Despite the popularity of mobile technology, we still rely on our desktops and laptop computers for work and play. While mobile technology hasn’t completely freed us from our desktops and laptops, you can use mobile apps to control your computer from your iPhone – even if you’re half a world away. Here are 5 apps that allow you to operate your desktop conveniently from your iPhone.

TeamViewer for Remote Control
TeamViewer is one of the most popular pieces of software for remotely controlling your computer from another desktop, with their award winning software being used on over 100 million computers worldwide.

TeamViewer for Remote is their iPhone app which allows you to remotely access your home or work computer from your iPhone. Simply install TeamViewer on the computer you want to access remotely and download the iPhone app. Best of all, TeamViewer is completely free for non-commercial purposes.

Jump Desktop
Jump Desktop is one of the top rated apps for remote desktop control in the Apple app store. It’s well known for its impressive incredible speed and reliability. The Jump Desktop app costs $14.99 in the app store.

Splashtop Remote Desktop For iPhone & iPod
Splashtop Remote Desktop is one of the lowest priced remote desktop apps in the app store. Currently only costing $0.99, it is also one of the most popular, having been the #1 iPhone business app in over 30 countries.

The Splashtop remote desktop iPad version – Splashtop 2 Remote Desktop – has also attained impressive success, having been named one of the best selling 25 apps of all time. Splashtop 2 Remote Desktop for iPad is slightly more expensive than the iPhone version, totaling in at $4.99, but is still one of the most affordable remote desktop apps on the market.

Screens VNC
Screens VNC is a reliable remote desktop app that can run on both the iPhone as well as iPad. It’s well known for its ease of use and versatility. While Screens VNC hasn’t had the popularity of some of the other apps on this list, it’s still a solid option for those looking to control their desktop remotely. While recent iterations of Screens have had some reports of crashing, the developers have shown in the past that they’re quick to fix any bugs or errors. The current price of Screens VNC is $19.99 in the Apple App store.

LogMeIn
LogMeIn is another popular remote desktop application. The basic LogMeIn app is free, but there is a licensing cost of $24.99 a year for the pro version, which can be purchased as an In-App purchase. In addition, the LogMeIn software for your desktop will cost $69.95 per year. While LogMeIn has plenty of features that make it a nice choice for business users, if you want a remote desktop app for personal use, we recommend going with TeamViewer for Remote Control instead.

Author Bio:
Nat is a full-time SEO and part-time blogger for Whoishostingthis.com – an Alexa top 10k web property. You can find out more about their hosting reviews through their company website.

There’s loads of gadgets and iPhone apps out at the moment that will help you along the way. They’ve already helped out thousands of people and they are definitely worth a try. But sometimes it can be confusing because there seems like so many of them. You might get a few bad ones and decide they are worthless. But they’re not, so we will go over the best ones so you start off on the right foot.

Fertility clock

This app helps you choose when the right time is to try for a baby. I guess you have to listen to whatever it says, so you better keep your partner on standby. It lets you record your periods, menstrual symptoms, and test results. You can also take any notes of things you’d like to remember. The interface is pretty easy to use and it’s a nice little app.

My Days

My Days lets you record your periods, but it will also tell you what days you are the most fertile. I guess those are the days you can pretend to be sick to get the day off work. It also lets you keep track of your basal metabolic temperature. Just like the pervious app it has a nice interface and is easy to use.

Monthly Cycles

This app doesn’t just let you keep a track of your periods. You can also keep track of other health conditions which you sometimes don’t think about, but if you are trying to have a baby you want to be as healthy as possible. If you don’t like the look of this one it’s OK, because there’s plenty of themes to choose from.

OvaCue fertility monitor

This one’s easy to use and requires you to place a little sensor on your tongue for about 5 seconds. You will get a reading on the monitor between 1 and 7 bars. When it reaches 7 you know it’s ovulation time. You know what that means. It’s always better to have intercourse on your most fertile day. At least with this one it’s quick and you don’t need to provide a urine sample, which you have to do on lots of other tests.

OV watch

During the first few days of a new menstrual cycle you should start wearing the watch whenever you go to bed. It will keep an eye on the salt in your sweat which helps it work out when you’re ovulating. It lets you know one day before when you should start having intercourse. One the day you are ovulating it will tell you again.

