22 December 2012

Facebook Begins To Roll Out Drag N’ Drop Photo Uploads For Posts [Updates]



Photos are becoming an integral part of Facebook. So is the way we use them. Facebook is apparently keen on making the photo experience smoother and the roll-out of a drag and drop feature could be a start. Facebook is introducing the drag and drop functionality to the publisher box from where we post our status updates and shares. Normally it takes about six clicks to upload a single photo and publish it on Facebook.


The new feature cuts it short to a single drag and drop, and also allows you to upload multiple photos in one go. Usually, publishing multiple photos require one to create a photo album and then share it across with the network. Now you can expect to publish a post with multiple clicks with one drag and drop. This new ‘expected-soon’ update receives a thumbs-up for user friendliness. The feature is being gradually rolled out and is not apparent yet in all profiles.



There is no official word on Facebook’s blog, but Inside Facebook also reports that this feature is also available for Timeline cover photos and also as an option in the Message box.


Give us a shout if you see it on your Facebook profile.


Source: Inside Facebook


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Google Chrome – A Fantastic Replacement For Mobile Safari [iOS]



Do you use Chrome on your computer to browse the web? A lot of people do, as it is one of the most popular web browsers out there. It runs fast, and it offers a user-interface that many people feel comfortable with. The Chrome Webstore is filled with some fantastic extensions that help make the browser even better. I myself am an avid Chrome user on my PC and Mac, but I take my love of Google Chrome to another level, because I have also completely replaced mobile Safari with Google Chrome for iOS as my browser of choice.


Chrome on iOS offers a fantastic browsing experience that fits in the palm of your hand. Most of the features you expect to see from the desktop version of the browser make an appearance in the iPhone and iPad app. It has an interface that I find easier to use than mobile Safari, and with a couple of simple jailbreak tweaks, you can not only make the it default browser in your heart, but the default browser in your phone too.


Even if you aren’t jailbroken, Chrome is still worth downloading for browsing the web, because it’s just that awesome. In terms of quality, it is right up there with Mercury and Maxthon in terms of quality.


Features


As you can probably guess, Chrome for iOS allows you to browse the web on your mobile phone. Of course, it does a lot more than that, as it offers a lot of features that are quite useful for anyone. It is especially useful for people who use Chrome as their web browser on their laptop or desktop. It uses your Google account to sync your bookmarks, so you can pull them up on your phone at any time.



My favorite feature of Chrome on iOS is that is syncs your open tabs across devices. So if you have a website open on your desktop, but need to leave the house suddenly, you can simply go to “Other Devices” on the new tab screen and you will see all the websites open. Simply tap one, and it will open it in your Chrome browser on your iOS device. This is a great way to get back doing what you were doing before you were interrupted.



The “New Tab” page on Chrome is awesome. Just like the browser on a desktop, you can see your most visited sites, bookmarks and your other devices. This helps you get started browsing quickly and easily.



Chrome also features the ability to open a new tab in incognito mode. I don’t think I need to go into the reasons why this is useful, other than to say that anything you don’t want stored in your history will be private if you are browsing incognito. I will leave it up to you to figure out what you want to do with that.



Some mobile sites don’t give you the option to switch from a mobile theme to a desktop theme, but Chrome has you covered. Tap the menu button next to the address bar, and right towards the bottom you will see “Request Desktop Site.” This will force the browser to get a full version of the website.



Right below the option to request a desktop site is Settings. In here, you choose the search engine (which is set to Google by default). You can also adjust the options for voice search, you can clear your browsing history, change whether the browser saves passwords, and all kinds of other fine-tuning. You can control your privacy options from the settings screen as well.



For people who are accustomed to Chrome on a desktop, you will appreciate that the address bar and the search are one in the same. It’s a small thing, but when you are used to browsing a certain way, it’s a nice little touch that improves the user experience.


Conclusion


If you can’t deal with mobile Safari, and you want a better experience on your iOS device, Chrome is the browser to use. It comes with lots of features, a slick interface, and all the features you expect to see from Chrome. Besides extensions and apps, the mobile version offers pretty much everything the desktop one has. Try it out, and you will be happy you did.


