Back It Up: Ensure Your Data Survives Disaster

Back It Up: Ensure Your Data Survives Disaster (photo: Pixland/Pixland/Getty Images)

 

It's astonishing when you sit and consider the measure of trust we have given our PCs. We spare our photographs, features, music, basic records, and all the more on our hard drives without the slightest hesitation. We assume that our machine will work, for quite a while, keeping our data secure and (to some degree) sorted out. Obviously, this trust is fortified by the true serenity you've accomplished from going down your PC all the time. You are frequently moving down your PC, correct?

Moving down a PC can appear as though its a confused errand, or that it will take a lot of time to keep up. Luckily, neither one of the statements is valid. Setting up and aintaining your reinforcement -on Windows or Mac- -is a basic process and should be possible in little time.

Local backups

Both Windows and OS X offer a local answer for going down your PC by regional standards -as such, to a hard commute that is close to your PC, either an organized commute or a USB joined commute. The setup procedure is really direct regardless of the fact that you have little tech information. I'll talk about how to do this for both Windows 7 and Windows 8 and in addition OS X for you Mac clients.

Before you can move down your PC, you're going to need an outside hard commute. Contingent upon the size and model of the drive, it may wind up being a pricey venture.

A decent general guideline when obtaining an outside hard commute for reinforcement is to get one that is about 1.5 times the extent of the hard commute in your PC. For instance, if your PC has a 500GB hard commute, purchase nothing littler than 750GB. This isn't a necessity, yet the greater commute size will permit the reinforcement project to store different reinforcements that compass a more extended time of time. This is perfect for circumstances when it takes you months to acknowledge you lost an imperative record, thus the document is on a more seasoned reinforcement.

Backing up a Windows machine(photo: Demand Media)

 

Windows 7 and Windows 8 every take an alternate way to deal with moving down your records.

Windows 7 clients need to set up what's called "Windows Backup." To do this, tap the Start catch and sort "reinforcement" into the pursuit bar. At that point tap on "Reinforcement & Restore." You can then choose a hard commute as your reinforcement destination. You can likewise set how visit the reinforcement procedure will keep running, with the most successive time being before a day. It's likewise a savvy thought to make a framework picture of your PC through the Windows Backup menu. Doing as such will permit you to load a clear hard commute with a definite copy of your present setup.

Windows 8 clients can point of interest of another element called File History. Document History makes an hourly reinforcement of your most vital records. In the event that you inadvertently erase a document, or just choose you need to begin once again on a task from a prior spare, you can then skim through and restore a record or whole organizer.

You can discover the settings for File History in your Control Panel, or via looking for "Record History" from your Windows 8 home screen. Once dispatched, you can then choose an associated or system drive to store your reinforcements on. You'll likewise have the capacity to control what records and envelopes are went down, how regularly and to what extent the documents are put away.

To restore a record on either form of Windows you have to relaunch the reinforcement program and scan through the reinforcement until you discover the document or organizer you require.

Backing up a Mac

(photo: Demand Media)

Apple's OS X working framework incorporates a component called Time Machine. Time Machine will move down your PC to an outside hard commute on normal premise. As your reinforcement plate starts to top off, Time Machine will naturally erase the most seasoned reinforcements; ensuring accessible space on the reinforcement circle at all times.

You have the alternative to utilize an associated or arranged outside hard commute with Time Machine. The first occasion when you join an outside hard commute to your Mac, Time Machine will dispatch inquiring as to whether you'd like to utilize the plate as a reinforcement circle. You can then take after the prompts and let Time Machine start the hourly reinforcements.

In the event that you erase a record or choose to begin once again from a prior spare point, you can enter Time Machine and restore the document with a couple clicks. You can even restore whole client records, settings and applications from Time Machine ought to a hard commute fizzle, or you buy another PC and need it to reflect your old PC.

Off-site reinforcements

Going down by regional standards is a helpful and simple technique for keeping your information safe. In any case, there are dangers: Your neighborhood hard commute can crash, succumb to a glass of water, or be inundated in a house fire. All of which will abandon you without your information. In view of that, we should discuss moving down your information to an off-site area.

In days of olde, off-site reinforcement implied duplicating your information to a drive that was then secured a sheltered 10 miles away. Nowadays, its a ton less demanding: You can simply utilize an online reinforcement administration.

There are a considerable measure of online reinforcement administrations accessible, yet I'll confine my dialog to only two of them: CrashPlan and Carbonite.

Both administrations charge a month to month or yearly expense to naturally reinforcement your information on remote servers through a subtle system introduced on your PC.

CrashPlan costs $5.99 every month for boundless stockpiling with only one PC, or $13.99 every month for up to 10 PCs. You can spare a couple of dollars off the month to month cost on the off chance that you pay for a whole year ahead of time. Any CrashPlan value arrangement covers Mac or Windows based PCs. You can read all the more about CrashPlan's estimating by taking after the connection in the Resource segment beneath.

Carbonite's evaluating begins at $59 every year for boundless stockpiling with one PC, Mac or Windows. From that point it goes up to $99 or $149 every year, including more reinforcement components however dropping Mac support. You'll likewise discover a connection to Carbonite's evaluating in the Resource segment underneath.

Both administrations will just take a couple of minutes to setup. You sign up, download and introduce the particular program and let it perform the beginning reinforcement. When set up the applications will keep running out of sight, unbeknownst to you, and reinforcement your information all the time. Should you have to restore your records, you can get to them through the application, Web website or cell phone application.

Which technique do you utilize?

In a perfect world - both.

Repetition is the name of the diversion with regards to going down and securing your information. It's justified, despite all the trouble to invest the energy and cash on an outer hard commute, and all the while go down your information to an online administration. Not just will you profit by having the capacity to rapidly restore a document put away on a neighborhood drive, however if you - paradise disallow - lose your outer hard commute in a surge or flame, despite everything you'll have the off-site reinforcement of your information to restore.

However, in the event that you need to pick only one strategy, run with an off-site administration. The forthright cost is lower (when contrasted with purchasing an outside hard commute) and you're information is decent and safe somewhere else.