The above guest post is written by fertility expert, Amelia Perdue who shares her knowledge through guest posts. She recommends visiting women’s health clinic in Melbourne for issues related to infertility and pregnancy.

You’re eating up the server

When you share a server with hundreds of other people you can’t stay there forever. Well you can, but it means you don’t have any traffic and your website is emptier than a ghost town. Sooner or later your host will contact you to tell you it’s too much. Your website is taking up more than your fair share of resources. When that time comes you have to say goodbye. Only to the shared server. You can still upgrade using the same host as before, but you should go around checking prices and see what ones suit you best.

Using special software

Sometimes you might want to run special software on your server. You definitely can’t run it on your shared hosting. The hosting company will go crazy at you. It will affect everyone else, so forget about uploading it. If you ever get to the point where you want to use special software you should start looking around and finding out where it would be best suited. Of course this only needs to happen if your shared server doesn’t have the software installed. Check and see before you do anything.

You want complete control

It’s your business, right? You should be able to do whatever you want with it, within reason. You don’t have control over a shared server. You don’t get to decide what those other people are doing. If they mess up it’s you that has to pay. You don’t even know their name. At a more advanced level you might want to make configurations. Not going to happen on a shared server. Once you decide you want complete control it’s time to start looking at an upgrade.

It’s a lot more secure

You ultimately decide who gets in and out of your server. If someone was to hack a website on a shared server it could put your site down even though you did nothing wrong. You kept everything updated and had security features in place, yet you get punished. You can still get punished on your own server, but at least you have the power to prevent it.

It’s better for your visitors

Once you set up your dedicated server your website will run a lot faster. There’s a lot more power under the hood and this makes the user experience much more pleasurable. How many times do you click away from a website because it takes too long to load? Nobody is holding you back. It will also run a lot faster even though you are driving much more traffic to it and that’s the ultimate goal of any website.

You save money

How can this possibly be? It costs more money to run a dedicated server so it shouldn’t be saving you money, but it does. Once your website goes offline this can cause your sales to drop completely off the radar. If you added up all the money in lost income it would be much more than the price to run your own server.

The author of the above guest post is Grace Robinson. She recommends Minecraft Dedicated Server Hosting for those who are more serious about using minecraft servers.

Image Credit to from courosa Flickr

The trouble is though, that math and science are also the topics that educators struggle to get children the most excited about. Perhaps this is because maths and sciences are often portrayed and therefore perceived by kids as being boring, too difficult, not creative, or simply ‘for nerds.’ We must reverse this trend if we want our kids to be well equipped to provide solutions to the myriad problems our world faces. Kids truly are the key to a brighter future for all of us, but we have to give them the tools they need to face the challenge.

One of the best ways to do this is to implement hands-on, experiential teaching methods in the maths and sciences. These are proven to be more engaging and therefore more effective than conventional methods such as reading from text books or instructors giving monotonous lectures. Experiential learning is much more likely to get kids excited and motivate them for a lifetime of learning and innovation.

Case Study: LEGO Robotics Program

Blame movies, video games or popular culture, but one of the things that almost all kids get excited by is the idea of robots, and more specifically, of designing robots to be a part of our everyday lives. Integrating robots into the classroom or learning arena through a program like LEGO robots is a great way to develop a math and science literacy. The beauty of a program such as this is that students don’t even realise they are engaged in gaining important skills that will help them immensely down the line.

This program is best suited for older primary school-aged and young adolescent students. It is designed to develop skills across the STEM subject areas, or science, technology, engineering and mathematics and gives learners in these age groups “a good understanding of programming and how it directly influences our physical environment.”

Using the LEGO Robotics kits available for educators, students can either design their own robots from scratch or follow pre-fabricated plans. This is a perfect way to cater to different age groups and ability levels simultaneously. The program gives students the basic building blocks to design their own robot, but allows them to make it as advanced or basic as they wish.

The Importance of STEM Education

Thanks to the growth of computer usage and technology worldwide, the stigma of science, math and technology being the territory of nerds is steadily decreasing. However, we have to be proactive when it comes to the kind of education we’re providing in schools.

