11 Thrifty Sites to Find Low Prices on “Back to School” Supplies

There are a lot of things that have gone digital over time. But something students will always need physical products for are school supplies. Whether it’s pencils and notebooks or backpacks and book bags, students need them. And what everyone needs is a way to save on those school essentials. These 11 websites will help you save both money and yourself from the crowds at the stores. Shop the Stores 1. Discount School Supply Discount School Supply offers good deals for discounts on merchandise plus free shipping. You can currently receive $10, $25, or $50 off your purchase and free...

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Never Go Online Without a VPN: Here’s Why

Virtual private networks (VPNs) have experienced a surge of interest since Congress voted to allow ISPs to sell your browsing history. It’s not always clear exactly why you should be using one though. Sure, it can help you unblock geo-restricted content on streaming sites like Netflix. However, a VPN can dramatically improve your security and privacy by routing your traffic out of the reach of eavesdropping governments, ISPs, and malicious hackers. While using a VPN at home is a good idea, it is even more important when on-the-go. Public Wi-Fi networks have a number of security issues, and you can’t...

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Stupid Yet Entertaining Games to Play in the Office Whilst Your Boss Isn’t Looking

If you’re reading this in the office, then shame on you — why aren’t you working? Shouldn’t you be doing something more productive with your boss’s time? You know, fun activities like spreadsheets, photocopying, and email. Chances are if you do work in an office environment, your internet wings have been clipped and your access to guaranteed time-wasters like social media is restricted. Is it time to find something else to pass the time when you’re at your least productive? Well, here we present to you a small collection of games to play in the office that you and your coworkers...

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Are There Too Many Streaming TV Services?

So, you’ve dumped cable and launched yourself into the world of cord-cutting. But what now? How do you know which services to subscribe to? Is it possible that there are just too many TV streaming services to choose from these days? You browse through the libraries of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu, and see some of your favorite shows on each — you sign up for all three. But wait, you still want to be able to watch live TV, so you add a subscription to Sling TV or PlayStation Vue as well. It’s probably best to get a...

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Understand and Beat Procrastination With the Time Wasters Chart

Everyone procrastinates. Ready to stop? Track the problem to its source! Here’s how to figure out what kind of procrastinator you are, and do something about it. We all know the feeling. We have the time to do a job today, but it’s not really due until next week. It’s often easier to procrastinate than it is to get something done. However, as it turns out, not all procrastination is exactly the same. Dr. Joseph Ferrari of DePaul University (Chicago, Illinois) outlined three basic schools of procrastination in the following flowchart. Make your way through the graphic and see which...

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How Is Your Sleep App Actually Tracking You at Night?

Getting a good night’s sleep is an essential part of having a good day. Unfortunately, too many of us experience restless sleep on a regular basis. Not that long ago there were limited choices for monitoring sleep. You could keep a diary, try to get to bed earlier, ask your partner about your sleeping routine, or visit a costly sleep clinic. Times have changed thanks to technological improvements and a better understanding of what happens during sleep. New monitoring solutions take many forms. Some track your sleep patterns with devices that attach to your bed, while others use wearable fitness...

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Are You Using the Best Snapchat Filters? Find Out With the Full List of 100+

Snapchat’s selection of filters, lenses, and geofilters change daily. It’s great for adding some variation to your selfie game, but can also be more than a little overwhelming. If you want to pick the best Snapchat filter for your photos, you should know what options are out there — and we’ve got you covered. This Snapchat filter list covers the essentials — the basic filters Snapchat offers, how to access your local geofilters, and as many lenses as we could track down at the time of writing. We also have some suggestions for you about when each photo editing tool...

