I don't know how many of you had this experience in your youth, but when I was a kid, I used to actively think about what would happen if I suddenly woke up in a fantasy land, or were to pass through a portal into another space and time. I knew it wouldn't really happen, but when you're a kid, these can be important issues to you. So I slept with my glasses on every night, just in case. Photo from George Pal's The Time Machine.
One of the hardest, most intimidating parts of making your own Steampunk guns from scratch is the wooden stock of the gun. To be fair, it's probably the hardest part. It requires the most artistry, and is the easiest to mess up.
Thrift stores! As a Steampunk, they can be your best friend, but it's easy to make a tragic mistake. This hands-on guide will help you navigate the murky waters of successful thrifting in order to find the hidden gems that will make your Steampunk outfit complete!
Phone in one pocket, wallet in the other? It's the classic combo guaranteed to give you more pocket bulge. But it's 2024. Half that stuff in your wallet is practically antique. It's time to finally ditch all the dead weight and get a MagSafe wallet for iPhone — and we've got the best picks to slim you down to the essentials.
The latest 17.4 update for Safari includes a prompt for EU users to choose a different default web browser available in their region. It also gives us new ways to customize the Favorites Bar on an iPad. And Apple Cash virtual numbers are now supported as an AutoFill suggestion. But there are also some hidden changes in Safari 17.4 for iOS and iPadOS that you might not ever notice unless you keep reading.
Safari's advanced experimental features give you access to new browser initiatives, upcoming web tools, element changes, behavior adjustments, and other preliminary feature tests in development by Apple. If you use them on your iPhone, you can either improve your Safari experience or wreck it. Resetting the flags provides a fresh start.
The new Material You theme engine with its fancy widgets is a sexy change for Android, but there's another new Android 12 feature that's more than just pretty colors and curves.
It's nearly impossible to comfortably lay down on your bed or couch with headphones on. Sure, you can position yourself so that your headphones don't touch anything, but that usually means facing up at the ceiling, which is a huge no if you're watching something on Netflix or listening to music on your side.
The ability to browse the web in coffee shops, libraries, airports, and practically anywhere else you can imagine is more than convenient, but convenience has risks. Using public Wi-Fi allows others to spy on you easily. Even your own internet service provider can see every website you've ever visited. Don't fall into the trap of protecting your identity, data, and devices after it's too late.
When you're listening to music, there shouldn't be anything distracting you from total immersion. That means the only cords you should be dealing with are the crystal clear chords of your favorite song. You should be able to listen to high-quality music without the distraction of static, battery failure, or poorly-fitted headphones too.
Since its launch two years ago, the HoloLens 2 has been the best AR headset available, and nothing has come close to touching it since.
If you're a fan of sending audio messages on your iPhone, you might be disappointed when tapping the microphone button in the Messages app on an Apple Watch. You'll see it when crafting a message, but it won't send any audio because it's for Dictation, which turns your speech into text. If you'd rather use it to compose and send audio clips, there's a way to do just that.
Linux is a diverse and powerful operating system that virtually every IT professional must learn and know well. Whether you realize it or not, you have likely already used a Linux device, and learning to design things for it is a key step in any Data Science career path.
You can't hand over your iPhone to a kid and expect everything to be OK. Not only will they drop your iPhone (and they will), they could also do something much worse than a cracked screen — in-app purchases.
Learning a new language as an adult isn't just hard because your brain works differently from when you were a kid. You also have to contend with having less time and energy to practice. However, if you're looking to add another language to your repertoire at a pace you decide, then the Babbel Language Learning: Lifetime Subscription for All Languages: 2-Pack will be a useful tool for you.
Keeping your home clean is an endless battle with time, motivation, and the easy availability of cleaning supplies. That's where the Hard Surface Floor Cleaning Robot Vacuum comes in. This magical device will save you time by automatically keeping your floors clean, never requires motivation, and doesn't require additional supplies beyond occasionally emptying the dust bin.
After years of testing and modifications, the US Army is moving forward with its customized version of HoloLens 2 from Microsoft.
Having the right air quality can turn a room into an atmosphere. With a humidifier, you can see your skin dewy and your sinuses clear. Proper temperature control will keep you comfortable and content, and the right air purifier will give you clean air and peace of mind. If you're in the market for a humidifier, an air conditioner, a heater, or an air purifier but just need to find the perfect one to match your needs and your budget, then check out some of these great deals.
Long gone are the days when you needed a fancy recording contract to write and distribute a smash hit. Thanks to a growing number of increasingly powerful and affordable music production platforms, it's now entirely possible to create pro-level audio tracks and even accompanying videos in the comfort of your own home with little more than a laptop and a pair of headphones.
