Mac OSX Mountain Lion is Out: How to Get It

Click here to learn about all the great new features in Mountain Lion.

Apple, the creator of the Macintosh computer and the operating system that runs on it, Mac OS X, has released the latest version of their OS, Mac OS X Mountain Lion, or 10.8. Mountain Lion was originally revealed back in February, but is finally available for download today at a cheap price of $19.99.

Now lets get started. First, you have to make sure your Mac is compatible with Mountain Lion. Here's a list of the models supported:

• iMac (Mid 2007 or newer)
• MacBook (Late 2008 Aluminum, or Early 2009 or newer)
• MacBook Pro (Mid/Late 2007 or newer)
• Xserve (Early 2009)
• MacBook Air (Late 2008 or newer)
• Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer)
• Mac Pro (Early 2008 or newer)

If your Mac fits into any of the categories above, you're set. If you're not sure whether or not your computer fits the requirements, here's an easy way to tell. First, click the Apple icon in the upper left corner of your screen.Choose "About this Mac", and then click "More Info". Your Mac's type and date should appear. 

Once you've made sure your hardware is ready, make sure your software is as well. If your Mac is running Lion, you're set. If you're running Snow Leopard, make sure you're updated to the latest version of Snow Leopard. 

Now that you've made sure you're able to get Mountain Lion, it's time to go out and get it. Head over to the Mac App Store and search for Mountain Lion, or click here to be directed to the Mountain Lion page, and then click "View in AppStore". When the Mac AppStore opens up, click "Buy". Mountain Lion should begin to download. Being that it's an entire operating system, the download may take a few hours. Once the download is done, follow the onscreen instructions, which should be simple. When you're done, you have Mountain Lion. Congratulations.


Any other questions? Problems with the install? Comment away below, and I will respond. 

Google announces new apps for iOS (UPDATE)

Google previewed a few new iOS apps at its developer's conference today, called Google IO, that will be rolling out on the App Store later today.

Google's popular web browser, Google Chrome, has long been a desktop app for Windows and Mac. It recently became available for Android devices, and today is available for iOS, on both iPhone and iPad. The iPad app looks extremely familiar to the desktop version, and the iPhone version shares the same design concepts as well. The app will support incognito browsing, and well as tab syncing between devices. (UPDATE: Google Chrome is now available on the Apple App Store here.

The second iOS app they showed off is Google Drive. Google Drive is an online file storage system that has been available online for a while, but is only coming to iOS today. The app supports text recognition in images, so you can search through scanned receipts based on the text in the image. Drive also supports image recognition, so you can search through pictures based on the contents of the image. (UPDATE: Google Drive is now available on the Apple App Store here.)


More news is sure to come out from Google IO, so stay tuned.

Apple launches separate Podcasts app

It was expected that Apple would take podcasts out of the iTunes app on the iPhone and iPad, and release a standalone app for podcasts in the latest version of their mobile operating system, iOS 6, which should be released this fall. Although Apple hasn't yet gutted podcasts from the iTunes app, they have given them a standalone app, straightforwardly called "Podcasts", ahead of the iOS 6 release. 

The new Podcasts app allows you to surf through their podcasts catalog, and stream or download podcast episodes. The long-awaited subscribe feature is also included, and it allows you to receive any new episodes of a podcast directly.

You can view podcasts that you have downloaded in a grid or list format, and tap on any to start playing it. Once you do start playing a podcast, you have a few options. In a video podcast, you can skip back 30 seconds, fast-forward or rewind, and play the video at different speeds. Audio podcasts offer some more features; you can skip forward 30 seconds, skip backward 10 seconds, play it slowly, normal, or fast, and even set a sleep timer. 

Another feature introduced in the Podcasts app is called "Top Stations", and shows the top five podcasts in certain categories, which you can easily swipe through. You can also change between viewing audio and video podcasts.

The new Podcasts app can be downloaded for free from the iTunes App Store at this link, and runs on the iPhone or iPad, on any device running iOS 5.1.

