Keyboard Shortcuts for Google+ Notifications

The Google+ notifications box has a few keyboard shortcuts you might find helpful. Here are some of them:



* up/down arrow keys help you select a notification from the list. Notice the blue line, which shows the currently selected notification. After opening a notification, use the same arrow keys to scroll.



* Enter (Return for Mac) opens the notification you've selected. You can also use o



* press the down arrow key after the last notification and then press Enter to open the list of previously read notifications



* right/left arrow keys let you go to the next/previous notification. You can also use j/k



* u - go back to the list of notifications or to the main screen



* d - mark as read the notification you've selected



* Esc closes the notifications box.



Unfortunately, there's no shortcut that opens the Google+ Notifications box, so you still need to click the bell icon. How to quickly read your notifications? Press the down arrow key, then press Enter and go to the next notification using the right arrow key.



Sometimes Page Up/Page Down and Space/Shift+Space work, but only after you use the arrow keys. If you find other keyboard shortcuts, please let me know in the comments.



Google+ also has a list of keyboard shortcuts.

Fascinating Earth: 5 Citizen Science Projects For Our Natural World

Quite frankly, I didn’t have the brain matter or the perseverance to be a scientist. But today, thanks to the power of the Internet, you don’t have to be a boffin with double PhDs to contribute to the sciences. If you are interested in the world we live in, natural sciences could be your calling. Like me, easy to join citizen science projects should help you take that interest further, and call yourself a “citizen scientist” if not a true blue scientist. Do you share a love for the natural world? Then, be a part of the crowd and join...

Read the full article: Fascinating Earth: 5 Citizen Science Projects For Our Natural World

NSA Porn, CyanogenMod Ban, Jolla Smartphone, Microsoft Sexism [Tech News Digest]

Today in Tech News Digest, the NSA watches porn, Bitcoin is now valued at $1,000, Google Street View comes to airports and train stations, the CyanagenMod Installer is banned from Google Play, F-Secure KEY is launched to help you manage your passwords, the new Jolla smartphone arrives, Twitter ups its level of security, and Microsoft is accused of being sexist when it comes to the Xbox One. The NSA Watches Porn "We only spy on terrorists. Well, all foreigners, really. OK, just basically anyone we want.": http://t.co/LUpbf7h6PV — Casey Muratori (@cmuratori) November 27, 2013 The NSA has tracked which pornographic...

Read the full article: NSA Porn, CyanogenMod Ban, Jolla Smartphone, Microsoft Sexism [Tech News Digest]

Google's Festive Decorations

Google shows a lot of festive doodles, Easter Eggs and special decoration. Here are some of them:



- The Thanksgiving doodle is actually a video

Here's the video:

"Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year."



- Mr. Jingles is hungry

Here's the animation:

- Hanukkah search results

"Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights and Feast of Dedication, is an eight-day Jewish holiday."



- Festivus search results include the aluminum Festivus pole

"Festivus, a well-celebrated parody, has become a secular holiday celebrated on December 23 which serves as an alternative to participating in the pressures and commercialism of the Christmas and holiday season. Originally a family tradition of a scriptwriter working on the American sitcom Seinfeld, the holiday entered popular culture after it was made the focus of a 1997 episode of the program."



As Google says, "it's all about Thanksgivukkah in 2013. This overlap of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah won't happen again for another 70,000+ years, making it a once-in-a-lifetime event".



Happy Thanksgiving! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Holidays!



{ Thanks, Mukil and Emanuele. }

Google Health Cards

When you search for [causes of multiple sclerosis], [causes of hiccups], [symptoms of the flu], [how to treat iron deficiency] and other similar health-related queries, Google shows snippets from authoritative sites like WebMD and MayoClinic. Sometimes Google also shows instant answers, but they're not always accurate.

