The Macintosh Wizard And PC Tech Blog

The automated home was the futuristic promise of many world fairs, even going as far as to show robots as helpers. Most of everything that was exhibited is now a reality. However, pricing up until recently has been out of reach for the average gadget consumer. That’s where Belkin’s WeMo switch, the well-designed Nest automatic thermostat and the Dropcam Pro come into action. Over the past few weeks, I’ve had some time to play around with the gadgets and apps that control them.

Continue reading Automating The Home With A Nest Thermostat, Dropcam Pro & Belkin WeMo Switch

HTC OneOnce every long while there emerges a unique smartphone that raises the bar for design, speed and connectivity, and its camera. During my recent extended test of an HTC One with AT&T’s 4G LTE service, I discovered some surprising and interesting details relating to those categories.
Continue reading HTC One 32GB With AT&T 4G LTE Smartphone Review

The Google Play Store for Android smartphones offers hundreds of thousands of apps, so where to start? Over the past several years, I have come to rely on a few key mobile apps that help to keep me organized. When setting up my new Samsung Galaxy S4 via the Verizon Wireless Buzz Ambassador program, the apps I use most are for photography, video and social networking.Taking photos and videos for posting to social networks is huge. So having the right apps is very important. I was excited to see what the S4 could do with its 13 megapixel HD camera. The first photo app I downloaded to assist with the filtering of photos was Snapseed from Google.

Continue reading Most Important Android Apps I Use On My Samsung Galaxy S4

Socializing in person and via social media just got more interesting with a new app and online social chat. Klinq recently presented an event with multiple brand sponsors called Social Sips, inside of the renovated Gold Spike located in Downtown Las Vegas. The social sips event could easily be described as a Meetup or Tweetup with a philanthropic twist. A few days after the live event, a virtual WineTwits chat garnered hundreds of Tweets relating to wine. It was completely operated in the cloud of the Internet and brought many wine enthusiasts together to talk about three preselected wines.

Continue reading Klinq Social Sips Event At The Gold Spike & WineTwits Twitter Chat

Vine, Twitter’s six-second short form video service, updated its iOS app today and released a few ways to share videos. Starting today, users who share their Vines on Twitter or Facebook, can easily embed them on the web. Before, users were required to share a Vine to Twitter first, and then embed the entire Tweet on the web, in order for the Vine to show up.

Vine describes their posts as, “little windows into the people, settings, ideas and objects that make up your life.” Today’s announcement and app update will make sharing these “little windows,” that much easier.

Continue reading Twitter’s Vine Updates iOS App To Make Sharing Videos On The Web Easier

LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional social network with more than 175,000,000 members in over 200 countries, recently updated their Android and combo iPhone plus iPad apps, to entice mobile users for more engagement. Their website will be rolling out similar features to its users over the next few weeks.

Real-time is a must in today’s business environment and so is communications on social networks like Facebook. That is why LinkedIn released these app updates, with features such as a new notification system. The system alerts users when people accept your invitations to connect, likes or shares content from your stream, views your profile and more.

Continue reading LinkedIn App Upgrades Get Real-Time Features For Smartphone & iPad Mobile Users