MELANCHOLY404 TECHNOLOGY

In one of the motivational talk shows I saw on TED, I learned that freedom to make mistakes helps you to free yourself from all constraints of being perfect and helps you to open yourself to all kind of opportunities and possibilities. This holds true in all walks of life, even when you are working on your computer. As you are working on Windows or Mac, the OS gives you the freedom to work carelessly  with files. You know that there is a fail safe designed called the Recycle Bin that will store deleted files, giving you a chance to restore them if deleted by accident.

However, even after six generations of Android, there is no failsafe yet to tackle such accidents. A file deleted from your phone is gone forever. You can certainly try to recover them using some file recovery tool, but chances of success are thin and totally dependent on your luck.
So today, I am going to introduce you to an app for Android that will give you the freedom to commit mistakes. Dumpster for Android is a free app which brings in the recycle bin feature, just like one you have on Windows and Mac, right on your Android. Also, you don’t need root access for the app to function and works with all the file managers out there.

Dumpster for Android

To get started, the very first thing you will have to do is install the Dumpster app from the Play Store (which is free, btw) and once it’s initialized, simply press the home button and let it run in the background. If you have a built-in Auto Start App Manager, make sure to include this app as an auto start app so that the services are not stopped in case you reboot.

 
Dumpster will now monitor your internal storage and no matter what you delete from any of the file managers, it will be recorded and cached by Dumpster.

The Features of Dumpster

The best part about using Dumpster is that unlike other recycle bin apps available on Android, you don’t need to share files to the app in order to add them. The app automatically monitors the files that have been deleted from the files system. Also, the app works on almost all the file types including images, videos, audio, pdf, zip, mp3, mp4, ppt, doc, avi, mpg, jpg, rar, etc and you don’t need to work on a 3rd party file manager to manage your files.
 
After the deleted files are collected by Dumpster and you now have two options. You can select files and restore them to the original location if you deleted them by accident or you realize later that you needed those files. Or, if you wish to free device storage, you can delete them permanently. In the settings menu, you can choose which of the files you would like to protect using Dumpster and which one you would like to delete directly, as all the files stored by Dumpster are still in the system storage and thus, occupy storage space lest you delete ’em permanently. You can also choose self-cleaning period after which the cached files on Dumpster will be cleaned automatically.
 
There are premium features using which you can get cloud backup along with ad-free interface, but it’s expensive at $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year. The ads are not obtrusive and you can work with a free version as long as you don’t need cloud backup for files through Dumpster. This can anyways be done for free using other apps available on the Play Store.
 

Conclusion

That was Dumpster using which you can have a failsafe on Android for files that you might delete by accident. No need to root your device and even Internet connection is absolutely not required. The only thing that it needs is a persistent notification so that its services are not killed by the OS in order to free up some RAM as any file deleted while it’s not running will be deleted automatically. So make sure you try out the app and don’t forget to share your views about it.

Sometimes the notification drawer in Android gets too crowded with multiple notifications stacked under each other. And, most of the space is taken up by those fully expanded notifications (*ahem* Amazon Ads *ahem*). So, did you ever feel the need to personalize (or customize) such notifications in Android? Maybe bundle up multiple notifications of the same app in one notification or always show a notification in it’s expanded view. Well, guys, don’t worry if you didn’t feel the need for it. Because NOW YOU DO.

Many developers don’t make full use of the Notification API for Android. They’re not giving you full control of how the notification should look in the notification drawer. For your information below are the notifications types.

• Bundle: Collection of multiple notifications into one single notification. (Like we have in Gmail.)
• Head-Up Notification: You know that. (eg. WhatsApp)
• Multi-Line Text: Notification with a large chunk of text or data in it.
• Elastic List: Minimized version of Multi-line text but can be stretched to get the full view of it.

So, now what if you could enable these different types of notification views and customize the look of notifications?

Let the Nevolution Begin

Yes, you can. A new open source Android app called Nevolution can give your smartphone the ability to do so. Nevolution gives you the freedom to customize the views of notifications in the notification drawer the way you like. Let’s dig in and see how you can do it. It can run on Android devices powered by version 4.3 and above.

Choose a Notification of an App to Customize it

After you download and install the app you’re pretty much good to go. If you already have notifications in the notification drawer then it will show up in the Notification list of the app. Tap on the notification to customize it.



At the bottom, the customize button will pop-up. Along with that, you get the option to make the notification appear again in the notification drawer if you had swiped it away.

