Saturday, October 26, 2019

Geek Trivia: What Was The Easter Egg Inside Microsoft Excel 95?

What Was The Easter Egg Inside Microsoft Excel 95?

  1. Bill Gates Laughing
  2. Flight Sim 95
  3. Hall of Tortured Souls
  4. Excel Race

Think you know the answer?



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Geek Trivia: What Was The Easter Egg Inside Microsoft Excel 95?

What Was The Easter Egg Inside Microsoft Excel 95?

  1. Flight Sim 95
  2. Hall of Tortured Souls
  3. Excel Race
  4. Bill Gates Laughing

Think you know the answer?



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How Census Bureau is working with internet platforms to fight misinformation ahead of 2020 census and guide users to its site via searches and voice assistants (Associated Press)

Associated Press:
How Census Bureau is working with internet platforms to fight misinformation ahead of 2020 census and guide users to its site via searches and voice assistants  —  CHICAGO (AP) — Worried about internet trolls and foreign powers spreading false news, census officials are preparing …



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Squarespace has acquired Unfold, a templates app for creating Stories on Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat that has 9M MAUs, for an undisclosed sum (Natasha Mascarenhas/Crunchbase News)

Natasha Mascarenhas / Crunchbase News:
Squarespace has acquired Unfold, a templates app for creating Stories on Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat that has 9M MAUs, for an undisclosed sum  —  Squarespace, a build-your-own website startup, has acquired social media app Unfold, used by a slew of celebrities including Kim Kardashian West …



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The Apple TV App Is Now Available on Fire TV Sticks

If you own an Amazon Fire TV Stick, you can now install the Apple TV app on it. Doing so will allow you to access your iTunes video library, and buy or rent new movies and TV shows. It will also enable you to use the new Apple TV+ streaming service.

Apple TV+ Is Going to Be Available Everywhere

In March 2019, Apple unveiled Apple TV+. This is Apple’s foray into the burgeoning world of streaming TV. Apple TV+ features “exclusive original shows, movies and documentaries,” made by and starring some of the world’s finest actors and directors.

However, Apple still needs to get people to subscribe to Apple TV+. To help bolster its chances, Apple is making Apple TV+ available on as many platforms as possible. First, the Apple TV app launched on Roku, and now it’s launching on Fire TV Sticks.

How to Install the Apple TV App on a Fire TV Stick

Amazon revealed the news on the Fire TV Blog, informing (some) Fire TV Stick owners that they can “download and begin using the all-new Apple TV app.” You’ll immediately gain access to your entire iTunes library, which you can now watch on your Fire TV Stick.

To download and install the Apple TV app on your Fire TV device, either: Click the Search icon in the top navbar of your Fire TV device and search for “Apple TV” or visit the Apple TV page on Amazon and send the app across to your Fire TV device.

If you want to buy or rent more movies or TV shows, you’ll have to do so on your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Mac, or PC. It will then appear within the Apple TV app on your Fire TV device. This is a little annoying, but surely a price worth paying.

The main reason Apple has agreed to launch the Apple TV app on Fire TV devices is the aforementioned Apple TV+. Apple TV+ is launching on November 1, 2019, at which point Fire TV users will be able to sign up at tv.apple.com.

The Best Apps to Install on a New Fire TV Device

At the time of writing, the Apple TV app is only available on the Fire TV Stick (2nd Gen) and Fire TV Stick 4K in the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and India. However, the app will be released for more Fire TV devices in the coming months.

It’s clear that Apple is going to be heavily promoting Apple TV+. Which is why the Apple TV app is being released on so many more devices. And we may have to add Apple TV to our list of the best apps to install on a new Amazon Fire TV or Fire TV Stick.

Read the full article: The Apple TV App Is Now Available on Fire TV Sticks



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The European SpaceTech industry is firing up its booster rockets

A new space race is forming globally, energized by venture capital and the hype around companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. The privately-funded space industry is still in its infancy, but there has been an explosion of startups and investors in the sector, and the fever has, in the last few years, spread to Europe. The development of SpaceTech startups will be crucial to the advancement of services we have come to rely on in our daily lives, be it navigation, delivery services or more.

For the past ten years, the SpaceTech sector has seen over $9 billion invested in it, roughly 60% of the space industry’s investments. This is in part because the ‘delivery’ mechanisms (basically, rockets) are now delivering enough capacity to meet demand. So what you put up in the sky and what you ‘get out of the sky’ is now the new focus of the industry. And in Europe, the European Space Agency has been increasingly effective at providing significant amounts of grant funding to innovative startups, even as venture capital ramps up its own interest.



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This Week in Apps: TikTok security check, app store cleanups, GameClub takes on Apple Arcade

Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the Extra Crunch series that recaps the latest OS news, the applications they support, and the money that flows through it all.

