5 Facebook Alternatives That Don’t Steal Your Data

Facebook was once the poster child of the social media revolution. Today, it’s a shining example of how not to run a social network.

Facebook’s ongoing security and privacy issues mean young people are leaving in their droves. According to Pew Research, 44 percent of users aged 18 to 29 said they deleted the app in the last year. Given they are also the demographic who are most likely to understand Facebook’s confusing privacy settings (64 percent), this is all rather worrying.

So, if you’re looking to jump ship and delete your Facebook profile, which social network should you head for next? Which Facebook alternatives won’t steal your data? Here are our top five picks.

1. FamilyWall

Of the all the arguments against deleting Facebook, perhaps the one that holds the most weight is the potential loss of contact with your extended family.

If you have family members living in other cities—or even other countries—Facebook is one of the best ways to share photos, stories, and videos with each other. It lets you keep up with each other’s lives in a fast and easy way.

@familywall I love your app! I wish, though, that I should add weekly or daily chores for my children. Is there hope for that? #teenageboys

— Samantha (@samiamthirty) July 7, 2016

But wait. There are alternatives to Facebook that you can use that fulfill the same role. One example is FamilyWall. As the name suggests, it’s specifically designed for keeping in touch with your loved ones.

The network has three key features that make it appealing from a privacy standpoint. Firstly, your family’s communications are kept in a private, secure cloud. Secondly, the network is ad-free—so no companies will be using behavioral data to target you. Finally, FamilyWall promises that it will never use your private data for commercial use.

Features on FamilyWall include shared calendars for birthdays and other events, shared task lists, real-time location tracking, the ability to create private groups within your family, and an extensive photo and video library.

2. NextDoor

FamilyWall can fulfill the same role as Facebook when it comes to your family, but what about with regards to your local community?

Another core strength of Facebook is its ability to let you contact your neighbors and townspeople to organize events, discuss security, sell unwanted items, and generally foster a feeling of goodwill in the local area.

If you use Facebook for those purposes, you should check out NextDoor, the local social network. Aside from the security benefits, it’s much more suited to community use that Facebook. It’s the best community-driven Facebook alternative.

Privacy-wise, NextDoor’s policy is to never sell or rent your contact details or personal information to third-parties. Due to the nature of the network, some of your contact information might be visible to your neighbors.

So, what about the features? NextDoor lets neighborhoods make private communities that only local invitees can join. Before someone can join, the person must verify their physical house address. Everyone must also use their real name.

The network revolves around the neighborhood feed. It’s a continually updating list of recommendations, questions, items for sale, and more.

3. 23snaps

You should think twice before you add any more pictures of your children to Facebook; you might see them staring back at you from the side of a city-center bus one day.

Why? Because (although you retain copyright of the photos) Facebook’s terms grant Mark Zuckerberg’s company “non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free rights” to anything you put on the network.

In practice, that means Facebook can sub-license your content to other companies without your permission. It can even charge for the sub-license without being legally required to pay you a cent. And no, those silly copyright statuses you see pop up occasionally won’t help you.

If you’d like to create a shareable photo album full of precious memories of your children, check out 23snaps instead. The company will not share your information or photos with advertisers unless it has your explicit permission to do so.

The network itself lets you create multiple albums of photos, videos, and text, then share them with the appropriate people. To save time, it will intelligently place your pictures in the right albums. You can even order a print book of all your photos that’ll last for eternity.

4. Edmodo

Edmodo is focused on the education sector. Social media connections between students and teachers are playing an increasingly important role in the classroom, but the more public and open platform of services like Facebook tempers their suitability. This has left educators looking around for Facebook alternatives.

The Edmodo network seeks to fill that space. The app was designed by teachers. Features include classroom-wide group chats, subject-based conversations between classrooms, and one-on-one monitoring.

There’s also support for class rosters, school reports, and exam creation. The vast community has now shared more than 650 million free support materials for both teachers and students.

And, because of the inherently sensitive nature of minors’ information, Edmodo has a robust privacy policy. The company does not sell your or your children’s’ information to anyone, including advertisers and third-party apps.

As another safety net, Edmodo also lets parents join the network. Doing so differentiates it from cyberbullying-ridden apps such as After School. By joining, parents can engage in the learning process and coordinate their efforts with teachers and professors.

5. MeWe

The four networks we’ve looked at so far all have seemingly robust privacy policies. But if Facebook has taught us anything, it’s that privacy policies are liable to change.

Sadly, there are hardly any networks whereby privacy has been one of the founding principles of the site. MeWe is the exception.

On the site’s homepage, you’ll see the MeWe challenge. Tick the social networks you use, and it scans your browser to see how many tracking cookies they are running. I ticked all nine networks for testing purposes, and the scanner found 126 results. And the worst offender by some distance? Facebook.

MeWe is different. The network prides itself on its Privacy Bill of Rights. It says:

• MeWe will never show you a targeted ad.
• All posts will be shown chronologically; no algorithms will manipulate what you see.
• The site will never use tracking cookies, either of their own or a third-party.
• MeWe will never sell your personal data.

Some big names have bought into the idea; Sir Tim Berners-Lee—the inventor of the world wide web—serves on the board.

Some of MeWe’s unique features include profiles that can be customized for each group you join, the library tagging so you can find your content easily, and platform-wide voice integration.

If absolute privacy really is your number one priority from a social network, MeWe is the best Facebook alternative.

Which Is the Best Facebook Alternative?

If you’re a privacy fanatic, you simply won’t be able to find a network that’s as expansive as Facebook but without the tracking, selling, and manipulating of data.

However, using the Facebook alternatives we recommended, you can split the network down into its component parts and replace each function with something more suitable.

