When was the last time you opened a web site, got everything you needed from it and then closed it? It’s something we do less and less – instead, more of us are accustomed to keeping a page open for reference for some time, perhaps even leaving it open when we put our computer to sleep, and often bookmarking it to go back to later. But what if you need to access that page when you’re working on a different device – say your smartphone or tablet – and perhaps even in a different location? New support for syncing bookmarks in the popular Opera browser, between its and mobile and desktop platforms, makes it easier to keep track of all the pages you’ve opened but haven’t quite finished with yet.

Bookmark syncing is already standard practice on most browsers, and those who use Google Chrome in particular will already be familiar with being able to log into the browser on different devices and access all your bookmarks just as you left them. Yet, despite its popularity with over 300 million users, it’s a feature that was oddly missing from Opera until an update last month. Bookmark syncing is now supported across Opera’s desktop platform, Opera Mini for iOS, and Opera for Android, with Opera Mini for Android expected to follow soon.

Syncing your bookmarks on Opera browsers is as simple as it is on the likes of Google Chrome. Simply sign into your Opera account on each device that you use (after creating an account if you don’t have one already), and your bookmarks will magically appear for you to access, edit and add to. Of course, if you’re happy as you are, then you can use Opera as you always have done and without signing in – the only difference is that you won’t have access to your bookmarks on any devices where you’re not connected.

Though it may lack the glitz and glam afforded to other, newer browsers like Chrome and Firefox, Opera is a stalwart that has been around since 1995. At the start of this year, one of Opera’s original developers unveiled a brand new browser, Vivaldi, after he became disillusioned with Opera’s change of course from its original functions and purpose. Designed for power users who spend a lot of time online working with high volumes of content, Vivaldi might be for you if you not only like to bookmark lots of pages, but also have a tendency to keep numerous tabs open.

Learn more about how different browsers can help you boost your organization’s productivity – get in touch with us today.

A typical day in the life of a business owner is no longer spent tied to a desk. Instead, you are likely to be out in the field, dashing between meetings and, in the process, using numerous different devices from smartphones to tablets to laptops. Yet for your productivity to soar, it remains vital that you always have access to the information that is critical for you to work efficiently. That includes bookmarked web pages that you want to refer back to later. So it’s a welcome move for Opera to have introduced support for syncing bookmarks across the mobile and desktop versions of its browser.

Bookmark syncing is already standard practice on most browsers, and those who use Google Chrome in particular will already be familiar with being able to log into the browser on different devices and access all your bookmarks just as you left them. Yet, despite its popularity with over 300 million users, it’s a feature that was oddly missing from Opera until an update last month. Bookmark syncing is now supported across Opera’s desktop platform, Opera Mini for iOS, and Opera for Android, with Opera Mini for Android expected to follow soon.

Syncing your bookmarks on Opera browsers is as simple as it is on the likes of Google Chrome. Simply sign into your Opera account on each device that you use (after creating an account if you don’t have one already), and your bookmarks will magically appear for you to access, edit and add to. Of course, if you’re happy as you are, then you can use Opera as you always have done and without signing in – the only difference is that you won’t have access to your bookmarks on any devices where you’re not connected.

Though it may lack the glitz and glam afforded to other, newer browsers like Chrome and Firefox, Opera is a stalwart that has been around since 1995. At the start of this year, one of Opera’s original developers unveiled a brand new browser, Vivaldi, after he became disillusioned with Opera’s change of course from its original functions and purpose. Designed for power users who spend a lot of time online working with high volumes of content, Vivaldi might be for you if you not only like to bookmark lots of pages, but also have a tendency to keep numerous tabs open.

Learn more about how different browsers can help you boost your organization’s productivity – get in touch with us today.

We’ve all become accustomed to controlling our touchscreen smart phones with our fingers. It is something which just a few years ago seemed unthinkable, as we were grappling with now ancient looking Nokia models. Now the next revolution is on the way – Samsung has recently patented new technology that, if it comes to fruition, will see your phone respond to eye movement as a way of controlling what it does.

