Translating is difficult work, the more so the further two languages are from one another. French-Spanish? Not a problem. Ancient Greek-Esperanto? Hard. But sign language is uniquely difficult because it is fundamentally different from spoken and written languages. All the same, companies like SignAll are working hard to make accurate, real-time machine translation of ASL a reality. Read More
If you’ve ever made a video call, it was probably via Skype. But just because it’s popular doesn’t mean it’s the best. And more importantly, it’s not the most secure, either. A security researcher has discovered a dangerous exploit in Skype that could grant attackers access to your entire PC. Here’s what you should know about the security risk and the best free programs to replace Skype. Skype’s Security Flaw Researcher Stefan Kanthak discovered a flaw in Skype in September 2017 and made it public in February 2018. It’s a relatively simple exploit that works by abusing Skype’s update process. While Skype is owned...
Read the full article: 6 Free Skype Alternatives for the Windows Desktop
Google’s lightweight Chrome OS for desktops doesn’t need a large PC. Loaded on mini PCs you can mount at the back of your monitor, these inexpensive Chromeboxes are excellent purchases. You should know that as these desktop PCs get smaller, so does their capability. But that affects the Windows operating system more. Chrome OS is light, fast, and runs smoothly even with basic hardware. So what should you buy? These are your best options. Best Chromebox: Asus Chromebox 2 G095U Processor: 1.7GHz Intel Broadwell Celeron 3215U Memory: 4GB RAM Storage: 16GB SSD, SD card slot Ports: HDMI, DisplayPort, 4 x...
Read the full article: Best Chromebox Mini PC for Price and Performance
MIT researchers are working on a new steering system for drones that uses uncertainty to ensure that they don’t hit obstacles as they fly autonomously. The system is a bit complex but it’s called NanoMap and it quite simply finds ways to get from point A to point B without crashing and while handling random objects in its path. Spectrum describes the system in detail but basically… Read More
Browser notifications let websites announce important updates. Websites send notifications to alert you to new emails, blog posts, or special offers. These notifications are genuinely useful in some cases like Gmail where it can notify you of a new email. But sadly, most websites these days have “abused” this feature to the point where you get bombarded with notifications. Notifications can interrupt your browsing experience and distract your focus thus they quickly turn into an annoyance. You can deny permission when a website requests you to send notifications. You would just have to do it for every website. So, wouldn’t...
Read the full article: How to Disable Annoying Notifications on Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and More
Google Chrome now has its own built-in ad blocker. We first found out about this in April 2017, and by July 2017 Google was testing its new ad blocker. In December 2017 Google revealed more details about the Chrome ad blocker, and informed us it would be arriving in February 2018. Google is enabling Chrome’s new built-in ad-blocker on February 15. This won’t block all ads on all sites, but will sniff out bad ads and then punish the sites serving them up to readers. And in order to clear up any confusion, Google has explained how Chrome’s new ad...
Read the full article: Google Reveals How Chrome’s New Ad Blocker Works
One of the most popular project ideas in the do-it-yourself (DIY) space is creating a retro arcade. Among the retro gaming software options, there are operating systems such as RetroPie and Recalbox, or roll-your-own solutions using EmulationStation or RetroArch. Using the power of RetroArch, Lakka is a retro gaming solution with a Linux foundation that’s easy to install and use, yet comprehensive and customizable. Learn how to make a retro arcade with Lakka for Linux, from installation to gaming! What Is Lakka? Lakka is an open-source gaming Linux distribution. It’s based on the just-enough OpenELEC operating system. Among the many...
Read the full article: Make a Retro Arcade on Your PC With Lakka
This year’s Oscar nominees are as varied as always: they include everything from sober documentaries to comic book superheroes; from World War II dramas to Disney musicals. While many of the big nominees are still playing in theaters, there are plenty of titles you can watch right now without taking a trip to the cinema. In this article, we’ll point you towards 16 of the best nominated films on HBO, Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, YouTube, and Google Play. 1. Dunkirk A favorite to win Best Picture, Dunkirk is a historical World War II drama that tells the story of the daring...
