5 ways to get more out of Google Drive storage

You may love it for its free productivity suite, but Google Drive is first and foremost a cloud storage service. As the nexus of Google’s other services, its 15GB of free space can be leveraged to improve almost any productivity task. Here are a few ways you can maximize your Drive.

1. Set it as your default document location

If you’re reading this, you’re probably already using Google Drive as your go-to storage option. You can streamline this process by making it the default save location for all your documents on your PC.
In Windows, right-click on your Documents folder and select Properties. Click Include a folder, then locate your Google Drive folder. Highlight it, select Set save location, and click Apply. Next time you save a Google or Microsoft file, it will save to Drive.

2. Attach Drive files to Gmail

The ability to insert Google Drive files into your Gmail messages provides a few significant advantages over uploading files as attachments from your hard drive. First, it allows you to email larger files. Gmail caps file attachments from your computer at 25MB. But if you insert a file direct from Google Drive, you can send a file up to 15GB—and up to 1TB if you have a paid plan.

You can insert Drive files into your Gmail messages as an attachment or a link.

Inserting Drive files also makes collaboration more efficient. Normally if you send a collaborative document to multiple people, you’ll be returned a separate version of that document from each recipient, from which you’ll have to compile feedback into a master doc. But because Google Drive’s productivity apps—Docs, Sheets, and Slides—make each collaborator’s comments and changes visible in real time to everyone that file is shared with, there’s no need to pass several versions of the same document, spreadsheet, or presentation back and forth.
Lastly, inserting a Google Drive file gives you greater control over who sees it. When you attach a local file to an email, there’s nothing to prevent a recipient from forwarding it on to unauthorized viewers. But because Drive’s sharing feature lets you designate who can access a file—and change those sharing settings at any time—you’ll have more peace of mind when emailing sensitive material.
To insert a file from Google Drive, click the Drive icon at the bottom of your Gmail message and select the file from your Drive account. You can insert it as a link to the original file or as an attachment.

3. Share many files at one time

Emailing attachments is fine when you need to send just one or two standalone files. But if you need to distribute many files to the same group of people, it’s better to compile all the files into a folder and then share it.

When you need to send many files, you can add them to a folder and share it.

To do this, open the folder containing all the files and click the share icon (it looks like a person with plus sign next to it) in the upper right. Enter the email addresses for each person you want to share the folder with and select the type of access for them—for folders you can give them either viewing or editing privileges. Type any instructions in the message field and hit send. Each recipient will be notified that you’ve share a folder with them. Once you’ve shared a folder, any files you add to it will be shared with the same access rights.

4. Save web content

One of the perks of data collection apps like Evernote and Microsoft’s OneNote is the ability to easily capture content from the web and save it online. You can do much the same in Google Drive with the help of the Save to Google Drive extension for the Chrome browser.

Install the Save to Google Drive extension to capture web content.

Once you’ve installed the extension, click the Drive icon in the Chrome toolbar to save the currently viewed webpage. You can save it as a screenshot (the whole page or just the visible portion), a web archive, or HTML by configuring the extension options. You can also save any documents, images, links, or HTML5 audio and video by right clicking on the object and selecting Save to Google Drive from the drop-down menu.

5. Manage your Drive space

If you find yourself bumping up against Google Drive’s 15GB storage limit, you can always check which of Google’s services—Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos—are eating up the most space by hovering over the usage data in the lower left corner of your Drive page. Clicking on it will show you the same data in a pie chart.

When you need to audit your storage, Drive lets you know which of Google’s services is consuming the most space.

From there, you can either start pruning files or upgrade to a paid plan. Currently, Google offers 100GB for $2/month, 1TB for $10/month, 10TB for $100/month, 20TB for $200/month, and 30TB for $300/month.

What is Big Data? The Basics – Meaning and Usage

The term Big Data is being increasingly used almost everywhere on the planet – online and offline. And it is not related to computers only. It comes under a blanket term called Information Technology, which is now part of almost all other technologies and fields of studies and businesses. Big Data is not a big deal. The hype surrounding it is sure pretty big deal to confuse you. This article takes a look at what is Big Data. It also contains an example on how NetFlix used its data, or rather, Big Data, to better serve its clients’ needs.

