PGM Nexus is an application which makes you forget of the power button.

PGM Nexus is a great kernel module (or an app, if you prefer it in simple terms), designed for rooted Galaxy Nexus phones which allows you to turn your screen on or off using just swipe gestures. For example, on my Nexus I just swipe from left to right across the screen, and it powers on. If I do the same thing but on the other direction at the bottom of the screen (where the navigation buttons are located), screen just turns of. It takes a bit of time to get used to it, but after you start enjoying it, it'll be the exclusive mode you turn the screen on and off.

If your power button fails and you are afraid of that, this is exactly what you need. I still can't figure out how it actually works (the screen is off, it doesn't use any power but it still recognizes the swipes), but it's a great idea which is well implemented. It's really great, but because of the kernel thing, it will automatically turn off (if set to start on boot) when a kernel is flashed, but selecting that option again seems to stick through reboots afterwards.

Only drawback: it's $3. There's a free version available, but people complain that it completely stops working after a week. So you decide on which way to go. 

How to listen to Pandora radio from anywhere outside the US.

I used to listen a lot to Pandora radio when I was in the US and I really enjoyed it, so obviously that I wanted it back home. But unfortunately, Pandora is available only in the US, because of the licensing problems which streaming in other countries could create. So, basically, if you are not in America, you can't listen to Pandora radio. But this is the official version...

There is a VPN service called Hotspot Shield which creates something like a tunnel between your computer and a gateway provided by Hotspot Shield (that's some sort of the definition of the VPN), which exists exactly in the US. The idea is that through this VPN, you should get a much safer browsing experience, because everything you do on the internet is sent, securely through that tunnel, in the US, so there is impossible for one to attack you and to try to track your data or something like that. For me it is not clear how the data is handled when it exits in the US, so I wouldn't trust Hotspot Shield when I buy something on the internet for example, but this remains at your own judgement.

By using Hotspot Shield, you should be able to access Pandora from wherever you are. I've been using it not very often for the last 1,5 years, but it always did its job.

Of course that using this also has some disadvantages, and they are mainly related to slow internet speeds (because everything has to go to the US and back) and sometimes slow DNS response. However, it is definitely worth being used for the possibility it introduces to all the internet customers, no matter where they are.

Note: I am not responsible for everything that happens to you by using this service. You use it on your own responsibility.

You can go on their website to learn more or try the product: http://www.hotspotshield.com/.

Send free SMS messages all over the world with e-FreeSMS.com (July 2012).

I've just discovered e-FreeSMS.com, a website which allows you to send free SMS messages to whoever you want, regardless your position or the position of the person you want to text (with two servers to choose from). It's a simple website, of course with lots of ads (it's a free service after all), but the idea is that I've tested it and it works very good, got the messages within 5 seconds (Vodafone Romania).

The website says that you can also make free calls directly from it, but from what I understood, they are available only if calling the US or Canada, regardless your position. More than this, it also allows you to watch local television channels from your own country, but you must have luck to get it working, so it's not really reliable for this (most televisions are streaming on the internet directly from their websites, which are better streams than the ones provided by this website).

e-FreeSMS.com is working properly at the time of posting this article (the end of July 2012). Give it a try, maybe you'll like it.

mysms SMS application seems to be very promising, brings many useful features over Whatsapp.

A few days ago I've presented you Whatsapp (here), a great messaging app available for a lot of mobile platforms which gives you the possibility to send free messages over the internet to all the users who have Whatsapp installed on their device. One of the disadvantages of Whatsapp is that you must be on your phone to send the messages, so you can't register on your phone and then send the messages from your computer or anything like that.

However, with mysms SMS application, it becomes possible to send messages from your computer to all of your friends from all the other platforms, using the mobile phone number you register with before. Moreover, mysms comes also as a standard SMS client, having the ability to handle all the SMS functionality of your phone's default SMS application. More specifically, you can send and receive standard SMS messages directly through mysms, without having to open the stock application separately (you'll have the option to send messages via mobile carrier or via mysms, in case your friends have it). I don't know whether this works or not on iOS because of Apple's restrictions, but on Android it works quite well.

One problem which I found is that I can't send messages through mysms from the browser (Chrome), maybe this functionality is currently unavailable, but it's still a great product. At 700 messages a month from my carrier contract, I think that it's still worth using it, considering that I don't even need to access my phone in order to view or send messages. And the ICS/JB design is a big plus over Whatsapp.

