Why You Need a PS4 VPN — And How to Set One Up

If you’re a regular MakeUseOf reader, you already know we recommend virtual private networks (VPNs) all the time. It makes your internet traffic more secure. Prevents specific types of monitoring and targeting. Helps you bypass georestrictions. And it can even improve your online gaming speed. The same is true of using a VPN for your PS4. You might not think your game console needs a VPN, but there are lots of advantages to doing so. Let’s take a look at those advantages and then get into how to set up a VPN on a PS4. Why Your PS4 Needs a VPN...

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Grab Yourself All Kinds Of Goodies With Today’s Best Deals

Today, you can get deals on every episode of Battlestar Galactica on Blu-ray, small kitchen appliances, video games, and much more! 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 times. Decent: If you need one, it’s...

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Manage Your File Versioning Like a Programmer With Git

If you’ve ever worked with colleagues on a document, you know this pain: someone takes the first pass (document.doc), then emails it to everyone. The next person does the same, as does the third, each tacking a revision (document_rev3.doc) to the file’s name. The manager likes what she sees and tags it as complete (document_final.doc)… until last-minute changes come along (document_final_Aaron’s changes_reviewed_by_Bob_now_really_final.doc). Now imagine changes like this in dozens of source code files. Programmers created version control systems (VCS) to solve this problem. They’re a bit technical in nature, but can be useful for power users as well. Let’s look...

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Facebook Adds More Memories to On This Day

Facebook is making its Timehop-style feature, On This Day, bigger and better. This means that Facebook will show you more memories than ever, filter out bad memories likely to upset or annoy, and show you friendship milestones. All of which will be great for fans of nostalgia. On This Day is a nice feature that adds a touch of nostalgia to Facebook. On This Day basically reminds you what you were doing one, two, or even 10 years ago, based on what you posted on Facebook. And now Facebook is expanding its reach, and improving how the feature works. Memories,...

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Turn Your Raspberry Pi Into a Retro PC With RISC OS

The Raspberry Pi is probably the biggest success in British computing, at least since the 1980s. Back then, Sir Clive Sinclair’s ZX Spectrum computers ruled the roost, before being bought up by Sir Alan Sugar’s Amstrad. But beyond the headlines of silicon-based power struggles and overpriced electronics, the U.K. had another big hitter in the computer industry. Acorn Computers Ltd produced several computers — most notably the BBC Micro, whose graphics featured in 1980s episodes of Doctor Who — and developed their own operating system. First released in 1987, RISC OS (Reduced Instruction Set Computing) powered Archimedes computers, and later...

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How to Back Up Your Windows Computer to the Cloud

If you aren’t backing up your data, you need to start right now. With data loss horror stories as common as they are, the no-data-backups lifestyle just isn’t worth the risk. Don’t wait until you lose an entire thesis paper or promotion-worthy work presentation — start backing up today. There are many ways to back up your computer and several data backup tools that can make the process as easy as clicking one button. Whatever works for you. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how you make backups as long as you are making backups. In this...

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How Binge-Watching Is Damaging Your Health

Are you feeling proud about watching a whole season of House of Cards or Ozark in record time? Seeing who can get through an entire season of the newest hit show the quickest is almost a contest these days. Binge-watching has become a very popular activity. Unfortunately, a British study has revealed that binge-watching has led 10 million participants to missing sleep. That is, people are so into the shows they’re binge-watching that they literally can’t stop themselves from turning off their TV or smartphone and going to bed. And as unhealthy as that is, this is just one of...

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Never Forget to Check These Excel Document Settings

Are you using spreadsheets that someone else created? Here’s what you must know. When you create an Excel spreadsheet from scratch, you can control every single aspect. That’s not the case when someone else passes it on to you. Especially at work, it’s not uncommon to inherit an Excel file from someone else. If you’re not careful, this could cause some major headaches down the line. Fortunately, a little foresight will go a long way toward ensuring that you can get along well with the spreadsheet in question. Consider these five points, and you should avoid most of the common...

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6 Sensors Every Smart Home Should Have

Sensors in our homes are nothing new. House alarms have relied on them since the first electromagnetic systems became available more than a century ago. However, with the growth of the smart home, sensors have become more prevalent. These days, you can find a plethora of detectors covering a broad range of uses and functions. In fact, there are so many available, it can be difficult to know which ones are worth buying. But don’t worry, as always, MakeUseOf has you covered. Here are six sensors every smart home should have. 1. Motion Sensor When you think of motion sensors,...

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How to Read Screen Text Out Loud on iOS

Getting your iOS device to read out text to you is an easy affair — it can be done using nothing more than native features. Third-party options exist but are rare, partly due to Apple’s restrictive approach to what kind of access third-party developers can have. Using Siri to Read Out Text Turning this feature on will give you hands-free access to ask Siri to read text out loud to you. Reading content from your apps will, however, require you to unlock your phone. Go to Settings > Siri and turn on Siri if the feature isn’t already on. You’ll also have to toggle on Access...

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How to Give Your Kids an Amazon Allowance

If you often give money to someone to spend on Amazon, then you should take advantage of a hidden feature that lets you directly send money as an Amazon gift balance. You can add money to recipient’s Amazon gift balance via credit card, gift card, or similar payment means. This option is perfect for giving your kids an allowance, for example. And because you can set up a recurring transfer, it frees you from having to buy gift cards all the time. How to Set Up an Amazon Allowance Visit Amazon and click the Account & Lists tab. Under the...

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How to View Your Notification History on Android

We’ve all done it: a notification flashes up on your phone, but before you’ve had a chance to read it, you’ve accidentally swiped it away. It’s gone forever. Or is it? If you use an Android device, there’s actually an easy way to see your entire notification history — and it’s a cool hack that doesn’t require root access! It won’t have the same amount of detail as the original alert, but it’ll show you which app it came from so you can try and hunt down some further information. Setting Up the Android Widget Oddly, there’s no way to access...

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This Bullet-Based To-Do List App Is the Simplest, Fastest, and Easiest Way to Take Notes

If you love using lists for productivity, then you should read The Checklist Manifesto. The author, Dr. Atul Gawande, has this to say about the power of a good checklist: “They catch mental flaws inherent in all of us–flaws of memory and attention and thoroughness.” When is the last time you tapped a to-do list app’s full potential? They come in all sizes, and until now there haven’t been any one-size-fits-all tools out there. On the one hand you have the outlining dexterity of Workflowy, and on the other the utilitarian minimalism of Google Keep. Want something just as simple but...

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More Viewers Are Choosing Netflix Over Live TV

There’s currently a revolution happening in the world of television. And Netflix is spearheading the whole thing. The streaming service is spending billions on original programming, and this investment in groundbreaking television is beginning to change viewers’ behaviors. People are increasingly cutting the cord, cancelling their cable TV service in favor of a range of streaming services. That is if they ever had cable in the first place. And Netflix in particular is now competing with regular network television. Even the lure of live TV is waning. The Default Source for Programming According to a recent survey by Hub Entertainment...

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10 Great Tips for Protecting your Privacy on Linux

“I don’t get viruses because I run Linux!” We’ve all heard this statement in some way shape or form. The fact of the matter is, that statement is nothing but a myth. Another common misconception is that privacy is entirely taken care of by Linus Torvalds and his team of ninja turtles. In truth, all operating systems, combined with the people that use them, offer plenty of risks and vulnerabilities that can be exploited. Image Credit: David M G via Shutterstock The good news is that there are some really basic steps to take to try and mitigate these risks....

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