 

Precautions for OoVoo

 

• Like other feature, sound and content talk programs, ooVoo has efforts to establish safety set up that keep your record from being abused. For instance, each ooVoo client has an alternate name and watchword that helps keep your record secure and keeps different clients from getting to your own ooVoo data.. Taking extra safety measures will help you keep your record and the data traded from it secure.

• Account Privacy

• A standout amongst the most essential safeguards you can take when utilizing ooVoo is keeping your record secure. While other ooVoo clients will include you with your username, you ought to never impart your watchword to someone else; nor if you let other ooVoo clients realize what email location is connected with your record. Keeping other individuals off your ooVoo record will help guarantee nobody gets entrance to your contact list and other individual information. In the event that you utilize ooVoo on a cell phone or PC and recovery your secret key for the system, consider watchword ensuring your gadget.

• Including Contacts

• Something else to remember when utilizing ooVoo is which gets in touch with you need to include. A few individuals use ooVoo to meet new companions, while others utilize it to identify with individuals they know, in actuality. On the off chance that you don't need outsiders to discover your profile and include you as a companion, open your Settings menu and alter your controls so you don't show up in hunts. You can likewise shroud your birthday and other individual data from other ooVoo clients here.

• Feature Chat

• When you do use feature visit on ooVoo, there's no ensure that the individual on the flip side isn't recording you and that there's no other individual in the room out of your scope of perspective. Never do anything while feature visiting on ooVoo that you wouldn't need other individuals to see. The most ideal approach to stay safe when feature talking on ooVoo is to just talk with individuals you know and trust. On the off chance that you ever feel uncomfortable amid a feature call, end it quickly.

• Other Security Measures

• When you're on ooVoo, never give out specifically distinguishing data to individuals you don't know, in actuality. Remember that neither the sound or feature traded on ooVoo is scrambled, so its critical that you don't share anything delicate, similar to bank passwords. In case you're dealing with an ooVoo represent your kid, consider setting up sure times when he can utilize the project, and after that be in the same space to screen the feature and sound that is traded amid an ooVoo session. You ought to additionally stay informed regarding his watchword, so you can see who is including your youngster as a companion on ooVoo.

Fotor for Windows 8 review: a fast and fun way to edit photos whether or not you have a touchscreen

Fotor is an “all-in-one” photo editing app designed for Windows 8 tablets. The interface aims to make it easy to edit your photos with a few taps and swipes, much like Google’s SnapSeed. See also: Best Windows 8 apps

To the right is a series of buttons which can be considered the main menu.

You can open an image (including RAW files ), then tap the Scenes button to quickly alter your photo with either the 1-Tap Enhance or a variety of ‘scene’ presets such as sand/snow, night and other lighting conditions.

Next is the Edit button which provides a range of basic adjustments such as brightness, contrast, saturation and colour temperature. Other sliders let you add a vignette or sharpen the photo. Above your image are arrows that let you undo and redo changes.

Within the Crop menu you can straighten your photo, crop freehand or choose from a selection of common aspect ratios.

Effects is similar to Scenes, but offers a more Instagram-like selection of filters to give your photo a retro look or another style. There are loads to choose between, but oddly no pseudo-HDR preset.

It’s just as easy to add a border to your photo although, as with other editors, the frame is applied within the limits of the photo instead of adding to its size. We’d prefer the option to choose between these approaches, as your preferred frame might obscure some details you’d prefer to keep in your image.

A nice touch is the inclusion of a tilt-shift effect, which can make your subject look like a miniature scene. You can choose the aperture size and radius. If you want a straight blur rather than radial, you can tap on the image and rotate and move the lines to match the foreground and background in the image.

On the odd occasion when you want to add text to an image, that’s simple too. As well as picking the font you can increase character spacing, rotation and transparency.

There’s also the option of a stroke in a different colour, but no way to change its thickness. There’s no colour picker, so you can’t match the text to a particular colour in your photo.

There are other limitations compared to a traditional photo editing application. You can only make full-image adjustments, so there’s no way to increase brightness in a particular area for example. That’s something you can do with Snapseed. Also, there’s no red-eye removal.

Don’t expect any advanced features such as layers or curves: if you want to do any complex edits, you’ll need to resort to Photoshop or similar. At least you can resize an image when saving it, so if you need it to be 1000 pixels wide, that’s no problem. There’s also a collage mode where you can arrange up to 9 images to either print or share.

post from sitemap

24 best new phones you should be most excited about in 2015: best new phones coming from Apple, Samsung, Sony, Huawei, HTC, LG, Xiaomi and others

We're only in May, but already we have details on some of the best new phones of 2015. Here we reveal the 24 upcoming smartphones that you should be most excited about in 2015. Also see the best new tablets you should be most excited about in 2015.

Best new smartphones 2015: Samsung Galaxy S6

If you're a Samsung fan but would rather stick to a phone than a phablet then the S6 is just what you're looking for. With Samsung finally answering build-quality criticisms, it follows in the trend of the Galaxy Alpha and Galaxy Note 4 with a metal and glass body. There's also a quad-HD screen, plus plenty of other radical new features, including a super-fast Samsung Exynos processor (paired with 3GB of RAM), and a redesigned fingerprint scanner that works a lot more like Apple's Touch ID and, you know, actually works. The Samsung Galaxy S6 was unveiled at a Samsung Unpacked event on 1 March 2015, and went on sale on 10 April 2015. Prices start at £599 SIM-free. Read our Samsung Galaxy S6 review and learn more about the Samsung Galaxy S6 here.

Best new smartphones 2015: Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge

A second version of the Samsung Galaxy S6 launched alongside the standard S6 at MWC. It follows the trend set by the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge, but with two curved screen edges rather than one and a marginally higher-capacity battery than is found in the S6. In other respects the specs are in line with the standard S6, but expect to pay a premium for that fancy screen. Learn more about the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge here, which went on sale in the UK on 10 April 2015. Prices start at £760 SIM-free for the 64GB version.

Best new smartphones 2015: Samsung Galaxy S6 mini

A Samsung Galaxy flagship launch is traditionally followed by several variants, most importantly a compact version, but we've also seen variants that offer, for example, improved cameras or more ruggedised designs. The Samsung Galaxy S6 mini is likely to arrive a few months after the standard Samsung Galaxy S6, perhaps in late July/early August, and will be a more compact version of its bigger brother with a slightly slimmed down spec. We expect to see a 4.7in full-HD screen, a slower-clocked Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, perhaps 2GB of RAM and 16- and 5Mp cameras. You can read our Samsung Galaxy S6 mini predictions here.