Some devices, both from Samsung and other manufacturers, already have security features which enable you to scan your face as a way to unlock your phone. This is the kind of eye control function that we might expect from future Samsung devices employing the technology that is the subject of the company’s latest patent. The patent doesn’t limit the application of this technology to phones, either, meaning that we could well see it deployed on devices like tablets, desktop computers and even televisions.

Imagine being able to play a song in your phone’s music streaming application, simply by blinking. Blink a second time and you could pull up various information about the song and artist – other movements allow you to activate further features in the app, whether that’s increasing the volume, pausing, rewinding or downloading other songs by the same artist. The patent lists eye movements including blinking, keeping them closed, and gazing at one spot for a prolonged period, each of which would be linked to specific in-device actions.

The race to implement technology to enable visual control of cell phones is not a new one – back in 2013, LG accused Samsung of having infringed on one of its eye-tracking patents with features available on the Samsung Galaxy 4S. Prior to the launch of the 4S, LG alleged that the phone’s Smart Pause function, which automatically pauses video when you take your eyes off the screen, violated a patent the company had applied for in 2009, and which covered the same technology on its Optimus G Pro device. However, when the 4S was eventually released, the Smart Pause and Smart Scroll features – the latter of which allows for browser and email scrolling without touching the screen – relied on facial recognition rather than eye tracking.

Similar features are available on Apple devices, and intended primarily for those with motor difficulties. Switch Control allows you to connect a switch to your iOS device for easier access, while since iOS 7.1 it has also been possible to use the device’s camera as a head switch, and then customize the settings to define head movements and which actions they trigger. Nonetheless, the ongoing innovations being attempted by firms like Samsung mean that this kind of device control is likely to become even more common and mainstream in the near future.

To find out how we can help you use the latest mobile technology in your business to drive productivity and greater revenue, contact us today.

The pre-touchscreen days of cell phones are thankfully long behind us, and we can consign to history all that thumping down on physical buttons just to make a call. With the advent of the smartphone, we’re now all well accustomed to gliding our fingers across the screen to activate our devices’ countless functions. Samsung, though, wants to go a step further – the manufacturer has recently patented technology that will give you a phone you can control with your eye movements.

Some devices, both from Samsung and other manufacturers, already have security features which enable you to scan your face as a way to unlock your phone. This is the kind of eye control function that we might expect from future Samsung devices employing the technology that is the subject of the company’s latest patent. The patent doesn’t limit the application of this technology to phones, either, meaning that we could well see it deployed on devices like tablets, desktop computers and even televisions.

Imagine being able to play a song in your phone’s music streaming application, simply by blinking. Blink a second time and you could pull up various information about the song and artist – other movements allow you to activate further features in the app, whether that’s increasing the volume, pausing, rewinding or downloading other songs by the same artist. The patent lists eye movements including blinking, keeping them closed, and gazing at one spot for a prolonged period, each of which would be linked to specific in-device actions.

The race to implement technology to enable visual control of cell phones is not a new one – back in 2013, LG accused Samsung of having infringed on one of its eye-tracking patents with features available on the Samsung Galaxy 4S. Prior to the launch of the 4S, LG alleged that the phone’s Smart Pause function, which automatically pauses video when you take your eyes off the screen, violated a patent the company had applied for in 2009, and which covered the same technology on its Optimus G Pro device. However, when the 4S was eventually released, the Smart Pause and Smart Scroll features – the latter of which allows for browser and email scrolling without touching the screen – relied on facial recognition rather than eye tracking.

Similar features are available on Apple devices, and intended primarily for those with motor difficulties. Switch Control allows you to connect a switch to your iOS device for easier access, while since iOS 7.1 it has also been possible to use the device’s camera as a head switch, and then customize the settings to define head movements and which actions they trigger. Nonetheless, the ongoing innovations being attempted by firms like Samsung mean that this kind of device control is likely to become even more common and mainstream in the near future.