To continue your journey, you should consider some privacy-focused alternatives to Facebook Messenger, as well as more niche social networks that can fulfill specific needs.

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How to Start Making Your Own Bullet Journal Templates

The Bullet Journal system is all about keeping a handwritten journal, but that’s not to say that you can’t use digital tools to simplify the process of creating your Bullet Journal layouts.

With advanced design apps like Illustrator or basic tools like Microsoft PowerPoint and Apple’s Keynote, you can breeze through creating your templates, and focus on getting things done. Here’s what you’ll need to create your own Bullet Journal templates.

1. Digital Dotted Paper

Dotted grid journals are among the most popular choices for Bullet Journal enthusiasts. If you want to design your templates with that grid in mind, or plan on printing out your templates, you can generate digital dotted paper with Incompetech.

If you’re a Bullet Journal purist and want to stick to the popular A5 Leuchtturm journal, you’ll need 39 dots down and 27 dots across. To generate one side of an A5 journal with Incompetech, you can use the following specs:

• Page size: 5.8 x 8.3
• Minimum border: 0.25 inches
• Dot weight: 1 point
• Grid spacing: 5 dots per inch

You’ll end up with one extra row, but it’s close enough—and you can always remove the extra row in Illustrator.

The final file is saved as a PDF, which you can then use in your vector app as the basis for your templates.

If you’re planning on printing these out and placing them in a binder, you can use the same specs as above with an A4 or letter page, to get the same size boxes.

2. Design App

Now you’re finally ready to design your layouts, with several options to choose from based on your design skills.

We’d recommend first printing out your dotted grid and sketching out your basic layout by hand to figure out where everything’s going to go.

It doesn’t have to be pretty, but this is a good way to get a basic sense of what you want your template to look like.

Adobe Illustrator

An easy way to create your own Bullet Journal templates is to use a vector app like Adobe Illustrator. If you’re already an Adobe Creative Cloud member, the choice is a no-brainer.

Illustrator makes it easy to create tables which you can use to create your monthly and weekly layouts. To get started, open up the PDF you generated from Incompetech in Illustrator.

• (Optional) Select all the dots using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl/Cmd + A and group them using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl/Cmd + G.
• Open the layers panel by going to Window > Layers.
• Check the box as shown below in the screenshot to lock the layer. If done correctly, you should see a lock icon appear. This will prevent you from inadvertently moving the dots.

Now you can begin to design your layouts. You can create a monthly grid, for example, in a few easy steps (just remember to select Landscape orientation when you create your new document):

• After you select the layers panel, click the New Layer icon. 
• Go to View > Snap to Point and make sure it’s toggled on, so your shapes snap to the dotted grid.
• Draw a rectangle using the Rectangle Tool (Keyboard shortcut M).
• With the rectangle selected, go to Object > Path > Split into grid.
• In the dialog box that opens, choose the number of rows and columns you want. (If you’re creating a monthly calendar with the days of the week listed at the top, select seven columns and seven rows.) 

The grid is actually composed of individual boxes, so you can select the entire top row using the Select tool (Keyboard shortcut V). Click and drag your mouse across the top row of boxes and then use the anchor point in the center to narrow the size of your rectangles for the days of the week.

Use the text tool to add the days of the week and the number dates for the month, and the fill tool to change the color of significant dates. (You can select a color scheme for your Bullet Journal using Adobe Color.)

You can also get creative with the use of shapes in Illustrator, switching things up with other shapes like polygons and circles, and even create your own shapes using the pen or pathfinder tools.

Using a vector app means you can work quickly, easily duplicating layouts for each month, and duplicating repetitive shapes within a layout. And if you don’t want to pay for a vector app, there are plenty of decent free alternatives to Adobe Illustrator.

If you have an iPad Pro or 6th Gen iPad that supports the Apple Pencil, there are plenty of ways you can hand draw your templates, but with the added benefit of apps that make it easy to draw straight lines.

Microsoft PowerPoint or Apple Keynote

If you find Adobe Illustrator overwhelming or don’t want to pay for access to the program. there are plenty of apps you probably already have on your computer like Microsoft PowerPoint and Apple Keynote.

Each program has basic shapes, lines, and the ability to create tables. And you can save your templates as PDF files.

• In PowerPoint, click the Insert tab and you’ll find the option to add tables, shapes, icons, pictures, and more. 
• In Keynote, click Insert in the menu to add tables, shapes, lines, and images. 

In both programs, you can also find formatting options for your shapes. You can change the fill color and transparency, the stroke color and type, and you can also add design elements like drop shadows.

Both apps also make it easy to align shapes and text, with elements of your design snapping into place.

3. Stickers and Fonts

Bullet Journals are all about being productive and keeping track of your to-do list. But there’s no harm in making it pretty as well.

When you maintain a digital bullet journal it not only saves you time but also gives you the option to easily use icons and digital stickers. You can use them to make your templates look pretty regardless of your creative skills.

You can find digital PNG files on graphic design marketplaces like Creative Market (keep an eye out for their weekly freebies) or the completely free Pixabay.

You can also find icon files on sites like The Noun Project and interesting fonts on sites like FontSquirrel.

Make sure that anything you download is in the PNG format. You can then place them on your template without obscuring the dotted grid, or anything else on your layout.

Using Your Bullet Journal Templates

When it comes to using your templates, you can print them out and put them in a binder.

If you’d rather keep the entire process digital, you have two main options. You can import them into a mobile note-taking app and write directly on your template with a stylus. Have an iPad Pro or 6th generation iPad that supports the Apple Pencil? GoodNotes 4 is a popular paid app that plenty of Bullet Journal enthusiasts use. Another popular choice for creating templates and doodles is the iPad app Procreate.

