Antikythera Mechanism – World’s First Computer Is 2000 Years Old

The world’s oldest computer ‘Antikythera Mechanism’ was built more than 2000 years ago. The device was used by Greeks to make an accurate prediction of the eclipses and record calendars for the Olympic games. And it can do so much more. Read further to know.

 

This might come as a shocker to most of the people. There was a ‘mechanism’ similar to a computer long before the father of computer Charles Babbage was even born. The world’s oldest computer, ‘Antikythera Mechanism’, as it is being called, dates back to 2 millennium BC.The Antikythera Mechanism is a type of an analog computer which could predict eclipses and record the dates for the ancient Olympics to serve the purpose of designing a Greek calendar. The archaic artifact having a clock mechanism and constituting of about 40 hand-cut bronze gears was discovered from the Antikythera Roman cargo shipwreck off the Greek island of Antikythera.

 

The device which shows the ingenuity and the astronomical advancements of the people back then was capable of tracking the movements of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Scientists have scanned the world’s oldest computer to find that the Antikythera mechanism even had ‘instructions to use’on its wooden casing (13 inches x 7 inches x 3.5 inches). It had a single dial which showed the Greek zodiac and Egyptian calendar at the front and two dials at the back that gave information about lunar cycles and eclipses.

The device could predict the Saros cycle as well which is a period of 18 years after which the sun, moon and the earth return to the same relative positions. Now, that is real genius!

So, that is about Antikythera computer. But the term ‘mechanism’ refers to the Babylonian arithmetic and has traces of Archimedean mathematics, thus making it the world’s oldest calculator as well.

Scientists have admitted that Antikythera Mechanism was the most advanced and complex device which would be created in the coming 1000 years. The computer is said to be built during the time when Romans were controlling most parts of the Greece.

Antikythera Mechanism was found in the 148 ft shipwreck by a group of Greek sponge divers. It was considered too advanced for its time and most of the archaeologists thought it to be prochronistic. Later, through radio carbon dating the truism of the world’s oldest computer came into light. The most recent reports suggest the device to be created in 205 BC.

These pieces of evidence show how much ahead of their time the people were back then, and we have had records of the intricate surgeries performed and similar other astronomical devices’ evidences (in Indian Civilizations) during that time which just reiterates the fact.

The Antikythera mechanism which we can now concretely say as the world’s oldest computer is on display at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.

Have anything to add? Tell us in comments below.

How To Make Incognito Mode the Default Browsing Mode In Chrome

Today privacy is the greatest concern in our world dictated by our online presence. Those who are aware of the consequences of privacy breaches, use different ways to protect themselves. Recently, to keep your search history private, Google enabled the option of download and delete the search history. But they didn’t promise that it’ll be 100% safe. So, I suggested my readers to use incognito mode for full anonymity.

Incognito mode is also infamously called “porn mode.” But apart from satisfying your instincts, there are many other reasons to enable the incognito mode. Let’s know a bit more about incognito mode and its advantages.

 

What is incognito mode?

Incognito is a setting in your browser that prevents any internet history information from being stored locally in you computer/browser. Once this feature is enabled, it does not allow your web browser to store any data from the search you perform.

Why should you use the incognito mode?

In incognito mode, your web browser doesn’t keep any search history, browsing history, cookies, web forms, history or temporary files. I guess these reasons should be enough for you to switch your browser to incognito mode permanently.

How To Enable Incognito mode temporary?

It is very easy to enable incognito mode temporary in Google Chrome. You just need to click on the hamburger symbol which is located at the top right corner of your browser and then click onNew incognito window or just press ctrl+shift+N.

This will open a new browsing window in which you can browse anything anonymously.

How to make incognito mode the default mode in Chrome?

Now coming to the last and most important question! How can one make incognito as his default browser to browse the web anoymously? To do this you need to follow some simple steps which I am going to tell you ahead:

Step 1:

First you need to navigate to its installation directory. For those who don’t know how to navigate through the directory, follow these simple steps:

Computer> Local disk (C:)> program Files (x86)> Google> Chrome.

Step 2:

Now right-click on application file and navigate to Send To and then click on Desktop (create shortcut).

Step 3:

Now right-click on the shortcut created on your desktop and open Properties.

