Podcast app Majelan pivots to premium audio content around personal growth

French startup Majelan is pivoting a year after launching a podcast player and service. The company, created by former Radio France CEO Mathieu Gallet and Arthur Perticoz, is ditching the podcast aggregation side of its business and focusing on premium audio content going forward.

Like many podcast startups, Majelan has faced some criticisms shortly after its launch. Aggregating free podcasts with premium content next to them à la Luminary is a controversial topic in the podcast community. Spotify has been going down the same path, but Spotify is also an order of magnitude bigger than any other podcast startup out there.

Some podcast creators have decided to remove their podcast feeds from Majelan to protest against that business model.

Podcasts remain an open format. Creators can create a feed, users can subscribe to that feed in their favorite podcast app. You don’t have to sign up to a particular service to access a particular podcast — everything is open.

“We have decided to stop aggregating free podcasts — free podcasts mean podcasts, period. For us, podcasts are RSS feeds, it’s an open world,” Perticoz said in a podcast episode. “We need an app that is more focused on payment. We can’t aggregate free podcasts given that our strategy is paid content.”

The result is a more focused service that is going to launch on July 7th in France. After a free trial, you have to subscribe for €5 to €7 per month depending on the length of your subscription. You can then access a library of premium audio content — Majelan rightfully doesn’t call them podcasts.

“Going forward, we’re going to focus on original content, we’re going to focus 100% on paid content,” Gallet said in the same podcast episode.

And in order to be even more specific, Majelan will focus on personal growth, such as creativity, activism, mindfulness, innovation, entrepreneurship and health. According to the co-founders, some content will be produced in house, some content will be co-produced with other companies and the startup will also acquire existing podcasts and repackage them for Majelan.

That move has been in the works for a while. The startup pitched it to its board of investors back in December. Premium subscriptions have worked well for movies, TV and music. Now let’s see if subscriptions will also take off with spoken-word audio.

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Daily Crunch: Facebook employees walk out virtually

Facebook staff protests the social network’s stance on Trump posts, Volkswagen finalizes its $2.6 billion investment in Argo AI and we examine complaints about the layoff process at events and travel startup Pollen.

Here’s your Daily Crunch for June 2, 2020.

1. Facebook employees stage virtual walkout in protest of company’s stance on Trump posts

Some Facebook employees virtually walked out yesterday to challenge the company’s lack of response to President Donald Trump’s posts — specifically his posts discussing the protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd. Facebook has since acknowledged the walkout and said it will not require employees to use their paid time off.

Also, CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a Sunday night post that he will donate $10 million to “groups working on racial justice.”

2. Self-driving vehicle startup Argo AI completes $2.6B deal with Volkswagen, expands to Europe

The deal turns Argo into a global company with two customers — VW and Ford — as well as operations in the U.S. and Europe and an instant jump in its workforce. Autonomous Intelligent Driving, the self-driving subsidiary that was launched in 2017 to develop autonomous vehicle technology for the VW Group, will be absorbed into Argo AI.

3. Former Pollen employees were asked to sign an ‘NDA masked as a severance agreement’

Pollen, the U.K.-headquartered travel and events marketplace, describes its company culture as built on principles of “freedom” and openness, including a well-publicized pay transparency policy. However, that doesn’t appear to always be the case with regards to the treatment of departing employees.

4. LinkedIn introduces new retargeting tools

LinkedIn has already been testing these capabilities with a few advertisers, including TOPdesk, which says it’s increased conversions by 20% while lowering the cost per conversion by 24%.

5. 12 top cybersecurity VCs discuss investing, valuations and no-go zones

We spoke to a dozen cybersecurity VCs to hear their thoughts on cybersecurity valuations during the pandemic, which companies are sparking investors’ interests and the kinds of startups that aren’t. (Extra Crunch membership required.)

6. Twitter restricts Republican lawmaker’s Antifa tweet for ‘glorifying violence’

Twitter placed behind a warning label a tweet from a close political ally of the president, citing its policy prohibiting content that promotes violence. The tweet, from Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, suggested that the U.S. government “hunt down” anti-fascist activists in the country like it would pursue international terrorists.

7. Locus Robotics raises another $40M as retailers increasingly look to automate

Locus has already seen good traction here in the United States for its bin-moving robots. In February, the company announced that its robots have passed 100 million units picked.

The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 9am Pacific, you can subscribe here.

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No Birthday Cake? Send a Virtual Cake With These 6 Celebratory Sites

If you’re celebrating someone’s birthday overseas, or you simply don’t have excellent baking skills, why not send a virtual cake over the internet? They may not taste as good as the real thing, but a virtual birthday cake is a fun way to celebrate a special occasion if you can’t get a physical one.

Let’s explore the best virtual cake makers on the internet.

Virtual Cake Images and GIFs

If you’re not looking for a full birthday greeting, you can send a virtual cake image or GIF. You could attach one to an email, or send it over any messenger app for an easy way to wish someone a happy birthday.

1. NameThatCake

NameThatCake does all the hard work by providing virtual cakes with your recipient’s name on it. All you need to do is look through the cakes and pick out the one that matches the special person’s name.

NameThatCake achieves this by hunting down and uploading photos of real cakes with names on them. The website claims that every photo they upload is copyright-free, so you need not worry about stealing someone else’s photo.

NameThatCake also has cakes for mothers and fathers day, cakes with “I love you” on them, and cakes that have numbers on them for birth years. Once you find a cake you like, you can attach it to an email or even print it off in a letter to a friend.

2. BirthdayCake24

If NameThatCake doesn’t have the name you’re looking for, why not write your own? BirthdayCake24 gives you a nice selection of cakes to choose from, each with editable text to enter your recipient’s name.

Some will allow you to edit the whole message, and some will even let you upload a custom photo to personalize your cake. Just enter what you want to change, then save the result to your PC or share the unique URL that’s generated.

BirthdayCake24 also has an excellent selection of GIF images you can customize. Just enter the text you want on the cake, and the website will generate a fully-animated GIF that you can share with your friends. The website also features generators for happy birthday messages and invitations, so it’s a useful one-stop-shop for all your celebratory needs.

