Use Your Computer, Don’t Let It Use You: Five “U”s For Reduced Stress Online

Remember when getting an email was exciting? Or when seeing a particular post on Facebook was an event? It feels so long ago, but it wasn’t. In the past few years the amount of information in our various inboxes has exploded, and we all feel overwhelmed as a result. And when I say “inboxes”, I’m not just talking about email. At this point you probably have several “inboxes” that consistently require your attention. There’s your email, but there’s also probably some combination of Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and maybe an RSS reader demanding your attention. Really, any place where you don’t...

Read the full article: Use Your Computer, Don’t Let It Use You: Five “U”s For Reduced Stress Online

Microsoft Updates OneNote With OCR, Camera Scan, Share Charm

Microsoft’s OneNote is great for research, especially when used with Windows 8 and 8.1’s SkyDrive integration. And the popular note-taking app has now had a major update on the desktop OS that brings some cool new functions, including ‘Camera Scan’ for smart scanning and the ability to read and search scanned items. Camera Scan lets you capture important data like what’s written on the whiteboard in a meeting or that crucial document you don’t want to lose. Train your device’s camera at it, use OneNote’s Camera Scan and it will automatically crop, rotate, straighten, remove shadows and sharpen the image...

Read the full article: Microsoft Updates OneNote With OCR, Camera Scan, Share Charm

What’s Trending? Find Out With These Real-Time Data Websites

Tired of always being out of the loop? It’s amazing how quickly information can spread from person to person these days thanks to the Internet and social media. New ideas, websites, videos, and all manner of content can be seen by millions of people overnight, which mean that trends are being appearing and disappearing faster than ever before. Is it possible to keep up? The short answer is yes — with a catch. If you consume web media for hours per day, sure, it’s easy to stay on top of the latest trends and memes. But what if you don’t...

Read the full article: What’s Trending? Find Out With These Real-Time Data Websites

How to Make the New Google Maps Embeds Responsive

Responsive Google Maps – The maps automatically resize based on the screen size.

The new Google Maps now offer you can option to embed maps in your web pages. While you are on the Google Maps website, zoom-in to an area that you wish to embed, click the Gear icon in the lower left corner and choose the Embed Maps option from the menu.

This web page contains a sample map embedded using the default embed code provided by Google Maps. The embedded map is non-responsive. What it means is if you open the page on a device other than your desktop computer, the Google Map won’t fit the screen and you’ll have to scroll the page horizontally to see the complete map.

Here’s another web page that contains the same Google Map but now the map has been embedded responsively. Thus, if you resize the browser or view the page on a small device, the embedded map would adjust its size automatically based on your screen size.

How to Embed Google Maps Responsively

This is the default embed code for the new Google Maps:

<!-- Height=450px; Width=600px -->
<iframe src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m14!1m12!1m3!1d7098.94326104394!2d78.0430654485247!3d27.172909818538997!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!5e0!3m2!1sen!2s!4v1385710909804" width="600" height="450" frameborder="0" style="border:0"></iframe>

As specified in the height and width parameters of the embed code, the default height for medium embeds is 450px or 75% of the default width (600px).

If you wish to transform this static sized Google Map into one that is responsive, all you have to do is add a few CSS rules to your web page and wrap the embed IFRAME inside these rules.

The new embed code with responsive style will be something like this. You can change the value of padding-bottom (line #4) from 75% to something for a different aspect ratio.

<style>
    .google-maps {
        position: relative;
        padding-bottom: 75%; // This is the aspect ratio
        height: 0;
        overflow: hidden;
    }
    .google-maps iframe {
        position: absolute;
        top: 0;
        left: 0;
        width: 100% !important;
        height: 100% !important;
    }
</style>

<div class="google-maps">
    <iframe src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m14!1m12!1m3!1d7098.94326104394!2d78.0430654485247!3d27.172909818538997!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!5e0!3m2!1sen!2s!4v1385710909804" width="600" height="450" frameborder="0" style="border:0"></iframe>
</div>

A similar technique can be used to embed Instagram videos and photos responsively.

