Everybody uses USB flash drives. No matter how kitted-out your setup is, no matter how advanced your assault on the wires is; if you're saying you don't have a USB flash / pen drive at least tucked away somewhere for emergency data transfer, then, well, you're a liar. They may be convenient, useful, and in the case of mine, washing machine-proof, but that doesn't mean to say we wouldn't like to see more functionality. Wireless-ness would seem the natural progression, and King Jim has come through with such a product, naming it the Paketta.
The notion of Microsoft bringing its Office productivity suite to iOS has been long-standing, and while the Redmond-based company has, typically, revealed little with regards to its plans (if any), the release of OneNote for iPad earlier this year certainly seemed indicative of things to come. The Verge then waded into the argument in November by showing off some leaked images indicated Office could release for iOS early next year under a freemium model. Today, references to a slew of potential Office for iOS apps have surfaced on the software maker's support site, and although the product tags depicted look to have been applied somewhat hurriedly, the spot is as strong an indicator as we've seen that Microsoft is plotting to release Office for iOS.
Deals from retailers are plentiful at this time of year - particularly on electricals - and Amazon has joined in with the festive fun by pushing a spectacular deal on one of its own-branded products. The Kindle Fire HD is a fine example of a tablet combining good, solid features with a respectable price tag, and for one day only, you could save a whopping $50 off the price of the 8.9-inch configuration.
All smartphones and tablets facilitate the activation and deactivation of the ringing / alert system. Without this ability, we'd be left with loud ringer or message tones in the most inconvenient situations like meetings, libraries, or other such environments, but while slipping a device into silent mode isn't particularly taxing, it would be a great deal better if we could simply create a schedule for when we want our device to be silent, and when we want to hear it speak. It's certainly on my list of 'simple things smartphones should be able to do natively, but often can't,' and help is at hand for those on Android courtesy of an app by the name of Silence.
Call of Duty may have taken the plaudits as the biggest console release of the year, but just prior to that, the record - albeit short-lived - was held by Halo 4. Being the first major Halo release post-Bungie, many were apprehensive and skeptical about whether the popular franchise could once again pull in the gamers, but the early sales figures have certainly proved otherwise. Halo 4 fans whom adopted the game early have another treat in store today as the initial installment of the Crimson Map Pack becomes available. It's the first of three in a series, and will set you back 800 Microsoft Points for three new multiplayer maps. Want details? We've got 'em after the break!
If you pulled together all iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users running iOS 6 and polled their collective opinions on the new Maps app that replaced Google’s offering, then it is likely that the negative comments would far outweigh the positive ones. If you asked the same users to give some constructive feedback on the Maps app, then it's unlikely that extremely harsh comments would show up in that poll, but that is exactly how the the Victoria Police Department in Australia have described the software to residents of the local area.
Best Buy has been doing its best in recent weeks to save consumers some financial outlay, first by offering a $25 gift card to those who purchased an iPhone 5 directly from their online store, but they have now extended their seasonal goodwill by doubling that bounty and is now offering a $50 discount on the initial handset cost of all iPhone 5 models.
When the Apple iPhone first launched in 2007 it came with pretty much the same Messages application that we all know and use so frequently on a daily basis. Apple have obviously come to the conclusion that the current app is powerful enough as the Messages app hasn't really changed much in the six iterations of iOS and although we have seen a few visual changes and the introduction of iMessaging, the app has stayed fairly true to the original release all those years ago. The jailbroken Cydia store does play home to a number of SMS based tweaks and enhancements, with one of the newest being the SMSOptions Pro package.
Windows 8 isn’t just missing the Start Orb or the ability to easily restart/shut down the PC; there are certain other elements that Microsoft either decided to bury deep within the settings, or omit altogether, when compared with Windows 7 and earlier iterations of the operating system. Among them is also the ability to easily create ad-hoc wireless networks using your current internet connection and wireless adapter. Essentially, an ad-hoc wireless connection turns your PC into a virtual Wi-Fi router, allowing other devices to connect to the internet through a shared internet connection, each with its own unique IP address. Until Windows 7, ad hoc connections were a breeze, since there was an option to create one right in the Network Management utility. With Windows 8, the ability does exist; it’s just a little hard to achieve. In this article, we’ll guide you how to create a wireless ad hoc connection under Windows 8.
There is no denying that music plays an extremely important part in a lot of people's lives and is something that is only made better and enhanced by the fact that most of us carry around a mobile smartphone in our pockets that is capable to playing music wherever we are. The iOS App Store is already home to a large number of music based applications, but for those that are a little tired of listening to the same playlist on their device or continuously skipping between the same few tracks then the Figure universal iOS app could provide the perfect solution.

