Whether you bought your Android device last year -- or last month -- you can benefit from a little spring cleaning.
Files you've downloaded, photos you've taken, as well as data stored by apps, are major contributors to unnecessary clutter on your Android device. By cleaning out a few things, you gain space for new apps, system updates, or maybe a larger portion of your music collection. Here are a few suggestions for taking back your internal and SD card storage:
Downloaded files
Your Android device contains a lot of personal information about you -- maybe even more than anything else you own. How about those work documents that you grabbed from an email, or the photos you saved from that text? These types of files should be relocated to cloud storage like Google Drive or Dropbox.
If you're not sure what's lurking in your storage areas -- internal or SD -- a file manager app can be used to explore your data. Some Android devices, like the Samsung Galaxy series, have a file manager app built-in. It's nothing fancy, but it can get the job done.
Not a fan of your stock file manager? Then try ES File Explorer. This app can integrate with cloud solutions such as: Google Drive, Dropbox, SkyDrive, and many others. Files can even be sent directly to your Windows desktop, if you like.
Photos
This is an easy area to regain some storage. Each image, depending on your camera specs, can take approximately 3 MB of space. Several of the cloud services will back up your entire Gallery as you add photos. Unless you need the originals at your disposal, it's time to delete some of them. If you don't have an automatic backup in place, you can also just connect your USB cable and move photos to your computer, or you can send the ones you want to keep to a cloud service individually.
App data clutter
When you install an app, it usually creates a folder that stores information like preference settings, images, or activity logs. However, that's not all that gets stored on your device from apps. For instance, each time you watch a video on Instagram the data is cached (stored) on your device, which allows the video to load quickly if you try to view it again. But how many times are you going to watch the same video (unless it's ridiculously funny or cute)? Bottom line: you can clean out this space and even schedule it to be cleaned up regularly on your device.
1Tap Cleaner offers a widget to clear all cached files at once. With this app, you can see how much each app is storing in the cache, and you can clear your call and text logs. Additionally, you can uninstall apps without needing to use the Google Play Store.
Clean Master helps you delete cached files, along with miscellaneous files that are larger than 10 MB. The Memory Boost option closes apps you're not using that are still running in the background.
Which area will you tackle first to create more space on your Android device?
The Good Space Monkey gives you 1TB of cloud storage for only $50 per year.
The Bad Setup takes longer, and requires more effort, than other cloud storage services. The drive also requires an Internet connection, even to access your own files.
The Bottom Line Space Monkey's alternative cloud service is cheaper and offers more than its competitors, but you need to invest time and effort to set it up.
Cloud storage meets local storage with Space Monkey, an alternative way to store your files online that uses a small desktop hard drive and network of other Space Monkey subscribers. Instead of sending your files to a large data center, like most other cloud services do, they are broken into tiny chunks which are then encrypted and sent to the Space Monkey drives that belong to other users. For $50 per year, which is a steal, you get one terabyte of storage, but only after you purchase the $200 2 terabyte (yes, 2TB) drive to use the service.
Since Space Monkey bills itself as an all-in-one cloud storage system, I am not going to focus on the hard drive's performance, but instead the entire cloud service, including the desktop and mobile apps. While you must buy the hard drive to use Space Monkey, you're really buying into the whole cloud network, because out of the box, you can't use the hard drive unless it's connected to your Internet service. In fact, you cannot even connect the drive to your computer with a cable.
Space Monkey's low-cost cloud storage, with enough space to store thousands of photos, documents, videos, and songs, is a good option if you're in need of a place to backup your files, or just want to access them from anywhere. However, the service requires more babysitting than any other cloud storage service, making it less ideal for those who want to set up their cloud and forget it.
Getting started
You need three things to get set up: a Space Monkey drive, an internet router, and an account. First, to create your account, just head to the company's Web site and choose an email and password combination. Then, you'll need to download and install Space Monkey's desktop software. It's available for both Mac and Windows, as well as Linux.
