Thursday, October 25, 2012

Here Comes Windows 8, New Apple Hardware, and Super Home Theater PCs

Here Comes Windows 8, New Apple Hardware, and Super Home Theater PCsThis week on the podcast we're talking about Windows 8, Apple's new hardware, freedom of speech on the internet, and how to make a good impression at a new job. We're also answering your questions about building a super home theater PC plus PVR combo, journaling in Dropbox, and printing from your Android tablet.

How to Listen to This Week's Episode

Here's how you can listen to our episode:

News and Top Stories

Here Comes Windows 8, New Apple Hardware, and Super Home Theater PCs

Apple Releases the iPad mini, 13" Retina MacBook Pro, New iMacs, and More
Apple released a bunch of new hardware at their event yesterday, most notable the iPad mini?a 7.9" version of the iPad. The key differences other than size are its weight and lack of a retina display. That said, early hands-on impressions say the screen still looks very sharp even if you can see pixels. Along with the iPad mini, Apple added a 13" MacBook Pro with retina display, a brand new design to its iMac line (now without an optical drive but with a SSD+HDD Fusion Drive), and upgraded Mac minis.

Windows 8 Is Coming!
Tomorrow, Microsoft releases Windows 8. Are you planning to upgrade? If you are, be sure to learn how to prepare your machine beforehand. There isn't too much to say about Windows 8 just yet, but you can find out ongoing coverage here.

What Exactly Is Freedom of Speech and How Does It Apply to the Internet?
There are a lot of people talking about freedom of speech on the internet these days. Some sites say they stand for free speech, but does the first amendment apply to them? Where exactly are you free to speak your mind? Alan has the answer.

This question leads to a discussion on anonymity, too, and last week Thorin discussed if it's possible to be truly anonymous online.

What's Expected of You on the First Day of a New Job
Not much is expected of you on the first day of a new job, actually. Show up on time, stay open-minded, ask questions, and learn from your mistakes. At least, that seems to be the consensus among real bosses and managers.

Questions and Answers

Here Comes Windows 8, New Apple Hardware, and Super Home Theater PCsEach week we answer five questions from readers and listeners. Here's what we tackled this week.

Should I dumb down my resume if I'm overqualified? Is it unethical to do that?
Yes, you probably should dumb it down. We've actually recommended this in the past. Overqualified is usually just a nice word for something worse, so if you're getting that sort of reaction you should consider applying with fewer impressive credentials.

No, it's not unethical. If you lied, maybe, but think about how you'd construct a resume in the first place. You can't put everything on it and you make deliberate choices about what you do put on it so that you'll look the best for that job. Leaving things out to make you look, quite possibly, worse isn't that much different. You shouldn't feel you're doing anything wrong by sharing the most applicable information for the position to which you're applying. If you're a good worker, it won't matter that you didn't mention your graduate degree (or whatever it is that's holding you back from getting work).

How do I print from Firefox on my Android tablet for free?
Google Cloud Print offers a great way to print from just about any device, but you need to use Chrome for it to work?in most cases. Firefox actually has an add-on called Cloud Printer that allows you to do the same thing from Firefox. Basically, it's a fix for this exact problem. That said, the download page has a few complaints noting that it doesn't work with the latest version of Firefox. As we haven't tested it, we're not sure if these are true or not, if the problem was fixed, or what version of Firefox ended up being the problem.

If it doesn't work, however, you can just use Dropbox to get the job done. Here are instructions for Windows and OS X.

Is there journaling software that works cross-platform and can sync entries with Dropbox?
If you want to sync typed text with Dropbox, you can use pretty much anything. Even Microsoft Word would work, since you're essentially just storing files in a folder. But if you want an app that keeps track of everything and doesn't store data on its server, out of your direct reach (e.g. Evernote), there are a few options?if you're only using plain text. Here they are:

Of course, that's just plain text. We don't know of a rich text option off-hand. If anyone else does, please post in the discussions at the end of this post, write us, or call (347) 687-8109 and leave us a message. We'll talk about any new suggestions in the next episode.

How can I add a PVR that can record multiple TV shows to my HTPC? Is it better to have a NAS separate from my HTPC or should I combine them both?
This question is actually far more complicated than stated above. There were a lot of other, related questions that went with it, too. For the full answer, be sure to listen to the podcast. It's just too much information to summarize here. That said, to solve the PVR problem, a cool tool called SimpleTV can do the trick.

Tips of the Week

Each week we talk about our favorite tips. Here are our picks for this week.

Alan's Pick: Take Your To-Do List Back to Basics
The to-do list is the crux of your daily productivity, but between all the task management apps out there, different productivity methods, and other miscellaneous life hacks, your to-do list has probably gotten cluttered and complicated. Here's how to take it back to basics and craft a to-do list that actually helps you get things done.

Read Back to Basics: How to Simplify Your To-Do List and Make It Useful Again

Whitson's Pick: Learn Hidden Crapware Tricks
Have you ever installed a program only to find that it came with some ridiculous, hidden crapware like the Ask.com toolbar? Don't feel bad, the installer probably tricked you into installing it. Weblog FreewareGenius details the most common tricks companies use, and how to avoid each one.

Read Learn the Most Common "Hidden Crapware" Tricks to Keep Your System Clean

Dachis' Pick: Make Last-Minute Changes to Your Homework (or Other Submissions) with Dropbox
It's obviously best to complete homework, contest submissions, and general work on time, but life doesn't always allow for that. Redditor lowbrassman2000 realized that when you need to make alterations after the fact, you just need to send a Dropbox link.

Download Allow Yourself Last-Minute Changes to Homework and Other Submissions by Providing a Dropbox Link

Downloads of the Week

Here Comes Windows 8, New Apple Hardware, and Super Home Theater PCsEach week we talk about our favorite downloads. Here are our picks for this week.

Alan's Pick: Keymonk (Android)
Keymonk is a new Android keyboard replacement that takes the idea of swiping your fingers across letters to input text up a notch. Turn your phone sideways and use both thumbs to input text, or put it in portrait mode and use one-either way it's fast, accurate, and best of all, free.

Download Keymonk

Whitson's Pick: Unpolitic.me (Chrome)
The election is only two weeks away, which means the political arguments are getting pretty heated-particularly on Facebook, where intelligent discussion is something one can only dream of. Unpolitic.me takes those annoying political posts and replaces them with Instagram pictures.

Download Unpolitic.me

Dachis' Pick: Sworkit (iOS/Android/Web)
The randomized circuit training app Sworkit gets a big update today, adding a means to track your daily totals, calories burned, and a much needed visual overhaul of the app.

Download Sworkit

How Do I Submit a Question?

Here Comes Windows 8, New Apple Hardware, and Super Home Theater PCsThere are three ways to send in your question:

Please keep your questions as brief as possible. This means about 3-5 sentences for emails and 30-60 seconds for calls and videos. Your questions can be specific, but broader questions are generally better because they'll apply to more people. For example, "how can I breathe new life into my old PDA?" is much better than "what can I do with an old HP iPAQ 210?" Either way, we look forward to hearing from you!

Newspaper, Computer, and Clock (by Brandon Hopkins) provided by the Noun Project.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/X3rkvSFet0c/here-comes-windows-8-new-apple-hardware-and-super-home-theater-pcs

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