Application For Press Credentials All Media Types: Fill & Download for Free

What type of news you intend on reporting will determine what credentials you need and from where you need to obtain them. As a freelancer, it will be very difficult for you to obtain a press pass from the LAPD unless you can demonstrate a track record of reporting hard core crime news and have a need to get behind the lines. The LAPD website has good information - Press Pass Policyand here’s the application for credentials from the LA Sheriff’s Department http://shq.lasdnews.net/shq/pdf/ppform.pdfMost official agencies are cracking down on press passes because of the proliferation of bloggers and on-line media. Agencies only want full-time staff reporters with a track record of reporting for legitimate publications. Both the CHP and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department dropped their credential program.And be aware that a press card from one agency doesn’t necessarily carry weight everywhere. Police and fire press credentials get you behind the line at a crime/fire scene, nowhere else, If you want to report on major court cases, you need to apply through the California Court system. Again, it all depends on what you are going to report. There are events which will require you to apply for media credentials specifically for that event, and you will need to go through a similar approval process before you will be given press access. Sometimes it requires that your publication apply, or at least provide a letter certifying that you will be working for them.

Many hardcore computer users might consider themselves above learning new tricks, but there are always new ways to sharpen your skills on the PC and we bet that you will find at least one useful thing here that you didn't know before.We've compiled some of the handiest computer tricks you should be taking advantage of. The ultimate goal is to help you become more productive by shaving valuable seconds off your workflow. Of course, you can always pass along these tips to your not-so-savvy friends and family members to help them become better PC users as well.The original tips & tricks guide was published back in 2013. We've since revised the article, pulled some tips that are no longer relevant, and added many more that we find to be must-haves on this list. The original guide was also very Windows-centric, and it continues to be however we've added a lot of macOS equivalents and information relating to shortcuts generally used by desktop power users.General TricksBring back a closed tab We have dedicated a section to web browsing further down below, but this one is too useful to be missed. Accidentally closed a tab? Simply press Ctrl + Shift + T to reopen the most recently closed tab and get back to what you were doing (Cmd + Shift + T on Macs).Window snapping and multiple monitor control Pressing the Windows Key + Arrow Keys will cause a window to quickly snap to each side of either monitor. Alternatively, hitting Shift + Windows Key + Arrows will cause the window to jump to the other monitor. While pressing Windows + P will allow you to quickly set up a second display or projector.As mentioned before, in macOS we favor leveraging the power of Mission Control to handle virtual desktops, switching between apps, and peaking at your desktop beautifully. Though Macs don't support window snapping out of the box, a $0.99 app called Magnet comes highly recommended.Password-protect files A simple way to lock down access to certain files is to create an encrypted archive. Odds are you already have installed a copy of 7-Zip, WinRAR, or The Unarchiver (Mac) or some equivalent. Create a new archive, select to encrypt its contents and password-protect them.Undo everywhere to fix those little mistakes Did you know you can undo almost any action? Ctrl + Z is the ultimate hotkey, and for sure you knew about it already, however, note that undoes doesn't just apply to type. If you accidentally delete or move a file, you can hit Ctrl + Z to bring it right back to where it was (Ctrl + Y will redo whatever you undid).YouTube keyboard shortcuts If you thought using the spacebar to pause a YouTube video was effective (except when the focus is elsewhere and it doesn't work), instead try using K for pausing, while J and L will step backward/forward 10 seconds. M works for mute. Super handy.Find your Wi-Fi password In Windows, go to the "Network and Sharing Center." Right-click on the Wi-Fi network connection icon > Wireless Properties. Click on the Show Characters box to show your Wi-Fi password.In macOS, all passwords are stored in the Keychain app. Use Spotlight to find "Keychain Access." Open the app and find your Wi-Fi network name in the list of saved credentials. Double click it and then click the box to show your password (it will require your OS level password).Adopt a Clipboard