Chromecast

The book I read to research this post was Chromecast User Guide by Lisa Thompson which is a very good book that I downloaded for free from kindle. This book is only 25 pages so probably it is only right it is free. It looks at how to set it up and looks at the other options on the market like the roku and apple tv. It also looks at the channel choices both television and radio. It plugs in the back of the television and is powered by either an extender or USB and plugs in the HDMI port of the television. It works with either 720 or 1080 HD. If you have a CEC television you can operate the Google Chromecast with your remote control. Being Google obviously it is compatible with  YouTube and many video providers like Netflix. It works best with Android but does work with other mobile operating systems to a lesser extent. It only costs $35 as compared to the $99 of the Apple TV. Many of the audio and video providers only work in certain countries which tend to be North America & Europe and maybe Australia. Many provide television programmes as well as movies. Many of these providers are starting to finance their own television programmes. You need a tablet or smartphone to set it up. Chromecast tv only has to be set up once ever and then you simply add devices to it. To set it up go to http://google.chromecast.com/setup.

Android Tablets

The book I read to research this post was Android Tablets For Dummies by Dan Gookin which is a very good book which I bought on kindle. This book looks at the manner different types of Android tablet and describes some of the differences. Android is the most popular operating system for tablet or smart-phone. Google bought a company called Android that more or less had developed this operating system although they have since added to it. It is based around Linux which many think is superior in many ways to Windows. Like Linux there is a whole community developing software and apps for these often free of charge. At the time this book came out there was a social media app that was included and was integral to the operating system but with apps like Twitter & Facebook they were free downloads but they could be included in later versions. Some Android tablets require you to set up a Google account in the initial set up, others require you to download the latest version of Android and others merely require that you connect to a wireless network. There has been some controversy over very cheap Android tablets with limited features and I think you are better off getting a decent model if only so most apps are compatible with it. Some apps only work with certain models like the Nexus 7 and I think if there is a specific for dummies book on your model of Android tablet you are probably better off getting that. I think Dan has authored quite a few similar for dummies books to this on various Android devices among others. I really enjoyed reading this book and think it might even be of interest if you want something to keep you abreast of the latest technology which is mainly why I read it. The documentation that comes with Android tablets is generally poor and this book also fulfills a need there. Generally speaking I find the for dummies books helpful and they do present information in a light-hearted and easy to understand manner.

 

Samsung Galaxy S5

The book I read to research this post was Samsung Galaxy s5: The Unofficial Galaxy S5 User Guide by Daniel Forrester ywhich is a very good book which I bought from kindle. This book tells you all about the Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone which is probably the best on the market at the moment. It features a 2 MP front camera and a 13 MP rear camera. It’s an android operating system but takes it to new limits with things like a universal remote control compatible with a wide variety of electronic consumer goods and a Google account for things like email and Google Drive is a requirement but is simple enough to set up. It features widgets and apps and widgets run continously with maybe extras that can be activated but apps have to be started for you to use. It features a pedometer and heart monitor. It has some of the older features we are used to like face recognition and retina display.You can use the screen without actually touching the screen although that may take a bit of getting used and you can hold your finger a little above the screen. It integrates with social media especially Google + where it is quite simple to have a hang out or video conference call. There is an onscreen keyboard. There are apps specifically for this phone for email and internet although it does have Gmail & Chrome as well. It has a dedicated GPS antenna for improved reception for this. It helps you triangulate where you are better. It has a proximity sensor for detecting compatible devices and networks and there will be USB devices you can connect to it. It has special powering down modes to save power which allow to still function but for example give a black and white display to save power. This is a very interesting and easy to follow book and because this phone is so new there aren’t many books about it but I daresay that will change as time goes on.

 

Hudl

The book I read to research this post was Hudl For Dummies by Rosemary Hattersley which is an excellent book which I bought on kindle. The Hudl is a low priced android tablet sold exclusively by the supermarket chain Tesco in Britain and it has things like your location and time settings set automatically due to it only being sold in Britain. It has a 3MP camera on the rear and a 2MP one on the front. It has to be connected to a wireless network in order to work. It does stream television via several free apps and via the wireless network. It ues wi-fi direct and Android 4.0 which most recent Android tablets do. There is things like BBC iplayer which is free and lets you catch up on tv programmes and Sky Go which is free to Sky subscribers. If you don’t have a Sky subscription you have to pay individually to download programmes, I think the Hudl retail for £49.95 so is one of the cheapest tablets and also comes with various services offered by tesco. You can use an internet cafe to get on the internet with it. It has 16 GB of storage and will work with a micro SD card up to 32 GB for additional storage and has a quad-core processor. You can password protect data on the Hudl but not on the micro SD card so must copy anything important onto your Hudl. It is a good idea to set up a Google account if you haven’t got one as you can store additional stuff in Google Drive as you can on a Windows computer. I really enjoyed reading this book and I think it is a great shame the Hudl is only available in Britain. It has also got a scratchproof glass screen and many owners buy a bluetooth speaker to go with it especially if they play video and audio on it. There are also protective cases available and there are various music and video streaming services like Spotify and Blinkbox you can use with it.

