Bobby Travis

I love being from Canada — but due to licensing issues and the imaginary line I live on the wrong side of, I’m blocked from or limited in using streaming media services that my global neighbours rave about. Fortunately for those of us so geographically challenged (or those of you travelling outside the US or UK and missing your favourite music and video streams), there are services out there that try to solve this problem.

The best one I’ve come across so far, in terms of ease of use and quality of delivery, is UnoDNS.

Click here to view the embedded video.

What You Need to Know

First off, UnoDNS — created by UnoTelly — is not a VPN service in the typical sense. You don’t have to turn it on every time you want to use it, and you don’t have to do any major configuring. It’s easy to get it working on your mobile devices, game systems (PS3, Wii, Xbox), and TV boxes (Apple TV, Roku, Boxee Box, etc.), and it won’t force you to use the service for every internet action you do, potentially slowing down your web browsing. The other side of that coin, of course, is that it doesn’t provide you with extra security or anonymity like a virtual private network — but that’s not its purpose. UnoDNS is meant for entertainment, and it only works on the specific streaming services and websites that are in their Channels list.

And what a list! Pretty much every major television network and app you can think of is in there, ranging from Netflix to Hulu Plus, Pandora, Spotify, Vudu, and BBC iPlayer (no HBO Go listed, however). In fact, the UnoDNS Gold package gives you access to 71 different providers! I was lucky enough to get a reviewers account for the purposes of my research, but a gold account only costs $7.95/month. The Premium plan is $4.95/month and has 47 channels (most everything you could need or want) — and the Free plan has 14 channels. No Netflix in the free plan, but you do get Amazon Instant Video, Spotify, and Pandora, which is pretty amazing. Even better: there’s no contract for any of the UnoDNS plans, and you can try the whole set for free for 8 days. If that’s not enough for you to give it a shot, they also have a money-back guarantee.

How it Works

UnoDNS isn’t the only way to access online content outside of its geographically restricted area. The problem is, getting set up and finding a reliable, inexpensive service can be a bit complicated. UnoDNS tries to make accessing your favourite blocked content as painless to set up and maintain as possible. To do this, it uses your Domain Name System, or DNS — which is basically the online equivalent of a phone book or speed dial for URLs; the URL being like a person’s name and the actual IP address being the phone number. UnoDNS registers your IP address(es) in its system, and swaps out your DNS with its own. Basically, this allows the service to know when you are connected to it and trying to access sites or services that are covered by their channels, and then run your computer through its location spoofing proxy system. The end result is that the service you want to access thinks your are actually in the country you are allowed to use it in.

The genius here is that UnoDNS doesn’t affect sites that are not a part of its system. If you need to access a site that requires you to be in your local country or area, UnoDNS will not need to be deactivated for you to do so, or reactivated when you, say, want to listen to music on Pandora or Spotify, or watch your favourite US-access-only shows on Netflix or Hulu (or Britain-access-only shows on BBC iPlayer).

Still, this is a proxy, and the classic problems with proxies are speed and reliability. I’ve been testing UnoDNS for over a month now, and have had barely a hiccup. Load time is quick enough, and I have had only very rare occurrences of waiting for a stream to rebuffer — no more than when streaming without UnoDNS. UnoTelly guarantees that the service will be fast enough to do what you need it to — guarantees as in you get your money back, if it doesn’t. There’s also no bandwidth cap, or price adjustments for usage, which is a problem with most VPN services — especially if you like to stream movies in HD.

If you are worried about the security of using UnoDNS proxies, your worry should be minimal. It uses Comodo SSL, which is one of the more recognizable names in the online security business.

Setup

Setup varies depending on device, but if you are using UnoDNS on a PC it is only a matter of downloading and installing UnoHelper, and following the prompts. It will do all of the DNS changes for you, and even update your IP address when you take your laptop to different locations. I can listen to Spotify at work or watch US Netflix at my sister-in-law’s house just as well as I can at home, and without having to do anything other than turn on my computer. I’ve even managed to get it working at a few coffee shops and book stores, which are public wifi and unsupported by UnoDNS. If you need to, UnoHelper is easily deactivated, reverting your DNS back to its standard.

Setting up on mobile devices requires a tiny bit more work. It’s still fairly simple, however, and there are detailed instructions that walk you through it. UnoDNS provides you with the DNS information you need from a variety of servers (http://currentdns.unotelly.com) and shows you how to change the DNS on devices like iPhone, iPad, Android, XBOX 360, Nintendo Wii, PS3, etc. Basically, if you can find where to change your DNS settings, you can use the service — this includes doing it right on your router. If you only plan to use UnoDNS in your own home, you don’t need to install anything. Just change the DNS settings on your router and your entire house and every device in it is instantly connected to UnoDNS, all at the same time.

Issues

The only real issue I found is that some services, such as Spotify, require you to be in a specific location to download their software. Spotify is covered by UnoDNS, but when I tried it, the download server wasn’t. As a result, I had to turn on a VPN to download the Spotify software, but didn’t need the VPN once everything was installed and my account set up. A related issue is that some services require the use of an American credit card to even sign up to them, but you can always use something like Entropay to get a prepaid virtual US credit card number, and then you’re good to go.

