Edge the safest browser?, smartphone myths, royalty-free photos, online file conversion, what Facebook see you as

Is Microsoft Edge the safest or least useful web browser? In Windows 10, Microsoft has a new web browser, Edge, which replaces the tried and true Internet Explorer, with somewhat rewritten innards. Microsoft hopes to have a much safer web browser. However, it is so new that it does not yet support extensions, plug-ins, or add-ons of any sort. This means that plugins like Java, used by Buncombe County Register of Deeds for example, don’t work. You will just have to “resort” to installing and using Firefox or Chrome if you have needed plugins or extensions, until Microsoft finishes touching up Edge. Or, you can find Internet Explorer 11 under Start, All apps, scroll down to Windows Accessories and click, and there you will find Internet Explorer.

There are a few smartphone myths worth noting: most of the time killing all those background apps does not usually help memory (unless some of those apps have their own problems); running the lithium battery down all the way is not needed (although doing a full discharge every three months helps to recalibrate the battery); using automatic dimming of the screen won’t save energy, it uses as much power to run the sensor and calculate the time to dim (it does make your phone less obnoxious in dark rooms though); and though shutting off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth may not save very much on your battery, it does make security sense. However, all batteries degrade more quickly when hot, so keep your phones and laptops cool and out of hot cars.

There are various sites for royalty-free photos, meaning you don’t have to pay for permission to use their photos although you still have to follow their copyright attribution policies. In no particular order see what you find at: freeimages.com, splitshire.com, unsplash.com, pexels.com, jeshoots.com, stocksnap.io, skitterphoto.com, and commons.wikimedia.com.

Sometimes you have to convert a file from one format to another, zamzar.com will let you convert over 1200 formats, but does limit the size to 100 MB. If you need to pull text from something scanned as an image or PDF, you should try Google Drive and its ability to perform OCR. Use your Google Drive, click the gear icon, click “Settings”, and check the box for “Convert Uploads.”

If you are a Facebook user you might be curious how you look to advertisers. Researchers at University of Cambridge have created applymagicsauce.com to help you predict “your psycho-demographic profile based on your Facebook Likes.”