3. Tenor

Tenor by itself isn’t a birthday cake website. It’s actually a huge database of GIFs designed for you to pick out and choose the ones you want. However, if you search for birthday cake GIFs, you’ll find a lot of images explicitly designed to send to friends or include in a birthday greeting.

Once you find the cake GIF you want to send, click on it, then look for the black “Caption” button at the bottom right. If you click this, you can add a touch of personalization to your GIF before you send it. If you want even more control, try a GIF app to edit or annotate your image.

Happy Birthday Cake e-Cards

Fancy combining a card and a cake into one, easy-to-make package? Then be sure to check out these great e-card websites that let you create a card with a fantastic cake on it.

4. Paperless Post

Paperless Post, as the name suggests, aims to make the art of card-sending totally virtual. For example, it comes complete with a digital envelope that opens up to reveal the card within.

You can use Paperless Post for many different occasions, including setting up a “virtual party.” However, they have a great range of birthday cake cards to choose from.

Some of them are free, and some require payment of “coins” to use. You can filter out the paid cards by clicking the “Free” checkbox in the filters on the left. However, Paperless Post will still attempt to charge you for additional elements, which you need to remove before you can get a genuinely free e-card.

5. OpenMe

If you prefer a completely free option, try OpenMe instead. It doesn’t have the same style and glamor as Paperless Post, but it does have the advantage of never asking for a price tag.

OpenMe has a few interesting traits that make it shine. For one, OpenMe will actually email you when the recipient opens the card; no more wondering if they’ve seen it yet! If the recipient loves it, they can use OpenMe to send a thank-you reply back.

OpenMe also supports group signings. If you want to send a special birthday treat, you can “pass” the card around for different people to sign it. That way, you can get one big card with everyone’s name in it for a more memorable card.

Of course, if you’re only interested in birthday cake-related cards, you can perform a search to find them.

6. Hallmark

If you want the finesse and style that only an official Hallmark card can provide, you’ll be pleased to learn that they have their own e-card range too. These include fun little animations that you can preview before you send. This is handy for finding the right card to match your recipient.

You can type your own message, which appears in a clear font. However, if you feel this is too digital for your liking, you can “add handwriting” to the card. This changes the font to some pre-set ones that look like you hand-wrote the card.

If you’re bad with well-wishes, you can use Hallmark’s expertise to help you out. Using the “Add a Hallmark Sentiment” button, you can select from one of many premade sentences to suit your recipient.

Unfortunately, Hallmark’s easy card creator isn’t free. They do ask for a $5 monthly membership fee before you can send your creation. As such, this might be best for someone who mails a lot of e-cards, rather than a one-time use.

Making Someone’s Birthday Special

Sometimes you won’t be able to send a real cake to someone on time. These digital “birthday cakes” aren’t the perfect replacement but they are thoughtful enough. Now you know how to create a virtual cake and send it to whoever needs that special cheer.

If you want something more than just a cake, why not try our selection of birthday memes?

Read the full article: No Birthday Cake? Send a Virtual Cake With These 6 Celebratory Sites

The 6 Best Sites to Download Karaoke Music Without Words

Do you love singing and feel alive when you’ve got a microphone in your hand? If so, karaoke is perfect for you because you can sing along to your favorite songs and feel like a music star.

To help you out, we’ve rounded up the best places to download karaoke music. These are songs without the vocals and just the background music.

All of these services offer free karaoke music without spoken lyrics, so you’ll be up and singing in no time.

1. Sing King

Sing King is a very popular YouTube channel that is constantly uploading the latest music hits in karaoke versions.

Not only do the videos have great songs from the likes of Ed Sheeran, Ariana Grande, and John Legend with just the instruments, but it also shows the lyrics in time so that you can sing exactly the right words.

If you want to download these videos from YouTube so that you can play them locally without an internet connection, check out our guide on free ways to download any video.

2. Karaoke Version

Karaoke Version is an incredibly powerful karaoke website. Rather than having original songs, they have a vast catalog of their own cover versions. However, they sound very close to the originals, especially in the instrumentals.

The most impressive part is that you can isolate specific instruments in turn. For example, you could choose to only have the guitar playing or the drums. This means that you could not only sing along but fill in for an instrument too.

While many of the songs on Karaoke Version cost a couple of dollars, there are over 150 free karaoke pieces you can download. This selection features many traditional and retro songs, some of which are available in multiple languages.

3. SingSnap

SingSnap deems itself the “largest online karaoke community”. It encourages you to upload your own karaoke videos and check out those by other members. You could even duet with someone else in the community.

Browse by genre or by what’s hot, then get singing. You can record your efforts as you go and set them public to be rated by other members. You can also save those recordings to your hard drive and upload them to YouTube to share with your other friends.

Although SingSnap has free songs to choose from, most benefit comes from a paid membership that costs $12/month or $120/year. With this you can store unlimited recordings, get access to lots more songs, and use the key and pitch changer to improve your vocals.

4. Sing2Music

Sing2Music is targeted at “serious musicians” who want to record professional cover versions of songs. Sing2Music produce their own versions, often in an acoustic style or in different keys, for people to sing over.

Of course, these tracks still work equally well for karaoke, although they’re not exactly the same as the original songs. Simply search for a song or artist and you can then stream the song on loads of platforms, like Spotify or Apple Music.

If you want to take your singing to the next level up from karaoke and try a professional cover recording, check out our beginner’s guide to making music with Audacity.

5. Youka

Youka used to be available as an online service, but now it’s a program that you have to download to your computer. However, it’s well worth it because it can separate the lyrics and music from any YouTube music video using artificial intelligence. It’s available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Once you have Youka open, you can use the search bar at the top to look for a music video on YouTube. Just enter the name of the song or the artist and you will see the results appear beneath.

Click the thumbnail of the song you want to sing to, then wait a while for the program to download and process the video. You will see progress information appear the top—don’t worry if it seems to be doing nothing, just be patient. Once done, it will then automatically start playing the instrumental version with the lyrics underneath.

You can use the Audio dropdown beneath the video to switch between the original, the instruments, and the vocals. Also, use the Captions dropdown to change how the lyrics appear.

6. Singa

Singa is an app for Android and iOS. With this, you can always have karaoke tracks available at your fingertips, ready for you to bust out a stunning performance at any moment.

