10 Ways to Customize Windows 10 With Classic Shell

Windows 10 is great out the box, but there’s so much customization you can do to make it even better. We’re going to show you how to use Classic Shell, a third-party program that focuses on tweaking the Start Menu, Taskbar, and File Explorer. From changing the Start icon, making the Taskbar fully transparent, to checking for Windows updates on shutdown, there’s so much that Classic Shell can do. If you have your own Classic Shell tips and tricks to share, let us know in the comments below. Download Classic Shell First things first: head over to the Classic Shell...

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7 Reasons Why Gamers Need a Gaming-Friendly VPN

Getting the gaming experience right can be tricky. You’ve sorted out your display and sound system, installed the right graphics card for your PC, and ensured you have a good seating position. Before long, you’ll perhaps be distracted by cooling for top performance, or maybe develop an interest in live streaming. But what about the advantages that using a virtual private network (VPN) might bring? Whether you have it set up on your gaming PC or console — or on your home router — a VPN account can improve the gaming experience in ways you maybe didn’t consider. Below, we’re...

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How to Build a Unique Website Without Code Using WIX

If you run any kind of business these days, then you need a website — even if your business isn’t conducted online. Not only does a website legitimize your business in the eyes of customers and/or clients, it provides a way for them to find your business in the first place. Similarly, if your career involves professional work, then a well-made personal website can set you apart from your competition. Yes, this personal website should be in addition to LinkedIn. (You do have a LinkedIn profile, don’t you?) Fortunately, such websites are easy to make as long as you keep...

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How the War on Terror Is Affecting Your Online Privacy

The war on terror can seem pretty relentless. It’s understandable if you feel overwhelmed at times by the threat of ISIS (although you might know the group as IS, ISIL, or Daesh), for example. Extremist groups are determined to take dominance over our lives, but we don’t have to bow to such pressure. We shouldn’t. Nonetheless, it is affecting your privacy. The gray line between right and wrong is an ever-expanding area. Here’s how your privacy is being infringed, supposedly in the fight against terror… Why Does This Matter? Let’s get this out the way first: many will tell you...

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Amazon 101: All Your Basic Questions Answered

Amazon is the world’s third largest retailer, valued at almost $430 billion. It’s ranked 83rd on Forbes’ Global 2000 list of the world’s biggest companies. And in 2017, Fast Company named Amazon “the world’s most innovative company.” The growth of Amazon seemingly knows no bounds. What was once a modest online bookstore is now a juggernaut of a company, with its influential fingers in more pies than you could imagine. This guide should be of some use to help you understand a little more about Amazon, how it came to be, what it offers, and exactly what it’s working on....

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In Case of Emergencies, You’ll Want These 7 Smart Devices Installed

Nobody wants to deal with an emergency, but sometimes life throws us curveballs. Unfortunately, we can’t live our lives constantly looking over our shoulders. Thankfully, with the advent of smart technology, we don’t need to. Reliable and responsive smart devices can essentially keep looking over your shoulder on your behalf, freeing you from worry or concern. Make sure you’re well-prepared for the next big crisis in your life before it happens by installing these seven smart devices. 1. Water Sensors If you live on a floodplain, water sensors might not be too useful. Sadly, there’s not much you can do...

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How to Convert an Image With Handwriting to Text Using OCR

Do you need to digitize handwritten notes to edit or index them? Or would you like to copy text from the picture of a handwritten quote? What you need is something called an optical character recognition (OCR) tool. OCR tools analyze the handwritten or typed text in images and compare it with fonts in a database or check it against known features of letters. Some tools even have spell checkers that give additional help in the case of unrecognizable words. Here are six of the best OCR tools available. 1. Microsoft OneNote Availability: Windows, Mac, Web, iOS, and Android Microsoft...

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How to Instantly Boost the Accuracy of Search Results on Google and Bing

How do you search Google and Bing? A few simple keywords plus blind hope that the search engines will return the results you wanted? Search engines are powerful, but they can’t read your mind. That’s why the best way to search still requires the use of boolean search operators. But who wants to memorize all the different search operators? It’s a pain, and that’s why most people never actually practice advanced searching. Fortunately, there’s a solution. Advangle (Beta) is a web form that builds advanced search queries for you. In just a few clicks, you can put together complex search queries and immediately see the results in...