manager Once you're used to relying on a clipboard manager, the productivity boost works out similarly to how you become more efficient with multiple monitors or virtual desktops. We have an article dedicated to this, but in short, for Windows try ClipClip. For macOS use Flycut.Screenshot like you mean it Simply hitting the print screen on your keyboard is the easiest way to capture a screenshot. But Windows and macOS provide several other ways to screenshot, many of which are better options. But then, there's grabbing a screenshot and annotating. We love Monosnap for doing just that thanks to its simplicity, speed, and cross-platform support.Grab a photo from your phone How often have you found yourself wanting to take a picture and move that immediately to your workflow in your PC.Mac users Apple simplified this for macOS/iPhone owners with Continuity Camera. In any supported app, simply go to the top menu: select Edit > Insert From Your iPhone or iPad > "Take Photo" or "Scan Document." This will activate the camera on your iPhone, take a photo and it will automatically show up on your desktop.Windows Microsoft developed a side project to do the same with iOS and Android phones, though it's unfortunately not well maintained. Two good alternatives are AirDroid and Portal, or simply sync with Dropbox or Google Photos.Windows Power User Menu You can open a quick list of common power user destinations in Windows by right-clicking the bottom left of the start button on Windows 8 and 10 which opens a context menu with shortcuts to power options, the event viewer, device manager, and so on. This menu is also accessible by pressing the Windows key + X.Easily extract images from a Word (.docx) file Change the file name from .docx to .zip and open the file. The pictures will be in one of the directories.Enable 'Night Mode' on all your devices If you often work at night or simply like to read on a screen before going to sleep, this can be a game changer. We recommend using F.lux on both Mac and Windows, although both operating systems have some support for this already built-in. The same goes for your mobile devices.Find/delete large files wasting space A handy tool called Space Sniffer can be used to easily find which files and folders are taking up the most space on your drive. From there, you can delete them and open up a ton of storage space. Other Windows alternatives (free) include WinDirStat and TreeSize. On macOS, you can use Finder or Siri to find large files with no third party app, but we like to use GrandPerspective.Delete the Windows.old folder. If you have plenty of free space and don't mind the untidiness, you can simply ignore the folder and it should be deleted automatically 30 days after the update. But if you are strapped for storage space, you can use Windows' own tools to remove it with ease.Command prompt here In the Windows File Explorer, type "cmd" into the address bar and it will open the command prompt in that directory.Reduce the number of programs running at startup If your PC is taking too long to boot, it's probably because you have far too many programs running at startup. It's easy to reduce these and it will make your PC launch noticeably faster. Make sure you research what you are turning off as some processes might be needed by third party programs you have installed.Windows: Open the task manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) and head to the startup tab to configure what programs you want to launch with your system.Windows 7 and prior: Open run (Windows key + R) and enter MSConfig to access a window with a similar startup section.macOS: Go to System Preferences > Users & Groups > Select your user and click on the Login Items tab. You can remove or hide startup applications from here.Windows are hidden "god mode" folder Windows offers a centralized Control Panel for all of the OS settings, making it easy for users to tweak everything from desktop background to setting up a VPN. To enter this mode, create a new folder with this exact name (copy and paste it): God Mode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}. The folder icon will change to a Control Panel-style icon, and you will be able to jump in and change all kinds of settings.Typing TricksPaste the plain text of what was copied When you copy text from any source, programs will usually include any formatting that comes with it. To paste this as plain text, press Ctrl + Shift + V instead of the standard Ctrl + V, and the system will paste unformatted text. This also works on Mac: Cmd + Shift + V.Note that many but not all programs follow this parameter, particularly Microsoft programs like Word or Outlook don't, which is annoying. There are a few alternatives that go beyond copying and pasting in Notepad: 1) Ctrl + Alt + V will show a 'paste special' dialog box. 2) Ctrl + Spacebar will remove formatting