Best new smartphones 2015: Samsung Galaxy S6 Active

Yet another rumoured Samsung  Galaxy S6 variant, the Active should be a rugged version of the Samsung Galaxy S6. It's a credible theory, given that the Samsung Galaxy S6 no longer features waterproofing. Plus, with an S4 Active and S5 Active before it, we could well see an S6 Active, but probably not until the summer. We've rounded up all the Samsung Galaxy S6 Active rumours here.

Best new smartphones 2015: Samsung Galaxy A7

Samsung has confirmed its Galaxy A7, a gorgeous phablet with a 6.3mm unibody metal chassis, a 5.5in Super AMOLED screen and a 64-bit octa-core processor. The Samsung Galaxy A7 is not yet on sale on the UK, but will come in both single- and dual-SIM variants. Read all about the Samsung Galaxy A7 here.

Best new smartphones 2015: HTC One M9

We are massive fans of the HTC One M8, and the HTC One M9 is even better. Although HTC has kept the full-HD screen rather than the quad-HD screens seen in the new Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, the HTC One M9 is a very attractive phone with some impressive performance. You can check out our HTC One M9 review here, and learn more about the HTC One M9 release date, price and specs here. The phone went on sale in the UK on 31 March from £569 SIM-free, making it £30 cheaper than its rival the Samsung Galaxy S6.

Best new smartphones 2015: HTC One M9+

A 5.5in-screen phablet version of the HTC One M9 is the One M9+ - and this is the one we were waiting for, with a Quad-HD screen and a fingerprint scanner. It's been announced only in China, with UK availability and pricing not yet confirmed - that's if it ever comes to the UK officially. Read more about the HTC One M9+ here.

Best new smartphones 2015: Sony Xperia Z4 

After all the rumours that the Sony Xperia Z4 would be delayed until September, the Z4 has now been officially unveiled in Japan. However, we're still waiting on details of a UK launch. The phone isn't too disimilar to the Sony Xperia Z3, with a 5.2in full-HD screen and Sony's usual waterproofing protection. It's a bit slimmer and has a faster processor, too. Read more about the Sony Xperia Z4 here.

Best new smartphones 2015: Huawei P8 and Huawei P8 max

Huawei's latest flagship has a gorgeous unibody metal design that's stylish enough to rival HTC and Apple, yet it undercuts the price of those smartphones with a starting price of 499 Euro, or £357. There is a standard 5.2in Huawei P8, or a huge 6.8in P8 max. The phone and phablet should have gone on sale in the UK this week, with a worldwide launch following 15 May. We're unable to find them for sale right now, but keep your eyes peeled - they're worth hunting down. For more info check out our Huawei P8 and P8 max UK release date, price and specs, Huawei P8 review and Huawei P8 max review. 

Best new smartphones 2015: LG G4

LG is calling the G4 the 'most ambitious smartphone yet', which is focused on delivering 'comfortable elegance, a great visual experience and a human-centric user experience'. We stand by our statement that the LG G3 was the very best phone you could buy in 2014, and things just get better with the LG G4 - although opinion is divided on that leather case (also available in ceramic versions). Key specifications include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor, a 5.5in Quad HD IPS Quantum display, 32GB of storage (with microSD support) and a 3000mAh removable battery. The G4 was unveiled at a press event on 28 April, and will go on sale on 28 May from £500 SIM-free. Read all about the LG G4 here, and check out our LG G4 hands-on review.

Best new smartphones 2015: LG G Flex 2

The G4 isn't LG's only exciting new smartphone for 2015. At CES 2015 it unveiled the G Flex 2, a curved-screen handset. The G Flex 2 is a 5.5in-screen smartphone with a 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 octa-core chip, and it features self-healing technology. Read all about the LG G Flex 2 here.

Best new smartphones 2015: Microsoft Lumia 940 & Lumia 940 XL

Part of the reason we're so excited about the upcoming Microsoft Lumia 940 and 940 XL is that they will be among the first handsets to run full Windows 10 - Microsoft is to finally tackle the Windows Phone apps problem by running one OS across phones, tablets, PCs and laptops. The Lumia 940 has the beefiest spec of any Windows Phone we've seen too, and the XL is a larger version with a 5.7in screen. Check out all the Microsoft Lumia 940 and 940 XL UK release date, price and specs rumours here, and find out more about Windows 10 for phones here.

Best new smartphones 2015: iPhone 7 / iPhone 6s 

The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were released in September, and in the months leading up to that the rumour mill went mental. Be prepared for more of the same with the iPhone 7, which will launch in September 2015 running iOS 9. As always, we're expecting a faster processor and some upgraded specs, but little change to the design. (Note that it will probably be called the iPhone 6s rather than iPhone 7, but we're sticking with iPhone 7 for now.) Check out all the iPhone 6s and iPhone 7 rumours here.

Best new smartphones 2015: Samsung Galaxy Note 5

Everyone always bangs on about Samsung's Galaxy S line-up, but it's the Note series that really impresses. The Note 4 was unveiled at a Samsung Unpacked event prior to September's IFA tradeshow (3 September 2014), and right now sits at the top of our fastest smartphone and best phablet charts. Like the new iPhone the Note 5 won't be released until September 2015, but it's going to be well worth the wait. Check out all the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 rumours here.

Best new smartphones 2015: new Nexus 5 2015

The new Nexus phone for 2015 is hotly tipped to be another Nexus 5. Google is reportedly in talks with both LG and Huawei, and a Huawei-made device has already leaked in an official Google promo video for Project Fi (now why would you do that, Google, when the only known device to work with Project Fi today is the Nexus 6?). If Huawei is in line for the new Nexus 5 2015 that can mean only one thing - Google's going back to its high-end specs, mid-range price business model. That's probably not too unlikely, either, given its Q1 2015 earnings call, in which it revealed Google Play takings were up, but the 2014 Nexus devices hadn't done so well at their higher price points. Being a Chinese phone maker, with Huawei we could also see the first dual-SIM Nexus phone, finally bringing dual-SIM functionality into the mainstream in the UK. Alternatively, with LG onboard, we could be about to get another Quad HD Nexus phone. One thing is for sure, the new Nexus 5 2015 will be the first device to run Android M, the latest Google OS that we expect to hear more details on in May's Google I/O. For more details on the new Nexus 5 2015 check out our New Nexus 5 2015 UK release date, price, specification and feature rumour round-up.

