Author: coutinho

By Nancy Messieh, MakeUseOf – February 25, 2013 at 07:01PM

Have five minutes to kill? What better way to spend that time than to watch an fascinating or informative TED Talks video. There’s a lot of great content available to watch on TED but sometimes you have just a few minutes – and rather than waste that time playing a game or checking your email for the 20th time in two minutes, watch a TED video instead.

We’ve put together a list of eight videos. Just bookmark this post on your phone and you’ll have a short playlist ready to come back to every time that you need a quick distraction, a moment of inspiration or simply want to take a short break from your work.

If you have more than 5 minutes on your hands, be sure to check out our other recommended TED videos – we’ve got something in there for everyone: 4 must-see talks on creativity, inspiration and passion, 5 fascinating TED talks that explore the edge of technology and 6 mind-blowing TED talks about psychology and human behaviour.

Thank You

Counselor and life coach Laura Trice talks about the importance of two very simple little words – “Thank you.” Too often, people don’t feel that they can’t ask for praise, and won’t ask for a ‘thank you.’ In under 5 minutes, she manages to explain why we resist asking the people around us to thank us, to praise us, and why it’s so important that we have to be honest about the praise that we need to hear, and important to ask the people around us – what they want to hear.

The Best Gift I Ever Survived

In under 4 minutes Stacey Kramer will give you goosebumps, inspire you, and make you want to live your life to the fullest. Rather than give away what Stacey has to say, why not just watch the video for yourselves? She describes a ‘gift’ in exquisite detail – and after what seems like 3 very long minutes – she reveals what that gift is. Watch the video to find out what it was.

How To Tie Your Shoes

Did you know that the chances are you’re tying your shoelaces incorrectly? That’s what Terry Moore discovered a few years ago. As he says in the video, “I would have thought that by age 50, one of the life skills I had really nailed was tying my shoes.” It turns out that there’s two ways to tie your shoes (and no it doesn’t involve bunny ears).

Watch the TED talk video, which happens to be TED’s first ever 3-minute talk, to discover the weak and strong forms of tying your shoelaces and how to find out if you did it right.

Why Is ‘x’ The Unknown?

We couldn’t resist adding another Terry Moore video. In this one, he explains how ‘x’ came to be the symbol for the ‘unknown’. As it turns out, its all thanks to a bunch of Spaniards who decided to transliterate a word from Arabic into Latin, by way of Greek.

Confused? Watch the video and Moore does a great job of explaining the idea.

A Story Of Mixed Emoticons

You probably wouldn’t imagine that poetry and emoticons can really mix. After all, poetry is a beautiful form of expression, while emoticons are pretty much the complete opposite. Ask any writer and they’ll probably tell you that texting has ruined the art of communication.

And yet Rives, the 2.0 poet, manages to create a touching and sweet story, illustrated with none other than, typographical emoticons.

How To Start a Movement

In just over 3 minutes, entrepreneur Derek Sivers is able to break down how to start a movement. His short talk is accompanied by an amusing, illustrative video, that proves that all it really takes is two people to get the ball rolling. As Sivers put it – while it takes a lot of courage to be a leader, it takes even more courage to be the first person who stands up, and takes a risk, by choosing to follow.

Print Your Own Medicine

Lee Cronin is doing what sounds like the impossible. The chemistry professor is working on a 3D printer that could potentially be used to print your medicine. Using a unique combination of printing objects and molecules (yes you read that right), you could print chemical components.

While you won’t be able to stop going to the pharmacy just yet, the very fact that your kids could download medicine and print it out, without ever leaving their homes.

Bobby McFerrin Plays The….Audience

As a bonus, here’s a video we discovered through the TED talks website, but that is actually part of the World Science Festival. Bobby McFerrin is best known for his upbeat optimistic song, Don’t Worry Be Happy. While we’re sure that song can bring a smile to just about anyone’s face, this video can to.

With a deceptively simple method, McFerrin reveals how the human brain is wired to do certain things at the drop of a hat – and that includes turning an auditorium full of people into a single instrument.

Looking for more tips and tricks on how to find and watch the best that TED has to offer? Check out our guide here, and don’t forget to share your favourite short TED talks videos with us in the comments.