With over 80000 songs available from different genres and eras, Singa is bound to have something that you want to sing along to. It even has curated mood playlists, so if you don’t know what you want to sing then you can discover something new easily.

Singa is free for a certain number of songs, but after that you can either take up a 30 day free trial or buy a monthly membership.

Download: Singa for Android | iOS (Free)

Make Your Own Karaoke Tracks

Rather than downloading existing karaoke tracks, it’s also quite easy to make your own using music that you already own. For this, you need to download free music software Audacity.

Open the song you want to remove the words from in Audacity. Then press Ctrl + A to select the track and go to Effects > Vocal Remover. Test the various Removal choice dropdown options to see which sounds the best.

Once you’re satisfied, click OK. To save the track, go to File > Save other > Export as MP3.

Voilà! You just created your own karaoke track—an instrumental without the words.

For more advice on this method, including how to handle when the vocals are placed differently in the audio mix, see our guide on how to remove vocals from songs.

Listen to Free Music Online

These are some of the best karaoke services to get the music to your favorite songs without words. You can use them to practice your singing at home, before hitting up your local karaoke bar to impress friends and strangers alike.

If you’ve had enough of your own voice and want to listen to the originals, we’ve got you covered. Here are ways to listen to free music online.

Read the full article: The 6 Best Sites to Download Karaoke Music Without Words

How to Play Video Smoothly on Your PC: Here’s What You Need

Watching choppy video playback is like sailing choppy waters: rough, frightening, and may lead to nausea. While modern hardware can handle most tasks you can throw at it, every so often, you’ll encounter an issue. Choppy video playback, whether through a DVD or online, happens.

Here’s how to fix it!

What Factors Affect Video Playback Quality?

Smooth video playback boils down to a few hardware and software choices. These choices affect offline and online video playback differently. Here’s what can negatively affect video playback:

1. An outdated media player
2. A low-performance PC which would stifle high-quality Blu-ray playback
3. A souped-up PC, but a bad internet connection

Whatever the case, smooth video playback is within your sights.

Two other factors impact playback quality: offline or online video.

Offline Video Playback Quality

Choppy offline video playback concerns playing video from video files or DVDs. This is different from online video playback, due to network connection or other service issues (more on these in a moment).

There are certain steps you can take to ensure smooth video playback with an offline source.

1. Update your media player
2. Install and update video and audio codecs
3. Check your hardware capabilities
4. Update your GPU drivers

Let’s take a look at those steps in a little more detail.

1. Update Your Media Player

The first thing to do is to update your media player. There are many excellent free video players for Windows. If you use a third-party media player, head to the company’s website and download the latest software version.

2. Install and Update Video and Audio Codecs

Second, ensure that all video and audio codecs are installed properly. Codecs, to put it simply, process audio and video data. Sometimes certain video formats are not playable on your PC. This is because you do not have the appropriate video codec installed.

Codecs sometimes become damaged or corrupted, which may lead to jarring playback. To fix them, download, and install codec packs.

Microsoft has an official codec pack for these exact purposes. Download the file, then double-click to install, following the on-screen instructions.

Video codecs are a little confusing. If you want to learn more, here’s all you need to know about video codecs, containers, and compression.

3. Check Your Hardware Is Capable

Ensure that your PC is within the hardware range necessary to playback these videos. Video formats come with different qualities that determine their ease of playback.

For example, a 1080p video playing at 30 FPS (frames per second) will require slightly less performance than the same video at 60 FPS. The difference grows when comparing 1080p video with 4K or UHD video.

The same goes for video rendering. While video playback consumes less performance than video rendering, both involve PC performance. Generally, the more powerful hardware you have, the better the video playback will be. If you have very old hardware, video playback can struggle for a few reasons.

For instance, an old 5400RPM hard drive (or even a 4800RPM) might struggle to process a massive 4K video file quickly enough for stable video playback. You might run into similar issues using a drastically underpowered CPU, or if the system has a seriously small amount of RAM.

There are solutions for these issues. For example, the VLC media player is well known to assist with smooth video playback on older hardware. Or, you might have an older system with a discreet graphics processing unit (GPU). Some media players can use the GPU hardware acceleration to shift some of the video processing load from the CPU, helping video playback.

There is no exact rule of thumb for minimum hardware required for smooth video playback. If you have a PC built in the last few years, you should not struggle with offline video playback of 4K and other high-resolution video formats.

Hardware and Video Encoding

There are other issues with hardware, such as GPU and video encoding compatibility issues. Even some modern GPUs that can play the latest games on high settings won’t work with certain video encoding types.

If you have a modern GPU and powerful system yet still encounter video playback issues, double-check if your GPU supports the video encoding type you’re trying to use.

4. Update Your GPU Drivers

Fourth, and finally, ensure you install up-to-date GPU drivers.

The GPU drivers will allow for the maximum output of your hardware. As the CPU and GPU are often the main indicators of PC performance, updating their drivers will ensure video playback. At the very least, it can eliminate some video playback stuttering issues.

Find out how to replace outdated Windows drivers with our handy guide.

Online Video Playback Quality

Smooth online video playback often comes with the same requirements as offline video playback. Yet, there are a few additional parameters to look out for.

1. Is your internet fast enough?
2. Are other programs using your internet?
3. Disable hardware acceleration in the browser
4. Update your web browser

1. Is Your Internet Fast Enough?

The first question you must ask for online video playback relates to your internet speed. Streaming Full HD, UHD, and 4K video online is a data-intensive task. The data requirements vary slightly, but in general, you need:

• 2-4Mbps for standard-definition video playback
• 5-10Mbps for high definition video playback
• 25Mbps minimum for 4K video playback

There are variations between online video streaming services, too. Netflix requires at least 3Mbps for standard-definition video playback, whereas Amazon Prime Video requires just 0.9Mbps.

With online video playback, a faster internet connection will always yield better results.

2. Are Other Programs Using Your internet?

Second, ensure you are not clogging your network with data-hungry programs.

You can do this by right-clicking on your Taskbar and selecting Task Manager. You will see the Processes tab of your Task Manager.

Click on Network tab (and percentage number indicating network usage) to see which programs other than your browser are hogging up data.

