The Realme's, Redmi's and M's

What a time is it for the smartphone world, to be a buyer of a phone at every segment has never been more compelling than today. But who are the ones causing this change, how is it beneficial for them? Let's take a ride across the ideas and offerings from the brands of the day.

The Redmi's

Redmi Note 5 Pro

Xiaomi has been one of the most sought brand for value for money smartphone in Indian and the Global Arena. Their Redmi line up, now a separate brand, has been selling like hot cakes which helped them become the most popular brand dethroning Samsung in the process. The Note series has been the best selling phone in each quarter. Last year, when the Redmi Note 5 Pro was introduced, it was a phone of different league with almost zero competition in the market. I think it really was the phone that upped the game when it came to mid-range offerings. But then again, when it looked like nothing would stop Xiaomi from their dream run, things happened in the real quick in the industry. 

Catching up! Windows, Android and more.

My dear followers and readers, I've not been actively engaged in blogging over the past year. Now I kind of look back at what happened last year, the biggest change in me has been the shift of interest from writing technical stuff to the artistic way of writing. Yes, you read that right, I've been lately writing quotes, poems and short stories at MycroLines. 

The last post I wrote was about a Windows Insider build. Since then we have had around 50 odd builds. But I'm not going to write anymore of builds, unless it brings something substantial. As time progressed, I've seen Windows phones going dark. Yes, my old Lumia 535 is now with my dad and my primary phone is a Android device. You can ask me, how difficult was the transition from Windows to Android was? I would say it was seamless, I managed to import all my outlook contacts into Google contacts using the in-built tool. I could have sticked to Windows phone but it was never a story that was going to succeed. Microsoft's actions to shift focus to third party platforms meant that apps were getting better in rival platforms while Windows phones were left behind sub-par experiences.

Why Android?

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality apps found in the Play Store, coming from an lacklustre app experience from Windows phones, Android as a platform, has a number of quality apps. I'll not talk about the quantity of apps because no one is going to install every app in their phone but whatever the need is, there is an app for you. This is why Android is the most preferred mobile OS, and it is the same reason why Windows phones never grew. Android is Open source, hence the OEM's have the capability of tailoring the experiences for their devices. My Redmi 3s runs MIUI 8.5 on top of Marshmallow. Before someone quickly dismisses MIUI as a clone of iOS, I can confidently say that it is a general misconception. At the first glance, the layout of home screen might resemble the iOS screen but it is Android, in very nature, supports high level of customization. I've started liking MIUI and the next major update, MIUI 9 is just around the corner making the Android experience a little more sweeter.

Windows, tablets and PCs.

I have tried Linux, Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Linux Mint and the beautiful Elementary OS. Although they are wonderful platforms, they share the same problem as Windows phones, lack of apps. Windows in PC is still the most productive desktop OS you'll ever need. Windows 10 with each update is progressing towards a unified and feature rich platform. The tablet and notebook experiences are moving together shared experiences in harmony. The integration of Cortana, OneDrive and Office in Windows,Android and iOS is forming a solid foundation for the future of Windows. At the end of the day, I'll still take Windows on a PC.

In the end, as a tech enthusiast, I believe it is good to stick with what works for you rather than worrying about the small differences and problems in the platform. Whichever the platform is, staying productive is the main purpose.

How to dowload YouTube videos without extensions or software

So you just bumped up on a YouTube video which you want to download and watch it offline. It can be a cute cat video or the latest trailer of your favorite star's movie, anything literally as long as it is in YouTube, you can download it. But you are not interested in downloading a YouTube video downloader software or adding an extension to your already clumsy list of addons in your browser.

The video can be downloaded easily by using "ClipConverter" website. In addition to the download option, you also get the choice to select the quality of video. Also you get the choice to convert the video into mp4,3GP,avi, mov video formats or mp3,m4a,aac audio formats. Here are the steps which are fairly easy to follow.

The top 3 YouTube apps for Windows 10 devices

"What !? Windows 10 doesn't have a official YouTube app?" This is something I have heard from my friends, specially in the case of Windows 10 Mobile. For the record, Windows (phone) never had a official YouTube app. Thank Google for that. But that doesn't mean that there is no way to access YouTube. You can do so using your web browser to access the mobile site for occasional browsing and watching videos. This won't suffice if you want save videos offline, get notification from your favorite channels and other advanced features which you can find in the official YouTube app in other platforms.

Fortunately, there are several beautiful third party apps that are equivalent to the official apps. Here is a list of such apps.

1) Tubecast

Multitasking : A video running in the bottom left corner while browsing other videos.

Tubecast is one of the finest and full featured YouTube client that you will ever find in Windows. The interface is clean and slick. You can log in using your Google account and bring your favorite channels at the finger tips. You can also comment in a video without leaving the screen and the app supports swipe gestures making navigation a breeze in touch enabled devices. Offline videos (Preload) are supported and you can choose between SQ,HQ or HD for saving that video. It has a live tile and supports push notifications to keep you updated.

