Gifts & gizmos for the holidays. IT looks ahead to 2014. Google Voice for Your Chrome Browser . . .

News & Views

Google Adds Voice To Chrome Browser

If you thought that using Google Now voice commands was a smarty-pants way to talk to your smartphone only, Google just changed that. A new voice extension for Chrome browser lets you plug in a microphone and say “OK Google” or use the browser microphone button and ask away! It’s Hands-free with no typing. Simply say “Ok Google” and then ask your question. Here’s a fun you tube video that shows the way! GigaOM also has a good overview

[divider]

IT Looks Ahead To 2014

As IT moves into the new year, it becomes increasingly clear that IT must continue to upgrade its business management profile. More than ever IT decisions affect not just the back room, but the up front profitability and cohesiveness of the corporate structure. Two interesting articles? Twelve Challenges Facing IT Professionals in 2014 by IT Business Edge and Four Ways IT Can Embrace Business Management by Information Week.

MaskMe by Abine Safeguards Your Online Identity.

During the holidays (and always), Abine promises you can browse and shop online without having to give out your real email address, phone number, or credit card number. Using AES-256 Encryption, when you enter private information like your phone number or email, it appears something like this {2cb-005-83cdk} and {80s-d8si-3jsld}. Cnet give it a big thumbs up. There’s a comprehensive overview here. The basic version is free, but you can choose to upgrade for $5 per month, which includes Masked Phones, Masked Credit Cards, and the mobile app for iPhone or Android.

[divider]

Holiday Quick Picks:

Chromecast!

A Great gift at a bargain price. Clever little dongle that controls streaming to your TV via your Android or iOS device, or through the Chrome Browser. Now with HBO GO. It connects through your TV HDMI port and you pull it up with the input button on your television remote, the same as you would a DVD player. A totally innovative little gizmo at $35.

Roku

Nifty little streaming box in 3 versions, with Roku 3 for hidef being the one to beat. Tons of watching pleasure in a tiny box with speed to spare. Enjoy a wealth of channels from Netflix to Amazon, Smithsonian, National Geographic, PBS, and many,many more!

The New Nexus 7

Touted as a smoking little tablet with great features at a very affordable price. 1,920 x 1,200 IPS display, 2GB of RAM, a rear camera, a quad-core processor, wireless charging. Cost is a modest $229 for 16G. $269 for 32G. Unlocked!

MotoG:

Praised as “an affordable phone, done right,” by Engadget, it’s priced at $179 unlocked! The MotoG comes with a 4.5-inch 720p display, and a comfortable curved back. Specs include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 quad-core 1.2GHz processor, 1GB RAM,a 2,070mAh battery, a front-facing cam and a 5mp camera. You can choose from a range of shell or flip covers. See the Engadget review here

iPad Mini With Retina.

You get a gorgeous screen, the Apple ecosystem, and a great design; albeit at a price point that’s a little hard to take when compared to others with the same specs. Apple lovers, however, will probably go ahead and take the bite at close to $400 for a 16G model. PC Mag calls it “Beautifully built, fast . . . with a super sharp retina display that packs all of the power of the iPad Air into a more portable package.” See their review here.

Xbox One

Touted as a command center for your living-family-gaming pleasure, it’s selling like hotcakes, with Kinect built in. Some say TV integration is frustrating and confusing. It’s also slightly pricier than PS4, but offers a ton of popular titles. Here is TechRadar’s take on the beast!

Sony PS4

Great graphics, controller and speed – lacking somewhat in available titles. Despite its smaller size than the Xbox One, Cnet says the PS4 “serves up dazzling graphics, runs on a simplified and logical interface, and boasts a fantastic controller. It’s also $100 cheaper than rival Xbox One and has the upper hand on indie and day one digital-only offerings.”

[image source_type=”attachment_id” source_value=”4596″ align=”left” quality=”90″] IN THE NEWS

Tech Toys For The Holidays

Let’s get unreal. How ‘bout this floating home? Really? The conceptual Trilobis 65 is both a sleek house and a sleek ride as featured in Doornob Design Ideas. It includes an underwater observatory so you can watch Jaws watching you, and worth a look, if only to dream about

On a more reasonable note, however, how about the new Nexus 4 Google Phone? Oh, I forgot, as of this writing (11/27) it’s sold out. Bummer. But when and if it comes back to play, it’s unlocked, very smart and priced to sell at $299 for an 8Gig, GSM, HSPA+. Operative word unlocked! It’s fast, capable, and gets great reviews.

Update Google Nexus4! It was literally just revealed that the Nexus 4 would be back in stock 11/27 at 12:00 PM PST. So depending on when you read this, you can pick one up.

Update 2! This is getting fun (ridiculous). Goggle’s Nexus Cart broke almost immediately with unprecedented demand! About 7:30 PM my cart finally went through. If you happened to order one, hopefully yours did too. So now the wait. For early orders it was 4 to 5 weeks. Now I see it’s up to 8 or 9.

Other phones getting huge press are the Samsung Galaxy III and the Galaxy Note 2 and the ever present iPhone. Unless you have a deep pocket, however, you’ll need to get them on contract, and you already know how that game plays.

There’s also the Sweet little Nexus 7 tablet, available now with 3G+ data. Great price for a great 7” tablet. For about $299 you can get a 32G with data. The other iterations cost less and get strong reviews as well. There is also the new Kindle Fire at a great price, but somewhat geared to the Amazon ecosystem.

And for you Apple fans, well, there’s the Apple ecosystem you know and love with the new Mini great, but feeling a little rushed and maybe a bit long in the tooth. A new mini is supposed to get the retina display.

According to some, the new 7” (give or take) tablet form factor may just be the sweet spot in tablets going forward. We’re still waiting for flexible tablets which may not be all that far off (years, but not decades?)

iPad

December 2013 News & Tips