That also goes for RAM usage. Remember, smooth online playback requires optimal hardware.

Click on the Memory tab to order your selection from most usage to least. Right-click any program not necessary for video playback (that is also not essential to your PC use) and select End task. This will free up some performance power.

The Windows Task Manager is a versatile tool. Here are some Windows Task Manager tricks you can use to manage your system better.

3. Disable Hardware Acceleration in Browser

Third, disable hardware acceleration.

Hardware acceleration allows browsers to hand off certain tasks to certain hardware parts. While your CPU can render, say, 3D models, it’s better to use a specialized hardware component, such as the GPU, to render that model.

That’s because it can do so more quickly and usually has more processing power available to complete the activity. Sometimes this process can lead to playback issues.

Check the Video Player Type

Google Chrome is permanently disabling Flash Player at the end of 2020. The majority of browsers are switching to HTML5, a more secure and stable video playback option. If the video player is attempting to use a Flash Player, your browser may no longer support that option.

As Adobe will stop officially supporting Flash at the end of 2020, the Flash Player will become (even more!) insecure.

4. Update Your Web Browser

Update your web browser. Current browser versions can handle high-quality video playback, as more video repository sites like YouTube allow for higher quality footage uploads. Old browser versions, or bugged browser versions, may limit video playback.

How to Smooth Out Choppy Video

To summarize, here’s how you stop your video playback problems:

1. Are you using the most recent version of your media player?
2. Do you have the codecs required to watch that video format?
3. Is your hardware powerful enough?
4. Do you have the latest drivers installed?
5. Is something clogging up your network or consume your RAM or CPU capacity?
6. Have you disabled your browser’s hardware acceleration?
7. Is your web browser up-to-date?

Fortunately, ensuring smooth video playback is a simple and non-invasive procedure.

VLC Media Player is one of the world’s most popular video players. Here are the best VLC features you’re not using—but absolutely should be!

Image Credit: Dmitriy Kozhanov/Shutterstock

Read the full article: How to Play Video Smoothly on Your PC: Here’s What You Need

A Complete Guide to Default Mac Apps and What They Do

Like most operating systems, your Mac comes loaded with a handful of default apps that cover all kinds of use cases: office work, web browsing, email, tasks, navigation, photo management, music, and much more.

While Apple has generally done a great job in naming these apps, you may still be confused by what they do or whether you actually need some of them. This is true whether you’re a recent convert to macOS or a satisfied Mac veteran.

We’ll walk through all of the default applications that come installed with Apple’s desktop operating system, explain what they do, and whether you should care about them or not. You’ll find all these apps inside the Applications folder in Finder.

Default Mac Apps: A to D

App Store: The App Store is the place to install and update Apple-approved apps on your system. You can also install the latest major macOS versions through the App Store, though the latest versions of macOS now update through System Preferences.

Automator: This app provides a way for you to automate hundreds of different system actions that you can combine and use to perform complex tasks without any programming or scripting knowledge. While it’s not a necessity, learning it can really come in handy.

Books: Books is like iTunes for ebooks. It comes with a built-in store where you can purchase thousands of titles (including recent mainstream releases) or you can import your own if you have ebooks on your system. You can easily use it as an ebook reader and manager, plus it supports both EPUB and PDF formats.

Calculator: You can easily use this app on a daily basis, whether to update personal budgets, calculate estimated tax payments, or just offload a bit of mental math.

Calendar: This app is a clean and efficient way to manage your day-to-day tasks. It may not be the most advanced calendar available, but it’s more than enough for most users. Plus, it syncs with iCloud. Be sure to check out our Mac Calendar tips to get the most out of it.

Chess: We’re not sure why Chess is a system application protected with System Integrity Protection. Regardless, Chess is just a straightforward offline-only chess app.

Contacts: This app is essentially a digital Rolodex that stores contact information on your friends, family members, and acquaintances. It syncs with iCloud, allowing you to access those contacts in other apps like Mail. Plus, if you have an iPhone or iPad, you can sync your contracts with those devices.

Dictionary: A simple but potentially useful app if you ever need access to a dictionary, thesaurus, or Wikipedia. Provided by the New Oxford American Dictionary and Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, respectively.

DVD Player: This app is obsolete at this point. Modern MacBooks, iMacs, and other Apple machines don’t come equipped with DVD drives anymore, so DVD Player is only useful if you have an external DVD drive. Many thought it disappeared with macOS Mojave, but if you need it, just enter “DVD Player” into Spotlight to open it.

Built-In Mac Apps: F to K

FaceTime: FaceTime is Apple’s proprietary video and audio calling service. This means you can only use it with Apple devices, though. If you have friends or family on Windows or Android, you’ll need Skype, Google Hangouts, or another video calling app.

Find My: Apple combined the older Find My iPhone and Find My Friends apps into a single app called Find My, which is now available on macOS. The Find My app is useful for locating people that share their location with you, as well as your own devices.

Font Book: macOS comes with a built-in font management utility that makes it easy to install, preview, and delete font families from your system. Font Book can separate system fonts from user-installed fonts, making it easier to know what you’ve installed.

GarageBand: A simple and intuitive music studio that you can use to create loops, music, or even podcasts. A lot of new musicians use this as a stepping stone to more complex apps like Logic Pro X. It’s so useful that this app alone is the reason why some Windows users convert to macOS. See our GarageBand guide to get started with it.

Home: If you have a HomePod or smart home devices, you can use the Home app to manage them all. You can quickly turn lights on and off, adjust your thermostat, and set up automations for your smart home with it.

iMovie: A simple and intuitive movie editor that’s a lot like GarageBand for movies. You can import raw clips and images, edit them together, and polish off with text, music, and basic post-processing effects.

iTunes (macOS Mojave and earlier): Everyone knows about iTunes—even those who have never touched a Mac. Over the years, it morphed into an all-in-one media manager for music, movies, TV shows, and iOS devices. With macOS Catalina, Apple replaced iTunes with the Music, Podcasts, and TV apps. But if you have an older Mac, you can still use it to manage music and other forms of media.

Image Capture: If you have a scanner or camera connected to your computer, you can use Image Capture to take images. Some older digital cameras may rely on an app like Image Capture to import directly from the device, but most now have Wi-Fi sharing (or you can just pop the SD card into your reader).