Whether it’s robotics or tablet computing or some other form of hands-on technology, we simply must make it a priority to get our kids developing their math and science skills and STEM repertoire from a young age.

The most competitive nations in the global economy are also the ones whose young students score highest in the maths and sciences. This is no coincidence and if we do not address the learning gap now, we will only have ourselves to blame later on.

Author Bio | This is a guest post from Geoff at Newark, an woldwide distributor of electronic components and connectors from manufacturers like Analog Devices, Molex, Fluke, Vishay, Microchip and kemet  - click here for more.

We have technology now that can deal with any problem you might face. So you can rest easy knowing you’re going to have a great time, because you’ll have all the tools to take care of everything. The first thing you need to know is what they actually are. They won’t help you if you don’t have them and it’s too late once you step onto the airplane. Some of these things are pretty new and you might not have knew they existed. Let’s take a look.

Get your own personal mail-man

There are companies you can use to send all your mail to. Once they have the mail they will scan it and email you everything, all while you are lying on the beach relaxing. Once the mail has been scanned it will be shredded and recycled so you never have to worry about it again. This will cost you a small amount of money, but you can use it for as long as you want. Even if you’re not away it could also be a great idea if you prefer to read things on the computer. You never know when you might be at a coffee shop and miss an important letter.

Take an iPad with you

One of the most important benefits of an iPad is that you will have access to all your important documents while you are away. You can look or edit anything. Depending on the type of business you run, it’s possible to run your entire empire from an iPad on a tropical beach somewhere. They are not the best for typing, so if you have stuff you want to write you’ll be a lot faster if you have a wireless keyboard. Obviously you can take a laptop and you will be able to do everything, but an iPad is so much easier to use and much lighter to carry.

Use software to make video calls

Sooner or later you will probably need to speak to people face-to-face. There’s only so long you can talk to someone over the phone. If you download something like Skype you now have the ability to hold team meetings over the Internet. Everyone can see each others face and it feels like you are all in one room. It’s a great way to keep on top of everything when you’re not there, or even just bounce ideas off each other.

A good set of headphones

When you’re working abroad it’s not like an office. There will always be construction work going on, or cars beeping their horn every 2 minutes. This makes it a lot harder to get important work done. You need a good set of headphones to cancel out all the noise. If you want, you can listen to some nice calming music while you work rather than some annoying drilling sound. If you are speaking to someone over Skype you probably won’t be able to hear what they’re saying without something in your ears. Go for a good set and you won’t be sorry you bought them.

Daniel Acton is an avid blogger and has been conducting some research about the proper usage of franking machine and how it can save 38% of what you get compared to 2nd Class Stamps.

Keep Your Business on Track

Can you imagine what a hassle it would be if you went to work and all of your information that you need in order to do your job was gone? This doesn’t have to happen. Any successful business owner understands just how important it is to keep everything in more than one place because you never know when the internet may be down or if there is something stopping you from getting the information you are trying to use. It is completely up to you but you may want to even have paper copies of the important files that you are storing.

Anti-Virus Can Help Along the Way

The great thing about many anti-virus options these days is that they come with a free backup so you don’t have to do anything differently. All you need to do is keep your anti-virus up to date (they typically last for a year at a time), and they are going to do all the work for you. This way, if something happens to your computer; you aren’t going to be left completely in the dark.

The Amount of Data You Can Store is Pretty Impressive

If you are considering going with a backup option that is separate from your anti-virus, then you should compare various options and see which one can store the most data. The great thing about the internet these days is everything is becoming easier, faster and more capable than ever. This means, companies are actually battling it out in order to keep your business so you are going to probably be able to store everything on your computer online without much hassle at all. While some people choose to have two backup options, in all honesty, having a single, trusted source is all you are going to ever need; although you can never be too safe.

Use a Separate Hard Drive

If you do not like the idea of storing your personal identifying information on the internet, which makes sense because of all the threats of hackers and stolen information, then you may want to consider using an external hard drive. This way, all of your information can be carried everywhere with you and you can hook it into any computer you are using so you can get all of your work done just as you would at home. Of course, then you have the fear of losing the hard drive but if you are good with keeping track of your belongings, you should be just fine.