For mobile devices, you may need to use a US and/or UK iTunes account or Google your way to the appropriate Android APK to install the apps you need.

The great thing, for the purposes of this review, is that none of these issues are directly related to the UnoDNS service. These are side effects of getting signed up to streaming services outside of their specified country. The UnoDNS service worked flawlessly for me, and I have no complaints whatsoever. I do wish that it worked on mobile internet, though – it isn’t directly supported, because mucking about with your provider’s DNS is not a fun idea.

Be aware of the terms of use of the streaming services you use! Some may have protected themselves by adding a clause requiring users to only access their service in a specific country, or forbidding access to their service via proxies or other means of location spoofing. They may never act on these clauses, but this gives them the ability to remove your account, whether you are a paying customer or not.

Conclusion

I would recommend UnoDNS to anyone willing to listen. It’s easy to set up — pretty much set it and forget it — and opens you up to all kinds of content without having to get your hands dirty. There are no bandwidth caps, so you can stream away until you start looking like a Smurf. Most importantly, it works — and it works well. It’s fast, there are no lag issues that I’ve come across, nor complaints that I’ve seen from others.

To top it off, the cost is near to nothing. In fact, if you were to purchase a Netflix subscription, as well as Hulu Plus, Spotify, BBC iPlayer, and maybe even one or two others — as well as UnoDNS Gold — you will still probably spend less than or close to what you pay for cable, and get more content that you are actually interested in. If you live in the US, you should check it out for travel, or just for the use of iPlayer. Those BBC shows are insane! Give it a shot!

UnoDns by UnoTelly

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40Tech is pleased to present a guest post from Amelia Hunter!

If you own an Android phone and love playing games on it, you’ve most likely already played all versions of Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja. Wanna try something new? Here are some fresh Android games released this year! They’re free, and we’re sure you’ll enjoy playing them.

1) Pocket Clothier

We’re all well aware of the type of management simulation games that Kairosoft produce and Pocket Clothier is the latest release. This game involves you running a clothing store, hiring employees, buying new stock and setting up displays. In fact, anything that is involved with running a clothing store is included here. Beware though; Pocket Clothier can take over your life.

2) Oscura

This game by MTV Networks in collaboration with The Chocolate Liberation Front is one of the slicks games in terms of visuals to appear on Android for some time. Evil creatures are taking over the strange land and it is your job to use your skills to restore the light – excellent 2D fun to be had for all.

3) Commander Pixman

Who doesn’t love a retro platform game? That’s right no one! Commander Pixman is as old-school as they come and involves the usual avoidance of traps and killing of enemies over a whopping 135 levels. One of many games recently released by Noodlcake Studios recently, but probably the best. You can play it on any phone of course, but for the best experience it would be great to try it on a new smartphone with high-end features.

4) Tapadoo

Brain exercise games are great fun for all the family and Tapadoo is one of these games. This puzzle games takes scribbles and turns them into puzzles that must be solved by you. These puzzles range from the very easy to the mind-boggling – a great game from Nevosoft.

5) Aqua Story

Fish can be great pets and they are even better when they are kept in a virtual tank on your smartphone. This game from Com2uS lets you raise different varieties of fish, playing with them and feeding them as you would in real-life. If you’re into your virtual pets, you will love this game. And the best thing is – it can run on almost any Android phone, even on those old ones.

Amelia Hunter is from Rightmobilephone.co.uk, which offers the best mobile phone deals in the UK. She’s interested in smartphones, tablets, apps and PC games, and she loves sports.

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• Should This Android Lover Switch Back to iOS?

If you hadn’t already heard, Google Chrome for iPhone and iPad was released this week — and it promptly became the #1 free app on the app store. This is something that we’ve been waiting for with baited breath, and something that I, personally, was never sure would happen properly due to the rivalry between Apple and Google.

Have no doubt, though, it’s here — and it takes the best of Google Chrome’s desktop browser and jams it neatly and prettily into your pocket.

One of the best features of Google Chrome for iOS is the integration of Chrome’s sync technology. If you have ever wanted the ability to open up any device — iPhone, iPad, Android, any computer that you’ve signed in to Google Chrome on — and pick up browsing from where you left off (again, on any of them), then you have reason enough to love Chrome for iOS app as the final piece in that puzzle.

It syncs your browsing history, open tabs, omnibar searches (yep, all that omnibar instant search power is in there, too), passwords, bookmarks, etc., etc., etc. Chrome was always great for being able to hop from computer to computer, but now you can hop from computer to computer to mobile and back again — and seamlessly, at that.

That’s just the tip of it, though. Google Chrome for iPhone and iPad is blazingly fast, has an intuitive interface, and comes with niceties like easy, swipe-based tab switching, tracking of recently closed and most-visited web pages, voice-based search capability (Google’s not Siri’s),  search within web pages, and the ability to request a switch to desktop mode for entire sites at the touch of a button.

