Here's a really cool tool to help you access and manage your cloud storage easier.
GLADINET - Cloud Storage Access Platform & Solutions
Gladinet Cloud Desktop is offered in a couple of different versions. The free version has some limitations. You can register the product and upgrade to the Professional version to get all of the features.
It supports all of the popular cloud storage providers such as Windows Live Skydrive and Google Docs.
Enjoy!
After upgrading my computer with a better motherboard, faster CPU and more memory, I noticed that I was unable to purchase or rent movies from Zune market place. After selecting a movie and clicking the rent or buy button, it gave me an error saying that I didn’t have rights to perform that action. I knew right away it had something to do with media usage rights. DRM is tied to the system hardware. I thought it was only tied to the serial number of my hard drive. Since I’m using the same drive, it has to be tied to the motherboard or CPU. Whatever the case, I needed to reset the DRM store my PC. Luckily this is very easy to do in Windows 7 or Vista.
You simply have to follow these steps…
1. Find your existing DRM folder and rename it to something else. I renamed it to DRMBackup.
2. Next you have to run Internet Explorer with administrative rights. Click on your Orb, do a search for Internet Explorer. Locate Internet Explore in the list, right click it and select “Run as administrator”.
3. Paste the following link into the new Internet Explorer window that is running in administrative mode.
http://drmlicense.one.microsoft.com/Indivsite/en/indivit.asp
You don’t have to close other IE windows for this to work.
4. Follow the instructions on the website to reset or upgrade your DRM store. It will give you a new license for media content.
Note: When you click Upgrade, your computer will connect to a Microsoft-operated Internet site and send information about your digital media player, including a unique hardware identifier. No information will be sent that can be used to personally identify you or track your activities. Microsoft will then upgrade the security components of your digital media player to ensure that it runs with optimal security.
Enjoy
Android accounted for 34% of the 14.7 million smartphones sold in the U.S. last quarter, while RIM was 32.1% of the market and Apple was 21.7%. That's a huge victory for Google, which was zero two years ago. The game will change again when Windows Phone 7 hits the market.
A hilarious parody created by Michael Ingram Jr.
You can watch more of Michael's videos here: http://mingramjr.com/
Hours after its iPhone 4 went on sale to excited crowds Thursday, Apple found itself responding to complaints that holding the phone by its metal edge causes mobile reception to suffer.
The company's response, in a nutshell? You're holding it wrong!
The proper way to hold your new iPhone is illustrated below:
Read the full article: http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/06/25/iphone.problems.response/index.html?hpt=Sbin
Based on some feedback from a very respected source, I’ve decided to update the format of this side by side comparison. Keep in mind that these ratings are simply “my humble opinion”.
Form Factor
The Evo (manufactured by HTC) is also very handsome. It is much larger than most Smartphones; which can be a bit of a turn off for most people. However, it doesn’t feel like a brick in your pocket. In fact, it fits really comfortably in your pocket and hand. It doesn’t feel as nice as the iPhone when holding it, but it is very close.
Winner= iPhone 4
Screen
The iPhone has a much higher resolution and the screen is a thing of beauty. The lack of real-estate hurts the iPhone in this category.
Winner = DRAW
Interface
The Evo’s interface is pretty slick and intuitive. I found myself navigating and exploring the apps with no problem. All of the gestures that I’m used to doing worked well. In fact, the Dolphin browser allows you to use your own gestures to navigate web sites. Pretty cool. The Evo has support for animated and static background pictures. It also supports multi-tasking so you can have multiple apps going at once.
The interface is the familiar iPhone interface that we are all used to. Very responsive and very slick. There are some minor improvements such as support for background pictures and multi-tasking. One thing to note about multi-tasking is that the iPhone app has to be written to support it. Most of the iPhone apps out today do not support this. I’m sure this will change over time.
Winner = DRAW
Killer Features
Out of the box, the Evo has a few features that are really exciting:
1. Mobile Hot Spot
2. Live Television
3. Integration to Facebook
4. Support for widgets
5. HDMI output
The Mobile Hot Spot is really cool and is almost a must have for me. I like the idea of sharing my data plan with my laptop and having instant and secure Internet access anywhere I have data coverage. Sprint’s 4G network is also a whole lot faster than AT&T’s 3G.
Live Television is also very cool. The coworker that owns this particular Evo is watching the World Cup on his phone! How awesome is that?!! And the image looks great! The phone even has a little kick stand so that you can set it on your desk and watch comfortably. Very cool.
Integration to Facebook is a nice surprise. It ports over your contacts and shows their status without login into a Facebook app.
Widgets are cool. Widgets are apps that are always on. No need to open an app to interact with it. To use the Facebook widget, you simply glance at your phone to get an update.
HDMI output on the Evo means you can plug into your TV and watch videos you’ve recorded or Sprint TV on the big screen.
The iPhones biggest strength is its massive library of apps. We’ve all heard the term “there’s an app for that”. Well, it’s true. Integration with iTunes is either a plus or minus, depending on who you talk to.
Winner = Evo
Camera: Pictures and Video
The camera on the iPhone is lower in resolution (5 mp) than the Evo camera (8 mp). Both phones support video chat. However, the iPhone only supports video chat when it is connected to wifi. The Evo requires that you be connected to the 4G network. Both phones support HD video recording.
Battery Life
Personally, I don’t own either of the phones so I can’t speak on experience. I can only base this comparison on what people are reporting. So far, people say that the battery life on the Evo sucks. The faster 4G network and TV watching comes at a price. Fortunately, the Evo gives you the option to upgrade the battery. Not sure how much this will help, and I’m sure it will add more bulk to an already bulky phone. The iPhone 4 has better battery life.
Winner = iPhone
Network
The 4G network is definitely something to get excited about. It uses the Clear 4G network and it is much faster than the any of the existing 3G networks. The issue with it is that it is not available everywhere. You have to check and see if your city is covered. If it isn’t, you will only be able to run in 3G mode.
The AT&T service can be pretty bad at times. Again, this totally depends on the coverage. In my area, the service is pretty crappy. I have a lot of dropped calls. The data network is pretty solid and I haven’t had too many issues with it. My only gripe with it is that it can be slow at times.
Winner = Sprint (but it totally depends)
And the winner is…
Ultimately, both phones are very good options and you will most likely be happy with either purchase. If form factor is more important than 4G speeds, I suggest you go with the iPhone. If a fast network, TV and Mobile Hot Spot is are must have features for you, go with the Evo.
Final thoughts… There are a couple of factors you have to consider before making your selection and signing up for a 2 year contract.
1. Keep in mind that the Droid’s app library is growing. There will soon “be an app for that” on the Droid app store too.
2. There are other very exciting phones coming to a store near you very soon. The Windows Phones will soon be here and it looks like they will offer some very cool features like Social Networking integration and better enterprise/business support.
3. AT&T and Verizon will soon introduce their version of the 4G network. From what I’ve learned, the technology is far superior than Sprint’s. It will have bigger coverage than 3G and will penetrate buildings better due to its lower frequency. It also promises to be faster.
Windows Phone 7 teaser video… Here’s a preview of Windows Phone 7. Watch it to find out why I’m excited about this phone.
