Most of us take it for granted that commonly-used services like Facebook will always be there. The fact is that they’re susceptible to the same sort of problems that bring down smaller websites. Here are some tips to help you figure out what’s going on. Check if Facebook Is Really Down You can check whether a website is down using a service like Down for Everyone or Just Me, Down....
Unless You Have a Time Machine, It’s Safe We recently posted an article about how to turn on the preview pane in Gmail. Through article comments, emails, and Twitter DMs, we got quite a few people asking us if it was safe to use the preview pane. Back in the day, articles advising disabling your preview pane were commonplace. Many websites made the case that using the preview pane option was a Bad Idea....
LibreOffice 7.4 is a significant update, with contributions from 147 developers and support for Windows, macOS, and Linux. The Document Foundation, the organization that manages LibreOffice development, also highlighted the expanded language support. “LibreOffice 7.4 Community is released in 120 different language versions, more than any other free or proprietary software,” the group said. Like nearly every LibreOffice update, version 7.4 improves cross-compatibility with Microsoft Office documents. LibreOffice Writer has improved support for borders and clearing breaks from Word documents, and LibreOffice Impress has fixes for embedded media and shapes from PowerPoint files....
The PowerToys project originally launched for Windows 95. It included a package of useful utilities. The most famous was TweakUI, which provided an interface for configuring obscure settings in Windows that would otherwise require editing the Windows registry. Windows XP also received a set of PowerToys applications. Full lists of the included PowerToys are available on Wikipedia. Microsoft largely discontinued PowerToys after Windows XP, but now they’re coming back. This time, the PowerToys project is open-source with the source code available on Microsoft’s GitHub....
The Meta Quest Pro Is Not the Quest 3 The most important thing you should know is that the Quest Pro is not a successor to the Quest 2. Instead, it’s the first in a high-end parallel line of VR headsets. It is certainly better than the Quest 2 in every way, but at almost four times the asking price, these products aren’t in competition for the same customers. Meta is still developing the Quest 3 at the time of writing, and when it releases, it will almost certainly be at a price closer to the Quest 2 than the Quest Pro....
Microsoft just patched a remote code execution hole in Windows XP with a critical update—over five years after it left mainstream support. However, Windows Update won’t automatically install it. You’ll have to manually download and install it from Microsoft’s website. As Microsoft’s Security Response Center explains, this patch fixes a “wormable” vulnerability in Remote Desktop Service in Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008: Microsoft took the unexpected step of issuing a critical security patch for Windows XP (and Windows Server 2003) more than five years after Microsoft ended mainstream support....
One of the key ways in which curved monitors are different from flat monitors is, well, the curve. But the level of curvature can be different across different monitors. So, for example, some monitors have a gentler curve, whereas others are more aggressive. The level of the curve is specified by the curvature radius, such as 1000R or 1500R. “R” in this label stands for radius, and the preceding number is the circle’s radius that would be formed if the monitor was extended all the way to form a full circle....
If you’ve been on the Internet for a while, chances are good you’ve encountered a variety of errors. While avoiding errors altogether is not possible, it does help to understand what those errors mean and some basic steps for resolving them. Common Types of Online Errors Most online errors are accompanied by an HTTP status code. Commonly, you’ll see a 4XX or a 5XX error—a 4 or 5 followed by two additional digits, like 404....
Blockbuster Movies, But for Games You’ve probably watched a blockbuster movie before. Blockbusters typically have large budgets, production teams of thousands of people, big-name actors, and recognizable film studios producing them. Also, they tend to make tons of money, with more and more movies crossing the billion-dollar mark every year. AAA (or Triple-A) video games are to the gaming world what blockbusters are for the film industry. Just like blockbusters, they usually involve huge teams working for months to years to make a finished product, employed by a major studio....
How Does Project Zero Work? Some Brands are Skeptical of Project Zero, But They Want It to Succeed Unsurprisingly, some people are skeptical of Project Zero. It’s an overdue anti-counterfeit measure, and it’s hard to know exactly how well it will work. But it’s important to note that brands are critical of Project Zero because they want it to succeed, not because they want it to fail. Kevin Williams, the CEO of RGK Innovations made a similarly optimistic-yet-skeptical claim in an interview with Inc....
