How To Choose Individual Files To Download From A Torrent

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select_files_to_skip
Torrents have a really bad name and they are usually referred to alongside piracy. There's no doubt that some torrent sites do facilitate movie, software, and game piracy but that doesn't automatically make torrents evil. That said, say no to piracy. As I said, torrents aren't all bad and if you're looking for a particular file to download, one that you can only find bundled with significantly larger files, you're likely going to be in for a long wait while they all download. If you use uTorrent to download torrents though, you can selectively pick out which file it is you want to download from a large torrent file. Here's how. Read More

Manage Diabetes By Tracking Blood Sugar, Activity & Medication [iOS]

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One Drop_chart
Diabetes, whether it's type one or type two, needs to be managed. In most cases, people with the disease continue to live normal lives but a lot of it centers around monitoring your blood sugar and making sure it is in the normal range. Many people rely on small blood sugar monitors to keep track of sugar levels but most devices are basic with limited memory and recall features. One Drop is a free iOS app that lets you keep a record of your blood sugar, the mediciation you take, the foods you eat, and how much activity you have in a day. You can then view your history on a chart, see if you're in the danger zone, and even compare your health with others who have diabetes. Read More

Set Minimum Word Goals When You Write Short Stories Or Novels

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write_word_target
My job involves writing but it's also what I do when I want to relax and rarely do I have to worry about word count or if I've met a certain length in terms of words. Likewise, there isn't a strict word quota that I have to fill when I'm writing at my leisure. For blog posts, Wordpress has a great editor and for my own writing, MS Word does the trick. Writing tools are mostly aimed at professionals who need to create reports or at bloggers who need to connect to publishing platforms like Wordpress. Rarely will you find a tool that is meant for people who are writing books. Write is just that; it features a productivity tool that lets you set a minimum word target that you need to meet when you sit down to write. It is equipped with writing modes; Article, Short story, Narrative, Book, etc with a suggested word count that is acceptable for that kind of writing. It comes with support for headings, complete text formatting features, spell check, and the ability to Google words, look something up on Wikipedia, as well as a thesaurus. Read More

How To Search For And Install Apps On The Apple Watch

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Apple Watch_app
The Apple Watch orders are in the process of being filled and for anyone who followed the development and the news following this new device, you know that it works with an iPhone and not without it. It is not meant to be a stand-alone product. The App Store for the Apple Watch has just gone live and lots of big name brands and apps have already made apps for it. Here's how you install an app on the Apple Watch. Read More

Select & Remove A Color From A Photo And Add Transparency

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Transparent Image Converter 1
If you're familiar with the Photoshop tool, you might know what the Wand tool does and how you can use it to quickly clean up an image. The lasso tool might be more suited to this purpose but it cleaning is a process that also has to do with how dense the image is in terms of objects and how much time and patience you have to sit through the process. Transparent Image Converter is a free Windows app that makes the process considerably easier; it lets you select a color in the image and removes it completely from the image. You can choose the threshold level and resize the image if you want. If you have an image with a white background, you can use the app to erase it and reduce its size. Read More

Automatically Play/Pause A YouTube Video When You Switch Tabs [Firefox]

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youtube smart pause
YouTube's play/pause keyboard shortcut doesn't work all that great. If you're wondering why you've never heard of said shortcut it's mostly because it doesn't work. You may have hit the shortcut multiple times and never realized it wasn't working. The shortcut is the space bar and nine out of ten times it will just scroll down on the page instead of pausing the video. With the shortcut rarely working, it's inconvenient to pause a video on YouTube before you switch to a different tab. What I normally do is hit the hard mute key on my keyboard to stop all sound if I need to mute it in a hurry. Smart Pause for YouTube is a Firefox extension that will automatically pause a YouTube video when you switch to a different tab, and automatically play it when you return to it. Read More

Skip Permissions & Allow Video Players On Any Website To Go Full Screen [Chrome]