Best new smartphones 2015: Xiaomi Mi Note and Xiaomi Mi Note Pro

Xiaomi has officially unveiled its Mi Note and Mi Note Pro, with the latter hailed as the most powerful phone in the world. Both offer staggering value at £244 and £350 respectively, given their amazing specs. These two Chinese phones are fitted with 5.7in curved screens - the Mi Note full-HD and the Note Pro Quad HD. The Mi Note Pro in particular should offer unrivalled performance, thanks to a 2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 64-bit octa-core chip, a massive 4GB of RAM and Adreno 430 graphics. And still it's thinner than the iPhone 6 Plus. There's loads more to drool over in Xiaomi's juicy spec sheet too - read more about the Xiaomi Mi Note and Mi Note Pro UK release date, price and specs here. The Mi Note went on sale in China on 27 January and sold out within minutes, while the Mi Note Pro will go on sale on 6 May. These phones won't officially go on sale in the UK, but it's probable that you'll be able to get them on grey-market or auction sites.

Best new smartphones 2015: Xiaomi Mi 4i

Xiaomi has taken the wraps off its Mi 4i, a plastic, upgraded version of its flagship Mi 4, with a low price tag of Rs. 12,999 (£136) yet some very good specs. It has a 5in full-HD screen with Sunlight display, a second-generation 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor, 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. Just 7.8mm thick, Xiaomi has still managed to squeeze in a 13Mp rear camera that lies flush to the case. It's dual-SIM dual-standby out the box, with both SIMs supporting 4G. The Xiaomi Mi 4i will go on sale on 30 April, but to buy one in the UK you'll need to go through unofficial channels. Read more about the Xiaomi Mi 4i UK release date, price, specification and features. 

Best new smartphones 2015: OnePlus Two

The OnePlus One is an amazing phone if you've managed to get hold of one. It's priced from £229 but has the spec to match a £600 smartphone, hence OnePlus marketing it as a 2014 flagship killer. According to OnePlus co-founder Carl pei, the OnePlus Two will surprise us, and is likely to focus on flagship-rivalling design rather than specs. He told our sister site PC World the OnePlus Two would arrive in June 2015, along with a second model - perhaps a OnePlus Mini? We expect to see a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, 4GB of RAM, a 3300mAh battery and a 5.5in 2K screen. It will also run OnePlus' own OxygenOS, rather than Cyanogen. Check out all the OnePlus Two rumours here.

Best new smartphones 2015: Asus Zenfone 2

We've yet to get our hands on an Asus Zenfone 2, but the top-end model (ZE551ML) is now available at Amazon for £309.99. This powerful phone has a staggering 4GB of RAM and a 2.3GHz 64-bit Intel Atom Z3580 quad-core processor. For storage 32GB is fitted, and you can get more through microSD. There's 4G LTE support (dual-SIM, dual active), a 5.5in full-HD IPS screen, and 13Mp rear- and 5Mp front cameras. The stylish brushed-metal case is just 3.9mm thick at the edges. Running the fully customisable ZenUI software, the Zenfone 2 also has Trend Micro security preinstalled. The Asus Zenfone 2 is well worth a look. 

Best new smartphones 2015: Tesco Hudl smartphone

The Hudl tablet has seen phenomenal success, allowing the masses to enter the world of tablet computing. Tesco's taking a slightly different tack with its smartphone, however, which will be a high-end device with an aggressive price. Just the type of device we get excited about. The Tesco Hudl smartphone was supposed to be here in time for Christmas 2014, but Tesco put the project on hold. Despite recent financial problems causing Tesco to sell off its Broadband & Homephone and Blinkbox services, it remains committed to its mobile business. Check out all the Tesco Hudl smartphone rumours here.

Best new smartphones 2015: Ubuntu smartphone

The Ubuntu phone is finally here in the form of the Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu Edition. It costs €169 and runs a 1.3GHz quad-core processor with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. More importantly, this is not an Android or iOS phone, it runs Ubuntu Linux - and that's interesting. You can find out more about the Ubuntu phone here.   

Want a phone that's available now? Check out the best smartphones of 2015, best Android phones of 2015, best Windows Phones of 2015, best budget phones of 2015, best cheap 4G phones of 2015, best phablets of 2015 and best selfie smartphones of 2015.

Find out this weeks most sought-after smartphones deals here 

Follow Marie Brewis on Twitter.

post from sitemap

Fitbit Charge HR review: the fitness tracker with an always-on heart-rate monitor

Fitbit released two new activity trackers in early 2015. The Fitbit Charge HR and Fitbit Surge both feature heart-rate monitors plus a bunch of other fitness and activity-tracking features. See all Activity Tracker Reviews.

The Fitbit Charge HR is a more advanced version of the Fitbit Charge, which was released in November 2014. The Fitbit Surge features even more features for the performance-obsessed fitness fanatics. As such the Charge HR should appeal to someone wanting more advanced activity-tracking stats than a Fitbit Flex or Charge user – particularly heart-rate monitoring – but not to the level and price as the more sports-oriented Surge.

The Fitbit Charge HR also has some extra benefits, such as a watch-type buckle that is far more secure than the clasp on the Flex and Charge.

It features all the functions of the Charge and adds some compelling new monitors that will make many Charge buyers stop to consider paying the xtra £20 for the Charge HR’s extras.

Like the Charge the Charge HR is an activity-tracker wristband that displays fitness stats right there on your wrist – unlike many of its rivals, such as the Jawbone Up24, which don’t have such a real-time stats display on the band itself.

While the Charge costs £99.99, the Fitbit Charge HR is priced at £119.99. Spending that extra £20 is tempting because of the extra features the HR offers.

Bear in mind that no Fitbit tracker integrates with Apple Health, so your fitness data from the Fitbit app can't be imported into the Health app. However. this is no major problem since the Fitbit app presents the data nicely and lets you compete with friends.

