Raspberry Pi 2 gets 6X more processing power, 2X more memory in same credit card-size $35 package

The Raspberry Pi Foundation unveiled the second version of its single-board computer for hardware hobbyists. The Raspberry Pi 2 will have six times the processing power of the original and twice the amount of main memory, but it will still cost just $35 and come in the same credit card-size electronic board.

The original Raspberry Pi microcomputer launched in 2012 as a low-cost alternative computer for schools, tinkerers, and creative enthusiasts. That device sold more than 4.5 million units, astounding people who always thought that computers had to be expensive. The new version will be 100 percent compatible with the code developed for the original.

At the heart of the device is a new system-on-a-chip, the BCM2836 from Irvine, California-based chip maker Broadcom.

“We haven’t messed too much with the special sauce that makes the device a favorite of makers and hackers,” wrote Eben Upton, founder of the Raspberry Pi Foundation and technical director and a chip architect for Broadcom, in a blog post.

The processor has four ARM Cortex-A7 cores, or computing brains, running at 900MHz. The previous BCM2835 chip in the original Raspberry Pi only had a single ARM core. The new version also has a gigabyte of random access memory (RAM), or twice the 512 MB in the original.

The new version also has Broadcom’s VideoCore IV graphics and multimedia intellectual property built into the system-on-a-chip. That means it can run much richer graphics. And finally, the system-on-a-chip has components for universal serial bus (USB) 2.0 and HDMI connectivity, so you can hook the Raspberry Pi 2 to external devices as well as high-definition TVs. The graphics can execute 24 gigaflops.

“Raspberry Pi 2 has enough raw computing power to do anything that a PC can — surf the Web, word processing, spreadsheet algorithms and more,” Upton wrote. “We expect to see a lot of you using it as a general-purpose productivity machine. We’re really pleased with it — and we think that our community of fans, developers, educators and industrial customers will agree. We know that you have been eager to get your hands on the next incarnation of the Pi for some time, and we can’t wait to see what clever hacks you’ll show off at our third birthday party later this month.”

This new machine isn’t just a stripped-down computer. It’s a real PC, Upton said.

“You can use this as a dedicated machine for surfing the web and running productivity applications (particularly Libreoffice),” he said. “It’s way more responsive than the old device, and we think that in the embedded space it opens up opportunities, particularly in areas like image processing, where the Pi 1’s limited processing power held it back.”

It has MicroSD storage slots, 10/100 Mbps Ethernet, a power rating of 800 milliamps (4 watts), and a size of 85.6mm by 56.5mm.

Sanjay Noronha, Broadcom’s senior product line manager for wireless connectivity, said in an interview with VentureBeat that the full ecosystem of apps for the Raspberry Pi will run on the device. Microsoft even announced that Windows 10 will run on the Raspberry Pi 2.

“We’ve got the most efficient processing on the market today,” Noronha said. “The goal was to keep it small and not over-size it. The last one was deficient in memory, and we have corrected that.”

Noronha said that the design is racing ahead of Moore’s law, the observation by Intel chairman emeritus Gordon Moore in 1965 that the number of transistors on a chip — and its overall computing performance — doubles about every two years. In this case, the performance of the processor has improved six times in only three years.

Read More »

    What is Dropox? 

Dropbox is a home for all your photos, docs, videos, and files. Anything you add to Dropbox will automatically show up on all your computers,phones and even the Dropbox website — so you can access your stuff from anywhere.

Dropbox also makes it super easy to share with others, whether you're a student or professional, parent or grandparent. Even if you accidentally spill a latte on your laptop, have no fear! Relax knowing that your stuff is safe in Dropbox and will never be lost.

Read More »

Why You Should Disable Your Webcam?

Could predators be spying on you and your kids through your computer's webcam? Authorities say criminals are now able to hack in and watch your every move -- without you ever knowing it.

We all do it: We use our computer, then we get distracted with something and just walk away. You forget the computer is still on. and the criminals are counting on it. Now they can access your webcam remotely, watching your most intimate moments from the kitchen to the privacy of your own bedroom. The worst part is, you'd never even know.

Remember that song from 1984, “Somebody’s watching me?” It was a great foreshadowing of things to come: These days, people really CAN watch you while you go about your business at home…through your computer. So if someone confides in you that “they’re spying on me through my computer,” don’t be too quick to assume your friend went off his meds.

