Create GIF Images With YouTube And Add Text To Them

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GIFs are becoming quite popular. Imgur, where the internet's treasure trove of great GIFs resides, rolled out a new format called GIFV to make them play, load, and loop better. In case you were looking for a few great tools to make a good GIF, you can check out our list of GIF making apps. Alternatively, you can wait for YouTube to universally roll out its new GIF maker. The video hosting giant has obviously realised how popular GIFs are. Quite a few apps exist that let you paste a YouTube video's URL and then extract a portion of it as a GIF so it kind of makes sense that YouTube would just add the feature itself. It's still rolling out with one particular video having been identified as having the feature enabled for it. You might have to wait a while before it's available for all videos but here's how the feature works and the video you can test it out on. Read More

Four Noteworthy Additions To The Messages App In iOS 8

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iOS 8 brought with it so many changes that Apple felt the need to include a Tips app just to highlight them all. No doubt the company realized just how complex its OS had gotten and the new stuff would be pretty hard to learn all at once. In iOS 8, the Health app has gotten a lot of attention as has the continuity and handoff feature but this latest version of Apple's mobile operating system brought some great and very welcome changes to the Messages app and here are all four of them. Read More

Two Ways To Get Autocorrect In Google Chrome

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Auto-correct is the known culprit in many texting fails. It tries to guess what you meant to type and will often prevent you from cursing while you text or post on social media. Perhaps that's one of its redeeming qualities but when the feature isn't ruining lives and putting words in our texts, it's really great. It makes us out to be better spellers and it makes typing easier and faster. If only you could get the feature in Chrome (or other browsers for that matter). The idea isn't novel and there are two ways to get the feature in Chrome. Read More

Insert Custom Number Of Rows In Excel With This Simple Macro

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macro_excel
The MS Office apps are designed very intelligently and I'm not saying this just because they make my work infinitely easier. I'm saying it because its true. A few days back we did a post on inserting YouTube videos in Office 2013 and noted that the option was absent in MS Excel simply because it wasn't needed there. This is the type of intelligence I'm talking about; knowing which features are needed in a specific type of app. It makes sure nothing irrelevant makes it into the final offering. That said, I was surprised to find that where Excel allows you to insert more rows in a worksheet, it doesn't let you select the number of rows you want to add. You have other work arounds for accomplishing this like selecting the number of rows you want add from the existing ones and then using the insert function. Or you could repeat the insert row step for as many rows as you want. It is repetitive but if you're willing to spare five minutes, this little Macro can take care of the job for you. Read More

Set The Default Launcher, SMS App, And Browser In Android Lollipop

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Android Lollipop brought some big new features to the Android platform and we've covered the exceptionally noteworthy ones such as pinning screens and user/guest accounts. But this latest version of Android isn't all about big features, there are smaller more obscure ones that deserve just as much attention. Android Lollipop has made it ridiculously to set default apps. You can choose the default launcher, set the default SMS app, and even set or reset the default browser on your Android device. The options aren't exactly well placed and easy to find but they're all there in the Settings app and are simple to use. Read More

Bring Back The Old Tab Switcher In Chrome For Android

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Chrome's Material design version does something a little unorthodox with the tab switcher; it combines the tab switcher with the app switcher. To switch to a different tab, you have to tap the app switcher button and it brings up, in addition to the other apps that you have open, all open Chrome tabs. You cycle through them much like you would cycle through your open apps and tap the tab you want to switch to. There isn't anything wrong with this approach if you can get into the habit of using it but I kept looking for the old tab switcher. Fortunately, there is a super simple way built into Chrome to get the old tab switcher back. Read More

Prevent Others From Editing Important Parts Of A Shared Word File

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Often times, working on a documentation task in groups can result in confusion. Unless you've made absolutely certain that no one is going to attempt to edit a section they are not supposed to edit, it's going to be hard to keep the essential bits of the document unchanged. Fortunately, MS Word has for a long time supported a great tool called Content Control which allows the author of a document to prevent others from editing any part of it. It's as simple as selecting the text which may be the literature review, concluding remarks, the index, or anything similar that took a great deal of work to put together, and then applying a simple control to it. The only tricky bit is knowing where to look for that control. Read More

