01 August 2018

7 Google Calendar Tips for Better Time Management in the Office


google-cal-tips

Google Calendar is an essential app for anyone who needs to manage their time. It doesn’t matter whether you’re working, studying, or even trying to organize a party—the app will help keep you on track.

If you work in an office, or just want to improve your time management skills, there are a few Google Calendar features you will find handy. Let’s take a closer look.

1. Send an Out of Office Reply

Out of office replies are hardly a new idea. They’ve been a staple of email services since the technology has existed; they are one of Gmail’s best features.

However, the feature is less common in calendar apps. It means time management has always been a bit of a nightmare, especially if you’re trying to find free slots across multiple peoples’ diaries.

Google Calendar now offers an out of office setting. When you enable it, any meeting invites you receive during the period will be automatically rejected. You can customize the message that others will see, and also control which users will receive the message.

best google calendar features time management

You can set up an out of office message by selecting the corresponding tag when you’re making a new event.

The feature is currently available on G Suite. Although Google has not officially confirmed the news, it’s widely assumed the feature will roll out to all users in the coming months.

2. Manage Your Working Hours

Another new feature that G Suite users can enjoy is the ability to manage your working hours.

The idea is part of Google’s recent wider push to promote digital wellbeing across its platforms. The company has also introduced tools that manage your app usage on Android, remind yourself to take a break on Android, and spend less time editing on Google Photos.

The Working Hours feature allows users to customize their working days on a day-by-day basis. The current approach only enables you to set a start and end time from Monday to Friday.

best google calendar features time management

Google can even make suggestions about your working hours based on your previous activity. The smart feature is useful for freelancers who are looking for ways to get their time management under control.

If anyone invites you to a business event or meeting during your non-working hours, Google Calendar will tell the inviter that you’re unavailable.

To set your working hours on Google Calendar, go to Settings > General > Working Hours.

3. Deploy the Time Blocking Technique

It’s an easy trap to fall into. You look at your Google Calendar and see a couple of meetings with lots of free time in between them.

But what about time traveling to and from a meeting’s location? And what about replying to all those emails? And remember you still need to eat too.

Time Blocking is a simple technique for both office workers and people who want to improve their time management. At its most simple, it refers to allotting every minute of the day to a particular activity.

We’ve looked at the Time Blocking concept in more detail elsewhere on the site if you would like to learn how to stay on track with your tasks.

4. Tell Everyone You’ll Be Late for a Meeting

It doesn’t matter how good your time management skills are; everyone is late for a meeting from time to time. Accounting for every delayed train or traffic hold up is impossible.

Thankfully, if you’re running late, you won’t need to worry about letting every other person know individually. Google offers two ways to tell all your fellow attendees about your predicament at the same time.

  1. You can either respond to everyone via email using the original invite form.
  2. You can send a message within Google Calendar by editing the event in question.

For a more detailed explanation of both approaches, check out our article on how to use Google Calendar to tell everyone you’ll be late for a meeting.

5. Use Appointment Slots

If you have a work or school Google account, you will be able to use the Appointment Slots feature.

It’s a variation on the idea of working hours. Instead of making your entire working day available for people to see, you can designate periods of time when people can organize meetings and appointments with you.

best google calendar features time management

It’s useful for bosses who want to host an open-door policy for a few hours a week, or doctors, vets, and lawyers who might host their surgeries and clinics within a narrow window every day.

Of course, the feature also helps you manage your time. You won’t be dragged away for an out-of-slot meeting accidentally.

You can set an appointment slot by choosing the corresponding tag while making a new event.

6. Use a Meeting Minutes Template

The jury is still out on how useful meetings actually are. Plenty of people subscribe to the idea that they drag on for far too long. They argue that nothing gets agreed upon and they destroy even the best-laid time management plans.

Others think they’re an essential part of project management; without them, plans would quickly descend into chaos.

The truth is somewhere in the middle. But what’s absolutely clear is that to stand any chance of having a timely and productive meeting, you need to have meeting notes. They will lay out the outline of what you plan to talk about in a given session and serve a historical record in future meetings.

There are a few Google Docs meeting minutes templates. You can attach them to your Google Calendar event by clicking on the paper clip icon in the expanded meeting view. The minutes will then be available to all the attendees.

7. Access Someone Else’s Calendar

The ability to access, share, and—in some cases—edit other people’s calendars is an essential part of an office worker’s life.

For example, perhaps an entire team needs to edit a single calendar about an ongoing project, or maybe a secretary needs to be able to manage their boss’ diary.

It’s easy to access someone else’s calendar, provided the person who owns the calendar has made it shareable with other people.

best google calendar features time management

To add a calendar, you either need the other person’s email address or the calendar’s unique URL. The calendar will appear on the left side under “Other calendars.”

  • To add it using email, locate the list of calendars in the left-hand panel, type the email address into the Add a friend’s calendar or Add a coworker’s calendar field, then press Enter.
  • If you want to add it using an ICAL link, go to My Calendars, click the Add + icon, and choose From URL from the menu.

Improve Time Management With Google Calendar

These seven tips and tricks should help office workers improve the way they use Google Calendar on a daily basis, while simultaneously giving you a way to get your time management under control.

If you’d like to learn about more ways Google Calendar is more powerful than meets the eye, check out our article on how to use Google Calendar as a personal journal and tag your self-improvement to dates on the calendar.

Read the full article: 7 Google Calendar Tips for Better Time Management in the Office


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What’s the Best GPS Tracker for Your Car?

WhatsApp finally earns money by charging businesses for slow replies


Today WhatsApp launches its first revenue-generating enterprise product and the only way it currently makes money directly from its app. The WhatsApp Business API is launching to let businesses respond to messages from users for free for up to 24 hours, but will charge them a fixed rate by country per message sent after that.

