As what ultra-minimalist Steve Jobs famously once said, we “improve by removing more”. That's one of the guiding maxims of Apple that helped propel its way to greatness in the techno-wizardry scene.

Now, if you're convinced with that guiding principle of Apple, why not apply that same ethos into how you consume your music and movies?

I'm talking about those classic wired surround speakers & subwoofer systems sitting on your desk right now and all its tangled wires glory. While this wired speaker system works just fine, why not free yourself from all these clutter and get that simple joy of wireless you deserve?

How To: Remotely Control Apple Music on Computer, Mac Using iPhone, iPad

If you have a good old non-wireless loudspeaker lying around in the corner, don't throw that just yet. The truth is you can make it "cool" again by repurposing and turning it into a wireless Bluetooth speaker so you can wirelessly fire up your favorite Spotify playlist from the comfort of your fingertips.

Play Music On Your Wired Speaker System Wirelessly from Your iPhone, Android

Step 1 Get your preferred Bluetooth Audio Receiver from your favorite shop like Amazon. I scored a decent Bluetooth Receiver from Lazada for only Php 330.00 ($7). Sweet.

Step 2 Do the one-time setup. These Bluetooth Stereo Receivers usually have this simple setup:

  1. Plug in your speaker's 3.5mm stereo jack into the Bluetooth device
  2. Pair your Bluetooth Audio Receiver with your iPhone, Android or any Bluetooth-enabled devices

You're done!

You can now listen to your favourite music from iTunes or Spotify while you can freely move around.

Image source: nerdtechy.com

How To: Make Any Wired Speaker Into Wireless Bluetooth Speaker for Less than $7

Ever ran into a problem trying to download an email attachment in Gmail but you can’t because Gmail's virus scanner says it's a virus and unsafe to download?

Well, you’re not alone.

Few days ago, I ran into the same problem trying to retrieve my old email attachment in Gmail I sent five years ago. The file contains an executable file I wrapped in a zip file. But Gmail deems it as a malware and they cannot allow me to download the file at all cost (see screenshot below).


Gmail's Addon Streak Lets You Monitor, Track If Emails Are Read, Viewed By Recipients

Here's an explanation I got from their support page:

As a security measure to prevent potential viruses, Gmail doesn’t allow you to send or receive executable files (such as files ending in .exe). Executable files can contain harmful code that might cause malicious software to download to your computer. In addition, Gmail doesn’t allow you to send or receive corrupted files, files that don’t work properly.


It does makes sense, and it's a proactive step imposed by Google to prevent malicious programs to get inside and contaminate our computers.

But in case you need to access blocked email attachment and you're certain it's just false positive, then, here's a neat trick on how to circumvent this restriction and download blocked attachment in Gmail.

Bypass Gmail's Virus Scanner and Download Blocked Gmail Attachments

The trick is easy. Just launch your Gmail account in a third party desktop app like Outlook for Windows or Mail for Mac.

For Mac Just launch Mail app. Be sure to add your Gmail account in your Mac and navigate to that account to get all your emails.

Once you get there, rummage through your inbox and search for the email attachment you want to download.

How To: Automatically Send Email Messages At Later Time

For Windows Be sure you have your Outlook or Windows Mail correctly setup. If you're on Windows 10, the setup should be pretty straight-forward.

Once your Outlook is up, just search for that particular email attachment and you should be able to download it without any problems.

If you find this tip helpful, would appreciate if you can share it to your friends :)

How To: Download Blocked Email Attachment in Gmail — Bypass Gmail Virus Scanner

Since its debut, Apple Music has seriously got some mixed reviews both from critics and fans alike. Some discontented Apple fans called it “a nightmare” while others lauded it as a refreshing and a nearly perfect music app.

And if you are one of those Apple fanboys who are convinced that Apple Music is the best music app in the planet, then, you don't want to miss out this one cool interoperability feature of iOS and OSX: wirelessly control, play Apple Music on your PC/Mac using your iPhone or iPad as a remote.


DokRemote: Remotely Control Your iPhone, iPod Music Player Via Web Browser

Spotify Connect is one sought-after, premium-only feature of Spotify that lets you control the music from any phone or tablet using the Spotify app. And if you're looking for Spotify Connect alternative for Apple Music, then, good news is you too can have the same wireless convenience at no cost!

Play Apple Music Through Your Speakers, Mac or Apple TV Using iPhone, iPad as Remote

Follow this step-by-step guide on how to remotely control music playback active on your PC, Mac using your iPhone or iPad as a wireless remote.

  1. Download and install Remote on your iPhone or iPad

  2. Once installed, enable Home Sharing on your iPhone. You'll be asked to login using your iCloud account. You should see something like this:

  3. Turn on Home Sharing in iTunes on your computer or Mac. Go to File > Home Sharing > Turn On Home Sharing. Once enabled, your Remote app on your iPhone should automatically retrieve all your music collection and display them on your iDevice.

