The Netflix apps for both Windows and Windows Phone received a minor update yesterday that all users should update to if you haven’t done so already. The update, version 4.1.0.16 for those keeping score at home, does not have any detailed release notes with it but it is widely suspected that this addresses a bug that was causing crashes on the streaming movie and television app.
This weekend at MWC, HP announced the all new Spectre x360 ultra sleek notebooks powered by Windows 8.1. Now you can order yours on the HP Online Store starting at just $899. This new lineup has been seeing some raving comments from those in attendance in Barcelona for the sleek design and look of the Spectre x360. When it was announced this weekend there was some question as to when it would be available. Those questions are answered it seems as both the i5 and i7 versions of it are now available for order.
Spectre X360 Ultra Sleek Notebooks – Starting at $899 – HP Online Store
At the Microsoft Store today they are once again running a promotion they ran last month on the HP Stream 7 Signature Edition Windows Tablet. The promotion makes it one of those hard to pass up deals on what has been on a highly rated and well liked economy tablet.
Right now you pick up a HP Stream 7 for $79 which is a $20 savings off the regular price. Keep in mind that this is the Signature Edition so there is no crapware installed on this model. In addition to the $20 savings, you get a year of Office 365 Professional to run on this tablet for free which is a $69.99 value. And if that wasn’t enough to tempt you, Microsoft is also throwing in a $25 Windows Store Gift card so you can buy apps and games online with your new HP Stream 7.
So let’s do the math shall we?
That means your cost is $79 when normally you would pay a total of $173.99 for all of this. In fact what you are getting for free is of greater value than the price of the HP Stream 7 itself: $79 versus freebies of $94.99
In December of last year I posted a How To on taking screenshots of your Windows 8.1 tablet and it turned out it was one of the most popular How To’s on the site. Apparently a lot of you like taking screenshots on your tablets, which is done in a similar way to Windows Phone. However a few of you have written asking how this can be done on Windows PCs. From your emails, it looks like most of are using Control+PrintScreen to take a screenshot which saves it to the Clipboard then editing that photo (or creating it more-or-less) in Paint. There is an easier and quicker way.
The NOAA Hi-Def Radar app for Windows has received a nice update today, bringing amongst other improvements Live Tile support to your Windows 8.1 Start screen. The update, version 1.1.0.13 for those keeping score at home, has a lot of fixes and improvement throughout including a nagging issue with the Bing map authentication. It seems that Weathersphere, the developer of the app, got that sorted out along with other general bug fixes and improvements.
NOAA Hi-Def Radar for Windows (Universal App) – $1.99 – Download Now
NOAA Hi-Def Radar for Windows Phone (Universal App) – $1.99 – Download Now
Coin collecting has been something that humans have done almost since coinage was invented. Often referred to as the “Hobby of Kings” during the Renaissance, over the past two centuries has become more affordable and easier to do than ever. Those who collect coins seriously, Numismatics, today now have the benefit of technology and applications that even a few years ago was not available. When I started collecting back in the mid-80s, coin grading and cataloging all had to be done by hand. Now, it’s all done with apps but there is – and always will be – a human judgment factor when it comes to grading coins. That is where an app like PCGS Photograde can make it easier for the seasoned collector and those new to the hobby.
PCGS Photograde comes from the company Professional Coin Grading Service, or PCGS. They have been professionally grading coins for 30 years now and have had apps on various platforms to help hobbist leverage their experience to grade their own coins. The PCGS Photograde app for Windows is the most comprehensive coin grading app available and gives high resolution photos of a wide range of US coins to help you determine the grades of your own coins. It is a great way to figure out if that Lincoln Wheat Cent is a Fine-12 or an Extra Fine-20 and while that may not sound too exciting, it could mean in some cases hundreds of dollars difference in value. Whether you have been collecting for a long time or just starting out, take a look at the PCGS Photograde app to help you grade your coins.
When it comes to photo editing apps for Windows 8.1, they come a dime-a-dozen (kind of like weather apps). This means in order to raise above the fray that the app has to be exceptional and feature rich. You get that with the recently released Autodesk Pixlr app for Windows 8.1. The Modern app gives you a host of editing functionality from the start with powerful auto correcting features to enhance your photos. The real power of the app comes when you sign up for a free Pixlr account. Then you can download literally hundreds of filters, frames, stickers and other effects to add to your photos. Autodesk Pixlr is easy to use and works comfortably on touch enabled tablets as well as mouse or touchpad driven laptops and PCs. It has become my go-to photo editing app on both my Windows PC and my Toshiba Encore 2 tablet and for the price of exactly zero dollars, it is hard to beat the value.
Notifications on your tablet or PC are both expected and appreciated by most. Whether it is an email arrival notification or the latest weather information being popped up, I for one have become dependent on these little tidbits of information that come to me throughout the day. There are times however when I’m in the middle of another task and I get a notification and need just a few more seconds to tap it and interact with it. By default Windows 8.1 gives you 5 seconds to either click on the notification (or close it) or it will fade away. There is a way however to make this displaying of notifications longer and in this How To I will show you where this setting is buried within the PC settings on your device.