Celebrate National Parks Week with Street View and the Cultural Institute

The National Parks have famously been called “America’s Best Idea.” The 400+ parks, preserves, historic sites and other areas in the National Park System are a source of national pride, home to hundreds of species of flora and fauna, a place for researchers to study and discover—and above all, destinations for explorers and adventurers of all ages, backgrounds and abilities.

This week (April 16-24) marks National Parks Week, and we thought we’d do our part in celebrating the occasion by helping you get one step closer to visiting these amazing places. With Street View in Google Maps and the Cultural Institute, you can park hop your way through 50 states, from sea to shining sea.

Start at the southern tip of Florida with the Everglades—the largest subtropical wilderness in the U.S. and a UNESCO heritage site. Go deep inside the longest known cave system in the world at Mammoth Caves in Kentucky, or take in the sun and the scene at Fire Island National Seashore. On your way, wave to Lady Liberty in New York.

Next stop: The homes of some of our U.S. presidents. Peek inside Truman’s desk, or compare and contrast the Lincoln home’s refined hall chairs with Mary Lincoln’s wooden commode. Then take a trip to see battle sites and memorials including Gettysburg and Valley Forge National Historic Sites.

Tour locations and objects from civil rights history, including the homes of activists Frederick Douglass and Maggie L. Walker. With Google Expeditions, you can see the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site in 360 degrees, then explore photos from its archives in the Cultural Institute.

Group of Tuskegee Airmen, Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site

Now it’s time to hit the road and ride off into the west. There’s a little something for everyone this side of the Mississippi. Get some “me time” on some of Glacier National Park’s 700 miles of trials. Gaze at the puffy white clouds above Grand Teton National Park, you can see why they call this Big Sky country. And no visit to the parks is complete without Yellowstone, which was first designated as a park “for the benefit and enjoyment of the people” back in 1872.

Once you’ve seen Old Faithful erupt, it’s time to marvel at the crystal colors of the Petrified Forest and the amazing rock formations of Natural Bridges Monument. Take in the Seussian world of Joshua Tree, or the lunar landscape at Death Valley.

For some shade, head for California’s forests. Sequoia is home to the largest tree in the world, while the Redwoods boast the tallest. Either way, even in Street View it’s hard not to relax as you look up at the sun filtering through the branches.

Compare the real thing with artistic interpretations from the National Park Service Collection on the Google Cultural Institute

Climb up El Cap, then cool off in the mist at some of Yosemite’s famous falls. Or head north for the icy blue waters of Crater Lake in Oregon and the glacier-capped peaks of Olympic National Park a stone’s throw from Seattle.

Last but not least, take a virtual ferry to Alcatraz, home of the infamous federal penitentiary on the San Francisco Bay. There, you can see objects from the famous June 1962 escape from Alcatraz, including the fake heads the escapees put in their beds to cover their absence. Luckily, you’re also free to go beyond the bars to learn about the first lighthouse on the West Coast and see Street View of the island’s gardens, tide pools, bird colonies, and bay views. Welcome to the Rock.

Whether you visit in person or online, we hope you #FindYourPark this week!

Posted by Emily Wood, Managing Editor
Managing Editor

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Exit Chrome Completely by Closing Background Apps, Extensions and Processes

Do you know that Chrome does not always closes itself completely, even if you click the cross button and exit from it? It will keep running in the background and it will keep consuming memory endlessly. When it comes to things making your computer slower, you can find Google Chrome in the front line. Here is a simple trick to completely exit Chrome by closing all background processes.

Related: Group All Tabs Under One Tab and Make Chrome Work Faster

Apart from eating up a lot of memory, Google Chrome also chokes your laptop battery to death while running in the background. This activity goes unnoticed by most of us even if we are aware of it, when running on critical battery level.

Why is Google Chrome always running in the Background?

The reason is those extensions and applications that need to run in the background to function. Even if you close Chrome, they will continue running so they can synchronize or notify or be ready even if the browser is not running. You might need to manually end the task of these applications from the task manager to stop them completely.

Most of the times, it is good for apps to run in the background. For example, a chat program needs to pop if you receive an instant message or a video call. Or when mirroring Android notification to computer with Pushbullet that comes as an extension, it needs to remain active, even if you close the browser.

And considering the importance of these notifications, we can spare a small amount of RAM for them. But, when you have a lot of such apps installed, then it’s going to make your system slow and drain your battery fast.

Have a look at my task manager even when Chrome browser window is not running.

Find Which Apps and Extensions are Running in Background

For apps, go to Chrome’s Task Manager by pressing Shift+Esc and check for rows which mention background pages.

For extensions, there is no sure shot way of knowing which are the culprits. You will have to manually go to their options from the Extension Manager and see whether they provide information about background running. Most probably, it will be the extensions that provide notifications and help in synchronization.

Completely Close Chrome Running in Background

First, I would recommend you to remove unnecessary apps and extensions that you might have collected with your years of usage. After this preliminary cleanup, Chrome will feel much more responsive and light-weight. Now, back to our topic at hand –

Temporarily Preventing Chrome from Running in Background

While you have closed down Chrome’s window, you can still notice it’s icon in the system tray. It represents that some apps from Chrome are still running in the background.

