Shelly Palmer Digital Living - Daily Radio Report

Windows Phone 8.1, launching sometime early next year, will finally feature a notification center and a Siri-like personal assistant app, helping the OS catch up a bit to the rest of the market. The notification center is nice, but the big addition is Cortana, Microsoft’s personal assistant app. Microsoft has been testing Cortana for several months now, and it’s set to replace the existing Bing search on Windows Phone to let you interact with your device through either voice or text input. These aren’t the only new features, though. Separate volume controls are finally being added into the OS, letting you to control ringtone volume separately from media playback volume. Social media will be more of a focus than ever before, too, with apps like Twitter and Facebook extending the People Hub even further in Windows Phone 8.1. Windows Phone still has a lot of work to do to be mentioned alongside iOS and Android, but these upcoming additions should make using the OS a much better experience.

If you’re looking forward to a quiet Christmas with friends and family and don’t want to worry about social media for the day, listen up. A new service called Relaxed can automatically respond to Facebook messages and tweets directed at you on your behalf. If you can’t go five minutes without checking your Twitter @ replies, Relaxed isn’t for you. But for the rest of us who want to spend quality time with loved ones, Relaxed offers a set of responses to choose from and also gives you the option to set your own. It’s sort of like an out-of-office email responder. To use it, go to AutoRelaxed.com and connect your chosen account(s). Set up the message you want to send and the dates you want Relaxed to start and stop. After you do that, you’re all set! Any Facebook messages or tweets sent your way will be acknowledged, and be waiting for you to take care of when you have a little more time. Happy holidays!

Could Apple and Microsoft be on a crash course to merge? That’s what analyst Keith Fitz-Gerald of Money Map Press recently said on Fox Business. Fitz-Gerald thinks the two companies could someday become one – and could happen within the next five or ten years. The idea’s crazy, but not totally crazy. Fitz-Gerald said he sees the merger as a reaction to other companies – like Google and Facebook – growing larger and taking over more of the mobile market. He said that content and security were more important than everything else, and pairing Apple and Microsoft’s mobile strategies would give users – from Millennials through senior citizens – everything they could ever ask for in a mobile device. While it’s just a crazy theory for now, if there ever came a day where the two companies agreed to something like this, the government might not even allow the two to partner up. But if Apple and Microsoft ever do become one, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Spotify recently announced that anyone on an iOS or Android device can now use its mobile app free of charge. The free version of the app will be ad-supported. Up until now, you could only listen to Spotify for free on your computer, and only premium members who paid $10 a month could access the service through their mobile devices. While the tablet app works just like the desktop version – you’re able to pick specific tracks you want to hear – there’s a bit of a catch when it comes to the smartphone app. You can still access your playlists and music albums, but you have to listen randomly using a "Shuffle Play" button. It’s not like Pandora, where playing “Beyonce Radio” will play songs by Beyonce and other similar artists. You’ll only hear songs from the artist you choose. And, speaking of artists, Spotify also announced that Led Zeppelin's catalog is now available to stream, and is – at least for the moment – exclusive to the service. Rock on!

You are now free to iMessage about the cabin. Southwest Airlines recently announced it will begin offering passengers with iDevices the ability to use iMessage from gate to gate. The new service costs $2 per flight and is available to anyone with a device running iOS 5 or later. Android users, don’t worry; Southwest said it plans to extend the service to your devices next year. In-flight electronic use is a hot topic right now and Southwest recently began offering passengers in-flight Wi-Fi for $8 per trip. Both ways to stay connected have gone into effect after the FAA’s recent decision to let passengers use portable electronic devices during takeoff and landing. Things may go a step further soon, as there are currently discussions about whether we’ll be able to send and receive calls on flights. For now, calls are a no-go, but you’ve got the green light to iMessage your friends and family … as long as you fly Southwest.

A new study has determined that technology, like digital cameras, is making us more forgetful. Linda Henkel, a psychologist at Fairfield University recently found that people who think a computer will save their information – like pictures – will recall much less of it than people who thought the machine would delete it. Henkel said that the more easily we can take and access pictures, the less likely we are to remember the moment. Not all is lost when it comes to our phones, though. Henkel believes that tapping your screen to take a picture will help you remember it, because the tactile effect of taking the picture heightens your sense of ownership to the picture. Our phones have allowed us to outsource our knowledge and have given us easy access to answers to every question we could ever ask, but they’re also making memorable experiences more fleeting. So the next time you’re at a breathtaking scenic location, you might want to think twice before taking out your phone to capture the moment.

Time Warner Cable recently introduced a new bundle aimed to win back cord-cutters who think cable TV has become too expensive. The “Starter TV with HBO” bundle includes access to 20 channels, including local channels in HD, as well as HBO and HBO Go, for $30 a month. If this sounds familiar, that's because it is; Comcast started offering a similar bundle in October. While it's a step in the right direction, Time Warner's newest bundle isn't as appealing as it is at first glance. You'll still need to rent a cable box, which currently costs $10 a month. Add in taxes and fees and you'll wind up with a bill close to $50 a month - and that still doesn't include internet access or a DVR. Cable companies like Time Warner and Comcast are scrambling to regain the market share they're losing, but these types of bundles alone won't get the job done. A major shake-up is coming in the world of cable TV - it's just a matter of who will blink first.

Dealing with death is tough enough, but today’s digital world has posed a new problem: What do you do with the Facebook account of a loved one who has passed? There’s no right or wrong choice when it comes to this decision, and it may seem like it doesn’t matter one way or the other, but leaving the profile online may put you and other loved ones at risk because of the site’s ever-changing privacy rules. Facebook’s primary policy when someone dies is to memorialize the account, so if you want to go this route, all you need to do is provide Facebook with proof of death and request for the account to be memorialized. If you’d rather delete the account altogether, you’ll need to fill out a form on Facebook and provide proof that you’re related to the deceased – either a death certificate, the deceased person’s birth certificate or proof of authority will do. While the whole process may seem trivial, cybercriminals see death as a prime time to strike. Protect yourself.