Flash Drives are Great Too

If you want an even smaller and more portable option but still want to be able to carry your data around with you then you may want to consider using a flash drive. These aren’t going to be able to hold as much data as an external hard drive, but they are perfect if you are looking to store some photos or maybe some documents that you are going to need while you are on the go.

Viruses Can Happen to Anyone, Anytime

Not only do you need to worry about hackers and your computer losing your personal information, there is also the fear of viruses. Sadly, viruses can attack at any time and if you do not have your data in a safe place; you could potentially lose everything. While having an antivirus as a tool can keep those viruses at bay, there is still the potential of your computer becoming completely tied up where you actually need to wipe the entire computer. Of course, if you do this, then you aren’t going to be able to keep anything that was stored on your computer. As you may be able to imagine, this is something that would definitely affect your business; especially if you work from home because typically the only place you are going to be able to get to the things you need the most is via your personal computer.

It Only Takes a Few Moments

The great thing about backing up your data is that it only takes a few moments of your time. Because of this we think every one of you reading this should take the time to do so. A few moments of your time now could save you huge trouble in the future and we know how much a smooth life is important to you.

James Perrie is a tech blogger and spends the majority of his time providing IT related services through his blog. He also provide a wealth of Orlando IT consulting services including data security, consulting, and services.

Pros

Looks: One of the big pros when it comes to buying technology before it’s mainstream is the way it stands out and makes people wonder what on Earth it is you’re holding. The phones I’ve owned have included the laptop-like an IPAQ with phone functionality and a keyboard (in a time before keyboards), an XDA Exec, an N-Gage, a Dell Streak and a Galaxy Note. All of these have had one awesome thing in common which is that they’ve gotten be strange looks and made people ask questions. These aren’t just communication devices, they’re conversation pieces that have gotten me stopped in the street and you can tell that the other tech geeks are envious – which gives you a very nerdy joy. Sure you can wait and still get an enviable phone, but you’ll miss that point at which people literally don’t even know what it is you’re holding.

Smugness: Even when your devices are long gone and probably now collectible, it can bring you a certain smugness just knowing that you were there first. I’m proud of myself for owning smartphones before smartphones existed, and for installing ‘apps’ before the term was properly coined. I had Tomb Raider on my phone in 2002, and that’s pretty cool.

Price: Actually paying for the latest phones doesn’t cost you quite as much as you might think – because you’ll be selling on a very modern phone and you can then use that profit towards your next one. Apple fans who trade in their old iPhone each year for the next model will rarely need to put more than $150 towards the next one and can still stay right on the cutting edge.

Practicality: And of course these extra features that other people don’t have yet are useful. Even if they haven’t found mainstream acceptance yet, you often will find that once you have these features you don’t know how you lived without them – and this will put you at an advantage compared to everyone else.

Cons

Miss-Steps: Even Arthur C Clarke couldn’t predict the future precisely, and for every device you buy that becomes the next big thing, you’re also likely to own a few that never quite catch on. I had a Dell Streak which sold about 82 copies globally. Ultimately the idea of the Phablet caught on with the Galaxy Note so I wasn’t ‘wrong’ per say, and I did enjoy the phone, but at the same time the lack of sales meant that it got no software updates and there was no real customer support. I couldn’t even replace the screen when it sadly got smashed.

Obsession: It’s one thing to want the latest and most obscure gadgets you can find, but if you are obsessed about having the very latest at all times then you’ll find this is an impossible task to accomplish as newer versions of your possessions are constantly being launched.

Cost: Okay I said buying the latest gadget wasn’t as expensive as people think if you do it right, but it can still be a little on the costly side compared to sticking with your trusty 3310. If you’re in debt then it may be time to cool off on your shopping spree.

Failure: My Mum always says that the ‘more things it can do, the more things there are to go wrong’ – and she’s not completely wrong. While having lots of features is certainly useful and cool for the most part, I also am the only person I know whose phone will crash doing simple tasks and sometimes gets too hot in my pocket – which is just part and parcel of being an early adopter.

