Microsoft unveils New Windows 8 Themes

Today on Microsoft’s own blog they announced their new line of personalization techniques, including themes and wallpapers, for Windows 8. For gamers, they released a new Halo 4 wallpaper. I know I love Halo and the newest installment of the series has been burning in my xbox since the release date. If I was up for changing my wallpaper I’d probably give the Halo4 one a spin.

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GTGraphics 2 was also released. It is a series of images produced by a team of incredibly talented artists which go along with the space and futuristic, shiny look of Halo 4, although completely unrelated.

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For animal lovers, there was an African Wildlife theme. This one was probably my favorite just because I love seeing natural, high resolution images of animals in their environments. These images are incredibly high definition and look great on any Windows 8 device.

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There’s also an Ancient Egyptian theme for any of you history buffs out there. These pictures include essentially a virtual tour of some of the main attractions of Egyptian ruins, and landscapes from the region. Whether you like Egypt in general or just stunning photographs, this set will leave you breathless.

For a rather out of the public eye release of such themes they were actually all quite impressive. I know I found them all to be suitable for any of my devices, and although there’s not going to be any replacement for my dog as my wallpaper or themes, if I would consider it these themes would be my first picks.

Source: Windows Blog | Images via Microsoft

Copy + Paste Made Easy on Android to Evernote with EverClip

Evernote is a great program for storing and for taking notes in a way that was not really possible before on an Android device. It’s got a great interface and allows you to really get the most out of those precious seconds. It is hard to sometimes select aspects of a webpage to use on Evernote if you for example just want a picture or a select few lines of text and not the entire page. However, now with EverClip, the process is incredibly easy and no longer will limit your note taking on Evernote any longer.

The great thing about EverClip is that you can use it to select an entire webpage also if that is what you’d like. The option to take an entire page of information OR just a select bit makes it the perfect all round selecting tool to export relevant content to Evernote.

Although EverClip is it’s own program not linked directly to Evernote, a simple permission grant to EverClip to access Evernote will have them working seamlessly together and you’ll think they came as a package all along.

The other great thing is that you can actually take the in app web browser to the pages you want to visit which makes it much easier to access the information you need to get and not have to import links, or copy and paste urls into the app to get the content.

The last feature of this app which I’ll praise is the clipboard. It is set up beautifully so that you can see the last several selections you’ve made in case you want to place them somewhere else. The best part about the clipboard is that along with being able to see the last few selections you’ve made there is a thumbnail so you don’t have to remember which exact clipping you took in what order. The thumbnail will allow you a preview of the clipped information.

There is a free version with ads and an ad free version for just $2.49. Do yourself a favor and get these apps today!

Evernote for Android

EverClip for Android

 

[Image Credit: Google Play Store]

Edit a Tweet Before Retweeting With Classic ReTweet

Ahh Twitter. Your little blue bird is so innocent and friendly looking, but any sort of customization of the site is so awkward and difficult. Why must you be so challenging? Well, there is a nice little feature for iOS and Android that allows you to finally to something we’ve all been wanting to do for ages on Twitter. You can now finally edit a Retweet before posting it to finish out the character count or make an edit if you want. This is something that shouldn’t be nearly as ignored as it has been for so long. The fact that you can do it from your mobile device, but not from your computer seems a little bit ridiculous.

Classic Retweet is an extension for Chrome and Firefox that enable the ability to finally do this editing of a tweet before retweeting it on a computer. The steps to do this otherwise are cumbersome and random, but with this extension it seems like it has always been a feature since the beginning.

The extension puts another option underneath the classic Twitter box. This is called “classicRT” and clicking this will open up the Retweet option in a fully editable box much like an original tweet would come up on. This allows any further tagging or character additions before posting it.

This is an incredibly handy tool for editing typos, removing tags or hashtags that you don’t want, or simply adding your special flare to another person’s tweet. After all, retweeting something in an exact identical format is only limiting. Nobody wants to be completely unoriginal.

Find the Classic Retweet extension in the Chrome Web Store today. A Firefox user can get the extension manually but the latest version hasn’t been fully approved so an automatic installation isn’t quite ready yet.

Don’t be held back by the confines of your computer’s tweeting limitations anymore. Get this extension and Tweet all you can Tweet!

