Idle Mind: May 2015

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Suggested Websites

E-books

1. Free eBooks

This great website is exactly what it says on the tin – a huge free source of eBooks available for download. You’ll even get to search comprehensively through various categories, too.

2. The Book Depository

The book Depository has both “real” books and eBooks, so if you’re after a reliable source for the digital and tangible then this is an amazing website. They have a special dedicated “free” area too – so you can search knowing you won’t be spending a penny.

3. Bookyards.com

Known as the “library to the world” you’ll be able to find many free and paid titles here. They have a special section dedicated to free downloads too – which makes things much easier.

Music and video free streaming/downloading

1. Amazing Tunes (http://amazingtunes.com)

Search for artists you want to hear or choose from a list of stations. Has a pop out player so you can listen as you browse other sites on the Web.

2. Rhapsody (http://www.rhapsody.com)

Download Real Player and then play free music via their Rhapsody service.

3.MP3.com (http://mp3.com)

Stream the music, or download it free. Lets you jump around choosing the tunes you want to hear.

Graduate Studies Scholarships Abroad

Fulbright Scholarships (USA)(http://www.cies.org)

The Fulbright Scholarship Program is the flagship international exchange scholarship program between the U.S. Government and 155 countries. Each year, approximately 1,800 Fulbright scholarships are awarded to excellent foreign students who wish to pursue a Masters or PhD Degree in the United States. The Fulbright Scholarship Program provides full funding for the duration of the study which includes tuition, textbooks, airfare, a living stipend, and health insurance.

Chevening Scholarships (UK) (http://www.chevening.org)

The Chevening Scholarships is the flagship global scholarship program of the British Government. Every year, it provides scholarships to around 1000 outstanding students from over 130 countries who wish to pursue postgraduate study in the UK. Chevening Scholarships are full scholarships which cover tuition fees, monthly stipend and various one-off allowances as well as international travel to and from UK.

Endeavour Postgraduate Awards (Australia) (https://internationaleducation.gov.au)

The Endeavour Postgraduate Awards provide full financial support for international students from Americas, Europe, The Caribbean, Middle East, Asia and the Pacific to undertake a postgraduate qualification at a Masters (up to 2 years) or PhD level (up to 4 years) either by coursework or research in any field of study in Australia. The scholarships includes tuition fees, travel allowance, establishment allowance, monthly stipend, health insurance, and travel insurance.

Job Market

Job Market Online (http://www.jobmarketonline.com)

JobMarket Online is the online version of the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Job Market. JobMarket Online is one of the pioneering recruitment websites in the Philippines, made by Filipinos for Filipinos. Aside from housing job postings from Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Job Market, the site also offers interactive job application, e-mail alerts, resume extraction, and other exclusive online features.

Work Abroad.ph (http://www.workabroad.ph)

Workabroad.ph is the Philippines' leading overseas job site. Applicants may upload their resume, apply for various jobs abroad, receive job offers and be updated with the latest job hirings overseas. Job application in WorkAbroad.ph is free of charge, and overseas jobs posted in the website are from POEA-accredited recruitment agencies only. - See more at: http://www.workabroad.ph/#sthash.0N0lPusM.dpuf

Econ Job Market (https://econjobmarket.org)

Econ Job Market Inc. (EJM) is a nonprofit organization (501c3 tax-exempt charity) that facilitates the flow of information in the economics job market by providing a secure central repository for the files of job-market candidates (including papers, reference letters, and other materials) accessed on line. EJM is run by a group of academic economists who volunteer their time and effort.

Battle of the best browsers: IE vs. Chrome vs. Firefox vs. Safari vs. Opera vs. Project Spartan

REFERENCE:http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/the-best-browser-internet-explorer-vs-chrome-vs-firefox-vs-safari-vs-project-spartan/

Google Chrome: Chrome has a lean address bar configuration, stripping everything down into a simple tab layout and address bar configuration that also doubles as a search bar Google calls the “Omnibox.” Like most browsers, the window can get incredibly cramped with 15+ tabs open, but it still does a fantastic job of delivering content whether you have the browser fully expanded or slightly minimized for the sake of space.