Pictured from left: Fitbit Charge (Black), Fitbit Charge HR (Plum), and Fitbit Surge (Black).

Fitbit Charge HR vs Fitbit Charge: it’s all about heart rate

All Fitbits have a MEMS 3-axis accelerometer that measures motion patterns to determine your steps taken, distance travelled, active minutes, and calories burned. The Charge and Charge HR both include a clock so you can ditch the watch if you like, but many wear the fitness band alongside their wristwatch. For a full breakdown and comparison of all the Fitbits see our feature “Which Fitbit is Best”.

The Fitbit Charge and Charge HR also feature an altimeter (unlike the Apple Watch) that measures floors climbed, to push you to climb those stairs instead of taking the lift, or to take the uphill route to work rather than the easier flat. Every 10ft elevation you walk or climb is counted as one flight of stairs.

The Charge HR isn’t the multi-sports powerhouse that is the Fitbit Surge, but – as with the Charge – you can use it to log workouts and – via the app – see a monthly exercise plan. Fitbit sees it as for “Active” users, compared to the Charge that’s aimed at “Everyday” users. You might also be interested in Fitbit's Aria scales that sync with your account, and measure weight, body fat percentage and BMI; read our Fitbit Aria scales review.

Using Mobile Run both can track run, walk and hike stats and map routes using your iPhone’s GPS; the Surge has its own built-in GPS. These functions are not quite there on Android yet, unfortunately.

This is great for recording Average Pace and Split Paces. It also offers music controls so you can use it to select and shuffle songs on your iPhone. You can view runs from the past four weeks. You tap specific runs for an expanded view, where you can view steps, calories, and active minutes taken during your MobileRun.

Both wristbands also measure the duration and quality of your sleep, which is an often-forgotten aspect of leading a fit and healthy lifestyle. Sleep detection is now automatic. In the past you had to tap or push a button as you drifted off to the land of nod – which meant that this action was occasionally missed. This is another area where the Fitbits beat the battery-shy Apple Watch.

Both trackers feature a vibrating alarm to wake you – but not your partner – at the times you set beforehand.

If your phone is nearby you can set the Fitbit Charge and HR to show incoming call notifications using Caller ID. The top-of-the-range Fitbit Surge goes further yet, with built-in text notifications, music control and GPS tracking, so you don’t even need your phone nearby.

Fitbit Charge HR review: heart rate tracking

So far, so similar for the two Charges. What does the Fitbit Charge HR offer that’s missing from the Charge?

The Charge HR is designed for more active users than the Charge – gym regulars (but not nuts), joggers and the more dedicated keep fit people, rather than the moderate exerciser who’ll be happy with the Charge or entry-level Fitbit Flex.

The main difference between Charge and Charge HR, as pointed out rather obviously in the name, is the Charge HR’s heart-rate monitoring (shared by the Surge), which delivers continuous heart rate, and lets you see how you’re doing on the wristband as well as on the smartphone app. Unlike other heart-rate monitors it doesn’t require a device to be strapped to your chest. It’s all done on the wrist, which means you’ll get a more complete picture of your heart rate as it is on all day and night.

Charge HR features Fitbit’s proprietary PurePulse optical heart-rate technology, which uses safe LED lights on the underside of the wristband to detect blood volume and capillary-size changes under pressure.

When your heart beats, your capillaries expand and contract based on blood volume changes. PurePulse LED lights on the Charge HR – and Fitbit Surge – reflect onto the skin to detect blood volume changes.

Fitbit says that the LED lights are safe for skin and are on the visible spectrum, similar to the domestic house lights. They are very low power so will not burn the skin, and are programmed to shut down if your device freezes or doesn’t see the right signal.

PurePulse allows users to track workout intensity and calorie burn with algorithms that provide insight through interactive charts and graphs on the app and Fitbit dashboard.

The heart-rate icon on the Charge HR display tells you if you're in one of three heart-rate zones. These zones can help you optimize your workout by targeting different training intensities, and are calculated based on a percentage of your estimated maximum heart rate.

Fitbit calculates your max heart rate with the common formula of 220 minus your age. When you’re “out of zone”  – that is below 50 percent of your maximum heart rate – your heart rate may still be elevated but not enough to be considered exercise.

During low- to medium-intensity Fitbit classes this as the Fat Burn zone, measured at 50-69 percent of maximum heart rate. This is called the Fat Burn zone because a higher percentage of calories are burned from fat, but the total calorie burn rate is lower.

The optimum Cardio zone is at 70-84 percent of maximum heart rate, and is the medium- to high-intensity exercise zone. Fitbit describes this zone as when you are “pushing yourself but not straining”.

The Peak heart-rate zone is the high-intensity exercise zone for short intense sessions that improve performance and speed – it is greater than 85 percent of your maximum heart rate.

Instead of using the three default zones you can create a custom heart-rate zone on your computer’s Fitbit dashboard.

When you pair your Charge HR with the app you'll notice a new resting BPM field (new, that is, if you're upgrading from an older Fitbit). This will be populated once you've slept while wearing the wristband. Resting heart rate is traditionally measured just before waking up and certainly before you start moving around.

The Fitbit Charge HR (and Surge) go one better than most current activity trackers as they measure your heart rate - including your resting rate - throughout the day. The app graphs your resting heart rate so you can see how it changes from day to day, week to week and month to month. You can also examine your daily heart rate graph and see how long you spent in the three zones.

If you track workouts by pressing and holding the Charge HR's button to start and stop the stop watch, you'll also get workout summaries showing your heart rate and time spent in each zone for that activity. (Currently there are no on-device summaries beyond the stopwatch time, but Fitbit has just announced (1st March 2015) that a forthcoming firmware update which will include a full workout summary on-screen. This is what a cardio workout looks like in the iOS app:

Crucially, when compared to trackers with no heart rate monitor and those which only measure heart rate on demand, the Charge HR gives you a much more accurate calorie burn figure. Knowing your heart rate means the Charge HR knows the intensity of the exercise - a value missing in the equation when there's no heart rate data.

Also on the horizon is the Microsoft Band. Here's what we think of the Microsoft Band compared to the Charge HR.

Fitbit Charge HR vs Fitbit Charge: specs

The designs of the two wristbands are very similar. Comparing the two next to each other shows that the lesser-functioned Charge, strangely, is very slightly wider than the HR.

