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Why and how following a Google+ Collection gives you only posts that you want to see
I see there is still a lot of confusion around following a Profile vs a Collection vs a Community on Google+. The key advantage to following just a Collection, is that you only see posts in your steam that relate to that topic that the Collection deals with eg. just cat photos, just tech news, just green technology, just yellow flowers, etc. A Collection is a place where just the owner posts on a particular topic. You cannot post there, but you can usually comment, reshare and respond on any posts.
Whereas following someone's Profile will show every single public post in your stream that the persons posts. This has little focus but you may interested in everything they post, or it could be a family member or friend where you want to see everything.
A Community is a shared area where the owner, as well as members of that Community, can make posts. It could be a public or private Community, depending on what the owner has set for it. Communities can have additional admins managing them, as well as filtered areas of interest. You can also switch notifications on/off (where you get alerted via an e-mail) or opt to have their posts show up, or not, in your stream.
But back to Collections.... the point is if someone posts a lot about various topics and not all of those topics interest you, but you do have a real interest in one or two topics that they post about, then go to their Profile on Google+ and check whether Collections show up.
You can follow the two screen shots below to see how you would unfollow their main Profile, and then just click on a Collection or two which interests you. Believe me this makes your Google+ experience far more relevant, pleasant and focussed. You do NOT have to unfollow the main Profile, unless you only want to follow a Collection without seeing any public Profile posts. If you unfollow a Collection or two, those specific Collections will no longer appear in your stream.
So there are two main scenarios now for Collection filtering:
1. Follow just a Collection - Public Profile is unfollowed, Collection to follow is followed (or more than one).
2. Follow all posts except a specific Collection - Public Profile is followed, only specific Collection is unfollowed (maybe it is a topic that you really don't want to see, or more than one could be selected to be unfollowed).
The advantage of option 2 above is that you will still see all general Public posts, and by default would see posts for any new Collections that the person creates. But for some people who are highly focussed, option 1 could still be their best bet where they only ever see the posts made in that Collection or two that they have selected. It certainly does give a lot of granular control to followers.
You can also get a good idea of the really interesting Collections that can be found on Google+ at https://plus.google.com/u/0/collections/featured. Remember that Google+' s real niche lies around interests and hobbies. This is where excels. Although it can do plain social media too, many people may opt to use Facebook for family and friendship based socialising, and Twitter for breaking news. An example is that I post the same posts across Google+, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Tumblr and whilst I get 100 +1's and say 50 comments on a post on Google+ I rarely get more than one or two Likes on Facebook or one or two reshares.
I hope this short explanation will give you a more enjoyable and cleaner experience on Google+
#tutorial #guide #collections
I see there is still a lot of confusion around following a Profile vs a Collection vs a Community on Google+. The key advantage to following just a Collection, is that you only see posts in your steam that relate to that topic that the Collection deals with eg. just cat photos, just tech news, just green technology, just yellow flowers, etc. A Collection is a place where just the owner posts on a particular topic. You cannot post there, but you can usually comment, reshare and respond on any posts.
Whereas following someone's Profile will show every single public post in your stream that the persons posts. This has little focus but you may interested in everything they post, or it could be a family member or friend where you want to see everything.
A Community is a shared area where the owner, as well as members of that Community, can make posts. It could be a public or private Community, depending on what the owner has set for it. Communities can have additional admins managing them, as well as filtered areas of interest. You can also switch notifications on/off (where you get alerted via an e-mail) or opt to have their posts show up, or not, in your stream.
But back to Collections.... the point is if someone posts a lot about various topics and not all of those topics interest you, but you do have a real interest in one or two topics that they post about, then go to their Profile on Google+ and check whether Collections show up.
You can follow the two screen shots below to see how you would unfollow their main Profile, and then just click on a Collection or two which interests you. Believe me this makes your Google+ experience far more relevant, pleasant and focussed. You do NOT have to unfollow the main Profile, unless you only want to follow a Collection without seeing any public Profile posts. If you unfollow a Collection or two, those specific Collections will no longer appear in your stream.
