Use Call PopOut to make incoming calls less distracting on Android

Have you ever been reading an important e- mail, studying some notes, or playing a game, when a call interrupts you? Wouldn't it be nice if you could quickly dismiss the call without putting your current activity in the background? That's exactly what Call PopOut does for you.
Instead of interrupting, Call Pop Out puts the incoming call in a tiny bubble, the same way Facebook uses Chat Heads for new messages. Ready to give it a look? Let's get to it:

Step 1: Download a copy of "Call PopOut" for your Android device. The app runs on Android 2.2 and up.
Step 2: After installing, you'll want to open the app and adjust the settings to your liking.
You can choose to mute calls by tapping the bubble, decide which apps (or all) will have their alerts displayed in the bubble, as well as the size and position of the bubble. Most of the features are available in the free version, save for minor things like the ability to put the bubble up top or make it smaller.
Step 3: When a call homes in, just press and hold on the picture to display the incoming call menu. You can accept, hide the pop-up, mute, or reject calls from the bubble. When testing this app I noticed that it does not play nicely nicely with apps that display information during calls.
So if you use another app like Current Caller ID , you'll have to pick between the two. The good news is that Call PopOut has a disable option, in case you don't want to use it all the time.

Read More

How to Extract Audio from YouTube Using Windows

Have you ever wanted to rip the audio from a YouTube video? Now you can, just follow these simple steps.

Steps: 1. Set up your computer's devices appropriately in order to capture what is called "computer playback"

• Open the Control Panel

• Click on Hardware and Sound and select Sound.

• Click on the Recording tab.

• Disable the Microphone by right clicking and selecting Disable. Right click on an open space in the window and select Show disabled devices. Stereo Mix should appear on the list of devices.
Right click on Stereo Mix and select Enable . 2. Open your browser and find the YouTube video from which you wish to extract audio.

3. Open up Audacity and click record.

4. Play the YouTube video from which you wish to extract audio.

5. Stop recording with Audacity once the YouTube video has finished playing.

6. Save the recording in the format most appropriate for your purposes. For most people this is the WAV format. • Click on File • Click on Export :: Tips : • Adjust the window sizes of the browser used to access YouTube and Audacity in order to easily move between the applications
Helpful?
• Make sure the YouTube video has fully downloaded before you begin playing it to avoid unwanted interruptions in your recording.
Helpful?

Read More

5 Settings That Increase Battery Life On Android

With every new operating system comes a fresh set of features that serve up convenience...at the cost of your battery life. In many cases, it's just not worth having your phone die when you need it most.
If you're looking to get more juice out of your phone's battery, or are one of the many people with a Nexus 5 plagued by a possible battery issue , change these settings.

• Use the new GPS feature
Many apps -- not just the mapping types -- have recently found a way to incorporate location-tracking into their offerings. From check-ins to finding "nearby" business, these apps eat into your battery life as they work to pinpoint your location.
KitKat attempts to solve this issue with a new Battery Saving GPS mode, which minimizes the number of reference points used to find your location. Because it's still pretty accurate, it's a good default choice.
To enable this mode, head to Settings > Location > Mode, and enable Battery Saving.
Whenever you need super-precise tracking, switch this setting back to High Accuracy. Until then, enjoy the benefits of less strain on your battery.

• "Not OK, Google"
On the one hand, be thankful your phone is such a good listener. On the other hand, it's not worth killing your battery life.
Thanks to the new, persistent Hotword detection, you can say "OK, Google" from any home screen (or within Google Now) to prompt Google Search and Voice Actions.
That means, however, that your phone is always listening, waiting for you to say those magic words.
To turn that feature off, head to Google Now > Settings > Voice, and disable Hotword Detection.

• NFC when you need it
This one's a no-brainer, not new to KitKat, and yet, I often find that people leave NFC enabled -- even if they don't use it.
If you have an NFC-enabled phone (like the Nexus 5), ensure it's on only when you need it. For those who need to keep it enabled, double-check to see that Android Beam is disabled.
To adjust these settings, navigate to Settings > More (under Wireless and Networks) > NFC. Get out of sync
When add an account to your phone, Google assumes you'd like to sync just about everything. That includes Google Play purchases, Google Keep, and even photos.
That last one is killer: photos. Each time you snap a picture, Google uploads it to your account to back it up. For those who use their phone as their primary camera (that's everyone, right?), this can seriously hurt your battery life.
There are two ways to change this. Head to settings and find your e-mail address under Accounts. Tap the account name again to access sync settings, where you can un-check the items you don't want synced. Included there is that "Google Photos" option.
Alternatively, head to the Gallery app > Settings, and disable Google Photos Sync.