The app industry in 2018 saw 194 billion downloads and more than $100 billion in purchases. This past quarter, consumer spending exceeded $23 billion and installs topped 31 billion. And there’s no sign of the app economy slowing down.

But with app marketplaces growing this large and powerful, they’re also now coming under more scrutiny from government officials as this intersection between apps and politics can no longer be overlooked.

This week, U.S. Senators asked for a TikTok security check, Google hosted its Android Developer Summit, a whole bunch of malicious apps got booted off Google Play (and a few on the App Store, too.) Plus, a great alternative to Apple Arcade launched; it’s called GameClub and delivers some of the best App Store games for $5 per month.

Headlines

TikTok comes under more political pressure

The world’s most downloaded app, TikTok, continues to draw attention not for its fun skits and lip-synced songs, but for censorship issues and potential security risks. This week, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) sent a letter (PDF) to Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire, formally requesting that the Intelligence Community conduct an assessment of the national security risks posed by TikTok and other China-owned content platforms in the U.S.

GettyImages 1073256498 1

Their concerns revolved around the storage of U.S. TikTok user data (TikTok parent company ByteDance claims it’s in the U.S.), its data collection capabilities, censorship concerns, and the potential for the app to be a counterintelligence threat. As a Chinese-owned company, TikTok still has to adhere to Chinese law. That’s a potential problem. 

By the way, a press release circulated about the letter, which said the senators claimed TikTok was a “national security threat.” They actually did not write those words in the letter — and it’s a step beyond what they were claiming. The senators wanted a risk assessment performed.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment. TikTok said it was “carefully reviewing” the letter. Good thing they just hired those lawyers.

Apple CEO Tim Cook is now the top advisor to a business school called China’s Harvard

The issues around the App Store’s intersection with U.S. politics aren’t limited to TikTok.

Apple, already under scrutiny for removing a crowdsourced mapping app that showed police presence in Hong Kong, last week attracted a letter from a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers who urged to have the app reinstated. 

Now (with a lack of concern over the optics apparently), Apple CEO Tim Cook has been appointed as chairman of Tsinghua University’s business school advisory board. The university is known as “China’s Harvard,” and is one of the most country’s most elite institutions; Chinese President Xi Jinping is a noted alumnus. The university has a history of relationships with Western leaders — last year, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and Satya Nadella were listed as board members, and its previous chairman was American VC Jim Breyer.

But given the issues around Apple’s capitulation to China’s demands to censor its App Store in the region — not to mention the U.S.-China trade war, or how Apple had told Apple TV+ showrunners not to anger China — everyone pretty much agrees it was not the best timing for this news.

Unfortunately for Apple, it can’t abandon China now, as it’s grown too dependent on its business there. As Vox recently reported:

Unlike tech companies that haven’t broken into the country or only do minor business in it, Apple is now so deep in China that leaving it could be catastrophic. Even if the company was willing to forgo the $44 billion a year in sales it makes in China, it can’t leave the deep network of suppliers and assemblers that build hundreds of millions of iPhones every year.

Millions of malicious apps get booted from Google Play…and malicious apps spotted on the App Store, too

Malicious apps were found on both Google Play and the App Store this week. But these stories are not at all the same.

Security researchers found dozens of Android apps in the Google Play store serving ads to unsuspecting victims as part of a money-making scheme. The 42 apps containing adware had been downloaded more than 8 million times since they first launched in July 2018. The apps were also sending back data about the user’s device, TechCrunch reported — including if certain apps are installed and if the device allows apps from non-app store sources — which could be used to install more malicious software.

Sadly, this kind of thing happens a lot on Google Play.

What’s less common, however, is to find malware on the App Store — which happened this week, when 17 malicious apps were removed.

Screen Shot 2019 10 22 at 12.52.56 PM 1024x502



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The Trello Cheat Sheet: Search, Navigation, and Markdown Essentials

Sample Trello board

Trello makes a fantastic Kanban-style digital organizer. You can use its intuitive features to maintain a shopping list, plan an event, monitor your job hunt, and to manage various other kinds of projects.

Once you start using Trello to track all the bits and pieces of your life, it’s a great idea to become familiar with Trello shortcuts to save yourself time. But given that there are so many shortcuts, it’s easy to miss quite a few of them, even crucial ones, or forget about them altogether.

That’s why we’ve come up with this cheat sheet. It lists various keyboard shortcuts, search operators, bookmarks, and Markdown elements that work in Trello. Dip into the cheat sheet anytime to discover or relearn a Trello trick or two!

FREE DOWNLOAD: This cheat sheet is available as a downloadable PDF from our distribution partner, TradePub. You will have to complete a short form to access it for the first time only. Download The Trello Cheat Sheet.

