The Most Beautiful Places in California - Road Trip Ideas

https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/los-angeles/the-most-beautiful-places-in-california-road-trip-ideas

How to take photos of stars, star-trails and the International Space Station

TechRadar: All latest feeds How to take photos of stars, star-trails and the International Space Station

How to take photos of stars

Think astrophotography is for experts who stay out all night in deserts and national parks with expensive lenses? Although you do need a DSLR or a compact camera with manual settings – a smartphone just won't do – it's possible to take images of the International Space Station (ISS) and stars, and even create hypnotic concentric circles of star-trails using a basic lens and some simple techniques.

In this guide we'll show you the equipment, software and knowledge you need to take spectacular photos of celestial bodies – including man-made ones – in the night sky.

1. Gear & location

Taking images of the night sky requires three things: a DSLR (or compact camera with manual exposure), a tripod, and dark, clear skies. You might think the latter is hard to find, but even in the most light polluted cities it's possible to photograph stars – and the super-bright ISS is visible from everywhere. If you do want the blackest sky possible then get yourself into a rural area about 40km from a major town or city, or even better, an International Dark Sky Reserve or Park.

Whatever your location, since you're going to be opening the shutter for long periods, position the camera away from direct lights, such as streetlights or car lights. If you're in your back garden or yard, switch off all lights at the back of your house, and disable any motion-sensing lights. Using a shutter release cable, remote control or your camera's self-timer function will reduce blur.

2. Wait for the ISS

Fancy photographing six astronauts in flight? It's easy to produce an ISS trail if you know how. Finding the ISS is the easy bit. First visit NASA's Spot The Station for imminent flybys at your location (which could be a few weeks away… or could be tonight). Since the ISS always appears in the west and crosses the sky to sink in the east – most visibly near sunset or sunrise – position your camera accordingly, using the compass on your smartphone if you don't know your cardinal points.

20 minutes before the flyby, and with your camera in manual mode and a wide-angle lens on infinity focus, take some test exposures for 30 seconds, using ISO 100 and with the aperture at f/2.8 or so (depending on the lens). When you see the ISS, open the shutter. When the shot is complete and you've captured an ISS trail, swivel the camera and do the same again as the ISS drops into the camera's field of view. An open landscape such as a park is great for this.

3. Understand the night sky

As Earth rotates, the stars appear to move, rising in the east and sinking in the west as the night progresses. It may seem a slow process, but take a 30-second exposure and zoom in on the viewfinder, and you'll see that the stars have actually blurred already.

What you don't want is moonlight bleaching out the night sky. To avoid that, check the phases of the Moon with an app like Luna Solaria. If you're under a Moon-less dark sky, you might even capture the Milky Way, too.

4. Photographing the Milky Way

When it comes to photographing the Milky Way, it's all about keeping the shutter open long enough to allow the light to enter the camera, but not so long that the stars blur. Using the widest angle lens you have, set the aperture (f-stop) to as low (wide) as possible to let in the starlight.

With the manual focus on infinity, open the shutter for 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 20 seconds and so on until you get something you're happy with. Zoom in on the LCD screen to see if it's sharp. If it's blurred, nudge the focus to just shy of infinity, and take another shot. If it's too light, shorten the exposure time and put the ISO on 100. If it's too dark, open the shutter for longer and increase the ISO. Adjust the white balance to Tungsten to help the stars look more natural, and even colourful.

5. How to find Polaris, the North Star

The night sky in the Northern Hemisphere appears to revolve around a central point; Polaris, the North Star. Why? It sits directly above the North Pole, so the Earth's axis appears to point directly at it.

If you want to shoot a star-trail where the stars draw circles around Polaris, you need to find it. You can use a compass app or a planetarium app like Sky Safari to help, though you can quite easily find the Plough/Big Dipper in the night sky without tech.

Find the two stars at the far end of the bowl, and go from Merak at the bottom to Dubhe at the top of the bowl. Then continue this imaginary line on for about four times the distance. The lonely looking star you come to is Polaris, which is the point your star-trails will circle around. For those in the Southern Hemisphere, look for a point roughly between the Southern Cross and bright star Achernar.

