As we grow as a culture, especially for newer generations, we need to start asking important questions: ‘how as a species do we begin the education process of device addiction?’ And more importantly, ‘how do we begin taking back control?’ Read More
Apple has more cash than any other tech company on the planet. Yet, that hasn’t translated into spending on acquisitions. Over the past five years, Apple has spent the least on M&A out of all the “Big Five” most valuable U.S. tech companies. That’s despite the fact that it is estimated to have more than $260 billion in cash and cash equivalents. So, is it buying… Read More
Netflix had a pretty good year by very Netflix-y standards: it added a ton of subscribers; its international growth plans seem to be playing out as hoped; it cleaned up in the Golden Globe nominations, and users are watching a ton of Netflix. While the company has continued to show growth with its existing strategy — investing a ton in its original content strategy in the hope that… Read More
Google is doing so many things all the time, it’s difficult to keep a track of every new release or update. Plus, not everything that the internet giant releases is gold. But in the past few months, five of their launches are worth knowing. From freeing up space on your phone to weekend techie projects for beginners and kids, there’s a little something for everyone here. It’s all free, of course, but there is the cost of giving Google access to your information. 1. Google Maps Space (Web): Explore the Great Beyond With Google Maps You’re probably familiar with Google...
Read the full article: 5 of Google’s Best New Apps and Updates You Need to Know
Only weeks before Christmas, and in a mad rush; you realized your best gift ideas weren’t up to much. You’ve bought for the children, and diminished your wealth; but what do you buy for a fit freak who’s focused on health? Terrible, clichéd Christmas rhymes aside, buying a suitably techy gift for those obsessed with health and fitness shouldn’t be a chore. It’s time for the MakeUseOf health and fitness gift guide. Activity Trackers & Trainers Wearable activity trackers are the obvious choice for anyone who likes to stay in shape and monitor their fitness level from the comfort of a smartphone. However, the recipient may already own one, so...
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Google announced today that it’s shutting down its high-end smartphone augmented reality platform, Tango, in order to focus on the more mass market ARCore product. The company had already confirmed this much to us when they announced ARCore in August, but now we have an official timeline for Tango’s demise. Read More
Twitter has released two new ads designed to persuade people to join Twitter. However, the social networking site, or rather its ad agency, has taken a rather novel approach to achieving this end. The ads admit Twitter can be hard to understand, before shattering that misapprehension. It feels like Twitter is more important than it actually is. It’s always getting cited on the news, especially when President Trump tweets, and every brand has a hashtag it wants you to use. However, in actual fact, Twitter “only” has 330 million users, and growth has virtually stalled. Romesh Ranganathan Is a Twitter...
Read the full article: Twitter Admits People Don’t Know How to Use Twitter
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued a warning against the hazards of cellphone radiation this week. Yes, the thing we are all addicted to and can’t seem to put down is leaking electromagnetic radiation and now California has some guidance to safeguard the public. The CDPH asks people to decrease their use of these devices and suggests keeping your distance when… Read More
It’s one thing for an autonomous car to strut its stuff on smooth, warm California tarmac, and quite another to do so on the frozen winter mix of northern Finland. Martti, a self-driving vehicle system homegrown in Finland, demonstrated just this in a record-setting drive along a treacherous (to normal drivers) Laplandish road. Martti is one of two cars designed by VTT Technical… Read More
EyeEm is unveiling new tools to help the brands and marketers using the site to source their images. Underlying these tools is a technology called EyeEm Vision, which we described in-depth earlier this year. The goal is to expand image recognition so that it’s not just identifying the objects in the photo, but also its aesthetic qualities. EyeEm’s co-founder and chief product… Read More
It looks like Wag may get another huge injection of cash following a big financing round earlier this year, according to a report by Recode, and also based on what we are hearing. We had heard a bit ago that Wag was looking to raise around $100 million, which the Recode report also suggests. But it now looks like Softbank is in talks to invest around $300 million in the dog-walking app… Read More
Security news is currently awash with a series of accusations against one of the world’s leading antivirus developers, Kaspersky Lab. The claims come on the back of months of speculation regarding Russian intent in foreign political events. This article isn’t delving into those accusations. This article is focusing on the allegations leveled at Kaspersky Lab, and whether it is safe to use their security products. Alleged Spying The Wall Street Journal reports that Kaspersky Lab is merely a tool of the Russian security services and is undermining U.S. government agencies by stealing data. Hackers targeted a specific contractor after identifying critical...
