Remove the Downloading English (India) Waiting for Wi-Fi’ from the Notification Area in Smartphones

If you own a Xiaomi phone, most probably the Redmi or the Redmi Note, you are ought to face a bit of issues with the software.

The Android OS or Xiaomi phones is heavily customized, adding some more functionalities and new features.

Many prefer the MIUI ROM, Xiaomi’s custom ROM we see on all the Xiaomi Phones.

Though the MIUI  ROM is pretty cool, it throws some issues that can be pretty irritating at times.

In this post, we are talking about a particular issue, that is, a Constant Notification sign in the Notification Area which reads something like,

Downloading English (India), waiting for Wi-FI. 

Now, any sane person would assume the phone needs a Wi-Fi connection to download the language, so either we connect to one or simply change the settings to Download the Language over Mobile Data.

You can find the option in the Additional settings, Language & Input, Google Voice typing, and then in the Offline Speech Recognition area, to go the Installed Tab, delete the downloaded Language and Download the Language again from the All Language tab,

Additionally, you can change the download preference from the Auto tab.

After that, you can restart the phone and the problem may never appear again.

Please use the comment section to ask questions and help others facing this issue.

13 Awesome Google Assistant Tips & Tricks to Get the Most out of Your Smartphone

Smartphones have come a long way in the last few years, now they are truly becoming Smarter.

Be it Android or iOS, both the Platforms have got their own Digital Assistant that has proved to be really helpful in making our lives easier.

iOS’s Siri or Android’s Google Assistant, both come edge to edge when compared.

But for this post, let’s just keep Siri aside and talk about the Wonders you can do with Google Assistant on your Android device. Let’s get started.

Unlock Your Device with Voice

This is the coolest feature of all, you can say ‘Ok Google’ and your phone recognizes your voice and unlocks your phone for you to use.

Please Note: The feature may not work on few Android phones due to the permission issues or heavily customed skins over the top of Stock Android OS.

Take a Selfie

Google has been trying to educate it’s Android users to actually use the Google Assistant for things like taking photos, but hardly anyone uses it. But I believe it’s a nice feature to have, especially when the world is so much selfie centric.

Like, I use a phone that is too big, in fact, it can be called a smaller tablet,( I use Mi Mix as of now), this feature comes in handy in taking selfies easily.

Setting A Reminder

Doing this via Google Assistant is so much easier than doing it manually, I mean with tons of apps installed on your phone, it’s little tough to find your to-do list app or the Clock app and Set a Reminder.

Instead, you simply say, Ok Google, and then say something like ‘Set a Reminder for…..’ and you are done.

For setting up alarm, you can also say something like, ‘Wake me up at 5 AM’  or ‘Set an Alarm for 5 AM’ etc.

Ask Google Assistant to Remember something for you

You forget your keys, watch, or wallet or similar stuff? You can take help of Google Assistant in remembering that for you.

All you need is to make a habit of saying, ‘Ok Google’ ‘Remember that the keys are at the Dining Table’. Or ‘Remember that the Wallet is in the fridge’

Obviously, you won’t have to search if you keep your Keys on the Dining table or your wallet on the Fridge, but you get the point how can this feature be used.

Sent a WhatsApp Message

We know it isn’t tough for a Digital Assistant to actually sent a text message, but you can be more specific to Google Assistant and it will listen to you.

Sending a WhatsApp message via just the voice commands is super cool.

Simple say, Send a WhatsApp message to ‘Contact name’ and then dictate your message. You can simply say ‘Send a WhatsApp message’ and then say the contact name again on the message screen.

I tried sending a message in my local language, that is, Hindi, and Google Assistant perfectly translated my message.

You can similarly post a Facebook message or make a tweet.

Search your old photos

If you save your photos to Google Photos, you should if you do not already, Google Assistant can search your old photos for you, simply say Wedding Photos, or Kids photos, or Photos from September, say any keyword you should want to search and Google Photos will be shown to you.

Please note that you need to use the same Google account for Google Photos and Google Assistant to access your photos.

Turn on the Flashlight

This can come pretty handy if you are at a darker place and need some light, the fact that your phone already has a LED flashlight, you can ask Google Assistant to turn it on by simply saying Okay Google, turn on the flashlight. 

Few more things you can ask Google Assistant

  • Ask for Sunset and Sunrise timings,
  • Ask for Movie Timings
  • Ask Weather Report
  • Ask for Currency Conversions
  • Ask for Simply Mathematical Questions to Add, Subtract and Multiply
  • Ask for Information about a particular Politician, Celeb or Sports Personality or people who have got a Wikipedia page.

I hope you find this article helpful, do comment in the comment box below if you have anything to add to this post.

Microsoft’s Edge Browser for Android & iOS is Available in Preview

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So Microsoft has finally made their Windows 10 exclusive browser, the Edge Browser to other platforms, the Android and iOS.

The Browser app is currently available in a preview form, which means it is only available under an exclusive program of WIndows Insider.

You can go to this page (and sign-in/ sign up for Windows Insider) and download the preview of Edge Mobile for iOS or Android.

Now, downloading the preview of Microsoft Edge Mobile only makes sense if you use it on the PC, because then it gives you some feature that would be really helpful in productivity.

Features like Sync that will let you pick up browsing web pages where you left on the PC. Something that Google Chrome offers between the devices.

Then if you are using the inbuilt password manager of Microsoft Edge, you will be able to use it even on Mobile phones with the help of Edge Mobile.

But if you are using Google Chrome, or any other browser, there isn’t really much for you.

True that the Edge browser has some cool and unique features like Reading Mode, Hub view the preview still looks pretty limited when it comes to performance.

At a Recent Google even, Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google mentioned that over 2 Billion Android devices have been activated so far.

And I think those 2 billion people have always chosen the browsers of their choice. It’s really tough for Microsoft Edge to gain users other than the people already using it on PC.

Because now even Bill Gates started using Android.

So, which is your favourite browser on Android or iOS? Mine is Google Chrome on both the platforms

Google Brings PixelBook, The Convertible Chromebook that an run Android Apps

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Though the future for Google’s lightweight Chrome OS might not have any future, Google is still trying to make the Chromebooks, which sports this OS, Cool.

And their most recent effort at doing this is the announcement of their PixelBook, a lightweight laptop that is also a Tablet PC, which can also run Android Apps.