So there are two main scenarios now for Collection filtering:
1. Follow just a Collection - Public Profile is unfollowed, Collection to follow is followed (or more than one).
2. Follow all posts except a specific Collection - Public Profile is followed, only specific Collection is unfollowed (maybe it is a topic that you really don't want to see, or more than one could be selected to be unfollowed).
The advantage of option 2 above is that you will still see all general Public posts, and by default would see posts for any new Collections that the person creates. But for some people who are highly focussed, option 1 could still be their best bet where they only ever see the posts made in that Collection or two that they have selected. It certainly does give a lot of granular control to followers.
You can also get a good idea of the really interesting Collections that can be found on Google+ at https://plus.google.com/u/0/collections/featured. Remember that Google+' s real niche lies around interests and hobbies. This is where excels. Although it can do plain social media too, many people may opt to use Facebook for family and friendship based socialising, and Twitter for breaking news. An example is that I post the same posts across Google+, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Tumblr and whilst I get 100 +1's and say 50 comments on a post on Google+ I rarely get more than one or two Likes on Facebook or one or two reshares.
I hope this short explanation will give you a more enjoyable and cleaner experience on Google+
#tutorial #guide #collections
2016-01-02
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WhatsApp messages could be read by hackers, security experts warn, if backed up to Google Drive
The latest security warning comes as the Facebook-owned chat app announced plans to start backing up users' messages to Google Drive for free.
Although WhatsApp protects all sent messages, images, videos and documents with end-to-end encryption, opting to back-up with Google Drive stops this security practice – leaving texts exposed to online hackers.
WhatsApp has long allowed people to store their messages in Google Drive.
Until now, these back-ups counted towards users' Google Drive storage limit. However, WhatsApp recently announced a partnership with the company that means back-ups will no longer be counted toward their Google Drive allowance. This means more people will likely take advantage of the feature, leaving more people potentially exposed.
What's interesting to me is that the messages are decrypted and sent to Google Drive. The ideal is to have messages encrypted with your own key, and if you lose your password your messages are lost forever. The moment a third party can reset your password (and retain access to data), or can decrypt your data, or can search your data, it means you are not in full control of your data. You either have security or you don't have it - there is no half security. Assuming in this WhatsApp case the data is still transferred via SSL to your Google Drive it may not be intercepted by another 3rd party, but it is unencrypted on Google Drive which means Google's search can see the information (and anyone else who manages to hack your Google account). SpiderOak and others encrypt locally and store in encrypted format with your one encryption key - they (or anyone else) just cannot access that information.
See https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/technology/whatsapp-messages-could-be-read-by-hackers-security-experts-warn-16809336
#whatsapp
The latest security warning comes as the Facebook-owned chat app announced plans to start backing up users' messages to Google Drive for free.
Although WhatsApp protects all sent messages, images, videos and documents with end-to-end encryption, opting to back-up with Google Drive stops this security practice – leaving texts exposed to online hackers.
WhatsApp has long allowed people to store their messages in Google Drive.
Until now, these back-ups counted towards users' Google Drive storage limit. However, WhatsApp recently announced a partnership with the company that means back-ups will no longer be counted toward their Google Drive allowance. This means more people will likely take advantage of the feature, leaving more people potentially exposed.
What's interesting to me is that the messages are decrypted and sent to Google Drive. The ideal is to have messages encrypted with your own key, and if you lose your password your messages are lost forever. The moment a third party can reset your password (and retain access to data), or can decrypt your data, or can search your data, it means you are not in full control of your data. You either have security or you don't have it - there is no half security. Assuming in this WhatsApp case the data is still transferred via SSL to your Google Drive it may not be intercepted by another 3rd party, but it is unencrypted on Google Drive which means Google's search can see the information (and anyone else who manages to hack your Google account). SpiderOak and others encrypt locally and store in encrypted format with your one encryption key - they (or anyone else) just cannot access that information.
See https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/technology/whatsapp-messages-could-be-read-by-hackers-security-experts-warn-16809336
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How to Install and Test Google Chrome OS on Virtual Box in Linux, Windows, or Mac OS
Virtualbox already runs on Linux, Mac and Windows and these instructions will show you how to get Chrome OS up and running. This is useful to test out a Chromebook experience before buying one, or before installing it as a main OS on older computer.
