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College is a difficult and trying time for even the best and most organized students.  In the era before smart-phones and iPads students actually had to take responsibility for keeping things under control.  Luckily, we now have technology to both simplify and complicate our lives every day.  If you are getting ready to start college and feel like there are a few things that you need to get started, beginning with a few key apps can make life a lot easier:

Free Wi-Fi Finder – Every student needs internet, often while they are on the go.  Being able to find Wi-Fi, no matter where you are, can make the difference between passing a class and failing.  If you are on a deadline and need internet fast, just click on this app and it will show you all the Wi-Fi hotspots in the area.

Top Restaurant Finder -  It can be a challenge to find food that is really worth eating, especially when you first move to a city.  Of course, you could wander the streets aimlessly until you find yourself a taco-bell.  Or, you could flip on your Top Restaurant Finder and find yourself with a handy list of the restaurants in the area and reviews about what they are really like.

Take Me Home, I’m Lost! – If you don’t have a GPS, you are bound to get lost on and off while you are in school.  Don’t let it destroy an evening because you can’t find your way back in time for that hot date.  This app stores your home address and, like a GPS, will calibrate your location while you drive.  Simply click it and it will take you home.  You can even keep using your other apps while it works.

Job Search – Whether you are about to graduate or just looking for a part time gig to help pay expenses, this app can make your life a thousand times easier.  No one wants to have to spend hours of their free time searching the web for viable jobs, when it can be achieved while you are waiting for the bus, or for your professor to start speaking.  This handy app can be used anywhere to search through thousands of top jobs listings, helping you to find the perfect one.

inClass – Since your iPhone now has the ability to take pictures, send emails, and record, this handy app brings it all together.  You can take audio recordings, write notes, or take pictures of slides or white-board scribblings.  You can even share the info with your friends who are skipping out through Facebook and iTunes.

iProcrastinate – Managing a full schedule with work and activities can be baffling and difficult even for the most organized of students.  This handy little app can take all the stress out of it.  More than a simple calendar, this app includes tools to break down tasks into smaller steps and prioritize, so that you never miss finishing that paper on time.

Guest author Sarah McRae is a student life blogger and expert on top careers at My Colleges and Careers.

It seems intuitive enough. More megapixels is better, right?

But, as with most things electronic, the magic number just seems to keep on growing… 2, 5, 8, 11, 15, 18, 21?!? How many megapixels do you really need?

Approximate Resolution of Various Output Types

One way to think about this question is to estimate how many pixels (and therefore the number of megapixels) it takes to effectively render a few different common output formats.

Facebook. Let’s say you want to share a picture over the Internet. If you’re on Facebook, the largest possible image size is 720 pixel x 720 pixels. That’s 921,600 pixels… or a whopping 0.9 megapixels.

Other Web Sharing. Let’s say you just want to share some pictures over the web and look at them on your computer. While the upper limit on the resolution will vary, it will be limited by the size/resolution of your monitor. My 19? flat panel and video card on my desktop support a resolution of 1440 x 900 pixels. That’s a total of 1,296,000 pixels, or 1.3 megapixels. Hmm… now we’re getting closer to modern times.

Basic 4×6 Print. Ok, let’s up the ante and contemplate a print product. Typical print resolution is 300 ppi (pixels per inch). That means that a 4 inch by 6 inch picture will require approximatley 1200 pixels by 1800 pixels. That’s 2,160,000 pixels, or a shade over 2 megapixels.

Large 8×10 Print. Want something bigger? How about a nice 8×10 print that can fit in a matted 11×14 frame. At 300 ppi, that requires 2400 x 3000 pixels. That’s 7.2 megapixels. Now we’ve actually entered the realm of modern cameras. But, still, most consumer level digital point and shoot cameras deliver at least 7 or 8 megapixels.

Uber-Large Poster Print (24 x 30 inches). And now for something obscene. Let’s make a really big poster print. At Costco, I can print an image at 24×30 inches for $8.99. That would require 7200 x 9000 pixels or 64,800,000 pixels. So, a full 300 ppi image would take, umm, 65 megapixels. Oops. They actually look pretty good at ~12-15 megapixels as long as you don’t hold your nose an inch from the picture.

