Google’s Pixel Buds learn some new tricks

I/O may have ended, but Google’s still trickling out news at a steady rate. The latest update comes from one of the more unexpected corners of the Googleverse. Pixel Buds, the company’s hotly anticipated and lukewarmly received bluetooth headphones are getting a nice software update.

In a blog post today, the company highlighted some new features that should help make the earbuds a bit more well-rounded.

At the top of the list is improved bluetooth pairing. It’s not a hardware upgrade, so users may still run into some of the issues the product got dinged for early on, but not it’s a lot easier to switch between synced hardware. Choosing Pixel Buds from the drop down menu on a connected computer will swap the connection from the current to new device.

The headphones are also getting a couple new touch gestures. Triple tapping the right earbud will turn the headphones on and off, while double tapping will skip a song to the next track. Though that second gesture requires going into the Pixel Buds settings inside the Google Assistant app to enable.

All of those updates are rolling out to users starting today. None are earth shattering, exactly, but they should make the Pixel Buds experience a bit better for those who’ve already plunked down the $160 for Google’s wireless headphones.

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Blogger gets a spring cleaning

Blogger, the blogging platform Google acquired back in 2003, is somehow still alive and kicking, even though few people remember it still exists. But alive it is — and it’s even getting some updates to its Google+ integration that will see all those 20 people still on Google+ rejoice.

After a year of inactivity, Blogger’s own news blog sprung to live this morning with a brief update that lays out the changes. Google calls this a ‘spring cleaning,’ and we all know what that means: shutting down features.

You probably don’t care, but gone from Blogger are support for third-party gadgets, the Next Blog feature, and the polling widget. Soon, OpenID support will be gone as well and Textcube.com is also shutting down. What is Textcube.com, you ask? It’s a Korean blogging service Google acquired back in 2008.

But there are also new features, which I’m guessing the sole two engineers still working on this project slaved over for the last year.

Blogger’s Google+ widget integration (yes, try not to laugh) will be transformed into HTML widgets to “give you more flexibility in how you share and see your followers.” Fifteen years after acquiring the service, Blogger now also supports logging in with multiple accounts. Google also today noted that the Blogger infrastructure has moved to Cloud Spanner, Google’s newest database service. 

In the near future, you can expect a new video management feature, too. Exciting stuff.

It’s surprising that Blogger is still around. I can’t remember the last time I saw a Blogger site in my searches and it sure doesn’t have a lot of mindshare. Google also has let the platform linger and hasn’t integrated it with any of its newer services. The same thing could be said for Google+, too, of course. Some services, Google cuts because they have no users and no traction. That could surely be said for Blogger and Google+, but here they are, still getting periodic updates. I think the writing is on the wall, though, and I wouldn’t expect them to survive the next major Google spring cleaning.

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Canal+ gives up on its cable box, switches to Apple TV

French premium cable television company Canal+ is slowly moving away from building its own set top boxes. As Next INpact spotted, you can now subscribe to Canal+ and get an Apple TV 4K with Canal+’s myCanal app already preloaded.

Canal+ has been around for decades and was the first premium TV channel in France. Over the years, the company started distributing all sorts of premium channels through satellite, cable and partnerships with internet service providers.

While you had to get your own Canal+ set top box to receive Canal+ 15 years ago, the company’s own box has slowly become irrelevant. As all the main French internet service providers give you a set top box, Canal+ has partnered with them to offer multiple add-ons to receive Canal+’s content.

When Canal+ announced its most recent device, Canal+ already said that you’d get a better experience with the myCanal app on the Apple TV.

That’s why Canal+ is betting everything on over-the-top distribution. If you don’t subscribe to Canal+ through your ISP, you can get an Apple TV 4K for €6 per month in addition to your TV package. If your internet connection isn’t fast enough or you’d rather use satellite TV, you can still get a Canal+ set top box.

But the writing is on the wall. Most people will soon watch Canal+ through myCanal on Android TV, tvOS, iOS, Android, a Samsung TV and desktop computers.

In France, Molotov and myCanal have been some of the top performing apps for tvOS and Android TV. This partnership could boost the Apple TV in France.

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Google Compute Engine now offers VMs with up to 3844GB of memory

Sometimes, you just need more RAM. That’s especially true when you want to run memory-hungry enterprise applications like SAP’s HANA database or high-performance computing workloads. Until now, if you wanted the Google Compute Engine to run applications like that, your options topped out at 624GB of memory. Starting today, though, the company is going beyond that by introducing three new tiers on top of this that top out at 3844GB and 160 virtual compute cores.

These three new machine types, dubbed ‘n1-ultramem,’ join Google’s existing ‘n1-megamem’ machines. Unsurprisingly, this kind of performance comes at a price. Running the “low-end” machine with 40 cores and 938GB of RAM for a month will set you back just over $3,221. The high-end machine with 160 cores and 3844GB of RAM is yours for $12,885.1716 per month.

You can see the hourly prices below:

With these new machines, Google now matches the top-end memory-optimized options on the AWS platform, though Google offers slightly more compute power thanks to a higher number of cores and newer processors.

Unsurprisingly, Google notes that the canonical use case for this kind of machine is running SAP HANA. “If you’ve delayed moving to the cloud because you have not been able to find big enough instances for your SAP HANA implementation, take a look at Compute Engine,” the company writes today. “Now you don’t need to keep your database on-premises while your apps move to cloud.”

The new ultramem machines are now available in three Google Cloud regions (us-central1, us-east1 and europe-west1), with more to follow.

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Zuckerberg again snubs UK parliament over call to testify

Facebook has once again eschewed a direct request from the UK parliament for its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, to testify to a committee investigating online disinformation — without rustling up so much as a fig-leaf-sized excuse to explain why the founder of one of the world’s most used technology platforms can’t squeeze a video call into his busy schedule and spare UK politicians’ blushes.

Which tells you pretty much all you need to know about where the balance of power lies in the global game of (essentially unregulated) U.S. tech platforms giants vs (essentially powerless) foreign political jurisdictions.

At the end of an 18-page letter sent to the DCMS committee yesterday — in which Facebook’s UK head of public policy, Rebecca Stimson, provides a point-by-point response to the almost 40 questions the committee said had not been adequately addressed by CTO Mike Schroepfer in a prior hearing last month — Facebook professes itself disappointed that the CTO’s grilling was not deemed sufficient by the committee.

“While Mark Zuckerberg has no plans to meet with the Committee or travel to the UK at the present time, we fully recognize the seriousness of these issues and remain committed to providing any additional information required for their enquiry into fake news,” she adds.

So, in other words, Facebook has served up another big fat ‘no’ to the renewed request for Zuckerberg to testify — after also denying a request for him to appear before it in March, when it instead sent Schroepfer to claim to be unable to answer MPs’ questions.

At the start of this month committee chair Damian Collins wrote to Facebook saying he hoped Zuckerberg would voluntarily agree to answer questions. But the MP also took the unprecedented step of warning that if the Facebook founder did not do so the committee would issue a formal summons for him to appear the next time Zuckerberg steps foot in the UK.