Visit the official website for more information http://www.mysms.com/, or search directly in App Store/ Google Play for "mysms".

Limera1n is available, jailbreaks iOS 4.0-4.1.

Limera1n has been released yesterday evening, and after geohot got angry and pulled the download link (I don't know exactly why), it seems that Limera1n is now available for download again on the official website. This new jailbreak tool promises to jailbreak almost any device running iOS 4.0 or 4.1.

The supported products are iPhone 3Gs/4, iPad, and iPod Touch 3G/4G. For the unmentioned products: iPod Touch 2G support is coming soon, while for the iPhone 3G you must use redsn0w. For the moment, limera1n is available only for Windows, the compatibility for Mac is coming soon.

Theoretically, limera1n does hacktivate your device (allowing you to use it with any carrier), but many people reported problems after hacktivating their iPhones with limera1n, so I don't recommend you doing this yet (limera1n is currently in beta 4).

Hope I don't have to tell you that you're using it on your own responsibility, it is an unstable release so don't expect from it to be bug-free. You might have to restore your device or you may even get a bricked one as a result of using limera1n!

Download from here.

Veetle - Broadcast live streaming video in HD, or how to watch the newest films for free.

Veetle is an internet-based service which allows users to share video content with the others, in a free and comfortable way. Anybody can share anything, obviously, as long as the content isn't illegally shared by the person who shares it. The idea is that as long as you're watching them you won't have any problems, but you might have problems if you're the one who shares them and you are not allowed to (you didn't pay for that content).

It has some disadvantages, however. Everything is shared by users, on users' computers, so if the user looses the connection or doesn't have enough bandwidth for sharing with everybody, the channel will become unavailable or it will play badly (with frequent stops). But, mainly, the idea is good. Right this moment, there is Iron Man 2 broadcasting on a channel and the quality is somewhere around 7-8 on a scale from 1 to 10. If the user continues broadcasting, the following film will be "Robing Hood" (users have the possibility of creating a schedule of their channels).


It is compatible with Windows, Linux and Mac OS X, and all that you have to do is to go here and download it. You'll automatically receive the version of Veetle according to your OS. There's no stand-alone app, practically spoken. That's just a script that's going to allow to watch you directly from your browser (just go to Channels on Veetle.com).

Please note that it isn't compatible with all browsers (it runs just fine on Google Chrome on any OS).

Samsung sends free Galaxy S devices to unsatisfied iPhone 4 users (UK users only).

It seems that Samsung offered free Galaxy S devices to users who declared themselves unsatisfied by Apple's iPhone 4. The only thing that these users from the UK to which Samsung sent these devices did, was to complain on Twitter about the iPhone 4, so that Samsung contacted them offering free Galaxy S devices.

It seems that this is a tactical move made by Samsung, which tries to make a little advertising to its devices in order to increase its market-share. Of course that these devices were sent to people who are really influential, so if you are a normal Twitter user, don't even mind trying to receive a free Galaxy S. You can try if you really want, but there is almost no chance of getting one. And don't forget, devices are being sent only to important people from the UK.

Convert (almost) anything on your Android device with Unit Converter - Convertpad.

If you're searching for a complex conversion program for Android, what I recommend you to try is "Unit Converter". It is a fully featured Unit Converter and Calculator. As I've told you in the title, this can convert (and also calculate) almost anything. Starting from Length, Weight, Volume, Time, continuing with Surface Tension, Permeability, Fuel Efficiency - Mass, and finishing with Typography, Cooking and Lumber (and tens of others).

This application is very popular on the Market, having over 250 000 downloads currently. It is very useful especially at Physics (at school), but also when you want to convert something fast and you don't want to stay and think how it is the best to convert that. It has even a currency converter (but unfortunately it has a limited number of currencies and needs a data connection to update). But, what matters, it is free.

Download it now from the Market : "Unit Converter - Convertpad " (type full name, the application is by Sunny Moon).

The best collection of HD wallpapers?

My opinion is that, when we are talking about HD wallpapers, the best site where you can find plenty of them is HDwallpapers.net. You will find there only high-quality images, at the best resolution possible. Wallpapers on this website are organized on categories. Some of them are: Abstract, Computer, Movies, Nature and Landscapes, Travel and others.

