| Here’s Where I Go for Tech News Posted: 31 Mar 2011 04:45 AM PDT A couple of years ago, if you asked me where I would go to get the latest tech news (tech news for web geeks, that is), I would have said Digg and Delicious. But as we all know those sites are going downhill, so where do I go now? Lately I have been using two websites in particular. The first one is Techmeme. I am not sure why I didn’t like and use Techmeme back in the day, but after I started checking it regularly I became addicted. Pretty much every day I’ll open its homepage once at least, and I always find something interesting to read. The second one is Hacker News. If you are not familiar with the term, in this context hacker simply means tech geek. Sure, the stories you’ll find on this site are slightly geared towards coders and tech people, but there also many stories about entrepreneurship, web trends, gadgets and the like. Occasionally I also check the technology section of mainstream publications like the New York Times and specialized magazines like PC World, but quite often the stuff I find there I have already seen around the web. What about you guys, what sites do you use to get your fix of tech news?
Original Post: Here’s Where I Go for Tech News 
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| 10 Adorable (Read: Shocking) Things We’ve Seen Kids Do at Weddings Posted: Is there anything more precious than a child in patent leather dress shoes or a teeny-tiny blazer? Kids would be perfect wedding guests if they were seen and not heard, but that's usually not the case. You won't believe the monstrous behavior we've witnessed. 
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| Famous Tax Cheats Quiz Posted: The only thing more fun than learning about tax law is being quizzed on it! Don't worry -- incorrect or incomplete answers on the following quiz won't result in an audit. 
 This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Puzzle: Snowboarding Grand Prix Posted: Though it's done on powder like skiing, snowboarding owes more to skateboarding and surfing than to its partner on the slopes. That's why it's been described as surfing on snow. Can you piece together the snowboard puzzle? 
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| 10 Terrifying Moments on Unscripted TV Posted: Screenwriters make their money selling scripts rife with action, danger and intrigue. However, there's plenty of drama to be found in everyday life, and we have 10 examples from reality TV to prove it. 
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| What would it take to save every endangered species? Posted: According to India's latest tiger census, the country's population of the endangered big cats has increased by about 300 over the past four years. Is it possible to enhance the populations of all species threatened with extinction? 
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| A Guide On Getting Your Adsense Account Verified Posted: 30 Mar 2011 11:47 PM PDT There is a long story behind why it took me over 4 months to receive my first payment after I had reached the minimum adsense threshold of $100 back in 2008. It may be fairly easy for people in other countries, but it is kind of a tough job for some people in Pakistan, India and some African countries to get verified by Adsense. Please understand that this article is not about getting approved by adsense, but about getting your approved adsense account verified in order to receive payments. Before being approved by adsense, we always think that getting approved is the toughest part. But soon we realise that the whole process is one bumpy road.  Once you reach the minimum payment threshold on Adsense, they send a PIN to you through the postal service to confirm your home address. Once you enter the PIN in your adsense account, your account is verified. However, in my case, the postal service was consistently misplacing the letter containing the PIN which was quite frustrating for me. Moreover, you can only request the PIN three times, after which your account is locked. Before requesting it for the third time, I finally contacted their support and told them of the issue. They offered me to verify my account sending them a scanned image of the identity card or utility bill, both with the payee name and address on them. I responded to them with the scanned copy and they verified my account soon. Had I known earlier, I wouldn’t have waited so much. So, if anyone is trying to verify their account then I would recommend them to consider this option as it is much more quicker than the default method for verification. |
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| Top 12 Android Apps That'll Increase Your Productivity Posted: 30 Mar 2011 10:39 AM PDT  So, as promised in my previous article on iPhone apps that make you more productive, here I am with a similar list for Android users. There are no two opinions on the fact that if there's any other mobile operating system that can surpass the mighty iOS, it is Android. It has surely come a long way since it was first introduced 2 years ago. With major mobile handset manufacturers like HTC and Samsung backing it, one can now choose from a variety of Android phones that are available.
Android's app market, like the iTunes App Store, is huge. Hence checking out this list before hunting for productivity apps there would make sense in my opinion. Rest, I am sure there are good apps that I might have missed. And that's exactly why we have the comments section. Make sure you list your favorite apps there after you are done checking these out.
Slide Screen
Slide Screen is the perfect replacement for your dull Android home screen. It displays information like SMS, Google Reader, Gmail, phone calls, calendar and much more on the home screen, all in a neat and easy to navigate interface. Saves time for sure.
Dolphin Browser HD
Android's default browser is ok but not great. Hence you should try out Dolphin Browser HD that has advanced features and enhances your phone browsing productivity. Check out these awesome Dolphin browser tips to know more about the tool.
Springpad
Springpad can help you quickly save and organize products, places and notes. Even things like movies and recipes can be organized in neat lists and referred to later when needed.
Evernote
Evernote, the formidable online note taking solution, is available for Android too. Like its iOS counterpart, it is free, integrates seamlessly with your online Evernote account, and is hassle-free to operate.
Jorte
Jorte is pretty nifty personal organization app for Android devices. It is calendar based and has custom styles to suit every user. The intention is to give the feel of a paper organizer, and make it easy to use.
Dropbox
The popular online backup and sync tool has an Android app that lets you quickly access your My Dropbox folder from your Android phone. Photos and videos can be directly saved to it so that you don't lose them if you lose the phone.
Time Recording
Time Recording isn't an app that every Android user would know about. It lets you efficiently manage your timesheet, and I feel that each of us, whether or not we go to an office every day, can make use of this tool. Try it out.
PageOnce Travel
PageOnce travel is a travel itinerary manager for Android. It can check details like weather, flight information, reservations, car rentals, routes and much more, all in real-time. The interface is nicely designed too.
Advanced Task Killer
Just like it happens in a computer, a lot of tasks or programs running in the background can make your phone sluggish. Advanced Task Killer can quickly kill applications and tasks that shouldn't be running at the first place. The app is extremely popular, and chances are that you use it already. If you haven't yet, you may give it a shot now.
Expensify
Need your Android phone to record and generate quick expense reports? Expensify can do that for you. Cash transactions can be entered manually, and you can use the phone's camera to take snaps of the receipts which could then be uploaded to this app.
Lastpass
Lastpass is probably the best password management solution out there. It's Android app is a good one but available only for the premium customers of the service. Good news is that its premium subscription costs only $1 per month. Worth it if you ask me.
EStrongs File Explorer
EStrongs file explorer app provides Android users a better interface to browse files and manage apps. It also supports operations like copy/cut, multiselect etc, and works with Bluetooth. This page lists all its features.
Cheers,
Abhijeet
 | Written on 3/30/2011 by Abhijeet Mukherjee. Abhijeet is a blogger and web publisher from India. He loves all things tech as long as it aids in productivity. He edits Guiding Tech, a blog that publishes useful guides, tutorials and tools. Check it out and subscribe to its feed if you like the site. You can also find him on Twitter. | Photo Credit: Travis Hornung |
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