04 December 2013

10 Online Resources For Bicycle Maintenance And Riding Skills



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How much do you know about repairing and maintaining your bike? How good of a rider do you think you are? Whether you’re just beginning to become a more avid cyclist (perhaps because you saw all those awesome biking videos), or you’ve been riding for a while, there is a lot to know. Just like there are things you can do to maintain your computer for free, there are things you can do to keep your bike in great shape too, so that when you’re out on a ride, you encounter fewer problems. The same applies to your own riding...


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Why These 7 Uses Of YouTube Could Be Better Than Kittens And Music



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YouTube is more than an alternative to “MTV”. Or loving cute cats without going through the hassle of actually owning one. There are many alternatives to YouTube and some you might even consider as better than YouTube itself, but there is none other that lays out the same buffet on the video-serving table. The visual smorgasbord of amazing YouTube channels seems like a never-ending stream. The ease and wide-reach of hosting videos on YouTube makes it an ideal medium for many novel uses. We explore some below. Some might be new…some might be familiar…but all show what can be done...


Read the full article: Why These 7 Uses Of YouTube Could Be Better Than Kittens And Music



Technophilia 91 Live From MakeUseOf



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This week on Technophilia, Justin is out of town, so Dave and James hold it down, along with the help of one of MakeUseOf’s big wigs, Dr. Jackson Chung. We talk about the biggest tech headlines of the week, as well as take part in plenty of other nonsense. This week’s show is brought to you by Bitdefender’s Clueful for iOS. It is the world’s first and only way to really understand how iOS apps treat user’s privacy. Installed apps are easy to analyze for understanding of the privacy-associated concerns that may affect you. Tech News Teachers Can Now Offer...


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Pop Up Archive Transcribes and Tags Sounds, Searches Historical Broadcasts



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Initially started as a project at University of California, Berkeley, Pop Up Archive is a new tool to help journalists, media, archivists, historians and others easily find and reuse sound. “As we launch Pop Up Archive publicly, our goal has grown much bigger. We want to make it easy for all storytellers to find and reuse recorded sound. Now, anyone can visit popuparchive.org to make audio findable through auto-transcription, auto-tagging, and easy-to-use sound management tools. We’re gathering thousands of hours of sounds from around the world, audio collections large and small — and they’re all waiting to be discovered,” says...


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Real Google Androids, UPS Drones, Free Office 365, Star Wars Selfies [Tech News Digest]




Today in Tech News Digest, Google starts building robots, sales of PCs are expected to fall sharply, Spotify woos artists, the PlayStation 4 hits the 2 million sold milestone, UPS tries to one-up Amazon, Office 365 is offered free to students, and Star Wars lands on Instagram with a Darth Vader selfie. Google Building Androids, For Real Andy Rubin emerges from the shadows with an army of robots. Sleep tight! http://t.co/FGabL6fNHd — Casey Newton (@CaseyNewton) December 4, 2013 Google is developing its own army of robots, with Android founder Andy Rubin in charge of bringing this vision through to reality....


Read the full article: Real Google Androids, UPS Drones, Free Office 365, Star Wars Selfies [Tech News Digest]



Location Autocomplete in Google Calendar



When you enter a location for a Google Calendar event, Google now shows a list of suggestions. For example, if you type "Google H", one of the suggestions is "Google Headquarters". The nice thing is that Google also adds the address.






It's not clear how suggestions are ranked, but they're different from the Google Maps search suggestions. Nearby places are placed at the top of the list even if they're not that important.



{ Thanks, John Wilke. }

Short URLs in the New Google Maps



One of the cool things about the new Google Maps is that the URL is updated automatically when you navigate the map, so you can simply copy it from the address bar. Unfortunately, the URL is still huge and a short version is often useful.



Now you can get a short URL by clicking the gear icon at the bottom of the page, selecting "share and embed map" and checking "short URL". I think the short URL should be displayed by default, since the long version can be found in the address bar. "By using a short URL, you can squeeze a long Google Maps link into fewer characters to leave more room to say what's on your mind," explains Google.






{ via +Google Maps }

15 Ways To Turn Your Best Instagram Shots Into Gorgeous Gifts



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Instagram gifts? Who would want a thing like that? If that’s your thinking, it’s only because you have no idea what’s in store for you out there. Yes, it’s that time of the year again, and you’re racking your brain to find some original gifts. Instagram-based gifts may sound like the tackiest thing of earth, but by the time you’re through reading this, you’ll find the perfect gift for at least several family members, and maybe some Instagram-loving friends. This is not just magnets and prints we’re talking about. Turns out there’s almost nothing you can’t print your best Instagram...


Read the full article: 15 Ways To Turn Your Best Instagram Shots Into Gorgeous Gifts



How To Build A Desktop Start Menu Replacement In Windows 8.1



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Are you tired of the Modern interface? Windows 8.1 allows you to boot to the desktop. If only the restored Start Button would launch a proper Start Menu! Well, it sort of can. Step 1: Boot To Desktop This is the thing Microsoft got right in Windows 8.1: you can finally boot to the desktop natively. To enable this feature, go to the desktop, right-click the taskbar and select Properties. In the Taskbar and Navigation properties window, switch to the Navigation tab and under Start screen, select the option “When I sign in or close all applications on a screen,...


Read the full article: How To Build A Desktop Start Menu Replacement In Windows 8.1



Chromecast Game



If you have a Chromecast and you want to try a new app that supports Google's dongle, install TicTacToe for Android or for iOS. It's a very simple game that requires 2 players and displays the results on your TV. You can install it on an Android phone or tablet, on an iPhone or iPad, but you need 2 devices to play the game.






While the game is pretty simple, it shows that Chromecast isn't just for streaming music and video. Once the Google Cast API is out of beta, you'll find a lot more interesting apps.



{ via Reddit }