Flipboard now available on Android

Flipboard has been know as a great media consumption app on the iPad for a long time. It allows users to browse through personalized news in a minimalistic magazine-like design. The app became available on the iPhone more recently, and today, is available on Android devices via the Google Play store. Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet owners can also download it through their proprietary app stores.

Along with the new Android version of the app, Flipboard for iPad and iPhone also received updates. All versions of the app now support the social network Google+. In the past, a user could connect Twitter or Facebook, and news from those feeds would appear in Flipboard. With this new update, users can connect their Google+ account to the app, and items from that feed will appear in Flipboard. You can 1+ (Google+'s version of the Facebook "like") any post directly from the app, or tap to share, comment on, or reply to the post.

The latest update also adds YouTube support. Users can connect their YouTube accounts, and then browse through videos in the same Flipboard fashion. You can flip through subscriptions, uploads, and favorites, as well as browse through the Most Viewed, Trending Videos, and Top Favorites categories.

If you have an Android device, you can download the free Flipboard on the Google Play store here, or for Kindle Fire or Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet. iOS users can download the updated version of the app here.

Samsung Galaxy S III hits the US

The latest and greatest Android device has hit the US, a little less than a month after it reached Europe. The Samsung Galaxy S III is now available for purchase through T-Mobile. Other carriers will start selling the device within the next few weeks.

Samsung Galaxy S III - Marble White

The S III is an Android smartphone running the latest version of the mobile operating system, Android 4.0, or Ice Cream Sandwich. It features a large 4.8 inch HD Super AMOLED touchscreen, an 8 megapixel rear-facing camera, a 1.9 megapixel front-facing camera, 16 gigabytes of internal memory, 4G LTE service, and a quad-core CPU.

Samsung has also built in some interesting features, like Smart Stay. Smart Stay won't allow the screen to dim if you are still looking at it. Another useful feature is called Direct Call. This means that if a user is sending someone a text message and decides to call the person instead, they can just raise the phone to their ear, and the Phone will automatically make a phone call to the number that they were texting. The Smart Alert feature sends a user a vibrating nudge if they've missed any calls or messages while they were away from their phone. Social Tag automatically shows your friends social information when you look at a picture of them. And finally, S Beam allows users to tap two Galaxy S IIIs together to share data, including pictures, videos, and music.

Samsung also includes a voice-control feature in the S III, called S Voice. This feature is similar to the iPhone's Siri, as it allows users to set alarms, send messages, answer phone calls, and so on. Although S Voice has longer response times than Siri, it does seem to be more accurate.

Samsung Galaxy S III - Pebble Blue

The device itself has a sleek looking design, one that Samsung says was "inspired by nature". The S III is available in two colors, marble white and pebble blue, although T-Mobile is only offering the former at the moment. The screen offers extremely bright and vivid images, with its Super AMOLED technology. The device's 4G LTE service brings fast broadband speeds. T-Mobile currently does not offer LTE, but buying the device from AT&T or Verizon will get you LTE speeds.

You can purchase the Samsung Galaxy S III from T-Mobile for $279.99 here, or pre-order it from AT&T or Verizon for $199.99.

Microsoft announces Windows Phone 8

At its Windows Phone Summit today, Microsoft gave the press a sneak peek at the future of Windows Phone, their mobile smartphone operating system. The new Windows Phone operating system will be called Windows Phone 8.

Although there will be many new end user features in the new version of the operating system, Microsoft is focusing on some of the features that developers would care about in this announcement.


A large change in the latest version of Windows Phone is that the new OS will be based on the same core as the desktop version of Windows, so it should be easier for developers to write apps. This will also add some security features.

The latest version of Windows Phone will support a new hardware standard. In the past, Windows Phone only supported single-core processors. In this new version of the OS, dual-core devices are now supported. Windows Phone 8 will also support new screen resolutions, like WVGA (800x480), WXGA (1280x768), and 720p (1280x720). And finally in this category of hardware support, Windows Phone 8 will now support removable microSD cards, which will allow users to store photos, music, videos, and apps, and add more storage space to your device.

