Things to do before installing iOS 6 on your iPhone or iPad

As an Apple Inc Fan, anything iOS gets me in the right mood and i always want to get updated of trending gadgets and technology, believe me there's nothing as sleek and secured as an apple product.

With the new iOS pushed live to the servers by Apple, it can just be installed on your iPhone or iPad wirelessly, in just a few taps but before you do that please take note of the following tips:

First of all Why bother with the upgrade? Well, I can tick off some new features, including turn-by-turn car navigation through the new Maps app, full-screen web surfing, a “do not disturb” mode for calls and alerts, the ability to decline a call with a text message, easier photo sharing, and more.

1. Update iTunes

Apple recently issued a new version of iTunes to go along with iOS 6, and while there’s nothing earth-shatteringly new about the update, iTunes 10.7 is designed to play nice with iPhones and iPads running the iOS 6 software update.
Given that, it’s probably a good idea to update your copy of iTunes before taking the iOS 6 leap. Here’s how to do it.
For iTunes on a Mac:

• Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of the screen, then select Software Update.
• The Mac App Store application on your Mac should open automatically, and it will scan your system for software that needs to be updated. Near the top of the list, you should see an entry for iTunes; just click the Update button.

For iTunes on a PC:

• Open iTunes, click the Help menu, then select Check for Updates.
• After a few seconds, a window should appear prompting you download the new version of iTunes; go ahead and click the “Download iTunes” button.

 2. Back up your iPhone/iPad

A stalled iPhone/iPad update could freeze your device or corrupt its data, including your photos, contacts, music and apps.

That’s why it’s critical you back up your iDevice before beginning the iOS 6 installation process. Here’s how:

Using iCloud
If you’re using Apple’s free iCloud service on your iPhone or iPad and you have iCloud backup enabled, your device should be backing itself up automatically whenever its locked and connected to a Wi-Fi network.

Nice, but it’s still a good idea to check the date on your most recent iCloud backup—and if the backup file is more than a few days old, you should probably perform a manual backup before proceeding.

• Tap the Settings icon, then tap iCloud, Storage & Backup.
• Scroll to the bottom of the next screen and check the date of your last backup. Was it more than a day ago? If so, tap the “Back Up Now” button to manually create a new backup file.

Using iTunes
Still syncing your iPad or iPhone with iTunes? If so, iTunes creates a backup of your iDevice with each and every sync, and it’s worth it to perform one last backup before installing iOS 6.

• Connect your iPhone or iPad to iTunes on your desktop using its USB sync cable. Or, if you’re using Wi-Fi to sync your device with iTunes, you should see it already listed in the left column of the iTunes interface.
• Click the “Sync” button on iTunes, sit back and wait; within a few minutes or so, iTunes will have created a new backup of your iPhone or iPad data.

 

3. Plug your iPhone or iPad into a power source

One thing you definitely don’t want to happen during the iOS 6 update process is have your iPhone or iPad run out of juice midway through the installation; it’s a sure-fire way to corrupt your device’s data, or worse.
With that in mind, make sure to plus your iPhone or iPad into a wall outlet using its power adapter or connect it to a powered USB port on your PC or Mac before you install iOS 6. Better safe than sorry, right?

4. Be patient

Whenever there’s a major new iOS update available for download, a stampede of eager iPhone and iPad users tends to slow Apple’s servers to a crawl—and when that happens, downloads that normally take minutes could take an hour or more.

Top 10 Tablets compared: COMING SOON

Top 10 Tablets compared: which is best for you? COMING SOON

 Number 10: Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9

Number 9: Apple iPad 2

Number 8: Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1

Number 7: Microsoft Surface

Number 6: Amazon Kindle Fire HD

Number 5: Asus Transformer Pad Infinity

Number 4: Google Nexus 10

Number 3: Google Nexus 7

Number 2: iPad 4

Number 1: iPad mini

Top Tech Trends To Look Out For In 2013?

Nothing happens overnight; next year’s trends will be an outgrowth of what is happening already this year. But a few markets may see an inflection point in 2013:

Cheap tablets – most people still think of tablets as expensive premium Apple toys. But these things are going to be $19.95 soon, that's like (N4, 000) cheaper than a hardcover book. This has some implications:

• Every kid in every school can have one or more than one.
• They’ll be widespread in Africa, Asia, South America, even in places without landlines. Many folks may skip smartphones completely and move directly to small tablets.
• You can own multiple tablets, optimized for different purposes (same as how you own multiple hardcover books today).
• This will bring in changes in education, health care, retail and restaurant experiences, automobiles, etc,  as we stop thinking of these things as expensive computers and start thinking of them as replacements for paper.