What is Big Data

The data lying in the servers of your company was just data until yesterday – sorted and filed. Suddenly, the slang Big Data got popular and now the data in your company is Big Data. The term covers each and every piece of data your organization has stored till now. It includes data stored in clouds and even the URLs that you bookmarked. Your company might not have digitized all the data. You may not have structured all the data already. But then, all the digital, papers, structured and non-structured data with your company is now Big Data.
In short, all the data – whether or not categorized – present in your servers is collectively called BIG DATA. All this data can be used to get different results using different types of analysis. It is not necessary that that all analysis use all the data. Different analysis uses different parts of the BIG DATA to produce the results and predictions necessary.
Big Data is essentially the data that you analyze for results that you can use for predictions and for other uses. When using the term Big Data, suddenly your company or organization is working with top level Information technology to deduce different types of results using the same data that you stored intentionally or unintentionally over years.

How big is Big Data

Essentially, all the data combined is Big Data but many researchers agree that Big Data – as such – cannot be manipulated using normal spreadsheets and regular tools of database management. They need special analysis tools like Hadoop (we’ll study this in a separate post) so that all the data can be analyzed at one go (may include iterations of analysis).
Contrary to the above, though I am not an expert on the subject, I would say that data with any organization – big or small, organized or unorganized – is Big Data for that organization and that the organization may choose its own tools to analyze the data.

Windows 10 will be a free upgrade for Windows 7 and Windows 8 users

It’s official, folks: Windows 10 will be a free upgrade for existing Windows users—as long as you claim it quickly.
Kicking off the consumer-focused Windows 10 event in Redmond on Tuesday, January 21, Microsoft operating system chief Terry Myerson announced that current users of Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and Windows Phone 8.1 will be able to upgrade to the new operating system for free as long as they do so within one year of Windows 10's launch—even if your version of Windows is pirated. Once you’ve claimed the upgrade, it's permanent, and Microsoft will keep you updated for the supported lifetime of the device.
“We think of Windows 10 as a service,” Myerson said.
Here's the fine print from the Windows 10 page on Microsoft's site:

“It is our intent that most of these devices will qualify, but some hardware/software requirements apply and feature availability may vary by device. Devices must be connected to the internet and have Windows Update enabled. ISP fees may apply. Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 8.1 Update required. Some editions are excluded: Windows 7 Enterprise, Windows 8/8.1 Enterprise, and Windows RT/RT 8.1. Active Software Assurance customers in volume licensing have the benefit to upgrade to Windows 10 Enterprise outside of this offer. We will be sharing more information and additional offer terms in coming months.”

Did you catch that? Windows RT tablets won't be upgraded to Windows 10—though they'll get some of the new features—and business users will have to pay to upgrade and receive continued support.
The decision to make Windows 10 a free upgrade for existing users makes sense. Windows 8 users have vocally expressed their displeasure with the operating system, prompting happy Windows 7 users to stay put on that OS. That hinders Microsoft's ability to execute its vision for a service-centric, cloud-connected future for Windows; making Windows 10 free could spur more users into embracing a modern Microsoft operating system.
And hey, it'd be weird to charge for Windows 10 after Windows 8 flopped so hard and Apple started giving away OS upgrades. Right?
Here's how to give the Windows 10 Technical Preview a test drive today, if you're the adventurous sort. Once you're in, you'll want to check out these killer new features first, and once you're feeling comfortable, dive deep into the myriad tips, tricks, and tweaks buried under the hood.

7 new hardware technologies you'll see in Windows 10 PCs

The arrival of Windows 10 later this year could usher in more convenient, fun and wire-free PC computing.
Some new features that make for easier hardware handling are already available, but not yet in Windows PCs, which still make up the vast majority of desktop and laptop machines. For example, Apple’s MacBook and Google’s Chromebook Pixel have set the stage for USB Type C ports and its associated reversible cables to be used in Windows PCs later this year. Meanwhile, the new Windows Hello feature—which will allow users to unlock a Windows 10 device by recognizing a face, iris or fingerprint—could bring 3D cameras and more sensors to PCs.
New hardware could also turbocharge PCs while improving battery life, and wireless features could free PCs from cord clutter. Windows 10 will be a free upgrade for existing Windows 7 and 8 users, but if you decide to get a new PC, you may want to look for some of these features:

USB Type C, and 3.1

Expect the smaller USB Type-C port to become mainstream in PCs around the time Windows 10 ships later this year. The multifaceted USB Type-C ports will recharge

laptops and connect PCs to monitors, external storage drives, printers, cameras and other peripherals. There’s also excitement around the Type-C cable, which has an identical connector on both ends. PCs will ultimately also benefit from the faster data transfer rates of the USB 3.1 protocol, which can transfer data at 10Gbps (bits per second), double that of USB 3.0. But for now, the USB Type-C ports in MacBook and Chromebook Pixel are transferring data at USB 3.0 speeds, though desktop motherboards supporting USB 3.1 are already shipping.

