Shelly Palmer Digital Living - Daily Radio Report

It’s time to dust off that Nook HD, because it just got a whole lot more useful. Since it launched, the Nook HD has been seen as a really strong piece of hardware with minimal support; Barnes & Noble would only allow apps onto its marketplace that had its approval, severely limiting the number of apps that Nook HD users could access. But that all changed recently, as Barnes & Noble brought Google Play directly to its Nook HD and HD+ devices. Available as an over-the-air update on existing tablets and pre-loaded on new devices, Nook HD users finally have access to all the apps their Android fans have enjoyed for years. Better still is the fact that you’ll also be able to buy content like books, magazines and movies directly through Google Play. The real losers in this situation, though, are Nook Tablet and Color users, as they’re stuck with the same apps they’ve always had. But for you Nook HD users, happy apping!

There may come a day that you’ll get locked out of your Facebook account, whether you forget your password or run into another problem. Facebook recently introduced a feature called ‘Trusted Contacts’ to help you out if you run into this kind of problem. Trusted Contacts lets you pick three to five Facebook friends that you trust enough to give you power to help you re-gain access to your account. If you get locked out, just let one of these chosen people know and Facebook will give them a code and instructions to help get you back into your account. Worried about security? Facebook says to only select the people you’d trust with a key to your house, because you’re really giving them a lot of power. While it wouldn’t be smart to pick five people at random from your friends list, picking close friends or family members will help ensure you never get locked out of your account again. Choose wisely.

If people know that you’re good with technology, you’re bound to be asked time and time again, “Hey could you help me with…” whatever the current problem your friend or loved one is having with their computer. Sometimes the problem is an easy fix, but sometimes … not so much. But what remains true of almost any problem is that you can probably fix it quicker yourself than you can by describing the fix to them. Google is here to help, as it recently added a remote desktop feature to Google+ Hangouts. Now, instead of trying to guess where your friend or loved one is clicking and becoming more and more frustrated, you can take control of their desktop and sort their issue out yourself. This cool new feature is hidden away under the “Hangout Apps” section, so once you get permission from the other user to access their computer, you’re free to fix their problem and get on with the rest of your day.

Amazon continues adding new features to its Kindle for iOS app that make it easier to use for blind and visually impaired users. Features like X-Ray, End Actions, sharing, highlighting and bookmarking have all been tweaked to give visually impaired users easier access to the nearly 2 million titles in its catalog that feature text-to-voice VoiceOver narration. These complement the existing features for these users already built-in to iOS, like zoom, assistive touch and support for peripheral braille displays. While the features are currently only available on iOS, Amazon says it will make them available on more platforms in the future. Amazon has been criticized in the past for not doing enough for its visually impaired users and has even had blind users protesting in front of its headquarters over lack of support on the Kindle platform. This latest effort is a step in the right direction, as we all deserve the ability to succeed in the connected world.

Have you ever been watching cat videos on YouTube and thought, ‘You know what would really go well with these? A live look-in at Capitol Hill!’ While many of us have never had that thought, if you have … you’re in luck! YouTube recently brought live streams from members of US Congress to its site, helping make your time browsing internet videos a bit more educational. YouTube said that as a part of this service, all federal legislators now have the ability to access advanced features on their YouTube channels. This isn’t the first time that YouTube has delved into the political world – it aired live streams of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, as well as the State of the Union address and Presidential Debates last fall. YouTube won’t air live daily coverage of congressional sessions as part of this service, though that option hasn’t been ruled out in the future. Washington D.C. is quickly going digital in our connected world. The only question is: What’s next?

Twitter is a great way to get a message or a link out to the world of people who care what you have to say … but what if you mistype or send the wrong URL? If people have re-tweeted you, things can get tricky pretty quickly. That’s where Retwact comes into play. Retwact lets you write a retraction tweet or send an #RTRetract message, which goes out to everyone who re-tweeted the mistake through the @Retwact Twitter account, showing them the original and corrected tweets side-by-side. While the service is fairly limited – you can only choose from the last five tweets you’ve sent and the messages only go out to the people who re-tweeted you, not the people who may have seen that re-tweet – it’s a great first step in helping clean up a social media mistake you may have made. What you put online stays online forever – but with Retwact, at least we can help make sure what’s out there is accurate.

One of the coolest features of iOS 6 is Passbook, which keeps track of things like your boarding passes, loyalty cards, event tickets and more on your iPhone. You’d never have to worry about leaving tickets at home again. Samsung wanted in on the action, and earlier this year the company created and launched Samsung Wallet as their version of Passbook. Samsung Wallet lets you save tickets, boarding passes, coupons and loyalty cards to your phone, and gives you access to them from a central hub. While the app doesn’t support payments, it DOES support Near Field Communication. And with Samsung’s partnership with VISA, that NFC support is very interesting. Wallet also gives you time and location based push notifications, letting you know the places around you that support its features. With apps and features like Wallet becoming more and more prevalent on our smartphones, it’s only a matter of time before we can leave everything but our phone at home… just make sure you don’t lose your phone!

Of the many devices that our smartphones have replaced, the gadget we use most frequently might be its camera. But as powerful as smartphones have become, there has never really been a great way to edit your pictures until you get them onto a computer. You don’t have to worry about this anymore, though, as Adobe released Photoshop Touch onto both Google Play and the iOS App Store. Available for five bucks, Photoshop Touch brings the “core” experience of the desktop version of the program to your smartphone, letting you adjust your photos before unleashing them on social media. You can play around with layers, selection tools, adjustments, filters and more to make your photos even more breathtaking. The app also comes with two free gigs of cloud storage and automatic backup. So if you’ve got an iPhone 4S or 5, or an Android phone running Ice Cream Sandwich – Android version 4.0 – or later, go grab Photoshop Touch today and show the world your true artistic side.

