#iPadWeek is over! Reunited with my MacBook Pro at last!

Reunited at last!

I love my iPad, and I found I was actually able to do quite a bit of work on it this week. But I have to say, I sure am glad to have my MacBook Pro back!

Well, temporarily, at least. Unfortunately, I have to take it back to the Apple Store again because, well, I don’t think “the depot” put it back together quite right. The trackpad isn’t quite the same, and the SD card slot is still a little wonky, but hopefully they’ll be able to take care of it quick. I may only have a few weeks left of my AppleCare coverage, but I intend to make the most of it!

After all, I need to make sure this machine is going to last ANOTHER three years! 

So how did the rest of my #iPadWeek go? Pretty well, actually, thanks to three apps worth shouting out.  Read More

New Google Flight Search Simplifies Finding the Best Fares

Anyone who’s ever tried to book business travel for themselves knows how irritating the process can be. There are way too many sites that promise the best deals, but they can’t all be the best, right? Plus, many of the travel sites’ user experience is less than convenient. It’s too difficult to compare flights, or if your travel dates are flexible, it’s not obvious how to manipulate your search to find the cheapest flight. And let’s not even talk about the popups. Leave it to Google to find a completely bare-bones solution that works incredibly well.

Google Flights‘ strength is in its simplicity. To get started, just put in your departure and arrival cities and travel dates. It’s easy to add additional airports just by clicking on your airport and checking off airports you’d be willing to deal with, and Google shows you whether there’s any savings available by expanding your search before you even check off additional airports.

Google Flight Search
My Google Flight Search. Easy.

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How to Use One Smartphone for Work and Play With AT&T Toggle

AT&T ToggleDo you carry two phones, one for work and one for personal use? Or do you find that work stuff is crowding out the fun stuff on your smartphone? Anyone who’s using mobile devices to stay constantly connected inevitably ends up needing access to work and personal at all times…it’s just not always very convenient.

Enter AT&T Toggle, a new program designed to let you use one device for everything. Essentially, Toggle has 2 modes (business and personal) that you can switch between, depending on what you’re doing. They are 2 different environments with different apps, settings, etc., and they’re also completely separate from each other, so you don’t have to worry about personal photos accidentally showing up in a REALLY wrong place at a really wrong time! In business mode, users can access all their work contacts, email, and calendars, just like a regular corporate-issued device. Personal mode is the same experience you’ve gotten used to on your device, complete with fun stuff.

It’s also really great for small business owners and IT managers who have security concerns, but also have employees who want to use their own devices. Using the AT&T Toggle Hub, IT managers can control what a user’s “business mode” looks like. There’s a web interface to manage what apps business mode includes, as well as manage access to files and resources, and remotely wipe the device if it’s lost or if the employee leaves the organization. Managers can even “lock” work mode to keep an employee out…sounds like a good way to make sure people actually relax on their vacation!

Plus, AT&T Toggle works on smartphones and tablets running iOS or Android, and is available on most major wireless carriers. That makes it easy to accomodate employees in a professional world where bring-your-own-device is becoming more and more common. Click here for more information on how to use AT&T Toggle to streamline your small business’s mobile use.

More Mac Rumors: New Mac Mini, 13″ MacBook Pro with Retina Display, iMac

retina display on macbook pro
Retina display on the 15″ MacBook Pro. Will there be a 13″ model announced next week?

The rumors are still flying about next week’s Apple event in Cupertino. In true Apple fashion, “there’s more” than just the new iPad-mini to look forward to: new computers. It makes sense that Apple’s share of the business and work computer market has been on the rise. Users rely on a seamless experiences between their phones, works machines, and tablets, and Apple has developed a reputation for offering the best software for this experience. So business Apple users should be excited for Tuesday’s announcement: supposedly we’ll be getting a new Mac Mini, a 13″ MacBook Pro with Retina Display, and maybe even a new iMac as well.

Let’s start with the one I’m the most excited about, the Mac Mini. Sure, it looks the most boring – we can’t talk about how thin or light it is, or any of that glamorous stuff. But if you run a server in your home or office and are a “Mac person,” the Mac Mini may be the best  $999 you can spend on office productivity. Plus the entry-level model is only $599, is powerful, comes with 500GB of storage and can be used with any monitor (or your laptop). And while you may not think about it that often, the Mac Mini is surprisingly portable: it weighs less than 3 pounds and is only 7″ by 7″ and 1.4″ deep. Try moving any other desktop that easily. And keep in mind, that’s the old Mac Mini, released in the summer of 2011. It’s due for an upgrade that will only improve its specs.

So now on to the more glamorous release: a 13″ MacBook Pro with retina display. Read More

Microsoft Announces Surface Starting at $499, Pre-Orders Start Today

Microsoft Surface with Touch CoverWe were all set for the Microsoft Surface announcement next week (they sent us an invite and everything) and then all the sudden this morning, we have more details about the device than have leaked out over the last six months.

First off, the 32 GB Microsoft Surface RT will cost you $499. There’s also a 64GB model that will be $599. Both will come pre-loaded with Windows 8 and Windows. Microsoft is also offering 2 different kind of covers, both of which double as keyboards. The touch cover has flat keys that are pressure sensitive, and costs $120. The type cover has more traditional keys that can actually be pushed, and will set you back $130. If you know you’d like both, you can buy the Surface + cover together for $599 (32GB) or $699 (64GB).

Microsoft will be taking pre-orders at Surface.com starting today at 12pm Pacific/3PM Eastern. Devices will then start shipping October 26th. You’ll also be able to purchase the device at one of Microsoft’s new retail stores, if you happen to live near one…and they’re planning to have 44 stores open by the middle of next year, not including temporary holiday stores.