6. Stack a star-trail

Take test shots of the night sky until you're happy, then leave the camera exactly where it is. Take an exposure every 30 seconds or so for an hour or more (the longer the better – two hours looks awesome).

Many cameras will do this automatically using a time-lapse mode, or similar. Free software – StarStaX for Mac and Startrails for Windows (both less fiddly than using Photoshop) – will then combine all your images together to create a star-trail (if you take a "dark frame" with the lens cap on, it will also remove dead pixel marks).

If you have a Canon DSLR camera with no timelapse mode, consider a cheap timelapse timer/remote like the Canon TC-80N3 or the very inexpensive Alpine Labs Michron, which can be programmed via a smartphone app.

7. Choosing the foreground

Although images of the stars in the night sky or of a star-trail that shows the Earth's rotation are both impressive on their own, something in the foreground will make it even better.

Interesting houses, barns, rock formations or trees work well; experiment with illuminating your subject with a flashlight for a short period (if you're taking multiple exposures, you can always remove these frames if you're not happy with them).

8. Capturing the movement of the stars

You also don't have to point your camera at Polaris. Turn 180 degrees and photograph the night sky to the south and you'll capture the apparent movement of the stars above the Earth's equator. Over the course of a long exposure (or multiple exposures), the stars will form sensational semicircular trails.

Producing star-trails can quickly become an obsession – and a whole new (if time consuming!) way to approach landscape or travel photography.

http://www.techradar.com/us/how-to/photography-video-capture/how-to-take-photos-of-stars-star-trails-and-the-international-space-station-1313499?src=rss&attr=all

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Mac Tips: How to selectively empty trash in Mac OS X

TechRadar: All latest feeds Mac Tips: How to selectively empty trash in Mac OS X

OS X El Capitan added a little-known feature that is sure to make Mac power users happy when it comes to taking out the trash...from the OS X Trash bin, that is. Have you ever dragged several items to the trash, but then decided that instead of deleting everything that was in there you only wanted to dump a select few items, just in case? Well, with this feature, you can selectively delete just the items you want to from the trash, and in this article, we'll show you how it's done.

If you haven't upgraded to OS X El Capitan, the only method to selectively delete items in the Trash is to drag the files you want to keep out of the trash, empty the Trash, then move the items you kept back to the Trash.

With OS X El Capitan, however, you can do the following to selectively delete files:

1. Add files you want to delete to the Trash.

2. Open the Trash by clicking it in the Dock.

3. Select one or more files you wish to delete immediately.

4. Right-click on the selected file(s) and select the option to "Delete Immediately."

You will receive a prompt asking if you wish to delete the selected file, if you do, then click the Delete option.

This will remove the selected file(s) and will leave the other non-selected files safely in the Trash where you can safely keep them for the time being.

http://www.techradar.com/us/how-to/computing/apple/how-to-selectively-empty-trash-in-mac-os-x-1312947?src=rss&attr=all

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Power tips for the Gmail inbox

TechRadar: All latest feeds Power tips for the Gmail inbox

Do more with Gmail

Life without Gmail is hard to envisage. It's arguably the best free email service there is. Over the years, Google has added more and more features to it but, thankfully, it has managed to avoid filling it with too much rubbish.

While other web email services can seem cluttered, Gmail continues to look fresh and clean. One of the biggest differences between Gmail and other email services is the way you can organise your mail.

Others use the folders approach, where you can drop your photos into a specific folder called, say, Photos (we're nothing if not original).

Gmail, on the other hand, uses labels. Instead of moving emails to separate pots, all Gmail emails sit in the Inbox or the Archive (unless you've deleted them). Attach a label called Photos, click the label and it instantly brings up all emails with the label Photos.

So far, it's exactly the same as folders in the way it works. The beauty of labels, however, is that you can add another one – Vera's Birthday, for instance. Now you effectively have two folders doing different things, but the single email manages to sit in both of them, without taking up more space.

Even better, you can choose whether the email sits in your Inbox view or whether it's sent to the Archive, and it still shows up whenever you click on either of the labels.

The innovative label system is just one of many amazing things you'll discover as you read this article.