Now you're finally ready to put together your drive. Plug it into a power source, and connect it to your router through any open Ethernet port using the included Ethernet cable. The drive will start to connect to your network, and you should see small lights come on around the Ethernet port on the device.
Once the drive connects to your Internet connection, you can launch the Space Monkey software to get to start the set up process, which includes provisioning the drive. This was a tedious process for me, because my drive didn't automatically connect and I had to unplug it and plug it back in. It took several minutes for the drive to connect to my computer and show up in the Space Monkey app. Then, it took another five minutes for my drive to finish setting up so that I could start adding files. In my experience, it's faster, start to finish, to sign up for and get started with a cloud service such as Dropbox or Google Drive.
Put your files in your own cloud
Once your drive is online, storing files on it is as easy dragging the file from its original location on your computer and dropping it into your Space Monkey folder. Like Dropbox, or Google Drive, there's a dedicated folder in your computer's file system just for Space Monkey.
By default, there are sub-folders for Documents, Photos, and Video, but you can also create new folders and organize your files anyway you'd like. Interesting, when you move a file to Space Monkey, it copies and pastes it. That's different from Dropbox and Google Drive, both which move your file off your hard drive and into the cloud.
The power, Ethernet, and USB ports on the drive. When you add a new item to Space Monkey, you'll see a small syncing icon in the lower left of the file icon. Once it has fully synced to your drive, you'll see a spaceship icon that lets you know your file is in the cloud. You can also choose to pin an item in your drive, which means it's available offline, even if it never fully synced to the cloud.
This setup is nearly identical to all the big, popular consumer cloud storage services including Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive. Just download a download a desktop client, drag your files over to the cloud folders, and they'll sync to the cloud, so you can get to them anywhere with an Internet connection.
Overall, managing files with Space Monkey is just as effortless as working with Dropbox and other competing services. The desktop app is as easy to use as your computer's file system, and the status icons are helpful markers to tell you which files have synced, and which are still uploading.
Interestingly, you can use your Space Monkey drive without a subscription to the cloud service, however you'll need a program from Space Monkey that wipes the data off your drive and turns it into a typical backup hard drive, that does not connect to the Internet. You'll also need a male-to-male USB cable, not included, but it's an option.
Also, if you take your drive offline at any time, you won't be penalized by the company, nor will you lose any data already synced to the cloud.
Security and storage
As soon as your files sync with your drive, Space Monkey's unique storage method takes effect. The company uses a process called erasure coding, a fancy way of saying that your file is broken into many tiny pieces. Those tiny pieces then get encoded with redundant data pieces and are sent to up to 40 other Space Monkey devices, spread out across the US and every other continent (except for Antarctica and Australia) . The system is set up in a way that even if up to half of the drives that are storing your file pieces fail, you can still recover your file.
Those pieces are also heavily encrypted, and the company says that in order for a hacker to compromise your entire file, they'd need to get into dozens Space Monkey drives and then get through the layers of encryption. The company's Web site offers a deeper and slightly more technical explanation of exactly how it protects your files.
You can get the sleek drive in glossy white or matte black.While all of that is happening in the background, you never get a glimpse of that process. You'll just see your files syncing with the Space Monkey network, and then be able to recall those files any time, in the same amount it takes to open a file in any other cloud storage service.
Space Monkey claims that it's system is very safe and extremely hard to crack. However, no cloud storage service is impenetrable to hacking. So if security is a paramount concern for you, you might consider not storing files in any cloud.
Always online
I mentioned earlier that each Space Monkey drive has 2 terabytes inside. That's because you get 1TB to use, and the other terabyte is left open to store other users' data. Because Space Monkey is a two-way street of uploading your data to cloud, downloading others' data onto your drive, it's constantly using your Internet connection.
Space Monkey's Windows desktop app. Most people have modest internet connections at home, somewhere around 20Mbps according to data from Ookla. That means if you try to add several gigabytes of files to your Space Monkey drive at once, it's could to take hours, and possibly even days, to upload, depending on the number of gigabytes and your network speed.