Google Chrome for iOS also includes Incognito Mode, and allows you to have as many open tabs in the browser as you damned well please. Chrome for iPhone is beautifully designed and extremely intuitive, and Chrome for iPad is the closest thing to a desktop browser that you will find on any tablet.

As with anything, though, Chrome for iOS is not perfect. There is no read later functionality, which you may miss if you love it in Safari, and heartbreakingly, there is a fairly consistent lag issue. Don’t get me wrong… when it works, it’s stupidly fast — but there are times, especially on pages with Javascript, that you will be typing or touching a button and nothing will happen for a few seconds. This can be an extreme pain in the ass, and may even be a deal-breaker for some. There may not even be much Google can do about it, because it could be related to Apple not giving other browsers on iOS access to their Nitro Javascript engine.

If you can get past the occasional (if persistent) few seconds of waiting, though, Google Chrome for iPhone and iPad could be your go-to web browser replacement for mobile Safari (it’s certainly more stable than Safari for iPad). The possibilities excite me to no end. I’m thinking some version of Chrome extensions would be a logical next step! Either way, Chrome for iOS gives me yet another reason to jailbreak my iPhone and iPad: to cull Safari out of default browser status, once and for all.

Get Google Chrome for iOS (iOS 4.3+)

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The Springpad overhaul that dropped in April led to some strong reactions from a significant portion of its userbase — but don’t count them out! I have it on good authority that they are still experiencing significant growth, and are still working toward bringing you the smartest, most actionable notebook app around. Their latest venture? Facebook integration — don’t worry, haters, it’s optional! –  that allows you to turn the movies, TV shows, books, music, and places you “like” into searchable, organized notebooks. The information is then enhanced by services like Rotten Tomatoes, OpenTable, etc., and you can even showcase your favourites by sharing them back to your Facebook Timeline.

The new integration is a good move for Springpad (and much more focused than their last attempt at Facebook integration), as it makes an effort to enhance the experience of the social network juggernaut, as opposed to trying to compete against it. Twitter integration like this could be in the pipeline for Springpad, as well.

Springpad Facebook integration highlights:

• New users who sign-up for Springpad through Facebook can choose to have “likes” automatically imported and categorized into Springpad notebooks
• Springpad enhances “likes” with actionable information such as Rotten Tomatoes movie reviews and trailers, price comparisons, maps, product availability alerts, OpenTable reservation links, Foursquare tips and more
• Springpad users can choose to share notebooks or individual items to their Facebook timeline
• Posts to your Facebook timeline (either individual items or entire notebooks) are organized under the Springpad header
• Facebook likes are now discoverable and actionable
• Springpad is now available in the Facebook App Center

Currently, all items that you share back to your Facebook Timeline are public. This is in keeping with how Facebook does things, as well as with Springpad’s current “if you share it, it’s public” way of doing things. However, there is the possibility that options for selective sharing may come later, which I would like.

I would also love to see Springpad integrate with Facebook comments, to keep conversations surrounding the likes/notes streamlined — and some sort of automatic like/spring option for users of both platforms would be nice, too. For example, if I like something on someone else’s Facebook/Springpad timeline post, I would like it to spring on Springpad, or add it to my own notebook and my Facebook likes. Also, I would love it if things I add to my new Facebook-generated notebooks would appear as new likes on my Facebook timeline, as well. So far, this doesn’t seem to happen.

The new Springpad Facebook integration takes them one step further away from a standard notebook app, and forward in their evolution as an “inspirational life management” platform.

I like it. What do you think?

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I’ve found myself plenty busy lately. The new job, new baby, and newly four have been making it difficult to get sleep, let alone writing time. As a result, however, my obsession for to-do apps has flexed its brawn and muscled its way back to the forefront of my thoughts — especially after I accidentally discovered Any.DO.

Which is awesome!

Any.DO has been out on the Android platform for a while now, but came to my attention when it expanded its product line to include the iPhone. There’s a web app now, too, but it’s in closed beta at the moment. The Chrome extension works just fine though, and between it and my iOS devices, I’ve found myself some well-designed, beautiful, and oh-so-functional love.

Any.DO shines just about every which way. It’s got a clean, slick and very usable design (in white or black themes), it syncs tasks across devices via the cloud, it has the base functions every task manager needs (reminders, notes, folders/labels, filters), and it does such a good job of getting out of its own way that it is a joy to use.

That last bit there — the joy — is key. So many to-do apps end up never being used simply because they take too much effort to keep a good flow going. Any.DO makes it easy to get started by including Facebook registration and logon, and even has a cool video tutorial when you first open it up. Once you’re in, things like swiping tasks to complete or un-complete, drag and drop to organize, predictive text, and the ability to add tasks with your voice make you want to stick with it.

There are some other nice features as well, such as task sharing via email, Facebook, and Twitter, some contact list integration, and the ability to clear all completed tasks just by shaking your phone. There is also a calendar view when you turn your phone to landscape mode, and — for Android users, anyway — the ability to sync with Google Tasks. Google Tasks sync might come along for other versions, as well, and there has been some mention of adding sync for other services, as well, such as Remember the Milk, Springpad, Producteev, Outlook, etc., but no definitive word on when that might happen, if at all.