Customizing the Look of Notification

I’ve chosen Flipboard’s notification. And, its notification view is of the Elastic list type. But, I always want it to show in multi-line text view. Always expanded so I don’t need to stretch it down to fully view it. Now tap on the customize button. On the next screen, at the bottom, you’ll find different notification styles that you can apply to the notification. (Notification styles mentioned above).
So, here I’ll choose the Multi-line Text style for Flipboard Notifications.

The same way you can customize the notification by applying different styles. You can even bundle notification into one single notification. For example news stories from your News app.

Also, for messaging apps like WhatsApp and WeChat, you get special tweaks. You can separate multiple bundled notification into the separate notifications as shown below.

The notification list on the home screen of the app also works as notification log. It saves all the notification and its actions. You can make the notification appear again and perform the same action of notification again.
It’s a great way to keep track of notifications and customize the way you want it.

It’s Underrated

The app currently has mixed reviews on Play Store with an average rating of 3.7. I myself experienced some issues like notifications not showing up. But, if you’re having issues with the notifications and if it’s misbehaving then you should install the extension pack. Go to settings of the app and you’ll get the option for it. Also, you can join the conversation about it on XDA-forums thread. One of the reason could be that other notification based app installed by you might be conflicting.
However, in my usage, it’s performed well. I’ll give it a 4.3 out of 5 .

Do you own a really awesome speaker or speaker system that you just wish was Bluetooth-capable so you can stream music wirelessly to it from your smartphone or computer? The experience playing Spotify or Apple Music through a solid sound system is killer. Fortunately, this is far from impossible.

The good news is that almost any regular speaker (non-Bluetooth) can quickly and easily be turned into a Bluetooth streaming device. The bad news is while you won’t have to buy an entirely new Bluetooth-ready speaker, you will have to spend money. But the options outlined below are pretty inexpensive solutions to bring your speakers into the wireless world.

Buy a Bluetooth Audio Adapter

The primary device you’ll need to turn your speakers into a Bluetooth-compatible audio system is an adapter. This adapter would plug into your speaker and accept incoming requests for a Bluetooth connection. Enabled, it can transmit Bluetooth streaming to your speaker.
Fortunately, these aren’t very expensive at all, but they do come with their own sets of features and as such, different pricing options. We’ve picked out the best budget, mid-tier, and high-end options available, so let’s run through the choices.

On the low end is the AmazonBasics Bluetooth 4.0 Audio Receiver. It’s just $20 on Amazon and put simply, it gets the job done. It can handle a connection for as far as 10 meters (or 30 feet) away and one Bluetooth device at a time. If you want something basic that works, shelling out $20 on AmazonBasic’s adapter is an easy choice.

However, I’d recommend moving up to the mid-tier option on our list: Logitech’s Bluetooth Audio Adapter. The retail price is $39.99 but it currently sells for just over $27 on Amazon. It stays connected to your device up to 15 meters away (or 50 feet) so you’re free to roam a bit more, plus connects to up to two devices at once. You can switch between which device you want to stream from on the fly. For $7 more than the low-end adapter, Logitech’s popular offering is worth the step up.

Folks who might categorize themselves as more genuine audiophiles should consider the Bose Bluetooth Audio Adapter. It’s $60 on Amazon and while it drops down to that 10-meter connection range, it can remember up to eight different devices that you’ve connected. Plus, you can switch between three active device connections simultaneously. This is the adapter ideal for large households or parties.

How to Set Up Your Adapter

Once you get your adapter, setup should be pretty simple. First, you’ll need to take the included power adapter and plug it into an outlet. Yes, unfortunately, these adapters must run on their own power, so make sure the speakers you want to hook yours up to is near a wall.
Next, take the auxiliary cord and plug one end into your adapter and the other end into the Audio In (sometimes called Aux In) port of your speaker. This is located in different places on different speakers, so you’ll have to search around to find it.
The last step would be to connect the adapter to your speaker. How to do this will vary based on your adapter, so check your instruction manual. Generally, you should have to press some sort of Connect button (as is the case with the Logitech adapter) and wait to hear a sound that verifies it’s working.

Finally, head over to the device you want to stream music out of, make sure Bluetooth is enabled and connect to the Bluetooth adapter via your Bluetooth settings. And you’re all set. Start playing music with an active Bluetooth connection to the adapter and it should automatically come out of your previously antiquated speakers.

Almost all Video Players on Android provide gesture controls to set volume and brightness as the video plays. It easy and handy to have this feature. Now, what if you get this feature in the official YouTube Android app? Maybe you’re too lazy to stretch out your fingers to the volume buttons or pull down the notification bar to increase brightness. Whatever the case may be, if you’re interested in getting this feature then read on.