    Use IFTTT As A Spy App: Secretly Copy, Collect iOS Photos on iPhone, iPad (No Jailbreak)

  4. Let's test it. Browse through your iTunes library on your Mac and play whatever playlist/albums you've got. As soon as you hit the play button, your iPhone should automatically pick the track actively playing your Mac, as seen on the video below:

You're done! You can keep the music flowing on your Mac from anywhere in your house using your iPhone or iPad as remote.

Works flawless on my iPhone 5 (iOS8.4) and Mac (Yosemite).

Caveats

Apple's official Remote app for iOS only allows you to choose music you've added on your library. The app can't let you search for new songs in the cloud just like what you normally do on Spotify Connect.

How To: Transfer Large Files Between iPhone and Other iDevices Over Existing Wi-Fi Network

How To: Remotely Control Apple Music on Computer, Mac Using iPhone, iPad

Learn how you can use IFTTT as an iOS photo spy software to secretly copy every single picture taken on your spouse or kid's iPhone, iPad. Automatically get a backup of every iOS photo including selfies, n*des and other inappropriate snaps.

WARNING: The author shall not be held responsible or liable for any misuse of the app detailed on this post. The method outlined below can get you in serious trouble. Do it at your own risk.

Been fiddling around with IFTTT few days ago and I accidentally discovered that you can actually use IFTTT iOS app as a FREE spy app to secretly collect, monitor every single iOS photo being taken on your spouse or daughter's iPhonE, iPad. Good news is: the process is no rocket science and you don't have to spend a penny nor you need to jailbreak your iOS device to accomplish this.

For the uninitiated, IFTTT (If This, Then That) is a massively popular web automation service that allows you to automatically perform certain actions based on your conditions (or triggers). IFTTT termed them as recipes, and there are plenty of recipes flooded out there that should help you save time by automating certain asks. One good example is you can get SMS alerts from specific email addresses, or you can let your device to automatically send screenshots to your email.

Remotely Get a Copy of Every Single iOS Photo Taken on iPhone Without Getting Caught

Step 1 Compel your target to install IFTTT. Sure it won't be a problem as IFTTT has hundreds of awesome recipes up its sleeve. If you know your partner's iTunes account, then, that's a bonus as you can install the IFTTT straight away.

Step 2 Once you've successfully installed IFTTT, best to burry it in the Utilities folder or anywhere that's least accessed.

Step 3 Enable Background App Refresh for IFTTT. This ensures that all new photos are uploaded to IFTTT server when online. Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh

Step 4 Disable IFTTT's iOS Notification to ensure your target won't get notified every time the recipe runs. Go to Settings > Notifications, select IF and turn off Allow Notifications slider.

Step 5 Create a new recipe with the following trigger and action:

TRIGGER: Any new photo (under iOS Photos channel)
ACTION: Send an email (under Gmail channel)

See video walkthrough below.

Be sure to save your new recipe and you're good to go!

Now, every time a new photo is added on your target's phone, you will automatically get notified via email including the link of the newly added photo, as seen below:

Caveats

a) The target's iPhone or iPad should be connected to the internet for this remote photo spying method to work. Not necessarily connected all the time but should be connected once in a while so IFTTT can push new photos to their server.

b) Data delivery is a bit delayed.

I don't want this recipe to be called as an exploit but rather a heaven-sent functionality you can use to spy on anyone's iPhone and be in the know what your daughter, girlfriend or wife is up to.

Use IFTTT As A Spy App: Secretly Copy, Collect iOS Photos on iPhone, iPad (No Jailbreak)

As someone on Quora once said, “Quora is a giant campfire where random people come along, sit down, and tell their stories”.

Quora, without a doubt, is one great platform where Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, James Wales of Wikipedia and countless others including world-renowned NASA scientists, astronauts and engineers converge and embark into a stimulating and immersive discussion of just about anything.

So it's normally safe to assume that Quora hosts a plethora of smart & insightful discussions, answers and thoughts from qualified & experienced people with different professional background which are sure a delight to read.

Curiosity.com: Get Answers To Life Biggest Questions From World's Brightest Minds

And if you're like me who doesn't have the luxury of time to immerse and browse through Quora during the day, you probably have wished to just feed those interesting reads to your favourite news reader app like Pocket so you can read them later offline.

The thing is: Quora hasn't have this feature yet nor Pocket has integration support for our beloved Quora.

But fret not, there is a way out..

Add “Save To Pocket” Button In Quora for Offline Reading

Meet Quora Save To Pocket, a Google Chrome extension that allows you to push contents from Quora to Pocket. With this extension, you can save any answer, question or blog post to your Pocket account straight from your Quora feed. Sweet...