 

Classic Retweet From Chrome Web Store

Classic Retweet v1.11 For Firefox

iPhone 5s to Have 13 Megapixel Camera from SONY!

There are always rumors flooding in about the newest iPhone from the second the last one is released. This time the newest model is being referred to as the 5S among technology sources. The newest reputable leak has come from iLounge which mentions a faster processor, which is no surprise. Apple has included a faster processor each time a new generation of iPhone has been released. Yet, there was one new claim which is worth mentioning. The newest prototypes are said to include a 13 megapixel camera.

The cameras on iPhones have always been a huge selling point. The self shots in mirrors across the world are almost synonymous with the iconic devices. Now we may have a 13 megapixel idea of what you looked like getting ready in the morning for all of social media to appreciate. Apple has had great cameras in their devices for years, but if this latest model is to truly have a 13 megapixel device from Sony the jump in quality would be noticeably larger.

Obviously, at this point in the game there’s no telling exactly what Apple could be planning for their next iPhone. With the smaller improvement other than screen size with their latest model they could be scheming up something big for their next debut. Only time will tell and come the next big press release we will all know for sure.

It stinks that with so many sources of information and all of them claiming to have insider information there is no standard among the community to either validate or squash claims as they come out. Don’t fear! At TechnoBB we only announce news when it is reputable and has some sort of backing to it. We take technology seriously and only want the correct news coming out to our readers.

Unlocking Your Mobile Phone to be ILLEGAL as of Tomorrow January 26!

This may come as a bit of a surprise, but that mobile phone you have in your possession may be a source of legality come tomorrow. In October there was a big news story going around that people were allowed to unlock their phones no matter what carrier and no matter what contractual obligations they had. Well, that allowance was for 90 days and tomorrow that deadline is up.

First of all, what is unlocking? In the most basic sense it is making a mobile phone not dedicated to simply one mobile service provider. A device purchased under contract from one carrier is usually “locked” to only work with that service’s network. This creates a problem when a phone is only offered under one carrier, but a person wants to use that phone under another carrier. This mess can be solved by unlocking a mobile device. This means that the code in the phone is replaced to allow any network to function with another networks SIM card. This means any device can be used by a person under any mobile service. This seems like it should be the way it should be anyway, but here’s the issue.

Many times phones are purchased with a new contract and the phone price is slashed drastically as a result. A phone that would retail without a contract for maybe $500 would only be $100 or free. This charge that the mobile carrier is willing to take is so that the phone will be used under their network and they will make money off of your business for the amount of time of the renewed contract. If the phone is unlocked then you could get the cheap price and they might never hear from you again. For this reason, phones paid for at full price are sometimes available as unlocked legally by the provider. This is because they are making their money upfront from you and have no reason to care what you do with the phone.

It is all a mess of technicalities and in the long run ,and in the real world, this law will probably go the way of jaywalking and speed limits where they are broken unnoticed around every corner.

Samsung Unveils Mid-Range Smartphone Galaxy Xcover 2 with underwater camera

Today Samsung announced their newest phone in the release lineup. It went heavily unnoticed since the Galaxy line is mostly given publicity to the S lineup, but nonetheless the Xcover 2 is now out there. This phone is sold as a rugged and waterproof phone that can take a beating. Being able to withstand depths of 1 meter the phone is essentially a shower proof, and accidental toilet swim proof device, but isn’t exactly fully waterproof by any means.

The other specs are almost entirely lackluster and honestly kind of surprisingly considering the Samsung name. Only hosting a 5 megapixel camera on the back this phone seems to have put any type of actual luxury to the wayside and mostly caters to people who want a rugged and sturdy dependable phone but not much else.

Featuring three physical buttons, home, back, and menu, the Xcover2 also seems reminiscent of an older generation smartphone. Either way the phone looks solid and will most likely cater to a very targeted audience which will seek out this kind of device when on the market which is why it has probably gone under-publicized.

There are also rumors of the Xcover 2 having a workout program system integrated into it with some sort of cardio trainer too. We’ll see what really ends up happening when the phone is fully launched. Although right now it looks like unless you plan to use your phone for running in the rain or a quick, shallow water photo-shoot this device might be easily overlooked. If you’re a rugged butterfingers who might drop their phone a lot but still wants the dependability and function of a smartphone this one might be for you. If you’re looking to replace your Galaxy S series or iPhone I’d look elsewhere.