in the already pasted text. 3) Download Puretext and choose a hotkey to always paste plain text with it.Delete an entire word Instead of deleting a single letter, pressing Ctrl + Backspace will delete the entire word behind the cursor. This makes deleting text quicker if you screw up a whole word.Move the cursor to begin of the next or previous word Moving the cursor around manually while typing is a great way to make your work take longer than it needs to. To speed up the process, move the cursor around with keyboard shortcuts. To move it to the beginning of the previous word, use Ctrl + Left Arrow. To move it to the beginning of the next word, use Ctrl + Right Arrow. In macOS, you can accomplish the same using the Option key. To select words/paragraphs as you're going, hold Shift + Ctrl + Arrow (up or down will select entire bodies of text).Emoji keyboard If you're addicted to using emoji, know desktop OS support them natively just like mobiles do. On Windows press the Windows Key +. (period) and on macOS Cmd + Control + Spacebar. An Emoji panel will appear so you can carry on, as usual, using all the expressions you want.Making sub and superscript text If you need to make a sub or superscript text (think exponents for superscript), press Ctrl + = for subscript and Ctrl + Shift + = for superscript.Use Windows' character map to identify and create foreign symbols Search the Start menu for "character map" and you should find a utility that lets you copy every character imaginable and even provides an Alt + Numpad code for later use. For example, the euro sign (€) can be made with Alt + 0128.Keyboard ShortcutsOpen the task manager directly If you want to bypass the interrupt that happens when pressing Ctrl + Alt + Del and jump right to the task manager, hitting Ctrl + Shift + Esc will launch it directly.Use Spotlight Windows built-in search is not useless, but it certainly is unreliable and slow. macOS' Spotlight on the other hand is brilliant. Hit Cmd + Spacebar to open an app by typing just the first 2-3 letters of its name, search for files, or even do calculations.Interrupt all processes Ctrl + Alt + Delete used to be a common PC shortcut, and one almost all power users are familiar with. The important thing to note is that it interrupts all processes, including the one that is bogging down your system, which can mean the difference between needing to restart or not. In macOS, you can also summon the Force Quit dialog box by using Cmd + Shift + Esc.Cycle through open windows Pressing Alt + Tab allows you to cycle through currently open windows (Alt + Shift + Tab will cycle backward). This makes switching back and forth between running processes quick and painless. In macOS, the shortcut is Cmd + Tab.Launch programs with your own hotkeys Right click the shortcut to any application in Windows, head into the properties, and in the shortcut tab you should see a "shortcut key" field where you can type your preferred launch combo. Also of note, if you click the "advanced" options in the shortcut tab, you can set it to run as an Administrator, which is particularly useful for creating a shortcut to an elevated Command Prompt. This could be set to launch with the keys Ctrl + Alt + Numpad 1 for example.Close the current program Typing Alt + F4 will close the program that is running. This is useful as it saves you time mousing over the "X" and clicking. People will often use this as a joke, telling you to press Alt + F4 to fix a problem. Don't fall for it unless you want to close what you are doing.Minimize all windows Sometimes you have a bunch of stuff running, and you want it all to go away so you can get to the desktop. Simply pressing Windows key + D will minimize everything you have up, which will save you some time pressing the minimize button for each window. It should be noted that Windows + M offers similar functionality, but there is no undoing, so Windows + D is the more favorable approach. In macOS we favor leveraging the power of Mission Control to handle virtual desktops, switching between apps, and peaking at your desktop beautifully.You can use the menu key on a keyboard to right click Not every keyboard has the key (shown above), but many do. Pressing the button will right click whatever you have in focus/selected in Windows.Close the current window/tab Stick of moving all the way to that X button? Press Ctrl + W and the current window will close. (Don't do it now, or you will miss the rest of the tricks!)Bring up the system information window This is so much quicker than digging this out the traditional way... Just press Windows + Pause/Break and the System Information panel will be ready to go. This might be the only use for the Pause/Break key you will ever find, so enjoy it!Use your keyboard to launch programs on the Windows taskbar Tapping the Windows key + the number that corresponds to the position