Space Monkey has an answer for this, saying that the service tries to be nice to your network by backing off syncing when you're doing other things on your network, like playing games online or streaming video. The company is still trying to improve how the cloud affects your network, but in the meantime, you can control the download and upload speeds in the desktop application.
Mobile apps
Like other cloud services, Space Monkey has mobile apps so you can add, delete, and edit files from your phone. Both apps have simple, basic designs. The home screens show all of your files and folders. The only other screen just shows all of your camera uploads from your phone. You can add new folders, and upload new files from the app, and everything will get synced automatically.
If your drive goes offline for any reason, you'll still be able to view and download your files from the apps or Space Monkey's Web site.
Both the Android and iOS apps have a helpful auto-upload feature, which will automatically save every photo or video you take to the cloud. This is similar to Dropbox's and Microsoft's OneDrive automatic uploading features in their mobile apps.
The reason the service is less expensive is that you're covering the cost of the hardware that stores yours and other people's files, instead of the companies paying to use server space in a data center. This approach helps Space Monkey keeps its costs low, which means you'll pay less for cloud storage.
However, it might not be the cheapest option forever. When Space Monkey first came on to the scene, 1TB of storage was a rare, and expensive option. Now, costs are lower, with Google charging only $10 per month for 1TB. As the cost of for more storage continues to fall, Space Monkey will become a less compelling option, especially considering Dropbox, Google Drive, and other traditional cloud services are faster and easier to set up.
Western Digital also has Space Monkey slightly beat with its cloud option. It's My Cloud NAS server gives you 2TB of storage for $150 and comes with your own private cloud for no extra cost. There's no subscription cost, and you get all 2 terabytes to store your files. The only downside is that if you drive fails, you'll lose your files because they aren't stored anywhere else.
Conclusion
With the help of a sleek-looking desktop hard drive, Space Monkey gives you 1TB of storage that also backs up to the cloud, so you don't lose precious files. The service costs only $50 per year, which is cheaper than most other cloud storage options.
However, Space Monkey costs more money up front than its competitors, because you need to put down $200 for the drive, though you get one year of service for free. Luckily, that cost balances out over time, because it's only $50 per year for the cloud storage, compared to Google Drive's $10 per month ($120 per year) cost for 1TB.
While the promise of low-cost decentralized cloud storage is enticing, Space Monkey takes more effort to set up than its competitors. That makes it a bit more daunting for most people, because you have to make sure the drive is running properly to keep your personal cloud online.
If cost is an important factor for you, Space Monkey is worth the up-front investment. However, if you just want a cloud service that doesn't require any hassle, and you're not as concerned about exactly how and where your files are stored, it's more convenient to pick Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive.
Raspberry Pi, the bargain micro PC released earlier this year, has fertilised the imaginations of the public, bringing with it a boom in inventive approaches to computing not seen since the good old days of 8-bit.
Indeed, a veritable golden age of computers is once again upon us, so with that in mind here are our top 25 fun things you can do with your Raspberry Pi. If you're new to Pi, check out our guide for getting started with your new piece of kit first, but bookmark this page
1. Mod My Pi
Mod My Pi do a great range of colourful cases, using state of the art injection moulding techniques,and they’re not a bad price either.
2. Make your own Pi case
Fancy making your own case? Then this printable PDF will do the trick nicely. It’s a template to cut out and glue to together (very Blue Peter), which will form a case for the RPi.
3. Living room PC
Now your Pi is in a cool looking case, hook it up to your TV and enjoy a mini-media experience with OpenELEC. Follow the instructions, and you’ll be up and running in no time.
4. A mini web browser
Since your Raspberry Pi is already hooked up to your TV, why not enjoy some big screen surfing? You’ll need a better browser than Midori for this though, so try Chromium. Just drop into a Terminal and type: 'sudo apt- get install chromium-browser', then hit 'Enter'.