---

This story, How to Make the New Google Maps Embeds Responsive, was originally published at Digital Inspiration on 29/11/2013 under Embed, Google Maps, Internet

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. }

Where To Study: Navigating The Free Online Education World

If you are interested in free education online, you’ve probably heard the big names: Coursera, Khan Academy, MIT, etc. But now that these learning avenues are commonplace, it also is bit of a nightmare to choose between them and decide which learning systems to use. Top Universities Offering Free Education Online Many universities offer access to their lectures publicly now, as it is a great way to showcase their courses and their generosity. MIT, Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Carnegie Mellon, UCLA, and Berkeley all offer a lot of great content online. However, due to many great partnerships with MOOC (Massively Open...

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You Can Have It All: Enlightenment Is A Light Linux Desktop Environment That Looks Good

Ever since the development team behind GNOME went ahead with their plans for GNOME 3, people have been scrambling to find the new favorite desktop environment. Although there are plenty of choices available (such as other GNOME-based ones, KDE, Xfce, and LXDE), you might still be looking for something else that is easy to use, relatively lightweight, powerful, and good looking. If none of those previously mentioned desktop environments tickle your fancy, then you may be interested in a unique desktop environment named Enlightenment. About Enlightenment Enlightenment, or simply “E”, is a desktop environment that has actually been around since...

Read the full article: You Can Have It All: Enlightenment Is A Light Linux Desktop Environment That Looks Good

New Interface for Google's Account Permissions Page

Google's account permissions page has a new interface which does a better job at listing the permissions, shows bigger thumbnails and the date when you authorized a service.



"On the Account Permissions tab of your Google Account, you can see a list of third-party sites and applications. These are sites and applications to which you've granted permission to access your Google Account, and you can see on this list to what parts of your account they have access. For example, you might have downloaded an app that helps you schedule workouts with friends. This application might have requested access to your Google Calendar and Contacts to suggest times and friends for you to meet up with," informs Google's help center.



Google shows your Android and iOS devices at the top of the page. My Nexus 7 tablet was listed 3 times, so I clicked "Revoke access" next to the entries that include: "Inactive - We haven't seen activity from this device for at least 60 days."

If you see some services you no longer use, click "Revoke access". You'll be asked for permission the next time you use them.



{ Thanks, Florian K. }

Technophilia 90 Live From MakeUseOf

This week: a judge rants about his cases on Facebook, resulting in a reversed decision against a sex offender. What will Facebook ruin next? Political campaigns can’t accept BitCoin donations, yet another setback for anarchists seeking to participate in the political process. And The Beastie Boys don’t want their songs in ads but a toy company claims parodies are fair use. Does that mean I can use any song for any purpose provided I change the lyrics? Awesome, because I’m putting together an ad myself: I’m just a hot dog nobody loves me (he tastes amazing, don’t believe his modesty,...

Read the full article: Technophilia 90 Live From MakeUseOf

F-Secure KEY Generates and Remembers Passwords Across Platforms

Security firm F-Secure, which we reckon is one of the best antivirus apps on Android, has made its foray in the crowded password manager market with the new F-Secure KEY, a cross-platform tool to generate and remember passwords across different devices. The service works much like its existing competitors, like Lastpass. It will let you generate safe and difficult-to-crack passwords and log you in across Mac, Windows, Android and iOS, as long as you have the F-Secure KEY app installed. All of these usernames and passwords are protected by a universal password. And while it generates great passwords, you can...

Read the full article: F-Secure KEY Generates and Remembers Passwords Across Platforms

How To Check If An ISO File Is Bootable

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So, you have created a bootable Windows 7/8/8.1 DVD disc by burning the ISO file that you have downloaded only to find that your Windows 7/8/8.1 DVD isn’t booting when connected to a PC even after necessary changes to BIOS/UEFI to boot from DVD. There are plenty of tools out there to help you create […]

Xbox One Fix, Bookless Library, Microsoft Attacks Chromebooks [Tech News Digest]

Today in Tech News Digest, an Xbox One disc drive fix is revealed, the Xbox One swearing ban is publicized, the Xbox One enjoys a teardown, free Xbox One games are up for grabs, the library with no books is revealed, Apple is found to have invented the smartphone, YouTube battles back against commenters, the “OK, Google” voice command comes to Chrome, Twitter seeks user feedback, and Microsoft attacks Chromebooks as part of its ‘Scroogled’ campaign against Google. Xbox One News Aplenty How to fix the Xbox One disc drive… and it actually works! https://t.co/idZP9iZlYs — GamesRadar.com (@GamesRadar) November 26,...

Read the full article: Xbox One Fix, Bookless Library, Microsoft Attacks Chromebooks [Tech News Digest]