20 July 2017

These 9 Projects Will Make You Fall in Love With Photography


If you’ve been looking for inspiration or ideas to kickstart your photography this summer, there are plenty of online projects you can participate in. Photography exercises can be a great way to improve your skills, and this list of nine project ideas is no exception. 1. Frequent Photo Walks Going out for a walk with the express purpose of taking photos on a regular basis is a great way to stay passionate about photography. Going to different locations to take photos can be a great way to explore your own city. Go a little farther afield and you can discover a neighboring town...

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How to Not Get Your Credit Card Hacked


Credit card fraud is massive, with an estimated $4 billion hacked in the U.S. alone during 2016. Meanwhile, it’s estimated that 41 million American adults have had their identity stolen. You don’t want to be part of that statistic. So how can you avoid it? Well, you can be proactive and prevent hackers from targeting your credit card. In fact, it’s pretty simple to do. Set Up Notifications and Alerts on Your Card You should check whether notifications are available for all of your financial accounts. These are alerts that you can set up to email or send an SMS...

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20 Facebook Pages Every Designer Needs to Follow


Facebook should be a top choice for any new or experienced designer in search of non-stop inspiration and information. But sifting through all those design-related pages and groups to find the absolute best can be a nightmare mission. But as we always try to do here at MakeUseOf, we’ve done the heavy lifting for you. Listed below are our top recommended Facebook pages (and a few groups) that all designers should follow and join. And for any we might have missed, please leave a link in the comments below! 1. Smashing Magazine With almost 300,000 likes, Smashing Magazine is a leading design-focused Facebook page....

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Why You Should Learn Ethical Hacking with These Online Classes


The Rogues Gallery on the web has a special spot reserved for hackers. At the top. Far ahead of trolls and pirates. Hackers have also been romanticized over the years by media and movie moguls. A “Gary McKinnon” may not be a known name like “Lisbeth Salander”, but their collective group has fed our pop culture. The former name is real, the latter is pure fiction. But hacking is a legitimate career choice now. It is a shingle on a cyber expert’s door. Some of them might even read – Ethical Hacker at Work. If you wish to learn ethical hacking,...

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How to Create Interactive Excel Charts With the INDEX Formula


This simple process will help you turn static Excel charts into something much more dynamic. Excel makes it easy to create clear, concise charts from your raw data. However, the results can sometimes feel static and uninteresting. One way to address this problem is to add some design flourishes, but you can also introduce an interactive component. A simple drop-down menu can transform a simple Excel chart into an illustrative visual that’s capable of presenting several different sets of information. It’s a great addition to any Excel dashboard, and it’s very easy and quick to set up. Here’s how to use...

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Google Play Protect Helps Keep Your Android Secure


Google has released Google Play Protect, a security suite designed to keep your Android safe. Play Protect resides on your handset, scanning your device around the clock. It also scans apps to make sure they’re behaving as they should, and lets you browse Chrome with confidence. Google has always offered some level of safety and security to Android users. However, it’s now ramping up its efforts in order to protect the hundreds of millions of people who choose Android over iOS. Thus, Google has consolidated Android’s security features into Play Protect. What Google Play Protect Offers Android Users… Play Protect...

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How to Sync Android Notifications With Windows, Mac, and Linux


There are several reasons why you might want to sync notifications from your Android phone with your desktop. For instance, if you spend most of your time on your computer, it might be inconvenient to reach for your phone every time there’s a new notification. Displaying notifications on your desktop can save you from this hassle. You can act on important notifications straight from your computer and dismiss annoying ones. Fortunately, you can sync Android notifications on pretty much any desktop operating system, including Windows, Mac, and Linux. Sync Android Notifications With Windows 10 The Windows 10 Anniversary Update brought a lot...

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These Star Wars Fan Films Will Make You Forget George Lucas Exists


Star Wars fans are almost unrivaled in their dedication to the universe they love. With the possible exception of Star Trek fans, ironically. Star Wars video games, websites, books, and podcasts abound — and so do Star Wars fan films. There are short films about the Sith, the Jedi, soldiers, families, pilots, smugglers, and every other member of the Star Wars universe you can possibly think of. I spent many hours watching Star Wars short films made by the fans for the fans, and these 10 are my favorites available to watch on YouTube right now. It would take literally weeks to...

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You Should Kill Windows Automatic Maintenance and Do This Instead


Before we start, let me make something clear: performing maintenance on your computer is vital. It’ll prolong the life of your hardware and save you hours of frustration. In Windows 10, Microsoft has provided a tool that does much of the hard work for you. It’s called Automatic Maintenance. However, it’s not without its flaws. You might want to take maintenance into your own hands instead. Unfortunately, unlike previous iterations of the operating system, there is no easy way to turn off the feature. Or is there? In this article, I’ll show you how to disable Automatic Maintenance and introduce you...