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Full screen - Google Chrome
Media players embedded on websites all have a full screen button which expands the media player so that it fills up your entire screen. Each time you allow a media player to go full screen, you're basically allowing the website it's embedded on to go full screen. It can get annoying because most websites will use Vimeo, YouTube, or on the rare occasion DailyMotion to embed videos and these are all websites whose media players we have already allowed full screen access to. Just because the video is embedded on a different site, Chrome asks us to permit the website to go full screen even if the media player is that of YouTube. If the 'Allow Fullscreen' message bothers you, here's a simple way to turn it off. Read More

Turn Your To-Do List Into A Game And Level Up When You Get Things Done [iOS]

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quest_to-do.png
Productivity apps are always going to be in demand and developers will always continue to look for ways to help us manage email better, remember things we're prone to forgetting, tackling tasks in the right order, etc. To-do lists and task managers lead in this category and they offer monetary rewards, coupons, calendar and email integration, and much more in a bid to motivate you to work. Quest is a To-do list managing app crossed with a game. You create lists, your tasks are individual 'quests' and as you complete each quest, you level up. The app is aimed at those who are likely to be motivated by a 'reward'. In this case, the reward comes in the form of levels that you clear. Read More

Open A Link Or New Chrome Tab From The iPhone Notification Center

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chrome_widget
Ever since iOS 8 introduced widgets, I've been waiting for some of the more popular productivity oriented apps to do something impressive with it. The widgets have been slow in being developed and so far Launcher is the only one that you can call a 'must have'. Chrome is one of the latest apps to introduce a notification center widget and it's one of those things you didn't know you needed until you try it out. The widget lets you open a new tab, launch voice search, or open a URL copied to your clipboard. Read More

See Common Business Hours When Planning Meetings Across Time Zones

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my meeting time
Planning a meeting across two different time zones isn't easy; there is always the question of whether or not they have day-light savings and when it goes into effect. Then there's the whole are they ahead of us or behind in time. From my personal experience, even Outlook isn't that great at helping you schedule a meeting across multiple time zones. My Meeting Time is a helpful tool that lets you visualize the time difference between multiple time zones, see what common business hours exist between the two, and helps you plan a meeting that is convenient for everyone invited. Read More

Use Google To Locate Your Misplaced Android Phone

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where is my phone - Google Search
Misplacing a phone is something we've all done. Some of us leave our phones at work, at home, at a restaurant, and then wonder where we might have lost it. Did we have it with us when we walked in and should we search the sofa before we announce a reward for anyone who has some information on the lost device. Google has made the search for our misplaced phones easier; it lets you Google where your phone is, and will even ring your device for you so you can locate it. You must have the latest version of the Google Search app installed on your device for this to work. Read More

Look Up How Long You Can Store A Particular Food In Your Fridge

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FoodKeeper
Storing food seems like a simple enough thing we do everyday. For most people buying groceries for an entire week is normal. Some food like milk is bought more than once because you can't store it too long or too much of it, or can you? Milk itself is simple enough but when it comes to meat, vegetables, and other food types you might wonder how long it can be safely stored and consumed. USDA FoodKeeper is a free app available for both iOS and Android that works as a simple reference guide for how long you can store a particular food without risking your health. Read More

How To Restore A Deleted Thumbnail From The Chrome New Tab Page

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chrome_speeddial_thumbnail
Chrome's New tab page features a speed dial; it has thumbnails of your frequently visited websites and you can click a thumbnail to instantly open the website. Based on your browsing history, you can save up to eight different websites like this. It is an exceptionally useful feature and most browsers have a speed dial functionality. For both Chrome and Firefox, extensions and add-ons exist that let you increase the number of website thumbnails that appear on the new tab page. Now imagine for a second you accidentally delete a thumbnail? Most of us would think that it will come back because we will continue to visit the website but that sadly is not the case in Chrome. Here's what to do when you accidentally delete a thumbnail from the New Tab page and want to get it back. Read More

