypted Flash Drives, and recommended the Imation DefenderImation Defender F200 F200 as the top choice (although a pricey one). Jon considers an encrypted drive to be the most secure option, and argues that "a chip is harder to hack, and to reach it means actually tampering with the drive, which is easy to detect."

Not everyone agrees. Security guru Bruce Schneier told me that he thinks it best to separate the encryption algorithm from the hardware. "So I use random flash drives with PGP Disk for security."

The current version of PGP Disk costs money and is geared strictly for business, so I recommend TrueCrypt, which Schneier described as "another fine alternative." It's not only free, but open source, and can be easily made portable (meaning it doesn't have to be installed--an important feature if you're carrying the data on a flash drive).

After you install TrueCrypt onto your PC, you can simply drag the program folder (which is less than 8MB) to your flash drive. Once there, you can run it on any Windows computer with a USB port. Just open the folder and run the program.

With one caveat. Launching TrueCrypt on a PC where it has not been installed brings up a User Account Control message. If you're not logged on as an administrator, you'll need an administrator password to run the program.

Read the original forum discussion.

Contributing Editor Lincoln Spector writes about technology and cinema. Email your tech questions to him at answer@pcworld.com, or post them to a community of helpful folks on the PCW Answer Line forum. Follow Lincoln on Twitter, or subscribe to the Answer Line newsletter, e-mailed weekly.

Office 2013 on a Tablet vs. Touch-Friendly Competition

Office 2013 on a Tablet vs. Touch-Friendly Competition

With the latest iteration of Office, Microsoft pledges to bring the documents and services you need to run a business to any screen you choose, from a PC to a touch-enabled Windows Surface tablet or Windows 8 Phone. After using the Office 2013 preview suite on a Windows 8 tablet, we are impressed by many of the steps Microsoft has taken to make its Office franchise touchscreen ready and cloud friendly.

If you're searching for the ultimate mobile-savvy office suite for a tablet, look no further. Compititors available on other platforms, such as DataViz's Docs to Go or Quickoffice and services, including CloudOn, Nivio, Online Desktop and InstallFree Nexus, which deliver virtualized, full-blown versions of Office apps, lack the unified soup-to-nuts office document, collaboration, and editing functionality that Office 2013 delivers.

But you’ll probably have to pay dearly for the no-compromise experience of Office 2013 or Office 365 (the subscription-based software-as-a-service alternative that combines desktop installations with cloud-based access on remote devices). Microsoft hasn't disclosed pricing yet, but it's difficult to imagine a scenario where the subscription fees in the course of a year or two would undercut what they'd charge for a conventional one-time desktop installation

Comparing Apples to Oranges

Also, we don’t yet know what mobile devices either Office 2013 or Office 365 will support. When asked, Office spokespeople have indicated that some form of Office Mobile (currently available only for Windows Phone) will be forthcoming for Android and iOS devices. But it's highly unlikely we'll see a full-blown version of Office running on the Apple and Google mobile operating systems.

We also have yet to see whether, as Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer promised, Office 2013 will run as smoothly on an ARM-based tablet running Windows 8 RT (the version of Windows 8 for tablets that aren’t based on x64 or x86 CPUs) as it did on the tablet PC used to show off the suite's new features at Monday's official unveiling of the public beta. The touch optimization was admittedly impressive, but we were witnessing a best-case scenario: Samsung's touch-enabled tablet PC running Office on the desktop version of Windows 8.

For these reasons, affordable if limited mobile productivity suites such as Quickoffice and Docs to Go (both $15 for Android devices and $20 for the iOS version), single-purpose apps such as Apple’s Pages word processor for the iPad ($10), and virtualized cloud services such as Nivio ($15 monthly) remain viable rivals.

Here is a look at how the Office 2013 and Office 365 preview releases measure up the competition.

Best Laptops Top Ultraportable Laptops

Best Laptops Top Ultraportable Laptops

With screen sizes under 14 inches and weight under 4 pounds, ultraportable laptops strike an appealing balance between portability and performance

 

Dell XPS 13

If the display was higher resolution and offered better off-axis viewing angles, this would be our favorite Ultrabook

Dell Latitude E6220

Though pricey for a 12.5-inch laptop, this ultraportable delivers in performance and battery life



Samsung Series 9 (2012 model)The Series 9 is a tantalizing machine that fills the niche of the 15-inch Ultrabook, but I know Samsung can do a better job on the keyboard and trackpad

More ......

Better Windows Explorer looks in Windows 8 work in windows 7

Better Windows Explorer looks and behaves the way Windows Explorer will in Windows 8 Except that it runs in Windows 7



If you're eager to get a sense of what Windows Explorer will look like in Windows 8--or simply want a different and more powerful alternative to Windows 7's file management tool--consider this free project of the CodePlex open-source community. Running on Windows 7 (or the latest consumer preview of Windows 8), Beta 1 of Better Explorer seems to have resolved some of the buggy behavior users reported with earlier versions: I experienced none of the crashes I read about in user reviews.

