Google and Verticle Tabs

Google Chrome is introducing vertical tabs, giving users the option to move tabs to the side of the browser window for easier reading of full page titles and improved tab group management. Once enabled, vertical tabs will stay on by default until the user switches it back.

Alongside this change, Chrome is also rolling out a new Reading Mode that provides a full-page, distraction-reduced interface designed to help us focus on text, becoming the new default experience at a time when many web pages—especially news sites—are increasingly littered with ads.

Now to get started with trying out your new google chrome tricks...

Open a new tab and paste this link > chrome://flags/

At the top in the search window where it says search flags, type in the word tabs.

There you will see in the listed below, Verticle Tabs set at default. Click that and choose enable.

Then at the lower right hand of the screen/window click Relaunch.

After doing this, then go to the top right corner with the vericle three dots and scroll down to more tools, and from there you can choose vertical tabs. If you decide you don’t really like the vertical tabs feature you can simply go back to the same more tools and choose horizontal tabs again.

Once you have enabled the flag, you will at least be able to go back and forth and decide for yourself which you refer.

Your new Reading mode is also accesible from the same more tools in the drop down list. This one for sure is worth using, it wipes out all of the annoying ads.

Thanks for stopping by, Good Luck!

How do I find my IP address in Windows?

How do I find my IP address in Windows?

You can find your computer's IP address very quickly with two different ways in Windows.

First, on the bottom left side of your screen click the pill shaped search or click on the Windows icon to the left of that. You can also press the Windows icon on the bottom of your keyboard. It's the key between the Ctrl key and the Alt key.

The next thing is to type in the search bar the word run. This will pop up another window and there tye the letters - cmd. This will open a new window with a blinking cursor in what looks like an old DOS prompt. Type ipconfig right after the blinking cursor prompt and this will open a screen with all your network information. About halfway down you'll find your ip address right after IPv4 Address - this will be your address. It's the easiest way to find your IP Address.

Another way to find the same information is to go back to search as in the first way and this time type control panel. Open Control Panel and then select Network and Internet. After that select Network and Sharing Center and select your internet connection. When you do this another window will pop up and from here you'll see about halfway down a button that says Details. Click on Details and all of your connection information will be listed there and your ip address will be right after IPv4.

This is good to know and if you subscribe to a VPN you'll want to check this for sure, because if you find that your ip is not changed then you'll want to get another one.

Everyone with any computer savvy will want a good VPN these days to keep Internet Service Providers from knowing all of your business!

Good Luck!

Google's All Out Assault on Ad-Blockers begins June 3rd

        Google is phasing out Manifest V2 extensions in Chrome, starting in early June 2024, but not as fast as we thought. This change renders your ad blockers useless, and that is the intention despite their claims that Manifest V3 is designed to enhance the security, privacy, performance, and overall trustworthiness of Google Chrome extensions.

       From June 3, 2024, with Chrome version 127, users with active Manifest V2 extensions will see warnings in the Chrome Beta, Dev, and Canary channels. Extensions using Manifest V2 will also lose their "Featured" badge. Currently, my own system is at version 125, so the roll-out will take a little bit more time.

       The stable version of Chrome will gradually disable V2 extensions and suggest V3 alternatives, but users can temporarily re-enable their V2 extensions, but this option will eventually be removed.

       Google says that about 85% of Chrome extensions, including popular ad-blockers like AdBlock, Adblock Plus, uBlock Origin, and AdGuard, have migrated or released versions that support Manifest V3.

       So if you thought like many that June 3rd was going to be Doomsday for your web browsing it’s not. The full rollout should occur with Chrome version 127, and our extensions with have new Manifest V3 versions available. Not sure yet if the popular extensions we all use with automatically update to Manifest V3 or if we’ll have to add new ones from Playstore.

       I for one do not believe that Google or YouTube or any of its software products has a right to know what software you have on your system. I feel that it’s an invasion of privacy and an overreach by a greedy corporation whose motto was once “Don’t be evil”.

       It seems like all their efforts to get you to disable or not use ad-blockers is really turning into a game of whack-a-mole, and I don’t see any end in sight.

*For users of the ad-blocking extension Ublock there’s already a MV3 alternative uBO Lite (uBOL). You can find more information at the following link. You may need to customize it, and this link gives you the information needed to do that uBol Lite or uBol.

      Others are using different web browsers and enjoying all that YouTube has to offer without invasive annoying ads. You might consider Brave, Firefox, Opera, and or even DuckDuckGo. You can add ad-blockers to these as well and completely eliminate ads.

      I suppose there’ll always be workarounds to avoid annoying ads until ads become part of the actual content.

