Ever notice that some of your Google results have a little lightning bolt next to them? This means they’re part of Google’s AMP project. Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) project works like this: Instead of getting sent directly to a web page—say, our article on how to take photos at night—you get taken to a copy on Google’s servers. The URL is https://www.google.ie/amp/www.howtogeek.com/282487/how-to-take-photos-at-night/amp/?client=safari instead of https://www.howtogeek.com/282487/how-to-take-photos-at-night/. This only happens on mobile devices, and only for sites that have agreed to participate in this project....

The new Copyright Alert System, also known as the “Six Strikes” system, marks the beginning of ISPs in the USA attempting to police their subscribers’ Internet usage. The “punishments” include increasingly harsh alerts, bandwidth throttling, and restricting browsing activity. Now that the dust has begun to settle, let’s take a look at exactly what ISPs are doing and what this means for you. Update: ISPs ended the Copyright Alert System in January, 2017....

The gig economy looks like it’s here to stay. Although Uber still has the occasional battle with regulators, for the most part smartphone app-driven gig companies are popping up for every service imaginable. RELATED: Uber vs. Lyft: What’s the Difference and Which Should I Use? Want someone to pick up takeout from a nice restaurant that doesn’t normally deliver? What about run to the shop and grab a few batteries for your TV remote?...

At first thought, it seems that generating an accurate estimation of time should be fairly easy. After all, the algorithm producing the progress bar knows all the tasks it needs to do ahead of time… right? For the most part, it is true that the source algorithm does know what it needs to do ahead of time. However, pinning down the time it will take to perform each step is a very difficult, if not virtually impossible, task....

Once you start digging into a Linux system, you may find some confusing or unexpected things, like /usr/bin/false, for example. Why is it there and what is its purpose? Today’s SuperUser Q&A post has the answer to a curious reader’s questions. Today’s Question & Answer session comes to us courtesy of SuperUser—a subdivision of Stack Exchange, a community-driven grouping of Q&A web sites. The Question SuperUser reader user7326333 wants to know why some system users have /usr/bin/false as their shell:...

Bill Gates famously said “two years from now, spam will be solved” back in 2004. It’s now ten years later and more than 70% of emails are spam, according to Kaspersky. Why is spam still such a problem? While spam may never be fixed as long as email is around, the situation has improved a bit. Spam filters have become much more effective — it’s easy to forget how much they’ve improved over the past decade....

Back in the early days of Android, system updates were very random: they would roll out at different times, and often several times per year. Now, Google has taken a much more streamlined approach, releasing one major Android update per year and much smaller, security-focused updates once per month. But if you’re not running a stock Android handset that is updated by Google—like a Nexus or Pixel device—who knows when, or even if your phone will ever even see any of those updates....

What Is Wi-Fi 6E? Wi-Fi 6 and previous generations of Wi-Fi use the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz radio bands. A “Wi-Fi 6E” device is one that is capable of operating on the 6 GHz band, too. The 6 GHz spectrum should work similarly to WiFi 6 over 5 GHz but offers additional non-overlapping channels. As the Wi-Fi Alliance puts it, Wi-Fi 6E allows for “14 additional 80 MHz channels and 7 additional 160 MHz channels....

Google has hidden lots of quirky Easter eggs and fun games in its search engine. Below are some of the best, so just head to Google and type one of the following searches. Search: Anagram Did you mean nag a ram? Not exactly. An anagram is a word (or phrase) formed by rearranging the letters of a source word. Some popular examples are: Binary/Brainy Silent/Listen Dormitory/Dirty room When you type “anagram” in the Google Search bar, Google asks if you mean “nag a ram” because it’s an anagram of “anagram....

Microsoft Windows has changed a lot in the past 20 years, but there are many areas where it hasn’t. There are still a few visible features in Windows 11 that date back to Windows XP from 2001, or even earlier. In stark contrast to macOS, which breaks compatibility with legacy software on a semi-regular basis, Windows is designed to break as few old applications and games as possible. That has many advantages, but it also means some Windows components haven’t significantly changed in years, as altering them could cause a chain reaction of old applications breaking....