To find out how we can help you use the latest mobile technology in your business to drive productivity and greater revenue, contact us today.

Remember when sending a text meant punching hard on physical buttons on your old Nokia model? That was before the days of touchscreen smartphones, to whose smooth, gliding responsiveness to our fingers we have since become accustomed. But the technology revolution doesn’t stop there. Samsung has recently patented technology that will see touch screens give way to visual control screens, where a simple flicker of the eyes will determine what your phone does.

Some devices, both from Samsung and other manufacturers, already have security features which enable you to scan your face as a way to unlock your phone. This is the kind of eye control function that we might expect from future Samsung devices employing the technology that is the subject of the company’s latest patent. The patent doesn’t limit the application of this technology to phones, either, meaning that we could well see it deployed on devices like tablets, desktop computers and even televisions.

Imagine being able to play a song in your phone’s music streaming application, simply by blinking. Blink a second time and you could pull up various information about the song and artist – other movements allow you to activate further features in the app, whether that’s increasing the volume, pausing, rewinding or downloading other songs by the same artist. The patent lists eye movements including blinking, keeping them closed, and gazing at one spot for a prolonged period, each of which would be linked to specific in-device actions.

The race to implement technology to enable visual control of cell phones is not a new one – back in 2013, LG accused Samsung of having infringed on one of its eye-tracking patents with features available on the Samsung Galaxy 4S. Prior to the launch of the 4S, LG alleged that the phone’s Smart Pause function, which automatically pauses video when you take your eyes off the screen, violated a patent the company had applied for in 2009, and which covered the same technology on its Optimus G Pro device. However, when the 4S was eventually released, the Smart Pause and Smart Scroll features – the latter of which allows for browser and email scrolling without touching the screen – relied on facial recognition rather than eye tracking.

Similar features are available on Apple devices, and intended primarily for those with motor difficulties. Switch Control allows you to connect a switch to your iOS device for easier access, while since iOS 7.1 it has also been possible to use the device’s camera as a head switch, and then customize the settings to define head movements and which actions they trigger. Nonetheless, the ongoing innovations being attempted by firms like Samsung mean that this kind of device control is likely to become even more common and mainstream in the near future.

To find out how we can help you use the latest mobile technology in your business to drive productivity and greater revenue, contact us today.

You are not alone in counting on Google power to keep your schedule in check – ever growing numbers of us turn to Google’s cloud-powered Calendar tool for a helping hand in organizing our day-to-day lives. But until now, Android fans have lacked some of the functionality available in the app on other platforms. The welcome news is that you’ll suffer no longer, thanks to a recent update which brings with it usability improvements on numerous fronts.

Google Drive integration

Making for an even more seamless experience using the whole suite of Google apps, Calendar is now more integrated than ever with cloud storage solution Google Drive. Whether it’s a meeting agenda or a hotel booking confirmation, you can now attach files from your Google Drive account directly to a Calendar event. No more emailing files around, only to have to resend them a week later to those who have mislaid them – Calendar even makes sure that all your event invitees can open the files you attach.

A week at a glance

When using Google Calendar on the web, we take it for granted that we can flick between a daily view of our schedule, a look at the work week, the full seven days or even a month at a time. But on Android devices, these have been features missing for too long – at least until now. The app previously supported a monthly view before it was axed; now the seven-day week view returns to allow you to get instant perspective on what’s on the horizon. Couple this with a new pinch-and-zoom capability that allows you to focus in on specific appointments – albeit that this feature frustratingly is only supported in the seven-day view – and it makes for a more efficient and rewarding calendar experience.

Link up with Google+

Take-up of Google’s attempt at a social network has admittedly been lower than some expected but, if you’re one of those who has jumped on the Google+ bandwagon, new integration between it and Calendar means you can quickly and easily import all your friends’ birthdays from your Google+ account. This saves you manually entering them into your diary and, with the option to receive timely reminders by SMS and email, you’ll never miss your colleagues’ special days again.