The latest version of the operating system will come with the latest version of Internet Explorer (IE), IE10. This version of IE will provide new performance and security features.

The new Windows Phone start screen

A new feature in Windows Phone will make it easy for developers to port there apps that they already wrote for other platforms. So expect more apps and better games.

NFC, a technology that allows users to transmit data from one device to another wirelessly (usually used to transmit money), will now be supported natively.

Windows Phone 8 comes with a wallet feature. This feature allows users to save and use their credit, debit, loyalty, and membership cards. The wallet feature will take advantage of the built-in NFC to allow tap-to-pay transactions.

Maps will be built in to Windows Phone 8, using Nokia’s mapping technology. Offline map support is built, as well as turn-by-turn navigation.

Microsoft is also adding many new features for businesses, including encryption, secure boot, device management, and Office.

The start screen, probably one of the prettiest features in Windows Phone, will receive an update as well as part of Windows Phone 8. The icons on the start screen now can come in three sizes; large, medium, and small. Microsoft has also gotten rid of the right rail on the side of the screen, so you have more  space for apps and live tiles.

This update will be released in the fall, and, although current Windows Phones will receive an update adding some new features, the full upgrade will not support any existing Windows Phones.

In conclusion, this seems like a great update for Windows Phone. Although we don't know too much about the features an end-user would care about, we do have an idea of what the future of Windows Phone will look like.

Google launches Google Offers iPhone app

Google has been serving up Groupon-style deals through their Google Offers service for over a year. They offer city-specific deals in each area they support, and allow users to buy these offers, and use them later. For example, a user would spend $15 for a voucher that can be used to buy $30 worth of t-shirts.

Until today, these offers were delivered on the Google Offers website, by email to subscribers of a certain city, or via a Google Offers app for Android. Today, Google released a Google Offers iPhone app that will allow users to browse through and purchase offers.
App users can see featured offers, browse through offers by category, check out offers in different cities, and view nearby offers on a map. The app makes purchasing an offer easy, and then lets you see your active offers, when they expire, and how far away they are.

Unfortunately, the Google Offers app is only available in the U.S., and Google only supports offers in selected areas. If Google does offer its deals in your city (click here for list), go ahead and download the app here.

Spotify launches streaming radio service

Spotify, an online music streaming service that allows users to browse through a large catalog of music, and play any song on-demand, has announced today that it is getting the business of streaming radio. In the new Spotify iOS app, users will be able to choose a song, artist, album, or playlist, and Spotify will create a "radio" station based on that selection. The station will play songs that are similar to the selection made originally, and will alter its selections based on likes and dislikes users give to specific songs. This seems like an open attack at Pandora, which does exactly the same thing, and has been doing so for close to 6 years. 

Spotify is free to use in the U.S., with premium subscriptions available, but the iOS app only offers limited features to non-paying customers. The new iOS app, which is out now, offers the new radio feature to all costumers, even non-paying ones, however, non-premium costumers will occasionally be interrupted by audio ads.

Spotify's radio service differs from Pandora is a few ways. For example, users can save songs played on the radio in one tap. They can also create new stations based on their friends shared playlists. 

Radio on Spotify

This new Spotify feature can be found in their iOS app on both iPhone and iPad, which can be downloaded here. 

   

Microsoft announces the new Surface tablet

Microsoft has always been a company devoted to creating great software. They are the makers of the Windows operating system, which runs on many devices, all manufactured by other companies. The company has announced today that it will no longer rely solely on partners to create the devices that run their operating system.

Microsoft announced a tablet today, that will run on the latest edition of Windows, Windows 8. This device will be manufactured directly by Microsoft. Windows 8 is thought to be the first version of the popular operating system that is really fit for tablet devices, and it seems to make sense that Microsoft would create a device that fit well with the new operating system.