The Trello Cheat Sheet: Search, Navigation, and Markdown Essentials

Shortcut Action
Keyboard Shortcuts
Before pressing card-specific keyboard shortcuts, hover over card to select it.
Left Arrow Select card on left
Right Arrow Select card on right
Up Arrow Select card above
Down Arrow Select card below
k Select card above
j Select card below
Enter Open card
Esc Close card
¹n Open popover dialog to insert new card
@ (Shift + 2) Select member(s) from autocomplete list while creating card
# (Shift + 3) Select label(s) from autocomplete list while creating card
^ (Shift + 6) Select list name or position from autocomplete list while creating card
^top Send card to top of list while creating card
^bottom Send card to bottom of list while creating card
Shift + Enter Open card immediately after creating it
e Enter quick-edit mode for card
l Open Labels popover menu for card
1 Green label
2 Yellow label
3 Orange label
4 Red label
5 Purple label
6 Blue label
; (Semicolon) Toggle visibility of label names on all boards
, (Comma) Move card to bottom of list on left
. (Period) Move card to bottom of list on right
< (Shift + Comma) Move card to top of list on left
> (Shift + Period) Move card to top of list on right
a Open Members popover menu for card
m Open Members popover menu for card
Space Add yourself to (or remove yourself from) card
d Open due date picker for card
c Archive card
q View cards assigned to you on board
t Edit card title (rename card)
s Watch/unwatch card
v Add your vote to (or remove your vote from) card when Voting Power-Up is enabled
²Ctrl + x Copy card link, OR
Copy card to move
²Ctrl + c Copy card link, OR
Copy card to clone
²Ctrl + v Paste card link, OR
Paste card to list on any board to move or clone it
x Clear all active card filters
b Open Boards menu (header menu with list of boards)
w Toggle board menu (flyout sidebar menu)
f Focus Search Cards box (card filter menu) in sidebar
³Esc Close menu or cancel editing
? (Shift + Forward Slash) Open Shortcuts page
Search Operators
Search filters return matching cards across all boards. (For board-specific searches, card filtering also works.)
/ Bring search box into focus
member:Person Cards assigned to Person
@Person Cards assigned to Person
@me Cards assigned to you
label:Label_Name Cards with label Label_Name
label:Label_Color Cards with label Label_Color
board:Board_Name Cards on board Board_Name
list:List_Name Cards in list List_Name on any board
name:keyword(s) Cards with keyword(s) in name
description:keyword(s) Cards with keyword(s) in description
checklist:keyword(s) Cards with keyword(s) in checklist name or contents
comment:keyword(s) Cards with keyword(s) in comment
is:starred Cards on starred boards
is:open Open or active cards
is:archived Archived cards
has:attachments Cards with attachments
has:description Cards with a description
has:cover Cards with a cover
has:members Cards with members assigned
has:stickers Cards with stickers
due:day Cards due in the next 24 hours
due:week Cards due in the next 7 days
due:month Cards due in the next 28 days
due:overdue Cards that are past due
due:complete Cards that are incomplete
due:incomplete Cards that have due dates marked complete
created:day Cards created in the last 24 hours
created:week Cards created in the last 7 days
created:month Cards created in the last 28 days
created:X Cards created in the last X days
edited:day Cards edited in the last 24 hours
edited:week Cards edited in the last 7 days
edited:month Cards edited in the last 28 days
edited:X Cards edited in the last X days
⁴sort:created Sorts cards by date created
⁴sort:edited Sorts cards by date edited
⁴sort:due Sorts cards by due date
-operator Exclude results matching operator
Markdown Syntax - I
Works in card descriptions, comments, checklists, and your Trello bio.
**text** Emphasize text in bold letters
*text* Italicize text
~~text~~ Strike through text
[Anchor_Text][URL] Create hyperlink
`text` Insert code inline
\text Ignore Markdown formatting for text
⁵![Alt_Text](/path/to/img.jpg) Embed image
Markdown Syntax - II
Works in card descriptions and comments.
--- Insert horizontal line
```text``` Insert formatted code
>text Indent line of text (or insert block quote)
#text Format as H1 header
##text Format as H2 header
###text Format as H2 header
text
---
Format as H2 header
Bookmarks
Your Home Feed trello.com
Your Boards trello.com/Your_Username/boards
Profile Settings trello.com/Your_Username
Account Activity trello.com/Your_Username/activity
Assigned Cards trello.com/Your_Username/cards
Account Settings trello.com/Your_Username/account
Trello Guide trello.com/guide
Trello Templates trello.com/inspiration
Trello Help help.trello.com
¹Hover over card to insert new card below it. Hover over list name to insert card at bottom of list.

²On Mac keyboards, use Cmd instead of Ctrl.

³Works with select menus only.

⁴Works only when used with regular search operators.

⁵Works in card descriptions only.

Make Trello Even More Powerful

From the most basic lists to complex projects with several moving parts and collaborators, Trello can handle anything you throw at it. You can also extend the app’s capabilities with these top Power-Ups and these browser extensions.

Hungry for more of Trello’s secrets? Discover a few of them with these tips for a faster workflow.

Read the full article: The Trello Cheat Sheet: Search, Navigation, and Markdown Essentials



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Anycubic Photon S: The Best Resin 3D Printer? (And Less Than $500)

Our verdict of the Anycubic Photon S:
A stunning 3D printer, capable of producing outstanding 3D prints. Liquid resin plastic means this isn't for everyone.