What Any.DO is missing, at the moment, are connections to Evernote and Google Calendar. Those two things could turn this little app into a powerhouse in its own right — though I have to say, it works pretty damned well all by its lonesome! And it doesn’t hurt that you get all of the awesome that you do get for the oh-so-sweet-and-convenient price of nada.

Give it a go. Try Any.DO on your Android device, in your Chrome browser, or on your iPhone (pay no attention to the reviews on the app store — I haven’t had any issue getting the app to work at all). If you like it, let us know — and don’t forget to sign up for the web app beta.

Any.DO

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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 time.

The one thing I find with Google Chrome, however, is that — like my computer and my mobile devices — I have a tendency to collect apps that seem useful, and then rarely use them. I tell myself that they might come in handy one day (and therefore should be kept), but that’s probably just an excuse — an excuse that got me wondering: do you have the same problem?

I organize my apps into different pages, and I’ve listed them below, only detailing the Quick Apps page, which are the ones I like to keep available and (in theory) use the most. I’ve uncluttered recently, but I still find that I barely use many of the apps within.

Evernote Web - I never open this. Well, very rarely. I use the desktop app or my mobile apps instead. I keep it, though, on the off-chance that I’ll load up Chrome OS or install Linux and sync my profile. Or something.

Springpad – I like Springpad and I do use this, as the app is strictly web-based at this time. I also enjoy some of the integration into the context menu, though I don’t actually use it that often.

Producteev - I use this one, too. Producteev has a desktop app, and that’s great, but it needs work. I also prefer to have my task manager in the browser, as I do most of my work while online, and the browser makes it quickly accessible.

Wunderlist - I love Wunderlist. It’s probably the sexiest task/list manager out there. I rarely use it, though, as my workflow is based around Producteev. Occasionally, I might use it to quickly make a pretty list that I want with me on my iPhone and iPad, but I have no real need for it. But it’s pretty!

Wunderkit - I know what you’re thinking… If I don’t use Wunderlist, what do I need the whole Wunderkit for? Short answer — I don’t, even though it’s awesome. But I keep thinking I might employ it as an alternative for Producteev or something. That will likely never happen, though — and shouldn’t I put it in my App testing folder, instead? Yeah, you’re probably right. And yet…

Mint - Now this, I use. I don’t use it enough or to its full potential, but I do use it. Mint is an awesome money managing app, and it has been working up in Canada for a while now. I’m not letting this one go.

Timer - This is a simple button that fires the Timer site/app (formerly TimerTab, which we covered here) — which allows you oddly enough, to time stuff. You can even set a YouTube video as an alarm. I chose Spill the Wine by Eric Burdon and War.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Gmail | Offline Google Mail - I live in Gmail, so this is a no brainer. I set it to open in its own window and roll out. I don’t usually use Offline Google Mail, and I think it may be totally useless now that Google is doing better offline mail within the regular Gmail app, but I haven’t tossed it yet. Just in case…

Google Calendar - There are a number of ways I can get at Google Calendar, but I use this when I want it to easily open in its own window. Which is a rare thing… but I do still use it.

Google Docs - This is my web portal to Google Drive – which is an awesome 5GB of free storage space with a 10GB file size limit, plus more — and it could be an Evernote alternative in its own right.

TweetDeck | Hootsuite - I have no idea why I keep these here. I find that I manage multiple Twitter accounts more effectively on my phone, or by using LastPass to sign in to the account I choose. For work accounts, I have a whole other browser profile that I tend to use, so there is never any real conflict. If I consolidate, though, one of them could be useful, I suppose. Who needs to have so much social information thrown at you at one time, though? Keep it simple and lower your stress level, says I.

Box | Dropbox - I use both of these, but if the two, Box is the only one I ever open, because it is a web-only interface. I use my OS for Dropbox. I keep it there for the Google OS potential, though. I used to have SugarSync there, as well, but that app seems to have disappeared for the Chrome Web Store.

My other pages are separated by Design, Fun Stuff, and App Testing.

In Design I have several Aviary image editing and creation apps, Picnik, and Audiotool. Again, I think I keep these for when I’m on a computer that isn’t Adobe-friendly, as I never use them otherwise. Design also has Zootool (a visual bookmarking app I never use), jsFiddle (code-testing sandbox that I rarely use), Pinterest (more for my wife, than me – and why under design…?), Summify, and Revisu (helps with design iterations when using Google Drive).

Fun Stuff (which is woefully bare, unfortunately) has Kid Mode for Chrome, which is the Zoodles app for my daughter. Zoodles is awesome, but the app hasn’t worked properly in Chrome for a while, leading me to use Firefox for this particular function. This page also has YouTube (which I mostly get to via search), Full Screen Weather (which I usually check on my phone), Graphicly Comics (which I never use), and Planetarium (used rarely). Netflix used to be here, but it is nowhere to be found on the Web Store now.

