The Best Google Search Cheat Sheet: Tips, Operators, and Commands to Know

How many times have you searched Google only to get a bunch of incorrect or unrelated search results that you wish you could filter out? Well, with a few search shortcuts, you can narrow down your search results and always get the exact results you’re looking for.

You’ll find these shortcuts in our Google Search cheat sheet below. It contains various search tips, operators, and commands to help you filter content by site, timelines, context, and more.

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FREE DOWNLOAD: This cheat sheet is available as a downloadable PDF from our distribution partner, TradePub. You will have to complete a short form to access it for the first time only. Download The Google Search Shortcuts Cheat Sheet.

The Google Search Shortcuts Cheat Sheet

Operator	Description	Example
Informational Search Queries
define	Returns a definition of the given term.	define gregarious
time	Returns the current time at a particular location.	time stockholm
to	Convert measurements from one unit to another.	1 cup to tbsp
in	Convert measurements from one unit to another.	1000USD in GBP
translate	Translates the queried terms into another specified language.	translate hello world german
map	Returns map result.	map new york
stocks	Returns stock information.	stocks sbux
weather	Returns the weather forecast for the given location or ZIP code.	weather 90210
Basic Search Symbols
-	Excludes search results that include this term.	best tablets -drawing
|	Returns search results that match terms on either side of the pipe. The same as writing "OR" between search terms.	computer | tablet
@	Returns search results that match a particular social media site.	phone recall @twitter
#	Returns search results that include a specific hashtag.	#throwbackthursday
“”	Returns search results that include all terms within quotes in the exact given order.	“never gonna give you up”
*	Returns search results where any words can be matched in place of the asterisk.	best * in america
..	When placed between two numbers, returns search results that match within the number range.	chromebook $200..$500
()	Used to group search terms and control the search logic of the query.	(best | worst) office suite
$	Returns prices.	mac $1000
Popular Search Operators
cache:	Show Google's cached version of a specific page.	cache:makeuseof.com
filetype:	Returns only search results that match a particular file extension.	sleep study filetype:pdf
related:	Returns other websites that are similar to the queried website.	related:nytimes.com
site:	Returns only search results from a particular website.	productivity tips site:makeuseof.com
Other Search Operators
inanchor:	Returns pages that are linked to using anchor text matching the search query.
allinanchor:	Same as inanchor, but matching every term that appears after allinanchor.
intext:	Returns only search results that match in the page's body.
allintext:	Same as intext, but matching every term that appears after allintext.
intitle:	Returns only search results that match in the page's title.
allintitle:	Same as intitle, but matching every term that appears after allintitle.
inurl:	Returns only search results that match in the page's URL.
allinurl:	Same as inurl, but matching every term that appears after allinurl.

The most useful shortcuts are site:, filetype:, and to, but all of these operators and commands are good to know.

More Google Search Resources to Discover

In addition to searching Google, you should also get acquainted with these advanced search operators for Gmail. And did you know that there are some cool games hidden in Google Search? Once you’re familiar with all these advanced tools, you can put them to good use. For example, advanced Google Search comes in handy when you’re trying to find a book without knowing the title or author!

We’ll wrap up with a word of caution: don’t trust all types of Google Search results blindly.

Read the full article: The Best Google Search Cheat Sheet: Tips, Operators, and Commands to Know

This Week in Apps: Zoom gets busted, TikTok’s new record, contact tracing API launches

Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the Extra Crunch series that recaps the latest OS news, the applications they support and the money that flows through it all.

The app industry is as hot as ever, with a record 204 billion downloads and $120 billion in consumer spending in 2019, according to App Annie’s “State of Mobile” annual report. People are now spending 3 hours and 40 minutes per day using apps, rivaling TV. Apps aren’t just a way to pass idle hours — they’re a big business. In 2019, mobile-first companies had a combined $544 billion valuation, 6.5x higher than those without a mobile focus.

In this Extra Crunch series, we help you keep up with the latest news from the world of apps, delivered on a weekly basis.

This week we’re continuing to look at how the coronavirus outbreak is impacting the world of mobile applications, including the latest on the U.S. and other international efforts to develop contact-tracing apps, plus the use of live-streaming apps as fundraising tools, the impact of quarantine on iPad apps and more. We’re also tracking news related to Zoom’s latest backtrack, WhatsApp’s plans to enter the credit market, the Instagram pods discovery, TikTok best quarter (better than any app… ever), Facebook’s plan for virtual dating and more.

Headlines

Apple News hits 125M monthly active users

The COVID-19 pandemic has driven a significant increase in how many people are using Apple’s News app on their mobile devices, tablets and Macs. During Apple’s earnings call this week, the company revealed Apple News now sees over 125 million monthly active users in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia, up from 100 million in January. Apple, however, did not note how many were subscribed to its $9.99/month premium news service, Apple News+.

Apple & Google release first version of the exposure notification API

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Live Intraday Trading on 30-April-2020

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5 Free Zoom Alternatives for Video Conferencing and Online Meetings

Everybody wants to know, “What’s the best free video chat app?” The answer is, the one that best fits your needs. Here’s a look at some of the new and free video conference apps that you should be using.

When you’re working remotely and conducting video conferences, you need them to be easy to set up, secure, and fast for everyone. You’re spoilt for choice when it comes to free video calling apps on both desktop and mobile.

Zoom and Skype are always popular choices. But it’s not without its flaws. This guide helps you pick an alternative video chat software for your requirements.

1. Skype Meet Now (Web, Android, iOS): Free Skype Calls for Everyone

For the longest time, Microsoft Skype has been the gold standard for video calls. But it has always involved hurdles like paid accounts, registration, and installing apps. The new Skype Meet Now is free and makes it easy for anyone to join a Skype call even without an account.

The website is best used through a desktop web browser, but you can join calls through Skype mobile apps too. Skype Meet Now is packed with features for team meetings, which include sharing files and contacts, scheduling calls, creating a poll, recording video, and sharing your screen.

Participants in the room can also chat in text and search the text later, as well as record and send audio messages to each other. In fact, Skype is a fully capable chat messaging app to use for office discussions.