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The Photon S is the follow-up to Anycubic’s wildly popular Photon, SLA 3D printer. This fully-enclosed 3D printer is perfect for producing highly detailed small models such as tabletop gaming miniatures. Retailing for $489 (but on sale for $100 less until 28th October!), is it worth your money? Are the upgrades worthy of this new price tag when compared to its predecessor, and what makes SLA 3D printers better than traditional Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) designs?

Let’s find out.

At the end of this review, we’ve got a brand new Photon S to giveaway thanks to our friends at Anycubic. Read on to find out how to win, and be sure to watch all of the review video for some bonus entries.

How the Photon S Works

While FDM 3D printers cost as little as $100, SLA technology is still relatively new for consumers, so is only starting to trickle down to an affordable price range. SLA 3D printing uses a vat of liquid plastic, which gets cured through the use of an LCD screen and a series of UV LEDs. When exposed to a specific wavelength of UV light, the resin solidifies. By using an LCD screen (like you’d find in your laptop), it’s possible to mask a UV LED to produce specific shapes. Stack enough of these cured layers together and the end result is a 3D printed part.

Anycubic Photon S

Contrast this with FDM 3D printing, which heats up spaghetti-like plastic into molten goop, and draws shapes with it, much like piping icing onto a cake. SLA 3D printing provides several benefits over FDM. SLA 3D printing can cure a whole layer at once, so if you’re printing ten objects at once, it takes no longer than producing one part. They have less moving parts, and are capable of far higher precision than FDM, with almost invisible layer lines at times.

Naturally, SLA printers are more expensive than FDM, and the plastic resin can be as much as 4-5x more expensive than FDM filament. You also have to keep uncured resin out of direct light, and it can be a messy product to work with.

Both SLA and FDM printers are tools to solve a problem, and there’s no definitive “best” method of 3D printing. SLA 3D printers are capable of stunning print quality, with relatively little effort when compared to FDM printers. FDM printers can produce very high-quality prints, but they often involve far more mechanical and software components.

Specifications and Design

The Photon S is a sleek, compact unit. It’s small enough to fit on most desks and the futuristic door opens to reveal your printed parts like something from the Blade Runner universe. It sports a color touchscreen on the front panel and operates from the included USB drive. It’s not possible to operate this machine over the network, or tethered to a computer–you must use a flash drive.

Anycubic Photon S touchscreen

This printer features a dual linear rail for its Z-axis, as this is the only moving part. Other models (including the original Photon) only use a single linear rail, so this significant upgrade should result in less Z wobble when printing, leading to more accurate prints.

The Photon S features:

  • 0.78in (20mm) per hour printing speed
  • 13lbs (5.9kg) weight
  • 2560 x 1440 pixel LCD display
  • 25-100 micron layer resolution
  • 4.5in x 2.6in x 6in (115mm x 65mm x 165mm) build volume
  • 50W UV output
  • 9in x 7.9in x 15.8in (230mm x 200mm x 400mm) total dimensions

On the surface, these specifications appear rather pathetic, especially the small build volume. This is typical of an SLA printer, and due to the nature of liquid plastic and resin vats, it could be expensive to use a large-format SLA printer.

The maximum printing speed of 0.78in/hour refers to the Z-axis and is about on par with other SLA printers. On average, prints take between 5-6 hours, with taller models taking between 10-15 hours. Remember though, that you can increase the dimensions or number of models in both the X and Y axis with no impact on the print speed. A 50W UV output is excellent and is a step-up from the 30 or 40W bulbs found on similar models. More power here can cure resin faster, theoretically resulting in faster print times.

Anycubic Photon S

This machine features dual fans to extract fumes from the print chamber, but these use an activated charcoal filter to reduce the strong plastic smell associated with liquid resin. I don’t mind the smell, but family members often comment on it. I print with a window open which reduces the fumes (and helps to reduce any potential health issues). You may not want to sleep with this printer running in the same room, not least because of the noise it makes.

Inside the box, you’ll find a selection of tools, 250ml of resin, several dust masks, several coffee filters (for straining resin when emptying the tank), a few pairs of rubber gloves, some spare parts, a plastic scraper (for removing prints), and an instruction manual.

First Prints with the Photon S

As an owner of the original Photon, I knew the configuration required to get a machine working. While it’s not too difficult to get the Photon S up and running, the process can be confusing for a beginner, and the sometimes incoherent instructions in broken English don’t help the process.

Before starting any prints you must level the bed. Unlike most FDM printers, SLA printers pull the bed up out of a pool of resin, gradually exposing the print. They still work from the bottom up, but generally, are upside down. The bed must be parallel to the LCD surface, and it needs calibrating to a very precise distance.

Anycubic Photon S bed

