12 January 2018

Ticwatch S Review: An Affordable Smartwatch For Everyone?


Our verdict of the Mobvoi Ticwatch S:The Ticwatch S is a functional, reasonably priced smartwatch. If you aren't a Android Wear fan, then this is unlikely to convert you. However, the Ticwatch S is a respectable entry to the market, even if the lack of NFC and cellular support disappoint. 710Smartwatches: every company has made one, but consumers just don’t seem to be interested. It’s hard to pinpoint the exact reasons that smartwatches haven’t caught our imagination. It could be the cost. It could be the design. Many people just see them as glorified notification screens. Despite these criticisms, smartwatches do have many great features...

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How to Stop Windows 10 Update


One aspect that Microsoft got very wrong was Windows Updates. The situation has slowly improved with subsequent updates, but performing updates still isn’t as smooth or customizable as it should be. If you’re fed up with thinking about Active Hours and dealing with random restarts, you might want to kill the update feature altogether. In this article, we’ll explain how to stop Windows 10 updates. Note: Failure to keep your operating system updated can leave you with security vulnerabilities. If you turn off automatic updates, you should still manually check for updates on a regular basis. How to Stop Windows 10...

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How to Set Up “Out of Office” Replies in Yahoo Mail


Going on a trip soon? Hopefully you have an awesome time planned with the help of some travel sites. But before you go, it’s a good idea to set up an “out of office” responder in your email. Doing so lets people who send you a message know that you won’t respond until you’re back. If you don’t set this up, people will probably wonder why you’re taking so long to respond. We’ll show you how to set up the out of office feature in Yahoo Mail. How to Set Up “Out of Office” Replies in Yahoo Mail Visit your...

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How to Add Animated GIFs Correctly in Google Docs and Slides


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You can say a lot with the right animated GIF in your Google documents, whether to explain concepts better or to make your presentation slides shine — so it’s a good thing that you can make your own animated GIFs with free tools in minutes. However, GIFs won’t play correctly if you just drag-and-drop or insert directly into a Google document! Follow the steps below to make your GIFs animate currently. How to Add Animated GIFs in Google Docs and Slides You can use Google’s Image Search to sift through the GIF universe. Unfortunately, you can’t use the Image Search within...

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How to Change Your Tumblr Username


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Tumblr is a blogging platform (read our best Tumblr tips) that’s been around for a while. If you signed up for your account many years ago, you can change your username to something more appropriate to your current interests. The process is simple, but somewhat destructive. How to Change Your Tumblr Username After you’ve logged in to the Tumblr dashboard, do the following: Click the profile icon and click Settings. You can see the blogs in your account listed in the right sidebar.  Click on the blog you want to edit. A new window will open with a list of items you can edit related...

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Mercedes-Benz’s new MBUX in-car assistant and smart UI rocks


 It’s rare that I pay much attention to automaker infotainment and multimedia system updates at CES – usually there’s too much going on with autonomy, electrification and mobility services to give it much thought. This year, however, Mercedes-Benz had one of the most interesting announcements at the show with its new MBUX smart multimedia system and in-car voice activated… Read More

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Facebook reranks feed to favor well-being/discussion, not time spent/publishers


 Facebook is making a huge change to its News Feed algorithm to prioritize friends and posts that spark comments between them at the expense of public content, news outlets, and importantly, the total time spent and ads you see on the social network. CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote on Facebook today, “I’m changing the goal I give our product teams from focusing on helping you find… Read More
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Facebook feed change sacrifices time spent and news outlets for “well-being”


 Facebook is making a huge change to its News Feed algorithm to prioritize friends and posts that spark comments between them at the expense of public content, news outlets, and importantly, the total time spent and ads you see on the social network. CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote on Facebook today, “I’m changing the goal I give our product teams from focusing on helping you find… Read More

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CES should move to an innovative city


 CES, the yearly bacchanal of tech and innovation, has outgrown its shell. Las Vegas has been home to the event since the late 1970s and, for better or worse, the city has survived and served the influx of technologists who flock to the event each year to see the latest and greatest. But two things are happening simultaneously that make Las Vegas the last place to find innovation. First,… Read More

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Samsung Is Unlocking the FM Radio in New Phones


Samsung has committed to unlocking the FM radio chip in its upcoming handsets. This will allow owners of Samsung phones in the U.S. and Canada to listen to FM radio without the need to be connected to the internet. This is thanks to an ongoing partnership with NextRadio. It’s a little-known fact that most smartphones have the capability of receiving FM radio signals. The technology is present in the hardware, but many manufacturers and/or carriers don’t activate the chip. Some are starting to see the light though, including Apple’s nemesis, Samsung. Samsung Commits Support for FM Radio To be clear,...

