The Right Click

  • Most of us are familiar with the murky warranty policies that computer companies and tech stores have, which can often lead to products not being repaired because of something that we didn't even know we did wrong.

    HP Elitebook owner Chris learned how tough Hewlett-Packard is firsthand when he submitted his computer for repairs while it was still covered under warranty. Unfortunately, it was sent back to him unrepaired and dubbed a "biological hazard." Here's a look at that bio-hazard, a few pieces of cat hair caught in Chris' computer fan:

    Courtesy of The Counsumerist

    According to Chris' story on The Consumerist, he went through three weeks of back-and-forth with HP before someone finally told him exactly what that meant. Here's Chris' story from The Consumerist:

    "The supervisor I spoke to started with "So, you have a long haired cat?" I in fact have a short haired cat. He then said, "Wow, I'm surprised that fan turns on at all." I scoffed, and told him he was crazy, and that all the hair in the computer (the

    Read More »

  • It seemed only fitting that Nikon would eventually release a mirrorless compact system camera. One of the most reputable brands had left the burgeoning bridge market untouched since Panasonic debuted the first CSC in 2008. With the launch of the Nikon 1 system, the Japanese makers have finally answered with two cameras, the entry-level J1 and the more professional V1.

    Since the new models are aimed at two different markets, you'd expect certain V1 features to be absent in the consumer-oriented J1. But the differences between the two are not nearly as drastic as the lofty price gap would suggest. The Right Click had a chance to review the J1, a camera that is sure to pique plenty of interest this holiday season. Here is what we think of it.

    RELATED: Click here for more gift ideas for the techie in your life

    Build and Design

    The J1's all-metal frame has a very solid feel; with the battery, memory stick and 10-30mm kit zoom attached, the model weighs just over 390 grams (quite a bit

    Read More »

  • It seems like we see QR codes everywhere: on bus ads, fast food wrappers and product packaging. One of my personal favourite uses was on a box of Christmas lights that linked to a video showing what the lights actually looked like in action.

    QR, or quick-read codes, were originally created by the automotive industry as a way to quickly read information about auto parts. Because of their simplicity, they can be placed just about anywhere, which has led to some strange uses of the QR codes where you wouldn't expect it. Here are the top five weird ways we've seen QR codes being used. If you have some of your own, Yahoo! readers, please add them in the comments below!

    1. Gravestones

    Want to let people learn more about your loved one when they visit his or her gravesite? By adding a QR code to the headstone, let visitors see photos, videos, and biographies of the person at that eternal resting place. The quirky practice started out in Japan, where you can find QR codes just about

    Read More »

  • Pope Benedict XVI showed he is no slouch when it comes to technology this week, using a tablet to light the "World's Biggest Christmas Tree" from the comfort of his home.

    On Dec. 7, the Pope made a short announcement to his listening faithful from his Vatican residence before pressing a button that turned on a light installation in Italy in the shape of a Christmas tree. A wireless connection to the local electrical grid made his warm and toasty tree lighting locale possible.

    "This great Christmas tree is formed by many lights," the Pope said to those watching the video link in Gubbio, Italy. The tree itself is made up of 400 lights, while the shooting star at the top is comprised of 250 lights. The display covers over 1.4 million square feet on the side of a mountain.

    If you think Pope Benedict looks like a Mac user, think again. The 84-year-old brought the tree to life using an Android-powered tablet, the Sony Tablet S. Then again, the Pope's first tweet in June of this year came

    Read More »

  • The new 'Discover' page on Twitter.As one of the few social media websites that has looked largely the same as when it started, Twitter is announcing that it, too, has decided to take the plunge and will be rolling out a redesigned Twitter over the next few weeks.

    Twitter has grouped the changes under five main sections:

    Home

    This section looks much like the Twitter feed most people are used to. The new design is a flipped version of Twitter's current layout: your profile info, who to follow, and trends appear on the left, while your feed of people you follow appears on the right.

    Connect

    All of the instances of people mentioning, retweeting, favouriting or following you shows up in its own feed.

    Discover

    Probably the biggest (and coolest) addition to Twitter is the ability to see information that the website thinks will be of interest to you. Tweets that are related to your interests, current location, what you follow and current world events are grouped into one place.

    Me

    The redesign of the profile is also a

    Read More »

  • If you told your Facebook friends your thoughts on Charlie Sheen or shared on your status how excited you were about Jersday, you certainly aren't alone. Both those terms made Facebook's top ten list of status trends in 2011.

