Learn Computing - Guidance in Technology

Use Google’s Quickoffice for free

2013-11-14T21:58:00.000-08:00

Google’s Quickoffice app is now available free to use. The app, which initially cost $19.99, enables you edit Microsoft Office documents, presentations and spreadsheets on both iOS and Android devices. Google gives 10 GB of free space on Google Drive for 2 years to user accounts sign up from either app as a bonus.

More at - www.quickoffice.com

Bing and Google search get improved

2013-11-12T23:18:00.000-08:00

Microsoft and Google both unveiled new looks and features for their search engines.

Bing's new logo echoes the fresh look Microsoft rolled out for Windows and Office, and its search results pages have been redesigned. Its new features include "pole position", a reference box that pops up at the top of results with answers to queries, so you don't need to click to a different page. There's also a tool called "page zero" that lets you refine your results.

Google, meanwhile, has tweaked its logo, removing drop shadow and making it flatter. The homepage itself (www.google.com) has changed; previously, a black bar ran along top, with links to Gmail, Maps and other services. That's been removed in favor of a drop-down menu, though Google continues to promote a link to Google+, clearly hoping it will eventually take off.

How it will affect to you?

It's unclear when the Bing features will be rolled out, but they will hopefully arrive more quickly that previous Bing updates. Microsoft often takes its time adding new tools to international versions of its search engine.

For Google, it's such a subtle changed you'd be forgiven for not noticing it. We challenge you to look at the page and see if you can remember what it looked like before.

Conclusion

The changes rolled out by Google and Bing aren't revolutionary, but it goes to show that there's still more that can be done to improve search. Small changed such as Bing's "pole position" could shave seconds off every search and save your valuable time.

Odeon (Relaunch)

2013-11-12T21:55:00.000-08:00

The revamped Odeon website had a rather bumpy relaunch, but it's now up and running, and it looks fantastic - a huge improvement on the cramped and dated old design. The tablet-friendly homepage now features large photos from the latest releases, which you can hove your mouse over to bring up a Book Now button. Information about the Odeon Premiere Club and IMAX experience, which is used to clutter the page, is now sensibly tucked away, while the all-important options for selecting a cinema, film and date stretch across the center of your screen. Once you've made your choice, you are instantly presented with show times, screening type (Peak, Super Saver or Special) and whether the movie is 2D or 3D. The booking process is faster, prices are displayed clearly and it's easy to choose a seat, making the refreshed site a much better experience for cinemagoers.

Site URL - http://www.odeon.co.uk/

Speed Up Windows with CCleaner 4

2013-11-12T07:18:00.000-08:00

The latest version of the excellent CCleaner software comes with useful tools to help save time and hard disk space. As well as removing unnecessary Registry entries and files from a wider range of common software, such as Avast Antivirus, CCleaner safely removes duplicate files. CCleaner will remove information left on your computer by websites in the form of cookies. Along with these improvements, CCleaner 4 comes with a variety of bug fixes and performance boosts, so it completes tasks faster.

DOWNLOAD CCLEANER from www.piriform.com. choosing a download location in the far-left column for the free version. The download should start automatically. Click Run when it has finished. Click Yes when the User Account Control window appears and Next to start the installation. Leave all the options as they are - unless you don’t want a shortcut on the Desktop - and click Next. Choose whether to install the Google Toolbar and click Install. Leave the run option selected at the end and click Finish.

CCLEANER WILL ASK whether it should ‘Intelligently scan’ for cookies. Choosing Yes to this question will make sure that CCleaner won’t delete cookies from sites that you trust. Removing cookies will force you to log in again to these websites and may remove your personalised settings. The cookie scan won’t take more than a few seconds, then the main CCleaner window will appear.

YOU CAN SAVE TIME by taking a moment to check through the Cookies section in Options to make sure that cookies from websites you trust are left untouched. Click Options on the left and then Cookies. Search or scroll through the list of websites that have saved cookies on your computer in the left-hand column. When you find a site you want to keep, click it once and then click the right-pointing arrow to move it to the right-hand column. To remove a site from the ‘Cookies to Keep’ list, click the name on the right and then the left-pointing arrow.