The Charge – not having to worry about tracking heart rate – boasts a much longer battery life of 7-10 days, compared to the HR’s 5+ days. When we have tested the Charge HR for longer we’ll update this review with our own battery test results.

Both are water resistant up to one Atmosphere, which theoretically means they can be submerged to 10 metres, but in reality it means each will withstand not much more than splashes and a quick dousing. Neither should be worn in the shower or when swimming. The Surge is more water resistant (five Atmosphere) than these two.

Fitbit Charge HR vs Fitbit Charge: design

While the two Charges look similar we much prefer the HR’s watch-like strap and buckle, which feel less likely to slip off. Fitbit has improved the Charge’s clasp, following complaints about the previous model Fitbit Force’s looser clasp, but the buckle is a real bonus for the HR. I’d go as far to say that it alone is worth the extra £20!

The Charge HR is available in four colours (see below): Black, Blue, Plum, and Tangerine.

The Charge (below) comes in Black, Blue, Slate and Burgundy.

Fitbit likes to think of the Charge for everyday users who want to get fitter and see how they are doing in real time on the wristband and also via the excellent free app and graphics-heavy desktop dashboard. The Charge HR user is more active and will get more data from the heart-rate monitoring – especially when used with the Peak, Cardio and Fat Burn Zones.

We think that the casual Charge user might very well be tempted by the heart-rate tracking, too, and as it’s only an extra £20 the only thing stopping the upgrade is the wait till next year. You also get the more secure watch-like buckle with the Charge HR.

We love the Surge for its GPS and more sports-based features but the Fitbit Charge HR is a welcome, minimal step below for the rest of us.

post from sitemap

StumbleUpon for Windows 8 review

The StumbleUpon app embraces the Windows 8 Modern UI presenting its content is a neat manor which is easy on the eye. The idea of the app is to give you a personalised internet experience based on your individual taste.

See also: Best Windows apps: Windows 8 app group test.

It's important to remember that StumbleUpon will work better the more you use it. Once you've selected your areas of interest, the app will effectively get to you better when you like or dislike content which is suggested for you.

It's not really complicated enough to need it but the app gives you a quick tour to get you acquainted with the interface before you can start using it. You'll have to log in, either with a StumbleUpon account or via Facebook.

Navigation is extremely simple, and we like it that way. The home screen provides you with a wall of content tailored to your likes and interests. Click on one or more tile and you'll be shown that image, video or the article.

Scroll to the right and you'll see sections for trending content, friends' activity and things you've liked. The only oddity is that we could find no way of refreshing the content displayed on the home screen.

Apart from clicking on tiles which take your fancy navigation will be mostly done via a drop down menu which is always accessible. From here you can go to the home screen, the three sections mentioned previously plus specific areas of interest which you have flagged up. At any point you can bring up the options menu and hit the Stumble button to load a random piece of content.

If you want to share something you've stumbled upon you can do this simply via Windows 8 Charms bar rather than the app itself. While using the app a large back button at the top left will navigate you backwards just like a web browser.

Your user name, icon and number of likes are all displayed in the top right hand corner of the screen but you can't interact with it in any way which seems strange. Instead, you can edit your interests by bringing up the options menu and hitting the button.

Follow Chris Martin and @PCAdvisor on Twitter.

post from sitemap

iPhone 6S release date, price, specs and new features: When is the iPhone 6s coming out? Will it be the iPhone 7?

It's 2015 and although the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are still going strong it's time to look ahead to Apple's next flagship smartphone, which could be less than five months away. Here's what we know about the iPhone 6S release date, price and specs in the UK which might end up being the iPhone 7. Updated 11/5/15. Also see: Best new phones coming in 2015.

iPhone 6S: The name and models - will it be the iPhone 7?

Following Apple's history with smartphones, the next iPhone will be an 'S' model. However, there's always the possibility it will put an end to this tradition so we may be in store for the iPhone 7 this year – you just never know. In fact, reports suggest that the new iPhone is going to be so different from the current models that Apple will indeed skip to the iPhone 7. This is what KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo thinks who has a proven track record of predicting Apple launches correctly.

For the last two launches, Apple has introduced two new iPhones. We currently have the iPhone 6 and the larger iPhone 6 Plus and previously Apple launched the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C. Will we get two models again this year? We think so but rumours are thin on the ground on the subject at the moment but it's early days so stay tuned as we'll be updating this article as new information becomes available. Read: The best iPhone 6 alternatives.

iPhone 6S release date: When is the iPhone 6S coming out?

These days it relatively easy to predict when a new generation of a flagship smartphone will arrive. Most manufacturers announce a new model annually while some go for every six months.

Apple is one of the former and if we look at previous launches, it's highly likely that the iPhone 6S will be announced in September and will go on sale a week or two afterwards. Of course, if the launch event is towards the end of the month, the iPhone 6S release date could be early October. Bear in mind that if there are two new iPhones announced this year, they may not go on sale on the same day.

iPhone 6S: Design and specs

With an 'S' model iPhone, most things tend to stay the same in terms of design and specs. Usually there are a few tweaks here and there but Apple will save major changes for the next full model number – ie the iPhone 7.

It seems likely then that the iPhone 6S will look the same as the current iPhone 6. It will use the same chassis and come in the same colour options. The weight might change though due to different components inside or a new sapphire glass.

An S model sticks with the same screen size so we're probably looking at 4.7in and if there is an iPhone 6S Plus then it should remain at 5.5in. Resolutions are also likely to stay the same although one rumour suggests the new iPhone will have a 5in display with a 400ppi and what about the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge rivalling concept below by Michael Shanks?

So what will change?

If the design of the iPhone 6S remains the same, then Apple will provide upgrades in the form of new hardware. There are various rumours floating around, the most obvious of which, is of a new processor. The iPhone 6S will come with an A9 chip and could also get an upgrade in the RAM department to 2 GB.

The Touch ID fingerprint scanner could be integrated into the display, according to one rumour, rather than sitting in the home button. We thought the cameras would almost certainly be upgraded, although we're not sure a rumoured 21Mp rear camera is probable and analysts are now saying Apple will stick with 8Mp for the iPhone 6S.