Businesses will still only be able to message people who contacted them first, but the API will help them programatically send “shipping confirmations, appointment reminders or event tickets. Clients can also use it respond to manually respond to customer service inquiries through their own tool or apps like Zendesk or Twilio. And small businesses who are one of the 3 million users of the WhatsApp For Business app can still use it to send late replies one-by-one for free.

After getting acquired by Facebook for $19 billion in 2014, it’s finally time for the 1.5 billion-user WhatsApp to pull its weight and contribute some revenue. If Facebook can pitch the WhatsApp Business API as a cheaper alternative to customer service call centers, the convenience of asynchronous chat could compel users to message companies instead of phoning.

Only charging for slow replies after 24 hours since a user’s last message is a genius way to create a growth feedback loop. If users get quick answers via WhatsApp, they’ll prefer it other channels. Once businesses and their customers get addicted to it, WhatsApp could eventually charge for all replies or any that exceed a volume threshold, or cut down the free window. Meanwhile, businesses might be too optimistic about their response times and end up paying more often than the expect, especially when messages come in on weekends or holidays.

WhatsApp first announced it would eventually charge for enterprise service last September when it launched its free WhatsApp For Business app that now has 3 million users and remains free for all replies, even late ones.

Importantly, WhatsApp stresses that all messaging between users and businesses, even through the API, will be end-to-end encrypted. That contrasts with the Washington Post’s report that Facebook pushing to weaken encryption for WhatsApp For Business message is partly what drove former CEO Jan Koum to quit WhatsApp and Facebook’s board in April. His co-founder Brian Acton had ditched Facebook back in September and donated $50 million to the foundation of encrypted messaging app Signal.

Today WhatsApp is also formally launching its new display ads product worldwide. But don’t worry, they won’t be crammed into your chat inbox like with Facebook Messenger. Instead, businesses will be able to buy ads on Facebook’s News Feed that launch WhatsApp conversations with them…thereby allowing them to use the new Business API to reply. TechCrunch scooped that this was coming last September, when code in Facebook’s ad manager revealed the click-to-WhatsApp ads option, and the company confirmed the ads were in testing. Facebook launched similar click-to-Messenger ads back in 2015.

Finally, WhatsApp also tells TechCrunch its planning to run ads in its 450 million daily user Snapchat Stories clone called Status. “WhatsApp does not currently run ads in Status though this represents a future goal for us, starting in 2019. We will move slowly and carefully and provide more details before we place any Ads in Status” a spokesperson told us. Given WhatsApp Status is over twice the size of Snapchat, it could earn a ton on ads between Stories, especially if it’s willing to make some unskippable.

Together, the ads and API will replace the $1 per year subscription fee WhatsApp used to charge in some countries but dropped in 2016. With Facebook’s own revenue decelerating, triggering a 20 percent, $120 billion market cap drop in its share price, it needs to show it has new ways to make money now more than ever.


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WhatsApp finally earns money by charging businesses for slow replies


Today WhatsApp launches its first revenue-generating enterprise product and the only way it currently makes money directly from its app. The WhatsApp Business API is launching to let businesses respond to messages from users for free for up to 24 hours, but will charge them a fixed rate by country per message sent after that.

Businesses will still only be able to message people who contacted them first, but the API will help them programatically send “shipping confirmations, appointment reminders or event tickets. Clients can also use it respond to manually respond to customer service inquiries through their own tool or apps like Zendesk or Twilio.

After getting acquired by Facebook for $19 billion in 2014, it’s finally time for the 1.5 billion-user WhatsApp to pull its weight and contribute some revenue. If Facebook can pitch the WhatsApp Business API as a cheaper alternative to customer service call centers, the convenience of asynchronous chat could compel users to message companies instead of phoning.

Only charging for slow replies after 24 hour is a genius way to create a growth feedback loop. If users get quick answers via WhatsApp, they’ll prefer it other channels. Once businesses and their customers get addicted to it, WhatsApp could eventually charge for all replies or any that exceed a volume threshold, or cut down the free window. Meanwhile, businesses might be too optimistic about their response times and end up paying more often than the expect, especially when messages come in on weekends or holidays.

WhatsApp first announced it would eventually charge for enterprise service last September when it launched its free WhatsApp For Business app that now has 3 million users and will still let smaller companies manually reply to messages one-by-one. That app now has 3 million users.

Importantly, WhatsApp stresses that all messaging between users and businesses, even through the API, will be end-to-end encrypted. That contrasts with the Washington Post’s report that Facebook pushing to weaken encryption for WhatsApp For Business message is partly what drove former CEO Jan Koum to quit WhatsApp and Facebook’s board in April. His co-founder Brian Acton had ditched Facebook back in September and donated $50 million to the foundation of encrypted messaging app Signal.

Today WhatsApp is also formally launching its new display ads product worldwide. But don’t worry, they won’t be crammed into your chat inbox like with Facebook Messenger. Instead, businesses will be able to buy ads on Facebook’s News Feed that launch WhatsApp conversations with them…thereby allowing them to use the new Business API to reply. TechCrunch scooped that this was coming last September, when code in Facebook’s ad manager revealed the click-to-WhatsApp ads option, and the company confirmed the ads were in testing. Facebook launched similar click-to-Messenger ads back in 2015.

Together, the ads and API will replace the $1 per year subscription fee WhatsApp used to charge in some countries but dropped in 2016. With Facebook’s own revenue decelerating, triggering a 20 percent, $120 billion market cap drop in its share price, it needs to show it has new ways to make money now more than ever.


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7 DIY Project Ideas for Putting an Old Raspberry Pi to Use


old-raspi-use

You found it! Stuck at the back of your DIY drawer, a Raspberry Pi Model A or B that you put away years ago, perhaps when the Raspberry Pi 2 launched. It has been doing nothing ever since, its time having passed.

