February 2013 archive

How to Open InPrivate Tabs in Metro Internet Explorer

InPrivate browsing has been around in Internet Explorer for desktop Internet Explorer for a while now but finding this functionality in the Metro-style Internet Explorer in Windows 8 or Windows RT may be a mystery. Fear not, as it is fairly straightforward. When in Metro Internet Explorer do the following: Swipe down from the top …

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Microsoft Surface, Windows RT and International Travels

Usually when I am on travels away from home I pack quite a comprehensive technology bag including cameras (a tough camera and a higher end replaceable lens camera) as well as a backup smartphone, tablet and a laptop. The laptop I have been packing recently is a MacBook Pro but decided to throw caution to …

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Cities XL Platinum Sale on Steam

Here’s a quick tip for those Cities XL Platinum enthusiasts out there. It appears that Cities XL Platinum is going for 85% off on Steam at present bringing the price down from US$29.99 to US$4.50 for existing owners of Cities XL 2011/2012. Not a bad deal if you’ve been looking for a city simulation fix …

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How to Increase and Decrease Volume by Quarter Steps in Mac OS X

Up until Mac OS X Lion you could use a handy shortcut to increase and decrease the system volume by quarter steps by doing the following: Option + Shift + Volume Up to increase volume by a quarter step, Option + Shift + Volume Down to decrease volume by a quarter step. But what if you are …

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Windows Phone 8 Stuck on Preparing to Install 100%

Here is a quick tip for those of you with Windows Phone 8 handsets that receive major software updates. During the process of preparation you may see that your device sits on part of the update saying: Preparing to Install 100% Apparently, this is normal and all you have to do is wait between ten …

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Get a Better Mobile Plan in Thailand

Samsung Galaxy S III

Just been on holidays in Thailand for about a week and with any international trip there is the issue of remaining in touch with those back home just in case. Using your mobile overseas can be costly and while there are alternatives such as Truphone sometimes the local offering may be even better. Upon reaching the …

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Wi-Fi Done Right @ The Peninsula Hotel, Bangkok

In the past, I have written about the woes of international travel when it comes to keeping connected online with many hotels choosing to slug guests heavily for Wi-Fi in rooms with little or no coverage in common areas of the hotel. Yes, I can hear some of you crying that being on holiday should …

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Episodic Versus Seasonal Consumption

If there is one thing that technology has enabled in terms of content consumption it is the ability to consume content at a time that is suitable to you including the latest television series and movies. While you can view a series in the traditional method (i.e, one by one as they are released) it …

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Using Your Television Remote with Raspbmc

After not tinkering with my Raspberry Pi for a little while I thought it was time to fire it up again and see what interesting things I could do with it. I thought it was a good idea to wipe it clean and put the latest version of Raspbmc on it. I would have let …

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How to Shutdown Raspbmc Properly

I admit, I have been lazy in shutting down Raspbmc on my Raspberry Pi by just pulling the plug which has probably caused some of the problems with booting up the media centre software necessitating a fresh reinstall. Sure, the device doesn’t use that much power at all so I could probably leave it plugged …

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