My Science School

LinkedIn allows students to apply for a range of positions with a single online standardized test that they can take through its 'Placements' program. The assessment test will help them qualify for openings at major companies, including HCL, Samsung, Airtel, Amazon and Cognizant. You can sign up for Placements with an existing LinkedIn profile or create a new one and take the test. Placements also hosts practice and learning material, so candidates are better prepared to take it. LinkedIn hopes that it will allow students in smaller towns and cities to apply for jobs in prominent companies just as easily as if they lived in major metros.

LinkedIn allows members (both workers and employers) to create profiles and "connect" with each other in an online social network which may represent real-world professional relationships. Members can invite anyone (whether an existing member or not) to become a "connection". LinkedIn can also be used to organize offline events, join groups, write articles, publish job postings, post photos and videos, and more.

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Mozilla's new browser, Firefox Focus, hopes to be iPhone users' go-to tool for private web surfing. Mozilla describes Focus as "for the times when you don't want to leave a record on your phone". The app opens straight into a search bar; with no tabs or menus, it aims to give you a super simple, super fast web experience. At the same time as searching, it strips out as much as it possibly can that could track you or your browsing: no cookies, no ad trackers, no analytics trackers, no social trackers. Since many of the trackers it blocks are advertising related, it might just speed up your browsing experience while cutting your data usage. Its one-click Erase button in the top right corner enables you to clear all the info from any given session in one tap.

“Private browsing” on most browsers isn’t really all that private. Firefox Focus offers next-level privacy by default and it’s backed by Mozilla, the non-profit that fights for your rights on the web. Firefox Focus blocks a wide range of common trackers by default including social trackers and those sticky ones that come from things like Facebook ads. Focus blocks ads that try to track you across web pages — no extra add-ons or extensions necessary. With fewer ads, you get better page load speed, which means you get to the stuff you want a lot faster. Focus removes trackers and enables adblockers so the pages you’re viewing require less data and load much faster. Also, pin up to four shortcuts on your home screen and get to your favorite site even quicker without typing anything.

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Ditch that selfie stick and give your arm a rest! AirSelfie has launched a high quality pocket-sized flying camera for your smartphone. With four propellers and 5MP camera, AirSelfie boasts the ability to fly upto 66 feet above ground, allowing users to take aerial shots or videos of themselves and the world around them. Shaky videos or blurry photos are eliminated with its vibration absorber and in-flight stability system. AirSelfie produces its own 2.4GHz WiFi network to which smartphones can connect. Users control the drone using an iOS or Android mobile app, both of which include a 'selfie delay timer with a range up to 10 seconds. A maximum of 8 consecutive photos can be taken. Content is saved to an included 4GB microSD card. Flight duration is just 3 minutes per charge; however, when returned to its case, AirSelfie will recharge in just 30 minutes.

One of the key differentiating—and appealing—features of AirSelfie is its ease of use. To activate AirSelfie, the user simply removes it from its case and turns it on. The device connects automatically to smartphones via WiFi—the flying camera creates the WiFi (2.4GHz) network itself and it is immediately ready for take-off.

AirSelfie users must simply download the free iOS and Android app in order to control the device’s movements through three different flight modes. AirSelfie can be returned to its departure point either manually or automatically. When users are finished using the device, it’s easy to return it to its landing spot—simply press the button labelled “slide to land” and AirSelfie descends and turns off. Users can also directly reposition the device by hand with no risk whatsoever of damaging it or themselves.

Using the “selfie delay timer” function, users can take timed photos, giving them up to 10 seconds to get into position and hide their smartphone so that it doesn’t appear in photos. Users can also take up to eight consecutive shots. AirSelfie’s technology integrates directly with social media, making it easy to post photos and videos directly to users’ accounts.

AirSelfie comes equipped with a 4 GB micro SD memory card and a 260mAh 7.4v battery that enables three minutes of flight time.

Credit : Business Wire 

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You control a white ball or "The Vessel", as it's called as it rolls along a blue road that twists and turns. But this is no ordinary "road" - it's more of a downward spiral. Your only defence against certain death is your ability to manoeuvre The Vessel at insane speeds by pressing on the left or right of the screen. True to its name, the track is just about impossible to navigate with crazy turns, jumps and other obstacles. Free for iOS.

