5 Scenic North American Drives To Enjoy Online

The Autobahn isn’t the be all and end all of highways. The famous German highway system is riddled with speed limits — yes, speed limits! — traffic, and lack of space. If you desire more from a road trip than the occasional speed kick, enjoy the spacious lanes and stunning views of your local North American highways. Better yet, cut both the traffic and your gas bill and virtually enjoy these scenic drives from wherever you are. This is also a great option while some National Parks and Monuments remain closed during a government shutdown. Below I present 5 iconic...

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Science Doesn’t Care What You Believe: PopSci Turns Off Comments

Comments can be bad for science. That’s what Popular Science argued when it announced it was shutting down its comment section back in September. “A politically motivated, decades-long war on expertise has eroded the popular consensus on a wide variety of scientifically validated topics,” wrote online editor Suzanne LaBarre. “Everything, from evolution to the origins of climate change, is mistakenly up for grabs again.” This is undemocratic. It reduces the power of the reader. It’s contrary to everything the Internet believes to be sacred. And it just might be exactly the right thing for Popular Science to do. Medium Matters...

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Science Doesn’t Care What You Believe: PopSci Turns Off Comments

Comments can be bad for science. That’s what Popular Science argued when it announced it was shutting down its comment section back in September. “A politically motivated, decades-long war on expertise has eroded the popular consensus on a wide variety of scientifically validated topics,” wrote online editor Suzanne LaBarre. “Everything, from evolution to the origins of climate change, is mistakenly up for grabs again.” This is undemocratic. It reduces the power of the reader. It’s contrary to everything the Internet believes to be sacred. And it just might be exactly the right thing for Popular Science to do. Medium Matters...

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8 Easy Exercises To Help You Stay Fit At Your Desk

How many hours a day do you spend sitting? Whether you’re gaming, freelancing or have a hardcore desk-bound job, you’re probably not moving enough. Not everyone has the time or ability to leave everything for 2 hours and go for a run or a bike ride, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up. Staying fit at your desk is actually possible. Below you’ll find a collection of exercises anyone can do. Some don’t even require getting up, others take no longer than 10 minutes out of your daily routine. Find some you can do. Find some you want...

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The New Google Gadgets

Do you think you will be missing iGoogle gadgets? Many similar gadgets are available in Google Search and you can trigger them with a simple search. Here are some examples:



- weather gadget: search for [weather] or [weather LOCATION_NAME]

- calculator gadget: search for [calculator], [calc] or enter an expression like [4*5-1/4]

- currency converter: search for [currency converter], [1 usd in eur] or other similar queries

- unit conversion: search for [unit conversion], [10 miles in km], [50 f in c] or other similar queries.

- mail gadget: search for [my mail] and you'll see the latest messages from your Gmail inbox (US-only). Other things to try: [my calendar], [my plans for tomorrow], [my packages], [my flights], [my reservations], [my hotels], [my places], [my photos], [my documents], [my spreadsheets].

- sport scores: search for [nfl], [nhl], [nba], [football scores], [premier league], [manchester united], [serena williams], [formula 1].

A Cluttered Google Homepage

Here's a screenshot of the Google UK homepage in Internet Explorer. I used the private browsing feature to get a fresh cookie. This is what you would see as a new Google user:



* a blue bar at the top of the page that informs you about the new terms of service

* a message that introduces the new app launcher

* a link that asks you to make Google your homepage (IE-only)

* a cookie disclaimer required in the European Union (EU-only).

Click "Got it", "x" and "OK" and you'll dismiss 3 of the messages. You'll no longer see them unless you clear your Google cookies.



What happens if you ignore the messages?

Cinnamon 2.0 Ditches GNOME, Features Enhanced User and Window Management

Cinnamon, the desktop shell using in Linux Mint, has finally released v2.0, which features new window tiling and snapping, along with enhanced user management options. And there are lots of other changes under the hood too, including a new backend that no longer requires GNOME. Prior to version 2.0, Cinnamon was a frontend on top of GNOME desktop, much like Unity. But now, it’s an entire desktop environment which no longer requires GNOME to be installed. But don’t worry, it’s still compatible with all GNOME applications as it uses toolkits and libraries such as GTK or Clutter. On the frontend,...

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Demystify SEO: 5 Search Engine Optimization Guides That Help You Begin

Most of us know how to use search engines generally. Most of us do not understand how search engines work — actually. In the age of Panda, Penguin, and Hummingbird, it could be a skill failure if one has anything to do with working on the Web. A basic understanding of how to position your work for high web traffic is a much needed skill if you are a freelancer trying to get a blog listed on Google, a social media writer, digital marketer, or an entrepreneur planning to start any sort of business. Search engine mastery takes knowledge, experience,...

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Google Tip Calculator

Google shows an interactive card when you search for [tip calculator]. It's a full-featured widget that lets you enter the bill, the tip percentage (the default value is 15%) and the number of people that will split the bill. Google shows the tip per person and the total amount per person.



You could obtain the same results using Google's regular calculator feature, but it's a little bit more complicated. Google's widget shows the same information as the top search result for [tip calculator].

"A tip (also called a gratuity) is a sum of money customarily tendered to certain service sector workers for a service performed or anticipated. Tipping and the amount are a matter of social custom and social practices vary between countries and settings. In some locations tipping is discouraged and considered insulting and in some locations tipping is expected from customers. The customary tip can be a specific range of monetary amounts or a given percentage of the bill," informs Wikipedia. For example, in the US the tip is 15-20%, in the UK it's usually 10%, in Germany it's 2-10%, while in Asia there is no tipping.



