If your house has Wi-Fi dead zones and weak spots, it may be time to ditch the old-school router setup and go with a mesh newtork like the Eero Home Wi-Fi System. Eero’s multiple router setup can provide strong Wi-Fi signals to every part of your house, and is easy to set up–no complex extenders, secondary networks, or other confusing steps. Here’s how to get Eero up and running and banish weak Wi-Fi signals for good....
Apple offers a “Find My Mac” service to track a lost or stolen stolen Mac computer. However, Microsoft doesn’t provide an equivalent service for Windows PCs — not even for tablets running Windows 8. If you’re using Windows and want the ability to track your laptop should it ever become lost or stolen, you’ll need to install some third-party software. There are many paid services that offer this feature, but there are also good free options....
How to Share Your Screen on Messenger for Android Just like Skype, Facebook Messenger also lets you share your screen right from your Android smartphone. RELATED: How to Share Your iPhone or Android Screen Using Skype Start by opening the Facebook Messenger app on Android and navigating to a conversation. Then, tap the “Video” button to start a video call. Once the video call starts (this feature works for group video calls and for Facebook Rooms), swipe up from the bottom toolbar to reveal more options....
If you’re driving while using Apple CarPlay and you keep getting distracted by incoming messages and notifications, it’s easy to turn on “Do Not Disturb While Driving” from the CarPlay interface. Here’s how. How “Does Do Not Disturb While Driving” Work? Apple’s “Do Not Disturb While Driving” mode (first introduced in iOS 11) is special safety mode that limits incoming messages and notifications while you are driving so that you don’t get distracted, potentially saving you from a deadly accident....
Have you ever wanted to create a link that goes to a specific part of a long web page? Chrome 80 makes that possible with a new deep linking feature called “Scroll To Text Fragment.” This feature doesn’t require any special effort on the part of a website’s developer. You can create deep links to any web page on any website. However, these links will only work in Google Chrome 80 for now....
If your car supports Apple CarPlay and you’re not a fan of Apple Maps, it’s easy to use Google Maps for detailed turn-by-turn directions and navigation in your car instead. Here’s how to use it. First, make sure you have Google Maps installed on your iPhone. It’s available free of charge on the App Store. After that, activate CarPlay by connecting your iPhone to your CarPlay-compatible vehicle. Locate Google Maps on your CarPlay screen and launch it with a tap....
Unfortunately, this only works with the original HomePod—the larger, more expensive model. You can’t do it with the HomePod mini or any other AirPlay speakers. First, Specify Your Apple TV’s Location The Apple TV (fourth generation and above) is a HomeKit hub, but it may not show up in your Home app until you specify which room you’ve placed it in. To do this, turn on the Apple TV and head to Settings > Airplay and HomeKit > Room....
Virtual YouTubers A VTuber is a portmanteau of the phrase “virtual YouTuber.” It’s the term for a type of online content creator who uses a virtually generated avatar while streaming to their audience. VTubers are mostly on streaming and video sharing platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Twitch. The majority of VTubers are from Japan and often create content in Japanese. However, these influencers typically have a global audience. The avatars of VTubers are often designed to look similar to the characters drawn in Japanese animated shows (in other words, they look like “anime” characters)....
What’s an “Evil Maid” Attack? It’s often repeated in cybersecurity: Once an attacker has physical access to your computing device, all bets are off. The “evil maid” attack is an example—and not just a theoretical one—of how an attacker could access and compromise an unattended device. Think of the “evil maid” as a spy. When people travel for business or pleasure, they often leave their laptops in hotel rooms. Now, what if there was an “evil maid” working in the hotel—a cleaning person (or someone disguised as a cleaning person) who, in the course of their normal cleaning of the hotel room, used their physical access to the device to modify it and compromise it?...
Google isn’t particularly known for its clear branding. This is certainly the case when it comes to Chromecast, Google Cast, and Android TV. These platforms have some overlapping features, but they’re also quite different. Let’s take a look at all of them, so you can figure out which one is right for you. What Is Chromecast? Chromecast is Google’s branding for its line of streaming media dongles. These devices are small, affordable, and don’t require a physical remote for operation....