Face recognition

One of Microsoft’s goal with Windows 10 is to kill passwords, and it hopes to do so with
face, fingerprint and iris authentication. Laptops with Intel’s RealSense 3D camera will be able to recognize faces and use that capability to log users in to Windows. The first iteration of the depth-sensing camera is already in a handful of tablets and PCs, and the next version of the camera, expected to be in Windows 10 PCs, will do a better job of recognizing objects, measuring distances and even taking selfies.

Sensors

A standout feature in Windows 10 that separates it from Windows 8 is the ability to

automatically switch between tablet and PC user interfaces. That is made possible by sensors that detect the position of a laptop. Microsoft has also suggested Windows 10 devices could be capable of measuring temperature, environmental pressure and carbon dioxide levels, though it’s not certain whether PCs would carry the necessary, related sensors.

Better performance

Microsoft is tuning Windows 10 to work well with Intel’s upcoming Core chips code-named Skylake, which will be in PCs in the second half this year. Skylake will boost graphics and applications while improving battery life in laptops. Skylake is also a platform for freeing laptops of wire clutter. The first Skylake chips will likely be Core M processors for tablets and low-power laptops, and will be followed by laptop and desktop chips.

Wire-free computing

In an ideal universe, Intel wants laptops free of all wires. The company is bringing wireless charging technology to laptops later this year so users don’t have to carry bulky power bricks. Charging a laptop will be as simple as placing it on a table or another surface; Intel wants wireless charging be as ubiquitous as Wi-Fi. Intel is talking to airports, cafes and other businesses about installing wireless charging tables and surfaces for customers. However, it may be years until the technology becomes practical.

Qualcomm

Intel will also link up laptops to wireless monitors, storage devices and other peripherals via WiGig technology, which can transfer data at 7Gbps (bits per second). Much like Wi-Fi, laptops will start getting WiGig chips. But it could take a while for WiGig-compatible monitors and storage peripherals to become available.

Advanced displays

Dell has suggested it couldn’t incorporate OLED screens into Windows 8 laptops or tablets due to lack of native support for the screen type. The company also hinted that it would bring together Windows 10 and OLED displays in the future, though it didn’t reveal exact plans. OLED screens are used mostly in TVs, tablets and smartphones, but not yet in Windows PCs.

Hardware upgrades

Windows 10 PCs could pack graphics cards that support DirectX 12, which will improve PC gaming. The battery life of laptops will also get better with DX12. Later in the year, laptops could also ship with DDR4 memory, which will improve internal data transfer between memory, processor and other components.

Sorting text in Word: 3 tips and some secret tricks

Basic sorting in Word 2013 is a breeze: Essentially, it’s just select a list of text, click the Sort button, and then choose Ascending or Descending order. However, it gets a bit more complex when sorting multiple columns or tables. There are a few tricks and relatively unknown techniques that can save you time and make this task easier. 

Sorting multiple columns

Sorting multiple columns is the same process as sorting a list: Just click the Sort button. Word automatically highlights all the columns and sorts them consecutively in the order you specify.
Trick: When sorting the columns individually (that is, treating each column as an independent list), you must select the text in each column separately—one at a time—and then click the Sort button.
Also, you must specify the data you’re sorting—text, dates, or numbers. The good news is that Word generally knows the data format and selects it for you.

JD Sartain

Taming table sorts

Sorting all the columns of data inside a table does not work the same way as lists or columns. If you just click the Sort button, believe me, very strange things happen.
For tables, you must highlight the entire table, which reveals two new tabs on the ribbon bar: Design and Layout. Click Layout > Sort; choose the column you want to sort by in the Sort By field box; check Ascending or Descending, then click OK.
Trick: Manually selecting text can be cumbersome. Try this instead: Position your cursor over the first table column (above and outside the table). When the black arrow appears, click once, then hold down the Shift key and click above the remaining columns until the entire table is highlighted.

Sorting a single column inside a table is slightly more complicated. For example: Click the column you want sorted, then click Layout > Sort. The highlighted column you just selected is automatically listed in the Sort By field box, plus the Type (Text) and order (Ascending) is also automatically selected.
Secret warning: At this point, if you just click OK, the entire table is rearranged, but not really sorted. The selected column sorts in the order you specified (sometimes), but the other columns in the table are just randomly rearranged, resulting in a real mess.
Now what! Click Undo and read on.
The next step, unfortunately, is not intuitive. Word requires multiple sorts for this option to work properly. First, you must check the Sort Column Only box under Layout > Sort > Options > Sort Options. But once you check this box, then click OK, and OK again, the column you selected is rearranged, but not sorted. Now you have to sort it again, because Word can’t (or won’t) perform this function in a single step.
Secret trick: Try this: Position your cursor in the top, right margin (outside the table) and, when the black arrow appears, click once. Word displays a column of small gray boxes (intended for the addition of a new column). Now click Layout > Sort > Options > Sort Options and check the Sort Column Only box. Click OK, then OK again. Nothing changes (or so it seems), but the Sort Column Only box is now checked, which is necessary to proceed.