    Here's your in-depth look at what was talked about most in Canadian Facebook statuses, and the stories behind some of those topics.

    1. lms

    The acronym means 'like my status,' and can be found in many of the memes that circulate on Facebook. Users ask friends "LMS" and will offer something in the status in exchange for Liking it, i.e. "LMS and I'll tell you what zoo animal you look most like."

    2. Jack Layton

    Following his death in August, supporters were quick to take to social media to share their grief and voice support for his loved ones. In fact, digital public affairs analyst Mark Blevis said in a CTV article that there's a good chance people found out about Layton's death online before they heard about it from media outlets.

    3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

    Read More »

  • Twitter played a key role in more than one major news story this year, and 2011’s top hashtags are the proof: the top hashtag for this year was #egypt, followed by #tigerblood. 

    The social media giant has released its list of the most Tweeted terms and topics for 2011, as announced on its blog. These topics were the ones that became the fastest-rising popular Twitter subjects throughout the year.

    “More than anything, these trends demonstrate how Twitter connects people with common interests,” the company said on its blog. “Instead of watching the news, the Super Bowl and Pretty Little Liars at home alone, we watched them together on Twitter. We shared our thoughts about the world we live in, and we listened as others around the globe chimed in. 

    Egypt became the Twitter subject that captured the world’s voice like no other. The country’s tumultuous year, between the resignation of former president Hosni Mubarak, the uprising that lead to that resignation and the rebellion it

    Read More »

  • Rogers on Demand for Xbox KinectStarting Dec. 6, the Xbox 360 will really start to listen to your video-related desires.

    Xbox 360 users will be able to use their Kinect device to search for video content from a host of various content providers.

    Microsoft’s president of the Interactive Entertainment Business, Don Mattrick, said in a press release today that this will be a great way to have all of a user’s entertainment together in one place.

    “With this update, Xbox 360 system owners will experience voice control integrated with Bing search, making your TV and entertainment experiences more social and personal than ever.”

    This feature will work with several providers of television shows, movies and sports content. It includes support for TELUS, Rogers on Demand, Disney XD, Crackle, Real Sports (Maple Leaf Sports), TMZ, UFC on Xbox Live, VEVO and YouTube, all of which will be available later in December. Baseball fans can also look forward to MLB.TV coming to Xbox in early 2012.

    To use Kinect with the voice

    Read More »

  • Wall of Sound - 1

    Itching to buy new music this fall, but aren't sure what to pick up?

    You've got a few options: listen to the radio or a streaming service, preview new tracks at your local music store or see what's trending on iTunes.

    Another option is an app called Wall of Sound, a visual jukebox, of sorts, that proves to be a powerful -- yet somewhat limiting -- way to be exposed to new music.

    As the name suggests, the recently updated Wall of Sound looks like a poster comprised of colourful album artwork. You can use your fingertip to swipe in any direction, and you'll see your iPad screen populate with even more music. If you see something you want to listen to, tap the album cover, and it'll launch a 30-second sample from one of its tracks. If you like what you hear, you could tap to see other tracks from the same album, and also choose to buy the song or album from iTunes on the spot.

    Wall of Sound - 2

    The app first analyzes your music collection to get an idea of what you already listen to. For example, Wall of

    Read More »

  • Google Chrome has been fighting for a share of the browser market since it launched back in 2008. For the first time, it seems to be making some real progress.

    A recent survey by StatCounter of the top five browsers over the last two years finds that Chrome is fractionally edging out Mozilla's Firefox in worldwide browser usage. A total of 25.69 per cent were running Chrome as of November 2011, versus the 25.23 per cent using Firefox.

    That trend changes from country to country, though. In Canada, Firefox is still the number two browser of choice with 24.18 per cent of users, while only 19.51 per cent are using Chrome in this country.

    The undisputed leader, though, remains Internet Explorer across the board. It boasts almost double the percentage of users that Firefox and Chrome do, with 40.63 per cent of people operating IE. Those users, however, have dropped off steadily over the last two years while Chrome has done nothing but grow in popularity.

    Internet Explorer's

    Read More »

Pagination

  1. 55
  2. 56
  3. 57
  4. 58
  5. 59
(717 Stories)
Search

Blog Authors / Profiles

Follow Yahoo! News