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How To Record Calls On A Mac

By
Henry McIntosh
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It’s incredibly useful to be able to remember the content of your phone calls. But sometimes, with the frenetic pace of communications, some things just get forgotten.

Whether it’s an important date you should have written down, a particularly important call with a client or as simple forgetting what you were told was needed from the shop, recording phone calls is an extremely useful way to stay on top of things.

Thanks to eccam’s Call Recorder for Facetime you can record calls on your Mac. The service costs $29.95 and for that you receive lifetime updates and support.

There’s also a free, seven day trial available. So if you’re unsure whether or not it will be something you use regularly try it out.

But I imagine once you start to use it you’ll find it immeasurably useful.

From the first time it helps you remember something important from a prior conversation you will probably never want to be without it again.

From the name, you might determine that this service only works for Facetime but it does allow you to record telephone calls too. Here’s how to set it up:

  • Open browser -> Download Call Recorder for Facetime -> Choose between free trial or full version -> Click ‘Run’ on the Call Recorder Installer -> Once finished open Facetime

Once setup, you will probably want to configure the Call Recorder for Facetime settings. In settings you can set different parameters for the app to follow, such as: whether to create separate tracks for each person, where to save your recordings and whether or not to record calls automatically.

In regard to the last point, it’s worth mentioning that before the legality of recording calls varies from country to country and even from state to state- so do your research and be careful.

Now your setup and ready to go. Send or receive a Facetime audio/phone call from your Mac to test out your new software.

If you’ve selected to automatically record every call you can sit back and let the app do the work. But if not, you need to press the red button in the Call Recorder window to begin recording the conversation.

When the call ends so does the recording.

When you need to refer to prior calls, you will find them saved in your Documents under the aptly named Saved Calls folder – to change this location go to Call Recorder for Facetime’s Settings.

There you have it- how to record calls on a Mac. Use it wisely…

Setting Up ‘Reading Lists’ In Safari For iPhone and iPad

By
admin
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0

We’ve all been guilty of procrastinating when we should have been working, studying or doing anything remotely more productive.

Normally, the cause of this procrastination is online sources.

Whether it’s an article or video that’s got you surfing through links at a rate of knots, there is a way to help keep yourself productive as you browse on your iPhone, iPad or Mac.

Known as the ‘Reading List’ this in-built Safari functionality allows you to bookmark articles your about to spend fifteen minutes browsing, bookmark them and then return to them later when you’re actually free; not just procrastinating.

The best part? The Reading List will sync itself to iCloud so you can catch up on your bookmarked articles from whichever device suits you.

Whether it’s reading a particularly engaging article via your iPhone during the morning commute or using your iPad to find that delicious looking recipe you spotted whilst at work, the Reading List feature will help you stay productive. Here’s how to access and use it:

How to Access the ‘Reading List’

  • Open Safari –> Click on the Bookmarks icon –> Click this icon –> Welcome to your Reading List –> Click the article you would like to read and procrastinate away!

But there’s not much point accessing your Reading List before there’s anything to read within it. So here’s how to add articles to your Reading List:

How to Add Articles

  • Open Safari –> Browse for the article you wish to add –> Click on the ‘Share’ Button –> Click ‘Add to Reading List’–> Try to get back to work without actually reading it

Hopefully, the Reading List will help you stay productive when you need to and save you time searching for that article you were ‘meant to read later’ during your downtime.

 

HTC One M8 vs iPhone 5s Camera: Smartphone Camera Showdown!

By
Kelly Hodgkins
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The iPhone 5s and the HTC One M8 are among the most affordable smartphones on the market with prices as low as $1 with a two-year contract. For shutterbugs on a budget, these two models offer some of the best lens and camera values in a mobile device. Read on to find out how these two smartphones compare in the picture-taking department.

Specifications

The iPhone 5s and the One M8 take vastly different approaches to camera technology. Though both cameras utilize a back-illuminated sensor to help with low-light photos, the iPhone 5s employs a single 8-megapixel iSight camera with a 5-element lens, a 1.5µ pixels sensor and an aperture of f/2.2. The One M8 attempts to improve its photo-taking ability by utilizing not one, but two rear cameras — a 4-megapixel primary lens along with a secondary lens designed to gather depth information. The main camera module in the One M8 sports a 4 megapixel (1520 × 2688) UltraPixel sensor with 2.0µ pixels and an f/2.0 aperture.

Performance

Given the hardware in each camera, it’s not surprising that reviews show that the One M8 performs well at low-light photography but struggles in bright light thanks to its larger 2.0µ pixels sensor and higher f/2.0 aperture. The One M8 also shows excellent white balance, more accurately capturing the whites of a photo than the iPhone 5s, which tends to shoot with a yellowish tinge.

