30 April 2014

4 Rules For Working With Tech Support When Your Site Goes Down



website-down-tech-support

How do you host your website? You might choose to host it on the bare-metal of a dedicated server, or on a cost-effective VPS. If you’re anything like me, you probably choose to host your site on a managed, shared-hosting package, mostly out of pure laziness. After all, who wants to do server management in their spare time? The other day, my website was automatically upgraded to the latest and greatest WordPress; version 3.9. Not long after, everything broke. Suddenly, I was unable to create new blog posts. I couldn’t log in. I couldn’t see my Jetpack statistics. Nothing worked....


Read the full article: 4 Rules For Working With Tech Support When Your Site Goes Down



What You Can Do With Gists on Github?



Github is the popular website among software developers for sharing code. The site hosts over 12 million open-source projects — including games, books and even fonts — making Github the largest code repository on the Internet.


Github offers another useful service called Gist that developers often use to dump their code snippets but Gists aren’t just for geeks and coders — they offer something for everybody. If you have ever heard of web apps like Pastebin or Pastie, Gist are similar but more polished, they are free of advertising and loaded with more features.


Gist – They aren’t just for Geeks!


Here are some areas where you can utilize the Gist service. And you don’t have to be a geek for this.


1. Write Text Anonymously


You don’t have to create an account at Github to use Gists. Just go to gist.github.com, write any block of text in the space provided and create a Gist. You can choose to have a secret Gist that will not be visible to search engines but only to those who know the URL of that secret Gist.


2. Track Changes like a Wiki


When you edit the content of a Gist that has already been published, the previous versions of the Gist are also preserved. You can hit the Revisions tab to track edits made over time and there’s a built-in diff engine that will visually highlight the changes between any two versions of a gist. This can also be used for comparing text files.


Compare File Difference


3. Publish Gists in Rich Text


While gists only accept plain text, you can use the Markdown format to publish your text in rich HTML format. You can add lists, images (hosted externally) and even Tables that are not supported in the original Markdown specification. When you are done writing the text in Markdown, remember to save the file with a .md extension.


markdown gist


4. Gist as a Writing Platform


While there exist plenty of writing engines — from Blogger to Medium to Tumblr — you can also Github’s Gist service to quickly publish your writings on the web. Create a Gist either in plain text or markdown format and then use roughdraft.io to publish that Gist as a standalone web page. It’s like integrating Readability with your Gists. And you can use emoji (smileys) too!


5. Host Single Page Websites on Gist


Bl.ocks is one of the most interesting applications built for Gists. You can write your HTML, CSS and JavaScript code in plain text, save the Gist as index.html and then use bl.ocks.org to serve the rendered version of that HTML web page as it should appear in the browser. For instance, here’s a live version of an HTML file that is hosted on gist.github.com.


There are bandwidth constraints obviously but bl.ock.org is still an excellent tool for hosting your HTML through Gists. The other alternative is Google Drive.


6. Maintain a Task List


You can use Gists to keep track of pending tasks (see example). The tasks are written in a special syntax in plain text but they are rendered as a list of check boxes.



- [x] Pick the flowers
- [ ] Call John 9303032332
- [x] Cancel cable subscription
- [ ] Book the flight tickets

You can check or uncheck the items and the source text will update automatically. If your Gist is public, anyone can see your to-do lists but only the gist owner can change the status of individual tasks.


7. Gist as a Web Clipper


The GistBox add-on for Google Chrome lets you save text snippets from web pages as public or private gists. You can even add labels, or #hashtags, to your gists making discovery easier.


8. Embed Gists in Web Pages


You can embed any Gist in your web pages with a line of JavaScript code. The embedded Gists maintain all the formatting and syntax highlighting and visitors to your website can easily clone (or fork) your Gist into their own Github accounts. There’s also a plugin and shortcode for embedding Gists in WordPress blogs.



<script src="http://ift.tt/1o3bYDJ;

9. Measure the Traffic


You can use Google Analytics to measure the traffic to your Gists. Since Github does not allow JavaScript code to run inside plain text Gists, we can use the GA Beacon to log visits in real-time to Gists.


Add this line to your Gists, save in Markdown format and it will add a transparent tracking image to your Gists.



![Analytics](http://ift.tt/1pOi6Ew)

10. Manage Gists from the Desktop


Gisto is free desktop application that lets you manage your Gists outside the browser. You can search Gists, edit the content of gists, view revisions over time and also share Gists. The app is available for Mac OSX, Windows and Linux. The other alternative is GistBox which is a web app.




This story, What You Can Do With Gists on Github?, was originally published at Digital Inspiration on 30/04/2014 under Internet

Twitter Is Flatlining, Firefox 29 Is Radical, MacBook Air Is Cheaper [Tech News Digest]



heart-rate-monitor-fingernails

Today in Tech News Digest, Twitter flatlines, Firefox updates, MacBook Air cheapens, Xbox One lands, Udacity expands, and Vsauce measures. Twitter Is Flatlining It sucks that twitter has ruined every experience that one could possibly ever have huh — matt (@mattbuchanan) April 23, 2014 Twitter has reported its financial results for Q1 2014. The figures can be spun a number of ways depending on your point of view, but the ultimate truth lurking behind them all is that Twitter is flatlining to an alarming degree. The financials aren’t too bad. Twitter brought in revenues of $250 million during the last...


