Imagine your personal know-it-all! Someone who knows everything, about everything. The know-it-all I’m introducing today is not someone, it is an app. It is an app that has information about everything from home décor to sports.

App of the Week: Fancy

Fancy is an app designed for your smartphone and tablet. It’s available for your iPhone, iPad, all Android phones, and even Windows phones. Fancy is truly you’re all-in-one app. Whether looking for a particular good, or certain travel destination, Fancy is your guide. You can do it all from this app, from discovering to collecting to even purchasing.  You can browse through multiple categories including Men, Women, Kids, Pets, Home Décor, Art, Food, Travel, and Sports. Select from these categories and more, and learn everything about them. Better yet, Fancy allows you to take photos, include them in your catalog, and get updates on all your favourites. With this app, nothing is hard to find, or hard to get. It is all within your reach.

Do what I do! Download Fancy, and use it to learn about your favorite topics. I use it for shopping, and to learn about the hottest travel destinations.

Its not quite a phone, not an operating system either. Facebook is about to introduce Facebook Home!  A mix between the two, Facebook Home is your new home screen for all Android devices.  It works on any Android device whether the HTC mobile, Samsung Galaxy SIII, or the Galaxy Note II.

So, what is Facebook Home? It didn’t really make that much sense to me at first. I just thought it was an update on the Facebook App. Turns out, its much more. Facebook Home is your new home screen. From the Cover Feed, to Notifications, to even Facebook Chat, Facebook Home will change it all for you.

• Cover Feed

The Cover Feed serves as your source for all Facebook updates. As soon as you turn on your phone, news pop up on your screen. News of everything thats going on Facebook! If your friend has posted a new photo, or changed the status it automatically shows on your screen. The Cover Feed also allows you to select what apps you want where, and how you want to organize them. Facebook, Instagram, or even Messenger is all under your control.

• Notifications

Just like the Cover Feed, all Notifications will begin to pop on your screen. As soon as there is a new event, it will appear on your phone. All events, updates, and posts will appear on your screen. Not only do they appear, but the notifications stay on your screen until you actually check them out. When you do decide to check out the notifications, all you have to do is swipe.

• Facebook Chat

To be honest, I’ve never been a big fan of Facebook Chat. I just thought it was never easy to use. However, what I’ve been reading about the new Chat Messenger on Facebook Home might change Facebook Chat completely. According to several sources, the Home Facebook Messenger will allow you to send and receive instant messages from anywhere. You can even jump from app to app, and still keep the conversation going.

As you all know by now, I’m a big fan of Facebook. I am interested in everything they do, and I am amazed on how they do it. They are constantly coming up with new ideas, keeping them in the lead. They started solely on computers, and then they made the jump to phones withe the Facebook App. Now, with Facebook Home its only a matter of time, Facebook creates their own phone.

Following up on my previous post about “Gaming Keyboards: Things to consider before you choose one“, I’m going to introduce you to the 3 most common mechanical keyboard switches; Black, and Brown.

I personally don’t feel that mechanical keyboards got their proper recognition in Kuwait and although there aren’t many PC gamers out there, I still believe that they can be useful to the average computer user. First off, what are mechanical keyboards again? Well, they are the same clicky keyboards used back in the 1980s/1990s, but with a twist. Most keyboards these days use keys that bounce on a rubbery surface, but mechanical keyboards have special switches that contain springs, pieces of metal and plastic, delicately put together to register your keystrokes. Let’s being with the Cherry MX Black switch:

 

 

As you can see from the image above, this is the inside of a Cherry MX Black switch. Black switches require more force to push down than Brown and Blue. Also, Black switches do not produce an audible click sound like the others because the metallic contacts inside are allowed to smoothly touch and separate. Oh, and you have to push the key all the way down for a proper keystroke to register, which is great for gamers who play games that require them to hold down keys for a long time. One issue with Black switches is that they are not made for typists; if you type a lot, then you should probably stay away from them because there’s a lot of punching down to do… unless you have strong fingers.

 

 

Let’s move on to Blue switches. So, Blue switches are the ones that make the loud clicky sound that is totally not appropriate for use in an open office environment (They are very loud)! However, typing on Blue switches is very satisfying due to their tactility – when you feel that click, you know that you actually typed something! These are my favorite switches so far though, simply because they are great for both typing and gaming. If you look at the image above, you can see how the metallic contacts get flicked towards each other by a piece of white plastic; which is why they have a distinct *click* sound.

 

 

Finally, we have the Brown switches, which are a mix between Blacks and Blues. Brown switches are quieter than Blues, but require a little more force to press down. Browns are an excellent solution for those who want a little from the clickiness of Blue Switches and the force of Black switches. I haven’t tried Brown switches yet, but from the online reviews, they are very popular and I would recommend them over Blues.

 

Ok, this isn’t exactly an in-depth review of mechanical keyboards or switches and there are definitely way more colors than Black, Blue and Brown out there for different purposes. However, I hope you now have a better idea about the subject and possibly be able to go out on your own and explore other options. If you’re looking for a mechanical keyboard, focus on the switch-type you want first, then go for the other bells and whistles because your delicate fingers are more important.

 

Check out our humble collection of gaming keyboards here at xcite.com