Most web browsers have been slowly phasing out User Agents, which send details about your computer and browser to sites. Starting in October 2022, the Chrome web browser will take another step towards ditching User Agent strings entirely. Traditionally, the User Agent string includes your web browser name and version, your operating system name and version, and the type of CPU in your device. Unlike your microphone and webcam, pages can access the User Agent without asking you first....

Modding Android is far from a new idea, and when it comes to bending the OS to your will, Xposed is one of the most powerful tools out there. While there are dozens of Xposed modules available, we’ve picked a handful of our favorites to help you step your Android game to the next level. What Is Xposed? In a nutshell, the Xposed Framework allows users to pick and choose what features they’d like and apply them to a stock ROM instead of constantly flashing new ROMs....

In the Google world, there are two store names you’ve probably seen. While the Google Play Store and the Google Store may sound similar, they are very different. Each one serves an important purpose in the Google ecosystem. What Is the Google Play Store? The Google Play Store—sometimes called simply “Google Play”—is the company’s digital marketplace. It comes pre-installed on Android phones and tablets as well as on Android TV and Google TV devices....

When you are busy working on your laptop, the last thing you need is a constantly flickering hard drive activity light distracting you. Is there an easy way to disable it or should you go with a more round-about solution? Today’s SuperUser Q&A post has some solutions to a frustrated reader’s problem. Today’s Question & Answer session comes to us courtesy of SuperUser—a subdivision of Stack Exchange, a community-driven grouping of Q&A web sites....

Windows RT and Windows 8 aren’t the same thing. While Windows RT has a desktop that looks just like Windows 8’s, Windows RT’s desktop is very limited. The difference doesn’t just matter to geeks; it matters to all Windows users. We’ve explained the difference between Windows RT and Windows 8 before. Unlike Windows RT, Windows 8 includes a fully functional desktop (although there’s no Start menu by default.) No Non-Microsoft Apps on the Desktop The most jarring change on Windows RT is that, while there’s a desktop present that looks just like the desktop found on Windows 8, you can’t install your own software on it....

Web browsers include a few search engines for you to choose from, but you can easily add more. Even if a website doesn’t offer an official search plugin, you can add any custom search engine you like with a few tricks. Google Chrome Google Chrome makes this pretty easy. First, visit a search engine (or a website with a search feature). Chrome will automatically detect and add the search engine, if that site supports this feature....

So you have a shiny new Android phone, equipped with a security-friendly fingerprint scanner. Congratulations! But did you know that, while useful on its own, you can actually make the fingerprint scanner do more than just unlock your phone? An app called Fingerprint Gestures can take that little scanner to the next level. Basically, this app allows you to do more with your phone’s fingerprint scanner. Much like the way Google’s Pixel phones can use the swipe down gesture on the scanner to show the notification shade, Fingerprint Gestures can bring this functionality (and a lot more) to basically any phone with a fingerprint scanner....

Adjust Keyboard Brightness on an Intel MacBook Air If you’re using a MacBook Air that was made before the 2020 M1 MacBook Air (when Apple transitioned to their own Apple Silicon chip), it’s actually quite easy to manually adjust the keyboard brightness. RELATED: How to Check if Your Mac Is Using an Intel or Apple Silicon Processor On your MacBook Air keyboard, press the F5 key to lower the keyboard brightness and press the F6 key to increase the keyboard brightness....

Forwarding an email is simple enough in Microsoft Outlook. But if you find yourself forwarding the same types of emails regularly, why not automate the task? You can automatically forward certain emails or even all of them. Whether you use Outlook on your desktop or on the web, we’ll show you how to set up email forwarding. By taking just a few minutes now, you can save yourself time later and move onto more important tasks....

If you have a Mac that’s always running low on space, macOS Sierra is a breath of fresh air. It includes a new tool that provides recommendations and helps free up space on your Mac. To find these features, click the Apple menu at the top-left corner of your screen and select “About This Mac”. Click the “Storage” tab in the window that appears and click the “Manage” button....