Apple TV Is Better on the High End Apple TV also works with YouTube. It goes without saying that Apple TV is a better high-end streaming box for anyone invested in Apple’s platform. The interface is top notch, it’s easy to mirror your iPhone or Mac display, and all your purchases from iTunes are quick to find. Roku Is Better on the Low and Middle Ends Even better: Roku devices have full access to YouTube....
Horizon Zero Dawn is the best PlayStation game of 2017. I recently finished my first playthrough and have spent a lot of time just thinking about what an incredible game it really is. Let’s talk about it. Before we get into that, however, I want to make something clear: this isn’t a guide. This isn’t a “how-to play Horizon Zero Dawn.” I just want to talk about the game and propose some things to consider for your first (or next?...
You’re browsing Activity Monitor when you notice something named cfprefsd. What is this, and should you be worried about it? Quick answer: No, cfpresfd is a core part of macOS, and you couldn’t use your computer without it. 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, parentalcontrold, sandboxd, cloudd, and many others....
Fortnite and some other online games require EasyAntiCheat. This tool monitors your PC while you’re playing, attempting to stop cheats from working in the first place. If it detects a problem, you can be banned from playing the game online. What is EasyAntiCheat? Easy Anti-Cheat, developed by Kamu, is an anti-cheating tool designed to stop (and catch) cheaters in online multiplayer games. Think of it like a more modern replacement for PunkBuster, the anti-cheating application that debuted in 2001....
Using Chrome on Windows? There’s a good chance you’re still using the 32-bit version. You should upgrade to the 64-bit version. It’s more secure–not to mention faster and more stable. The only reason not to upgrade is if you’re using a 32-bit version of Windows that can’t run 64-bit programs, but most computers built in the last eight years or so should be 64-bit compatible. Even if your computer is compatible, though, Chrome won’t update to 64-bit on its own–you have to download it yourself....
Windows contains a variety of system utilities that are useful, but well-hidden. Some are buried deep in the Start menu, while others you can access only if you know the right command to run. RELATED: 10 Useful Windows Commands You Should Know You can launch most of these tools pretty easily if you know their names—just search your start menu for the name of the tool, and you’re good to go....
I know you love Kodi. I do too. But there’s a reason people keep switching to Plex: it’s better. I know: the two products aren’t directly comparable. Kodi is a local media player, while Plex has a server-and-client model. The initial Plex setup is complex, and kind of confusing at first. The Plex add-on ecosystem isn’t as robust as Kodi’s, and a lot of Plex’s best features are locked behind a premium subscription paywall....
Your phone is gross, but it doesn’t take much effort to clean it up and get rid of all those germs. Here’s how (and why) you should be cleaning and sanitizing your phone and other devices around your home. RELATED: How to Clean and Disinfect All Your Gadgets Bacteria, germs, and other gross stuff are all around us. Not all of it’s bad, and some are completely harmless, but it’s easy to come across various germs, fungi, bacteria that have the potential to making you sick....
If you’ve been playing PC games in the last few years, the accumulated games in your Steam account are probably worth hundreds (or maybe even thousands) of dollars. Perhaps even more importantly, your Steam account might contain in-game items that can be traded for real-world cash…and thus, stolen with some very real consequences. So it’s a very good idea to apply Valve’s Steam Guard two-factor authentication to your account....
There will be times that you have to markup a PDF, highlight specific text, or annotate something. Instead of searching for a dedicated PDF reader, you can perform all of that inside the Microsoft Edge web browser. You don’t need to download or install any add-ons or extensions to use Microsoft Edge’s PDF features. You can use them with most PDF files online, as well as those saved on your Windows 10 PC and Mac....