More likely is a reversible USB connector. We already have the Lightning connector which can be plugged in either way round so we'd put money on Apple doing it at the other end of the cable, too. Also highly possible, practically a given, is that the iPhone 6S will come pre-loaded with iOS 9 which will probably be detailed at Apple's WWDC which normally takes place in June.

There's also a rumour suggesting that Apple may decide to use the same series 7000 aluminium that they use for the Apple Watch with the iPhone 6S. The Series 7000 aluminium is 60% stronger than standard aluminium, but keeps its lightweight form factor making it a great candidate for the iPhone 6S. 

There are also reports from the WSJ that the iPhone 6S (possibly only the 6S Plus according to conflicting rumours) will support Force Touch. Currently built into the Apple Watch and the new 12inch MacBook, Force Touch gives the device pressure sensitivity, allowing them to distinguish between a light tap and a hard press, enabling opportunities for new gestures. The source is apparently an Apple supplier, so it's best to take this with a pinch of salt - Apple often tests technologies using suppliers that never make it into the final product, so this may also be the case with Force Touch. 

One final rumour suggests that the iPhone 6S might be available in a rose gold colour in addition to the silver, gold and space grey, to match the rose gold Apple Watch Edition. Below is a concept image of a rose gold iPhone 6S by designer Martin Hajek.

iPhone 6S rumours: Did you mean Samsung Galaxy S6?

Google iPhone 6S and you'll come across a sneaky little jibe from Samsung, which is known for taking stabs at Apple through its marketing. A search for 'iPhone 6S' will produce an ad at the very top of Google that reads "Awkard, you obviously mean S6," linking to none other than Samsung.

Alternative results include "We think you mean S6," and "The S6 goes all the way to the edge without bending."

iPhone 6S price: How much will the iPhone 6S cost in the UK?

We don't have any solid clues that point to the iPhone 6S's price in the UK yet, but we expect that it'll be similar to the price of the current iPhone models.

The iPhone 6 starts at £539, while the iPhone 6 Plus starts at £619.

post from sitemap

Satechi joins the connected-home fray with a color-tunable bulb and smart plug

Bluetooth-enabled LED bulbs and smart plugs are coming out of the woodwork. San Diego-based Satechi is just the latest manufacturer to enter this emerging space. The firm, which sells a broad collection of PC, smartphone, and tablet accessories, launched the Spectrum IQ Bulb and the IQ Plug late last week.

We recently put half a dozen connected, color-tunable LED bulbs through their paces to see how they stacked up. The 8-Watt Spectrum IQ Bulb has a clear advantage over most of those products in at least one department: price. At $35, it is among the most affordable options on the market. The bulb can be controlled via Bluetooth using any Android or iOS device, which eliminates the need for a hub or bridge.

The accompanying mobile app allows you to turn the bulb on or off, alter its brightness, and change the color (up to 16 million colors to choose from). Although the company itself makes no mention of the bulb's lumens output, a couple of users over at Amazon reckon it's no brighter than a 40W incandescent. The IQ Bulb is rated for 25,000 hours of use.

The IQ Plug also has a $35 price tag, but is currently being sold at an introductory price of $30. Designed to fit into any standard AC power socket, it allows you to use your smartphone or tablet to turn whatever device is plugged into it on or off. You can also create schedules for the same. Satechi's app will also report on the power consumption of the device you plug into it, although you'll need to be within 49 feet of the device to control or monitor it.

The story behind the story: Smart luminaries and plugs are great entry points for anyone wanting to jump on the connected-home bandwagon. They are relatively inexpensive, remarkably foolproof, and clearly useful.

post from sitemap

CloudMagic review - speedy personalised search tool is all grown up

CloudMagic is growing up. This super-speedy search service debuted a few years ago and over time has evolved to offer some very useful features, including Facebook and Twitter search. Now, though, CloudMagic is making some of its biggest changes yet, including the ability to integrate your personal search results with Google's global Web results. (See our CloudMagic review from 2011.) See all Software reviews.

And the company is no longer offering unlimited searches for free, a move that may alienate some users. However, 50 free searches a month will suffice for many; the unlimited searches of the Pro subscription costs $5 a month - you are charged in $USD, and it works out at about £3.50 for UK users. See all software downloads.

CloudMagic's core search tools work the same as always: you sign up for an account, and link the services you'd like it to search. It supports a huge range of services, including AOL, Box, Dropbox, Evernote, Facebook, Gmail, Google Apps, Google Talk, GMX, Hotmail, iCloud, Mail.com, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, Microsoft Office 365, MSN, Outlook.com, SkyDrive, Twitter, Windows Live, and Yahoo.

Once access has been granted, CloudMagic then begins indexing your accounts, which can take some time if your accounts are sizable. It took several hours to index a Gmail account containing thousands of messages, but only a few minutes to index a newer Twitter account. You can begin searching right away, but waiting until the indexing process is complete will deliver more accurate results.

CloudMagic displays your own personal results in an unobtrusive box that appears alongside Google's Web results.

CloudMagic: the apps

The service is still available as it has been in the past, as a browser extension for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, an add-on for Internet Explorer, and a mobile app for the iPad, iPhone, and Android devices.  The browser extensions and add-ons appear as simple search box on any relevant Web pages; if you surf to a page that doesn't support CloudMagic, you don't see the box. You can move the search box around the page if it's in your way, and you can minimize it to a corner, too.

You enter your keywords in the search box, and CloudMagic goes to work, instantly (and I do mean instantly) displaying results as you type. The results appear in a column that appears below the CloudMagic search box as soon as you begin typing. Results are organized by source; if you enter a search string while on your Gmail page, you'll see results from there, but you also can scroll down to see results from your other accounts, like Facebook and Twitter. In CloudMagic's latest iteration, the results are as accurate as speedy as they have always been.