Microsoft is calling this new tablet device Surface. The Surface tablet sports a 10.6 inch screen with a 16:9 ratio, a slick design and some unique features. The design clicks nicely with the look and feel of the operating system that runs on it. Windows 8 features a design mentality called metro, which features minimalistic fonts, colors and tiles. The minimalistic approach continues on the tablet itself. The device has a nice magnesium casing and a boxy but appealing design. It also sports a built in kickstand that allows it to stand upright.

Like the Apple iPad, the Surface tablet has a cover that attaches to the device magnetically. The thing that sets Surface's cover apart is that, when open, it doubles as a touch-sensitive keyboard and track-pad that will transform the Surface into a more laptop-like device. With the kickstand open, the device will sit on a table and be usable just like a laptop. Microsoft will also offer a higher-end keyboard cover that offers a more physical keyboard-like experience.

The Surface tablet will be available in two models. The first, and lower-end model, will run on the ARM processor, and will be called the Surface RT, as it runs on Windows RT, the only version of Windows 8 that will be compatible with ARM processors. This model will weigh in at 676g., and will be 9.3mm thick. It will sport a microSD slot, a full-size USB 2.0 port, and Micro HD video, and will be available in either 32 or 64 gigabyte versions.

The higher-end model will be called the Surface 8 Pro, and will run Windows 8 Pro, using an Intel processor. It will be a bit heavier and thicker than the RT version, at 903g. and 13.5mm. The 8 Pro version will sport a microSDXC, a full-size USB 3.0 port, and Mini DisplayPort video. The 8 Pro version will be available in 64 and 128 gigabyte versions. The 8 Pro version will also have a stylus for handwriting that will lock on to the device magnetically.

The announcement of this device seems to be a step in the right direction for Microsoft. It seems like they really got everything right this time. However, there is no pricing announced yet, and that may be a large factor in the success or failure of the Surface device. There was no word on when the Surface will be available, but it can be assumed that its launch will coincide with the launch of Windows 8.

The video below was created by Microsoft to showcase some of the features of the new tablet.

Guest Post: Wondershare PDF Editor

Guest post by Catherine Lee

In the business world the most widely used format for sending and receiving data is the PDF. To edit PDF documents, we need to have an editor specially created for editing PDF documents. Wondershare PDF Editor is a very useful tool used for editing PDF files easily and efficiently by using a set of intelligent algorithms. It enables users to edit PDF files like they would using a word processor, with a simple user interface. The user can understand the program easily and use this it for any business purpose. Currently in the market, there are several PDF Editors available. But how is Wondershare PDF editor different than all the others out there? 

The difference between other editors and Wondershare is having the functionality of more expensive Nitro or Adobe products, nested within a scaled-down, minimalist, more intuitive design framework. You can edit and insert many objects, like images, hyperlinks, and more very easily. 

The main key differences that make Wondershare PDF Editor stand out are:  

• User friendly interface.
• Less clutter
• Every feature offered by the editor is directly available to you. No need to search around the menus.

There are many unique features found in Wondershare PDF Editor. These include:

• Unique Style Of Annotation:  You can effectively maintain various types of elements with intelligent behavior of Wondershare PDF Editor..
• The Total Text Editing feature is very useful for editing text, easy alignment, and having the Word environment.
• Objects like images of any format, links, tables, and more can be easily added, modified and rendered.
• One click conversion to a Word document of any format (2003, 2007, 2010).
• Support for 17 languages.
• You can easily split and merge PDF documents.

The system requirements for running Wondershare PDF Editor are:

• For Windows: Windows XP/Vista/7 32Bit

• For Mac: Mac OS X 10.5, 10.6 or 10.7(Lion)
  
  

You can get Wondershare PDF Editor at Wondershare.com/pdf-editor. For Windows, it is totally free to use Wondershare PDF Editor beta with full feature for 100 days. You can also download PDF Editor beta to update it to the upcoming paid version for 50% off. For Mac, You can Try or Buy it for $49.95 (Version 1.6.0)