Microsoft Edge will become my primary browser but WHY ?

If you have been following me for a long time, you probably know that Chrome has been my browser of choice since I started blogging but that is about to change for several *good* reasons. With the recent tests and improvements made to Edge, it is time to reconsider the options available in the market.

What's wrong with Chrome ?

Chrome once represented what a modern browser should be. Be it the extensions and themes support or the simplicity of it's UI combined with good performance kept me hooked to it for a long time in my desktop. It still has all these features with Sync using Google account being a very useful feature for Android users.

Customize Google App launcher to your needs

Google has updated the app launcher aka Google Grid,it allows you to re-arrange the apps to your wish so that you can access the your most used app easily. The image above says it all.You can also add Google products you use that don’t appear in the “More” section. Just go to the product you’d like to add and open the App launcher, and you’ll see a prompt to add it as an app.This update will be rolled in the coming weeks and Google thinks that the transition will be complete within two weeks. Keep checking for the feature which will land on the world's most popular search engine very soon.

It's a small update but it helps users to access google services faster and easier.For instance, I always have to click more or scroll down to go to Blogger but with this update I can very well Blogger on top and access it faster.It's a matter of seconds but it does matter. What do you think about this feature ?

OneNote 2013 available as a free download for Windows and Mac

OneNote is Microsoft's flagship note taking app which was available as a part of Microsoft Office. But Microsoft have decided to make this fantastic note taking app free for all the users. Microsoft has now released OneNote for Mac which is also available as a free download from Mac app store. Also Windows 7 and Windows 8 users will get the free version. It is also available as metro app from the Store which makes taking notes easier in touch devices.

OneNote is facing fierce competition from Evernote which is available in multiple platforms. Now OneNote is also available on all the major platforms for free and packs a bunch of useful features to make your notes easy and fast. Download OneNote now ! 

Chrome gets it's 32nd haircut : Chrome 32 released

The much awaited Chrome update is here with several new features. Chrome 32 brings the aura UI to Windows. It also brings noisy tabs which shows the tabs which are making noise.You can now track down noisy tabs: You can now visually scan your tabs for a speaker icon to quickly find the ones singing in the background. You’ll also be able to see which tabs are currently using your webcam or are being cast to your TV.

Chrome on Metro mode in Windows 8.x gets a new interface which looks like the Chrome OS. Google has successfully ported their OS into Windows 8 without any problems.

Google writes "Chrome on Windows 8 “Metro” mode gets a new look: Manage multiple Chrome windows and quickly get to your favorite Chrome Apps with an integrated app launcher.  On the desktop, we’ve updated the default styling of UI elements like form controls and scrollbars to match the sleek design of the new Chrome Metro interface."

Other features include improved safe browsing which blocks the download if the file is found malicious.You can read more about the newest update in official blog of Google chrome.

Chromebooks going crazy !

Chromebook which was introduced 2011 which ran Chrome OS which was just the chrome browser with small changes. It did not appeal anyone as it ran only chrome. But Google kept improving the Chrome OS with a six-week update cycle. It soon got a new Desktop with a taskbar which serves as place to pin and launch your favorite websites, much like Windows 7's taskbar.

Chromebooks are so popular now that it represents about one-fifth of sales in commercial laptop channels. It has increased from virtually zero percent market share at the end of 2012. There are two Chromebooks in the top 3 in amazon's best selling laptop line up. Chromebooks can now run some of the offline apps like Gmail,quick office which makes running Chromebooks offline productive. Google is not stopping here, it looks that the number of Chromebooks will multiply in 2014. HP, the world's largest PC maker has put much emphasis on Chromebook by releasing two models. One a 11-inch and other a 14-inch model. Both of the models are selling like hotcakes. Thanks to the schools because most of the Chromebooks are sold to schools because they need just Gmail,Google Drive and other simple web apps. Dell is also planning to launch a new Chromebook this year. So expect Chromebook and Chrome OS improve rapidly in the coming years. Chrome is no just a browser, it's OS which depends and runs the web in the way it should be. Web Developers will love this because it makes everything simpler and easier.It is completely secure with updates rolling out each and every six weeks.Chromebooks have a great potential of becoming a threat to Windows and Mac OS.

Chrome and Google : Best together !

More chances that you know Google Chrome as it is one of the most popular and modern web browser available in the world. This time it's time to look deep at how Google uses Chrome.

Since the launch of Chrome, Google has invested a lot of fortune in it trying to make it one of the better browser. They have succeeded in it. The Stats show it. Keeping the browser simple and slick made the trick for Google as the users liked the new fast yet simple browser a lot. Chrome revolutionized the browsers after Firefox which was getting fat after competing with old IE. Let me not go deep inside the history of browser !

Images can do the talking in Gmail !