If you haven’t yet upgraded your Google Calendar for Android app, now’s the time – the latest version is available in the Google Play store. To learn more about deploying Calendar and other cloud-powered Google Apps to transform your company’s organization and productivity, give us a call.

If you’re one of the many for whom Google Calendar has come to mean the difference between being on time and missing meetings altogether, but you refuse to budge in your love of Android devices, there’s good news for you. You can bid farewell to needing to put up with limited functionality compared to Google Calendar’s web-based service, thanks to a raft of improvements built into a recent update to the Android version of the popular app.

Google Drive integration

Making for an even more seamless experience using the whole suite of Google apps, Calendar is now more integrated than ever with cloud storage solution Google Drive. Whether it’s a meeting agenda or a hotel booking confirmation, you can now attach files from your Google Drive account directly to a Calendar event. No more emailing files around, only to have to resend them a week later to those who have mislaid them – Calendar even makes sure that all your event invitees can open the files you attach.

A week at a glance

When using Google Calendar on the web, we take it for granted that we can flick between a daily view of our schedule, a look at the work week, the full seven days or even a month at a time. But on Android devices, these have been features missing for too long – at least until now. The app previously supported a monthly view before it was axed; now the seven-day week view returns to allow you to get instant perspective on what’s on the horizon. Couple this with a new pinch-and-zoom capability that allows you to focus in on specific appointments – albeit that this feature frustratingly is only supported in the seven-day view – and it makes for a more efficient and rewarding calendar experience.

Link up with Google+

Take-up of Google’s attempt at a social network has admittedly been lower than some expected but, if you’re one of those who has jumped on the Google+ bandwagon, new integration between it and Calendar means you can quickly and easily import all your friends’ birthdays from your Google+ account. This saves you manually entering them into your diary and, with the option to receive timely reminders by SMS and email, you’ll never miss your colleagues’ special days again.

If you haven’t yet upgraded your Google Calendar for Android app, now’s the time – the latest version is available in the Google Play store. To learn more about deploying Calendar and other cloud-powered Google Apps to transform your company’s organization and productivity, give us a call.

There is good news in store if you’re an Android user who relies on the scheduling power of Google Calendar to keep your life in order. A recent update has brought significant improvements to the user experience of the Android version of the Google Calendar app, meaning you can now further reap the organizational and productivity benefits of Google’s suite of cloud apps, while not compromising on the comfort of using your favorite device.

Google Drive integration

Making for an even more seamless experience using the whole suite of Google apps, Calendar is now more integrated than ever with cloud storage solution Google Drive. Whether it’s a meeting agenda or a hotel booking confirmation, you can now attach files from your Google Drive account directly to a Calendar event. No more emailing files around, only to have to resend them a week later to those who have mislaid them – Calendar even makes sure that all your event invitees can open the files you attach.

A week at a glance

When using Google Calendar on the web, we take it for granted that we can flick between a daily view of our schedule, a look at the work week, the full seven days or even a month at a time. But on Android devices, these have been features missing for too long – at least until now. The app previously supported a monthly view before it was axed; now the seven-day week view returns to allow you to get instant perspective on what’s on the horizon. Couple this with a new pinch-and-zoom capability that allows you to focus in on specific appointments – albeit that this feature frustratingly is only supported in the seven-day view – and it makes for a more efficient and rewarding calendar experience.

Link up with Google+

Take-up of Google’s attempt at a social network has admittedly been lower than some expected but, if you’re one of those who has jumped on the Google+ bandwagon, new integration between it and Calendar means you can quickly and easily import all your friends’ birthdays from your Google+ account. This saves you manually entering them into your diary and, with the option to receive timely reminders by SMS and email, you’ll never miss your colleagues’ special days again.

If you haven’t yet upgraded your Google Calendar for Android app, now’s the time – the latest version is available in the Google Play store. To learn more about deploying Calendar and other cloud-powered Google Apps to transform your company’s organization and productivity, give us a call.

iPhone users around the world rejoice – your busy life can now be kept in order on your favorite smartphone, as Google has finally unveiled the long absent Calendar app for Apple fans. There will be no more trying to half-heartedly integrate the features of Google Calendar with your iPhone’s in-built scheduling tools. You can now happily order your existence completely to the tune of your Google-dependent existence, and that longing need be no more.

