Will These Android Apps Replace Your Doctor?

Apps are constantly making our lives more convenient. Now you can order food and groceries, become more productive, and even access advanced artificial intelligence assistants while using your smartphone at home. But are apps going so far as to replace visits to medical professionals such as doctors or psychologists? It seems a few apps are hoping to do this — with a few fledgling options that are already available to consumers. Why Would You Choose an App Over a Doctor? While most people would prefer to receive medical advice straight from a professional who has examined them, this isn’t an...

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How Social Networks Can Help Your Self-Improvement Goals

We often think of self-improvement as a pretty solitary activity. But connecting it with other people can be hugely valuable. And of course, social networks are the easiest way to do that today. The key is to find what motivates you. For some people, it’s the potential public shame. For others, it is about finding people who share the same goals. Even a virtual pat on the back can be enough to keep you going. Use Social Networks If You “Cheat” Easily The process of forming a good habit can take many days. And that phase is the hardest part,...

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Windows 10 Crashing With a Blue Screen of Death? How to Troubleshoot It

It comes without warning and has the potential to ruin hours upon hours of work. I am, of course, referring to the infamous Windows “blue screen of death” (BSOD) error message. The BSOD is an error screen display which can occur within Windows 10 for a variety of reasons. Anything from software to hardware conflicts can create a BSOD. Unfortunately, the reasons for a BSOD can remain a mystery until the user — or a PC technician, at a significant cost — identifies and fixes the problem. Even for tech wizards, a BSOD can mean several hours of aimless troubleshooting....

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Is Your Password Manager Secure? 5 Services Compared

By now, it should be apparent that you need to use a password manager. Why? Well, consider the standard steps for keeping your account secure: Don’t use the same password on multiple services. Use extended mix of uppercase, lowercase, numerical, and special characters. Change your passwords frequently. Those three basic tenets mean that unless you have an incredible memory, there’s no way you can possibly hope to remember all your credentials without writing them down somewhere. Of course, you can’t save them in Excel for security reasons, writing them using pen and paper is no good when you’re away from...

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Facebook Launches “Watch” As a YouTube Killer

Facebook has launched Watch, a dedicated platform for online video. Watch will replace the existing Video tab, and be populated by shows. I know, this new terminology is hard to understand. Watch represents Facebook making a concerted effort to compete with YouTube et al. Video is becoming an increasingly important medium online. From streaming sites to vloggers sharing their lives, from viral videos to websites publishing videos. YouTube popularized online video, but plenty of other sites are now trying to muscle in on their territory. Including Facebook. A New Platform for Shows on Facebook The social network describes Watch as...

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Have You Tried These 10 New Facebook Messenger Features Yet?

As of 2017, Facebook Messenger has a whopping 1.2 billion users. But of those users, only a tiny proportion use the app to its full potential. Spread all around Messenger are myriad tools that many of us are yet to discover. We’ve covered 21 of these hidden features before, including the ability to share your exact location, search GIFs, use Messenger as a boarding pass, and much more. But we’ve done some digging and found even more features that could make Messenger more useful for you. Check these out below, and if there are any we’ve missed between these two...

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The Enduring Legacy of Lara Croft, Tomb Raider

There are a few female video game characters that stand out above the rest: Samus from Metroid. Jill and Claire from Resident Evil. Mona Sax. Tifa Lockhart. Ellie from The Last of Us. The Boss. Uncharted‘s Elena Fisher. But none hold a candle to Lara Croft in popularity, legacy, or controversy. Lara is one of the most beloved — and criticized — characters in the video game canon. She evokes heated debates on feminine strength, the male gaze, gender representation, and power. Tomb Raider is one of the most successful franchises in video game history. And Lara’s wide appeal is very much...

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Chuwi Hi-Dock Desktop Charger Review (and Giveaway)

Our verdict of the Chuwi Hi-Dock 4-Port USB Desktop Charger:If you need an adequate USB charger or device stand, the Chuwi Hi-Dock 4-Port USB Desktop Charger is worth a look. But actually trying to charge a device in the stand is another matter as most device are too top heavy. 510 We're giving away a Chuwi Hi-Dock 4-Port USB Desktop Charger. Keep reading to find out how to win!The number of devices that need to be charged via a USB cable in some form continue to multiply on what seems to be a daily basis. That leads to a small...