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Write More Good: 7 Free Online Tools To Ensure You Use Proper English



Improper use of English is one of my pet peeves. I’m not a full-blown “grammar nazi” (a colloquialism for someone very strict with grammar) but it does irk me. An exception can be made for those who don’t use English natively, but blatant disregard for the rules of language can be seen all over the Internet – and it can be quite annoying.


Language is meant to convey ideas through a common medium that obeys a set of rules. Ignoring those rules – e.g., by shortening “you” to “u” – may be fine in a private context between two people, but utterly inappropriate in a public context, such as when commenting. At best, it makes one seem juvenile and/or lazy. At worst, it makes one look stupid and/or ignorant.


Not convinced? See Jejemon for an example of how extreme it can become. Fortunately, there are a lot of online tools dedicated to preserving the integrity of the English language. Here are a few to help you out.


Dictionary / Thesaurus



An obvious beginning to a list like this, but there is no better place to start when it comes to learning the English language. A dictionary will help you with basic vocabulary, definitions, and spelling. A thesaurus will help you to expand a basic knowledge of English into more sophisticated realms. Both are essential.


With that said, my preferred dictionary-and-thesaurus combo comes from Reference.com. I’ve been using it for years and it has never let me down. The site has a lot of great features like “Word of the Day”, explanations of the history behind words, and games and tools to build your vocabulary.


Online Slang Dictionary



If you truly want to understand the nitty-gritty of the English language, then you can’t subsist on only “proper words”, if you will. Whether at the office or on an Internet forum, you’re going to come across a lot of weird sayings, idioms, and slang that will confuse you – even if English is your first language.


That’s when you can turn to the Online Slang Dictionary. Started in 1996, it’s perhaps the largest repository of slang definitions on the Internet. It’s constantly being updated, so you’ll never fall too far behind in keeping up with the ever-evolving language. This site is especially useful for those who are learning English as a second language OR for those who may not be as hip and young as they once were.


And best of all? Online Slang Dictionary is heaps better in terms of quality than the cesspool that is UrbanDictionary.


Grammar Girl



Even though I’m fluent in English, the language itself has a lot of tricky words and grammar rules that still trip me up from time to time. For example, what’s the difference between “while” and “whilst”? What about “alright” and “all right”? For questions like that, I always use Grammar Girl.


This is one of my favorite websites, to be honest. Grammar Girl is hosted by Mignon Fogarty and she does an excellent job explaining the nuances that go into the trickier portions of English grammar. So if you have a strong grasp of English but want to push yourself beyond the mistakes that most people make, then Grammar Girl is for you.


Pronunciation Book on YouTube



So, using English properly on the Internet is good and all, but what about in real life? You know, when you log off the Web and talk to people face-to-face? How’s your English then? In particular, I’m talking about your pronunciation. It’s no good if you know what a word means if people can’t understand you when you say it!


There’s a YouTube channel called Pronunciation Book that has hundreds of videos on how to pronounce certain words. These videos are divided into categories, like alphabet, days of the week, everyday phrases, prepositions, and more. Surprisingly, this channel is quite addicting.


If you ever get bored and need a break, you can always hop over to the parody channel, Pronunciation Manual . It’s always good for a laugh or two.


HowJSay



Along the lines of pronunciation, we have HowJSay which is more of a dictionary of pronunciations. If you want to know how to pronounce a particular word, this is the site you want. With over 160,000 entries, you’re more likely than not to find the words you need.


The cool part of HowJSay is that it has app versions for both iPhone and Android. If pronunciation on-the-go is what you’re looking for, then this will probably come in handy.


Readability Score



There’s another aspect of the English language – or language in general – that many of us seem to forget, myself included. Readability, or a qualitative gauge at how easy it is to read a particular piece of writing. Have you ever read a Wall of Text comprised of nothing more than run-on sentences and bulky phrases? That’s what I’m talking about.


Using Readability Score, you can take any chunk of your writing, paste it in, and have the website analyze your words according to a number of readability tests. The primary formula – the Fleisch-Kincaid Reading Ease test – will describe, on a scale of 0 to 100, how easy it is to read your writing.


