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Samsung’s Gear 2 smartwatches didn’t live up to expectations, but Gear Fit is a useful fitness band

Apr16
by on April 16, 2014 at 6:38 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Gadgets, Product Reviews, smartwatch, wearable devices

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Samsung has rolled out a bumper crop of wearable devices in conjunction with its latest flagship, the Galaxy S5 — two Gear smartwatches and the Gear Fit fitness band. As someone who has never worn a wearable device up till now, I’ve realized that the tricky part about wearables is that they have to be relevant enough to a user’s daily life. After all, why pay a couple of hundred dollars for a device that draws out certain functions of your phone if you still have to bring your phone around? We put Samsung’s newest crop of wearable devices through…

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Tech blog Stratechery goes freemium as Ben Thompson strikes it out as an indie writer

Apr16
by on April 16, 2014 at 6:28 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Asia, Insider

fly solo
Ben Thompson, the Taiwan-based American writer behind popular tech blog Stratechery, has quit his day job to become a full-time blogger. Aside from leaving Automattic, the company behind WordPress where he was employed, Thompson is super-charging his site with a new freemium business model and a podcast. Thompson will continue to post two “fairly long” articles a week — which will be sponsored, in a similar way to Apple blogger John Gruber’s Daring Fireball site — but he is also launching an ambitious three-tier membership system to turn his passion into his living. Readers can pay $5 per month (or…

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Google launches Chrome Remote Desktop for Android, letting you access PCs and Macs on the go

Apr16
by on April 16, 2014 at 6:12 pm
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web, Google, Insider, Mobile

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Google today launched a Chrome Remote Desktop app for Android, which lets you remotely control your computer using your smartphone or tablet. You can download the new app now directly from Google Play. The app’s description says you can “securely access your computers from your Android device” but doesn’t elaborate on the security features. Instructions are fairly straightforward though: On each of your Windows or Mac computers, set up remote access using the Chrome Remote Desktop app from the Chrome Web Store. On your Android device, open the app and tap on any of your online computers to connect. Chrome…

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Google’s stock Android KitKat camera app arrives on Google Play with new Lens Blur mode

Apr16
by on April 16, 2014 at 6:08 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

Google today released its stock Google Camera app (via Android Police) for Android users running Kit Kat. The app includes a new mode, Lens Blur, for that fancy bokeh effect, as well as support for Photo Spheres and Panoramas. Other changes include UI improvements and a 100% viewfinder with no dropped pixels. You’ll need Android 4.4 KitKat or later to install the app, but the good news is that you can now get camera updates directly from Google Play now instead of having to wait for your phone maker and carrier to send over an update. ➤ Google Camera for Android Image…

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Microsoft now lets Outlook.com users import email from IMAP-enabled providers, including Yahoo Mail

Apr16
by on April 16, 2014 at 4:30 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

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Microsoft today announced Outlook.com users can now import email from IMAP-enabled email providers, including Yahoo Mail. The addition is part of the service’s import wizard, which lets you keep your old email addresses, but manage them all from Outlook.com. To import your Yahoo Mail into Outlook.com, navigate to Options and then click “Import email accounts.” Microsoft has added a specific option for Yahoo, so select it, enter your Yahoo email address, your password, and then click Import. Doing this will set up your Yahoo email address as a “send from” account, meaning you can use Outlook.com to send emails from…

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