12 September 2013

Google Plus Now Offers More Powerful Image Editing For Chrome Users



google-plus-editor

Google has just announced powerful new photo editing features for all Google Plus users. The features were developed by the team behind Snapseed, the excellent Google-owned image editor we’ve previously reviewed. Snapseed users will recognize many of the new controls, which are identical right down to the icons used: Filters such as Vintage, Drama, Retrolux and B&W can be applied via the browser, as can frames and tone adjustments. Even Snapseed’s excellent Selective Adjust feature has been implemented, allowing you to tweak specific areas of your photo without having to make complicated selections. Here’s a video from Google showcasing the...


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Don’t Be A Fender Bender: 5 Driving Simulators That Teach Road Safety



5 Driving Simulators That Teach Road Safety

Online car simulator programs are for entertainment and education purposes only. After all, the arrow keys are hardly a steering wheel. They cannot teach you how to drive. But they can give you a feel of the basics…like staying on the right side of the lane and parking properly among other things. Some simulations as we will see, also teach you the proper safety measures and important road manners. I was the fender-bender in the family. Jittery hands and a nervous disposition. But I still learnt to drive after guzzling a few gallons of fuel. I always wished that I...


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Everything You Need to Know about iPhone 5C



For the first time in the history Apple has announced one more device along with its next generation iPhone 5S.While the 5C's specs are largely familiar to anyone who owns an iPhone 5 (retina display, LTE, iSight camera, A6 chip), everything else about the new phone is surprising — at least for Apple. It’s the company's first budget smartphone (costing $99 with a two-year contract for US residents), its body is polycarbonate (or as Jony Ive put it, “unapologetically plastic") and it shared the stage in Cupertino on Tuesday with Apple's second new handset: the iPhone 5s. Before this week, no iPhone has ever had to share the spotlight.





Some Major Features of iPhone 5C:


1.iPhone 5C comes with 5 different colours:





The multicolored iPhone is built from a single piece of polycarbonate and is available in green, white, blue, red, and yellow.

2.iPhone 5C comes with iOS 7:





The iPhone 5C will come with iOS 7,which is Apple's completely re-engineered mobile operating system. The device also includes an A6 chip and a slightly larger battery than the iPhone 5.

3.Same Measurements as iPhone 5:





The iPhone 5C has the same measurements as the iPhone 5 and 5S, but it's constructed from soft silicon rubber, rather than anodized aluminum.

4.iSight Camera:





The iPhone 5C's iSight camera touts a 3x video zoom and a new FaceTime HD camera. The rear camera is 8 megapixels, and comes with back-side illumination and a hybrid IR filter. It also supports more LTE bands than any other smartphone in the world.

5.iPhone 5C Cases:



For just $29 iPhone 5C users can dress up their devices with 5 different brightly coloured cases.The cases come with holes to add color-contrasting to the device.

Availability of iPhone 5C:


Pre-orders start on Sept. 13 2013, and the iPhone 5C will go on sale on Sept. 20 in the United States, China, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore and the United Kingdom. By December, the iPhone 5C will be available in over 100 countries and on 270 carriers.






Remove Start Button From Windows 8.1 Taskbar Using StartIsGone



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Start button on the taskbar is one of the first things that you notice after upgrading Windows 8 to Windows 8.1. Unlike Windows 7, Vista or XP, the Start button on Windows 8.1 taskbar takes you to the Start screen, the Start menu replacement introduced with Windows 8 operating system. While users who prefer to […]

How To Return To Desktop After Closing Apps In Windows 8.1



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One of the annoying features of Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 is that when you close a modern app (app installed from the Store), Windows takes you to the Start screen. That is, when you close an app in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, Start screen appears so that you can quickly launch another app. […]

Google Alerts Brings Back Support for Feeds



Two months ago, when Google Reader disappeared, Google Alerts dropped support for feeds. Now feeds are back and they look just like before. Feeds continue to include references to Google Reader.









"As you can see, you have the option within 'deliver to' to deliver the alert to a feed. After you click 'create alert', you will be taken to the manage Google Alerts page where you will find the RSS URL you can copy and paste into your preferred RSS reader," informs Search Engine Land. (Feeds actually use Atom, not RSS.)



It's not clear why this feature was removed, but I wouldn't mind to see Google Reader back online. Quietly brilliant.

YouTube Channels Integrate With Google+



If you haven't integrated your YouTube channel with Google+, YouTube offers more options. You can connect the channel to your Google+ profile and use your full name or connect the channel to a Google+ page. You can use an existing Google+ page, create a new Google+ page that uses your YouTube username or create a Google+ page with a different name. Click "I don't want to use my full name" to choose a page instead of your Google+ profile.