Hence, presumably, that addendum line in Stimson’s letter — saying the Facebook CEO has no plans to travel to the UK “at the present time”.

The committee of course has zero powers to comply testimony from a non-UK national who is resident outside the UK — even though the platform he controls does plenty of business within the UK.

Last month Schroepfer faced five hours of close and at times angry questions from the committee, with members accusing his employer of lacking integrity and displaying a pattern of intentionally deceptive behavior.

The committee has been specifically asking Facebook to provide it with information related to the UK’s 2016 EU referendum for months — and complaining the company has narrowly interpreted its requests to sidestep a thorough investigation.

More recently research carried out by the Tow Center unearthed Russian-bought UK targeted immigration ads relevant to the Brexit referendum among a cache Facebook had provided to Congress — which the company had not disclosed to the UK committee.

MPs say Facebook has misled Parliament. Again. It told MPs only $1 of Russian ads in UK. But @d1gi has now found nearly £1,000 worth. This is ads paid for in roubles inciting hate for refugees & immigrants in months before Brexit. https://t.co/0kxbP0b62A

— Carole Cadwalladr (@carolecadwalla) May 13, 2018

At the end of the CTO’s evidence session last month the committee expressed immediate dissatisfaction — claiming there were almost 40 outstanding questions the CTO had failed to answer, and calling again for Zuckerberg to testify.

It possibly overplayed its hand slightly, though, giving Facebook the chance to serve up a detailed (if not entirely comprehensive) point-by-point reply now — and use that to sidestep the latest request for its CEO to testify.

Still, Collins expressed fresh dissatisfaction today, saying Facebook’s answers “do not fully answer each point with sufficient detail or data evidence”, and adding the committee would be writing to the company in the coming days to ask it to address “significant gaps” in its answers. So this game of political question and self-serving answer is set to continue.

In a statement, Collins also criticized Facebook’s response at length, writing:

It is disappointing that a company with the resources of Facebook chooses not to provide a sufficient level of detail and transparency on various points including on Cambridge Analytica, dark ads, Facebook Connect, the amount spent by Russia on UK ads on the platform, data collection across the web, budgets for investigations, and that shows general discrepancies between Schroepfer and Zuckerberg’s respective testimonies. Given that these were follow up questions to questions Mr Schroepfer previously failed to answer, we expected both detail and data, and in a number of cases got excuses.

If Mark Zuckerberg truly recognises the ‘seriousness’ of these issues as they say they do, we would expect that he would want to appear in front of the Committee and answer questions that are of concern not only to Parliament, but Facebook’s tens of millions of users in this country. Although Facebook says Mr Zuckerberg has no plans to travel to the UK, we would also be open to taking his evidence by video link, if that would be the only way to do this during the period of our inquiry.

For too long these companies have gone unchallenged in their business practices, and only under public pressure from this Committee and others have they begun to fully cooperate with our requests. We plan to write to Facebook in the coming days with further follow up questions.

In terms of the answers Facebook provides to the committee in its letter (plus some supporting documents related to the Cambridge Analytica data misuse scandal) there’s certainly plenty of padding on show. And deploying self-serving PR to fuzz the signal is a strategy Facebook has mastered in recent more challenging political times (just look at its ‘Hard Questions’ series to see this tactic at work).

At times Facebook’s response to political attacks certainly looks like an attempt to drown out critical points by deploying self-serving but selective data points — so, for instance, it talks at length in the letter about the work it’s doing in Myanmar, where its platform has been accused by the UN of accelerating ethnic violence as a result of systematic content moderation failures, but declines to state how many fake accounts it’s identified and removed in the market; nor will it disclose how much revenue it generates from the market.

Asked by the committee what the average time to respond to content flagged for review in the region, Facebook also responds in the letter with the vaguest of generalized global data points — saying: “The vast majority of the content reported to us is reviewed within 24 hours.” Nor does it specify if that global average refers to human review — or just an AI parsing the content.

Another of the committee’s questions is: ‘Who was the person at Facebook responsible for the decision not to tell users affected in 2015 by the Cambridge Analytica data misuse scandal?’ On this Facebook provides three full paragraphs of response but does not provide a direct answer specifying who decided not to tell users at that point — so either the company is concealing the identity of the person responsible or there simply was no one in charge of that kind of consideration at that time because user privacy was so low a priority for the company that it had no responsibility structures in place to enforce it.

Another question — ‘who at Facebook heads up the investigation into Cambridge Analytica?’ — does get a straight and short response, with Facebook saying its legal team, led by general counsel Colin Stretch, is the lead there.

It also claims that Zuckerberg himself only become aware of the allegations that Cambridge Analytica may not have deleted Facebook user data in March 2018 following press reports.

Asked what data it holds on dark ads, Facebook provides some information but it’s also being a bit vague here too — saying: “In general, Facebook maintains for paid advertisers data such as name, address and banking details”, and: “We also maintain information about advertiser’s accounts on the Facebook platform and information about their ad campaigns (most advertising content, run dates, spend, etc).”

It does also confirms it can retain the aforementioned data even if a page has been deleted — responding to another of the committee’s questions about how the company would be able to audit advertisers who set up to target political ads during a campaign and immediately deleted their presence once the election was over.

Though, given it’s said it only generally retains data, we must assume there are instances where it might not retain data and the purveyors of dark ads are essentially untraceable via its platform — unless it puts in place a more robust and comprehensive advertiser audit framework.

The committee also asked Facebook’s CTO whether it retains money from fraudulent ads running on its platform, such as the ads at the center of a defamation lawsuit by consumer finance personality Martin Lewis. On this Facebook says it does not “generally” return money to an advertiser when it discovers a policy violation — claiming this “would seem perverse” given the attempt to deceive users. Instead it says it makes “investments in areas to improve security on Facebook and beyond”.

Asked by the committee for copies of the Brexit ads that a Cambridge Analytica linked data company, AIQ, ran on its platform, Facebook says it’s in the process of compiling the content and notifying the advertisers that the committee wants to see the content.

Though it does break out AIQ ad spending related to different vote leave campaigns, and says the individual campaigns would have had to grant the Canadian company admin access to their pages in order for AIQ to run ads on their behalf.

The full letter containing all Facebook’s responses can be read here.

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WhatsApp revamps Groups to fight Telegram

Facebook just installed its VP of Internet.org as the new head of WhatsApp after its CEO Jan Koum left the company. And now Facebook is expanding its mission to get people into “meaningful” groups to WhatsApp. Today, WhatsApp launched a slew of new features for Groups on iOS and Android that let admins set a description for their community and decide who can change the Groups settings. Meanwhile, users will be able to get a Group catch up that shows messages they were mentioned in, and search for people in the group.

WhatsApp’s new Group descriptions

WhatsApp Group participant search

Group improvements will help WhatsApp better compete with Telegram, which has recently emerged as an insanely popular platform for chat groups, especially around cryptocurrency. Telegram has plenty of admin controls of its own, but the two apps will be competing over who can make it easiest to digest these fast-moving chat forums.