*Google's claims that MV3 will help improve overall security is a blatant lie. Read more here at https://bit.ly/4e5iSrG.

STOP! Don’t use the popular YouTube App.

 STOP! Don’t use the popular YouTube App.

The popular YouTube App usually is one of the pre-installed apps on your smartphone, and even if it is not, you’ll most likely go to the app store and then download the YouTube app just like almost everyone else. So, just don’t do it! When you use the YouTube app no matter what you search for to watch and listen to you’ll be stuck having to suffer through unwanted ads. Before during and after whatever content you want to enjoy.

There is another way to watch videos or listen to new music without suffering through all of the YouTube ads, and that is, don’t use the YouTube app at all!

Instead, download from the app store, the Brave browser, and load YouTube through this and you’ll be able to watch and listen to whatever you want without seeing any ads at all.

Brave is the smartest choice for blocking ads. This browser was built specifically as an ad-free alternative to Chrome and has built-in ad-blocking abilities and anti-tracking tech. It also uses secure HTTPS almost everywhere on the internet. With no ads being loaded, that means a faster browsing experience compared to most other browsers.

I’m not saying you should ditch Chrome altogether, instead try using different browsers for different things. I use Brave strictly for running YouTube videos and music, but I still like Chrome for searching for information as needed.

Brave recently began a new opt-in ad service where you can allow online ads, and will even pay users who choose to view a small number of ads at regular intervals while they browse. Brave hopes the new system will change the way online advertising works, but web pages in the Brave browser will still be ad-free, even if you decide to get periodic ads, but I wouldn't do it if I were you. That would just defeat the whole purpose of using Brave at all. Fortunately, that is a choice that you are able to make. Mine is set at no ads at all 100%, and this works just fine for me.

Other alternative ad-free browsers include Opera and Firefox, but we don’t need to go overboard here and use too many browsers. I still highly recommend downloading and installing the Brave browser from the app store on your phone and run YouTube through that and you’ll enjoy all of what YouTube has to offer without any ads at all.

I would also recommend doing the same for your desktop PC and use Brave there as well.

Good Luck!

 

How to Fix Windows 10 Picture Thumbnails Not Showing in your Icons

Sometimes, thumbnails of your image files don’t show up in your File Explorer folders on Windows 10. You can see image file icons with .png or other file extensions, but no thumbnail preview of your photos no matter what your File Explorer folder settings are set at.

If you open your File Explorer options and the box is unchecked that says Always show icons, never thumbnails and you still can’t see photos instead of plain icons you just need to reset to factory defaults and go back and uncheck this box again. Sometimes it gets changed after an update or restart and your Windows 10 File Explorer settings are somehow changed to show only file icons and not thumbnails, or sometimes you are not able to preview your pictures in folders no matter if that box is checked or unchecked.

The simple fix to this little nagging problem that occurs every so often is to reset your File Explorer to factory defaults, and then uncheck Always show icons, never thumbnails from the view tab in File Explorer settings.

Just open File Explorer, then at the top where it says File, Home, Share, View, select View and then to the far right select options and select Change folder and search options. In the window that pops up select view and then uncheck Always show icons, never thumbnails.

So, even if you open File Explorer and see that Always show icons, never thumbnails are already unchecked and you still don’t see your picture preview in your icons just go ahead and check the box and then select restore defaults. Then close everything out and restart pc and go back and uncheck Always show icons, never thumbnails, and then select Apply. This may seem tedious and annoying and it is, but it works. 

It’s really that easy. Good Luck!

How to see and use the new Gmail

How to see and use the new Gmail.

   Many of us have been waiting for the new improved Gmail. It promises a new more streamlined user interface with a better integrated Chat, Spaces, and Meet. You’ll still have easy access to other Google Apps in the upper left corner right beside your circular profile icon where you can easily switch between accounts if you and your family share a computer.

   Well if you're still waiting to see the new Gmail and haven’t had the chance to try it out, because it has not been rolled out to everyone yet. You still can.

   It’s very simple to get the new Gmail right now, just follow these simple three steps.

1. With your Gmail open, go to your settings icon in the upper left corner.

2. Select the first thing you see. See all settings.

3. At the top to your far left under General, scroll down and select Experimental Access. Check this box and reload and you’ll now be able to use new Gmail features even before they are the default for everyone across the whole platform.

   

   That's all there is to it, check it out now. Gmail is still the best email service to use.

Why can't I view my pictures in Windows 10

Why can't I view my pictures in Windows 10?

Why can't I see my picture thumbnails?

How do I get Windows 10 to show pictures instead of icons?