The Pixelbook comes with a 12.3-inch QHD display and Intel Core i5/i7 processors, with 512GB of SSD storage and a USB type C charging port, which means you can use the charger for your Pixel phone as well.

And yes, all that is managed in a body that weighs only 1KG, and is only 10mm thick, which is pretty impressive.

Chromebooks are awesome, I’ve owned one of these and used as my portable computer for over a year, but they miss the key point required in a PC, which is, ability to run Native Apps.

Surely there are some pretty amazing apps that can be found in the Chrome Web Store, your use of Chromebooks is zero if you are into creative Photography or Video Editing, because, a) you won’t get a Chrome app that can handle videos. b) that hardware isn’t that great at all.

So, these Chromebooks are more an extension of a Tablet PC with a physical keyboard than a PC itself.

But with the Pixelbook, Google is trying to stay in the Ultra Portable Laptop segment, at least in the premium section of that segment, with the Pixelbook starting at $1000, it is nowhere near the budget of School going or a college-going Student, something Chromebook aimed for and marketed to in its initial days.

But then $1000 bucks can hook you up with far better machines that can handle more than just browsing. We now have MacBook Air that can be bought at a price lesser than that and we’ve even listed out a few Premium Laptops if you are not into Macs.

Surely the Pixelbook has features like Instant Tethering, Built-in Google Assistant, Google Pixelbook Pen (sold separately at $99)

And can install & run Android apps from Play Store, but my 6-4 inch Phablet from Xiaomi can do more stuff or at least, equal to what my HP Chromebook does, I don’t find the Pixelbook interesting, especially at $1000 price point.

Quickly Share Your Screen for Conferencing or Troubleshooting right from Your Browser

There is only one tool that comes to our minds when it comes to sharing the screen for the purpose of educating or troubleshooting something, it’s Teamviewer, which is a pretty amazing tool to work with.

But if you are someone who uses it from time to time. Like, you are not getting paid for it or it’s not your day job, you just do it every once in a while, be it with your girlfriend, grandma or a noob relative.

What you may have found on those occasions but you need to update your Teamviewer because it’s not the latest version you are running, and you won’t be able to connect to the other computer.

It happens to me every time, adds another few minutes to the troubleshooting sessions.

Sometimes screen sharing is needed for only a minute or two but we still have to go through the same process.

Surely there are so many alternatives available, and some are pretty decent as well. But there is one that I’ve used lately is Dead Simple Screen Sharing.

And it is surely a Dead Simple Screen Sharing that can be done directly from the Browser itself.

I was contacted by its developer and they wanted me to try.

I get a dozen of such emails but only a few are good enough ot write about. And this one is a pretty amazing tool.

So good that I’ve already uninstalled the Teamviewer because I don’t use it on a daily basis.v

How does the Dead Simple Screen Sharing work?

Pretty long name, but anyways, let’s see how it works. 

So you go to their website and click on Start sharing your screen.

Then you enter your name and get a link which you can email or copy paste in a message.

You can then choose to enable or disable the audio and give the permission to the website to start sharing your screen.

On the website itself, you can see the participants and control the conference.

If you are Chrome user, you can also add their Chrome Extension. Chrome Extensions are pretty cool, they update themselves on their own.

I shared my screen with my own self on Mobile phone, so it also works cross-platform.

Though there was a bit lag in the video, I suppose that’s because of the slow internet connection.

The website also offers a Pain plan which you can upgrade to if you want to Record your sessions, store it in the cloud (you get 1GB of cloud storage)

But if you are looking for a quick way to share your screen for troubleshooting someone’s PC, you can do it right from the mobile.

Note: For Troubleshooting purpose, you surely cannot control other person’s computer like you do on Teamviewer, but you can still troubleshoot by seeing other person’s screen and talking to them to perform a certain action to fix the issue. 

Read Next: 7 Chrome Extensions for Gmail to Be More Productive at Work

Disable Touch Controls on Mobile While Playing Videos, Games or Any App Kids Use

Being a parent I am well aware how difficult it is to keep your phone out of reach of your children. They often demand your smartphone for their leisure activities, which more important than your important activities.

There is no harm in letting them use your smartphone if you follow certain measures like limiting access to a few apps and keep the Financially related apps out of their reach.

There is just one problem I have been facing lately and I am sure you can relate to it if you are a parent yourself.

My one-year-old Son has now started enjoying those Poems on YouTube and demands to hand him over my phone with his favourite ‘Humpty Dumpty’ music playing.

However, there is one problem. Which is, he keeps touching the phone, which puts the app in the Background and shows the home screen, or any recent app, if the recent button was touched.

Now 1 year old is quite difficult to train how to use a Mobile phone, heck we are still to train him for Potty.

So, Here is a solution,

An app called  Touch Lock, which solves the problem by disabling the touch controls whenever you want.

The good thing about this app is that you can manually enable it over any app, not just YouTube.

The app only required the Permissions to draw over apps and can be enabled from the Notification area once it is given the permission.

After it is enabled, Touch controls on the screen are disabled, and even the Buttons won’t work. To disable the Touch Lock, you have to double tap at a particular spot, which I am sure the Kids won’t be able to do.

THis app is quite a time saver for me and the Kid as well since he doesn’t get interrupted while watching his Poem and I don;t get irritated by opening it for him multiple times.

Not just for Kids, It’s Useful for Everyone

Disable the Touch Controls at times is the need for not just Kids but Adults as well, it’s a feature that should be built into the phone.

In fact, some phone already offers the feature on their custom Skins on Android. I use this feature while watching a Movie because my Earphone wire magically switches the app everytime it touches the screen.

You may also find this useful even if you are not a parent and have no kids around to ruin your smartphone’s home screen icons.

➤ Install from Play Store

7 Chrome Extensions for Gmail to Be More Productive at Work

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If you are a Business Professional whose majority of time goes in front of a Computer, and in that time, you spend most of it inside Gmail, then this article is probably for you.

Because in this post, I am listing out some interesting Gmail extensions for Chrome Browser that will make you more efficient in handling your emails in Gmail.

Checker Plus for Gmail

Checker Plus for Gmail is a must-have Chrome extension for Gmail users, it makes your Chrome browser your email client, giving you the ability to Check emails, mark them as reading and even reply them directly without even opening your Gmail account.

For me, it means one tab less opened, which happens when I am waiting for that important email in the morning.

You can set sound alerts when there is a new email.