“These are features are based on user requests. We develop the product based on what our users want and need” a WhatsApp spokesperson told me when asked why it’s making this update. “There are also people coming together in groups onWhatsApp like new parents looking for support, students organizing study sessions, and even city leaders coordinating relief efforts after natural disasters.”

Facebook is on a quest to get 1 billion users into “meaningful” Groups and recently said it now has hit the 200 million user milestone. Groups could help people strengthen their ties with their city or niche interests, which can make them feel less alone.

With Group descriptions, admins can explain the purpose and rules of a group. They show up when people check out the group and appear atop the chat window when they join. New admin controls let them restrict who is allowed to alter a group’s subject, icon, and description. WhatsApp is also making it tougher to re-add someone to a group they left so you can’t “Group-add-spam people”. Together, these could make sure people find relevant groups, naturally acclimate to their culture, and don’t troll everyone.

As for users, the new Group catch up feature offers a new @ button in the bottom right of the chat window that when tapped, surfaces all your replies and mentions since you last checked. And if you want to find someone specific in the Group, the new participant search on the Info page could let you turn a group chat into a private convo with someone you meet.

WhatsApp Group catch up

Now that WhatsApp has a stunning 1.5 billion users compared to 200 million on Telegram, its next phase of growth may come from deepening engagement instead of just adding more accounts. Many people already do most of their one-on-one chatting with friends on WhatsApp, but Groups could invite tons of time spent as users participate in communities of strangers around their interests.

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WhatsApp revamps Groups to fight Telegram

Facebook just installed its VP of Internet.org as the new head of WhatsApp after its CEO Jan Koum left the company. And now Facebook is expanding its mission to get people into “meaningful” groups to WhatsApp. Today, WhatsApp launched a slew of new features for Groups on iOS and Android that let admins set a description for their community and decide who can change the Groups settings. Meanwhile, users will be able to get a Group catch up that shows messages they were mentioned in, and search for people in the group.

WhatsApp’s new Group descriptions

WhatsApp Group participant search

Group improvements will help WhatsApp better compete with Telegram, which has recently emerged as an insanely popular platform for chat groups, especially around cryptocurrency. Telegram has plenty of admin controls of its own, but the two apps will be competing over who can make it easiest to digest these fast-moving chat forums.

“These are features are based on user requests. We develop the product based on what our users want and need” a WhatsApp spokesperson told me when asked why it’s making this update. “There are also people coming together in groups onWhatsApp like new parents looking for support, students organizing study sessions, and even city leaders coordinating relief efforts after natural disasters.”

With Group descriptions, admins can explain the purpose and rules of a group. They show up when people check out the group and appear atop the chat window when they join. New admin controls let them restrict who is allowed to alter a group’s subject, icon, and description. WhatsApp is also making it tougher to re-add someone to a group they left so you can’t “Group-add-spam people”. Together, these could make sure people find relevant groups, naturally acclimate to their culture, and don’t troll everyone.

As for users, the new Group catch up feature offers a new @ button in the bottom right of the chat window that when tapped, surfaces all your replies and mentions since you last checked. And if you want to find someone specific in the Group, the new participant search on the Info page could let you turn a group chat into a private convo with someone you meet.

WhatsApp Group catch up

Now that WhatsApp has a stunning 1.5 billion users compared to 200 million on Telegram, its next phase of growth may come from deepening engagement instead of just adding more accounts. Many people already do most of their one-on-one chatting with friends on WhatsApp, but Groups could invite tons of time spent as users participate in communities of strangers around their interests.

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CleanMyPC Covers All Your PC Maintenance Needs

Every Windows user knows that the operating system builds up junk over time. Windows includes some utilities for PC maintenance, but they don’t offer as much as a dedicated tool can.

CleanMyPC is an app that offers to keep your PC running at its best. Let’s see what this tool has to offer.

Getting Started With CleanMyPC

Head to CleanMyPC’s download page and download it to get up and running. Proceed through the installer as usual; there aren’t any special options to choose from or bloatware to worry about bypassing.

Once you install the PC maintenance software, you’ll see CleanMyPC’s homepage. We’ll walk through each of the app’s tabs to examine its features.

My Computer

On the My Computer module, you can scan your computer for junk files that are wasting space. Click to run the scan, then wait a bit while it looks over your system.

Once it’s done, you can click Clean to remove the junk files, or choose Show details to see more information about what the scanner found. Here, feel free to uncheck anything you don’t want to remove before you run the cleaning operation.

Registry Maintenance

Over time, the Windows Registry gets filled up with entries from old programs and similar leftover data. While you really don’t need to clean this, CleanMyPC includes a Registry cleaner if you want to do some serious PC maintenance.

Click the Scan Registry button, and give it some time to run through the process. Click Fix Registry to apply the changes, but beware this can introduce issues.

Multi Uninstaller

An exciting new feature of CleanMyPC, the multi uninstaller lets you remove several apps from your PC at once. What’s more, it removes all the files associated with these programs, so they don’t leave any traces behind.

Simply check the boxes next to every program you’d like to remove, and choose Uninstall at the bottom when you’re ready to remove them all.

As you go through the list, you’ll notice a red Broken icon if that app contains leftovers. Apps obtained from the Microsoft Store show a blue Windows logo next to them. And if you can’t find the program you want to remove, try the search bar in the bottom-right.

Hibernation

Hibernation is one of the power options in Windows. It saves your current session to your hard drive, then shuts down your PC. It doesn’t really qualify as PC maintenance, but it does make it easy to pick up where you left off even after a long period.

While hibernation is useful for some people, it takes up a decent chunk of space. If you never use it, you can reclaim this space for other purposes. Just click the Turn off option to disable hibernation and you’ll gain likely several gigabytes. You can always return to this menu to enable it again if needed.

Extensions

This tab will check for extensions in each browser you use. It’s an easy way to make sure you don’t have too many add-ons installed, and to remove any junk ones that may have found their way onto your system.

During our testing, this didn’t pick up extensions for Chrome, so you’ll have to look into those extensions manually. You’ll probably see a lot of entries for Internet Explorer, which you can ignore since you probably never use it.

Autorun

Programs running at startup are convenient, but having too many of them can slow down your computer. Since most programs automatically set themselves to run at startup, it’s worth going through the list and making sure only apps you actually use start right away.

On the Autorun tab, you can see all the programs set to run at startup on your PC. Each one includes a publisher and location to help you identify it. Just slide the switch to Off to disable a startup program. Keep an eye out for programs that slow down your boot.

Privacy

The Privacy tab searches your installed browsers, as well as the File Explorer, for history, cache, and similar entries that could potentially compromise your privacy. With this information, someone could know where you’ve visited on the web, which you may prefer to keep private.

Check the information you want to remove, and click the Clean button to purge it.

Shredder

The final feature of CleanMyPC is the Shredder, which helps you securely erase sensitive files so nobody can recover them (a PC maintenance ask you should do regularly).

