Everything coming to Netflix in April – with trailers

April 1

Gremlins

Schindler’s List

Richard Pryor – Live &Smokin’

Tropic Thunder

April 4

Louis C.K. 2017

Chewing Gum – Season 2

April 6

BFG

April 7

Dawn of the Croods – Season 3

The Get Down – Part Two

Win it All

April 8

Kubo and the Two Strings

April 10

Documentary Now! – Season 2

April 11

Kevin Hart – What Now?

April 12

DC’s Legends of Tomorrow – Season 2

April 14

Sandy Wexler

Chelsea – back for season 2

Mystery Science Theater 3000 – The Return

April 15

Homeward Bound – The Incredible Journey

April 21

The Prestige

The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show – Season 4

Girlboss – Season 1

Bill Nye Saves the World – Season 21

Tramps

Sand Castle

April 22

The Great British Baking Show – Masterclass Season 1-3

The Secret Life of Pets

April 25

Disney’s Queen of Katwe

April 27

Las Chicas Del Cable – Season 1

April 28

Casting Jonbenet

Dear White People – Season 1

Small Crimes

 

Setting Windows active hours – so your computer doesn’t reboot while you are working (or gaming)

Windows updates can be annoying if they try to reboot your computer in the middle of work or gaming.  Take a minuet to set the active hours for your computer so that updates happen at an appropriate time.

How to set up active hours:

• Select the Start button
• Select Settings (or use Windows key + I)
• Update & security
• Select “Change active hours.”

Choose the start time and end time, then click Save.

Chrome OS – The most popular Linux distro in the USA?

 

Among fans of the Linux operating system, a common topic of discussion is “the year of the Linux desktop.” Fans keep waiting for their operating system to make a big push in popularity and become a main contender for home computing and each year the user base grows but only by small amounts. I think the fuse has finally been lit but not by traditional Linux companies like Ubuntu, SuSE and Redhat, but by Google via Chrome OS.

 

Chrome OS is Linux

At its core, Chrome OS is Linux. It runs the same kernel as every other Linux Distribution.  The difference is the UI. Most other distros use KDE, Gnome, or a lightweight variant but Google decided to go a different direction and developed a UI of their own, one that they could control and evolve. When Google started with this, they designed it as a very basic interface, acting only as a browser. Since conception, it has grown into something that is now starting to be able to compete with the likes of Windows and Mac.

Application support

Android apps are just the beginning. By introducing them into Chrome OS, it starts the transition process from web OS to desktop OS.  By adding the Play Store, chrome OS gets access to millions of apps and gives it a base to grow from.  Google will need to incentivise top app developers to make more robust apps designed specifically for the more powerful OS.  To bridge the gap between until more robust applications are released, Google may find it works in their best interest to work with a company called Codeweavers who currently makes Crossover Office for Linux and Mac, allowing both to install Windows based programs natively.

Gaming

Basic gaming will start with Android’s vast array of games, ranging from very basic apps to popular console games of days past.  The next step will be to encourage modern games to make the jump.  This might be easier to do than one might think.  Even though Traditional Linux distros have 1.45% of the market, many game developers release their newest games simultaneously for Windows and Linux.  This is mainly due to the support of Steam, providing an easy way to install games across multiple OSes.  Chrome OS has over double the user base of other Linux distros, but at this point doesn’t have any console style games. It might be harder to do this for Chrome OS due to the hefty requirements of many games because the majority of Chromebooks use Celeron processors and would not be able to run most, if not all, modern games.  However, this trend is changing. More high end Chromebooks have been popping up with higher end processors. Machines like the  Samsung Chromebook Pro and the Asus Chromebook C302CA both use Intel’s M3 processor.

Wrapping up

Chrome OS could be the desktop to bring to pass “the year of the Linux desktop” and directly take on Microsoft for dominance of computing, but many changes will have to be made to make this possible. Development of robust applications and console grade games will be the next essential step in the further adoption of Chrome OS.

 

You can now send money through Gmail, fee free – Google Wallet integration

Gmail now has Google wallet integration.  If you link your debit card or bank account, there is no fee for sending money.