Add to Chrome

Mail Track for Gmail

It’s like the Read Receipts for WhatsApp, the read receipt feature in WhatsApp let’s you know when your message has been read.

The Mail Track for Gmail does exactly that, it adds a double tick on the emails you’ve sent to someone and they’ve opened it.

It’s quite useful for email outreach when you sent a couple of emails and want to know who has opened the emails so that you can send emails again to the people who did not open the first email.

Whatever the use case maybe it’s awesome to have this feature using this chrome extension.

Add to Chrome

Right Inbox for Gmail

Right Inbox for Gmail is the Inbox done right, the functionalities it adds is amazing, You can schedule your emails, to be sent at a particular time, add notes ot particular emails and resent emails.

Add to Chrome

Full Contact for Gmail

When you receive an email from someone, there is only the Name and the Email address you know of that person, what this Extension does is, gives you more information about the perform by showing their Social Profiles.

You can know all the details you want to know right inside your Gmail, which is turly a time saver thing.

Prior to this extension, I had to go to particular Social Sites and find information about the person being that email, it took some of my time, which tool helps me save that time. Hope it saves yours as well.

Add to Chrome

Predefined Email Templates

Gorgias Templates is an extension with predefined text emails that can be used over and over again and make you reply faster.

If your work requires you to reply to emails that are similar in nature, you can use this extension to save yourself from typing our similar queries.

For example, I get emails asking me to try our their app/service and I have to reply them manually, I can use predefined messages and send them by making minor edits to them, it is still going to save some time.

Add to Chrome

PowerBox for Gmail

If you use services like Evernote, OneNote or Dropbox this Gmail extension is extremely useful for you.

With tonnes of emails coming your way, the important one seems to be lost, or become tough to find. With this extension, you can add your emails to one of these services along with the attachments if there is any,

And then you can add notes to it or do whatever you want in Evernote, OneNote or Dropbox as long as you get your work done.

Add to Chrome

Drag: To-Do & Task List

Drag is another amazing Gmail extension that turns it into a To-Do and Task list manager. You manage your emails in a visual manner.

If you use Trello you might be familiar with the concept of boards, Drag brings the same concept to Gmail and helps you manage your emails efficiently.

Drag gives you three boards you can drag your emails to, The Boards are Doing, To-Do & Done (you can add more or edit the current ones).

The objective is to help you visually know which emails need you attention and which don’t

Add to Chrome

So, these were some amazing Chrome extensions for Gmail which will help you manage your emails faster so that you can save some time to do other things that matter. Keep reading techtippr.com for more. 

Third Party Password Managers (Dashlane, LastPass) vs Google Chrome Password Manager

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Tinytippr: In this post, we talk about how is a third party password managers are different from the inbuilt Password managers in the browsers like Google Chrome Smart Manager, Opera’s Smart Manager etc.

I always had this question in my mind so I finally went ahead and tried LastPass, a very popular third party password manager.

At this point, I was pretty happy with the features the inbuilt password manager of my browser, the Google Chrome, offered.

Just wanted to make this clear that Pretty much every browser has an inbuilt password manager and they work the same way, that is, remember the passwords for you and let you log into any account automatically without having to worry about remembering the passwords on your own.

Let’s take a look how these third party password managers are different

Cross Browser

Inbuilt browsers are, well, limited to a specific browser only, if you talk about another browser, you either need to save passwords in other browser’s password manager or important from your current browser. In both the cases, you need to do stuff twice because you still can’t keep them synced.

Third party password manager can be installed to any browser in the form of an add-on or extension and keep your stuff synced across all browsers.

Cross Platform

Not just cross browser, these third party password manager apps are cross platform also, they are available for both MacOS as well as Windows.

Talking about platforms, it is also available for iOS as well as Android, making it truly cross platform solution for managing your passwords.

Give Access to Others

One nice feature of these third party password managers is the ability to give access to a set of accounts a team member without sharing the actual password.

This is particularly helpful if you have a Virtual Assistant or a team member handling Social Media for your company, or you just want to give access to a particular set of accounts to a family or a friend.

Better Organization of Accounts

Modifying saved accounts and passwords in the browser’s password system is a bit tricky, the third party password managers showcase the accounts and passwords in a nicely organized manner.

The accounts ever even categorized based on their types, such as Social, Shopping, Finance etc.

More than just a Password Manager

Apart from saving passwords, you can also use it for saving sensitive data such as Credit Card Details, Bank Information, Passport Details Insurance Policy, Database Credentials, Notes etc.

It’s basically the Evernote for your sensitive data. Even though you can use Evernote for this purpose, I think having all the private information at one place is a minimalistic approach.

Final Thoughts: While it may offer a lot of features with an extra layer of security, my only reason to use a third party PAssword Manager would be its availability on every platform and the ability to give an account access to a team member without even sharing the actual password. 

For someone who uses three different browsers on a Mac and Windows and also does a great deal of work on his phone, a third party password manager only makes life easier. 

What’s the Difference Between Browser’s Inbuilt and Third Party Password Managers?

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I always had this question in my mind so I finally went ahead and tried LastPass, a very popular third party password manager.

At this point, I was pretty happy with the features the inbuilt password manager of my browser, the Google Chrome, offered.

Just wanted to make this clear that Pretty much every browser has an inbuilt password manager and they work the same way, that is, remember the passwords for you and let you log into any account automatically without having to worry about remembering the passwords on your own.

Third party Password Manager apps like LastPass, Dashlane and even the free ones like Icecream Password Manager offer the similar functionality but a little-improved one.

Apart from being a password manager, they are also a password assistant, meaning you can take their help in creating new and strong passwords required for different websites.

You can also add other members and let them use an account on a website without sharing the password with them.

Also, they help you fill the forms automatically, which is something some inbuilt password manager also do.

If you use Google Chrome, which is my default browser also, it does the similar things and does the job of auto filling the password pretty well.

So, how does third party Password Managers Differ?

Well, the Inbuilt Password Manager in Browsers might be the easiest and most obvious solution for the password management, it is not so helpful when it comes to cross browser compatibility or an even broader use case of cross platform.

This is where the Third Party Password Managers like LastPass or Dashlane come handy, They offer smartphone apps (Android & iOS), which makes them truly cross platform or cross browser.

For example, If you are using Opera browser and Firefox both on your PC, you can surely import the bookmarks to and fro but there is no better solution to keep them synced until you use a third party password manager. 

