How to Run (Some) Android Apps In Your Chrome Browser

BY DAVID MURPHY

A little modification allows you to do just what your friends with Chromebooks can do—only, with a lot more apps.

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Android apps and Google Chrome are not like oil and water; at least not anymore. While Google is working to support more Android apps on Chromebook laptops, getting Android apps to work directly in the Chrome browser is a little trickier.

But not impossible. A modification to what's known as the App Runtime for Chrome—the very software that allows Android apps to run on Chrome OS—has brought forth a new piece of third-party software called ARChon Custom Runtime. Grab and install the customized version of ARC, and you'll be one step closer to running Android apps within your Chrome browser (on Windows, OS X, and even Linux).

However, just because you have the ARChon up and running within your Chrome browser doesn't mean that you'll be able to just surf to Google Play and start downloading. First, Google's app store doesn't quite work like that. Second, not every Android app will ultimately be compatible with the Chrome browser. Third, you need to get your hands on modified .APKs, or application packages, for the Android apps you want to use within Chrome. Standard .APKs just won't work.

Get Organized: 7 Ways to Automatically Organize Contacts

Is your address book a complete disaster? Here are some ways to automatically make your list of contacts a little more organized.

How many email addresses do you use? How many contacts databases do you have as a result? Keeping your address book current is a pain, as it requires frequent updating. Luckily, there are some ways to automate the process of updating and backing up your list of contacts.

Here I'll share with you seven ways you can automatically organize your list of contacts. Five of the tricks use IFTTT, a free website and service that stands for "if this, then that." IFTTT works like this: You authorize it to have access to different online accounts that you use, such as Gmail, Evernote, iOS Contacts, and so forth. Then you create "if this, then that" scenarios (or "recipes," as they're called) that the service carries out. I'll show you some examples in a moment. You don't need to know how to code or write scripts to create the recipes. It's really very simple.

How to Keep Your Resume Sharp

From sudden unemployment to unexpected opportunities, you never you when you might need a well-honed, up-to-date resume. These tips can help you maintain resume readiness.

Updating your resume should be an annual event. Sprucing up your resume helps you stay current by keeping all your big career accomplishments fresh in your mind. Even if you're not on the job market right now, updating your resume comes in handy for annual reviews and salary re-assessments.

13 Microsoft Word Tips You Need to Learn Now

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Think you know everything about Microsoft Office and the ubiquitous Word? Think again.

Regardless of what computer platform you prefer or what type of hardware you have, the chances are very good that at some point in your life, you've been annoyed by a helpful little animated paper clip.

Microsoft Word is so integral to our digital lives that it has successfully commandeered the actual word, "Word." If you refer to the once-nonsensical phrases like "Word docs," "editing in Word," or "a Word update," people will know exactly what you are talking about. That's the power of ubiquity.

Get Organized: 10 Simple, Time-Saving Computer Tricks

If you don't know these 10 basic tips, you could be wasting a lot of your time. They're easy to learn, and the payoffs are big.

When I watch inexperienced computer users scroll a Web page using the down arrow on their keyboard or look for specific information in a PDF by running their eyes down each page, I realize just how many tiny tricks and tips there are that make more experienced computer users faster at what they do.

Here are ten of those tricks that anyone can—and should—learn. Chances are you know some of them, but even if only a couple of them are new to you, it's worth checking out the list and the video below.

25 Tips to Turbocharge Dropbox

• By Eric Griffith
• July 29, 2014
• 19 Comments
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It's the leading cloud-based sync and storage service—but Dropbox isn't perfect. Here's how to make the most of it.

Have you ever sat down at your laptop and thought, "Oh no, my important file is on my desktop computer!" Or looked at your smartphone and said, "Sure would be nice if I could access my critical work files here on the handset, but that's impossible!"

Of course you haven't. Because you aren't an idiot. And you most likely have installed a synchronization and backup service that does all that. If you're like most people, you picked the one with the most buzz: Dropbox.

As of January 2014, the company was valued at $10 billion—and that was up $2 billion since November 2013. It has 300 million users, 4 million of which are business-only (a move that came as it revamped Dropbox for Business).

Major companies like Google and Microsoft are in the same business, but always have their sync/storage offerings tied to other products (Google Docs and Microsoft Office, for example). So in some ways, Dropbox's simplicity—it works with any of your files—makes it all the more attractive. More importantly, it just works. Of course it is not only a program for the desktop (Windows, Mac, and Linux) but is also accessible via the Web and on mobile: iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry, and Kindle Fire; there are third-party clients for Windows Phone like CloudSix.

How to Delete Accounts From Any Website

Deleting accounts you've created on the Internet isn't always easy. Here's how to leave several big-name services.

CONTENTS

• How to Delete Accounts From Any Website
• Social Networks and Online Services
• Online Retailers
• Entertainment Services
• Dating Sites
• The UnDeleteable

The words "I wish I could quit you" take on a whole new meaning when you want out of a relationship with an Internet service. Sure, you once thought you and Facebook or Amazon or Netflix would be together forever, but terms of service change, end-user license agreements mature, and, well, you're just not in the same place anymore.

Sadly, not all websites and social networks and online retailers are created equal when it comes to breaking up. With some, it takes only a couple of clicks to say goodbye. For a few sites, if you stop paying for the service, the site cuts ties fairly quickly. Others make you jump through more hoops than a tiger in a Vegas show. Even after you follow all of the required steps, some sites never quite leave you alone, with vestiges of your relationship around forever.