Clear Windows 8 tiles of personal information

The most noticeable feature of Windows 8 is, of course, the Start screen. It has a collection of tiles that are used to start programs instead of the menu system that was used before.

Some of the tiles are live and this means that they can show live information, such as the weather, news and so on.

They can also show various sorts of personal information like emails, messages, photos, calendar appointments and so on.

If you are in a public place like a train or coffee shop with a laptop you might not want everyone around you seeing your live tiles if they happen to glance your way. Fortunately, there is a way to clear the live information off the tiles on the Start screen.

Move the mouse up into the top right corner of the screen to show the Charms bar on the right and then click Settings, Tiles. There is a button to clear your personal information from the tiles. It wipes them clean, but it is not a permanent change and after a while notifications will begin appear in them again. It’s still useful though.

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Discover what can access your Google account and block it

There are many websites and services that require you to sign in before you are allowed to access them. To make the task easier they often provide a Facebook, Google or Twitter login option. Click the button and you provide access to your account.

Apps on mobile phones and tablets work in the same way and they often require you to log in with a Google, Facebook or Twitter account. Let the app access your account and you can then use the the app's features and functions. Your account becomes part of your profile or identity for the app.

Some of these apps, sites and services that work with Google, Facebook and Twitter are very useful and you can link the calendar app on your phone, such as an iPhone, with Google Calendar, there are extensions for Chrome and Firefox that do clever things with Google Mail, there are apps and sites that combine and sync your contacts across all your social networking services.

I don't worry who or what has access to my Facebook and Twitter accounts because I don't put anything on there that I wouldn't want made public. (Facebook is designed for sharing stuff.) Google is a different matter because it handles email, calendars, book, movie, music and app purchases, and so on. Where email and money is involved, I worry about security.

Do you know who or what has access to your Google account? There are probably phone and tablet apps, browser extensions, websites and services that you once used, or perhaps tried for a short time because they were free and then abandoned. They still have access to your account and this is worrying.

You should regularly check who and what can access your Google account and revoke permission for anything that shouldn't have it. It is important to keep on top of your Google account security.

Go to accounts.google.com in a browser and click the Security link on the left. Scroll down a little and next to Connected applications and sites, click Review permissions. A list of sites, apps and services is listed and you may be surprised at the number that have access to your Google account.

Of course, there are a lot of Google services in there, such as Google apps you have installed on your tablet or phone. They are fine and it is the non-Google items that you should focus on. Look for any item you don't use, such as mobile apps you tried, but uninstalled, sites and services you signed up for and no longer use, and so on.

Click the Revoke Access button next to any item you don't currently use. This won't stop you from using the item in the future and all that would happen if you tried to use it again is that it would ask permission to access your account.

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How not to lose your email account

I heard about someone recently who was about to lose their email account and it is an interesting story. They had been with an ISP and had used the ISP's email service. A while back they switched to a different ISP, seeking a better deal. Now the original ISP is shutting down the person's email account because they no longer have broadband with them. The problem is that they rely on their email account and don't want to lose it.

This situation will always arise if you use an ISP's email service and if you aren't a paying customer of their broadband service, they have no obligation to provide you with a free email service. What can you do if you want to switch ISPs?

One solution is to sign up for an email service that is not associated with an ISP. Google Mail, Outlook.com and Yahoo! are three obvious examples, although there are many good services from smaller players. You can switch your ISP as often as you want and your web mail service will always be accessible.

A problem though, is that switching from one email service to another is not easy. One way you could ease the switch is to use a program like Microsoft Outlook, Windows Live Mail or Thunderbird. Configure any of these with your email account and they will download everything in your inbox and store it on the computer's disk drive. When your ISP email account is shut down, you will still have all your old emails and you can refer to them, get contact details to put into your new web mail and so on.