Skype Meet Now is easy to set up and doesn’t have any major restrictions on meeting time and participants. Plus, it has been around for so long and used by so many large corporations that you can rest assured Microsoft is taking care of security concerns.

Download: Skype Meet Now for Android | iOS (Free)

2. Zipcall (Web): No Sign-up With Picture-in-Picture and Live Captions

Zipcall is one of those fantastic calling apps without sign-ups or installations. It works entirely in any modern browser, on both desktop and mobile. As long as you have a functional webcam, microphone, and speakers, you can start a video call in seconds.

Go to the website and create a video conference room with its auto-generated links or key in your own phrase. You can mute your microphone, pause your webcam, share your screen, or chat in a text pop-up within the app.

Zipcall has a cool picture-in-picture mode that’s especially useful while screen-sharing or when you have a large grid of participants. Since it’s based on WebRTC and doesn’t require servers, the app is more secure and private than many others.

The Live Caption feature requires Google Chrome but it didn’t work that well in our tests. Nonetheless, when it did work, it was quite cool to see spoken words immediately translated to text. It might be a useful feature on bad connections where the voice breaks.

3. Touchbase (Web): 15-Minute Meetings to Stay on Topic and Build Connections

Remote working has its benefits, but it lacks the relationships you build in office. It also seems like “a quick video call” can often last longer than talking to a colleague for a few minutes to update on projects. Touchbase wants to solve both problems with its approach.

Touchbase is a video call app that works only on desktop browsers, which is the first step in adding that “work feel.” You can’t be taking this video call on your phone while doing other things.

It also adds a time limit of 15 minutes for video calls (with a five-minute extension if needed, but the idea is to wrap it up in 15).

Before you set up a video chat, you’ll also have to pick a topic. Write a custom one or pick from suggested topics like quick catch-up, coffee, daily team stand-up meeting, etc.

The makers say that by adding intent, topic, and time limit, you won’t have those endless rambling calls. Plus, other team members can decide if they want to join for that topic or not, which is especially useful for casual conversations.

Touchbase allows for up to 10 participants at a time. You can share a meeting link or send out a Google calendar invitation. The video call itself is a grid of participants. The only sparse features are that you can mute your call or share your screen.

Download: Touchbase for Chrome (Free)

4. Team.Video (Web): Agenda, Non-Verbal Reactions, and Games

Team.Video is still in beta, but it’s already shaping up to be one of the best video conferencing apps for office meetings. It has a lot of features designed to keep meetings on point and solve common video call annoyances.

For example, each meeting has a sidebar with an Agenda, to keep you on point. You can use this sidebar to also share files or add links. The pane doubles up as a shared notepad for participants to add minutes or put down any important discussions in text.

Team.Video adds a wonderful way to be silent and give reactions. Instead of someone always adding a “hmm” to indicate they’re listening or agreeing, you can send emojis.

Use keyboard shortcuts to thumbs up, thumbs down, conflicted, deference, and raising our hand to talk. Other reactions include things like “I can’t hear you,” which is a simple solution to one of the most annoying things about video calls.

While you’re waiting for people to join, you can play a quick game within Team.Video. The anagram word game gives you six letters and makes you guess all the words you can make with it.

Apart from all that, you get all of the usual features of a robust video calling app. You can share your screen, chat in text, mute audio or disable video, etc.

Usually, the free version lets you set up meetings of up to 60 minutes with up to seven people. But at the moment, the app has made it unlimited minutes for up to 15 people. Team.Video is one of the best free online meeting tools to collaborate with your team.

5. Video Conferencing Guide (Web): Compare Video Chat App Features in a Table

While this list talks about several new or little-known free video chat apps, you still want to consider some of the popular ones. After all, they’re more likely to be packed with the features you want. But what’s the difference between the best video chat apps? Find out at Video Conferencing Guide.

This website charts the major features of every popular video calling app in a table. You can easily compare many of the big names like Zoom, Webex, Hangouts, WhatsApp, and more.

The table tells you the difference between free and paid video chat apps, participant and time limits, and which platforms it’s available for. In a quick glance, you can also find features like screen sharing, recording, grid view, and encryption.

Developer Paul Schriber made the website to quickly find out which video chat app is best for your needs. Unfortunately, there isn’t a simple filter to sort lists by feature. If you want to do that, copy-paste it into a standard spreadsheet program.

Have You Tried Jitsi Meet?

While Zoom picks up in popularity, there are concerns about its security. When you’re discussing sensitive work information, you want to know that the data is safe.

One of the best free and secure alternatives to Zoom is Jitsi Meet. This open-source, no-downloads, no-registration video conferencing app encrypts all calls and doesn’t store them on its server.

Read the full article: 5 Free Zoom Alternatives for Video Conferencing and Online Meetings

5 Free Zoom Alternatives for Video Conferencing and Online Meetings

Everybody wants to know, “What’s the best free video chat app?” The answer is, the one that best fits your needs. Here’s a look at some of the new and free video conference apps that you should be using.

When you’re working remotely and conducting video conferences, you need them to be easy to set up, secure, and fast for everyone. You’re spoilt for choice when it comes to free video calling apps on both desktop and mobile.

Zoom and Skype are always popular choices. But it’s not without its flaws. This guide helps you pick an alternative video chat software for your requirements.

1. Skype Meet Now (Web, Android, iOS): Free Skype Calls for Everyone

For the longest time, Microsoft Skype has been the gold standard for video calls. But it has always involved hurdles like paid accounts, registration, and installing apps. The new Skype Meet Now is free and makes it easy for anyone to join a Skype call even without an account.

The website is best used through a desktop web browser, but you can join calls through Skype mobile apps too. Skype Meet Now is packed with features for team meetings, which include sharing files and contacts, scheduling calls, creating a poll, recording video, and sharing your screen.

Participants in the room can also chat in text and search the text later, as well as record and send audio messages to each other. In fact, Skype is a fully capable chat messaging app to use for office discussions.

Skype Meet Now is easy to set up and doesn’t have any major restrictions on meeting time and participants. Plus, it has been around for so long and used by so many large corporations that you can rest assured Microsoft is taking care of security concerns.