I can’t see any image without opening it. My folders only show icons without images. It will only show image details and a generic icon. It’s a common problem with a very easy solution.

Here’s how to easily fix this problem.

1. Open file explorer

2. Select pictures folder

3. At the top after File, Home, and Share select View

4. After you select View, at the top far right you will see options with a drop-down arrow.

5. Click on this options and select change folder and search options.

6. After this window pops up select View again, and under the files and folders uncheck the box Always show icons, never thumbnails.

7. At the bottom of this pop-up window click apply. Close out of file explorer and relaunch and you will now see photo icons.

That’s all you have to do!

How to enable Global Media Controls play/pause button in Chrome

Google Chrome’s new media playback controls are part of the stable version of Chrome 77 and higher but are but disabled by default. Here is how you can enable the button.

Copy and paste the link below in a new tab.

chrome://flags/#global-media-controls

The below screen shot will the be displayed and just select enabled from the drop down box to the right.

After you've done that relaunch the browser, and you’ll see a tiny play button next to the left of your personal icon button to the right of the url field. The new feature will allow you to skip forward or back, pause, or play a file in a tab.

*FYI - If you do not see the media control icon it's because there are no open tabs with media. To see this icon there must be a tab with media to play.

The more tabs with media to play will show up in a drop down list once you've enabled this feature. This is a way to quickly identify where unwanted noise may be coming from if you should happen to have many tabs open, and this option will make it quick and easy to stop media playing that you don't want to hear.

There you have it, and good luck, Google may change how it works or remove it in the future. However, I believe Google will enable the Play/Pause button for everyone in future versions of Chrome by default, but we'll see.

Google Tricks...Secret Hidden game

Google Chrome's "Unable to connect to the internet" page has a hidden T-Rex Endless Runner game.

Leave it to Google to come up with a way to make use of down time when your internet connection is not working.

Hidden and unknown to most is a T-Rex Endless Runner game that is activated by hitting the spacebar. This turns the error page into a basic desert plain with cacti and the occasional cloud above,  that the games T-Rex must hurdle. You rack up the points the further along you go, but the game is over as soon as you hit the cactus. Hit the spacebar again and the game begins anew.

The game works when you're offline, so the next time you see this awful no internet connection splash page, just remember their is something you can do while you wait for your internet to reconnect.

Now you can try this game out while online simply by following the provided link below.

T-Rex Endless Runner Game Online

Google is planning to cripple ad-blockers on Chrome

Google is threatening users of Ad-Blockers again. They make an exception for their Enterprise users saying "blocking will still be available to enterprise deployments." For the rest of us they intend to interfere with our web browsing and render present ad-blockers useless.

If you are getting tired of Google’s threats and attempts to force unwanted ads into your web browsing, then maybe you’re ready to make a change. If you’ve been a Chrome user and just don’t want to go to too much trouble, but you are ready to make a change then go and be Brave...I mean get Brave.

What you’ll discover is a web browser that is nearly identical to Chrome and maybe even a little bit faster, and with ad-blocking already built in. With Brave there’s no need to install ad-blocking extensions at all. Even better it will import all of your Chrome’s information into Brave in seconds.

What’s all the fuss you wonder? Earlier in the year Google announced their Manifest V3 project. In this they propose changes to Chrome's extension system that would essentially stop ad-blockers from working. Users and extension developers have both protested these proposed changes in Google's plans, but so far to no avail. Chrome’s software security engineer Chris Palmer did have this to say...the new API’s are not going to break content blockers, and that the “declarativeNetRequest” limitations are under active discussion and may change.

To further explain, ad-blockers currently use Chrome's "webRequest" API to block ad-based HTTP requests from being made. Manifest V3's proposed changes, will force Chrome's ad blocker extensions to use their new, faster "declarativeNetRequest" API, and the real problem is that the new system has too many limitations, which really means that some ads will get through the ad blocker, not all but whatever surpasses the limitations of the new API.

Considering how much notice all extension developers have had, I would not be surprised if and when the new Chrome changes go into effect, that the extensions we have come to depend on will comply, and that extension developers will find a way around the "declarativeNetRequest" obstacle now confronting them.

If you value your browsing space and do not want to see ads, and like to browse with the additional extensions you’ve had in Chrome, then you have nothing to worry about because Brave offers support for nearly all of the extensions that are compatible with chromium.

So, if you are new to trying out Brave, be not afraid. This web browser is almost identical to the Chrome browser, and I’m sure you’ll love it.

How to install Extensions in Brave

1. Launch Brave and open the Menu on the top-right:

2. Select More Tools > Extensions

This will launch a new tab and from there you can add the extensions you like from the Web Store.