Another way to ease the switch is to add the old email account to the new web mail service. Gmail, Outlook.com and Yahoo! Mail all allow you to add other email accounts. In Gmail for example, go to the gear button, Settings, then the Accounts tab. There is a section called Check email from other accounts (using POP3). Click the link and add the account details of your old email account. Gmail will check it every hour or so and copy any incoming email. It means that people who don't know you have moved can still email you on the old account, but you can use the new web mail account to email people (and tell them you have moved).

If you are using your ISP's email right now, you should sign up for web mail and start making the switch. If you don't like web mail, Yahoo!, Gmail and Outlook.com can al be accessed by email software running on your PC too.

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Turn your tablet into a phone and make calls

There is an obvious similarity between tablets and mobile phones. After all, they both use the same operating system and the iPhone and iPad use iOS and Android is used on phones and tablets too. Some tablets are even available with 3G connectivity and can use the mobile phone network.

There are also 'phablets', which are devices that are too big to be called phones, but too small to be classed as tablets. These blur the distinction between tablets and phones.

If you have a tablet, you may have wondered whether it is possible to make phone calls with it, particularly if you have a 3G model with a SIM card. Surely there can't be that much difference between a 3G tablet and a phone with 3G?

Actually, there is a difference and 3G is provided as an option on tablets so that you can access the internet if you find yourself somewhere that doesn't have Wi-Fi. It means, for example, that you can watch YouTube videos, catch up with online TV and browse the web standing at the bus stop, or at some place that doesn't have Wi-Fi when you are out with your device.

However, the 3G capabilities that are provided with tablets is a data-only connection and it isn't designed for voice calls. The bottom line is that you just can't place voice calls. You need more than just a 3G connection.

This does not mean that there isn't a solution and if you want to make phone calls, but without using a phone, you should use Skype. This free app from the Google Play Store or Apple iOS Store that enables you to call other Skype users for free using voice and video.

It is an example of VoIP (Voice over IP) and the internet is used for communications rather than the telephone network. There are other VoIP apps for Android and iOS, but Skype is the best known and most widely used. Search for VoIP in the Android or iOS store to find alternatives.

You can call any other Skype user for free, but this isn't its only function and you can buy credit for it that enables you to call ordinary landlines and mobile phones. Your tablet uses the internet through Wi-Fi or 3G, whichever is available, but Skype can then route the call to a real telephone. This means that you can actually use your tablet as a phone.

There are other services available from Skype and you can have a telephone number so that people can call you on their mobile phones or landlines. You can even send SMS text messages to mobiles. Browse the Skype website and you’ll find a large range of services that can make your tablet as good as a phone.

The bottom line is that you can't turn a tablet with 3G into a phone, but you can use VoIP apps to place calls to other VoIP users with the same app. You can even make calls to regular phones too.

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Do you need a 64-bit phone?

Someone once said that whenever a question is posed in a headline, the answer is always no. This isn't always true and the situation with 64-bit processors in mobile phones is actually more complicated than a simple no, or yes for that matter. There is no doubt that one day you will need a 64-bit processor in your smartphone, but not today.

The question of whether you need a 64-bit processor has only just arisen because of Apple's launch of the iPhone 5S, which sports a new A7 processor with 64-bit architecture. It runs a 6-bit OS, has 64-bit drivers and so on. But what difference does it make and is 64-bits twice as good as 32-bits?

PCs and Apple Macs, Windows and OS X - everything is 64-bit these days and the reason is that there are limits on the amount of memory that processors can access. A 16-bit processor can access 2^16 memory locations, a 32-bit processor can access 2^32 memory locations and a 64-bit processor can access 2^64 (that's 2 multiplied by itself 64 times - 2x2x2x2x...).

Let's put this in terms that are easy to understand. A 32-bit processor can access a maximum of 4Gb of memory. That is why desktop and laptop computers and the operating systems they run are all 64-bit these days. If they weren't we would never be able to use more than 4GB of memory. (In practice even 4GB isn't accessible by some memory locations are reserved for system use.)

If you want to put 8GB of RAM in your PC or Mac, that's fine now, but a few years ago it wasn't possible. I have 4GB in the Mac I'm using right now, but it sometimes struggles and it could really do with more. The reason is that apps and operating systems grow in size as more features are added.