As you might know, clicking Delete and removing a file from the Recycle Bin doesn’t completely erase it. If done right away, you could restore that file with recovery software.

Click Choose Folder or Choose Files and browse to the data you’d like to securely erase. Once you confirm, the app will destroy this file and render it irrecoverable. Click Adjust security level in the bottom-right and you can choose if the shredder overwrites the file with garbage data one, two, or three times.

Options and Pro Version

Click the Options tab at the top of CleanMyPC to configure a few settings.

On the General tab, use the Manage Ignore List option to specify items you want the software to ignore. Under Automatic Agents, you can configure a few automated options like drag and drop support for the Shredder.

If you’d prefer to receive fewer alerts, check the Notifications tab and disable any alerts you aren’t interested in.

To gain access to all features in CleanMyPC, you’ll need to purchase an activation license. Click the Activate button in the upper-right to jump to the purchase page or enter a license key if you already have one. A single license for CleanMyPC costs $39.95.

With the premium version, you can clean more than 500MB of files, access the Registry cleaner, and completely remove apps when using the uninstaller.

Start Your PC Maintenance Today

CleanMyPC provides a handy suite of tools for keeping your PC running at its best. While the Registry cleaner isn’t necessary, it provides easy ways to manage several important aspects of your computer. Disabling startup programs, cleaning junk files, and uninstalling software you never use will improve your computer’s performance.

Give the free version a try to see if it’s for you.

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Microsoft announces the Surface Hub 2

Do you remember the Surface Hub? Chances are you forgot it even existed. And yet, Microsoft just announced a second version of the Surface Hub. The company hasn’t shared any specifications or price, but it won’t be available before 2019 — selected customers will test the Surface Hub 2 starting this year.

The Surface Hub was a crazy expensive digital whiteboard that could handle anything from video conferences to document collaboration. Microsoft says that there are 5,000 companies using Surface Hubs, including half of Fortune 100 companies.

It’s unclear if each company has bought one Surface Hub or a thousand. But it seems like there was enough interest to work on a second version. At heart, it’s still a gigantic touchscreen-enabled display. It runs Windows 10 and supports the Surface Pen.

Compared to the previous version, Microsoft has drastically reduced the bezels. It looks like a modern TV now, but with a 3:2 aspect ratio. Surprisingly, the video camera is now gone from the main device. You’ll need to plug a webcam above the display to start video conferences.

The most interesting part is the concept video. You can see a device with fluid use cases. You can hook it to a wall, you can put it on a rolling case, you can create a wall of Surface Hubs.

Users log in by putting their finger on the fingerprint sensor. This way, you can find all your documents and data and accept calls from your account.

Microsoft is trying to push the needle when it comes to computers. This is an innovative form factor that could fit well in your company’s workflow. It’s interesting to see that the company isn’t standing still. The Mac hasn’t drastically evolved while Microsoft still has bold ideas to share.

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Instagram has an unlaunched “time spent” Usage Insights dashboard

Instagram may be jumping into the time well spent movement, following the unveiling of Google’s new time management controls last week. Code buried in Instagram’s Android app reveals a “Usage Insights” feature that will show users their “time spent”. It’s not exactly clear whether that will be your total time spent in Instagram ever, which could be a pretty scary number to some users, or within some shorter time frame like a day, week, or month.

By being upfront with users about how much of their lives they’re investing in their favorite apps, tech giants could encourage people to adopt healthier habits and avoid the long, passive, anti-social browsing sessions that can harm their well-being. These features could also help parents keep track of what their kids are doing online. Both might lead people to spend less time on apps like Instagram, but they could be happier with companies like Instagram.

The Usage Insights screenshot and “time spent” code were discovered by prolific app investigator Jane Manchun Wong inside the Instagram for Android application package, or “APK”. When asked by TechCrunch for more evidence about how the feature worked, she tweeted screenshot below of Instagram’s code. Several of Wong’s other recent discoveries of unlaunched features like Facebook Avatars and Twitter encrypted DMs were subsequently confirmed by the companies as being in testing.

An Instagram spokesperson told TechCrunch the company has no comment on this discovery for now, but may return with more info later. We’ll update when we hear back. Until then we’ll have to wait and see what exactly the time spent dashboard will show. For comparison, the new Android time management tool shows a daily look at how much time you spent on different apps, and lets you set time limits. But since most of Google’s apps outside of YouTube are utilities designed to be used as quickly as possible, it might have less to lose by revealing how users spend time on their phones than Facebook.

Google’s new Android time management features. Image via The Verge.

Offering “Usage Insights” aligns with Facebook’s recent discussion of research that shows active social networking, like messaging, posting, or commenting can be positive for people’s well-being, but endless zombie scrolling can make people feel worse. While Facebook hasn’t created anything like this feature in its own apps, it’s started to change its algorithm to promote active interactions while downranking viral videos that people consume passively. That led to Facebook’s first ever decline in its North American daily user count in Q4 2017, though it was growing again in the region by Q1 2018.

Instagram’s photo and video-heavy feed especially lends itself to the negative social networking behaviors like envy spiraling, where users constantly compare themselves against the glamorous highlights posted by their friends. Letting users know how long they’re Instagramming, or even let them set time limits, could push people to go out and live life instead of watching through a screen as others live it.

The difference between good and bad Facebooking

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Genoox raises $6M to help physicians better diagnose patients with genomic data

23andMe, Color, and other genomic sequencing startups have exposed demand from consumers for cheap ways to test for potential problems they may have — and Amir Trabelsi hopes to bring that mentality to medical institutions around the world.

That’s the hope for Genoox, a genomic analysis startup that’s geared toward doctors, clinicians and researchers that hopes to lower the cost of getting data from gene sequencing, and speed that process up, in the same ways that 23andMe and Color have done for consumers. Genoox at its heart is a data science company, taking the raw data from a genome sequencing and figuring out how to convey actionable information to medical professionals — and, hopefully, on a more complete scale than just consumer startups targeting specific health problems. The company said it has raised a $6 million funding round led by Triventures, a healthcare-focused venture firm.

“We want to bring [medical institutions] the ability to run clinical applications and use genomic data part of the clinical routine,” Genoox co-founder Trabelsi said. “We understand the direct-to-consumer market is growing and the demand is growing, but there is a gap in clinical applications. Genomic data is complicated especially when it comes to clinical outcomes — how can you make things more actionable for [professionals], how can you reduce the cost and overhead, and how can you filter out what is relevant and not relevant.”

Trabelsi said the goal is not to just hand a patient information based on their genome, but rather target clinical experts that might be able to use that data and better determine diagnoses for patients. The physician is the one that will have the final say in the decision or diagnosis, and the whole point here is to just take massive amounts of data and figure out a few points that a physician can use in order to make a better judgment call. And beyond that, Genoox can update those doctors as more and more research comes out regarding the potential health complications a patient may have.

