Tuesday, 3 May 2016
Keyboard Shortcuts for Adobe Photoshop, Premiere, Indesign and More
Adobe’s software and tools enable the creation of
amazing digital works, whether you are using Photoshop to whip up multi-layered visuals, putting together a
print magazine with InDesign or stitching together a video in Premiere. Here are collections of handy shortcuts to keep in
mind as you work to significantly increase your speed when using Adobe programs.
Basic Shortcuts
Command/Ctrl+A:
select your entire current layer
Command/Ctrl+C:
copy your selection
Command/Ctrl+X:
copy/cut your selection
Command/Ctrl+V:
paste what you copied
Z:
switch to the zoom tool
Command/Ctrl++:
zoom in
Command/Ctrl+-:
zoom out
When
you have several projects, canvases or file windows in any of the Adobe
programs, you can easily flip through them on Macs with Command+~ and Ctrl+~ on
PCs.
Photoshop shortcuts
The
tools you will probably use the most are the marquee selection tool, which is
M, the color picker (eyedropper) tool, I, the brush tool, B, and the eraser
tool E.
PhotoshopTools
If
you are using a lot of layers, switch between them using Alt+[ and Alt+] to go
down and up. For quick layer creation, hit Ctrl+Shift+N on PC and
Command+Shift+N on Mac.
Premiere and After Effects shortcuts
Jumping
around frames when you are working on a video project can be painstaking,
especially if you want to view your full timeline while doing so.
If
you are editing on a computer with a full keyboard, you can use the Page up and
Page down keys to move left and right through frames, and if you hit those
while holding Shift, you will jump 10 frames at a time.
When
moving through keyframes, use J to move left and K to move right. This will
also work in the nearly dead Adobe Flash.
To
sift through effect properties in your current layer, hit P for position, R for
rotation, S for scale and T for opacity.
InDesign shortcuts
The
most important shortcut to know for InDesign is Ctrl/Command+D, which is the
shortcut for placing files in the program, which can include images and
documents. InDesign will automatically convert multiple kinds of text files
including Word .docs into normal text if you use the place shortcut, which is
easier than copying text in.
Once
getting your text in, easily switch to your text tool by hitting T. To bold,
italicize or underline your text, hit Command/Ctrl+Shift+B, +I or +U
respectively.
If
you are using master elements, which are elements you place that appear on
every page in the publication you’re creating, you may want to take them off of
some pages. You can Ctrl/Command+Shift+click them to get rid of one element on
a single page, or drag your click if you want to delete multiple master elements
on that page.
To
see how everything looks without grids and extra lines, switch between normal
view and preview mode by hitting W.
Your House Plant Could Soon Charge Your Phone
A European startup company is currently developing
an intriguing gadget that will let you charge your phone with your potted
plant. The system, called Bioo Lite, harnesses the power of photosynthesis and
generates electricity using only water, soil and any common house plant.
Power output from the Bioo Lite system is equivalent
to a USB charge from a laptop or desktop computer, designers say, and can
deliver up to three complete recharges in 24 hours to most smart phones or
tablets.
Bioo Lite is actually a scaled-down version of the
company’s core Bioo technology, which uses panels placed beneath the soil to
draw energy from the natural process of photosynthesis. Larger panels can be
placed beneath garden plots, or smaller panels can be used with potted plants.
The technical details on the Indiegogo page are a
little fuzzy, but similar technologies are already in circulation. Diagrams
suggest that the Bioo system generates energy by processing microorganisms
expelled by the plant’s root system. The process does not impact the process of
photosynthesis or the health of the plant itself, according to developers.
In any case, the team guarantees that the Bioo Lite
system will be able to recharge a standard smartphone two to three times per
day for at least five years. The USB jack is designed to be compatible with
most mobile devices. Pretty much any kind of house plant should do the trick,
although the team notes that some plants produce more power than others. The
cactus, for instance, is not recommended. Seriously
Arkyne Technologies (www.arkynetechnologies.com) ,
the company behind the Bioo Lite system, is aiming for first deliveries by
December.
Culled from www.mashable.com
Browser Battle: Microsoft IE Loses Traction, As Google Chrome Takeover
Google Chrome is now the No. 1 browser officially, according to
Web tracker, Net Market (https://www.netmarket.com) .
In April, Google Chrome had 41.6 percent share of all desktop browser traffic picked
up by Net Market Share, up from 39 percent in March. Over the same time,
Internet Explorer’s (IE) share dropped to 41.3 percent from 43.4 percent. This
marks the first time Chrome has surpasssed IE to assume the top spot.
After years of riding IE's
dominance, Microsoft is moving on with the more modern Edge browser in Windows 10.
Chrome’s growth is particularly impressive as IE comes bundled as the default
browser with every version of Windows except for 10. Windows users who want
Google Chrome must manually install it and choose it as their default browser.
At the same time, Firefox's appeal has been plummeting, according to Net Market
Share. Mozilla's browser saw a market share of 9.7 percent last month, down
from 10.5 percent the prior month. Firefox has been mired in third place since
March of 2014.
Google Chrome has actually been in first place since 2012,
states another Web tracker, StatCounter(https://statcounter.com) , which puts Firefox second and
Internet Explorer in third.
Each Web tracker uses its own
somewhat unique methods and sources to determine Web traffic data. For example, Net
Applications counts
unique visitors per day rather than page views, covers around 40,000 websites
and has a stronger presence in certain countries than other Web trackers. StatCounter analyses the overall volume of Web
traffic and tracks more than 3 million sites around the world.
Driverless Cars Will Cause More Behind the Wheel Sex
The Co-founder of Canada's Automated Vehicles Centre of Excellence, a consultancy group that focuses on the fully automated tomorrow, Barrie Kirk fears more dangerously inflamed passions on the highway.