One area that One M8 stands out from the iPhone 5s is depth of field. Because of its dual camera, the One M8 produces photos with a pleasing bokeh effect that highlights the subject of the picture and blurs out the background. The One M8 employs Ufocus, a proprietary technology that allows you to change the focus of a photo and other helpful settings for achieving a shallow depth of field. In comparison, the iPhone lacks this secondary depth lens and is unable to produce photos with a strong bokeh effect.

The iPhone 5s performed strongly in bright light with a sensor and software combination that captures a scene without blowing out the whites. In motion shots, the iPhone 5s edges out the M8, capturing the action with minimal blur and adequate lighting. The iPhone also handles flash photography quite well — most sample photos have adequate and not overblown lighting and capture natural skin tones and hues. Consistency also was the hallmark of the iPhone with the camera performing repeatedly well in most situations.

Summary

If you are looking for excellent depth perception in a camera, you can’t go wrong with the One M8. It is an adequate smartphone camera that is great for capturing photos with a shallow depth of field. The iPhone 5s is the stronger choice for most consumers. It may struggle sometimes with white balance, but it excels at everyday photography, producing pleasing photos in most situations.

How To Change The Camera On An Android Phone

By
Henry McIntosh
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0

There’s a lot to love about Android and one area that the operating system truly excels in is the level of customization it affords users.

Simple things, such as the ability to change the keyboard and Home Screen Launcher on your Android device, gives users the ability to imbue their phones with personality.

As we mentioned in How to change your iOS 8 Keyboard it took Apple a good few years to catch up with Google in regard to this.

For users who enjoy this sort of personalisation of their phones- who doesn’t- the ability to change and play with your camera is an even better innovation than the keyboard.

Sure you use the keyboard more, but from the beginner ‘Instagram’ photographer who likes to mess with filters and effects to the more professional, serious photographers out there, the ability to change your camera is a seriously fun touch.

It’s also a rather simple process to implement; so don’t worry if you don’t like your new camera you only need to uninstall it to go back to using the original one.

So here’s how to change the camera on your Android phone:

  • Open Play Store -> Search ‘Camera’ -> Install whichever camera it is you want to use -> Once installed simple click the app to use your new camera

If you would like to make the new camera your default camera:

  • Settings -> Apps Menu -> All Apps -> Camera -> Clear Default -> Select Default -> Click on the app you want to default and press always

If you don’t wish to make the new camera your default choice, simply open it through the app on the home screen instead of following the steps above.

Now you’re all set to go with your new camera, so get out there and take some snaps worthy of the pros!

 

 

 

 

iPad Mini Smart Cover Review

By
Henry McIntosh
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The original iPad Smart Cover was a triumphant thing.

The sheer joy of being able to neatly stand the iPad made it an essential accessory for anyone looking to use the device for entertainment purposes.

Quite frankly, it actually enhanced the iPad as a tablet itself.

The iPad Mini doesn’t quite rank as well as its predecessor.

Unfortunately, in a bid to upgrade and build on the original iPad Smart Cover Apple have implemented some baffling changes.

The phrase ‘if it’s not broke, don’t try to fix it’ comes to mind here, because why change something when the original was so well-received?

It’s not all doom and gloom though.

In keeping with the original, the Mini Smart Cover utilises magnets built into the iPad itself.

As you face the iPad- the left-sided magnets act as a hinge while the right side locks the cover, which once opened automatically activates the iPad.

The inner lining affords the same protective micro-fibre cloth the original boasted and in terms of your choices in regard to colour not much has changed with: dark gray, light gray, red, blue, green and pink all available.

One change I did appreciate from the original is how the iPad Mini Smart Cover’s hinges are completely covered by fabric. The original had exposed metal which was liable to scratch the device, so this is a definite improvement.

So far so good.

Until you realise that the iPad Mini Smart Cover is only available in Polyurethane and not leather; a slight but not overwhelming disappointment.

The same cannot be said for Apple’s next change.

Externally, Apple have decided to use three folding sections instead of the original four.

You can still create a triangle to stand the iPad up with and it can still be used as an inclined typing surface; interestingly this change doesn’t seem to change the level of support given.

What it does mean is that when you want to neatly fold the iPad Mini Smart Cover behind the device to use it you’re left with an overhanging bit of cover. It doesn’t actually fold behind the device like the original.

This is obviously quite a major design flaw and I’m unsure what purpose this overhanging piece serves.

Moreover, the cover doesn’t stay as close or tight to the screen as its predecessor. Which is obviously a worry if you want to transport the device anywhere.

If you think about it. This is a cover that doesn’t actually cover the device properly and I have a feeling that many iPad Mini users will feel aggrieved by the disparity between this smart cover and the original.

Either way, I have a feeling Apple will take more inspiration from their original smart cover than the mini version when designing their next edition.

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