The most immediately visible difference between the current Windows Explorer and Better Explorer is the use of the ribbon interface. Like the current version, Better Explorer's menus are context-sensitive--they change depending on what you're looking at--and so is the ribbon itself. Certain file or folder selections produce tabs for special ribbons: For example, highlighting the Libraries folder summons a Libraries tab, and selecting an image brings up an Image Tools tab. Other special ribbons are available for folders, drives, and search (the latter appears when you click in the search box next to the location field).

Less immediately apparent, but highly useful, is Better Explorer's ability to access multiple folders in tabs, eliminating the need to launch new Explorer windows when you want to see more than one file or folder at a time. Simply click New Tab (or Clone Tab to duplicate the current selection) on the far right of the Home ribbon.

The ribbon, as usual, is particularly effective at exposing features hidden in traditional menus--but Better Explorer in some instances goes beyond the file management tools in Windows 7's Explorer by providing easy access to other Windows features. The Drive Tools ribbon, accessible when you click on a drive under Computer, has buttons for formatting, cleaning, and/or optimizing the drive--features found in the System Tools subfolder of Accessories. The Image Tools include buttons for rotating and flipping images, converting image files to one of five popular file formats, and setting an image as desktop wallpaper.

One other major addition in Better Explorer Beta 1 is a Conditional Select button on the Home ribbon. This combines filtered search with selection, allowing you to quickly highlight multiple files that meet criteria you specify for name, size, date created, date modified, and last date accessed.

Better Explorer is not without flaws. In some cases, I couldn't find features that are easy to access in Windows 7 Explorer--for example, I was unable to figure out how to view pictures in an image folder as a slideshow. The constant shifting of menus and ribbons based on context can be a bit confusing--for example, a Manage menu item seems to come and go--and a couple of the special ribbons have so few buttons that you wonder if they were really necessary. But the convenient access that it affords to many file management and other features make Better Explorer in many ways, well, better than its Microsoft cousin.

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Maximize Battery-Life While Traveling

Maximize Battery-Life While Traveling

If you take an iPhone, iPad, or MacBook along when you travel, you know how much of a challenge it can be to keep your device powered up. Here are a few tips.

 

 Your carry-on bag is stuffed full of digital gear you can’t bear to leave at home. Not only will your iPhone, iPad, or MacBook keep you entertained while en route, they’ll make great navigation, research, and photo tools once you’ve reached your destination. But keeping these devices charged up when you’re constantly on-the-go or stuck in the air can be a challenge. But there are a few things you can do to extend battery life and save power.

Battery cases

Mophie Juice Pack for iPhone

A battery case for your iPhone is a great accessory to keep in your carry-on. These cases add extra battery life to your iPhone while also keeping it safe from the occasional drop and bump. Most of these cases sport dock-connector plugs that pair up with the iPhone’s 30-pin port, which is how they deliver the juice to your iPhone. The only downside is that you can't use any dock-cradle accessories without removing the iPhone from the case.

One of our favorite battery charging cases is the Mophie Juice Pack Plus (). It just about doubles your iPhone’s battery life, doesn’t add too much extra weight, and you can still sync your iPhone using the included USB-to-Micro-USB cable. Plus, it has an on/off switch, which lets you control when the case sends juice to your phone.

Sol’s Solar-Powered Charging Case () is another solid option which provides a few different charging options: you can charge your phone using the sun’s rays, bright indoor lighting, or via USB. If you’re lounging on the beach without an outlet in sight, it'll keep your iPhone juiced.

There are also external battery cases for the iPad, which is great if you plan on watching videos while on an airplane. MiPow’s Juice Book is a folio-style leather case with one of MiPow's Power Tubes embedded in the case’s spine. This Power Tube provides 6600mAh to boost the iPad’s battery life when it gets low—just plug it in to your iPad’s dock-connector port when you need more juice, and unplug it when you’re done. The Power Tube can charge your iPhone or iPod, too.

Pack one charger

Bring your iPad's 10-Watt USB power adapter to charge your iPad and iPhoneIt isn't necessary to bring the two chargers that came with your iPhone and iPad; save space by bringing just the one that came with your iPad. Visually, the iPad charger is bigger, with prongs that can be pushed in and pulled out of the square body, similar to that of a MacBook; the iPhone charger is smaller, and the prongs are not retractable.

The iPad and iPhone wall chargers also supply different power levels. Since the iPad has a heftier charging requirement than the iPhone, it has a heftier power adapter—a 10-Watt USB power adapter, compared to the iPhone’s USB power adapter, which has an output of 5 watts. You can use the iPhone’s adapter for your iPad, but it will take significantly longer to reach a full charge, especially if you have a third-generation iPad.

If you’re traveling with your MacBook as well, consider the TwelveSouth PlugBug. It attaches to your MacBook’s power brick and allows you to charge a USB device (like your iPhone or iPad) while charging your laptop at the same time.