JD Sartain

And now, it works. Click the column you want sorted—in this case, the center column (as explained above)—then just click Sort > OK. This step sorts the center column alphabetically in ascending order and does not rearrange the data in the rest of the table.
Trick: Imagine that after you’ve sorted the table, you decide to put your home state of California first on the list. Rather than manually adjusting the data, you can quickly move any row up or down with a simple shortcut. Position your cursor on the California row. Press Shift+ Alt+ Up-arrow continuously until California is moved to the first row (or Shift+ Alt+ Down-arrow to move the row down).
Note: The Sort Column Only box remains checked until you exit Word, then it reverts back to the default of “unchecked.” So you must repeat these last two steps to sort a single column inside a table of multiple columns each time you access Word.

The first Ubuntu Phone is finally launching next week

Canonical is launching the first Ubuntu smartphone after a year of promises, though it’s unclear why anybody but hardcore Ubuntu aficionados would want one.
The BQ Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu edition will go on sale next week, but will only be available via “flash sales” with limited availability. It’ll cost 169.90 Euros, which translates to roughly $190.
At that price, you can’t expect much in specs department. The Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu edition will have a 4.5-inch display with 540-by-960 resolution, a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek chip, 8GB of storage (with MicroSD expansion), 1GB of RAM, and a 5-megapixel camera. The phone will have dual SIM slots, but won’t support 4G LTE networks.
As for software, Ubuntu says the interface removes the emphasis on apps—probably because it has very few apps—and instead offers themed panels called “Scopes.” Users can swipe between Scopes for news, music, videos, contacts, and nearby points of interest, in theory saving you from having to dive into traditional apps. (Now’s the time where Android users can point out the numerous custom home screens that serve similar purposes.)
That said, Canonical is promising apps from Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox, Evernote, and Amazon, among others. Some will be native Ubuntu apps, while others will be based on HTML5. If any of this sounds interesting, Canonical says it will announce the flash sales through the Ubuntu Twitter, Facebook and Google+ pages starting next week.
Why this matters: This Ubuntu phone is a far cry from the high-end Ubuntu Edge that failed to hit its crowdfunding goals in 2013. While the Edge had the intriguing ability to power an entire desktop version of Linux, the Aquaris E4.5 is entirely different, competing with other low-cost devices like the Moto G, cheap Lumia handsets and phones running Firefox OS. Winning people over won’t be easy, but the launch is still a big milestone for Canonical as it tries to crack into mobile for the first time.

Enter Windows 8 Safe Mode when you can't boot Windows 8

 If Windows 8 won’t boot normally, it probably won’t boot into Safe Mode, either. You can try the trick of repeatedly pressing and releasing F8 (described in my previous article), but it seldom works with Windows 8.
So what can you do? You have to fix the problem that’s keeping your PC from booting at all. Then, once Windows 8 can boot, you can reboot it into Safe Mode (if you still need to).


The trick is to create a recovery drive, and boot from that. It’s best to do this on your PC before you have a problem. A recovery drive created on another Windows 8 PC might work, but it might not.
Follow these instructions. You’ll need an empty flash drive, or at least one that contains nothing that you want to keep.

1. Insert the flash drive into one of your PC’s USB ports.
2. In Windows’ Search charm, type recovery, and select Create a recovery drive.
3. Follow the wizard. If you’re not using your own computer, or if your flash drive holds less than 8GB, do not check “Copy the recovery partition from the PC to the recovery drive.”

Try booting from the flash drive. You may need to go into your BIOS setup and tell it to try booting from the flash drive before it tries booting from the internal drive. Your computer almost certainly uses UEFI, which in most cases isn't a problem because it probably supports BIOS boots as well.
Once successfully booted, the recovery drive will ask you to select a keyboard layout. On the next page, titled “Choose an option,” select Troubleshoot.
On the Troubleshoot page, select Advanced options.
Once there, try Startup Repair. If that doesn’t work, try System Restore. Chances are that one of these will work, and when it does, you will probably not need to enter Safe Mode.
In the worst-case scenario, you’d have to use System Image Recovery or reinstall Windows. If you have to do one of these, Safe Mode wouldn’t have helped you anyway. 