Download: Skype Meet Now for Android | iOS (Free)

2. Zipcall (Web): No Sign-up With Picture-in-Picture and Live Captions

Zipcall is one of those fantastic calling apps without sign-ups or installations. It works entirely in any modern browser, on both desktop and mobile. As long as you have a functional webcam, microphone, and speakers, you can start a video call in seconds.

Go to the website and create a video conference room with its auto-generated links or key in your own phrase. You can mute your microphone, pause your webcam, share your screen, or chat in a text pop-up within the app.

Zipcall has a cool picture-in-picture mode that’s especially useful while screen-sharing or when you have a large grid of participants. Since it’s based on WebRTC and doesn’t require servers, the app is more secure and private than many others.

The Live Caption feature requires Google Chrome but it didn’t work that well in our tests. Nonetheless, when it did work, it was quite cool to see spoken words immediately translated to text. It might be a useful feature on bad connections where the voice breaks.

3. Touchbase (Web): 15-Minute Meetings to Stay on Topic and Build Connections

Remote working has its benefits, but it lacks the relationships you build in office. It also seems like “a quick video call” can often last longer than talking to a colleague for a few minutes to update on projects. Touchbase wants to solve both problems with its approach.

Touchbase is a video call app that works only on desktop browsers, which is the first step in adding that “work feel.” You can’t be taking this video call on your phone while doing other things.

It also adds a time limit of 15 minutes for video calls (with a five-minute extension if needed, but the idea is to wrap it up in 15).

Before you set up a video chat, you’ll also have to pick a topic. Write a custom one or pick from suggested topics like quick catch-up, coffee, daily team stand-up meeting, etc.

The makers say that by adding intent, topic, and time limit, you won’t have those endless rambling calls. Plus, other team members can decide if they want to join for that topic or not, which is especially useful for casual conversations.

Touchbase allows for up to 10 participants at a time. You can share a meeting link or send out a Google calendar invitation. The video call itself is a grid of participants. The only sparse features are that you can mute your call or share your screen.

Download: Touchbase for Chrome (Free)

4. Team.Video (Web): Agenda, Non-Verbal Reactions, and Games

Team.Video is still in beta, but it’s already shaping up to be one of the best video conferencing apps for office meetings. It has a lot of features designed to keep meetings on point and solve common video call annoyances.

For example, each meeting has a sidebar with an Agenda, to keep you on point. You can use this sidebar to also share files or add links. The pane doubles up as a shared notepad for participants to add minutes or put down any important discussions in text.

Team.Video adds a wonderful way to be silent and give reactions. Instead of someone always adding a “hmm” to indicate they’re listening or agreeing, you can send emojis.

Use keyboard shortcuts to thumbs up, thumbs down, conflicted, deference, and raising our hand to talk. Other reactions include things like “I can’t hear you,” which is a simple solution to one of the most annoying things about video calls.

While you’re waiting for people to join, you can play a quick game within Team.Video. The anagram word game gives you six letters and makes you guess all the words you can make with it.

Apart from all that, you get all of the usual features of a robust video calling app. You can share your screen, chat in text, mute audio or disable video, etc.

Usually, the free version lets you set up meetings of up to 60 minutes with up to seven people. But at the moment, the app has made it unlimited minutes for up to 15 people. Team.Video is one of the best free online meeting tools to collaborate with your team.

5. Video Conferencing Guide (Web): Compare Video Chat App Features in a Table

While this list talks about several new or little-known free video chat apps, you still want to consider some of the popular ones. After all, they’re more likely to be packed with the features you want. But what’s the difference between the best video chat apps? Find out at Video Conferencing Guide.

This website charts the major features of every popular video calling app in a table. You can easily compare many of the big names like Zoom, Webex, Hangouts, WhatsApp, and more.

The table tells you the difference between free and paid video chat apps, participant and time limits, and which platforms it’s available for. In a quick glance, you can also find features like screen sharing, recording, grid view, and encryption.

Developer Paul Schriber made the website to quickly find out which video chat app is best for your needs. Unfortunately, there isn’t a simple filter to sort lists by feature. If you want to do that, copy-paste it into a standard spreadsheet program.

Have You Tried Jitsi Meet?

While Zoom picks up in popularity, there are concerns about its security. When you’re discussing sensitive work information, you want to know that the data is safe.

One of the best free and secure alternatives to Zoom is Jitsi Meet. This open-source, no-downloads, no-registration video conferencing app encrypts all calls and doesn’t store them on its server.

Read the full article: 5 Free Zoom Alternatives for Video Conferencing and Online Meetings

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Turtle Sandwich Standard Model

Turtle Sandwich Standard Model

An already struggling smartphone market takes a big hit from COVID-19

Quarter after quarter, familiar stories have appeared. The smartphone market, once seemingly bulletproof, has suffered. The list of factors is long, and I’ve written about them ad nauseam here, but the CliffsNotes version is: costs are too high, innovation is too incremental and most people already own a device that will be plenty good for the next few years.

But 2020 was going to be different. Smartphone makers were set to finally give consumers a reason to upgrade in the form of 5G. The first handsets appeared in earnest last year, but between a much wider carrier roll out, lower-cost 5G radios from Qualcomm and the arrival of a 5G iPhone, this was going to be the year the next-gen wireless technology helped reverse the smartphone slide.

And then COVID-19 disrupted everything. For many of us, life is on hold — and will likely continue to be for months. I’m writing this from my home in Queens, N.Y., the hardest-hit county in the hardest-hit country in the world. It still feels strange to type that, even though it’s been a reality for a month and half now.

Purchasing a smartphone is most likely the last thing on anyone’s mind during what is shaping up to be the worst global pandemic since the 1918 flu pandemic. With a number of key manufacturers reporting quarterly earnings this week, the numbers are starting to bear out this disconnect. Earlier this week, both Samsung and LG reported weak mobile numbers. Yesterday, Apple reported revenue of $28.96 billion, down from $31.1 billion the same time last year.