The post 8 TED Talks Videos Under 5 Minutes Long You Want to Watch appeared first on MakeUseOf.

By Scott Merrill, TechCrunch – February 25, 2013 at 12:51AM

ownCloud is a free software suite, written in PHP, that provides file storage, synchronization, and sharing. It provides the same basic features of Dropbox or Box.net. It also provides a whole lot more.

ownCloud was started three years ago when Frank Karlitschek wanted a free software alternative to proprietary solutions. In the time since the project has attracted a dedicated group of core contributors, made several significant releases, and is available in 42 languages. It’s also spun off a commercial project to drive development of ownCloud for enterprise users.

The core ownCloud offering is file storage and synchronization. You also get optional contacts and calendar synchronization, if you want to use it. As an open source application, you can install it on any computer you control. This means you know how and where your data is stored, something which existing hosted solutions abstract away from you. Individuals and enterprises can install ownCloud on their own hardware, and define access policies according to their own needs.

I’ve been using ownCloud on my own for a couple of months now. My primary use is a backup for pictures taken from my phone. Just like Dropbox and Google+ and Facebook, the ownCloud mobile client can automatically upload pictures taken from your phone. I like this because not all of the photos I take with my phone are intended for public viewing, but I don’t want these photos to live only in my phone. Having backups automatically uploaded and stored at my house on media I can control gives me great peace of mind.

Interestingly, ownCloud can be connected to third-party storage like Dropbox or Google Drive or even an FTP server. These are read-write connections, allowing you to use third-party storage in whatever ways make sense for you. Maybe you want a local backup of your Dropbox data? Maybe you want a single interface to all your hosted storage? ownCloud lets you do it.

The commercial version of ownCloud is built atop the open source project, and includes features of interest to enterprise customers. Things like MS SQL and Oracle support, connections to enterprise groupware and directory services applications, and white-label mobile clients. The commercial version specifically targets organizations that require on-premise data storage and control.

The first beta release of ownCloud 5 was just announced, with a release candidate due in the next week or so. I spoke with Karlitschek about the upcoming release of the latest open source offering from the project. According to him, there are three major elements of this release: integration, performance, and usability.

The biggest visible change in ownCloud 5 is in the presentation. The interface has been completely redesigned to present a more streamlined, usable experience. More space is allocated to the display of your data, rather than the display of the ownCloud controls.

Karlitschek highlighted a new photo gallery included in ownCloud 5, including better sharing options. This isn’t anything revolutionary, but does keep ownCloud on equal footing with its proprietary competitors. Also included are updates to the contacts application, and the calendar. ownCloud also provides a video player application, a PDF viewer, and a whole lot more.

ownCloud administrators can connect an ownCloud installation to a variety of back-end account databases. These include UNIX user accounts, LDAP, and the built-in ownCloud account mechanism. The upcoming release of ownCloud 5 supports multiple simultaneous backend systems, allowing you to use both UNIX and LDAP systems at the same time for accounts, for example. This makes it easier to tie ownCloud into an existing infrastructure.

Users can also select a “display name” other than their account name. So where an LDAP user might have an account name of “cn=scott,ou=people,dc=techcrunch,dc=com”, that user could select a display name of “Scott Merrill”. This is a small touch, but goes a long way toward usability.

Under the hood, the file-caching mechanism employed by ownCloud has been revamped, and Karlitschek reports speed improvements of up to 500% in some circumstances. The caching changes reduce the number of round-trips to and from the server, so desktop sync clients and mobile clients should see noticeable improvements.

Another big new addition is a full-text search mechanism, powered by Lucene. This is something that ownCloud offers that the proprietary solutions don’t. The full-text search will work in the mobile clients, as well as the web interface, allowing you to find files based on their contents, not just their file names.

The current versions of ownCloud have file versioning, allowing you to track changes made to files. The upcoming ownCloud 5 will introduce a complete “trash bin” feature, allowing you to undelete files. Versioning plus undelete means that your data has multiple levels of safeguard against accidental removal.