Also, importing and exporting bookmarks doesn’t really important auto fill forms or the credit card information saved in the browser a problem which, the third party password managers can solve.

How secure are the browser password manager and third party managers are?

The inbuilt browsers offer the sync feature for the ease of using it on different devices, but it seems storing sensitive information is not their forte. Looking at the report by Wired.com, the Opera servers were attacked by hackers and they are able to access users’ information.

It’s not that the third party password managers are hacker proof, but there is an extra layer of security to it. And moreover, they are specialized in storing sensitive data.

Final Thoughts: While it may offer a lot of features with an extra layer of security, my only reason to use a third party PAssword Manager would be its availability on every platform and the ability to give an account access to a team member without even sharing the actual password. 

For someone who uses three different browsers on a Mac and Windows and also does a great deal of work on his phone, a third party password manager only makes life easier. 

Best 5 Free Alternative Image Editing Apps After MS Paint is Dead

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We have shared quite a lot of free alternatives to paid software type posts on the blog, and today, we are posting Free alternatives to the good old MS Paint app that has been the core part of Windows OS from last two decades.

But now that Microsoft has pulled the chord and decided to put the app for rest, it’s time for you to look for alternatives as simple and lightweight as the Paint.

So, here we go, below are some of the best MS Paint ALternatives I could find online.

Pixlr

Pixlr is a great app for making small tweaks in an image or simply creating images. It’s a web app, which means it’s not only an alternative to the MS Paint app but also works on any platform as long as there is a browser (and it supports flash) to open the Pixlr app.

It’s a web app, which means it’s not only an alternative to the MS Paint app but also works on any platform as long as there is a browser to open the Pixlr app.

It is also my favourite tool for editing images on my Chromebook. And I used it even on my Mac because there isn’t really any point in keeping something on your hard drive when a web app can perform as good as a native app.

GIMP

You may have heard about it already, it’s the best alternative to the popular paid app called Photoshop. And it has been there since ages. I’ve actually used it alongside MS Paint.

Now, now that we are sure that we are not going to see MS Paint in the next version of Windows OS, you can start using GIMP right away, this would let you get a hang of it.

GIMP is available for Windows, Linux, MacO OS.

Paint.Net

Paint.Net is probably your closest bet for the free alternative to the MS Paint because of the similar UI.

The set of tools Paint.Net offers, is quite similar to of the MS Paint. This lightweight offers cool features like the lasso tool for effortless cropping out a particular subject.

MyPaint

MyPaint has a superb UI, it’s clean and the icons are neatly placed. If you have been using MS Paint for creating quick graphics for your project or website, you are going to love the features MyPaint has to offer at this cost (which is Free).

It has a different set of brush tools that let you create artistic graphics. The MyPaint app extends the support to various graphic tablets, which makes it even better app if you are a creative person who knows a thing or two about drawings.

Vectr

Vectr is a free app for quick image editing and modifying. It supports layers like the Adobe Photoshop, which makes it easier to create graphics quickly for a project/website.

Also, it’s not just Windows based but comes for other OS as well, you can get it for Linux or MacOS which makes it convenient to keep the same workflow if you use multiple computers with different OS.

Like, I use both Windows and Mac, and Vectr helps in a faster workflow. Apart from being available for all the platforms, it also gives the feature of syncing the images across devices, you need to create an account on the Vectr website though.

101 Most Useful Websites on the Internet [Bookmark it]

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There are millions of websites on the Internet, and just a single query on Google returns millions of results to choose from, yet sometimes it takes hours to find the right solution to a problem.

This is a post where we list out almost 100 most useful websites on the Internet, these websites are specifically designed to perform a task, fix a problem, automate your work or just let you be more productive.

I recommend you to bookmark this page for future reference. 