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Everything You Need to Know About WordPress and Other CMSes

For the average internet surfer, viewing web content is simple. You open a browser, type in a URL, and voila! The page shows up. But on the other end, there’s software working hard to serve that page up for you. And a large number of those servers are leveraging content management systems in order to create and serve your favorite content. What actually happens when you “open” a page from a CMS? Let’s look at the different parts of the systems that bring content to your screen. The Early Web Improvements in Web Hosting The late 1990s — when the web began...

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How to Watch the U.S. Solar Eclipse Online for Free

On August 21, North America will enjoy a total solar eclipse. The moon will pass directly between the Sun and the Earth, causing the Sun to light to be “occulted.” Contrary to popular belief, total solar eclipses are fairly common events. On average, the planet experiences one every 18 months. The last one happened over Indonesia, Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands in March 2016. Nonetheless, the upcoming eclipse will mark the first time in 99 years that a total eclipse will be visible across the entire contiguous United States. It’s even 39 years since a total eclipse was visible from...

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This Site Shows How Long It Takes to Beat Any Video Game

Have you ever wanted to know how long a video game is before starting it? Unlike movies which have a set running time, it could take different people varying amounts of time to get through a game. Depending on how you value games, paying full-price for a game you can play for dozens of hours could be worth it. On the other hand, you’ll find many small games only costing a few dollars that you can play through in a few hours. Before you buy a game, you should check out the website How Long to Beat. Using the search...

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Here’s an On-Screen Dictionary for Fictional Characters, Places, and Terms

IBM Watson counted more than 2,000 characters in the Game of Thrones book series. Now imagine trying to track them all and their bios in your head. Tough. This is where The Fictionary can be a huge help: “A free look-up capable custom e-book dictionary of fictitious terms, places, and people in literature. Created by author provided content or community wikis.” Yes, it is a dictionary for fiction literature. Install these sets of custom dictionaries and understand fictitious terms in e-readers and Kindles. Now, those 2,000 characters fighting and dying throughout the seven kingdoms will seem more familiar. The Little Fictionaries Dave Byard...

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Make Gmail Less Distracting by Pausing Incoming Emails for a Duration of Time

The internet hasn’t done our attention spans any favors. Hop online for any reason and you may find yourself down the rabbit hole of Twitter, Wikipedia, Reddit, or whatever else happens to catch your eye. Incoming emails can also distract from tasks at hand — but with one extension, you can banish not only notifications but also the messages themselves! The browser extension Boomerang, known for scheduling emails using Gmail, can also be used to pause incoming messages. The extension is available for Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Safari web browsers. Once it’s installed, load your Gmail account and authenticate your account. There are two...

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Audible Wants Your Dogs to Listen to Audiobooks

Audible has launched a new initiative called Audible for Dogs. This is exactly what you’d expect it to be: a place for your canine friends to listen to audiobooks. Which sounds crazy, but actually makes a lot of sense once you delve deeper. And Audible has the science to back it up. It turns out that audiobooks can keep dogs calm when their owners are away from home. A study conducted in 2015 showed that audiobooks outperformed music in reducing stress in dogs. A subsequent study has backed up these claims, leading inevitably to Audible for Dogs. Audible for Dogs...

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You Can Now Try the New Outlook.com Beta

Microsoft has been busy improving Outlook.com, making significant changes to the UI and introducing several new features. The company is now keen to release the new Outlook into the wild. However, the new features clearly need to be tested first, which is where you come in. Despite the rise of social networking and messaging apps in recent years, email is still important. These days it tends to be used for more formal lines of communication, which means it’s more crucial than ever to have a solid and dependable email provider. Such as Outlook.com. The Outlook.com Beta Is Now Live Microsoft...

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Before You Study IT, Know What You’re Getting Into

Information Technology (IT) has become such a widespread career choice. But few people actually know what IT is and what its discipline entails. Let’s take a look at the facts. We’ll give IT a proper definition, discuss its many facets, and list the skills that any skillful IT worker must have. What Exactly Is Information Technology? Look at different reputable sources, and you’ll find varying definitions of what IT means. Most will serve you fine, but for the purposes of this post, we’ll refer to IT as: The use of an organization’s computer systems — including physical hardware as well...

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Tinder Is Awful for Finding Friends, Use One of These Services Instead

Loneliness is a silent killer. To say it’s scary would be an understatement. People make art and music pieces to spread similar messages around those suffering from the feeling of loneliness — “You’re not alone” and “This will pass, too.” Sometimes knowing you’re not alone is enough. But for those who are tired of listening to the same reassuring messages and are ready to take an active approach in fighting loneliness, there’s another way. Plenty of resources on the internet will offer new friends, but only a few of them will deliver on the promise. We will cut to the...

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