Or you can make an editable PDF. Once you’ve saved your PDF, go to PDFEscape:

• After you’ve uploaded your PDF, click Form Field and select Text or Text Paragraph.
• Click and drag to insert fields wherever you want to be able to type in text.
• Click the green download button.

You can then open your PDF in your browser or PDF editor of your choice and type in your info.

And don’t forget: as you begin designing your own templates, you can always turn to Instagram or Pinterest for more Bullet Journal inspiration.

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Curve-Fitting

Curve-Fitting

Turn Your Steam Link Into a Retro Gaming Station With RetroArch

What can you do with a Steam Link that isn’t streaming PC games to your computer? Well, one option is to use it for retro gaming instead! Fancy playing your favorite classic games through your TV without digging out an old computer or console?

Here’s how to get started with retro gaming on a Steam Link.

Is Steam Link Suitable for Retro Gaming?

We’ve looked at so many different solutions for reliving video games from the past. Retro gaming—playing games from years gone by on modern hardware—relies on emulators, and as long as they can run on your computer, you can enjoy old games stored in ROM image formats.

Retro gaming can be enjoyed on everything from a top-shelf desktop PC to a low-cost Raspberry Pi . So why would you use a Steam Link?

Well, like the Raspberry Pi, it’s another relatively low-cost option. With two USB ports, an Ethernet connection, built-in wireless capabilities, and the ability to add your own apps, Steam Link is quite versatile. (We’ve already seen how the Steam Link can run Kodi.) All you need is the right version of the RetroArch emulation suite, a formatted USB drive, and a game controller!

Note: As with all device hacks, this is done entirely at your own risk. We cannot take responsibility for a bricked Steam Link!

Step 1: Find and Format a Suitable USB Flash Drive

To install RetroArch on a Steam Link box, you’ll need to start off with a USB drive. As the RetroArch software is quite compact, it doesn’t have to be a high capacity USB device. However, you will need to format it, as the Steam Link is looking for a specific file structure.

Native formatting tools are suitable here; you’ll be able to use FAT32, or the EXT4 format. Don’t worry about assigning a label to the drive, as this isn’t necessary.

Once the disk is formatted, open it in your file manager. Here, create a directory called steamlink, and within that another one labeled apps.

Step 2: Download RetroArch for Steam Link

Next, grab the RetroArch download. You can grab it from this Google Drive share, however if you want to make sure you have the very latest copy, keep an eye on this thread in the Steam Community forum.

Once downloaded, unzip the contents, copying retroarch.tgz to the USB drive. Specifically, save the file in the /steamlink/apps/ directory.

It’s also a good idea to enable SSH on your Steam Link box. To do this, create a new file path: /steamlink/config/system/. Within this, create a blank text file, and label it enable_ssh.txt.

Enabling SSH means that when you boot up your Steam Link, you will be able to remotely control it, using using PuTTY or other tools on Windows, or if you’re using macOS or Linux, via the terminal. It also means you can use an SFTP client, like FileZilla.

SSH access requires you login with the username root, and the password steamlink123.

When you’ve copied and created this file, safely eject the USB drive from your PC.

Step 3: Install RetroArch on Your Steam Link

Take the USB stick to your Steam Link box, and power down if the device is already switched on. This means switching it off at the mains; the Steam Link’s power menu doesn’t offer a full power cycle option. This is necessary because you need the Steam Link to read from the USB stick; it will only do this from a cold start.

As the Steam Link boots, the data from the USB stick will be read, and RetroArch installed.

Once completed, RetroArch will be listed as an app alongside your linked PCs. If you previously installed Kodi, meanwhile, that will also be listed here.

It’s vital at this stage that you remove the USB drive from your Steam Link. Subsequent power cycles will reinstall RetroArch, undoing everything you’re about to do.

Step 4: Configure Your Game Controller

To use RetroArch, you’ll need to configure a controller. If you don’t have one handy, a keyboard should suffice for now; using a USB controller is a good idea, however, unless you’re planning to play text adventures!

While the Xbox 360 USB controller will work out of the box, you may not own this device. Set up your own controller by using the keyboard; browse to Settings > Input > Input User 1 Binds and find User 1 Bind All.

Select this, and begin mapping buttons on your game controller, as the tool prompts you. Once this is done, you can navigate using just your game controller. Note that these mappings will be replicated across all emulators on the system.

Step 5: Add Gaming ROMs to the Steam Link

With RetroArch now installed on your Steam Link, you’ll be ready to play some classic games from yesteryear. All you need to do is copy the ROM files for the platforms you want to use onto the Steam Link.

Before you do that, however, be aware that you’re on your own here. We cannot provide links to any ROM files due to legal restrictions. You should also note that any ROM files you use should be ones that you already own a physical copy of.

Once you’ve tracked these down, copying them onto the Steam Link is simple enough.

With RetroArch running, the first thing you will need to do is copy the ROM files to the Steam Link. One way to do this is to copy them to a freshly formatted USB flash drive, and load them from there. However, the best option (as noted above) is to use an FTP application with SSH support, such as FileZilla.

Open the Site Manager and create a New Site, inputting the IP address of your Steam Link, and the username and password detailed in Step 2 above. Click Connect, then navigate to the /home/apps/retroarch/roms/ folder on the Steam Link.

When you’ve done this, find the ROM files on your computer, and copy them into the roms folder.

This shouldn’t take too long (depending on how large your ROM collection is!), but once completed you can go to Add Content > Scan Directory to browse for the games. Once the directory has been scanned, the games should be available to play, with platforms indicated by a corresponding icon.