  1. About.me: Your Custom Splash page, Create your very own free web page and highlight your talents
  2. Magic8Ball: Pretty cool website to ask questions about your life, love or work. It’s a fun website that doesn’t fool you with the wrong answer but throws some quotes at you that may motivate you or satisfy your urge to ask that question.
  3. alternativeTo: Find alternatives to any software, app, or website, and tells the key differences between them to help you choose the suitable one.
  4. Notion: A powerful task and project management solution for teams to track their work and collaborate efficiently and the Free version is quite capable.
  5. BoredButton: Feeling bored? Just press the bored button and prepare to be amazed
  6. BuiltWith: It helps users to find the web technology used to build a site
  7. Calm: Cool down, relax, breathe and usher in clarity, joy, and peace to your daily life with the mindfulness meditation techniques available at Calm
  8. Canva: Create beautiful designs for Web or print blog graphics, Facebook covers, flyers, posters, invitations and much more
  9. Cheatography: Build your very own cheat sheet or share one from this huge repository of cheat sheets known as Cheatography
  10. ClipConverter.cc: Free online media recorder application which allows you to record and convert nearly any audio or video URL ( YouTube, Vimeo) to common formats
  11. CopyPasteCharacter: Spice up your documents, emails or tweets by copy-pasting special characters from here that do not appear on your keyboard
  12. Corrupt-a-File: Wish to evade a deadline yet pretend as though all your work was complete? Use this free online service to corrupt a file on purpose and let the computer take all the blame
  13. Couchsurfing: Global hospitality community which provides a platform for members to the homestay, host travellers, meet others and for making travel a truly social experience
  14. CV Maker: Helpful website to create professional resumes, CV, and bio-data online for free. Simply fill in your details and generate beautiful PDF and HTML resumes
  15. Dead Man’s Switch: Is there something that you would wish to tell the people around you, in case something bad were to happen to you? Well Dead Man’s Switchis just the tool you need to send messages long after you are dead
  16. DeviantArt: World’s largest online social community for artists and art enthusiasts, allowing people to connect through the creation and sharing of art.
  17. Difference Between: An online knowledge base of articles discussing the differences between similar terms and things
  18. DistroWatch: Website dedicated to talking about, reviewing and keeping up to date with open source operating systems. Must visit website for Linux enthusiasts
  19. Documentary Heaven: A really interesting website boasting of a comprehensive collection of documentaries that you can watch for free
  20. Down For Everyone Or Just Me: As the name pretty much suggests, this website comes in handy when you wish to find out if a website is inaccessible for everyone or just you
  21. Draw.io: Free online diagram software for making flowcharts, process diagrams, UML, ER and network diagrams.
  22. DuckDuckGo: A search engine that doesn’t track you or store any personal information
  23. Duolingo: Looking to learn a new language in a free and fun-filled way? Duolingois one useful website in that case
  24. Evernote: Most highly rated and indispensable tool for note taking, organizing and archiving
  25. Feedly: Versatile RSS Reader for organizing, reading and sharing all the information from your favorite sites and blog at one place
  26. file.io: A snapchat for files
  27. Fiverr: Freelance marketplace where you can hire people to perform tasks or services for as little as $5
  28. FutureMe.org: Write a letter to your future self
  29. GetNotify: Free email tracking service which allows you to determine if your sent mail has been opened and read
  30. GIPHY: Online database and search engine designed especially for GIFs and animated stickers.
  31. Goo.gl: URL shortener provided by Google. Bitly is another one of the popular useful websites for URL Shortening and Link Management.
  32. Goodreads: Find and share the books you love here on the world’s largest site for readers and book recommendations
  33. Google Fonts: An extensive catalog of open source designer web fonts.
  34. Google Translate: Free service to instantly translate words, phrases and web pages between English and over 100 other languages
  35. Google Trends: Discover the latest search trends, data and visualizations from Google
  36. Grammarly: Writing enhancement and plagiarism detection platform to check your spelling and grammar
  37. Hide My Ass!: VPN service to ensure total online privacy and streaming freedom
  38. Homestyler: Take the guesswork out of interior decoration and design your home in 3D with this amazing website
  39. Honey: Automatically search for the best coupon codes and apply them while shopping online
  40. HowStuffWorks: One of the most amazing websites explaining how everything works along with videos and illustrations. Useful especially for kids of all ages
  41. HowToPronounce: As the name suggests, it helps you find how a word is pronounced. Here are a few more resources to pronounce names.
  42. IMDb: Online database of information related to films, tv programs and video games, including cast, production crew, fictional characters, biographies, plot summaries, trivia and reviews
  43. Imgur: The best place to share and enjoy the most awesome images on the internet
  44. Instructables: Learn how to make almost anything provided with easy to follow step-by-step instructions, online classes and a vibrant maker community
  45. Khan Academy: Get access to free online courses with short instructional videos and practice exercises curated by experts. We would also recommend you to check out CodeAcademyCoursera, and Udemy for even more courses
  46. Kuler: Cool website for creating color schemes and browsing color combinations
  47. Listly: The simplest way to create, curate and publish lists in a matter of minutes
  48. Lynda: The most useful website for access to high-quality video tutorials based on a multitude of fields such as business, software, technology and creative skills
  49. Mailstrom: Mailstrom helps you clean and manage your inbox. Works with Gmail, Google Apps Email, Outlook, Apple, AOL, Exchange IMAP and any other email service that supports IMAP
  50. Marker.to: Yellow Highlighter Pen for web pages
  51. Mathway: Use Mathway to solve mathematical problems ranging from basic algebra to complex calculus. Useful website for students
  52. Meetup: Online social networking portal for facilitating offline group meetings of people sharing common interests such as books, dance, health, photography and countless others
  53. MeFancy: Helpful website having Web-based text HTML tools for easily manipulating your text and HTML files
  54. MIT App Inventor: Develop fully functional Android apps for smartphones and tablets. Great website for newcomers to computer programming
  55. Netflix: Watch or stream some of the coolest movies & TV shows online on Netflix
  56. Ninite: Really cool website that automatically installs and updates popular programs on your Windows PC all at once
  57. Noisli: Helps you focus on your writing or getting stuff done by providing ambience noise (white noise) that has proved to make you more productive.
  58. Office Online: Collaborate for free with the online versions of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote
  59. OldVersion: Find older versions of the software. Sometimes you need an older version of the software for compatibility issues.
  60. OneSignal: Free notification service for your app and website.
  61. Pastebin: Paste snippets of text online for a set period of time. Great tool for coders to share snippets of source code or log files
  62. Pexels Videos: Find free stock footage for your website, promo video or anything else
  63. Pixlr: Free Powerful online photo editor similar to Photoshop with access to a huge amount of creative effects, overlays, and borders
  64. Plunker: Online community for creating, collaborating on and sharing your web development ideas
  65. Pocket: Quickly save, discover and recommend the best, most interesting stories on the Web all in one place via Pocket
  66. Prezi: Use Prezi to make the most dynamic and engaging presentations ever
  67. Print-Friendly: Make a Printer-friendly & PDF version of any webpage
  68. Printable Paper: A collection of printable papers that come in really handy
  69. Privnote: Share a confidential note via a web link that will self-destruct after it is read by your intended recipient
  70. Product Chart: Discover the perfect product for yourself with this website’s innovative & interactive product comparison charts
  71. Project Naptha: Highlight, Copy, Edit and Translate text from within images themselves. Must visit the website!
  72. Public Domain Torrents: Who said torrents are always supposed to be illegal? Use Public Domain Torrents to access thousand of class and B-movie downloads via BitTorrent
  73. Quora: It’s like Yahoo Answers, but better, the quality of Answers is much better, sometimes better than Wikipedia Articles, since the answers sometimes come from people with first-hand experience.
  74. Rainy Mood: Relish the experience of rain while sleeping, studying or relaxing via this really cool website.
  75. Random.org: Generate true random numbers. Useful for holding drawings, lotteries, scientific applications and lots more
  76. Reddit: Fondly called the front page of the internet, Reddit is the most powerful social news aggregation, web content rating and discussion website
  77. RunPee: Need to use the restroom while watching a movie without missing out on major plot points? Use Runpee to find out when to go and what happened while you were away
  78. Safe Web: Visit this website to find out if a website that you are interested in is safe to visit or not
  79. Scribble Maps: Easily create & share your own custom maps for sharing with your friends or embedding on websites
  80. Share By Link: Free file sharing tool with unlimited upload and download limit
  81. Shodan: Search Engine for Internet-connected devices such as web cams, routers, servers etc.
  82. Similarsites: Find useful websites that are similar, related or alternatives to the one that you are currently browsing
  83. Slideshare: Youtube for Slideshows. Upload, share and discover presentations on your favorite topics on this website
  84. Smallpdf: Platform for converting and editing pdf files with solutions to a host of other PDF problems as well
  85. Squirt.io: Interesting tool that enables you to read web pages more than 200% faster than your normal best reading speed
  86. Stack Exchange: Network of useful websites for questions and answers on varied fields, with each site covering a specific topic.
  87. StumbleUpon: Bored as hell? Use StumbleUpon to discover new and cool websites, photos and videos across the Web.
  88. System Requirements Lab: Find out if your computer can run a game or not and whether it meets or exceeds the system requirements
  89. Tall Tweets: Write tweets longer than 140 characters, created by Blogger Amit Aggarwal.
  90. TeamViewer: Connect to remote desktops, provide remote support and collaborate with online meeting and video conferencing. You will find Join.me to be yet another tool which is pretty efficient when it comes to collaboration
  91. TED: Watch and get inspired by influential videos from expert speakers on education, business, science, tech and creativity with subtitles in over a 100 languages
  92. Tunefind: Helps you find a tune you overheard somewhere
  93. TypeRacer: Improve your typing speed by racing against others
  94. unfurlr: Find the original URL hiding behind a short link
  95. Urban Dictionary: An online dictionary of slang words and phrases commonly used by millennials.
  96. Useful Interweb: A website which helps you discover other useful websites
  97. Wayback Machine: Determine how a web page looked at different points in the past or archive your own web page
  98. What’s My IP Address: Lookup the public IP address of your computer or router assigned by your ISP
  99. WhatTheFont: Ever seen a font that you liked very much but failed to recognize? Well, just upload an image of it to WhatTheFont and bid adieu to this problem
  100. Wolfram Alpha: Online service for finding answers to all your factual queries and doubts
  101. WornOnTV.net: Fix  your fashion with this website, find outfits and accessories similar to the ones worn by your favourite movie and TV stars