I asked Karlitschek about any particular challenges specific to the development of ownCloud 5. Since ownCloud is intended to run on any major platform, he said that they ran into a particularly surprising problem when running an ownCloud server on a Windows host. It turned out that PHP was “interesting” with UTF8 filenames on Windows systems, and a large number of bugs were reported which all boiled down to this issue. Several days of troubleshooting led them to the root cause. The solution was to write a filesystem abstraction layer specifically for Windows. That kind of effort goes a long way toward ensuring that this open source application works on as many platforms as possible.

As with any open source project, it’s hard to know how many people are actually using it. Counting downloads doesn’t tell the full story. Karlitschek estimates that there are more than 800,000 active users of the ownCloud project. This number specifically does not count enterprise users who are purchasing the commercial version from ownCloud.com.

Karlitschek shared some interesting use cases for ownCloud with me. Some people aren’t interested in file synchronization, and are instead only using ownCloud for the contacts and calendar functions. If you don’t want Google or Facebook to know your every move, but you still need consolidated access to your schedule from multiple devices, ownCloud offers a great solution. Karlitschek also told me about a group using ownCloud as the foundation for an e-book library sharing solution. As ownCloud continues to mature, it will continue to be used as a platform for more interesting solutions.

ownCloud supports HTML5 applications, allowing you to add all sorts of additional functionality. The ownCloud app catalog has dozens of apps. This extensibility makes ownCloud so much more than just a Dropbox clone. Indeed, according to Karlitschek, there is no other open source solution providing what ownCloud does.

When I asked about the future of ownCloud, Karlitschek identified additional opportunities for integration: things like SharePoint, Atlassian products, and other hosted repositories of data. Karlitschek was adamant that ownCloud needs to integrate with all cloud services, since different users may be limited to using specific offerings. iOS users are tied pretty tightly to iCloud, and Android users are tied pretty tightly to Google Drive, etc. Existing proprietary solutions like Dropbox and Box.net offer limited freedom from platform lock-in, but they don’t go far enough.

Moreover, those proprietary solutions are driven by what their customers are willing to pay for. ownCloud, as an open source solution, is free to pursue solutions that don’t provide specific economic benefit to their maintainers, but rather solve the real needs of its users.

ownCloud 5 promises some major new features and some much needed improvements to an already impressive product. As an open source application, if it doesn’t scratch your itch you are invited to get involved to help make it better for your own needs. Whether that’s submitting bug fixes, helping to run tests, or translating ownCloud to its 43rd supported language, all contributions are welcome.

By Adam Dachis, Lifehacker – February 23, 2013 at 11:00AM

Some apps are essential, and everyone who’s anyone knows to have them on their computer. Some apps, however, are fantastic yet fly under the radar. Today, we look at our top 10 underhyped apps for Mac.

We’ve shared our favorite underhyped webapps a few times before, but we were shocked to find we hadn’t done the same for our beloved desktops. Last week we tackled Windows. Now it’s time for the Mac.

10. Sonora

Even though it’s now out of development, Sonora is still our favorite iTunes-alternative music player—especially now that it’s open-sourced and free. The latest version greatly improves on an already awesome interface and updates Sonora’s excellent on-the-fly song queueing features. My favorite part of Sonora, however, is the global hotkey that lets you bring up a search panel and type what you want. It works like an app launcher, except you get music results as you type. You can play a playlist, album, or just a song. If you still need to manage your music with iTunes because you use an iPhone (or other iDevice), Sonora will sync your collection at startup (or manually at any time of your choosing). It’s a fantastic music app and we hope someone else continues its development, but in the meantime the latest beta is solid and deserves to be your music player of choice.

Download Sonora (Free)

9. Autograph

Need to sign a document? Got a multitouch trackpad? All you need is Autograph and you can sign with your finger or a capacitive stylus. All you do is invoke the Autograph window with a hotkey of your choosing, sign, and insert the signature into whatever document you need. It’s pretty much the easiest way to digitally sign anything.

Download Autograph ($3)

8. ScreenSharingMenulet

ScreenSharingMenulet does one great thing: it puts a menu of computers available for screen sharing in your OS X menubar. Why Apple hasn’t added this to OS X itself is hard to understand, because it’s such a useful feature for anyone who accesses their computer screens remotely with any kind of regularity. Local and Back to My Mac Hosts show up in the menu by default, but you can add bookmarks to other desktops if you want as well. It may only do one thing, but it’s one vital thing if you care about remote desktop on your Mac.