Read the full article: Twitter Is Flatlining, Firefox 29 Is Radical, MacBook Air Is Cheaper [Tech News Digest]



Watching TV: Anytime, Anywhere, On Every Device [We Ask You Results]



we-ask-you-logo

Watching TV is a completely different experience now than it was in the last golden age of television. The days when families would huddle around a square box spitting out a handful of channels full of scheduled content are long gone. Sadly. The range of options available for couch potatoes keen on watching television is vast. As we found out when we centered our We Ask You discussion on all things related to the television viewing habits of the MakeUseOf readership. TV Here, TV There, TV Everywhere We asked you, How Do You Watch TV? There was a healthy debate...


Read the full article: Watching TV: Anytime, Anywhere, On Every Device [We Ask You Results]



29 April 2014

Get Paid To Search With The Bing Rewards Program



bing-search

If you don’t use Bing, you may want to reconsider. A while ago, we compared Bing Images vs. Google Images as well as Bing Search vs. Google Search. Back then we declared Google as the winner but the past few years have seen gradual improvements to Bing, making it an actual contender as a search engine. But here’s the kicker: Bing pays you to search. It’s called the Bing Rewards Program. I’m fully aware that this isn’t an altruistic act by Microsoft. Yes, you can see it as a bribe to switch away from Google. Yes, there may or may...


Read the full article: Get Paid To Search With The Bing Rewards Program



Google Self-Driving Cars, HP Android Laptop, Oculus Rift Lag [Tech News Digest]



google-self-driving-car

Today in Tech News Digest, Google self-driving cars navigate cities, Microsoft owns Nokia, HP teases an Android laptop, a Secret expansion, BuzzFeed wants $1 billion, Joss Whedon gets In Your Eyes, and Oculus Rift demonstrates living with lag. Google Updates Us On Self-Driving Cars Google has offered an update on where its epic effort to make self-driving cars a reality stands at the moment. The big challenge being mastered right now is driving through city streets, with mastery of freeway driving having been achieved. Chris Urmston, the director of the project, claims Google’s self-driving cars have now completed more than...


Read the full article: Google Self-Driving Cars, HP Android Laptop, Oculus Rift Lag [Tech News Digest]



Relive History With 80,000+ British Pathé Historical Newsreels [Stuff to Watch]




Pathé News, known these days as British Pathé, has been responsible for recording some of the most important events in history – from global warfare to World Cup finals, and now much of the footage is available to watch on YouTube. With over 80,000 films to peruse, you would need years to get through them all – and there’s not a lot of order to the collection either. Regardless, if you’re looking for footage of well-documented cultural movements, news events and days that shook the world then British Pathé on YouTube is a great place to start. Queen Victoria’s Funeral...


Read the full article: Relive History With 80,000+ British Pathé Historical Newsreels [Stuff to Watch]



No Blog, No Problem — 3 Handy Apps To Help You Quickly Publish A Post



just-write-it

If a blog feels like too much work, feel free to cut it out of the equation. You can publish posts without one. Writer or not, you might wish to put your thoughts in writing when the mood strikes you. If you want to start a blog we have plenty of information to help you with that, including this definitive guide to WordPress and Joel’s article on easy-to-use blogging tools. But what if having to set up and maintain a blog to send out the occasional post does not appeal to you? Maybe you just want to contribute a few...


Read the full article: No Blog, No Problem — 3 Handy Apps To Help You Quickly Publish A Post



28 April 2014

Scapple Lets You Organize Your Thoughts However You Like



scapple

Need a better tool for brainstorming, or just organizing thoughts? Check out Scapple. This Mac and Windows note-taking software lets you write down ideas, move them around and connect one concept to another – and it couldn’t be easier to use. Scapple, in their own documentation, seems to intentionally avoid using the terms “mind mapping”, instead calling the product a note-taking app. The distinction is a wise one – the majority of earth-dwelling humans have no idea what “mind mapping” is, but almost everyone takes notes. Still, if you’re familiar with mind-mapping software, you might think you know what Scapple...


Read the full article: Scapple Lets You Organize Your Thoughts However You Like



12 Useful Tweaks To Make Ubuntu Feel Like Home



ubuntu-tools

Ubuntu is a pretty good Linux distribution to start out with, but there are some tweaks you might want to perform to get it to work and behave the way you want it to. This is especially true if you’re new to Ubuntu or Linux. If you’ve jumped over from Windows XP, you’ve made a good choice. Here we’ll show you some great tweaks that can go a long way to achieving desktop zen. Install Proprietary Drivers The first thing you should do is install proprietary drivers, if available. These drivers are provided by the manufacturer and generally allow your...


Read the full article: 12 Useful Tweaks To Make Ubuntu Feel Like Home



SUPERAntiSpyware Is A Vital Tool In The Fight Against Malware



superantispyware

When it comes to detecting and removing malware, you might have used or at least heard of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware. We’ve covered it before, but perhaps you want to try a different solution for your on-demand scanning needs. Even if you swear by Malwarebytes, it’s not a bad idea to scan with multiple one time-scanners once in a while. If you’ve been looking for a new tool to add to your security arsenal, perhaps SUPERAntiSpyware is right for you. Setting Up The name SUPERAntiSpyware (SAS) sounds a bit shady, almost like a fake antivirus program, but rest assured that it’s a...


