Cool tips n tricks related to smartphones, tablets and computer

Operating on Vodafone’s network, Bemilo is a new pay-as-you-go mobile service in the UK that aims to give parents greater control over their child’s use of a mobile phone. Among the features, one can specifically set which hours during the day that the phone can be operated (the only exception being calls to mom or dad), which websites can be visited and who the child may contact. Further in the name of safety, all picture and video messages are disallowed from the get-go, and parents can even review their children’s text messages — even after they’ve been deleted. The Bemilo service runs £2.95 per month, on a month-to-month basis, whereas calls and voicemail access are charged at 10 pence per minute. Text messages run a similar 10p, but data usage will be levied at a steeper 25p per megabyte — cost-conscious parents may wish to nix this usage entirely. Bemilo’s required SIM card may be purchased either directly through the company’s website or its partner, Carphone Warehouse. As for the company’s mascot, Milo, that’s one cute character that your kids will surely resent.

Read More

Are you looking for an easy way to read and compose emails even when you’re not connected to the internet? Mail Control adds a highly useful functionality to your browser – reading and composing Gmail emails offline. This handy chrome extension pops up a toolbar with Offline Mail, Desktop Gmail, Compose Mail (desktop and offline), Show Last notification and google Calendar options. After installation, the extension will require you to allow offline emailing in Gmail; once done, you will be able to compose messages offline, which will be sent to the recipient next time you connect to the internet. Moreover, you will be able to access all your folders, including Inbox, Sent, Starred and Important Mail. The button in the toolbar displays a count for unread messages and lets you switch between three different pop-up layouts. Additionally, you will be able to switch between Desktop and Offline Gmail options; however, please note that you will have to install the Offline google Mail chrome app in order for Mail Control to completely work. Mail Control is really handy for those who are not connected to internet all the time, but need to access their inbox for various purposes.

Read More

You don’t have to be a Minority Report fan to appreciate Leap Motion’s new tracking sensor technology: there’s something tremendously appealing about being able to wave your hands at your computer and conduct the digital world. Motion control has already proved itself more than just a gimmick in gaming, and now it has a chance to not only do that in mainstream computing, but perhaps rescue Microsoft from one of its more contentious windows decisions. Play it right, and Leap Motion – and others with it – could kill touch in traditional computing before its even had a chance to get started.

Read More

The Nintendo DS is finding all sorts of uses outside of gaming, from school use to museum touring. And now the handheld can fill a new role in Toyota vehicles. In Japan, Toyota has begun offering a game card called Kuruma de DS, which allows DS owners to pair their handheld with their Toyota Smart Navi car navigation system so that the DS can be used like a remote control by passengers.

Read More

Full screen apps in Mac OS X are managed by Mission Control, this means that if switch beween or gesture swipe from one full screen app to a desktop or another app, it follows the order of desktops and apps shown at the top of Mission Control. This also means that you can rearrange the placement of fullscreened apps easily just by clicking on one of the app windows and dragging and dropping it beyond another Desktop or full screen app. Now anytime you swipe between desktops or apps, you’ll find the app in its new placement.

Read More

If you use chrome and love listening to your favorite tracks on google music, then you should give GoogleMusic For chrome a try. This nifty little extension adds a button to your toolbar that, when clicked, reveals controls for playing, pausing, and skipping to the next song within a pop-up. You can use these controls to conveniently control playback without having to constantly switch tabs. Moreover, it displays the track title and artist name at the bottom of the pop-up, and allows you to control playback through keyboard shortcuts, provided the pop-up is open.

Read More

music playback on android can be controlled in various ways. The conventional way, of course, is to use the media controls present on your favorite music player’s interface. Then there are a few music apps that support controlling playback via your device’s volume keys. The button on your headset/Bluetooth device proves to be sufficient for most users as well. We also know of a few apps that allow controlling music playback through the accelerometer (by giving your device a shake). As you can see, all aforementioned solutions require you to touch (or tap buttons on) your device in one way or the other. What if one wishes to control media playback on their android without having to touch/unlock the device at all? Two words: Wave Control. To make your task of playing, pausing and switching between music tacks totally touch-free, this app utilizes your device’s proximity sensor. That is, it lets you control music playback by passing your hand over the sensor, and through other similar gestures.

Read More

windows 8, just like previous versions of windows, displays all the installed system tools and default applets in Control Panel, and doesn’t provide a convenient option for system administrator to hide/remove Control Panel applets for standard users. Although windows implements strict security policies to prevent standard and guest users from gaining access to system utilities and changing default settings, it doesn’t secure some Control Panel applets, which can be used to make system-wide level changes. For instance, windows native uninstaller may be used to uninstall almost any application or system program. Likewise, Personalization applet can be used to modify default Window Aero theme file. In this post, we will use Local Group Policy Editor to hide some Control Panel applets from windows 8 Control Panel. This will hide all the specified tools from Control Panel, restricting standard and guest from accessing them.

Read More

Gesture control has become the latest rage in the iOS development world, and a lot of Cydia tweaks, or even apps, have started taking full advantage of gestures. With the release of iOS 5, some stock gestures were added to iphone, iPad and iPod touch as well, and the jailbreak developers were quick to make huge additions to that list. Some gesture-related tweaks have been around for a long time, like Activator, and the newer ones mostly rely on activator to bring new functionality for users. Brightslide is a similar tweak, which works on the basis of Activator gestures, and using it, you get a slider on the Springboard of any iDevice. The slider offered by Brightslide has a dual purpose; it can be used to control the display brightness, and there is a flashlight button available alongside it as well.

Read More

Monitoring the internet use of children has become almost a necessity for parents if they want to ensure that their child is not being exposed to adult or harmful material. How much monitoring and control there should be, is, however, a debatable topic. Previously, we have covered some nice parental control and monitoring software, such as Qustodio, Weblock For Kids, The Web Blocker, Activity Monitor and Cyberoids Web Blocker. Verity is a parental control software that allows you to monitor and track the computer and internet activity of your child. You can block websites and applications with parental controls and track activity by user, program, keystrokes, mouse clicks and screenshots. It lets you view what you kids are doing on the computer and online in an easy, non-invasive manner. More on Verity after the break.

Read More