What's new about CloudMagic is how you can access its search results. It  is no longer limited to displaying results in its own search box. CloudMagic now lets you see your personal CloudMagic results when conducting Google searches. This feature, which is available using Chrome, Firefox, and Safari with the browser extension installed (except Internet Explorer) works whenever you enter a search query in Google. CloudMagic displays your personal results—from any accounts you've indexed—alongside your Google search results. If you search for a local restaurant on the Web, CloudMagic could, for example, display any tweets or Facebook status messages your friends may have posted about it. It's a handy way to mix personal and global Web search together. Results are displayed right on Google's results pages, in a box that appears to the right side of Google's results. You can see messages, tweets, Google docs, and more, all of which are organized by source, just like any other CloudMagic results.  They don't interfere with your Google results, as they sit off to the side, but when a relevant result is returned, it's easily accessible.

While all users will appreciate CloudMagic's new search tools, some may not appreciate the new price tag that comes along with using them too frequently. CloudMagic is still offering a free version, but it's not unlimited, as it was in the past. The free version of CloudMagic is for users who need less than 50 "previews" a month; anyone needing more will have to pay $5 a month for its Pro account. CloudMagic considers a preview the action you take after getting the search result, in which you click the result that seems relevant and you're shown a quick preview of the content it returned.

post from sitemap

CloudMagic for Windows 8 review - excellent search service Windows 8 app

CloudMagic has gone Metro. The excellent search service, of which I've been a fan since it made its debut in 2010, is now available as a native application for Windows 8's Metro interface. CloudMagic's Windows 8 edition still delivers super-speedy, accurate search results across a host of services, but it is a bit hamstrung by some of Windows 8's own problems. (See our CloudMagic review from 2011.) See all Software reviews.

You can download the CloudMagic app from Microsoft's Windows Store, and it installs quickly. If you already have a CloudMagic account, the app remembers all of your settings, and doesn't need much in the way of set up: You log in and you're good to go. See all software downloads.

If you don't have a CloudMagic account already, the signup process is simple, and it's easy to link the services you'd like it to search. CloudMagic currently searches the following services: AOL, Box, Dropbox, Evernote, Facebook, Gmail, Google Apps, Google Drive, Google Talk, GMX, Hotmail, iCloud, Mail.com, Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, Microsoft Office 365, MSN, Outlook.com, SkyDrive, Twitter, Windows Live, and Yahoo Mail. You simply grant CloudMagic access to the accounts you'd like it to search, and it goes to work indexing them.

While the basics are the same, the actual experience of using CloudMagic as a Windows 8 Metro app is very different from using it in your browser, as an extension. Where the browser extension displays results right on the Web page you're viewing, the Metro app is its own standalone app. You search from within the app itself and see all of the results in there, too.

I do like how CloudMagic still organizes the results by type: You can see messages, people, files & docs, posts & updates, and events, and you can limit your search to just one of these categories if you have an idea of what you're looking for.

As always, CloudMagic's results appear quickly, in real-time as you type, and proved to be very accurate. And CloudMagic's subscription model is in place: you can view 50 free "previews" each month. (CloudMagic considers a preview the action you take after getting the search result, in which you click the result that seems relevant and you're shown a quick preview of the content it returned.) If you want to see more than 50 previews, you'll need to hand over $5 a month for a Pro account.

What's different about CloudMagic's Metro app is its Metro-fied interface, which displays results in large text in a column on the left side of the screen. I didn't test it on a touch-screen device, but I can see how this interface would work well with one. Clicking on one of the results brings up a preview on the right side of the screen. Depending on what type of content this preview contains, you'll also see certain options underneath the preview. If it's an email message, for example, you'll see options that include "Reply" and "Open."

Here's the unfortunate part of using CloudMagic in the Windows 8 modern UI: Much of the content that CloudMagic searches is available from services--like Facebook and Gmail--that are not yet available as Metro apps. So, when you open them, you're taken to your browser, back in Windows 8's Desktop interface. The experience isn't exactly seamless, especially because being back in your browser shows you the CloudMagic browser extensions--which reminded me, at least, of how much I like using it. It lets you switch between sites and services with ease.

post from sitemap

How to erase a write-protected USB stick and format a write-protected SD card

Some SD cards and USB sticks have write protection switches. When enabled they prevent files from being deleted, or any new files being written to the device. It also stops you from accidentally formatting the card or stick.

Occasionally, you’ll find that an SD card or USB flash drive will refuse to format and Windows will tell you that it is write protected, even though there is no switch, or the switch is set correctly to allow the device to be written to.

Typically, you can read the files which are already stored on the drive, but you can't delete them (they sometimes seem to delete ok, but the next time you check, there they are again!).

Here are a couple of ways you can try to format the drive and remove the write protection. Bear in mind that there is no guarantee that they will work for you: your USB flash drive or SD card may be corrupt or physically broken and no utility or low-level formatting tool will make it work again. The only solution in this case is to buy a new drive.

How to erase a write-protected USB drive in the Registry using Regedit.exe

In any version of Windows from XP onwards, run Regedit.exe (searching regedit will usually show the program at the top of the list).

Navigate to the following key:

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\

CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies

Double-click on the WriteProtect value in the right-hand pane of Regedit.exe. Change the Value data from 1 to 0 and click OK to save the change. Close Regedit and restart your computer. Connect your USB drive again, and you should find it is no longer write protected. You can now format the drive as normal by right-clicking on it in My Computer and choosing Format.

If you can’t find StorageDevicePolicies, you can try creating a key by right-clicking in the white space in the Control folder and choosing New -> Key and carefully entering the name.

Now double-click on the new key (folder) and right-click once again and choose New -> DWORD. Name it WriteProtect and set its value to 0. Click OK, exit Regedit and reboot your computer.

If this method doesn’t work, try the following:

Removing write-protection using Diskpart

With your USB drive plugged in, launch a command prompt. Do this by searching for cmd.exe in the Start menu (or Start screen in Windows 8). In Windows XP, click Start then Run, and type cmd.exe in the box.

NOTE: you may need to run Cmd.exe with administrator privileges if you see an “access is denied” message.

To do that, right-click on the shortcut and choose Run as administrator. In Windows 8, simply choose Command prompt (admin).

Now, type the following, pressing Enter after each command:

diskpart

list disk

select disk x (where x is the number of your USB flash drive – use the capacity to work out which one it is)

attributes disk clear readonly

clean

create partition primary

format fs=fat32  (you can swap fat32 for ntfs if you only need to use the drive with Windows computers)

exit

 

Add Jim to your Google+ circles and follow Jim and @PCAdvisor on Twitter.

post from sitemap