More troubling, all three companies appeared to be united in suggesting that the worst might be yet to come. Samsung suggested that both mobile and TV demand would “decline significantly” in the following quarter. LG used virtually the same exact wording, stating that, “market demand is expected to decline significantly YoY due to COVID-19 pandemic.” For its part, Apple simply didn’t issue guidance for the next quarter, a surefire indication of uncertainty in these uncertain times — to borrow a phrase from every commercial airing currently.

Read Full Article

How to Use Google Hangouts: Tips and Tricks You Should Know

Because Google offers many overlapping messaging apps, you might have completely forgotten about Hangouts. It’s a bit like Google’s version of Skype, as it offers video and audio calling, plus text chat, over the internet.

While Hangouts was once the default video chat app on Android, Google has phased it out in favor of Duo. However, Hangouts is still alive for both desktop and mobile. Below, we answer common questions about the service and show you how to use Google Hangouts.

How to Use Google Hangouts

To use Hangouts, you need a Google account. You already have one of these if you use Gmail, YouTube, or one of Google’s many other services.

To get started, head to the Google Hangouts homepage and click the Sign in button in the top-right corner. Log into your Google account here, or click Create account to make one.

Once you’ve logged in, you’ll see options for contacting your friends. Use the tabs on the left side of the screen to swap between Contacts, Conversations, and Phone Calls. At the top of any list, click New conversation and enter a contact’s name or email address to start chatting with them.

When you open a chat with someone, you’ll see it in a panel similar to Facebook Messenger. Use the text field at the bottom to send a message. You can also send emoji or attach a picture using the respective buttons.

Using the icons at the top of a chat, you can quickly start an audio or video call with your contact, or start a group chat with them and others. You can also minimize or pop out chats using the toolbar buttons at the top. Click the Gear icon to archive or delete the conversation, as well as toggling notifications.

How to Set Up a Google Hangouts Video Call

Sending instant messages with Hangouts is easy, but the service makes video calls simple too. On the homepage, click Video Call to start a new video session. If you prefer, you can also click the Video call button in any conversation to call that person or group.

When you click the Video Call link, Hangouts opens a new window and asks you to invite some people. Type a friend’s name or email address to invite them, or click Copy Link to Share. You can them send that link to friends via any method (text message, email, etc.) and clicking it will let them join your Hangout.

Once in a Hangout, you’ll see whoever is speaking in the center of your screen. If you prefer, you can click someone’s thumbnail in the bottom-right to always show them. Click the Message icon in the bottom-left corner to send an instant message to all call members.

To invite more people to the Hangout, click the Add icon in the upper-right. Here you’ll also see the Settings icon, which lets you adjust the camera, sound, and bandwidth settings. Under the three-dot menu, you’ll find options to share your screen or go fullscreen.

Click the Microphone or Camera icons at the bottom of the screen to mute your audio or video. When you’re done with the call, just click the red Hang up button to leave.

By the way, check out our list of creative ways to use Hangouts if you need some ideas for your next get-together.

How to Record a Google Hangout

Hangouts once had a feature called Hangouts on Air that made it easy to broadcast your video calls and record them. However, this is no longer an option, nor is a workaround that involved YouTube streaming.

Officially, Hangout recording is only available for G Suite Enterprise users. This is because when you click the Video Call option in Hangouts while using an enterprise account, you’re redirected to Google Meet.

Google Meet, along with Google Chat, serve as the enterprise replacements for Google Hangouts. Google Meet video calls are similar to the Google Hangouts experience, but with a few extra features.

To record a Google Meet call, simply click the three-dot button at the bottom-right of the window and choose Record meeting.

If you’re a home user, Google announced in April 2020 that it plans to make Google Meet available free for everyone. At the time of writing, this is still rolling out, so you may not be able to start your own meetings on the Google Meet homepage. Check back for updates; chances are that Google may retire Hangouts in favor of Meet for all users.

In the meantime, if you need to record a Hangout and can’t wait for Meet, you can try using a screen recorder app to record conversations locally.

How to Schedule a Google Hangout

You can’t schedule a Hangout using the app, but you can achieve the same effect by creating an event in Google Calendar.

Head to Calendar’s homepage. Click the Create button at the top-left to make a new event, then choose More options to show the full set of controls. Fill out information like the meeting title, location, and time, then click the Add conferencing box.

Select Hangouts here, then use the Guests panel on the right to invite people from your Google contacts or via email address.

Hit Save when you’re done, and you’ll get a prompt to send invitation emails to guests. If you do this, your guests will receive an email about the event with a Join video call link. Once they click that, they’ll jump right into the scheduled call.

How to Share Your Screen on Google Hangouts

You don’t need any special tools to share your screen during a Hangout. In a Hangout call, click the three-dot Menu button at the top-right and choose Share screen. You’ll see a prompt to choose what you’d like to share: pick either a monitor or a single app.

Once you start screen sharing, everyone in the call will be able to see what’s on your screen until you click Stop.

How to Block or Unblock Someone on Google Hangouts

If someone is bothering you on Hangouts, you can easily block them. To do so, open Hangouts and select the conversation with the person you want to block. Click the Gear icon on their conversation, then choose Block & report.

To unblock someone later, click the hamburger Menu button in the upper-left of Hangouts. Choose Settings, then select Blocked people. You’ll see everyone you’ve blocked and have the option to unblock them.

How to Delete Google Hangouts

You can’t fully delete your Hangouts account unless you delete your Google account. However, you can remove old messages if you like.

Select any conversation and click the Settings gear at the top. Choose Delete conversation to delete all messages with that contact. You can’t do this for group chats; your only option is to leave the group.

If you’d like, you can also disable the Conversation history option here. Turning this off prevents Hangouts from saving your messages, so they’ll disappear after a short time.

How to Sign Out of Google Hangouts on Your PC

Signing out of Hangouts signs you out of your Google account in the current browser, so you’ll have to sign back in to access Gmail, YouTube, and other services.

To sign out of Hangouts, just click your profile picture in the upper-right corner of Hangouts and choose Sign out.