Or has it?

Like an old PC, you can still get great results from an old Raspberry Pi. Here are several ways you can still make use of an older Raspberry Pi Model A or B.

Limits of the Older Raspberry Pi Models

While you’re not going to be able to run Windows 10 IoT, there remains a lot that you can still do with an old, forgotten Raspberry Pi.

But don’t get carried away: the 2012 version of the Raspberry Pi has a modest single-core 700MHz CPU and 256MB of RAM. The GPIO is smaller too.

Also, you’ll need to consider making some improvements to your peripherals. A brand new power adapter will provide reliable electricity supply to the device, avoiding unnecessary freezes and restarts. Similarly, you’ll need a good quality SD card for storing the operating system.

You won’t be streaming high definition video, or playing Dreamcast games on Retropie with a first-generation Raspberry Pi, but you’ll still be able to have fun, and probably learn something new.

1. Run the Latest Raspbian

This may surprise you, but even though the latest Raspberry Pi has a quad core CPU and 1GHz of RAM, the default Raspbian operating system (other Raspberry Pi operating systems are available) is also available for the older, lower-spec models.

Most of the same features are available too, other than a few behind the scenes options (such as USB booting and PXE booting). To use the latest version of Raspbian (rather than leave the old installation running), it’s probably best to use a fresh install on your existing SD card.

Alternatively, you could run an upgrade with:

sudo apt update
sudo apt dist-upgrade

Wait for the latest version of Raspbian to download and install, then reboot when you’re done.

Alternatively, try a really lightweight OS like piCore, a TinyCore Linux build for the Raspberry Pi. This can help you manage the limited resources of your old Raspberry Pi more effectively.

2. Home Security Camera System

With a low spec Raspberry Pi computer, you can even create a motion detection security camera. While there is a dedicated Raspberry Pi Camera Module that you could use, many USB webcams are also compatible.

The result is a system that will detect movement and record the results, ready for you to review later. Note that a network connection is desirable for this project, so ensure you have a Wi-Fi dongle, or Ethernet cable.

For full details, see our detailed instructions on setting up your own motion capture security system, using an original Raspberry Pi Model B.

3. Basic Retro Gaming System

If you miss your old gaming systems from childhood, the Raspberry Pi is a great chance to revisit (or discover) the era of 8- and 16-bit computing. Games consoles, home computers, and arcade machines (collectively known as MAME) alike can all be emulated on the Pi.

This is thanks to emulation suites such as RetroPie, which you can grab from retropie.org.uk/download.

Meanwhile, if you don’t want a full suite of emulators, individual emulation tools can be installed on an old Raspberry Pi. See our guide to retro gaming on the Raspberry Pi. You can even emulate old MS-DOS PC games on a Raspberry Pi with DOSBox!

4. Social Media Desk Notifier

The original Raspberry Pi models are particularly useful for low-specification, single-purpose projects. While they don’t have the same number of GPIO pins as later versions, these old Raspberry Pis are still suitable for connecting electrical components.

One such viable project is to turn your Pi into a desk notifier for your social media accounts. By utilizing the APIs of Facebook, Twitter, and your email account, and hooking up some seven-segment LEDs, you can build a useful display that sits on your desk to update you when you have notifications on social media.

Head to Hackster.io for the full build instructions.

5. Make a Twitter Bot

Another great social media-based project is to create an automated Twitter account, which posts messages or media. To do this, you’ll need to get to grips with Twython, a Python module that interfaces with Twitter. You’ll also need to access the Twitter API.

Our guide to turning your Raspberry Pi into a Twitter bot will get you started.

Once you’ve got it up and running, you have various options for tweeting. We looked at different Twitter bot projects you can run with your Raspberry Pi, so check these out for inspiration.

You’ll probably need a dedicated Twitter account, and your Raspberry Pi will need to be permanently switched on.

6. Convert an Old Printer Into a Wireless Printer

Wireless printers are almost the default option these days, but what if you need wireless connectivity, but don’t want to buy a new one? What if the printer you bought 10 or so years ago is still working fine?

Drilling holes through walls whenever you move house (or rearrange your home office) is one thing; turning your printer old printer wireless is probably simpler, and is possible thanks to your Raspberry Pi Model B.

All you need to do is install the software, a wireless USB dongle, connect your Raspberry Pi to the printer and your home network, then use the little computer as a print server. Even if you don’t need to make your printer wireless, this project will teach you about network printing administration systems.

7. Stream Music to a DIY Sonos-Like Speaker

Love music? Want to have your favorite tunes pumping out of a dedicated speaker, with internet connectivity? Once again, the Raspberry Pi is the answer, and the old 2012 Model B is perfect for this.

An old keyboard or guitar amplifier is suitable for this project, which will require a bit of soldering, not to mention a bit of heavy duty mounting tape. Using the Pi MusicBox disk image, and a USB disk image, your Raspberry Pi will give the speaker a Sonos-style experience, streaming audio from Spotify, Google Music, SoundCloud, Webradio, as well as your favorite podcasts and some music from other sources.

See our video above for details, and check our guide for details.

Don’t Retire Your Old Raspberry Pi Just Yet!

As you can see, there is plenty that you can do with an old Raspberry Pi Model B. These seven projects should certainly keep you busy:

  • Run the latest Raspbian
  • Create a home security camera system
  • Enjoy retro gaming
  • Build a social media notification display
  • Create a tweeting weather bot
  • Turn an old printer into a wireless printer
  • Stream your favorite music with AirPlay

Meanwhile, you may be thinking you’ve decided that you would prefer to upgrade but can’t quite justify it. See our article on reasons why you should get a newer Raspberry Pi.