Like its Android sibling, Google Calendar for iPhone takes a colorful approach to displaying your engagements in a daily or three-day view; much like the web version, events from different calendars are categorized by color for quick and easy identification. As well as your existing Google calendars, the app imports and works with any different calendars you already have setup using your phone’s own tools. You can also take a step back and look at the whole month at a glance – though you don’t see individual appointments in this view, it allows you to select a specific date from the calendar and zoom back in to check what you have going on.

Continuing the aesthetic theme, the app takes your diary entries and prettifies them – think a background image of palm trees if you enter the details of your upcoming holiday to the Bahamas. You’ll also get useful supporting data for your day-to-day events, like maps to get you to your next meeting or an idea of the weather when you jet into a new city for the night. And if you’re a Gmail user, you can have the app automatically create events from your email – perfect for having details of meetings and travel bookings plugged into your schedule for easy reference. Features like this bring you the benefits of travel planning apps like Tripit without the hassle of having to forward each email confirmation across first.

Adding diary engagements manually is a breeze, too – this functions in much the same way as the web-based Google Calendar, except that you can tap into your iPhone’s contact list to select those you want to invite to your events. The app can also go some way to predicting where you’ll host each event, and so autofill the location for you.

While many of the features of the app are not dissimilar to things you can already accomplish using Google Calendar on the web, the app’s release means all of those tools are finally bundled up and easily accessible to those of us who just can’t stray too far from our iPhone. A switch to the new Google Calendar for iPhone app means a big step up in performance and productivity if you’re currently using the far more basic features of your phone’s in-built calendar app.

Want to learn more about using the iPhone in a business setting? Give us a call today.

Google has finally invented the missing piece in the jigsaw for iPhone users – the tech firm has completed its suite of apps by adding iPhone functionality to the popular Calendar App. Now you can schedule yourself to within an inch of your life, all without leaving your iPhone and without bothering with integration between Google Calendar and your phone’s own built-in diary management tools.

Like its Android sibling, Google Calendar for iPhone takes a colorful approach to displaying your engagements in a daily or three-day view; much like the web version, events from different calendars are categorized by color for quick and easy identification. As well as your existing Google calendars, the app imports and works with any different calendars you already have setup using your phone’s own tools. You can also take a step back and look at the whole month at a glance – though you don’t see individual appointments in this view, it allows you to select a specific date from the calendar and zoom back in to check what you have going on.

Continuing the aesthetic theme, the app takes your diary entries and prettifies them – think a background image of palm trees if you enter the details of your upcoming holiday to the Bahamas. You’ll also get useful supporting data for your day-to-day events, like maps to get you to your next meeting or an idea of the weather when you jet into a new city for the night. And if you’re a Gmail user, you can have the app automatically create events from your email – perfect for having details of meetings and travel bookings plugged into your schedule for easy reference. Features like this bring you the benefits of travel planning apps like Tripit without the hassle of having to forward each email confirmation across first.

Adding diary engagements manually is a breeze, too – this functions in much the same way as the web-based Google Calendar, except that you can tap into your iPhone’s contact list to select those you want to invite to your events. The app can also go some way to predicting where you’ll host each event, and so autofill the location for you.

While many of the features of the app are not dissimilar to things you can already accomplish using Google Calendar on the web, the app’s release means all of those tools are finally bundled up and easily accessible to those of us who just can’t stray too far from our iPhone. A switch to the new Google Calendar for iPhone app means a big step up in performance and productivity if you’re currently using the far more basic features of your phone’s in-built calendar app.

Want to learn more about using the iPhone in a business setting? Give us a call today.

