Are you interested in beginning research of your family's history? I began this journey about 3 or 4 years ago and here is what I found. I've done almost ALL of my research online, and gotten farther, faster and more comprehensively than anyone else who has researched my family the old fashioned ways. This is the kind of thing that technology is made for. Here's how to use it.
Codecs are like ZIP archives for media files. Rather than storing an entire analog sound file, the digital version is compressed to save space. The algorithm used to reduce file size is called a codec, as it encodes to digitize and decodes when it's time to play the file back. So as you can imagine, a better codec can lead to drastically improved sound quality.
From browsing social media to creating films, your smartphone can do it all. But even with all that power, for many, it is primarily used to communicate with others, particularly via text. In One UI 3.0, Samsung and Google drastically changed this core functionality with a new-ish feature called notification bubbles.
While the United States, in general, doesn't have the worst overall pollution, the air quality can drastically change from one day to the next. If you're particularly sensitive to pollutants in the air, there are apps that show how clean or polluted the air is in your area, as well as in cities you plan on traveling to, but Apple's making those apps less relevant with a new feature in Apple Maps.
Smartphones are like high tech buckets that collect our personal information through constant use. This has some obvious benefits, like getting a more personalized experience with our devices. On the other hand, this data is a tempting target for bad actors looking to make a buck at the expense of your privacy.
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.
One of the best things about Android is the ability to customize your phone to your liking. From changing the layout of icons to finding the perfect wallpaper to reflect your current mood, there's a wide range of tools to make your phone yours.
Welcome back Hackers\Newbies!
Being able to sleep deeply and fully is one of the foundations for real health. When you go without it, you feel subhuman and incapable of dealing with the world—just ask a student who's had to pull an all-nighter or the parents of a newborn. In fact, many studies have shown that lack of sleep or irregular sleep is linked to acne, weight gain, and depression.
So, the in-person conversations between you and your friends has slowed down to a near halt, thanks to everyone's obsession with texting, Facebook, and over-uploading pics to Instagram—socializing at its best. It could also be that you're just not interesting enough anymore in person.
If you're still using a third-party task manager on your iPhone, you might want to check out Apple's updated Reminders app. With each new update, Reminders gets more powerful yet remains one of the simplest task managers to use, and iOS 17's new to-do list features reinforce that statement.
Apple's iOS 16 for iPhone includes even more ways to customize your Memoji characters, and it even removes some barriers that were in place in iOS 15.
We use our smartphones every single day. They're a part of our daily routine, and as a result, we've gotten really good at using them — especially when it comes to typing very quickly. But just how fast can you type on your iPhone? Can you match your speed on a physical keyboard for your computer or tablet? You might just surprise yourself.
If you're not using your iPhone's Files app yet to manage images, documents, and other files on iCloud, third-party cloud services, or your local storage, it's time to start. Apple's built-in file manager is finally a powerhouse with many tricks up its sleeve in the latest software update.
You may think your iPhone has all the features you could ever need or want, but that may change once you discover the features and services you're missing out on by residing in the United States.
Hackers often find fascinating files in the most ordinary of places, one of those being FTP servers. Sometimes, luck will prevail, and anonymous logins will be enabled, meaning anyone can just log in. But more often than not, a valid username and password will be required. But there are several methods to brute-force FTP credentials and gain server access.
In the case of Apple Watch v. Fitbit, the winner comes down to the judge at hand. Apple currently offers two smartwatches — the Series 5 and the Series 3 — while Fitbit offers three models — the Fitbit Versa 2, Fitbit Ionic, and Fitbit Versa Lite. Whatever your assumptions about these devices are, throw them out the window, as each has something unique to bring to the table.
Your social security number, credit card information, and medical history can fall into the wrong hands if you're not careful about how and where you share your data online. If you really care about your data, there are tools and techniques you can utilize to protect yourself from cyberstalkers, advertisers, and hackers in a time when digital lives are a high commodity.
Android comprises an entire ecosystem of apps, games, functions, and features, so it would only make sense that it has its own lexicon. Words, phrases, and acronyms that didn't exist ten years ago are now used in an off-the-cuff style by developers and support technicians across the web.
This video is a collection of useful tips and tricks for solving the OLL (Orientation of the Last Layer) and the PLL (Permutation of the Last Layer) of the mighty Rubik's Cube.
Drastically change a major object in an image WITHOUT spoiling the rest of the image using this tutorial and Photoshop.
Many FarmVille farmers want money fast, or experience fast, or want to level up, or want to speed things up— make and earn things faster. No matter how long they play, they're not getting what they want, and that is to outshine everybody else. But you can't reach the top by simply playing the game.