{ via +Google }

Google Adds Episode Lists Of Your Favorite TV Shows To Search

We all like to keep track of our favorite TV shows. Google just made it a bit easier by including episode listings to search results. Now, when you search for your favorite TV shows, you will see the entire list of episodes with season numbers and air dates. Clicking on a specific episode takes you to a different search result page with all the information a Google Search can give you on it. The TV episode listing adds to the Knowledge Graph data that gets displayed as usual like ratings from IMDb, Cast, and related information. Google illustrated the feature...

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Google+ Notification for the New Terms of Service

This is interesting: Google uses Google+ notifications to informs users about the new terms of use. "The update includes information about mobile safety, login security, and the use of your information in ads and other contexts."

I wonder if the Google+ notifications panel will be used for other Google services. What about Google Now notifications?

Customize Google's App Launcher

Google's navigation menu is still not customizable. The app launcher interface allows Google to add many cool features like reordering apps, removing them or adding new ones, but for now they're not available.



Carlos Jeurissen released a Chrome extension that lets you customize the app launcher. You can select from a very long list of Google services, including Google Scholar, Google Play Music, Google Keep, Chrome Web Store. You can also reorder the services or remove the Google products you don't use often. The upgraded launcher has up to 5 columns and as many rows as you want, but I suggest to pick less than 20 services.

My favorite feature is that settings are synced, so you can use other computers and see the same Google menu in Chrome. You may need to reload the new tab page after changing the menu, since Google caches it.



There's also an option to add custom shortcuts, so you can link to non-Google web apps like Dropbox, Vimeo, Twitter, or Imgur.



{ Thanks, Florian K. }

Google's Homepage and Safari

Chrome's updated new tab page reminded me of a Safari feature. If you try to change your homepage to google.com in Safari for Mac, you get this message:



"Are you sure you want to change your homepage to Google search? You can do a Google search directly from the Safari search field, without going to the Google webpage."

Apparently, it's hard to convince people to use the browser's search box instead of Google's search box, especially if the address bar and the search box are merged.

T-Mobile Goes Global With Free International Unlimited Data Plan

T-Mobile (in the USA) has decided to shake things up a bit and see if they can get any new customers, by announcing a new plan which gives users free unlimited Internet data plans, while overseas. Apparently, if you are on a “Simple Choice” plan, you can now browse the Internet on your mobile device while abroad, free of charge. And there is no need to sign up, wait in long phone queues, or do any time consuming form filling. The feature will just start automatically for all eligible users from October 31st, which will scrap the previous staggering fees...

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Internet Explorer Under Attack! How To Protect Yourself From Getting Hacked

If you have been using any version of Internet Explorer, you are potentially vulnerable to being hacked. The recent zero day exploit has now been patched with a critical security update released this past Tuesday. The next attack, however, is just around the corner. Incidents such as this not only are a sound reminder to enable Windows Update and make sure all critical updates are installed immediately, it also raises the question whether there are safer options. Let us recap the events and explore what you can do to protect yourself from getting hacked in future. What Happened To Internet...

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From Cute To Ferocious: 12 Animal Videos That Are Absolutely Amazing

Have you ever seen a video of an animal that just left you in awe? I have. Animals have always been a fascination of mine, and I know it’s not just me – there are a lot of you who feel the same. Now, animals aren’t difficult to like, especially the cute ones. But It’s not just about how cute they are – we are fascinated by not only their physical capabilities, but also by their emotional ones. I think much of what we enjoy about animals lies in how they interact with each other and our planet, and perhaps...

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Windows Update: Everything You Need To Know

Is Windows Update enabled on your PC? If you don’t know the answer to that, you should — Windows Update keeps Windows, Internet Explorer, and Microsoft Office up-to-date with the latest security patches and bug fixes, ensuring your computer is as secure as possible. However, Windows Update can also cause problems — particularly by nagging you to reboot when you’re trying to use your computer and automatically restarting your computer overnight. While Windows Update can be obnoxious, it keeps your computer secure and is well worth using. It can also be made less obnoxious with a few quick settings changes....

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Duolingo Gives A Fillip To Free Language Learning With Crowdsourced Lessons

Duolingo has gained a lot of traction as an online language learning service. It could easily gain some more with a new initiative that aims to crowdsource new lessons and new languages with the help of the website’s growing community of ten million and counting. The Language Incubator could be your chance to contribute to a course and expand the scope of learning from the six languages which Duolingo covers on its own. According to the site, the most requested languages are Chinese, Japanese Russian and Arabic. Bilingual participants can apply to contribute a course. Duolingo looks over their applications...

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Think Big, Start Small: 6 Tips To Start A Creative Project On The Web

So you have plans for a creative project and you aren’t sure where to begin? Why not start off on the Web? The Internet has a low barrier of entry yet grants you access to the largest audience known to man — the worldwide audience. There has never been a better time to jumpstart a creative project on the web than now and you won’t even need to spend much money to do so. Unfortunately, though the Internet has increased the viability of creative projects, the creative process remains as difficult as ever. You’ll face a lot of challenges and...

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Concerned About Privacy? How To Keep Google At Arm’s Length

With all of the scares surrounding the NSA’s PRISM program and the potential backdoors in many of the top American websites, most people today are as privacy-aware as ever. One of the biggest Internet companies, Google, has become a part of everyone’s lives, but if you’re concerned about Google’s data collection policies in light of these privacy issues, it might not be a bad idea to keep Google away from your Internet activities. But just how can you do that when Google is practically everywhere on the web? Here are 5 tips you can follow so that Google has far...

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