 MOBILE payments – as mobile money becomes more widespread, and services like internet Banking, E-payment, RTGS, NIBSS roll out, 2013 might finally be the year where walking into a store and paying with your phone or just by giving your name becomes common and not just an early adopter experience in a few markets.

Wearable computing – a revamped iPod Nano, the Pebble watch project, and/or other things like them will make this the year you’ll finally see people checking a watch or a necklace regularly for messages from their friends vs. whipping out their phone and turning it on constantly.

Corporate IT moves to the cloud – this is already happening but is large enough that it still deserves a mention. Trillions of dollars of IT spending are moving from data centers and software licenses to cloud services. Soon you’ll be able to read about companies with 10,000 employees who don’t have dedicated data centers.
The aas-ing of everything – companies are moving software and storage to the cloud. They’ll soon realize those cloud services can easily pull from cloud-based data sources (Jigsaw, Insideview, Rapleaf) plus cloud-based labor pools, both crowdsourced and professional services firms. For example, why should a mid-market company buy solutions from Marketo, Salesforce, Insideview, build a website, design their lead management workflow, hire IT people to implement the software then staff to implement the workflow? Outsource the whole thing to a firm who runs the plumbing and provides a labor force to do some of the grunt work, leaving the company free to test and push messages to customers through that infrastructure and have their employees talk only to qualified opportunities.

TV – this may be wishful thinking, but something significant could finally happen in the living room in 2013. It could be the long-awaited Apple iTV, or it could be Tivo getting acquired by Apple or Google or Microsoft. The ideal TV experience is a  a single box that lets you both record and download any content you want at any time via a single interface. We’ll take at least a step towards that this year. My bet is on an upgraded Apple TV box plus a true iTV with built in DVR functionality, a revamped interface and set of services, and an app store.
It will be a wild ride.

MasterCard to release credit card with display and keypad in 2013

Near Field Communication has been at the forefront of payment technology for a couple of years now. We’ve seen the tech ship on multiple smartphones to facilitate paying for things at places like gas stations and convenience stores. A new technology from MasterCard being unveiled in Singapore, however, could rival NFC in sheer terms of awesomeness.
The credit card company worked with Standard Chartered to launch what is essentially a credit card with a built-in display and touch-sensitive keypad. It’s described as an interactive payment card, or security token card, which uses MasterCard’s Display Card technology.
The display and keypad allow cardholders to generate a one-time password that is used as an authentication security measure. MasterCard says that future revisions will be able to display things like available card balance, loyalty or reward points, recent transactions and other interactive information.
The card will become standard issue for all Standard Chartered Online Banking and Breeze Mobile Banking users starting in January 2013. They say it’ll be particularly useful for high-risk transactions like payments or transfers above a certain amount or when adding third party payees.
Furthermore, all MasterCard Super Salary, XtraSaver and Bonus$aver debit cards issued in Singapore will be converted to Display cards. The company didn’t mention if this technology would soon be introduced in other parts of the world.
Would you be more inclined to use something like this to pay for goods versus an NFC-enabled device given the potential security risks that the latter may have?

Run Windows OS from a USB stick with Windows To Go

Windows To Go is a new feature in Windows 8 Enterprise that enables you to install your preferred image of Windows 8 on a USB stick.
Your employees can use the USB drive to boot Windows 8 on any machine, so they can work from home or another uncontrolled location with secure access to your full corporate environment. Once the thumb drive is removed the computer resumes to its original state.
If you're struggling with BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) scenarios where your employees want to use their own hardware, Windows To Go solves the issues. User settings can be managed using Group Policy in exactly the same way you would set up other PCs in your business.
It's also a great solution if you need to use more than one PC yourself; you can simply take your install with you. Windows To Go can also be controlled by enterprise management tools such as Microsoft System Centre, while your employees can access company resources like your intranet through Direct Access.

http://www.vsszone.com/create-a-bootable-dvd-or-usb-flash-drive-from-iso-image-using-windows-7-usbdvd-download-tool/

Windows 8 vs. Windows 7

Windows 8 vs. Windows 7: Top Features That Will Be Gone

Windows 8 upcoming release is buzzed a lot on the Internet. The key enhancements like Metro design, Windows Store, fast boot are now well known even to Mac and Linux users! So let’s leave them in peace. In fact, Windows 8 is remarkable not only for its new features, but for the removal of some old options which have been a flagship of Windows OS for years. Important or not so, these features are no longer available. So if you really miss them, think twice before upgrading to Windows 8.

1. Start Button

The Start button which first appeared in Windows 95 and persisted in each new Windows version will be gone soon. Instead, there’s a hot bottom-left corner of the screen to reveal the hidden Start button.