See https://aatayyab.wordpress.com/2017/02/11/install-google-chrome-os-on-virtual-box-in-windows-10/
#chromeos #chromebook
Virtualbox already runs on Linux, Mac and Windows and these instructions will show you how to get Chrome OS up and running. This is useful to test out a Chromebook experience before buying one, or before installing it as a main OS on older computer.
See https://aatayyab.wordpress.com/2017/02/11/install-google-chrome-os-on-virtual-box-in-windows-10/
#chromeos #chromebook
Install Google Chrome OS on Virtual Box in Windows 10
aatayyab.wordpress.com
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50 Years In Tech Why HP Fell
"Despite these differences, everyone lived by HP’s unwritten credo: We design products for the engineer at the next bench".
HP grew up around a strong culture which was established by its founders. What also grabbed me in this read was:
"I inhaled everything about the 9100A, its technology (which was quite strange in retrospect, especially its two ROMs), the programming techniques, the applications. I started reading manuals in bed on Saturday mornings, a habit that served me well with colleagues and customers."
"I quickly put together a sales team of like-minded techies who pitched the 9100A to engineers, mathematicians, and physicists across France. As part of my standard sales pitch, I completely disassembled the product and then put it back together as I lovingly described each component."
There was that self-driven interest to really understand how the product works. No 5-day course with a certificate. It is easy to see where HP's focus got lost, and the culture diluted by outsiders taking over management and where it just became yet another business.
Today I see new entrants into organisations just getting an induction course and then put to work where they also see their job as just a job. When I started out working there were no courses to attend on repairing PC's. I bought books (with no expectation of being refunded by my company) and studied them, I got parts and took computers apart, I learnt to program, I learnt to do network support, and it was only years later in my career that courses started to become mainstream. The pity is that without learning all the fundamental basics down to the nuts and bolts, you don't have a fully contextual view and an ability to diagnose properly. It's easy for a tech-savvy client to poke a hole in a "thin covering" or where we have become reliant on a 3rd party support company to come and diagnose a fault and convince you a device is "uneconomical to repair".
So this was an interesting read for me for a technology sales environment. If we talk about excelling and succeeding in differentiating, it does (for me anyway) boil down to the essence of the company culture and the self-drive of its employees to seek to learn and understand its products and services. A lot of that also does depend on hiring the right people that fit well with that ethos. But today maybe too much emphasis is placed on "an applicable degree or diploma and 5 years experience"... No longer do we ask "what have you built". It's not necessarily the fault of employees (people are no less driven or intelligent than previous decades) but company cultures no longer seem to value or seek that behaviour, especially after their founding visionary has moved on.
Read Part 1 at https://mondaynote.com/50-years-in-tech-when-hp-led-desktop-and-mobile-computing-72fefb4299d3 and Part 2 at https://mondaynote.com/50-years-in-tech-part-2-why-hp-fell-621c42238479.
#HP
"Despite these differences, everyone lived by HP’s unwritten credo: We design products for the engineer at the next bench".
HP grew up around a strong culture which was established by its founders. What also grabbed me in this read was:
"I inhaled everything about the 9100A, its technology (which was quite strange in retrospect, especially its two ROMs), the programming techniques, the applications. I started reading manuals in bed on Saturday mornings, a habit that served me well with colleagues and customers."
"I quickly put together a sales team of like-minded techies who pitched the 9100A to engineers, mathematicians, and physicists across France. As part of my standard sales pitch, I completely disassembled the product and then put it back together as I lovingly described each component."
There was that self-driven interest to really understand how the product works. No 5-day course with a certificate. It is easy to see where HP's focus got lost, and the culture diluted by outsiders taking over management and where it just became yet another business.