5. ZX Spectrum Pi
That lovable rubber keyboarded gem has made a grand entrance once again, this time with Raspberry insides. Getting the hardware to work is one thing, but to emulate this wonderful 8-bit beauty, type the following into the Terminal: 'sudo apt-get install fuse-emulator-common', and press 'Enter'. Type 'y' to confirm the download and install.
Once Fuse has been installed, and you are returned to the prompt, type: 'sudo apt-get install spectrum-roms fuse-emulator-utils', and press 'Enter'. When, once again, you return to the prompt, type in: 'sudo amixer cset numid=3 2', and press 'Enter'.
6. Retro Pi
If the Spectrum whetted your appetite, then check out the RetroPie Project. With this you can emulate a wealth of old consoles: SNES, Mega Drive etc. The setup takes its toll on the old RPi and it’s not the quickest install ever, but it’s certainly worth it in the end. Follow these instructions and get gaming.
It's important to remember that Nintendo takes an extremely dim view of you downloading even very old games that you own. But there are free classic games available legally online, with the permission of their creators, such as these.
7. Arcade Pi
In fact, why not go one step further and create a full sized arcade cabinet? You could follow the instructions in this blog post from RPi user, Darren. Or, hunt around on eBay for an old arcade cabinet to tinker with.
8. Windows 3.0 on a Pi
While we’re on the subject of going retro, have a go at running DOS 6.22 and Windows 3.0 via QEMU. First, pay a visit to Kirsle and extract the VirtualBox (VDI) image, and using VirtualBox convert the VDI to a raw IMG by typing: 'vboxmanage clonehd "image.vdi" "image.img" --format RAW' (replacing ‘image’ with the name of your image).
Next install QEMU by typing: 'sudo apt-get install qemu'. Then convert the raw image to a QEMU qcow image by typing: 'qemu- img convert -f raw image.img -O qcow2 image.qcow'. Finally run the image by typing: 'qemu image.qcow'. It’s far from perfect, and has a tendency to freeze, but it’s still fun.
9. Robotics
Robots are generally quite cool -- obviously aside from the ones that wish to except for the ones that try to kill all of humanity. There are plenty of friendly robots out there. Online magazine RPi MagPi has a feature (from page 9 onwards) about how to make a robotic arm work with the RPi.
The RPi makes for a great programming platform, with a huge choice of languages available. Check some of them out on the eLinux wiki.
12. Scratch the Pi
Scratch is a programming language that's easy to get to grips with and easy to use, which makes it good for children to start learning with and for creating rich programming projects. Check out this tutorial, featuring a bonus cat.
13. Spectrum BASIC for RPi
Although you can play Spectrum games via the emulator, programming BASIC through the emulator just isn’t the same. That being the case, use SpecBAS instead, which is a remake of Sinclair BASIC that's available with full instructions.
14. Pi Hacker
Being as small as it is, the RPi would make an excellent hacking tool. Regardless of the ethics involved, try out this security penetration testing project.
Although still in the developmental stages, Oleg Romashin an engineer at Nokia, has managed to getFirefox OS running on the Raspberry Pi. FFOS isn’t out until next year, but check out what’s been achieved so far.
16. RISC OS for Pi
If you fancy a blast from the past, then give RISC OS for the RPi a try. Downloads and full instructions are available.
17. Beer can keyboard
A keyboard made from beer cans? True enough, the Robofun team hooked up an Arduino board to a Raspberry Pi along with many cans of beer. Have a look at their video below.
18. BitTorrent Server
If you frequent the various Torrent sites, then why not create a dedicated lean Torrent machine? Just hook it up to your router and leave it to do its business. Full instructions, scripts and downloads come courtesy of the snapdragon:IT blog.
19. RPi cloud server
Fancy building your very own cloud server? By using OwnCloud you can. Follow the instructions, and thecustomised script from petRockBlog and you’ll become your own cloud provider in no time.
20. RPi UAV
The concept is brilliant, an RPi UAV (or flying drone to the likes of you and I) -- just think of the possibilities! Be inspired by Maggie -- possibly the first Raspberry Pi-powered quadcopter in the world.
