alerts

How to tame annoying alert sounds in OS X

One of the primary uses of computers is, of course, for media, whether you're watching movies, listening to music, playing a game, or running through a feature-packed slideshow. In the middle of the fun, it can be incrediby frustrating to get interrupted by a loud swoosh as you receive a new e-mail, or a speech alert telling you some other program needs attention.

To avoid such interruptions, of course you can quit the various applications like Mail and instant-messaging clients that may cause them, but this will not guarantee silence, as alerts can still crop up from other sources.… Read more

Get new music alerts of your favorite artists with iTunes

It's exciting when your favorite musicians release new material. In the past, you may have found out about new releases on the radio or from an ad in a magazine or Web site. With iTunes (Mac and Windows), however, keeping up with the latest releases by your favorite artists is as easy as check marking two boxes. Here's how:

Step 1: In iTunes, go to the Store Menu, then select View My Apple ID.

Step 2: After you log in to your iTunes account, scroll to the Settings section at the bottom of the page.

Step 3: Under … Read more

Get alerted when the Nexus 4 is back in stock

The Nexus 4 release has been anything but smooth. Google saw the launch day stock ordered up in just a few minutes. Then last week Google released some more inventory in the Play Store here in the U.S. and was met with more issues. The 8GB Nexus 4 started out at a 4-to-5-week ship time and eventually maxed out at 8-9 weeks before going back out of stock. The 16GB model is still available, although you'll be waiting 5-6 weeks for it to ship.

Google has been sporadically releasing more stock in other countries, such as the U.K. and Germany. … Read more

'Six-strike' anti-piracy campaign postponed until 2013

The "six strikes" copyright enforcement plan that aims to curb illegal downloads and peer-to-peer file-sharing has been postponed until 2013.

The executive director of the Center for Copyright Information, which is in charge of the copyright warning system, announced today that because of damage from Hurricane Sandy the organization's alert system will not begin until next year.

"Due to unexpected factors largely stemming from Hurricane Sandy which have seriously affected our final testing schedules, CCI anticipates that the participating ISPs will begin sending alerts under the Copyright Alert System in the early part of 2013, rather … Read more

Google now includes Amber alerts for missing children

Google said today it would include Amber alerts in search and maps as part of an effort to heighten awareness of missing children and assist in their safe return.

Amber alerts, which are coordinated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, will provide data about new cases through Google's Public Alerts platform.

The alerts will pop up in Google Search and Maps in both desktop and mobile whenever a user searches for related information in a particular location where a child has recently been reported missing. The alerts will also appear if users search for a related … Read more

Restrict iMessage alerts to your contacts only

When I first wrote about iMessage last year with the release of iOS 5, I made a huge mistake. I had gone through and edited all of the screenshots, but forgot to blur out an e-mail address linked to my iMessage account. Readers noticed this, of course, and began sending me iMessages almost immediately.

I heard from a lot of nice readers, and I also had the occasional person who would send me multiple messages at all hours of the night. It took me a few weeks to figure out how these people knew how to contact me, but even … Read more

Manage application alerts in OS X

When you receive application alerts in OS X, the system has a couple of ways of notifying you. The first is the classic method in which you hear an audible alert tone followed by seeing the application's icon bouncing in the Dock. The second is the new Notification Center option in Mountain Lion in which the system displays small informational and/or warning banners.

While using Notification Center may reduce the number of classic notification alerts, they still occur quite regularly for various programs in Mountain Lion. Even though these notifications are useful, sometimes their default behaviors are a … Read more

Wear a Wampa skin: 'Star Wars' outfits for the ladies

Some people watch the Wampa cave scene from "Star Wars" and think, "Look out! Wampa attack!" Others watch it and think, "I could make a dress out of that!"

Nerd Alert Designs falls into the latter camp. The geeky Etsy store is full of custom dresses with "Star Wars" themes.

One of the most impressive of the lot is the $130 Wampa dress crafted of fake white fur with a bomber-style horned hat and clawed boot covers. A little touch of blood on the chest really makes it pop.… Read more

Add AOL's 'you've got mail' alert to Gmail

One of the most infamous alerts for new e-mail, AOL's "you've got mail," is now available as a Chrome extension to alert you of new Gmail messages, as reported by Mashable.

Setup of the extension, aptly titled You've Got Mail, is all that lies between you and a trip down memory lane.

Install the extension from the Chrome Web Store.

Sit back and wait for a new e-mail, or send yourself one to … Read more

Get free alert tones with this simple app on iOS

Customizing alerts on your iOS device is a great way to quickly personalize your device. With the release of iOS 5 last fall, Apple finally added the ability for users to change the default alert tones for services such as SMS and e-mails. This meant users could then purchase tones directly from Apple, create their own, or use an app to acquire some new tones.

One such app, SMS Ringtones Free (download link), is very easy to use and has a fun list of tones available for its users to download.

While there isn't a way to save the … Read more