In other words, pretty much every conceivable normal output format (from web images to an 8×10 print) requires less than 8 megapixels. If you’re a professional photographer creating movie posters, large print ads, or the like, you could probably benefit from a higher resolution. And there are some reasons why you’d like to have a little extra resolution to spare. But, while more is better, that doesn’t mean it’s necessary…

Food for Thought

In 2004, Canon’s flagship camera was the EOS 1D Mark II. That camera, near the top of the line of professional Canon dSLR, offered 8.2 megapixels. It’s successor, the EOS 1D Mark II also topped out at 8.2 megapixels, and the flagship line didn’t increase until the EOS-1D Mark III was introduced in 2007 with 10 megapixels.

Up until a few years ago, 8-10 megapixels was enough for professional photographers the world round. So, although today’s flagship camera offers 16 megapixels and the more recent 5D MK II offers 21 megapixels, these aren’t exactly necessary. It’s nice, but it’s something of a luxury, and often times it’s entirely unnecessary.

Does that mean you should turn away a high megapixel camera? No, not really… but you can find some few-years-old digital bodies in good used condition for a decent price. If there’s no other reason for you to choose the newer body, you can save yourself hundreds of dollars by buying a slightly less-than-modern camera that offers less-but-enough megapixels.

Reading has always been one of my favorite hobbies. So when ebook readers hit the market, I suppose that I was what marketing people call an “early adopter”.

I started off with a Kindle 2.0. That served me well for over two years. To be honest, I wouldn’t have upgraded had it not been for the fact that my better half got me a Kindle 4 as a Christmas gift. Apart from the fact that the Kindle 2.0 did everything that I needed it to do, I was a little worried that changing to the Kindle 4 would have been problematic due to the lack of a keyboard.

In the end, I needn’t have worried. Although I didn’t actually realize it, I hardly ever used the keyboard on my Kindle 2.0. I only need it about once a week when I’m looking for a new book. Even then, I quite often do that from a computer and just have the ebook delivered to my Kindle.

All that I really need when I’m reading are the page turn buttons, and those are handily located on the side of the reader. In truth, I don’t miss the keyboard at all – the diminutive size and weight of the new entry level Kindle more than make up for the lack of a QWERTY keyboard.

For me, as interesting as the ebook reader hardware is, the whole ebook experience is all about convenience. I just love the fact that I can:

• Carry thousands of books with me wherever I go – in a device which weighs less than a paperback book.
• Buy new books wherever I am – and whatever time of day or night it is.
• Download a new book to read in less than 60 seconds.
• Access over a million free out-of-copyright ebooks.
• Download the first chapter of Kindle books as a free download.

So I admit it – I’m a huge fan of both ebook readers and ebooks. Ebook readers are the ideal gadget for me, and ebooks are much more convenient than traditional printed books.

Many of my friends are also keen readers. I thought, quite naturally, that they would also be as excited about ebooks as I was. However, I was very wrong in that assumption.

Many people told me that they would miss the feel of a “real” book in their hands. Fair enough I suppose. There is a certain element of tactile enjoyment in reading I suppose.

Others told me that they would even miss the smell of a book. Around about now, I did start to wonder just what type of books my friends were reading. Something from the “scratch ‘n’ sniff” school of literature I presume.

It became clear to me that many of my friends – who I presume would be a reasonably representative cross section of society – were “bibliophiles” in the very literal sense of the word. That is to say that they love books more than they like reading.

I would have to suppose that there are many people who find themselves in that category. That’s just one of the reasons why, although ebooks may be cheaper, more convenient and more environmentally friendly than printed books, they will never replace the real thing.

As you may have noticed many blogs have least one picture in it. I started thinking this at first that these pictures simply add some flair to the blog posts, but now, I’ve realized how many benefits it gives to include these pictures.

First, it gives some color to the site where the blog is posted. Especially the black and white theme looks so boring ,that it really needs some color to brighten it up. Its good to pick very bright, eye-grabbing photos, to snatch people’s attention, and then direct it to the posts.

Second, it helps as a navigation tool for the blog. When people are looking through your site, having large pictures can help people remember where they are on your blog. It sounds stupid, but they can count the pictures and remember what post they’re on. This helps people who are looking for a particular article, to find it, as opposed to just skipping your blog all together.

Third, it also helps as a navigation tool within the actual post. When people are reading a post, especially when it’s one just large block of text, it’s easy to lose your concentration in it. You look up for just a second, and look down and you’ve lost your place, then you have to spend precious seconds finding it again. With a picture in the post, you subconsciously connect where you’re reading, in relation to the picture. This give you the ability to look away from the screen, and back, and easily find where you are.