App Testing tends to change, by its nature, but there are a few things in there that are persistent for some reason. I’ve left Jolicloud in there, as well as Memonic, and SlideRocket (which is cool, but I don’t generally use due to the pricing). I’ve also got HelloFax in there (it works with Google Drive and I use it sometimes, but had nowhere else to put it), Summify (it will stop working eventually, as it’s been bought by Twitter, but I keep it here in the meantime) and Thinkery (possible Evernote alternative I need to get around to testing more). This is also where I keep the Web Store link.

So there you have it. Even after going through every app in my Chrome set up, I still don’t know what ones to get rid of, but I only use about a third of what I have with any regularity. It’s a conundrum, I tell you!

How about you? Do you have any Chrome apps that you keep around, but never use? What are the apps that you do use, and couldn’t live without?

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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.

First: What is Google Drive?

Google Drive is the latest cloud drive offering to hit the web jungle. It came out just this past week and has already been cited as a direct threat to Dropbox, Skydrive, Box, and all the rest. On the flip-side, it’s also received the standard Ahhhhh, Their Stealing My Private Information!!!!! treatment by the web media, as well — in this case, somewhat unfairly (more below).

Google Drive Features

Once you start using drive, you can say goodbye to the docs.google.com url. Your docs shall forever become a part of Google Drive. You’ll still be able to revert to the old Google Docs interface, for a limited time, but the default new dashboard is where you will start, and eventually end up.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s the feature-set, in a nutshell:

Storage is low cost and in abundance. And it can take crazy large files, and allows you to view files most other services don’t. Sync with your computers and mobile devices (iOS coming soon) in the same manner as Dropbox.

• 5GB of free storage space — and Gmail goes up to 10GB
• Additional space starting at $2.49/month for 25GB, $4.99 for 100GB — all the way up to 16TB (these also up your Gmail to 25GB)
• Google Docs don’t count against your storage
• 10GB filesize limit per file
• Upload up to 30 types of files –this includes Photoshop, Illustrator, movies, photos and more, as well as viewing of those files (graphic designers, rejoice! — and yes, this means movie and music playback, too)
• Add and manage files from your desktop environment
• Google Docs files (.gdoc, .gsheet, etc.) are actually shortcuts to their respective web editors, so don’t take up additional hard drive space on your PC
• Offline viewing (offline editing is in the works, too)

Sharing, sharing, sharing! Collaborate! Individual files, folders, or your entire Drive…

• Add a person, go public, or share a link — you can even give people without Google accounts editing capability
• Send Drive links in Gmail to make sure everyone always has the updated version — no attachment worries
• Or send Drive files as attachments, or even in the body of the email (classic Google Docs features)
• Share photos and videos right from Google+
• Easily view and manage files and folder shared with you
• Collaborate on any type of file — comment and chat on any of your files, in real time
• 30 days of revision history

Search — including including OCR and Google Goggles

• Filter by keyword, file type, file owner, and more
• Search text in scanned documents
• Find a photo using the search bar — Goggles can recognise objects in your images

Third-party apps. There are already several available on the Chrome Web Store, many of them free or freemium services. These apps will plug right in to your Google Drive allowing you to do all kinds of fun things. Some examples:

• HelloFax lets you send free faxes right from Google Drive — it also has signature signing capability, as do a couple of other Google Drive apps like DocuSign
• Pixlr and Aviary for Google Drive let you edit uploaded photos
• SlideRocket can be set up to be your default presentation app
• Revisu lets you share designs for feedback and track version history
• Lots more available and lots more coming via Google Drive > Settings > Manage apps > Get more apps

Any of you starting to see why I couldn’t help but compare it to Evernote? More on that, below.

What About My Privacy?

Google Drive’s privacy policy and terms of use came under fire almost the moment it launched. I have this picture in my mind of writers hearing about the launch and rubbing their hands together with glee as they consider all the readers they will be able to draw in with negative Google headlines. Don’t get me wrong, I still think Google may be the sweet face of Evil, and many of the concerns were and are valid — they’re just out of context.

Google’s Terms of Service states:

“You retain ownership of any intellectual property rights that you hold in that content. In short, what belongs to you stays yours.”

This is a good thing. But here’s where the confusion comes in:

“…you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content. The rights you grant in this license are for the limited purpose of operating, promoting, and improving our Services, and to develop new ones.”

At first glance, this is freaky — but the reality is that this is used so that Google can integrate Drive with its other services — for you, of course — and to provide the other functions of the service, such as OCR and image recognition. Of course, this also means they can use the content to better provide you with more accurate advertising, but this is something they do with their services already.

Bear in mind that they can also be compelled to give up your information to government bodies or law enforcement agencies if required to by law. This is a standard thing that applies to every online service that houses its servers in the United States.

All of these things can be found in similar fashion in the Dropbox terms of service — and even the Evernote terms of service, though some may find Google to be a bit more ambiguous. Personally, I find the Amazon Cloud Drive terms of service much more frightening.

