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News

Apple can learn from Xiaomi, the tech start-up and designers of Apple-inspired products

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Apple has navigated the waters of fierce competitors and copy cats for some time now. But one company has not been shy about mimicking designs created by Apple. Xiaomi, now valued at $46 Billion, has numerous products that look like or have taken some inspiration from Apple’s unique line of products. As you’ll see below this has been well documented.

Xiaomi Mi Router Mini vs. Apple Tv
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Xiaomi Mi Box
apple-tv
Apple Tv
Xiaomi Mi Box vs. Apple Magic Trackpad
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Xiaomi Mi Router Mini
apple-magic-trackpad
Apple Magic Trackpad
One more thing…

It doesn’t stop there, other products such as Xiaomi’s Mi4 Phone has similarities with the Apple iPhone 5 and the Mi Pad is similar to the, you guessed it, iPad. Just to show you how blatant Xiaomi is with this, they even poked some fun at Apple during their recent event copying Apple’s iconic “one more thing” slide.

Xiaomi Mi TV vs. Apple???

Ok so what? Numerous new outlets have already reported the likeness between these two companies. The real genius when it comes to Xiaomi is that they are not waiting for Apple to come out with their next big idea, they are predicting and launching products most likely still being developed by Apple. On one had this is risky, Xiaomi could in fact launch a product and be severely out-matched by Apple. We’ve seen this before when everyone was expecting an Apple 4K display and boom they drop the bomb with a 5K display. But even Apple fans know that they are sometimes extremely slow to update and release new products. This has somewhat to do with their attention to detail and quality standards, all reasons why people love their products. But how long have we be hearing about an Apple high definition television?

Xiaomi is already there. Creating the latest generation TV with tons of features Apple is sure to take notice. The Xiaomi Mi TV is a 47”, 3D smart TV integrates both a quad-core Android game box and the Mi Box into a slim display.

xiaomi-mi-tv

The Mi TV is a 1920 x 1080 HD television that integrates technology from both LG and Samsung. The gaming performance is impressive with no need for a Microsoft or Sony entertainment system, the TV comes complete with a controller. With 2G DDR3 dual channel memory and 8GB eMMC high speed flash memory, this TV makes viewing photos, surfing websites, playing games, listening to music and watching videos a breeze.

xiaomi-gaming-tv

Xiaomi’s risky decisions seem to have been paying off. Their start-up rivals that of Uber. But without knowing they may have given Apple some food for thought. It’s possible the copy cat could be the one being copied in the future. Now the ball is in Apple’s court. What can we expect from the tech giants now? Apple has tried the gaming market before and failed with Pippin. The real question is can Apple come up with new ideas faster and do then even need to? Let us know what you think about Apple and Xiaomi’s latest products by leaving a comment below.

Storage

Best LaCie Thunderbolt 2 external hard drives for Mac Professionals

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If you are a professional and use Mac hardware, chances are you know the name LaCie. Musicians, artists, techs and creative professionals all know that LaCie stands for quality. Storage technology is ever changing therefore LaCie is a good place to start because they are always on the cutting edge. Whatever you need they have a solution. This round-up of external hardware will give you and idea of the LaCie Thunderbolt 2 options available to you.

LaCie d2 Thunderbolt 2

lacie-d2-thunderbolt-2

Specs:

  • Professional speeds of up to 220 MB/s
  • USB 3.0 and dual Thunderbolt 2 ports for universal compatibility
  • Aluminum unibody for reduced noise and vibration
  • Boost speeds up to 1150 MB/s with d2 SSD Upgrade

The d2 LaCie drive is essentially the standard in the industry. Available in 3TB – 6TB ($299 – $499). If you need simple plug and play storage this is it. Since this is a single drive you’ll want to store a backup somewhere other than the d2 incase the hard drive fails. You could also buy two to be on the safe side, use one as your main drive and the other as a time machine backup. The drive is able to achieve speeds of 1150 MB/s but you would have to purchase the LaCie SSD upgrade.

LaCie d2 SSD Upgrade

lacie-d2-ssd-upgrade

Specs:

  • Boost LaCie d2 Thunderbolt 2 speeds up to 1150 MB/s
  • Add 128 GB of SSD capacity
  • SSD speed, hard drive capacity in a single enclosure

Easy to install and boosts the speed of your d2 to be 6x faster than its standard speed of 220 MB/s. This is really a hybrid setup 128 GB of SSD + the size of the hard drive currently in your d2. You’ll need this speed if you are dealing with video or large file sizes. Pricey, but worth it if you need the speed ($299).

