Some PC have incredibly quiet audio. If you struggle to hear yours, even at maximum volume, try 600% Sound Volume (ClicK Here).
By default, the add-on sets your PC`s volume 100%, but a quick drag along the slider gives it a serious boost, all the way up to - you quessed it - 600%.
This will be invaluable if you have trouble hearing or you simply want to annoy the neighbours by playing Spotify at maximum volume.
Click the extension`s toolbar button (or use the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+V) to see which tabs are playing music. The `100%` button instantly resets
the volume to its default, which is useful if you press play and discover that you`ve left it tunrned up by mistake.
Netflix Private List creates a secondary watchlist on the streaming service, where you canhide all the bad TV and trashy films you don`t want anyone else to know you watch.It`s also a useful tool if you share a Netflix account between two people.Install the extension, then log into your Netflix account.
When you find a show want to add,
rather than selecting the option from Netflix`s interface, press the key "~" on your keyboard (to the left of the 1 key). A confirmation message in the bottom left corner tells you that the show or film has been added. Your private list appears further down the screen - ours was below `Popular on Netflix`.
The British Libary has a collection of 150 fragile globes which it`s digitising as 3D models, allowing you to click and hold them to rotate, then zoom in for more detail. Ten fascinating European globes from the 17th and 18th Centuries get the ball rolling and you can also get a close-up view using virtual reality.
Visit HERE
The swallows and cuckoos were still enjoying warner climes at the time of writing, but they`ll be back over very soon. You can watch them get closer and closer on the live migration map at the Euro Bird Portal (Clic Here) although sadly it doesn`t stretch to include the birds` African winter homes.
To monitor the creatures of the sea, turn to Ocearch (ocearch.org). This opens on the Americas by default but lets you zoom out to track sharks, dolphins, alligators, turtles and more all around the globe. Given that all these animals are tagged and tracked, it`s no surprise to find that the researchers have given them names, too - as you`ll discover when you click each one.
Thw World Wildlife Fund`s Species Tracker (Click Here) uses data from radio collars on animals such as female polar bears (the males` necks are too big, apparently) to keep track of them. Clicka a bear on the zoomable map, then `See More`. To explore the latest data - including photos of new cubs from that area. The zoomable map also lets you monitor populations of jaguars, marine turtles and other endangered creatures.
The biggest wildlife-tracking site is Movebank (Click Here), which links to hundreds of research projects from a global map. It`s an academic resource, so it`s slower and less aesy to navigate thab you`d hope, but you can search its database and click the dots to follow the links to relevant studies, You can even contribute to the research using the free Movebank app (Android and IOS, Click Here).
Numerous augmented-reality (AR) apps bring the heavens into your locked-down living room, and the best is Night Sky (IOS Visit HERE). Focus on any flat surface - ceiling, wall, dining table - to see moons, planets, constellations and even the international Space Station (ISS) overlaid in their real-time positions. A slightly less powerful Android app called SkyView Lite (Visit HERE) visualises the galaxy and ISS when you hold your device up to the sky.
To turn your browser into a heavenly radar, head for The Sky Live`s Online Planetarium (Visit HERE), an interactive real-time map of space that displays the position of planets, moons, asteroids and more. ISS Tracker (www.isstracker.com) reveals where the international Space Station is right now, as it zooms around the planet at 17.000mph. The ISS is also monitored by the deceptively simple site N2YO.com, which tracks the detailsand positions of satellites orbiting the Earth. On the day writing, N2YO had tracked 20626 objects. No fewer than 2.261 (a number that`s continually updated) were ``crosing our sky`` at the moment, which is a lot more than we`d excepted.
The full moon is due above our house on 7 may, but what about where you live? The moon Phases calendar (Visit HERE) - just one of umpteen real-time monitors
at the brilliant Timeanddate.com - detects your location automatically and reveals the moon`s phase, altitude and position over the coming hours and days.
Among the site`s other live trackers are the `Day and Night World Map` (Visit HERE) and World Time Lookup (Visit HERE), which reveals the current
time, weather and sun and moon phases for any location.
The free apps Sun Locator Lite (Android Visit HERE) and Lumos (IOS, Visit HERE) let you Track the sun and moon by the hour.
See weather systems on the move in real time by zooming and spinning the virtual globe at `Earth` (Visit Here).
You can customise the display by opening the menu, then clicking an element. For example, click Ocean to see today`s tidal currents at work.
If you`d like to zoom in for a closer look, use the Map option on OpenWeather (openweather.org).
It`s less impressive to look at than the Earth tool, but it does let you see all kinds of weather systems (wind speed, clouds, temperature and so on) in action anywhere in the world, or just where you live. It also provides live data both as charts and plain old numbers.
To Put the weather into long-term perspective, see the climate tickers (Visit HERE). Among other things, these alarming real-time monitors track the average world temperature and how long until the world`s oil runs dry (47 years and counting).