What does this all mean? Only this: Google’s scary privacy points are, in this instance, not so different than any other online drive’s terms of service. Does this mean there aren’t potentially frightening possibilities; that it’s all really candy and roses? No. Not unless you consider that the candy and roses could be laced with Rohypnol, that is. But these privacy issues are simply the risk you take when you put your files and personal information online. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be concerned, just that you need to make the same decision, no matter what cloud service you use.

Next: Google Docs vs Evernote

NOTE: You can create desktop shortcuts to open new Google Docs files, and then add custom hotkeys to those shortcuts to easily open new “notes”. The same urls used for the shortcuts can be used to create a dropdown in your browser’s bookmarks bar, although one bookmark, loaded in the browser sidebar is a great option for Firefox. The URLs you need are in this Google Document: http://bit.ly/IIiHAo. I’ve also added the shortcuts I decided to use, while testing. If there’s interest, I’ll do a full how-to on this.

NOTE: You can also add Google Drive to the Windows Send To context menu by typing %APPDATA%/Microsoft/Windows/SendTo to a Windows Explorer window – press enter. Then open another Explorer window, create a shortcut of your Google Drive, then drag it to the Send To folder you just opened. Now, when you right click on a file, you will be able to send it right to your Google Drive (this is based on the Windows 7 OS and also works for Skydrive and Dropbox).

Where Google Drive Wins

Google Drive allows you access to a full office suite, from full document and spreadsheet creation to presentations. It will also allow you to handle files more easily, as well as have real-time, collaborative conversations within the files/notes themselves. For people who want to have a powerful suite that they can leverage in nearly the same way as Evernote, then Google Drive could be a very good option. The same goes for people who don’t like the new Springpad, but find that Evernote just isn’t enough for them.

Where Google Drive Lacks

The lack of speedy clipping is an issue for me. This can be overcome with some simple copy and paste, or with extensions like Send to Google Docs (turns a whole web page into a PDF and sends it to Google Docs), and will likely no longer be an issue once some enterprising person or business creates an app for just that, but for the moment it is a bit of an annoyance. Not a deal breaker, though.

The other thing is that it is just not as straightforward as Evernote. The workarounds I put together make it easier to get going, but I find that the keyboard shortcuts I created sometimes fail until I remake them in the shortcut’s properties. And as I’ve mentioned in posts before, Evernote is really good at the simple things it does: taking and organizing notes. Once you add all the extra power and options of Google Drive, then you run into the potential of it becoming unwieldy, unless you manage it really well.

So there it is, my curiosity and thought process laid out before you. Your turn now! I want to know what you think – feasibility, practicality of application, pure ridiculousness, et al. Let’s chat about it and see what we can come up with as a group!

Here are some related posts that might interest you:

• 2 Reasons Why I Won’t Be Trying Google’s Evernote and Springpad Competitor
• How Many Google Services Do You Use? Which Ones Have You Abandoned?
• Google’s Cloud Connect Syncs MS Office with Google Docs
• Forget Dropbox – Use This Notepad Clone To Sync Text Files to Google Docs Instead
• Roll Your Own RSS Service With Fever

Read It Later has been one of the most popular tools of its ilk for years now, starting way back in the dark ages of 2007. Along the way, it’s found itself up against some stiff competition with apps like Instapaper, Readability and, more recently, Evernote’s Clearly, but has remained a fan favourite with over 300 connected apps and services. It’s possible that the competition was getting a bit stiff, however, because Wednesday brought about a major change: a complete re-do of the look and feel of all apps, along with a total rebrand.

Meet Pocket, Read It Later fans.

There must be something in the air or water — or maybe it’s was Big Update Month or something. Facebook pushed all of its Pages over to the new timeline feature, confusing many a marketing guru and causing some frantic thinking as to how to force people to keep liking their pages; Google continued its Google+ focused design rollout, changing the design and navigation of their social network into something more icon-driven; and Springpad dropped a bomb of a new design on its (mostly) unsuspecting userbase.

The main difference with the new Read It Later is that, while the other services have been met with responses that vary from meh to ARRRRRRGH!!!!, from what I’ve read, Pocket has been received with almost universal positivity. This is not without reason, however, as everything about Pocket is an improvement.

Look and Feel

The new look and feel is easier to navigate, and visually appealing. It kind of reminds me of the new Springpad, in some ways — but don’t worry, new Springpad haters, the icon view isn’t too huge for the design, and the list view is still there, if you don’t like it. The colors are nice, the new branding is pretty and simple, and the icons in the mobile versions are pretty much self-explanatory. It also helps that, while some views are obviously going to be different depending on the device you’re on (no grid view for iPhone for example), the interface is consistent throughout. The end result is that it is a lot easier to find your way to and through the content you’ve saved, as well as to mange it (read, unread, tags, delete).

Functionality

Pocket did the smart thing and didn’t remove functionality it’s users we’re used to. Instead, they added features that make the service even more useful! Pocket gets that the web is more than just words and that you want to bookmark more than just articles for later viewing. Now you can bookmark and view images and videos from all over the web right in your Pocket apps. On your computer or iPad, you the video pops up in an overlay, and on the iPhone, they open in the native video player — and in all services, you can launch them right from the little play button that appears on thy our bookmark’s thumbnail.