To run a game, select it, then when prompted choose the appropriate “core” (the emulator). Most platforms have multiple emulators available, and one might be more suitable for a particular game than others. Once selected, a core can be downloaded, and will be ready to use with your favorite retro games!

Enjoy Retro Gaming on Steam Link

Don’t let your Steam Link gather dust. Not only can it stream games from your PC to your TV, you can also play retro games directly from the device itself. And with these installed alongside apps like Kodi, you can have a compact home media entertainment system in your living room at a very cheap price!

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Go Green: 8 Free Apps for a More Eco-Friendly Lifestyle

It’s pretty self-evident by now that going green has its advantages. Of course, it’s about conserving energy and preserving the environment. But in a lot of ways, it’s also about saving you a ton of money.

You waste less energy and thus save money on heating, gas, and electricity. It also helps the planet when you go green.

For those willing to begin or continue their journey to sustainability and balance, we’ve put together a list of apps that will help you go green and adopt a healthier and more mindful lifestyle.

1. #Climate: For Participating

Whether you believe in climate change or not, you’ll find useful information on #Climate. This app is all about taking small steps towards a greater good.

#Climate is a non-profit created by a tech community. Its main purpose is to help you find green actions that you can take to help the environment. You can focus your profile on the topics you’re interested in and passionate about. Then, when you log into the app, you’ll see suggested actions for you according to your interests.

The next step is choosing an action you’d like to take part in. After completing one of those, you get to share it with your friends on social media. There’s also an option to track the action’s success and see how many people you’ve inspired to join in.

Download: #Climate for iOS (Free)

2. JouleBug: For Forming Green Habits

JouleBug is an app that helps you form green habits by giving you awards for doing good. The app will encourage you to be more sustainable by awarding various badges and points every step of the way. So you’ll get points for actions like biking to work instead of driving, or bringing a reusable shopping bag to a store.

Plus, JouleBug is an app that helps you save money. You can sync it up to your utility bills and see how much money you’re saving each month by going green. You can also ask your friends to join the app to add an element of a friendly competition. Besides, changing your lifestyle is always more fun when you’re doing it together with someone else.

Download: JouleBug for iOS | Android (Free)

3. threadUP: For Decluttering and Recycling

Our next pick is thredUP, a fashion resale shop with thousands of brands. Why is the app on this list? Because it helps with decluttering and recycling used clothes.

ThredUP is basically an online thrift shop. Except you don’t have to spend hours shopping and searching through hundreds of items for the perfect piece. You can browse all you want without leaving home. Browse through the items on the app, or choose one of the special surprise boxes if you’re feeling adventurous.

And the best part? You can send the company the clothes you don’t wear anymore and receive store credit or cash in exchange.

Download: thredUP for iOS | Android (Free)

4-5. AYA Carpooling and BlaBlaCar: For Ridesharing

One great step to going green is sharing car rides. Not only will this save you a ton of money, but it also helps reduce CO2 emissions and their impact on the environment.

A great option for Android users in the US is AYA Carpooling. The app offers low-cost shared rides from city to city by connecting drivers with people who are traveling the same way.

What AYA does differently is introducing a concept of so-called social carpooling. This means that you can join different groups on the app, get to know the people better, and choose your carpooling partners based on something more than just the model of their vehicle and the price of the ride.

The company’s vision is to turn carpooling into an alternative means of transportation. That has potential to solve a lot of issues like pollution, traffic congestion on roads, and lack of parking space.

While it’s not available in the US, BlaBlaCar is worth a look for those in Europe and elsewhere around the world. Even though these app claims their systems are very secure, don’t forget about basic safety when ridesharing.

Download: AYA Carpooling for Android (Free)
Download: BlaBlaCar for iOS | Android (Free)

6. HowGood: For Better Grocery Shopping

It’s no secret that what goes into the groceries you buy affects not only your health, but the environment as well.

With HowGood, you can scan a product’s barcode or search for it on the app to find the product info. In a simple way, the app tells you how good something is both for your health and the environment. The app has over a hundred thousand products already rated.

Scores are based on a combination of factors, such as community impact, growing practices, and food processing. Using this app is a good way to become (and stay) informed about what you eat and how it affects the world around you.

Download: HowGood for iOS | Android (Free)

7. PaperKarma: For Reducing Paper Waste

Junk mail is annoying in any form. But when it comes by way of useless magazines, leaflets, and catalogs, it’s also bad for the environment. But before you decide to toss those into a trash bin, scan them with PaperKarma.

The app’s mission is to reduce paper waste by getting rid of junk mail. Next time you receive unwanted mail, take a photo of it. Make sure it includes your name, address, and the sender’s details. That’s all you have to do to unsubscribe from offending junk mail.

PaperKarma takes care of the rest on your behalf. You can get started with the app for free, but after a while, you have to switch to a subscription. After all, the process is not automatic—someone actually has to do this for you.

Download: PaperKarma for iOS | Android (Free trial, subscription required)

8. Good On You: For Ethical Fashion

If you’re looking to improve your shopping, you might want to start by learning more about ethical shopping and what brands are considered ethical. Good On You is the app that can help you figure it out.

The app is easy to use. All you have to do is search the app for a brand name or type of product, then tap it and see how it rates. The rating scores are based on the brand’s labor, environmental, and animal rights practices.

That way, you can make informed purchasing decisions according to the information you learn about the brands. Good On You also offers some discounts for its users, so you can save money while shopping.

Download: Good On You for iOS | Android (Free)

Are You Ready for a Greener Lifestyle Change?

Changing your ways might feel like a lot of work. But nowadays, there are plenty of tools that can make it easier if you work one step at a time. And if it’s for a good cause, like saving our planet for future generations, then why not make an effort?