Read the full article: 7 DIY Project Ideas for Putting an Old Raspberry Pi to Use


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Snapchat launches its first speech recognition lenses


Snapchat is today launching new lenses that respond to voice commands. The company says it’s now rolling out a series of lenses that will animate when users speak simple, English words like “hi,” “love,” “yes,” “no,” and “wow,” as opposed to taking some other action – like opening their mouth or raising their eyebrows, as has been the trigger for some of the company’s prior lenses that animate with special effects.

For example, saying “hi” in the new lens will launch an animation that surrounds you with a flock of chatty birds; “love” will play cheesy jazz music; “yes” creates a zoom effect; “no” puts you in an infinite photo tunnel; and “wow” puts a bow on your head and surrounds you with the word.

While the company has offered lenses that involve audio before, this is the first time it has created lenses that actually recognize words, then use its understanding of what was said as a marker that kicks off the lens animation.

Snapchat says it will begin to make around five to six of these new lenses available to users within the next week. They’ll appear periodically in the Lens carousel along with the others, starting today, Wednesday August 1st.

The lenses will prompt users how to trigger the animation, when launched, Snapchat says.

Unique lenses have always been one of Snapchat’s biggest differentiators. And it has continually pushed the bar forward in this area by creating those that take advantage of camera technology and augmented reality in new ways. For example, it has launched things like World Lenses that add AR elements to any scene – including, more recently, Bitmoji – plus selfie games, lenses that can change the sky, paint the world around you, and more.

In May, it also launched the first lenses that react to sounds – but not particular words. The company says it’s possible for the new speech recognition lenses to be combined with its other lens technology, but it declined to say if that’s something it had planned.

The new lenses are also remarkably similar to the speech recognition triggered AR stickers found in the Panda video app, we should also note.

New lenses like this help to keep Snapchat users engaged, and could potentially turn into a technology that’s opened to advertisers further down the road, too.

The company may not have the size and scale of Facebook’s app empire (including also Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp), but it does have the younger audience, who are increasingly ditching Facebook for other apps like Snapchat, YouTube and Instagram.


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10 Reasons Why I Chose the Google Pixelbook Over a MacBook


pixelbook-vs-macbook

If you’re looking for a slimline, lightweight laptop, you’ll probably consider an Apple MacBook. But should you also consider a Google Pixelbook?

Here are 10 reasons why I ignored the lure of the Apple ecosystem and opted for Google’s latest top-of-the-line Chromebook.

What I Need From a Laptop

I put words on the web for a living. I don’t commute to an office, instead I talk to colleagues via Slack and email. A computer isn’t merely a tool I use to do work—it determines the way in which I work and how I interact with others.

So I don’t want just any computer. I want a device I feel happy to open. One that increases the likelihood I will feel happy to stop fluttering about and get to work.

Right now, that computer is the Google Pixelbook. I don’t particularly love Google, and I have disabled the built-in Google Assistant features. So, then, why am I using a Pixelbook? Here are my 10 reasons.

1. I Like Pixel Laptops

Let’s get this out of the way from the beginning. I like Pixel computers. I purchased the original Chromebook Pixel in 2013, back when there was a general consensus that there was no reason to spend that much money on a Chromebook.

The original Pixel became my favorite laptop. I got three years of use out of that machine, which was longer than I’ve used any other laptop. The Pixelbook is cheaper while offering all-day battery and a convertible form factor. For me, this is a no-brainer.

2. Chromebooks Are Simple

You could call me a minimalist. I like for interfaces to have as few elements as necessary. I tend to remove most preinstalled software and only download the apps I need for the way I use my device. Once I stop using a program, I remove it.

Windows and macOS come with far more functionality than I need. Opening the Windows 10 start menu feels to me like visiting Times Square. macOS is less busy but still a bit much. Chrome OS gives me a browser, an app drawer, and not much else. I like that.

3. Chromebooks Now Run Android Apps

Google Play on a Chromebook

When I stopped using the Pixel in 2016, it was because there was some missing functionality I did find frustrating. I had a hard time editing images and importing photos from my DSLR camera. I wanted the option to edit videos without having to upload my clips to the web.

As I switched back to Linux, Google began experimenting with Android apps on Chromebooks. Play Store support came in 2017, and now all new Chromebooks can run most of the apps within.

Are Android apps as powerful as traditional desktop software? Not quite. Do they do enough to meet my needs? Yup. Not only that, I can run the same software on my computer that I run on my phone. That, for me, is a tech dream come true.

Here are some of the best Android apps, many of which suit a Chromebook just fine.

4. Chromebooks Have Almost No Learning Curve

My parents grew up without personal computers. They rarely touched our Windows machines, but when Chromebooks and Android tablets came around, they didn’t need me to hold their hands. The interfaces were that straightforward.

I write about tech, so I know my way around an operating system. But while I’ve used a Mac, I’ve never owned one, and I have little desire to get to know macOS now.

I don’t believe for a moment that a Mac would be hard for me to figure out, but I don’t have any interest in making that effort (and with so many tech writers out there already in love with Macs, I don’t know what value I would provide to readers by becoming one more).

5. I’m Not Immersed in the Apple Ecosystem

When you buy a smartphone, you’re not only buying a piece of hardware, you’re buying into an ecosystem. Personal computers are becoming the same way. If you own an iPhone, an Apple TV, or an iMac, you might as well get a MacBook Air as your portable work machine. It all plays together nicely.

I don’t own any of those things. To buy a MacBook now would be introducing the temptation to throw thousands of dollars toward Apple. Now that iPhones are starting to cost $1,000, I think I’ll pass.

6. The Pixelbook Is Also a Tablet

I like tablets. While I don’t consider them a necessity, they make for a pleasant way to browse the web, watch videos, and get work done without having to lug a heavier computer around. In college, tablets were great for taking notes and writing papers.