Real-time ray tracing has been a far-off dream for decades, and now NVIDIA’s RTX 20-series graphics hardware will finally deliver it. But what does that mean, and is it everything it’s hyped up to be? Why Real-Time Ray Tracing is Cool Ray tracing is a better way to render light and shadow effects. With this technique, the graphics engine traces the rays of light in the scene as they bounce from object to object, calculating how they would move....
Do I Have to Worry About It? Probably not. Doxxing is generally a targeted abuse, similar to harassment in real life, and unless you’ve got a target on your back, you’re probably safe. It normally affects famous people—particularly Internet famous people, such as live streamers, YouTubers, and social media celebrities. Since many of them go by an online alias, revealing their real name is a major violation of privacy. Having your name, phone number, and address posted online leaves you vulnerable to real crimes, like swatting, physical harassment, and stalking....
Restart Your Computer and Router Restarting your computer and your router are the easiest and quickest solutions that could solve your lag. When you leave your computer on for too long without doing a hard reboot, it can start to slow down which may lead to performance issues. A reboot of your computer allows your operating system to complete important updates, delete temporary files, clean up open files, and clear up memory....
There was a lot of movement in the Android world the week of March 8th thru 15th. The Q beta landed with all sorts of new features, Vivo showed off a portless phone, and Google killed a bunch of services. Android Q Feature Roundup Let’s start with the biggest Android news for the week, shall we? The Q beta landed for all Pixel devices, and it’s jam-packed with all sorts of new features....
With the launch of the iPhone XS and XR last year, Apple has gone all-in on Face ID. And while there may be some users who miss the fingerprint sensor, I’m not one of them. The latest batch of new iPhones that came out in September 2018 was the first not to include Touch ID at all. After owning my first Touch ID-less iPhone for several months now, I can’t say that I’m upset by this move from Apple....
Microsoft announced last December it would move the Edge over to the Chromium rendering engine. Leaked builds hit the web a few weeks ago, but now you can try an official build from Microsoft. Here’s how to set it up. Update: Microsoft released the final, stable version of the new Microsoft Edge on January 15, 2020. Download it here. Microsoft plans to automatically install the browser on Windows 10 PCs via Windows Update soon....
Early adopter pain is difficult to describe, but it’s necessary for technological and social progress. It’s like the pain that comes after a long run mixed with the rush of gambling. And like gambling, early adopter pain is expensive. But what makes someone an early adopter, and how is early adopter pain necessary for progress? The Five Stages of Technology Adoption A simple Google search for “early adopters” shows that, as a concept, early adopters are very important to businesses....
GM has officially kicked off the “Dealer Community Charging Program” that it announced last year, which involves coordinating with GM dealerships to set up charging stations in busy areas across North America. The first stations have been installed “at several locations in Marshfield, Wisconsin, including two parks, a library and a sports complex,” in partnership with Wheelers Chevrolet GMC. More stations were set up at Memorial Healthcare Wellness Center in Owosso, Michigan, near Young Chevrolet Cadillac, and GM expects more will go online in the “weeks and months ahead....
A Real Solution to Robocalls Robocall-blocking is the best new feature in iOS 13. The “Silence unknown callers” option solves the biggest annoyance of owning any phone at all. With this feature turned on, your iPhone will check the incoming call against numbers in your Contacts, Mail, and Messages. If it finds a match, your phone will ring. If it doesn’t, the call goes straight to voicemail. Robocalls are a modern technological plague that seemingly touches everyone....
Connect a Chromebook to a Windows network and you may be in for a surprise. Your Chromebook can’t access shared folders or network printers, whether they’re shared from a Windows, Mac, or Linux system. Chromebooks can connect to VPNs, file shares, and printers — but only if these resources are provided in a certain way. If the network resources are configured properly, this should be easy. Access Network File Shares Chromebooks don’t have integrated support for browsing Windows file shares (known as SMB or CIFS shares), or NFS shares from other operating systems....