He is concerned about rolling carnal conflagration .I am predicting that, once computers are doing the driving, there will be a lot more sex in cars, Kirk says . He described carnal sex as "one of several things people will do which will inhibit their ability to respond quickly when the computer says to the human, 'take over.'"
The issue, of course, is that self-driving cars are not yet as autonomous as they seem. That is the problem with this technology. It purports to allow you to sit back and relax. It might, though, at any given point, scream at you to take over. This might be difficult if you are, say, perched at an awkward angle and happily distracted, he explained.
The ultimate promise of self-driving technology is that it will make everyone safer. It might also make it easier for the likes of the police and Google to know where you are all times. After all, who would not want to advertise to us right inside our cars when we have nothing better to do than read, text or have sex, Kirk said.
China: Uber, Alipay Partnership Goes Global
Uber(www.uber.com) has extended its partnership with Alipay(https://global.alipay.com) , a Chinese payment app owned by Alibaba(www.alibaba.com) that boasts 450 million active users. The collaboration will allow Chinese travellers to pay their Uber fares using Alipay in any of the 68 countries where Uber does business, and allow riders to hail Uber cars directly from the Alipay app.
Alipay is one of the most innovative payment companies that really exist in the world and this partnership is very important to, said Emil Michael, Senior Vice President of Business, Uber.
Uber China’s collaboration with Alipay has grown steadily over the past few years, with plans for this global expansion first announced in January. Alipay has been an accepted method of payment for Uber rides on the Chinese mainland since 2014, and Uber began accepting Alipay in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan earlier this year.
Processing Alipay payments has been a crucial component of Uber’s explosive growth in China, where the ride-sharing company went from just one percent of the market in early 2015 to roughly 33 percent by the end of that year. Many Chinese consumers do not use credit cards but instead rely on their Alipay accounts as their primary payment method. With Uber’s global expansion of its Alipay partnership, Chinese riders can continue to pay through Alipay wherever they are instead of obtaining a dual-currency credit card.
Monday, 2 May 2016
A New Era for Women Online
As technology evolves there are relentless effort by some organisations to free girls and women from online oppression that can cause discomfort. Take Back the Tech-TBTT(https://www.takebackthetech.net ) is an expanding group of women active in 16 countries. They are set on reclaiming online space, making the net safer and more representative, as well as a place for women to thrive and change the world.
At the end of 2014, Facebook,
Twitter and Youtube were all given an ‘F’ grade for the way they dealt with –
or rather, did not deal with – online violence against women. Sexism, abusive
language and death threats were all included. The social media platforms were
found to be lacking in transparency and accused of only taking such issues
seriously when media picked up on the situation. But a growing movement of
women is challenging global technology companies and empowering themselves and
each other to be safer online. TBTH is making progress in a number of areas.
Facebook and Twitter agreed to offer more protection for women’s freedom of
speech, and freedom from violence; TBTT’s Pakistan partner Bytes for All has
become a Twitter safety partner.
Across the world there are 200 million fewer women
online than men, meaning men have more chance to present their own perspective
online and hold even more power over women, according to the group. Part of TTBT’s work is to get more women online and
trained in new technologies so they can have a louder voice. It also seeks
recognition for women’s achievements in ICT and in all areas of life, and for
these achievements to be fairly documented on Wikipedia history pages. Violence
against women and girls online is increasing,says Lulú V. Barrera, founder of
Luchadoras. “We want to break down stereotypes of women.”
Sarah Baker, TBTT coordinator is buoyed to see social
media platforms starting to listen, but they are only just scratching the
surface, she says. “Simply expressing an intention to make changes is often
followed very, very slowly by actual policy or mechanism changes. And then some
seem to move backwards. Google, for example has recently hired the founder of
4chan, a site that is notorious for online abuse.”
Additional
Source
Sunday, 1 May 2016
Study the Bible on the Go: 5 Essential Bible Study Apps
Looking for the best
bible study apps? The apps here come with great varieties of tools available at
your fingertips, to make you enjoy The Word wherever you go.
YouVersion has 1092
versions of the Bible in about 780 languages as well as audio and video built
in too. There are Bible reading plans you can subscribe to and also a live
feature which allows your church or Bible study to set up the verses they will
look at during the sermon and allow you to seamlessly follow along on your
device. You can highlight,bookmark, and add notes within the app and share with other users.
Platform: Android/iOS
CadreBible-
http://cadrebible.com/download/
CadreBible is downloadable
with the KJV and Matthew Henry’s Bible commentary for free. However you can
purchase extras such as more Bible versions, commentaries, dictionaries,
reading plans and more. You can have these versions side by side to compare and
contrast making use of the larger screen size of many Android phones.You can
also highlight and create notes as you read which you can sync with Evernote.
Platform: Android
Olive Tree is a
collection of apps for viewing Christian resources. There is an online store
where you can access a range of resources such as different versions of the
Bible, Bible study guides, commentaries, maps, dictionaries, concordances and
more. It also has a clever split screen feature, so you can view two resources
side by side.
Platform: Android
Faithlife is a large
online organisation that provides christian resources. The Bible app includes a
selection of free resources including versions of the Bible, study guides and
reading plans. However, Faithlife also provide the Logos resource system which
packs a whole host of different resources for your study which you can download
to your Android device and access on a computer.
Platform: Android
And Bible is an open
source app which comes with a copy of the ESV Bible on it. You can add other
resources to it such as Bible reading plans, Bible commentaries, dictionaries,
and maps. In addition there are a whole range of settings and features which
you can turn on or off, such as red letters, tilt scrolling, footnotes, sleep
times and more. Like many other options, you can add your notes into the app as
well.
Platform: Android
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