Planet Express: There are many amazing products that are only available in the US. E-commerce sites do not ship the items worldwide. Planet Express gives you a local US address where you can get your stuff delivered, and then Planet Express takes care of delivering your package to your address, with insurance.

  • Addiction Group: It is a group dedicated to helping individuals suffering from substance abuse and preventing new cases. Medical professionals review every fact-based piece of content published on our site.

5 Computer Accessories to Make Your Life Easy

In this modern era of technological advancement, everyone has become quite engrossed into the rat race to outshine others.

The highly competitive environment has led to the great intellectual ideas which are given reality in form of the latest gadgets and devices in order to ease the life of human beings and to lessen the manual effort with a higher degree of output.

Every new invention these days tops in features to its prior one so as to fulfill the demand of the effortless inputs.

Are you looking for something to ease your work? Are you still using those outdated products?  Then you are at the right place.

There are many products beings released every month into wide electronic markets. But, the question arises, are they worth purchasing, do they comprise of all what you need? Well, basically it’s quite hard to find a versatile product which might fit to all your needs.

But here are some of the products which are best in their own piece of usage and will serve their purpose to the best.

Whenever we use computers or desktops we search out for the best possible products for more and more automation with excess machine work.

Taking this into knowledge, there are many computer accessories which might come handy to you with the latest facilities. Below mentioned are the products to raise your work and usage standards with tons of hi-tech features.

Airbar

It’s quite amazing to know that technology has discovered many things out of bounties and humans possibility. Curving the imagination into a reality is what science has been doing over years. We are yet again here with one of the most unbelievable devices to let you have a new experience with your laptop which you wouldn’t have had before.

Introducing you with the all new AirBar, the device meant to impress, a hi-tech gadget to turn your ordinary laptop into a touch interface Device. It’s a gadget making your fully a touch machine with no touch screen. It is available in various size variants and you have a choice to select it according to your laptop size.

How the device Functions

The AirBar is to placed just at the bottom edge of your laptop screen while being connected to the laptop through USB cable. Airbar project a layer of invisible light just on the surface of the screen vertically allowing you to touch the screen and interact with windows 8 and windows 10 gestures.

The device is packed up with sharp disturbance detecting sensors which hastily reacts to every touch reverting back the signal to the operating system.

Connectivity

The device is meant to be connected only with windows operating system through a USB interface.

The device won’t work with any other devices else than laptops.

Advantage

The device as mentioned earlier helps you to turn your ordinary laptop screen into a touch screen computer. It is quite light and offers you easier portability. On the top there is no particular object for its usage, it works with anything like fingers, brushes, gloves and etc. Moreover, it helps to save much of your precious time.

Virtual Laser Keyboard

Introducing you with one of the most famous gadgets of the century, We all have been using keyboards from years but, what if the keyboard you are using is not really present? And you just need to touch on virtually drawn keys on your desk. Well, this is the invention which has shocked many in this century. Virtual laser keyboard has put this concept into reality with its hi-tech laser projection and quite accurate sensors.

How the device Functions

The virtual laser keyboard projects the beams of the laser on the level surface and also the inbuilt sensor to catch the finger moments so as to get what is being typed. There are other models in which the device sends an extra layer of invisible infrared just onto the virtual keyboard and when the user presses any key it breaks the infrared layer and reflects back the rays further helping in identifying the key stroke.

The projection is carried out via three different modules named projection module, a sensor module, and the illumination module. The keyboard uses wide variety of advanced technologies like:-

  • Diffractive optical element.
  • Red laser diode.
  • Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor(CMOS) sensor chip.
  • Infrared laser Diode.

Connectivity

The virtual keyboard connects to your computer or your PC directly either through pc or by Bluetooth.

The device can also connect to various other devices like phone, Pad’s etc due to its quick Bluetooth connectivity.

Advantages

The device has many plus points over ordinary keyboards as there is no requirement of long and fussy connecting cables and it also provides its users the better interface with hardly any real keystrokes. The device is very portable and is easy to connect.

Wireless USB Adapter

In this techno-savvy century, there is hardly any device which deprives internet connection. The Internet has become our basic need these days as most of the business are done over there only. What if your computer of pc doesn’t have wireless LAN card? Or what if it is damaged? Here is something quite interesting for all the ‘net-freaks’. Wireless USB adapter has been an effective remedy to most of the PC internet connection issues.

This is an external computer accessory which activates the wireless internet connection on your desktop or your PC. This is basically an external adapter usually helps to counter the place of the defective wireless or ordinary LAN card.

How the device Functions

The wireless USB adapter fetches the range of the available wireless networks and turns our pc into a wireless internet receiving device and hence allows its users to access the internet wirelessly through quite far distance.

