Don’t get me wrong, it’s a clever idea to combine two smarthome devices into one unit, especially if your smarthome is piling up as it is. But the Echo Plus’s built-in smarthome hub just doesn’t do a good enough job to justify it. Let’s talk about why. There’s No Z-Wave Support RELATED: What Are “ZigBee” and “Z-Wave” Smarthome Products? Granted, you might be able to find a ZigBee equivalent of a given Z-Wave smart switch or sensor....

When it comes to keeping your home safe, you need something reliable. It’s always best to go with a quality security system than a cheaper one that might not work as intended. Prioritize safety over everything else! Depending on the size of your home, you’ll want a system that can cover every entrance point, including all doors and windows. Security systems may not come with enough gear to cover your home completely, so they should allow you to add more if needed....

Victrola’s turntables revisit classic designs with modern sensibilities, and this remains the case with the Re-Spin. This is a take on the classic suitcase-style turntable, though with technology you’d never see on those older turntables. The Re-Spin also has an eye toward sustainability that classic turntables did not. Is the Re-Spin a perfect buy for vinyl-curious music fans, or should this design have stayed in the past? Build and Design All it takes is a glance at the Re-Spin to notice its retro-inspired style, but it’s more modern than it looks....

Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency out there, and it’s still the biggest—for now, at least. But, as we’ve explained before, Bitcoin has a lot of problems as a currency. The term “altcoin” refers to any other cryptocurrency that’s not Bitcoin—in other words, they’re alternatives to Bitcoin. What Are Altcoins, and How Are They Related to Bitcoin? RELATED: What Is Bitcoin, and How Does it Work? Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, but, technically, it’s a few other things....

Gaining root access on Android devices isn’t a new concept, but the way it is done has changed with Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The new “systemless” root method can be a bit confusing at first, so we’re here to help make sense of it all, why you’d want it, and why this method is the best way to root an Android phone moving forward. What Exactly Is “Systemless” Root? RELATED: How to Root Your Android Phone with SuperSU and TWRP...

Windows 10 uses memory compression to store more data in your system’s memory than it otherwise could. If you visit the Task Manager and look at your memory usage details, you’ll likely see that some of your memory is “compressed”. Here’s what that means. What Is Memory Compression? Memory compression is a new feature in Windows 10, and is not available on Windows 7 and 8. However, both Linux and Apple’s macOS also use memory compression....

If you’re running Linux, then it’s likely that you’ve needed to change some options for your file systems. Getting acquainted with fstab can make the whole process a lot easier, and it’s much easier than you think. What Is Fstab? Fstab is your operating system’s file system table. If you want a review of file systems, be sure to check out our other article, HTG Explains: Which Linux File System Should You Choose?...

Having your Mac get stolen might seem like the end of the world, but there are some steps you can take to try and get it back, or failing that, make an insurance claim. Let’s have a look at what to do if your Mac goes missing. Take Some Preventative Measures Now In Case Your Mac Gets Stolen After your Mac gets stolen, it’s often too late to do much to protect your data and private information....

Ubuntu 17.10 “Artful Aardvark” has dropped the Unity 7 desktop, instead switching to GNOME Shell. Ubuntu’s developers tried to make the GNOME Shell desktop work as much like Unity as possible, but there are still some big differences. Here’s what you need to know. How GNOME Shell Works Differently From Unity 7 RELATED: What’s New in Ubuntu 17.10 “Artful Aardvark”, Available Now The GNOME Shell environment is designed to look familiar, even including an always-on-screen dock to replace the launcher, which is something that GNOME Shell doesn’t normally have....

iTunes uses an authorization system to ensure only a handful of computers can access your purchased music, videos, and other content at any given time. You should deauthorize iTunes before getting rid of a computer or reinstalling Windows. The authorization system is a form of DRM, so it involves jumping through hoops. It’s supposed to limit access to your purchased content. What is an iTunes Authorization? You must authorize a computer — Mac or Windows PC — in iTunes before that computer can download and use your purchased movies, TV shows, music, eBooks, audiobooks, apps, and other content....