1. Get started

If you haven't already signed up for Gmail, may we suggest you get cracking. As you'll see, Gmail is packed with incredible and powerful features, many of which are linked with the best of Google's online services and apps.

It's damn fine just for reading emails, too.

2. Don't forget to search

We'll come to some handy filtering options in a moment. In the meantime, don't forget how well a simple and lightning-quick a simple keyword search is in Gmail.

Just like a Google search, the more terms you need, the better the search results.

3. Get comfortable

Gmail offers three basic views of your email: Comfortable, Cozy or Compact. You can try these out now by clicking on the cog icon (top-right) and selecting each option in turn.

Choose the best one for you, based on your eyesight and the screen size of your device.

4. Hey, good looking

Gmail offers Themes for those of us who want to brighten up our desktops. Click the cog, then 'Themes' to bring up the list, as you can see in the picture above.

Click a theme to try it out. The first theme (Light) is the standard one, should you wish to change back.

5. Delving into settings

Let's take a look under the hood. Click the cog, then 'Settings'. The first tab is 'General'. Here you can change the display language of Gmail, alter the number of emails that appear per page, and choose whether replies go to one person or all those on an email by default.

6. Conversation view

Also in the General Settings tab is the Conversation view setting. We recommend you leave this turned on. It's a very powerful way of following the thread of an email conversation, with replies from everyone all running down the screen in order.

7. Using stars

Further down in General Settings, we come to the Gmail stars. By default, there's just one star available, with which you can highlight emails.

If you'd like to add more, drag them from the 'Not In Use' section to 'In Use'. There are also three preset groups of stars you can choose.

8. A galaxy of stars

Don't forget to click 'Save Changes' to activate the stars. In this screen, we've chosen the 'All Stars' preset. To highlight an email with a star, just click in the star.

Keep on clicking to change the star to whatever you like. If you stop, then click the star, it makes it blank again.

9. Signatures

Finally in General Settings are the Signature box and Vacation Responder. The Signature box enables you to create a signature that appears on every email you send, while the Vacation Responder lets people know you're away from your email by sending an automated message.

10. Labels

Labels are so important in Gmail, there's a whole tab in the Settings area for them. Here you can create new labels and decide which ones appear in the left-hand panel in your email view.

You can also get here by clicking 'Manage Labels' at the bottom of that panel.

11. Create a new label

You can create new labels in the Settings area or by clicking on 'Create new label'. Type in a name for your new label and decide whether you want to nest it under an existing label.

For example, you might want to organise 'Photos of Barcelona' under a general 'Photos' label.

12. Using the Gmail inbox

You may think an inbox is just an inbox, where email comes in to be seen by your eyes. Think again. Gmail now has a new system of tabs for the inbox, whereby emails falling under specific categories are automatically placed into the relevant tab - less work for you!

13. Activate tabs

If the tabbed inbox isn't already present on your system (you have just a single inbox), then you can easily turn it on to try it out. Just hit the 'Cog' button in the top right corner and select 'Confi gure inbox' from the dropdown menu.

14. Choose your tabs

A new window will appear allowing you to customise what tabs you see in your inbox. Primary is switched on by default, but you can add tabs to categorise your social emails, promotion emails and more.

Check the tick box next to ones you want to activate and hit 'Save'.

15. Getting hooked up

Back in the 'Settings' area, under 'Accounts', you can connect your Gmail account to other accounts. You can import mail if you permanently move to Gmail, or 'Check Mail From Other Accounts' to suck in mail from, say, an internet service provider email address.

16. Filter tips

The 'Filters' tab shows a list of all the filters applied to your email. Filters can automatically label mail as it comes in, archive it, mark it as read and so forth.

Click 'Create a New Filter', then enter the criteria you want. Leave fields blank if you don't care what they contain.

17. The power of the filter

Click 'Create a New Filter' to decide what Gmail should do with emails that fulfil all the criteria you've set.

We've elected to skip the inbox, mark any email that contains the word 'Photos' with the label 'Photos', mark it as read and ensure it will never be sent to the spam pile.