21. RPi Weather Station
This DragonTail mapping tutorial would make an excellent science project for school, the Raspberry Pi weather station. Using a Maplin bought USB Wireless Touch Weather Station, the RPi can log all relevant data.
22. 10-inch RPi Touchscreen
Using a 10-inch capacitive touchscreen and a HDMI-LVDS converter you can create a touchscreen Raspberry Pi. The full kit can be purchased from Chalkboard Electronics and then constructed using the instructions in the YouTube video below.
23. Home automation
There's a new product called PiFace that's perfect for home automation. It hooks up to the RPi and allows it to detect switch states from a door sensor, a pressure pad or any number of other switch types.
24. Minecraft
As we reported only the other day, developers have announced that Minecraft will soon be available for the Raspberry Pi, allowing you to get all your block-bashing kicks in miniature.
A Windows 8 program called Start Screen Unlimited adds some useful features to the Windows 8 Start Screen.
The Windows 8.1 Start Screen is populated with tiles to apps and a link to sign out, lock Windows, or switch users. You can customize the appearance of the Start Screen, but there's not much you can do to add features or functionality.
Start Screen Unlimited is a Windows 8 program that adds a few useful features to the Windows 8 Start Screen, like date and time, a link to the Windows control panel, and more power options. It also adds a Google search bar directly to the Start Screen.
After you install Start Screen Unlimited, you'll see a toolbar in the upper right-hand side of the Windows 8 Start Screen. If you press on the infinity logo, you can move the toolbar around the screen. The power options include hibernate, sleep, reboot, and power off. The configuration options display a link to the control panel and allow you to close the toolbar. The "i" button allows you send feedback, buy the deluxe edition, and check for updates.
The Google search bar can be used to search directly from the Start Screen, but it requires a physical keyboard. The official Google search app for Windows 8 brings up the Touch Keyboard automatically, making it a better choice for touch-screen users.
The lite edition of Start Screen Unlimited is free. Buying the deluxe edition allows for commercial use and adds additional menu customization options.
Waiting around for your lover's cheating heart to tell on them won't get you anywhere. But with these sneaky tracking apps and GPS tokens, you'll know exactly whose bed their boots have been under.
Be warned, however, getting caught stalking your partner's movements can end a relationship just a quickly as being caught in the arms of another. And given that many states consider installing tracking tools on a device without the owner's consent or knowledge a crime, doing so could even land you in hot water with the law. Know what's kosher where you live before you start playing P.I.
Also, this goes without saying, but you're being a creep.
Software Solutions
Modern smartphones make for excellent tracking devices. They're always with us, always on, and constantly pinging cell towers and GPS satellites to determine their location. The following apps leverage that flow of geodata to provide you with reports as to where the device-and presumably its owner-are in real-time.
mSpy
Marketed as a means of keeping tabs on your wandering kids or slacker employees, mSpy logs virtually everything that the target device does, from current GPS coordinates to SMS, voice, and Skype transcripts-it even includes a keystroke logger. It can also be used to block incoming calls, access the target's address book and calendar, monitor its web usage, or remotely lock and wipe the device.
All of these functions are handled via a web-based control panel. The mSpy software can be installed on devices running Android, iOS (you'll have to jailbreak the phone first though), Blackberry, and Symbian OS platforms. The company also sells preloaded phones including the HTC One, Nexus 5, Samsung Galaxy S4, and iPhone 5S if you prefer to deliver your trojan horse as a gift. Once installed, operates invisibly, giving no indication that the target device has been compromised.
mSpy does charge a monthly subscription fee for its service: $40 a month for the basic plan which logs voice, GPS, email, and SMS data and provides access to the device's gallery, calendar, and address book. For the full suite of spy tools, you'll have to fork over $70 a month or $200 annually.
