Skype for the Apple iPhone and iPad

UPDATE 6/11/15 - Check out the new post HERE about Skype's new version that works within a browser.

Most of us have already heard about Skype, the VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) company which was recently purchased by Microsoft.

It's a big deal for Microsoft and the future of mobile and video telecommunications.

Skype is widely known for allowing users to initiate and receive video and audio calls from PCs.  But it's more than that.

Many do not know that Skype already allows calls from mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad.

Best of all, unlike Apple's own mobile video service Facetime, Skype for iPhone allows calls over cellular data networks, not just higher-speed WiFi connections.  And Skype can initiate and receive calls to and from PCs and Macintosh computers as well as other iPhones and mobile devices which use Skype.

So, is it any good?  By and large, yes.  It's remarkable that this technology--once only dreamed possible in science fiction--is now available to consumers.  But even a video call from iPhone to iPhone over a 3G cellular network is pretty good.  Calls made over WiFi are even better.  And if one of the callers is on a wired, high speed PC, the call quality improves.

So while performance can degrade while on a mobile data connection, similar to voice calls, Skype's decision to allow cellular data calls is a good one.

Facetime is currently limited to only WiFi connections and to certain newer Apple products.  The quality is better, but the ability to send and receive calls using a mobile makes it very limited.

As mobile computing devices and data networks increase and improve, video calls from all types of devices will be regular features for most people.

But if you can't wait, the future is now with Skype.

Learn more about the iPhone and iPad Skype HERE.

Skype is also available for a number of other mobile phones although the full capabilities may differ.  For example, Skype for Blackberry is available for voice calls on a limited number of devices for Verizon.  Skype is also available for some Android devices but service is limited to WiFi connections only.  More information is available HERE on using Skype for other mobile devices.

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Angry Birds Fly to Chrome

Looking for some Angry Birds on your PC?

Then look no further than Google's Chrome Browser App store for the game FREE.

The flocks of angry birds and the dastardly pigs have now arrived for your PC.

Here's how the the creators describe the game:

The survival of the Angry Birds is at stake. Dish out revenge on the green pigs who stole the Birds’ eggs. Use the unique destructive powers of the Angry Birds to lay waste to the pigs’ fortified castles. Angry Birds features hours of gameplay, challenging physics-based castle demolition, and lots of replay value. Each of the 70 levels requires logic, skill, and brute force to crush the enemy.

To install the game, you need Google's very cool browser, Chrome.  You can download it for free HERE.
You'll find the Chrome browser to be a fast, sleek alternative to Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) or Mozilla's FireFox browsers.

Then just head on over to the Chrome App Store HERE to find the Angry Birds App.  After a quick install, you'll be chasing pigs in no time.

But beware.  This game is addictive.

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Bing App for iPad Gets It Right

While Google may still rule the world, Microsoft is still a mighty contender.

And the Microsoft search engine has taken on both with its recent Bing app for the iPad.

The free app is rich in details and graphics.  It "gets" the beauty of the iPad.

Bing graphically shows the areas that you most want to access from a portable tablet:  News, Weather, Movies, Movies, Trends, and Finance.

The new app is available in the Apple iTunes Store HERE.

Sadly, the Google app for the iPad looks like it's from 1995.  Dull and boring. Uh oh.

And while Apple's native Safari browser is a good tool, you'll find yourself using the new Bing app for iPad for many more uses.

Check out Bings video on its new app:
<br/><a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-us&vid=bf79720b-2fce-4f05-b880-21793cd62bd9&src=SLPl:embed::uuids&fg=sharenoembed" target="_new"title="Touch and Decide: Introducing Bing for iPad">Video: Touch and Decide: Introducing Bing for iPad</a>

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What's Going On? Let Google Hot Trends Tell You!

As many of our lives move to digital for our daily information and interaction, it's not surprising that we turn to search engines like Google for answers on current events.

A quick way to get a pulse on what's happening in the world is to visit Google's Trends page at http://www.google.com/trends/hottrends  Updated regularly, it lists the top trending search topics that are appearing in the Google search engine.

Clicking a link reveals additional news stories and blog posts for that search term.

Want to know what's going on?  Let Professor Google tell you.  He knows.

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#Google #Trends

Stuff Happens

You may have noticed that OneCoolTip.com was unavailable for some time yesterday and today.  And some posts have been lost.

Unfortunately, the web publishing service we use for this blog, Blogger powered by Google, had technical troubles.  Hopefully, the service is back again and the missing posts will *magically* reappear.

All this serves as a reminder that in the digital age, even multi-billion dollar companies experience technical difficulties.  And having good backups is always a good thing to do.  Read more on backups here at OneCoolTip.com.

Because *Stuff Happens*.

Here's what Blogger and Google had to say about their recent woes:

Blogger is back5/13/2011 10:33:00 AM(Cross-posted from the Blogger Buzz blog) 

What a frustrating day. We’re very sorry that you’ve been unable to publish to Blogger for the past 20.5 hours. We’re nearly back to normal—you can publish again, and in the coming hours posts and comments that were temporarily removed should be restored. Thank you for your patience while we fix this situation. We use Blogger for our own blogs, so we’ve also felt your pain. 