How to Use Google Hangouts on Android and iPhone

We’ve covered Hangouts on the web in this guide, but you can use the app on Android or iPhone as well. It functions nearly the same on those platforms, allowing you to instant-message friends and start video or audio calls.

Download the app for your platform and sign into your Google account to access your chats. Like most messaging apps, Hangouts includes emoji, stickers, photo uploads, and more. In any chat, you can tap the Video or Audio calling buttons to start a call with the other person.

Download: Google Hangouts for Android | iOS (Free)

Ready to Hang Out With Google Hangouts

Hopefully, this Google Hangouts tutorial answered your questions about the service. As of this writing, it seems that Google Hangouts may be on its last leg, with Google Meet set to supersede it. For now, Hangouts is still a usable service, but don’t be surprised if Google kills it off before long.

For an alternative, check out how to use Google Duo for easy video calls on any device. We’ve also rounded up other great free conference call apps if you want a non-Google solution.

Read the full article: How to Use Google Hangouts: Tips and Tricks You Should Know

How to Close Unresponsive Chromebook Apps

Have a frozen app that’s locking up your Chromebook? If you were on Windows, you’d probably press Ctrl + Alt + Delete and use the Task Manager to close it down. But how do you close apps on your Chromebook?

Thankfully, it’s not difficult to force-close apps on your Chromebook. We’ll show you a few ways to close apps on Chrome OS that every user should know.

Force-Quit Chromebook Apps Using the Task Manager

If a browser tab or app on your Chromebook hangs for several seconds, chances are that it’s frozen. To kill that process, you’ll need to open Chrome’s built-in Task Manager.

To open the Task Manager on your Chromebook, perform the following steps:

1. Open the Chrome browser (if it’s not already) and select the three-dot Menu in the upper-right corner. On the resulting list, choose More tools > Task manager.
   • Alternatively, you can press the Search + Escape keyboard shortcut to open it from anywhere.
2. Chrome’s Task Manager will open. This shows every process running on your Chromebook.
3. Browse the list of processes to find the tab or app that’s stuck.
   • If you can’t find it, click the headers at the top to sort by alphabetical order, memory usage, or other factors. Frozen tabs often use more memory or CPU than normal, which can help you locate them.
4. Once you find the problematic app, click to select it, then hit the End process button to force-quit it.

Doing this will instantly kill any Chrome tab or app that’s hanging. You’ll lose any unsaved work, so if you were in the middle of something, you may want to wait a few minutes to see if the page responds normally before doing this.

How to Close an App on a Chromebook Normally

Of course, you don’t need to force-close apps on your Chromebook all the time. Usually, you can close them without force-killing the process so they shut down cleanly.

The standard way to exit a Chromebook app is simple: just click the X icon at the top-right of the app window. If you don’t want to do that, you can also right-click the app’s icon on the shelf at the bottom of the screen and choose Close.

To close apps on your Chromebook even faster, try keyboard shortcuts. Ctrl + W will close the current browser tab. To close the entire window that’s in focus, use Shift + Ctrl + W. Learn more of these in our Chromebook keyboard shortcuts guide.

How to Quit All Apps on Your Chromebook

Since Chrome OS is quite stable, you shouldn’t have many problems with unresponsive apps. However, you might occasionally have an issue where the entire system locks up and you can’t get anything to respond.

In those cases, you should restart your Chromebook. To do this, simply press and hold the Power button at the top-right of your keyboard for a few seconds. Once it powers off, you can hold the same button again to turn it back on.

Close Chromebook Apps When Needed

Hopefully, you only have Chromebook app issues once in a while. If the problems become more frequent, you may have a poorly-coded app or extension installed. Try removing apps from your system and see if the problem subsides.

Otherwise, it may be time for a new machine. Check out our guide to the best Chromebooks if you’re in the market for a replacement.

Image Credit: taffpixture/Shutterstock

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5 Reasons Why Vinyl Is Better Than Digital for Music Lovers

There’s a reason music streaming services are so popular. Apps like Spotify and Apple Music allow you to access more music than you could ever listen to, all in a single app. They’re clearly the most convenient way to listen to music. However, that doesn’t make them the best option.

In most cases, vinyl is the best way to listen to music. The experience of putting a physical record on your vinyl record player, dropping the needle down, and enjoying listening to the music is unparalleled. Don’t believe us? Here are the reasons why you should listen to vinyl…

1. Your Taste In Music Will Improve

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Music is subjective. The artists and songs I enjoy will likely differ from your favorite music. You probably remember the band or singer that made you first care about music, though. For most people, that won’t have been a Top 40 act. The charts are great for enjoyable audio—the kind you put on at a party or go to see on a night out with friends.

On the whole, chart music doesn’t make its way to vinyl. Some DJs use it, but modern pop music usually won’t be found in a music fan’s physical collection. Once you start delving into vinyl, you’ll uncover something that runs deeper than singles and chart success. A record isn’t a disparate collection of songs.

Instead, the track order will have been carefully considered so that the album flows well. This is especially the case with older records where the only way to listen to them was in order from Side A to Side B. Much like a good novel, the album makes sense as a whole. There will be standout tracks, and some will become your favorites, but the album itself will leave a mark, too.

You’ll get to experience the record as the artist intended. Playlists serve an important function, but they’ll usually jump between groups, songs, and even genres. Listening to an album is a cohesive statement from the musicians involved, and you’ll find yourself appreciating not just the songwriting, but their musicianship as well.

2. Record Buying Is an Experience

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We won’t pretend there aren’t advantages to online shopping. Digital retail has made a wider range of goods available to us at lower prices, all from the comfort of our homes. However, shopping from your smartphone or computer doesn’t give the same experience as going to a store.

Although you can find vinyl available on Amazon and other large physical retailers, the format has been kept alive by independent record stores. Fans of these establishments are passionate and loyal to them. You can spend hours perusing the collections, holding the vinyl records in your hand, and studying the artwork and track listings.

