In the market for a new Android phone in 2015? If you're willing to wait a week, you'll have the chance to pick up a Moto X, one of the best phones on the market, for $140 off. As with any good deal, there are a few conditions, but this might be one of the best deals you'll get on Motorola's latest flagship in the early months of 2015.
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New 'SlatePro TechDesk SE' Comes Equipped with Built-In iPhone Dock, Mac Air Vents and Whiteboard [iOS Blog]
The desk was highly successful, leading the company to create a range of furniture products aimed at MacBook and iPhone users, including the new SlatePro TechDesk Special Edition. The SlatePro TechDesk Special Edition is a new version of the original SlatePro desk, introducing an entirely revamped design and several additional features like felt pockets and a dry erase board.
Like the original SlatePro TechDesk, the new edition's main attraction is its built-in air vents for keeping laptops or desktop computers cool and its cutouts that are able to house an iPhone and an iPad. Design wise, the Special Edition SlatePro takes on a more popular U-shape with steel legs and a hazelnut bamboo surface.
The filing rack has been replaced with a set of recessed felt trays able to hold accessories, pens, and more, and there's now a stainless steel cupholder instead of the original wood. With the hazelnut bamboo and a new beveled edge, the updated version has a much sleeker look. Finally, there's a large dry erase board built directly into the desk for taking notes.
When ordering a SlatePro, it can be customized with a variety of options. Users can choose a left or right setup, and opt to remove any of the available features like the ventilation holes, dry erase board, display docks, mousepad, or drink holder.
The SlatePro TechDesk Special Edition is currently on sale and can be purchased from the iSkelter website for $598. The original SlatePro TechDesk is available for purchase at prices starting at $498. iSkelter also produces a range of lap desks and device docks, with prices that start at $30.
Posted in 2015 at 10:46PM, January 28
DEAL ALERT: Get 60 days of Spotify Premium for free, but only if you hurry
Spotify is a fantastic service, easily among the best streaming music offerings in the world. It has really become an all-in-one service compared to rivals, allowing users to stream any song in its catalog on demand, or to listen to custom radio stations based on a genre, song or artist. Not everyone has tried the service though, since there are plenty of other options out there that are almost as good in some ways, and even better in others.
If you're among the people who have never given Spotify a shot though, now is the time to finally try the service out.
Posted in 2015 at 10:35PM, January 28
Here are the free games you’ll get on Xbox One and Xbox 360 in February
Although there are a few highly anticipated games on the way over the next 30 days, it's still winter, which means the game release schedule is about as slow as it's going to be all year. That's a tough pill to swallow for many of us, but Microsoft is making it a little easier with a fresh batch a free games in February.
Posted in 2015 at 08:55PM, January 28
Hands-On First Impressions of Pushbullet for iOS, Mac, and Safari [iOS Blog]
The process of setting up Pushbullet takes just a few minutes. Depending on which platforms or web browsers you want to send and receive links and files between, download the Pushbullet apps or extensions that you need and make sure that iOS to Mac notifications and universal copy and paste are enabled in each app's preferences. iOS and Mac apps are available alongside Safari, Chrome, Firefox and Opera extensions.
You can optimize your experience further by going into the Mac app's preferences and checking off specific apps that you would like to receive iOS notifications from. For instance, if you already receive mail notifications on your desktop, then you probably don't need Pushbullet pushing the same mail notifications from your iPhone. Notification settings can be configured for both stock and third-party apps.
Pushbullet for iPhone has four tabs: Pushbullet, Contacts, Channels and Settings. The main launch screen allows you to compose a message, add links, attachments or maps, and send it to another device you have set up Pushbullet on. Contacts displays a list of your paired devices, contacts and subscriptions. Channels provides push notification feeds that you can subscribe to. Last, the Settings tab gives you a few options such as your choice of Safari or Chrome for opening links and Apple Maps or Google Maps for opening addresses.