How it works

The add-on works this simply:

You install the Chrome extension. Once added, you connect the app to Pocket via the standard OAUTH authentication protocol, and you're done. Save to Pocket link should now automatically appear on every thread and answer on Quora, as seen below:


Wikipedia Gets Export-To-eBook Feature, Lets You Export Wikipedia Articles Into Instant Free e-Book

Pocket actually has its own vendor-specific browser extension that makes it easier to add links to your Pocket account. The problem with their official browser extensions, when used in Quora pages, is you can't selectively add those specific answers you find interesting. And considering how Quora renders its pages, Pocket's official add-ons meet an incompatibility with Quora as yet.



LINK: Quora Save To Pocket (Chrome)

How To: Send, Save Quora Answers In Pocket and Read Offline

Truth be told: Google Docs is one of the coolest word-editing software there is to get the job done like no other. Its collaborative editing and cloud-centric nature make it really a smart choice to make our digital lives a lot easier.

But despite its shiny reputation, Google Docs also has its surprising limitation: you won't be able to access and use thousands of sleek, custom fonts from Google Fonts collection. Yes, you read it right — Google hasn't pushed that feature yet to their Google Docs app which is being heavily relied by millions of users across the globe.

Filling this void is Extensis, a company specialising in font management software, who has launched Extensis Fonts.

Use custom Google Fonts in your Google Documents with Extensis Fonts (link)




3 Things You Didn't Know Google Spreadsheet Can Do For You

Extensis Fonts is a free Google Docs add-on that lets you access and use Google Fonts in your Google Docs files. So if you feel too limited and dissatisfied with Google Docs' built-in fonts, you've got to check out Extensis Fonts.

Getting Started

Now, let's get the ball rolling. Follow this guide on how to use custom Google Fonts in your Google Documents:

Step 1 Open any Google Document, or create a new one.

Step 2 From the Add-ons menu, click Get Add-ons

Step 3 In the Search Add-ons box, enter “Extensis Fonts” (without quotes)

Step 4 Select the Extensis Fonts add-on from the list.

Step 5 Click the Free button in the upper right hand corner.

Step 6 Click Accept to install the add-on to your Google Docs account.

Step 7 To launch the Extensis Fonts add-on, navigate to the menu and hit Add-ons > Extensis Fonts > Start.

You're done.

Once Extensis Fonts add-on is added to your Google Document, a new Extensis Font panel will be accessible on the right. This is where you access the thousands of Google Fonts collection and apply it to your Google Docs or current text selection.

PRO TIP: You can get Extensis Fonts to display only the trending and the most popular Google fonts by sorting it out accordingly.

Get Notified When A Collaborator Made Some Changes On A Shared Google Spreadsheet

Final Verdict:

Extensis Fonts is one cool Google Docs add-on you cannot miss. You may not need it every day, but in case you want to give your Google Docs a facelift, then you should check out Extensis Fonts. It's FREE.



LINK: Extensis Fonts 

Extensis Fonts Lets You Access, Use Google Fonts In Your Google Documents

Now that Apple Music is finally out, you probably have given it a spin and eventually fell in love with the app.

It is hard not to fall in love with Apple's streaming app; its much larger iTunes library plus better radio recommendation make it really a prime music app you can't miss.

And if you've finally decided to move from Spotify to Apple Music, your next step should be: export all your Spotify playlists and import them to Apple Music all at once. And that's the painful part as currently Apple hasn't rolled out yet its own migration tool that makes it easy to move, import your Spotify playlist to Apple Music. And no, both Exportify and Beats Music migration tool do not work either as yet.


How To: Remotely Control Apple Music on Computer, Mac Using iPhone, iPad

The Fastest Way to Automatically Convert Spotify Playlists to Apple Music Playlists

If you can't wait to jump ship, Applefy seems to be the only best & painless way to transfer your beloved Spotify music playlists to Apple Music. But it only works on OSX right now and can be a bit buggy if dealing with music available in Spotify but not in Apple Music. Here's how to get started:

Step 1 Download & install the latest build of Applefy (3.02MB)

Step 2 Launch Applefy and login with your Spotify details.

Step 3 Select the playlist you want to export from the dropdown list and hit 'Save Playlist' button, as seen below:

Step 4 Navigate to your home folder and there will be a folder called Applefy (bring your Spotlight and search for Applefy. This folder contains your exported Spotify playlist containing MP3s.

Step 5 Open iTunes, go to the Playlists tab and make a new playlist.

Step 6 Drag the MP3 files into your newly-created playlist, and then Select all and right click and Choose 'Add to iCloud Music Library' (SEE DEMO)

Step 7 Once the songs have been registered, right click again and hit 'Remove download', you can now stream or download the full song using your Apple Music subscription.

You're done!

How To: Remotely Control Apple Music on Computer, Mac Using iPhone, iPad

How To: Quickly Move, Import Your Spotify Playlists To Apple Music

It appears that the clock timer app in the latest version of iOS is finally working. So if you're wondering how you can add that sleep timer functionality on your Spotify or Apple Music on your iPhone or iPad, then, watch the video below and see how it's done:



This trick also works on other music player or podcast apps like Pandora, Rdio, etc. It basically kills whatever media playback active on your iPhone or iPad once the timer's up.