Mobile phones and tablets are not yet struggling for memory in the same way. Budget models only have 1GB of memory, premium models have 2GB, and 3GB of RAM in a phone or tablet is rare. There is still room for apps and mobile operating systems to grow and right now a 32-bit processor can address all the memory they need.

As apps and mobile operating systems grow there will come a day when 4GB just isn't enough and then we will need a 64-bit processor so that phones can have 6GB, 8GB or more of RAM. That day is a long way off though.

In addition to providing access to more memory, a 64-bit processor can access data in 64-bit chunks. If it needs to access a lot of data it can do so more efficiently and this means that some apps will run faster, but they do have to be designed for 64-bit processing. Accessing small amounts of data can be slower because it's less than the optimum 64-bit chunk. Apps designed for 32-bit processors, which is pretty much all of them right now, might even run more slowly on a 64-bit processor.

As far as performance goes, there will be gains and losses. Some apps will be faster, but others might be slower on a 64-bit chip. Overall though, there are usually more benefits.

Don't fall into the trap of thinking that 64-bits is necessarily better than 32-bits, or getting into a "My phone is better than your phone because it's 64-bit," argument. The main advantage of the A7 in Apple's iPhone 5S is that it's fast.

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Prepare your iPhone and iPad for iOS 7

Apple's big launch event is today, 10th September, and although I don't know yet exactly what will be launched, it is safe to assume that a new iPhone and new version of iOS will be among them. Those are certainties.

Not everyone buys a new iPhone every year and that is partly because of the cost and partly because phone companies like to lock people into two-year contracts. If you are going to sign up for a two-year contract then it was best to do it last year with the launch of the iPhone 5 or next year when Apple releases the iPhone 6. There is a definite pattern to iPhone development and we see major changes every two years with a minor tweaked phone in between. This is one of the inbetween years and we can expect a few internal tweaks like a better processor, and perhaps colourful cases, but not any major changes like a 5in screen. That will come next year.

For those people not wanting to or able to change their iPhone, there is always iOS 7. If Apple sticks with tradition, this will be available within a week of the launch event. We don't know how it will be delivered and it could be a direct download to the iPhone and iPad and this has been the trend with recent iOS updates. With older versions of iOS the iPhone and iPad had to be plugged into the computer to upgrade it.

Whatever the delivery method, there are some things you can do to prepare your iPhone for an upgrade to iOS 7. The first thing you should do is go to the App Store and select Updates in the bottom right corner. It is possible that some apps may not be fully 100% compatible with iOS 7. The older the app the more likely it is to have problems, so it is essential that you grab the latest updates to everything you have installed on your iPhone.

Another potential issue is memory. Operating systems grow over time and it is likely that iOS 7 requires a bit more space than iOS 6. If you are down to your last few hundred k of free memory then you need to delete some apps. Tap Settings, General, Usage. This does two things. Firstly, it shows how much free memory there is and secondly, it lists apps by the amount of memory they are using.

If you want to download iOS 7 to your iPhone or iPad (do it on Wi-Fi and not 3G to avoid charges), you might need to have a couple of gigabytes of free memory. The exact requirements will no doubt be revealed later today (and you might already know them by the time you read this).

Look down the list of apps and delete the biggest ones to free up space. Some apps are small, yet use a lot of space, such as Vine, which seems to cache all those six second video clips you watch. You can always delete it to make space for iOS 7 and then reinstall it afterwards. Sign back in to your Vine account and it's back up and running again. This is true of other apps and you can temporarily uninstall them and re-install them afterwards.

Plug your iPhone or iPad into the computer and sync it with iTunes. This creates a backup of the current version of iOS, your apps and settings. It is very unlikely that anything will go wrong with the upgrade, but it is always wise to have a backup because it gives you the option to switch back to iOS 6 by restoring to the iPhone or iPad.