Here is how to set it up:

1. Open Gmail.
2. Click the Compose button.
3. Enter the email address of the person you want to send money to.
4. Add a subject and message text (optional).
5. Click the $ icon (£ for UK users).
6. If you don’t have Google Wallet yet, you’ll be asked to set up your account.
7. To send money: Enter the amount you want to send and choose a funding source.
8. To request money: Click Request at the top of the box, and enter the amount you’d like to request.
9. Click Attach.
10. Review your message and click Send.

source – Google

Android is close to passing Windows for internet dominance

In February of this year, Android came close to Windows for internet traffic. Over the past few years, Android has slowly eroded Windows market share showing that more and more people are using their mobile devices to access the Internet.  It will be interesting to see if this trend continues as it has for last few years or whether Android will find a point in which market saturation causes its numbers to flatten off.

If you take only desktop devices into account, windows is by far the dominant operating system.

This hasn’t changed much over the past few years. It will be interesting to see how the evolving Chrome operating system will change these statistics for the next few years.

 

source – statcounter.com 

Whats coming to Netflix in March

Here is what is coming to Netflix in March

March 1

Angry Birds Season 2

Blazing Saddles

Chicago

Deep Run

Dirt Every Day Season 1

Epic Drives Season 2

Friday After Next

Head 2 Head Season 2

Hot Rod Unlimited Season 1

Ignition Season 1

Impossible Dreamers

Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park III

Kate and Mim-Mim Season 2

Know Your Enemy – Japan

Kung Fu Panda

Let There Be Light

Memento

Midnight in Paris

Nacho Libre

Nazi Concentration Camps

Roadkill Season 2

Rolling Stones: Crossfire Hurricane

Singing with Angels

Sustainable

Slumbs of Beverly Hills

The Craft

This Is Spinal Tap

Tenacious D in: The Pick of Destiny

The Lost World: Jurassic Park

The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress*

The Negro Soldier

Thunderbolt

Tunisian Victory

March 3

Greenleaf Season 1

March 4

Safe Haven

March 7

Amy Schumer: The Leather Special

March 8

Hands of Stone

The Waterboy

March 9

Thithi

March 10

Buddy Thunderstruck Season 1

Burning Sands

Love Season 2

One More Time Season 1

The Boss’ Daughter

March 13

Must Love Dogs

Million Dollar Baby

March 15

Disney’s The BFG

Notes on Blindness

March 16

Beau Sejour Season 1

Coraline

March 17

Diedra & Laney Rob a Train

Julie’s Greenroom Season 1

Marvel’s Iron Fist Season 1

Naledi: A Baby Elephant’s Tale

Pandora

Samurai Gourmet Season 1

March 18

Come and Find Me

The Vampire Diaries Season 8

March 21

Ali & Nino

Another Forever

Evolution

Fire at Sea (Fuocommare)

March 23

How to Get Away with Murder Season 3

Welcome to New York*

March 24

Déjà Vu

Felipe Neto: My Life Makes No Sense

Grace and Frankie Season 3

Spider

The Square

The Most Hated Woman in America

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

March 25

The Student Body

USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage

March 26

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

March 27

Better Call Saul Season 2

March 28

Archer Season 7

Jo Koy: Live from Seattle

March 30

Life in Pieces Season 1

March 31

13 Reasons Why Season 1

Bordertown Season 1

Cooper Barrett’s Guide to Surviving Life Season 1

Dinotrux Season 4

FirstBorn

Five Came Back

GLOW: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling

Rosewood Season 1

The Carmichael Show Seasons 1-2

The Discover

Trailer Park Boys Season 11

Basics – Setting up a printer on a chromebook

Over the past few years, it has been getting easier and easier to set up a printer on your Chromebook.

Quick Set-up instructions

1. Click on the user icon at the bottom right of your screen
2. Click “Settings”, scroll down and click “Show advanced settings”
3. Scroll until you see the setting for “Google Cloud Print”
4. Choose your printer from the list

Here are some google videos that walk you through setting up a traditional printer and a cloud printer.

Cloud printing can be very handy if you are printing things on the go.  It gives you the ability to send files from anywhere right to your home printer.

 

If for some reason your printer is not supported by Google Cloud Print, I found an alternate wifi chrome app that sets up a local IP based printing service.

1. Open the Chrome Store
2. Search for HP Print (or click the link)
3. Download and open
4. Go to your printer and print off its’ set up page.  On this page you will see the printer’s IP address.
5. Once you have this, click “add printer,” enter the IP address and give it a name.

