Author: Katherine Elsasser

Get a Free Credit Score and Monitor Your Credit Report With Credit Sesame

by Katherine Elsasser

credit sesame for free credit scores and free credit reportsThere are a lot of services out there that promise a free credit report, but are actually scams – remember all those free credit report TV and radio jingles? Everyone is entitled to a free credit report once a year through the website annualcreditreport.com, but if you want to know your actual credit score – the number that rates your credit-worthiness – you’re going to have to pay extra. Enter Credit Sesame, a new startup that will let you get both your credit report and credit score for free.

Credit Sesame has partnered with Experian to provide your credit score, so you won’t know what the other two major credit ratings agencies (Equifax and TransUnion) think, but it’s a good start. Credit Sesame will also offer you loan and credit card advice about the debt you already have, and can send you updates about changes to your credit report. If you’re actually in the market for a loan or credit card, they’ll send you offers from bank they think match your financial needs: if you choose to go with one of those offers, Credit Sesame makes a commission. That’s how they can provide their other services for free, but they promise that the offers will truly be helpful to consumers.

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Synergyse: Google Apps Training for Small Business Users

by Katherine Elsasser

Synergyse Google Apps training for businessGoogle Apps for Business is quickly becoming a viable alternative to standard email and IT solutions, especially for small businesses looking to move more of their workflow to the cloud. But for many people it can be tough to transition to a new way of working, especially if they’re deeply familiar with older programs like Microsoft Word and Outlook. New startup Synergese aims to take the pain out of transitioning (and lighten the IT burden) by providing real-time Google Apps training right inside the browser window. Synergese’s CTO Majid Manzarpour worked at Google training users in Apps, and two other founders are also ex-Googlers, so they’re approaching the businesses with expertise and experience in training.

As of now, Synergyse is offering training in Gmail, Google Calendar and Drive, the three building blocks of scheduling and document sharing within the Google ecosystem. Unlike a more traditional video tutorial, lessons take place inside the browser, allowing you to learn by interacting with program you’re looking to learn. It’s a more intuitive and interactive approach that allows quicker learning, but lessons are scheduled at your own pace, so there’s no rush.

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AT&T #RefurbFriday: Samsung Galaxy Note 2 for $9.99

by Katherine Elsasser
samsung galaxy note 2 refurbished
Samsung Galaxy Note II

If your looking for ways to cut costs, refurbished gadgets can be a great way to stretch your tech budget. Refurbished units are just units that have been returned to the manufacturer and reconditioned so that they work properly: think of it like buying a certified used car.

Our sponsors AT&T have developed a program for refurbished devices tehy’re calling #RefurbFriday: each Friday they highlight device at a super cheap discount. While there are always great deals available on AT&T’s refurb microsite, this week for one day only they’re selling the Galaxy Note 2 for only $9.99 with a 2 year agreement. The Galaxy Note 2 usually retails for $299.99 with a contract, so that’s a pretty amazing deal!

If you’re looking for more refurbished phone deals, follow @ATTPremier on Twitter and look for their #RefurbFriday hashtag. But if you want the deal you have to act fast, because RefurbFriday deals are only good on Friday.

3 Apps To Help You Get More Out of AirPlay

by Katherine Elsasser

Last week we talked a little about how to set up AirPlay so you can use it to play music or mirror your Mac. It’s great wireless tech that can work in a home or an office, but still has some limitations, especially if you’re not a full-on Mac and iOS user. Here are three apps that will extend AirPlay for Windows, Android, and even Mac users.

airbubble for airplayAirBubble

This one is for Android users. AirBubble is a free Android app that lives on your phone, but talks to AirPlay source devices so it can act as a receiver and stream music to your phone. Great if you use iTunes but are an Android user. Find AirBubble in the Google Play store.