Read the full article: How to Watch the Best Oscar-Nominated Films of 2018
Lots of people know DuckDuckGo as the privacy-focused search engine. Whether you like DuckDuckGo because you’re sick of Google or just love its cool bang feature, there are plenty of reasons to check it out. Now here’s another: DuckDuckGo just launched updated browser extensions and mobile apps to help keep you safe and your data more private online. Let’s take a look at what they offer. DuckDuckGo’s New Browser Extensions DuckDuckGo offered browser extensions prior to this major update, but they were pretty basic. They set your default search engine as DuckDuckGo and allowed you to quickly access the website...
Read the full article: How DuckDuckGo’s New Privacy Apps Keep You Safe Online
MIT researchers have developed a chip designed to speed up the hard work of running neural networks, while also reducing the power consumed when doing so dramatically – by up to 95 percent, in fact. The basic concept involves simplifying the chip design so that shuttling of data between different processors on the same chip is taken out of the equation. The big advantage of this new… Read More
Things are still looking pretty bleak for Huawei’s plans to conquer the U.S. market. Earlier this week, half a dozen top members of intelligence agencies, including the FBI, CIA and NSA reaffirmed surveillance concerns about the company and fellow Chinese smartphone maker ZTE. All of this is nothing new, of course. The companies’ troubles date back at least as far back as 2012,… Read More
Managing the money you make, cash you spend, and chunks you owe to others can be tedious. But with simple Windows apps, you can see where those dollars go and make a plan to pay off your debts. These free tools take the work out of budgeting and planning. They have just the features you need to make your money work for you. Income and Expense Trackers With any type of budget, keeping track of income and expenses is key. Watch where your money goes and how much you can afford for those little extras with these great Windows apps....
Read the full article: 10 Money Management Windows Apps for Effective Budgeting
Facebook’s controversial app Messenger Kids, which lets parents control who kids can talk to, is today rolling out to Android devices in the U.S. with its launch on Google Play. The app will also now include a variety of new features for Valentine’s Day, like themed makes, stickers and frames, so kids can send special Valentine messages to their friends and family. Android is the… Read More
Snapchat has always been terrible at analytics, only showing daily Story view counts that content creators had to screenshot just before they disappeared every 24 hours in order to prove their worth to sponsors. But starting today, tens of thousands creators who make official Stories or have large followings will start seeing a slew of view count and demographic analytics on their Snapchat… Read More
Tinder will make a change to its dating app in an upcoming update that will allow women to message first, according to a report from MarketWatch this morning, which TechCrunch has also confirmed. The new option will allow women to choose when to start a conversation, but it will not be the default setting as it is in Bumble. Instead, women will be able to decide whether or not they want to… Read More
Snapchat has always been terrible at analytics, only showing daily Story view counts that content creators had to screenshot just before they disappeared every 24 hours in order to prove their worth to sponsors. But starting today, tens of thousands creators who make official Stories or have large followings will start seeing a slew of view count and demographic analytics on their Snapchat… Read More
The last decade has seen the unstoppable rise of apps like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu. They’ve transformed the way we watch TV. Indeed, in the United States, more people now subscribe to Netflix than to cable TV services. But on-demand streaming isn’t right for everyone. If you’re one of the millions of people who have decided to cut the cord, you’ve got a decision to make: should you stream or download your content? Both approaches have pros and cons, and both are suitable for different types of user. There are a lot of variables which can affect your...
Read the full article: Streaming vs. Downloading Netflix and Co: What Should You Use?
Good morning and happy Wednesday, everyone! Here is a thing that falls under Today In Very Good Things: Pinterest is going to, finally, finally, let you move pins around on your boards. This seems really small and trivial but, really, this is one of the biggest quality of life improvements to the service that I’ve seen (and probably many others) in many months now. Pinterest has been… Read More
ESPN may be going from a sure-fire cable bounty to something that needs a little more flexibility in a cord-cutting era — like launching a new streaming service in 2018. But an even more troublesome trend may be emerging among younger sports fans, according to Overtime CEO Dan Porter: they just aren’t getting the content the way they want it. Indeed, a recent study by the NCAA… Read More
YouTube TV today announced a significant expansion of its channel lineup thanks to new deals with Turner, NBA TV, and MLB Network. A number of Turner-owned networks will be added to YouTube TV’s base package starting now, including TNT, TBS, CNN, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, HLN, truTV, and Turner Classic Movies. NBA TV and MLB Network will soon follow. Unfortunately for cord cutters,… Read More