Services like Spotify, YouTube Music, and Apple Music all use algorithms to recommend new artists and tracks to you. This version of music discovery is driven by the data these companies have. If fans of Artist A tend to listen to Artist C, then you’ll get recommended those albums. There are even sites to discover new music on Spotify, too. If you buy your music at a local record store, they are run by knowledgeable staff who can recommend albums more naturally and diversely.

In some ways, buying a record is a gamble. At the moment you hand over your money, you don’t know if it will become your favorite album or something you never listen to again. It does, however, make you more invested in the music, and you are more likely to carve out dedicated time to listen to it. As you delve into record buying, you’ll get to know people, their opinions, and, ultimately, form friendships.

3. Vinyl Sounds Better

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As formats have shifted over the years, so too has the technology. In the early days of the MP3, storage space came at a premium. So, to pack in as many tracks on your 256MB MP3 player, music needed to be compressed.

The original recordings or masters of an album are of a very high quality. These are used for the mixing process so that as much detail can be found as needed. This is comparable to photography, where it’s better to shoot in higher resolution than you really need, as then you have the most freedom when it comes to editing.

However, the files generated are far larger than you could feasibly store on your computer, phone, or portable music player. So the audio has to be compressed. During this process, some of the detail is lost. However, this is seen as a reasonable trade-off between quality and practicality.

Vinyl is a lossless format. The pressings are made straight from the masters and contain all of the detail the artist intended. It’s for this reason that vinyl sounds better than digital. For comparison, listening to vinyl as opposed to digital is like viewing the Mona Lisa with your own eyes rather than looking at a picture of it on a smartphone.

You’ll also hear vinyl enthusiasts discussing the warm sound they get from their record players. It’s certainly true that many people prefer the sound from a physical record, but your experience may differ.

There are multiple theories as to why this is the case. For some people, record players are a source of nostalgia, reminding them of an earlier time in their life. For others, it may be that the overall experience just feels better, especially when coupled with the lossless format.

4. You Can Resell Your Collection

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When you buy an MP3 or subscribe to a music streaming service, there’s no possibility of resale. In effect, you purchase the right to access that content, but not the product itself. MP3s are indeed more versatile, but some online stores encode them with copyright protection, making it a challenge to move them between computers and libraries.

Vinyl records, on the other hand, have shown themselves to be a worthwhile investment. The technology has been available for many decades, but you can still purchase vinyl produced in the 1940s or 1950s, place it onto your record player, and enjoy it. So long as they have been looked after, the experience will be the same now as when it was first released.

Other physical media, like cassettes or VHS tapes, degrade over time as the tape wears, but the same isn’t true of vinyl. Sites like Depop and eBay make it easy to sell your old or unwanted items. You can also use sites like Craigslist to buy and sell used items online. So, since records tend to keep their value, if you need to free up space at home or unlock some additional cash, you can sell your collection.

Many records released since the introduction of CDs were considered collector’s editions, too. These versions of the record are often released alongside CD and digital copies and are limited in stock. The vinyl itself could be colored or feature the album artwork. As the supply is restricted, you may even find that they appreciate in value.

5. You Own Your Music

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When Spotify users opened their app in early November 2014, they found that Taylor Swift’s back catalog had disappeared from the music streaming service. Swift and her management removed her songs after a royalties dispute with Spotify. Her records returned three years later.

On a similar note, the steaming service removed R. Kelly’s music from all of their playlists after Spotify stopped promoting harmful or hateful artists.

This highlights one of the problems with streaming services. If you use Spotify, Apple Music, or Tidal, you don’t really own your music collection. The songs and artists you love may suddenly become unavailable, while you still pay the same fixed price per month. If you are a casual listener, this may not cause you too much worry. However, music fans enjoy revisiting their collections and repeating their favorite songs.

So long as you own a record player, your vinyl collection is yours, and yours alone. No streaming service can suddenly remove a physical record from your home. Vinyl isn’t subject to format changes or software updates. Most modern record players even allow you to record your collection to a digital format, too, so you get the best of both worlds.

Vinyl vs. Digital: Which Is Best?

Vinyl is one of the best ways to listen to music. To many, the superior sound quality and physical collection are enough to justify the investment. However, that’s not to say there aren’t advantages to digital music. Records aren’t exactly known for their portability, for example.

Having said that, you may have been won over by the benefits of a vinyl record collection. If so, you’ll need a good record player to listen to them on. To get you started, take a look at the best record players for all budgets.

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How to Draw Anime and Manga Comics: 10 Tutorials to Get Started

If you’re a fan of anime you may dream of creating your own series. Or maybe you just want to learn how to draw your favorite characters. Either way, you need to learn how to draw anime and manga.

To help you get started on your journey, this article lists written resources and video tutorials designed to help you learn how to draw anime and manga.

Written Resources

While videos abound for drawing and manga, written resources prove more scarce. So be sure to keep these to hand before diving into YouTube tutorials.

/ic/ Fundamental Art Advice Support Page

If you’ve never visited 4chan, the site consists of several sub-communities. One of those sub-communities is /ic/ for artwork and critique. But even without accessing the community, the support page links you to information on tutorials, YouTube channels, reference, figure drawing, and more.

The /ic/ community also has an excellent 61-page guide for newbies and first-timers. It covers all kinds of fundamentals and walks you through common beginner topics: mindset, techniques, tools, software, etc. It isn’t manga-specific, but it will help sharpen your skills.

Complete Guide on How to Draw Manga

The folks behind Corel Painter, a piece of drawing software used by many artists, offer a collection of art tutorials meant to get you started from base zero. The tutorials cover traditional art, photo art, and illustrations.

Within the tutorial collection, one provides an overview on drawing manga, which covers eyes, faces, inking, and coloring/shadings.

Clip Studio Paint Manga Tutorials

As with Corel Painter, Clip Studio Paint provides tutorials for its program. However, unlike its competitor, it provides many manga-specific tutorials that go through the entire manuscript process. Whether you plan to use the software or not, it’s worth checking out the professional manga tutorials.

For those looking to learn to draw anime, the animation tutorials also are worth exploring. Once you’ve studied a bit, take a look at how the professionals do it. Visit the best websites where you can watch anime online for free to see the end results.

