About Christian Cawley
Deputy Editor for Security, Linux, DIY, Programming, and Tech Explained, Christian has extensive experience in desktop and software support, and has been published in Computer Weekly, Linux Format, Tech Radar, ad ComputerActive.
Christian also produces MakeUseOf's weekly show, the Really Useful Podcast.
His current passions are his cigar box guitar, his retro gaming site (www.gamingretro.co.uk) and his family.
Use IFTTT To Save & Make Money
Perhaps the best way to stay informed of special offers online is to embrace IFTTT, the popular data combination service that allows you to process data from websites and RSS feeds into something useful for you. Did you know that IFTTT can also help you to save money, and even make some extra cash?
Raspberry Pi's Father Speaks: Eben Upton On The Future of Technology And More
Enthusiasm radiates from Eben Upton. He's the driving force behind the Raspberry Pi, that small computer that has been revolutionising hobbyist computing since its launch in 2012. Tall, and dressed casually, the founder of the Raspberry Pi Foundation is explaining to me the background to the amazing minicomputer. But Upton isn't your usual computer designer. He and his team didn't build the Raspberry Pi to retire on. What they planned was something audacious, something fantastic.
Android's Facebook Home vs Windows Phone's People Hub
Facebook Home is the highly-promoted new Android app from Facebook that unifies messaging and socializing with a single view and launcher, a sort of home screen replacement. Meanwhile Windows Phone users have People, the contacts/social networking hub that is integrated into the platform. We thought it would be interesting to see which of these approaches to integrated social networking is most effective.
How I Freelance Without My PC - Using Windows Phone As A Mobile Office
One of the things I love about a freelance career is being able to up sticks from my home office and go to a local café, bar or library to work in a different environment. It can prove extremely productive and as they say, a change is as good as a rest. I’ve even used the boot of my MPV as a makeshift office! While I generally have my Windows 8 Acer Iconia W7 series tablet with me in such situations, there are of course times when I’ve been caught out.
Stuck In a Recharge Loop? Use These Power Saving Windows Phone 8 Tips
When I became the proud owner of a Nokia Lumia 920, I was delighted to learn that I would be the lucky beneficiary of a free wireless charging pad, apparently worth about £100. Although there were a few hoops to jump through, the pad eventually came a few weeks later, enabling me to simply put my phone down to charge it, rather than struggle working out which way the USB cable connects to my phone.
Modern All The Way: Creating Custom Tiles for Windows 8
To tile or not to tile? One of the most divisive elements of Windows 8 is the Start screen's tiles. These square or rectangle-shaped buttons are effectively shortcuts to launching apps, and are often displaying additional data about the app they represent. This makes them vital, whatever you might think of them, and far superior to shortcut tiles. There are several very easy to use apps and utilities that can be used to create aesthetic and functional Windows 8 Start screen tiles.
Race Against Rising Lava & Collect Diamonds: Call Of Carlos for Windows Phone
It’s unusual for me to find a platform game that I would call fun (see my review of ilomilo for more on this), even more unusual that I should return to it again and again. But that is exactly what has been happening with Call of Carlos, a free Windows Phone game that features a jumping diamond miner, his versatile pickaxe and some fast-rising molten lava! Surely it can’t be the promise of virtual riches as Carlos collects the diamonds, so what is the attraction?
Everything You Need To Know About Emails & Windows Phone 8
How do you use your Windows Phone? I know a lot of users who are purely addicted to a combination of WhatsApp and Xbox Live gaming. Others enjoy their Windows Phones purely due to the social networking options (which are admittedly impressive). Then there are also those of us who take advantage of the various productivity tools. Email is of course one of these (along with the mobile Microsoft Office).
Start Screen Shortcuts - Connection Tiles For Windows Phone 8
Windows Phone has one or two frustrating omissions. One of these is an easy toggle button to enable and display wireless networking, mobile Internet, Bluetooth pretty much anything concerning communication. Rather than a simple on/off button on the Start screen, users must open the settings menu and flick the on/off switch. Surely there is an app-based solution to this?
Voice Messaging – A Secret Weapon On Windows Phone 8
One of the most important things about using a smartphone is the ease with which you can compose and send messages. These might be SMS/MMS messages, emails or even a social network. The important thing, of course, is that you are able to get in touch with the other person as easily and efficiently as possible. Certain mobile phone platforms prevent this. In the case of Windows Phone 8 there are many improvements over competitors.