LaCie 2big Thunderbolt 2

lacie-2big-thunderbolt-2

Specs:

  • Shocking speeds up to 420MB/s
  • Dual Thunderbolt 2 ports for 4K workflows
  • Innovative design with RAID for reliability
  • USB 3.0 for PC and Mac compatibility

This is what many would consider the PRO standard because of the RAID technology. If you are new to RAID technology the easiest way to explain it would be that it’s a way to increase security of your files without sacrificing performance. The 2big comes with two hot swappable hard drives. What does that mean? Let’s say you had your 2big RAID set to mirror the data in drive 1 to drive 2. If drive 1 fails, you simply replace that drive and the data will automatically be restored from the good drive. Essentially making your data extremely difficult to lose. We all know that eventually hard drives fail, it’s just a matter of time, so having this setup can avoid a lot of heart ache. Available in 6TB, 8TB and 12TB ($599 – $999).

LaCie 5big Thunderbolt 2

lacie-5big-thunderbolt-2

Specs:

  • Up to 1050MB/s speeds for 4K video editing
  • Hardware RAID 5/6 with hot swap
  • Dual Thunderbolt 2 ports for daisy chaining
  • Aluminum enclosure and whisper-quiet fan

This is the big daddy, the 5big is very similar to the 2big but with 5 drives and even faster speeds. This is not for your average user. The 5big is for someone who has large amounts of data, we’re talking 10 TB – 30 TB. Yes, thats TB for Terabyte (30 TB = 30,000 GB). If you work in the video industry and use 4K resolution, you could easily need this hardware. The drives are also hot swappable. RAID can be configured to your needs. The most expensive at ($1299 – $1999) but worth it for true professionals.

LaCie Little Big Disk Thunderbolt 2

lacie-little-big-disk-thunderbolt-2

Specs:

  • Up to 1375 MB/s speeds for 4K video editing
  • Dual Thunderbolt 2 ports for daisy chaining
  • Compact size for field-based creative workflows
  • Whisper-quiet dual cooling

This is a little LaCie drive that packs a powerful punch. Currently it’s only available in 1TB ($1299). It is RAID configurable and since it is a PCI based SSD, it is less prone to failure than your traditional hard drives. The main feature of this drive is speed, a blazing 1375 MB/s. It’s small and compact enough to travel with you if need be, but we wouldn’t say it’s designed for long term travel.

LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt

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Specs:

  • Thunderbolt speeds of up to 387 MB/s
  • USB 3.0 for universal connectivity
  • Bus powered for complete mobility
  • Shock, dust, and water resistant for all-terrain use

This is the only regular LaCie Thunderbolt model we are including in the round-up, although not as fast as the LaCie Thunderbolt 2 models it has advantages. The biggest advantage being size. This is a travel drive and resistant to a lot of nature’s forces. If you find you need a smaller drive and you want to be a little rough with it, this is for you. Picture rock climbing, camping, hiking or anything you could be doing that’s outside. Perfect for the office worker as well in case you are prone to dropping things. Prices on these will vary, because of that we recommend the 256GB-500GB SSD models for speed, but they also come in standard 1TB-2TB models.

 Bottom Line

First you should know the external drives above (other than the Rugged drive) do not come with a Thunderbolt cable. You’ll have to buy that separately, however they do typically come with a USB 3.0 cable. Most of the drives listed here offer Thunderbolt 2 support. LaCie is still currently selling drives without Thunderbolt 2 technology, the speeds are slower but so are the prices. As always we can’t suggest this enough, back-up your files, always have a fail safe plan when it comes to your data. Don’t buy a single LaCie drive and think all your storage problems are solved. Ask yourself, if I lost this data would it be ok? If your answer is no, then you need cloud storage, extra drives or a RAID configured system.

How-To

How to take a screenshot on Mac OS X

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How do I take a screenshot, is one of the first, if not the most common question asked by users on desktop and mobile devices alike. Taking a screenshot on Mac OS X is very similar to taking a screenshot on pc operating systems, only you have some more creative options. Take a look below at our simple quick guide, if you just simply need a reminder of the commands or continue reading for more detailed instructions. These commands are easy to use but there are also screen capture programs available in the App Store for more advance techniques such as capturing video and multiple still images.