Today I see new entrants into organisations just getting an induction course and then put to work where they also see their job as just a job. When I started out working there were no courses to attend on repairing PC's. I bought books (with no expectation of being refunded by my company) and studied them, I got parts and took computers apart, I learnt to program, I learnt to do network support, and it was only years later in my career that courses started to become mainstream. The pity is that without learning all the fundamental basics down to the nuts and bolts, you don't have a fully contextual view and an ability to diagnose properly. It's easy for a tech-savvy client to poke a hole in a "thin covering" or where we have become reliant on a 3rd party support company to come and diagnose a fault and convince you a device is "uneconomical to repair".
So this was an interesting read for me for a technology sales environment. If we talk about excelling and succeeding in differentiating, it does (for me anyway) boil down to the essence of the company culture and the self-drive of its employees to seek to learn and understand its products and services. A lot of that also does depend on hiring the right people that fit well with that ethos. But today maybe too much emphasis is placed on "an applicable degree or diploma and 5 years experience"... No longer do we ask "what have you built". It's not necessarily the fault of employees (people are no less driven or intelligent than previous decades) but company cultures no longer seem to value or seek that behaviour, especially after their founding visionary has moved on.
Read Part 1 at https://mondaynote.com/50-years-in-tech-when-hp-led-desktop-and-mobile-computing-72fefb4299d3 and Part 2 at https://mondaynote.com/50-years-in-tech-part-2-why-hp-fell-621c42238479.
#HP
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How to Install your own Hubzilla Social Network Node on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
Out of all the social media services I've used, Hubzilla comes out as the most feature rich in terms of post streams, photo albums, calendar, events, groups, file management, and you can even build a website in it.
Another nice thing about Hubzilla (and similar services) is that anyone can start up their own node and manage it according to their own rules, and then connect to the rest of the federated networks. So you'll find Hubzilla nodes dedicated to engineers, artists, musicians, women, programmers, LGBT, and lots more.
And if you don't find what you're looking for, you can start your own by following these instructions at https://www.howtoforge.com/tutorial/how-to-install-hubzilla-on-ubuntu/
Or if you just want to join a ready to use Hubzilla node in South Africa you can sign up at https://hub.opensocial.africa/.
#hubzilla
Out of all the social media services I've used, Hubzilla comes out as the most feature rich in terms of post streams, photo albums, calendar, events, groups, file management, and you can even build a website in it.
Another nice thing about Hubzilla (and similar services) is that anyone can start up their own node and manage it according to their own rules, and then connect to the rest of the federated networks. So you'll find Hubzilla nodes dedicated to engineers, artists, musicians, women, programmers, LGBT, and lots more.
And if you don't find what you're looking for, you can start your own by following these instructions at https://www.howtoforge.com/tutorial/how-to-install-hubzilla-on-ubuntu/
Or if you just want to join a ready to use Hubzilla node in South Africa you can sign up at https://hub.opensocial.africa/.
#hubzilla
How to Install Hubzilla on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
howtoforge.com
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10 tab management tricks in Vivaldi picked by their community
Yep if I had to pick only one reason why I use Vivaldi Browser it will be because of what it does with tabs that no other browser does!
See what excites Vivaldi users at https://vivaldi.com/blog/10-tab-management-tricks/
#vivaldi
Yep if I had to pick only one reason why I use Vivaldi Browser it will be because of what it does with tabs that no other browser does!
See what excites Vivaldi users at https://vivaldi.com/blog/10-tab-management-tricks/
#vivaldi
10 Tab Management Tricks
vivaldi.com
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Science Vs is a podcast that takes on fads, trends, and the opinionated mob to find out what’s fact, what’s not, and what’s somewhere in between
Science Vs is your team of friendly fact checkers that blow up your firmly held opinions and replace them with science. Wondering whether you should drink detox teas like an insta-celeb, or believe your drunk uncle's rant about gun control? Science Vs has an ep for that.
Gimlet Media is the award-winning narrative podcasting company that aims to help listeners better understand the world and each other. Gimlet was founded in 2014 and is based in Brooklyn, New York. Gimlet podcasts are downloaded over twelve million times per month by listeners from nearly 190 countries worldwide.
Their podcast is available from Apple Podcasts, Last FM, Pocket Casts, Spotify, Google Play, TuneIn, and many more sources.