Check every day for iOS 7 if you want to be among the first to get it. Tap Settings, General, Software Update. When the iPhone and iPad is plugged into the computer, select it in iTunes and there is a button to check for operating system updates. iTunes normally only checks around once a month, so you have to manually check unless you want to wait until the next scheduled one.

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Android Cleaner keeps your device running smoothly

Unlike iOS devices, Android lets you dig deep into the internal workings of the operating system and apps. It is possible to view the apps that are running, the amount of memory they are using, the cached data and so on. Android Cleaner is a free app that lets you view the storage and cache used by apps, to erase caches, remove apps, discover adware and more. A cleaner running Android device will use less battery, will run faster, and have fewer problems.

There are four buttons at the bottom of the screen and the first, Usage, provides an overview of the system. It shows the CPU usage, total memory for apps and the amount that is free, The total disk memory (there are no disks, but the storage works like a disk), and the amount free, the battery level and temperature. There is a button at the bottom of this  screen to get detailed hardware information like the CPU model, number of CPU cores, maximum clock speed, display resolution, and more. There is a lot of useful Wi-Fi information like the Wi-Fi connection speed, the IP address, the MAC address and so on.

 

The Cache button lists all the apps and the amount of memory they are using as a cache (recently accessed and temporarily stored data). The app list is sorted by cache size with the biggest at the top. Tapping an app displays the App info screen from Android Settings and this enables you to clear the cache if you want to free up memory. There is a Clean All button that clears every app's cache so you don't need to do them individually.

The Memory button lists the apps that are running, sorted by the amount of memory they are using. System services should be left alone of course, but others apps can be stopped to free up the memory they are using. Long pressing on an app gives you the option to add it to a white list and the app will ignore it and remove it from the list. This is useful for removing system services that shouldn't be stopped.

The Adware button is interesting and it displays apps that contain adverts and the number of ads they have. Tapping an app displays a screen that shows which ad networks it uses and suspicious privileges. For example, it shows whether an app can reveal the geographic location of the phone or tablet, whether it can access accounts, the internet, info on running apps and so on. A lot of free apps contain advertising and it is difficult to avoid mobile advertising. You could uninstall the worst offenders or upgrade them to paid versions that remove the ads.

There are lots of clean-up and optimise apps, but Android Cleaner is one of the more popular ones. There is a free (ad supported) Android Cleaner and Pro version that costs a little money, but has extra features, like the ability to detect over 60 ad networks. It does its job well, so give it a try.

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Samsung Gear smartwatch misses the mark

The Samsung GALAXY Gear smartwatch was launched on the 4th September and it is the first of the big name companies to do so. We all know that Apple and Google are also working on smartwatches, but Samsung has beaten them all to market. Is it any good? Will being the first allow Samsung to grab market share before anyone else?

It is undoubtedly an interesting product, but it is flawed. In some ways it offers too much, but in other ways it provides too little. This is an interesting gadget that a few people will like, but it is not a mass market product that everyone will buy.

The market is very limited and it is only compatible with Android 4.3 running on a Samsung phone and there simply aren't many of those. The new Galaxy Note 3 is one and presumably Samsung is working on updating the Galaxy S4, but right now the market for this smartwatch is non-existent.

Even if we consider the situation a year from now when Samsung has the Note 3 and S4 running Android 4.3, that's still not a big market. Not everyone will buy a smartwatch and only a fraction of the total people are willing to splash out on one. How many of those have a compatible Samsung device? Probably a small fraction of those. So we're talking of a fraction of a fraction. It is hard to imagine sales of more than a few tens of thousands.

The battery life is said to be 25 hours. It isn't clear whether this is 25 hours usage or whether the life can be extended by turning off the screen as you do with phones and tablets. It is possible that with heavy usage it would be even less than 25 hours. We won't know what that battery life figure means until people get their hands on it. It doesn't look good.

It isn't expensive for a watch at $299/£191, because some cost thousands. However, expensive watches are bought as jewellery, not to tell the time. What you must bear in mind though, is that the watch is tied to your Samsung phone. This means that if you were to switch to a different phone, most of the functions on the watch would stop working. Presumably it would still tell the time. It is essential that Samsung develops apps that run on any Android device because people won't want to be locked in. Apple has made a success of locking people in, but I think that's a different.

