New Samsung ATIV Q hybrid Notebook/Tablet

So you need Windows for the office and Android for your entertainment, huh? This new tablet from Samsung may just fit the bill. At Samsung’s London event today they showed this new tablet that is very interesting with a high resolution display, low weight and both Android and Windows 8 installed on the unit.

Brent Rose of Gizmodo wrote:

ATIV Q

Samsung's most interesting tablet-type thing is a double-hybrid freak of a device. It has a keyboard that is connected by a rather versatile hinge. It can fold all the way flat against the back so you can use it as a straight up tablet, you can use it as a normal laptop, you can type with having the screen magically floating above your fingers, or you can use it as a stand.

But why is it a double-hybrid? Because it runs Windows 8 AND Android. I guess that's one way to solve the lack of good tablet apps in the Windows 8 ecosystem. The tablet can switch back and forth between modes, and while it won't share settings or apps, at least you can share files and folders back and forth. It will be running a full version of Windows 8 (not RT) and Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) with the Google Play Store and all.

Switching back and forth between operating systems looks lighting fast. Just the press of a single button. No booting or anything. It looked extremely seamless. You can also add Android apps to the Windows 8 homescreen for quick access, which is handy.

The other highlight on the ATIV Q is the touchscreen. It's at 13.3 inch gHD+ display, which comes in at 3200 x 1800 pixels. At 275 pixels per inch that bests even the screen on the Google Pixel (239 PPI). Samsung claims that it's "the world's highest resolution display," has a 170-degree viewing angle, and is clearly viewable in bright sunlight. Very impressive looking.

The ATIV Q comes running Intel's latest and greatest Haswell processor, which means it should be mighty fast, and it also comes with an S Pen, so the graphic design crowd should be able to really take advantage of all those pixels.

The ATIV Q comes in at 0.54 inches thick and weighs 2.84 pounds. That's pretty fat n' heavy for a tablet. But for a laptop-hybrid thing? Well, maybe that's not so bad. No word on U.S. It bears mentioning that this entirely dissimilar from Acer's R7 hybrid, though the ATIV 8 certainly wins in on the resolution and processor front.

New Release: Camtasia Studio 8.1

Press Release:

Camtasia Studio 8.1 is here! And if you already own Camtasia Studio 8, this is a free upgrade for you.

We're looking forward to hearing what users like you will say when they get their hands on the latest version. If you think Camtasia Studio 8 couldn't be better, be assured that Camtasia Studio 8.1 offers you even more.

So, What's New?
To start, we listened closely to the feedback we were getting from Camtasia Studio 8 users. We then worked like mad to fix all the things they didn't like.

User feedback is essential to making a great product even better, so thanks for your comments and requests. Next, we wanted to give you more options when editing. So, we added a handful of new and easy-to-use editing tools.

Remove a Color
You can now use TechSmith's Remove a Color feature to superimpose yourself into your videos making it appear as though you're right in the action. Also known as chroma key or the green screen effect, Remove a Color helps you create more professional videos without having to be a video pro.

Crop, Stitch, and Copy
Use the crop tool to show your viewers exactly what you want them to see and nothing you don't. Stitch clips together to avoid having to reapply visual effects multiple times. And finally, copy an effect to quickly apply it to numerous clips – saving you time and improving your editing workflow.

On a Version Prior to Camtasia Studio 8?
When you upgrade to the current version of Camtasia Studio, you'll receive not only the newest features, but also all the great features included in Camtasia Studio 8. Take Camtasia Studio 8.1 on a test drive with our free trial, or upgrade to the latest version now and let us know how it goes!

And as always, if you have questions or want to give us some feedback, we're all ears at our feedback site.

Upgrade to Camtasia Studio 8.1 »

Kids going to college? Consider adding Skype to their Notebook and Phone…

I know that texting is all the rage but when your parent or grandparent there's nothing like seeing your child's smiling face while you are speaking to them from the comfort of your home. And when they're away at college and it's doubly nice to know that they are all right and that they are doing well while they are outside of the safety of your home.

Skype is free for Skype to Skype communication is available on quite a few different platforms. Not only is it available on your notebook whether it is a Windows-based or Apple-based system is also available to put on your iOS and android phones and tablets. This makes it very convenient to connect with them from any of these devices.

One of the interesting features of Skype is a video messaging capability that allows you to send and receive for free video messages when you cannot both be available at the same time. This can help alleviate the frustration of not getting an instant response when you are trying to connect with them. So it's on an emergency this makes it a very convenient way to get your message across to your child.

To find out more about Skype or to sign up go here.

Just a quick update… Skype continued.

Remember if you are setting your college-bound child up with office 365 for students then Skype is part of the package and if you are setting yourself up with office 365 for home, which allows you to have up to five systems in the house installed with office 2013 you will also get Skype with that subscription as well. So here is a little more incentive for you to go ahead and get this all set up and tested out before they leave you for their new digs.

Learn more about Office 365 Home Premium

Learn more about Office 365 University

Read and earlier post on Office 365 University

Microsoft Surface Firmware Updates for June 2013

Nice updates to both Surface devices

Jun. 11, 2013Paul Thurrott

Nice overview of the updates that became available last week. So if you have Surface RT or Surface Pro you may want to take a look at what is new by taking a look at Paul’s article.

Surface RT firmware improvements

Update includes these firmware and performance improvements

Surface Pro firmware improvements

Update includes driver and performance improvements including

To learn more about Windows Update, see Install Surface and Windows updates.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking Home 12

I went and purchased a recent copy of Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 12 for myself to use at home and I decided also to bring it into work to see if it would help me out there as well. I have been using the built in voice to text recognition functions that are in Windows 7 but it seems to be getting worse and worse as I use it more which seems very contradictory since this was to be getting better as you use it got worse. I am very impressed with how well it works both in its accuracy and in its speed.

I will have to report back into you have couple weeks to update you on what I have found. I think that I will find it to be quite useful and will become part of my daily tools that I use to complete projects that I do throughout the day.

SmugFolio for SmugMug now SmugMug for Android

The creator of SmugFolio has been hired by SmugMug and his original program is being renamed to SmugMug for Android. If you are already running SmugFolio for SmugMug your App will automatically be updated and become SmugMug’s official Android App!

"SmugFolio for SmugMug" will be renamed to "SmugMug for Android" and it'll have a new snazzy icon. The new app will be free to download. For those of you who own SmugFolio, you'll automatically receive the update via the Google Play market. It will be the same app you know and love with a few changes:

· You'll now be able to browse other SmugMug user accounts without needing to log into the app. This is a great way to give friends and family easy access to your public galleries on their phones and tablets.

· The app has been made more secure by switching to OAuth for the login. This change will require you to re-login once you have updated to the new app. After you login, your photos will still be available in the app as they were before. You will not need to download them again.

· To make the app more secure and to prepare for some exciting future enhancements, the updated app will now require Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) or above. Those using Android 2.x or earlier can still use SmugFolio, but you will not be updated to the new app. This is not an easy decision, but it is necessary to move the app forward.

SmugMug has a motto that "Your Photos Look Better Here", and I plan to keep that motto true on Android. I hope you've enjoyed using SmugFolio over the years, and I hope you enjoy the new app even more.