How to Shorten Man Pages Into Readable Explanations on Linux and macOS

When all else fails, read the manual. Command line users on Linux and Mac know they can type “man” followed by a command name to see a long, detailed explanation of that command. These man pages are useful but verbose. Sometimes all you need is a short, concise explanation of a command to refresh your memory. Here’s an easy way to get concise, practical explanations of commands used on the command line on Linux and Mac. It’s a command line app called “tldr”, after the abbreviation for “too long; didn’t read”. The tl;dr abbreviation is used to write or request...

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Facebook Messenger lets games monetize with purchases and ads

 Facebook is finally giving developers a reason to build games for Messenger while also opening a new revenue stream for the chat app. After launching HTML5 ‘Instant Games’ inside Messenger like Pac-Man, Space Invaders, and Words With Friends Frenzy in November 2016, today Facebook is allowing developers to add in-app purchases as well as interstitial and rewarded video ads. Players… Read More
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Facebook is now testing paywalls and subscriptions for Instant Articles

 A few months ago we reported that Facebook may begin testing paywalls and subscriptions for Instant Articles beginning in October. Well now it’s October, and surprise – Facebook has started testing subscription support for instant articles! Here’s how it will work: Facebook will start with two paywalled options for publishers to choose from: The first option is a metered… Read More
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Two Google alums just raised $60M to rethink documents

 When you open a Google doc or a spreadsheet, you get a blank spreadsheet and some documentation as to what you can do with it — and that’s pretty much where we’ve been for quite some time. But two MIT graduates, coming in from Microsoft and Google, have built up a team that for the past three years has quietly been trying to rethink how we approach documents. CEO Shishir… Read More

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Facebook Messenger lets games monetize with purchases and ads

 Facebook is finally giving developers a reason to build games for Messenger while also opening a new revenue stream for the chat app. After launching HTML5 ‘Instant Games’ inside Messenger like Pac-Man, Space Invaders, and Words With Friends Frenzy in November 2016, today Facebook is allowing developers to add in-app purchases as well as interstitial and rewarded video ads. Players… Read More

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Google Maps Now Lets You Explore the Solar System

You can now explore space using Google Maps, with Google having added images from the planets and moons that make up our solar system. This new imagery lets you zoom out from Earth before exploring Venus, Mercury, Mars, Pluto, Europa, Ganymede, Titan, and others in glorious technicolor. Google Maps has revolutionized the way we look at the world around us. It puts the whole of Planet Earth at our fingertips, letting homebodies explore foreign climes they’ll never visit in real life. And now, Google Maps is expanding out into the universe, allowing us all to become virtual astronauts. Space, Google’s...

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Google Play adds Android Instant Apps via a ‘Try it Now’ button, among other changes

 Google today is announcing a number of changes to its Google Play app store, the most notable being a new way to try apps immediately without having to first install them on your mobile device. The new feature takes advantage of “Android Instant Apps” technology – Google’s attempt at bridging the mobile web world with that of native applications. Instant Apps were… Read More
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Google will pay you $1000 to hack some of Android’s most popular apps

 Details are light at the moment, but a bit of news out of Google’s Playtime developer event this morning: the company is launching a Google Play bug bounty program that’ll encourage researchers to poke around and look for vulnerabilities in some of Android’s most popular third-party apps. Called the “Google Play Security Reward” program, the new program aims to… Read More
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Google Play adds Android Instant Apps via a ‘Try it Now’ button, among other changes

 Google today is announcing a number of changes to its Google Play app store, the most notable being a new way to try apps immediately without having to first install them on your mobile device. The new feature takes advantage of “Android Instant Apps” technology – Google’s attempt at bridging the mobile web world with that of native applications. Instant Apps were… Read More

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5 Online Threats That Could Ruin Your Raspberry Pi Experience

You’re happily using your Raspberry Pi. Perhaps it’s a game center, or a media center. Hopefully you’ve tried a few other uses for this incredibly versatile little computer. But is it secure? It’s relatively simple to change passwords and keep your Raspberry Pi secure. But installing software and using the Pi in a particular way can weaken any steps you might have taken. Here are five ways that online threats could ruin your Raspberry Pi experience, from retro gaming to hosting a website. Basic Raspberry Pi Security So many Raspberry Pi users forget the basics of computer security. Are you...

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Should I Remove My Laptop Battery To Increase its Life?

We all spend a lot of time on the go. And these days, a laptop is a vital part of anyone’s travel kit. Squeezing those last precious ounces of power from your portable lithium cell is a defining battle of the 21st Century. But how do you do just that? One eternal question relates directly to the battery. Does running your laptop on AC power damage the battery? Furthermore, should I remove the battery to increase its lifespan? Read on to find out the answers, and a few more useful laptop battery life tips. How Does a Laptop Battery Work?...

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Women of color at tech companies are few and far between

 Thanks to an analysis of EEO-1 data by Reveal News, we have a clear picture of just how many women of color (Native American, black, Latina, Pacific Islander, or two or more races) work at major tech companies. When tech companies release their diversity reports, they rarely, if ever, report intersectional data such as the percentage of women of color they employ. In early 2016, Slack became… Read More
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GoPro HERO6 vs. HERO5: Is It Time to Upgrade?