REMOVING DUPLICATE FILES can save a lot of disk space. Using the new duplicate file finder tool in CCleaner is a safer way of doing this than trying to find the files yourself. Click the Tools icon in the lefthand column and then File Finder. There are several options, most of which can be safely left alone. Increasing the ‘File size’ setting will reduce the number of results. Scroll to the bottom and click Search.

A LIST OF ALL THE DUPLICATE files found will be displayed as soon as CCleaner has finished searching. There is a section for each duplicated file with the different locations. This is useful for making sure that you keep the correct copy. Select the duplicates that aren’t required and click Delete Selected. CCleaner won’t let you select all the copies of a file at once so don’t worry about doing so. Alternatively, you can save the results as a text file. This is a useful reference for going back and deleting unwanted folders after they have been emptied of duplicates.

THE REGISTRY CLEANER, one of CCleaner’s most important tools, has been improved in this version. Click Registry on the left and leave the options selected. Click ‘Scan for Issues’ and let the status bar get to 100 per cent. Click ‘Fix selected issues…’. Click Yes when asked to back up the changes to the Registry. Click ‘New folder’ in the toolbar, type ‘CCleaner Registry backups’ and select Enter. Double-click this folder and then Save. Click Fix All Selected Issues and Close.

STOPPING PROGRAMS FROM starting automatically with Windows can dramatically speed up how quickly your PC starts. Looking in the Startup folder won’t work as many programs will start from other places. Click Tools on the left, then Startup. This improved tool displays a list of all the programs set to run with Windows. Click one to highlight it and use the scroll bars at the bottom to see more information. Click the Disable button if you decide you don’t need the software. This is better than Delete because it lets you change your mind.

THE STARTUP TOOL isn’t just for Windows; it can also reduce the time that browsers take to start. Use the tabs in the Startup tool section to select a browser and then look for programs that might be slowing it down. This is also a convenient way to disable Java in different browsers if you are worried about the recent security problems.

IF YOU’RE CONCERNED about security, it’s not enough to just delete files, because their contents will still be left on your PC’s hard disk. The updated Drive Wiper tool overwrites unused areas of your hard disk to prevent files being recovered. This process may take some time but CCleaner 4 is faster than previous versions. Click Tools and then Drive Wiper. Leave Free Space Only selected. Select Complex or Very Complex Overwrite. These options will take longer, but they are much more effective than a Simple Overwrite. Select the hard disk in the Drives section and click Wipe.

THE LATEST VERSION of the Cleaner tool will remove unwanted files from an even wider selection of programs. Click the top-left Cleaner tab. Some options under the Windows and Applications tabs will be preselected for you. Other options can be added as well, but think carefully before selecting them. Removing Saved Passwords from browsers can be inconvenient, for example. Click Analyze and then Ru n Cleaner after reading the summary of what will be deleted.

Google keyword search: Get better results

2013-11-11T22:40:00.000-08:00

As the number of webpages grows, searches are becoming increasingly long-winded.
Filter out all of those unwanted webpages by using keywords, or ‘search operators’

Google’s search engine has a nasty habit of transforming a one-word query into seemingly endless pages of search results. This is where ‘search operators’ come in handy, because they allow you to give Google specific instructions on what to search for, thereby sparing you from having to trawl through multiple pages just to find one relevant search result.

Adding search operators to a query instructs Google to focus on everything from a specific website to only webpages that were updated within the past week, depending on your needs.

What makes search operators particularly useful is that you can string them together to construct very tightly focused queries; eg searching for pages that contain ‘Google search tips’ in the title and ‘search operators’ in the main text, and were created in 2013. Although this query returns fewer results, there’s a much higher chance of finding exactly what you’re looking for within the first few pages.

However, be aware that inserting a space between certain search operators and the first word of your query can prevent Google from recognising the search operator. To ensure that Google doesn't mistake the operator for part of your search query, play it safe and never insert a space.