I remember a time when I had to rent a VHS from the local video rental store. It wasn't all that bad, with the only real annoyances being the trip to and fro, having to rewind the movie and the possible malfunction of my VHS player, which liked to eat tape from time to time.
Many diseases are spread by poor coughing and sneezing techniques. Most people put their hands in front of their mouths and noses to stop germs from getting into the air. Unfortunately, this technique puts the germs on their hands. The germs are then spread to telephones and doorknobs and many other surfaces from which they are then picked up by the next user. This is how colds spread quickly through schools and workplaces, and how the flu spreads quickly through entire cities. It would be ve...
So you've found yourself opting to be a vegetarian. The transition into a new way of eating and living is not always easy and as a result people often ditch their vegetarian goals and revert back to their previous eating habits. Here are some steps to ensure a successful transition to vegetarianism:
Introduction In the competitive world of today's video game scene, PC gamers are known to squeeze out the best possible visuals in their games. Every few months a new video card rolls out, and RAM is ever increasing; constant upgrading is the norm of staying ahead the curve. One of the most important things a PC gamer looks at is how many FPS (frames per second) he gets. It defines his gaming experience.
Jogging at night is risky, but with these LED sneakers, the odds of getting hit are drastically reduced. Creator Will Cruz wants you to be safe, so he has generously shared full instructions for making your own light up kicks. Previously, HowTo: Auto-Lace Your Kicks.
When dryer lint builds up in the dryer vent pipe, it can drastically slow down the time it takes to dry clothes. Danny demonstrates how a dryer vent booster fan can help solve the problem.
In this awesome five-part series, the Achievement Hunters break down how to find every terminal and skull in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. Skulls have been gameplay modifiers, and have been a part of the series since Halo 2. Basically, you start a single player level off with a bunch of these guys on to drastically increase difficulty, change the way you play, or induce silliness. The terminals are a fairly recent addition to the series, and give a bunch of back-story on the different cha...
Matthew Albanese makes painstakingly detailed model scenes ranging from eerie landscapes to outerspace to outright natural disaster. He crafts the models with tile grout, cotton, phosphorous ink, and lights them from within by 6-60 watt light bulbs.
There are currently two camps on the internet. The first camp—those who are slurping up as much Charlie Sheen tiger blood as possible (hence Sheen's newly bagged Guinness Book of World Records status for most Twitter followers)— drastically prevails. The second camp—those who would rather not hear poor Charlie's ravings—is, however, much smaller. If you fall into the latter camp, Greg Leuch of F.A.T. has a solution for you. Leuch—who is also responsible for the Justin Bieber Mention Blocker—h...
The medical field has known for some time now that negative pressure (re: suction) can drastically speed up wound recovery time. However, the machines that are currently available are quite expensive, and not an option for third world countries. Enter MIT student Danielle Zurovcik. The doctoral student has created a hand-powered suction-healing system that could completely revolutionize first aid in developing nations. Her device goes for only 3 bucks a pop.
Dirty or hazy headlights can cause your visibility to drastically decrease, but the kits to clean them can be expensive. Save yourself some money and time with this fast and easy trick.
For most street artists, it takes a considerable amount of time to paint large art installments on the walls of urban structures. The more time it takes, the better chance there is of getting caught, since nearly all of the rogue artwork is slapped on the sides of city and privately owned buildings.
DVice posts six of the world's most powerful telescopes and, man, they are HUGE. Check it out. The Keck I and Keck II
Following the first part in this series on advanced cracking techniques, we are going to go over how we can intelligently crack passwords using the old-fashioned bruteforce method. These unique cracking techniques aren't widely used, because most crackers are Script Kiddies who have no idea what the concepts are behind cracking passwords, thus, word won't get around too quickly.
Artist Austin Houldsworth of the UK has come up with a device that drastically speeds up the process of fossilisation. Entitled Two Million & 1AD, Houldsworth is capable of creating a fossil in a few months (which otherwise might require thousands of years). Houldsworth is currently experimenting with objects such as a pineapple and phesant, but ultimately hopes to fossilize a human. Houldsworth proposes:
A rare textile woven from the silk of more than one million spiders is currently on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The incredible textile measures 11 by four feet, and is the largest piece of spider-woven textile in the world.
In the first part of this series, we learned about darknets, as well as how they came about. But these patches of forgotten Internet are not the oasis of free information you might think. Despite being hidden—or just harder to come across—these networks are no more safe then anywhere else on the 'clear' Internet. The nature of networking and routing means your location is always known in server logs. It only takes one phone call to your ISP with your IP address to obtain both your physical ad...