Read the full article: Is Kaspersky Still Reliable Antivirus Software?
Fitbit is, once again, not having a good day after spending the year in mostly middling status as it looks to prove there’s a market for fitness trackers as well as its own smartwatch. The culprit today is a Wall Street firm slapping a “sell” rating on the company’s stock, which often results in a resounding rejection of its potential going forward and sparks a sharp… Read More
Linux users are a discerning bunch. Part of the reason they choose this operating system is because they like things just so. Open source software allows them to tweak things to achieve that. It follows that they might be the same way in other areas of their lives, which means they’re probably difficult to buy gifts for. With the holidays coming up, you may be a little nervous deciding what to get for the Linux lover in your life. Below we’ve gathered some Linux gifts ideas for any budget. Because if there’s one thing Linuxers love, its when someone new...
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Despite not being as powerful as software specifically for statistics, Excel is actually quite adept at running basic calculations, even without add-ins (though there are some add-ins that make it even better). You probably know that it can do arithmetic, but did you know that it can also quickly get percentage change, averages, standard deviation from samples and populations, standard error, and student’s T-tests? Excel has a lot of statistical power if you know how to use it. We’ll take a look at some of the most basic statistical calculations below. Let’s get started! How to Calculate Percentage in Excel...
Read the full article: How to Calculate Basic Statistics in Excel: A Beginner’s Guide
he iMac Pro exists because it turns out that there is a lot of air underneath the aging Mac Pro and above the incredibly popular MacBook Pro. A single-digit percentage of Mac customers buy the Mac Pro and, in recent years, Apple had been seeing a major rise in “pro” customers of all shades purchasing iMacs because of their incredible screens, all-in-one form factor and overall ease… Read More
You’ve built yourself an epic vlog setup, camera rig, or YouTube studio, so what’s next? Besides story and audio, lighting is one of the most important considerations when making movies, and it can help to dramatically improve your image quality. Today I’ll show you how to assemble a lighting kit to make you the envy of YouTubers all over. Photo and Video Lighting Basics Before jumping in and loading up your Amazon basket, an understanding of lighting basics helps. One of the most popular approaches to lighting talent is with three-point lighting. As the name suggests, this uses three lights...
Read the full article: Best Gifts for Vlogging and Photography Hobbyists: Video Lighting
Google is bringing Google Assistant to even more smartphones, and, for the first time, tablets too. This means that even if you own an older Android handset or budget Android handset you should still be able to start using Google Assistant. Unfortunately, it’s only coming to newer tablets. Assistant was initially only available on the Google Pixel. Then, Google rolled it out to handsets running Android 6.0 (Marshmallow) or Android 7.0 (Nougat). Now, Google Assistant is coming to smartphones running Android 5.0 (Lollipop), and tablets running Marshmallow or Nougat. Stuck Using an Old Version of Android In February 2017, Google...
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Maybe you received an Arduino starter kit as a gift recently, or maybe you keep hearing about this awesome hobby for tinkerers and you want to get a taste, or maybe you’re an Arduino pro who just needs some fun ideas for the holiday season. If so, you’ve come to the right place. Everyone should learn a bit of Arduino, and these project ideas are great examples of what you can do with just a bit of knowledge and guidance. Here are seven ways to spruce up your Christmas this year, ranging from beginner-friendly to impressively complex. 1. Motion-Activated Greeting...
Read the full article: 7 Arduino Christmas Projects You Can Make This Year
Facebook today is launching a new feature designed to give users more control over what content they see in their News Feed: a “Snooze” button. The option, which will become available via the top-right dropdown menu on a post, will mute content from a person, Page or group for 30 days. The new feature can serve as a way to dial down the content you don’t want to see,… Read More