There are many apps on Play Store that can give you gesture controls to perform different actions. But, that will take its affect system-wide. You need to have an application that can track a specific activity (as in our case a video playing in the YouTube app) and turn on the gesture control for that specific activity. That way the action performed will only affect the specific activity in the app and not system-wide. So, here I’d like to share with you an app that will do exactly that.

Volume and Brightness Gesture Controls in YouTube for Android

Step-1: Download and Install this app.
Step-2: Open the app and you’ll be asked to turn on the Accessibility Settings for the app.


Step-3: Turn on Accessibility for the app. This will enable the app to track when the YouTube video is playing on your Android phone.

Step-4: You’re now all set to use the gesture control in the YouTube app. Play a video on YouTube. Swiping up/down on the left will control the brightness and on the right will control the volume.

The Annoying Message

As you can see in the above screenshot, you get a full sized banner asking you to buy the full version. Yes, this comes up every time change the brightness and volume. It stays for around 2 seconds. But, it’s still annoying. The full version costs $2. If you really want to have this feature in YouTube app then go for it.

Settings

In the settings of the app, you can set the velocity of the swipe and enable the option to show brightness and volume levels in percentage.

Any Other Way?

The free version of the app will surely annoy you. But, the full version is worth the buy (it also contains settings for tap anywhere to pause/start and auto brightness). However, if you have any other way to do this in the YouTube app then do mention it down in the comments and help other readers.

Ever since I started using Windows 10, every time I opened the Task Manager in detailed view, the disk usage activity always touched the mark of 100%. If not a century, it was always above 90% which was quite odd. For the first few days, I thought that it might be because of the heavy video rendering that I did on my PC for our YouTube channel related work. But after a few weeks I realized that even while my system was idle with no major background processes running, it was hitting the 100% mark just for disk usage. The CPU state was mostly idle, going from just 2 to 10%.

It was enough to convince me that it’s not the workload that’s causing my PC to be slow all the time with obnoxious disk usage. It was time to find a solution and after hours of online research, I managed to find out some working tricks. These tips solved the issue on my PC and now my computer shows decent disk usage with a significant improvement in performance.
So if you too are facing similar issues on your Windows 10 computer, here are the 4 things that you should check on your PC.
Note: If you are not sure what your disk usage in Windows 10 is, right-click on the taskbar to open up Task Manager and here enable the detailed view. In the Processes tab, you can see the CPU, Memory, and Disk Usage on your computer.

Disable Windows Search

The first thing you must check out is the Windows Search services which are kind of buggy and cause Windows 10 on your computer to enter a search loop. Once Windows 10 enters the search loop, it starts indexing files over and again which cause the high disk usage with minimal CPU and Memory usage. I am not sure when Microsoft is going to take care of this bug, but the only option you can go with is to disable the Windows Search Properties permanently. To get started, open up Windows’ Run box and execute the command services.msc.

Once the Services window opens up, look for Windows Search and double click on it to open up the properties page. Here, the first thing you should do is click on Stop to immediately stop the service and then change the Startup Type to Disabled. That’s all, save the settings and after some time, you should notice an improvement in the disk usage activity. But if you still have the issue, don’t worry, there are still a few things you can try.

Disable Superfetch Services

The next thing you can try is to disable Superfetch services from services.msc window itself. Superfetch service caches data to RAM so that it can be immediately available to your application. Unfortunately, the service is not  always right about which software you’re going to use and can keep your hard drive busy for minutes after booting and closing applications.

While disabling the Superfetch service, make sure you stop it first and then change the Startup Type to Disabled.

Disable Windows 10 Tips

Disabling the above two services did the trick for me, but if you still are not seeing any improvement, you can try a tip I read on Reddit. A few users suggested to open Windows 10 settings and then navigate to Notifications & actions. Here turn off Show me Tips about Windows and that’s all. It should just take a minute or two before you see the results.

I haven’t tried this myself, but from the comments on the Reddit page, it looks like that the trick is working for users and is definitely worth a shot.

Conclusion

Those were the few tips you can try to get the Windows Disk usage to behave. If none of them works for you, I am afraid it might be because of some malware on your computer and you might have to disinfect the Windows 10 or clean install from the scratch in a hope that the issue is fixed.

The top search engines in the game — Google, Bing, Yahoo and DuckDuckGo, to name a few — all scour the web every day for millions upon millions of web pages to add to their search results. Yet still, when you search among each of these services, you’ll virtually never get the exact same results. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could search all of them at once to maximize your ability to find what you’re looking for?

