Rich Communication Services (RCS) is basically the standard for the next generation of text messaging, with apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, LINE and others now offering features that go far beyond the standard SMS-based messaging apps that tend to ship with your phone — unless, of course, you are an Apple and iMessage user. Read More
Airbnb today is rolling out a few new additions to their home-booking system, including new tiers that are aimed at higher-end customers called Airbnb Plus and Beyond by Airbnb. The new Airbnb Plus tier has homes that are verified for “quality and comfort,” rolling out with around 2,000 homes to start that have been inspected against a thorough checklist. The Luxury tier, called… Read More
Rich Communication Services (RCS) is basically the standard for the next generation of text messaging, with apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, LINE and others now offering features that go far beyond the standard SMS-based messaging apps that tend to ship with your phone — unless, of course, you are an Apple and iMessage user. Read More
In computer science, there’s an unsung hero in every software development project: the software testing engineer. If you have a habit of finding bugs or problems in software, or you have strong opinions about how software could be better, a software testing job may be for you. As with many technology fields, you don’t learn everything you need to know in college to become a software tester. You’ll learn the foundation you need to get started. But to achieve success in the field there are certifications, additional trainings, and many other topics you’ll need to become an expert in. In...
Read the full article: How to Land Your First Software Testing Job
Airbnb today is rolling out a few new additions to their home-booking system, including new tiers that are aimed at higher-end customers called Airbnb Plus and Beyond by Airbnb. The new Airbnb Plus tier has homes that are verified for “quality and comfort,” rolling out with around 2,000 homes to start that have been inspected against a thorough checklist. The Luxury tier, called… Read More
Looking for some home networking devices and computer stuff like modems, routers, range extenders, and SSDs? Need a case for your smartphone? Today’s best deals are exactly what you seek! Before we kick off the individual deals, we need to let you know that Amazon has a giant page of networking and computer accessory deals available right now. If you don’t want to see our curated list of the best deals, then just head to this page and dig in. If you want to make it a little easier, we’ve already taken the time to go through each and every...
Read the full article: Here Are Today’s Best Deals From Around The Internet
You’re running Linux on your PC, but you also have Windows installed. It’s a dual boot, but sometimes you’d like to share data between the two operating systems. But something is stopping you: Windows. It seems that Windows 10 is locking the C: drive, leaving you unable to access data in Linux. So what can you do about it? Surprisingly, the solution is quite simple. Why Access Your Windows Data in Linux? Dual booters (specifically those running Windows and Linux on one computer) have a problem that affects Windows 8 and 10. When using the Linux operating system it’s impossible...
Read the full article: How to Access and Use the Windows C Drive in Linux
Max Rhodes was walking around that weird little parklet in Hayes Valley in San Francisco after taking a break from a five-year stint at Square to figure out what he wanted to do next — and he kept seeing Square registers everywhere. It was spotting them over and over again in smaller retail shops dotted throughout the city that made him think about the connections between the average… Read More
Java, once a vital component of the web, has dropped in popularity over the past several years. Most modern browsers block Java by default, and the majority of home users don’t need to install it anymore. We’ve long heard that Java is the single most insecure piece of software for desktop computers, especially Windows. But is this still true? Let’s dig in and find out. The Historical Problems With Java The main reason that Java has become such a popular target for attack is how widespread it is. Because Java was designed for maximum compatibility, it runs on a host...
Read the full article: Why Java Is Less of a Security Risk Now on Windows, Mac, and Linux
Coinbase has some serious competition. Today Robinhood starts rolling out its no-commission cryptocurrency trading feature in California, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana and New Hampshire. Users can buy and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum with no extra fees, and track those and 14 other coins in its sleek app. That’s compared to paying 1.5 to 4 percent fees in the US on Coinbase. Users can… Read More
“We didn’t want to create another app thirsty for attention” writes Product Hunt CEO Ryan Hoover. So instead of a constant stream of fresh stories and alerts, Product Hunt today is releasing what’s essentially a tech industry newsletter in iOS and Android form. Sip distills the day’s big headlines into a set of Twitter Moments-esque slideshows delivered via… Read More
“We didn’t want to create another app thirsty for attention” writes Product Hunt CEO Ryan Hoover. So instead of a constant stream of fresh stories and alerts, Product Hunt today is releasing what’s essentially a tech industry newsletter in iOS and Android form. Sip distills the day’s big headlines into a set of Twitter Moments-esque slideshows delivered via… Read More
As phone cameras become increasingly advanced and platforms like Instagram give ordinary people a huge audience, smartphone photography has become a sought-after skill and the basis for some people’s careers. However, smartphone cameras are only half of the story. To really make your photos stand out, you need to use the right photo-editing apps. Unlike on PC, finding a quality photo-editing app on Android for free is really easy. In fact, there are so many apps on the market that you might not be sure which one to choose. So what is the best Android photo-editing app? And what competition...