This process is simple enough in practice — unscrew the two retaining bolts holding the resin vat in and place the vat in a safe location. After this, use the included tools to loosen the bed screw, and use the touchscreen to home the Z-axis. Next, place a sheet of paper between the bed and the LCD, and adjust the distance until you feel friction on the paper. Hold the bed square and tighten the screws again. This is a simple process in theory, but the required pressure on the paper is not clear until you have repeated the process several times, and scoured the internet for tutorial videos.

Anycubic Photon S

You don’t need to level the bed often, fortunately. Once leveled, you can reinstall the vat, pour some resin in, and get ready to print. Using the supplied USB drive, you can print a test model. It’s fascinating to see the bed dunk itself into the liquid plastic again and again. In a few short hours, you’ll have a 3D printed model, ready to clean up.

Post-Processing Prints

As prints get submerged in a bath of liquid resin, they need some cleaning up after printing. This is something not required with FDM printers. You need to use strong alcohol such as 99.9% Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol to clean off any uncured resin. After this, you need to clean off any remaining alcohol. Finally, you need to allow the prints to finish curing, either by sitting in direct sunlight for several hours (or less depending on your location), or by using a UV curing station such as those found at nail salons.

Anycubic Photon S print cleanup

This process isn’t complicated and after one or two attempts you’ll soon get the hang of it, but it’s all extra work and requires equipment besides the printer itself. You’ll need to wear gloves during all this, as the resin is sticky stuff, which can make a mess of anything you transfer it to. It’s not recommended to let the resin touch your bare skin or eyes.

Slicing Your Own Models

The Photon S comes with a software package to convert your 3D models into printer instructions. This tool lets you configure the layer height, exposure time, placement of models and support structures, and more. It’s basic but gets the job done.

Anycubic Photon S slicing software

Unlike FDM printing, SLA prints do not have a hollow support structure inside — they remain completely solid. Because of this, it can be expensive to print large objects. Many people adapt their models by hollowing them out, but this presents other challenges. Not only do you need to learn how to do this, but you need to produce port holes to allow the resin to drain out, otherwise you’ll have trapped, uncured resin inside your sealed model.

Stunning Print Quality

The Photon S produces stunning prints. It’s almost impossible to see any layer lines at all, even on the coarsest setting of 100-microns (0.0039in/0.1mm) layer height. This is the biggest selling point of the Photon S, and it’s so worth it. If you’re frustrated with FDM print quality or want the absolute best quality from a machine, then this is where resin and SLA shines.

Anycubic Photon S prints

Moving up to 25-micron layer heights (0.00098in/0.025mm) produces jaw-dropping prints but at the expense of print time. You can expect to spend close to 20 hours of machine time on a 1-inch figure printed at 25 microns. While the quality is outstanding at this level, it’s not worth the time investment for 99% of models, as coarser settings are still mind-blowing.

Anycubic Photon S prints

Prints are easy to paint, and you can buy a variety of different resins, from brittle to flexible, and those suitable for casting metal. Different resins need different curing times, however. Translucent resins let more light pass through and so on.

Anycubic Photon S prints

The Photon S is perfect for printing minis for wargaming, or other small yet detailed parts. This machine is almost a new era of 3D printing, whereby machines are closer to plug-and-play than ever before, and the quality starts to approach commercial manufacturing levels. Take a look at these fantasy RPG models for some miniature inspiration.

Should You Buy the Photon S?

The Photon S is a stunning 3D printer. The quality of prints produced by this machine far exceeds any other style of printer. That said, the price of $489 is on the high side when compared to other entry-level SLA printers, and SLA printing is not suitable for everyone. The resin can smell, and you need to be careful around powerful lights, lest you cure your resin. Prints need cleaning up afterward, and large parts are difficult to print.

Anycubic Photon S

If you’re prepared for the cleanup process, and the Photon S suits your style of 3D printing, then you will be very happy with this machine. The print quality alone is the biggest selling point. While the instruction manual could be clearer, you’ll have a print up and running within an hour, and there is a large online community for this little machine should you encounter any problems.

Don’t forget to read our beginner’s guide to 3D printing to ensure you don’t miss a step, or if you prefer a more in-depth guide, then our comprehensive ultimate 3D printing guide will answer all your questions.

Thanks to our friends at Anycubic, we have a brand new Photon S to giveaway. All you have to do is enter our giveaway contest below, and make sure you read the instructions for the chance to enter more than once. If you can’t wait for our contest to end, then use the discount code to get off the price of a new machine.

Enter the Competition!

Anycubic Photon S Giveaway

Read the full article: Anycubic Photon S: The Best Resin 3D Printer? (And Less Than $500)



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5 Apps Better Than Browser Bookmarks to Manage Tabs and Save Links for Later

manage-tabs-apps