There are lots of other niggles, such as why put a camera in the watch? Does it really need it? I'm not keen on the strap, but it's the only one available. Apparently you can only install 10 apps, which would be a severe limitation if it is true. Some of the apps at launch are wierd, such as eBay and you can complete your eBay transactions on your watch. Do you really want to do this when there is a smartphone in your pocket (the smartwatch won't work if it isn't)? Do you really want to answer phone calls by talking into your watch?

Smartwatches are definitely coming, but this isn't going to change the world. Let's wait and see what Google and Apple come up with.

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Clean up and optimise Android phones and tablets

Smart phones and tablets never seem to have sufficient storage space, memory or battery life and we are always running short of one thing or another. You have to keep your eye on the usage and optimise the device to get the most out of what you have.

AVG, the company famous for its free anti virus software, has some useful Android apps and one you should take a look at is AVG Battery Saver & TuneUp. It is free in the Google Play Store. Here is it running on my Google Nexus 7:

 

The app has four modules - Task Killer, Battery Consumption, Data Usage and Storage Usage. They are pretty self explanatory and they do what you would expect. Task Killer shows the tasks, which are apps that are running. It shows how much memory each one is using and there is an icon to stop them running to free up memory.

There is also a processes tab and this shows things that are running in the background. A lot of these are simply part of Android , such as the keyboard, Google Account Manager, and so on. They are essential and you can't use the device without them. There are also processes from apps you have added and these are less important. It is possible to stop ones you don't need and so free up memory and processor time.

Battery Consumption shows the battery charge, health and temperature. You can see the time remaining for various activities such as idle, playing video. The device can be manually switched into power saving mode, which turns off all unnecessary components like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and so on and dims the screen. Power saving mode can be triggered automatically when the battery level falls below a set value. Of course, you won't be able to do as much in power saving mode, but at least the device won't completely die on you.

Data Usage shows how much data bandwidth each app has used since the device was last rebooted. This is useful for discovering which apps are using up all the bandwidth you pay for. You could avoid using them if you are near your data limit.

Storage Usage displays the apps you have installed and their sizes, sorted to show the biggest first. If you are running short of memory on your device, you could then uninstall the biggest apps.

This is a simple utility app, but it is free and it has some features most people will find useful. Check out AVG Battery Saver & TuneUp.

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Would you swap your $10000 Rolex for a $149 smart watch?

Smart watches are hitting the headlines again and there are a couple of new stories doing the rounds. Apparently Samsung is ready to launch its Galaxy Gear smart watch. It is said to have a three inch screen, which sounds too big to fit on your wrist. It also has a 10 hour battery life too, which is far to short to be useful. It would not surprise me if this news story was more fiction than fact.

Google is also in the news, having bought smart watch maker WIMM Labs. This is to boost its smart watch development efforts and it is obvious that the company is working on a device. Rumours of Apple's iWatch persist and apparently Apple will make 63 million of them over the next year.

It is always difficult to predict how new technology will change people's lives. When the mobile phone was designed, who knew how popular texting would be or the development of smartphones that enable you to stream movies to you while you are waiting at the bus stop?

Watches are different though. Although we buy watches so that we know what time it is, is this the primary function? If so, why do people buy $10,000 Rolex?

A $10,000 watch doesn't tell the time any better than a $100 watch. In fact, you can get a cheap digital watch with a 10 year battery that's accurate to a couple of seconds a year.

Watches are not just for telling the time. They are jewellery, they are a statement of fashion, status and wealth. A good watch can impress people when you meet them. People buy expensive watches so that they can stand out from the crowd and not because they want to look like everyone else.

Would you swap your $10,000 Rolex for a $149 smart watch?

Of course you wouldn't. I really don't know how this will affect sales of smart watches. At best we will only buy smart watches to wear part of the time because, well, they just aren't as smart as a Rolex.

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