Use iOS Clock Timer App As Music Sleep Timer for Spotify, Apple Music, etc

Disclaimer: The purpose of this tutorial is to demonstrate just as how easy it is for anyone with a rooted Android phone to take control of the entire WiFi network you're currently on be it at home, cafes and school. While we believe that the tool and the method you are about to read can be an invaluable one if prudently used, we do not condone nor promote the idea of manipulating one's wireless network to your advantage. Please use this at your own risk.

Ever wondered why you're not connected to the internet even if you're connected to a shared WiFi network? Chances are you're deliberately getting blocked from accessing the internet not by the cafe owner but by a fellow regular who find joy in seeing you annoyed, disgruntled.

Due to the 'open' nature of Google-backed Android, developers have come up with ways to exploit the platform creating applications so clever that most of them don't even make its way to the Play Store.

One great example is the app you might have already heard called WiFiKill.

Sniff Internet Sessions, Hack Facebook Account with Ease Using Your Android Phone


WiFikill, as you can see in the disclaimer above, is one bad-ass, root-only Android app designed to do just that: block or restrict other users & devices to access the internet through shared wireless network. So if you're hanging out in a coffee shop hotspot and you notice the internet seems to be lagging a little more than you expect, then, you can take matters into your own hands. Disconnect, disable their internet connection.

Here's how to disable internet access for any device on a shared WiFi network

The process is no brainer, and even grade schoolers can do this. All you need is a compatible rooted Android phone and you're good to go.

Step 1 Download WiFiKill using WifiKill Downloader HERE. Two variants to choose from:
  • FREE version — ads-supported and it shuts down after 5 minutes (more limitations are expected in the next updates)
  • PRO version — requires you to make a donation through PayPal via WiFiKill Downloader
Or you can download the older version of WiFiKill v2.1.apk.

Step 2 Once installed, launch the app and grant whatever Superuser request it prompts.

Step 3 Tap the Play button beside the Refresh icon. It should start scanning for the entire WiFi network. Once done, it should show all devices connected to the wireless network as seen below:

(PRO TIP: enable Show Network Names in the Preferences to show the device' names)



Step 4 Here's the fun part. Choose the device you want to disconnect from the network and toggle the Grab slider. It should display the network usage as well as the website being accessed. Once you made that selection, just toggle the Kill slider.

And you're done. The target device should now be blocked and denied to access the internet even if they're connected to the WiFi network. And if you're really that evil, you can even disconnect all devices connected to the network.

Access Surveillance IP Cameras Anywhere In Real Time With Google


See, WiFiKill is one dangerous tool if it lands in the wrong hands.

The Good...

Despite its controversial nature, there are great use cases for this app too. You might want to use it against your kids to restrict access to the internet especially during bed time. Or you're in a coffee shop and you see someone's abusing the extra bandwidth juices for Justin Bieber clips on YouTube, then you can quickly kill their internet connection without them knowing. Yes, the targeted device still says connected to the WiFi network.

So, how you protect yourself?

As much as you can, avoid connecting to the publicly available WiFi network. Bring your own broadband or tether your iPhone or Android so you can browse the web in peace.



For more information about the app, go to WiFiKill official page.

Turn Your Laptop, PC Into Wi-Fi Hotspot Without Using Ad-Hoc -- Internet Sharing Made Easy

How To: Disconnect Other Wifi Users in A Wireless Network Using Your Phone (Without Them Knowing)

This is the second and the last part of our tutorial on how to get the most out of Google Docs to get things done the clever way. In case you missed it, here's the first part: 3 Things You Didn't Know Google Spreadsheet Can Do For You (Part 1)

LICEcap Is The Best Alternative To Recordit To Screencast & Create High Quality GIFs

Web Archive is everyone's go-to place when they want to see how a specific website looks in the past. It's a wayback-machine that randomly creates snapshots of your site as reference so you can anytime check back when your site's gone awry in the future.

While Web Archive is one reliable tool to do just that, you cannot however specify how frequent a snapshot should be created. If you want to automatically create a site snapshop daily or weekly, then, Google Spreadsheet can do you a favor.

Using Google Sheet as Archive.org Alternative



Here's how:


1 Go to Screenshotmachine.com and create a FREE account. After sign up you will get an account key necessary for the API request.

2 Sign-in to your Google account and make a copy of this Google sheet (File > Make a copy).

3 Provide the required parameters as required like Account Key, URL to Capture and Capture Frequency.

4 Click Verify Now button to see if the API works or not. If it works, a new folder called Web page captures should be automatically created on your Google Drive account. This is where all screenshots will be saved.

Note: you’ll get a pop-up asking for authorization. Grant the necessary access.