I think that this is the best site of this type, because of the quality of the pictures. The organization on categories is a plus when you're trying to find something certain. The website is well designed, having a pleasant theme. What I also like is that the advertising is present only on the left part of the website while navigating through the wallpapers, under categories, so it is discomforting the user while navigating.

Visit HDwallpapers.net now and download the wallpapers you like.

Do you know an equivalent website or one you think it's better? Let us know!

Protect your Android device with Lookout Mobile Security.

Todays mobile devices (such as phones) run more and more advanced and complex operating systems, so a protection suite is something needed now. When I got my Android phone (Nexus One), I've started looking for a mobile antivirus. I got one which offered only antivirus protection, but I wasn't satisfied with it, so I tried Lookout, and it really impressed me.

This is not just an antivirus. It has a very useful backup mechanism, and for extra protection, it also has a device locating system (named "Missing Device"). Additionally, in the last system, a method for making your device scream is also included, to help you in case that you lost your device and you think it's somewhere near you.

When you install the application, you have to create an account. Later, this account is going to be used in order to manage various tasks, such as: details about scanned and infected files, viewing, managing and sending back to your phone data which has been saved (via backup), locating and making your device scream, and some other tasks.

The entire system works perfectly. It happened for me several times to download infected apps from the Market, and Lookout blocked them. I also tried to locate my device, and it located (not instantly) my phone impressive exactly (it indicated an area of about 50 meters, as when I tried to locate it I was inside a hotel room).

After you create an account, you can enter on https://www.mylookout.com/user/login, from where you can see real-time details about your phone. From here, you can do anything I told you. You can even set how frequent should your device be scanned and backup procedures done.

It works with Android 2.1 and Android 2.2 (tested by me). Search it on the Android Market: "Lookout".

Testing campaign for BitDefender 2011 Beta has started.

BitDefender, the security company from Romania, announced the start of the testing campaign for their latest security suite, 2011 Beta. The installation of this new product is done quickly, with the possibility of scanning before installation and without the need of restart after installation. What you have to do in order to get this product working, is to enter here to create an account at BitDefender (if you don't have one), and then to enter here and select one of the first two options. Then you'll get two keys, which will give you 180 days (6 months) of trial if they are inserted.

Related to the antivirus itself, it now has another interface which is optimized especially for unexperienced users. It includes "Search Advisor", which automatically warns you if you visit a website reported as infected (all links are automatically checked with BitDefender's servers), a new utility which displays you all applications that are stressing your computer and suggests you ways of fixing them, and a new mechanism, which assures the optimum speed of the computer (the antivirus adapts its use of resources dynamically, depending on the available resources of your computer).

The detection rate has been improved compared to the earlier version (with the help of new methods of detection and upgraded existing ones), and I can really say that this places BitDefender on top of the world's most powerful antivirus suites. However, as usual, BitDefender has important problems related to the fix of advanced and complex malware. This kind of problem can even make your system unable to boot.... so this is an important thing that is not yet resolved.

If you want, you can download and test this security suite, but as it is a Beta 1 version, I don't recommend you using it in an environment in which the security is something essential.

Microsoft offers free antivirus protection for Genuine Windows users.

Microsoft Security Essentials is a free antivirus program for those who have genuine copies of Windows. As I'm not using (at all) any OS from MS I wasn't able to test it, but I can tell you some details and what is being told about it. So, what's good is that it is free (of course, if your copy of Windows is licensed) and it is made by Microsoft, who knows exactly what's inside the operating system so they can fix any vulnerability faster than a regular security company.

They say that it protects your computer against viruses, spyware and other kinds of malicious software, all in real-time. What I think that is bad, simply because it is made by Microsoft, is that it may fail regularly in different situations (fake alarms, issues when running, weak detection and stuff). But this is not something proven and is based on my past experience with Microsoft's products.

Those who tested said that it detected and resolved several threats better than NOD32, and even used less resources, but I doubt that this is something relevant (as I haven't seen any "serious" tests). There are comments on blogs where this product was reviewed in which the people told that it is a very bad protection program, because it wasn't able to detect important trojans/viruses so my doubts come also from here.

You can download and try Microsoft Security Essentials from http://www.microsoft.com/Security_essentials/ .

Running Android 1.6 on your PC (+video).