Right now Genoox is targeting rare diseases — starting from one launching point, much like Color or 23andMe — but hopes to expand beyond that into other processes like carrier screening or hereditary cancer. This is a strategy that those direct-to-consumer companies are also employing, with Color recently rolling out a test that tries to search for hereditary risk for heart conditions like arrhythmia. As companies get more and more data, they’re able to better sift through a person’s genomic information and flag potential aberrations that could signal increased risk for various conditions.

“We see the growing demand for direct-to-consumer, but we’re also seeing more and more clinical practices using genetic data,” Tabelsi said. “It’s still not efficient or 100% there, but I think the next two years we’re going to see dramatically increased use of genetic data of clinical applications or clinical use. It’s not about the tech, which was proven to be powerful by some cases we were able to solve. I think the technology was kind of proven, along the years, and through some papers we published the question was not about the tech but whether the market is here or where are we in using genetic data.”

Genoox, however, is not the only one targeting clinicians with a data-oriented approach to understanding a patient’s genome. Sophia Genetics is also looking to use genomic data and physician input to better diagnose patients, and also raised an additional $30 million in September last year. As the cost of gene sequencing continues to decline, more and more companies will be going after it as a data play — whether that’s in the consumer or clinician-focused space — and that means Genoox will likely not be alone as it looks to snap up the attention of clinicians and professionals.

 

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Why Did Russia Ban Telegram? (And What That Means for You)

Nintendo Brings the NES Classic Edition Back

Nintendo has decided to bring the NES Classic Edition back from the dead. The NES Classic Edition will be available in stores in the U.S. again from June 29, so if you know anyone who works in retail you should probably ask them to put one aside for you.

The Return of the Nintendo Entertainment System

In 2016, Nintendo surprised everyone by launching the NES Classic Edition. This was a Nintendo Entertainment System in miniature, with 30 games built-in. And the NES Classic Edition flew off shelves at such a rate of knots that demand outstripped supply.

The NES Classic Edition was a massive hit, and parents tried desperately to get hold of one in time for Christmas 2016. However, despite this incredible demand, Nintendo shopped shipping the retro console to the United States in April 2017.

We soon discovered why, as later that year Nintendo launched the Super NES Classic Edition. However, that still meant lots of people were never able to get hold of a NES Classic. Perhaps those unfortunate nostalgia nerds will have better luck this time…

The Return of the NES Classic Edition

Nintendo has announced that it’s bringing the NES Classic Edition back. It will arrive in stores on June 29, and Nintendo expects it to be available until the end of 2018. That still doesn’t mean it will be easy to find, but it does you six months to find one.

#NESClassic Edition will return to stores on June 29! This system and the #SNESClassic Edition system are expected to be available through the end of the year. https://t.co/LclbG5m4ta pic.twitter.com/1PcXBI5qJC

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) May 14, 2018

For those who missed the NES Classic Edition completely the first time around, it’s a miniature version of the classic console with 30 games built-in. Titles include Castlevania, Donkey Kong, Excitebike, Super Mario Bros., and The Legend of Zelda. All for $60.

The Return of the Nintendo 64?!

Nintendo has done wonders for its bank balance by dipping into its past. The company sold millions of both the NES Classic Edition and Super NES Classic Edition. And the next six months will only add to those totals. And that’s without mentioning the Switch.

With Nintendo making it clear this is only a limited release, it begs the question of what’s next? I have my heart set on a Nintendo 64 Classic Edition, but I think it’s more likely that a host of classic Nintendo games will be coming to a Switch near you soon.

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How to Post Images to Instagram Directly From Lightroom

Adobe Lightroom is the preferred photo enhancement tool for photographers. Instagram is the social media where most of the tribe flocks. But still there is no way to directly post a photo to Instagram from Lightroom—unless you use a third-party shareware Lightroom plug-in that bridges the two tools.

How to Post Images to Instagram From Lightroom

LR/Instagram helps you work on Lightroom and then post the photo directly to your Instagram account. Remember, Adobe Lightroom is now Adobe Lightroom Classic CC. The process to install a plug-in is still the same: use the Lightroom Extensions Manager.

1. Download the LR/Instagram plug-in to your desktop.
2. Unzip the download and then launch Adobe Lightroom Classic CC > File > Plug-in Manager.
3. Click on Add and browse to the plug-in file on your desktop to select it. The installation appears on the list of plug-ins and add-ons.
4. After you have imported your photo, go to Publish Services which now includes LR/Instagram.
5. Click on Set up to launch the Lightroom Publishing Manager and the Settings panel for the plug-in.
   
6. Connect to Instagram with your log-in ID and password. Tweak the behavior of the plug-in from Preferences.

For instance, you can upload a maximum of five photos in one go. Keep the When removing photos, do not delete from Instagram checkbox selected to preserve the uploads when you delete the originals from the Publish section of Lightroom.

Force padding to square makes the thumbnails in the Instagram grid appear with the default square crop that is applied. You can add a post-process action to crop photos according to the aspect rations supported on Instagram.

LR/Instagram has metadata panel, where you can add hashtags and a caption before you publish on Instagram. By selecting a custom template in Lightroom, you can also specify a format using the {template} tags.

After you prep the photo in Lightroom, you just have to add the photo to the publish collection. From the Grid view, drag and drop the photo thumbnail on LR/Instagram under Publish Services. Click the Publish button in the upper right above the center section of the interface and your photo is now uploaded on Instagram.

This plugin gives you the freedom to batch edit photos in Lightroom and apply them to your Instagram photos.

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How to Prevent Your Emails Being Forwarded in Outlook and Gmail

As Gmail and Outlook are rolling out new features to their users, they are both offering a way to prevent your emails from being forwarded. If this is a feature you’ve been waiting for, read on to find out how to use it with either email provider.

How to Prevent Emails Being Forwarded in Gmail

One of Gmail’s newest features is the ability to prevent recipients from forwarding emails by turning on Confidential Mode. Here’s how to do that:

1. Open a compose window in Gmail.
2. Click the Confidential Mode button. 
3. In the window that opens, you can choose an expiration date for the email. If you are not concerned about the email remaining in their inbox, you can set the expiration date for the maximum of five years. No expiration date is not an option.  
4. You can also enter an optional passcode to require them to open the email.
5. Click Save.
6. You should see a message at the bottom of the email that indicates that you are sending a confidential email. 
7. You can make changes to these settings before sending by clicking Edit or removing confidential mode by clicking the X.

In addition to not being able to forward your message, recipients will also be unable to to copy, paste, download, or print your message.

If the email is sent to a Gmail recipient, there will be no forward button and you can’t right-click or copy the content with your mouse.

Non-Gmail recipients will receive an email with a link they can click.

And of course as the screenshots above demonstrate, Gmail can’t stop recipients from taking screenshots of the emails.

How to Prevent Emails Being Forwarded in Outlook

Outlook.com users are getting a similar feature rolled out to them as well. In addition to preventing the email from being forwarded, Outlook will encrypt it as well. To prevent users from forwarding your emails, do the following:

1. Create a new message.
2. Click the Encrypt button, next to the Attach button.
3. In the dropdown menu, click Encrypt and prevent forwarding.
4. If you change your mind before sending the email, click Remove encryption.