Speaking of future generations, if you want to share the effort with others, check out some educational games that teach children about the environment.

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Ghostery revamps its privacy-focused mobile browsers

Ghostery is launching new versions of its browsers for iOS and Android. In fact, Director of Product Jeremy Tillman said this is the first big update to Ghostery’s mobile browsers in several years.

It’s not that mobile wasn’t a priority for the team before this, but Tillman said, “In our previous company, we didn’t have a ton of resources — we always had to choose which thing to work on.” Apparently that changed last year with Ghostery’s acquisition by German browser company Cliqz.

The first big launch after the acquisition was Ghostery 8, the latest version of the team’s privacy-focused extension for desktop browsers. Next up: Bringing those features over to mobile.

Tillman said the goal was to create “a browser that can go toe-to-toe with Chrome” while also incorporating Ghostery’s privacy protection capabilities. Those capabilities include the ability to block different kinds of ad tracking by category (tracking for advertising, adult advertising and site analytics are turned on by default).

There’s also a built-in ad blocker, and Ghost Search, a privacy-focused search engine based on Cliqz technology that does not store any personally identifiable information. (If you’re not satisfied with the Ghost Search results, you can also see results from other search engines.) The presentation is different from a standard search engine, with three “dynamic result cards” that surface content as soon as you start entering search terms. And there’s Ghostery Tab, a home screen that highlights your favorite or most visited sites, as well as the latest news stories.

The Android version includes additional features, including AI-powered anti-tracking and “smart blocking” that’s supposed to improve page performance.

Tillman described the result as “a cleaner, faster, safer mobile browsing experience.” He also said that moving forward, Ghostery will be working to provide “an ecosystem of products” that “protect our users wherever they’re interacting with the Internet.”

The launch comes as the big Internet platforms face growing scrutiny over how they handle user data. Tillman argued that by simply giving consumers a more privacy-friendly alternative, “We’re sort of collectively negotiating a better Internet for them” — and he’s hoping Ghostery can be more involved as publishers try to find alternatives to advertising.

“Our goal isn’t to, say, topple Google and Facebook, but to provide that alternative to those that want it — both for content creators but also for users themselves,” he said.

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iOS 12.1 beta hints at new iPad Pro

iOS 12 is still brand new, but Apple is already testing iOS 12.1 with a developer beta version. Steve Troughton-Smith and Guilherme Rambo found references to a brand new iPad that would support Face ID.

First, there are changes to Face ID. You can find references to landscape orientation in the iOS 12.1 beta. Face ID on the iPhone is limited to portrait orientation. Chances are you didn’t even notice this limitation because there’s only one orientation for the lock screen and home screen.

But the iPad is a different story as people tend to use it in landscape. And even when you hold it in landscape, some people will have the home button on the left while others will have the home button on the right.

In other words, in order to bring Face ID to the iPad, it needs to support multiple orientations. This beta indicates that iOS 12.1 could be the version of iOS that ships with the next iPad.

If that wasn’t enough, there’s a new device codename in the setup reference files. This device is called iPad2018Fall, which clearly means that a new iPad is right around the corner.

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo previously indicated that the iPad Pro could switch from Lightning to USB-C. This would open up a ton of possibilities when it comes to accessories. For instance, you could plug an external monitor without any dongle and send a video feed to this external monitor.

As for iPhone users, in addition to bug fixes, iOS 12.1 brings back Group FaceTime, a feature that was removed at the last minute before the release of iOS 12. If it’s still too buggy, Apple could still choose to remove the feature once again. Memojis could support iCloud syncing across your devices, which would be useful for an iPad Pro with Face ID.

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How to Manage Multiple Browsing Sessions in Google Chrome

The browser is a magical gateway to so many worlds. It is where you chat with your friends, collaborate on a presentation with your colleagues, and more, all at the same time. Therefore, it is unfair that browsers today don’t allow concurrent multiple sessions for the same website. Fortunately, third-party plugins do.

Here are some awesome Google Chrome session management extensions.

1. SessionBox

SessionBox offers a host of utilities for creating and managing new sessions. The free extension, for starters, lets you initiate as many instances of a particular website as you want. You can color-code separate sessions and even group them. So for example, you can put your professional active tabs in one and personal in another to quickly jump between them.

Another nifty feature SessionBox comes with is the ability to share these sessions with anyone else. This eliminates the need for handing out passwords when you want to let another person in any of your accounts.

Say you want to share your Netflix password with a friend. You could either send them your credentials which can be grossly misused or simply a Netflix session through SessionBox. In addition to these, SessionBox can sync your existing sessions with other devices as well and back them up if you’re switching computers.

Download: SessionBox (Free)

2. Multi Session Box

Multi Session Box, as the name suggests, is largely identical to Session Box. You can produce new sessions, multi-task between, all in the same browser window. However, there are differences. Multi Session Box brings a much more straightforward interface and a narrower feature set. Therefore, if you’re someone who’s looking just for an extension which can handle multi logins, Multi Session Box is for you.

Multi Session Box does come with all the essentials you would need. This includes features such as searching across all the active sessions, naming them, and more. It’s free too and doesn’t have a limit either like SessionBox.

Download: Multi Session Box (Free)

3. MultiLogin

MultiLogin is another such add-on but this one takes an even simpler approach. There are no menus, search, or tagging options here at all. You just click the extension icon present on the Omnibox and it will generate a new, isolated tab. It’s certainly the quickest of them since you don’t have to deal with any pop-ups or cosmetic features. It’s also lighter on memory. Hence if your computer regularly runs out of resources, try MultiLogin.

