Posts

How Do You Know It’s Time to Replace Your Battery? Unlike modern smartphones, tablets, and laptops there’s no way of diagnosing a failing battery on a Nintendo Switch. The company neglected to add a battery status option in the Settings as seen on devices like the iPhone, so you’ll have to judge for yourself when the time is right to get your console’s battery replaced. Depending on what you’re doing, your console’s battery should last between two and a half to six hours for an original console (released between 2017 and 2019), or four and a half to nine hours for the revised model released in 2019....

Google Image Search is a great way to find an image that is similar to one you already have or to help you track down the original source of a photo on the internet. Here’s how to use it. Search for an Image on a Website If you want to search for an image that appears on a website, you can just plug the URL for the image into a Google image search....

In the past, iPhone users had to download a third-party app in order to scan documents and save them in a digital format on their phone. However, since the release of iOS 11 in 2017, you’ve been able to scan documents natively using the built-in Notes app. RELATED: The Best Ways to Scan a Document Using Your Phone or Tablet Granted, some third-party document scanning apps still come with way more features than Apple’s Notes app, but if all you need to do is digitize a simple form and nothing else, the Notes app is the way to go....

Windows 11 handles hidden files and folders almost identically to versions of Windows that came before it: with special file flags. Showing these hidden files in File Explorer is easy. Here’s how. There are actually multiple ways to show hidden files and folders on Windows 11, but we’ll walk you through the best methods to make it easier. First, launch File Explorer by opening Start and searching for “File Explorer,” or by clicking the File Explorer icon in your taskbar if it’s pinned there....

Skype doesn’t offer an obvious way to use multiple accounts at the same time. You don’t have to log out and log back in — you can sign into as many Skype accounts as you want via the web, Windows, Mac, or Linux Skype applications. This may be helpful if you have separate Skype accounts for personal use and work, for example. No such tricks are available for Android, iPhone, or iPad — you’re stuck with a single account on the mobile Skype apps....

Over time, most Nintendo Switch games receive free online updates that fix bugs and add new features. Sometimes, the updates even add major features to the game, such as new levels or characters. Here’s how to make sure your games are updated. First, See if Auto-Update is Turned On By default, the Nintendo Switch automatically checks for software updates when you are connected to the internet. If it finds an update, the system will download and install it....

Word’s rulers let you control the margins of your page and the indentation of paragraphs. They’re great for precisely lining up images, text, and other elements. If you’re printing a document, the rulers can help ensure that what you see on your screen translates into what you’ll get on the printed page. The trouble is, rulers aren’t even visible by default in Word anymore. Here’s how to turn them on, and how to make the most out of them....

How many times do you go to a website to read an article and once the page loads, you’re bombarded with banners and distracting ads? Firefox’s Reader View removes the clutter and simplifies the page for better readability, leaving only what you actually want to see: the article. Safari sort of pioneered the reader view, but other browsers have also started to adopt it. Firefox is no exception, and you can enjoy the reader view in both the desktop and mobile versions....

A mouse and keyboard isn’t always the most convenient way to control a PC, especially a media center PC you control from the couch. You can try to control your desktop with a game controller, but your smartphone will do the trick as well. This is made possible through a smartphone app and PC app combo called Unified Remote. The app on your phone connects to the server app on your PC, which allows it to send mouse, keyboard, and other remote control-type input....

What You Need to Know About Windows 11 on ARM and Apple Silicon Parallels Desktop 18 lets you create virtual machines that run on top of macOS so you can run operating systems like Windows as if they were native applications. This software cannot be used to create x86 or Intel-based virtual machines at all when used on an Apple Silicon Mac (and you wouldn’t want to, considering how poor performance would be)....

While it can be tempting to take a crack at repairing your own laptop, phone, or tablet, there are times to do it…and times to leave it to the pros. Every time I’ve had a problem with some of my tech gear, I’ve been tempted to grab a pentalobe screwdriver and dig in. Unfortunately, each time, when I’ve really looked at the options, I’ve realized it’s probably been a bad idea....