Sara Brown is a professional freelancer specializing in authoring articles about outsourcing and manufacturing products. She loves sharing tips about overseas manufacturing and In-house manufacturing.

As we begin to approach the latter half of 2012 this is a great a great time to look at the current state of the tablet market and how it compares to how it looked a year ago. This has arguably been the most exciting year for tablets since the launch of the Apple iPad, and for the first time Apple are starting to see real competition. Here we will look at some of the more recent changes to this new category of technology and the change that look to be set for the near future.

Apple

The iPad has continued to dominate the tablet industry this year and has remained by far the most popular device in the category. However that said, this has also been the first time Apple has faced real competition from a diverse number of other products – which may have inspired plans for the new ‘Mini iPad’ which looks set to offer the Apple sheen on a slightly smaller and more pocket-able scale. This will be one to look out for, and will provide a challenge for developers who will now have to start developing apps for different sized screens much as they do on Android devices currently.

Microsoft

Microsoft hasn’t had much of a showing in the tablet market historically with its operating systems not really being suited to the format. However this is set to change next month when they unleash their Windows 8 OS and the much hyped Surface Tablet. The OS has had a mixed reception so far, but either way it’s going to provide a ‘third option’ for punters looking for tablet computing while the Windows 8 professional models planned for later in the year could bridge the gap between tablet and computer.

Amazon

Amazon confidently did for the eBook market with their original what Apple did to the MP3 industry via the iPod, but with the Kindle Fire they sought to take the technology giants on at their own game. The original Fire didn’t really offer much competition though built a relatively strong following which paved the way nicely for their latest iteration which now offers some serious competition and yet another option within the popular 7” category.

Google

Google own Android, but until this year they didn’t have a tablet to call their own. The Asus-built Google Nexus 7 however has filled this need and created a Tegra 3 Jelly Bean tablet that many reviewers have sighted as being the first instance of another tablet with the sheen and production values to compete with Apple – and for a much more budget price.

Asus

As well as developing the Nexus 7 and finding relative success (despite some serious launch and quality control issues) with their Transformers range, Asus is one of a number of manufacturers looking to bring out their own slew of Windows 8 tablets.

Samsung

Samsung have been busy capturing a fair market share this year with a range of devices most notably the Galaxy Tab which prior to the Nexus 7 was by far the favourite option for 7” tablet-ing. The company meanwhile found success with their genre spanning ‘phablet’ the Galaxy Note, and have recently unleashed a 10” version of that device complete with the same stylus and added split-screen multitasking capability – which along with a strong marketing push could be enough to make this another real contender in what is quickly becoming a crowded market.

So that’s the state of play, all that’s really left to say is… let’s get ready to rrrrumble!! Who’s your favourite?

The author of the above guest post, Max Cavan, is renowed comic book writer and loves blogging about technology. He recommends visiting www.magazinesubscriptions.com for best magazine subscription rates online.

4. Rukus Solar Powered Bluetooth Speakers
What’s better than spending a day in the sunshine listening to music? Spending a day in the sunshine listening to music, knowing that your speakers are going to stay powered the whole time. The Rukus is the first portable Bluetooth sound system with a solar panel that can wirelessly stream music from a compatible device. The Rukus takes around six hours to charge in sunlight, but could take up to six months to lose power. Not just that, the Rukus can even charge other devices through its USB ports.

3. Mobius Juice Pack
It’s no secret that iPhones run through battery life like no other portable device on earth, but choose the Mobius and that will be a problem of the past. Designed for the iPhone 4, the juice pack doubles as a phone case and when charged for just an hour can provide 25 minutes of talk time, 20 minutes of internet use, 35 minutes of video playback and two hours of audio. This extra battery power can be stored in the case and at the flip of a switch it will automatically juice up your iPhone.

2. Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K760
Logitech have already created a Folio iPad case and a wireless keyboard for Mac, but their Wireless Solar Keyboard K760 is the best offering from the computing giants yet: it boasts a mighty three months’ worth of battery life on a full charge. The keyboard is not just eco-friendly, it’s fashionable and attractive to boot, with a sleek 8mm thick body in an on-trend white. The keyboard is compatible with Mac, iPad and iPhone and can switch between devices via Bluetooth.