Webcam technology can enable a hacker to view you via your computer. The technology is called RAT: remote access Trojans. It can record keystrokes and obtain all of your files. And you’ll probably notknow someone’s watching you. And how does a computer become a portal through which someone can spy on you? Numerous ways, including installing a “lost” thumb drive you found and clicking on links in e-mails or pop-up ads

Just think of what all this can mean:

• Nobody will have to imagine what you look like in your underwear.
• The government may be spying on you. Your boss may be, too.
• Your face, captured via your Webcam, can be compared to a face in a crowd. Doesn’t sound like a big deal unless you don’t want anyone to know you were in that crowd, such as a war protest.
• Your headshot may end up on a selling list—like your phone number and home address surely already have—and these lists can get sold all over the place.
• Will you ever be truly alone when getting intimate with your partner?
• Criminals are hacking webcams and holding the footage for ransom.
• Do you want anyone to know about that secret, disgusting habit you have?
• Put a piece of masking tape over the Webcam camera.
• Equip your device with the latest antivirus, antiphishing, antispyware and a firewall.

Read More »

47 Keyboard Shortcuts That Work in All Web Browsers

Each major web browser shares a large number of keyboard shortcuts in common. Whether you’re using Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Apple Safari, or Opera – these keyboard shortcuts will work in your browser.

Each browser also has some of its own, browser-specific shortcuts, but learning the ones they have in common will serve you well as you switch between different browsers and computers. This list includes a few mouse actions, too.

Tabs

Ctrl+1-8 – Switch to the specified tab, counting from the left.

Ctrl+9 – Switch to the last tab.

Ctrl+Tab – Switch to the next tab – in other words, the tab on the right. (Ctrl+Page Up also works, but not in Internet Explorer.)

Ctrl+Shift+Tab – Switch to the previous tab – in other words, the tab on the left. (Ctrl+Page Down also works, but not in Internet Explorer.)

Ctrl+W, Ctrl+F4 – Close the current tab.

Ctrl+Shift+T – Reopen the last closed tab.

Ctrl+T – Open a new tab.

Ctrl+N – Open a new browser window.

Alt+F4 – Close the current window. (Works in all applications.)

Mouse Actions for Tabs

Middle Click a Tab – Close the tab.

Ctrl+Left Click, Middle Click – Open a link in a background tab.

Shift+Left Click – Open a link in a new browser window.

Ctrl+Shift+Left Click – Open a link in a foreground tab.

Navigation

Alt+Left Arrow, Backspace – Back.

Alt+Right Arrow, Shift+Backspace – Forward.

F5 – Reload.

Ctrl+F5 – Reload and skip the cache, re-downloading the entire website.

Escape – Stop.

Alt+Home – Open homepage.

Zooming

Ctrl and +, Ctrl+Mousewheel Up – Zoom in.

Ctrl and -, Ctrl+Mousewheel Down — Zoom out.

Ctrl+0 – Default zoom level.

F11 – Full-screen mode.

Scrolling

Space, Page Down – Scroll down a frame.

Shift+Space, Page Up – Scroll up a frame.

Home – Top of page.

End – Bottom of page.

Middle Click – Scroll with the mouse. (Windows only)

Address Bar

Ctrl+L, Alt+D, F6 – Focus the address bar so you can begin typing.

Ctrl+Enter – Prefix www. and append .com to the text in the address bar, and then load the website. For example, type howtogeek into the address bar and press Ctrl+Enter to open www.howtogeek.com.

Alt+Enter – Open the location in the address bar in a new tab.

Search

Ctrl+K, Ctrl+E – Focus the browser’s built-in search box or focus the address bar if the browser doesn’t have a dedicated search box. (Ctrl+K doesn’t work in IE, Ctrl+E does.)

Alt+Enter – Perform a search from the search box in a new tab.

Ctrl+F, F3 – Open the in-page search box to search on the current page.

Ctrl+G, F3 – Find the next match of the searched text on the page.

Ctrl+Shift+G, Shift+F3 – Find the previous match of the searched text on the page.

History & Bookmarks

Ctrl+H – Open the browsing history.

Ctrl+J – Open the download history.

Ctrl+D – Bookmark the current website.

Ctrl+Shift+Del – Open the Clear Browsing History window.

Other Functions

Ctrl+P – Print the current page.

Ctrl+S – Save the current page to your computer.

Ctrl+O – Open a file from your computer.

Ctrl+U – Open the current page’s source code. (Not in IE.)

F12 – Open Developer Tools. (Requires Firebug extension for Firefox.)

Does one of these keyboard shortcuts not work in a specific browser, or is there another important one we missed here? Leave a comment and let us know.