Gaming headsets need excellent sound quality and the ability to give you accurate response and spatial clarity for sounds like footsteps in a competitive shooter. Audio is vital to the way we play games, so there’s no place for headsets that have a narrow soundstage. Other bells and whistles, such as RGB lighting or how it looks, are secondary to this. On top of that, you need a microphone that isn’t fuzzy or quiet....

But like many smart home products on the market, there is a wide range of smart light switches to choose from, and not all of them are going to suit your needs. So what should you look for? First, you will want to make sure that the smart light switch works with your smart home’s voice assistant. Many of these switches will work with the most popular assistants such as Alexa and Google Assistant, but compatibility isn’t always across the board....

Open the Task Manager on Windows 10 and you’ll see an “Application Frame Host” background process running. This process has the file name “ApplicationFrameHost.exe” and is part of the Windows 10 operating system. RELATED: What Is This Process and Why Is It Running on My PC? This article is part of our ongoing series explaining various processes found in Task Manager, like Runtime Broker, svchost.exe, dwm.exe, ctfmon.exe, rundll32.exe, Adobe_Updater.exe, and many others....

Something called parentalcontrolsd is running on your Mac—at least, that’s what you found when you checked Activity Monitor. Maybe it’s using up CPU cycles, or maybe it’s just there and you want to know why. To begin: this is part of macOS, so don’t worry about it being malware. RELATED: What Is This Process and Why Is It Running on My Mac? This article is part of our ongoing series explaining various processes found in Activity Monitor, like kernel_task, hidd, mdsworker, installd, WindowServer, blued, launchd, backup, opendirectoryd, powerd, coreauthd, configd, mdnsresponder, UserEventAgent, nsurlstoraged, commerce, and many others....

XLR is pro audio. It’s what all recording and radio studios use, and it’s what you’ll see live performers using on stage. That’s because XLR cables carry balanced audio, which is essential for getting clean sound. What is XLR? First things first—let’s define what XLR means. It’s a pretty simple abbreviation for X Connector, Locking Connector, Rubber Boot. The “rubber boot” portion of the connector isn’t always part of the equation these days, however, as it’s no longer necessary....

Whether shopping for a new computer or upgrading an old one, you’ve likely come across the the “64-bit” designation and wondered what it meant. Read on as we explain what Windows 64-bit is and why you’d want a piece of that 64-bit pie. RELATED: How Do I Know if I’m Running 32-bit or 64-bit Windows? Starting with Windows 7, Microsoft has done an enormous amount to increase the popularity of 64-bit computing among home users, but many people are unclear on what exactly it means (and may not even realize they’re already running it)....

Facebook Lite is an Android app designed for low speed connections and low spec phones. It has been available outside the US for a few years, and now it’s available in the US, too. Here are the differences between it and the original Facebook app. Facebook’s main app weighs in at 57 MB on my Motorola Moto E4; Facebook Lite is a mere 1.59 MB—that’s about 96.5% less space. Facebook Lite is designed to use less RAM and CPU power, as well, so you’ll get a smoother experience on a cheaper and less powerful phones....

Photography and videography gear is expensive. Professional equipment starts at a few hundred dollars and goes up to hundreds of thousands. You might dream of shooting with a RED EPIC camera, but you probably don’t want to pony up the $19,000+ to own one. The thing is, there’s another option: rental. It might surprise you, but the odds are that a lot of the equipment used in your favorite movies and TV shows isn’t owned by the people or company shooting it....

The Hardware The main difference between the three models is the physical size. The Fire 7 has a 7-inch screen, the Fire HD 8 has an 8-inch display, and the Fire HD 10 has a 10.1-inch screen. For comparison, the iPad Mini has an 8.3-inch screen, and the regular iPad is 10.2 inches. The resolution is also different on each model, with the Fire 7 having the lowest-quality screen and the Fire HD 10 having a full 1080p display....