How To Start A Conversation With Firefox Hello

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Firefox 34 was released just a short while back and where it wasn't big on features in terms of numbers, there was one huge feature that was introduced in the release; Firefox Hello. Think about Google Hangouts; a chat service that is restricted to your Gmail account and the Chrome browser. Remove those restrictions and you have Firefox Hello. You are restricted to needing Firefox to initiate a conversation but neither you nor your recipient need a Firefox account and they also don't need to use Firefox. Here's how you can start either an audio call or a video call with Firefox Hello. Read More

Windows Hidden Steps Recorder Turns Screen Action Into Step-By-Step Instructions

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Have you ever tried to explain a process to someone, had to write out instructions, or receive instructions or steps for using a particular software or reproducing a bug from someone who isn't very good at reporting them? The simplest way around problems like this are screencasts. You can create one to use as an instruction medium, or you can ask someone to make one and send it to you so you can see what steps were taken to result in a bug. Not everyone is comfortable with screencasting tools, even the simplest ones and just getting the instruction for downloading the right kind of software to the person you're trying to help might be a problem. Fortunately, Windows has a built-in tool called Problems Steps Recorder that records your on-screen actions and converts them into text-based instructions. You run the app, hit record, and execute the steps you want to explain or that are resulting in an error of some sort. Once you're done, you only have to send the output file to the recipient. The app is present in both Windows 7 and Windows 8. Read More

Begin Projects by Creating An Outline & Organizing Your Content

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Getting started on a project or report, academic or work related seems daunting. There are so many things that should be included but at the same time, the information needs to come together in just the right way to make sense. There's two approaches you can take to it; you can gather the information first, and arrange it later. Alternatively, you can start with an outline so you don't spend too much time looking for information you won't need. Foldout is a very simple Windows tool that lets you create outlines for a project. It's a great way to get organized whenever you're documenting anything new and the app lets you export your outline to HTML, DOCX, and TXT format. Read More

Exchange Breaking Bad Inspired Greetings With Aaron Paul’s New App

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You might recall an app called Yo that came out a while back and not only was it seriously popular, it raised a considerable amount of money in funding. It also left a lot of people wondering what had just happened. For a texting or messaging app to stand out these days, it needs to do a lot. The messaging space is very saturated and anyone wanting to break into the market will need a significant advantage. Meet YB, it's a messaging app with the seal of approval from Aaron Paul, your favorite meth cook (please, don't ever do drugs. It's not worth it.). It doesn't replace your stock messaging app; instead your friends sign up to the service, add you and others, and send and receive messages that the app provides. The app is free and comes with four different variations of the phrase 'Yo Bit*h'. You can upgrade to get more greetings. Read More

Send A Message To Let Someone Know Why You’re Calling

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Calltag tags
The Do Not Disturb mode, or Interruptions if you're using Android, is a feature that prevents notifications from disturbing you on your device. You can ensure that only calls from important people come through or only your most essential apps can send you alerts while your phone is resting on your night stand, or on your desk at work. I've personally found Do Not Disturb or Interruptions to work great but to only be suitable for use at night. I don't really favour it at work for one simple reason; working hours is when a lot of important activity happens and blocking calls isn't the best way to avoid interruptions. I just keep my phone on silent and prefer people text me before calling. Lots of people don't have time for their devices when they're working so taking calls isn't easy. Calltag is a great way around this; it's an app available for both Android and iOS that lets you quickly compose a message with your name and where you're calling from, and add tags that describe what your conversation is about. The message is sent to whoever you intend to call to give them a heads-up on why you're calling. Once the message is sent, the app initiates a count down before the call is made. Your recipient will know why you're calling and they can choose to take the call, or ignore it. Read More

Set Your Own Shortcut Key To Move Between Tabs In Firefox

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Browsers, the really good ones like Firefox and Chrome have disappointed me on one particular thing; navigating between tabs isn't possible with keyboard shortcuts. You can use Ctrl+1 - 9 to switch to the first nine tabs but that's as far as it goes. The feature isn't useless but it is limited because we always have more than nine tabs open. Some go as far as opening fifty before they feel the need to open a new window so a quick way to cycle through tabs is sorely needed. Now, extensions are one way to go about adding this feature and we've found a really good, reliable one that works almost like magic. Keyconfig is a a Firefox add-on that lets you code your own keyboard shortcuts. The possibilities in terms of what shortcuts you can add are endless and we're listing the code needed to use the Ctrl+Left arrow and Ctrl+Right arrow keys to switch to the next and previous tab, respectively. You can use just about any shortcut combination instead of the ones mentioned but the tutorial given uses these two. Read More

