Review: Samsung Galaxy S2 Epic 4G Touch

A couple of weeks ago I managed to get my hands on a Samsung Galaxy S2.  And in short, it has to be one of my favorite devices yet.  I'm using the Sprint model which is dubbed the 'Epic 4G Touch' surname.  I have had my hands all over this phone for the past 2 weeks and it continues to get more and more awesome all the time. Let's cover some of the phone's specs right quick: - Dual-Core 1.2GHz processor - 4.52" Super AMOLED Plus screen - 8 MP rear camera and a 2 MP front...

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Let's Dual Boot!

Our latest video has gone live and it covers the topic of setting up a Dual-Boot system.  We will cover what dual booting is and why it is handy for those who like to play around with other operating systems without wanting or having the ability to sacrifice your existing partitions, data, etc. At one point in time, dual booting tended to be a rather daunting process and could easily overwhelm those new to the concept.  However, it has become so common place (especially among Linux user's)...

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Video: Navigating Gnome Shell 3 in Ubuntu

Our latest video covers the basics of getting around in Gnome Shell 3.  In our previous video we discussed how to install Gnome Shell 3 in Ubuntu 11.10.  If you haven't watched that video yet, you may want to consider watching this video in it's entirety to make sure you'd like to check out Gnome Shell 3 in more detail. Gnome Shell 3 brings to the table some large changes to the Gnome Desktop Environment.  It reminds me of a mix up of both Gnome and Unity.  I have my own complaints...

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Video: Installing Media Codecs in Linux Mint 11

In our latest video we will step through the process of installing multimedia codecs in Linux Mint 11 'Katya'.  By default the version of Linux Mint 11 I used to install in our previous video does not include the Multimedia Codecs.  Simply put, no mutlimedia codecs = very limited support and playback of things like videos, music, and flash based content.  So, why use such a limited release? There are several versions of the Linux Mint 11 'Katya' Live CD.  The reason a 'No...

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Video: Installing Linux Mint 11 'Katya'

In our latest video we will step through the basics of installing Linux Mint 11 'Katya'.  'Katya' is the latest distribution release of Linux Mint with version 12's Release Candidate just being announced.  Mint is based on Ubuntu and in some circles is considered to be one of the best Linux distributions out there (next to Ubuntu).  There is also a version of Mint that is Debian based and features rolling distribution updates; meaning, you get the major updates as they roll out instead...

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New Videos!

Due to technical issues with my Ubuntu install, I will be a few days later on the Gnome 3 introduction video.  In in the meantime, I'll have a couple of Linux Mint 11 videos going live in a few hours.  Than...

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Doctor Who Big Screen Bound?

"Leave us alone, we did it right the first time...All 11 of us!" -The Doctor So it appears that David Yates (director of the "Harry Potter" films) is aiming to bring Doctor Who to the big screen.  Yep, I'm not hot on this idea.  Were the "Harry Potter" movies well directed?  As a matter of fact they were.  Granted I did not read any of the books, the movies seemed very well put together.  However, please leave Doctor Who alone.  Just because the show is rocking it...

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New Android Unlock Feature Trickery!

If you follow Android news, you'll know that one of the big features rolling out with Ice Cream Sandwhich (from here on will be called 'ICS' for short) is the Face Unlock feature being included in the Samsung Galaxy Nexus.  So here's the deal, the device will use facial recognition to unlock your device.  That's awesome and it doesn't impede upon one of Apple's patents, right?  Sure is. Or at least it was until some wiseguy decided to try and beat the feature at it's own game.  And...

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APB: Reloaded Has A Live Action Trailer

Remember a title from a while back that took the media by storm as a massively multiplayer game in the same vein as Grand Theft Auto.  This game was titled: "APB: All Points Bulletin".  Initially this game was released on the PC and the devs where considering a console version.  The game was short lived though due to faults of it's own merits (from gameplay to game modes disappoints were huge).  The game just couldn't deliver what fans and industry watchers had hoped it would....

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Steam Users Beware!

On Thursday, November 10th; Valve announced that their Steam forums had been compromised.  In an initial release from Mr. Gabe Newell it was stated that the intrusion "went beyond the forums".  But it is unclear how far beyond the forums this attack managed to go.  Valve is saying that there is no evidence that any personal data or credit card information was harvested or stolen and they are continuing the investigation. If you have used Steam (or it's forums) you'll know there is...