Step 4:

Now you will be seeing Target window path as it looks below:

“C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe”

This target path tells Chrome to open the usual browsing window. Now to make incognito mode the default browsing mode, you need to add -incognito in the end of path as shown:

“C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe” -incognito

Now when you will open the browser next time, you will find it opening in the incognito mode by default. Congratulations! You are ready for anonymous browsing without having headache of doing it manually every time  .

Conclusion:

Even though incognito mode is very much helpful and comes handy when you don’t want your browser and computer to remember any private data, this doesn’t stop your Internet Service Provider (ISP) from tracking you.

To browse the web more anonymously, I recommend you to use a VPN service.

Google Now Lets You Download Your Entire Search History, Here is How To Do This

Google now allows you to export and download your entire search history in no time. Last year Google tested a download feature in search history and it appears that this feature is now available for everyone.

 

Some of us might think that what is the need of this feature? But let me remind you, no one wants to leave a trail of their Google search behind, and this is an efficient way to check what Google is storing behind you.

 

This feature was disovered by a blog and it tells that Google now lets your export all your search history to Google Drive and then you can download the searches in a ZIP archive form. The files in the ZIP archive are arranged by year and quarter.

Here is how to download your Google search history, take a look:

How To Download Google Search History?

Step 1. To download your search history, first you need to sign in to that account then head on over to Google Web History. Now click on the gear button and click on download.

Step 2. Now Google will display you a warning as your Google search history may have some sensitive information.

It’ll be good if you are not downloading your search archive at public or shared computer. Now click on Create Archive.

Step 3. Now open your Gmail account and you will find an Email, open it and you can download your Google search history from there.

How To Delete Google Search History?

To delete Google search history again click the gear button and then click on Remove Items and select the time interval for which you want to delete the history.

Warning: Do not download your Google search history at shared or public computer.

How to Enable Hidden Offline Browsing In Google Chrome

Hello everyone, I remember the last time when I shared an article on How To Watch and Download YouTube Videos Offline, someone asked me if I could write something on how to browse offline. After a little research, I found something very useful.

 

As Mozilla and Internet Explorer already offer a “Work Offline” option to save and read later, Google chrome also has a similar feature hidden inside to do the same.In 2013, Randy Smith, Chrome networking engineer, implemented the support for an Offline Cache Mode in chrome. When you enable this feature, you’ll be able to navigate through the saved content in cache.

 

How to Enable Hidden Offline Browsing In Google Chrome

Step 1: 

Type chrome://flags/ in search bar of Google Chrome.

Step 2: 

Search for “Enable Offline Load Stale Button” (It’ll be easier if you perform the search using ctrl+F ).

Step 3:

You’ll be seeing three options. Set it to “Enabled“, and restart the browser.

Step 4:

The next time you start the browser without an internet connection and enter some URL, it will ask you to “Show Saved copy” if the URL you entered is present in the local cache.

Click it and you are good to go.

Note:

The URL you entered must be stored in the local cache. If you want to access a particular page I’ll recommend you to copy and paste the URL in sticky notes or somewhere just before closing the browser.

Some of you may not find this feature working for the first time but it will surely run after a couple of restarts.

Top 10 Coolest Notepad Tricks and Hacks for Your PC

The humble Notepad of your laptop goes unappreciated many times. This little tool is capable of doing some amazing tricks with just few simple steps. In this article, I’m going to tell you my 10 favorite Notepad tricks.

 

What work do you perform with Notepad? Nothing much? Well, Notepad is a lot more than a simple text editor. Few lines of commands create interesting tricks that will definitely surprise you. In this article, I’ve compiled my 10 personal favorite tricks and shared it with you.Check these tricks out and if you have some more, don’t hesitate to share with us.

 

Top 10 Coolest Notepad Tricks and Hacks for Your PC

1. Make Notepad your Personal Diary

Do you want a diary in your computer? Notepad can be turned into a personal logbook by simple steps. Everything you type will be saved with the particular date and time.

Follow these steps to make notepad your diary:

1. Open Notepad

2. In the first line, type “.LOG”

3. Save the file as “log.txt”

2. Password-protected Folder using Notepad

You can protect the files and folders in your computer by using this Notepad trick. A password-protected folder is created using few lines of code and you can keep your important stuff safe.

Type the following code. Instead of “ABCDEFGH” written in the code, type in the password of your wish. Save the file as private.bat and choose File type as All Files (*.*). Double click on the file private.bat. A Private folder will be created in which you can move the files and folders that you want to protect. Now, a password will be required to open this folder.