Microsoft Office documents you attach to will also be encrypted and if the attachment is forwarded, the recipient will be unable to open it.

If you feel that Gmail and Outlook are not offering enough security features, there are several secure and encrypted email providers to choose from.

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How to Hide Your Online Status in WhatsApp

If you’re old enough, you might remember the time when SMS messages burst onto the scene. We all thought that we’d reached the zenith of communications; being able to drop notes to other people instantly and from anywhere was revolutionary.

How wrong we were. WhatsApp has revolutionized the communications world for a second time. But the app has not necessarily revolutionized it for the better.

Is it really a good thing that people can see when you were last online? Is it not a gross invasion of privacy to display that information to everyone all the time? Perhaps you should turn the feature off.

How to Hide Your Online Status in WhatsApp

Hiding your online status in WhatsApp is easy. You just need to follow the step-by-step instructions below:

1. Open the WhatsApp app.
2. Click on the three vertical dots in the upper right-hand corner.
3. Tap on Settings.
4. From the Settings menu, select Account.
5. Next, tap on Privacy.
6. Choose Last Seen from the list of options.
7. In the popup window, choose Nobody.

Note: Unfortunately, it is not possible to set the availability of your online status on a user-by-user basis.

While you’re on the menu, it’s worth spending a few moments checking out the other privacy options you can tweak. They include the visibility of your profile photo, bio, status, and location.

Perhaps most importantly, the Privacy menu is also where you can disable the infamous blue ticks (aka Read Receipts). They’re a sure-fire giveaway that you’ve been online, even if you disable your online status. To turn off the blue ticks, scroll down to Messaging > Read Receipts and unmark the checkbox.

This is just one of many useful hidden tricks in WhatsApp.

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No Gym Membership? 5 Workout Apps to Get Fit for Free Anywhere

The gym is made to help you get in shape, but that membership can be quite costly at times. Some of us are even notorious for practically “donating” our money to the gym without ever making use of that membership. So forget about it and start getting fit for free.

We have already talked about how to workout without going to the gym, but let’s take it a step further. By using the right apps and websites, you can exercise regularly without spending a dime.

1. Plank Timer (Android) and Plank (iOS): The Trendy No-Equipment Exercise

Doing planks is the new trend among the no-equipment exercise crowd. It’s also actually one of the easiest workouts to start for anyone who is out of shape and wants to get fit again.

Planks exercise your core strength by making you hold a position similar to doing push-ups. Start with a small number (30 seconds) and gradually move up to longer durations of planks (3-5 minutes).

On Android, Plank Timer is a fantastic app to start doing planks, and then add its variations. Go with the simple plank first, as the app counts down the seconds of a full minute. Feel free to pause at any point, or finish too. The 5-minute plank exercise offers variations like leg lifts, which you will move up to.

On iPhones, Plank is a more detailed app that explains all the different types of planks and even includes short video demonstrations. The app breaks down your plank workouts into weeks so that you know how to slowly upgrade your planking abilities.

Download: Plank Timer for Android | iOS (Free)

2. Outdoor Gyms (Web): Public Edited Map of Free Gyms in Open Spaces

Who says you need to pay a hefty gym membership to get fit? There are bound to be public places near you that freely offer the basic tools for calisthenics or bodyweight fitness exercises.

Outdoor Gyms is a map of such free gyms in open spaces, added and verified by the community of users. Give it access to your location or move the map to the desired spot. Every green pin is an outdoor gym, and hovering over the pin will reveal notes about it, like the equipment available at that spot.

Outdoor Gyms is one of those cool internet products that is made purely out of people wanting to help each other be the best version of themselves.

3. NamaSketch (Web): Mini Yoga Sessions for Beginners

NamaSketch is a free web app that teaches yoga to someone who hasn’t tried it before. It’s a novel teaching mechanism too, as the site shows you ten different poses in easy-to-understand doodles.

Follow along by looking at the cute doodles and listening to the audio instructions. The yoga poses include downward dog, cat, bridge, cobra, and even the warrior pose. Don’t worry, none of these are too complex or overwhelming, so any beginner can start with them.

NamaSketch is an excellent way to learn the basics of yoga. After you’ve used the app a few times and want to continue with this exercise, try the more advanced yoga apps to help you workout anywhere.

4. Perfect Workout (Android, iOS, Windows): Free Trainer App With Instructions

Perfect Thumb’s Workout app hands you a full-body workout with 12 exercises for free. But it can actually give you its entire huge workout collection for free if you want to, thanks to its built-in “Rubies” coin system. Given how good the app is, that’s a steal.

Perfect Workout lets you earn free rubies for different activities, like watching a video ad, sharing the app sharing exercises, inviting friends to do workouts, completing a workout daily, and opening the app daily. These rubies can then be used to buy different types of workouts. Or well, you could spend actual money to unlock the workouts individually or all at once. It’s still cheaper than a gym membership.

The app itself is fantastic. Perfect Workout shows cartoon animations of each exercise so you can follow along, and there are audio instructions and prompts too. You can also set a reminder so you don’t miss your exercise, and the app automatically tracks statistics of all your calorie-burning activities.

Download: Perfect Workout for Android | iOS | Windows (Free)

5. A Few Common Exercises From The Guardian

This is an oldie but a goodie. Back in 2011, The Guardian put together a special issue on how to get fit for free, part of which was a video. Well, the video is still available for anyone on YouTube.

The video is less than five minutes long, but it shows you different exercise opportunities in your life that you never considered before. It’s a mix of bodyweight exercises, stretches, aerobic activities, and tips to use in your daily routine. Check it out, this might be the best five minutes you spent to get fitter.

Level Up With Free Workout Generators

One of the benefits of a gym membership is that local trainers will happily recommend a workout for you. Since you don’t have a trainer to rely on, turn to these free exercise and workout generators. They will ensure your fitness routine never gets boring, and challenges you to achieve more.

Image Credit: Syda_Productions/Depositphotos

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The Best VPN for iPhone Users

The 15 Best Shows on Amazon Prime You Need to Watch

In a straight fight between Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, most people would rank Amazon Prime last. Several years ago, I would have agreed. But now? Amazon Prime has some of the best shows on the planet available to stream, and not just for U.S. viewers either.

Go ahead and check out the best shows to binge on Netflix and some unmissable TV shows to watch on Hulu. But don’t forget that the best shows on Amazon Prime are on par with the best of them…

1. Band of Brothers (2001)

IMDb: 9.5

Easily one of the best miniseries ever produced, Band of Brothers is a historical dramatization of the journeys taken by the soldiers of “Easy” Company during World War II. It starts with their training, then follows them through various missions over the course of the war, with particular focus on the impact that war has on them.

Perhaps the most moving aspect of Band of Brothers is how it interweaves present-day interviews of the actual soldiers of “Easy” Company throughout the series. This documentary-esque approach is what elevates this miniseries above conventional television. Even if you aren’t a military or history buff, you need to watch it.