You can also see a list of episodes at https://www.gimletmedia.com/science-vs/all#all-episodes-list. I see there are also text transcripts on the site for the episodes. Episodes are around 30 - 45 mins long on standard speed play.
See https://www.gimletmedia.com/science-vs
Science Vs is your team of friendly fact checkers that blow up your firmly held opinions and replace them with science. Wondering whether you should drink detox teas like an insta-celeb, or believe your drunk uncle's rant about gun control? Science Vs has an ep for that.
Gimlet Media is the award-winning narrative podcasting company that aims to help listeners better understand the world and each other. Gimlet was founded in 2014 and is based in Brooklyn, New York. Gimlet podcasts are downloaded over twelve million times per month by listeners from nearly 190 countries worldwide.
Their podcast is available from Apple Podcasts, Last FM, Pocket Casts, Spotify, Google Play, TuneIn, and many more sources.
You can also see a list of episodes at https://www.gimletmedia.com/science-vs/all#all-episodes-list. I see there are also text transcripts on the site for the episodes. Episodes are around 30 - 45 mins long on standard speed play.
See https://www.gimletmedia.com/science-vs
Science Vs
gimletmedia.com
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What Linux does better than Windows - Which OS do you Use?
Linux-based operating systems are free alternatives to Microsoft Windows and MacOS, which ships with Apple computers. While Linux technically only refers to the kernel, the core program of an operating system, it is often used as shorthand for any operating system that uses Linux.
However, for a fully functioning computer, several other programs are required in addition to the kernel. GNU is a major source of such programs for Linux-based systems.
Aside from the cost, openness, and freedom, which are often covered in comparisons like these, there are a few practical places where Linux operating systems shine in comparison to their premium-rated counterparts.
You will also find many articles talking about the improved security and privacy you can have by running a Linux distribution. Those are important issues, but for the purposes of the article at https://mybroadband.co.za/news/software/272545-what-linux-does-better-than-windows.html they have focussed purely on user experience features.
Personally, I love the ability to continue working whilst installing or upgrading of Linux's OS. It makes me feel it is working for me, and not me for the OS. So I've seen the Linux guys chomping at the bit regarding other posts which had nothing to do with Linux (off topic). So I saw this one last night and thought I'd post it and see how it goes. Let the Linux vs Windows vs Mac (yes and BSD if we have to too) debate unfold.
Just keep it non-personal and debate with a reasoning others can agree or disagree with. Anyone attacking other commenters personally will be banned. Tackle the OS, not the person.
What do you use as your primary OS at home (because home is your choice)?
Linux-based operating systems are free alternatives to Microsoft Windows and MacOS, which ships with Apple computers. While Linux technically only refers to the kernel, the core program of an operating system, it is often used as shorthand for any operating system that uses Linux.
However, for a fully functioning computer, several other programs are required in addition to the kernel. GNU is a major source of such programs for Linux-based systems.
Aside from the cost, openness, and freedom, which are often covered in comparisons like these, there are a few practical places where Linux operating systems shine in comparison to their premium-rated counterparts.
You will also find many articles talking about the improved security and privacy you can have by running a Linux distribution. Those are important issues, but for the purposes of the article at https://mybroadband.co.za/news/software/272545-what-linux-does-better-than-windows.html they have focussed purely on user experience features.
Personally, I love the ability to continue working whilst installing or upgrading of Linux's OS. It makes me feel it is working for me, and not me for the OS. So I've seen the Linux guys chomping at the bit regarding other posts which had nothing to do with Linux (off topic). So I saw this one last night and thought I'd post it and see how it goes. Let the Linux vs Windows vs Mac (yes and BSD if we have to too) debate unfold.
Just keep it non-personal and debate with a reasoning others can agree or disagree with. Anyone attacking other commenters personally will be banned. Tackle the OS, not the person.
What do you use as your primary OS at home (because home is your choice)?
-
votes visible to Public
Linux (Any inc Pi)
Mac OS
BSD
Other
51%
Windows
36%
Linux (Any inc Pi)
9%
Mac OS
1%
BSD
3%
Other
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With the power of today's high-end phones why do they all not operate as Samsung Dex does or slot into tablets like the Asus Padphone?
