19 September 2017

7 Odd Windows Features That Will Make You Wonder


windows-odd-features

Most computer users only interact with a fraction of the files on their PC. In addition to your personal data, you’ll find thousands of operating system files that Windows uses. Unless you’re trying to fix a specific problem, you’ll probably never bother with them. But just like when you scratch your head at weird file types, you might come across some entries in Windows that make no sense or even sound harmful. Let’s find some of the silliest file names in Windows and figure out what they actually mean. 1. Vulkan Run Time Libraries Found in: The Apps & Features...

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Google’s AI chief thinks reports of the AI apocalypse are greatly exaggerated


 John Giannandrea from Google had many great things to say about artificial intelligence at TechCrunch Disrupt SF. In particular, he thinks that people are too scared about general purpose artificial intelligence. A few years ago, Giannandrea compared artificial intelligence to a 4-year-old child. Today, he revised his statement and said that it’s even worse than that.… Read More
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Autonomous driving’s godfather and tech investors say the world is ready for flying cars


 Autonomous driving is often considered the brainchild of Sebastian Thrun among a few other technologists — but Thrun is already looking to move on to the next mode of transportation, and he isn’t alone. At TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2017, Thrun talked a lot about flying cars and how that was the future of transportation. So did GGV’s Jenny Lee, a prolific investor in China. And so… Read More

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Twitter claims tech wins in quashing terror tweets


 In its latest Transparency report, which covers requests it’s received from governments pertaining to content on its platform, Twitter has reported a big decline in the proportion of pro-terrorism accounts being reported over the past six months, as well a drop in the number of accounts it removed for terrorism-related content during this period. Read More
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Today Only: Amazon Has a Bunch of Gaming PCs On Sale


If you’re in the market for a high-end gaming desktop or laptop, it’s time to buy! There are quite a few on sale today only, and they’re some tremendous discounts. Discounted Desktops ASUS Core i5 Performance Gaming Desktop ASUS Core i5 Performance Gaming Desktop [G11CD-WB51] GeForce GTX 1070, 8GB 2133Mhz DDR4, 1TB HDD, Intel Core i5-6400 Quad Core 2.7GHz processor, VR Ready ASUS Core i5 Performance Gaming Desktop [G11CD-WB51] GeForce GTX 1070, 8GB 2133Mhz DDR4, 1TB HDD, Intel Core i5-6400 Quad Core 2.7GHz processor, VR Ready Blazing performance with 6th-Gen Intel Core i5 ideal for 4K video, 3D modeling, web...

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15 neat hidden features in iOS 11


 After months and months of beta, iOS 11 is finally here — and it’s a huge update. In particular, Apple has tucked away many little features that you won’t see right away. If you want to impress all your friends with your mad iOS skills, here is a list of some of these features. I also wrote a short and sweet review of iOS 10 if you want to learn more about all the changes… Read More

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iOS 11 is a fresh start for the iPad


 After reading back the preview I wrote back in June, the dominant tone was that iOS 11 is so different that it takes a while to get used to it: I’m not going to lie to you. It takes time to get used to those new gestures. I’m not there yet, and I often find myself thinking about what I’m supposed to do to pull up Spotlight, look at my Today widgets and find an app that I… Read More

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iOS 11 is now available to download


 Apple has just released the final version of iOS 11. This update is packed with new features for the iPad and new core frameworks for the iPhone. The update is currently rolling out and is available both over-the-air in the Settings app, and by plugging your device into iTunes for a wired update. Many people try to download these major updates at the same time. Apple usually implements a… Read More

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GGV’s Jenny Lee says Xiaomi doesn’t need to come to the U.S.


 Xiaomi is one of the most valuable startups in the world and has become a big icon in smartphone design, sometimes suggested as an analog to Apple in China. The company’s flagship phones receive a ton of press in the U.S., too, but they aren’t available in the U.S. just yet. Instead, Xiaomi is looking to emerging markets like India in addition to getting its phones into the hands… Read More

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WT2 real-time translation earpieces look to crowdfund first run


 This summer the TC team took a brief trip to Shenzhen, where I met Wells Tu, whose company TimeKettle has made an earpiece that translates spoken Chinese to English and vice versa in near real time. Having created a functioning prototype (it isn’t vaporware; we tried it, as you can see above) he and the team are now heading to Kickstarter to raise the money for their first run of the… Read More