1. The Voltaic Fuse 10W Solar Laptop Backpack Charger
There are a number of portable solar chargers on the market, but Voltaic systems’ Fuse 10W Solar Laptop Charger takes top prize for being the most practical of them all. This handy little portable charger can latch onto any technical backpack, pannier, or anything else that its flexible buckles can slot into. The Fuse’s three 3.4 watt panels are not only super portable, they’re also highly resilient, being waterproof, solid as steel and light as a feather. The Fuse can charge anything from a laptop to handheld devices, making it ideal for travelers.

Tracking down the latest solar inventions, Jessica writes about different sources of green energy and energy saving tips for home and business. She works in the renewables industry for Solar Contact.

1. First up you should get rid of nuisance app duplication that fills up your screen. As an example you might want to take a special photograph of something, or someone, and the share it. When you come to do so you find you have Instagram and Camera+ apps installed. Both capable of doing what you want. You’ll need to check out the features of both and choose one above the other, then trash the loser app. Do this with all apps that are duplicated.
2. While discarding unwanted apps it will be a good time to set up your home screens to reflect your individual personality and interests. You might want to leave your front page as it came as it is pretty general but if you haven’t got an iPhone 4S you might think about adding the Vlingo app. This app is a virtual replacement for the iPhone 4S Siri. The next page could be dedicated to a calculator, compass, iCards, as well as being your social networking page with Facebook, Twitter and Gmail etc. The following page could be your lifestyle page containing apps for shopping , games, photography and anything else that you’re interested in. Your choices might be quite different from these but it gives you an idea of what organising your iPhone is all about. Some people spend time each day reorganising their home page apps to suit changing priorities. It is after all a reflection of your own personality.
3. Some iPhone users put their apps in folders so they’re grouped together in certain categories. For instance you might put your camera, video and gallery apps together in a specific folder you name ‘Pics’ and so on. However, by doing this you will take away the iPhone look as the various apps do add colour and variation to the screen.
4. If you do lean towards putting apps in folders avoid putting them on the home page. This should always be free of of such things, as this page should be reserved for important apps, as well as for any aesthetic reasoning. If you’ve prioritised you apps in the various home pages you shouldn’t have any need to have folders there anyway.
5. Some people simply go about putting apps in folders without giving it a great deal of thought. Sort of ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ If you do want to store apps in folders, mainly for space or convenience reasons, make sure they’re named properly for easy identification.
6. You don’t have to be alone in trying to organise your iPhone so that you get maximum usage from it. You can go to the App Store and tap on ‘Categories’ then ‘Productivity’ where you can search for an organisational app that’ll do your thinking for you. Apps such as ‘Evernote’ and ‘JotNot’. All types of organisational apps are here to help you on your way.
7. If you want to organise your emails you touch ‘Settings’ then ‘Mail, Contacts, Calenders’ this will lead you to an app that’ll add your different email in-boxes to your one ‘Mail’ app. All you need do then is to touch ‘Add Account’ and enter the required information, including passwords from your various accounts, and tell your iPhone how often you want it to check for new emails. All email checking from now on in can be done from the one place.
8. Contact apps are important and for this reason the ‘Contact’ app on your iPhone should be given a high priority. It’s here where you can store all the information you need regarding an acquaintance whether he or she be casual or otherwise. Once you’ve entered all the necessary information it’s an easy task to get into contact with anyone on the list any time you want to do so.
9. Notes are another important app as far as organising your iPhone is concerned. The ‘Note’ app lets you read and type notes to yourself so you needn’t rely on memory anymore, nor have bits of paper lying all over your desk. You simple touch the ‘Add Note’ icon to write yourself a note and when finished touch ‘Done.’ It’s a good place to put your shopping lists and add to it as you need to.
10. Life today is all about appointments and these can be kept under control with the ‘Calendar’ icon. Once open, tap the date on which you have the appointment and a dot will appear on that day in the calendar. Tap on this dot and you bring up what the appointment is all about.

This article was written by Justin. He is a passionate tech writer from Mobile Phone Finder helping people compare the best mobile phone plans.