• Use the battery tool
If you still can't figure out why your battery is draining, make use of the built in power monitor, which displays the amount of power each active app is using.
To access the battery tool, call up the notification shade, tap the Quick Settings icon, then hit the battery logo. Here, you'll see a complete list of active apps. Take a look around to see if any are consuming an unusually high amount of power. Your phone's display and networking processes (like Wi-Fi) are unavoidable, but you might find that an app you downloaded is a battery hog.
If you identify a battery-sucking app you'd like to shut down, tap it from the list, and hit "force stop."

Read More

How Go Get Free Cash From Google Play

Want a quick and easy way to earn some Play store credits by offering nothing but some time and your opinions? Of course you do!
And Google wants your opinion, so it has released an app called 'Google Opinion Rewards' for Android users. The app is free and only takes a few minutes to set up, with the process requiring you to take a survey.
Your answers to the initial survey will be used to customize the surveys you'll receive on your device in the future.

According to Google Consumer Surveys announcement on Google+, users of the app can expect one survey a week. After giving your honest opinion on the matters at hand, your Play Store account will be credited with a yet to be determined amount. Surveys can range from multiple questions to simply picking your preferred logo.
As an Android user, signing up for something like this doesn't require much thought. In the end I get money in exchange for offering no more than my opinion, and I can do it all directly from my device. Sign me up.
If you sign up and receive a paid survey, comment below on your experience.

Read More

How to upgrade Windows 8 to Windows 8.1

Windows 8 wasn't the greatest success for Microsoft, but the much anticipated update, Windows 8.1, is now available either electronically or through traditional physical discs in retail outlets. Here's a look at how to get your Windows 8 system ready and the process of upgrading to Windows 8.1 through the electronic update now available in the Windows Store.

• Prepare your Windows 8 system

Before jumping in to the upgrade there's a few things you'll need to do before installing.

1. make sure you have all of the latest updates for your system via Windows Update. Even if you have your system set up to receive automatic updates, it's best to run it manually to ensure you have all of the latest ones.

2. Create a back up of all important documents, pictures, videos, etc. You don't necessarily need to create a system image, though it wouldn't hurt, but make sure everything important is backed up on an external drive, network location, or DVDs. If you have File History set up, just run it before proceeding with the update. If you have a service like CrashPlan that's constantly running in the background, you should be good to go.

• Download and Install Windows 8.1

Now it's time to update and get your new version of Windows. Hit the Windows Key to get to the Start screen and select the Store tile.
Next click on the Update to Windows 8.1 for free (you can't miss it, it's the first thing you'll see in the store). The next screen will give you a brief preview of what new features Windows 8.1 provides. Click Install.
Now just wait while the update is downloaded and installed. This is a major update at around 3.5 GB for the 8.1 Pro edition, so the amount of time it takes to download will vary depending on your connection speed and how busy Microsoft servers are. However, you can continue to use your system while this download it taking place.
If you have the option of a wired Ethernet connection rather than Wi-Fi, I'd recommend using it to provide a much more reliable connection for faster download speeds and to reduce the risk of getting disconnected during the install. Also ensure you're connected to mains power to avoid potential power problems.
When it's done, you'll receive a message that your computer needs to be restarted. Finish up any work you're doing and save it because from this point until it's done, you can't user you computer. It will restart several times while the 8.1 update is being installed.
You'll see a series of different screens showing you what is going on during the installation.
You're almost finished. Agree to the software terms of service.
There will be a few more screens displayed letting you know what Windows is doing, like the one below, which is getting modern apps ready that were already installed.

Success! You're all done. You have the latest version of Windows on your system and you start digging into the cool new features it has to offer.

• Wrapping Up

After installing the 8.1 update, I recommend running Windows Update right away. There's already updates for the final version, one of which is the General Availability Rollup.
If you are running the 8.1 Preview version, when you update, you'll need to reinstall all of your modern apps and desktop programs. One nicety of the upgrade is your modern app tiles will display on the Start screen. Then all you need to do is click the tile to download them.
Finally, after you have Windows 8.1 set up and ready to use

Read More

Restart Your Blackberry Without Removing Your Battery

Restart your blackberry phone without removing the battery with this short code. Its a very simple short code.
It saves you from the stress of removing your battery just because you want to restart your phone which might be very frustrating and embarrassing if you you are doing this in the street.
This short code will automatically restart your phone immediately once you press the buttons.