18. Chit chat

Gmail has a neat text-based chat function built into the main screen. Click the 'Chat' tab in 'Settings' – here you can turn it on or off , decide whether to save your chat history or not, and you have the option of only allowing people you've pre-approved to start chats with you.

19. Fun with labels

Turning back to labels, click on the tiny arrow next to a label on the left side panel to bring up a host of options. Here you can colour the label, change its name, remove sub-labels and so forth.

If you have a lot of labels, colour-coding them can make life a whole lot easier.

20. Get the most out of Gmail

As you can see, Gmail has more settings, options and stuff to play with than you can count, but if you follow our advice here and concentrate on the ones that matter most to you, you can safely leave the rest alone.

Make sure you check out our 10 tips, tricks and secrets for Gmail for more advice on how to get the most out of Gmail.

http://www.techradar.com/us/how-to/internet/power-tips-for-the-gmail-inbox-1312983?src=rss&attr=all

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Opinion: 5 reasons why you should reconsider Apple's 12-inch MacBook

TechRadar: All latest feeds Opinion: 5 reasons why you should reconsider Apple's 12-inch MacBook

Introduction

It's hard to think of a more contentious laptop in recent times than the 12-inch MacBook. Apple's decision to give it a sole lonely USB-C port was applauded by some and met with confusion and anger by others. It's either the ultimate portable laptop or a freakishly limited netbook with the price tag of a high-end ultrabook.

After reviewing the MacBook last year, I knew that it was a beautiful, unique, capable machine - and my decision not to swap one for my MacBook Air wasn't taken lightly. I stopped short because the 12-inch MacBook had one too many quirks to fit into my life at the time.

Times have changed, and the 12-inch MacBook is now my main laptop. It arrives with me in the morning and slips into my bag to go home at the end of the day, every day. Let's be clear: the MacBook isn't suddenly going to suit everybody, but almost one year down the line there are now these five reasons why you should reconsider.

Check out these 50 best Mac tips, tricks and timesavers

1. USB-C hubs with pass-through charging

USB-C connectors and hubs came onto the market shortly after the MacBook launched, but there's a now much wider range of cheaper third-party alternatives to Apple's official adaptors - and two of the most vital ones just launched at CES 2016.

California-based companies Satechi and Hyper both unveiled USB-C-powered 5-in-1 Hubs, which bring back two USB 3.0 (Type A) ports while adding a microSD slot, an SD slot and a USB-C port that supports pass-through charging for the first time. In my current setup, I would insert a 5-in-1 hub first and then connect my other USB-C adapter that provides HDMI, USB-A and USB-C. For the first time, I would be able to hook up my external monitor, a wired mouse, wired keyboard, USB thumb drive, micoSD and SDcards, in addition to a charger, by connecting one small adapter into the side of the machine.

Before you begin to scream "uni-port apologist!" at me, no: it's not a particularly elegant setup. However, it is relatively tidy, fast and makes having a single USB port less of an issue - plus the two adapters slip snugly into my MacBook's carry case.

2. Apple's Magic Keyboard is superb

The 12-inch MacBook's keyboard has been almost as divisive as its USB-C port. Apple completely redesigned it to suit the machine's thin profile, reducing the amount of key travel in the process. Its keys are sturdy thanks to a new Butterfly hinge underneath its enlarged keycaps, but if you couldn't get used to the keyboard the first time around then you probably won't now.

Thankfully, Apple's Wireless Keyboard received a redesign when the company re-launched its 27-inch 5K iMac in 2015. Thin, light and lasting a long time on a single charge, the new Magic Keyboard is a great companion to the 12-inch MacBook. The amount of key travel it offers feels just right, lying halfway between the 12-inch MacBook and Apple's old Wireless Keyboard.

There's bound to be the odd occasion where you'll have to rely on the 12-inch MacBook's keyboard to get you through - when sitting on a train, for example - but for day-to-day use, the Magic Keyboard is an enjoyable workaround.

3. The return of Magsafe

Even Windows die-hards tend to agree that Apple's MagSafe laptop power connector is the best around, and its omission from the 12-inch MacBook felt like a step backwards. Not before time, Griffin has introduced the BreakSafe, which adds MagSafe tech to the laptop by attaching to the end of a 6-foot charging cable connected to an adapter in the USB-C port.