Depending on your grasp of the English language, you should be able to tailor your words according to your audience. Readability Score is a useful tool in learning more on how to use English effectively.


Conclusion


These are just a few tools that deal with varying aspects of English: vocabulary, spelling, grammar, pronunciation, and readability. I’ve only given you a taste of what’s out there. If you search around, you’ll be able to find more websites and programs that deal with these different aspects.


What do you think? Any suggestions for similar websites that you think should be on here? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.


Image Credit: English Text Via Shutterstock


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Say Open Sesame And View More Than 80+ File Types With Free Opener [Windows]



Which is the very first file viewer or editor you go for after a fresh install? MS Office…WinRAR…Adobe Acrobat…a NFO Reader, or any other? For me it’s my web connection because I know that if there’s an emergency, Google Docs Viewer can handle it for me. Some asked our wider community the same question – What is the best universal file viewer? A few worthies were mentioned. I found Universal Viewer to be a bit limiting especially when it comes to media files and even PDF. That made me turn to the one ‘criticized’ in the query itself – Free Opener .


Free Opener has also been recommended by our readers and thus it finds a place on our Best Windows Software list. The brickbats in the query and the bouquet from some of our readers was enough incentive to at least take a look at this file-handling all-rounder. Free Opener is a freeware for Windows.


The Installation



The road to install the free file opener and viewer is a slightly long one. You have to download an installer first – InstallIQ. Free Opener makes it clear that it is supported by other third-party programs that enable it to survive as a free application. Opening Internet Explorer to display an ad for such a program is slightly irritating. Close it and get on with the installation.


Don’t blitzkrieg through the steps because you might inadvertently install something like the Ask Toolbar. Hit one of the two options at the bottom (Decline Optional Software) and forge ahead.



I liked the fact that Free Opener does not forcefully install a menu group under the right-click menu.


The Launch


A vanilla interface greets you when you first launch the program. I have clicked File – File Associations and this is as you get it in the screenshot below:



You would appreciate a “Select All” or “Select None” option here to have more control over the file associations. But that’s missing in action so far and you have to manually go through the 80+ file types. Yes, as we said before – 80+. Free Opener can help you view the following file types: code files, web pages, Photoshop files, images, XML files, PowerPoint presentations, media files, Microsoft Word documents, subtitle files, icons, torrent, Flash animation, archives, Apple pages, CSV files, vCard files, EML documents, and PDF.


Here is the massive list of file types.


The Opening


For all the noise and the build-up, Free Opener is simple in the way it handles so many file formats. Browse to the file you want to open. Click on the file to select it and then click Open. If the file is supported it will open in Free Opener. The real action happens when you open each specific format. All the required controls to manage that particular document are on display with the document. Here’s for example, a Microsoft Word document opened with Free Opener.



You can see all the basic formatting options in the toolbar below the document. Free Opener cannot open multiple documents at one go. But you can open multiple instances of it if you need to open multiple documents in different formats. The memory footprint for a single instance is approximately equal to that of today’s current browsers with a few tabs open, so it’s not something that your computer cannot handle. But yes, it is not lightweight either.


Here’s what an image file looks like in Free Opener. As you can see from the screenshot below, it comes with a few basic picture controls which you can calibrate with sliders. There’s the Crop and Resize option too.



The media player can handle avi, flv, mid, mkv, mp3, mp4, mpeg, mpg, mov, wav, wmv, 3gp, and flac thanks to the K-Lite Codec pack it downloads during the install. The media player is basic, but has some nice touches with video smoothening, audio-video sync, and Direct X video acceleration. Then, you can play your videos in full-screen too.



The Print option is visible for supported file types. Free Opener says – Unfortunately, we do not currently support printing from all file extensions. We hope to support all file extensions in the future.


Try out Free Opener. Is there any file format which you routinely use that it does not include? I noticed that it cannot open DWG (AutoCAD files). But then, that’s a specialized file type. Do you have any other universal file opener or viewer to recommend? We are listening.


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