@ECHO OFF
title Folder Private
if EXIST “Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}” goto UNLOCK
if NOT EXIST Private goto MDLOCKER
:CONFIRM
echo Are you sure you want to lock the folder(Y/N)
set/p “cho=>”
if %cho%==Y goto LOCK
if %cho%==y goto LOCK
if %cho%==n goto END
if %cho%==N goto END
echo Invalid choice.
goto CONFIRM
:LOCK
ren Private “Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}”
attrib +h +s “Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}”
echo Folder locked
goto End
:UNLOCK
echo Enter password to unlock folder
set/p “pass=>”
if NOT %pass%==ABCDEFGH goto FAIL
attrib -h -s “Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}”
ren “Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}” Private
echo Folder Unlocked successfully
goto End
:FAIL
echo Invalid password
goto end
:MDLOCKER
md Private
echo Private created successfully
goto End
:End

3. The Matrix Effect

‘Matrix’ movie fan? Create your own window of random strings of green digits displayed all over.

Type the following code, save the file as .bat, open the saved file and see the Matrix magic! (You can find the saved file by performing a simple search in start menu).

@echo off
color 02
:start
echo %random% %random% %random% %random% %random% %random% %random% %random% %random% %random%
goto start

4. Shutdown your Computer with a Message

Don’t you find the process of shutting down too tedious? Open Start menu, Click on Turn Off button, Click Ok! Why not just double click an icon! Follow the steps and you can shut down your system by just double clicking on an icon. Also, a message of your choice will be displayed.

Open Notepad, type the following code and save the file with any name but with extension .bat

@echo off
msg * Computer will now shut down
shutdown -c “Sweet Dreams. Take care.” –s

5. Pop out the CD Drive continuously

Play a prank with your friends and make their computer’s CD drive open and close repeatedly.

Open Notepad, type the following code and save the file with extension .vbs  Then open the file. It will make CD drive pop out continuously. To stop the process, open Windows Task Manager (Ctrl+Alt+Delete) and end wscript.vbsprocess.

Set oWMP = CreateObject(“WMPlayer.OCX.7?)
Set colCDROMs = oWMP.cdromCollection
do
if colCDROMs.Count >= 1 then
For i = 0 to colCDROMs.Count – 1
colCDROMs.Item(i).Eject
Next
For i = 0 to colCDROMs.Count – 1
colCDROMs.Item(i).Eject
Next
End If
wscript.sleep 5000
loop

6. Text to Speech using Notepad

What if your computer speaks what you type! Follow these steps and Notepad will speak to you:

1. Open Notepad and type the following command.

Dim message, sapi
message=InputBox(“What should I speak?”,”Speak to me”)
Set sapi=CreateObject(“sapi.spvoice”)
sapi.Speak message 

2. Save the file as speak.vbs

3. Open the file, type the sentence you want Notepad to speak and click OK.

7. Shortcuts for Changing Header and Footer in Notepad

Open Page Setup from File menu and use the following codes in the header and footer fields for the particular purpose:

&d Print the current date
&t Print the current time
&f Print the name of the document
&p Print the page number

&l Left-align the characters that follow
&c Center the characters that follow
&r Right-align the characters that follow

8. “Bush hid the facts” Trick

This trick is one of most popular tricks of Notepad. Follow these steps to use the trick:

1. Open Notepad.

2. Type “bush hid the facts” or “this app can break”.

3. Save the file and close it.

4. Open the file again.

What happens is when you open the saved file again, you see some different characters instead of what you had typed and saved (i.e. bush hid the facts or this app can break). This happens due to 4-3-3-5 string length bug in old versions of Windows.

9. Toggle Capslock

You can make the Capslock key of your keyboard toggle repeatedly by just typing a simple code in the Notepad.

Type this code in Notepad and save the file as .vbs Open the saved file. See what happens on using Capslock key

Set wshShell =wscript.CreateObject(“WScript.Shell”)
do
wscript.sleep 100
wshshell.sendkeys “{CAPSLOCK}”
loop

10. Fake Windows Error Message

Type the following command in Notepad and save the file as error.vbs then Open the saved file and your fake error message will appear.

X=Msgbox(“Press OK and Windows will restart now.”,0+16,“There is a serious problem in your system”)

Did you find this top 10 coolest Notepad tricks list interesting? Tell us your views in the comments below.