How To Try Out YouTube’s Latest Transparent Player

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YouTube tansparent player
YouTube makes changes to its UI from time to time. At present, it has an experimental transparent player in the works. Some users might already be seeing it if they are part of the test group but if you aren't, there's a quick way to try it out. You will need to edit cookies stored by YouTube to your browser and edit the value of one particular cookie. This post shows you how to edit the cookie for Chrome and Firefox, and what value to set it. Read More

Use Facebook’s Web Based Messenger As A Desktop App

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FB_Messenger_windows
Last week, Facebook released a stand alone web interface for its popular chat service aptly called Messenger after the mobile apps that are built exclusively for the feature. The web interface can work without users needing to keep Facebook open in a separate tab. This means you can use Facebook as a chat platform and effectively avoid the distractions it has on offer. Since it's launch, developer Alexandru Rosianu has ported the web interface so that you can use it as a stand alone app on OS X, Windows, and Linux. The app is basically the same browser based version that you can now pin to the Taskbar or Dock, only now it isn't tied to your browser. Read More

Easily Create Symbolic Links From A GUI Instead Of The Command Line

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symlink_helper
Symbolic links to folders are exceptionally useful and equally intimidating to create. While creating them isn't strictly tied to the Command line, doing so isn't easy.  Symlink Helper is a tool that simplifies creating symbolic links. The best thing about the app is the obvious; you don't need to use the command line to create a symbolic link, but other than that, for anyone who doesn't understand too well how a symbolic link works, the app makes creating them all the more easier with support for directories, application settings, and drives. Read More

Get Alerts For Upcoming Concerts And Find Festivals In Your Area

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ConcertWithMe
If you love music festivals or concerts you might be looking for an easy way to find them or learn about upcoming events. Maybe instead of searching for an upcoming festival or concert, it would be nice if they found you. Concert With Me is a very smart web app that finds concerts and gigs in your area. You can import your music preferences from Facebook or Deezer. Alternatively you can enter your favorite artists' names and get an email alert when they are on tour. It's also a good tool, with plenty of customization options, for finding a music event that you can enjoy. Read More

Use Facebook Messenger In Your Browser Without An Add-on Or Extension

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fb_messenger
Facebook's chat feature is easily one of the most popular features of the social network. A lot of extensions for both Chrome and Firefox are available that allow you to use the messaging feature as a stand alone app instead of strictly on Facebook because it is very distracting. Facebook has now released an independent web interface dedicated solely to its chat feature titled Messenger. You sign in using your Facebook account and continue chatting. Your chat history is there and you do not need to have Facebook open in a tab. Here's a quick review of the new feature. Read More

Disable Alerts For iMessages From Anyone Not In Your Contacts

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ios8.3 uknown messages
Have you upgraded to iOS 8.3 yet? If not, there is one great reason to do it and I do not mean the new emojis. The update adds a seriously great feature to the Messages app that specifically targets iMessages from unknown numbers or email addresses. When enabled, it not only stops notifications for any incoming iMessages from people who are not in your contacts but it also sorts them into a separate tab in the Messages app. Here's how to enable it. Read More

Answer Messages With A Thumbs Up Or Thumbs Down On Your iPhone

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thumbify
Facebook's Messenger app has a thumbs up button that, when tapped, sends a Thumbs-Up emoji (Or sticker?) to whoever you're talking to. Using it is even better than typing out 'K' in place of 'Ok' or 'Okay' and it induces far less range on the recipient's side when it is sent. The thumbs-up symbol, not to mention the thumbs-down which Facebook doesn't support, is pretty universal in meaning. You can use it to communicate approval and disapproval but only Facebook capitalizes on it. Thumbify is free a third party keyboard app for iOS with exactly two buttons; a thumbs up and a thumbs down (and a pretty pointless number pad for some reason). Once enabled, you can use it to quickly send the thumbs up and thumbs down emoji when texting. Read More