Action/Strategy Intensity Makes Extraction: Project Outbreak For Windows Phone Unmissable
Those pesky zombies – even when they’re not described as such, have become the de facto earthbound opponent in many video games, and that’s the case in Extraction: Project Outbreak for Windows Phone in which a bunch of "bio-engineered weapons" have gone rogue and escaped. The result is that you take charge of a military contractor who drops in to exterminate the zombies, in a sort of action/strategy game combo.
Turn Your Friends Into Freaks With Morfo
Photos are fun – the rise of successful snap-and-filter apps and services such as Instagram and its "fake Polaroid junkies" are proof of this – but sometimes it’s possible that we don’t fully realise the potential of the images we snap, particularly on digital cameras and smartphones. I stumbled across Morfo back in 2010, shortly after the release of Windows Phone 7.
Metro/Modern Apps Unstable? Try These Tricks
Over the past few months I've been getting to grips with Windows 8 in its most ideal format, on a touchscreen device. The experience has been largely favorable, although as far as the new Metro/Modern UI goes, I tend to restrict its use to the tablet display while enjoying traditional computing through an external monitor. This setup works for me, enabling me to get on with work while able to quickly check news, weather or listen to the radio.
Is Rowi The Best Twitter App For Windows Phone?
I was made aware of a new app, Rowi, which has been attracting great reviews. It seemed sensible to check it out and compare with what I was already using. Initially I was skeptical After all, even if the native Twitter integration on Windows Phone wasn't meeting my needs, I could still use the third party app, which has recently had a visual overhaul to bring it into line with the Android and iOS versions. What exactly could Rowi bring to the table?
3 Ways You Can Improve Smartphone Reception
Whenever I’m at my favourite pub (admittedly not often) or at my mother-in-law’s (sadly more often than I would like) I find that I have considerable trouble making a phone call. How can mobile phone networks claim such high coverage when the majority of people can easily recall occasions when making a connection has been a trial? We’ve all stood on chairs with our phones held aloft, trying to "hook" onto a stray signal, but surely there is a better way?
How to Install Flash On Your Android Jelly Bean Tablet or Phone
For the past few years, Adobe Flash has proved quite controversial. Ever since Apple opted to block support for it on iOS – thereby forcing anyone who wanted to use the iPhone or iPad to rely on other solutions (usually HTML5) its future has remained in doubt, with only traditional desktop and laptop users still regularly using it. Despite the lack of native support for Flash or the ability to easily install it through Google Play, it is actually possible to install the software on a modern Android device and reap the media streaming and gaming benefits.
Raspberry Pi Projects: A Car With Night Vision, Google Glass-like Translation, And More
We’ve previously looked at some excellent uses for this British minicomputer, but the fact is that it is just so versatile that there is always something amazing to talk about. Who would have thought that the Raspberry Pi could be used for so much more than its original purpose of educating, providing a platform for children to learn how to program?
Collect Little Acorns And Unlock Xbox Live Achievements On Windows Phone
As aims of games go, this one is pretty noble – guide Mr Nibbles through 80 different levels to collect nuts and fruit to put away for winter, thereby providing the family of squirrels with enough food. Spread across four years – with four seasons in each – this is a particularly long game for a mobile platform.
How Your Carrier Can Make Your Smartphone Dumb & What You Can Do
Looking for contacts on my wife’s Android phone this morning, I was astonished at how slow the process had become. After eventually creaking through the menu for the details I needed, I switched the device off and back on. A short wait ensued, followed by another. Ceri isn't a habitual app user, and her phone remains unmodded, so what could have been causing these performance delays. And then it struck me. The problem wasn't with Android.
Have Office 2010? Don't Buy Office 2013, Here's Why
I’m coming to the end of my trial period with Microsoft Office 2013. Over the weeks it has been a reasonably solid experience with one or two quirks causing me no end of frustration. But do I want to upgrade? Do I want to pay for a subscription or full purchase or would I prefer to stick with Microsoft Office 2010, a suite that I've been using successfully for several years now? Indeed, should I even think of abandoning Microsoft in favour of an open source alternative?