In the mid-1990s, Be Inc. had the audacity to create a brand-new personal computer operating system from scratch. It gained critical acclaim for its ahead-of-its-time features, but failed to capture significant market share. It’s still a cult favorite 25 years later, and here’s why. The BeOS Secret? A Fresh Start and Unique Feel BeOS is a now-defunct multimedia operating system that was first introduced in October 1995 for Be Inc....
Google Photos may seem like a simple image hosting service, but it’s actually quite powerful. Google Photos bridges the gap between cloud storage, image hosting, and image sharing services, giving stiff competition to Flickr, iCloud, Dropbox, and OneDrive. You probably know that Google Photos can back up photos from your Android or iOS device, and that you can access it from the web to view your library. You probably even know that Google Photos provides free unlimited storage when you opt for their “high quality” setting (which means photos up to an ample 16-megapixel limit and HD videos up to 1080p)....
Breathing New Life Into Old Atari Computers For Atari hobbyists, the company’s eight-bit computer platform is far from dead. First introduced in 1979, the Atari Home Computer series once competed with the Apple II and the Commodore 64. Its technical flexibility has also inspired a die-hard fan base that persists to this day. Hobbyists regularly release new software for this vintage platform, however, it’s rare to find a non-gaming application that’s actually useful....
How to View and Customize Hotkeys in Zoom Zoom has useful keyboard shortcuts on its desktop client, all of which you can change from the Settings menu. On a Windows PC or a Mac, just click the Settings cog in the top-right to edit the hotkeys. On Linux, click your profile icon to access the Settings menu. Next, click “Keyboard Shortcuts” to explore the current hotkey setup for your machine. You can do this during a meeting, as well....
Add a Website to Your Home Screen Using Chrome Open the Chrome app on your handset and navigate to the website that you want to make into a Home Screen shortcut. Once the website loads, open Chrome’s Settings menu by tapping the three vertical dots found in the top-right corner. Next, select the “Add To Home Screen” option. A new screen that will allow you to place the icon automatically or choose where to place it....
Some people have trouble remembering the birthdays of friends, co-workers, and relatives. Luckily, your iPhone can remember birthdays for you—just enter the information into the Contacts app. Here’s how to do it. First, open “Contacts.” If you can’t find it, open the “Phone” app (the green phone receiver icon you use to make calls), then tap the “Contacts” button in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. Once “Contacts” is open, scroll through the list and select the entry for the person whose birthday you’d like to document....
If you use a particular System Preferences pane frequently on your Mac, you can easily place a link to it in your Dock for quick access. In fact, you can link as many preference sections there as you’d like. Here’s how. On a Mac, each section of System Preferences is traditionally called a “preference pane.” The behavior of each preference pane is handled by a file in located in your macOS System Library folder....
Auto Skip Intro Once installed, this free browser extension automatically clicks the “Skip intro” button as soon as it appears on your web browser. All you have to do is head over to the Google Chrome Web Store and download it on your computer. To do that, visit the “Auto Skip Intro” listing and click the blue “Add to Chrome” button. You don’t have to manually enable the extension—it begins running the minute the installation is complete....
This Duplex feature is available for Android and works with the Google Chrome browser. Google Assistant will launch the ticketing website and guide you through the multi-step process of buying tickets. RELATED: Now You Can Use Google Duplex to Buy Movie Tickets To get started, launch Google Assistant on your Android phone or tablet. You can say “OK, Google” or swipe in from the bottom-left or -right corner. Next, say “Showtimes for [Movie Name] in [Location]....
Usually, Windows+G opens up the Xbox Game Bar in Windows 10. But if you’d like to launch the Game Bar with a custom keyboard shortcut, Windows Settings has you covered. Here’s how to set it up. First, we’ll need to visit Windows Settings. Open the Start menu and select the “gear” icon on the left side of the menu, or you can press Windows+i on your keyboard. In Settings, select “Gaming....