> The Code:
Just hold down your Alt + Shift/Space+ Delete
NB: hold down the buttons at the same time then it restarts your phone automatically.

It works on all blackberry phones...

Read More

Easy Steps On How To Programme Software (Part 2)

In my previous post yesterday, I promise that the concluding part will be published today....So lets continue from where I stopped yesterday.

>Step 7: The GOTO instruction tells the PC to jump to a specified line number. SmallBasic also uses the IF statement, allowing you to have multiple conditions. For example, ‘IF N = 10 AND K = 0 THEN GOTO 50’. We’re also introducing the INPUT statement and END. Strictly speaking, all programs should end with END.

>Step 8: GOTO can generate loops, but FOR and NEXT provide a better solution. The code between the two statements is executed for each value of the variable in the FOR statement (our program displays numbers from 1 to 10 and their squares). You can also specify a step in FOR, such as ‘FOR N = 2 TO 100 STEP 2’.

>Step 9: In step 2 we saw a syntax error. This type of error is picked up before you try to run a program; others are encountered only when a program is run. The above program illustrates this – have a go yourself. It will work fine until 1 equals 0 and the program is unable to divide by zero.

>Step 10: Here’s another error. Run the program and enter ‘1’ when prompted. It will terminate properly. Run it again and enter ‘0.3’. The program won’t end because N never equals 10. Click BRK in the status bar to force it to stop. Noting that RUN has changed to BRK proves a program is running, possibly in an infinite loop.

>Step 11: Programs sometimes require data that can be read from an external file or included in the program as DATA statements and accessed using the READ statement. You can include as many values as you want on a DATA statement. This program would work the same way if all the values were in one long DATA statement.

>Step 12: Using DATA and READ saved us using lots of assignment statements (such as X = 108), but it doesn’t produce a very exciting or useful result. Change the first PRINT statement to ’20 SET X, Y COLOR 5’ and the second to ’50 LINE X, Y COLOR 5’. Check the Output tab matches the screenshot below.

>Step 13: Add ‘1 REM’ as the first line of the program and run it again. It’ll work exactly the same. REM (remark) statements are ignored, but useful for adding comments. Get into the habit of including REM statements – they make your programs far easier to understand if you want to change them later.

>Step 14: If you want to use values in the DATA statement more than once, use the RESTORE statement. This causes the next READ to return to the specified line (for example, RESTORE 100). Now try it: modify the program to draw two or more of these symbols, each offset by 10 pixels using a FOR/NEXT loop.

::: You can Like our facebook page to follow us whenever new post is published...Page name: Naija info and Tech.

Read More

Easy Steps On How To Programme Computer.. (Part 1)

Programming is the process of writing instructions that tell computer hardware what to do. It’s fundamental to computing, yet to most people it’s an impenetrable and arcane art. It needn’t be a mystery, though. It would be ridiculous for us to suggest that non- programmers could soon be writing software to rival Microsoft Word or Excel , but understanding the basic principles isn’t as difficult as you might think.
If you’ve never dabbled in computer programming, here’s your opportunity to gain an appreciation of what’s involved. In the first of a two-part series, we’ll teach you the fundamentals so you can start writing programs for your PC.
Many programming languages are available; here, we’ve used Basic (short for beginners’ all- purpose symbolic instruction code). We chose this language for its relative simplicity. All you need to know before you begin is the definition of a program: a list of instructions that is carried out sequentially and tells the computer what to do.
One drawback with Basic is that it’s an old language. As its name suggests, it’s also rather basic. In the 47 years since Basic was introduced, many variations have been produced. SmallBasic , which we use in the following workshop, is just one of them (don’t confuse it with Microsoft’s same-name product: Small Basic ).
SmallBasic contains plenty of instructions that weren’t in the original Basic. With the exception of graphics, we’ve avoided using most of these, instead helping you get to grips with the instructions that will be familiar to all versions. Because the original Basic didn’t include facilities for graphics programming, graphics statements are proprietary in all versions of Basic. The way graphical output is produced in SmallBasic is thus different from many other versions.
>>Using SmallBasic to program software >Step 1: Before writing any software we’ll run a sample program in SmallBasic. Choose File, Open and select plasma.bat from C\Program Files (x86)\SBW32\FLTK_0.10.7\graphics. The program will appear in a tab labelled plasma.bas. Click Run in the bottom status bar, then select the Output tab.