GoPro recently broke their two-year tradition by releasing the HERO6 Black only a year after the HERO5 series hit the shelves. The new camera promises the best video quality ever — but is it worth the hefty price tag? Or is the HERO5 series still the best way to go? 2016’s camera series packed a lot of value into very small housings. Let’s take a look at all of the available options and figure out which is best for you. The Highest of the High End: GoPro HERO6 Black The newest GoPro, as you might expect, has all of the...

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Have You Tried the New Google Calendar Yet?

Google Calendar just got more fantastic. We’ll show you what’s new and how to access the new version. There’s so much more to the app than meets the eye. For example, did you know it integrates with several email clients? Or that you can use it to track your goals? You can even sync it with the Windows 10 taskbar. However, the app always had one major flaw: the design. Google Calendar felt like it was stuck in the 2000s. And while apps like News, Keep, and Drive have been given an overhaul in recent years, Calendar was left behind....

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The Newest Smart Light Bulbs You Need to See

Smart bulbs have come a long way since Philips Hue introduced its first iOS-controlled lighting appliance in 2012. Today’s systems come in more bulb sizes and styles, with some not even looking like traditional lights. Instead, they’re more like contemporary art. Perhaps best of all, growing competition has allowed the price for many smart lighting systems to decrease significantly, although expensive ones do remain. In this article, you’ll learn more about some of the newest smart lighting products on the market, and the ideal uses for each. Let There Be Light and Music In late 2016, Nanoleaf introduced a new...

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Snaps raises $6M to expand its marketing platform for messaging apps

 Snaps has raised $6 million in Series A funding for what it calls its Conversational Marketing Cloud. By that, it’s referring to a suite of tools that allows businesses to promote themselves through messaging. CEO Christian Brucculeri said Snaps is differentiated by its “write once and deploy everywhere approach,” allowing marketers to build things like chatbots and emoji… Read More

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Plex for Kodi: What Is It and Why Do I Need It?

If you regularly read our articles about Plex or Kodi, you’ll know we refer to them as two separate entities. That’s entirely accurate — the two apps are competitors. They both want to be the portal through which you watch your locally-saved media. However, did you know that there’s an official Plex addon available for Kodi? In many ways, it provides the best of both worlds. But what exactly does the Plex addon offer? Why is it worth installing? And do you even need it? We’re going to answer all of these questions and more. Keep reading to find out...

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The canaries in a coal mine

 I’ve seen startups come and go over the years and I was particularly interested to see what happened to August Smart locks today. The company originally tapped Yves Behar to make a better smart lock, one that would meld with the sensitivities of a certain kind of smart home stylist with the high-concept, high-tech design of the Nest thermostat. The products, while beautiful, were unusable… Read More

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Why TickTick Is the Best To-Do App for Android

If you want to maximize productivity, you need a to-do app. Offloading task management from your brain lets you focus your mental energy on what’s important: the task you’re working on. But finding a to-do app that fits your style can be tough. I’ve gone through dozens of such apps in many years, always migrating to the next because the previous was too basic, too bloated, too slow, too clunky, too ugly, too pricey, etc. But once I discovered TickTick about a year ago, I’ve never looked back. Note that I’m the kind of guy who loves trying new apps...

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Swedish lock giant Assa Abloy acquires smart lock maker August Home

 The smart home market continues to heat up, and the legacy giants do not want to get locked out: quite literally. This morning, Assa Abloy, the $23 billion Swedish lock giant that owns Yale and many other brands — announced that it is buying US-based smart lock maker August Home to double down on new technology.  Terms of the deal are not being disclosed but we have asked both August… Read More

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Learn Photo Editing in Photoshop: Get the Basics Down in 1 Hour

Photoshop is the best program you can get for processing your photos, but it can be daunting when you first use it: it’s designed for professionals, after all. The good news is that Photoshop is a lot more accessible to beginners than you might imagine. You can get the basics sorted very quickly. You’ll be able to tidy up your shots, fix the colors, make them more punchy, and prepare them for printing or sharing inside just an hour. Start the clock, and let’s get going. (If you don’t have it yet, you can buy a copy of Photoshop here...

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How to Always Open Directions in Google Maps on iOS

Choosing your default apps in iOS has long been a serious shortcoming of Apple devices. In fact, while previous versions of Apple’s operating system made it a little bit easier to look up directions in Google Maps rather than in Apple Maps, that is no longer the case. Previous workarounds (like using Siri or the ability to open other apps from within Apple Maps) no longer work. So if you are like many who still prefer Google Maps over Apple Maps, how do you ensure that your directions always open in Google Maps? Use Google Products One of the easiest ways to ensure that...

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How to Prevent Microsoft Edge From Spying on Your Webcam and Microphone

Have you noticed that every other website asks for personal information these days? Click to a page and your browser will alert you about permissions for sending notifications or accessing your camera and microphone. Aside from video chat sites, you probably don’t ever want to grant these permission. Windows lets you revoke the ability for sites to use your camera and microphone in Microsoft Edge. If you’ve accidentally accepted requests for sensitive info, or just don’t want these permissions active, you should toggle this setting to ensure no sites are spying on you. Edge used to allow you to fine-tune permissions...

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Hiya, a Whitepages spinout, nabs $18M to for its smart caller ID technology

 Hiya came to life a year ago when it was spun out by Whitepages to take on TrueCaller and others in the world of smart caller ID services. Using machine learning and a vast database of calling data (3.5 billion calls to date), Seattle-based Hiya’s mission has been to supercharge the humble phone call — by providing detailed information about who is calling you, whether it’s… Read More

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