DoubleTwist with AirSync

DoubleTwist is an Android media player, and AirSync is a $5 extension available for purchase in the Google Play store. The extension lets you you stream music or video to an Apple TV (or an XBox 360, PC or Mac). It can also double as a way to wirelessly sync your iTunes to your Android phone, so that’s a bonus. Find AirSync in the Google Play store.

airfoil app to extend Apple AirPlayAirFoil

AirFoil may be the most versatile 3rd party streaming app out there. It costs $30, but it can send audio from any music player (not just iTunes) and can even use apps running on your computer or phone, like Spotify. Multiple users can access the same network, so it’s a great way to set up a collaborative music system in an office that lets everyone take a turn playing DJ. Available for Windows and PC, AirFoil lets you stream from a computer directly to other computers, AirPort Express units, Apple TVs, iPhones and iPods Touch. Most devices will need to have software enabled to act as receivers: check out the the full list of compatible devices and software needed here. Available from Rogue Amoeba.

What is Apple AirPlay and How Does It Work

by Katherine Elsasser

what is apple airplay and how does it workWe hear a lot about Apple AirPlay, but it’s a fairly new technology, and still fairly confusing. So what, exactly, is AirPlay? Basically, it is a way to use a home network to be able link up Apple devices to each other, so you can access media across devices, even if it’s not stored on that device locally. That means you don’t have to keep copies of everything on every device – you can stream from one device to another.

AirPlay works over your wireless, so all of your devices must be connected via the same wireless network or over Bluetooth (though this a battery drain, and wireless is probably a better choice for most uses). You can use an Apple Airport (Apple’s wireless router), but it’s not necessary. Any wireless router will work, as long as all your devices can connect to it.

AirPlay-enabled devices should be able to recognize each other, which takes the guesswork out of which devices can stream to where. AirPlay is available on devices running iOS 4.3 or later, though not all features are available on all devices. Here’s a handy chart from Apple about the minimum requirements for each device. Generally though, you can use at least some features of AirPlay with the iPhone 4, 4S and 5, the iPad 2, 3 and 4, Airport Express, and Apple TV 2nd Generation and 3rd Generation, and any computer running iTunes 10.3 or higher.

The capabilities of each device also depend on whether you’re streaming “to” or “from” that device. One key point: you can’t use AirPlay between mobile devices (your iPad to iPhone, for example). iPhones, iPads and computers are senders only. Receivers are AirPort Express and Apple TV.

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Samsung Galaxy S4 Available for Pre-Order from AT&T

by Katherine Elsasser
samsung galaxy s4
Samsung Galaxy S4

As of today AT&T is the first and only carrier taking pre-orders for the brand-new Samsung Galaxy S4. Right now pre-orders for the S4 are scheduled to start shipping on April 30th, so if you’ve been waiting for the new device you’ve only got a couple more weeks left!

The 16GB model (available in black or white) will run you $199 with a two year contract that includes data. That seems to be the price of top-of-the-line smartphones, and is the same price as the HTC One and an iPhone 5.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is a hotly anticipated new phone: the S3 was a best-seller last year, and the S4 promises new updates to keep things interesting: the new Air View feature can tell when you’re finger is hovering over the screen, and will call up supplementary information about what you’re looking at. Think of it like a standard “mouseover” feature on your laptop or desktop.

The display is also beautiful on the S4: it’s a five inch “Super AMOLED” screen that displays 1920×1080. For the non-technical, that means the picture is sharp and crisp, and colors look really good. Samsung has also promised that the S4’s bigger battery will mean improved battery life, even with 4G LTE running.

We’ll be talking more about the Galaxy S4 in the coming weeks, but if you already know you want one you can go to AT&T to pre-order now.

Google Fiber Coming to Austin in 2014

by Katherine Elsasser

google fiber coming to austinGoogle Fiber has its next destination: Austin, TX. The ultra highspeed broadband service is supposed to roll out in mid-2014, when Austin will join Kansas City as the only two places linked up to Google’s network (so far).

Customers will have a choice between Gigabit Internet or Gigabit Internet plus Fiber TV service. Gigabit Internet is Google’s term for crazy fast 1000 mb upload and download speeds. That’s the max speed our electronics, like routers, are currently built for, though in the future we may be able to get even faster speeds with Google Fiber if the “inputs” for electronics are redesigned.

Just to compare, Google’s Gigabit Internet would be somewhere around 100-140 times faster than a typical home broadband connection now.

For more on pricing and how installation will work, check out our introduction on Fiber, from when service was just being rolled out in Kansas City. For now, it looks like subscribers will still receive free 2 TB hard drive to record movies and TV, and will receive free setup.

