Polly blew up with teens last month by tacking multiple-choice polling onto Snapchat. Instagram is following suit with its own polling feature within Stories. Now just like adding a location sticker, you can add a two-answer poll on top of you Stories that friends can answer with a tap. Instagram Stories lets you write your own question and defaults the answers to Yes and No, though you can… Read More
Polly blew up with teens last month by tacking multiple-choice polling onto Snapchat. Instagram is following suit with its own polling feature within Stories. Now just like adding a location sticker, you can add a two-answer poll on top of you Stories that friends can answer with a tap. Instagram Stories lets you write your own question and defaults the answers to Yes and No, though you can… Read More
The iPhone 8 Plus’s reign as “the best smartphone camera” was a mighty short one. DxOMark, the testing outfit many look to for fair evaluations of cameras from DSLRs to phones, gave Samsung’s Galaxy S8 a 94, tying the iPhone and in some ways exceeding it. Read More
Microsoft is getting ready to launch the next major update to Windows 10, the Fall Creators Update, on October 17. Part of this update includes full support for Windows Mixed Reality, the company’s name for the continuum between augmented reality and full virtual reality. After lining up support and headsets from partners like Acer, Dell HP and Lenovo, Microsoft also today announced… Read More
The iPhone 8 Plus’s reign as “the best smartphone camera” was a mighty short one. DxOMark, the testing outfit many look to for fair evaluations of cameras from DSLRs to phones, gave Samsung’s Galaxy S8 a 94, tying the iPhone and in some ways exceeding it. Read More
Honda has a new bipedal robot, which isn’t perhaps as charismatic as Asimo, but which could be a lot more useful. The robot is a disaster relief model, dubbed E2-DR (very Star Wars) which has flexible, articulating joints, a waterproof design and a 2km/h walking rate. The robot can climb ladders, crawl over debris, work in extreme temperatures and has a range of sensors that let it see… Read More
If you just bought an iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus, you may have encountered a rather annoying issue. Some new iPhone users could hear crackling sound during calls. Apple just released iOS 11.0.2, which includes a handful of bug fixes, including a fix for this bug. Many users have been reporting crackling noise ever since the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus came out. A colleague also noticed the same… Read More
If you just bought an iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus, you may have encountered a rather annoying issue. Some new iPhone users could hear crackling sound during calls. Apple just released iOS 11.0.2, which includes a handful of bug fixes, including a fix for this bug. Many users have been reporting crackling noise ever since the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus came out. A colleague also noticed the same… Read More
College life can be difficult and frustrating at times. Whether it’s the early morning starts, the endless piles of homework, or trying to concentrate on work while life gets in the way. Thankfully, we have got just the right medicine for you: Spotify. Can Spotify Help Me at College? It can and it will. Music is the most soothing form of art, and it can help you through depression, anger, or any other negative emotions that you’ll face throughout your life. And it will certainly help you deal better with stress and the things that college life drops into your...
Read the full article: How to Survive a Day at College With Help From Spotify
Facebook has finally released Messenger Lite in the United States. You may have already sideloaded Messenger Lite by now, but it’s good to know it’s now officially available from the Google Play Store. Unfortunately for Apple fans there are currently no plans to bring Messenger Lite to iOS. Tech companies are obsessed with reaching as many people as possible. But there’s no point embarking on a global expansion if the product you’re offering isn’t accessible to all. Which is why lightweight versions of existing apps — such as Facebook Lite, Twitter Lite, and Skype Lite — are popping up everywhere....
Read the full article: Messenger Lite Is Now Available in the U.S.A
Want to play Minecraft on your own terms? Set up your own server, create your own worlds, perhaps build in them with friends and family? It’s remarkable, but true: you can do all of this on a Raspberry Pi. My son is a big fan of Minecraft, and is always wanting me to play along with him. It’s not easy to do while he’s playing on his computer — he’s six, so allowing him online seems a bit inappropriate. The solution was simple: set up a Minecraft server on the little man’s own Raspberry Pi (with him helping out). Within...
Read the full article: How to Set Up a Minecraft Server on Your Raspberry Pi
Google today launched a new database service for Firebase, its platform for app developers. The new Firestore database complements the existing Firebase Realtime Database and indeed, there’s quite a bit of overlap between these two services. As Firebase co-founder James Tamplin told me, the Realtime Database (RDB) was always the flagship product of the platform. The service is now in use… Read More
Figuring out who can access services across a platform as varied as Google Cloud can be a challenge for IT administrators. Google has done a lot of the work for you with a set of fairly granular pre-defined roles, but recognizing that canned roles won’t suit everyone’s needs, the company announced a Beta of custom roles today. As the name implies administrators can define roles… Read More
Ah, VHS tapes. Remember them? No? Well, you’re obviously younger than I am. What fun you missed out on. Taping your favorite TV show only for the recording to cut out a couple of minutes before the dramatic conclusion, waiting an eternity for a cassette to rewind, and pleading innocence to Blockbuster when your video player chewed up your latest rental. Most families still have a few VHS tapes lying around. You probably have at least one recording of Home Alone and, more importantly, potentially hours of irreplaceable family footage. Luckily, it’s possible to digitize those old VHS tapes so...
