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Now, 25 years later, we look back at Iomega’s Zip technology and its history. Did you know some industries still use Zip drives? Why Zip Drives Were Exciting Again, in 1995, when compared with the standard floppy disk, the Zip drive felt like a revelation! It allowed people to back up their hard drives and transfer large files with ease. At launch, it retailed for around $199 (about $337 today, when adjusted for inflation), and the disks sold for $19....

The personal data of 533 million Facebook users leaked online. That’s a large percentage of the world’s population, so you should check to see if your account or phone number was affected. We’ll show you so you can protect yourself. What Facebook Data was Stolen? The first thing you probably want to know is what type of information was released. The data includes pretty much anything available on your account....

Icons were invented as a quick way to visually identify information on a computer, but sometimes a Windows 10 shortcut icon is so generic that it doesn’t feel useful. In that case, Windows makes it easy to customize the icon. Here’s how to do it. First, locate the shortcut with the icon you’d like to change in File Explorer or on your Desktop. Right-click the shortcut, and select “Properties.”...

Every Android phone and tablet has a generic name that matches the model (Pixel 5, Galaxy S20, etc). This name occasionally appears if you connect other devices to your device. A simple thing you can do to avoid confusion is to change your device’s name. A common situation in which your device’s name may come into play is Bluetooth connections. Say you’re connecting your phone to your computer, and when you scan for nearby devices, your Android’s name appears....

Microsoft releases new versions of Windows 10 roughly every six months. However, not everyone gets them all at once. Some PCs remain stuck on older versions of Windows 10 for a year or more. Here’s how to check whether your PC is up-to-date. Why Windows 10 Updates So Slowly For example, AdDuplex’s report for November 2020 found that only 8.8 percent of Windows PCs had the latest October 2020 Update at the time....

Recently, Apple introduced new “nutrition labels” for privacy in the iPhone App Store. Using these labels, you can quickly learn how an app might track you or use your personal data. Here’s how to see the privacy policies for apps you already have on your device. First, open the App Store on your iPhone. In the App Store, tap your profile image in the upper-right corner of the screen....

The man Pages There’s a kernel of truth in the old Unix joke, “the only command you need to know is man.” The man pages contain a wealth of knowledge, and they should be the first place you turn when you want to learn about a command. Providing a man page for a utility or command you’ve written elevates it from a useful piece of code to a fully-formed Linux package....

Have you ever analyzed data in a shared spreadsheet while another person is sorting or filtering at the same time? With a customized, temporary view in Microsoft Excel, you can stop the madness during collaboration. While real-time collaboration in Microsoft Office is convenient and often necessary, it can also be disruptive. It’s distracting when the sheet suddenly changes as you’re focusing on data. But by creating a temporary view, you can keep your eyes on what you need to focus on while others continue their own work....

If you want to create a directory containing several subdirectories, or a directory tree, using the command line in Linux, generally you have to use the mkdir command several times. However, there is a faster way to do this. Let’s say we’ve created a directory called htg, and want to create four subdirectories within it. In a normal situation, we’d use the mkdir command to create the htg directory. Then, we’d need the cd command to change to the new htg directory and, finally, we we’d use the mkdir command again four times to create the four subdirectories....

The shopt Built-in The shopt built-in is part of all versions of the Bash shell, so there’s no need to install anything. The number of options available in shopt has increased steadily over the years. So, the older the version of Bash you have, the shorter the list of shopt options will be. If something doesn’t seem to be working on your machine, check the man page entry for Bash and verify that option is available in your version of shopt....

Windows 10, by default, sends everything you search for in the Start Menu to their servers to give you results from Bing search — so you better make sure that you don’t type anything private into your own PC’s Start Menu. Or, you could just disable the Bing integration in the Start Menu. It’s worth noting that Android’s default search and even iOS on the iPhone will also send your search queries to Google or Apple’s servers to try and get more relevant results — but, somehow, it seems different when you’re on your personal computer in your house trying to search through your personal files....

Solid Internet connections aren’t available everywhere. If you want to watch streaming movies and TV shows on an airplane, on the subway, or somewhere out in the wilderness away from cellular towers, you can download them ahead of time. Not every service offers a download feature, but quite a few services allow you to download videos ahead of time so you can take them with you. This could save lots of valuable cellular data, too, especially if you’re roaming internationally....

Tired of getting endless spam text messages on your iPhone? You can hide and silence most spam messages in the Messages app by filtering unknown senders into their own group. Here’s how to set it up. Understanding “Unknown Senders” In the context of Apple’s Messages app, an unknown sender is someone texting you who isn’t in your Contacts list. Your Contacts list is a special address book that you can see or edit from the Phone or Contacts apps on your device....

If you want to create a checklist or a basic form in your spreadsheet, one control you’ll need is an interactive check box. You can insert and format a check box in Excel in just a few clicks. How to Add a Check Box in Excel In order to work with form controls in Excel like a check box, you’ll head to the Developer tab. If you don’t see this with your other tabs at the top, take a look at how to add the Developer tab in Excel....

It’s a devastating method of attack with dire consequences for those who fall victim to it. Fortunately, there are ways to protect yourself. Here’s how it works, and what you can do. What Is a SIM-Swap Attack? There’s nothing inherently wrong with “SIM swapping.” If you ever lose your phone, your carrier will perform a SIM swap and move your cell phone number to a new SIM card. It’s a routine customer service task....

How Automatic AirPods Switching Works This feature was added in iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and macOS Big Sur. As long as your iPhone or iPad is updated to the latest version of the operating system and your AirPods are in your ears, device-switching works automatically. (If not, try updating the firmware on your AirPods or AirPods Pro.) Automatic device switching works with AirPods (2nd Generation), AirPods Pro, Powerbeats, Powerbeats Pro, and Solo Pro....

Halloween (1978) Play Video Director John Carpenter kicked off the franchise and practically invented the slasher subgenre with this horror classic. Jamie Lee Curtis plays teen babysitter Laurie Strode in the sleepy suburb of Haddonfield, Illinois, which is terrorized by escaped killer Michael Myers on Halloween night. This movie establishes Michael’s eerily blank white mask, dingy jumpsuit, and silent, implacable demeanor. It’s full of iconic horror imagery, created by Carpenter with limited resources and boundless imagination....

How to Watch the Fight Live in the United States UFC 251 is exclusive to ESPN+, ESPN’s streaming service, in the United States, so the only way to watch the fight live is online. For that, you’ll have to sign up for ESPN+ and then purchase the fight as a pay-per-view event. Coverage of the main fight card begins at 10:00 PM Eastern Time (US). Prelims begin at 6:00 PM Eastern....

Do I Need a Personal, Creator, or Business Account? Most people just need a Personal account. It’s the only account type that you can turn private so that you can control who follows you and who sees your posts. However, if you use Instagram professionally, then a Creator or Business account might be more useful. Choose a Creator account if you are an influencer, YouTuber, or individual maker. Go with a Business account if you are setting up an account for your actual business, like a restaurant or beauty salon....

If you swap between using a mouse and a touch screen on your Windows 10 computer or you struggle with using a mouse, you can change the Outlook client’s input mode to suit your needs. Here’s how to toggle the input mode at will. The Outlook client can be switched between Mouse mode and Touch mode. The main difference between the two modes is spacing. Touch mode is designed for fingers, which are much wider than the average cursor....