Are you fed up of having to waste time integrating your Google Calendar entries with your iPhone to enjoy the benefits of access to your schedule on the go? Your life could be about to get a little easier, thanks to Google’s long awaited release of its Calendar app for the iPhone. Enjoy synchronizing your days with all the features you love about Google Calendar, without ever having to leave your Apple comfort zone.

Like its Android sibling, Google Calendar for iPhone takes a colorful approach to displaying your engagements in a daily or three-day view; much like the web version, events from different calendars are categorized by color for quick and easy identification. As well as your existing Google calendars, the app imports and works with any different calendars you already have setup using your phone’s own tools. You can also take a step back and look at the whole month at a glance – though you don’t see individual appointments in this view, it allows you to select a specific date from the calendar and zoom back in to check what you have going on.

Continuing the aesthetic theme, the app takes your diary entries and prettifies them – think a background image of palm trees if you enter the details of your upcoming holiday to the Bahamas. You’ll also get useful supporting data for your day-to-day events, like maps to get you to your next meeting or an idea of the weather when you jet into a new city for the night. And if you’re a Gmail user, you can have the app automatically create events from your email – perfect for having details of meetings and travel bookings plugged into your schedule for easy reference. Features like this bring you the benefits of travel planning apps like Tripit without the hassle of having to forward each email confirmation across first.

Adding diary engagements manually is a breeze, too – this functions in much the same way as the web-based Google Calendar, except that you can tap into your iPhone’s contact list to select those you want to invite to your events. The app can also go some way to predicting where you’ll host each event, and so autofill the location for you.

While many of the features of the app are not dissimilar to things you can already accomplish using Google Calendar on the web, the app’s release means all of those tools are finally bundled up and easily accessible to those of us who just can’t stray too far from our iPhone. A switch to the new Google Calendar for iPhone app means a big step up in performance and productivity if you’re currently using the far more basic features of your phone’s in-built calendar app.

Want to learn more about using the iPhone in a business setting? Give us a call today.

Too many of us associate corporate meetings with long, dull sessions that lack focus, go round and round in circles and end up not reaching the concrete conclusions we need from them. In fact, many of these meetings probably don’t even need to be held in the first place, and certainly plenty of us would rather be at our desks getting on with our jobs than sat in energy-devoid boardrooms. But there’s another way – enter Do.com, a meeting productivity platform that has recently made announcements that show it’s on the up. Here’s why it might be time your organization upped the ante in meetings and jumped on the Do.com bandwagon.

Do.com aims to end what it terms ‘meeting hell’, and the platform is currently used by more than 5,000 organizations from top businesses like Dominos to sectors of the US government. When you add Do.com to your company’s productivity strategy, you benefit from a host of meeting-oriented features including management of agendas, notes and actions. The tool can also be used to share files for the purpose of discussion during meetings, and to display a timer to keep deliberations on track and avoid that ultimate hell of never-ending meetings.

The cloud-focused application has signaled it is on an upward trajectory, recently adding $2 million in funding. The additional capital will be used to further expand Do.com and its features, as well as the team behind it. Consequently, it appears that now is a great time to be getting onboard, with lots more to come from it. The most recent technical development to be announced is its new integration with Office 365. This will give Do.com further relevance and usability value to business owners around the world who are already taking advantage of the numerous benefits of the Microsoft cloud-based suite of productivity applications.

Do.com can already be used in conjunction with Evernote and Google Apps like Drive and Docs, but the move to integrate with Office 365 puts it in reach of an ever larger audience. Those not yet accustomed to high-tech meeting solutions may still be using pen and paper to manage their company get-togethers. But Do.com identifies its technology-based competitors as core cloud applications such as Dropbox, Trello, Evernote, Google Apps – everything from Docs to Calendar to Drive – and even good old email. Yet Do.com does something these individual apps don’t – while they all tackle one particular element of the organization and follow-up to a meeting, Do.com handles the whole lot with a single holistic, meeting-centered approach. With its latest moves, that’s what the platform hopes will be attractive to productivity-deprived business owners.

Want to find out more about Do.com and other productivity and cloud-based technologies? Get in touch today.