Read More »

Tab Overload: 10 Tips For Working With Lots of 

BrowserTabs

Too many browser tabs! It’s a problem everyone has at some point. For all the window-management tricks built into our desktops, we often just use a single browser window packed with tabs.

Most of these tricks will work in all browsers, but not every trick has made it to every browser.

Have Your Browser Remember Open Tabs

You may want to do something else without losing those browser tabs. Many browsers have an option to reopen your previous tabs the next time you open your browser. This means you can close your browser and shut down your computer, and the tabs you had open will appear the next time you launch it. In Chrome, you’ll find this option under Settings>On Startup>Continue where you left off. On Firefox, it’s Options>When Firefox starts>Show my windows and tabs from last time.

Save Your Browser Tabs For Later

For a quick solution, try right-clicking a tab and bookmarking all your open tabs as a folder. You’ll find them in your browser’s bookmarks later — you can even right-click the folder and open them all in tabs. Some browsers have add-ons that allow you to save and restore sessions of tabs, but this solution works in all browsers without any add-ons.

Split Your Tabs into Multiple Browser Windows

You can use more than one browser window to split up your tabs. In most browsers, you can now grab a tab from the tab bar with your mouse and drag it out of the browser window. It’ll become its own tab in its own dedicated window. Drag and drop tabs between tab bars in these different browser windows. You can also just open a new browser window in the normal way, of course.

Multiple browser windows give you an easier time when Alt+Tabbing between windows (Command+Tabbing on a Mac). On Windows, if you use an older-style taskbar that lists each window as its own item instead of the new Windows 7-style taskbar that groups windows under applications, it’ll even make it easier to switch between groups of open tabs from the taskbar.

Select Multiple Tabs at Once

You can select several tabs at once with your mouse in many web browsers. Just hold down theCtrl key (Command on a Mac) and click tabs in your web browser’s tab bar. You can also holdShift as you click tabs to select sequences of tabs. With multiple tabs selected, you can drag-and-drop them to group them together in a new browser window. Use the Ctrl + W shortcut (orCommand + Won a Mac) to quickly close those selected tabs all at once.

Pin Tabs

For websites you want to keep open all the time — for example, your email or a social media site — “pinning” the tab is a smart idea. Pinned tabs automatically open each time you open your web browser, so they’re always ready to go. They also shrink to just their icon in your web browser’s tab bar, ensuring you’ll have space for the other tabs you need. To pin a tab, right-click it and select Pin Tab.

Reopen Closed Tabs

Sometimes you need to get a tab back after you closed it. You don’t have to dig through your browser’s history to do this. Instead, just press Ctrl + Shift +T (or Command + Shift + T on a Mac) to reopen the last browser tab you closed. You’ll also find this option somewhere in your web browser’s menu, or perhaps by right-clicking the tab bar and looking for “Reopen Closed Tab” or a similarly named option.

Use Tab Groups in Firefox

Firefox has a built-in feature that allows you to manage large amounts of tabs by arranging them into groups. Just press Ctrl + Shift + E or click the arrow button on the tab bar when you have a lot of tabs open and select Tab Groups. Drag and drop tab thumbnails into different groups. Open the tab groups view and click a group of tabs to switch between groups of tabs, all without juggling multiple different browser windows. There’s also a search feature for quickly finding a tab buried in there somewhere.

With modern browser sync, any groups of tabs you have open can also be accessed from the same web browser on other devices — just log in with the same account in each and set up sync. Any groups of tabs you bookmark as a folder will also sync between the same browser on different devices, assuming your browser is also syncing your bookmarks.

Read More »

Best Android phones of 2015

Samsung Galaxy S6

Worldly looks and top-notch specs make the impressive, metal Samsung Galaxy S6 the Android phone to beat for 2015.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 will thrill anyone who loves a fast phone with a large screen, but it's best for compulsive scribblers willing to pay a lot for its winning stylus.

Motorola Moto E 4G LTE

The Moto E delivers in enough of the right areas to make it a fantastic option for a tight budget.

Samsung Galaxy S5

Just about every aspect of Samsung's marquee mobile is better than ever, with souped-up specs under the hood revving up performance at every turn.

Motorola Droid Turbo

Even with its hefty design, the Motorola Droid Turbo's robust battery, powerful processor and vivid display put it on the short list for Verizon customers.