Today's high-end smartphones cost as much as a desktop computer, many have 6GB or more RAM, USB ports, high res displays, cameras, microphones, speakers, ability to link external drives, keyboards, mice, games controllers, etc and they run MS Office, Skype, browsers, and similar apps.
So why don't we see a default ability for them to slot into docks and be operated like desktop computers with a full-size monitor, keyboard and mouse, or like the Asus Padphone just slot into a tablet display and become a tablet. By now I'd expect to be carrying just the one device that I use at home, work, and on the road....
But no, the only revolution was ditching the phone keyboard for a touchscreen keyboard, and that is many years back already.
Overall it would probably work out cheaper so it is likely not a cost issue. It may be that a more universal standard is needed (like maybe USB-C video, keyboard, mouse, storage usability)? Certainly, most Android phones already handle most USB peripherals. To slot into a tablet of course there would have to be a small flap that could accommodate various size phones. It could be that the evolution of Chrome OS into Google Fuchsia is an OS prearing for this?
Today's high-end smartphones cost as much as a desktop computer, many have 6GB or more RAM, USB ports, high res displays, cameras, microphones, speakers, ability to link external drives, keyboards, mice, games controllers, etc and they run MS Office, Skype, browsers, and similar apps.
So why don't we see a default ability for them to slot into docks and be operated like desktop computers with a full-size monitor, keyboard and mouse, or like the Asus Padphone just slot into a tablet display and become a tablet. By now I'd expect to be carrying just the one device that I use at home, work, and on the road....
But no, the only revolution was ditching the phone keyboard for a touchscreen keyboard, and that is many years back already.
Overall it would probably work out cheaper so it is likely not a cost issue. It may be that a more universal standard is needed (like maybe USB-C video, keyboard, mouse, storage usability)? Certainly, most Android phones already handle most USB peripherals. To slot into a tablet of course there would have to be a small flap that could accommodate various size phones. It could be that the evolution of Chrome OS into Google Fuchsia is an OS prearing for this?
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With sensors and apps, young African coders compete to curb hunger
From an app to diagnose disease on Zambian farms to Tinder-style matchmaking for Senegalese land owners and young farmers, young coders have been finding solutions to hunger in the first Africa-wide hack-a-thon on the issue.
Eight teams competed in the hack-a-thon, organised by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and a Rwandan trade organisation in the country’s capital Kigali this week.
Experts say keeping young people in farming is key to alleviating hunger in Africa, which has 65% of the world’s uncultivated arable land, but spends $35 billion a year on importing food for its growing population.
“In our families, agriculture is no longer a good business. They don’t get the return,” said Rwandan Ndayisaba Wilson, 24, whose team proposed a $400 solar-powered device (in Africa solutions have to deal with problems First World countries don't anticipate or have to plan for) that can optimise water and fertiliser use.
See more ideas at https://www.moneyweb.co.za/in-depth/features/with-sensors-and-apps-young-african-coders-compete-to-curb-hunger/
#hackathon #africa
From an app to diagnose disease on Zambian farms to Tinder-style matchmaking for Senegalese land owners and young farmers, young coders have been finding solutions to hunger in the first Africa-wide hack-a-thon on the issue.
Eight teams competed in the hack-a-thon, organised by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and a Rwandan trade organisation in the country’s capital Kigali this week.
Experts say keeping young people in farming is key to alleviating hunger in Africa, which has 65% of the world’s uncultivated arable land, but spends $35 billion a year on importing food for its growing population.
“In our families, agriculture is no longer a good business. They don’t get the return,” said Rwandan Ndayisaba Wilson, 24, whose team proposed a $400 solar-powered device (in Africa solutions have to deal with problems First World countries don't anticipate or have to plan for) that can optimise water and fertiliser use.
See more ideas at https://www.moneyweb.co.za/in-depth/features/with-sensors-and-apps-young-african-coders-compete-to-curb-hunger/
#hackathon #africa
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