Android is the operating system for mobile devices which is getting more and more popularity everyday (about 60-100 000 devices with Android OS are activated every day, and it's coming fast behind iPhone OS). By knowing this fact, users of iPhone and Windows Mobile devices are trying to port Android to their devices. But what I am going to show is how you can get Android running on your PC. OK, not natively, but with the help of a virtual machine.

Note: this works on any platform (Windows, Linux, and Mac). None of your data from your computer is going to be affected.

What you have to is to download VirtualBox from here, and the Android 1.6 that will run on VirtualBox from here (scroll down to "StableRelease" and click "view" on the first file, named "android -x86-1.6-r2.iso" to start downloading). These two downloads are not large so the download should finish fast. Do not burn on CD Android OS after downloading, just let the image somewhere where you know about it. Then install VirtualBox like a normal application.

When you finish installing VirtualBox, do the following (if your know what VirtualBox is and how to configure it, all you must know is that Operating System and Version must be selected as "Other", and respectively as "Other/Unknown"; otherwise follow these steps):

• Select "New", give it a name, and at Operating System select "Other" and "Other/Unknown" at Version.
• Give it a quantity of RAM (doesn't matter how much, but make sure to have free on your system that amount you're giving to it).
• Let the settings like they are (Boot Hard Disk and Create new hard disk)
• Then, on the window that appears, click Next, then Next, and because 2.0 GBs are just enough, click again Next, then Finish and again Finish.
• Now, your new Guest OS appeared on the left column of VirtualBox, with the name you gave it. Click Start.
• On the window that appears, click Next.
• Now, where it says "Media Source", click on that folder sign on the right part of the window.
• Click Add, and browse to where the image it located and click Open. Make sure it is highlighted and then click Select.
• Click Next and then Finish

Congratulations. You have now successfully configured your Virtual Machine and Android 1.6 is being booted automatically. I haven't installed it, I only ran it like a "Live CD". If you want to install it, you can try, but I don't know if it is difficult or not. I recommend you selecting "Live CD" just to see how it's look like.

You can now try and explore the functionalities of Android 1.6 on your PC (except calling and SMS because there isn't any carrier available). Below is a video which demonstrates you that this really works (even if I tried it on Mac, it runs also on Windows or Linux hosts).

iAntiVirus - free malware protection for your Mac.

As we all know, Mac is a really safe OS but the truth is that no platform is immune to any kind of malware. Even the Mac OS X. However, the risk on infection on Mac is really low, since most of the attacks are directed against Windows. So there isn't a real necessity to use an antivirus software if you're on Mac, but if you have "terrifying" experiences from Windows, you may use one.

iAntiVirus is a free antivirus solution for Mac, offering most of what a regular user needs. As the official site says, this application offers powerful malware protection (viruses, worms and trojans) - detection and removal-, spyware, adware and dialer protection, real-time protection via "IntelliGuard Real-Time Protection", free support by community and free "Smart Updates".

It offers just a basic interface, and uses very little resources as I even don't feel it working in the background. These are what the free version offers. If you need it for business and commercial purposes, 24/7 dedicated and phone support, paid version is also available.

Consult the official site for more details: http://www.iantivirus.com/.

Play Flash video content on your Android device! (including Nexus One, already).

Skyfire is a free complex browser, designed especially for mobile devices. It's clearly the best browser for terminal devices. You're probably asking now what is the connection between flash and this browser. It is capable of displaying webpages on their entire, with all scripts and players (and whatever else) included. And the Android version has just came out today!

I've installed it on my Nexus One, and what I have to tell you is that: in normal browsing, Android's default browser is quite at the same level with this browser, but if you need to play Flash on your phone, Skyfire beats anything. Flash content is not automatically played, as you have to go in menu and select "video". A new window will open, playing the requested video.

The advantage of this is that you don't need a modified rom in order to try playing Flash (I'm not sure if it can be done like this), which is done by rooting your phone, which will void your warranty. But with Skyfire, you can enjoy Flash (and other scripts that Android's browser isn't capable of running), risk-free.

Download it now from http://get.skyfire.com/dl_android.php, or directly on your phone from http://www.skyfire.com/ (if you can't download through Market, where it says "Don't have Android Market on your phone?", select "go here").

Pre-order your free Ubuntu CD today!

Canonical has opened ShipIt service starting from yesterday, offering anybody who wants free Ubuntu CDs (now they are only pre-orders, but from 29th all pre-orders are going to be sent to shipping company and ordinary orders available).