Keynote: Keynote is Apple’s answer to Microsoft PowerPoint. With it, you can create all kinds of interesting presentations ranging from simple and elegant to complex and advanced, especially once you’ve learned a few Keynote tricks. It can import and export to PowerPoint formats, so there’s no need to worry about compatibility.

Basic Mac Apps: L to N

Launchpad: Launchpad is a simple launcher to help you open apps installed on your Mac, even though you also have Spotlight (Cmd + Space) to do this. Access Launchpad by hitting F4 or by clicking the icon in your Dock.

Mail: The default app for managing email accounts and inboxes. You can do simple tasks like reading and sending emails, or go further and set up Mail rules for handing incoming messages automatically.

Maps: Apple Maps offers a familiar experience if you’ve used the app on iOS. It’s a straightforward way to explore an area or get directions. You can also send directions straight to your iPhone or iPad via the Share button.

Messages: Messages lets you send and receive messages with other iMessage users. These messages can include photos, audio clips, and other kinds of files. If you have an iPhone, you can also use Messages to send SMS and MMS texts.

Mission Control: When you activate Mission Control, everything “zooms out” so you can see all active apps at once. This makes it easy to switch from one app to another without using Cmd + Tab a bunch of times, especially if you have tons of apps open. It’s also great for managing multiple virtual desktops.

Music: For managing your music library and listening to Apple radio stations, the Music app is the tool you need. You can create playlists, get song lyrics, and handle your tunes in one spot.

News: You can stay up to date on local and international news headlines from sources around the world with the News app. And if you follow your favorites, you can create a personalized news feed.

Notes: If you don’t already use Evernote or OneNote, Apple Notes is worth a try. It’s a simple service, but integrates with iCloud so it’s a great option if you use both macOS and iOS. If you do end up using the app, master these Notes tips for maximum productivity.

Numbers: Just as Keynote is macOS version of PowerPoint, Numbers is Apple’s alternative to Excel. The name is slightly awkward, especially when looking for help online, but it’s still a great app. If you do a lot of spreadsheet work, you’ll use this one a lot.

Pre-Installed Mac Apps: P to R

Pages: Completing the iWork suite, this is Apple’s alternative to Microsoft Word. The trend holds true, as the app is simple and straightforward. For getting words on a page, it does all you need.

Photo Booth: Need to take a photo or video of yourself? Photo Booth can do that using your Mac’s built-in camera or an externally connected camera. It offers three modes: single photo, four quick photos, or a movie clip. You can also add over 25 different effects if you want to have some fun.

Photos: A central library that makes it easy to organize and manage your photos and videos. It won’t take photos or videos (use Photo Booth for that) but it’s great for storing albums and creating “projects” like slideshows, prints, cards, and similar. It can even edit RAW files, but serious photographers should consider Lightroom instead.

Podcasts: Browse for new podcasts, listen to episodes, create stations, and manage your library with the Podcasts app.

Preview: macOS’s default image viewer. If you view a lot of photos or regularly read PDFs, prepare to use Preview often. It can also handle other file types, including raw camera output, PowerPoint presentations, and Photoshop PSDs.

QuickTime Player: The default video player for macOS. Aside from the basics, QuickTime Player comes with a lot of other useful functionality, including the ability to record audio, record your screen, splice videos, and upload to YouTube. It’s also one of the best video converter apps for macOS.

Reminders: You might think Reminders is an alarm app—which is true since it does have alarm functionality—but it’s actually a to-do list app. Create several lists with multiple items in each list, then set alarms on individual items if you wish (according to time or when you enter a location). It syncs to your iOS devices through iCloud and supports recurring alerts too.

Default Mac Apps: S to V

Safari: Safari is your Mac’s default browser, and thus your window to the internet. A lot of people recommend Chrome over Safari, but there are several good reasons why you shouldn’t use Chrome on a Mac.

Stickies: Stickies lets you create and maintain “sticky notes” that sit on your desktop. This concept was popular years ago, but now that we have dedicated note and reminder apps, Stickies is usually little more than unnecessary clutter.

Stocks: If you work in finance or participate in investments, the Stocks app keeps you in the loop with the stock market.

TextEdit: TextEdit is a simple text editor that’s more akin to Notepad than Word or Pages. It works fine for simple text editing. But if you need something more powerful, look elsewhere.

Time Machine: Time Machine is the built-in backup solution for your Mac, so knowing how to use Time Machine is essential. The app makes it easy to migrate your personal data to a fresh Mac installation or restore your system to a previous point in case of major issues.

TV: Watch television shows, movies, and original Apple TV+ content with the TV app on your Mac. You can find new shows to watch, check out the Kids section, and manage your library.

Voice Memos: Record and manage voice memos from all your devices with Voice Memos on your Mac. If you prefer recording notes to yourself instead of jotting them down, the app works great. You can also edit recordings if needed.

Apps Inside the macOS Utilities Folder

The Utilities subfolder inside Applications contains a handful of system utilities that may or may not be useful to you on a day-to-day basis. However, most of them will likely come in handy at one point or another, so let’s take a look at them.

Activity Monitor: Similar to Task Manager on Windows, but more in-depth. View everything from CPU usage and energy impact per process to total RAM availability, and overall network activity. It’s one of the most important built-in system utilities.

AirPort Utility: Used to set up and manage AirPort devices (AirPort Express, AirPort Extreme, and AirPort Time Capsule), which are Apple’s proprietary line of Wi-Fi cards and routers. Apple discontinued the AirPort line in April 2018, so you shouldn’t need this utility unless you still own one of these devices.

Audio MIDI Setup: Set up and manage audio devices on your system, including MIDI devices like keyboards.

Bluetooth File Exchange: Configure Bluetooth connections with nearby compatible devices.

Boot Camp Assistant: Create and manage a dual-boot configuration, allowing your system to boot into either macOS or Windows. It’s the preferred method for installing Windows on your Mac.

ColorSync Utility: Grants finer controls over the color display and color profiles of your system. If your colors look off and you’re sure that it isn’t caused by a color-shifting app like F.lux, then you may want to tinker around with it.