It sticks out of the side of the laptop a little bit which isn't ideal, but given the choice between sending your MacBook flying off a table with one swift leg movement and disconnecting a small piece of plastic, it's a no-brainer.

Mag-nificent.

4. Portable productivity monitors

Using third-party apps like SwitchRes, the MacBook can scale all the way up to 1,920 x 1,200 while (just) remaining usable; however, its 12-inch size remains a limiting factor when it comes to productivity.

That's about to change with the introduction of USB-C-powered portable monitors such as the Asus MB169C+, which takes advantage of the USB-C's faster connectivity speeds (versus the older USB 2.0 spec). Featuring a 1080p IPS panel, I'm hopeful that the MB169C+, which was unveiled at CES 2016, will be completely free of latency issues while offering superb viewing angles.

Weighing just 800 grams, Asus' portable monitor could turn the 12-inch MacBook into the ultimate portable productivity station - and it should be great for streaming entertainment too.

5. OS X El Capitan runs smooth as butter

The 12-inch MacBook now comes with OS X 10.11 El Capitan, which doesn't so much steady the ship as give it jet-propelled oars.

The MacBook was a little cranky under OS X 10.10 Yosemite, and it made the machine live up to the "netbook" insult that is often used by its critics. While Apple's latest OS doesn't turn the MacBook into a powerhouse - after all it's still the same Intel Core M processor under the hood - El Capitan makes a tangible difference to the MacBook's usability.

El Capitan brings other benefits too: Split Screen mode lets you use two apps side-by-side, you can hide the menu bar to give you even more space on the desktop, and giving your cursor a wiggle makes it larger so that you can pick it out from behind windows easier.

http://www.techradar.com/us/news/mobile-computing/laptops/5-reasons-why-you-should-reconsider-apple-s-12-inch-macbook-1312877?src=rss&attr=all

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Updated: Best free PC backup software

TechRadar: All latest feeds Updated: Best free PC backup software

Introduction

Note: Our best free PC backup software round-up has been fully updated. This feature was first published in March 2013.

From viruses and bugs, to hardware failure or simple human error, there are many potential dangers waiting to trash your files.

And if the worst happens – you lose personal photos, your music library, vital business documents – then that could be a real disaster. Which is why it's a very good idea to back up your PC on a regular basis.

This is never going to be fun, of course, but with the right software it'll be easier than you think. And you may not have to spend anything, either, because there are some great free (for personal use) backup and disk cloning tools around for Windows.

• Also check out: Best free DVD burning software: 7 programs to burn discs and backups

AOMEI Backupper Standard 3.2

AOMEI Backupper Standard is a good-looking and easy-to-use backup tool with a pile of features: file sync, partition, disk or system image backups, disk cloning, easy browsing of backup images and a bootable rescue disc for emergencies.

A super-flexible scheduler can run your backups automatically at regular intervals, daily, on certain days of the week, and more – just set it up and you're done.

There are a few limitations when compared to the $49 (around £33, AU$69) Backupper Professional edition – namely that you can't merge backup images, there's no backup disk space management, no system cloning or migration. But overall AOMEI Backupper Standard performs very well, and there's more than enough power here for most people.

EaseUS Todo Backup Free 9.0

At first glance, EaseUS Todo Backup Free seems much like the competition – you get file, disk and system image backups, a scheduler, disk cloning, and a bootable recovery disc for easy image restoration.

But then you notice some major extras, such as the Smart Backup system which checks the folders you specify and backs up whatever has changed. Or the support for saving your archives to Google Drive, OneDrive or Dropbox.

There's real depth here, too, with many options you won't always see in the free competition. Backup encryption; full, incremental and differential support; network throttling to reduce performance impact; "pre-OS boot" to recover backups without a disc; not to mention both a Windows PE and a Linux rescue environment.

All this power does make EaseUS Todo Backup Free a touch more intimidating than the best of the rest, but it's still not difficult to use. If your backup needs are demanding, try this one first.

Macrium Reflect Free 6.1.1000

Macrium Reflect Free won't be for everyone. There's no file-based backups in the free build, it's strictly image-only, and the interface isn't what we'd call novice-friendly (one tooltip reads "Validate the XML syntax of the selected file").

