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Sketchup (formerly Google Sketchup) is 3D modeling software that’s easy to use and has an extensive database of user-created models available for download. You can use it to sketch (or import) models to assist with all kinds of projects—furniture building, video game creation, 3D printing, interior design, and whatever else you can think of. What Is Sketchup? SketchUp is an intuitive 3D modeling application that lets you create and edit 2D and 3D models with a patented “Push and Pull” method....

Computer mice have been around in one form or another for the better part of 50 years (or longer, based on your definition of invention), and for most of that time they’ve been paired with mouse pads. But modern optical and laser mice can track on just about any surface, unless you’re somehow using your computer on a sand bed. So do those nerdy-looking pads even serve a purpose anymore?...

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra isn’t just your run-of-the-mill tablet. It’s a crazy-powerful piece of tech with a massive 14.6-inch display, smooth 120 Hz refresh rates, performant Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, and a huge 11,200 mAh battery. In short, this thing is a media-consuming, web-browsing, task-crushing beast. Like with most Samsung devices, the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra also comes with DeX support. That means if you really want to put your new tablet to work, you can connect it to an external monitor to enable a PC-like interface that lets you get more done without needing to fire up your desktop....

If you have a media file with an unknown extension type, then getting it to easily play in your favorite media player can be a frustrating experience. Should you convert the file or is there a better solution? Today’s SuperUser Q&A post helps a reader deal with a problematic media file. 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....

It may not be the riot-gathering game it was at launch, but Pokémon Go continues to receive substantive updates from developer Niantic. Most recently, it introduced a catch bonus, which finally gives purpose to most of those medals you’ve been earning. The medal system in Pokémon Go has long been a source of wonder to many trainers. What exactly are they for? Yes, it’s cool to earn medals (sadly not badges, but no sense in splitting hairs), and they give you something with which to admire and track your progress, but that’s been about it....

Microsoft’s Xbox SmartGlass app allows you to launch games, browse TV listings, and control apps on your Xbox One. You can even use it to stream live TV from your Xbox One to your phone. It’s available for Android phones, iPhones, Windows 10 and 8, and even Windows phones. SmartGlass unfortunately doesn’t support game streaming, as the Xbox app for Windows 10 does, but it can still do a whole lot....

Wish Lists Wish Lists can be accessed from the Wish List menu. If you simply hover with your mouse pointer, you’ll be able to see your wish lists (if you’ve created any) and other options. If you click on the “Wish List” link, it will take you to the your page. You see we can sort items by date and price, filter items, and apply list actions such as printing or editing it....

Windows 10’s Bash shell finally has convenient copy and paste keyboard shortcuts, but they’re disabled by default for compatibility reasons. These shortcuts are available in the October 2018 Update, which was originally codenamed Redstone 5. To enable copy and paste keyboard shortcuts, right-click your Linux bash shell window’s title bar, and then select the “Properties” command. With Redstone 5’s Sets feature enabled, you have to right-click an empty part of the title bar—not on a tab....

If you’re looking for the simplest way to get started with your new Raspberry Pi, look no further. The Raspberry Pi foundation’s New Out Of Box Software (NOOBS) makes it easier than ever to get up and running with the powerful little project platform. Why Do I Want To Do This? Installing an operating system on the Raspberry Pi isn’t the most difficult task in the world, but it does require a battery of tools and a little bit of know how....

The greater the number of rows and columns in your Google Sheets spreadsheet, the more unwieldy it can become. Freezing or hiding rows and columns can make your spreadsheet easier to read and navigate. Here’s how. Freeze Columns and Rows in Google Sheets If you freeze columns or rows in Google Sheets, it locks them into place. This is a good option for use with data-heavy spreadsheets, where you can freeze header rows or columns to make it easier to read your data....

What Is Dynamic Range? In photography and videography, dynamic range refers to the range of light visible in a scene. It’s often measured in “stops” with the human eye being capable of seeing between 10 to 14 stops. Highlights that go beyond the bounds of a scene’s dynamic range may be blown out, while shadows will be dark and muddy. You can see an example of highlights that have been blown out in the image below....

Google Play’s web interface is a really convenient way to install apps on your Android phone. Unfortunately, it holds on to all of your Android devices—even ones you no longer have. Here’s how to hide them from that installation menu. Basically, every new Android device you add to your Google account is included in Play’s installation menu on the web. Now, most people aren’t going to be adding new devices every week, but users who like to flash custom ROMs often will see some weird effects: the ROM causes the device to be registered as a new unit on the account....

Notifications in Windows 10 are integrated into the Action Center. The white Action Center icon indicates that you have new notifications, and the number badge shows you how many. If you don’t want to see that badge, it’s easy to disable. RELATED: How to Use and Configure the New Notification Center in Windows 10 To disable the number badge, right-click the Action Center icon and select “Don’t show number of new notifications” on the popup menu....

If you access certain websites regularly, you can turn them into native Windows 10 apps. This lets you use your sites as if they were normal apps. You can use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge to create these apps, and we’ll show you how. How Website Apps Work Your website looks and works exactly the same in your app as it does in your web browser. The only difference you’ll see is that there won’t be any browser elements in your app window, such as the bookmarks bar, address bar, and other toolbar elements....

Microsoft Word allows you to add one, two, or three columns to your documents. It offers various types of columns as well as custom column breaks you can make. We’ll show you how to do that. RELATED: How to Remove Section and Page Breaks in Microsoft Word Create Columns in a New Word Document To make columns in a new Word document, first, open Microsoft Word on your computer and start a new document....

Google allows users to sign into non-Google websites, applications, and devices with their Gmail account. This saves time during the account creation process, and makes joining new services quick and easy. But when you no longer use said service or app, it’s a good idea to revoke its access to your Google account. RELATED: How to Secure Your Gmail and Google Account You can do this in your Google account’s Sign-in & Security page from a computer, but if you’re an Android user, there’s an even easier way....

If you switch between platforms a lot, you know it’s a hassle to move your stuff around. Fortunately, music files don’t have any sort of DRM tying them to a specific platform the way that movies do, so you can copy and paste your library around with ease. Or if your music is already in a cloud library, getting your music on a new device may be as easy as downloading a single app....

Opening ZIP files is something people associate with computers, but it can be done on a phone or tablet too. If you download a compressed file on your Android device, it’s not too difficult to extract its contents. We’ll show you how. Every Android phone comes with a file manager app, but they’re typically barebones and can’t open ZIP files. Thankfully, there are a number of apps on the Google Play Store that can do it for free....

Like other modern browsers, Firefox includes a few features that send your data over the Internet. Firefox contacts Mozilla, Yahoo, and Google’s servers by default. We don’t recommend you disable all these features, as they do useful things. But we’ll explain what the various options are so you can make informed decisions. If you just want to browse privately without leaving tracks on your own PC, open a private browsing window by clicking menu > New Private Window....

The new Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is out for the Switch, and it’s awesome. There are more ways to play with your friends (and subsequently lose them) than ever before. Some of those options are a little confusing, so we’re going to break down how to play with your friends, no matter where you are or how many Switches you have. Several people can play on one console with a split-screen....