Technologies

These 11 Simple Chromebook Features Can Help Streamline Your Tasks

Go beyond your Chromebook’s basic functions to boost your productivity.

Google’s ChromeOS is now more than a decade old and a lot has changed. In the past couple of years, Google revved up what you can do with a Chromebook, dramatically improving or adding tools to help increase your productivity, whether you’re working or learning from home, school, the office or somewhere in between.

Android users get extra benefits to make it easier to jump between a Chromebook and an Android phone, and on Android you can also share your Wi-Fi connection.

New Chromebook users and veterans alike can learn some new tricks to boost productivity in Chrom OS. Read on for 11 features that make your life more efficient on a Chromebook.

Scan documents with the webcam

Your Chromebook’s webcam can be used for scanning documents. Open up the Camera app and along with photo and video options you’ll see Scan. Select it and you’ll have the option to scan a document or a QR code. For documents, just put what you want to scan in front of the webcam and your Chromebook will find it and detect the document’s edges. Tap or click the big, white shutter release on the right side of the interface and it will capture your scan. If you like what you got, you can save it as a JPEG or PDF.

Admittedly, the results are better with an external webcam than the built-in camera unless you happen to have a Chromebook with front- and rear-facing cameras. But it still works OK with just the webcam above your Chromebook’s display if you need to create a quick PDF to email. Just make sure you have plenty of light so you can capture a crisp image.

Edit PDFs with the Gallery app

Need to sign or form or show someone where to sign a form? Google eliminated the need to print and scan PDF documents with editing features built into your Chromebook’s Gallery app. The PDF editor lets you fill out and sign forms, highlight text and add text annotations.

Pan, tilt and zoom your external webcam

If you use an external webcam with pan, tilt and zoom support with your Chromebook, there are controls in the Camera app to let you move and zoom with the camera. With the external camera connected to your Chromebook, open the Camera app and select your external webcam using the camera switch icon at the lower left of the interface. Just above that icon is a diamond-shaped icon with a circle at its center. Click on that icon and it’ll open a control panel with zoom, pan and tilt controls. What’s really convenient, though, is the camera settings you use will stick once you leave the Camera app. That means you can jump into a Google Meet chat and have the camera angle set up just how you like it.

Phone Hub

Android users can access their phones from Chrome’s Shelf. The hub lets you see the last couple of tabs you viewed on your phone, see its battery level and wireless connection strength and get notifications from chat apps. It can also be used to locate your phone by setting off its ringtone, and it can silence your phone entirely.

Wi-Fi Sync

Wi-Fi Sync lets you share your network settings between devices. This means if your phone connects to a safe Wi-Fi network, your phone can share the network password with your Chromebook so you’re ready to work when you lift the lid. No more reentering passwords or having to hunt them down again to connect.

Screen Capture

Can’t remember the key combo to take a screenshot? From the Quick Settings on Chrome’s Shelf, you can select Capture. The tool not only lets you take screenshots but can be used to capture screen recordings as well. The tool can capture a window, a crop of a specific area of your screen or the entire screen.

Also, if you want to create a screencast to record, view and share transcribed videos and presentations for a demo or how-to video or a virtual lesson, there’s a Screencast app that’s part of ChromeOS. Just click on the Launcher in the lower left corner of your screen and search for it.

Tote

Google added a holding spot on the Shelf called Tote. It’s where you’ll find your most recent screenshots. But you’re also able to see downloads without having to launch the file browser. You can pin files to Tote, too, which means you can keep an important document readily available to open without searching for it.

Clipboard

Alongside the Tote feature is an enhanced Clipboard. It’s now able to store the last five things you saved to it. To view what’s available, press the Everything button plus V.

Desks

Desks lets you create separate workspaces for different projects you’re working on. Google added a right-click option to send an open window to a different Desk than the one it’s in, or all of your Desks if necessary. A four-finger swipe across your touchpad will let you switch between Desks, too.

Quick Answers

Need to convert a measurement from imperial to metric or need the definition of a word you’re reading? Just highlight whatever it is and right-click on it and you’ll be given a definition, conversion or translation along with your other options. This can be toggled on and off in the settings menu under Related Info.

Nearby Share

Nearby Share is the Android version of Apple’s AirDrop. It lets you and your contacts quickly share photos, files, links and more directly to another Android device or a Chromebook. Search the Settings on your Chromebook for Nearby Share and you can toggle the feature on and off. You’ll have to turn on Nearby Share on the sending/receiving device, as well.