Connectivity

The device gets connected to the pc through USB2.0 ports.

Advantages

Though it’s an external hardware device, it still fetches the range from a far distance and with almost no alteration in the internet speed.

Graphic Tablet

Technology has entered into almost all walks of life and all forms of business. It has also widespread its roots into the arts and Graphic industry. The Graphics tablet has been one of the renowned product in the fields of graphics and animation. Whether it’s digital signing, hand drawing, animations or Graphic, this product has pioneered and has brought a revolutionary change in the technological era. This product has various categories according to their usages which are mentioned below.

  • Passive tablets
  • Active tablets
  • Acoustic tablets
  • Optical tablets
  • Capacitive tablets

How the device Functions

The tablet traces the path of the pen. As the pen moves, it notes all its movements and sends the electrical signal to your Personal Computer and finally views the image of what been drawn on the pad on the computer screens

Connectivity

The connectivity of the Graphic tablets varies from model to model. Some offer wireless connectivity while others have a USB cable for connection.

Advantages

The Graphic tablet serves its best purpose in the artistic world maintaining its best position in widely used computer accessories. The pen-like stylus attached to the Graphic tablet helps in graphical editing such as Illustrator or Photoshop by Adobe Systems, or CorelDraw gives artists a lot of precision when creating digital drawings or artwork.

Multi-Port USB Hub

Is your Laptop, Pc or computer short of USB ports? Are you looking to connect more USB devices to your computer?

Here’s an exciting device to let you serve this purpose. The multi-port USB hub, as the name suggests have multiple USB, SD card, HDMI ports which help to connect you to various platforms and lets you extend the device connectivity range.

As far as, the speed is concerned, it varies again from model to model. As some are compatible with transmitting almost equal speed but where some hardly provide sufficient speed.

How to use

Operating a USB hub is just a matter of a few minutes. You can use this device by directly attaching it to any of the USB port of your Pc. You might need to install drivers if it is required.

Once the drivers are installed you can connect to it any of the USB or any other device and there you will have it connected and securely functioning.

Connectivity

All the multi-port USB hubs connect directly through a USB cable to the computer and act as similar to the real internal USB jacks.

Advantages

This device lets you connect almost all types of devices either through USB or via HDMI ports. It is also used for charging purposes while connecting data cables to it. All of the above this device lets you connect a few more devices to your Pc, laptop or MacBook.

Winding Note: All the mentioned devices are worth purchasing and are really comprised of state of the art technologies. After all, who don’t want to use the latest gadgets and experience the new effortless devices.

Moreover to your ease, all these devices will be available with offers in India’s largest online sale i.e Amazon Great Indian Sale. You can buy these products at quite cheap prices. 

Are These Rs 500 Generic Smart watches on Flipkart & Amazon Worth the Money?

This question has been in everyone’s mind who browses websites like Amazon.in and Flipkart on a daily basis.

Most of us are on the look out for deals on products and cheap, super affordable gadgets they can buy from these sites.

I too have been seeing these generic Smartwatches available on these sites for just 5% of the price of a branded smart watches.

When the brands are selling their smart watches for Rs 10,000/- to Rs 15,000-, a generic cheap Chinese smartwatch costing just a fraction of it will definitely drag your attention towards it.

While I know what kind of quality they will offer for Rs 500, I still went ahead and bought one just to show you guys whether it is worth your price or now. Because well, it’s just Rs 500, something we spend on Pizza on weekends.

So, is it worth the price? Let’s find out

I went ahead and Ordered the smartwatch that kept showing up in the recommendations in the Amazon.in app. The price of the smartwatch I ordered was Rs 600. I got the package in two days

Rs 628 to be precise. I got the package in two days, because, Amazon Prime. and here is the unboxing.

I am was excited to show you guys what a Rs 600 Watch can do for you, or will it be better than the Rs 900 Mi Band that only tracks my activity, because, well, this thing has got a display right?

So in the box, we get the box which seems a used one, it was not a new one. Even the documentation also seems to be a pretty old paper.

And even the Watch was a used one, perhaps somebody had been using it for a while, there were scratches everywhere, and it is not even turning on.

I charge it up for a while to see if it can be turned on

I charged it for about half an hour from my Phone Charger, then Tried Switching it on several times, it did not switch on.

I bought without any expectations, so I was ready for it but I did not expect it to be this bad.

So, it worth your money? Well, a Big NO.

I filed a refund on Amazon.in as fast as I could, and it was picked up by the courier guy the next day and the fund was initiated.

 

You Can Now Preview A Video on YouTube Before Playing

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YouTube has recently rolled out a feature the desktop version of its website. When you hover the mouse over a video thumbnail, you can actually see multiple thumbnails from the video making it look like a GIF.

This is a quite a handy feature for the YOuTube users to quickly know what is there inside the video, without even opening it.

Ever Since YouTube has Custom Thumbnails, some YouTubers abused the feature as a Clickbait by placing an image which is totally different from the content.

On YouTube, having a catchy Thumbnail can help boost the video views, and that is what has been exploited by a lot of people.

I saw this feature first in February this year, at that time I was using the Magic YouTube Chrome Extension, and I thought it’s the feature of that plugin which turns the thumbnails into GIF

But I later came to know that OYuTube was actually testing the feature and now it has been rolled out the Global Audience.

To give you a preview of a video, the video needs to be at least 30 seconds long, and the GIF appears only in the latest version of Google Chrome, Opera, and Firefox.

How is it beneficial for YouTube Creators?

It is going to help he Creators who spend a lot of time in giving out the quality videos and not rely on no Clickbain titles and thumbnails.

Since the audience can now see what’s inside the video, there is a possibility of relevant videos getting more watched now.

The feature is not available on YouTube main app, but again, there is a similar feature available for a Data friendly App for YouTube called YouTube Go.

Will this feature come to mobile?

by looking at the number of improvements YouTube is bringing to its app and it’s neck to neck competition with Facebook, a similar feature will soon be brought by YouTube to its app as well.

Maybe they will bring the Auto play feature that’s getting Facebook videos 10x views in comparison to YouTube.

But I think that is going to be far too extreme, maybe a video preview by a long tap will be just fine.

What’s going to happen we will have to wait for the updates, until then, enjoy it on the Desktop.

Also, check YouTube Tips & Tricks to Enhance Your Video Watching Experience.