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Google vs RIAA concerning Mobile Apps

Apparently Google is in the hot seat with the RIAA.  What about?  Seems to be about some apps in the Android Market that allow user's to download MP3's.  One in particular: MP3 Music Download Pro seems to be the topic of much discussion.  The RIAA is claiming that they have issues a take down notice to Google.  And Google did not respond. Google's stance was that the app could be used for legitimate purposes (like downloading public domain music which is legal and free)....

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Linux Mint in Number 1 Spot?

So I was messing around this afternoon on Distrowatch (my favorite Linux website) and I noticed their Page Ranking section on the far right side of the page.  And something odd caught me eye.  The fact that Ubuntu was no longer in the very top #1 spot anymore.  What?!  Could it be that another distribution has made the jump to pop up the list a little ways?  Even over the Ubuntu giant? Seems it's true.  As of this writing Linux Mint was now in the top seed.  This...

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Our Facebook Page!

Just a reminder, be sure to follow our Facebook Page to stay updated on when new stories roll out on the site.  And for some extra goodies from time to time! http://on.fb.me/qwp...

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WoW: Mists of Pandaria

Yesterday I mentioned World of Warcraft's troubles and a little information about the latest WoW Expansion: Mists of Pandaria.  I figured it was only fair to follow up with a little more of what is known about the upcoming expansion for one of the biggest MMO titles on the market. With the expansion Blizzard will offer up: - New Race - New Continent - Level cap will be raised to 90 - And a new class. If you've been living under a rock for the last couple of weeks, than you'll...

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Ironic Week in Review

Dig that hole a little deeper, these guys are... This week there were two topics of interest that I thought were kind of funny or ironic.  So here we are, The 'Ironic Week in Review'. First topic: Isn't it kind of ironic that almost immediately after announcing no more mobile Flash.  Adobe goes and rolls out an update for Flash on Android devices?  I know they said they wouldn't drop support for updates (just support for further versions of Flash on mobile plateforms). ...

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No More Gmail Love for Blackberry

It was announced recently that Blackberry users will soon be unable to get their hands on a dedicated Gmail app for their devices.  However, as one might expect from a company like RIM who was basically one of the front runners in the smartphone market, this is kind of a surprise. Instead, the decision came from Google themselves.  RIM built their business in the phone market by granting a web experience on their devices and were one of the first to really get it right.  Only since...

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Voting Now Available!

Hey everybody!  Do me a favor and look in the left sidebar at the top section.  You'll now see a new Voting section.  Keep an eye out right here for a say so in some of the things we will cover on the site.  I am starting some reader voting to bring more interaction between our readers and myself! In our first poll be sure to vote for which Linux Distribution you'd like to see a video review for!  Voting will run for 7 days.  So cast your vo...

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Guild Wars Halloween Hats Coming Back...

My Character Posing by a Necrid Rider at last year's Halloween Festivities If you are a Guild Wars player than you will now that every holiday events are thrown in several of the large city hubs in-game.  Part of these events include winning the free holiday hats for your character.  And if you remember just a few weeks ago, the north-eastern portion of the United States was wrecked with a freak snowstorm that managed to wipe out power to a majority of those people.  Due to this...

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What's Happening to WoW?

Admittedly, I have spent my fair share of time in the past running around in World of Warcraft.  Was it fun?  Sure.  Was it creative?  Sure.  Was it worth me spending $15 dollars a month to play it when compared with my time spent actually in-game during the course of the month?  I didn't like it that much.  :) I am not one of these "WoW haters"; let me get that out there first and foremost.  As far as the game goes, it was one of the first MMO titles to...

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Adobe Kills Off Flash for Mobile Devices

It's no secret that HTML5 is a growing technology.  Now with a lot of desktop web browsers able to play nicely with HTML5 (and this is growing as well); it seems that it may become one of Adobe Flash's rivals on the web.  It is also no secret that Apple doesn't jive with Flash very well (at all) to put it modestly. Up until yesterday (Wednesday) it seemed as though Flash had a decent foothold in the mobile sector when you figure it plays very well with Android based devices.  Why...

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Time to Upgrade!