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15 neat hidden features in iOS 11


 After months and months of beta, iOS 11 is finally here — and it’s a huge update. In particular, Apple has tucked away many little features that you won’t see right away. If you want to impress all your friends with your mad iOS skills, here is a list of some of these features. I also wrote a short and sweet review of iOS 10 if you want to learn more about all the changes… Read More

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iOS 11 is a fresh start for the iPad


 After reading back the preview I wrote back in June, the dominant tone was that iOS 11 is so different that it takes a while to get used to it: I’m not going to lie to you. It takes time to get used to those new gestures. I’m not there yet, and I often find myself thinking about what I’m supposed to do to pull up Spotlight, look at my Today widgets and find an app that I… Read More

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10 Smart Home Products You Can Install in 10 Minutes or Less


easy-smart-products

We’ve previously shown that building a smart home can be done on a tight budget and still make a huge difference in your day-to-day lifestyle. And while cost is sometimes a major factor in smart home decisions, there is another issue: installation time. While we’d all love to have a handyman on call or to come home to a ready-built smart home, that’s definitely not the case for most of us. Since there are so many different types of devices on the market, you could spend a large chunk of time installing and getting each device ready to go in...

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How to Use iOS 11’s Customizable Control Center on iPhone and iPad


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iOS 11 brings the third major iteration of Apple’s shortcut feature known as Control Center. We first saw it appear with iOS 7, and it was refreshed just last year. In iOS 11, Apple is going back to single page design for the Control Center, based on expandable widgets and customizable controls. That means that things that were muscle memory for the past couple of years are in a completely different place. If you’re wondering how to disable AirDrop, enable Night Shift, or change AirPlay output for the song you’re listening, read our guide below. New Expandable Widgets The new...

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Subscription art crowdfunder Patreon confirms $60M fundraise


 Patreon upgrades content creation from a passion to a profession by paying artists 95% of subscription payments from fans instead of 55% of skimpy ad revenue like Facebook and YouTube. Now Patreon itself is getting paid with today’s official announcement of the big series C funding round TechCrunch broke news of last week. Patreon has raised $60 million led by Chris Paik at Thrive… Read More
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12 Amazing Facebook Messenger Bots You Can Chat With


amazing-fb-messenger-bots

Facebook Messenger has a ton of features most people barely use, or are perhaps not even aware of. One of the most impressive of these are “bots.” Bots are pieces of software that automate specific tasks. For a while now, developers have been able to create bots for Messenger, and there are thousands of them out there. Most bots simply act as a customer service advisor, pointing you to the department you need to get hold of, or sending you to a specific help page. But others are way more interesting. We’ve recommended a few of these before in this...

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Google Cloud’s Natural Language API gets content classification and more granular sentiment analysis


 Google Cloud announced two updates this morning to its Natural Language API. Specifically users will now have access to content classification and entity sentiment analysis. These features are particularly valuable for brands and media companies For starters, GCP users will now be able to tag content as corresponding with common topics like health, entertainment and law (cc: Henry).… Read More
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Google’s search app now makes suggestions of other things to read


 Google’s search app for iOS is today introducing a feature that will keep users browsing the web, instead of exiting back to their homescreen to use other mobile application. The app is being updated to include a “related content” section that will appear at the bottom of the web pages you visit while using the Google app. That is, if you search for a topic on Google, then tap… Read More
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5 Ways Your Information Is Being Exploited Every Day


your-info-exploited

Are you privacy-conscious? How troubled are you by corporate invasions of privacy? You may not be too worried about having your rights infringed. You might be very concerned by the fact you’re being tracked. It actually doesn’t matter too much, because a lot of the things we take for granted can also be used against us. Here’s how you’re being exploited right now. 1. Social Media Tracking Facebook boasts some 1.9 billion users, of which 1.28 billion use it every single day. Twitter pales in comparison, and yet still has a considerable 328 million monthly users. Instagram has swiftly overtaken...

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Hinge’s new app lets your friends play matchmaker


 Hinge is launching a way for people in relationships to get in on the dating app craze alongside their single friends. No, not like that! The company today is introducing a new, standalone app called Hinge Matchmaker that will allow people to see which of their friends are on Hinge, and then make recommendations by suggesting potential matches. According to Hinge founder Justin McLeod, the new… Read More
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