To use it, once you’ve turned it on, pick what you want to send from your device, tap the Share icon (it’s the one with three dots with one dot joined to the other two by single lines) and Nearby Share should appear as an option. Tap Nearby Share and it will search for available devices which should include your Chromebook. Select it, and you’ll get a notification on your Chromebook to accept or reject it.

In the market for a new Chromebook? These are the best Chromebooks for 2023. Plus, here’s how to reset your Chromebook to make it run like new, and why that cheap Chromebook might be too good to be true.

Technologies

iOS 17 Cheat Sheet: Your Questions on the iPhone Update Answered

Here’s what you need to know about new features and upcoming updates for your iPhone.

Apple’s iOS 17 was released in September, shortly after the company held its Wonderlust event, where the tech giant announced the new iPhone 15 lineup, the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2. We put together this cheat sheet to help you learn about and use the new features in iOS 17. It’ll also help you keep track of the subsequent iOS 17 updates.

iOS 17 updates

Using iOS 17

Getting started with iOS 17

Make sure to check back periodically for more iOS 17 tips and how to use new features as Apple releases more updates.

17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About

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See all photos

Technologies

Get Ready for a Striking Aurora That Could Also Disrupt Radio Communications

Don’t expect the storm to cause a lingering problem, though.

A geomagnetic storm is threatening radio communications Monday night, but that doesn’t mean you should be concerned. In fact, it may be an opportunity to see a colorful aurora in the night sky.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has issued a geomagnetic storm watch after witnessing a coronal mass ejection from the sun on Saturday. The watch, which was issued over the weekend and will expire after Monday, said the onset of the storm passing over Earth on Sunday night represented a «moderate» threat to communications. As the storm continues to pass through, it could deliver a «strong» threat on Monday night that could cause radio communications to be temporarily disrupted during the worst of it.

Even so, NOAA said, «the general public should not be concerned.»

A coronal mass ejection occurs when magnetic field and plasma mass are violently expelled from the sun’s corona, or the outermost portion of the sun’s atmosphere. In the vast majority of cases, the ejection occurs with no real threat to Earth. However, in the event the ejection happens in the planet’s direction, a geomagnetic storm occurs, and the Earth’s magnetic field is temporarily affected.

In most cases, geomagnetic storms cause little to no disruption on Earth, with radio communications and satellites affected most often. In extreme cases, a geomagnetic storm can cause significant and potentially life-threatening power outages — a prospect that, luckily, the planet hasn’t faced.

Switching poles

Every 11 years, the sun’s magnetic poles switch, with the north pole and south pole swapping positions. During those cycles, the sun’s activity ramps up as it gets closer to pole-switching time. The height of its activity is called solar maximum, and scientists believe we either may be entering the solar maximum or may be already in it.

During periods of heightened solar activity, sunspots increase on the sun and there’s an increase in coronal mass ejections, among other phenomena. According to NOAA, solar maximum could extend into October of this year before the sun’s activity calms and it works towards its less-active phase, solar minimum.

Even when geomagnetic storms hit Earth and disrupt communications, the effects are usually short-lived. Those most affected, including power grid operators and pilots and air traffic controllers communicating over long distances, have fail-safe technologies and backup communications to ensure operational continuity.

But geomagnetic storms aren’t only about radios. In most cases, they also present unique opportunities to see auroras in the night sky. When the storms hit, the plasma they carry creates a jaw-dropping aurora, illuminating the night sky with brilliant colors. Those auroras can be especially pronounced during the most intense phases of the storm, making for nice stargazing.

If you’re interested in seeing the aurora, you’ll need to be ready. The NOAA said the «brunt of the storm has passed» and even if it lingers into Tuesday, there won’t be much to see after Monday night.

Technologies

Last Total Solar Eclipse for 20 Years Is Coming: How to See and Photograph It

It’s your last chance until 2044.

Get your eclipse glasses ready, Skygazers: the Great American Eclipse is on its way. On April 8, there’ll be a total eclipse over North America, the last one until 2044.

A total solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the Earth and the sun, blocking the sun and turning an otherwise sunny day to darkness for a short period of time. Depending on the angle at which you’re viewing the eclipse, you may see the sun completely shrouded by the moon (called totality) or some variation of it. The more off-angle you are and the further you are from the path of the eclipse, the less likely you’ll be to see the totality.