Bookmarks are great to save links for later, but they do tend to pile up into clutter. These smart apps will help manage bookmarks better than the built-in browser feature and even get you through your read-it-later list.

There are still several dedicated apps that do a great job of syncing bookmarks, like Pocket for saving links to read. What we’re focusing on here is managing and organizing those bookmarks, or even the tabs open in your window.

1. Qlearly (Chrome, Firefox, Opera): Trello-Like Bookmarks Organizer

Qlearly organizes bookmarks in columns and cards like Trello

Qlearly is one of the most powerful bookmark organizers out there. If you have a large number of bookmarks to sort through, and regularly use bookmarks for research or study, this is the extension to get.

It turns folders into Kanban-type boards, displayed as columns next to one another like in Trello. You can move any link from one to the other, or open an entire board in one click. Each board offers plenty of options, like bulk-editing the saved links, moving them around, and even adding all open tabs to a board.

Qlearly is looking to be more than just a bookmark organizer. On any board, you can add notes or tasks, which can remind you why you saved a page or tell you what you need to do next.

Grab the Qlearly extension as well to instantly save the current tab or all open tabs to any board of your choice. It’s fantastic! The free version has a maximum of 15 boards.

Download: Qlearly for Chrome | Firefox | Opera (Free)

2. Freezetab (Chrome): Choose Which Open Tabs to Bookmark

FreezeTab lets you choose which open tabs to bookmark in a quick and easy way

When you have a lot of tabs open but want to bookmark only a few of them, you need to manually go to each tab and bookmark it. Freezetab makes this process much faster and easier.

The extension gives quick options to bookmark all tabs, current tab, all tabs right of the current tab, all tabs left of the current tab, or to select multiple tabs manually. You can also use the above options to close multiple tabs without saving them.

Saved tabs become groups which you can then rename. FreezeTab has similarities to OneTab, one of our favorite Chrome extensions to manage tab overload. But where OneTab works for all open tabs, FreezeTab gives you more customization and choices.

Download: FreezeTab for Chrome (Free)

3. 30DayBookmarks (Chrome): Temporary Bookmarks That Are Auto-Deleted

Most of us have a bad habit of bookmarking a link but never getting around to deleting it. And that’s why, over time, we build up a cluttered bookmarks folder. If this sounds all too familiar, you’re in luck. 30DayBookmarks will auto-delete those saved links after 30 days.

The extension is available for Chrome only. It looks much like the “favorite” icon, but you’ll be able to distinguish it as black when inactive and red when clicked. You’ll need to get accustomed to clicking this instead of the regular bookmark icon, and there’s no keyboard shortcut either.

The links you save in 30DayBookmarks aren’t added to your Chrome bookmarks, so you won’t be able to access them on your mobile or other devices. Right-click the extension icon and click “Show bookmarks” to find your temporary list. Each link shows when it was saved, so that you know when it’s going to expire.

Download: 30DayBookmarks for Chrome (Free)

4. Mailist (Chrome, Firefox): Pocket Alternative for Read-It-Later Bookmarks

Mailist sends a weekly newsletter with five random links from your read it later list

Do you also keep bookmarking links to your “read-it-later” list and never get around to it? You’re not alone, there are millions of us. Mailist believes it has a good solution to make you go through that list.

You can import existing bookmarks from your browser, and get the Mailist extension to add new links. Once the list is populated, the app sends a weekly newsletter to your inbox. The developers say the reason you don’t get around to that “Read it later” list is that there isn’t a reminder to read it. That’s what this email does.

In the email, you will find five random links from anything you’ve saved. If you click a link to open it, that counts as it being “read” and it won’t show up ever again in emails. The link is still stored in the “Read” folder of your Mailist account. Next week, you’ll get another five random links, with none of them repeating.

The free version of Mailist is good enough already, while the paid version gives you more control by creating custom folders and choosing which ones to get newsletters about. It’s a great alternative for Pocket and other services like it.

Download: Mailist for Chrome | Firefox (Free)

5. Prism (Chrome): Visual Bookmarks With Auto-Updated Screenshots

Prism turns bookmarks into visual thumbnails with auto-updated screenshots

Prism has a unique take on bookmarks. You won’t see a long list of all your links here. Instead, you see screenshots of the article in little windows, much like what many New Tab pages are. Because of that, Prism can turn into a much more useful tool than a regular bookmark organizer.

You could bookmark the homepage of your favorite websites, set them to auto-update screenshots, and thus get a God’s eye view of their updates without visiting the page. You can organize them in different boards too. So you could have one board for news websites, and in one glance, you can see what everyone is talking about.

Admittedly, Prism’s thumbnail-style view makes it less useful for a folder with hundreds of bookmarks. But there is a robust search engine to quickly find something you’re looking for.

Download: Prism for Chrome (Free)

How to Clean Up and Organize Bookmarks