5 Click Start Capturing button. You're done.

Depending on the capture frequency you specify, Google Sheet should automatically instructs Screenshotmachine.com to create a site snapshot and send it back to Google Drive.

mHotspot Is A FREE Alternative To Connectify That Turns Your Computer Into Wifi Hotspot

(3/3) Use Google Spreadsheet to Scrape Web Contents Online

One of my favorite features of Google Sheet is the importXML function which basically allows you to grab contents from another site. It's one pretty useful feature of Google Sheet as it saves you time especially if you're asked to web scrape or copy the entire contents of a site.

Watch this video below and see how web scraping can be done so easily using Google Documents Spreadsheets:



The information you get can then be imported to your website using the right apps and tools like WP All Import (if you're using WordPress as your site platform).

How To: Extract All Images Embedded In .DOC Word Documents All At Once

So next time you're asked to export the existing content of a website, then, importXML of Google Sheet is one nice function you can exploit.

Use Google Spreadsheet As Website's Time-Machine (Web Archive alternative)

There's no denying that we are all slowly becoming too dependent on Google apps. From a simple task of digging the world's information down to locating the nearby coffee shop, we always turn to Google and get the information we want in the blink of an eye.

One of the best web services that Google has ever made for everyone is the Google Docs suite. Its powerful, cloud-centric features along with its ever-improving mobile app makes it really a mature and capable platform.

Open and View Online Documents of Any Format Directly On Your Browser without Downloading Them


But just as every finest web app available in the wild, there are things that you might have missed & didn't realized you could do with Google Sheet app. And in this post, we are going to explore some of the lesser-known Google Sheet hacks and tricks to make your digital life a lot easier.

3 Clever Uses of Google Sheets You Might Not Know Yet (Part 1)


(1/3) Use Google Spreadsheet to monitor website downtime and uptime

If you have a blog or website, you know exactly how important web monitoring apps like Pingdom and Uptime Party can be. These are apps designed to monitor your website's uptime that should alert you in real-time when your site is down or inaccessible. These website monitoring apps work great, but they often come with a price.

In case you need a FREE Pingdom alternative, you can turn to Google Spreadsheet and use it as a website monitoring tool to track your site's downtime and uptime. As with premium apps like Pingdom, you get instant email or SMS notification delivered straight to your inbox once your site is down.

The process should only take about a minute or so to setup, and you're good to go.

Here's how to get started:


1 Sign-in to your Google account and make a copy of this Google sheet (File > Make a copy)

2 Put your website URLs in cell B2 (comma separated) and your email address in cell B3. If you wish to receive alerts by text messages, put Yes in cell B4.

3 You’ll find a new Website Monitor menu in your Google Sheets toolbar. Click Initialize and you’ll get a pop-up asking for authorization. Grant the necessary access.

4 Go to the Website Monitor menu again and choose “Start Website Monitor” to begin the monitoring process. Close the Google Sheet.

That's it. Google Sheet should now monitor and alert you in real-time when your site goes down, as seen below:



Get Notified When A Collaborator Made Some Changes On A Shared Google Spreadsheet




CONTINUE: 3 Things You Didn't Know Google Spreadsheet Can Do For You (Part 2)

3 Things You Didn't Know Google Spreadsheet Can Do For You (Part 1)

No matter how advance Project Management and CRM tools can get, no one can ever ditch Google Sheet.

Google Sheet is still one powerful tool that if you know how to exploit the service to your advantage, you know that it's more than just a spreadsheet-editing software.

And if you're using Google Sheet as an additional tool aside from your usual project management service, here's a nifty tip on how to enable email notification so you'll be notified in real-time whenever a collaborator is making some updates on a shared spreadsheet; no need for you to waste time waiting for hours for other collaborators to update the sheet.

Gmail's Addon Streak Lets You Monitor, Track If Emails Are Read, Viewed By Recipients

Enable Email Notification On A Shared Google Spreadsheet




Email notification for Google Sheet is actually a built-in feature, but not activated by default. You have to manually enable it to start receiving email notifications. Here's how:
  • Open the spreadsheet where you want to get notified for any changes.
  • Go to the Tools > Notification rules.
  • In the window that popups, select when and how often you want to receive email notifications.
    • When:
      • “Any changes are made”
      • “A user submits a form”
    • How often:
      • “Email - daily digest”
      • “Email - right away”
  • Hit Save.

You're done. Whenever someone made some changes on a shared spreadsheet, you'll be automatically alerted via email, like this:



You may also need to setup email push notification on your smartphone so that no emails will be missed.

Use Mover.io To Copy, Move Files From FTP To Google Drive, DropBox, SkyDrive and Vice Versa


Google Sheet is still my go-to place when it comes to working and collaborating with clients for a specific project. During a website pre-deployment, after the QA, we have a client review phase where a client is expected to inspect and jot down all design & functionality hiccups of a website. While BaseCamp, Asana or Teamwork may be used to collect the findings, I find it a lot time-saver and efficient if I can get a consolidated view of all findings inside a single Google sheet. And now that I can setup email notification, both the client and I can save time.