Still, experienced users will find a lot to like here: differential imaging, compression, a powerful scheduler, image > VHD conversion, a feature-packed Windows PE rescue disc, and in-depth control over how long backups are kept.

Backup Templates help you put together a professional backup plan in seconds, too. Choose the "Differential Backup Set" template, say, and the program sets itself up to run a full backup monthly, and a differential backup every day (these can be tweaked as required).

Factor in Macrium Reflect's good performance and overall reliability, and it makes a good imaging backup choice.

FBackup 5.5

FBackup is an interesting file backup tool, a little short on features but with a strong focus on keeping operations as simple as possible.

A plug-in system, for example, allows you to back up key data – Chrome and Firefox profiles, Outlook mail, IE favourites, pictures, documents – with a couple of clicks.

A "mirror backup" option simply copies your files from one location to another, with no compression or imaging to get in your way. And the wizard-based interface means you'll be creating your first backup job in no time at all.

There are also restrictions, in particular no support for incremental or differential backups. But if you just need a quick and easy file-based system, FBackup is worth a look.

BackUp Maker 7.102

BackUp Maker is clearly aiming to be the file-based backup tool for everyone. A simple wizard means novices can get started in seconds, but experts will find plenty of extras including encryption, password protection, excluding files by size, backup to CD/DVD/Blu-ray/FTP/FTPS, the ability to run backups when a USB device is plugged in, send backup reports by email, and more.

Unfortunately, there's a catch, and it's a big one. The program can't back up locked files unless you buy a €15 (around £11, $16, AU$23) extra.

BackUp Maker wouldn't be our choice for a general backup tool, then. But if you just need to back up some files which aren't being used – pictures, music, documents – then the lengthy feature set makes it worth giving this program a go.

Areca Backup 7.5

Targeted squarely at the expert user, Areca Backup offers a host of expert-level options and tweaks, including filtering by extension, folder, size, date, status and regular expression, Zip and Zip64 support, AES and AES256 encryption, backup to local or network drives, FTP, FTPS or SFTP servers, and more.

The interface does little to help you out, unfortunately, and most tasks are trickier than you'd expect. Scheduling, for instance? Set it up yourself via the command line tool.

There's no backup of locked files, either, unless you spend €4 (around £3, $4, AU$6) on an add-on.

Still, there are major pluses here. Like the delta backup technology which saves only the modified parts of files, potentially giving you a huge speed boost. Or the ability to recover files by a specific date.

On balance, if you're an experienced user who needs the fine control Areca Backup offers, it deserves a closer look.

Paragon Backup and Recovery 14 Free

Paragon's free backup offering hasn't been updated for a while, and it's not difficult to tell. It suffers from a clunky interface, image backups only (not files), some useful exclude filters – and saving to VHD/ VMDK images – but otherwise there's nothing surprising about the core engine.

Still, Paragon's option to save your image to a "capsule" – a secure area where it's less likely to be lost if your partition is damaged – is worth having.

You also get an excellent bootable rescue disc, and there's a basic set of partition management tools thrown in.

Put it all together and Paragon is still a contender, but the company will need to deliver more, and soon.

QILING Disk Master Professional 3.6

QILING Disk Master Professional grabbed our attention immediately with a simple but effective strategy – throwing in more features than just about any other backup program ever.

So of course you get file and imaging backups, with full/incremental/differential support, compression, password protection, scheduling, and full or partial restoration from a Windows PE rescue disc or a pre-boot environment on your hard drive.

But there are also tools to clone a drive. Migrate your system. Create, format, delete and recover disk partitions. Check your hard drive's health. There's a RAM disk, a defrag tool, a virtual disk for easy software testing, and more.

Some of these options are basic, and high-end competitors do better in a few areas (EaseUS Todo Backup Free has a smarter scheduler, for example), but QILING Disk Master Professional's all-round versatility still earns it a thumbs-up from us.

http://www.techradar.com/us/news/software/applications/best-free-backup-software-11-programs-we-recommend-1137924?src=rss&attr=all

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