{ Thanks, Sunite. }

YouTube Tweaks Experimental Center-Aligned UI

YouTube continues to tweak the center-aligned UI experiment. The latest version includes a new upload button, a refined guide sidebar with new icons and "more" drop-downs for playlists and subscriptions, a list of recommended channels and probably other features.

The "guide" sidebar is displayed by default only if there's enough room. If there isn't, the sidebar is hidden and you need to click "guide" to see your playlists, subscriptions, video history and more.

The layout still uses cards and it's center-aligned.

Here's how you can enable the experimental interface. If you use Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari or Internet Explorer 8+:



1. open youtube.com in a new tab



2. load your browser's developer console:



* Chrome or Opera 15+ - press Ctrl+Shift+J for Windows/Linux/ChromeOS or Command-Option-J for Mac



* Firefox - press Ctrl+Shift+K for Windows/Linux or Command-Option-K for Mac



* Internet Explorer 8+ - press F12 and select the "Console" tab



* Safari 6 - if you haven't enabled the Develop menu, open Preferences from the Safari menu, go to the Advanced tab and check "Show Develop menu in menu bar". Close Preferences and then press Command-Option-C to show the console.



* Opera 12 - press Ctrl+Shift+I for Windows/Linux or Command-Option-I for Mac, then click "Console".



3. paste the following code which changes a YouTube cookie:



document.cookie="VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE=rkZGzYxfbLQ; path=/; domain=.youtube.com";window.location.reload();



4. press Enter and close the console.



To go back to the regular interface, use the same instructions, but replace the code from step 3 with this one:



document.cookie="VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE=; path=/; domain=.youtube.com";window.location.reload();



{ Thanks, Florian K. }

YouTube's Player, Back to Simple Buttons?

Back in September, YouTube's player grouped controls for annotations, player size and video quality. A few weeks ago, the "large player" button has been removed from the drop-down and brought back to its original position, next to the "full screen" button.

If the video doesn't have annotations and you use the Flash player, you'll even see the video quality drop-down without an additional click:

Preview International Airports And Train Stations Before You Travel On Google Street View

Google Street View already gives us enough reasons to travel. Now, a new Google Maps feature adds a touch of practicality to those virtual dreams. Google Maps will let you preview global transit locations, including 16 international airports, and over 50 train and subway stations. Even a cable car station in Hong Kong is thrown in for good measure. An interactive map shows you the spots that have been selected so far. Google Maps definitely will be adding more. This is Tokyo International Airport… It’s not just visual chutzpah on the part of Google either, as mapping transit locations makes...

Read the full article: Preview International Airports And Train Stations Before You Travel On Google Street View

Chromecast Button in Google Play Store

Sometimes you have to go back to basics, create something simple that works and constantly improve it. That's how Google Search, Gmail, Chrome and other Google products became successful. Google TV tried to solve too many problems and ended up with complicated remote controls, buggy software, browsers with blocked content, unhappy partners and disappointed users.



Google Cast and Chromecast try to solve fewer problems and are much more limited. Apps live on your phone or tablet, the remote control is your phone or tablet and Chromecast is just a way to play content on your TV.



The number of apps that support Google Cast is still very small, but they're some of the most popular apps in their category: YouTube, Google Play Music, Google Play Movies, Netflix, Pandora, Hulu Plus, HBO Go. This is about to change when Google releases the official Cast SDK and allows any app or site to integrate with Chromecast.



For now, Google continues to promote Chromecast. "For a limited time we're giving you an HD movie rental from Google Play with every purchase of a Chromecast device. It's the perfect treat to add to that special someone's stocking. At just $35 each, why not pick one up for both of you?" suggests Google Play's site. The promotion is actually "valid for any movie rental or other content on Google Play valued at $6 or less".



Sterling Alvarez noticed a Chromecast button in the Google Play Store app (landscape mode). It only lists the apps that support Google Chromecast, but it's interesting to notice that the link is prominently placed in the default Play Store section for apps.

{ Thanks, Sterling. }