of the program is a quick way to open them. For instance, if Chrome were the second icon on your taskbar and that's what you wanted to open, you'd hit Windows key + 2.Use your keyboard to navigate system tray icons Tapping the Windows key + B will automatically select the system tray area at which point you just have to highlight something with the arrow keys and hit enter to open it.Enable copy and paste in the Windows command prompt While you're tinkering with the command prompt shortcut, if you right click it > head to Properties > Options > and check the box next to "QuickEdit mode" you will be able to select text with left click, copy with entering and paste with right click.Web Browsing TricksJump to address bar There are a number of ways to jump right to the address bar from anywhere in the browser. Pressing Ctrl + L, F6, and Alt + D all accomplish this goal.Automatically add www. and .com to a URL You can shave off a couple of seconds typing in a URL by simply click Ctrl + Enter after you type the name of the site. Need .net instead of .com? Press Ctrl + Shift + Enter instead.Cycle through open tabs Pressing Ctrl + Tab while in a browser will flip between each one (Ctrl + Shift + Tab to go backward). This can be much faster than moving the mouse and clicking on a tab. Ctrl + Num (1, 2, 3, 4, n..) will also take you to a certain tab in that numeric order. Ctrl + 9 always brings you to the very last tab, even if it's beyond the ninth one.Scroll through pages with the spacebar Tapping the spacebar on a website will scroll down in full page chunks and hitting shift + space will take you back up.Instant image search (Chrome only) If you hold down the "S" key and right click on an image, it will open an image search on a new tab.Use private browsing The uses for not having cookies and history saved are obvious for certain activities, you know, like shopping for gifts on a shared computer (of course!). Pressing Ctrl + Shift + N will launch a new private in Chrome, Ctrl + Shift + P will do it in Firefox and Internet Explorer.Convert your browser into a notepad Type this into the address bar and you can write notes. Alternatively, while not as fast. Use Google Keep or Gmail's compose a mail to write notes and have those saved on the cloud as you type and go.Icon-only bookmarks on your toolbar You can delete the name of your bookmarks leaving only the icon so they take up less space on the toolbar. In Chrome: right click the bookmark > edit > delete the name and save.Use the scroll wheel Put your middle mouse button to use by clicking on links to automatically open them in a new tab/window. Also if you use the scroll wheel button on a tab, it will close it.Copy links quicker Right click the link like usual but tap E on your keyboard to copy the link.Make content editable Bring up the console on Chrome or Firefox (right click, Inspect). On the console enter the command document.designMode = "on" that will let you edit any text on the screen.Zoom In, Reset Zoom Use the browser magnifier to adjust a website for more comfortable reading. Ctrl/Cmd + (plus/minus sign) does the trick. To reset to the default zoom level use Ctrl + 0.File Management TricksRename a file quickly Right-clicking and selecting rename is not very efficient. Instead, press F2 while a file is selected to change its name. To alter the name of another file, type Tab without deselecting the current file. On Macs, hitting Enter will rename (which may sound counter-intuitive to Windows users) while Cmd + O is used to open.Cloud backup important files If you're working on a critical project, make sure you aren't backing up locally only. Services like Dropbox, Google Drive, or any of the other popular cloud storage solutions will do the legwork for you in the background. Of course, you can also throw the files on a thumb drive or external HDD to be extra safe, but backing up to the cloud can be done seamlessly.Rename files sequentially in Windows or Mac You actually don't need to download any programs to perform a batch file rename. Instead, you can select all the files you want to change, right-click the first one in the list, select rename (or use F2), and type in the name. This will automatically change all the other files with the same root name with a suffix: (1), (2), and so on.On Mac, you can do something similar. Select the files, then right click and an option to rename the whole batch as a series will show up.Select multiple files using the keyboard To select a bunch of files using your keyboard, you can press Shift + Down Arrow to select a single file or Shift + Page Down to select a large group of files at one time. Ctrl + A will select everything.Right-click drag files and folders in Windows And you'll be presented with a context menu containing options to move, copy, zip, or create a shortcut.Security TipsLock your computer if you get up Sick