No one likes to pay to be able to drive on a specific road, especially if you’re just passing through. Thankfully, Google Maps has an easy way to bypass toll roads when using navigation. RELATED: How to Disable Android’s Traffic Notifications Aside from just toll roads, Maps can also bypass highways if you’d prefer the scenic route, and avoid ferries if that can be a problem where you live. The only issue here is that avoiding these modern conveniences will almost definitely increase your mileage and drive time, but if you’re okay with that (and plan ahead) then it’s definitely worth the extra hassle to make your day a little bit better....
If you’re not a big fan of the crowded app layout on the Apple Watch, WatchOS 4 has introduced a simpler alternative that makes it easier to scroll through and locate an app. RELATED: How to Automatically Install Apps on Your Apple Watch By default, the Apple Watch uses a really weird app layout. If you click down on the Digital Crown, you’ll see all of your Apple Watch apps laid out in a confusing mess with just the icons showing—no app names or anything....
When you hover your mouse over a Taskbar button for an app with open windows, a thumbnail preview of those windows pops up. By default, there is a slight delay before the preview appears. With a simple Registry edit, you can eliminate that delay, or even turn off those thumbnail previews entirely. Control Taskbar Thumbnail Previews by Editing the Registry Manually To change the speed of (or disable) taskbar thumbnail previews, you just need to make a quick edit to the Windows Registry....
Chromebooks include ports that allow you to connect them to a computer monitor, television, or other display. You can mirror your desktop across multiple displays, or use the additional displays as separate desktops to gain additional screen space. You can also wirelessly mirror your Chromebook’s entire screen–or just one browser tab–to an external display. That external display just needs a Chromecast or another device that supports Google Cast. Use a Physical Cable To physically connect your Chromebook to an external display, you’ll need to use whatever port comes included in your Chromebook....
VirtualBox allows you to choose either a dynamically allocated or fixed size disk when creating a new virtual hard disk file. Dynamically allocated disks are faster to create and can grow to larger sizes. Fixed size disks may be faster to use, but can’t grow any larger once they fill up. You can convert between the two formats and resize disks, if you like. Before continuing, we recommend shutting down the virtual machine rather than suspending it and saving its state....
PlayStation 4 notifications always pop up over whatever you’re doing, which is particularly obnoxious when you’re watching videos over Netflix, YouTube, or your local library. With the PS4’s 5.0 system firmware update, it’s now possible to disable notifications while watching videos in any app. How to Disable Pop-up Notifications While Watching Videos To change this setting, head to Settings > Notifications on your PlayStation 4. You can also access this menu by opening the Notifications screen, pressing the “Options” button on your controller, and selecting “Notification Settings”....
By default, Apple’s iPhones and iPads make a sound when you turn their displays off (aka when you “lock” them). You can disable this sound entirely and never hear it again, or just silence your phone if you’d rather not hear it in certain situations. How to Permanently Disable the Lock Sound You can disable this sound from the Settings app. To do so, open the Settings app, scroll down, and tap the “Sounds & Haptics” option....
When it’s after dark and the lights are out, the last thing you want is to be blinded by the bright white of your Apple TV’s home screen when your movie ends. Here’s how to enable dark mode on the Apple TV to make your late-night TV escapades more enjoyable. RELATED: How to Update Your Apple TV to tvOS 11 Dark mode is a feature that was introduced in tvOS 10, but you had to manually enable or disable it, which has led me to just keep dark mode enabled all the time for convenience....
When connecting to a remote Git server, like Github, your client must authenticate using HTTPS or SSH based tokens. If you’re using the latter, you may run into issues with key handling, including Git using the wrong SSH key and signing you into a different account. What’s The Problem? If you don’t have an SSH key at all on your account, you’ll almost certainly get the following error when trying to push:...
Starting with Android Marshmallow, there’s a curious error that sometimes shows its face, but it can be hard to decipher what’s causing it. The “screen overlay detected” error is a troubling one since it won’t allow certain apps to launch, but it’s even more frustrating because it’s hard to find what’s causing it. Fortunately, it’s a pretty easy fix once you know what’s causing the error: a feature found in Marshmallow and beyond that allows apps to “draw” over other apps....