Get Notified When Someone Talks About You On The Internet

Get Notified When A Collaborator Made Some Changes On A Shared Google Spreadsheet

If you've been using Spotify for a long time, chances are you've come across an issue with duplicate tracks. It happens from time to time and as more and more songs you add in your playlist, so do the problems that come with it.

Dealing with duplicate files is no easy feat, much more if you're dealing with a large, collaborative playlist. Thankfully, finding and removing duplicate songs on Spotify playlist is not that difficult as what you might think. Here we're going to show you can easily declutter and deduplicate songs on your Spotify playlist in seconds.

Find, Delete Duplicate Media Files On Windows 7 (CopyTrans Method)

Find and Remove Duplicate Tracks in Your Spotify Playlists



Meet Spotify DeDuplicator, an online tool that allows you to remove all exact duplicate tracks from a selection of Spotify tracks. The tool works this simply:

1) You select all tracks in a Spotify playlist
2) Drag-and-drop them to the the textbox just above the “Deduplicate” button
3) Press Deduplicate
4) Drag-and-drop the result back to your Spotify playlist (or in a new playlist)

As seen on the GIF above, you may need to empty the entire playlist before you drag-and-drop the results back to Spotify, or else those tracks will be added as another duplicates.

Add or Set Music Sleep Timer To Spotify iOS App (No Jailbreak Requried)

So if you start seeing tracks displayed more than once in your Spotify playlist, go check out Spotify DeDuplicator.

The Quickest Way To Remove Duplicate Tracks In Spotify Playlist

Imagine you're chilling outside together with your friends, maybe on the veranda with beer, enjoying the night while your party playlist is humming in the background.

What if I told you there's an app that allows you or anyone to enqueue, play tracks by simply sending a text message to your phone?

Enqueue, Play Next Song By Title Through Text Message (link)




Well, that's basically the premise of this brand new app called “Party Player”, a free music app currently available for Android that allows your phone to receive and automatically play song requests through text messages. And no, it doesn't need an internet connection to work.

How it works?

The app works this simply: you or your friends will just have to send a text message "Play<space>Song Name" to your Android phone. Party Player will then automatically stop any currently playing song and look for and play the matching track found on your phone. When the song request finishes, the previously playing song will be continued.

How To: Remotely Lock, Password-Protect Your Lost/Forgotten Phone Thru SMS

Party Player is surprisingly smart; if a song request returns multiple results, the sender automatically gets a reply via SMS prompting them which song they want to play.

How cool is that?!

Of course, song requests can come from different sources, including song requests coming from non-Android devices. The app also comes with a simple “Blacklist” support so you can disallow certain contacts from requesting a song, useful if you have friends with poor music taste :D

It's creator, iamcamcamiam22, teased the app on Reddit yesterday, showing how the Party Player works. Here's the creator with his demo video:





Download: Party Player [Play Store]

Remotely Set Alarm Clock By SMS — Send SMS Text Message To Set Alarm Clock

New Android App 'Party Player' Lets You Enqueue, Play Song Via SMS

Sounds absurd but this kind of application can be useful too.

An app that can automatically log you out from Facebook after certain time may not be something you'll use everyday. But just in case you're on a shared computer and you don't want others to mess around with your account, this category of app is proved useful.

Facebook Auto Log Out: Automatically Logs You Out From Facebook After User-Specified Time (link)




Meet Facebook Auto Log Out, a nifty Chrome extension designed to do just that. Using the add-on is pretty straightforward; just install the add-on from Chrome Web Store, log in to Facebook, set a timer, and you'll be logged out automatically when your time is up. It's that simple

This is particularly helpful for people who have this hobby of leaving the computer opened/unattended.

New iPhone App Automatically Captures a Photo of Anyone Who Touches Your iDevice

Another, rather more advanced, Chrome extension is Auto Logout. It automatically logs you out of all logged in accounts including Gmail when your browser is closed, recommended for use in shared computers to help keep different accounts safe.

How To: Automatically Logout Of Facebook After Certain Time (Chrome)

Previously on this blog we have talked about Connectify, a tiny piece of app that turns your laptop into a wireless hotspot so you can quickly share your internet connection without having to spend hours of frustration doing it via Ad-Hoc.

Connectify is great, but only if you're willing to toss $40 for the lifetime Pro version that unlocks a plethora of features which of course you don't need all. While there's a Connectify Lite version, I find it too limited especially the latest version. And that's not only my opinion.

Add Multiple Tabbing Support To Windows File Explorer With Clover [Must Have]

Now if you want a decent and FREE alternative to Connectify to share your LAN, 3G/4G internet connection, then, you might you want to check out mHotspot.

mHotspot Transforms Your Computer Into Portable WiFi Hotspot  (link)




mHotspot is a 100% free software which converts your Windows-based computer into a functional and secure Wifi Hotspot. If you have DSL or 3G/4G broadband at home, you can quickly share that to other wireless devices. Absolutely no router or additional external hardware required.