Over the years, you have probably saved so many bookmarks that it’s difficult to manage them all now. You probably aren’t even sure why you saved many of them in the first place. So now it lies as a humongous cluttered pile in your browser.

Well, there’s a way you can finally sort it out. Check out our guide featuring five steps to clean up years of bookmarks so that it’s tidy, manageable, and organized. You’ll be done with the whole process in less than two hours.

Read the full article: 5 Apps Better Than Browser Bookmarks to Manage Tabs and Save Links for Later



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The 5 Best Free VPNs for the iPhone

iphone-vpn

A virtual private network (VPN) can help you stay safe on untrusted networks, which are increasingly common. For example, while the Wi-Fi in your favorite coffee shop or shopping center may be free, you certainly can’t trust it. The problem is that good VPNs don’t come cheap.

Whether you’re not sure if a VPN is right for you, or you’d rather not spend the money, you may be looking for a free VPN for your iPhone. This can especially come in handy if you only need to use a VPN on rare occasions. Let’s look at the best free VPNs for iPhone to see what you should download.

What Do You Need in a VPN?

Most people use VPNs for security reasons, but that’s not the only benefit. These can also help you access TV shows or sports programming that isn’t available due to geographical restrictions.

A VPN can also help you save money. Online retailers, including airlines, are known to charge more or less depending on your location. Spoofing a location other than your own can help you save significantly, depending on what you’re shopping for.

In order to choose the best free VPN for your iPhone, you need to know how you plan to use it. To help figure out exactly what you need, we’ve gathered some of the best reasons to use a VPN. Review that before browsing the below options.

1. Hotspot Shield

Hotspot Shield on different devices

It’s hard to call the absolute best free VPN for iPhone, but Hotspot Shield is definitely a contender. This VPN is fast, private, and has one of the most generous limits for free users of any of the services we’ve found.

Using the completely free version, you can connect up to five different devices to the VPN. It has a bandwidth limit of 500MB per day, or 15GB per month. This probably isn’t enough to do all your browsing over the VPN, but it will cover you in plenty of cases.

On the downside, you’re limited to connecting to just a few VPN server locations that Hotspot Shield chooses for you. You also need to put up with ads and a seven-day trial of the Premium version before you can use the free version exclusively.

Download: Hotspot Shield (Free, subscription available)

2. TunnelBear

The TunnelBear logo

TunnelBear is another popular option when it comes to free VPNs for iPhone users. That said, after using it for a bit, you may find that you’d rather opt for the paid version. It’s relatively affordable and offers some significant upgrades over the free version.

The main issue with the free version is that you’re limited to 500MB of traffic per month. This contrasts sharply with Hotspot Shield, mentioned above; with TunnelBear you get 500MB per month, not per day. That said, if you just need to protect yourself on public Wi-Fi occasionally, that may be all you need.

TunnelBear tracks very little data about its users, which is reassuring if you’re privacy-minded. You don’t even need to supply your first name to sign up.

Download: TunnelBear (Free, subscription available)

3. Speedify

Hide.me uses multiple connections for speed

A notorious side effect of VPNs is that they slow down your browsing speed. Much of this reputation is actually from the old days, when people primarily used VPNs to remote into their corporate network. Still, the encryption today’s VPNs use can slow down your connection at times.

As you may guess from the name, Speedify aims to ensure that your VPN connection is as fast as possible. Speedify will use your Wi-Fi connection as well as your phone’s LTE, working together in tandem to maximize speed. The service also provides up to 5GB of data transfer per month using the free version, though that will eventually drop down to 1GB as you use the service.

If you’re after privacy and performance, Speedify may be the best VPN app for iPhone, at least for you. On the other hand, if you’re looking to bypass geographical restrictions for streaming services, you should look elsewhere.

Download: Speedify (Free, subscription available)

4. ProtonVPN

ProtonVPN is from the ProtoMail people

If you’re looking for the best free unlimited VPN for iPhone, ProtonVPN is a strong contender. Unlike some of the other options on this list, you’re not restricted on how much data you can use. That’s not to say there are zero restrictions, however.

Instead of limiting how much data you can consume, ProtonVPN limits free users to a single device. If you’re looking for a free VPN app only for your iPhone, that’s fine. Bu if you need something to use across multiple devices, this could be a problem.

ProtonVPN comes from the same people that bring you secure email service ProtonMail, so you can sure that security is a major focus of this app. That said, its free version isn’t the best for getting around geo-restrictions, since you can only choose from three locations.

Download: ProtonVPN (Free, subscription available)

5. Hide.me

Hide.me emphasizes privacy

Like ProtonVPN, Hide.me restricts you to a single device instead of putting limits on how much data you’re allotted. This means it’s another contender for the best free unlimited VPN for iPhone users.