Motorola Moto X

The Motorola Moto X hits all the right notes, delivering stock Android inside a powerful high-end handset that you can customize yourself.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Active

Though it's only marginally more durable than the original Galaxy S5, the Galaxy S5 Active's physical buttons and high-end features keep it in Samsung's hit parade.

LG G3

Possessing the right blend of features and design, the G3 finally gives LG the right phone with which to challenge Korean rival Samsung.

Sony Xperia Z3

The Sony Xperia Z3 is Sony's most formidable to date with a formidable display and promising features that easily give Android competition from HTC, LG and Samsung a run for their money.

Motorola Moto G (4G LTE)

Although the Motorola Moto G with 4G LTE is a bit pricier than its 3G-only sibling, it still has one of the best displays in the budget arena, its processor makes operation enjoyably smooth and its rounded, compact body is both comfortable and attractive. If you're after an affordable all-round entrance into the high speeds of 4G, you've come to the right place.

Read More »

How to Speed Up, Clean Up, and Revive Your Android Phone

We're all decluttering our closets and basements in celebration of spring, but it's time for a break. Kick back on the couch, pull up your Android phone, and act like you're still being productive by giving it some spring cleaning of its own.

Reclaim Drive and SD Card Space

Most Android devices have two different storage spaces: your internal space (where apps are stored) and your SD card (where your music, photos, and many of your apps' settings are stored). The SD card is easy to clean up—just delete any music, photos, and videos you don't need. If you see any folders that look like settings for apps you've removed, you can delete those too. If you're rooted (which is really easy to do), you can even use an app like previously mentionedSD Maid or the root-free Clean Master to clean up all that cruft for you.

Cleaning up your internal storage is also pretty simple: just uninstall unnecessary apps. Chances are you have a few apps you don't use anymore, not to mention games you don't play—they'll take up the most space—and you can just uninstall them from the Play Store to free up that space and, hopefully, speed up your phone a little bit. If your phone is starved for internal storage and you can't spare any of your hard-earned apps, you can try moving them to your SD card instead (at least, if you're running Android 2.3 or earlier). This will free up that internal space and speed up your phone, but keep all your apps close at hand. To do this, just head to Settings > Applications > Manage Applications. Select an app, and tap the "Move to SD Card" button to move it. Some apps won't have this ability, but you should find that lots of your space-hogging apps have no problem living on your SD card. You can read more about this process here.

Of course, if you don't have an SD card in your phone, you'll just have to delete files and uninstall apps if you're running out of space.

Give It a Battery Boost

Lots of Android phones are notorious for sucking battery life quickly. If you haven't dug through your settings in awhile, this is a good time to make sure you're getting the most out of your battery as possible. This means turning the brightness down, the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth off when not in use, and turning off any eye candy (not to mention uninstalling apps that constantly use up your data). Tweak these settings yourself or automate them with a program like Tasker or JuiceDefender for an easy, hassle-free battery life boost. I'm always an advocate of getting a second battery, too—just keep it in your glove box or in your desk drawer for those emergencies where your phone is about to die.

Speed It Up with Some Settings Tweaks

If your phone is a bit older, or it's just feeling sluggish, there are a number of things you can do to make it feel a little smoother. Trying a new home screen launcher is always good for a bit of speed, as is lowering your number of home screens and ditching all those widgets. If you'rerooted, you can even overclock or install a custom ROM for even more speed. And, if you really want to get technical, there are some advanced settings you can play with to eke every bit of speed out of your phone possible. For more info on how to speed up your phone, check out our in-depth guide. Just don't use a Task Killer, whatever you do (unless you're on a really, really old version of Android—like, 1.6 old).

Remove and Clean Your Case (If You Use One)

Of course, the inside of your phone isn't the only thing that needs cleaning. If your phone has gotten a bit dirty over the past year—which is even more likely if you have a dirt-trapping case on it—you might want to take it off and clean it up. The case shouldn't be too hard to clean, but make sure you don't clean your phone with anything that'll harm the screen. We've gone through how to safely clean and disinfect your gadgets before, so check out that guide for more info.

Unfortunately, Android devices are finicky, and can take a lot of maintenance to work well—especially the older ones. Be sure to check out our more in-depth guides above, and you should be able to get your phone running as optimally as possible. Got any maintenance tips we left out? Share them with us in the comments below.

Read More »

Top 10 Reasons to Root Your Android Phone

       Android is one of the most open, versatile, and customizable mobile operating systems out there. You may think you don't need to root your phone, but you'd be surprised at how much more youcan accomplish with a little work. Here are 10 reasons rooting your phone is worth the hassle.