The 2024 total solar eclipse will happen on Monday, April 8. The Great American Eclipse will reach the Mexican Pacific coast at 11:07 a.m. PT (2:07 p.m. ET), and then traverse the US in a northeasterly direction from Texas to Maine, and on into easternmost Canada. If you want a good look at it, but don’t live in the path of totality, you shouldn’t wait much longer to book accommodation and travel to a spot on the path.

Or how about booking a seat in the sky? Delta Airlines made headlines for offering a flight that allows you to see the entire path of totality. Its first eclipse flight, from Austin, Texas, to Detroit sold out quickly. But as of Monday, Delta has added a second flight from Dallas to Detroit, which also covers the path of totality. The airline also has five flights that will offer prime eclipse viewing.

Not everyone can get on one of those elusive eclipse-viewing flights. Here’s a look at other options to nab a chance to see this rare sight and what to know about it.

Total solar eclipse path

The eclipse will cross over the Pacific coast of Mexico and head northeast over mainland Mexico. The eclipse will then make its way over San Antonio at approximately 2:30 p.m. ET on April 8 and move through Texas, over the southeastern part of Oklahoma and northern Arkansas by 2:50 p.m. ET.

By 3 p.m. ET, the eclipse will be over southern Illinois, and just 5 minutes later, will be traveling over Indianapolis. Folks in northwestern Ohio will be treated to the eclipse by 3:15 p.m. ET, and it will then travel over Lake Erie and Buffalo, New York, by 3:20 p.m. ET. Over the next 10 minutes, the eclipse will be seen over northern New York state, then over Vermont. By 3:35 p.m. ET, the eclipse will work its way into Canada and off the Eastern coast of North America.

Best places to watch the Great American Eclipse

When evaluating the best places to watch this year’s total eclipse, you’ll first want to determine where you’ll have the best angle to see the totality. The farther off-angle you are — in other words, the farther north or south of the eclipse’s path — the less of an impact you can expect.

Therefore, if you want to have the best chance of experiencing the eclipse, you’ll want to be in its path. As of this writing, most of the cities in the eclipse’s path have some hotel availability, but recent reports have suggested that rooms are booking up. And as more rooms are booked, prices are going up.

So if you want to be in the eclipse’s path, and need a hotel to do it, move fast. And Delta’s eclipse-viewing flight from Dallas to Detroit has just four seats left at the time of publication.

Eclipse eye safety and photography

As with any solar eclipse, it’s critical you keep eye safety in mind.

During the eclipse, and especially during the periods before and after totality, don’t look directly at the sun without special eye protection. Also, be sure not to look at the sun through a camera (including the camera on your phone), binoculars, a telescope or any other viewing device. This could cause serious eye injury. Sunglasses aren’t enough to protect your eyes from damage.

If you want to view the eclipse, you’ll instead need solar viewing glasses that comply with the ISO 12312-2 safety standard. Anything that doesn’t meet that standard or greater won’t be dark enough to protect your eyes. Want to get them for free? If you’ve got a Warby Parker eyeglasses store nearby, the company is giving away free, ISO-certified solar eclipse glasses at all of its stores from April 1 until the eclipse, while supplies last.

If you don’t have eclipse viewing glasses handy, you can instead use indirect methods for viewing the eclipse, like a pinhole projector.

Read more: A Photographer’s Adventure With the Eclipse

In the event you want to take pictures of the eclipse, attach a certified solar filter to your camera. Doing so will protect your eyes and allow you to take photos while you view the eclipse through your lens.

There’s also a new app to help you both protect your eyes and take better photos of the eclipse on your phone. Solar Snap, designed by a former Hubble Space Telescope astronomer, comes with a Solar Snap camera filter that attaches to the back of an iPhone or Android phone, along with solar eclipse glasses for protecting your eyesight during the event. After you attach the filter to your phone, you can use the free Solar Snap Eclipse app to zoom in on the eclipse, adjust exposure and other camera settings, and ultimately take better shots of the eclipse.

2024 eclipse compared to 2017

The last total solar eclipse occurred in 2017, and many Americans had a great view. Although there are plenty of similarities between the 2017 total solar eclipse and the one coming April 8, there are a handful of differences. Mainly, the 2024 eclipse is going to cover more land and last longer.

The 2017 eclipse started over the northwest US and moved southeast. Additionally, that eclipse’s path was up to 71 miles wide, compared with a maximum width of 122 miles for this year’s eclipse. Perhaps most importantly, the moon completely covered the sun for just 2 minutes, 40 seconds in 2017. This year, maximum totality will last for nearly four-and-a-half minutes.