40Tech

Prior to the Flashback malware fiasco, Apple’s platforms had a reputation for being secure. That reputation might not have been deserved, if a report from the first quarter of 2012 is to be believed. That report, which predated the discovery of the Flashback trojan, took a look at the number of vulnerabilities that major tech vendors reported. The numbers might surprise you.

17 months ago I abandoned my iPhone and embraced Android. At the time, iOS was a much different operating system than it is today, and I had grown increasingly frustrated with its limitations. Now, I might be ready to move back to an iPhone. Should I?

I like Google Chrome. Love it, in fact. I love the extensions, I love the OS-style feel of it, and I love the apps integration that makes that feel possible. It long ago took over Firefox for me, and, while I love the foxy Fox, I’ve never been able to go back to it full [...]

An iPad without a functioning digitizer screen is pretty much worthless. Unfortunately the screen is a fragile component that is easily damaged. Even a fall of a few feet is usually enough to shatter the delicate glass.

Damaged or broken digitizer screens are one of the most common problems encountered by iPad users. According to warranty company SquareTrade, ten percent of iPad 2 owners reported damaging their iPads within the first 12 months of ownership, with the number increasing to 20% within the first two years of ownership. Many times when the touch screen becomes cracked or broken, the LCD screen beneath is unharmed. If that’s the case, you don’t need a new iPad – you just need to replace the digitizer screen.

I was recently asked to identify some of the essential WordPress plugins that we use are here at 40Tech. A few years ago, we covered five of them. Amazingly, we’re still using all five. There are other plugins, though, that we also use. While I would prefer a lean WordPress installation, these other plugins bring functionality that is important. With that in mind, here are ten additional plugins that make 40Tech tick.

Dropbox is a great tool for moving files between different operating systems, but it isn’t perfect. If you use the Dropbox iPad app, then you may have noticed one glaring weakness: if you download images to your iPad’s Camera Roll via the app, you’ll find that the image quality is horrible. Yes, the Dropbox iPad app downconverts your images, leaving you with, in technical terms, crappy photos. There are at least a couple of workarounds, though.

I love Swype on my Android phone, but I still prefer typing on a full keyboard. For that reason, I’m not a big texter on my phone. If you’re like me, and prefer typing on your computer keyboard, then DeskSMS might interest you. DeskSMS is an Android app that lets you send and receive text messages from your computer.

So let’s talk. There’s been a lot of conversation around the web — and on this site — about possible alternatives for Evernote. Springpad was the goto app for many, though the most recent update has pulled them further away from that comparison, and drawn the ire of many users in the process. If you look at Springpad, though, as well as several other apps that offer services that are considered comparable to Evernote (Shelfster, Thinkery, OneNote and Catch, for example), you can define a general criteria for a note taking application that I think — no matter how odd it may sound — could also be met by Google’s latest cloud offering and the new face of Google Docs: Google Drive.

Stick with me. I’d love to have a conversation with you all about this.

A few months, I wrote about ten of my favorite apps in the Mac App Store. Not all apps are in the App Store, though, for a variety of grounds. Among other reasons, some apps hook deeper into the operating system than Apple allows from App Store apps, while other apps aren’t there due to developer concerns over the upcoming sandboxing requirements for App Store apps. Whatever the rationale, I have a number of crucial apps that aren’t available in the Mac App Store. Here are ten of them.

If you share your Kindle account with someone, it could be a headache to read a book that the other person has already read. The problem? If you use Amazon’s Whispersync technology, your Kindle will think that the furthest read location is the end of the book (or wherever the previous reader left off). I previously wrote about the convoluted process you could use to reset the furthest read location on your Kindle. Fortunately, Amazon has now come up with a much easier way to reset the furthest read location.