>Step 2: Select the plasma.bas tab and change ‘const’ to ‘cons’ on line 10. This will go from red to black, since it’s no longer a Basic’s keyword (more on this later). Click Run and you’ll see the error message ‘Undefined sub/func code: cons’ with the status line indicating it’s on line 10. Get used to seeing these error messages.

>Step 3: Select File, Close to get rid of the sample program. Next, select the untitled.bas tab, enter the code shown above and click Run. ‘HELLO WORLD’ will appear in the Output tab. You’ve written your first program. It’s not compulsory in SmallBasic, but we’ll use line numbers so that it’s easy to add commands later.

>Step 4: PRINT is a Basic keyword, and tells the PC to perform an action. Basic allows you to create and name variables that contain a value. We’ll illustrate this using ‘N’. Begin a new program and enter the code shown above, then click Run. The three ‘PRINT N’ statements produce different results because N’s value changes in lines 3 and 5.

>Step 5: The statement ‘N = N + 1’ is an instruction that tells the computer to change the value held in N to one greater than it was previously. Try the program in the screenshot above to see some other arithmetic functions, namely subtract (-), multiply (*), divide (/) and ‘raise to the power of’ (^).

>Step 6: Create a new program and enter the code shown above. Work out what you think the answer will be, then click Run. You probably added 10 and 2, which makes 12, then multiplied it by 4, resulting in 48. In fact, the answer is 18. Basic completes multiplications and divisions before additions and subtractions.

The concluding part of this post shall be publish tommorow...

Read More

How to set up your custom Google+ URL

On Tuesday, it was revealed that Google+ team was going to start rolling out the option for users to create a custom Google+ URL that points directly to his or her profile.
In order to qualify for a custom URL you'll need to meet three requirements, which I suspect anyone who is using Google+ at all will meet.
>You'll need to have a profile photo.
At least 10 followers.
An account over 30 days old.
Simple enough. Google+ pages for both local and non-local organizations will each have to meet different criteria in order to gain a custom URL.
Once you meet the requirements you'll need to wait, patiently, until the feature is rolled out to your account. As Google has been doing for a while now, this is a staged rollout and should take a few days to complete.
The good news is when your account is ready, you'll receive an e-mail asking you to claim your Google+ URL. Google automatically reserves one for you based on your name. Another way to check if your account is ready is to visit your profile page and look for a banner across the top asking you to confirm your vanity URL (as seen at the top of this post).
Once you begin the process of verifying your URL, you will have the option to request a different one, should you not want to use what Google has saved for you. Google does require you to submit your request, complete with a valid reason for the change.
After you've submitted the request Google will review it and a couple of days later let you know if it's approved, or if you need to make any changes.
After accepting your URL, along with the terms and conditions, your URL is set in stone. Now you can point friends, family members, job recruiters and anyone else who might want to view your Google+ profile directly to it by giving them Google.com/ +yourusername.

Read More

How to control computers remotely with your Android phone

Providing support remotely is an easy way to help your family and friends while maintaining your sanity. If you don't have a computer nearby, but have your Android phone, you can still help.
>> Computer setup

Step 1:
On the computer you want to remote control, download "TeamViewer QuickSupport" from TeamViewer. The downloaded file is named TeamViewerQS_en.exe . The program is self- contained, so it does not need to be installed.
Step 2:
Double-click on the TeamViewerQS_en.exe file to launch TeamViewer on the computer you want to control.
Step 3:
At the main screen, the numeric ID of that system is listed and a numeric password for that session. Make a note of the ID and password as you'll need that information later.
Step 4:
If you're setting this up on someone else's computer, you may want to create a shortcut for them or place the file on their desktop so they can find it more easily when they need your help. Once you've connected to the computer, a small window with a session list will pop up in the lower right-hand corner. >> How To Set setup Android Device:

Step 1:
On your Android phone, install TeamViewer from the Android Market and launch it. In the first box, enter the ID of the "partner" computer. In the second box, enter the password and tap the "Connect to partner" button.
Step 2:
Once connected, you'll see gesture control instructions.
Step 3:
Close the instruction screen to see the desktop of the remote computer.
You've got control! Now you can help your in- law's figure out how to use Netflix streaming or add an RSS feed to Google Reader. You can help someone with just about anything he or she might need help with, without having to physically be there. You can use the mouse, type, print, and even reboot the remote computer.
The Android version of TeamViewer does have a few limitations, compared with the computer version. The Android version does not support local audio, text chat , video chat, or file transfers.

Read More