10. Unlock Hidden Features and Install "Incompatible" Apps

   Sometimes, even Android isn't open enough to give you some of the features you want. Either an app is blocked by carriers, hacks into Android's system files, or otherwise isn't available. Luckily, rooting can help with that: you can install carrier-blocked apps, get features from the latest version of Android, make incompatible apps compatible, power up your hardware, get features like Beats Audio from other phones, or emulate exclusive features like those on the Moto X. Whatever you want, rooting gives you the power to do a lot more.

9. Automate Everything

You've probably heard of Tasker, the awesome app that automates just about anything on your phone. You don't need to root your phone to use it, but if you're rooted, it can do a whole lot more. Certain tasks, like toggling 3G, GPS, changing CPU speed, turning the screen on, and others require root access. So, if you want to get the full benefit of an app like Tasker, you'll definitely want to root your phone. For more automation inspiration, check out your best Tasker actions, as well as our most recently featured Tasker tricks.

8. Boost Your Phone's Speed and Battery Life

You can do a lot of things to speed up your phone and boost its battery life without rooting, but with root—as always—you have even more power. For example, with an app like SetCPU you can overclock your phone for better performance, or underclock it for better battery life. You can also use an app like Greenify to automatically hibernate apps you aren't using—perfect for those apps that always want to run in the background when you're not looking.

7. Block Ads in Any App

Look, we of all people understand the need for occasional ads—it's how we make money. But ads can also get in the way and use up data. If you want to block ads in certain apps or on certain devices, rooting is by far the best way to do so. AdFree, AdBlock Plus, and Ad Away are all great options. Of course, if you aren't rooted, going into airplane mode works in a pinch too.

6. Back Up Your Phone for Seamless Transitions

When you move to a new Android device—or restore your device to stock for any reason—you can make your life a lot easier by backing up your apps and settings first. That way, you can get your entire setup back in just a few taps. If you aren't rooted, you can back up a few things like apps and data, but you won't necessarily be able to backup system apps and their data, or automate the entire process as well as Titanium Backup can. Check out our guide to Titanium Backup for more tips.

5. Remove Preinstalled Crapware

Titanium Backup is good for more than just backups, too. It can also uninstall that annoying, battery-draining, space-wasting crapware that comes preinstalled on so many phones these days—and, sadly, this feature is root-only. Freeze them first to make sure your phone operates normally without them, then delete them completely to free up that space. You'll be glad you did. Photo by Daniel Sancho.

4. Tweak the Dark Corners of Android

If you're the kind of person that likes to fiddle with every little feature—both on the surface and under the hood—rooting is for you. Whether you want to customize your keyboard layout withsomething like Keyboard Manager or give yourself faster scrolling, improved multitasking, and extra themes with Pimp My ROM, rooting gives you the power to tweak just about any corner you can think of. If you want to do it, chances are someone over on a forum like XDA has created a mini-app or tweak that will help.

3. Flash a Custom Kernel

Some of Android's most under-the-hood tweaks require a custom kernel, which you can only flash with a rooted device. The kernel is responsible for helping your apps communicate with the hardware of your phone, which means a custom kernel can give you better performance, battery life, and even extra features like Wi-Fi tethering (on unsupported phones), faster battery charging, and lots more. You can flash kernels manually or simplify the process with something like Kernel Manager.

2. Flash a Custom ROM

Okay, so you probably already know about this one—but it's one of the best benefits of rooting. A custom ROM is basically a custom version of Android, and it truly changes how you use your phone. Some merely bring a stock version of Android to non-stock phones, or later versions of Android to phones that don't have it yet. Some add a few handy features, some add lots of really unique features, and some change your operating system from head to toe. No matter what phone you have—even if it's a Nexus—we highly recommend checking out the custom ROMs out there. You won't be disappointed. Note: As some of you have noted, you don't actually need root access to flash a custom ROM—though you will need to unlock your bootloader (a process that sometimes comes bundled with root access). Still, it requires freeing your device from manufacturer lockdowns, so we've kept it in the list despite this technicality!

1. Truly Own Your Device

In the end, all of this boils down to one thing: you own your device, and you should be able to do with it as you please. Certain manufacturers and carriers try to keep that from happening, but with root access, you truly own your device and open yourself up to all the possibilities other parties try to block. Sure, there's some risk involved, and we don't usually recommend rooting other people's phones, but in the end, you can't put a price on true openness and control. Photo by Andrew Mason.

Read More »