Read the full article: Snapseed Is the Best Photo Editing App for Android
Falcon.io, a startup out of Denmark that helps businesses manage their presence across social media and messaging platforms, has acquired a competitor in a wider trend of consolidation in the market for such services. It is buying Komfo from customer experience software developer Sitecore, which itself was majority acquired by EQT for $1.1 billion in 2016. Falcon.io is not disclosing the terms… Read More
Do you feel unproductive, did your New Year’s resolutions fail, or have you lost steam? The bad news is, there are no secret tricks to achieve miracle productivity results. But stay with us, because the good news is we can help you. We’ll teach you how to tackle main productivity challenges one by one and equip you with the best tools to do so. Why You Feel Unproductive Was becoming more productive one of your New Year’s resolutions? Maybe you didn’t stick with it. But have you asked yourself why? Often we get a good start and then somehow seem...
Read the full article: The Top Productivity Challenges to Tackle Every Day
If you own a Chromecast, you probably use it to stream videos and movies or view your photos on the big screen. But you can also play games on it with your mobile device. Finding those games that support Chromecast and are worth your time isn’t all that easy. So we have a list of casual games for you that are fun, simple to pick up and play, and connect to your Chromecast easily. 1. Tower Construction 3D How good are you at building a tower? Find out in Tower Construction 3D. As the crane moves back and forth, tap...
Read the full article: Chromecast Games Can Be the Best!
Apple is preparing a couple of updating models of AirPods, according to Bloomberg. The popular fully wireless earbud-style headphones that Apple introduced last year are currently on track for a refresh in 2018 with the addition of a new version of the “W” line of chips that Apple created specifically to manage and improve Bluetooth-based connections between gadgets. The 2018… Read More
Global smartphone sales have not been firing on all cylinders for several years now but Gartner’s latest figures record the first ever decline since the analyst began tracking the market all the way back in 2004. Read More
Apple is preparing a couple of updating models of AirPods, according to Bloomberg. The popular fully wireless earbud-style headphones that Apple introduced last year are currently on track for a refresh in 2018 with the addition of a new version of the “W” line of chips that Apple created specifically to manage and improve Bluetooth-based connections between gadgets. The 2018… Read More
You are using Google Spreadsheets for budgeting and project management but did you know that the same sheets application can help you create impressive pixel paintings in minutes? The Google blog recently published a story of two illustrators who created a bright and beautiful wall mural using Google Spreadsheets.
Marina and Mallory connected on Google Hangouts to plan and sketch out ideas, and creatively “hack” Sheets in order to make art: resizing cells into thousands of pixel-like squares, merging cells to create color blocks, creating vibrant color gradients with conditional formatting and cell values, and other cool things we had no idea you could do with Sheets.
The idea is simple. Each cell in the spreadsheet corresponds to a pixel in the painting. You compute the color of the pixel and make it the background color of the corresponding cell. Now resize the spreadsheet cells in small perfect squares and your spreadsheet will look exactly like the original artwork.
If you would like to create your own spreadsheet art but don’t have the time to carefully paint every cell manually, here’s a simple workaround for you. You can take any photograph, vector art, or any other image and use a Google Script to convert that bitmap image into spreadsheet art.
Here are some examples of art created with Google Spreadsheets.
Watch the video tutorial or open this Google Sheet for sample artwork.
It takes two easy steps to make pixel art with Google Sheets.
The underlying Google Script will now parse every single pixel of your image and write the corresponding hex color codes in the cells of the spreadsheet.
It will then set the background color of every cell same as the color of the corresponding pixel. If you have chosen the ’emoji’ option, the cell will be filled with the closes emoji that matches the color of the pixel.
In the last step, the script will resize the cells and turn them into perfect squares. That’s it. Your spreadsheet art is now ready.
The latest version of the Spreadsheet Art project can transform your pictures into emojis pixels as well. It takes the average color of the pixel, finds the closest emoji and adds it to the corresponding cell in the sheet. The emoji module is based on the work of Monica Dinculescu.
The end result may appear slightly pixelated (video) because we have used a small image as the source template but impressive nonetheless. You can download the Google Sheet as a PDF file or save it in Microsoft Excel format.
Check this Google Sheet for more examples.
Make beautiful pixel paintings and emoji art with #GoogleSheets ?????? pic.twitter.com/0SpUqlxowY
— Amit Agarwal (@labnol) February 22, 2018