Console: A tool that lets you view various system logs and diagnostic reports. Very useful for finding and troubleshooting system errors once you learn how to use it.

Digital Color Meter: A handy utility that displays the color value of any pixel on your screen. It can even display color values in other formats, such as Adobe RGB.

Disk Utility: A tool that gives you basic information and control over your disk drives. It’s the recommended way to erase disk drives, including USB and external devices.

Grapher: Enter one or more mathematical equations and Grapher will graph them for you.

Keychain Access: A password manager that syncs with iCloud. Use it to store website logins, Wi-Fi network passcodes, and other sensitive information. And because you don’t need to remember your passwords anymore, you can have it generate complex passwords for better protection.

Migration Assistant: A quick wizard for migrating your personal to onto your current system, either from another Mac, a Windows PC, another drive, or a Time Machine backup.

Screenshot: What was once called the Grab app on Mac before macOS Mojave is now called Screenshot. You can use this tool to capture stills and recordings of your screen.

Script Editor: Lets you create AppleScript scripts, which can perform complex tasks involving apps on your system or the system itself. It’s frequently used for task automation as it’s more powerful (but also more advanced) than Automator.

System Information: Provides deep-level information involving the hardware, software, and network of your system. For example, if you want to know the manufactured part number of your RAM modules, this is where you’d look.

Terminal: A command-line utility for Mac. The default shell is Bash, meaning that the command line experience between a fresh install of Mac and most Linux distros is nearly identical. Learning the command line is a great way to get more control over your system.

VoiceOver Utility: A screen reader tool for visually impaired users.

Making the Most of Your Mac’s Apps

Hopefully this overview helps Mac newcomers figure out what apps are on their system. While some of the default Mac apps are excellent, you probably won’t need a lot of others except in specific cases.

For more info on the best of these apps, check out handy features of the best default Mac apps. We’ve also looked at the best Mac apps if the defaults aren’t enough for you.

Read the full article: A Complete Guide to Default Mac Apps and What They Do

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How to Watch Netflix Natively on Linux

Netflix has been available natively on Linux for some time, but it hasn’t always been easy to watch.

Without the right setup, it’s not going to work. Fortunately, with the right software, Netflix will run on any current Linux distribution.

Follow the steps below to watch videos from your Netflix library on Linux.

The Evolution of Netflix on Linux

At one time, accessing Netflix on Linux was difficult. A specific version of Google Chrome was needed, complete with Encrypted Media Extension (EME) support. Chrome additionally required a specific version of Mozilla Network Security Services and a User Agent Switcher extension. (Changing the User Agent is a method of tricking a website that you’re using a different operating system or browser).

Today, all you need to do is open netflix.com in Google Chrome and log into your account. Within seconds you’ll be able to seamlessly watch Netflix content. Additionally, you have the option to turn Netflix into a Desktop Application via Google Chrome’s Web-App tools (see below).

Which Browsers Play Netflix on Linux?

For the best results playing Netflix in your browser on Linux, stick to Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.

While other browsers might boast Netflix support (such as Vivaldi or Opera) Chrome and Firefox are the most reliable.

Google Chrome

If Chrome isn’t already installed on your Linux distribution you can find it at www.google.com/chrome/.

No additional software or plugins are available for Chrome to stream Netflix videos. Simply visit the site as explained above and enjoy. Other Chromium-based browsers should also work, but your mileage may vary.

If Google Chrome isn’t to your taste, rely on it as a backup when your preferred browser won’t play Netflix. Usually this is only a short-term hiccup that can be fixed a day or so later with a new update.

Mozilla Firefox

If your distro has Mozilla Firefox preinstalled you can also watch Linux on Netflix. However, some tweaking is required.

• First, ensure you have the latest version of Firefox installed.
• Next, visit netflix.com and sign into your account.
• You’ll spot a message at the top of the screen, advising you that additional software is required. Click Enable DRM.
• Wait while the additional software is installed.
• Refresh the page if necessary, then play your chosen video.

If Netflix won’t work on Firefox on Linux, check the following:

• In your browser address bar, enter about:preferences#content.
• On the General tab, look for Digital Rights Management (DRM) Content.
• Ensure the box next to Play DRM-controlled Content is checked.
• Open a new tab then enter about:addons.
• Find Plugins then confirm that OpenH264 and Widevine are Enabled (set as Always Activate).

• Finally, if necessary, restart Firefox.

You should now be able to play Netflix videos in Firefox.

Want to Watch US Netflix on Linux? You Need a VPN

With Netflix available through your browser, you’ll be able to access your library, view recommendations, and use the service exactly how you might through your TV, game console, or mobile app.

But if you need to access a Netflix library from another country (such as Netflix US), you will need a VPN. A virtual private network that supports Netflix lets you fool the website as to your whereabouts. So, if you’re in France, select a VPN server in the USA to access Netflix’s US library.

Not all VPNs support video streaming through Netflix. Check our list of the best VPN services to get started.

Is There a Netflix Desktop App for Linux?

At one point you could install an app for Netflix. This unofficial tool was in reality a Windows app and came bundled with Wine. This no longer works, but you can create a Desktop Application on Linux using Chrome’s “Add to desktop” feature.

• Open Google Chrome
• Go to netflix.com
• Login to your account
• Click the Chrome menu button (three dots in the top right of the Chrome browser)
• Select More tools > Add to desktop.
• In the dialog box click Add.
• Check Open as window.
• Click OK to confirm.

Now you should have a shortcut on your desktop. Double click to launch Netflix in its own Chrome window.

Watch Netflix on Linux With Kodi

Another way you can watch Netflix on your Linux PC is via the Kodi media center software. This comes with some limitations, however—there is currently no support for 4K streaming. You’ll be limited instead to a maximum of 1080p.

If you have Kodi installed you can use an unofficial Netflix add-on to access your account. Note that this requires providing your account credentials to a third-party app—another good reason to be using a VPN.

Start by installing Kodi in the terminal. Update and upgrade first:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

You’re ready to install Kodi:

sudo apt install kodi

Next, download the repository for the Netflix addon.

Download: CastagnaIT for Kodi (Free)

Save this to your Linux PC. In Kodi, open the Add-ons browser and select Install from zip file.