While much of its core functionality is already possible through other apps and services, Pushbullet for the most part has proved to be a faster and more reliable solution for quickly sending notes, links, files and more between a smartphone and computer or vice versa. Channels also provide a great way for receiving notifications from a particular source so that you can stay informed at all times.
Overall, Pushbullet is a worthwhile recommendation for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Safari users that are looking to move lots of content between devices. Pushbullet for iOS [Direct Link], Pushbullet for Mac [Direct Link] and the Safari extension are all free to download, making the software an even more valuable option for multi-device users.
Posted in 2015 at 08:25PM, January 28
Facebook's 'Paper' App for iOS Updated With Photo Sharing Improvements [iOS Blog]
The "Favorites" album was introduced with the iOS 8 Photos app revamp and houses all of the images that a user favorites via tapping the heart icon on individual pictures within the app.
Today's Paper update also includes performance enhancements that are designed to make various features within the app run faster, including photo uploads.
We've been working to perfect your experience with Paper. In this release, we've focused on making it even faster and easier for you to share photos, in addition to fixing a few issues you've let us know about. Thanks for your feedback!
Here's what's new and improved:
- Camera Roll organized by date. When selecting media to share in the composer, photos and videos are now organized by the date they were taken.
- Share your Favorited photos. Quickly share photos from the new Favorites album introduced with iOS 8.
- Faster performance. We've improved the responsiveness of several parts of Paper including posting a photo.
First introduced in January of 2014, Facebook's Paper app is a news creation and curation tool that pulls in content from a user's Facebook news feed and other well-known publications, organizing it into a magazine-style layout for easy reading. Many people have come to prefer Paper over the standard Facebook app to read through their news feeds.
Facebook's Paper app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
Posted in 2015 at 07:42PM, January 28
25 jobs that most Americans would kill to have
Do you hate your job? If so, then you're probably wondering how to find a new one that would make you happier. And now there's a way you can find out which career field has the most satisfied workers, as Glassdoor has put together a list of the 25 best jobs in America that you can get right now.
Posted in 2015 at 07:40PM, January 28
FTC Levies $40M Fine Against TracFone for Throttling Unlimited Data Customers
As reported by Re/code , the FTC has ordered prepaid wireless carrier TracFone to pay $40 million to consumers who paid for unlimited service and were then throttled after reaching certain data limits.
TracFone advertised "unlimited text, talk, and data" for $45 a month under the brands Straight Talk, Net10, Simple Mobile, and Telcel America, and until September 2013, did not clearly disclose its throttling policies that saw customers experiencing data speeds that were cut by up to 90 percent, thereby violating the FTC Act.
While this ruling only affects TracFone at the current time, there are several other carriers that have similar practices for their unlimited customers. AT&T and Verizon no longer offer unlimited data plans, but continue to provide unlimited data for many people who remain on grandfathered plans. AT&T has engaged in throttling practices for years, often cutting off customers who exceed 5GB of LTE data usage.
"The issue here is simple: when you promise consumers 'unlimited,' that means unlimited," said Jessica Rich, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "This settlement means that Straight Talk, Net10, Simple Mobile, and Telcel America customers will be able to get money back from the company for services the company promised but didn't deliver."
Last year, Verizon planned to throttle its high-usage unlimited data LTE customers, sparking interest from FCC chairman Tom Wheeler, who said he was "deeply troubled" by the decision. Verizon ultimately reversed course and opted not to throttle its unlimited customers, but the FCC's attention was already roused, and the agency began questioning all carriers on their unlimited throttling practices.
The government's interest in carrier throttling practices led the FTC to file a federal complaint against AT&T in October of 2014, accusing the carrier of misleading its smartphone customers by charging them for unlimited data and then going on to reduce data speeds. Based on today's TracFone decision, AT&T may also be facing hefty fines in the future, and the FTC's ongoing interest in carrier throttling of unlimited customers could finally put an end to the practice.
Posted in 2015 at 06:38PM, January 28
Get a huge discount on the Moto X starting next week