Google reveals Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge's security flaws

Google has highlighted 11 security flaws in Samsung's flagship Android handset, the Galaxy S6 Edge.

The vulnerabilities include a loophole that could have been used by hackers to gain control of a victim's phone.

Most of the issues were fixed after Google notified Samsung, but some have yet to be addressed.

One independent expert said the bugs "significantly weakened the security" of Google's operating system.

"There is definitely a tension between Google and the handset manufacturers because Google wants to protect its Android brand, and when it comes to security, Android has been quite tarnished," added Dr Steven Murdoch, a security researcher at University College London.

"Some of that is down to the extra software that handset manufacturers add."

A statement from Samsung said the three remaining bugs would be fixed via a security update later this month.

"Maintaining the trust of our customers is a top priority", said the company.

Hijacked emails

 

Details of the bugs were disclosed by Google's Project Zero team, whose job is to hunt out previously unknown computer security flaws.

It said that several of the flaws would have been "trivial to exploit".

"Over the course of a week, we found a total of 11 issues with a serious security impact," the team blogged.

"The majority of these issues were fixed on the device we tested via an OTA (over the air) update within 90 days.

"It is promising that the highest severity issues were fixed and updated on-device in a reasonable timeframe."

Among the vulnerabilities was a weakness found in Samsung's email software that could have allowed hackers to forward a victim's messages to their own account.

Another allowed attackers to alter the settings of Samsung's photo-viewing app by sending the handset a specially encoded image.

But Google said the most interesting issue was the existence of a "directory traversal bug" in a wi-fi utility built in to the phone.

"If someone provided malicious data to the software, they could then change other files on the system and interfere with other functions, in particular security functions," said Dr Murdoch.

Media captionRory Cellan-Jones tries out the Samsung S6 handsets

To do this, he said, a hacker would also need to convince their target to install a malicious app, which might appear to have very limited access to the phone's other functions.

But by exploiting the flaw, the malware could then escalate its privileges.

"This would only happen as part of a chain of events, but eventually it could allow someone to take over the entire phone," Dr Murdoch added.

"Android tries to have layers of protection, so even if you break past one level of protection there's another one.

"This removed some quite important layers of that protection."

Samsung confirmed it had addressed this particular issue in a security update released last month.

"Samsung encourages users to keep their software and apps updated at all times," added a spokesman.

Report finds apps regularly 'spy on users'

Apps on Apple and Android smartphones leak lots of users' information to third parties, research has suggested.

Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard, and Carnegie-Mellon universities studied 110 apps available on Google Play and the Apple App Store.

They found 73% of the Android apps shared users' email addresses, and 47% of the iOS apps shared location data.

Privacy International said it was more evidence of how devices "betray us".

The study, Who Know What About Me? A Survey of Behind the Scenes Personal Data Sharing to Third Parties by Mobile Apps, tested 55 of the most popular Android apps and the same number of iOS apps.

The researchers recorded the HTTP and HTTPS traffic that occurred while using the different apps and looked for transmissions that included personally identifiable information, behavioural data such as search terms and location data.

They found the Android apps sent sensitive data to 3.1 third-party domains, on average, while the iOS apps connected to 2.6.

The Android apps were more likely to share personal information such as name (49% of the apps) and address (25%) than the iOS apps, where 18% shared names and 16% shared email addresses.

Medical information

 

Three out of the 30 medical, health and fitness apps the researchers studied shared search terms and user inputs with third parties.

Android health app Drugs.com shared medical information - including words such as "herpes" - with five third-party domains, including doubleclick.net and googlesyndication.com.

The Android apps were most likely to leak data to Google and Facebook, with the most leaky being Text Free, which offers free calls and text over wi-fi and sent data to 11 third-party domains.

The most leaky iOS app was Localscope, a location browser, which sent data to 17 third-party domains.

The research also found that 93% of the Android apps tested connected to the domain safemovedm.com.

"The purpose of this domain connection is unclear at this time; however, its ubiquity is curious," wrote the researchers.

"When we used the phone without running any app, connections to this domain continued."

It said the connection was "likely due to a background process of the Android phone".

Google was asked by the BBC to explain more about safemovedm.com but did not provide information by the time of publication.

Privacy International said that the report "highlights the many ways that the devices we use can betray us".