It’s amazing how it’s become almost unthinkable to go about your day to day life without a fragile chunk of glass and expensive electronics in your pocket. A single drop, one stumble, a careless spill, and you’re out hundreds of dollars. This is why gadget insurance is such a big industry. But is it worth it to insure your gear? Not all insurance is a good deal. If you’re not careful, you might end up paying a few dollars a month for a policy that doesn’t cover what you think it does....

A Brief Recap of TikTok TikTok has over one billion active users across the world, and that number continues to grow. If you’re currently out of the loop, this amount of use seems staggering, but there are very good reasons why so many teens are still addicted to the app. In early 2020, we explored why TikTok had so many devoted users. However, in light of its rapid and sustained growth, we wanted to explore what the app does that causes users to spend hours or even days scrolling through the TikTok feed....

A PSU Is a Critical Piece of PC Infrastructure When we turn on a light, open a faucet, or walk down a nicely paved street, we don’t often think about the wondrous infrastructure making all that possible. But if somebody hadn’t taken the time to think about it, things wouldn’t be so wondrous. It’s the same when building a PC. We get obsessed with how many cores a CPU has or the number of compute units in a GPU....

Snapchat has always been the most fun social network. It’s a place where you send bad photos without fear that your boss will see them. To that end, Snapchat has broken one of the features previously only available as part of Lenses into its own thing: Voice Filters. With a Voice Filter, you can change the sound in your video snaps. Let’s look at how to use them. Open Snapchat and record a regular video Snap....

Adding bullet points helps you organize your lists and makes reading your documents easier. In Word, you can insert a bullet point using a keyboard shortcut, ribbon option, and automatic option. We’ll show you how to use these options. RELATED: How to Create a Numbered List in Word Using the Keyboard How to Insert Bullet Points in Word With a Keyboard Shortcut If you’re a keyboard ninja, Word has a keyboard shortcut to let you start a new bullet list or add bullets to existing text....

When setting up your Abode home security system, the app shows you how to connect and install the included sensors, but third-party devices are left to your own accord. You can, however, add third-party devices. Here’s how. RELATED: How to Install and Set Up the Abode Home Security System How to Add Individual Third-Party Devices Abode makes its own line of sensors, a few of which come included in the starter kit....

Nothing is quite as annoying as receiving spam calls, especially when you don’t know it’s a spam call in the first place. However, thanks to a free app, here’s how you can detect spam calls before you answer them and just plain block them altogether. RELATED: How to Block Calls from a Certain Number on an iPhone iOS allows you to natively block certain numbers from calling you, but there’s no way for iOS to detect spam calls (and automatically block them) without a third-party app....

Microsoft Excel offers plenty of styling options to customize your spreadsheet’s appearance. If you ever need to remove your formatting, however, it’s easy to do so for both select cells and your entire worksheet. We’ll show you how. RELATED: How to Clear Formatting in a Microsoft Word Document How to Clear Formatting for Select Cells in Excel Excel offers the option to remove formatting from a single or multiple select cells....

Outlook’s Reading pane—a.k.a. Preview pane—displays the text of a message you’ve selected, preventing you from having to open the actual message to work with it. Here’s how to customize the Reading pane to suit your needs. Outlook comes with several different panes, including those you see by default—the Navigation pane, for example—and others you might not bother with much—like the To-Do and People panes. Each of these is designed to make it easier to find, see, and manage things in Outlook....

Technically, this feature is opt-in—you have to approve certain contacts before they can drop in on you. But the feature itself is still enabled by default, which is strange (and annoying). If you like the feature and enjoy using it either as an instant-calling tool between you and your friends (or just as an intercom system in your house), that’s great. But if you don’t want anything to do with the feature, we’ve got you covered....