Video Tutorials

With the popularity of YouTube and its expansive amount of free content, manga tutorials are much easier to find. However, before diving straight into manga creation, it’s important to examine the fundamentals in video form as well. The playlists below provide a solid mix of the fundamentals as well as manga-specific content.

Proko

Proko isn’t specific to manga, but it is a must-watch YouTube channel for any aspiring artist. If you get through all of his videos from start to finish, you’ll have experienced some masterful advice.

He covers two extremely important topics that are rarely taught in detail in YouTube videos: gesture and anatomy. Start with the Figure Drawing playlist (to give your drawings life and motion), then study the Anatomy of the Human Body playlist (to give your drawings proper scale and details).

Once you know these fundamentals, you’ll be closer to learning how to draw manga and anime. There are no shortcuts when learning how to draw, but the sheer amount of resources on this channel will help you progress.

The Art of Wei

The Art of Wei YouTube channel is a good first stop for newbies. While he does have several videos dedicated to manga art, you’ll actually learn more from his series on drawing fundamentals.

Start with the Basic Tools for Drawing and Sketching and Best Ways to Pencil Shade Drawings playlists. Then make your way through the Drawing Lessons for Beginners playlist. Lastly, check out the How to Draw Manga and How to Draw Hair playlists.

Whyt Manga

Whyt Manga is the best channel for manga-specific tutorials. With lots of themed content that touches on all kinds of overlooked topics, you’ll be learning for a long time.

Start with the Manga Tools, Drawing Anatomy, and Manga/Webtoon Tutorials playlists. After that, you’ll learn plenty from the How to Make a Manga Series playlist (fight scenes, storyboards, character design, etc.) and the Manga Camera Angle playlist (paneling and other tips for visual storytelling).

With the frequency of his uploads, you can check back on his channel frequently to examine almost any question you’ll ever have about creation. Once you’ve reviewed his content, you’ll want to check out what you’ve learned.

Use these sites to read manga online for free legally.

Mark Crilley

Mark Crilley works well for manga newbies, plus he has a lot of content that will keep you busy. The artwork in his earlier videos isn’t as good, but the techniques are sound, so just keep that in mind and don’t let it turn you off.

The How to Draw and How to Make Comics/Manga playlists are good starting points. Also, check out his How to Draw Hair and How to Draw Eyes playlists. And don’t forget the Speed Drawings playlist, which will teach you a lot about the practical application of drawing theory.

Koizu

Koizu’s YouTube channel focuses on drawing manga and related techniques. You’ll learn genre-specific tips and tricks, like How to Draw Manga Body Proportions, Shading Techniques, and Drawing Poses.

The only downside is that the channel isn’t updated frequently. Fortunately, the channel offers plenty of content in the meantime.

Alphonso Dunn

Alphonso Dunn’s YouTube channel doesn’t touch on manga or anime at all, but he inks all of his artwork. And if you’re going to draw manga, inking will be one of the most valuable skills you’ll learn.

You should go through all of his videos so that you can pick up as many techniques and tricks as you can. But if you’re in a hurry, the most important videos are contained within the Shading playlist.

Mikeymegamega

Ignore the gaming half of the Mikeymegamega YouTube channel and focus on the drawing half.

The Draw, Simple, Easy playlist contains medium-length videos that show you how to draw certain characters from manga and comic books. The Draw With Mikey playlist contains longer videos of him free drawing and chatting with his viewers.

While this channel doesn’t offer much in the way of direct instruction, it’s a great way to learn by watching. Plus, you’ll pick up various tips and tricks along the way.

Learn to Be a Better Digital Artist With Manga Tutorials

If you want to figure out how to start drawing anime, it begins with manga. And if you’re looking to become a digital artist towards that goal, it helps to have the right tools. So, check out our list of the best drawing tablets for digital artists to help get started.

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How to Close Unresponsive Chromebook Apps

Have a frozen app that’s locking up your Chromebook? If you were on Windows, you’d probably press Ctrl + Alt + Delete and use the Task Manager to close it down. But how do you close apps on your Chromebook?

Thankfully, it’s not difficult to force-close apps on your Chromebook. We’ll show you a few ways to close apps on Chrome OS that every user should know.

Force-Quit Chromebook Apps Using the Task Manager

If a browser tab or app on your Chromebook hangs for several seconds, chances are that it’s frozen. To kill that process, you’ll need to open Chrome’s built-in Task Manager.

To open the Task Manager on your Chromebook, perform the following steps:

1. Open the Chrome browser (if it’s not already) and select the three-dot Menu in the upper-right corner. On the resulting list, choose More tools > Task manager.
   • Alternatively, you can press the Search + Escape keyboard shortcut to open it from anywhere.
2. Chrome’s Task Manager will open. This shows every process running on your Chromebook.
3. Browse the list of processes to find the tab or app that’s stuck.
   • If you can’t find it, click the headers at the top to sort by alphabetical order, memory usage, or other factors. Frozen tabs often use more memory or CPU than normal, which can help you locate them.
4. Once you find the problematic app, click to select it, then hit the End process button to force-quit it.

Doing this will instantly kill any Chrome tab or app that’s hanging. You’ll lose any unsaved work, so if you were in the middle of something, you may want to wait a few minutes to see if the page responds normally before doing this.

How to Close an App on a Chromebook Normally

Of course, you don’t need to force-close apps on your Chromebook all the time. Usually, you can close them without force-killing the process so they shut down cleanly.

The standard way to exit a Chromebook app is simple: just click the X icon at the top-right of the app window. If you don’t want to do that, you can also right-click the app’s icon on the shelf at the bottom of the screen and choose Close.

To close apps on your Chromebook even faster, try keyboard shortcuts. Ctrl + W will close the current browser tab. To close the entire window that’s in focus, use Shift + Ctrl + W. Learn more of these in our Chromebook keyboard shortcuts guide.

How to Quit All Apps on Your Chromebook

Since Chrome OS is quite stable, you shouldn’t have many problems with unresponsive apps. However, you might occasionally have an issue where the entire system locks up and you can’t get anything to respond.