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How to Find Out the Reading Time of Any Book

Perhaps you’ve decided you want to read more. We’ve shared advice on how to make your way through more books than ever, but perhaps you’re still having trouble because you’re reading the wrong books. If you’re a slow reader, a short book that you finish quickly might help you feel more motivated than a long book that slows you down. Likewise, bringing a short book with you on a long trip could leave you with nothing to do. That’s where How Long to Read comes in. Search for any book, and you’ll see some basic information about it including the...

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How to Get Facebook Group Notifications Without Leaving a Comment

Facebook groups with thousands of like-minded members are often packed with useful information. But when that many people congregate in one place, it also means you have to wade through a lot of irrelevant comments to find the information you need. A particularly annoying brand of comment in Facebook groups consists of the word “Following,” the letter F, an emoji of two feet, or something to that effect. People leave these comments to receive notifications for new comments on that post. But there’s a better way to do this! Instead of typing a comment that doesn’t add anything to the conversation, you...

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Last Chance: 3 Places to Buy an iPod Before They’re Gone Forever

Looking back, it’s hard to recall how revolutionary iPods were when they hit first hit the shelves 15 years ago. We’d been struggling with Walkmans and Discmans for years — cassettes could only hold a handful of music, and CDs skipped every few seconds. iPods changed everything. Suddenly, we could walk around with 10 GB of music in our pocket. Remember, this was at a time when services like Napster and LimeWire were king. It was heaven. Sadly, any music aficionado who saw the recent news about the discontinuation of the iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle likely shed a tear. These...

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Disney Is Launching a Streaming Service to Rival Netflix

If you enjoy watching Disney movies on Netflix then you’d better make the most of it. Because Disney has announced it’s planning to launch its own streaming service in 2019. Which means it’s current distribution deal with Netflix is coming to an end. That Mickey sure is a tough customer. Disney and Netflix have forged a good relationship over the years. It’s been beneficial for both parties too, with Disney getting to stream its films on a popular platform, and Netflix gaining subscribers as a result. Now, however, Disney is ready to strike out on its own, with a streaming...

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Top 5 Freeware Registry Cleaners That Improve PC Performance

Like disk defragmentation, registry cleaning has fallen by the wayside. Back in the 90s and early 2000s, the Windows Registry used to be a performance bottleneck. Hard drives and CPUs were slow, the registry itself was poorly optimized, and that made systems slow to a crawl over time. Nowadays, hardware is so fast that it’s negligible. And yet many still swear by registry cleaners. If your system is old, you may get a performance boost from cleaning up the registry. It may also be helpful if you have a slow HDD. Or it might just make your system feel faster...

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You Can Now Listen to Spotify on the Xbox One

If you own an Xbox One you can now use Spotify to soundtrack your gaming. This is thanks to Spotify finally releasing an Xbox One app, several years after Spotify made its debut on the PlayStation 4. Now all you need to do is match the right music to the right game, and you’re all set. Spotify is the most popular streaming music service around, with 60 million paying subscribers and 140 million total active users. Spotify is available on a range of different platforms, including the PlayStation 4, but the Xbox One has never been honored with its presence....

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18 of the Best Free Audiobooks You Need to Hear

Some books should be on everyone’s to-read list — but not everyone has time to read every book they want to read. That’s where audiobooks come in. Even if you don’t have the time to sit down and read a book, these recordings will help you experience some of the greatest literature in human history. And because they’re all free, you can get started right away! Here are 18 of the best free audiobooks we could find for your listening pleasure. 1. Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen’s tale of romance is a classic for a reason. It’s exquisitely written, contains...

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Get A Massive 20000mAh Powerbank For Only $42 [US]

If you’re looking for a giant battery, today is the day to pick one up, as a 20000mAh Anker is available at an all-time low price of $41.99. Rather than just list the deals (Amazon already does that), we analyze the value of the discount and the quality of the product. Here’s how we rate the deals to make it quick and easy for you to decide if they’re worth getting: Must-Buy: The lowest price ever and a deal that hasn’t been seen often. Good: At or close to the all-time low, but has been available at that price other...

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