Manufacturers have largely stopped producing Android slates. Convertible Chromebooks, like the Pixelbook and the Asus Chromebook Flip, mark the return of high-end Android tablets. When combined with a pen, I can now write notes and try my hand at drawing too.

7. The Pixelbook Has Better Specs

The MacBook Air

Both the Pixelbook and the MacBook Air have a starting MSRP of $999.99. The Pixelbook has a 2400×1600 screen resolution on a 12.3-inch display. In contrast, the MacBook Air stretches a lower 1440×900 resolution across a larger 13.3-inch display.

The Pixelbook also comes with a seventh generation Intel Core i5 compared to the MacBook Air’s fifth generation Core i5.

The MacBook Pro is a more comparable machine, but it starts at $1,299. That’s $300 more than the Pixelbook’s official sticker price and nearly $500 more than the discounted price the computer’s often going for these days (I grabbed mine for $840).

8. I Prefer How the Pixelbook Looks

Google Pixelbook with Google Pen

When I first saw the Pixelbook in person, I did a double-take. It’s beautiful.

The MacBook Air and Pro are by no means ugly—in fact, they’re quite iconic. But they look nearly the same today as they did a decade ago. Manufacturers from Acer to Dell have mimicked the design. I’ve owned a PC that looked and felt like a MacBook.

The Pixelbook takes several design cues from Macbooks, sure. But despite that, Pixel computers have managed to offer a distinct look and feel that is largely their own.

9. Chrome OS Is Based on Linux

On the surface, there’s little resemblance between Chrome OS and traditional desktop Linux. But under the hood, you will find many of the same system tools and components. That makes Google directly invested in the Linux ecosystem.

I have a separate dedicated Linux computer, so I’m not likely to install a version to run alongside Chrome OS. Still, it’s cool to see the work going toward making Linux desktop apps run alongside Chrome and Android apps.

10. I Trust Google More Than Apple

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not all that trusting of Google. Over the past few years, I deleted my Google accounts and wrote about ways people could use Android while avoiding Google. I don’t like how much information Google gathers about us, and I’m not comfortable with a business model built around this data collection.

Nonetheless, Google has done a lot of good. Its search engine makes it easier to discover content on the web. Google Maps helps millions of us get from place to place. Chromebooks and Android devices have made computing more affordable and accessible to people all across the economic spectrum. YouTube (a Google acquisition, but a Google product regardless) is a great place to learn how to do just about anything.

Apple’s primary contribution is making luxury products for people who can afford them. The company is more than happy to embrace both planned obsolescence and vendor lock-in to increase its profits. I like the design aesthetic Apple introduced into the ecosystem, but if Apple could stop other companies from embracing its style, it would.

Which Would You Pick? Pixelbook vs. MacBook

I’m not making the case that the Pixelbook is hands down a better computer. Many of the reasons above are subjective, and your opinion may differ on any number of points.

And if software you need for school or work is on macOS but not Android, then you’re going to need to go with a MacBook instead. The Pixelbook is not for everyone. No computer is.

But if you are tempted by what the Pixelbook is and what it offers, you may just come away impressed with how much you can do with a modern Chromebook.

Read the full article: 10 Reasons Why I Chose the Google Pixelbook Over a MacBook


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5 High-Quality Online Ebook Converters for Every Format


ebook-converters

The world of ebook formats is a confusing place. There are several mainstream ebook formats you’ll see on a regular basis, as well as a host of niche, old, or defunct formats that still pop up occasionally.

The biggest problem is lack of support from e-readers. For example, the most popular e-reader in the world (Amazon Kindle) doesn’t support the most common ebook format (EPUB).

You can use Calibre to convert the format of your ebooks, but it’s a bit bloated and bulky. There are lots of great online tools that’ll do the job equally well. Here are five online ebook converters for you to check out.

1. Online-Convert

best online ebook converters

Key Feature: Great for tweaking metadata.

Online-Convert is a well-known online file converter. It’s one of the best ways to convert PDF files, convert images, and convert video files.

The site also offers extensive ebook conversion tools. You can perform all the most common conversions such as EPUB to MOBI and EPUB to AZW3, but the site also supports several niche formats such as LIT, LRF, and FB2.

It will accept most formats as an input; including all the main ebook formats as well as broader formats like PDF, HTML, TXT, and DOC. The nine supported outputs are AZW, EPUB, FB2, LIT, LRF, MOBI, PDF, PDB, and TCR.

To convert an ebook using Online-Convert, select the tool you require and upload the original from your computer, Google Drive, or Dropbox. The site lets you edit some metadata and set a few display options before beginning the conversion.

If you’re not sure which formats your e-reader supports, you can choose your device from a drop-down menu, and Online-Convert will take care of the rest.

Note: DRM-protected ebooks cannot be converted. You’ll need first to remove the DRM using Calibre.

2. Zamzar

best online ebook converters

Key Feature: A long list of supported formats.

Zamzar is another multi-purpose file conversion site that offers an extensive list of ebook formats.

In terms of file outputs, the tool is more powerful than Online-Convert. It supports a high number of formats. They are AZW, AZW3, CBZ, CBR, CBC, CHM, EPUB, FB2, LIT, LRF, MOBI, PRC, PDB, PML, RB, and TCR.

It also offers a feature that’s not present on Online-Convert: the ability to convert live web pages into ebook formats. It’s useful if you want to read a lengthy site on a long journey when you won’t have an internet connection.

However, there is a negative side to Zamzar. It can only perform conversions between dedicated ebook formats. That means you can convert AZW to EPUB or convert MOBI to AZW3, but you cannot convert DOC into EPUB.

It’s also not possible to convert more than one book at a time; if you have an entire library’s worth of content, this isn’t the tool for you. Online-Convert suffers from the same issue.