Watch Band of Brothers on Amazon Prime

2. The Wire (2002)

IMDb: 9.3

The Wire isn’t just a television show; it’s an experience that transcends mere drama and entertainment. All five seasons are intricately interwoven to tell a grand story that’s greater than the sum of its parts. The Wire is one of only a few shows where it feels like real life is playing out before you. It’s impossible not to get swept up in it.

On the surface, The Wire is about cops and robbers. But as the seasons progress, you’ll realize that this is really a show about Baltimore, and more than that, a show about societal institutions and how they fail individual people. The Wire will change your outlook on life, or at least make you rethink a lot of what you’ve always held as true.

Watch The Wire on Amazon Prime

3. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017)

IMDb: 8.8

Without a doubt, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is the best new show of 2017. Not just one of the best original shows on Amazon Prime, mind you—I’m talking about the best new show of any TV network ever, cable or not. Yes, it’s that good. It even won two Golden Globes!

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel follows a Jewish housewife in 1950s New York whose perfect life comes crashing down around her, causing her to find refuge and creative expression in stand-up comedy. The show is hilarious, witty, respectful of its characters, with top-quality acting and production, and extremely binge-worthy.

Watch The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Amazon Prime

4. Deadwood (2004)

IMDb: 8.7

Imagine the kind of television show Shakespeare would write if he was alive today, and imagine if that television show took place in the 1870s during the height of the American Wild West. That’s Deadwood in a nutshell.

Deadwood centers on a frontier camp and its growth into a full-fledged town. It’s about life in a lawless territory and what it really takes for civilization to prosper. This show has a massive ensemble cast with fully realized characters inspired by actual, historical people. It’s insanely well-acted and not just one of the best shows on Amazon Prime, but one of the greatest dramas of all time.

Watch Deadwood on Amazon Prime

5. Six Feet Under (2001)

IMDb: 8.7

Six Feet Under is a dark comedy-drama that centers on a family-operated funeral home and how the family copes when the father dies in a sudden and tragic accident. Few shows ever dare to tackle death and mortality and all the themes that arise from it, but Six Feet Under handles it with aplomb, resulting in one of the most moving shows ever made.

Watch Six Feet Under on Amazon Prime

6. Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000)

IMDb: 8.7

Curb Your Enthusiasm is a down-to-earth sitcom that follows the misadventures of a satirized Larry David, the creator of Seinfeld. Episodes often feature guest stars who also play satirized versions of themselves, and most of its humor comes from the awkward situations Larry finds himself in. If you love cringe comedy, this is the epitome of the genre.

Watch Curb Your Enthusiasm on Amazon Prime

7. Friday Night Lights (2006)

IMDb: 8.6

Friday Night Lights is NOT a show about football. Well, it is, but you don’t have to know a single thing about football to enjoy one of the best shows on Amazon Prime. This is a show about family, integrity, glory, perseverance, and how to stand tall in the face of difficulties. Containing some of the best and deepest characters ever to grace television, Friday Night Lights is one of the most heartwarming and heartwrenching shows ever written.

Watch Friday Night Lights on Amazon Prime

8. Justified (2010)

IMDb: 8.6

What happens when a law enforcement officer grows tired of being hampered by bureaucracy and protocol and begins to do whatever it takes to deliver justice to criminals? You get Justified, a stylized cop show that’s unlike any other.

Give it time to grow on you. The first season is mostly standalone episodes, but the show begins to embrace season-long arcs with the second season, and that’s when the characters and stories really begin popping off the screen.

Watch Justified on Amazon Prime

9. Parks and Recreation (2009)

IMDb: 8.6

Parks and Recreation is one of the brightest and most uplifting sitcoms ever made. It’s full of characters that are oblivious or outwardly mean, but deep inside each of them is a warm heart that genuinely cares for the others.

Filmed in the same mockumentary style that made The Office famous, Parks and Recreation is the perfect show to watch when you want to be among cheerful company. But whatever you do, I recommend skipping the cringe-filled first season. The writers didn’t quite find their footing until the second season.

Watch Parks and Recreation on Amazon Prime

10. Hannibal (2013)

IMDb: 8.6

Hannibal is definitely one of the best shows on Amazon Prime, but it’s also not for the faint of heart. This cop drama isn’t just extremely gruesome and dripping with blood, but weighs heavy on the soul with its dark subject matter and unbearable psychological tension. It’s an amazing show—that fact is not up for debate—but probably not one you should watch if you aren’t in a good state of mind.

Watch Hannibal on Amazon Prime

11. Poldark (2015)

IMDb: 8.4

Based on a historical novel series of the same name, Poldark follows the life of a British soldier who returns home after fighting in the American War of Independence and learns that his father has passed away. Life isn’t so familiar after all the years he’s been gone, and the struggles keep piling on as he learns to run the mine inherited from his father.

Poldark is an incredibly well-made period drama, comparable to Downton Abbey but with a much smaller cast. Though a bit slow in the first two episodes, it builds into something great that grabs hold of you and refuses to let go.

Watch Poldark on Amazon Prime

12. In Treatment (2008)

IMDb: 8.3

In Treatment ambitiously aired as a five-episodes-per-week show, centering on a therapist and each day dedicated to a session with one of his patients. Over the course of eight weeks, you learn more about each patient and how they progress in their therapy, plus the effects they have on the therapist himself.

The show is nothing more than two or three characters sitting down and talking, but the dialogue is so rich and well-written, and the performances are so strong, that you can’t help but want to keep watching and know more. I consider it a privilege to be able to watch a show that’s as unconventional as this one.

Watch In Treatment on Amazon Prime

13. The Expanse (2015)

IMDb: 8.3

The Expanse is to science fiction what Game of Thrones is to fantasy: a sprawling, gritty, character-driven epic that’s wholly unlike anything that’s come before. Most science fiction shows suffer from low budgets and cheesy writing—even the great Battlestar Galactica, which is another of the best shows on Amazon Prime—but The Expanse spares no expense in portraying the world it wants portray.

Set 200 years in the future, the show follows multiple storylines across a dying Earth, a settled Asteroid Belt, and a newly colonized Mars. Oozing with political intrigue and interpersonal drama, The Expanse is the best of what modern science fiction offers.

Watch The Expanse on Amazon Prime

14. Sneaky Pete (2015)

IMDb: 8.3

Sneaky Pete is a crime drama about a recently released con artist who takes on the identity of his former cellmate to avoid being tracked down by nefarious gangsters from his past. But as skilled as he is at conning people, when people around him begin to grow suspicious, the facade risks being shattered.

Laced with dark humor and wonderful character work, Sneaky Pete is a surprisingly strong Amazon Original and sits up there with The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as one of the best shows Amazon has ever produced.

Watch Sneaky Pete on Amazon Prime

15. The Americans (2013)

IMDb: 8.3

This period piece takes us back to the 1980s during the height of the Cold War and follows two KGB spies who have been living as a married couple in suburban America for nearly two decades. They now have two children who have no idea who they really are, and they live next door to an FBI agent who could uncover the truth at any moment.

