New Posts

How To: The 5 Best Two-Factor Authentication Apps for iPhone & Android

When it comes to cybersecurity, one layer isn't enough. A complex password (or one created with a password manager) does a good job of protecting your data, but it can still be cracked. Two-factor authentication strengthens this by adding a second layer of security, giving you even more protection against online threats.

News: Apple & Tim Cook Back Civil Rights Augmented Reality Experience & Tech Education in Alabama

As a native of Alabama, Apple CEO Tim Cook has a special place in his heart for the state. He also empathizes with the struggles that African-Americans have historically faced in the state, particularly during the 1950s and '60s civil rights era.

How To: Your iPhone's Flashlight Doesn't Have to Be That Bright

Have you ever been to a hip restaurant with horrible lighting? You need your iPhone's flashlight just to read the menu. Of course, sometimes the light comes off too bright, blinding the people next to you. Don't settle for a flashlight that's too bright. In fact, you can choose from four different brightness levels instead, to perfectly fit your situation.

How To: Skip Intros on YouTube in Just a Couple Taps

Binging on YouTube these days can be just as fulfilling as Netflix or Hulu, but sometimes you just need to skim through a video. Whether you want to skip over a long-winded intro or you want to show your friend the best part in the middle, YouTube has a great gesture for you.

How To: Can't Dislike Songs in Spotify? Here's How to Really Hide Them from Playlists & Radio Stations

You can block artists no matter where you are in Spotify's mobile app for Android or iOS, but it's not as easy when you want to hide songs from playing. Disliking tracks is possible here and there, but not everywhere, and that's a serious problem if you keep hearing songs you hate.

How To: Unhide a Disliked Song on Spotify to Hear It in Playlists & Radio Stations Again

When you dislike or hide a song in Spotify, you'll never hear it again in the playlist or radio station that you blocked it from. If you bury it for the entire app, it won't play anywhere. But that doesn't mean you can't get it back if you change your mind.

How To: Completely Prevent Apps from Accessing Your Camera & Microphone on Android

We're thinking more and more about our digital privacy these days. When we first started using smartphones, we'd download apps with reckless abandon, allowing permissions lists as long as novels in order to play free games. Now, we know that apps have access to things like our cameras and microphones, even when they shouldn't. Luckily, taking away these permissions is easy.

News: Google Grants Augmented Reality Access to Historic Art of Chauvet Cave via Arts & Culture App & Google Search

Some of the oldest art on Earth was created 36,000 years ago on the walls of the Chauvet Cave in France. However, these days, physical access to the cave is restricted in order to preserve the site.

News: Google Pixel 4a Leaked Spec Sheet & New Rumors

Last year, many were caught off guard when Google released a midrange Pixel device. Priced below $500, the Pixel 3a and 3a XL were fantastic buys as they brought the most of the camera technology people loved in the Pixel 3 to budget devices. Rumors indicate Google plans to continue this series.

How To: Enable WPA3 on Your Google Wifi Network to Beef Up Wireless Security

Google recently released a new mesh router known as Nest Wifi. The updated and rebranded Google Wifi brought many improvements, such as faster processing power and an increased level of wireless security called WPA3. But while it's not enabled by default, you can still get the new WPA3 security on your original Google Wifi.

How To: Migrate Your First-Gen Google Wifi Pucks to the Google Home App

Google is known for merging older products into a new one's ecosystem for ease of use. The transition can take time, and that's the case with the old Google Wifi system now that Nest Wifi is out. Google is working on phasing out the dedicated Google Wifi app in favor of using the Google Home app for all your IoT needs.

News: Facebook Cancels Annual F8 Developer Conference Due to Coronavirus Concerns

Facebook has announced the cancelation of its annual F8 developer conference, citing concerns around the developing coronavirus health crisis.

How To: Install MicroG to Replace Google Play Services & Prevent Data Mining

With all the talk about privacy concerns recently, Google's name keeps coming up because they are a very data-driven company. As an Android user, they know basically everything about you based on your device usage. That can easily scare some people off who are worried about their privacy and security. You do have some say in what personal data Google controls, but what if you want total control?