Read the full article: How to Digitize Old VHS Tapes
While pretty much anyone can benefit from smart home technology, there has always been a number of barriers preventing wider adoption. The biggest barrier? Cost. Many potential buyers haven’t wanted to spend hundreds of dollars for just a single device. But we’ve got some great news for you — smart home products are now much easier to install and, even more importantly, don’t have to break the bank. We’ve previously shown you how to fill an entire home with smart technology for just $400. But if you’re looking for just one or two devices that can help make your day-to-day...
Read the full article: Looking for Affordable Smart Home Gadgets? 15 Devices Under $50
Online commerce giant Shopify is ready for its Instagram moment: The one-stop shop platform provider is opening up its Instagram integration to thousands of its merchants leading up to the holiday season. The platform expansion adds yet another sales channel to the considerable quiver Shopify providers sellers, which includes Facebook, Messenger, Buzzfeed and others, too. Instagram’s… Read More
Mark my words: Android TV is set to take the world by storm over the next few years. While devices like the Roku and Apple TV are incredibly useful and offer lots of fantastic features, they remain relatively niche gadgets for most people. Android TV will change all that. It’s going to do for smart televisions what the mobile version of Android did for smartphones. Whether you’re an early adopter or thinking about making your first Android TV purchase, we want to help you get the most out of your box. Here are seven amazing Android TV tricks you might...
Read the full article: 7 Amazing Android TV Tricks You Definitely Didn’t Know About
Microsoft is killing off Groove Music and helping its users switch to Spotify instead. The Groove Music app will live on in Windows 10, but both the streaming service and the option to download music from the Windows Store are disappearing. And with that the Zune era comes to an undramatic end. In 2004 Microsoft launched MSN Music as a rival to Apple’s iTunes. Then, in 2006, MSN Music gave way to Zune, which encompassed hardware, software, and a streaming music service. In 2012 Zune was rebranded with the Xbox moniker. Then, in 2015, Xbox Music was reborn as Groove...
Read the full article: Microsoft Is Killing Groove Music Because Spotify
Linux is an operating system, but really, there is no one entity known as Linux. Instead, you download a “distribution” (or “distro”) that bundles the Linux kernel with the additional software needed to provide a complete desktop experience. These distros, which we sometimes refer to as Linux operating systems, take money and manpower to make. Some distributions have a company behind them. Ubuntu, the most popular desktop Linux operating system, falls into this category. It’s hardly alone. Others don’t have a corporate sponsor and rely on other means to stay afloat. One such distribution is Debian. Ubuntu is based on...
Read the full article: Companies vs. Communities: Who Makes a Better Linux Operating System?
Facebook has bought itself a little more time over a major legal challenge in Europe after the Irish High Court decided not to strike down a b2b mechanism it uses to transfer user data to the U.S. for processing. Read More
Our verdict of the Moto G5 Plus:The Moto G5 Plus is a dependable mid-range device. It lacks the flare of some more expensive smartphones, and it doesn't have the value of cheaper smartphones, but it's a solid in-between.710 We're giving away a Moto G5 Plus. Keep reading to find out how to win!If you want a phone with high-end specs but can’t afford a $700 phone like the Galaxy S8, the Moto G5 Plus might just be for you. At $299 for the model with 4GB and 64GB of storage, it sits firmly in the mid-range smartphone market. (The 2GB/32GB...
Read the full article: A Solid Mid-Range Phone: The Moto G5 Plus (Review and Giveaway)
You don’t have to wait until Halloween to enjoy a good horror game. And when it comes to zombies, the undead are bound to pop up at any time of the year. From cartoon-styled casual games to realistic first-person shooters, here are eight great mobile zombie games to test your survival skills. 1. Plants vs. Zombies If you have never heard of Plants vs. Zombies, then you’re missing out. This fun, tower-defense game is great for adults as well as kids ages 10 and above. Your goal is to keep those crazy zombies from invading your space. But to do...
Read the full article: Slay All the Zombies You Can in These 8 Free Mobile Games
Boxee co-founder Idan Cohen’s most recent stint may have been in the smart TV space — but now he wants to build a box that’ll help you grow some lettuce outside your home. That might seem weird, but after many dinners spent feeding guests with vegetables grown from his roof, he and his team are now launching a smart planter called GROW. Initially starting as a hobby to… Read More