Info: Videos need an active internet connection, but articles and images still download for offline viewing.

Note: If you had a favourite app, extension, or bookmarklet for Read It Later, they should all still work with Pocket. You can also send to Pocket by email, and they’ve redesigned the official Google Chrome extension to get things into your list with a single click.

Pocket has some quick filters to aid in navigation (All Items, Articles Videos, and Images), as well as Home, Favorites, and Archives in the main menu. You can also use the search functionality, or navigate by tags, if you like.

You can still toggle between the pretty read view and the native web view for an article, and it’s now a lot easier to change the look of an article. There are only two fonts to choose from (FF Yoga for serif, and Proxima Nova for sans serif), but getting to that change, as well as changing the font size, screen brightness, or from and to night reading mode now takes no more than the touch of an obvious button. No more double-tapping on your mobile screen or any other such nonsense. The menu bar is always on and doesn’t get in the way of the reading experience.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Sharing content from Pocket is easier than ever, as well. Just hit the little share arrow-button that has become the universal app symbol to pass it on, and touch to share on Twitter, Facebook, or send to Evernote. Not enough? Hit the more button and you can copy the entire article in a single click, email the link or the entire article, open it in Safari, or send it to a multitude of services (Box.com, Buffer, Google Reader, Diigo, Delicious, Pinboard, StumbleUpon, Tumblr, and all of the major social networks). Still not enough? Scroll a bit lower on iOS and you can send it on to EchoFon,Twitter for iPhone, Twittelator Pro, and even Omnifocus and Things.

That last — Omnifocus and Things — as well as the email capability, can make the things you save into actionable tasks, which is handy. And, as a nice little add on, the share services that you used most recently are the ones that will show up before the More button the next time you open it.

Downsides?

No app is perfect, and Pocket still has a few things it needs to be the best Read It Later type app out there. For one, it needs Google+ sharing and +1 capability. That was a glaring omission from the share list — though it may not be entirely their fault, as the Google+ API is still being extended. It would also be great if Pocket had the time of day activated night mode that Instapaper has, as well Instapaper’s ability to dim images as well as text. Oh — and the ability to apply night mode to the entire app would be peachy, as well. It would save more than a few eyes when users switch from an article back to the interface when reading in the dark.

Finally, I wish Pocket had some sort of reminder feature that could be applied to articles. One of the reasons I stopped using the original Read It Later — even though I loved the idea — was that the things I saved in it would never get read. They would get clipped with the bookmarklet, apps, or the Chrome extension (the new one makes this even easier), and then I would never look at them again. I actually started using Springpad to clip my articles for exactly this reason. Yes, I can send an article to my task manager to take action on, later, but only after I’ve read it — and when you see a lot of shiny things on the web or in your reader apps, your reading list can get intimidating, fast. So, yeah… Pocket, do me a solid and add a reminder function, eh?

What do you guys think of Pocket as the new Read It Later? Success? Fail? Does it trump Instapaper for you?

Get Pocket

Here are some related posts that might interest you:

• Bye Bye Instapaper, iReader, Readability… Hello Clearly, From Evernote
• 5 Tools to Keep You Synchronized Everywhere

It used to be that the biggest comparison Springpad had to contend with was “is it better than Evernote?“ Not anymore. With the newly realized vision of Springpad 3.0, the powerful and flexible digital notebook service now finds itself facing off against the hottest web service du jour: Pinterest.

The folks at Springpad have taken something their software has always been able to do — namely, the ability to collect, organize, and share stuff you find online — prettified it and opened up the social pipelines in a big way. It’s easier to explore for new and interesting content. It’s easier to connect with people who have similar interests. But it’s also easier do something that neither Evernote nor Pinterest can provide without help: make the things that you save actionable.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Jack of All Trades vs Focused Expertise

The greatest strength of Springpad is the same thing that has held it back over the years: there’s just so much — maybe too much — that you can do with it. Evernote and Pinterest, no matter how you use them or how many other services integrate them, each really do just one thing.

• Evernote makes it easy to take notes and to search for and find them later.
• Pinterest does visual bookmarking. End of story.

They don’t sound all that glamorous when you boil them down to their base elements, but they don’t need to. Each service does its one thing extremely well — better than everyone else, in fact. There’s power in that. Simplicity engenders trust, niche marketing, yadda yadda.

Springpad, on the other hand, can do all of the following (and more):

• Take notes and make it easy to find them
• Visual bookmarking (socially-focused now, just like Pinterest)
• Personal shopping assistant (finds deals for you and such)
• Task management (including reminders and integration with Google Calendar)
• Collaborative planning (including corkboard-style planning for the visually inclined)
• Etc, etc, etc

To top it off, there are several tools in Springpad that make it easy to classify and organize the various types of information you might want to collect — everything from recipes, to bookmarks, to wine and product wish lists, tasks, notes, files, and more. You can do all of these things quickly and easily from almost any smartphone or computer. They even help you to find new things that you’re interested in, use HTML 5 to give you offline access, and allow you to work with multiple people on private or public notebooks — and they do it all for free!