Next iPhone chip will reportedly be made by Samsung

Samsung may be one of its biggest competitors, but Apple is again turning to the South Korean company to get chips made for the iPhone, according to a report.
Samsung will make Apple’s next chip, which will likely be called the A9, in its newest factories running on the 14-nanometer manufacturing process, according to a news report in Re/code, which cited anonymous sources familiar with the matter.
Apple designs its mobile chips in-house, but gets them made through contract manufacturers. In the past, Apple has turned to Samsung for most of its iPhone chips, but the most recent A8 chip in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were made by TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.).
Samsung will be able to supply large volumes of low-power, high-speed chips for the iPhones and iPads. Apple likes using the latest and greatest technologies available, and Samsung’s factories would be a more advanced option than the facilities provided by TSMC, which is having trouble transitioning to its 16-nanometer process.
The news could also shut the door on rumors that Apple will turn to Intel to make its mobile chips. Intel also uses the 14-nanometer process to make its chips, but it has a head-start over Samsung in 3D transistor stacking technology, which provides the power-efficiency and speed benefits seen in smartphones and tablets.
Samsung has said it expected to start rolling out 14-nanometer chips in volume by the end of last year. Samsung invested 15.6 trillion Korean won (around $14 billion) more last year in new factories to make chips for mobile devices and industrial equipment. GlobalFoundries could also get involved in manufacturing iPhone chips as it has licensed Samsung’s 14-nanometer process technology for implementation in factories.
The competition between Apple and Samsung in the smartphone and tablet markets has been not only intense but also contentious: the companies have sued each other. Apple’s iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus have been runaway successes, and Samsung hopes to make magic with the Galaxy S6, which it may reveal at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month.

BlueStacks

Bluestacks is an American mobile company that produces the BlueStacks App Player and the GamePop microconsole. Both products are designed to enable Android applications to run on Windows PCs, Macintosh computers and televisions.

Preview release	0.9.6.4092 / November 2014 (3 months ago)
Development status	Active
Operating system	Windows XP or later; Mac OS X Snow Leopard or later
Platform	x86
Size	196 MB
Available in	16 languages
Type	Virtual machine, Android emulator
License	Trialware

How To Find My IP Address On A PC

How To Find My IP Address On A PC

For Windows users, here is how I can find my IP address. First, click the Start Menu, and select Run. Next, type ''cmd'' into the box and click the ''OK'' button. Finally, at the prompt, type ''ipconfig'' and information about your IP Address will be displayed.
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How to check the Health of your laptop Battery

Welcome,

In this tutorial i will be showing you how to check the Health status of you battery and see how well it is doing at this moment in time. I will show you how much of the battery is actually being charge which determines how long the battery will last without charge.
i will also show you how to make a report of this data to gain the information.
So watch the video to find out :)

Dont forget to subscribe if youve found this tutorial useful !!

Thank
Muhammad Ali
MAK Productions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJUcwNazSyo 

Auslogics

What is Auslogics BoostSpeed?

Auslogics BoostSpeed is a software application presented as a bundle of software utilities intended to speed up, optimize and clean the user's computer, fix registry errors, improve Internet performance, remove unneeded files and entries, and defragment the disks and the registry. The program can also adjust Windows settings to match a specific computer configuration with the intent to improve Internet speed and reduce computer startup and shutdown time.

About  (from Auslogics Software)

Your one-stop PC maintenance and optimization tool. The program will clean up, speed up and fix your slow computer to make it run as fast and stable as new. Auslogics BoostSpeed 5 has a brand new interface that allows you to jump straight in, selecting the desired actions. Your current system state is displayed in the ...  Read more

Overview

The most used version is 5.5, with over 98% of all installations currently using this version. Upon installation, it defines an auto-start registry entry which allows the program run on each boot for the user which installed it. A scheduled task is added to Windows Task Scheduler in order to launch the program at various scheduled times (the schedule varies depending on the version). The software is designed to connect to the Internet and adds a Windows Firewall exception in order to do so without being interfered with. When installed, it will add a context menu handler to the Windows shell in order to provide quick access to the program. The main program executable is boostspeed.exe. A vast majority of those who have this installed end up removing it just after a couple weeks. The software installer includes 94 files and is usually about 62.71 MB (65,760,778 bytes).

Pika Software Builder

Pika Software Builder is a Windows application development tool for beginners and professionals alike.
Create your project using the WYSIWYG designer and export your app as a native Win32 executable.
With Pika, database support comes standard: build apps that interact with your Access, SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL or Oracle database.

Google Wallet

An easier way to pay.

Google Wallet makes it easy to pay - in stores, online or to anyone in the US with a Gmail address. It works with any debit or credit card, on every mobile carrier.