What's Going ON? Episode #2

Wow, what an amazing few weeks! It's been a wild time to be in the technology industry, and the pace of change shows no sign of letting up!

theONbutton free computer education sessions

As part of theONbutton's philosophy of serving the community, we would like to offer free computer education sessions at one or more venues in the Triangle area. If you know an institution that would be interested in hosting these for the community, please get in touch! These will be excellent educational opportunities and attendees will not need computers in the sessions, which will be packed full of helpful info!

The new iPhone 4S

Apple has released the iPhone 4S with completely updated technology on the inside. The iPhone 4 was already very competent but the new iPhone 4S is faster, has better battery life and a much improved camera. Most interesting however are its voice interaction features, which offer a level of natural language interactivity that is beyond what we've seen up to now. These features may be of particular interest to anyone who has difficulty reading the small text on smartphone screens, as in many cases the iPhone 4S will speak responses rather than displaying them on-screen.

Faster GMail with keyboard shortcuts

Did you know that pressing 'c' in the main GMail screen will bring up the 'compose new message' screen? There is a host of shortcuts that Google has built into GMail to speed up using their popular email app. You can find the GMail keyboard shortcuts here. Thanks to Charlie for the link!

There's still time to buy someone a lesson and save $25 off your next appointment!

If you know someone who would love to get more out of the Internet, or Microsoft Office, or a gadget like their smartphone, a personal lesson makes a great gift. Following an initial consultation, lessons are tailored to the recipient's specific needs. Lessons cost $50 for an hour and if you buy one as a gift for a friend before 10/31/11, we'll take $25 off the cost of your next appointment. That's like getting a free 30 minute house call!

Amazon Kindle Fire

Amazon's Kindle eBook readers are extremely popular and the Internet retailer has just updated the Kindle range. Most interesting of the new releases is the Kindle Fire, which is a 7 inch tablet that is designed to provide a great way to access Amazon's video, music, retail and Kindle book services. It also has a web browser and access to Amazon's small but growing app store. While it offers less power and fewer capabilities than Apple's iPad, at $199 it also offers a more accessible entry point into the tablet market.

Steve Jobs

The tragic news that Steve Jobs passed away this week was a moment of great sadness. Mr Jobs was famous for his visionary skills at Apple and "One more thing..." announcements at product launches. He truly changed the world and is a genuine example of entrepreneurial spirit, having taken Apple from its garage origins to the wildly successful maker of gadgets that many use today. Steve will be sorely missed by the whole tech community.

theONbutton referrals

Don't forget about theONbutton referrals, which are a great way to say thank you to customers who help theONbutton to find other people who need help! We love making our customers happy!

Have fun with your gadgets!