To convert ebooks using Zamzar, you’ll need to upload the original document from your computer. Services like Google Drive and Dropbox are not supported. After you’ve uploaded the file, choose your preferred output format from the drop-down list. You will receive the converted file via email.

3. To ePub

best online ebook converters

Key Feature: The best tool for converting large batches of ebooks.

If you have a significant number of books that you want to convert, we recommend taking a look at To ePub. Unlike Online-Convert and Zamzar, it can handle up to 20 files per conversion, thus making it much easier to convert multiple ebooks between different formats.

But beware! If your library is full of unusual or niche formats, you might find To ePub disappointing. Its range of supported file formats is much smaller than the two apps we have already looked at. Just six formats are available: EPUB, MOBI, AZW3, FB2, LIT, and LRF.

The To ePub web app is easy to use; the developers deserve credit for creating an accessible interface. You can upload the books you want to convert by selecting them manually or dragging them into the designated space. Select your desired output format by clicking on the appropriate tab, then hit Download All once the conversion has finished.

4. Aconvert

best online ebook converters

Key Feature: The largest selection of supported ebook formats.

From all the apps we’ve covered in this article, Aconvert has the most extensive list of supported input formats.

It will accept AZW, AZW3, AZW4, CBZ, CBR, CBC, CHM, DJVU, DOCX, EPUB, FB2, HTML, HTMLZ, LIT, LRF, MOBI, ODT, PDF, PRC, PDB, PML, RB, RTF, SNB, TCR, TXT, and TXTZ.

Although it will convert EPUB to PDF and other common file types with ease, its list of available output is slightly narrower than its list of inputs. The supported outputs are AZW3, EPUB, DOCX, FB2, HTML, OEB, LIT, LRF, MOBI, PDB, PMLZ, RB, PDF, RTF, SNB, TCR, and TXT.

Like Zamzar, Aconvert also lets you convert live web pages into an ebook format; you just need the site’s URL.

To perform a conversion, click either the File or URL tab, enter your selected source file or webpage, and choose your preferred output format using the drop-down menu.

After the conversion has finished, click the download icon to save the new file to your machine. The name of the new file is a random string of characters, so you will need to rename it.

5. ePUBee

best online ebook converters

Key Feature: Batch conversion and excellent DRM-removal tools.

Like To ePub, the ePUBee tool lets you convert a large batch of several ebooks at the same time, making it an excellent choice for people with large libraries.

Unfortunately, also like To ePub, the list of supported file formats is small. Only six inputs (EPUB, AZW, MOBI, PDF, TXT, DOC) and four outputs (EPUB, MOBI, PDF, TXT) are available.

Nonetheless, you can convert EPUB to MOBI along with most of the other common conversions that people need. And remember, Amazon Kindle devices can read MOBI files, so the lack of AZW as an output format is not a massive issue.

Performing a conversion is straightforward. Set your input and output formats, then select the files you want to convert by clicking the large Add Files button. When the conversion has finished, click on the download link to save them to your computer.

The ePUBee web app also deserves a place on the list thanks to its DRM removal tools. They are standalone apps you need to download, but they work flawlessly. There are different tools for removing DRM from EPUB, AZW, and PDF files.

How to Manage Multiple Ebook Formats Easily

We know what you’re thinking: Why would you spend the time converting all your ebooks into one format today, only to buy a different e-reader that requires different formats in the future?

That’s where an ebook management app comes in handy. For example, Calibre lets you store multiple formats of the same book in its library folder without creating duplicate entries in the user interface.

If you’d like to learn more about how Calibre can help you manage your ebook collection, check out our article on the best hidden Calibre features you might not know about.

Read the full article: 5 High-Quality Online Ebook Converters for Every Format


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Lightning Distance


Lightning Distance

Facebook and Instagram now show how many minutes you use them


It’s passive zombie feed scrolling, not active communication with friends that hurts our health, according to studies Facebook has been pointing to for the last seven months. Yet it’s treating all our social networking the same with today’s launch of its digital wellbeing screentime management dashboards for Facebook and Instagram in the US before rolling them out to everyone in the coming weks.

Giving users a raw count of the minutes you’ve spent in their apps each day in the last week plus your average across the week is a good start to making users more mindful. But by burying them largely out of sight, giving them no real way to compel less usage, and not distinguishing between passive and active behavior, they seem destined to be ignored while missing the point the company itself stresses.

TechCrunch scooped the designs of the two separate but identical Instagram and Facebook tools over the past few months thanks to screenshots generated from the apps’ code by Jane Manchun Wong. What’s launching today is what we saw, with the dashboards located in Facebook’s “Settings” -> “Your Time On Facebook” and Instagram’s “Settings” -> “Your Activity”.

Beyond the daily and average minute counts, you can set a daily “limit” in minutes after which either app will send you a reminder that you’ve crossed your self-imposed threshold. But they won’t stop you from browsing and liking, or force you to dig into the settings menu to extend your limit. You’ll need the willpower to cut yourself off. The tools also let you mute push notifications (you’ll still see in-app alerts), but only for as much as 8 hours. If you want anything more permanent, you’ll have to dig into their separate push notification options menu or your phone’s settings.

The announcement follows Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom’s comments about our original scoop, where he tweeted “It’s true . . . We’re building tools that will help the IG community know more about the time they spend on Instagram – any time should be positive and intentional . . . Understanding how time online impacts people is important, and it’s the responsibility of all companies to be honest about this. We want to be part of the solution. I take that responsibility seriously.”

Users got their first taste of Instagram trying to curtai overuse with its “You’re All Caught Up” notices that show when you’ve seen all your feed posts from the past two days. Both apps will now provide callouts to users teaching them about the new activity monitoring tools. Facebook says it has no plans to use whether you open the tools or set daily limits to target ads. It will track how people use the tool to tweak the design, but it sounds like that’s more about what time increments to show in the Daily Reminder and Mute Notifications options than drastic strengthenings of their muscle.