Gmail is getting a small but a cool feature which will let the images load automatically in mail which will make the mail look more beautiful and interesting. Previously Gmail asked you whether to display images or not. The reason was to provide a secure mail experience but this problem has been overcome by Google by displaying the images via their own secure server so that you can see the images in mails and also have a safe mailing experience. Gmail is getting better and better ! This feature will be rolled out to all the desktop,android,iOS users in early 2014 .

"Have you ever wondered why Gmail asks you before showing images in emails? We did this to protect you from unknown senders who might try to use images to compromise the security of your computer or mobile device.

But thanks to new improvements in how Gmail handles images, you’ll soon see all images displayed in your messages automatically across desktop, iOS and Android. Instead of serving images directly from their original external host servers, Gmail will now serve all images through Google’s own secure proxy servers. " reads the official post.

Chrome stable updated automatically to Chrome Aura beta !

I was using Google Chrome stable build but suddenly it updated to the beta version,Chrome 32 aura. Chrome 31 was updated with some fixes few hours ago and this build was the one that I should have reached after updating. This sounds odd enough because Google has managed the updates pretty well till now . It's not only me but people are asking Google product forums for the reason why this update reached them. 

Here is a link to the forum thread about this issue. As far as the update's concern, Chrome brings the  new Modern UI to Windows 8 and Windows 8.1.It brings the new Aura UI with some new features and security fixes. Google is yet to comment on this issue, I will update this post when Google comments on this issue.

Internet explorer is becoming more popular again,Chrome and Firefox trail together !

It may sound odd but it is true. But According to the latest stats from net market share, Internet explorer has been increasing it's market share steadily since the launch of IE 10. IE 11 improves it by grabbing a share of 3.27% in the month of November.

You can see that IE has a share of nearly 58% while all the other popular browsers stay behind with a respectable share between 10 to 20%. Microsoft has been trying hard to improve their browser and they launched IE 10 and IE 11 with a gap of just one year, this is very rare to see till now as Microsoft launches a new version of browser whenever a OS comes after 2 to 3 years. IE 11 is a fast and modern browser which is highly competitive with other browsers

Looking at other browsers, Firefox has a share of 18% followed by Chrome which has 15% of the share. The real competition remains between Chrome and Firefox in terms of Market share but IE is now improving so that no one could become a real competitor to it.Safari and Opera are sitting in the back bench with 8% and 2% respectively. But it all comes to you, users. Which is your primary browser ?

Microsoft pokes fun at Chromebook : Video

Microsoft is now taking Chromebook as it's prey in it's Scroogled campaign. Microsoft in it's new video about Chromebook states that Chromebook is a brick without internet connection which not completely true as Google is trying hard to deliver apps that run offline like Gmail offline.

Microsoft teases the Chromebook by saying that it is not at all a laptop with Office or Windows not installed and they call Chromebook a piece of hardware which tracks all your activity in it which will be used to serve ads to you. This is not completely true, though.A girl wants to sell her Chromebook to a shop but the shop keeper says that it is a useless laptop. And also it's scroogles your data.

Gmail will look better in your iPad

Google have updated Gmail iOS app on iPad which features some new looks for Gmail. The improvements clearly lead to a better user experience and the official blog post shows these changes in action ! So if you are using Gmail app on iPad then consider updating your Gmail app to get the best of Gmail.

Journey through the middle-earth,a new Chrome Experiment

Google has released a new Chrome Experiment which puts the power of Chrome to test . This experiment is directly promoting The Hobbit sequel. The graphics are pretty much impressive and this experiment works best on Chrome in any device. The 3D graphics are well rendered in Chrome with WebGL and HTML 5. It's always nice to see these powerful technology used in eye catching experiments like this.

Chrome 31 Stable released

Google Chrome has been updated to version 30 with some new features and some background changes which improves the performance and security of the popular browser. The new version includes support for Web payments, portable native code, and 25 security fixes.

Petition launched to bring back the old YouTube comments system

Google wants to integrate all their services with G+ so that they can expand G+ to a bigger and better social network but they are doing this in a undesirable way.

Chrome to switch to "aura" engine

Google Chrome, a browser known for it's speed and superior security is never stopping to evolve. The latest developer version features "aura" engine which powers the UI of chrome.

IE11 and Google are not compatibe with each other

Windows 8.1 is set to be released in just three days from now and still IE11 is not compatible with Google products and services. The Google search shows up the old version of it.And Google + notifications won't show and it states that it won't work with compatibility mode in IE. Disabling it even does not help.

 

At last there is one more service by Google which won't identify IE 11 at all.It's none other than the whatbrowser.org website which identifies the browser and it's version and displays it to the user.It's not a big problem compared to the problems above.

 

I don't know what's wrong with Google. They are not giving the full support to IE11 which will released in three days.If they are not going support IE11 after it's release,then it might have to face a lot complaints and the forums would be filled with complaints regarding this issue.