2. Start Menu

The Start menu has also been removed in favor of a full screen interface called the Start screen that uses dynamic tiles instead of static computer icons. It’s accessible as a hotspot in the lower left corner of the screen, via the Windows key, and on the charms bar.

3. Aero Glass

The Aero Glass theme, the graphical centerpiece of Windows Vista and Windows 7, has been completely removed from Windows 8 in favor of a Metro-style theme.

4. Flip 3D

Together with Aero theme, Microsoft abandons Flip 3D windows switching (WinKey+Tab). This wasn’t actually the popular feature among Windows users, still it looked cool and stylish. In Windows 8, Flip 3D is replaced with a Modern UI app switcher, accessible by moving mouse up from the bottom-left corner or down from the upper-left corner. This cannot be used for desktop apps, only to switch to the desktop.

5. DVD Playback

Since DVD discs are used less with the rise of Netflix and other media-streaming services, Microsoft will be removing the integrated DVD playback support from Windows 8. Many new Windows 8 computers will come without DVD drives and Windows Media Player will no longer include codecs to play DVDs. Still if you buy a computer with a DVD drive, it’s up to the manufacturer to include licensed DVD software. Or you can use third-party DVD players, anyway.

6. Windows Desktop Gadgets

Popular desktop widgets like Calendar, Clock, Contacts, Currency Conversion, Feed Headlines, Notes, Stocks, Weather, etc. will be no longer available as a part of Windows sidebar. Though most of these widgets will appear in Start Screen.

7. Update Notifications

On current Windows versions, we are informed about updates through a system tray icon and notification balloons. On Windows 8, these update notifications will no longer appear on the desktop. All Windows-Update-related messages will be shown on the login and lock screens, so you might not even see them if you automatically log into your PC.

8. Recent Documents

There is no place for Recent Documents menu in the new Start screen. So use Search in Charms bar to find any documents on your Windows 8 PC.

9. Windows Backup and Restore

The Backup and Restore feature that allows users to create system and files backups and restore from them has been replaced by a new feature called File History. Still this new option will provide only file-based backup, since system backup is underused in currant Windows versions. As it’s clear from the list, most Windows 7 features described above don’t completely disappear in Windows 8, they are just replaced by the new modified ones. We hope that these changes are well thought out and caused by new technology standards. Farewell, Windows 7! Good luck, Windows 8
 SOURCE: FREEMAKE.COM

IPAD MINI

                                   IPAD MINI REVIEW

The iPad mini has an 4:3 aspect ratio, different than the 16:9 ratio preferred by the Google Nexus 7 and Amazon Kindle Fire HD. The wider screen (holding it in portrait orientation) gives you more room for content.
Apple's Phil Schiller gleefully compared the iPad mini's 7.9-inch screen to the Nexus 7's 7-inch screen, pointing out how the iPad mini's viewing area is 40 per cent larger when you hold it in portrait, and a whopping 67 per cent larger in landscape orientation.

The iPad mini's 1024x768-pixel screen is 163 pixels per inch, the same pixel density as an iPhone 3GS, making it woefully low-res in terms of specs. It's also the same pixel dimensions as iPad 2 and the original iPad, so all of the existing iPad apps can run natively, no scaling or waiting for developers to push out updates. 

Naturally, the small iPad mini sports Apple's new Lightning connector, which can be inserted facing either direction and locks into place with a satisfying click. Apple's Lightning adaptors will let you connect a VGA display or projector, a digital display or projector with HDMI, a USB camera, or an SD card (but will cost you at least £25), and Apple also offers a £25 Lightning to 30-pin adaptor and spare Lightning to USB cables for £15 (one cable comes with the iPad mini).
Preorders begin this October 26. iPad mini starts at £269 for 16GB Wi-Fi only. 32GB and 64GB versions are £349 and £429, and you can add LTE cellular for £100 extra.
Here's where consumers might have a problem though - for £150 less, they'll be able to pick up a Google Nexus 7 or Amazon Kindle Fire HD with 32GB of storage, a much faster processor and a more impressive screen.
Apple has made some significant sacrifices for the iPad mini, be it the low-res screen or last-gen processor, and while it will still sell thanks to its user 'enchantment', the rivals are better-specified, cheaper and carry some pretty serious names behind them.
Wi-Fi versions of the iPad mini start shipping November 2, and the LTE versions two weeks later. Its size and weight let it compete with smaller e-readers, while its power and access to the full ecosystem of iPad apps make it a capable, extremely portable tablet, too.

SOURCE: TechRadar,Touchreviews