Fourth, when you first visit a website, you instinctively scan it once, just giving it a “look over.” If you have some really interesting and funny pictures , this will cause the people to look again and read your blog post. This also really helps for visitors from social-media sites. It keeps them on the site longer, and hopefully will be persuasive enough to get them to read the content.

Fifth, pictures help individualize posts. People mentally begin to affiliate your posts, with certain pictures. They’ll remember which post had the smiling faces and had the funny images. So when people want to find specific things, they’ll know right where to look on the page.

Sixth, it takes up text space. Now, before you laugh at this, this is a very legitimate way to help loosen your blog writing load. A few pictures in your post, can make a 600 word article, look like a 1000+ word article. That is a Huge Victory for you! Nobody wants to read 1000+ words, but everybody wants to think that they just read one. If you’re a good writer, you should be able to say what you want in 600-1000 words, but with the added pictures, it gives the allusion of much more researched, and intelligent looking articles. You look good, your site looks good, and your reader feels good. Everybody wins.

Seventh, it breaks up long blocks of text. Reading an article or a blog can get boring very quickly, when it’s just one large block of black on white. You get distracted, you get annoyed, you get lost in the page. Lots of different things can happen, that can be solved with a simple picture in the center, to break up the post, make you smile, and then return to reading. It’s truly amazing how much a great picture can do to our perspectives.

Eighth, it brings humor to your site.Your goal is to make the visitors stay on your blog enjoyable. Pictures are a great way to get people to laugh. When people laugh, they are enjoying your content, which means you win!

Ninth, pictures are a great way to say “this is important!” Or “read this again!” You can use pictures to get emotion from your readers, in ways that pictures can’t. Whether you want sympathy, laughter, acknowledgment, joy… Pictures can help you draw in your readers, and hammer in the “prompt,” or “hint,” you were trying to get them to understand.

Tenth, pictures can also get you extra traffic. By merely posting a picture, they can draw tremendous traffic and also if the picture is indexed in search engines, you gain all these benefits. Eleventh, pictures say a thousand words. No, even more than that. Pictures say what words can’t, no matter how many words you might use. But with a simple picture, you can easily say what you want.

Pictures serve a very wide assortment of uses, elaborating a point, drawing in a reader, advertising a product, making the visitors stay enjoyable, drawing emotion from readers, helping them navigate your site, there are tons of valuable things you gain. All of that benefits you get , from only posting a picture in your blog.

Released on September 28^th 2011 a new breed known as the Kindle Touch was introduced…taking those who thought they had all the reading technology they would ever need by storm. This bloodline of next generation electronic ink readers has been labeled as the manifestation of everything you already love about the Kindle reader.

 Let’s Take A Look Inside…

The line up consists of :

Kindle ($79)

Kindle Touch ($99)

Kindle Touch 3 G ($149)

These touchscreen models are an edition to the already existing predecessors:

Kindle Keyboard ($99)

Kindle Keyboard 3G ($139)

Kindle Fire ($199)

 So What Does This New Family of Ink Readers have to Offer?

Well let’s talk about one that stands out the most and that is the 3G. Classified as the reader for fanatics who want only the best reading experience. It is ready to go right out of the box so you all you have to do is power it on and start reading. The weight and design make it comfortable to handle, simple to use and easy to read in any position that is most relaxing allowing you to get lost in your favorite book.

The new touchscreen interface makes navigation flow with ease, turning pages is almost effortless and note taking is like second nature. On or Offline you can buy one of these bad boys for about $149 just about anywhere electronics are sold, but Amazon is the best way to go. And they sell refurbished models at a much cheaper prices so if brand new puts a strain on your pockets, you have the option to buy used.

 Kindle Touch 3G Features…

• Offers free 3G for life and also works with Wifi giving you the option of both so you are never left stuck looking for a signal. Whether at work, home or school you will always have access to the internet. This is available in over 100 countries across the globe.

• A 6 inch electronic ink pearl screen giving you the look and feel of real paper as you read. A sharp contrast that is ambient to light making text visibility easy on the eyes. No shade needed to enjoy reading outside.

• Battery life is a key factor when you love to read. 1 to 2 months is how long it will hold it’s charge before you have to plug it in and charge again. Charge time is only four hours which can simply be done through a USB port on any PC or laptop. For anyone who travels or is always on the move can benefit from the luxury of not having to carry a charger everywhere they go.

•  Equipped with a database that holds up to 3,000 books. Through your 3G connection you are able to connect to Amazons ever growing collection of books and download them right to your reading device. Wikipedia and newspapers are available at your fingertips as well.

