Did you know you can now swipe type on your iPhone or iPad keyboard? This feature is enabled by default, but if you haven’t tried it yet, give it a shot! You might be surprised how much easier (and faster) it allows you to type. Let’s take a look at QuickPath, Apple’s fancy name for its version of the swipe-to-type keyboards Android owners have been using for the better part of a decade....
Some of the most iconic images in the world are sports photos: Muhammad Ali standing over Sonny Liston, Usain Bolt celebrating his world record breaking sprint in the Olympics, Joe DiMaggio batting against the Washington Senators in 1941…whether you know these images by my descriptions or not, you’ve almost certainly seen them. There’s something about sports images that makes them stick out. So, let’s look at how to take our own great sports photos....
How much bandwidth and data are the devices on your network using? Bandwidth hogs can slow down your entire network, and per-device data usage is important if your Internet service provider imposes a bandwidth cap. Unfortunately, it’s tough to get a complete picture of your bandwidth and data usage on a normal home network. Your best best is a custom router firmware — but there are options even if you don’t want to use one of those....
Windows 10’s “Focus Assist” feature is a “Do Not Disturb” mode that hides notifications. Windows automatically activates it when you’re playing PC games or mirroring your display—and you can have Windows automatically activate it on a schedule, too. This feature was added in the April 2018 Update. Focus Assist replaces the “Quiet Hours” feature included with previous versions of Windows 10, and is much more powerful and configurable. RELATED: Everything New in Windows 10’s April 2018 Update, Available Now...
Since smartphones have become more commonplace, many of you have probably given up wearing a watch in favor of having your phone tell you the time. You can also use your iPhone as an alarm clock, a timer, and a stopwatch, as well as a large timepiece. If you haven’t yet succumbed to the Apple Watch craze and have gotten used to not wearing a watch, you’ll be glad to know (if you don’t already) that the “Clock” app on your iPhone is capable of doing more than just telling you the time (in all times zones)....
A new version of the Apple’s desktop operating system is here, and with it comes a whole slew of interesting new features. Here are some of the best to watch out for. Perhaps the biggest change coming to OS X is that it isn’t OS X anymore. Now, it’s called macOS, and this version will be named Sierra. As updates go, this one introduces quite a few new features, but it’s hardly what we’d consider revolutionary....
Regardless of what you’re looking for, there will be a smart device that can do it. Check out smart video doorbells, security cameras, and locks for home security. For convenience, browse through smart displays, robot vacuums, speakers, and lights. To save on money, look at smart thermostats, sprinklers, and plugs. Always check out the device’s features before making a purchase. Most smart devices are capable of more than you might expect....
What Are Logs? In short, a log—also called a log file—is the record of events between two servers. When you visited this web page, your computer reached out to How-To Geek’s server through your internet service provider’s networks. Both the ISP and our server made note of that in their logs. Logs are available to your systems administrator (your ISP or boss, if you’re at work) as well as the websites you visit....
A few years back, Intel noticed that less and less people were as interested in buying desktop and tower PCs as they were during the roaring 90’s. As sales continued to decline for the dinosaurs of modern computing, the company decided to mix the best of both worlds up in a blender to see what came out the other side, and their new line of NUC computers are the result of that experiment....
Streaming cable replacements are becoming a much more appealing option for cable cutters across the board, with more choices available than ever before. Hulu’s Live TV option is a relative newcomer to the scene, but is it worth it? What is Hulu with Live TV? Essentially, this is Hulu’s way of competing with companies like Sling by tacking live TV on top of its existing service. Hulu with Live TV bundles live TV service with its base streaming package....
Windows 10’s second big update, dubbed the “Anniversary Update”, is finally here. This is a huge update that touches every corner of the operating system. It includes many, many more changes than the November update did. The Anniversary Update will report itself as version 1607, despite the fact that it technically launched in August instead of July. If you don’t have it yet, try checking for updates in Windows 10’s Settings > Update & Security....
Creating bootable CDs and DVDs tends to be a simple, straightforward process, but why is it more complex when creating bootable flash drives? Is there really that much difference between the two? Today’s SuperUser Q&A post has the answer to a curious reader’s question. 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 William wants to know why creating a bootable USB drive is more complex than creating bootable CDs:...
Is Windows, Linux, Android, or another operating system using a lot of RAM? Don’t panic! Modern operating systems use RAM as a file cache to speed things up. Assuming your computer is performing well, there’s nothing to worry about. While it may seem counterintuitive to those of us who remember our computers always being starved for RAM, high RAM usage means your RAM is being put to good use. Empty RAM is wasted RAM....
Google Chrome is based on Chromium, an open-source browser project. Anyone can take the Chromium source code and use it to build their own browser, renaming it and changing whatever they like. That’s why there are so many alternative browsers based on Google Chrome—but you don’t necessarily want to use most of them. Many web sites have recommended these browsers in the past—including us, in this very post. We’ve since rewritten this article to discuss the problems with some of these alternative browsers, and why we no longer recommend using them—with a few exceptions....
Whether you’re typing an email in your browser or writing in a word processor, there are convenient keyboard shortcuts usable in almost every application. You can copy, select, or delete entire words or paragraphs with just a few key presses. Some applications may not support a few of these shortcuts, but most applications support the majority of them. Many are built into the standard text-editing fields on Windows and other operating systems....
But before you buy a second-hand Mac, you should run a few checks to make sure you don’t get stung first. The Basics of Buying a Second Hand Mac Buying any high-value item second-hand can be a nerve-wracking experience. This is true whether you’re purchasing from a private seller you found on Facebook Marketplace or a second-hand retailer on the high street. At the very least, you should request some time with the computer in person to check things out for yourself....
You love technology, but not everyone does. For many people computers are confusing, even scary. Malevolent actors know this, and try to deliberately trick people online. From ads that look like download buttons to ransomware pop-ups, the web is full of deception-based design, intended to take advantage of the less technically inclined. In theory, this is part of why app stores are useful. Users afraid of being scammed on the open web can browse the Mac App Store with confidence, knowing that Apple’s walled garden will protect them....
Clean the Front-Facing Camera Your iPhone’s display attracts grease and grime, and the front-facing camera can easily become obscured. This is especially true after taking a phone call, where pressing the phone to the side of your head and transfer sweat or sunscreen. The camera array at the top of your iPhone display doesn’t just include a camera but an array of sensors. These sense depth, proximity, ambient light, infrared, and a standard camera image and are used by your iPhone to figure out whether or not to unlock your device....
With so many musical genres, it’s no surprise there are plenty distortion pedals out there. But what makes them so different? Let’s take a closer look at what happens to audio signals as they pass through these relatively simple devices. Distortion is a general term for any modification to an audio signal that provides a significant alteration. The world of music indeed has quite a few different types. But how does it all work?...
Data Caps Are Still Too Common We think data caps are awful and an antiquated practice that shouldn’t even exist. But if you’re stuck with an ISP that has a cap, you’ve probably thought about it before. Maybe you’ve even taken some steps to monitor your data usage out of concern you’d be hit with overage fees. But even then a data cap can feel kind of abstract. It’s certainly a concrete number and your ISP will be sure to let you know if you blow through it—somebody has to pay the $-per-GB overage fees after all—but what does using up all your data look like?...