How To: Use Wordlister to Create Custom Password Combinations for Cracking

Password cracking is a specialty of some hackers, and it's often thought that raw computing power trumps everything else. That is true in some cases, but sometimes it's more about the wordlist. Making a custom, targeted wordlist can cut down cracking time considerably, and Wordlister can help with that.

How To: You Can See in the Dark with Your Pixel 4's Front Camera

Being able to unlock your Pixel 4 in the dark with its IR camera is a fantastic feature by itself. But if you download a specific third-party camera app, you can actually see the IR camera feed. It's true night vision for your phone, and it's completely free to use.

News: Burberry Teams with Google Search to Let You Browse High Fashion in Augmented Reality

Just days ago, Georgio Armani canceled his live show in Milan and opted to stream it instead due to coronavirus concerns. Now, at the start of Paris Fashion Week — shadowed by similar worries — Burberry has launched an augmented reality tool that lets you view the latest high fashion from the comfort of your home.

News: Apple Releases iOS 13.4 Public Beta 3 for iPhone, Hints at Future 'OS Recovery' Mode

In a welcomed Wednesday twist, iOS 13.4 public beta 3 follows the release of developer beta 3 by just three hours. While that isn't super uncommon for most beta cycles, it is for this one. Apple waited 24 hours between dev beta 2 and public beta 2, and five full days between dev beta 1 and public beta 1. It's nice to see these betas coming out on the same day again.

YSK: Your Android Phone Has an Alt-Tab Feature

The Alt-Tab keyboard shortcut makes switching between apps and programs a breeze on your Windows PC. Just like your computer, your Android phone has the same feature baked in to make switching between recent apps just as hassle-free.

News: Apple Releases iOS 13.4 Developer Beta 3 for iPhone, Introduces First Evidence of Internet-Based 'OS Recovery' Mode

So far, iOS 13.4 hasn't been a disappointment. From new Memoji stickers, a refreshed Mail toolbar, and even the beginnings of controlling your car with your iPhone, Apple's latest iOS update is looking like a good one. That's why we're excited that Apple just released the third 13.4 developer beta today, one week after the release of the second one.

Hands-On: Whiteboard App For Magic Leap Lets You Share Your Strategic Genius In Augmented Reality

The business world is currently figuring out how to deal with the coronavirus crisis, with many offices opting to work remotely for at least the next few weeks as a safety precaution. Predictably, this has thrown remote meeting software back into the spotlight, especially augmented reality solutions.

How To: Sick of That One TikTok Trend? You Can Easily Block It from Your Feed

There's nothing quite like getting lost in the TikTok void. While you'll likely never run into the same video twice, the same can't be said for popular sounds and fads. Some trends get so viral, it feels like you hear the same song or track every other TikTok. Just know this: you don't have to put up with any trend you're sick of.

How To: Install Android 11 on Your Pixel Without Unlocking the Bootloader or Losing Data

Android 11 won't be available as a beta update for Pixel devices until May 2020. Until then, the only way to try the latest Android version is by manually installing it. Usually, this means carrier models are left out since their bootloaders are locked, but there's still a way to get it done.

News: Qualcomm Unveils Reference Design for AR Wearables Running on Snapdragon XR2

Following its dominance as a provider of silicon for smartphones, Qualcomm is eager to replicate that ubiquity with not only processors for augmented reality headsets but also reference designs to give device makers a head start.

News: Android 11 Changelog — An Always-Updated List of New Features

Android's newest major update is here. While this latest update is codenamed "R," we already know its real name: Android 11. This year's update came rather early, shocking the world when Developer Preview 1 appeared on Feb. 19, 2020. But even though it's ahead of schedule, it's still packed with new features.

News: Magic Leap Hosting LEAP Developer Days at Magic Leap HQ in May

Despite the cancellation of Mobile World Congress and several high-profile companies pulling out of the upcoming Game Developers Conference, Magic Leap is pushing forward with hosting its own developer conference.

Market Reality: HTC Vive Concept Smartglasses, Coronavirus Hits Apple, Holographic Celebs, & Snapchat Ground Effects

The coronavirus continues to disrupt the tech industry, including the augmented reality segment, with Apple and the iPhone the latest to feel the impact.