The player is tasked with keeping a white ball (called "The Vessel") on the road for as long as possible without falling off. The road has procedurally generated twists, turns and dives and is endless. The player controls the ball by tapping (with two fingers) left or right on the screen. Each time the player passes a numbered checkpoint line, the player gains a point (several if they missed some checkpoints in between). The player can "cheat" and fall off the road and land on a road section further on the road. When the player dies (after several seconds of free fall), the player is presented with the option to play again. The player can see how many checkpoint lines they crossed and how many they skipped.

A later update allowed the player to select a color scheme (theme) and have more accurate 3D Touch controls.

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SanDisk recently unveiled the SanDisk 1TB SDXC Card at the Photokina conference in Cologne, Germany. The world's largest SD card, it's only a prototype at this point, so there's no word on price or availability.

ust six months after announcing its largest ever 200GB MicroSD card for the consumer market, the storage technology company has broken yet another world record by creating a 1 Terabyte (TB) SD card. 

In just 16 years, SanDisk has gone from its first 64MB SD card to more than 1,000 times that amount of storage capacity. Not bad for a card you can stick in the side of any point and shoot camera. To put that in perspective, most laptops these days don’t even come with half a terabyte of storage. While the 1TB card is not yet available for consumers, it will be shown off at upcoming conferences including the Photokina 2016 by Western Digital.

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Google Drive offers a base storage of 15GB for storing files online and syncing them across devices. But if you're running low on storage, here's what you can do: First, delete the biggest files that are hogging space. Google Drive lets you sort by file size so you can see large files first and delete them if you don't need them anymore. However, they get sent to Trash where they accumulate and use up storage. Just click Trash in the sidebar of Google Drive for desktop, select the files you want to delete and hit 'Delete' to rid of them for good. Hold down the Shift key to select multiple items or Ctrl+A to select all items for deletion.

Google Drive is a key component of Google Workspace, Google's monthly subscription offering for businesses and organizations that operated as G Suite until October 2020. As part of select Google Workspace plans, Drive offers unlimited storage, advanced file audit reporting, enhanced administration controls, and greater collaboration tools for teams.

Following the launch of the service, Google Drive's privacy policy was heavily criticized by some members of the media. Google has one set of Terms of Service and Privacy Policy agreements that cover all of its services, meaning that the language in the agreements grants the company broad rights to reproduce, use, and create derivative works from content stored on Google Drive. While the policies also confirm that users retain intellectual property rights, privacy advocates raised concerns that the licenses grant Google the right to use the information and data to customize the advertising and other services Google provides. In contrast, other members of the media noted that the agreements were no worse than those of competing cloud storage services, but that the competition uses "more artful language" in the agreements, and also stated that Google needs the rights in order to "move files around on its servers, cache your data, or make image thumbnails".

As of July 2018, Google Drive had over one billion active users, and as of September 2015, it had over one million organizational paying users. As of May 2017, there were over two trillion files stored on the service.

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Google's free iOS-exclusive app, Motion Stills, converts your iPhone's Live Photos into easily shareable GIFs or movie files. You can even share the movies - complete with sound straight to Instagram, which otherwise doesn't support Live Photos. The app can also stabilize the camera movement of a Live Photo, resulting in less visible shakiness and a steadier shot. Once downloaded, the app works without the need for the internet. By combining your Motion Stills together, the app also allows users to create short movies.

The app can take two different types of shots. The first, which Google calls a “motion still,” is just a three second video loop. It’s kind of puzzling, because it seems like this is meant to be an alternative to Live Photos — it even records the same length of footage. But there’s not actually a photo involved. Which is weird, because the feature is called “motion still,” but there is only motion, and no still.

The second type of shot is called a “fast forward,” and this one is a little more interesting. It’s basically a Google-made alternative to Instagram’s Hyperlapse app, which has never been brought to Android. Like Hyperlapse, Google’s fast forward mode lets you record a video, then automatically stabilizes that video and can speed it up from twice to eight times the original speed. In a nice touch, you can keep changing the fast forward speed even after the video is shot and saved, whereas Instagram’s app only gives you one chance to choose a video’s speed.

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Human Inc's wireless smart headphones, dubbed Sound, are designed to totally encapsulate the ear and offer personal surround sound. These uniquely shaped devices strike the perfect balance between earbuds and their over-ear counterparts. Besides tactile control for volume adjustment and track selection, they also feature ambient noise control, so you can decide the level of exterior sound cancellation. When off your ears, the headphones can work together as a single portable speaker. They also feature onboard translation software, biometric monitoring and 12 hours of life.

