Tag: chrome

Google Chrome – Tab groups

Patrick CauleyLeave a comment

How did I not know about this?! If you’re like me, then you rarely have more than 10 tabs open at a time. However, not everyone is as . . . considerate to their computer as I am. I have seen colleagues of mine have anywhere from 30-50 tabs open and not feel shame!

I know each browser has there own way of managing lots of tabs and there are more than a few extensions out there that can help people as well. Since my school uses Google, it only makes sense for me to use Google Chrome, plus I like all the extensions they have to offer, but this feature is built right into the browser itself. No need to install anything else or create an account with a third party. Just open tabs up and group them!

Continue reading “Google Chrome – Tab groups” →

Chrome & Autoplay

Patrick CauleyLeave a comment

Autoplay sucks! Let me explain. Autoplay is when you open a site and a video automatically starts playing. Annoying! This just happened to me. I was in a meeting, looking for an article on CNN and I opened a page and all of a sudden a reporter’s voice starts flowing from my laptop speakers. It was embarassing and I silently cursed CNN’s autoplay videos!

Starting today Google has unveiled Chrome 64. This version allows you to mute (not stop) the autoplay. The downside side is you have to do it site by site, it is not a global feature . . . yet.

Here’s what you do. First check that your Chrome has updated to version 64. It does this automatically so don’t worry about having to go anywhere or do anything to achieve this.

To check click on Chrome (at the top) and select About Google Chrome.

It will then tell you what version you are on. If you are not on version 64 it will automatically start updating.

If it updated, quite Chrome and then reopen it. If it is up to date, then go ahead and go to one of those annoying sites that autoplay like CNN or CNET.

Click on the word Secure in the address line.

A dropdown menu will appear and from here you can select Always block on this site.

There is another way that is easier, but it does not seem to remember from one session to the next.

Go to the site and in the tab right click it and this menu will open.

Then select Mute Site and voila!

Death to Autoplay!

Episode 130 – Gboard

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130

Tim, Tony and Patrick talk about the new Gboard iOS keyboard, Chrome and virtual reality and the 20% project. Check out the show notes below.

As always subscribe to us on iTunes and Podomatic or subscribe to us with your favorite podcasting app on your phone or tablet.

Gboard
a. Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gboard-search.-gifs.-emojis/id1091700242?mt=8

Google SketchUp
a. How can you help Tim set up a class for next year that includes 3D printing?
b. Worth getting the Educators License/Pro.

Chrome wants VR Content in its browser,
a. Link: http://arstechnica.co.uk/gadgets/2016/05/chrome-browser-vr-content-90-fps/
b. Targets 90fps rendering

School lets kids spend 20% of their time on anything that want.
a. Link: http://www.techinsider.io/york-school-lets-kids-spend-20-on-anything-they-want-2016-5
b. http://www.20time.org/

You can download the MP3 file HERE!

Papier – A Chrome extension worth checking out

Patrick Cauley1 Comment

We’ve talked about Chrome extensions before on the podcast (you should subscribe by the way) and even written about them here.

So let’s add one more to the pile: Papier. When you open a new tab, you will see a blank canvas where you can type out notes. You can use bold, italics, strikeout and underline as well so making some emphasis on notes is a breeze. You can do these through global shortcut keys. You can’t change color, type or size of the font but then again this all you’re doing here is taking notes. Maybe a reminder to pick up milk, call a parent or some cool factoid you want to share with your students. It’s quite handy.

You do have some options though. In the bottom left hand corner there are options where you can change some text. You can also change it from day mode to night mode depending on what you prefer and you have the option to print or export the notes. Another really handy feature is the character count. In their video you see them add emojis. They are just utilizing the built in emojis on a Mac laptop which you can bring up by hitting ctrl + command + space.

What’s neat about this, if you close the tab, even close Chrome and reopen it, your notes will still be there! Of course if you reset Chrome it will probably disappear, but when I cleared the browisng data my note was still there!

So if you need a way to organize all those thoughts and remidners everyday in class, give Papier a try.