YouTube keeps showing the Google+ integration box and you can temporarily bypass it by reloading page. You can also go to youtube.com/account and click "Link channel with Google" to see the box.









This page shows more information about your options. "Profiles are subject to the Google+ Names Policy. The name on your profile should be the one you're commonly known by. Pages don't have name constraints, as names vary greatly among brands, business and organizations."



You have 14 days to change your mind. Just click "Temporarily disconnect Google+ page/profile, and use your YouTube username" in the account settings page.






What are the changes? Your channel will use the name and photos from your Google+ profile/page, it will link to the profile/page and you'll also see Google+ notifications and links in the YouTube navigation bar.



You can also create multiple channels. Use this page or click "switch account" in the navigation bar to switch to a different channel or create a new one. Each new YouTube channel comes with a Google+ page.





Chrome's People Search



Chrome's app launcher is not just for launching apps. It also has a search box that includes many of the features of the Chrome omnibox. It shows suggestions from your list of apps, your browsing history, Google's top search results and popular queries, instant answers for queries like [10 in in cm].



If you use Chrome Canary or a recent Chromium build, you can also enable people search. This way, the app launcher shows Google+ results, just like the search box from Google.com. To enable this feature, open a new tab, copy and paste this address: chrome://flags/#enable-people-search and click "Enable" below "Enable people search - Enable searching for people directly from the apps list search". Then click the "Relaunch now" button to restart the browser.









Right now, the feature is partially implemented. While Chrome shows the search results from Google+, clicking them doesn't have any effect.



{ Thanks, MickeyJayDee. }

In A Nutshell, How Would You Describe MakeUseOf To A Friend? [We Ask You]




You may have noticed a few changes around here of late. The site has been given a makeover, with a new look that mixes things up a little. We are currently seeking your views on the redesign, and welcome both positive and negative comments. We’ve also welcomed several new writers, and some of the content has shifted ever so slightly. However, despite the gradual evolution of MakeUseOf, the core of the site remains the same. And we’re still doing all that we do with you, the MakeUseOf readership, in mind. There aren’t many websites that would ask for honest feedback...


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Why You No Longer Need a KVM Switch For Your Multi-PC Setup



multiple-monitors

Whenever I think of a KVM switch, my mind turns to those archaic hardware A-B switches that used to allow you to hook up a parallel printer to two computers. Yes, these were the days before WiFi, high-speed Internet, and USB hubs. A KVM switch isn’t quite that archaic – it’s actually short for “keyboard, video and mouse”, and is a still-relevant device that lets you hook up one keyboard, mouse and monitor to multiple computers. You can always buy a KVM switch for pretty cheap these days, or if you really want to save some time and money, there...


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Back To School? How To Organize Your Classroom Work With Evernote



evernote_school_intro

School time can become stressful for both students and teachers, especially in high school and later in college. Therefore, it’s absolutely crucial that you stay as organized as possible so that you know where to find the information you need and make things as easy as possible for yourself. Evernote is a fantastic tool to take care of all of this as there are many reasons to use Evernote, so here are a few tips which you can use to get an advantage in school. Lecture Notes Of course, the most obvious tip is to use Evernote for your lecture...


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4 Great Apps And Extensions To Renovate Chrome’s New Tab Page



chrome-tabs

By now, customizing Chrome’s New Tab Page isn’t a new concept – there are lots of apps and extensions that can do this. And in that rises the problem – there are so many to choose from. Do you want something clean and minimal? Do you want something full-featured? Do you want something that is just functional and gets the job done? Do you want all of the above? We all have different tastes when it comes to looks, and needs when it comes to function, so perhaps you’ve been a bit overwhelmed with the vast amount of options available....


Read the full article: 4 Great Apps And Extensions To Renovate Chrome’s New Tab Page



4 Great Apps And Extensions To Renovate Chrome’s New Tab Page



chrome-tabs

By now, customizing Chrome’s New Tab Page isn’t a new concept – there are lots of apps and extensions that can do this. And in that rises the problem – there are so many to choose from. Do you want something clean and minimal? Do you want something full-featured? Do you want something that is just functional and gets the job done? Do you want all of the above? We all have different tastes when it comes to looks, and needs when it comes to function, so perhaps you’ve been a bit overwhelmed with the vast amount of options available....


Read the full article: 4 Great Apps And Extensions To Renovate Chrome’s New Tab Page