Browse in Kodi to the download location and install the repository file repository.castagnait-1.0.x.zip.

Click Back to find the add-ons browser again. Select Install from Repository and find the CastagnaIT repo. Browse this for the Netflix add-on and Install.

Ubuntu users should be done here. However, distros from other branches should install these tools:

sudo apt install build-essential python-dev python-pip python-setuptools

pip install --user pycryptodomex

You can now launch the Netflix add-on in Kodi, sign into your account, and access all the movies and shows.

Netflix Natively and Easily on Linux!

Thanks to all the efforts on various sides we now have Netflix natively on Linux without applying any workarounds. You just need a modern browser, or you can watch Netflix using a Kodi add-on.

Need to watch Netflix’s US library? In that case, you need a VPN. We recommend ExpressVPN, which offers a 49% discount to MakeUseOf readers.

Looking for something to watch? Use these tools to find movies and TV shows on Netflix.

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How to Play Video Smoothly on Your PC: Here’s What You Need

Watching choppy video playback is like sailing choppy waters: rough, frightening, and may lead to nausea. While modern hardware can handle most tasks you can throw at it, every so often, you’ll encounter an issue. Choppy video playback, whether through a DVD or online, happens.

Here’s how to fix it!

What Factors Affect Video Playback Quality?

Smooth video playback boils down to a few hardware and software choices. These choices affect offline and online video playback differently. Here’s what can negatively affect video playback:

1. An outdated media player
2. A low-performance PC which would stifle high-quality Blu-ray playback
3. A souped-up PC, but a bad internet connection

Whatever the case, smooth video playback is within your sights.

Two other factors impact playback quality: offline or online video.

Offline Video Playback Quality

Choppy offline video playback concerns playing video from video files or DVDs. This is different from online video playback, due to network connection or other service issues (more on these in a moment).

There are certain steps you can take to ensure smooth video playback with an offline source.

1. Update your media player
2. Install and update video and audio codecs
3. Check your hardware capabilities
4. Update your GPU drivers

Let’s take a look at those steps in a little more detail.

1. Update Your Media Player

The first thing to do is to update your media player. There are many excellent free video players for Windows. If you use a third-party media player, head to the company’s website and download the latest software version.

2. Install and Update Video and Audio Codecs

Second, ensure that all video and audio codecs are installed properly. Codecs, to put it simply, process audio and video data. Sometimes certain video formats are not playable on your PC. This is because you do not have the appropriate video codec installed.

Codecs sometimes become damaged or corrupted, which may lead to jarring playback. To fix them, download, and install codec packs.

Microsoft has an official codec pack for these exact purposes. Download the file, then double-click to install, following the on-screen instructions.

Video codecs are a little confusing. If you want to learn more, here’s all you need to know about video codecs, containers, and compression.

3. Check Your Hardware Is Capable

Ensure that your PC is within the hardware range necessary to playback these videos. Video formats come with different qualities that determine their ease of playback.

For example, a 1080p video playing at 30 FPS (frames per second) will require slightly less performance than the same video at 60 FPS. The difference grows when comparing 1080p video with 4K or UHD video.

The same goes for video rendering. While video playback consumes less performance than video rendering, both involve PC performance. Generally, the more powerful hardware you have, the better the video playback will be. If you have very old hardware, video playback can struggle for a few reasons.

For instance, an old 5400RPM hard drive (or even a 4800RPM) might struggle to process a massive 4K video file quickly enough for stable video playback. You might run into similar issues using a drastically underpowered CPU, or if the system has a seriously small amount of RAM.

There are solutions for these issues. For example, the VLC media player is well known to assist with smooth video playback on older hardware. Or, you might have an older system with a discreet graphics processing unit (GPU). Some media players can use the GPU hardware acceleration to shift some of the video processing load from the CPU, helping video playback.

There is no exact rule of thumb for minimum hardware required for smooth video playback. If you have a PC built in the last few years, you should not struggle with offline video playback of 4K and other high-resolution video formats.

Hardware and Video Encoding

There are other issues with hardware, such as GPU and video encoding compatibility issues. Even some modern GPUs that can play the latest games on high settings won’t work with certain video encoding types.

If you have a modern GPU and powerful system yet still encounter video playback issues, double-check if your GPU supports the video encoding type you’re trying to use.

4. Update Your GPU Drivers

Fourth, and finally, ensure you install up-to-date GPU drivers.

The GPU drivers will allow for the maximum output of your hardware. As the CPU and GPU are often the main indicators of PC performance, updating their drivers will ensure video playback. At the very least, it can eliminate some video playback stuttering issues.

Find out how to replace outdated Windows drivers with our handy guide.

Online Video Playback Quality

Smooth online video playback often comes with the same requirements as offline video playback. Yet, there are a few additional parameters to look out for.

1. Is your internet fast enough?
2. Are other programs using your internet?
3. Disable hardware acceleration in the browser
4. Update your web browser

1. Is Your Internet Fast Enough?

The first question you must ask for online video playback relates to your internet speed. Streaming Full HD, UHD, and 4K video online is a data-intensive task. The data requirements vary slightly, but in general, you need:

• 2-4Mbps for standard-definition video playback
• 5-10Mbps for high definition video playback
• 25Mbps minimum for 4K video playback

There are variations between online video streaming services, too. Netflix requires at least 3Mbps for standard-definition video playback, whereas Amazon Prime Video requires just 0.9Mbps.

With online video playback, a faster internet connection will always yield better results.

2. Are Other Programs Using Your internet?

Second, ensure you are not clogging your network with data-hungry programs.

You can do this by right-clicking on your Taskbar and selecting Task Manager. You will see the Processes tab of your Task Manager.

Click on Network tab (and percentage number indicating network usage) to see which programs other than your browser are hogging up data.

That also goes for RAM usage. Remember, smooth online playback requires optimal hardware.

Click on the Memory tab to order your selection from most usage to least. Right-click any program not necessary for video playback (that is also not essential to your PC use) and select End task. This will free up some performance power.

The Windows Task Manager is a versatile tool. Here are some Windows Task Manager tricks you can use to manage your system better.

3. Disable Hardware Acceleration in Browser

Third, disable hardware acceleration.

