iOS Makeover for Android

While last week saw all iOS devices receiving the latest update of Apple's mobile operating system, this week brings a fresh update to the look and feel of your Android handset if you so choose.  Once again through the use of a launcher, Android users are able to replicate the look and feel of another operating system without sacrificing the advantages that led them to Android in the first place.  While the first launcher I covered, Win 7 Launcher, gave Android users the chance to re-imagine their phone as a Windows Phone 7 device, Espier Launcher for Android gives users the same opportunity with Apple's iOS.  All of the basic functionality and ease of use of iOS carries over into this launcher including the simplicity that Apple products are known for.  Espier Launcher is now being offered for free on the Android Market and that alone deems it worth a try.

A Third Party Solution for Android on PC

Bluestacks running Launcher Pro on Windows

In the latest release of Mac OS X called Lion, Apple was able to bridge the gap between their mobile operating system and their desktop operating system.  Although there are over 250 new features available in Lion, the one that was the most interesting for a lot of people was the debut of the Mac App store and the ability to not only run many of their favorite mobile apps but also to be able to run them full screen.  Microsoft is aiming to do the exact same thing in the upcoming release of Windows 8 which takes the Metro User Interface and the best aspects of Windows Phone 7 to the desktop.  Google however, has not decided to bring the advantages of Android to PCs.  While Android can be run in an emulator, this is done mostly for development purposes and is often quite buggy.  To aid Android enthusiasts in bringing the best apps from their phone or tablet to their PC and eventually their Mac, Bluestacks has released the free alpha version of their Bluestacks App Player for Windows.  While only an initial release, Bluestacks already presents a slew of substantial features and offers users the ability to sync apps from their mobile device to their computer.

The Open Source Answer to Photoshop

The real sign of a piece of tech's success is when it makes the transformation from being just a product to a verb used to describe the very action it does.  Take Google for example.  It started out as being one of a number of search engines available to internet users to find content on the web.  However, due to its popularity it quickly became a replacement for the verb search.  In this day and age we no longer search for something on the internet we "Google it."  While Google is synonymous with search, Photoshop is synonymous with image editing.  The phrase "I photoshopped it" pervades in both television and movies.  While Photoshop is the most popular image editing choice it is not cheap and a license for Photoshop costs seven hundred dollars.  Luckily as with most programs, the open source community has provided a free and reliable alternative in the form of GIMP.

iTunes Without the Hassles (for Android)

One of the reasons the original iPod was able to gain a quick hold on the mp3 player market was that it had a great software suite to go along with it in the form of iTunes.  Unfortunately Google does not offer such a software suite.  This is because Android phones offer users the ability to access their phones memory right from any computer.  So instead of using a program to sync music, photos, videos, and podcasts, Android users are left to do this on their own manually.  For someone who has full control of their computer and knows where all of their files are and how to move them around, this is no problem.  Although it is a little time consuming.  With the release of its PC client and its mobile app for Android, doubleTwist aims to bring the simplicity of an iTunes sync to Android users everywhere.

Endless Possibilities for your Controller with Xpadder

One of the hardest obstacles to overcome when migrating from a console like the Xbox 360 or the Playstation 3 to a PC is familiarizing yourself with the WASD layout of a computer keyboard.  Most gamers grew up using a controller and because of this they are often wary about making the switch despite the fact that using a mouse and keyboard setup can greatly enhance accuracy and response time.  For those on the fence, there is another option.  Both the Xbox 360 controller and the Playstation Dualshock 3 controller can be set up to work on a PC.  However due to Microsoft's influence, support for the Xbox 360 controller is being built in to more and more PC games and is becoming the unofficial standard controller for PC gaming.  While many games support this controller, controller support is not built into every game.  Also you might prefer the Dualshock 3 or another controller entirely.  Using a simple program called Xpadder it is possible to enable controller support in any PC game and to do so using any controller you please.  However, Xpadder is not just for gaming.  It can also be used in a media center setup or even to take the place of your mouse and keyboard in Windows.

Every Office Should Be Open

If you used a computer for any form of word processing you most likely used Microsoft Word.  Microsoft Word came to be in 1983 and has dominated the business of word processing for countless years.  The only real competitor it had was Corel's Word Perfect which was a worthy opponent up until the Nineties when Microsoft was able to pull ahead in the race.  Today Microsoft Word is part of Microsoft's Office suite and is pre-installed on many Windows machines and the standard for most businesses.  However, it does not have to be that way.  There are many freeware options available for the consumer willing to break away from the sheep.

Android Disguised as Windows Phone 7

If you have seen even a commercial for Windows Phone 7 or some of the news coverage regarding Windows 8 then this user interface will definitely look familiar.  This user interface is known as Metro UI.  It was designed to set Microsoft's new smartphone operating system apart from the rest and to give consumers something fresh.  It has also most likely helped Microsoft avoid the lawsuits that many other hardware manufacturers have become involved in with Apple.  Nonetheless the operating system does stand out from the crowd and gives users a much easier way to interact with their phone without being sucked in to it like many iOS and Android users have been.  This idea is really driven home by the tagline at the end of many Windows Phone 7 commercials: "It's time for a phone to save us from our phones."  However this is where the user interface truly shines.  However, today's smartphone consumers crave applications, something that Microsoft has quite few of.  Plus until the release of the next iteration of its operating system called Mango, Microsoft is still missing a few features its competitors have making Windows Phone 7 an unlikely choice for most consumers.