But beneath all the high-concept espionage, The Americans is really about marriage, identity, and loyalty. When everything in your life is built on deception, it’s easy to lose your way—and The Americans explores that to the fullest through highly suspenseful story arcs dripping with tension and suspense.

Watch The Americans on Amazon Prime

Get More Out of Your Amazon Prime Membership

As an Amazon Prime member, there are all kinds of Prime benefits you may not be aware of. And on top of those, Amazon is always adding new benefits for Prime members. If you aren’t taking advantage of them yet, why not? You’re fully entitled to them, and it won’t cost you any extra money, so you might as well.

You can also expand what you can watch with Amazon Prime by adding some Prime TV channels to your account. These aren’t free but they’re definitely cheaper than buying cable TV packages, so we recommend checking them out.

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17 Basic macOS Terms Every Mac User Needs to Know and Master

Are you a Mac user? Whether a newbie or veteran, you have a whole lot of Apple-specific glossary to pick up and master. But don’t worry, it’s not all that difficult. (If you have an iPhone, you’re already halfway there!)

Our roundup of common macOS terms will help you get familiar with Apple speak. To avoid repetition, we have left out:

• Unique app names like Time Machine, Boot Camp Assistant, etc. You’ll find these in our complete guide to default Mac apps.
• Feature names that also appear in iOS like AirDrop, Night Shift, Reading List, etc. You’ll find these in our guide to key iPhone terms.

Let’s get started!

1. Finder

Finder is Apple’s version of a file manager or file explorer. You can open it by clicking on that (immovable) blue icon at the extreme left of the Dock.

To make Finder more comfortable to use, customize it with our Finder tips for beginners.

2. Quick Look

This time-saving Finder feature is a hit with Mac users. It allows you to preview files without opening them.

How do you get the Quick Look feature to work? Simply select a file in Finder and hit Space. The preview pops up instantly. Hitting Space again closes the preview.

To toggle full-screen previews, you can use the shortcut Option + Space. Quick Look works with images, PDFs, media files, spreadsheets, etc.

3. Spotlight

Spotlight is the system-wide search mechanism on macOS. Launch it from anywhere on your Mac with the shortcut Cmd + Space.

You can use Spotlight to bring up apps, files, and folders. It’s also great for retrieving information from the web, performing conversions, opening system settings, and more. Our best Spotlight tips will show you how to make the best of this vital macOS feature.

4. Notification Center

This slide-out sidebar feature on your Mac desktop displays app and system notifications. You can click on the menu bar icon at the extreme right to reveal it.

The Notification Center also has a few widgets to display extra pieces of information such as stock prices, reminders, and upcoming events. They show up in the Today tab.

5. FileVault

FileVault is your Mac’s hard disk encryption utility. You can set it up under System Preferences > Security & Privacy > FileVault. To learn more about keeping your files safe with encryption on Mac, read our in-depth guide to FileVault.

6. Gatekeeper

This one’s another macOS security feature. It protects your Mac from malware by preventing unauthorized apps from running on it.

When you open apps that haven’t come from the Mac App Store or a verified developer, Gatekeeper will block your attempt and ask you to confirm if you want to open the application. You should take care to only run apps you trust.

7. iWork

iWork is Apple’s native office suite. It comes with the Pages app for word processing, Numbers for spreadsheets, and Keynote for presentations.

If you want to start using these apps on your Mac, check out our beginner’s guide to iWork.

8. My Photo Stream

My Photo Stream is Apple’s strategy for keeping your photos synced between your Apple devices without backing them up the cloud. It’s different from iCloud Photo Library.

You can enable My Photo Stream from System Preferences > iCloud. Click on the Options button next to Photos. You’ll then find the requisite option in the window that shows up.

9. Smart Groups

Smart groups are special views that allow you to filter data based on one or more conditions. For example, with a smart group you can bring up a list of contacts living in a certain locale or a set of photos featuring only you.

You’ll find smart groups in certain Mac apps like Finder, Mail, Photos, and Contacts. Their names vary accordingly, so you have smart folders, smart mailboxes, smart albums, smart contact groups, and so on.

10. Mission Control

Mission Control refers to a couple of macOS elements:

• The set of multi-touch gestures and features that help you with window management
• A specific function from this set that displays all active apps and their windows when you swipe up with three fingers.

11. App Exposé

This multitouch gesture is also part of Mission Control. It reveals all the windows in the current application when you swipe downward with three fingers.

To see how App Exposé (and the Mission Control gesture above) works, visit System Preferences > Trackpad > More Gestures.

12. Natural Scrolling

Scrolling down to scroll up—that’s Apple’s natural scrolling for you. While this is standard on mobile devices, it can feel anything but natural on a trackpad.

Do you prefer to scroll down to actually move down the page or screen? Then you might want to disable the natural scrolling feature under System Preferences > Trackpad > Scroll & Zoom.

13. Look Up

This lesser-known macOS feature is quite the time saver. It allows you to look up words in the dictionary from anywhere on your Mac without having to search in Spotlight or open the Dictionary app.

The Look Up gesture, a three-finger tap on any word, gives you a condensed version of the dictionary results in a popup. If you use this gesture on a link, you can preview the contents of the corresponding web page, also in a popup box.

14. Hot Corners

Hot corners are hotspots on your Mac’s screen that trigger certain functions when you move your mouse to them.

You get to decide which of the four screen corners links to which custom action. For example, you can program one corner to open Notification Center and another one to show the desktop.

To start setting up hot corners, click on the Hot Corners button under System Preferences > Mission Control.

15. Share Sheet

This is the list of apps/functions you see when you click on the Share toolbar button in any Mac app. Its contents vary based on the app you’re in, of course.

To toggle the visibility of the extensions that appear in the share sheet, head to System Preferences > Extensions > Share Menu.

16. Library Folders

These are a couple of special Finder folders that store data (and preferences) used by various apps and system processes.

The first of these Library folders is the System Library, which contains data shared by all user accounts on your Mac. This includes default wallpapers, plugins, fonts, and similar. The System Library lives at /Library, which is at the root of your hard disk.

Next comes the User Library, which is specific to each user account. Custom fonts, email caches, installed extensions, etc. go into this folder or one of its subfolders. The User Library lives in your Home folder.

While you can access the Library folders, it’s best to leave their contents alone to avoid data and application mishaps.

17. Continuity

Continuity is Apple’s effort to make the transition between all your Apple devices as good as seamless. It’s a mix of features like:

• Handoff: Continue with tasks across devices in apps like Safari, Mail, and Pages.
• Universal Clipboard: Use a common clipboard between, say, your Mac and iPhone.
• iPhone SMS and Calls: Respond to SMS and receive phone calls from your Mac.
• Instant Hotspot: Use your iPhone as a personal hotspot from your Mac.

One Step Closer to Becoming a Master of Your Mac

Did you know that macOS has a dedicated tab for Apple-related terms in its Dictionary app? It’s another one of those tiny but useful Mac features you’ll find delightful as a Mac user.

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