Read the full article: SUPERAntiSpyware Is A Vital Tool In The Fight Against Malware



8 Things Most People Don’t Know About Amazon’s Bestsellers Rank (Sales Rank)



AmazonSalesRank

Amazon has various ways of ranking products, but one of the least understood seems to be the Amazon Bestsellers Rank (also known simply as ‘Sales Rank’). This post will hopefully help you understand , as a customer, which books are selling well in a certain topic, and as a seller, which products may be your main competitors. As a seller (or in the case of books, as an author) is your marketing is working? Armed with Amazon’s “secret recipe”, you also become a better buyer. Please bear in mind that Amazon does not explicitly state how the Bestsellers Rank is...


Read the full article: 8 Things Most People Don’t Know About Amazon’s Bestsellers Rank (Sales Rank)



Internet Explorer Flaw, Netflix Cable, Cortana Children, E.T. Found In Desert [Tech News Digest]



internet-explorer-pin-cushion

Today in Tech News Digest, an Internet Explorer flaw, government-built social networks, Netflix as a cable channel, ComiXology in-app purchases, Cortana hates children, a Codecademy makeover, and E.T. found in the desert. Internet Explorer Suffers Critical Flaw A new vulnerability is affecting Internet Explorer users. Follow these steps exactly: 1. Stop ever using Internet Explorer End of steps. — pourmecoffee (@pourmecoffee) April 28, 2014 A serious security flaw has been discovered in all versions of Internet Explorer, Microsoft’s much-maligned Web browser. The zero-day vulnerability is present in Internet Explorer 6 through 11 and could allow hackers to gain access to...


Read the full article: Internet Explorer Flaw, Netflix Cable, Cortana Children, E.T. Found In Desert [Tech News Digest]



27 April 2014

How To Upgrade Or Switch Linux Distros Without Erasing Your Files



linux-fedora-ubuntu

Do you find yourself switching between Linux distributions frequently? When upgrading, do you favor clean installations over in-place upgrades? Do you hate that you have to back up all your personal data, or else lose it? What if I told you that this doesn’t have to happen? It’s actually quite easy to switch between different Linux distributions or perform clean installations and still retain all of your personal data. We’ll show you what to do so that you’re all set up no matter your current situation. How Does It Work? What’s the magic that lets you keep all your personal...


Read the full article: How To Upgrade Or Switch Linux Distros Without Erasing Your Files



26 April 2014

Nine New Features Added to the Google Keyword Planner Tool



google-keyword-planner

The Google Keyword Planner Tool has always been one of the leading resources for web publishers and advertisers to research search engine query activity on the Internet, but now Google has added nine more features to the popular service. On Thursday, April 24th, Google rolled out nine new features to Keyword Planner, providing users with much more in depth information about search queries. Those new details include things like query changes over time, mobile device trends, enhanced location data and better visualizations. The new features are intended to give potential Adsense advertisers more insight into popular keyword queries online, but...


Read the full article: Nine New Features Added to the Google Keyword Planner Tool



Hit By a Manual Spam Action? Here’s What To Do



judge-gavel

Imagine you’ve just created your best work of art. It’s a oil-paint masterpiece the likes of which you’ll probably never be able to accomplish again. Then, someone comes along and streaks a permanent marker across the canvas. That’s what a Google manual spam action feels like. SEO and site popularity in general is a fickle thing. Just when you think you’ve got everything right and you’re coasting along with loads of visitors and activity, you get sideswiped by some Google algorithm update called Penguin, Panda, Possum or whatever the heck they decide to name it these days. The point is,...


Read the full article: Hit By a Manual Spam Action? Here’s What To Do



Meet Invoiceable: A Free Invoicing Solution For Small Businesses



invoice

It doesn’t get cheaper than free. There are some excellent free invoicing tools out there that your small business can benefit from. Invoiceable is one of them. Perhaps you have known it (and used it?) in its early avatar called Invoice Bubble. If you have tried many invoicing apps and discarded them for various reasons, you might be inclined to think that Invoiceable is just more of the same. Be ready to be pleasantly surprised. Here’s What You’ll Be Looking For Invoiceable has an intuitive interface and workflow. With minimal tabs and settings, it ensures that you have fewer things...


Read the full article: Meet Invoiceable: A Free Invoicing Solution For Small Businesses



25 April 2014

Learning To Drive in the UK? You Need Theory Test Pro



learn-drive

Learning to drive in the UK is an arduous, expensive experience. There are two tests to take (one theory, one practical), each being ludicrously pricey. You’ll also need to have an astonishing amount of lessons (I’ve had over 50) just to even be in a position where you can take your practical test. Half a million learner drivers have to take their theory test each year, in addition to the thousands who have lost their license and had to start from scratch. Thankfully, there’s a product out there that promises to make it easy to revise for — and pass...


