Tag Archives: Chrome

Technology

My favorite productivity apps 2016!

Why do we have computers in our pockets if we cannot increase our productivity?  I am all for having a fun game or two, but if your device is just sitting in your pocket collecting dust — then perhaps you should switch back to a feature-phone, eh?
Whether you use Android or iOS, the big players in the productivity app arena are the same and here I will highlight the best cross-platform apps for you to choose from!
  1. EverNote.  This utility of all utilities is probably the best swiss army knife of note taking applications there is on the market today.  With the ability to clip from websites, send notes via email or phone, adding voice to notes, advanced collaboration features — this one app simply has and does it all!  See the power here –> 
  2. TickTick.  Need a to do list application?  This is for you.  Google sign in, sync accross multiple devices, web interface and multiple lists that you can track — need I say more? 
  3. Buffer.  Have multiple social media accounts that you want to manage and manipulate at one centralized location?  Buffer has the tools to allow you to do that.  In addition, you can track the success of what you share and schedule when your posts go out!  Nothing short of excellent. 
  4. LastPass.  Password managers are abundant nowadays, but with password generation built in and over the top security being used to secure your credentials, look no further.  The iOS app even allows for unlocking the password vault with TouchID to ensure the most security on your device. 
  5. BetterNet.  What is BetterNet?  It is a cross-platform VPN client that will secure your data as it’s transferred over the internet.  More important is that you secure yourself when you are on a network that you are not familiar with (ie. Starbucks Wifi, Airport Wifi, etc) as these are breeding grounds for attack.  Some believe that VPN does not work and does not conceal you data, tell the non-believers that they are 100% wrong not even ISPs can tell what you are sending because it is through a secure tunnel.  (end points does not equal packets)  Want to know why you should have and utilize VPN? 

These top productivity tools are sure to brighten your technological day!  All of these have equal iOS, Android and Chrome counterparts!!

Go forth and be productive!!

Multimedia, Video

New ASUS Chromebox

The latest Chromebox from ASUS is bringing us techies a lot of excitement — rightfully so.

As a Chromebook owner, it is easy to see the delights and appeal of this friendly and easy to use OS (essentially Google Chrome with extensions and web apps) and see the power of having a small Chromebox (desktop version of the Chromebook) attached to a large display, such as your HD TV.

Couple watching media through the new ASUS Chromebox.
Couple watching media through the new ASUS Chromebox.

Think of the possibilities of having a desktop operating system on your TV. The entire internet will be right on front of you with no compromise. Google TV attempts to bridge the gap between an app ecosystem in Android and some say that it has not been successful.  As a Google TV owner, it is a great experience with a few shortcomings; however, this solution might be viable due to the ability to bring the entire Chrome ecosystem to your set.  Note, this is not the first Chromebox just the first Chromebox with this small form factor.

Bottom line:  Grab a wireless keyboard and mouse and you have a full entertainment system in front of your eyes.  This is definitely a step up from Google TV, which is missing critical apps such as Hulu Plus.

Software, Technology

Google Chrome: Lightweight but a RAM hog?

Google Chrome, to the non-technological observer, this may seem like a very lightweight application by it’s looks and performance.  However, once you get in deep and dive under the hood you will be horrified.  Let me start off by saying Chrome is robust in it’s own right; however, with the way that it hogs memory it will not receive my seal of approval just yet.

When it comes down to mobile devices, Chrome is the way to go.  The browser is fast, memory unobtrusive, sleek, and all-around beautifully designed.  On the other hand, on the desktop, this beast is a complete resource hog.  I am totally enthralled in the Google ecosystem, between my Nexus devices and content from Google Play — I am Google to the core.  However, for some reason, I cannot seem to drop Mozilla Firefox, which has been my browser of choice since it was 0.4 Beta (thanks to Kevin Rose).  Why?  The answer is simple, Firefox used to be a memory hog; but, Mozilla realized this and corrected the issue.  This browser is far less bloated that it has ever been, performs exceptionally and renders web pages like non other.

Now, let’s take a look at Chrome.  Being a Google user, I felt the need to give Chrome a true end to end test.  From the outside looking in Chrome looks like it uses no memory at all.  However, when you view your processes on the task manager you will notice that for every tab you create in the browser Chrome is essentially creating another instance of itself.  Why?  Firefox doesn’t do this, it manages all open tabs in one browser instance instead of virtually creating a separate instance for every tab.  This is why Chrome falls to 2nd place in my browser ranking.

Bottom line:  If Chrome fixes its memory issues, there would be no reason for me to stay with Firefox for my desktop browser of choice or at least let them duel it out on my machine.