Papier

Episode 114 – Tony uses IE6

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114a

Tony, Tim, Dave and Patrick talk about Chrome extensions and Remix which is Android as a desktop OS. Check out the talking points below.

As always you should subscribe to us on iTunes, follow us on Podomatic or subscribe to us with your favorite podcasting app.

New for all you O365/Chrome users:
a. Link: http://www.omgchrome.com/microsoft-brings-office-online-chrome-web-store/
b. Microsoft Brings office online to chrome webstore – 3.5 Stars – 2,705 votes

Remix OS, a desktop-focused version of Android is coming to older PCs by James Vincent of the Verge
a. Link: http://www.theverge.com/2016/2/22/11081964/remix-os-android-desktop-beta-mwc-2016
b. Is this a way to make older computers more useful again?
c. Or should they just load Chromium on those machines?
i. Link: http://www.theverge.com/2016/2/17/11030406/neverware-google-chromebook-chromium-os-education-microsoft
ii. Neverware: http://www.neverware.com/#introtext-3

You can always download the episode HERE!

Our favorite Chrome Extensions/Add-ons

Patrick Cauley4 Comments

At IT Babble Chrome is our browser of choice for its speed, its auto updates and the myriad of fantastic add-ons you can … well add on. These add-ons give Chrome various different functionalities and we thought it would be nice to share our favorites with you! We discussed these extensions and add-ons quickly on Episode 103 of our podcast but here is a more detailed list in case you were wondering. If you have some favorites of your own please add them in the comments below.

Remember you need to be using Chrome in order for these to work (there is one exception on Tony’s list).

To find these enhancements just look in the Google Chrome store.

In general

The first one I think we all recommend is Ad Block or Ad Block Plus. You can probably guess that it blocks annoying ads that may pop up or flash while you are on the site. It works most of the time and really does improve your time on the Interwebs.

David

Stayfoucsed – This extension blocks you from going to time wasting websites. You pick the websites, pick how much time a day you want to allow yourself on those websites and it keeps you from going there after your time is up. Great for procrastinators!

Patrick

CheckerPlus for Gmail – This puts a little gmail icon right next to your browser address bar (or omnibar as I think it is actually called). This shows you how many unread email messages you have in Gmail and you can click on it, read, reply or compose emails right from this extension. Hell, it’ll even read them to you if you’d like!

Eye Dropper – Have you ever been to a website and wondered what color a font, banner, or design was? Eye dropper will find out exactly what that color is. It’s simple and easy to use and I use it surprisingly a lot.

 

Pocket – This is a great service. There are times when I find an article or web page that I want to keep for myself, the podcast or my students. Using this extension, I just click the pocket button and it is saved (even offline) in a beautiful, ad free reformatted so its very easy to read view.

Tim

Grammarly – Ever sent an email with a glaringly misspelled word or some poor grammar? This will help to correct that. Tim even says that it sends reports to you to show how you are progressing. Pretty sweet!

Momentum – When you open a new tab in Chrome, it shows the Google omnibar and the eight most popular websites you’ve visited. This replaces that with an inspirational quotes, a to-do list of your own creation and a beautiful images. Not a bad way to open a new tab huh?

Reddit Enhancement Suite – Do you read Reddit? Of course you do. Now download this extension to better improve your experience. Tim loves it and so should you.

Tony

Evernote Web Clipper – If you use Evernote, you need this. It will clip images, articles, web pages, etc. and put it right into whatever notebook you want. I had it on my list too, but not to be redundant I left it off.


Firebug OK this one cheats a little bit because it isn’t a Google Chrome extension. It is a Firefox extension, but it is awesome. Have you ever wondered what the code is of a certain part of a webpage? Firebug will tell you. If you deal with any sort of website management at all this is a very helpful tool.

Pixlr Editor – Need to edit a photo but need to do more than just resize it or crop it? Don’t have Photoshop or another powerful image editor on your computer. Pixlr to the rescue. It’s free, web based and pretty powerful considering that you can do layers and have a variety to a large amount of tools.