Mozilla Firefox: This browser features a similar, yet useful layout when compared to its competitors, placing the tab bar above the address bar. Despite reaching version 37 of the software (it skipped versions 18 and 11 through 16, apparently), it still slightly feels like the bulky predecessors of the software, refusing to unite the address and search bars in a single unified field like all of its peers.

Internet Explorer: Technically, IE 11 is the most minimal Internet device of the four, with less “chrome” than Chrome. IE 11 features a single bar that simultaneously functions as the browser’s address and search bar. The space at the top places your open tabs to the right of the address-search bar, making it somewhat more cluttered than some of our other picks given the amount of space the search field takes up, but it typically isn’t worrisome unless you’re really stacking up a high volume of tabs. Other notable design features include the single-click bookmarking star now widely adopted by almost all other prominent browsers.

Safari: The browser that has traditionally attracted criticism is now a serious competitor to the likes of Google and Firefox. The newest version of Apple’s browser is fairly minimalist in design, but retains enough familiarity for old users of the browser to feel at home. Like its peers, Safari offers the address-search bar hybrid. Updates to Safari 8 include a share icon embedded to the right of the search field. The sharing feature serves as a way to bookmark pages, post to social networks, and share via native Apple platforms (iMessage, Mail). The updated Safari is worth a shot for any OS X users. Mac users running the most recent operating system can even launch the browser in full-screen mode, essentially expanding the window and for the ultimate viewing experience.

Opera: This browser embraces Google’s chromium Web engine while retaining signature features that distinguish the browser from the rest. Opera has a single hybrid address-search bar like Chrome, but the alternative browser also sports Opera’s signature features, stash and speed dial. Speed dial allows for easy bookmarking and functions like “the most visited page” on Safari. Stash is similar to Pocket, allowing you to quickly store pages for future browsing. The bottom line, it’s a clean design with innovative features that holds its own against the rest of the competition.

Benchmark Tests Compared

Which browser is best? For now, Chrome remains the best browser on the market. Google’s proprietary browser boasts the largest and most useful selection of apps and extensions, along with a frequent update schedule. Other browsers, however, are upping their game. Opera and Firefox now offer a similar update frequency and IE 11 out-performs Chrome on Sunspider’s benchmark standards. Then there’s Spartan, which could become a contender when Windows 10 is released. The bottom line is this, we’re in an era where the most minimal and modular browser reigns supreme. Chrome remains the most nimble and most app-ready browsing experience. IE/Spartan, Firefox, and Opera have narrowed their lead significantly, each offering new features to better accommodate the needs of some users.

Here's How You Can Hide From Anyone On Facebook

REFERENCE:http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-change-facebook-privacy-settings-2014-2?op=1

Here's the main menu for Settings. Click on Privacy.

You can change your Facebook privacy settings in three different ways.

Control who can send you friend requests. It can be set as Everyone or Friends of Friends.

To filter inbox messages, choose Basic Filtering, which lets friends and family send messages. The next option is Strict Filtering, which forces messages from people you don't know to go directly to a folder named "Other."

This is where you can make sure specific people have restricted access to your profile. Also, type a name or email into the Block User field to hide your profile from a person.

Blocking off websites

Block a Website on Your PC

Reference:http://www.pcworld.com/article/249077/how_to_block_websites.html

1. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc. If Windows is not installed on C:, substitute the appropriate drive letter.

2. Double-click hosts, and select Notepad when Windows prompts you to choose a program. If you don't get the prompt, or if the hosts file opens in another program, open Notepad (Start, All Programs, Accessories, Notepad), and then navigate to hosts by clicking File, Open within Notepad.

3. Place the cursor at the end of the last line, which will say something such as '127.0.0.1 localhost' or '::1 localhost'. Press Enter to create a new line.

4. Type 127.0.0.1, tap the spacebar once, and then type the address of a website you want to block. For example, to block all traffic from YouTube, type 127.0.0.1 www.youtube.com on this line.

5. Continue to add the websites you wish to block, each prefaced with 127.0.0.1 and a space.

6. Click File, Save to commit to your changes. Dismiss any warnings from antimalware software, which may be triggered by your editing of the hosts file.

7. Close any open browser windows, and then reopen a browser to test your edits. The blocked sites should not display in any browser.