“It’s really important for people who use Instagram and Facebook that the time they spend with us is time well spent” Ameet Ranadive, Instagram’s Product Director of Well-Being, told reporters on a conference call. “There may be some tradeoff with other metrics for the company and that’s a tradeoff we’re willing to live with, because in the longer term we think this is important to the community and we’re willing to invest in it.”

Facebook has already felt some of the brunt of the tradeoff. It’s been trying to improve digital wellbeing by showing fewer low quality viral videos and clickbait news stories, and more from your friends. That’s contributed to a flatlining of its growth in North America, and even a temporary drop of 700,000 users while it also lost 1 million users in Europe this past quarter. That led to Facebook’s slowest user growth rates in history, triggering a 20 percent, $120 billion market cap drop in its share price. “The changes to the News Feed back in January were one step . . . giving people a sense of their time so they’re more mindful of it is the second step” says Ranadive.

The fact that Facebook is willing to put its finances on the line for digital wellbeing is a great step. But it’s likely to be changes to the Facebook and Instagram feeds that prioritize content you’ll comment on rather than look at and silently scroll past that will contribute more to healthy social networking than today’s toothless tools.

iOS Screen Time (left) and Android Digital Wellbeing (right)

While iOS 12’s Screen Time and Android’s new Digital Wellbeing features both count your minutes on different apps too, they offer more drastic ways to enforce your own good intentions. iOS will deliver a weekly usage report to remind you the features exist. Android’s is best-in-class because it grays out an app’s icon and requires you to open your settings to unlock an app after you exceed your daily limit.

To live up to the responsibility Systrom promised, Facebook and Instagram will have to do more to actually keep us mindful of the time we spend in their apps and help us help ourselves. Let us actually lock ourselves out of the apps, turn them grayscale, fade their app icons, or persistently show our minute count onscreen once we pass our limit. Anything to make being healthy on their apps something you can’t just ignore like any other push notification.

Or follow the research and have the dashboards actually divide our sharing, commenting, and messaging time from our feed scrolling, Stories tapping, video watching, and photo stalking. The whole point is that social networking isn’t all bad, but there are behaviors that hurt. Most of us aren’t going to give up Facebook and Instagram. Even just trying to spend less time on them is difficult. But by guiding us towards the activities that interconnect us rather than isolate us, Facebook could get us to shift our time in the right direction.


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Facebook and Instagram now show how many minutes you use them


It’s passive zombie feed scrolling, not active communication with friends that hurts our health, according to studies Facebook has been pointing to for the last seven months. Yet it’s treating all our social networking the same with today’s launch of its digital wellbeing screentime management dashboards for Facebook and Instagram in the US before rolling them out to everyone in the coming weks.

Giving users a raw count of the minutes you’ve spent in their apps each day in the last week plus your average across the week is a good start to making users more mindful. But by burying them largely out of sight, giving them no real way to compel less usage, and not distinguishing between passive and active behavior, they seem destined to be ignored while missing the point the company itself stresses.

TechCrunch scooped the designs of the two separate but identical Instagram and Facebook tools over the past few months thanks to screenshots generated from the apps’ code by Jane Manchun Wong. What’s launching today is what we saw, with the dashboards located in Facebook’s “Settings” -> “Your Time On Facebook” and Instagram’s “Settings” -> “Your Activity”.

Beyond the daily and average minute counts, you can set a daily “limit” in minutes after which either app will send you a reminder that you’ve crossed your self-imposed threshold. But they won’t stop you from browsing and liking, or force you to dig into the settings menu to extend your limit. You’ll need the willpower to cut yourself off. The tools also let you mute push notifications (you’ll still see in-app alerts), but only for as much as 8 hours. If you want anything more permanent, you’ll have to dig into their separate push notification options menu or your phone’s settings.

The announcement follows Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom’s comments about our original scoop, where he tweeted “It’s true . . . We’re building tools that will help the IG community know more about the time they spend on Instagram – any time should be positive and intentional . . . Understanding how time online impacts people is important, and it’s the responsibility of all companies to be honest about this. We want to be part of the solution. I take that responsibility seriously.”

The apps will provide callouts to users teaching them about the tools. Facebook says it has no plans to use whether you open the tools or set daily limits to target ads. It will track how people use the tool to give it more in

“It’s really important for people who use Instagram and Facebook that the time they spend with us is time well spent” Ameet Ranadive, Instagram’s Product Director of Well-Being, told reporters on a conference call. “There may be some tradeoff with other metrics for the company and that’s a tradeoff we’re willing to live with, because in the longer term we think this is important to the community and we’re willing to invest in it.”

Facebook has already felt some of the brunt of the tradeoff. It’s been trying to improve digital wellbeing by showing fewer low quality viral videos and clickbait news stories, and more from your friends. That’s contributed to a flatlining of its growth in North America, and even a temporary drop of 700,000 users while it also lost 1 million users in Europe this past quarter. That led to Facebook’s slowest user growth rates in history, triggering a 20 percent, $120 billion market cap drop in its share price. “The changes to the News Feed back in January were one step . . . giving people a sense of their time so they’re more mindful of it is the second step” says Ranadive.

The fact that Facebook is willing to put its finances on the line for digital wellbeing is a great step. But it’s likely to be changes to the Facebook and Instagram feeds that prioritize content you’ll comment on rather than look at and silently scroll past that will contribute more to healthy social networking than today’s toothless tools.

iOS Screen Time (left) and Android Digital Wellbeing (right)

While iOS 12’s Screen Time and Android’s new Digital Wellbeing features both count your minutes on different apps too, they offer more drastic ways to enforce your own good intentions. iOS will deliver a weekly usage report to remind you the features exist. Android’s is best-in-class because it grays out an app’s icon and requires you to open your settings to unlock an app after you exceed your daily limit.