Vine is one of the best ways to share bite-sized videos of your life with your family and friends. Here’s a simple way for iPhone users to make recording your videos easier. Normally, to record in Vine, you need to tap and hold your finger on the screen. But the iPhone can keep a “software finger” on the screen for you, meaning you only need to tap the screen once to film your Vine. Head to Settings, then General, then Accessibility. Scroll down to Assistive Touch, then tap on Creature New Gesture. Tap and hold on the screen for six seconds. Save and name the gesture, then turn on Assistive Touch. When you head into Vine, you can tap on the Assistive Touch white dot, find your custom gesture, and enable it. Tapping the blue circle on the screen registers as a tap and hold. When you’re done, remember to turn off Assistive Touch – otherwise every iPhone touch will register as a six second tap and hold. Happy Vining!

Look! In the sky! It's a bird ... it's a plane ... it's an Amazon Prime Air delivery drone! Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos recently said that the company is looking to shake things up in the package delivery game, including a drone messenger service that can deliver packages to your house in less than half an hour. Amazon's octocopters - the fancy, official word for these drones - sit at the end of a conveyer belt, waiting to pick up your package … as long as they're under 5 pounds, which Bezos says applies to 86 percent of Amazon's packages. The drones can then carry your order up to 10 miles from the fulfillment center - Amazon's massive warehouses, of which there are 96 scattered across the country. Don't expect to see Amazon drones hovering around your neighborhood anytime soon, though. Amazon still needs to work out the regulations and figure out how to prevent your package from being dropped in the wrong spot. Like on your roof… or on your head.

Facebook recently said it would add an “unfollow” button to hide a friend's updates who might share a few too many things. You'd still be friends with him, but you wouldn't have to see his posts clutter your News Feed. If this sounds like a dream come true, there's no need to wait around for Facebook to officially add the button - you can hide pesky over-sharers today. Here's how. Find something that bugs you on your News Feed - whether it's a status update, photo album, app update or anything else - and click the upside down triangle in the top right-hand corner of the update. Then click “I don't want to see this.” If you want to hide everything from that person, click “Hide all from this person.”  That's all you have to do! If you want to add that person back to your feed in the future, go to their page, mouse over the “Friends” dropdown at the top, and click “Show in News Feed.” Now, who needs that “Unfollow” button, anyway?

Ultra HD sets – also known as 4K set – were the new new thing at this year’s CES, and we’ll see even more awesome advances in the technology at CES next month. The picture quality and color space are amazing, but watching 4K video displayed on a 4K screen that’s as wide as an NBA player is tall will make you want one more than hearing a list of specs ever could. These 4K sets have a minimum resolution of 3,840 × 2,160 pixels – that’s 8.3 megapixels, or four times the number of pixels of a 2K set, like the one you’ve got in your living room. But don’t get too hung up on 4K, because 8K sets are on the way, and they’ve got sixteen times more pixels than the set you have in your living room now. Forget home theater; we’re talking home IMAX. Ultra HD is the next big thing in the world of tech, and you’ll be able to see it all in Las Vegas next month at CES.

Thinking of picking up a brand new video game console this holiday season? You might want to hold off on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. While the latest and greatest consoles from Microsoft and Sony will soon be the new kings of the video game world, high prices and a lack of games make them less appealing than their predecessors – the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 – as well as the Wii U. The 360, PS3 and Wii U have all seen price cuts recently, and were all featured in a slew of bundles during Black Friday week. These low prices and bundles will continue through the holiday season, letting you pick up a brand new console and a bevy of games for less than the price of one brand new Xbox One or PlayStation 4. Which would you rather have? A PlayStation 3 and ten of its best games … or a PlayStation 4 and nothing? Personally, I’d prefer a PlayStation 4. Shop smart this holiday season and for younger gamers, consider a PlayStation 3, an Xbox 360 or even a Wii U.

The internet has made digital media king in almost every realm, but a new study shows that it hasn’t quite conquered the book market. Market research firm Voxburner recently polled 16 to 24 year olds in the UK. When asked if they preferred physical products or digital content, almost two in three polled said they preferred physical books to e-books, showing that the Kindle and Nook haven’t taken over quite like their audio and video media counterparts. So why are e-books lagging so far behind other digital platforms, like music and video games? There’s a major divide over price – nearly a third of those polled think e-books should cost half as much as they do now – but the bigger reasons are more sentimental. Many said they like the smell of books, like having full bookshelves and want to show off what they’ve read to family and friends. One day, maybe Amazon or Barnes and Noble will release an e-book with smell-o-reading, but until that day comes, the printed word may remain king.

Another Black Friday is in the history books, but you still have another chance to save. Today is Cyber Monday, which began years ago as a way to encourage more of us to shop online rather than in stores. Many sites have been running online sales for over a week now, while others like Amazon and Walmart started even earlier than that. Cyber Monday marks the end of this run of sales, so here are a few tips to stay safe while you shop. Like any other day, make sure your anti-virus software is up-to-date. If any offer seems too good to be true, it probably is – no one’s selling an iPad Air for $100. Don’t click on any links or offers from sites you don’t recognize. Make sure you make all purchases with a credit card to stay safe and be protected by federal law. Finally, look for https:// in the address bar and the “lock” in the lower-right corner of the screen. These ensure you’re on a safe and secure URL.