Everyone needs a great website. Whether you want to launch the new business you've been dreaming about in 2021, increase your brand's web presence and bring it into the digital realm, or promote yourself and your portfolio, a fully optimized website is the way to do it — and the results can be life-changing.
Did you know that you could learn all the fundamentals of web development for less than $35? Set yourself up for your new coding career in 2021 with The Ultimate 2021 Web Developer & Designer Super Bundle, which is on sale for just $34.99 right now — a huge 98% off the regular price of $1,886.
You can learn countless skills from the world's leading experts — without the need to watch a screen — by using the incredible audio learning platform Knowable. Not only will this platform revolutionize your downtime, but right now, a lifetime subscription to Knowable Audio Learning Platform is on sale for just $59.99 — that's 75% off the usual price of $249.
The gold standard in any business is reaching the front page of Google. You need to get your brand in front of audiences. While it can seem daunting, it's not impossible when you master SEO best practices.
If there's anything we've learned during 2020, it's that working and learning from home is going to shift the way we do business. With Microsoft announcing that its staff will be allowed to permanently work from home, expect more businesses to follow suit.
Twelve years ago Google launched its Cloud Platform, and the world has never been the same. This suite of cloud computing services has changed how modern businesses operate. Whether you use it for data storage, management tools, computing, or machine learning, the Google Cloud Platform is essential.
Google My Business lets you connect with customers across Google Search and Maps through a unique business profile. The web app allows you to connect and chat with customers in real-time and provides rich analytics to help you manage and grow your company.
Apple released the first beta for iOS 14.2 to iPhone developers on Thursday, Sept. 17. A significant new feature that iOS 14.2 brings to the table is a new Control Center tile for Shazam music recognition. A simple tap of the tile will launch the operating system's built-in Shazam capabilities, scanning for music playing in the immediate area.
If you're an aspiring or even well-established web or app developer, the good news is that there's a virtually limitless number of lucrative opportunities waiting for you, regardless of whether you're looking to work for a company or as a freelancer.
Regardless of whether you're an aspiring or established coding pro, knowing just one or two programming languages and platforms is no longer sufficient if you want to be truly competitive in an increasingly popular and lucrative field. But before you spend an excessive amount of time mastering six new platforms, do yourself a favor and master Linux.
Mobile privacy is one of the most pressing security issues in existence. Since we carry our phones with us everywhere we go, we need to ensure that we're safe from prying eyes.
The ability to hide entire pages on your iPhone's home screen is an excellent privacy upgrade packed into iOS 14. That said, it can be a bit of a pain to find and open the hidden apps on those pages in a timely fashion. Luckily, iOS 14 has a solution that makes opening those apps, as well as any others, faster and more convenient — and we're not talking about the new App Library.
Whatever industry you're in, there's a decent chance you've had to work with Excel — that number-crunching powerhouse that drives the accounting departments of countless corporations across the globe.
More information is available to us now than ever before. We simply cannot make sense of so much data on our own. Thankfully, we have programs to do the heavy lifting for us.
For all the benefits 5G brings to cellular data, it isn't without weaknesses, the biggest being privacy. Yes, the latest standard comes with breakneck downloads speeds up to 4.3 Gbps, but at what cost? Like with all things on the internet, 5G devices open opportunities for both good and bad actors.
Twitter is a science. The smarter you post and engage with others, the better chance you have at building a bigger audience. Scheduling your tweets is one way to get there. Most engagement occurs at specific hours, but you may not be around then to post your tweet manually. While the official Twitter app on iOS and Android doesn't allow you to schedule, there is another way.
While we haven't covered Amazon Web Services, or AWS, on Null Byte before, Amazon's cloud computing platform is ripe for attack by hackers, pentesters, and cybersecurity researchers. It's also an excellent cloud hosting service to build or use vulnerable-by-design AWS setups and frameworks.
A modern iPhone is capable of running sophisticated, exquisitely-rendered games that rival titles on current-generation consoles. However, there is some value in classic video game titles, whether you grew up playing games on the Atari 2600, Nintendo Entertainment System, and Sega Genesis or not.
If you're quarantining with other people, consider yourself lucky — but it's not always easy. Staying in one space for so long with too many people can be challenging, so you need to find things to do to make the time go by (and to keep everyone sane). Our advice? Try out these seven free multiplayer games that only require one iPhone or Android device to play.
We're glued to the news now more than ever, but our "free press" isn't necessarily free of charge. Cable news outlets like CNN and MSNBC are locked behind expensive cable TV packages and cord-cutting streaming subscriptions such as Sling TV and Hulu + Live TV. Luckily, there are plenty of alternatives to get your TV news fix, free of any payment, account, or commitment.
Every home is a little different, and for a smart home app to work, it has to be able to be customized to work with each person's unique setup. With the iPhone's Home app, everyone can set up a smart home just how they want, including the number and names of rooms, and where those rooms are in the house.