of your "friends" going onto your computer at work or home and posting things on your Facebook/Twitter page on your behalf? It's certainly an annoyance, but an easy one to prevent.Windows + L will lock your system right away, requiring a password (if you've set one) to log in again.On macOS use Cmd + Option + Power to log off. On the latest revision of macOS (High Sierra), a quicker option to simply lock the screen was added which works using the shortcut Cmd + Ctrl + Q.Scan suspicious files with VirusTotal If you're worried about a file being infected, you can upload it to VirusTotal to have it checked by a few dozen antivirus engines from the cloud. Often times someone has already uploaded the same file, sparing you the wait.See who is logged on to your router Software such as Wireless Network Watcher makes this particularly easy and even has alarms for when someone new appears. You can also do this by logging into your router (common router IP addresses) and checking for a list of wireless clients that should display the name of the device, its currently assigned IP address, and its MAC address.Permanently remove deleted data so software such as Recuva can't undelete files/folders Open a command prompt and enter cipher /w:C: to wipe deleted files from your C: drive (change the letter to target a different drive or folder). If you need to go the extra mile and use a file shredder program, check out Eraser (Windows) and FileShredder (Mac).Read installers Even major programs can install toolbars and other unwanted pieces of software during installation. Take a few seconds to read each step to make sure you are not agreeing to install something other than the program you were actually seeking. Far too often people just push next over and over, and end up with a browser covered in various search bars that just aren't needed. In the worst of scenarios, these can have nefarious intentions.Run programs on an infected PC Malware may prevent a computer from running certain programs. Changing the name of the .exe file can often override this. If that doesn't work, changing the extension to .com is another useful alternative, and the program will still be able to run despite the extension change.Other Third-Party App TricksSteam: Move games to another drive or partition Software such as Steam Mover used to be required for this process and although these third party solutions should still work, Steam now provides the ability to store games on multiple drives:Go to Steam > Settings > Downloads > Steam Library Folders, make a new Steam library folder on the new drive, then right click on an already installed game in your Steam library > Properties > Local Files tab > Move install folder... > Choose the directory > Move folder.Repeat last command in Excel Pressing F4 in Excel repeats the last command. A great example we found on Reddit: if you select a cell and highlight it yellow, you can then highlight any other selected cells yellow by pressing F4.Use Windows' Problem Steps Recorder This handy tool automatically records any mouse clicks and takes screenshots for you. If you need tech assistance with your computer, go to Start and search for "steps recorder". Use the tool and by the time you are finished, you can send this information, neatly compiled automatically, to the person helping you with the issue. It will make the process of finding the problem much easier for them, which means you will be able to get your system up and running faster.VLC: Fix unsynced audio and subtitles In the popular media player VLC, if your audio loses sync with the video or subtitles, there is an easy way to fix this. Simply pressing J or K will move the audio forward or backward. Similarly, to sync the subtitles you can press H or G.Expand your text to full page width in Microsoft Word We don't see this feature used quite enough and by default, Word leaves a lot of unused space toward the margins. Head to View > Zoom > and choose Text Width > OK. Now whatever you're writing should fill out most of the Word page.---Using these tips and tricks on a daily basis will most certainly make your time on the computer more enjoyable, or at least more practical.So, did you learn something that you didn't know before?Source: TechSpot