Please consider that you can download the image (from here) and burn it yourself on a CD, instead of ordering a CD, when there are others who actually really need it. However, if you really want a free CD, I advice you to order one as soon as possible, as I think that because of high demands orders are going to be stopped sometimes.

Get your free Ubuntu CD from here: https://shipit.ubuntu.com/

Kubuntu ShipIt also available here: https://shipit.kubuntu.org/

Transform your Windows Mobile device into an Android one!

I'm starting by telling you that I assume no responsibility for any loss or damage your device may occur by doing what I am going to describe you. It normally shouldn't be any problem, but since it is a Microsoft operating system, anything can happen. Please backup important data before starting.

Androkkid is a customizable Windows Mobile application, which emulates the Android interface on your device. It looks quite good, and is a better option than putting Android OS on a Windows Mobile designed device (and it's also much simpler).

As you can see, the application has Hero's interface, and it also has another default Android interface, both with their own wallpapers and icons. As I've told you, you can customize the application however you want. You can add shortcuts to anything that can be linked on your device, you can add widgets, contacts, links to webpages, folders, and more pages (you have 3 by default).

My PDA has a QVGA screen (320 x 240 pixels), and I have to tell you that this is not the optimum resolution. This is most observable when you look at the icons, because they look very bad. However, in application's settings you can modify their size so that they can look really good (30-width by 30-height on my PDA is the best size for example).

The main problem is that if your device doesn't have a third-party Wi-Fi manager, you need either to open a feature from Windows Mobile to get access to Wi-Fi settings, or you need to exit Androkkid and then manage Wi-Fi. This happens if closing your device with Wi-Fi on causes problems (this applies to my HP iPaq 110 handheld).

Of course that you can get a third-party application from the web in order to manage your Wi-Fi adaptor, but I don't recommend this. I installed and opened a third-party Wi-Fi manager, even if it said that it has not been tested with my device. It created a conflict with HP's Wi-Fi manager that I couldn't control, and I believed that a reset would help, but it didn't. My PDA wasn't able to boot anymore so I had to hard reset it, loosing all my data that was stored on device's internal memory.

Returning to Androkkid, it needs .NET Compact Framework, which can be downloaded from here (.cab directly, in a .zip archive).

The application can be downloaded from HERE (.cab file, in .zip archive). If your device is not able to deal with .zip archives by default, search a third-party application with Google. There are plenty of them.

Customize the look of your device with thousands of wallpapers, themes, icons, and many others, from xda-developers forum.

Enjoy the new Android look of your Windows Mobile-based device.

Send free SMS messages worldwide, with mjoy!

Mjoy.com is a website which lets you send free SMS messages to any mobile phone in the world. All you have to do is to go on http://mjoy.com/m/desktop.htm, select your country and type your phone number. Then you'll receive on your phone a message which contains a link where you have to create a username and a password.

Please note the form in which your number must be. For example, if your number looks like +4 0726 xxx xxx, you have to insert the number without "+40", since this is the prefix of the country which you already selected before. Moreover, this service is designed for your phone (works on the internet), so you need a WiFi network connection or, if you don't have one, a wireless data plan from your carrier (additional charges may apply in this case!).

This service lets you create contacts, so you can send messages fast. It also has a feature with which you can post messages, follow other users and let them follow you too. It's something like a Twitter. Additionally, you can have weather information for the location where you currently are.

The site moves quite slow, so give it a few seconds when you want something. If you need a wireless data plan please contact your carrier, as it is the only one which can give you exact details about any charges and fees when navigating on the internet.

Considerate that this is a free service and there is no guarantee that your messages will be delivered successfully (ads are also going to be added at the end of your messages).

Mjoy: http://mjoy.com/m/desktop.htm.

If you like this service, please share this link with your friends: http://bit.ly/9F81K6

Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Lucid Lynx) pre-orders will be soon available. Stay tuned!

Ubuntu's website now says that Ubuntu 10.04 is available for ShipIt. Normally, if you want a free CD, you have to log in and to confirm your shipping data. At this moment, after logging in, the website says that "ShipIt is currently closed", and "We'll be back in a few days, shipping Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Lucid Lynx) CDs".

As they updated the website, I think that the ShipIt will be soon up and ready for requests. Stay tuned. I will update the article as soon as pre-orders will be available.

https://shipit.ubuntu.com/

How about making traffic together?

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