Google Chromecast

The book I read to research this post was The Google Chromecast User Guide by Steve Weber which is a very good book which I downloaded from kindle. This book was number 1 on the computing free book chart on kindle. I have also done another blog post on the chromecast at http://scratbag.me which might be of interest. The chromecast basically is a video streaming device priced at $35 that streams video and audio from your router to your television and utilizes the HDMI port. It differs from a lot of similar devices because most of the processing is done by the router freeing up your computer or television. It works with a lot of different services like Netflix & Amazon Prime some officially and some unofficially with various hacks. There is a free software called plex that lets you stream your film and audio especially dvds from your computer to the chromecast. There is another service called crackle that lets you stream free movies from their website but with adverts but there is a paid option as with a lot of these types of service without adverts. There is a service called called vuvo where you pay for individual films priced at from $2-$6. Netflix also does a dvd postal rental service where there is a much wider selection of films for rent and often newer films are included in this. Many studios don’t give permission for there films to be screened so it is probably worthwhile subscribing to this priced at $7.99 a mont for one dvd posted at a time but unlimited how many you can watch. There are additional charges if you have more than one dvd posted at a time. Note the chromecast works with HD & 1080p and also 3d. I did quite enjoy this book and the chromecast clearly is a must have and very fashionable item to have at the moment. Also if you can get this book free you have nothing to loose.

 

Google Chromebook

The book I read to research this post was My Google Chromebook by Michael Miller which is an excellent book which I bought from kindle. This book tells you all about the Chromebook and has lots of tutorials showing you how to do the various tasks on it. There are  currently 2 companies making Chromebooks, Samsung & Acer & there is also a desktop version called the Chromebox. These computers do away with the hard drive & dvdrom drive found in most computers. They use cloud computing and even the operating isn’t installed on the computer but is run via your broadband connection. Most cloud computer applications work quite happily with it. Any software you use is a web application and your work is stored on these sites. You can also store it on a USB flash drive. These computers have a solid state system memory of 16 GB. There are many vendors offering cloud computing applications, among them Quickbooks, Microsoft & Zoho. At present there are cloud based photo editing applications but these are a little limited in what they do compared to retail software like Photoshop. The operating system is based on Lynux & Unix & to make it user friendly they have tried to make the layout of the Chrome Operating System similiar to the Chrome Internet Browser. Some Chromebooks come with 3G so you can go directly onto the internet & others just have Wi-Fi. The Chromebook has a 12 inch screen & is very light. They are similiar to netbooks in not having a dvdrom drive. One thing worth pointing is it will only work in conjunction with the internet & you must have a fairly quick broadband otherwise you will find the cloud software running very slowly.

Samsung Galaxy Note

The book I read to research this post was Samsung Galaxy Note For Dummies by Dan Gookin which is an excellent book which I bought from Kindle. This book tells you everything you could possibly want to know about the Galaxy Note & like most For Dummies books is well presented and easy to understand. This is a hybrid half smartphone and half tablet. It uses the Android operating system & has quite a few nifty features. It features several virtual keyboards and it basically is a matter of preference which one you use. There is the Android keyboard which is the one most people use. Then there is the proprietary Samsung optimized for this phone but not as optimized for the operating system. There is the mobile phone keyboard which is popular because the keys are big although the features aren’t as easily accessed. If you make conference calls there is a merge button which lets you add a caller to the conversation. Alternatively there is the split key that lets you go from one conversation with one person to another. They recommend you set up your voicemail even if you intend using another service like Google Voice. This phone integrates with the various Google services. There is a Google Playstore where they recommend you get your apps from. There have been a few instances of malware being included with apps, mostly in the Far East but obviously if you download an app you should watch what it’s doing, ie accessing your emails, & you should consider whether it really is necessary for the app to do that bearing in mind what its job is. If in doubt delete the app. There is a good free program called double switch at http://doubleswitch.com which goes on your computer and transfers files to your Galaxy Note by wireless. There is also a website at http://zedge.com which is good for ringtones.