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This is my favourite thing in the world right now. As someone who spends a lot of time doing work on my Chromebook, little plug there, I find that staying home doesn’t always cut it. It can be boring, it can be lonely and it can be isolating. Occasionally I might decide to pick up my Chromebook and go into town and chill out in Cafe Nero while I work. Not only does it brush off the cobwebs, give me some exercise and get me out the house but it also means that writing these articles becomes a little easier when you’re exposed to different environments.
The downside, if you can call it that, of a Chromebook is that it doesn’t have much offline capability. I can enable offline access for docs, which is nice, but it’s obviously much easier to have full, untethered access to my work. That’s where wifi comes in. On the train. In shops. Even some buses have built in wifi now. It makes working for people who travel a lot much, much easier and I, for one, love it.

One of the major advancements in gaming in the previous generation (for specifically the Xbox 360) is in the way in which music was implemented into the console ecosystem. The Xbox 360 allowed gamers the use of “custom soundtracks” which, when activated, over wrote the game’s soundtrack and sound effects and allowed you to listen to your own music instead. It was perfect for a number of games, specifically sports titles.

The Playstation 4 has taken this a step further though, while it doesn’t allow you to listen to your own music off your hard drives, but it allows you to listen to the insanely popular Spotify service. You can build your own playlists specifically for games, or just listen to Spotify radio while you play Call of Duty. You can listen to Kanye West while playing Pro Evolution Soccer, listen to Michael Jackson while enjoying the latest game in the Dragon Age franchise. It’s a simple change, but already the service has over two million downloads and it’s growing fast. Consoles are quickly becoming the perfect living room accessory.

While cutting through pipes, you are working through high strength material, applying a reasonably high amount of force and therefore risking injury to yourself or the people around you. Most pipe cutters are powerful enough to cut through plastic, PVC or metal without bending or twisting, and can therefore cause substantial bodily harm if not properly handled.You will therefore need to take precautions while cutting through pipes, and this piece points you in the right direction.

1. Position the blade away from you

You will be cutting through all sorts of pipes. While some will be rough and therefore safe to handle, others can be too smooth, and therefore slippery. In the event that something triggers your hand to slip, then the blade will slip too, and you do not know what will happen if it finds you unguarded. To prevent against this eventuality, you have to ensure that the blade points away from you, so that if your hand slips, the blade falls away from you and not towards you.
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According to French website Nowhereelse, an image for the rumoured iPad Pro model has leaked. The image shows that the iPad Pro will be a larger version of the iPad 2.

Backing up the idea that the new iPad model will be around 12 inches, the photograph also hints that the model will have a similar design to the other tablets in Apple’s collection.

The device is also rumoured to contain the popular Touch ID fingerprint scanner and also a next-generation A9 processor.

There is a rumoured product unveiling planned for the end of February, but people in the know claim this is for a new Macbook Air. So expect this new iPad Pro to be debuted by the end of March.

Music streaming giants Spotify, have announced that they have reached a new milestone with their subscribers and active users. The world’s most largest streaming service achieved 15 million subscribers and a total of 60 million active users before the end of 2014, and in celebration have compiled a playlist to celebrate.

“We had an amazing 2014 at Spotify and owe it all to you, the music fans who listen, discover, share and celebrate music and artists with us every day of the year. As we set off into the new year, we want to send a giant thank you to all of you. We can’t wait for the year in music ahead!” (Spotify)

If you are new to the idea of buying rack panels, the first thing that you need to know should be the definition of what a rack panel is. It is a piece of flat metal that is attached to a threaded bar in the form of a rack. It is usually used to take up the spaces left once the racks are installed. In order to match the different spaces that they needed to fill, these panels are often found in various shapes and sizes.

Types

You can find rack panels with hinges that make it easier to fit them into the rack. Some are holed in design to allow them some circulation, the holes working as air vents. Others can be installed in vertical spaces in a rack. There are also custom panels that are designed to suit your specific needs. If you have unique shapes and formats of racks that you need to fill, these custom panels would be perfect for you. (more…)

Messenger giants WhatsApp have released a brand new update to their application, and luckily for brand new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus owners, they have not been overlooked this time!

Along with the usual bug fixes and stability improvements, the app is also optimised for the most recent Apple mobile devices, meaning no more stretched screen!

WhatsApp have recently caused a stir with their updates, with the most recent controversy being about the read receipts which mark a message with blue ticks, informing the sender when the recipient has read their message.

This new version of WhatsApp is available as a free update on the App Store now.

A new update has been rolled out by Sky on their Sky+ app for iOS and Android, allowing users to view photographs stored on their smartphone on their TV screen. The device must be connected to the same wireless network as the Sky+HD box for the photo feature to work. Sky’s director of TV products, Luke Bradley-Jones said;

“The photo viewing function lets you simply, quickly and easily view photos on your TV via a connected Sky+HD box without the need for any extra devices. With this update, the app will now mirror the new Sky+ Homepage, with great features like Smart Series Link and New & Recommended helping customers find the TV they really want to watch.”

Multimedia giants Microsoft have announced their answer to mirroring a PC screen onto a TV – the Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter.

It’s going to be a great device which will make life so much easier. It’s similar to the Google Chromecast as it’s basically a stick with a HDMI output, connected to USB port for power.

As usual, Microsoft have made sure compatibility works best with their most recent operating system – Windows 8, but it should also work okay with Android devices.

There is a little bit of delay, but it’s still perfect for presentations, or image/video playback. PC gaming probably isn’t the best task to try on this device, but overall for the price point of what we guess is £40-£50, it’s a great piece of kit.

Nitrogen generators are large industrial machines that are capable of producing vast quantities of Nitrogen. The earlier method of nitrogen generation depended on gas cylinders but the modern machines have done away with this problem. These machines are also much more cost effective than gas cylinders. Some of the applications of Nitrogen include:

1. Filling the tires of certain types of automobiles and aircrafts

2. Nitrogen helps in preserving large quantities of packaged food

3. It is often placed near explosives to prevent them from detonating

4. It plays a major part in production and fabrication of electronic components

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