Click on the icon to view a list of active tasks and hit on ‘Exit’ option. This will temporarily cause Chrome to shut down completely. But the next time you start Chrome again, you have to do the same to shut it down completely.

Permanent Setting to Close Chrome Completly

To avoid Chrome from running in background completely, follow the below steps –

Step 1: Go to Settings in Google Chrome.

Step 2: Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click Show advanced settings.

Step 3: Under System, uncheck the box next to “Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed”.

That’s all!

Conclusion

Allowing Chrome to run in the background will consume memory and will also cause the battery to drain faster. If you can do without notifications and synchronization when Chrome is not running, it is better to close it completely.

The post Exit Chrome Completely by Closing Background Apps, Extensions and Processes appeared first on Google Tricks Blog.

Related posts:

1. Load Chrome Extensions Only When They are Needed
2. Personalize Chrome Background With Your Own Image
3. 4 Handy Ways to Prevent Google Chrome From Closing Accidently

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[Software Update] Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) 4.9.0218.0 Now Available for Download

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J UPDATED on April 14, 2016: Release of Microsoft Security Essentials 4.9.0218.0 version. Microsoft has upgraded its free anti-malware utility "Microsoft Security Essentials" (MSE) to version 4.9.0218.0. Microsoft Security Essentials provides real-time protection for your PC that guards against viruses, spyware, and other malicious software. MSE is...

Read rest of this article at AskVG.com

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Microsoft Sues US Federal Government Over Users Private Data.

Microsoft is suing the US government over what it says is the unconstitutional manner in which federal law enforcement agencies can forbid tech companies from informing customers that their personal data held by Microsoft is being examined.

The Redstone based company is arguing that having to keep access requests secret is against the US constitution, which states implacably that individuals have the right to know if the government searches or seizes their property.  Microsoft are arguing that personal data falls under this remit.

“This morning we filed a new lawsuit in federal court against the United States government to stand up for what we believe are our customers’ constitutional and fundamental rights – rights that help protect privacy and promote free expression. This is not a decision we made lightly, and hence we wanted to share information on this step and why we are taking it”; – said Brad Smith, Microsoft President, and chief legal officer in blog post published on Thursday.

The blog post highlighted the fact that 5,624 requests for data had been made in the last 18 months from US Government authorities, and that almost half of these had come with a court order that compelled the company to keep the demand secret.

The software giant filed their case in US federal court, Thursday, with the hope of striking down the key legal mechanism currently used in the US that can force companies to turn over data but effectively gags them, from informing their customers. The blog post continued:

“The urgency for action is clear and growing. Over the past 18 months, the U.S. government has required that we maintain secrecy regarding 2,576 legal demands, effectively silencing Microsoft from speaking to customers about warrants or other legal process seeking their data. Notably and even surprisingly, 1,752 of these secrecy orders, or 68 percent of the total, contained no fixed end date at all. This means that we effectively are prohibited forever from telling our customers that the government has obtained their data.”

The key mechanism used by law enforcement agencies are the use of ‘national security letters,’ that were introduced with the often cited Patriot Act that was introduced in 2001 in the aftermath of 9/11.

National security letters don’t themselves require a court order and can be issued by the FBI, apparently on a whim. It was revealed last year that companies have no option but to turn over complete browser usage histories, and also the IP addresses of anyone the individuals in question had correspondence with, cell site information, and also any and all online purchases made in the last year.

“Ultimately, we view this case as similar to the other three that we have filed. It involves the fundamental right of people and businesses to know when the government is accessing their content and our right to share this information with them,” Brad Smith concluded.

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Clash Of Clans Attack TH8

Drone Racing Is Now A Thing

Admit it, you read that headline and your brain unconsciously changed it to “not a thing,” driven by a sense of hope. Sorry. The International Drone Racing Association (yes, there’s an association, and yes, it’s international) announced its broadcast partnership with none other than ESPN, who will actually broadcast drone races.

 

Because curling wasn’t bad enough.

In all seriousness and minus any further jokes (well, maybe just a couple), this announcement is the perfect demonstration of the lightning speed of technology adoption, along with the broader interest in advancements. When niche sports typically come on the scene, it can take years (or decades, depending on how mindlessly pointless the “sport” might seem to outsiders) for an audience to be receptive to it. As IRDA’s spokesman has stated, it’s only taken eight months to go from the first ever US championship race to an ESPN broadcast deal.

The terms of that deal are interesting, and actually speak to likes of the typical drone footage audience. The network’s online channel will live-stream the entire three-day event, and then edit it down to a one-hour “highlights reel” broadcast for television after the fact.

Naysayers may wonder what’s so fascinating about watching a bug-shaped ugly step-sibling to a radio controlled airplane, but that’s because they’re not aware of the capabilities of the drone, both while in flight and while in competition. The drones’ cameras will be feeding live footage to the broadcast, giving viewers a 360-degree bird’s eye panoramic of the course, the upcoming race being slated for New York City. That footage alone is broadcast-worthy, even without the competitive angle or the massive prize purse. Of course, the real excitement will come from seeing the capabilities that the drones’ designers have put into it; we’ve come a long way from the days when you hopped on down to the hobby shop/comic book store to upgrade to a more powerful engine for your plane or a more capable antenna for the RC. It will be exciting to see not only what drones are capable of, but also what humans can do with them.

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