Well, it’s certainly possible. There are several websites and apps that have combined all the best engines into a single search so you can get a side-by-side view of each results page. This is especially handy for gathering up all the top news articles across the Internet or a wide variety of images. Check out the best services for searching multiple engines below.

TheInfo.com

TheInfo.com is a website that lets you choose between a variety of services for performing your search. You can enable searching through Google, Overture, MSN (now Bing) and Teoma, plus directories like About.com, Google Directory and Yahoo Directory, the Metacrawler web crawler and additional services like news and WebRing.

You can also select “All the web” with one click to automatically search with Google, Overture, Bing and Teoma. The results pop up in separate windows, so brace yourself.

PolyCola.com

PolyCola is yet another simple website that lets you pick two search engines from its supported list and enter the same search query to view the different results side by side. The supported engines are Google, Yahoo, Ask, Dogpile and AOL.

Initially, on the home page you can choose from searching the web, images and videos, but after performing a search PolyCola reveals you can also search through news and shopping categories as well. It’s far from the most elegantly designed website on the planet, but it works for pitting two different search engines against each other.

Smart Search for iOS and Android

Smart Search & Web Browser is a free app for iOS and Android — and one of the few — that combines several methods of search. It actually supports the widest amount of search engines and services on this list so far. Supported ones include Google, Yahoo, YouTube, Google Images, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, eBay, Google Translate and Wikipedia.

While you can’t compare your results side to side, what I love about the app is that you can enter a search query, quickly tap the menu at the top and choose a new service, and the new results will automatically load. You can speedily switch between results to compare with memory.
Smart Search also has a built-in web browser for accessing any other websites too.

Simul-Search for Mac

Brand new to the Mac, the $1 Simul-Search app lets you simultaneously search Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo and Wikipedia. The best part is that it searches in real time, so as soon as you start typing, the results will begin loading.

The downside is that because results appear side by side, in order to do so they have to be reduced down to their mobile versions. Simul-Search does have convenient buttons though for opening one of the results pages in Safari or all of them in separate tabs.

NooG on PC

A terrific and thorough app called NooG is available for Windows that lets you search through Google, Bing and Wikipedia.

We all love privacy. It gives us our peace of mind that there’s no one going through our stuff. Albeit, it’s the biggest issue in all fields of technology. No matter how hard you try, some or the other way it will be endangered. However, we should never stop trying. If you believe in that, then let me show you how you can hide your “personal stuff” stored in those specifically partitioned disk drives on Windows.

Here, I’ll show how you can password protect your disk drives and keep your sensitive data safe. So, without further ado, let’s dig in.

Hide Disk Drives in Windows

So, the software we are going to explore today is Hidden Disk. In the past, we had shared with you how you can hide a secret partition in your USB flash drive. But, today using Hidden Disk I’d like to show you how to hide disk drive and it’s content. And, not just hide but also add a password to it.
Download and Install the software to begin with. It does work well on Windows 10. And, using this software is really simple. So, let’s do it.

Step-1: Create Disk
On the home screen of the software, you’ll see a Letter X. Those are actually disk drive letters. You can choose whatever you want. Next, after you’ve chosen your disk letter click on Create Disk.

Now, the disk will be created and it should show you a warning that you shouldn’t format your system drive or reinstall your system. If you do so then the disk you created will get removed (along with the files stored in it). Also, with this warning, there’s an important point to note. The files that you store in this disk drive are being stored somewhere on your System drive. That is why you’ll see the new drive you created will be named same as your System drive.

Also, you can create other drives by changing the drive name in the software.
Step-2: Hide the Drive
Now in order to hide the drive click on Disable Disk. Before doing so don’t forget to add your files in the drive. After you’ve disabled it, the drive will disappear.

Also, another way to make it invisible is to shut down your PC. The disk will disappear every time you shut down. So now, how do you get it back?
Step-3: Open Hidden disk and Click on Create Disk again to make the hidden disk visible.
If you had added any files in the hidden drive then you’ll get them back in the drive after you hit Create disk (again). Yeah, that is a little time consuming but privacy comes at a cost bro.
Now, let’s see how you can add a password to this hidden drive.

Password Protect the Hidden Drive

Well, actually you won’t be adding a password to the Hidden disk but to the Software.
Step-1: Click on Create/Update Password

And, on the next screen add your password and recovery email. The email ID will be used to send you your password in case you forget it.

Step-2: Accessing Software with the New Password.
You can now test out if it works. Disable the disk drive and close the software. Next time when you open it, it should ask you for the password.

So you’ve now password protected your files and folders and also made them invisible.