If you’re someone whose computer is struggling to keep up with Google Chrome’s needs, try these extensions which can greatly optimize the browsing experience on Chrome.

Download: MultiLogin (Free)

4. Account Manager

Unlike the rest, Account Manager is for those who want a more organized and controlled session manager. The extension comes with a functional interface where you can easily view and edit your active sessions. Each entry is accompanied by big buttons for quick actions like delete, save, and more.

Account Manager also offers a comprehensive backup and restore engine which lets you revive any past session with a click of a button. Moreover, Google sync is available as well if you’re planning to move to another computer.

Download: Account Manager (Free)

5. Easy Account Switcher

Easy Account Switcher is designed for people who regularly switch between several profiles for work and personal use. The extension has a different setup since it doesn’t work by just building new isolated tabs. Instead, Easy Account Switcher asks you to head over to the websites, log in, and then hit a button for saving that as an individual session. You can do the same for another type of session. Once configured, you can swap between both of those by clicking their respective options in the Easy Account Switcher menu.

It’s definitely not as effortless as spawning new tabs but it’s meant for a specific set of users who won’t be juggling between work and personal accounts simultaneously.

If you need more help separating your work and personal lives, here are five digital habits to cleanly do that.

Download: Easy Account Switcher (Free)

6. Cookie Profile Switcher

Cookie Profile Switcher revolves around the concept of website profiles instead of producing new tabs or managing a set of several accounts. Whenever you open a website, you have the option to launch another session by creating a new profile from the extension’s menu. You can develop new ones, of course, as long as you don’t run out of space, tag them individually and work on them parallelly.

If you don’t want to keep a specific login active, you can simply close it and revisit by clicking its profile from the Cookie Profile Switcher’s options. In the settings, you can also access the JSON data of the cookie files the extension has saved on your computer.

Download: Cookie Profile Switcher (Free)

7. Swap My Cookies

Swap My Cookies functions similar to Easy Account Switcher and lets you switch between a set of accounts by swapping the browser’s cookie data. You can make tens of them for various profiles and have your tabs refreshed by simply clicking their corresponding option in the Swap My Cookies menu.

Download: Swap My Cookies (Free)

Manage Your Google Chrome Profiles With Ease

While these free third-party extensions clearly make it effortless for you to manage multiple accounts on the same browser window, Google Chrome itself has sort of a profile switcher as well. But, of course, that requires much more effort and is not as seamless as these tools. Also, the native feature is meant for multiple users in your house who work on the same computer.

Think you’ve discovered all the Google Chrome tips? Think again—these power tips for Chrome will improve your browsing instantly.

Read the full article: How to Manage Multiple Browsing Sessions in Google Chrome

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Google Home Mini was the best-selling smart speaker in Q2

Amazon’s Echo Dot may have been a bestseller on Prime Day, but Google’s Home Mini device is now the top-selling smart speaker worldwide, according to a new report out this morning from Strategy Analytics. The analyst firm says Google’s small speaker accounted for 1 in 5 smart speaker shipments in Q2 2018, edging out the Echo Dot with its 2.3 million global shipments compared to Echo Dot’s 2.2 million.

Combined, these two entry-level smart speakers – the Echo Dot and Home Mini – accounted for 38% of global shipments, the firm found.

In total, 11.7 million smart speaker devices were shipped during Q2, with 4 out of the top 5 devices coming from either Amazon or Google.

Following the Dot, was Amazon’s flagship Echo device with 1.4 million shipments, then Alibaba’s Tmail Genie (0.8m), and Google Home (0.8m).

Apple’s HomePod wasn’t ranked in the top five, but took a 6% share of the shipments in Q2.

However, HomePod’s premium focus and higher price tag allowed it to take a sizable chunk of smart speaker revenue during this period.

While the Home Mini and Echo Dot combined accounted for 17% of smart speaker revenues, Apple’s HomePod alone took a 16% share of wholesale revenues. And in terms of devices above the $200 price point, the HomePod had a 70% revenue share.

Strategy Analytics’s report also indicated this growing market is still in flux, thanks to expected new arrivals which could impact the shares held today by existing players.

“The number of smart speaker models available worldwide has grown significantly over the last twelve months as vendors look to capitalize on the explosive market growth,” said David Mercer, Vice President at Strategy Analytics, in a statement. “Heavyweight brands such as Samsung and Bose are in the process of launching their first models, adding further credibility to the segment and giving consumers more options at the premium-end of the marker,” he added.

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Telegram to replace iOS messaging app with Telegram X Swift rebuild

Telegram has announced it will be migrating iOS users of its messaging app to a rebuilt-from-scratch Swift version.

It’s been running two versions of its app in parallel on iOS and Android during 2018 — officially announcing Telegram X in January, when it billed it as an experiment and said the alternative app “may or may not eventually replace the existing official apps”.

Well, that maybe has now become a certainty — at least on iOS.

In a post on his Telegram channel, founder Pavel Durov says the company will be replacing the iOS app with the Swift rebuild “within the next week or two”.

“As a result, Telegram will become faster, slicker and more efficient,” he writes. “Since it will rely on an entirely new codebase, some minor bugs and glitches might occur, but we’ll make sure they are quickly — or should I say “swiftly” — fixed.”

“This change will make Telegram the most popular messaging app written fully in Swift. Some would say it’s a big risk, but I think somebody has to take such risks and be the first to implement new technologies, such as e2e [end-to-end] encryption — or Swift,” adds Durov.

At the time of writing, the original Telegram iOS app and the Telegram X rebuild are both currently still available for download in the App Store.