Read the full article: Learning To Drive in the UK? You Need Theory Test Pro



The Future Of Google+, FB Newswire, Next-Gen Minecraft, Oculus Prank [Tech News Digest]



google-plus-coffee-break

Today in Tech News Digest, Google+ may be dead, FCC talks net neutrality, Facebook launches FB Newswire, Lyft expands into new markets, mobile addiction grows, next-gen Minecraft allows save transfers, and the true potential of Oculus Rift is revealed. The Future Of Google+ Is In Doubt The future of Google+ is (as good as) officially in doubt. What we know is that Vic Gundotra, Senior Vice President of Social, is leaving Google for as-yet-unknown pastures new. The rest, including what’s going to happen to Google+ now that its creator has left the company, is still up for debate. But it’s...


Read the full article: The Future Of Google+, FB Newswire, Next-Gen Minecraft, Oculus Prank [Tech News Digest]



24 April 2014

10 Common Web Tasks You Can Do Without Signing Up



open-internet

Security bugs like Heartbleed make it abundantly clear that your logins and passwords are not safe. But what if you could use the Web for common tasks like uploading photos and videos or chatting with friends, all without signing up for an account? Guarding your privacy is important. There are obvious benefits to having logged into a service like Flickr because it will keep all your albums in one place, but that also means everyone can steal or harm all your albums in one place. And sometimes, you just crave anonymity for your own reasons. Whatever the case may be,...


Read the full article: 10 Common Web Tasks You Can Do Without Signing Up



Travel Back In Time With Google Street View



Skyline

Google Street View has become one of the best tools to travel around the world in eighty seconds. Now, a simple but fun update on Google Street View allows you to roll back time. The timeline of past events has been recreated with the help of historical imagery from past Street View collections dating back to 2007. You can say that Google has dug up its archives to create this digital time capsule of the world. The update is rolling out to Street View in Google Maps for Desktop. It’s the closest thing to time travel we are going to...


Read the full article: Travel Back In Time With Google Street View



How to Bypass Web Filtering and Censorship In The UK and Turkey



uk-tr-censorship

Governments are afraid of the Internet. It is the final medium where people can publish whatever they wish, to an audience of an infinite size. The Internet has brought down governments, unveiled corruption and is one of the most potent forces for freedom and democracy. In Turkey, both Twitter and YouTube have been blocked at the ISP level, after allegations of corruption by Prime Minister Reycep Tayyip Erdogan was unveiled. The ban of Twitter was later overturned by the ruling of a constitutional court, although Erdogan is challenging this ruling. Meanwhile in the UK, the ruling Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition has...


Read the full article: How to Bypass Web Filtering and Censorship In The UK and Turkey



New Apple Products, Internet Bill Of Rights, OnePlus One, Street View Time Machine [Tech News Digest]



apple-store-sunlight

Today in Tech News Digest, Apple teases new products, Brazil gets an Internet Bill of Rights, the OnePlus One turns heads, Xiaomi plans international expansion, Google Street View becomes a time machine, Amazon launches Prime Pantry, Apple ups its recycling efforts, and Conversnitch is the creepiest light bulb ever created. Apple Teases Brand New Products Think you are having a bad day? In 1976 Ronald Wayne sold his 10% stake in Apple for $800. Now it’s worth $58,065,210,000. — Relatable (@Iifepost) April 24, 2014 Apple has reported its financial results for Q2, 2014. TechCrunch has all the details, but suffice...


Read the full article: New Apple Products, Internet Bill Of Rights, OnePlus One, Street View Time Machine [Tech News Digest]



How Do You Watch TV? [We Ask You]



we-ask-you-logo

How we watch television has changed dramatically. Shows can be viewed on a range of different devices. They can be watched live, recorded for later, or downloaded from the Internet. And then there is piracy. With all of these options to choose from, we feel a healthy debate about TV is long overdue. Square Eyes Squared We want to know, How Do You Watch TV? It’s a simple question with a multitude of possible answers. Whether you’re a traditionalist watching TV on a square box in your living room or a hipster watching TV on your tablet in a coffee...


Read the full article: How Do You Watch TV? [We Ask You]



How to Receive Files in your Google Drive from Anyone



A school teacher wants to have a public drop box (not Dropbox) where students can upload homework assignments. A recruiter wants to have an online form where job applicants can upload their resumes. A news organization may need a public drop box where people can upload files anonymously.


Google Forms would have been a perfect solution here but unfortunately you cannot upload files to Google Drive through Forms.


The other option is to have a shared folder inside Google Drive but there are limitations. One, you need a Gmail Account and should be invited by the folder owner to upload files in a shared folder. Second, all collaborators can view and even remove files that have been uploaded in a shared folder on Google Drive.


Drive Form with File Uploads


Receive Files in Google Drive with Forms


What you can do is create a regular web form (written in HTML and CSS) and then use Google Apps Script to post the content of this form into Google Drive.


Before diving into the implementation, take a look at this sample form. When you upload a file, it will show up in a specific folder on my Google Drive. You don’t even need to have a Google Account to upload files and the Google Script based form even works on mobile devices.



  • Click here to make a copy of the Google Script into your Google Drive.

  • This is vanilla form with a text field, a file input field and a form submit button. You can open the form.html file to apply your own CSS styles or add more input and textarea fields.

  • From the Run menu, choose doGet and authorize the script. The script needs these permissions since the form will be uploading files to your Google Drive.

  • Next choose Deploy as Web App from the Publish menu. Click Save New Version, choose Anyone, even Anonymous from the drop-down and click the Deploy button.