Plus, Google has announced they will be providing completely free service to schools and hospitals to spark interest and get people familiar with the service. Though it’s hard to imagine tech hub Austin not having tons of interest in the service already! As Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell pointed out,  “Google Fiber will change how we live and how we work in ways we don’t even know about yet.”

For the official word, check out the Google Fiber blog.

New Flagship HTC One Phone Available For Pre-Order from AT&T

by Katherine Elsasser

 

HTC One
the new HTC One

HTC is betting big with their new flagship device, the HTC One. It’s a top-of-the-line smartphone designed to compete with the new Samsung Galaxy S4, the iPhone 5, and presumably whatever device Apple launches later this year.

The most remarkable thing about the HTC One has to be the design. It’s thin and light, but still manages to have a large, almost oversize, screen at 4.7″. The phone itself measures over 5″ tall, continuing the trend of the larger and larger smartphone screens without being completely awkward. But it’s really the look and feel of the phone that sets it apart: the design manages to look different from the current crop of smartphones (no iPhone clone here) but still looks refined and well, pretty. The screen too is ultra-sharp, with great colors, and features 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. That’s full HD, with a denser pixel count than Retina Display.

HTC has totally revamped their smartphone camera: instead of just adding more pixels, they’re investing in something called “UltraPixels.” It’s a non-scientific term for larger pixels that HTC promises will capture more light than the standard pixel, hence the camera’s seemingly low 4MP spec. Initial reviews have been positive, though it remains to be seen how everyday users will feel.

The HTC One is available in sizes: 32GB for $199.99 or 64GB for $299.99, both with 2 year contract. That’s competitive pricing for this flagship device that manages to distinguish itself from an increasingly crowded field of available smartphones.

For more information or to pre-order from AT&T, visit their website.

Facebook Home Coming to the HTC First on AT&T

by Katherine Elsasser
htc first with facebook home on at&t
HTC First in light blue

Yesterday Mark Zuckerberg didn’t shock the world. Instead he announced the long-awaited “Facebook phone,” which, it turns out, is not a phone at all. Instead it’s an interface for specific Android phones that makes using Facebook a top priority. It’s built on top of Android, so it’s not an operating system, but it is a more thorough experience than an app, or even some of the other proprietary “skins” we’ve seen from manufacturers like HTC in the past.

So what does the Facebook Home experience feel like? Well basically, it puts Facebook front and center for your mobile experience. Both your homescreen and lockscreen will display updates from Facebook (the feature is called Coverfeed), so you don’t even have to really be using your phone to be interacting with your friends and family.

Once you’re actually using the phone there’s deep integration with Facebook chat – on the phone it has the name “Chatheads” – that lets you see a person’s face and tap to message. It’s an attempt to streamline how we message and replace SMS with Facebook’s own utility.

And of course there are notifications. Lots of them. But it’s different from the way we use our phone now, where an app will send push notifications when something happens. Instead, you’ll get alerts that friends have done something. It’s a people-centric design, which makes sense in that Facebook is best used as a connector of individuals.

Right now the HTC First, available exclusively from AT&T, is the only phone coming pre-loaded with Facebook Home. It’s available for $99 with a two year contract, and will come in red, white, black and pale blue. It comes with a 4.3″ screen, 5 megapixel camera and 1.6 megapixel rear camera.

Go to AT&T’s website for more info.

What do you think? Would you make Facebook your top mobile priority?

New Interactive Gallery of the Best of the Web from the Webby Awards

by Katherine Elsasser

This week the Webby Awards, the biggest award for online work in the world, announced a completely redesigned gallery to let you view winning work from the Award’s entire 16 year history. It’s a great look at how far we (The Internet) have come, plus a great source of inspiration to see what’s cutting edge and award-worthy.

The Webbys honors work in four main categories: websites, advertising, mobile and film & video, and also features noteworthy celebrities making contributions to online culture and commerce, like Al Gore and David Bowie. If you’re thinking about improving your site and need inspiration, or just want to see the best of what the web has to offer it’s a must visit. Plus a couple of hilarious blasts from the past:

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