It’s not clear whether Telegram will also be entirely replacing the Android app with the Telegram X Android version (or not). Nor what the iOS switch will mean for Telegram users running the app on a version of Apple’s mobile OS that doesn’t support Swift apps (iOS 6 or earlier).

Telegram may well be calculating that only a very small few number of its iOS users are likely that far behind on iOS updates. (Whereas the Android ecosystem is far more fragmented.)

Also unclear: Whether or not Telegram plans to open source Telegram X code.

It has open sourced Telegram client-side code in the past but has also faced criticism for not immediately publishing the most recent versions and for not open sourcing server-side code. (Though in an FAQ it still makes the claim that: “All code will be released eventually.”)

We’ve reached out to the company with additional questions about the switch to Telegram X and will update this post with any response.

In the current App Store description for Telegram X the iOS app is billed as “an alternative Telegram client built in Swift, with higher speed, slicker animations, themes and more efficient battery use”.

The Swift rebuild, which has been available on the App Store since January, has a 4.0 (out of 5) star rating — with reviewers lauding its faster speed but also reporting a few bugs and/or complaining about some missing features.

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The 20 Best 80s Movies to Watch on Netflix

In many ways, 80s movies laid the foundations of the modern movie industry as we know it today. Technologies such as CGI and special effects were in their infancy, the blockbuster boom continued to grow, and previous taboos such as nudity and violence became mainstream.

If you’d like to relive a period of time that many consider to be a harbinger of what was to come, check out these awesome movies from the 1980s on Netflix!

1. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

The top-grossing film of the 80s was Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Indeed, it surpassed 1977’s Star Wars: A New Hope to become the top-grossing movie of all time—a record it held for 11 years until 1993’s Jurassic Park stole the crown.

2. Top Gun

Is there a more quintessentially 80s movie than Top Gun? Featuring a young Tom Cruise, Cold War connotations, and plenty of high-adrenaline action shots, the film was a huge commercial success. It ended up grossing $356 million off a budget of just $15 million.

3. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark

Raiders of the Lost Ark was the movie that launched the Indiana Jones franchise. Released in 1981, “Indy” (Harrison Ford) heads off on a journey through Peru, Nepal, and Egypt in a bid to find the mythical Ark of the Covenant and prevent it from falling into the Nazis’ hands.

4. Back to the Future Part II

Back to the Future Part II was released in November 1989, making it an 80s movie by the skin of its teeth. The film didn’t win as many plaudits as the 1985 original but it was still a box office success.

5. Scarface

Scarface is arguably one of the all-time greatest crime movies. Perhaps surprisingly, it wasn’t a critical success upon release; it received just one Academy Award nomination—for sound editing. But in the following years, the movie’s popularity grew. The story of Cuban gangster Tony Montana is now a cult classic.

6. Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters is another of the decade’s greatest movies. It follows a team of parapsychologists who are tasked with combating a supernatural crisis in New York. The film gave birth to a media franchise that remains popular to this day.

7. Ghostbusters II

Hitting cinemas in 1989—five years after the first installment—Ghostbusters 2 never quite reached the same heights as its predecessor. The plot sees the team battle a mysterious slime that appears to spawn ghosts. Everything comes to a head on New Year’s Eve.

8. Full Metal Jacket

Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket is widely thought to be one of the best Vietnam War movies ever made. And if you like this you should also watch the best World War II movies ever made. It tells the story of Joker and Cowboy, two marine recruits who will soon head to the front lines. Despite the widespread critical praise, the movie received just one Academy Award nomination.

9. Dead Poets Society

Dead Poets Society sees Robin Williams take the lead role, a performance for which he earned an Oscar nomination. The film itself won the Academy Award for best screenplay. The story follows the lives of a group of students at an elite boarding school in Vermont as their eccentric-but-inspiring English teacher sends them on a path of self-discovery.

10. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

The Temple of Doom is the second installment in the original Indiana Jones trilogy, but it serves as a prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark in the franchise’s universe. It was reportedly filmed as a prequel to avoid using Nazis as the enemy for a second time.

11. Sophie’s Choice

The first of Meryl Streep’s two Oscars for Best Actress came in 1982 when she played the role of a Polish immigrant in Sophie’s Choice (the other was for 2011’s The Iron Lady). The film takes place in New York and tells the story of the relationship between Sophie, her lover Nathan, and Stingo.

12. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

All three films from the original Star Wars trilogy are on Netflix, but A New Hope was released in 1977 so doesn’t make our cut. The Empire Strikes Back is often praised as being the zenith of the entire Star Wars franchise. Indeed, people often hail it as being one of the best films of all time. Darth Vader’s “I am your father” line has become one of the most recognizable quotes in all of cinema.

13. Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life

Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life is a British musical comedy featuring the famous group of actors. Unlike the two previous films in the 1970s, The Meaning of Life doesn’t tell a coherent story and instead opts for a series of short sketches. The film marked the last time that the six original Pythons were all seen together in film before Graham Chapman’s untimely death at the age of 48 in 1989.

14. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

After a disappointing public response to the first Star Trek film in 1979, The Wrath of Khan was under pressure to succeed. The film certainly delivered; it earned $97 million worldwide and set a world record for its first-day box office takings.

15. Who Framed Roger Rabbit

It’s not the plotline of Who Framed Roger Rabbit that earned it plaudits, but rather its groundbreaking animation in which humans and animated characters co-exist and seamlessly interact. The film is widely credited for reigniting interest in the golden age of American animation, thus laying the groundwork for the modern animation scene.

16. Turner and Hooch

Turner (a cop) and Hooch (a dog) are an unlikely duo. Turner’s obsessive desire for a neat and tidy home is thwarted when his new companion moves in. However, the cop soon realizes his canine friend’s capacity for crime solving, and the two quickly become an effective team. Tom Hanks plays the lead role.