 

Watch out Intel, AMD just might knock you down with Ryzen

Intel may soon find themselves in a place they haven’t been in 15 years.  AMD has been hard at work developing their next generation of CPU/APUs.  They will be splitting their CPU line up into 3 classes: Ryzen 3, Ryzen 5, and Ryzen 7.  Seems like they are trying to copy Intel’s scheme of i3, i5, and i7. That’s where the similarities stop. If the leaked benchmarks are true, the Ryzen 5 chips will directly take on the mainstream Intel i7 for a much cheaper price.  Take a look at this leaked benchmark.

This benchmark shows the AMD Ryzen 5 1600x chip, which is rumored to be priced at $259, beating an Intel i7 $610 chip in CPU performance.  I hope this is true. It would turn the industry on its head and finally there would be better competition.

I am hoping to see some benchmarks on graphical performance soon. If they can similarly increase the performance of the GPU in the chips, we may be able to see the low end graphics card market drop off in favor of integrated graphics.

By the numbers – Android and iOS rise everyone else fades into obscurity

A recent report by gartner.com shows the sales numbers and market share by vendor and operating system

Worldwide Smartphone Sales to End Users by Vendor in 4Q16 (Thousands of Units)

Vendor	4Q16Units	4Q16 Market Share (%)	4Q15 Units	4Q15 Market Share (%)
Apple	77,038.9	17.9	71,525.9	17.7
Samsung	76,782.6	17.8	83,437.7	20.7
Huawei	40,803.7	9.5	32,116.5	8.0
Oppo	26,704.7	6.2	12,961.5	3.2
BBK Communication Equipment	24,288.2	5.6	11,359.4	2.8
Others	185,921.1	43.1	191,708.4	47.6
Total	431,539.3	100.0	403,109.4	100.0

 

Worldwide Smartphone Sales to End Users by Vendor in 2016 (Thousands of Units)

Vendor	2016 Units	2016 Market Share (%)	2015 Units	2015 Market Share (%)
Samsung	306,446.6	20.5	320,219.7	22.5
Apple	216,064.0	14.4	225,850.6	15.9
Huawei	132,824.9	8.9	104,094.7	7.3
Oppo	85,299.5	5.7	39,489.0	2.8
BBK Communication Equipment	72,408.6	4.8	35,291.3	2.5
Others	682,314.3	45.6	698,955.1	49.1
Total	1,495,358.0	100.0	1,423,900.4	100.0

Worldwide Smartphone Sales to End Users by Operating System in 4Q16 (Thousands of Units)

Operating System	4Q16 Units	4Q16 Market Share (%)	4Q15 Units	4Q15 Market Share (%)
Android	352,669.9	81.7	325,394.4	80.7
iOS	77,038.9	17.9	71,525.9	17.7
Windows	1,092.2	0.3	4,395.0	1.1
BlackBerry	207.9	0.0	906.9	0.2
Other OS	530.4	0.1	887.3	0.2
Total	431,539.3	100.0	403,109.4	100.0

 

source – gartner.com

Basics – Chrome OS – Useful Shortcuts

Chromebook Keyboard Shortcuts

Top Row Keys – (From left to right)

Escape key

Back key – Goes back to previous page

Forward Key – Goes forward one page

Refresh Key – Refreshes the page

Immersive Mode – Makes the active window full screen

Window Switcher – Quickly switch between windows

Decrease Brightness – Decreases the screens brightness

Increase Brightness – Increases the screens brightness

Decrease Volume – Decreases the speaker volume

Increase Volume – Increases the speaker volume

Power – Just your average power button

 

Alt + E – Quick access to the Chrome browser menu

Ctrl + Shift + L – Lock your Chromebook

Ctrl + Shift + Q – Log out of your Chromebook

 

Split Screen

Alt + [ – Active program will dock to the left side of your screen

Alt + ]  – Active program will dock to the right side of your screen

Search + Esc – Launch the Task Manager

Ctrl + Switcher – Takes a screenshot and automatically saves it to your Downloads folder

Ctrl + Shift + Switcher – Takes a screenshot of part of the screen – use the mouse to select that part of the screen that you want to capture

Alt + Search (Looks like a magnifying glass)– Toggle Caps Lock

 

 

Display Settings

Ctrl + Shift and + – Makes everything appear larger on your screen

Ctrl + Shift and – – Makes everything appear smaller on your screen

Ctrl + Shift and ) – Return screen to default size setting

Ctrl + Shift + Refresh – Rotate your screen 90 degrees

 

If I have missed any useful shortcuts please feel free to leave a comment or message me.