Hardware acceleration allows browsers to hand off certain tasks to certain hardware parts. While your CPU can render, say, 3D models, it’s better to use a specialized hardware component, such as the GPU, to render that model.

That’s because it can do so more quickly and usually has more processing power available to complete the activity. Sometimes this process can lead to playback issues.

Check the Video Player Type

Google Chrome is permanently disabling Flash Player at the end of 2020. The majority of browsers are switching to HTML5, a more secure and stable video playback option. If the video player is attempting to use a Flash Player, your browser may no longer support that option.

As Adobe will stop officially supporting Flash at the end of 2020, the Flash Player will become (even more!) insecure.

4. Update Your Web Browser

Update your web browser. Current browser versions can handle high-quality video playback, as more video repository sites like YouTube allow for higher quality footage uploads. Old browser versions, or bugged browser versions, may limit video playback.

How to Smooth Out Choppy Video

To summarize, here’s how you stop your video playback problems:

1. Are you using the most recent version of your media player?
2. Do you have the codecs required to watch that video format?
3. Is your hardware powerful enough?
4. Do you have the latest drivers installed?
5. Is something clogging up your network or consume your RAM or CPU capacity?
6. Have you disabled your browser’s hardware acceleration?
7. Is your web browser up-to-date?

Fortunately, ensuring smooth video playback is a simple and non-invasive procedure.

VLC Media Player is one of the world’s most popular video players. Here are the best VLC features you’re not using—but absolutely should be!

Image Credit: Dmitriy Kozhanov/Shutterstock

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No Birthday Cake? Send a Virtual Cake With These 6 Celebratory Sites

If you’re celebrating someone’s birthday overseas, or you simply don’t have excellent baking skills, why not send a virtual cake over the internet? They may not taste as good as the real thing, but a virtual birthday cake is a fun way to celebrate a special occasion if you can’t get a physical one.

Let’s explore the best virtual cake makers on the internet.

Virtual Cake Images and GIFs

If you’re not looking for a full birthday greeting, you can send a virtual cake image or GIF. You could attach one to an email, or send it over any messenger app for an easy way to wish someone a happy birthday.

1. NameThatCake

NameThatCake does all the hard work by providing virtual cakes with your recipient’s name on it. All you need to do is look through the cakes and pick out the one that matches the special person’s name.

NameThatCake achieves this by hunting down and uploading photos of real cakes with names on them. The website claims that every photo they upload is copyright-free, so you need not worry about stealing someone else’s photo.

NameThatCake also has cakes for mothers and fathers day, cakes with “I love you” on them, and cakes that have numbers on them for birth years. Once you find a cake you like, you can attach it to an email or even print it off in a letter to a friend.

2. BirthdayCake24

If NameThatCake doesn’t have the name you’re looking for, why not write your own? BirthdayCake24 gives you a nice selection of cakes to choose from, each with editable text to enter your recipient’s name.

Some will allow you to edit the whole message, and some will even let you upload a custom photo to personalize your cake. Just enter what you want to change, then save the result to your PC or share the unique URL that’s generated.

BirthdayCake24 also has an excellent selection of GIF images you can customize. Just enter the text you want on the cake, and the website will generate a fully-animated GIF that you can share with your friends. The website also features generators for happy birthday messages and invitations, so it’s a useful one-stop-shop for all your celebratory needs.

3. Tenor

Tenor by itself isn’t a birthday cake website. It’s actually a huge database of GIFs designed for you to pick out and choose the ones you want. However, if you search for birthday cake GIFs, you’ll find a lot of images explicitly designed to send to friends or include in a birthday greeting.

Once you find the cake GIF you want to send, click on it, then look for the black “Caption” button at the bottom right. If you click this, you can add a touch of personalization to your GIF before you send it. If you want even more control, try a GIF app to edit or annotate your image.

Happy Birthday Cake e-Cards

Fancy combining a card and a cake into one, easy-to-make package? Then be sure to check out these great e-card websites that let you create a card with a fantastic cake on it.

4. Paperless Post

Paperless Post, as the name suggests, aims to make the art of card-sending totally virtual. For example, it comes complete with a digital envelope that opens up to reveal the card within.

You can use Paperless Post for many different occasions, including setting up a “virtual party.” However, they have a great range of birthday cake cards to choose from.

Some of them are free, and some require payment of “coins” to use. You can filter out the paid cards by clicking the “Free” checkbox in the filters on the left. However, Paperless Post will still attempt to charge you for additional elements, which you need to remove before you can get a genuinely free e-card.

5. OpenMe

If you prefer a completely free option, try OpenMe instead. It doesn’t have the same style and glamor as Paperless Post, but it does have the advantage of never asking for a price tag.

OpenMe has a few interesting traits that make it shine. For one, OpenMe will actually email you when the recipient opens the card; no more wondering if they’ve seen it yet! If the recipient loves it, they can use OpenMe to send a thank-you reply back.

OpenMe also supports group signings. If you want to send a special birthday treat, you can “pass” the card around for different people to sign it. That way, you can get one big card with everyone’s name in it for a more memorable card.

Of course, if you’re only interested in birthday cake-related cards, you can perform a search to find them.

6. Hallmark

If you want the finesse and style that only an official Hallmark card can provide, you’ll be pleased to learn that they have their own e-card range too. These include fun little animations that you can preview before you send. This is handy for finding the right card to match your recipient.

You can type your own message, which appears in a clear font. However, if you feel this is too digital for your liking, you can “add handwriting” to the card. This changes the font to some pre-set ones that look like you hand-wrote the card.

If you’re bad with well-wishes, you can use Hallmark’s expertise to help you out. Using the “Add a Hallmark Sentiment” button, you can select from one of many premade sentences to suit your recipient.

Unfortunately, Hallmark’s easy card creator isn’t free. They do ask for a $5 monthly membership fee before you can send your creation. As such, this might be best for someone who mails a lot of e-cards, rather than a one-time use.

Making Someone’s Birthday Special

Sometimes you won’t be able to send a real cake to someone on time. These digital “birthday cakes” aren’t the perfect replacement but they are thoughtful enough. Now you know how to create a virtual cake and send it to whoever needs that special cheer.

If you want something more than just a cake, why not try our selection of birthday memes?

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