"The analysis in the paper suggests that a large proportion of apps tested share sensitive information like location, names and email addresses with third parties with minimal consent," said Christopher Weatherhead, a technologist at PI.

It was concerned about how such information would sit with new UK draft legislation for data retention.

"So, even if you have never visited these websites, they would be indistinguishable from your actual web-browsing activity.

"This would allow the security services to make assumptions about browsing habits which are not correct."

Website leaks

Consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about the amount of data shared by apps.

A survey of 2,000 Americans by the Pew Research Centre suggested 54% of users had decided not to install an app after learning how much personal information they would need to share to use it.

Some 30% said they had uninstalled an app after learning it had collected information they did not want to share, while 30% of smartphone owners turned off the location tracking feature of their phone.

The latest research follows a study last month by Timothy Libert, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, who said almost nine in 10 websites leaked user information to third parties that users were "usually unaware of".

How to Find Your Lost or Stolen Laptop?

Having your laptop stolen is the biggest nightmare anyone can face in the era of our gadget-centric lives. Here are some ways that can help you get back your valuable laptop in case of any theft.

Electronic devices, especially laptops, have become an essential part of our lives rather than a luxury product, that they were considered in the past. Only a mere thought of losing your precious device will give you goose bumps, but what if it really vanishes from your vicinity – thanks to the guy who has the courage to do that magical act.

Trace your Laptop’s IP address:

The magician who vanished your precious laptop might have the courage to peek into your business. There are great chances, that the person who took your laptop may check your mail account or other services. These services do provide tracking feature that can help you, trace the location and IP address of your device. You can get the device location of your stolen laptop if you use these services:

Gmail:

Just open your Gmail account and move to the bottom of the page. Here you will find “Last Account Activity” written in the bottom left corner of the page. Click “Details” link right below it. A new window will open containing a list of all the recent Gmail sessions of your account, providing IP address and location of the sessions. You can click “Sign Out Of All Other Web Sessions” to protect your Gmail account from further trespassing.

Facebook:

The social networking giant has also provided a feature to track your account activity.

Open “Settings” in your Facebook account and then click “Security” option. You’ll find an option called “Where You’re Logged In”, just click that, and you’ll be presented with details of your Facebook sessions. To know the IP address of any session, just hover on the location name, and it will display the IP address of that session. You can click “End Activity” to log out that particular session or you can click “End All Activity” to log out of all your active Facebook session on any other device.

Dropbox:

Dropbox also provides a session tracking feature. Just sign-in to you Dropbox account and click your name, a drop down menu will appear. Then click on “Settings” option. Click on Security tab, here you’ll find the list of all your active and past sessions. Just hover on the “i” right next to the country name to know the approximate location and similarly, click the “i” next to time (under Most Recent Activity) to know the IP address and time of the session.

Just note down the IP address and location from any of the above sources and contact the police for further assistance.

Prevention is better than cure:

It would be wise enough to be well prepared for such mishaps well in advance. Prey Inc. has come up with an efficient tool that can help you track your device very easily in case of any theft or lost. Though this platform is available for various operating systems like Windows, Mac, Android, and Linux, but we have tested Prey only for the Widows OS.

Here are the steps you need to follow in order to setup Prey:

1. Go to https://preyproject.com
2. Click Sign-in and setup your Prey account.
3. After that, Sign-in to your Prey account and look for a green plus button right next to Your Devices.
4. Choose your preferred operating system and Prey will start downloading the appropriate application to your device.
   
5. Install the application by clicking the usual next, next, next. It’ll take few minutes to install.
6. At the end of installation, keep the Set-up Prey check box ticked and click Finish.
7. A new window will open. Click Existing User option, as you have already created your Prey account.
8. Enter your login credentials and click Connect, a popup will appear, ”Sweet! Your Computer is now protected by Prey. Try it out or protect an additional device, please visit preyproject.com”.
9. Click OK and you’re done.
10. You can track your device online by simply logging into your Prey account in any web browser.
11. If you lose your device, just log-in to your account and click your lost device in Your Devices section. Then click Set Device To Missing.
12. A box will appear, set the Report Frequency as per your convenience. ClickAdvanced Options to find more options. Here you can select, if you want to take snapshots of the person using the device via webcam. Using the snapshot feature may alert the person using the laptop as the webcam LED will blink after regular intervals, creating a suspicious environment for that person.
13. Click Yes, my device is missing. In the next box, you can set whether the device is LOST or STOLEN. You can also share the lost information with Prey Inc. in the next option.
14. Whenever you need to know the current status of your device just click theMaps and Action option in the device section.
15. When you find your device, just Set Device To Recovered and prey will stop the live tracking of your device.