The other day I received an email from my cell phone provider informing me that one of my lines is eligible for an upgrade.  So Monday afternoon I swung by my provider's store and chatted with a friend of mine who works up there and got the skinny on what it will cost me to upgrade.  And I had a little time to play around with a few phones to see which one I liked the most (it will be Android based). And I have to admit that after playing with the Nexus S, HTC Evo 3D, HTC Evo Design,...

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Featured Blog on Bloggers.com!

Hey everybody!  I just wanted to thank all of our reader's and follower's for helping our site be noticed as a Blogger of The Day on Bloggers.com!  This is a great honor and I thank everyone for their support!  If you have a website or blog that you manage and update swing by the great community of people over at Bloggers.com!  This service is full of great people with loads of collective knowledge! Check out my profile on Bloggers.com at: http://bloggers.com/tech...

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Video: Installing Gnome Shell 3

Our latest video has just gone live on our YouTube Channel and it cover's yet another alternate desktop environment for your Ubuntu 11.10 installation.  This video covers installing Gnome Shell 3! The latest version of Gnome Shell brings with it some changes and some rather fancy looking eye candy as well.  I honestly haven't had a whole lot of hands on with Gnome Shell 3 since making the video, but I do plan on digging in this week and learning how to get around in it and I will chronicle...

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Ubuntu 11.10: Installing IceWM

If you love using Ubuntu and want the latest the greatest without the bloat of Unity maybe because your computer is holder and refuses to play nice with Unity than checkout IceWM.  IceWM is an alternate desktop environment for Linux.  If you are looking for a sleek and elegant looking desktop with lots of eye candy than IceWM probably isn't for you. Installing IceWM is pretty easy to do via the Terminal or you can use the Ubuntu Software Center to install it as well.  I will also...

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Kind of Slow...

Not much of interest going on today in the tech world.  I guess it's been kind of slow on that front.  Aside from recent flooding in Thailand possibly having an impact on hard drive manufacturing/availability for the first few months of 2012.  And the Siri outage for iPhone 4S users this week. On the gaming front, be sure to checkout DC Universe Online which went free to play this week.  And early numbers report this was a success and already showing a rather large increase...

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Installing LXDE in Ubuntu 11.10

As we continue our search for alternate desktop environments for Ubuntu 11.10 'Oneiric Ocelot' we now arrive at LXDE.  LXDE is short for the "Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment".  It's mission is a simple one: to be "extremely fast performing".  LXDE is great for older computers or computers with lower resources than most have by today's standards.  Running LXDE will give you the best of both worlds: a great experience as your desktop environment, and the latest advantages with...

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Ubuntu 11.10: Switching Login Managers

I received several emails after our posting our video about installing KDE in Ubuntu 11.10 concerning the login screen being changed.  If you followed along with our video we actually set the login screen to use KDM instead of the default for Ubuntu 11.10 which is LightDM.  Both login screens work the same way, but they look very different. If you decide you like the original Ubuntu 11.10 login better than KDM's login screen, then watch the video below.  It's under 3 minutes...

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Backup Your Android Apps Using Astro

Last week my wife managed to assassinate her HTC Evo 4G Android based smartphone.  She uses her phone more than her laptop these days, so she has a lot of data she wanted to move over to the insurance replacement we got her.  Not a big deal since pretty much everything she wanted was already stored on her external SD card. Where I ran into a problem was when she asked the dreaded question: "Can I transfer my apps from one Evo to another?".  Short of finding a way to relocate apps...

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Is there a Siri for Android? Part 2: Skyvi

Skyvi was the second app I tried out during my quest for a 'Siri-like' app for Android devices.  You can read my post below about my hands-on with Iris incase you missed it (click here: my hands-on with Iris).  I have to say I kind of like Skyvi a little better.  The interface is a little more cluttered and not quite as slick looking as Iris.  However, it is very clear from the get-go what you can do with Skyvi.  When you launch the app, the initial screen you are taken...

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Is there a Siri for Android? Part 1: Iris

One of Apple's biggest advertised features of their new iPhone 4S is Siri.  If you have been living under a rock and not sure what Siri is, I'll fill you in.  Siri is basically a virtual personal assistant that recognizes your voice.  Basically you queue up Siri and tell it what to do.  It can do web searches for you, answer questions, give you information (like what your weather is), schedule calendar events, set alarms, etc.  In short, it's pretty freakin' cool. ...

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