With all of that — and for free — Springpad should be at the top of the heap, right? Unfortunately, the reality is that their quest to become the ultimate digital notebook — which I believe they are, all things considered — creates a product that some may find intimidating. The immediate impression is that there is too much to learn, and not enough time to invest in it.

But Wait! Springpad Might Have Found the Secret Sauce…

Thankfully, the new, more visual design of Springpad 3.0 takes a lot of that intimidation factor away. The new design introduces a sort of visual simplicity that is easy on the eyes, and makes you want to click through and explore. You can even explore the public notebooks without having your own Springpad account, searching through different interest categories to find everything from great design and gift ideas to awesome places to eat in the city of Boston (or wherever).

If you’re looking for a definitive guide to Springpad, regular 40Tech commenter Daniel Gold has just released his second eBook, Springpad: Smarter Notebooks, Smarter Sharing, A Smarter Way to Get Things Done [affiliate link]. It’s 80+ pages of Springpad ins and outs for just $5.

In these different notebooks, you can find images, videos, commentary, and more — and if you get an account of your own you can “Spring” your favourites into your own public or private notebooks, add alerts for price drops, add a task or reminder to make sure you remember to look at it again, and so much more. As I said, the information becomes more than just a note or a bookmark, it becomes something you can act upon, in an ecosystem that facilitates forward movement instead of a vague list of interests or a virtual filing cabinet you may never open again.

Springpad shouldn’t be compared to Evernote or Pinterest. Not directly, anyway. It’s become an entity of its own, a place where users are interacting with trusted sources,  free to save and act on the things that matter most to them. Springpad 3.0 is a platform that can be easily adopted to suit your needs, be they a simple notebook, a place to find ideas, or a GTD task manager. It can even stand alongside of Evernote or Pinterest, should you want it to.

Go check it out. See what you think. We’d love to hear about it!

Here are some related posts that might interest you:

• 2 Reasons Why I Won’t Be Trying Google’s Evernote and Springpad Competitor
• Springpad Clipper for iOS and an Evernote eBook
• Memonic: A (Not So) Quiet Rival to Evernote and Springpad [App of the Week]
• The Top Five Web Apps I Use the Most — What Are Yours?
• Springpad Beats Evernote – At Least on Android

We have come one step closer to Nerdvana. Felicia Day — creator of the incredibly funny and successful web-series about gamers, The Guild — has rolled her success and her understanding of the web and television mediums into a brand new online TV channel just for you and me called Geek & Sundry.

I can’t begin to describe what level of awesome this reaches. Geek & Sundry is, essentially, a niche-focused, online television channel that contains all original, independent programming. FGBG — for geeks, by geeks. But these are geeks with an understanding of what makes a TV series work, not to mention how to extend their brand into as many mediums as possible (comics, games, books, music, merchandise, etc., etc., etc.), and create a cultural movement around their passions and products.

Felicia Day has seen the future of TV — and she is not alone. Some of the greatest cultural icons in geekdom are playing too. Wil Wheaton — the ultimate geek celebrity – has his own show on the network (see below), and guest appearances on The Guild run the gambit from Nathan Fillion to Neil Gaiman. Let’s not forget that Felicia is chummy with the Whedon clan, as well – which never hurts when you are into creating a fan-base that is both loyal and passionate. Geek & Sundry promises to be a regular go-to for geeks of all ages and around the world.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Guild will be on Geek & Sundry, of course — and if you haven’t watched it and you like giggles, you should get on that — as will six new shows:

The Flog is Felicia Day’s weekly video blog. In the first episode, she talks about many a thing that interests her — and endeavours to become a blacksmith. Or maybe just steal his hammer — you decide.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Wil Wheaton has a show called Table Top, wherein celebrities do not play poker — they play geeky table top games of yore (and possibly now). The first episode has some prominent online personalities and a Mythbuster in a battle for world domination. Fantasy world domination, that is: Small World.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Swords & Laser podcast will also be bringing its sci-fi/fantasy book-clubbiness to Geek & Sundry, along with Dark Horse Motion Comics, Paul & Storm’s Learning Town, and Written By A Kid, which will feature sci-fi/fantasy/horror stories written by 5-10 year old children brought to life as short films by some cool director-types. Good, quirky fun, that!

Geek & Sundry lives on YouTube, so it’s easy to subscribe to what you like and share it with your friends, family, and the world at large. Doo eeeet!!!

Rock Anthem for Nerds

As a parting gift, I leave you with this awesome rock anthem featuring the cast of The Guild — I’m The One That’s Cool, directed by Jed Whedon. Down with asshats! Up with geeks!

Word.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here are some related posts that might interest you:

• First Netflix Original Series, Lilyhammer: Fun and Worth a Look
• Crazy Things That Happen Every 60 Seconds On The Web
• Netflix, Starz Battle Ends with Netflix Down Disney and Sony Content on February 28, 2012
• BitCoin Digital Currency: Financial Revolution or Doomed to Fail?
• Relive Your Childhood With YouTube Time Machine