Prey allows you to lock the device remotely, play alarm, send message in case any humble person may return your laptop, if you have forgotten it somewhere. The only disadvantage of this service is that your laptop must be connected to the internet, and for that, “May the Force be with You”. You can add up to three devices in the free option. To add more devices, you’ll have to purchase their plans.

In case of any theft, it is highly recommended to change your passwords for all the online services that you use to protect your valuable data and privacy.

Keeping your laptop safe is a must in this technology driven world. You can protect your laptop by using these simple methods and it will save your valuable memories that you have collected all over your life. Apart from using these methods, you should always set a password to all of your devices, this will protect your data in case of any theft or if you might forget it somewhere.

It’s Time to Delete Google Chrome, Vivaldi Browser Now Runs Chrome Extension

Are you sick and tired of Google Chrome? It’s the right time to ditch it and switch to Vivaldi web browser. For those who don’t know much about Vivaldi, it’s a web browser from ex-Opera CEO Jon von Tetzchner. I’ve been using the browser’s preview for some time, and this power-user targeted browser hasn’t let me down. Today Vivaldi has got an update in form of its fourth preview along with many new features.

 

Vivaldi browser is now updated to add the Chrome extension option, mouse gesture support, and additional customization options. This fourth preview is expected to be last one before Vivaldi browser enters beta. So, if you’ve been considering ditching Chrome, but you found the world unimaginable without Chrome extensions, now you have the option to make the move.

 

Recent times haven’t been favorable for Chrome as there is growing dissatisfaction among users due to the increased crashes.

Vivaldi is created on Blink browser engine that forms the basis of Chromium (indirectly in Chrome). Vivaldi browser is perfect for those who love speed and heavy customization options. The team behind Vivaldi claims that now there are more than 155 million ways to customize their browser.

von Tetzchner says that choices and options are good, “when in doubt, make it an option.” Apprarently, themes and mouse gesture are a part of the same philosophy. He says: “Some people fear choices. But your web browser is something you use throughout your day. Shouldn’t it look, feel and work the way you want it to?”

With Chrome extensions, now Vivaldi browser users can take advantage of Chrome’s extension database that has grown over the past years. The team has said that work on extensions isn’t finished yet and this feature is currently with “experimental” tag.

See some screenshots of Vivaldi browser below:

Download the Vivaldi browser developer preview here.

Chrome-Killer Vivaldi Web Browser Hits Beta With New Features

Vivaldi is a browser that has the capability to challenge Google Chrome and initiate a full-scale browser war in a true sense. This web browser from ex-Opera CEO Jon von Tetzchner has now grown up to achieve the beta status and is available for download.

 

From past many years, Google Chrome has remained at the top of its game for many years and kept improving the user-experience all along. But, it has now become infamous as the “RAM-killer” browser that recently saw a new competitor called Microsoft Edge.I used Microsoft Edge for some time, liked its speed and cleaner feel, but the lack of extensions pissed me off. Few months before trying Edge, I decided to give Vivaldi a try as it was updated with an option to import the Google Chrome extensions. As a power user, I found the Vivaldi browser very appealing and was waiting for a beta release.

 

For those who don’t know, it’s a web browser from ex-Opera CEO Jon von Tetzchner. Along with going the minimalistic way, this browser makes your internet experience very immersive as it keeps changing its color when you switch to another website – fossBytes is blue, Google is red, TechCrunch is green and so on.

Vivaldi comes with tons of customization options – you can place your browser tabs anywhere, change the position of address bar, play with keyboard shortcut and create your own mouse gestures

With the help of Quick Commands that’s just like the ‘Spotlight Search’, you can open tabs, history, bookmarks etc with single keyboard shortcuts. Another great addition comes in the form of Tab stacks that will allow you to group multiple tabs into one. Just drag one tab over to another for a seamless grouping and clean all the mess.

During the technical preview phase, the browser has been downloaded more than two million times and is built with the Chromium engine under the hood.

Vivaldi also comes with its own Mail client called M3 and great note taking capability.