As the name implies, Hide.me is meant for privacy-conscious folks. It’s not just available for iPhone users either; you can download apps for Windows, Mac, and Android as well. That said, as the free version limits you to a single device, this probably won’t do you much good.

While it’s appreciated that there are no ads or speed throttling, the service imposes some other restrictions. For your location, you’re restricted to Singapore, Canada, or the Netherlands. Paid users, on the other hand, have the option to choose from 30 different countries for their virtualized location.

Download: Hide.me (Free, subscription available)

What About Other VPN Providers?

You might find that you connect to untrusted networks with your iPhone often. But you shouldn’t forget about protecting your traffic on other devices, too. Most of these free iPhone VPN apps are cross-platform, but as some limit you to a single device, they aren’t the best for those who use multiple platforms.

Remember that if you can afford it, we recommend paid VPNs over free options because they offer greater security and more features. Take a look at ExpressVPN, which we recommend for its performance and privacy. It’s also available on all major OSes.

Read the full article: The 5 Best Free VPNs for the iPhone



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London’s top consumer VCs share which trends they’re tracking

With 72 unicorns created since 2009 and $8.7 billion in venture funding last year, the UK is Europe’s leading startup hub.

Although it remains uncertain how Brexit will impact startups’ ease of recruiting and rapid scaling, initial pains are unlikely to displace London from its position as a global center for finance, media, retail, and technology.

As UK-based startups reach $1 billion (~£800 million) valuations at a rate of one per month, according to data from Dealroom, VC firms have raised $3.5 billion in new funds to fuel the next wave of investments.

Interested to learn where that capital could flow, I asked nine of London’s top consumer-focused VCs to find out which specific trends they’re using to identify startup investment opportunities:

  • Julia Hawkins, Partner at LocalGlobe
  • Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen, Partner at Balderton
  • Sonali De Rycker, Partner at Accel Partners
  • Christian Dorffer, Partner at Sweet Capital
  • Danny Rimer, Partner at Index Ventures
  • Reshma Sohoni, Managing Partner at Seedcamp
  • Niall Wass, Partner at Atomico
  • Paul Murphy, Partner at Northzone
  • Nic Brisbourne, Partner at Forward Partners

Their responses highlighted the diversify of funding interests in the ecosystem, but also show that banking, consumer health, transport, direct-to-consumer brands, and social entertainment remain hot areas.

Julia Hawkins, Partner at LocalGlobe

“I’m very focused on the healthtech sector and within consumer health, I’m particularly interested in the potential for digital therapeutics to enable people to gain control over habits and treat certain chronic conditions such as mental health. 

We’re thinking deeply about transportation, we’re already investors in Citymapper, Beryl and Voi and see the huge potential to improve how people move around cities and influence how urban centers are planned, all while reducing pollution.  

On that topic, we’re watching the climate change debate closely and I’m heartened by the fact that people everywhere are becoming wholly committed to reducing waste. Companies that can produce truly circular products for our families, homes and places of work I think will do well.

It’s an incredibly interesting time in media with titanic worlds of video, gaming and music are shifting and I believe in the transformative power of games, music and immersive experiences — TikTok and Fortnite show just how powerful these can be and I believe new platforms such as Playdeo will make consuming media and entertainment much more active experiences in the future.”

Lars Fjeldsoe-Nielsen, Partner at Balderton

“We are excited about the disruption within the European transportation sector, where we’ve seen new types of vehicles, like e-scooters from VOI, and amazing advances in autonomous mobility solutions. Time is up for car ownership in many city centers and competition is fierce for environmentally-friendly alternatives. This creates an exciting opportunity to use tech to improve public transport options and to leverage the sharing economy which Citymapper offers, as well as overhaul the car hire sector as new players like Virtuo are aiming to do.

We are also impressed by the continued innovation in the financial sector. We are long-time investors in fintech and have backed Revolut and GoCardless, amongst others. Traditional banks and financial incumbents are battling fragmented and outdated technology stacks to adapt to rapidly changing consumer demands, which creates a huge opportunity for startups.”

Sonali De Rycker, Partner at Accel Partners

“We’re excited about three key trends in consumer tech. The first is fintech, for which the UK has created a very supportive environment. A few large businesses are being built from London, like Monzo, buoyed by new rules written around retail banking and next generation financial services as well as huge, unmet customer demand.

The second is healthtech. Healthcare is a large and untapped opportunity plagued by rising costs for providers and deteriorating patient experience. We are seeing a few platform companies that are finding ways to successfully solve these problems by providing digital healthcare to consumers, like Kry out of Sweden.



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