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Google is shutting down Chrome’s parental control features, replacement to launch later this year


 Google is preparing to launch a new set of parental control features for users of its Chrome browser. The announcement was made in an email sent this week to users of its current system for parental controls and other restrictions called “Chrome Supervised Users,” which is soon shutting down. Read More
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Google claims its Spectre and Meltdown mitigation results in no performance degradation


 It’s been a long week since we first learned about the now infamous Spectre and Meltdown chip vulnerabilities. One of the issues with mitigating the danger these vulnerabilities pose is that they could result in serious performance degradation. In a blog  post today, Google claimed their solutions resulted in no performance degradation across the different mitigation techniques they… Read More
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Lishtot’s TestDrop tells you whether water is safe to drink without even touching it


 Consistent access to clean water is something billions lack, and part of that is the inability to check whether one’s water is clean or not. Lishtot could help change this with a tiny device that instantly determines if water is safe to drink just by analyzing the electric field around it — no strips, no microfluidics, no toxic chemicals. Read More

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Peak Design’s Everyday Backpack was my surprise hit of CES 2018


 Peak Design announced its line of bags on Kickstarter in 2016. It’s my favorite thing at CES 2018. The project raised $6.5 million on Kickstarter and now the company has a full product line designed for photographers and bloggers and people who just like nice things. That’s me. To be clear this is not a new bag. The bag has been out for a bit but I purchased Peak Design’s… Read More

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Is Your Chromebook Protected Against Meltdown?


Google has published a list of all known Chrome OS devices, detailing which are currently vulnerable to Meltdown, and which require patching. The good news is most Chromebooks are either already safe from attack or have a fix on the way. However, a handful of devices are at risk. Meltdown and Spectre are two new CPU exploits that have emerged recently. Tech companies are scrambling to release patches fixing these issues, but these updates could affect performance on Windows PCs. And before you Chrome OS users start acting smug, Chromebooks are affected too. The Majority of Chromebooks Are OK Unlike...

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Nintendo announces raft of new and retro titles for Switch (plus new Mario outfits)


 The Switch is getting a bevy of new games that should appeal to a broad variety of players, Nintendo announced today in one of its “Direct” videos. A new Mario Tennis game, updates to Odyssey, some classics and indies, and perhaps most unexpectedly, Dark Souls: Remastered. Read More

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CES 2018: Sony Wants to Replace Your Dog Again


The 2018 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is in full swing and we’ve been browsing the exhibition to find and test cool products for you. On day 2 (here’s CES 2018 day 1 coverage), we toured Sony’s booth. Among state-of-the-art TV screens, cameras, speakers, and headphones, the smart pet dog Aibo was the highlight of Sony’s booth. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the few items not yet available (outside of Japan). Aibo, the Robotic Dog First launched in 1999 and discontinued in 2006, Sony’s robot dog Aibo is making a comeback this year. Powered by artificial intelligence and with cameras in his nose and tail,...

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The Zeeq smart pillow tracks sleep, plays music and more


 It’s 2018 so about time pillows gain a bit of technology. Rem-Fit’s Zeeq pillow is packed with the goods to, hopefully, improve a person’s sleep in various ways. Some people need music to fall asleep while others need help with snoring and analyzing sleep patterns. The pillow comes in three different flavors. The snore pillow features a vibration feature that gently… Read More

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Apple Slows Down Old iPhones: How to Check Yours, and Everything Else You Need to Know


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Apple has finally confirmed what more and more people are thinking: It is deliberately slowing down the processors of older iPhones after the new one was released. But before you bring out your pitchforks, read more to know the full story and whether you’re affected. It all started with a viral Reddit post that showed lower CPU performance than advertised. Performance analysis app Geekbench collected data from several iPhones, which showed it is a recurring pattern with older models. Finally, Apple had to break its silence on this subject and confess. Why Does Apple Slow Down Old iPhones? Apple’s logic for this move...

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I Went to CES 2018 And It Was Quite Underwhelming


For the first time in its long history, MakeUseOf has made the journey to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). We brought three of our finest (and me) along for the trip. Now, while this might be the company’s first trip to CES, it’s not mine. I was blown away by what I saw when I first came to CES in 2013. It was the year where VR, wearables, and smart homes really started gaining traction. However, my view of 2017 is less positive. Mainly because not much has changed — it’s still all smart homes, wearables, and virtual reality. I’m...

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