F-Droid, the free and open-source Android app market

• March 19, 2014

If you are into the open-source movement, need an alternative to the Google Play Store, or just want more app selection, F-Droid is for you. It is an app marketplace, somewhat like the Google Play Store, but with a few key differences.

On Internet’s 25th birthday, we’re at risk of losing it

• March 13, 2014

Today, the World Wide Web turns 25 years old. In that time, it has made over the basic human experience more profoundly and rapidly than anything we have ever known. More than just a monolithic revolution, the Internet had been a gateway for large-scale corporate communication and optimization. Later, it became a general consumer’s dream, a wealth of information and amusement. More recently, it has led us to the point where the Internet is accessed more by mobile devices than it is by laptops and desktops.

What if the next step in this information revolution is that the Internet becomes a venture that is corporate-run and world governments’ main tool for spying and control?

9 reasons to root your Android phone or tablet

• March 2, 2014

“Rooting” is in some ways the Android equivalent to “jailbreaking” on iDevices. You get to unlock features that the phone or tablet’s developers did not intend you to have. The kinds of features you get are different, though, since many of the jailbreak-enabled features for iDevices are ones that come standard on Android. However, there are still several reasons to root your Android phone or tablet.__

Why use a VPN (virtual private network)?

• February 28, 2014

Many people have never heard of a virtual private network, more commonly known as a VPN. Some tech enthusiasts have heard about them, but don’t happen to be worried about government spying, and haven’t conceived any other uses for a VPN. Whether you are completely new to the concept or have been thinking about it for a while now, GettingThingsTech has some answers for you.