To live up to the responsibility Systrom promised, Facebook and Instagram will have to do more to actually keep us mindful of the time we spend in their apps and help us help ourselves.


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Huawei overtakes Apple in smartphone shipments


Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei is now the second biggest smartphone manufacturer in the world according to new reports from IDC and Canalys, as The Verge initially spotted.

In IDC’s latest report, the firm says that the overall market has shrunk by 1.8 percent in Q2 2018. But the biggest surprise is that Huawei now has a 15.8 percent market share with 54.2 million smartphones shipped in Q2.

It doesn’t mean that Apple is performing poorly. The company is shipping slightly more smartphones this year compared to last year. Apple also has a slightly bigger market share with 12.1 percent of the market.

Samsung is shipping 10.4 percent less smartphones but still remains the leader with 20.9 percent market share, or 71.5 million smartphones. In other words, many Samsung buyers are now buying Huawei devices, or other Android devices.

Canalys confirms this trend with the same order — Samsung, Huawei and then Apple. But the firm also highlights that Apple suffers from seasonability compared to its competitors.

Samsung and Huawei sell many different devices and release new phones all year long. Apple usually releases new devices in September, which creates a huge spike during the last quarter of the year. Apple will likely overtake Huawei and maybe even Samsung in a couple of quarters.

It’s interesting to see that Huawei is performing so well while the company has had issues with the U.S. government. If you browse the smartphone category on Amazon, Honor devices usually appear near the top of the list — Honor is Huawei’s brand for cheaper devices. The Huawei P20 Pro is also a solid device for those looking for a premium device.


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iOS beta hints at dual SIM iPhone


Apple released the fifth beta of iOS 12 a few days ago. 9to5mac discovered strings in configuration files that reference dual SIM devices. You should expect at least one new iPhone model with two SIM trays.

Apple is said to unveil three new iPhone models in September. In addition to an updated iPhone X, the company should announce a bigger second generation “iPhone X Plus”.

Apple also plans to bring the notch to more devices with a replacement to the iPhone 8. This iPhone will feature a 6.1-inch LCD display with a notch as well as a single camera on the back of the device. It should be as expensive as the iPhone 8 today.

There have been rumors in the past that Apple was looking at selling iPhones with two SIM cards. It was unclear if Apple wanted to put a normal SIM tray and a second e-SIM card like on the Apple Watch.

But according to these configuration files, this model will let you add two physical SIM cards — there are references to “second SIM status” and “second SIM tray status”.

Apple could limit dual SIM support to some models in particular. For instance, it could be limited to the rumored iPhone X Plus, or maybe the high-end OLED models.

Many users don’t need two SIM slots. But it’s an essential feature for some countries. For instance, in India, cell carriers are regional companies. If you travel back and forth between Delhi and Mumbai, you need two SIM cards and two plans.

Frequent travelers could also use a second SIM slot to avoid expensive roaming fees. It’s usually cheaper to buy a local SIM card. By using two SIM cards, you get the best of both worlds because you can still receive two-factor text messages, keep your phone number for iMessage and more.


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Google is reportedly planning a censorship-friendly search service for China


Google’s search service could be poised to make a dramatic return to China next year, according to an explosive report from The Intercept.

Google yanked its search service from China in 2010 in the face of pressure over censorship, but now the publication reports that it has developed a censored version that could launch in the country in six to nine months, according to information supplied by a source with knowledge of the plans. The alleged product would block Western services already outlawed in China, including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and also scrub results for sensitive terms, such as the Tiananmen Square massacre, and international media including the BBC and New York Times.

Google didn’t explicitly deny the report in a statement:

“We provide a number of mobile apps in China, such as Google Translate and Files Go, help Chinese developers, and have made significant investments in Chinese companies like JD.com. But we don’t comment on speculation about future plans,” a spokesperson told TechCrunch.

The insider claims that the search product is codenamed Dragonfly and that knowledge of it is limited to a handful of high-level Google executives, including CEO Sundar Pichai. The company is said to plan to operate a joint venture in China with an unnamed local company.

The Intercept said its source got in touch out of concern that the project “will set a terrible precedent for many other companies who are still trying to do business in China while maintaining the principles of not succumbing to China’s censorship.”

There’s been plenty of speculation over the years that Google will re-enter China with a meaningful product. That has tended to focus on the Play Store, but it looks like the search product has already gained considerable momentum. The Intercept reports that it has been demonstrated to Chinese government officials, with Pichai himself having attended at least one meeting with authorities.

Internal documents seen by The Intercept show that an Android app is the initial focus, but there could be scope for a desktop version and more further down the line. The current concern, according to the publication, is ensuring that the service gains Chinese government approval and is good enough to compete with what is already available to internet users in China.

The Intercept’s report comes less than a week after Facebook briefly received approval to operate a subsidiary on Chinese soil. Its license was, however, revoked as news of the approval broke. The company said it had planned to open an innovation center, but it isn’t clear whether that will be possible now.

Facebook previously built a censorship-friendly tool that could be deployed in China.

While its U.S. peer has struggled to get a read on China, Google has been noticeably increasing its presence in the country over the past year or so.

The company has opened an AI lab in Beijing, been part of investment rounds for Chinese companies, including a $550 million deal with JD.com, and inked a partnership with Tencent. It has also launched products, with a file management service for Android distributed via third-party app stores and, most recently, its first mini program for Tencent’s popular WeChat messaging app.

The Intercept suggests that these dealings are a prelude to introducing Dragonfly in a bid to capture a chunk of the 700 million internet user market that grown quickly since Google’s search business left the country.


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