The Google Script will now offer you a form URL. Anyone can now use this form to upload files to your Google Drive.



<form id="myForm">

<label>Your Name</label>
<input type="text" name="myName">

<label>Pick a file</label>
<input type="file" name="myFile">

<input type="submit" value="Upload File"
onclick="google.script.run
.uploadFiles(this.parentNode);
return false;">
</form>

This is a bare-bones version of the form but it can be further enhanced through Apps Script. For instance, you may choose to save the form details in a Google Spreadsheet along with the Drive URLs of the uploaded files. The script can even email you the uploaded files as attachments similar to Mail Merge.


[*] If this looks a bit too technical, you can ask guests to send you files as email attachments and then use the Gmail to Google Drive program to automatically save these file attachments in your Drive.[**] If you aren’t on Gmail or Google Apps, you can still receive files in Dropbox from anyone anonymously.

Awesome Google Scripts → Custom Google Scripts →




This story, How to Receive Files in your Google Drive from Anyone, was originally published at Digital Inspiration on 23/04/2014 under Google Drive, Internet

23 April 2014

How To Pay With Your PayPal Balance On Sites That Don’t Accept It



Gift Cards

I’m at a point in my Internet-obsessed life where PayPal is the preferred payment method that I choose to pay for just about anything. If you’re a self-employed person who works online and from home, I can imagine you being in a similar predicament. PayPal is convenient and easy to use. You can pay for anything with PayPal. However, there are a whole lot of places to shop online that don’t seem to be as crazy about PayPal as I am. Amazon is a good (and unfortunate) example. They don’t accept payments via PayPal. However, there’s a crafty little maneuver...


Read the full article: How To Pay With Your PayPal Balance On Sites That Don’t Accept It



Four Places To Find Your Windows 8 Product Key



windows logo

Windows 8 and 8.1 PCs no longer have a Certificate of Authenticity (CoA) sticker with their product key printed on it. This helps prevent theft — people can’t just glance at a sticker on your laptop to get your Windows product key. On the other hand, you can’t simply look at a sticker on your Windows PC when you reinstall the operating system. You’ll have to find the 25-digit product key elsewhere. Having your product key is necessary if you want to download Windows 8 or 8.1 installation media from Microsoft. Their downloads require a valid product key. It’s also...


Read the full article: Four Places To Find Your Windows 8 Product Key



New Twitter Profiles, Lytro Illum DSLR, Aereo Hearing, OS X Beta Testing [Tech News Digest]



twitter-bird-model

Today in Tech News Digest, new Facebook-like Twitter profiles for all, the Lytro Illum DSLR, #myNYPD hashtag fails, the Aereo hearing concludes, OS X beta testing free for all, and a sauce bottle cap fix by students. New Twitter Profiles Available To All Soo now my twitter profile looks like facebook… How original. — Lax (@BryanJoL) April 23, 2014 The new Twitter profiles first unveiled a couple of weeks ago are now available to everybody using the Web version of the social networking site. As previously noted, the new profiles make Twitter look a lot more like Facebook than it...


Read the full article: New Twitter Profiles, Lytro Illum DSLR, Aereo Hearing, OS X Beta Testing [Tech News Digest]



9 Password Managers To Make Use Of [We Ask You Results]



we-ask-you-logo

Creating and remembering passwords for every website you interact with is a real pain in the ass. Unfortunately, it’s also an essential part of a life spent at least partially online. We sought to find out your strategy when it comes to passwords, and the informative results are detailed below. Password Managers FTW! We asked you, How Do You Manage Your Passwords? It turns out that most of you don’t manage your passwords, or at least not alone. Instead, the majority of people participating in the discussion let a password manager do the hard work of creating and/or storing passwords...


Read the full article: 9 Password Managers To Make Use Of [We Ask You Results]



Can’t Afford Podcast Hosting? Try These Free Alternatives



muo-podcasting-hostingfree-ft

If your podcast is outgrowing the space you have on your blog, the time has probably come to find a new home for it. But if you’re already paying for hosting, this might be beyond your budget unless you can find somewhere to host your musings and discussions for free… Yes, Free Podcast Hosting Exists! Has your podcast taken on a life of its own? Does your website or blog seem to revolve around organising recordings and uploading new editions, rather than focusing on its original core aim? In such a situation, it’s a good idea to give your podcast...


Read the full article: Can’t Afford Podcast Hosting? Try These Free Alternatives



22 April 2014

10 Money Management Tools Inside Google Drive You Should Use Today



budget

Managing money. What a waste of time, isn’t it? The problem is, if you don’t manage it, you end up without it. Not much fun. So, how about a few useful money management tools to help you get started right inside your Google Drive account? Google Drive. It’s like that file drawer that you keep stuffing full of new files, and never stop to consider whether what you’re putting in there is even very useful. Your Google Drive should have things that make your life more organized, more efficient and in a word…better. One of the things that can improve...


