Hello, I'm Evan. I write about tech from my perspective – that of the average tech geek, sometimes with my lawyer glasses on. You can also find me on Twitter and at my real-life job as a lawyer. MORE ABOUT ME.
If you’re like me, you assumed that the iPad was pretty much identical to the iPhone, but bigger. The form factor alone opens up some new possibilities on the iPad, but there are other differences aside from size. Here are five differences that, while obvious, might be news to you if you’re thinking about purchasing an iPad.
Last week, Pingdom parsed the data on iOS and Android apps, revealing an interesting difference. Specifically, roughly 70% of the apps in Apple’s App Store are paid apps, while 64% of the apps in the Android Market are free.
Why the difference? Are there more junk Android apps, since anyone can develop for it? Or does Android foster a different culture, due to its open nature? What do you think the reason is for this difference?
The mobile app divide: Free rules on Android, paid rules on iPhone [Pingdom]
If you don’t want to plug or unplug your headset, you typically need to go through a multistep process to switch your computer’s audio output from your speakers to your headset, or vice versa. There’s a quicker way, though, using a free software solution. This is great for those times when you want to listen to audio over your speakers, but quickly switch to your headset to make a Skype call.
Soundswitch is a free program that allows you to set a hotkey to switch between audio output devices. Soundswitch is pretty simple. After you download the file and extract its contents to a location of your choosing, you then open up an .ini file (sound_switch.ini) to configure the program. The configuration step is important – if you don’t do it, Soundswitch won’t work (unless your device setup happens to mirror the app developer’s setup).
To configure the .ini file, open your audio properties by right-clicking on the speaker icon in your system tray and selecting “Playback Devices.” You then need to count the order in which your audio devices appear in the listings. For example, in the image below, my headset (the “Speakers” device described as “C-Media USB Audio Device”) is device #1, and my external speakers (“High Definition Audio Device”) are device #2. Before ascertaining your device order, make sure that you’ve right-clicked anywhere in the window, and chosen to show disabled and disconnected devices.
Once you have a number for each device, take those numbers and plug them into the .ini file. My .ini file ended up as depicted in the image below, and happened to match the default settings. The two entries under “Sound Devices” are my headset and my speakers, respectively.
Once you’ve set up the configuration file and saved it, you’re all set. The default hotkey combo to switch audio devices is CTRL-ALT-F12, although you can change this in the configuration file. Soundswitch offers some other features as well. You can set hotkeys to scroll between devices, to hide the tray icon, to switch your currently selected device between two different speaker configurations, and to terminate the program.
Soundswitch’s developer (who we can thank for generously providing this program for free) has tested it in Windows 7 64 bit, and Vista 32 bit. I’m using it in Windows 7 64, and it works fine. There’s also an older version that works in Windows XP.
If easy audio switching entices you, head on over to the developer’s site to grab Soundswitch, and to read his configuration instructions.
Soundswitch [via Contriving]
Headset photo by Stephan Ridgway
As we discussed a while back, Google is thought to be preparing its own social network, called “Google Me” by some. Smarterware recently published a slideshow from a senior researcher at Google, that might give us a glimpse at what to expect from Google Me.
The slideshow discusses how Facebook lumps all of your friends together, even though we really we have different types of friends. You might have family members, college friends, and work colleagues in your social network, but you might want your social network experience with each of them to be different. For example, those wild college photos might be great to share with your college friends, but not so great to share with your family or some of your coworkers.
Facebook does offer lists, but they’re meaningless when it comes time to post updates. You can choose only between publicizing updates to everyone, friends, friends of friends, or specific people.
Would a service that gives you finite control over different types of friends compel you to try it out? Or do you envision something like that being much too complicated?
What to Expect From “Google Me” [Smarterware]
America Tries to Force DRM Upon the Rest of the World
The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is a treaty being negotiated among several countries in secret, in order to bring copyright rules to the world. According to Michael Geist, a law professor at the University of Ottawa who focuses on tech and intellectual property law, leaks from the the most recent round of ACTA negotiations show that the U.S. is pushing for “digital lock” rules that go beyond what even U.S. courts have allowed. Digital lock rules are rules that prohibit such practices as unlocking a cell phone, and removing restrictions that might prevent you from viewing a DVD bought overseas.
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