How to Pronounce Names of People, Places or Things Correctly

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World’s population is over 7 billion people, divided into different regions, cultures, religion, color. Then their thousands of places.

It is next to impossible for us to remember how to pronounce the names of all the people, places or things in the world. If you were attentive in your grammar class in your school, you must be aware how the Pronouns work.

The rule of Grammar does not apply to them as they can be pronounced differently.

But, how do you know? and most importantly, why do you care?

Well, you should care to understand how a particular name is pronounced, if not for not offending someone by pronouncing their names differently then at least for general knowledge.

Here are some of the websites on the Internet that can help you learn how to pronounce a particular name of a person place of a thing.

Hear Names

Hear Names website is pretty simple, it gives you a list of names that you can browse through.

It is basically a database of names, so most of the names can be searched, I was able to find 4 out of 5 names I search for.

Pronounce Names

Pronounce Names is pretty similar to Hear Names, giving you a list of Names in a categorized manner so that it is easy for you to browse through.

Inogolo

Inogolo is also a list of names, but its list is little broader. The search function did not work for me pretty well, but the Explore names section has a different category to look into.

This website lists names of popular authors, places, and things.

Merriam Webster

This tip was shared by my Voice and Accent trainer when I took a training before taking calls from the US (in a BPO). I don;t know about other 23 students, but this tip has helped me till date.

M-W has the largest database of names of people, places, things etc. Apart from learning their definitions (or learning about the words), you can also learn how to pronounce them.

The Google Search

The Google Search is my own discovery, though Google offers its huge database to be also used as a Dictionary, you can also use it to improve your pronunciation of things

Just google search using the keyword, Define ‘the actual word‘ and you get the speaker icon which you can tap and listen to.

The YouTube Videos

If everything fails, turn to World’s 2nd largest Search Engine, yes, YouTube. There are millions of Videos on the channel already and chances are, any of it might actually have the name you are looking for, is being pronounced.

Instead of giving you some YouTube Channels that specifically upload videos about pronouncing, do a simple search you would do in Google search.

Just use Pronounce instead of Define, and the word. You will probably get your answer.

Hope these tools, tips, and tricks are going to help you learn how to pronounce the names of people, places, and things.

5 Best Sources to Find Copyright Free Music for YouTube Videos

This article is for those who are looking for stock audio from music sites that offer royalty-free music or different kinds, be it classical music, hip-hop, or any other genre. The Creators are going to benefit from this list so make sure you share this with someone who might find this useful.

I have many regrets in life, and one of the recent ones is not putting enough effort into finding copyright-free music.

A result, I’ve been getting copyright claims on my videos every other day. Here is what happened.

I am well aware of the YoutTube guidelines regarding copyright music, I know I’ll get a claim on my video if I use a music file without the permission of the original creator.

But somehow I thought If I am not getting a copyright claim on one of my videos for using particular music, even a few days after Publishing the video, that music is Okay to use in further videos.

And that’s what I did, I used the song in several of my videos, we are talking about more than 50.

And I am not getting the copyright claim for the song all at once for all my videos, It happens just every alternate day, and it really makes me hate more.

If Only I had sources for Copyright-Free Music Earlier.

Well, now that I’ve got a list of the best places to get copyright-free music, let me share the list with you so that you don’t have to go through all that I have been to.

So, let’s start.

Hooksounds

Hooksounds really cool writer free music website which has got pretty cool music.

All the sources mentioned in this article provide free music for your project. But, since it is free, it is available to all, which means it is not unique. And if you are making money from your projects, it makes sense to invest in a premium service like Hooksounds, which offers handpicked high-quality royalty music which is also unique.

You can full access to their music library for $29/month if you pay annually. Hooksounds lets you listen to all their music and sound effects even before spending money. Check out Hooksounds to listen to the music.

Audio Library

Some of you might already know about this, but I thought if it was so cool, why would anyone look at other places for copyright-free music.

But when I finally sat down to check, I found a few tracks that were really nice and I am now using them in my Videos.

On this channel, you will find tonnes of music loops for your creative project, you can find the links for music downloads in the description of each video.

Music for creators

This is actually the second channel of the YouTube Music Library channel. It has got over 100 videos on its channel and some tunes are really worth taking a look at.

The royalty-free music tracks on the video fall under simple licenses so that you can use them for your video games or any kind of online video production.

No Copyright Sounds

It’s a YouTube Channel that posts Copyright Free Sound on its channel it has more than 300 videos (sounds) that can be downloaded and used in your own video projects.

It’s one of the popular channels where YouTubers get their music, the channel has over 11 million Subscribers, which tells us how popular the channel is for the Non-Copyright Sounds.

This channel is useful in finding the film scores for your multimedia projects, you won’t have to hire any shit expensive music production company if you are looking for sounds that are easy listening

ByeByeCopyright

ByeByeCopyright is another nice channel on YouTube that has some really nice tunes that are Copyright free. Though it doe does not have a huge subscriber base but has got more than 600 videos the sounds are really nice, and you are surely going to get a few tunes for your project.

If you worry about getting the stock music or royalty free music then ByByeCopyright channel has songs that are already in the public domain as they have been used by many YouTubers in their own multimedia projects.

Frequency – No Copyright Music

The Frequency YouTube channel has got more than 250 Videos so far, which is tons of options to choose from.

So this is it, these 5 sources offer more than 1000 copyright free music combined that fall under creative commons license and will be enough for that perfect music you were looking for.

1000 Copyright free tunes are more than enough for your projects. You can select a few and repeat them for your videos if you are a regular YouTuber.

Also, these Royalty Free music are suitable for commercial background music, your online video on YouTube.

If you still can’t find the perfect tune for your video, I’ve got a tip for you to look for the best tune on YouTube itself.

Many YouTubers use tunes that are required to give credits too, if you too find their music interesting on an Existing video, you can reach them and ask for the permission to use their music in your Video with due credits in the description.

Many creators would gladly agree since they already have given permissions to other YouTubers to use their music.

No matter if it’s the hip-hop song or the sound effects this music archive of more than 1000 songs for your videos are ready without any license certificate ot musical licensing needed. You can save a lot of money on production music.

Now, all you have to do is, to create awesome videos that you always wanted to create and get the copyright free music and royalty free music from these free sources.

So, this is it, I hope you find this useful and will save you from a lot of regrets that I had for using copyright music in my videos.

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