With mHotspot, you can:

  • provide internet access to other devices (10 devices max)
  • set your own hotspot name without any prefix or restrictions (unlike Connectify Lite)
  • secures your wireless hotspot with WPA2 PSK password security
  • application size is 400KB only (that's cool)
  • share any type of Internet connection (LAN, Ethernet, 3G/4G, etc)
  • see the details of the connected devices (e.g. device name, IP & Mac Address)
  • see the network usage (upload and download speed)
  • turn your laptop as a repeater



mHostpot, the best Connectify alterntive as yet, has already amassed over 2 million downloads to date. Go check out mHotspot.

Must-Have: Recover All Items Stored On Your Clipboard with Ditto (Windows)

mHotspot Is A FREE Alternative To Connectify That Turns Your Computer Into Wifi Hotspot

Remember that feeling when you send your Facebook friend some important, long messages and you sit there waiting and all you've got is that big “Seen by” notification?

Well, you too can get that same message tracking goodness on your emails so you'll know if your boss has actually opened, read your emails you just sent (overdue payments, reminders perhaps :D)

Streak Gives Your Sent Emails “Seen By” Feature of Facebook — Lets You Monitor If Your Emails Are Viewed By Recipients In Real-time

Meet Streak,a tiny Google Chrome add-on that allows you to track your emails if they're viewed by your recipients. Sounds creepy and impossible but yes, you heard it right: you can now see if your emails are being viewed & left unresponded by your recipient.

Kind of NSA thing, right? Well, not really.



Streak email tracking shows the status of all your tracked emails right in your inbox. You'll see a green or gray "eye" icon right next to any email in any inbox list telling you whether the email is being read or not.

Learn How To Automatically Send Email Messages At Later Time

Any active Gmail users can take advantage of Streak's email tracking technology. Aside from it's FREE, there really is no complex installation required to get it running.

The Bonus:

The email recipients you want to monitor don't really have to have the add-on installed in order for you to be notified that it was opened. Trackable emails can be Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail, among others. The recipient won’t get any notification that their e-mail activity is being tracked. That's sweet :)

It's Clever!

Being able to track sent emails is absolutely something of an achievement considering that email providers strip off scripts before your email gets sent. So there really is no way for our emails to be tracked. But the guys at Streak absolutely nailed it. Great job guys!

Download: Streak for Chrome

Gmail's Addon Streak Lets You Monitor, Track If Emails Are Read, Viewed By Recipients

I am one of those unhappy, broke and desperate fellow Asians who cannot fully enjoy Spotify Premium because I am in the other side of the world currently unsupported by Spotify. While Spotify Web Player & Spotify Radio are both accessible on my PC in my country using tools like Hola Unblocker, I can't still get through the day without it on my phone which I spent most of my time every day.

How To: Bypass, Remove Restriction On YouTube - Watch Blocked YouTube Videos Anywhere

To those asking why I can't get Spotify Premium, Spotify refused any payments made on any non-US credit cards & PayPal accounts. There's a way out though: purchase Spotify Premium coupons codes which you can redeem anytime,anywhere on Spotify. But the problem with these coupons is that they are priced as high as 150% to 200% from the original price. An that's a big NO way!

So last few days, I embarked into a mission trying to work out the famous Spotify Web Player on my iPhone as my last resort. And thankfully it was successful though I had to tossed $3.99 just to enable, make Spotify Web Player working on my iPhone.

How To Get Spotify Web Player Working on iPhone, iPad & Android

Spotify-Web-Player-for-iPhone,-iPad,-Android

The method is simple: you have to hunt any decent, working mobile web browsers with great Flash support. For iOS, I highly recommend Photon Flash Player. The iPhone version will set you back $3.99 while the iPad version costs you $5.49. But I guess it's all worth your money as you have to make only one-time purchase for this functional app rather than paying Spotify monthly premium subscription.

THE BONUS:

  • All Flash-based streaming sites like Hulu, Netflix & Pandora are supported with Photon (provided that you're in a country supported by these services)
  • Flash-based games like that on Facebook are fully working!

How To: Stream, Play MP3 & Video Files Embedded On Non-HTML5 Websites From Your Mobile Browser

Spotify-Web-Player-for-iPhone,-iPad,-Android

I hate telling people the good news without telling people the bad. So here's my problem so far with Photon for iPhone: No background playback support! You have to make your browser opened for continuous audio/video playback. I hope they can work it out soon.

How To: Stream, Play MP3 & Video Files Embedded On Non-HTML5 Websites From Your Mobile Browser

If you're wondering about how to activate and get Spotify Web Player working on your iPhone, iPad or Android device or even Hulu & Netflix, then, that should do the trick!