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Chris Nolan Hates Netflix for Killing Movie Theaters


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Christopher Nolan isn’t a fan of Netflix. Especially when it comes to the streaming giant’s attitude to making movies. He hates the fact Netflix insists on streaming its movies at the same time as releasing them in theaters. A practice he thinks is doing irreparable harm to movie theaters. Nolan is the destined-to-be-legendary film director who brought us Inception, The Dark Knight, and Interstellar. All three of which are absolute classics. However, Nolan wouldn’t have made any of those movies for Netflix, simply because he vehemently disagrees with the company’s distribution model. Christopher Nolan Loves Film But Hates Netflix Netflix...

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How to Make Window Snapping in Windows 10 Less Annoying With One Tweak


One of the most important facets to controlling your Windows desktop is snapping windows. Even if you only have a single monitor, having two apps side-by-side lets you multitask like a pro. But whether you use your mouse to drag a window to the side of the screen or do it instantly with a keyboard shortcut, you’ve probably noticed that Windows 10 added a helper feature when you snap a window — one that can be pretty annoying. After moving a window to one side of your screen, Windows will populate the other side with icons for your other open...

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How to Enable Guest Mode in Chromecast Audio


Chromecast Audios are fantastic little devices. Sure, they can’t compete with Sonos or the other wireless speaker systems, but they pack an impressive punch for $35. In case you don’t know, the tiny Google-made dongles plug into the back of your “dumb” Hi-Fi and instantly turn it into a smart system. You can play music from your favorite streaming app through your system without having to plug anything in or fiddling with headphone jacks. However, if you’re hosting a party, you might encounter a problem: you don’t want to pass your phone around all night so people can queue songs,...

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How to Find Free Fonts Similar to Paid Fonts by Appearance


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Finding the perfect font can be a challenge. You know the name of the prohibitively expensive font you wish you could use, but need to find a free alternative? Or you have a picture of a font as inspiration, but don’t know what the font is called? A few free online tools make it easy to find that perfect free alternative. Finding Similar Fonts by Name Alternatype is an easy to use website. Just enter the name of the font and it will suggest one or two free alternatives. To find a similar font by name, Identifont also offers a straightforward tool. Just enter the name...

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You Can Now Use Your Nintendo Switch Online


Nintendo has released Switch Online, the mobile app that will enable Switch owners to game online. The good news is you can now download Switch Online on Android and on iOS. The Bad news is it isn’t yet functional. It should come online on July 21st, however,to coincide with the release of Splatoon 2. The Nintendo Switch is doing rather well so far. Nintendo unveiled its new console in October 2016, and released it in March 2017. Demand has so far outstripped supply, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a legitimately great game. The one thing...

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11 Chrome Extensions That Will Super-Power Your Gmail Experience


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Google makes the Chrome browser and Google makes Gmail. Naturally, the Chrome Web Store has some excellent extensions to improve your Gmail experience. But it also has several that you don’t need. Let’s sift the gems from the mud. Note: The extensions in this list work only with Gmail. If you prefer the time-saving Inbox by Gmail, there are separate extensions for that. ActiveInbox: Send Mails Later and Manage Email Tasks If you’re a Gmail power user, this is the best extension you can install. But be warned, ActiveInbox is free for a one month trial, after which it costs $50 per...

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How to Use Instagram on Your Windows Desktop


This article originally discussed Instagrille, a free Windows program for using Instagram on your desktop. That app isn’t available anymore, so we’ve updated the content to instead discuss the best ways of accessing Instagram on Windows. For all of Instagram’s popularity, its desktop experience is pretty limited. This makes sense considering the service is geared towards sharing photos and video clips of everyday life. Of course, it’s easier to capture these moments with the phone that’s always in your pocket than to upload them from your PC. But if you want a great Instagram experience on Windows, you’ve got some...

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17 Cleverly Cheap Ways to Rent All Your Textbooks This Year


When it’s time to head back to class, you have a lot to pay for, right? You may have to find a place to live near campus, make sure that your tuition is paid, and figure out your transportation options. All this costs money. If you can save a few bucks by renting your textbooks instead of buying them, then why not? For books that you have no desire to buy and keep forever, these sites can help. They offer great rental prices and flexible terms, making them ideal for college students on a budget. 1. AllBookstores.com To compare rental...

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7 Tips for Keeping Your Digital Photos Secure on Vacation


When away on vacation, it’s all too easy to snap away to your heart’s content. “When am I ever going to come back here again?” And no one can blame you. But how do you make sure your photos are safe? It would be truly awful for pictures to disappear or your device to be stolen, and all those treasured memories are tainted. What happens when you lose your phone, or it becomes redundant? Fortunately, whether you’re using a digital camera or smartphone, you can keep your photos secure. 1. Automated Backups Backing up your data is the key to...

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Google Now Lets You Customize Your News Feed


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Google is making the Google app most of us have on our phones much more useful. And it’s all thanks to “the Feed”. The Feed being an endless stream of stories and articles about the topics you’re interested in. And it resides right in the Google app, immediately underneath the Search bar. Google makes most of its money from the ads which everyone hates but which most websites, including us, need to exist. But when most ordinary internet users think of Google, they think of searching the web and finding exactly what they need. And the Feed is an extension...

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