Acting as an extension of your body, Sound’s features transcend the everyday headphone. Securely attaching themselves to your ear, Sound has no buttons, instead the device is all about a natural movement. It also has swiping gestures that assist in controlling the entire listening experience. Other features include being able to store the device easily by magnetically combining the two earphones together. Also being able to turn on the device and play audio by pulling the earphones apart and placing them on their ears, and audio automatically pauses by removing the device from the listeners’ ears and reuniting the earphones. Our favorite feature is that you are able to play music, pause tracks, skip forward, adjust volume, answer phone calls, and pair with your preferred Bluetooth device by simply touching the outer surface of the earphone.

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Instagram released a new feature called "You're All Caught Up". A relief for those with FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), the notification lets you know when you've seen all of the posts that have been shared on your feed in the last 48 hours. All of the posts that appear after the message are posts that you've already seen, and posts that are more than two days old.

What's more, this new feature will help to make it more obvious when a post was shared. We've all been in that awkward situation where we like a picture that's in our feed, only to find out that said mysterious algorithm hid the fact that the picture was days old. Then it looks like we were scrolling through that user's page rather than our own feed. And if you're shy about that kind of stuff, you'll be happy to know that it will be clear as day if the picture is recent or days old.

The feature will roll out over the next few days, and you'll know you have it when you hit the end of your recent posts and the message shows up. You might also notice that while you're scrolling through your feed, a little "New Posts" message will appear at the top of the screen to let you know that since you've been scrolling, new photos have been posted. You can either tap the message to immediately view the new posts, or check them out later. So while this new feature might sound pretty minor, it actually provides a lot of clarity. If you spend a lot of time scrolling through your feed, it can get a little disorienting. Now you'll know what posts are new, what posts are old and what's being added in real time. You'll also notice that you're getting a lot more content than you did before. With the algorithm adjusted, you might notice posts from accounts that you don't typically see in your feed. Aka, Instagram has just given another reason to spend even more time on the app than we already do. Goodbye workflow, hello feed flow.

Credit : Bustle

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The tech giant has submitted a proposal to the Unicode Consortium to expand its suite of emojis with 13 new accessibility related emojis, including a prosthetic arm/leg, a man/ woman walking with a cane, an ear with a hearing aid, a man/woman signing that they are deaf. Apple said: "The current selection of emoji provides a wide array of representations of people, activities, and objects meaningful to the general public, but very few speak to the life experiences of those with disabilities."

The emojis have been in the works for a while. Apple proposed the designs last fall to the Unicode Consortium, a nonprofit that sets the standards for emojis.

The announcement has been praised by many on social media as an important moment for inclusion for people with disabilities.

“Representation matters and for those living with MS, some of whom have visible disabilities, this is an important way for them to feel included and seen,” said Cyndi Zagieboylo, president and CEO of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Sharron Rush, the executive director of Knowbility, a nonprofit that works to make technology more inclusive for people with disabilities, praised Apple's decision, calling the company "a leader among tech companies in considering the needs of people with disabilities." Rush said she hopes Apple uses to the disability-themed emojis as a "new foundation" on which to build technology that works and represents those living with disabilities.

The National Organization on Disability (NOD), a nonprofit that focuses on employment issues for people with disabilities, agrees, but added their organization is hoping for more than keyboard representation.

Credit : NBC news 

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Reconnect with nature with Namoo Wonders of Plant Life, available for iOS and Android. This educational app gives users an in-depth overview of how different plants function. Using illustrations, 3D simulations, and Apple's ARKit (for those using an iPhone), the app takes users through nine different chapters about nature. Discover how leaves make food, experiment with underground root systems and different environmental conditions, or play with the parts of a plant cell. Each chapter offers its own type of interaction. Turn day into night, provide water to roots or send pollen into the air. As you interact, more details surrounding the topic appear. Namoo hopes to help students gain a deeper understanding of the science at work.

There are labels explaining every single part of the plant anatomy. Namoo excels not just in getting kids to become familiar with the components of a plant’s anatomy. It has a naturally engaging way to explain the consequences of various actions through interactive material.

That’s what makes it such great learning material. You can switch the slider to see how certain conditions affect plant growth and observe what happens in various parts of a plant during different times of the day. You can spread pollen and see how it helps in fertilizing the flower and so on.

As you interact with the elements you dive deeper into more concepts and can easily get lost in the amazing world of plant life.