Here’s what happened: during scheduled maintenance work Wednesday night, we experienced some data corruption that impacted Blogger’s behavior. Since then, bloggers and readers may have experienced a variety of anomalies including intermittent outages, disappearing posts, and arriving at unintended blogs or error pages. A small subset of Blogger users (we estimate 0.16%) may have encountered additional problems specific to their accounts. Yesterday we returned Blogger to a pre-maintenance state and placed the service in read-only mode while we worked on restoring all content: that’s why you haven’t been able to publish. We rolled back to a version of Blogger as of Wednesday May 11, so your posts since then were temporarily removed. Those are the posts that we’re in the progress of restoring. 

Again, we are very sorry for the impact to our authors and readers. We try hard to ensure Blogger is always available for you to share your thoughts and opinions with the world, and we’ll do our best to prevent this from happening again.

**UPDATE 5/13/11 4:23 pm***

- Blogger appears to have restored missing blog posts.

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Simplify Your Life With Dropbox

UPDATE 6/23/15:  Dropbox has made numerous improvements to its service.  Read an updated review HERE.

Have you ever been in a meeting and wished you could access an important file?  From your PC?  From a phone?  From a tablet like an iPad?

While there are a number of solutions for  remote access to a running PC, the hands down winner for accessing synced files online is Dropbox.com.

Dropbox works just like any other folder on your computer.  Any files or folders inside Dropbox will get synchronized to Dropbox's servers and any other computer or many smartphones or tablets linked to your account.   You can view, edit, save, and even share your files with others.  Updated files saved on Dropbox will be automatically synced on your other devices.

Dropbox supports Windows and Macintosh computers, iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry devices.

And the best thing is that Dropbox is free.  Well, you do get 2GBof free storage with the Basic service.  $99.00 a year buys 50GB of data storage and $199 a year buys 100GB of data storage.

Don't be left without those important files again.

Check it out at www.dropbox.com


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Do You QR?

What the heck is this a picture of?  And why do I care?

As we move into the age of mobile computing, images like this will be more common than ever.  You'll find them on websites, in magazines, brochures and even on buildings and doors of businesses around the world.

So do you know?  Award yourself an extra hour of intenet surfing time if you know that this is a QR image.

A what?  A Quick Response code.  It's a barcode for coding information.

From Wikipedia:

A QR code (short for Quick Response) is a specific matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code), readable by dedicated QR barcode readers and camera phones. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded can be text, URL or other data.

Armed with a smartphone, you can use an app to "read" the QR image you find in the real world that will save you from typing in the text into your mobile browser.   Perhaps it's a URL to an upcoming event.  Or a link to a restaurants online menu or online ordering system.

While there are a number of reader apps, I find that the Google Mobile apps for iPhone and Android do the job well.  Here's the link to Google's QR page where you find Google's app and others to download.

And if you want to create a QR code, an easy way is to use Google's URL shortener service at http://goo.gl/ 
Enter your URL and the site will create a shortened URL that you can use in Twitter and other services.  and if you are logged into Google, just look at the history for the shortened link and click details.  The QR code will be displayed.  You can then save that image to your PC for future use.

And now you know.

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Just Say It

Typing can be such a bother.  But up to now, speech to text has been a hit or miss.

With the latest version of Google's Chrome Browser, users can now translate spoken speech into a foreign language.

All it takes is Chrome 11 and a microphone and a visit to the Google Translate.

Note the small mic icon in the right-hand corner?  Click it and say your phrase in English.  Your spoken phrase will then be returned in the selected foreign language.  And some languages, like Spanish and German, you'll even have the option to hear the foreign translation.

So give your fingers a rest and try out the new capabilities of Google Chrome.

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Flip Out on Flipboard for the iPad

Flipboard for the Apple iPad is the best app for the iPad.  Period.

Flipboard is how we should get all of our information on a tablet computer.  

It's what futurists have predicted for years:  personalized, interactive digital content that updates instantly in a magazine format.

The app the iPad allows users to include content from Facebook, Twitter, Google Reader, Flickr as well as content from a growing list of news sites.

After a few minutes of viewing your daily content as a digital magazine, you'll be hooked.

Maybe it's a stretch to say this is the only reason to buy an iPad.  But it's sure a great reason.

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AOL's New Video Chat Site - AIM AV

AOL has launched a new Video Chat site at http://www.aim.com/av

While officially in BETA and supposedly for only AOL Internal use, the new site was reported in TechCrunch earlier this week.

Using the new site is rather simple.  There's no login or connecting to users.  The site uses Flash and a link to a new 10.3 beta is provided.  Apparently, the new beta provides better echo reduction.

Once you start using the site, you can copy a unique link for your chat and then send it to others to start chatting right away.

Up to 4 users can chat at the same time.

The video chat wars are heating up and this new site shows that AOL is ready to take on Skype and others in the video segment.

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