Read the full article: 10 Money Management Tools Inside Google Drive You Should Use Today



Aereo Supreme Court, Netflix Price Rise, Samsung Innovation, Han Solo Rug [Tech News Digest]



aereo-television-silhouette

Today in Tech News Digest, Aereo lands in court, Netflix promises price rises, Reddit tampers with technology, the Samsung Innovation Museum, Amazon loves Goodreads, and Han Solo in Carbonite gets his own rug. Aereo Fights For Life In Supreme Court After several years of legal wrangling and contradictory rulings over its status, Aereo has made it to the United States Supreme Court. The case against Aereo, as brought by a consortium of broadcasters, will now be heard by the highest federal court in the U.S. Aereo is a New York-based company disrupting the traditional cable television business model. It works...


Read the full article: Aereo Supreme Court, Netflix Price Rise, Samsung Innovation, Han Solo Rug [Tech News Digest]



How To Boot Into Safe Mode In Windows 8



windows safe mode boot process

Safe Mode is an essential troubleshooting tool for Windows users. When you enter Safe Mode, Windows loads a minimal environment without third-party hardware drivers and software. If your computer is blue-screening or infected by malware, booting into Safe Mode will often give you a stable Windows system. From Safe Mode, you can remove crashing hardware drivers, uninstall buggy third-party software, and scan your computer for malware without the malware running in the background. No More F8 Traditionally, Windows users pressed F8 during the Windows startup process to access Safe Mode. This won’t work on Windows 8 PCs. Windows 8 PCs...


Read the full article: How To Boot Into Safe Mode In Windows 8



21 April 2014

Windows XP Security Risks: They’re Real And Heading Your Way In 2014



windows-xp-security-risks

With plenty of press coverage about the impending end of support for Windows XP, you could be forgiven for thinking it’s all just hype. But without security updates, the aging operating system becomes a Trojan horse in your home or business. How Unsafe Is XP, Really? Let’s be honest – Windows XP isn’t going to cut you, set fire to your house or kidnap you. However, it could be indirectly responsible for deleting your important data, hacking your bank account or holding your computer to ransom. There has been a lot of talk over the past few months about Microsoft...


Read the full article: Windows XP Security Risks: They’re Real And Heading Your Way In 2014



5 Essential Online Script Libraries For Wannabe Screenwriters



Script

The best way to learn screenwriting is to read scripts – as many as possible, by many writers in many genres and dealing with many mediums. Screenwriting is the art of telling stories, and every single one of us has been touched by a story. It’s no wonder a lot of people want to turn their hand to screenwriting. To get started, all you need is a software like CeltX (check out our guide) and inspiration. The best way of learning isn’t going on a college course, as odd as that sounds: instead, the Internet can educate you and entertain...


Read the full article: 5 Essential Online Script Libraries For Wannabe Screenwriters



General Mills Facebook Fail, Nearby Friends Ads, Oculus Rift Grandmother [Tech News Digest]



epic-fail-ink-stamp

Today in Tech News Digest, General Mills backtracks, DPLA expands, Facebook targets ads, videophones celebrate birthday, HTC speculates on optical zoom, Google Trends emails, and Oculus Rift proves its worth. General Mills Apologizes Over ToS Debacle TIL General Mills had to take the word “strawberry” off packages for Strawberry Fruit Roll Ups because they don’t contain strawberries. — Adam Clark Estes (@adamclarkestes) April 17, 2014 General Mills has backtracked on its revised Terms of Service which appeared to prohibit customers from suing the company after enjoying any kind of interaction. General Mills apologized, reverted to its old terms, and suggested...


Read the full article: General Mills Facebook Fail, Nearby Friends Ads, Oculus Rift Grandmother [Tech News Digest]



How to Track When People Print Web Pages on your Site



You have made your website printer-friendly but you are not too sure if people are actually printing any of web pages. And if they are, you would probably like to know how frequently they print pages from your site and what kind of content is printed more often.


There are multiple ways to print a web page.


You may use the File->Print menu in the browser or press the Ctrl+P keyboard shortcut (or Command+P on a Mac) to send the current web page to the printer. Some web pages have a dedicated PRINT button on the page itself that internally executes the window.print() method to print the document.


We therefore need a solution that can track and capture the print action on a web page irrespective of the method that was originally used to send that page to the printer. That’s where Google Analytics will help.


Track Printed Web Pages with Google Analytics


What we need to do is add an invisible 1×1 tracking image — similar to the one we used for Gmail read receipts — – to the printed version of our web pages. Now when a site visitor prints a web page, through any route, the Analytics tracking image will download on their computer and print action will be recorded into your Google Analytics.


The implementation is really easy. Simply copy-paste this code above the closing </body> tag in your website template. If you are on WordPress, you can paste the code in your footer.php file. Do remember to replace UA-1234-56 with your actual Google Analytics Profile ID.



<script>

var googleAccountID = "UA-1234-56";

function s4() {
return Math.floor((1 + Math.random()) * 0x10000).toString(16).substring(1);
}

function guid() {
return s4() + s4() + '-' + s4() + '-' + s4() + '-' + s4() + '-' + s4() + s4() + s4();
}

(function(){

var GIF = "http://ift.tt/1i6zkJc; +
"&ec=print&tid=" + googleAccountID + "&cid=" + guid() +
"&z=" + (Math.round((new Date()).getTime() / 1000)).toString() +
"&ea=" + encodeURIComponent(document.title) +
"&el=" + encodeURIComponent(document.location.pathname);

var rule = "body:after{content:url(" + GIF + ")}";
var head = document.head || document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0];
var css = document.createElement('style');

if (css && head) {

css.setAttribute("type", "text/css");
css.setAttribute("media", "print");

if (css.styleSheet) { // For IE
css.styleSheet.cssText = rule;
} else {
css.appendChild(document.createTextNode(rule));
}

head.appendChild(css);

/* Written by Amit Agarwal - labnol.org */
}

})();

</script>

Once you have added the tracking JavaScript code to your web pages, log in to your Google Analytics dashboard, go to Real Time –> Events and choose Print for the event category. Alternatively, for old reports, you should go to Behavior -> Events report.