Download Screen Sharing Menulet ($1.99)

7. PopClip

PopClip has a very simple premise: add iOS-style copy and paste to your Mac. When you select text, PopClip will show copy and paste buttons. If that’s all it did, however, it wouldn’t be worth the cost. Fortunately, PopClip is extensible and allows you to integrate tons of other features of your choosing. Want to search for selected text on Google/Amazon/virtually anywhere else? No problem. Need an instant word count for your selection? Done. If you can think up a selected text function, PopClip can probably do it. It’ll set you back $5, but a free trial is available if you want to give the app a shot first.

To learn how to get the most out of PopClip, check out our guide.

Download PopClip (Free Trial, $5)

6. GrowlVoice

Google Voice is awesome, but replying to text messages and checking voicemail from your computer could be quite a bit easier. GrowlVoice solves that problem on your Mac by shoving everything you’d want to do into your menubar. The elegant interface provides an easy way to send and respond to text messages, plus you can listen to voicemails and even call back if you want.

Download GrowlVoice (Free Trial, $5)

5. Unclutter

Unclutter stores all sorts of useful things at the top of your screen. Just move your mouse to the menu bar and swipe down with a couple of fingers to reveal a clipboard, file storage area, and a notepad. Basically, the app takes three handy tools you could use access to and throws them into one convenient, accessible-when-necessary space.

Download Unclutter ($3)

4. Found

You saved a file…somewhere. It might’ve been in some folder on your computer, or perhaps you left it on a cloud service like Dropbox or Google Drive. No matter, because Found will search it all—and quickly, for that matter. If you’re dealing with issues of data fragmentation due to storing it in many different places, you won’t have to worry about losing things anymore if you install this free app.

Download Found (Free)

3. Adapter

Most of us use the wonderful Handbrake to convert videos, but the user interface isn’t exactly intuitive for someone unfamiliar with video encoding. On top of that, formats are limited and you can’t convert audio files or images. What free can do all of that? Adapter, the lesser-known multimedia powerhouse that deserves a lot more attention than it gets. It can convert all your movies, encode audio, and change the format of your images. It’s pretty much as fast as Handbrake, too, as it uses the same encoding libraries. If you have media of any kind to convert, be sure to check it out.

Download Adapter (Free)

2. XtraFinder

XtraFinder adds a bunch of useful features the OS X Finder is lacking, such as cut and paste, putting folders on top in list view, dual panel and dual window view, global hotkeys, and tabbed windows—just to name a few. While Pathfinder can do much more, it costs $40. If you want to supercharge the OS X Finder without paying, XtraFinder is the answer.

Download XtraFinder (Free)

1. DropZone

Dropzone is one of my personal favorite apps. If there’s anything you want to do via drag and drop, Dropzone can handle the task. It can upload files to FTP sites, speak text, print documents, upload pictures to Flickr, and tons more. If a capability isn’t built-in, Dropzone is extensible and might have a third-party option. If not, and you’re feeling ambitious, you could even write an extension. All you do is drag a file to the menu bar, then move it to the task you want to complete. Dropzone will handle the rest. When uploading, it’ll even copy a URL to the clipboard automatically. If you want to know more about what you can do with Dropzone, read our guide. It’s a really awesome way to create a variety of useful shortcuts.

Download Dropzone (Free Trial, $10)

By umOuch, Apple TV Hacks – February 22, 2013 at 12:01PM

Now that we are able to officially pair Bluetooth keyboards with our Apple TVs, the question quickly becomes: what are the best Bluetooth keyboards to use? Well, after searching the highest highs, the lowest lows, and everywhere in between we believe we have compiled a list of the best options, and great choices, for every preference out there.

Granted, you may be thinking to yourself that all keyboards are the same but the fact is that there are a wide verity of options out there. Each options is designed with your preferences in mind. So, ask yourself if you like minimal design or the busy looking? Do like small keyboards or large keyboards? Do you love official Apple gear or do you prefer other brands? Whatever your preference is, we have found the keyboard for you.