In those cases, you should restart your Chromebook. To do this, simply press and hold the Power button at the top-right of your keyboard for a few seconds. Once it powers off, you can hold the same button again to turn it back on.

Close Chromebook Apps When Needed

Hopefully, you only have Chromebook app issues once in a while. If the problems become more frequent, you may have a poorly-coded app or extension installed. Try removing apps from your system and see if the problem subsides.

Otherwise, it may be time for a new machine. Check out our guide to the best Chromebooks if you’re in the market for a replacement.

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The 9 Best Free Photo Editing Apps on iPhone

Your iPhone takes beautiful photos, but the right apps can make them even better. Most photographers accept post-production as a part of their workflow, but a lot of the time our smartphone images miss out on this important step.

There’s no shortage of solid photo editors for iPhone, and plenty of the options are free. Here are some of the best free photo editing apps for iPhone.

1. Photos

Your iPhone already comes with an impressive image editor built right into the Photos app. Launch the app, find a photo, and tap Edit in the top-right corner of the screen to access the editor.

Here you can crop and rotate your image, apply filters, and adjust a wide variety of parameters. Rescue the highlights and shadows, adjust exposure and contrast, or convert to black and white.

Photos has its limitations, however. While it can handle RAW files, it only serves up lossy JPEGs to other apps. That means you can’t make edits in Photos and export a RAW to other apps without first duplicating it.

2. Google Snapseed

Google’s Snapseed is a photo editing powerhouse on both iOS and Android. The app support RAW editing, which makes it a candidate for the best free image editor on those platforms.

In addition to several filters, which Snapseed refers to as Looks, there’s a dizzying array of editing tools to choose from. These range from the basics to perspective shifts, selective coloring, instant HDR, and extensive monochrome filters and options.

The app controls well too. Just drag left and right to adjust a parameter’s strength, or drag up and down to change the parameter.

Download: Google Snapseed (Free)

3. Afterlight

If you’re looking for an all-in-one photo editing app with a host of different tools, it’s hard to go wrong with Afterlight.

You can start editing with advanced tools like curves, grain, overlays/gradients, and more. Then you can add unique touches with filters, textures and overlays, frames and borders, and fonts. The app also supports RAW images.

With a subscription, you can take advantage of the entire library of 130 unique filters, 20 dusty film overlays, and touch tool adjustments to edit a photo with simple on-screen gestures.

Download: Afterlight (Free, subscription available)

4. Darkroom

There’s no need to worry about finding the image you need to edit when using Darkroom. Your entire photo library is ready to access immediately (though it’s still wise to organize your iPhone photos).

The app offers great tools to edit all types of images, including Live Photos, Portrait mode images, and RAW photos. You can even create a custom filter from scratch or use one of the built-in options.

Using a batch processing feature, you can easily apply edits and filters to a number of photos at once.

For access to a color tool, curves tool, additional filters, the ability to protect images with a watermark, and a custom icon, you’ll need to purchase a subscription.

Download: Darkroom (Free, subscription available)

5. Enlight Photofox

Enlight Photofox wants to do more than just provide a way to edit your images. You can turn any photo into a work of art in just a few taps by using selections from the QuickArt or Readymades sections.

For more advanced editing features, the app provides tutorials that showcase other concepts, such as glitch art.

You’ll need to subscribe to access all the different art styles, frames, tools, and more. Subscribers are also able to create unlimited layers in their photo creations.

Download: Enlight Photofox (Free, subscription available)

6. Prisma

Prisma is an app unlike any other. When you load an image into Prisma, it sends that image to a server where it’s converted into a particular style of art. These styles are modeled on great artists like Picasso and Matisse, but also venture into comic book and futuristic territory.

You can adjust the strength of the filter, which is fortunate since the app produces a mixture of impressive and slightly-off images. Some filters produce images that really look like computer-generated artwork; others transform images into something weird and wonderful.

Prisma has some of its features locked behind a premium account. If you want more styles, unlimited HD renders, and an ad-free experience, you’ll need to subscribe.

Download: Prisma (Free, subscription available)

7. Lens Distortions

This app is all about emulating the look of fancy glass, weather effects, and lighting. It also includes some basic photo editing tools and uses layers to blend various effects together.

In addition to lens distortions, like blurs and flares, the app includes bokeh balls, fog, rain, snow, and shimmering effects. You can adjust the intensity, position, and scale of the effects as you see fit. It’s a great step toward achieving that vintage photography feel with any image already on your iPhone.

To unlock even more effects and filters, sign up for the premium subscription. You can also expand the various categories by buying packs outright if you’d rather pay once and keep them forever.

Download: Lens Distortions (Free, in-app purchases available)

8. VSCO

You’ll either love or hate VSCO’s abstract and minimalist interface. To its credit, the app has improved over time with better labels on its editing tools and a more straightforward approach to image editing.

It’s also the only app on this list capable of capturing RAW images. Tap on the camera and then change the image format to RAW to capture much more visual data every time you press the shutter.

The app brings great levels of complexity to RAW editing, with a number of filters included and more available with a VSCO X subscription.

Download: VSCO (Free, in-app purchases available)

9. Polarr Photo Editor

Polarr Photo Editor makes great use of AI and other tools like face detection to make it easier to edit images. Face detection will automatically select a face and allow you to fine-tune different aspects, like skin tone and other facial features. The AI detection can also isolate features of a photo, like the sky, to make it easier to edit different parts of the image.

Thanks to over 10 blending modes, you can superimpose photos and add effects like cloud, light leaks, and more. You’ll also find a bundle of other editing tools for every level of photographer.

With a subscription, you can unlock all of the app’s available filters, overlays, and other tools. It will also back up all custom filters. As a nice touch, the subscription will also carry over to the desktop and web versions of the Polarr app.

Download: Polarr Photo Editor (Free, in-app purchases available)

Free Photo Apps for Better iPhone Pictures

Now you can perform a variety of edits on your iPhone photos using nothing but your device. A bit of work will make your images look even better.

If you’re serious about your photography, you should consider shooting in RAW. RAW captures more detail than a lossy JPEG, meaning you can push your images further in post-production.

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