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Wow, that was fast! Someone got to making a Windows 8 app that brings back the functions of the start menu. This would actually make me much more likely to upgrade to the OS, because the main problem I have with it is that the start menu is gone and instead replaced with a metro interface that does not transition well from the desktop. It's nice that there are people out there that actually take the time to tweak Windows to make it perform the way people prefer. Now if only Apple allowed for that kind of tweaking officially on OS X and iOS...

This article talks about new gesture that could be used in addition to finger touch in order to have more options easily and launch new apps using your knuckle, fingertip, fingernail and more. A trio of Ph.D. students at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh managed to modify a Samsung Galaxy SIII to accept input from all three different touch variations, and tell the difference between them. It accomplishes this with the help of a vibration sensor and software that listens for the acoustic differences that come with the different types of touches. A man named Harrison has already started a company called Qeexo to start selling this tech. This vibration sensor can easily be added to any smartphone's "guts" and the software added too.   This article has a lot to do with portable computing because different companies are always coming up with new innovative ways to make smart phones more "smart". This is one of those things that a new company called Qeexo is doing. They are looking to improve the options and speed of using a smartphone for example instead of opening up a note pad by going into the menu and clicking it with your finger, you can use the "shortcut" of taping your knuckle twice to open it. This can also be used in gaming, option menus etc.  The main point is that companies are always changing making technology much more natural and easy to use. I think that this is a very good idea and over time if people hear about this depending on how much this would cost to upgrade it may become big and even become a pre-installed feature. 

What is Microsoft thinking!? You can't release a major version of an OS that is used by about 90% of the market and just remove something everyone has been using for the past decade. I tried the Windows 8 Developer Preview and Metro is OK, but it's not something you seriously want to use with a mouse, which is a problem for business that don't spend money on touch screens, mainly because their employees don't need them. But now they go ahead and remove the start button completely, making it a hot corner instead, which can be really hard to use at times. When I'm at my computer, I want to be productive, and the standard start menu is the way to do that. I like pretty interfaces, but I also like things that just work, and that's what the start menu is to me. Long story short, if you have an OS as big as Windows, don't make big UI changes like this, because it can really turn out bad and confusing.

This article talks about the revamp of google navigation bar.  Google changed the navigation bar because it is a huge pain for users to use. These revamp will be helpful for users because of the set of links across the top,which will send them to their favorite Google apps easier and faster. This also can help us in our course because we can go to google apps that we are using in our activities easily and faster.

Apparently Facebook has hid the Poke button behind the settings menu making it pretty unlikely for visitors to see it on your profile. The sad thing is that Facebook users haven't noticed.  The problem is that nobody knows what the Poke button is used for. Some think its used for flirting or saying hello. In my opinion, I would rather just send a message to them instead of poking them.  Pokes are a waste of time.

The new OS; Windows 8, is bringing on a lot of excitement, but many people are not too happy with the changes made, myself included. Many people miss the desktop screen, and dislike the new start screen. Others don't like the tiled look and are more used to that of windows 7. There are many other problems and this article describes how to fix all of them. First of all, There is the desktop screen problem. Many of us used to place all our most used programs on our desktop screen so that when you log on, you will have quick access to all you needs, but now all of that is gone and replaced by the start screen. Fortunately, you can bring them back with Start8 (which is easier to use but costs $5) or Classic Shell (which is harder to use but is more customizable and is free). The cool thing about Classic Shell is that it can fix many other things, such as turning your windows explorer from a ribon-ified mess into a usable file browser. you can also fix this problem with Xplorer2. Another problem is that you cant view your videos without buying an attachment to windows media player, but you can fix this with free programs such as VLC There are many other peeves i n widnows 8 that this article helps solve. In conclusion, I feel that knowing that these problems can be fixed will lean alot more people towards windows 8

LG made the first 55-inch OLED TV which , and it will cost $8,000. The timing jibes with what we heard at CES, but it's the first solid word we've heard as to what the future of beautiful television is going to cost us. Eight thousand. That's a lot of money-more money than most people have to spend on a TV, by a longshot. But it could've been a lot worse! Samsung's current top of the line 55-inch LCD TV runs around half that-and it's using old, old technology. OLED will be out of reach for almost everyone, but, like everything else, it'll slide cheaper, and cheaper in a (relative) hurry. Especially when LG, Samsung, and the rest realize nobody can afford this. It realtes to the course because its technology.

Google shipped a major redesign of its Google Search app today with a faster and more tablet-friendly interface for the iPad version. The launch page is now a spare, simple descendent of the iconic Google.com homepage for the post-PC era. The search bar is front and center, collapsing to a top menu bar instantly when you put in your query.

I personally don't have Facebook, but I've heard that the "Poke" feature is rather annoying and useless. During the launch of the new Facebook subscribe button, it was noted that the Poke button is hidden in the settings menu, where most will never see it. Facebook users are not projected to miss it, either. Many people rarely use it, and the ultimate use of the button itself has gone undefined. Perhaps the next best thing for Facebook would be to kill the Poke and install something new, what with the radical change of the new Facebook Timeline approaching. Unless they hear otherwise, I think they should just kill the Poke and have a proper funeral.

Mozilla is testing a computer tablet that runs Firefox. This tablet is slightly bigger that the ones that are out right now, but it helps bring elements to the screen, such as tabs, for example. This tablet might be ideal to people who are used to the computer layout and bigger screens and menu bars at the top o f the internet screen.