Let’s start with the actual choices provided to us from Apple themselves, and move on from there:

APPLE WIRELESS KEYBOARD – From $51

For use with your Mac, iOS devices, and now your Apple TV, this sleek, completely cable-free aluminum Apple Wireless Keyboard uses Bluetooth technology, so you’re free to move the keyboard just about anywhere within range and wirelessly type away. Use the Apple Wireless Keyboard on your desk, on your lap, or anywhere within 30 feet of your Apple TV. Also, worth mentioning, this compact design takes up 24 percent less space on your desktop than full-size keyboards.

APPLE WIRELESS KEYBOARD WITH NUMERIC KEYPAD – From $42.99

The Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad features an elegant, ultrathin anodized aluminum enclosure with low-profile keys that provide a crisp, responsive feel. Its extended layout includes document navigation controls–page up, page down, home, and end–and full-size arrow keys for playing games and scrolling through documents. For those of you who like the full size keyboard and separate numeric keys, this is the option for you.

ANKER ULTRA SLIM KEYBOARD – From $18.68

For those of you who love the look and feel of the Apple Keyboards, but are not fans of the prices, this is the best option for you. This device offers all the functionality of the smaller Apple OEM keyboard at a fraction of the price. This keyboard offers great battery life and great performance for your Apple TV.

ANKER ULTRA SLIM KEYBOARD (BLACK) – From $18.39

If you love the Apple look, but wish they had a keyboard to match your Apple TV, this is the best option for you. Notice one key difference with this device, this keyboard comes in a beautiful matte black finish. This device offers all the functionality of the smaller Apple OEM keyboard at a fraction of the price. This keyboard offers great battery life and great performance for your Apple TV.

LOGITECH BLUETOOTH ILLUMINATED KEYBOARD – From $67.63

Stylish sleek innovative nearly-full-size portable Bluetooth keyboard easily switches between 3 devices. This can include your Apple TV, your tablet, and even your phone, no matter what the operating system. The best feature here is likely the use of backlighting. Now you can see what you are typing in the dark.

MICROSOFT CURVED BLUETOOTH KEYBOARD – From $18.67

Compact comfort. Clean lines. Stay comfortable and productive with this sleek Bluetooth keyboard. Exclusively for Bluetooth computers and devices – no transceivers to connect or lose. This device has a unique design with a winged, or curved, keyboard. For those of you looking for an ergonomic approach to typing from your lap, this may be the keyboard for you.

MICROSOFT WEDGE BLUETOOTH KEYBOARD – From $39.95

The new, ultra-slim Wedge Mobile Keyboard was designed for Windows 7 and Windows 8 tablet users who are constantly on the go, but it also works with iPads, iPhones, iPods, and of course your Apple TV. Its thin, lightweight design makes it easy to carry, while the full-sized, soft-touch keyset provides a comfortable, efficient typing experience that makes using it a breeze.

PERIXX PERIBOARD-804 BLUETOOTH KEYBOARD – From $31.57

Compatible and mapping with your Apple TV, Microsoft OS, iOS, and Android devices. PERIBOARD-804 is an ideal Bluetooth keyboard for your tablet PC and Smart Phone. With its portable size and light weight, you can easily carry it together with your tablet or smart phone on the go. Works within a 30ft range.

iKROSS BLUETOOTH WIRELESS SILICONE KEYBOARD – From $25.99

Brand new bluetooth wireless keyboard with a foldable design allows you to carry your device anywhere. It is small, light, and easy to store, waterproof and easy to clean. The keyboard is powered by a built-in rechargeable battery. Recharge your battery by connecting the provided USB cable to PC or laptop. This support Bluetooth v2.0 and will work great with your Apple TV. Note: this is best for hard surfaces, not a great option for lap type’rs.

SATECHI MINI KEYBOARD – From $39.99

Satechi ST-K100 is a wireless Bluetooth mini keyboard and integrated mouse. Sleek and slim design fits comfortably in your hands and allows for easy typing with its precise keys. Designed to work with your Bluetooth-HID-enabled iOS or Android SmartPhone, Tablet, HTPC or PS3 – no software installation – no cables to keep track of, simply turn on the Bluetooth on your device and connect via Bluetooth.

Visit What’s on iPhone for the best iPad and iPhone app reviews!
Do you want to feel like a wizard? Check the Kymera wand in Amazon: You can control your Apple TV waving a wand!