Screenshot Quick Guide:

Captures the entire screen:

Command-Shift-3

Use the crosshair pointer to select a specific area:

Command-Shift-4

Captures a specific window or menu:

Command-Shift-4, Space Bar, Click

Captures to a clipboard instead of the desktop:

Command-Shift-Control-4

How to Screenshot:

In order to quickly capture your entire screen at full resolution use the following sequence. Once complete it will save the screenshot to your desktop in PNG format:

command-shift-3
command-shift-3

To capture your entire screen but save directly to the clipboard use the following combination of keys below. Once it is your clipboard you will have to paste (Control-V) the screenshot into the program or document of your choice.

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command-control-shift-3

To capture only a specific part of your screen use the following keys and drag the cursor over the area of your choice. Once you un-click the screenshot is saved to your desktop.

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command-shift-4

To capture a window or menu as a screenshot, use the following keys and then click once with your mouse over the window or menu of your choice.

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Notice after you hit the spacebar a camera icon will appear over the window. Simply click once with your mouse and only that window is saved as a screenshot to your desktop.

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screen shot mac

 

Mac

CalDigit releases new Thunderbolt Station 2 available now for pre-order

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With their new release CalDigit is looking to take back market share by providing a significant upgrade to their Thunderbolt docking station hardware. The new Thunderbolt Station 2 (TS2) provides Thunderbolt 2 support and is their most anticipated product to date. The TS2 comes with a host of new features. First, the look is professional and matches most Apple products on the market today, a great pairing to your MacBook Pro. The redesigned case now comes standard with Thunderbolt 2 ports accessing speeds of 20 GB/sec, two eSATA ports and the HDMI supports 4K resolution.

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The new CalDigit TS2 is a direct competitor to the Elgato Thunderbolt 2 Dock and Belkin’s Thunderbolt 2 Express Dock HD. Even thought the TS2 doesn’t come with a Thunderbolt cable it’s pre-order price of $170 makes it the most affordable model. Not to mention it has more ports and a solid die-cast aluminum construction. It will be interesting to see if the other manufacturers begin to reduce their prices.

caldigit-thunderbolt-station-2

iPhone

Switch to a no contract plan for your iPhone and save up to $62 a month

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Now that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are out many have to make a decision: Should I keep my current iPhone or upgrade? Quickly many have come to the conclusion that their old phone such as the iPhone 5 is in good shape and the added features of the iPhone 6 are not enough to make them want to go out and buy. However, if your two year plan with AT&T or Verzion is up, many companies are offering gift certificates for older iPhones if you upgrade. Very tempting, because you could upgrade at little or no cost, as long as you sign another two year contract agreement. But you have an alternative you may not have looked into yet, such as Cricket Wireless. Their no contract plans are easy to understand and you can bring your own phone:

cricket-wireless-plans

Now that we’ve seen the low monthly plans for Cricket Wireless lets take a look at a hypothetical scenario comparing Cricket to AT&T. Comparing apples to apples, all plans offer unlimited text and talk with 3 GB of data (reduced speeds after 3 GB). In the example we use the iPhone 6 with 64 GB of memory vs. your paid-in-full iPhone 5.

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By far the best deal is to keep your iPhone 5 and switch to Cricket. But there is a small additional cost, Cricket charges $10 to send you a sim card in the mail, bringing the grand total to $1090 for the next two years. The most staggering difference though is even if you switched to Cricket and bought the iPhone 6 outright for $749 (ouch!) you would still save $750 over a 2 year period when compared to buying the same phone and staying with AT&T. That’s a savings of $31 a month! You can see why so many people are switching to no contract plans. Another benefit of switching to Cricket Wireless is that they are owned by AT&T and use the same nationwide network, so if you are used to solid LTE service expect no change.

Of course there are numerous phones, plans, companies and options to choose from and we can’t show you everything in a simple chart. It’s best to do your homework and find what’s best for you, your family or your business. Our comparison here is for the frugal individual, the person that’s tired of being drained by their monthly phone bill and is looking for solid savings. If you are comfortable with AT&T but need a no contract plan theirs starts at $65 a month.