But can we use brave on a Chromebook? Yes,the Brave Android app works on most newer Chromebooks. But if your Chromebook is older and doesn’t support Android apps, then it will not work as of this posting. Considering that the alternatives are Edge, Firefox and Opera, I’d simply go out and get a new Chromebook and run the Brave android app.

How to fix the annoying YouTube 400 error

Just click to open the vertical ellipsis or more options icon to the top far right of Chrome’s browser and scroll down and select “Settings.” Scroll to the bottom of this screen and select “Advanced.” In the Privacy and Security section below and towards the end select “Content Settings.” The next thing to do is to select “Cookies.” After you select Cookies a new screen will appear and on this screen click and open “See All cookies and site data.” At the top right you’ll see a line with a magnifying glass and in the blank space it will say Search cookies. In this space type youtube and just below will appear a button that will say “Remove All Shown.” Click this button to remove all shown and another button will appear that will ask if you want to continue, select the button “Clear All.”

Now you can close the settings tab and open YouTube and watch what you wish without the annoying 400 error.

Check Out YouTube's New Design

YouTube Dark Mode

YouTube has a new look

The new design aims to be simple and consistent. It has more white space. The white background comes across as smoother and more pleasing, but it is not too different from the previous design, and the squared icons get replaced with round thumbnails.

The biggest change is that you have more control options available through your icon in the top right, and of course now you can turn on a new "dark mode," this replaces all the white UI and makes it easier on the eyes. The dark mode switch is in the new profile menu, which you can access by clicking on your profile picture in the top right.

The design isn't rolling out for everyone yet. So, if you want to try it out, go to your youtube.com and add /new - youtube.com/new

You can easily switch back to Classic Mode by clicking your profile picture in the upper right and scrolling down to select it.

YouTube says it will have "quicker feature development from here on out." It cites the dark theme as the first of these Polymer-enabled features and says, "This is only the beginning—you can look forward to more powerful new features coming soon!"

The new design looks good, but the downside so far is that enabling it will also disable your YouTube downloading extensions that you may have installed. Try it out and remember you an always switch back to classic mode. Extension developers are probably already writing new code for the new design.

How to Display a PDF on Blogger

How To Put PDF or any document on Blogger in easy to follow step by step instructions.

Blogger is a great publishing platform, and it's used by millions every day. There are a few shortcomings with the service, but then again none of the blogging platforms are perfect.

One of the shortcomings with blogger is the lack of plug 'n play support for importing documents or pdf files into a new post.

If you're a Blogger, there may come a time when you want to display a word doc or pdf in a new post. Without already knowing what to do, you'll inevitably start searching google for an easy way to do this.

You can search all day, high and low, but you won't find any better information than what I am going to give you right now.

To embed a pdf follow these simple steps

1. Upload your file to your Google Drive. ( It would be a good idea to put your blogger pdf's in a separate folder,to help you stay better organized.)
2. Double click and open your file in Google Drive.
3. At the top right where there are 3 dots next to the printer and download icons, click and open the 3 dots and select at the top Share.
4. At the bottom right of the pop-up select advanced.
5. Where it says...Specific people can access click > change.
6. At the top of this pop-up select On – Public on the web, and then click save and then click done.
7. Go back to the 3 dots at the top right side of your file next to the download and printer icons and select the 3 dots and select open in new window.
8. Finally, select the 3 dots again, at the top right of your file, and this time select embed item. Copy the html code in the pop-up box and select OK.

That's all there is to it, it's very simple and after you've done it a few times you won't need to search for ways to do it.

But, that's not all...once you have your code, go back into Blogger and on your post in edit mode you'll see 2 tabs at the top of your unpublished post, one says compose, and the other says html. Select the html tab, and simply paste your code there.

Prior to publishing your post, you'll want to see it in preview to make sure it all looks the way you want it to. There's a good chance that when you see your post in preview that the pdf is off the page, proportionately too wide and doesn't look right. Not to worry...this is easily fixed by going back to your post in edit mode, and again select the html tab. Open this and look for your pdf html code and there you'll see that your code is probably set to a standard height at 480 and the width at 640. To fix this, just select the number following the width and set that to 580. Changing only the width is all you need to do, then go back and preview it again and you'll see that your file fits perfectly side to side and looks the way it should.

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Alt Codes Cheat Sheet - Alt Codes Reference

It happens to everyone. You're typing a paper and then you need to insert some special character that is not conveniently at your fingertips. You then type the word out instead of the character and think to yourself, 'I don't like that' then probably you'll minimize your work in progress and Google search how to etc. Everyone has and this will continue to be a never ending dilemma, because there are quite literally too many to remember that often are seldom used.

