TorSearch Aims To Be The Google For The Deep Web

“The Deep Web” is very real, and anonymity networks like Tor enable you to explore it. TorSearch is a new anonymous search engine that its founder Chris MacNaughton wants to turn into the “Google of Tor”. The Tor network cannot be accessed by regular search engines like Google and Bing. Tor maintains its anonymity by routing web traffic through a series of open connections (onion routes) run by volunteers around the world, and encryption is added at various stages. The nature of Tor also makes it difficult to search as no search engine before TorSearch has indexed it so far....

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10 Motivational TED Talks To Help You Chip Away At Your Mental Blocks

We need a spark plug. Something to ignite us when the body is willing, but the brain is not. Motivation has been discussed, debated, and pulled threadbare; but it hasn’t changed the fact that sometimes we have no control over it. Even the achievers of this world have admitted to frequent bouts of flagging motivation. But the valuable lesson from their lives is that they chip away at their mental blocks more consistently than others. TED.com always has ideas worth spreading. Sometimes they have taught us about creativity, inspiration, and passion…sometimes about human behavior. Many articles and websites have covered...

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You’ve Heard This Man’s Music Before, You Just Don’t Know It: Interviewing Dexter Britain

Here’s a video of a fireman saving a kitten from a burning house. And yes, it has everything to do with this post. Watch it first, then I’ll explain: That was pretty moving, wasn’t it? If you felt a surge of emotion, that’s in no small part thanks to the video’s soundtrack — the music just fits it like a glove. That music was created by composer Dexter Britain, and if you liked it, you can just go ahead and download the album and other albums of his, without paying a dime. And no, no BitTorrent is required — Dexter...

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How to Make Sure Your WordPress Blog Is Accessible To Mobile Users

Don’t make your readers zoom-in on their phone: offer a mobile version of your WordPress blog. Here’s how. When it comes to running a blog, the first thing you need to think about is your visitors. A key question you should ask yourself: do you want your blog to be easy to access on the go? If the answer is yes, then you need to ensure that your website renders as beautifully on a smartphone as it does on a desktop computer – and everything in between. There are a few ways you can make your website mobile or tablet-ready....

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AdTrap Is A Little White Box That Blocks All Ads From The Internet For $139

We’ve shown you how to remove ads from native Windows 8 apps, but how much would you be willing to pay for an Internet without ads? If your answer was close to $139, you’re in luck. Meet AdTrap, a new device that promises to block all online ads, whether on your computer or on your mobile. At its most basic, AdTrap is a firewall for online advertisements that sits between your modem and your router, filtering out commercials. The little white box is a small, zero-configuration device that works with video and music streaming services, regular web pages and almost...

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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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