Also see: QR codes for Printed Pages


How Print Tracking with Analytics Works?


The above JavaScript code adds the following CSS rule to your web page. It append the Google Analytics tracking image to the page but the rule is only trigger when the print stylesheet is active.



<style type="text/css" media="print">
body:after {
content:url(GOOGLE_ANALYTICS_TRACKING_IMAGE);
}
</style>

Some PDF writing programs also use the Print stylesheet when saving web pages to PDFs and thus, the same tracking code will work in those cases as well.




This story, How to Track When People Print Web Pages on your Site, was originally published at Digital Inspiration on 21/04/2014 under Google Analytics, Print, Internet

How To Directly Upgrade Windows 8 To Windows 8.1 Update



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About two weeks ago, Microsoft officially announced and released Windows 8.1 Update to the public. Windows 8.1 Update is a free update available to all PC users running Windows 8.1 RTM and is an effort to make the tiled Windows operating system easier for desktop and laptop users. Ability to run Windows Store apps in […]

Need Help Songwriting? Try These 4 Tools For Inspiration



song-writing

Sometimes the songs just spill out of you. Other times, you sit there staring at a blank notebook until 4AM, wondering if you’ll ever write a song that isn’t complete crap. Songwriting can be fun but it isn’t easy. If you’re feeling stuck and need a bit of help, these tools and apps may help you get your muse back. Songwriter101 (Website) There are many songwriting websites out there and we’ve covered a few of them before. However, there’s one that deserves special mention for all of the great content that it has produced over the years. It’s called Songwriter101...


Read the full article: Need Help Songwriting? Try These 4 Tools For Inspiration



Need Help Songwriting? Try These 4 Tools For Inspiration



song-writing

Sometimes the songs just spill out of you. Other times, you sit there staring at a blank notebook until 4AM, wondering if you’ll ever write a song that isn’t complete crap. Songwriting can be fun but it isn’t easy. If you’re feeling stuck and need a bit of help, these tools and apps may help you get your muse back. Songwriter101 (Website) There are many songwriting websites out there and we’ve covered a few of them before. However, there’s one that deserves special mention for all of the great content that it has produced over the years. It’s called Songwriter101...


Read the full article: Need Help Songwriting? Try These 4 Tools For Inspiration



20 April 2014

This Beautiful Browser Add-On Gives You Interesting Stats About Your Browsing



numbers-featured.jpg

Is there anything more interesting on than statistics? Not the school type, the Internet type. Following your own activity is fascinating, so it’s no wonder that tools that track your Gmail statistics, blog statistics and even Facebook statistics are so popular. But what about “you” statistics? Or shall we say, a stats selfie? No, I’m not talking about your height, weight and eye-color. I’m sure you can figure those out on your own. I’m talking about the way you surf the Web every day, the websites you visit and your surfing habits. This is not about a specific website or...


Read the full article: This Beautiful Browser Add-On Gives You Interesting Stats About Your Browsing



This Beautiful Browser Add-On Gives You Interesting Stats About Your Browsing



numbers-featured.jpg

Is there anything more interesting on than statistics? Not the school type, the Internet type. Following your own activity is fascinating, so it’s no wonder that tools that track your Gmail statistics, blog statistics and even Facebook statistics are so popular. But what about “you” statistics? Or shall we say, a stats selfie? No, I’m not talking about your height, weight and eye-color. I’m sure you can figure those out on your own. I’m talking about the way you surf the Web every day, the websites you visit and your surfing habits. This is not about a specific website or...


Read the full article: This Beautiful Browser Add-On Gives You Interesting Stats About Your Browsing



18 April 2014

Earn Money Writing: 4 Tips For Pitching A Great Guest Blog Post



guest-blog-pitch

In an article last week, I gave you 6 tips on how to kickstart your guest blogging career. But getting your name out there and getting friendly with other bloggers isn’t the only thing you need to do — you also need to a great pitch. These four tips will help you develop one that’s really effective. What’s A Pitch? A guest-post pitch is just like a client, product, or story pitch — it’s a short presentation (or, in this case, an e-mail) that will show the blog owner that you have a great idea and that it’s worth pursuing....


Read the full article: Earn Money Writing: 4 Tips For Pitching A Great Guest Blog Post



4 Ways to Monitor The Search Engine Health Of Your Site



search

When you’re on a road trip, it’s nice to know where you are on a map, and how far you’ve got left to go until your destination. The same is true with your website. If your goal is to achieve the most traffic possible, you want to know if you’re achieving that goal, or if you’re headed for the cliff. There is nothing more disturbing for a website owner or blogger to one day check Google Analytics only to discover that most of the site’s traffic has disappeared, and there’s no clue anywhere as to why it even happened. If...