Below, I list some of the most common characters we often wish to use rather than type out in full. These are just the basics. Too much information (TMI) is often too easily forgotten.

These are called “Alt Codes”. You can simply hold down the Alt key while typing out a number code to get your desired character.

How to use

Press and hold the ALT key and type the number

Alt-0162 = ¢
Alt- 0169 = ©
Alt-0174 = ®
Alt-0153 = ™
Alt-0176 = °(degree sign)
Alt-0134 = †(dagger)
Alt-0135 = ‡(double dagger)


Common Fractions

Alt-0188 = ¼
Alt-0189 = ½
Alt-0190 = ¾


More Alt-Codes can be found with the following links.

http://symbolcodes.tlt.psu.edu/accents/codealt.html#punc

http://www.rapidtables.com/math/symbols/Infinity_Symbol.htm

You can also use Charmap to copy and paste other popular signs and symbols to make your written work more unique.

   MS Windows Character map

Charmap ("Character Map") is a program built-in into MS Windows operating systems. You can use it to input characters from the different fonts installed on your system.

How to run it...

There are two ways to open Character Map.

1.Start ➢ All Programs ➢ Accessories ➢ System Tools ➢ Character Map
2.The Faster way is: Start ➢ Search >Programs and files search bar ➢ type "charmap" then press enter on your keyboard.

With Character Map, just choose a font and pick text characters you like. You type them in a line by double-clicking them in the character list and then copy-paste from the program's input line to where you want.

The program is easy to use and you'll discover more on your own easily, just by trying it out.

Another suggestion would be to create your own 'cheat sheet' document with all of the characters you might ever want to use. A page of only characters, signs and symbols that you can easily refer to and access to copy and paste from. It might seem like a silly idea, but most writers do have a copy & paste cheat sheet that they VERY often refer to.

I hope the above information is of use and helps you out.

How To Fix the Chromebook Sound & Video Problems

How To Fix the Chromebook Sound & Video Problems

Chromebook does not play sound with avi files

Chromebook has sound and no picture with avi files

How to play avi files on Chromebook

How to get MKV files to play on Chromebook without issues

Fixing the no sound problem on a Chromebook

Chromebooks have been around for a while now, and they keep growing in popularity all the time. As more and more people become Chromebook users, more questions surface all the time with some of the Chromebook peculiarities that leave us confounded. Right now, one of those problems has to do with video playing without sound. If that is you, then read on my friend, I have the answer you are looking for.

Chrome states that they support all of the major video types, which are also called containers. The problem some people are having is that their Chromebooks (regardless of the manufacturer) does not support certain audio codecs as they’re proprietary and Chrome/Google would have to pay license fees to the owners. In general, all MKV containers are supported, but if the audio within the container is encoded in a proprietary codec, it won’t play. This applies to other video formats, like avi, as well, what people did not realize is that some of the audio is encoded in proprietary codecs, and some of these simply will not play on your Chromebook.

The solution is to convert your video into another format/container and that fixes the problem. There are numerous apps out there, just for this purpose. The unfortunate reality here is many, and most of these app's require registration and then they also charge some subscription type of fee.

It really depends on how much video you use on your Chromebook and if converting files is really worth all of the trouble.

What I've found is, most video works fine without any sound problems on Chromebook. Only rarely have I found a file that plays with no sound.

If you want an easy, and FREE way to fix your video without sound problem, your best option is to use the web app clipchamp.

With clipchamp you can convert, and fix your video. The downside of this, is that the process is a little bit slow, and you can only convert 5 videos for free per month. For myself, that's more than good enough, and I can easily have a file converting on one tab while doing other things in other tabs.

One last tip, if you are going to use this clipchamp web app, you should also be aware that if your machine goes to sleep or your screen saver pops up, your video conversion will probably fail or just not work. This is also easy enough to fix, just add the extension to your Chrome browser called The Great Suspender and select never suspend this site from the drop down menu. This will allow you to keep a video actively converting in a tab that you can ignore.

Rock On!

Extra: I've read elsewhere that you can fix your video by uploading your video to Google Drive, hoping that it will work by playing it from there. I tried that, and it DID NOT work. Don't waste your time.

The Great Suspender

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/the-great-suspender/klbibkeccnjlkjkiokjodocebajanakg

clipchamp

https://clipchamp.com/dashboard

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The bottom line here is that if your particular video does not work as it should, you will need to convert the file, unfortunately there is no easy fix such as an app or extension that will magically fixes these issues. Even the VLC extension did not work. The only thing that does for sure is to convert your file with clipchamp.