How To: Supercharge Text Editing on Your Galaxy with This Secret Copy & Paste Icon

We rely heavily on copying and pasting on our smartphones to speed up text editing since there's no mouse and keyboard. Like on a computer, copying is usually limited to one item at a time, but with the Samsung Keyboard app, you have the ability to copy multiple sets of text.

News: Bank of England Teams with Snapchat to Embed AR Animation in New 20-Pound Banknotes

The UK has officially exited the European Union, completing the long and tumultuous Brexit story and putting the storied nation once again on its own on the international stage.

How To: Move Chrome's Menu Bar to the Bottom of Your Screen

Google has always experimented with Chrome's UI, but when they make more drastic changes, they start by hiding them in the feature flags menu. One of the latest designs makes Chrome more accessible in a world of big and tall phones.

News: Print Custom Labels Right from Your Smartphone or Computer & Organize All the Things

Life is too chaotic to be organized all the time, but little steps in the right direction make things easier overall. File folders keep paperwork from spiraling out of control. Spice jars take the clutter out of cabinets. Storage totes keep basements neat and tidy. But to find what you're looking for faster, you need a label maker.

How To: Stop Squinting at Your Galaxy's Keyboard & Type Faster with This Simple Setting

The monochrome layout on Samsung's default keyboard can make it a little hard to view keys. Fortunately, there's a setting you can enable that makes your keyboard significantly easier to view and type on.

How To: Android 10 Drastically Updated Location Permissions — Check Your Settings ASAP

With Android 10, there are now three options when an app asks to access your location: Allow, Deny, and Allow While In Use. That last one prevents apps from seeing your location unless you're actively using them, and it's the default now. But when you first update, most of your apps will still be allowed to access your location in the background — at least, until you do something about it.

News: Snapchat Evolves the Foundation of Its AR Capabilities with Ground Transformation Lenses

The sky is the limit when it comes to augmented reality, but Snapchat's latest innovation is keeping its AR platform grounded.

How To: There's a Super Easy Way to Select Multiple Pictures in Google Photos

Selecting multiple pictures or videos in Google Photos can be tedious. Usually, you'd long press on the first image to select it, then tap on other pictures one by one to select them as well. But there is a much easier and faster way to do this.

News: Wilder vs. Fury Boxing Rematch Will Feature an AR Experience & Sponsorship via a UFC Legend

As augmented reality continues its collision course with mainstream adoption, the technology will now have a role in one of the most anticipated boxing matches of the year.

News: Apple Releases iOS 13.4 Public Beta 2 for iPhone with New TV Settings & Mail Shortcuts

When it comes to iOS beta updates, developers get their updates first, and once they do, public testers play the waiting game. Sometimes Apple releases the public version three hours later. Other times it waits 24 hours. It's a roll of the dice almost every time. As for iOS 13.4 public beta 2, it's the latter case, coming exactly one after developer beta 2.

News: HTC Vive Project Proton Concept Devices Offer Potential Future High-End & Mobile AR Wearable Options

Part of the fallout from the canceled Mobile World Congress is that a range of products, ideas, and designs slated for reveal in Barcelona are now being showcased without the framing and context of the massive tech gathering.

How To: Install the Android 11 Developer Preview on Your Google Pixel — The Beginner's Guide

Google just released the first version of the next major Android update. Early Android 11 builds will only available as developer previews, so you can't just sign up for the beta program and install the update as an OTA for the first couple months. That said, it's still pretty easy to get.

News: How Whitney Houston's New Hologram Tour Is Proof That Virtual Beings & Volumetric Performances Are Going Mainstream

We've been so worried about volumetric scans possibly robbing celebrities and performers of their agency and right to control their image that, somewhere along the way, we forgot that scans may not always be necessary to produce passable holographic performances.

How To: Find Exploits & Get Root with Linux Exploit Suggester

Privilege escalation is one of the essential skills a hacker can have and often separates the newbies from the pros. With a continually changing landscape and a plethora of exploits out there, it can be a problematic aspect of any attack. Luckily, some tools can help expedite the process. Linux Exploit Suggester is just one of many to help you get root.