Read the full article: 4 Ways to Monitor The Search Engine Health Of Your Site



Facebook Likes Brands, Siri Superpowers, Twitter Parody Police Raid [Tech News Digest]



facebook-like-sky

Today in Tech News Digest, why you should stop liking brands on Facebook, Siri secures superpowers, Facebook finds Nearby Friends, shocking Lumia 2520 sales, Office Online in Chrome, and a Twitter parody gone wrong. PSA: Stop Liking Brands On Facebook If you want to preserve your right to sue a brand for any reason then you should resist the temptation of Liking them on Facebook. This is due to new clauses in terms of service which potentially protect brands from litigation if a customer has interacted with that brand in any way. The New York Times cites General Mills as...


Read the full article: Facebook Likes Brands, Siri Superpowers, Twitter Parody Police Raid [Tech News Digest]



Facebook Likes Brands, Siri Superpowers, Twitter Parody Police Raid [Tech News Digest]



facebook-like-sky

Today in Tech News Digest, why you should stop liking brands on Facebook, Siri secures superpowers, Facebook finds Nearby Friends, shocking Lumia 2520 sales, Office Online in Chrome, and a Twitter parody gone wrong. PSA: Stop Liking Brands On Facebook If you want to preserve your right to sue a brand for any reason then you should resist the temptation of Liking them on Facebook. This is due to new clauses in terms of service which potentially protect brands from litigation if a customer has interacted with that brand in any way. The New York Times cites General Mills as...


Read the full article: Facebook Likes Brands, Siri Superpowers, Twitter Parody Police Raid [Tech News Digest]



EasyUEFI: Edit UEFI Boot Entries In Windows 8.1



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When it comes to editing boot entries and managing multi-boot Windows entries, EasyBCD is definitely the best software out there. The EasyBCD software not only enables you easily create and edit boot entries but also lets you perform various other tasks such as backup or repair BCD, create bootable USB, and boot from USB even […]

Amazon Combines Kindle Personal Documents With Cloud Drive



kindle-cloud

Anyone who uses a Kindle eReader knows the utility of the “Send To Kindle” feature. Click it (or email) and send documents, selected text from webpages, and even your own DRM free ebooks straight to the eReader. Amazon will now automatically archive all personal documents sent to Kindle in a new “My Send-to-Kindle Docs” folder on Amazon Cloud Drive. This can be a user-friendly location to organize and manage all your documents in one central location that’s reachable from all devices. The automated folder also comes with another side benefit — the 5GB of storage allocated to Kindle device owners...


Read the full article: Amazon Combines Kindle Personal Documents With Cloud Drive



17 April 2014

Multiple Ways To Capture Or Print What You See On Your Screen



screen-capture

Print Screen is a term that lost its original meaning decades ago. Back in the MS-DOS era, before computers had graphical user interfaces, the Print Screen key would indeed send the contents of the current screen to the printer. Today, the Print Screen button triggers a screenshot, meaning it captures a still of your screen and temporarily stores it in the clipboard. Actually printing a screenshot takes a few more steps. In return, this offers opportunities for editing and optimizing the image. Combine that with shortcuts and third party software and you have a powerful tool of the 21st century...


Read the full article: Multiple Ways To Capture Or Print What You See On Your Screen



Multiple Ways To Capture Or Print What You See On Your Screen



screen-capture

Print Screen is a term that lost its original meaning decades ago. Back in the MS-DOS era, before computers had graphical user interfaces, the Print Screen key would indeed send the contents of the current screen to the printer. Today, the Print Screen button triggers a screenshot, meaning it captures a still of your screen and temporarily stores it in the clipboard. Actually printing a screenshot takes a few more steps. In return, this offers opportunities for editing and optimizing the image. Combine that with shortcuts and third party software and you have a powerful tool of the 21st century...


Read the full article: Multiple Ways To Capture Or Print What You See On Your Screen



7 Tiny Things You Can Do In A Few Minutes For Your Writing Creativity



creativite-ideas

Ideas are fun. Writing is sweat. Ideas are like the fleeting romances in our fantasies. Writing is the marriage. It is the hard work. Writing is waking up in the morning and putting pen to paper. Writing is going to work. If you like writing as a creative exercise, then you can find comfort in that old cliché that says, creativity is knowledge having fun. The exercise of putting words to paper will feel less dreary then. Still unconvinced? Don’t worry; with little steps you can spur your writing creativity. To most of us, creativity doesn’t happen overnight. It needs...


Read the full article: 7 Tiny Things You Can Do In A Few Minutes For Your Writing Creativity



Office Online Tries To Push Google Docs Aside On Chrome



office-online-chrome

Microsoft is starting to frequently jump onto other operating systems with their products lately. First they brought Office onto the iPad after a long wait, and now they have put Office Online in the Chrome Web Store. Right now, these Chrome extensions consist of Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, OneDrive, and OneNote. So bad news so far to all Access and Publisher fans. Just to be clear though – what this all amounts to are only bookmarks to Office Online, Microsoft’s answer to Google Docs. When you install these Chrome plugins, all you really get are nice shiny new bookmarks on...


Read the full article: Office Online Tries To Push Google Docs Aside On Chrome