Battery saving apps

For your MacBook or MacBook Air, you can use a battery-monitoring app to keep a closer eye on your energy supply. Some of them, such as Low Battery Saver (), let you customize your Mac’s battery warnings. That way, you’ll have more of a heads up on how much battery life remains.

Deep Sleep is another handy app which “hibernates” your MacBook instead of just putting it to sleep when you close the lid while it’s still powered on. (Even in sleep mode, your Mac draws power from the battery.) The utility saves the contents of RAM to your hard drive and stops drawing any power at all from the battery when your MacBook is not in use. It takes a little longer for your Mac to wake up from hibernation, but all of your apps and documents will be restored just as you left them, and your battery will be less taxed.

Check your settings

Saving your battery's charge can be as simple as tweaking some settings on your iPhone, iPad, or MacBook.

For your iPad or iPhone:

∙ Turn off Wi-Fi and 3G when you’re not using them. Go to Settings -> Wi-Fi, then toggle the switch to Off. Same goes for Bluetooth: turn it off if you’re not using it. Go to Settings -> General -> Bluetooth, and toggle the switch to Off.

∙ Turn off, or limit, your data push-notifications from your other apps. You’ll have to do this manually for each app. Go to Settings -> Notifications, then tap each app that you’d like to adjust and toggle Notification Center switch to Off.

∙ Turn off location services completely. This will save a lot of power, not to mention some money if you’re traveling internationally. Go to Settings -> Location Services, and toggle the switch Off.

∙ Use the Auto-Brightness feature. It's found in Settings -> Brightness & Wallpaper. Auto-Brightness will automatically adjust your screens’ brightness based on ambient light conditions. Manually lowering the screens’ brightness yourself can also extend battery life.

∙ Don't let it get too hot or too cold. Apple recommends keeping your device between 32 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit. So if you’re traveling anywhere with extreme temperature conditions, consider leaving your iPad or iPhone somewhere that's insulated from the ambient temperature.

(For more battery-saving tips, see Apple's own battery guide.)

Adjust the graphics setting in the Energy Saver preference to save some juice.

If you're using a MacBook—or, more specifically, if you're running OS X Lion on a 15- or 17-inch MacBook Pro—go to the Energy Saver pane in System Preferences. There you'll find a checkbox for Automatic Graphics Switching. Check this box—if it's not checked, the Mac will always use the faster graphics processor, which uses more power.

You should also adjust your brightness by dimming the screen as much as you can. A dim screen will help you maximize battery life, but you need to make sure you can still comfortably see your display. Also, turn off AirPort and Bluetooth when you’re not using them, and make sure you don’t have any programs running in the background: Quit all apps, disconnect peripherals, and eject discs in your disc drive if you’re not using them.

Top 20 Windows 8 Features

From Metro Start to reduced hardware requirements, here is a look at the best new features Windows 8 users will love

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Office 15 Office 2012

Microsoft has said little so far about Office 15, the codename for the successor to the current Office 2010, but on Monday, all will likely be revealed.

In the meantime, we can at least speculate on the features we'd like to see in the next version of Microsoft's productivity suite, drawing on some of the rumors and leaked details we've seen so far. Here are five things we'd like to see in Microsoft Office 15

Vertical Ribbon

Now that widescreen displays are the norm, Microsoft Office should make use of the extra space in the margins. Instead of cluttering the top of the screen with a “Ribbon” of menu options, Office 15 should let users display the Ribbon as a vertical sidebar, so it won't get in the way of the actual document.

Automatic Online Syncing

Office 15 is likely to feature deep SkyDrive integration, letting users save their documents online for access anywhere, but it's unclear how automated this process will be. Instead of requiring users to save their documents to a SkyDrive folder on their desktops, it'd be nice if Office 15 could automatically sync all documents online, so users would never have to worry about where they're saving to.

Companion Android and iOS Versions

Office for iOS and Android has been a long-running rumor in the tech blogosphere, so maybe on Monday we'll get an official announcement.

Ideally, automatic document syncing (as mentioned above) and support for phones and tablets would come to fruition around the same time, allowing users to quickly access Office documents on their mobile devices, without resorting to third-party software.

"Zen" Mode

One of the greatest features of blogging platform Wordpress is “Zen” mode, which hides all on-screen elements except text. Leaked screenshots suggest that Office 15 supports a similar full-screen mode, but with the taskbar remaining on the bottom of the screen. I'd like to see Office 15 allow a true full-screen setting for tuning out all distractions.

A Lower Price

Pricing for Microsoft Office 2010 starts at $120 for a single PC, and that's for the Home and Student version, which prohibits commercial use and excludes Outlook, Publisher, and Access.

The Home and Business edition price tag starts at $200. Office is Microsoft's cash cow, so asking for lower prices may be a stretch, but as app stores invade the desktop, Microsoft may find itself squeezed by less expensive document editors if it doesn't lower prices. Windows 8 will be cheaper than previous versions, so there's hope for a less expensive Office 15.

Microsoft's media event begins at noon PT in San Francisco. Follow the action on the PCWorld Live Blog Report, with analysis and details to follow.

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