How to get Android notifications in Windows

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Excerpt: Working at a computer sometimes means switching focus to your smartphone or tablet when it bleeps. DeskNotifier pushes these messages to your desktop so you can handle (or ignore) them quickly.

If you work at a computer for any length of time, the odds are good that you'll be interrupted by your mobile device. It's fairly easy to just mute it, but sometimes you need to act on a text or call that comes your way. DeskNotifier sends notifications from your Android device to your Windows computer. Here's how to use it: 

1. Download the Windows app here and the Android app here and install them both. 
2. The first time you run the Android app, you will be directed to turn it on in the Accessibility settings. It can't operate if you don't do this, but it's a painless operation. 
3. The first time you run the Windows app, you'll need to take care of some bookkeeping, such as which language you prefer and whether to start the app at launch (recommended). 
4. You will also need to enter the IP address of your Android device every time you launch; fortunately, the Android app lists it near the bottom of the main screen. (You can also just use a USB cable, but this isn't practical for everyone.) 

How to run whatsapp on PC... Offline BlueStacks app player free download (Running android apps on computer)

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Download BlueStacks app player for free (both online and offline installer):

All Android application freaks must be already aware of BlueStacks App Player application, which allows you to play and use Android application on the Windows platform.

The developers have introduced the BlueStack App Player Beta application on the Windows platform after alpha testing.

You can download the BlueStacks App player for free.

Save Facebook friend birthdays and get notifications on Android phones

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Receive Facebook friends birthday notification on Android phones

    One of the most useful feature of Facebook is the birthday reminders. When you log on to the Facebook web site, any of your friend’s birthdays appear on the right side of the page under Upcoming Events. Unfortunately, if you primarily access Facebook using a smartphone app you don’t see the birthday reminders. Best Wishes is an Android app that automatically retrieves your friend’s birthdays and provides a notifications on those birthdays.

The first time that you run Best Wishes you need to connect it to your Facebook account, and it then retrieves all of your friend’s birthdays. Best Wishes displays the names of your friends with their Facebook profile pic and their birthdays in chronological order. If you tap a name, their wall is opened in the Facbook Android app, where you can post a birthday greeting.

While the birthday list is useful, the real power of Best Wishes is hidden in the app’s settings, which is where you can configure the app to display notifications to remind you of a friend’s birthday. You can even configure Best Wishes to automatically send a birthday wish and specify a time range for when it posts birthday wishes to Facebook. If your friends don’t share their birthdays on Facebook, but you know them, you can manually enter their birthdays in Best Wishes’ settings.

Best Wishes is available in a free or “lite” version and a paid version that costs $.99. The paid version adds the ability to exclude Facebook friends from the Best Wishes list, provides pre-defined birthday wishes that are chosen randomly,
and provides you to the ability to specify a custom birthday wish for each of your friends.

Twelve ways to customize your Android device

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Customizing your smartphone, or any device for that matter, is a rite of passage for all of us. By customizing, you turn a standard looking device that millions of users may be carrying around, into something that is truly ours. It goes from a slab of plastic and rare metals, to something that is very personal.

Android users and abusers know very well how customizable their beloved devices are. We rounded up 12 ways for you to customize your Android device; whether you're a seasoned Android vet or an Android noob, you'll want to take a look.

The basics

Change your wallpaper: Setting your own wallpaper, be it a photo you took or one you found online, is a great way to personalize the general look and feel of your device.

Create and assign custom ringtones: Ringtones are one of the first things people customize when they get a new phone, no matter the device.

Best apps for streaming video on Android

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Streaming videos, movies, or TV shows on your Android device is getting better and easier all the time. Here are seven apps you can use right now.

When the smartphone craze first started, the thought of being able to stream a movie or TV show while commuting into work or waiting at the airport was simply a dream. Screens were small, coverage was spotty, and it was hard to find shows you actually wanted to see. Fast forward to today, and streaming content on the go is genuinely good.

There are seven apps listed below that provide a great streaming experience on your Android device, whether you're sitting on the couch with solid Wi-Fi or out and about with a 3G or 4G connection. Here they are.

Crackle
Crackle is great for one main reason; it's completely free. You're able to stream a healthy list of TV shows and movies.

Update, uninstall Android apps via Google Play site

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The opening keynote for Google I/O 2012 just wrapped up, complete with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the Nexus 7 tablet, the Nexus Q and an insane Google Glass product demo.

There were some changes brought to the Google Play Store as well. One of the changes wasn't even mentioned during the keynote -- the ability to update or uninstall apps on your Android device, directly from the Google Play Web site. A small feature, but one that is sure to come in handy to many users. Here's how it works.

• Visit play.google.com on your computer and log in to your account.
• Click on the My Android Apps tab to view the apps installed on your device.

• You will then see a grid of apps currently installed on your device; if any apps have an update
  

Save maps for offline use in Google Maps for Android

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Shortly after the Google I/O keynote, Google rolled out a list of app updates, one of which was an update to Google Maps. In the update, Google enabled the ability to save a section of a map for offline access. This is a great feature when you are traveling in an area with spotty coverage.

To save an area, launch Google Maps and tap on the menu key.Select Make Available Offline from the menu and then narrow down the area you want to save. You'll want to make sure you do this in advance and when you're connected to a strong Wi-Fi network. 

How to find Android tablet apps

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Abstract: Learn a few tips and tricks for quickly locating tablet-optimized apps for Android tablets.

A tablet is only as good as the software it runs. Unfortunately for Android tablet owners, finding great tablet-optimized software can be a struggle. Browsing Google Play (formerly known as the Android Market), there's no easy way to filter out smartphone apps and focus just on the meaty tablet stuff.

The good news is that there are some great Android tablet apps out there, and they can be found with just a little extra effort.

For a step-by-step walkthrough, check out the photos below. If you have other tips to share, be sure to leave a comment.

1. Not all apps are created equal

Finding great apps for an Android tablet can be a little hit or miss. With any luck you'll get a game or app that's clearly optimized for a large screen. But there's an equally good chance you'll end up with an awkwardly stretched out app (Yelp's app shown here as an example) that was clearly designed for the smaller screen of a smartphone.