Credit : The App Times

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Checkboxes are handy for all types of situations, even for data you add to a spreadsheet. In Google Sheets, you can add checkboxes for things like project tasks, answers to questions, or selecting product attributes.

The nice thing about using a checkbox in Google Sheets is that you can also use data validation to assign custom values. So if you want to use conditional formatting, for example, you can use the checked or unchecked value to set up your rule.

Log into Google Drive and open a spreadsheet in Google Sheets. Select the cells you want to have checkboxes in. You can also create a list first and then insert checkboxes by selecting the adjoining empty column of cells. From the menu, click Insert > Tick box.

To remove checkboxes, select the checkboxes you want to remove and press Delete. You can increase/decrease the checkbox size by changing the font size.

Credit : How to geek

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Facebook is considering hiding the numbers of likes a post receives to people other than the person who created the post, similar to an experiment it's doing with company-owned Instagram. The idea is to take away the "popularity contest" of posting, which makes people feel bad when their post doesn't perform with big numbers. According to Psychology Today, rejection in digital form (not getting many. likes) can sting just as much as in the analog world. Among younger users on Instagram, posting becomes a contest to see who gets the most likes. Instagram that is testing non-visible likes told users, "We want your followers to focus on what you share, not how many likes your posts get."

You’ll now be able to toggle an option to hide all like counts on all posts in your feed on both Instagram and Facebook today. A separate option will let you hide your own like counts to others. You can also hide like counts on a per-post basis on Instagram, so there’s a little more flexibility to allow people to focus on the content of posts rather than the like counts. Facebook will get these same per-post controls in the next few weeks.

Facebook first started testing hidden like counts in September 2019 as an experiment to see if the change would improve the experience of using the platform. Instagram has also been testing a variety of ways to hide like counts in recent years, with a test for this same optional feature just last month.

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What's in a Christmas tree, you wonder. Well, not all Christmas trees are the usual kind you see. There are Christmas trees around the world crafted out of creativity, technology and more... You'll want to check them out!

Kids will love this tree...

Is there a kid who doesn't love messing about with LEGO blocks? Well, guess what you can create with 245,000 dark green forest blocks? At Legoland in California, there is a 30 foot Christmas tree made entirely out of LEGO blocks. It's just not the tree, f course. The tree comes with a reindeer, sleigh and even a jolly Santa! It's every kid's dream come true in the form of a mammoth tree!

Hi, Sandi!

Meet Sandi, the largest Christmas tree in the world made entirely of... you guessed it... sand! This tree weighs 600 tonnes and has been hand-sculpted by the famous Team Sandtastic, a group of experts who know how to tame sand into shapes. You can find this delightful tree in West Palm Beach Waterfront in Florida. It's so popular that the tree boasts of its own Twitter account.

Traffic lights can delight you

In 1998, a French sculptor decided to make people traffic lights forever... or at least make them less annoying. He used them to design an elaborate traffic light tree that stands 26 feet tall and consists of 75 different computer operated traffic lights. Now if people had to stare at this tree instead of the mundane landscape, it does make waiting in the traffic much easier!

Human tree

What happens when dozens of students dress up in green, brown and red hats and shirts? They help create a human Christmas tree, of course. And as a feather in the cap, it has won itself a spot in the Guinness Book of Records. Thanks to 4,030 participants (most of them enthusiastic school children), it was possible to set a record while welcoming Christmas.

Skis make trees

When metal artist Anton Viditz-Ward of Colorado came up with an inspiration for a fantastic Christmas tree, all he had to do was collect dozens of skis and arrange them here, there, one more above that... voila! This ski tree is for those who love the spirit of Christmas and the fun of skiing on snowy slopes. All skis used to make the tree were donated. The icing on the cake is the 'starburst made of ski poles on the top!

It's a tree... or is it?

In December 2013, this special tree was installed in Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands. But this tree doesn't weigh much because it's only a hologram! Towering 24 feet tall, played continuously on a loop, placed high above visitors' heads, rotating and changing colours oh, what fun this tree, had! Best of all, there is no worry about this Christmas tree ever drying out. Three cheers to this evergreen hi-tech tree!

A rolling good idea!

Rolling tumbleweed was a common sight many years ago in Arizona, but a tumbleweed Christmas tree is a sight to behold, indeed! Around 1,000 tumbleweeds are gathered to fit over a 25-foot-tall wire frame. And once the painstaking efforts of assembling all the tumbleweed are achieved, the tree is sprayed with paint, flame retardant and glitter and loads of Christmas lights!

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