We’ll take more next week about the specs, user experience, hardware and more next week when we attend the Microsoft Windows 8 & Surface event in NYC. Anything you’re excited for? Let us know in the comments!

 

24-hours into #iPadWeek: I’m an idiot. Also, email saved the day!

My new office set-up: got my iPad wrapped in soft, brown leather inside the Brookstone Keyboard Pro case.

If you’ve been following along, yesterday I found out that my MacBook Pro is going to be in the shop for longer than I expected and that I’m going to be working from my iPad all week. Last night I decided to try and get ahead on some of my work and started drafting a blog post for the site when I realized that I needed some screenshots from a website that doesn’t work on the iPad.

“No big deal,” I thought to myself, “I’ll just borrow my roommate’s computer for a minute.” So I hopped on his laptop, took a few screenshots, copied them to a USB flash drive, and walked back over to my iPad to plug it in. A brilliant plan except… why did I think that iPad’s have USB ports?

As I said in the title of this post, I’m an idiot.  Read More

Can I handle a week without my laptop? We’ll find out! #iPadWeek

Over the weekend, I dropped my MacBook Pro off at the Apple store. It’s almost three years old and is starting to show it. It doesn’t always turn on when I ask it to, and other times it locks up when running graphic intensive applications. On top of that the battery doesn’t always charge, it barely holds a charge… You get the idea.

Today I found out that my MacBook is so troubled, Apple couldn’t fix it in house! They had to send it to a mysterious place called “the Depot,” where it will spend the next 5-7 business days in the loving hands of Apple’s top technicians. At least, that’s how I like to think of it. Maybe they’ll just throw the outdated piece of tech in the trash, though. (I’m only kidding! I love you MacBook! Come home safe, baby!)

Either way, this week I’m going to be doing a lot of work from my new office setup. Check it out:

Yup, that’s my iPad paired with a Bluetooth keyboard. Pretty bare-bones if you ask me. The real question now is: Will I survive? Will I lose emails and be unable to locate files? I’m only in the testing period with this setup, so you’ll have to check in this week as I share my tips, tricks, and frustrations trying to really work on my (second favorite) Apple device.

Update: I’m now 24-hours into this experiment. Read the next post in this series to find out the early problems I ran into!

Enter to Win a Free Sony Reader

enter to win a free sony readerWe just talked recently about how much we like the new Sony Reader. It’s the best e-reader on the market for “Read it Later” web content, like Instapaper, and it’s got great integration with Facebook and Evernote, which sets it apart from competitors. We like it so much, in fact, that we are giving one away on Twitter!

Entering to win is simple: 1. Make sure you’re following @marioarmstrong on Twitter. 2. Tweet him about your favorite book! Pretty simple and it might even help us build up our reading list for the future!

Click here to enter to win a free Sony Reader.

The Reader is Sony’s latest e-reader device, with up to 2 months of battery life and 2GB of storage, plus access to free library books at over 15,000 libraries throughout the country. Click here for more information about the Sony Reader, including how to trade in your old device for credit toward a new reader!

Pre-Order Windows 8 Devices for Small Business from Staples

Today Staples started taking Windows 8 pre-orders for a huge variety of devices. It doesn’t officially ship til October 26th, but Windows 8 pre-order will let you be one of the first to get your hands on a brand-new device with Microsoft’s redesigned operating system. There are tons of devices to choose from, from tablets and ultrabooks to high-end touchscreen laptops. Here are a couple of our favorites for mobile productivity:

Staples Windows 8 Pre-Sale Samsung Slate 5
Samsung Series 5
It’s the best of both worlds: the tablet and the laptop. When you pop the tablet into the docking station you get a super-portable laptop that weighs under 2 pounds. Plus it’s designed to work together the the S-Pen stylus, which we love.

Staples Windows 8 Pre-Order Sony VAIO Ultrabook

 

Sony VAIO Touchscreen Ultrabook
This is dedicated 13.3″ Ultrabook that doesn’t sacrifice ports and connections OR processing power to be incredibly portable, making it a good business choice. Weighs in at 3.77 pounds, with a promised 5.5 hours of battery life, making it a good all-around machine.

 

There’s more where that came from! See all of the Windows 8 pre-order devices available from Staples.

Staples Windows 8 Pre-Order Devices

Plus Staples has also announced their free “8 Was Easy” program to make the switch completely painless. They’ll help you set up your new machine to take advantage of Windows 8’s new features and optimize your device’s performance. They’ll also walk you through key new features like the new Windows App Store and Skydrive, Microsoft’s new cloud storage program. AND they’ll help you transfer all of your old data to your new machine or a backup device of your choice for free. That’s a lot of incentive to do your Windows 8 upgrade, especially when you throw in the free phone support!

Click here to pre-order your Windows 8 device before the official launch.

Are you planning to upgrade? What do you think of the new tile layout? What upgrades do you want from Windows 8? Let us know!

How to Send Free Text Messages Using Gmail and Google Talk

how to send free text messages with Google
In the contact window, click on the bottom right arrow to bring up the SMS option.

Maybe your phone’s dead, or you just haven’t had the heart to upgrade to the unlimited text message plan from your wireless provider. Or maybe cell service is down, and you still need to get in touch with someone asap. Google Talk has been helpful for making phone calls for years, but recently Google launched a service to let you send free text messages too.

The first thing to do is enable SMS. Once you’re logged into Gmail, go to the gear symbol at the top right and select “settings.” From there, choose the “Labs” tab toward the righthand side. The Labs apps should be displayed alphabetically, so scroll down to “SMS,” or just search for SMS in the search bar. Change the radio button to enable, and then scroll down and save your changes. Google’s design sense is a little lacking here, so the save changes button isn’t obvious, but don’t forget it!

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