Talking about the Chrome extensions, this feature works fine but the windows size of the extensions is very small. Added to this, notifications from app have a hard time appearing on the screen.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQR2Vxz_UVE?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque]

Vivaldi is a browser that has the capability to challenge Google Chrome and initiate a full-scale browser war in a true sense.

Go ahead, give Vivaldi a try and comment down your experience.

– Vivaldi Beta 

How To Stop Chrome From Killing Your Computer

There was a time when I loved my Chrome browser very much, but from the first day of my blogging life, when I had to open lots of tabs to see different websites and multitask, I started realizing that this browser would kill my PC one day. Also, after seeing people’s negative reaction towards Chrome browser whenever we wrote something about it, I convinced myself that my opinions were right. This is a no denying fact that Chrome Browser is a RAM killer.

 

After searching a lot on the internet, I couldn’t find a single thing that could save my PC from the wrath of Chrome. So I switched to Firefox & Opera. Firefox is a great browser but if you wish to open lots of tabs, it hangs badly and the problem is still the same.Opera still The same.Recently, I stumbled upon with this extension called The Great Suspender and I think I am in love with my Chrome Browser again.

 

The Great Suspender is an easy-to-use tool. You just need to download and install the extension from Chrome Web Store. Once installed, you can set the time after which you want to suspend the tab. Tabs which are not in use will be suspended once crossed that time limit, which will again be activated when you click anywhere on the page.

You can also set the list of websites that you don’t want to be suspended even after the time limit you set earlier. Also, you are all free to remove any site from whitelist.

If you were a regular Chrome user in past, this extension is worth trying and it’s possible that you would start loving your Chrome browser again.

Now Boost Your WiFi Signal With A Beer Can

Out of the box thinking proves more valuable than exhaustive drudgery. Depicted in this amazing lifehack, is one example that how you can boost your WiFi signal with just an empty beer can.

In case you are in an agonising pain due to your age old WiFi router’s signal and are thinking of getting a new one, pause for a moment and read this: A humble ‘beer can’ can boost your WiFi signals up to double or triple levels.

Now, if you are not shocked, that means you already know the physics behind this crazy lifehack. But if you are surprised to hear that the ‘beer can’ could be as amazing and useful as the stuff inside, then read further.

 

Creating a crazy fast router is a big deal, but people might be reluctant to spend big bucks on the new technology. However, improvising with what is already available is more appealing. Like this one where you could use a beer can boost your WiFi signal and get more than the glimmers of the Internet beacon at your favorite corner in the house. All you need is some beer, err beer cans.

Cut the beer cans as shown in the video and place it over your router’s antenna. Since the antennas are omnidirectional (sending signals in all directions), the aluminium would act as a reflector and give a particular region in the house a huge boost in the WiFi signals. However, one side would get obstructed so you would have to adjust the positioning of the antenna.

There are other ways to boost your WiFi signals like choosing correct WiFi channel and simple tweaks to improve your WiFi router’s performance.

Watch the video and tell us how much the “beer can” helped you to boost your WiFi strength?

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tonZeKP-Mi4?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque]

Why Android N is Going to Be the Biggest Change in Android’s History

While just a handful devices are expected to get Android Marshmallow update in near future, Google has announced that the next Android version will result in the merger of Chrome OS and Android. With a bigger picture in mind, Google’s upcoming Android N could be its biggest change in Android till date. 

Turning a successful service enterprise into a product company is a feat that is difficult to achieve. Microsoft has been trying hard to accomplish it and Google is moving fast on the same track from past many years.

With Alphabet restructuring, Google is focusing more on making its operations more effective. Android is one of the biggest products of Google. And understanding the growing dominance of mobile, Google is moving ahead to combine its desktop-focused Chrome OS and the Android mobile OS.

 

As the media reports suggest, this convergence of Chrome OS and Android was in talks from some time and Android emerged as the obvious winner. If we compare the both, Chrome OS is less flexible and more secure. It has emerged as a winner in the schools due to its focus on education.

With Android Marshmallow, Google has made progress on the security front with mandatory encryption and secure boot. With the upcoming Android N, to be announced at Google I/O, we can expect Google to make a move towards more laptop-type bigger screen devices powered by an advanced Android OS.

Last month, Google announced its Pixel C tablet taking inspiration from Microsoft’s Surface Pro and Apple’s iPad Pro. Deciding which OS would be suitable to run the larger screen touch devices, Microsoft invented an OS that switches smoothly between tiles and desktop mode.