Family Tracker
A less clandestine alternative to mSpy, Family Tracker allows users to ping the target device at regular intervals for its GPS coordinates. You can also "stealth ping" the target device at will to receive real time location updates. However, unlike mSpy, Family Tracker does not delve into the target device's personal content, nor does it operate invisibly. The app appears on the target device's home screen and app menu though it does not have to be actively running to transmit data.
This information is then logged for review through both a web portal and the Family Tracker app installed on your phone. It's compatible with iOS and Android phones and tablets.
Cellular Solutions
If you'd rather not have to nick your partner's phone to install a local tracking app, the major cellular companies all offer family tracking plans. Again, these are designed for monitoring the whereabouts of young hellions. However, they can just as easily be co-opted to keep tabs on anyone that's party to the cellular family plan.
Sprint's Guardianbundle allows the subscriber to find, in real-time, the precise location of any phone on the plan via GPS, either at will or, with the Safety Checks feature, at preselected times and days. This could be used to know when or if your child gets home from school or, alternately, be used to learn where your spouse goes every morning after you leave for work that leaves them smelling of ammonia and polystyrene. You can even text the target phone while you track it, potentially catching your lover in a lie.
AT&T's Family Map works much the same way. The GPS-based Family Map service displays the location of the target device on an interactive map with the option to call or text the target. You can also set up automatic check-ins so that the target device will text you whenever it arrives at a pre-selected location. And because the service operates through a web app, familymap.att.com, it's accessible from any mobile device or computer with a web browser. The service costs an additional $10/month on top of your existing family plan and iPhone 5 users will also have to install the AT&T Check-In companion app in order for it to work.
Verizon's Family Locator can be installed on up to 10 devices per account for $10 a month, though really, you'll need just one. You'll first have to activate the service through your My Verizon control panel, then follow a series of SMS instructions to add the Family Locator app on the target's phone (you may want to borrow the target device to avoid tipping them off) and sync the newly-installed app with Family Locator through the My Verizon control panel. Once the system is set up, you'll be able to actively monitor the device's location and receive notifications at scheduled intervals as well as whenever the device departs from or arrives at a specific location.
Hardware Solutions
Mobile snooping apps are effective, but only so long as the device they're installed to is turned on and in your spouse's possession. If the phone were left, say, back at their office while your spouse was getting busy in some seedy motel, you'd have no way of knowing that. But with a properly-planted GPS tracking beacon-discretely deposited in a coat pocket or purse, sewn into a jacket's lining, or hidden in their car-there's a better chance of the signal being true, even if your spouse isn't.
Pocket Finder
Weighing just 1.4 ounces, the palm-sized Pocket Finder boasts the "Longest Battery Life for any Personal GPS Tracking Device" on the market. It pings its GPS location every two minutes (adjustable out to once a day) and sends that data either to the company's monitoring web portal or to the free iOS and Android apps. Every ping logs the beacon's exact address, its distance from you, speed, direction, and altitude. It also keeps a 60-day record of its travels. The Pocket Finder retails for $100 with a recurring $13 monthly fee for the reporting service.
LandSeaAir GPS Beacons
LandAirSea offers a pair of GPS trackers: one active, one passive. The Silvercloud Active GPS Tracker pings its satellite every 30 seconds, transmitting that data to the LandSeaAir monitoring website with displays the information on Google-powered maps with detailed travel reports. This data can also be exported to other sites-say, a Facebook wall-if you're of a mind to publicly shame your spouse. It certainly beats renting a billboard. The Silvercloud itself retails for $300 plus $30-$35 monthly for the service.
The passive GPS TRACKing Key, which has been featured on AMC's Breaking Bad, pings once a second but, instead of transmitting it to a remote server, it logs the data locally. While that means you'll have to retrieve the unit and plug it into a PC (sorry, no Macs) before you can see where it's been, it also means that the device can operate for up to a month between chargings. The TRACKing Key retails for $140 and does not incur monthly fees.
With these resources at your disposal , proving romantic infidelities should be quite easy. Dealing with the fallout-especially when you reveal how you know what you know-is an entirely different matter. Maybe just try asking first, instead?