DOWNLOAD:
Photon Flash Player for iPhone (link)
Photon Flash Player for iPad (link)
Photon Flash Player for Android(link)

How To: Enable, Make Spotify Web Player Working on iPhone, iPad, Android

Unless you’re a really die-hard fan of XP and Vista and have no plans of upgrading, it’s assumed you’re using the latest Windows 7.

Many professionals and novices alike are finding Windows 7 a real crowd pleaser because of its user-friendly abilities and features. Speaking of features, many people including some IT pros aren’t familiar with Window 7’s hidden secrets that are pure work productivity boosters, and fun, too. We’re not just talking about your usual keyboard shortcuts, but real features such as:

Hidden "Send to" Icons

Hidden Send to Icons Windows 7 When you right-click on an icon, the options in “Send to” are actually quite limited. For a full list, just press Shift key before right-clicking. This will save you time rather than doing copy/cut-paste.

Recover Closed Browser Tab

We often close a browser tab accidentally. You can search for it without using the history. For Google Chrome, Firefox, and Explorer, press Ctrl + Shift + T.

Additional Clock and Time Settings

Default Additional Clock in Windows 7 Need to call Uncle Marvin? What time is it in Alaska? Is mom still awake in Brisbane? No one can memorize so many time zones (even Americans still get hung up with their 5 time zones). You can add more clocks when you click on the date and time icon. Click the time and date at the right side of the taskbar and then click Change Date and Time Settings. Look for the Additional Clocks tab and you can add one or two extra clocks with custom time zones and labeling of your choosing. After you click Apply and OK, click the time and date again. The local time should be the big clock, and the ones next to it the custom additions.

Updating the BIOS Revision

When tuning up a slow or troublesome PC, one of the first things to check is whether they have the latest BIOS revision. Most people never update their BIOS, and in the case of hardware or OS upgrades it can often be the key to solving mysterious crashes.

Must-Have: Recover All Items Stored On Your Clipboard with Ditto (Windows)

You can use a search engine to find the latest BIOS release for a particular PC model. To find out what's in the PC you're working with, use the System Information utility. Just click Start and begin typing System Information in the search box. The shortcut should pop to the top of the list within four or five characters. The System Summary page includes a wealth of information, including the manufacturer and model for major-brand PCs, the exact processor, and the BIOS version and date.

Using the Windows Registry Editor

There are a thousand tweaks that you can do only by editing an obscure value in the registry. So you make one of those changes, and then a few weeks or months later you need to do it again. It's easy to find your way back if you leave behind a trail. You can simply save the key in question to Window’s Registry Editor, or the Regedit built-in Favorites menu. At the top of the editing window, click Add to Favorites and the current location is saved, using a name of your choosing. If you need to remove entries from the list, just click Remove Favorites.

Power Settings to Save on Electricity

Part of boosting work productivity is to save on your electric bills and lessen overhead expenses. You can do this by simply making your PC more energy-aware. The biggest change of all is to let your PC go to sleep when they're not being used. That cuts the amount of power they consume by 97%, and they wake up quickly when they're needed again. Just go to Control Panel > System and Security or Hardware and Sound. Click on Power Options and make the necessary power saving settings.

Play Loud Audio Sound, MP3 When Phone's Battery Is Full

Window switching with Alt+Tab

Window switching with Alt+Tab Another useful tool in Windows 7 is Alt + Tab. In the window you can click on any icon including the desktop to open it. Alternatively on pressing tab, it moves to the subsequent icon and after you leave alt, the highlighted window opens. If you want to move the highlighter the other way, press shift while hitting tab.

Some of the Best Tricks and Tweaks in Windows 7 You Might Not Know Yet

Ever had a problem syncing your Chrome bookmarks from your Desktop to your iPhone?

Lately, I ran through this trouble trying to sync my Google Chrome bookmarks from my computer to my iPhone (and vice versa). The problem, specifically, was that my newly added Chrome bookmarks on my PC doesn't reflect back to my Chrome on my phone (and even web history, login information, etc). Same is true with my phone's web data; it doesn't appear on my Chrome on my PC.

Access Your Chrome, Firefox Bookmarks On Any Computer Anywhere

From that point I'm sure that Chrome sync is not working. I'm sure as hell synchronizatio" is enabled on my phone. I even tried disconnecting my Gmail account to my phone, reconnecting, and redoing the Chrome syncing process but still no luck! I turned to Google and forums, hunting for possible solution but none of the solutions they offer seemed to work.

And yes it really drives me nuts!

Chrome Bookmarks, Web Data Not Syncing Between Computer and iPhone? Here's the Fix


Until I accidentally disabled Chrome's "Sync Everything" option & selectively turned on the web data that I want to get synced, as seen on the screenshot below. And that did the trick! Pretty neat, huh?



I'm not sure if you're having the same problem as mine but just in case you do, you may want try that out! Hopefully Google will roll out an update for their Chrome for iOS very soon!

Chrome Bookmarks On iPhone Not Syncing Properly? Here's How To Make It Work