These successors to the Kindle family have been designed with better visibility, seamless navigation, global access without restrictions as well as comfort and style, enhancing the reader experience all while keeping the reader in mind. Consider the Kindle Touch 3G an experience well worth the investment for any person passionate about reading.

Find Out What Else Kindle Touch 3G Has To Offer…

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When connecting a Wireless Router to the Internet and to provide a WLAN (Wireless Local Network) for local connectivity, it is important that you firstly have a working Broadband DSL connection to the Internet via a DSL modem. A lot of non-technical people get confused about the difference between a wireless router and an Internet Gateway Router, which has a built-in modem and so does not need a standalone DSL modem.

Let us assume you already have a DSL Modem and you have tested connectivity to the Internet through the modem with a PC. Now we need to connect the wireless router to the DSL Modem and also set up the local Wireless LAN to enable local devices to connect wirelessly with the device. If you have a cable modem, because your broadband service from your Internet Service Provider is a cable service then the setup is very similar, having already tested the functionality of the Cable Modem. In order to connect to the wireless router, your PCs, Notebooks or even Gaming Consoles need to support the IEEE 802.11 wireless standards. In other words they must have a wireless NIC card either built-in to the Motherboard or you will need to purchase a wireless adapter, the most common being USB Wireless Adapters which are largely Plug and Play like westell 7500.

Another important thing to remember when purchasing your wireless router, is to make sure it is not a wireless access point, otherwise it will not have the routing function which essential to connect your wireless devices to the Internet.

We are almost ready to start connecting our wireless device, so it would be a good idea to have a copy of any set-up instructions that came with the device. They will be very similar, regardless of the manufacturer, but there will be subtle differences.

Switch off or unplug your existing DSL Modem or Cable Modem. If it is a DSL Modem then it will be connected to a telephone point with a supplied telephone cable, usually via an ADSL filter. Next take the network cable supplied with your wireless router and plug one end into the RJ-45 receptacle on the DSL Modem (there will usually only be one). Connect the other end of the cable into the WAN port on your wireless router. Most wireless routers also have 4 ports to enable you to connect 4 separate PCs via cables. The WAN port is normally distinct from the computer ports my means of colour coding or due to the fact that it is separate from the other 4 ports.

The next step is to plug in and switch on the DSL Modem and wait few minutes to enable it to boot and then synchronise with the Service Provider network via the telephone cable. Your DSL Modem will normally have a visible LED indicating a successful connection to the Internet.

Now switch on your wireless routing device that you previously connected to the DSL Modem, and shortly a green LED will normally indicate successful connection to your Modem. We are now almost ready to start configuring the Wireless Router itself.

Use a network patch cable to connect a working PC to one of the usually 4 network ports on the wireless device. A built-in DHCP Server in the wireless router should allocate an appropriate IP Address to the PC being used for configuration. Open up a browser window on your PC and type in the URL provided by the manufacturer in the address bar. For example Linksys routers normally use the URL

http://192.168.1.1/
Success should result in the router default configuration page becoming visible in your browser window. Your router instructions should give you the default username and password required to access the main wireless router configuration. This will often be admin and admin, or whatever your router instructions informs you. Once you have successfully entered the Username and Password, then navigate to the section that allows you to change the settings and configure an admin Username and Password that you can remember. Save the settings!!

You should now be able to test the connection to the Internet by disconnecting the cable and connecting to the wireless network by using your PC wireless connection. Bring up a browser window and try connecting to a favourite website, maybe a search engine like Google. If successful then the final step is to secure your wireless network by configuring wireless security settings, normally WPA or WPA2.

Either via your wireless connection or by reconnecting the cable between the PC and the wireless router, navigate back to the wireless router’s default configuration page and find the wireless security settings section. You will be required to configure the SSID of the wireless router. Your router will have a default SSID, but you should change it to a name that you remember. When you or your family are trying to connect a PC to the wireless router in the future, this name will ensure they attempt to connect to the correct wireless network instead of a neighbours network. Now select WPA or WPA2 settings from the configuration (WPA2 is more secure, if available). Configure a unique pass phrase that you can remember and the wireless router will use this pass phrase to generate a secure network key that is used to authenticate devices and to encrypt data passing over the wireless network. Remember to save this configuration again.

You will now need to reconnect your wireless enabled PC to the wireless network and you will be asked for the same pass phrase when your PC attempts to connect to the wireless network with the SSID you configured earlier.