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3 Ways You Can Use Android as a Desktop Operating System

Android is without a doubt the world’s favorite mobile operating system. But how does it fare on desktop and laptop computers? You probably know that phones and tablets feature Google’s Android operating system. You might even know about the TV boxes powered by Android. Whenever you use these devices, Android feels smart and intuitive. No instruction manual is required. Which is why it might come as a surprise to find Android can run on standard computers. But really, this should be no surprise. Touchscreen or otherwise, Android is user-friendly and familiar to so many people. In mid-2017, developer Jide announced...

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How to Disable Facebook’s Popup Comments Tab

When you comment on a Facebook post, whether that of a friend or someone in a group, you’re automatically subscribed to receive notifications for every single new comment. If you aren’t a fan of this, you won’t like what Facebook added to this feature. To ensure that you don’t miss a single comment on certain posts, you’ll now see a popup tab with new comments on posts that Facebook thinks you care about. The tab mimics a chat window, but instead is a series of threaded comments on the original post. It’s unclear how Facebook determines which posts matter to you, but you can...

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How to Hide a File in your Google Drive in Plain Sight

The files in your Google Drive are either private (only visible to you) or they can be seen by specific people with whom you have chosen to explicitly share the file. In the case of folders, any file contained inside a shared folder can be seen by all users who have access to the folder.

Let’s consider a slightly different scenario where you have a shared folder in Drive any you don’t want other users to see a particular file inside that folder.

A simple option is that you move the file outside the folder. There’s an alternate workaround as well that will help you easily hide files in Google Drive folders through ‘camouflage’ without requiring any add-ons or extensions.

Hide Secret Files in Google Drive

The trick is simple.

Google Drive allows you to store multiple versions of a file and if you upload a new version of a file, the previous version is preserved as well. The file versions can be of different mime types so you can upload a PDF file first and then replace it with an image or a video file.

The old PDF file would still be available in Google Drive though hidden in plain sight. Here’s a step-by-step guide.

1. Go to drive.google.com and upload the file that you wish to hide from other users.
2. After the file is uploaded, right-click the file in Drive and choose Manage Versions.
3. Choose Upload New Version and upload another file – say an unsuspecting photograph of a building.
4. Now rename the original file to, say, image.jpg – you can give any file name and extension.

Google Drive will automatically update the thumbnail of the file to that of the most recent vesion. Also, if someone double clicks the file to open it, all they’ll see is an image preview.

This video tutorial describes the steps in detail.

Keep your Hidden Files forever

Google Drive, by default, stores the previous version of any file for 30 days and then deletes them. However, if you right-click the file in Google Drive, choose Managed Versions, select the 3-dot vertical menu and check Keep Forever, your hidden file would be around fover.

Here’re a few other things should should know about file version in Google Drive.

• If you create a copy of the file (File > Make a Copy), the new copy will only hold the current version of the file.
• If you grant view access to the file to another user, they cannot see the other versions of the file.
• Versions take storage space. If the original file is 10 MB and you replace it with an image that weighs a mere 2 MB, the file will still consume 10+2=12MB space in your Google Drive.

 

How to Try the Newly Redesigned Skype on Windows and Mac

Skype is a curious app. It took VOIP telephone calls to the masses for the first time, and in the pre-WhatsApp era, it was the king of internet chat. Fast-forward to today and a lot has changed. It no longer enjoys an unrivaled hegemony over its rivals. Even apps like Instagram and Snapchat have started to eat into its user base. As such, Microsoft sensibly decided it was time to give the aging app a refresh. The preview version of the update can now be downloaded by anyone to try out. What’s New in Skype? As the tech world moved...

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How to Get Free Loot Boxes in Overwatch With Amazon Prime

While many games let you buy items outright, Overwatch only offers items through Loot Boxes. You earn one each time you level up, but can also purchase them with real money if you want a certain item and need to speed up the process. But if you’re an Amazon Prime member, there’s a special gift waiting for you: anyone who’s part of the Twitch Prime service can grab five Loot Boxes for free. This offer is only available until September 10 — after that, another free set will appear in October. Start by visiting the Twitch Prime Overwatch page. If you’re not...

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