Google supports a long list of search operators, but in this section we will take a look at some of the most useful ones.

allintitle:

Place allintitle: in front of your search term to restrict your results to only webpages that have this word or phrase in the title (ie at the top of the browser).

site:

Restrict your search results to a single domain, or a certain subdomain or subdirectory, by using this search operator followed a URL.

*

If you’re having a mental block and can’t think of a complete search query, use a * to represent any unknowns, for example ‘writer and director *Gobert’.

inurl:

Limit your results to pages that have the following word in their URL. If you’re looking for a URL that contains multiple words, put allinurl: before your terms.

number..number

Enter two numbers separated by full stops to view all results that contain numbers within that range; for example, ‘World Cup winners 1994..2010’.

filetype:

Search for pages of a particular file type, such as a PDF. Use the filetype: operator alongside the OR command to search for multiple file types.

Use this operator followed by a URL to view similar websites. This can also help you spot any ‘bad’ websites that are aligning themselves with your own.

OR

If you’re weighing up several possible options, search for them all simultaneously by separating your queries with the capitalised OR operator.

-query

Use the - (minus) operator to exclude all webpages that feature the attached word, URL or number; for example, ‘laptop sale -macbook’.

Source -

Google Tips & Tricks

SANDISK CZ-48 USB3.0

2013-11-11T06:38:00.000-08:00

Sandisk’s utility USB storage

USB 3.0 drives are known for their data speeds, and the Sandisk CZ-48 3.0 is no different.

The drive is thumb-shaped, clad with a combination of glossy and matte plastic. The device does not have a cap covering the socket, instead, it uses a trigger-like mechanism to eject the socket when desired, protecting it from dust.

We reviewed the 64GB unit, it is also available in 16, 32 GB capacities and measures 56.8x21.3x10.8mm. It is likely to fit into most USB 3.0 ports without obstructing adjacent slots. Plus, its light enough to be unobtrusively slipped into your pocket as well!

However, the results of the speed test were a bit mixed. While writing a large bluRay 4.3GB rip, the Ultra 3.0 reached a modest write speed of 56.6MB/s. It might not be the best choice for video editors, though perhaps you can only expect that much from a drive at this price. The performance, though, improved while writing smaller files. The highest speed we reached was 76.6MB/s.

The Sandisk CZ-48 3.0 retails at 20 USD and is quite decent for its price and over-all performance. Available with a five-year of warranty.

Kingston announces a superhero on completion of Twenty Six Years

2013-11-10T10:38:00.000-08:00

Kingston Technology Company Inc. completes 26 successful years in the industry. The announcement was made by Kingston along with an innovative activity at a gadgets exhibition in BKC, Mumbai. REX, the superhero from Kingston, has been transforming over the years and is now a renowned symbol of the world’s independent memory leader. He was the highlight of the exhibition activity wherein the company showcased four of his upgraded superpowers HyperX Nitro boosters, USB Branded RAM and Solid State Drives (SSDs).

Kingston Technology offers a wide range of memory products at multiple price points. HyperX, the company’s popular product line, targets specifically at the high performance consumer segment which includes gamers and enthusiasts.

ASRock offering Free Mouse Bundle with H61M-VS4 motherboards

2013-11-10T10:26:00.002-08:00

ASRock announces free mouse and mouse pad with H61M-VS4 motherboards as a pre-diwali offer.

The ASRock H61M-VS4 is undeniably a smart choice for PC builders who seek a sturdy build with tons of headers and connectors for future upgrades. A full sized PCI Express 3.0 x16 slot is supported via a 3rd gen Intel Core i5 or i7 CPU. For storage there are 4 SATA2 3.0 Gb/s connectors for connecting disk drives, and a total of 8 USB 2.0 ports, equally divided four in the front and four on the rear i/o for all of your devices. On the software side, it supports the latest Windows 8, so that users may experience the ludicrous speed of ASRock Fast Boot. The whole XFast 555 family which boosts the speed of the system’s performance, USB and LAN up to 5 times faster is included also. Plus ASRock’s exclusive Dehumidifier, OMG and more. The offer will be available till Diwali festival this year throughout the country.