17. The Untouchables

Featuring Kevin Costner, Andy García, Robert De Niro, and Sean Connery, 1987 gangster movie The Untouchables offers an all-star cast. The story takes place in the era of prohibition in the United States. The group of gangsters has one aim—to bring Chicago’s Al Capone to justice.

18. Trading Places

Offering a modern interpretation of Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper, Trading Places sees Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy unwittingly swap roles as a commodities broker and street hustler respectively. The film was nominated for two Golden Globes and an Academy Award.

19. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

Return of the Jedi hit theaters in 1983. It was the final installment in the original Star Wars trilogy and left fans begging for more until the disappointing The Phantom Menace was released in 1999.

20. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

1989’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is the third and final film in the Indiana Jones series. Harrison Ford and Sean Connery take the lead roles. The plot sees Indy goes out in search for his father who has been captured by Nazis during the build-up to World War II.

More Awesome Movies to Watch on Netflix

When you’ve finished this list of movies, make sure you check out our lists of the best sci-fi movies on Netflix, the best scary movies on Netflix, and the best Disney movies on Netflix for even more awesome recommendations.

Read the full article: The 20 Best 80s Movies to Watch on Netflix

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Hackers stole customer credit cards in Newegg data breach

Newegg is clearing up its website after a month-long data breach.

Hackers injected 15 lines of card skimming code on the online retailer’s payments page which remained for more than a month between August 14 and September 18, Yonathan Klijnsma, a threat researcher at RiskIQ, told TechCrunch. The code siphoned off credit card data from unsuspecting customers to a server controlled by the hackers with a similar domain name — likely to avoid detection. The server even used an HTTPS certificate to blend in.

The code also worked for both desktop and mobile customers — though it’s unclear if mobile customers are affected.

The online electronics retailer removed the code on Tuesday after it was contacted by incident response firm Volexity, which first discovered the card skimming malware and reported its findings.

Newegg is one of the largest retailers in the US, making $2.65 billion in revenue in 2016. The company touts more than 45 million monthly unique visitors, but it’s not known precisely how many customers completed transactions during the period.

When reached, a Newegg spokesperson did not immediately comment.

Klijnsma called the incident “another well-disguised attack” that looked near-identical to the recent British Airways credit card breach. Like that breach, RiskIQ attributed the Newegg credit card theft to the Magecart group, a collective of hackers that carry out targeted attacks against vulnerable websites.

The code used in both skimming attacks was near identical, according to the research.

“The breach of Newegg shows the true extent of Magecart operators’ reach,” said Klijnsma. “These attacks are not confined to certain geolocations or specific industries—any organization that processes payments online is a target.”

Like previous card skimming campaigns, he said that the hackers “integrated with the victim’s payment system and blended with the infrastructure and stayed there as long as possible.”

Anyone who entered their credit card data during the period should immediately contact their banks.

British Airways breach caused by credit card skimming malware, researchers say

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How to Create and Use Memoji on Your iPhone

Google will match up to $1M in donations for Hurricane Florence relief

As cities in Hurricane Florence’s path deal with its aftermath, Google will match up to $1 million in donations to help with relief efforts.

The disaster’s death toll is currently 35 people and about 343,000 people in North Carolina are without electricity. The hurricane caused widespread flooding and property damage throughout North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.

 

Google drew attention to its Hurricane Florence donation campaign with a banner that appeared on top of Gmail for some users. Google has matched donations for other disasters before, including Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Harvey last year. It’s also raised money for humanitarian efforts crises, like a 2015 matching program for up to $5.5 million in donations to provide aid to refugees in Europe. For that campaign, it temporarily added a “Donate” button to its search homepage.

The company is partnering with non-profit Network for God to collect and distribute funds. All donations will be directed to the American Red Cross, which Google said it chose to work with “because of their strong track record and existing response in the region.”

Other tech companies helping with Hurricane Florence relief include Amazon, which enabled Alexa users to make donations by saying “Alexa, donate to Hurricane Florence disaster relief” and sent trucks with food and donated items to affected areas, and Apple, which donated $1 million to the American Red Cross. Airbnb also offered free rooms to people fleeing the hurricane.

 

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Google’s Work Insights helps businesses better understand how they work

At an event in Tokyo, Google today announced the launch of Work Insights, a new tool that gives businesses more insights into how their employees use the company’s G Suite productivity tools and how teams collaborate using those tools.

In addition, Google is also launching its investigation tool for helping business better secure their data in G Suite into general availability.

“Work Insights is a tool built specifically to help businesses measure and understand the impact of digital transformation within their organizations, driven by G Suite,” Reena Nadkarni, a group product manager for G Suite, explains in today’s announcement. Data is aggregated at the team level (where a team needs to have 10 people or more) to help businesses understand how their employees are adapting G Suite apps.

As enterprises bet on one vendor or the other, there’s always a bit of a transition period and not everybody makes the move quite as quickly as others. Most of these tools, though, only really work when the whole company adopts them. That’s especially true for communication tools like Slack, Hangouts Chat/Meet or Microsoft Teams, but also for productivity tools like G Suite.

The other use cases here, though, is actually far more interesting. Work Insights will also give companies a view of how users on different teams interact with each other (think the marketing and sales teams). If they are working on documents together, then they are probably working well together, too (or just leaving acerbic comments on marketing presentations, but you get the general idea here).

“This insight can help executives identify opportunities to strengthen collaboration and reduce siloes,” Nadkarni writes. Since few executives ever say that they want less collaboration and more siloes, chances are we’ll see quite a few companies adopt these tools.

 

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