Inserting & Embedding YouTube Videos In MS Office 2013

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Going from Office 2003 to Office 2007, the only thing that popped out at me was the annoying format problem. It was a plague for me because I was still studying at the time and project documentation in a group became a problem. With Office 2013 though I was seriously excited because it offered some truly amazing new features, my favorite of which is the 'pick-up where you left off' feature in MS Word. Office 2013 also makes it ridiculously simple to insert online videos in both Word documents and PowerPoint presentations. The revamped insert video feature lets you embed a YouTube video, and even search for one from without ever leaving the application. Here's a quick guide to doing just that. Read More

3 Great Ways To Use The Count Function In Excel

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Excel is a truly amazing app that's helped countless people analyse and manipulate large sets of data. In my opinion, it is a great tool that can find some sort of utilization in just about any field (except maybe oil rigs). A short while back we did a post on five Excel functions that can be exceptionally useful in making mundane, boring, repetitive work considerably easier. Many of us, specially those doing managerial or administrative tasks on a daily basis grow quite familiar with many of the functions that Excel supports and while we may know how to use one, where to use it and how a function can make life easier isn't always so obvious. Today I'm detailing three uses of the very simple 'Count' function in Excel. Read More

New Features In Firefox 34 For Desktop And Android

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Firefox 34 is now available. If the update hasn't already downloaded, go ahead and check for it now. Firefox 34 is leaning more on the end-user side in terms of new features. The Android version isn't big on either developer or end-user features with Chromecast mirroring being the only significant one. The most interesting feature in Fiefox 34 is easily Firefox Hello, a new way to exchange private messages, both audio and video though the feature is still in its Beta phase. Other significant features are the new theme switcher and a way to fix the 'Fire. fox is already running' problem that users encounter at times. Read More

Material Design Color Palettes Suggests Colors For Your App [Android]

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Material Design has been a highlight of Android Lollipop and rightly so. It's Android maturing in terms of design. The design itself is pretty good, enough to encourage developers to adopt it more and more. Maybe one day we will wait for apps to upgrade to the new design like we  do today with iOS apps. For anyone looking for inspiration on how to do Material Design well, there is the myriad of stock apps by Google to act as an example. Implementation-wise we have quite a few examples but if you're a designer struggling with the right colors for material design, give Material Design Color Palettes a try. It's a very simple free Android app that lists shades for nineteen different colors that are a good fit for Material design. The colors range from bright reds and pinks to mute browns and greys. Read More

Equalizer Frequencies & Settings On Music Players Explained

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The best music players have music equalizer settings and  come with pre-sets to make the music you're listening to sound really good. These pre-sets are defined by the genre they're best suited for such as pop or rock (but never with a goth metal satanic screaming pre-set for some reason). But what are these mystery settings that claim to improve our listening experience? Are they even real or is it just something developers the world over have collectively conspired to add to music players for the sake of looking cool? The equalizer settings are 100% legit as is the claim that the right setting will improve the quality of music you hear, subject to what kind of speakers you have. We're going to take a look at what the equalizer is and just what each of those sliders mean. Read More

3 Android Features That Will (Probably) Never Make It To iOS

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We often compare Android with iOS and each time Google and/or Apple announce a new version of their OS, fans of both take to the internet to debate who did it first, or who did it better. A lot of times, the two operating systems do indeed borrow or adapt popular features from the other but a lot of features, a lot of popular ones, often do not make the transition. That's where you see a lot of variance between the two in terms of features. Both Google and Apple follow a certain philosophy when adding features to their respective mobile operating systems and there are just somethings neither will adopt (voluntarily or otherwise) from the other, Here are three very awesome Android features that are highly unlikely to make it to iOS. Read More

Gmail’s Inbox Doesn’t Organize Email, It Reminds You To Answer It

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A lot of you may have heard about Inbox, Gmail's new email app for iOS and Android. You might be wondering just why Gmail decided to launch a new email app for both these platforms when it already has a pretty great email app for both platforms already out in the field for several years now. I took a look at the new app and also at the need for it to exist, which I found to be genuine. Inbox supports multiple accounts and is built on Material design which works pretty nicely on iOS. One misconception we should probably clear up about Inbox is that it isn't just an email client, it's also a reminder app. The reminder feature is actually a pretty great feature which we'll go in to more detail. Also, access to the app is still invite only. Read More