With the decision to kill the Chrome OS and fold its best features in the upcoming Android Nutella (Sorry! Unable to resist, I predict this name for Android N), Google is following the footsteps of Microsoft. Talking about the name predictions, Android Nougat is another strong contender.

While Android Marshmallow focused on tightening the security hinges and making Android a corporate-suitable product, Android N will be a major change. Earlier this year, Google announced that the newer versions of Android will be free from unnecessary bloatware and Android N will the perfect platform to begin with.

Compared to Android Marshmallow, expect some bigger feature additions coming with Android N.

In the past, Google has Android-running bigger screen devices, but Android just didn’t feel right. This move to merge the Chrome OS and Android OS in Android N is Sundar Pichai’s attempt to make an OS that can run on all form factors. The Android operating system already runs on smartwatches, TV, tablets, phones – and adding the laptops in this list could be Android’s biggest step yet.

What are your expectations with Android N? Which name do you like better – Android Nutella or Android Nougat? Tell us in the comments below

Intel Core i5 vs Intel Core i7: Which One is Best for You?

Most of the people confuse the next-gen Intel Core with a better or a faster PC.  Yes, the processor does affect your machine’s performance, but just a faster processor won’t make your PC better than your friend’s who has an overall better configuration.

Two of the CPUs most often in contention are the Intel Core i5 and Intel Core i7. Discounting Core i3 (mainly found in budget systems) and AMD processors, the difference between Intel Core i5 and Core i7 can seem daunting, especially when the prices seem so close together once they’re in completed systems. Let’s see some features of the mobile Intel core processors.

Intel Core i5 vs Intel core i7:

Intel has launched a number of processors of both sets, so we will compare those chips’ specification to find out which one is better for you.

All of the Intel Core i5 processors are hyper threading dual-core processors. However, the latest 5th generation i5 processors have low Thermal Design Power (TDP) than its predecessors.

Intel Core i5 vs Intel Core i7 | Cores:

Most of the Intel i7 core processors are hyper threading quad-core chips. 5th generation Intel i5 mobile core processors- however, are all dual core chips. The number of core processors affect the speed of the CPU. So, if you plan on buying any of the two Intel Cores, just choose the higher model number of the preferred generation for better performance.

Intel Core i5 vs Intel Core i7 | Clock Speed:

Intel i7 has higher clock speeds than i5 core processors even when the TDP for both these CPUs is same.

Intel Core i5 vs Intel Core i7 | Cache Difference:

The Intel i7 have the larger cache as compared to i5s. And well, more cache means easy multitasking. Mobile Core i7 have 6MB or 4MB cache, whereas the core i5 has 3MB on board memory. Only Intel Core i5-5350H has a 4MB cache memory.

Intel Core i5 vs Intel Core i7 | Turbo Boost:

It is an overclocking feature built into its processors by Intel. In Turbo Boost feature, the processor runs faster than its base clock speed when only one or two cores are required. Both i5 and i7 processors use Turbo Boost where i7 achieve higher speeds comparatively.

Intel Core i5 vs Intel Core i7 | Addressable Memory:

All the i5s and most of the i7 core processors are limited to 16 GB addressable memory. But, few Intel i7 chips like i7-5850HQ, 5950HQ, 5750HQ, and 5700HQ can address up to 32GB RAM, ultimately giving better performance.

Intel Core i5 vs Intel Core i7 | Integrated Graphics:

These are the graphics integrated into the CPU rather than the motherboard. Both the i5 core and i7 core come with integrated Intel HD graphics in the Core processors. With time, Intel has advanced its integrated graphics. Intel core i7 has the latest Intel Iris Pro while i5 core comes with a variety of Intel HD integrated graphics.

Intel Core i5 vs Intel Core i7 | Pricing:

Now, one of the main factors that influence your choice of CPU is the cost. Of course, the i7 Core being the successor with better specs is costlier than Intel Core i5 processor.

So, to sum up, we can say Intel Core i5 is made for mainstream users who care about performance, and Intel Core i7 is made for enthusiasts and high-end users. If you are a normal mainstream user who cares about your Laptop’s overall performance, then i5 is the one- and if you are planning to have a blast with high-end gaming, video editing and lots of multitasking while running heavy software, then i7 would be worth the cost.

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