By James Bruce, MakeUseOf – February 22, 2013 at 01:01PM

Judging by the popularity of our last home surveillance article, it seems quite a lot of you are increasingly worried about the security of your home. Whether that fear is justified or not, it’s always a good idea to take precautions and be ready.

Read on as we examine technological tools and tips that you can employ to both protect your home, and help deal with the fallout should the worst ever happen.

As ever, please don’t take this as legal advice. Check local laws first.

Home Surveillance & Offsite Backup

Let’s get this one out the way first as it remains a strong deterrent to any determined intruders. We did a group test of various computer based surveillance packages before (and an update here from 2 more surveillance solutions), so read that to find out the best packages.

Your main choice will be between spending on a “proper” outdoor network based camera, or DIYing a solution with an old webcam, as well as how many cameras to place. Whatever you choose, be sure to make outdoor cameras obvious so as to actually act as a deterrent – a flashing red LED, placing the camera in clear view from the front (the front of the house is best).

You might want to set up additional cameras inside your house in the home office or hallway, as most burglars won’t be expecting internal cameras in a residential zone. At least you might be able to catch them.

Obviously, if the criminals do get inside and take equipment, you’ll be glad if you used a cloud-based solution rather than saving to a local drive. At the very least, hide your surveillance data drive in the loft or somewhere otherwise inaccessible, with a long USB cable.

Track Your Devices

For Apple devices, go and check right now that each is linked to your iCloud account, and enable tracking via the Find My iPhone service. If your iPad or iPhone are then taken, you’ll be able to quickly locate the stolen goods assuming the thieves are stupid enough not to take out the SIM cards. I’m not just saying this based on theory – my wife’s iPhone was stolen, and we got it back.

For other devices including laptops, we suggest setting up Prey. Once triggered and assuming its connected to the Internet, the device will take periodic pictures and screenshots of the thief and post them back to you, as well as attempt to figure out the location from detected wifi networks.

Home Automation, Or Just Timer Switches

Criminals are cowards, so most will only attack homes that are obviously vulnerable or where they’re unlikely to meet the home owner. With that in mind, the easiest home defence is just to make it look like you’re at home. Mechanical or electronic timer switches are inexpensive and can be attached to radios, TV and floor lamps to give the impression of someone still being there.

Fake Defence Systems, With An Arduino

Arduinos are wonderful little devices, and when combined with a simple distance sensor hidden in a flower pot or a more elaborate motion sensor, you could rig them up to trigger the sound of a barking dog (make sure it’s a long recording with variety), turn lights on in the bedroom, or even the sound of a shotgun being cocked (OK, maybe not that one, but you get the point).

Wire up some servo motors and you could even go all Home Alone on their burgling a**.

Take Inventory

OK – so if you were to get burgled, just imagine the stress of trying to figure out exactly what was taken and how much it was worth! That’s where a home inventory system comes in useful. Simply take pictures of your devices and scan the receipts for everything you own – many insurance companies refuse to cover losses that you can’t actually prove you owned in the first place. You don’t need to use a scanner for receipts – most camera phones offer sufficient quality nowadays.

Just get into the habit of keeping receipts and photograph them immediately. You probably already do this anyway if you’re self-employed. With any luck, you’ll never need your inventory at all. But, like your scouting guidebook said, be prepared!

There are specialized home inventory apps to do this which will let you print out customized lists according the insurer’s specifications, but honestly the free Evernote is more than up to the task. Create an Inventory notebook and add a new note for each item.

Do you have any more ideas on how technology can protect your home and help you deal when the worst happens? Share them in the comments and I’ll throw a few points your way!

The post Don’t Let The Criminals Win: 5 Tools & Tips For Preventing Burglary appeared first on MakeUseOf.

By samzenpus, Slashdot – February 22, 2013 at 03:07AM

cylonlover writes “If Joseph Zawodny, a senior scientist at NASA’s Langley Research Center, is correct, the future of energy may lie in a nuclear reactor small enough and safe enough to be installed where the home water heater once sat. Using weak nuclear forces that turn nickel and hydrogen into a new source of atomic energy, the process offers a light, portable means of producing tremendous amounts of energy for the amount of fuel used. It could conceivably power homes, revolutionize transportation and even clean the environment.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.