1. Use Google Chrome As Calculator:The Google Chrome Omnibox can act as a calculator. We can just type the calculation and in the auto-suggestion, the result will appear.In the same way, we can also do conversions. Just type what you want to convert and you can see the result.2. Use Google Chrome As Image Viewer:You can use Google Chrome as an image viewer. Just drag & drop that jpeg directly to your Google chrome to have a quick look.3. Use Google Chrome As Media Player:You can use Chrome to view several of the most common video, audio, and photo formats to save you the trouble of having to install or launch a separate media player application. Chrome keeps on-screen interface elements down to a minimum, so you might prefer to open up a podcast or a movie in a browser tab, for example. Just drag and drop the file into an open tab.4. Use Google Chrome For Quick Note:We can open a text editor in our browser. We can take notes in it easily . For that, just type or copy data:text/html,<html contenteditable> in the address bar and press enter. Then click on the screen to see the cursor. You can take notes on this screen now.5. Pin Your Frequently Used Tabs:Pin your favorite tabs to save space on your tab bar without losing quick access to your favorite pages. In the above picture, you can see we have five pinned tabs, which would have normally consumed our tab bar.To Pin, a tab right-click on any open tab and click Pin Tab.To unpin it, right-click on pinned tab and click Unpin Tab.6. Learn more about the sites you visit:You may not have given much thought to the little icon to the left of the Omnibox address bar, which can look like a padlock or a blank sheet of paper depending on the site you’re currently visiting. If you click once on it, you can see a wealth of information about the page you’re on, including its security credentials, the origin of the site, the permissions you’ve previously granted it (like fullscreen mode) and the existing cookies stored by the site.7. Bring up the Task Manager:Chrome has its own Task Manager —it shows you a list of all the open tabs and the background processes running in the browser at the moment, along with a number of system resources they’re using up. You’ll find the Task Manager most useful when you’re trying to troubleshoot problems with the browser, and you can quickly close down a tab or process by highlighting it and clicking End Process.To Open Task Manager, Press Shift + Esc or “Menu” icon in the top right corner, click More Tools, and then Task Manager. If you want to get real geeky click the stats for nerds click at the bottom of the Task Manager.8. Use the Autofill feature:Use the Chrome Autofill feature for automatically filling out any online form with common fields such as your name, e-mail, address, etc. To enter the Autofill values follow the steps below.1. Click on the “wrench” or “Menu” icon in the top right corner.2. Click Settings3. At the bottom of Settings, click Show advanced settings…4. Click Manage Autofill settings under Passwords and forms.5. In the Autofill settings window, click the Add new street address button.6. Fill out all address settings you want to be saved and click ok.7. Once complete try out your Autofill using the below form. To enter the values click on any of the below fields and select the name of your Autofill.9. Double-click for word definitions:Browser extensions can add all kinds of functionality to Chrome of course, but one of the best we’ve ever come across (and one we use every day) is the Google Dictionary utility. Once installed, you can double-click on a word inside Chrome to get a definition in a pop-up window, together with a link that leads to more information if you need it. It’s invaluable for those times when you want to know what a word means without interrupting your workflow.Download Dictionary Extension Here and Install It.10. Enable guest browsing:Someone wants to borrow your laptop—but you’re not keen on him or her messing around with your Facebook account or seeing the URLs that come up as suggestions in the Omnibox. The answer to your problem is the guest mode, which you can activate via the Enable Guest browsing tick box under People in Settings. To switch to the guest account, click on your username (top right), then choose Switch Person and Browse as Guest.11. Google image reverse search:Get the details of any photo from Google images, just go to Googe images and paste the URL of photo or upload any images to get the complete details of the photo.12. OK Google:You may have noticed in Google that there is a symbol of Mic in the search box. It is used for voice search. Just click on the Mic symbol and speak whatever you want. The result will show you based on your words which you have spoken.13. Define:if you want to know the meaning of any words quickly, then search Define+ your query.14. Search 2 queries in 1 tab:Another useful trick to save your time. You can search 2 queries in a single tab using OR operator. Just search Query 1 OR Query 2 and you will get the results of both queries.15. Access offline sites:If some sites are inaccessible to open due to some server issues, you can use Google cache to open the web page. Google cache is a copy of the web page which has already stored on Google’s server.Type cache:websiteURL.com and Google will display the copy of the webpage.16. Remove a site:If you want to remove a site from search results, then search for“Your Keywords” -site:websiteURL.com.Originally Posted at Techyuga.com