Four years ago, a British man named Eric Moger had a tennis-ball sized tumor removed from the left side of his face, along with most of his face itself. Because of the surgery, Moger had to eat and drink through tubes inserted into his stomach. But Moger’s life changed recently, as doctors used CT and facial scans to create a blueprint for the part of his skull they had to remove. That blueprint was then used to create a perfectly fitted facial prosthetic out of nylon plastic, which was attached to his skull and let him to eat and drink normally again. The success of the printing and surgery has led the implant specialist who helped create Moger’s 3D-printed jaw and face prosthetic to hope to develop techniques to allow 3D printing in silicone. 3D printing is still extremely new, but that hasn’t stopped remarkable stories like this. As the technology improves, 3D printing’s role in medicine will expand and bringing hope to people that traditional procedures couldn’t help.

How do you use your phone to talk to friends and co-workers? A recent study says that more of us are using chat apps, like WhatsApp and iMessage, than traditional texting. The study was conducted by Informa and showed that by the end of last year, more messages were being sent with WhatsApp, Kik, iMessage and BBM than through regular text messages. While these messaging apps may be convenient for us, it’s troubling for carriers as SMS has been a massive source of revenue in recent years. Don’t shed a tear for your mobile carrier, though, as the study says that SMS will still bring in over $120 billion this year. But considering 2013 will see twice as many messages sent through apps than through SMS, the huge potential for monetization is obvious. What will happen if WhatsApp or another program begins charging you to send messages? As we connect in new ways, it’s only a matter of time until we’re hit where it hurts most: our wallets.

We’re quickly approaching WWDC, Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference, which starts on June 10 in San Francisco. Normally, WWDC is a time for Apple to show off its new software and tech for developers. We’ll definitely see iOS 7 next month, with the first major user interface overhaul that the OS has ever seen. Rumor has it that there will be some new hardware shown off, too. But before you rush down to the Apple Store, know that Apple’s not expected to show off any new iPhones or iPads, even though we know they’re coming. Instead, Apple is expected to unveil several new MacBooks alongside a new version of OS X. Like a lot of the MacBook upgrades, these are expected to have only minimal changes, and should begin shipping soon after they’re unveiled. While we may not see the next iDevices we’re going to be using keep your eyes and ears peeled for news from WWDC, as we’ll definitely get to look at the OS those iDevices will be running.

: One of the biggest advantages Android had over iOS was Google Now, which gives you the information you want, when you need it. It’ll help you manage your day, stay connected and find fun things to do nearby. Google Now is now on iOS, though, with most of its core features intact. Google Now is activated within the Search app, and once you activate it, you can use it to access your Gmail, calendar, location, search behavior and more. Now is most helpful to those people who run their lives through Google, like me. I use Gmail and Google calendar, which means Now already knows my schedule and commitments, and has a good understanding of what my information needs are. While Now is missing features like nearby events and Fandango, there are still more than two dozen others that remain, including the major ones like weather and traffic. Now is part of the free Google Search app in the App Store, so grab it today!

When Snapchat hit iOS, it took the social world by storm. Suddenly, you could send messages to your friends that would self-destruct in a few seconds. It makes sense, then, that people might want to do the same thing with their tweets. That’s where Efemr comes in. Efemr is a web app that lets you “self-destruct” your tweets. Once you authorize Efemr to access your account, you can decide how long you want a tweet to stick around with a hashtag. Want to conduct a quick poll? Hashtag it #1h and your tweet will be deleted after an hour. Efemr says it was created to make your Twitter activity more fleeting, but also as a way to protect your e-reputation. While it’s nice to automatically get rid of tweets you don’t want cluttering up your feed after a certain amount of time, all it takes is one retweet or screenshot and your e-reputation is in as much trouble as ever. Efemr is cool, but use it wisely.

If you’re in the New York City area, you may have noticed that riding the subways has been a more connected experience. That’s because the Metropolitan Transit Authority recently added free Wi-Fi and cell service to 30 subway stations. The free, Boingo-sponsored Wi-Fi was previously only available in a few place, like on the L and C/E lines, but now can be found at stations like Times Square and Columbus Circle. This recent upgrade also made AT&T and T-Mobile customers very happy with coverage in those same stations. For now, those are the only carriers that have been added, but coverage for Verizon and Sprint is on the way. There are big plans for the future, too, with the services coming to Queens and Midtown by next year and the Bronx and the East Side after that. Within three years, the MTA says, they want all stations connected. As we become more hooked up in this connected world, it only makes sense that our subway stations do, too.

When Windows 8 hit the market, many users didn’t like how visually different it was from what they were used to. Instead of having a traditional desktop, you were plopped into a tablet-like environment, complete with moveable tiles. It seems like Microsoft is aiming to calm the fears of anyone hesitant to make the switch to Windows 8, though. A new rumor says that Microsoft is going to change the way the Start Screen operates when Windows 8.1 releases later this year by letting you boot directly to a traditional desktop. The feature will supposedly be disabled by default, but one quick settings change will have you back to the Windows interface you’ve come to know – and maybe love – over the years. This option won’t disable Windows 8 features like Charms and Start Screen, so if you’ve gotten used to those but want to boot straight to the traditional desktop, you can now have your cake and eat it, too.