Will the predicted apocalyptic date—December 21st, 2012—really be the end of the world? In this ongoing five-part series, we examine what would happen if zombies, nuclear weapons, cyber wars, earthquakes, or aliens actually destroyed our planet—and how you might survive.
Sometimes I forget that I'm also a fiction writer, so I thought it might be a nice change of pace to share one of my stories with you. I wrote this piece awhile ago for an anthology that never came together and I'm tired of just sitting on it.
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.
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.
As the iOS 18 beta continues, Apple's still investing time into fixing up iOS 17. Compared to iOS 17.4 and iOS 17.5, which both had over 30 new features and changes, iOS 17.6 is a relatively small software update for iPhone. But there are still some important things to know about.
When you need a file on your Mac as soon as possible, you usually have to get your MacBook or hop on your iMac, Mac mini, Mac Pro, or Mac Studio. But that's too much work if you're in bed, lying on the couch, or outside in the fresh air. Why even bother when you can access that file directly on your iPhone or iPad — without moving an inch?
When you don't feel like talking, let your iPhone do all the work. Yes, your iPhone can speak for you, and it works over phone calls and FaceTime calls. It will even work its magic over your iPhone's speaker for in-person conversations. While Apple created this feature to support people who are unable to speak and people who have lost or are losing their speech abilities, anyone can use it.
Apple's first big iOS 17 point update for iPhone just came out, and it includes some of the features initially planned for the iOS 17.0 release last September. But there's much more to iOS 17.1 than that — exciting new features and changes are hiding within Books, Music, StandBy, App Store, Lock Screen wallpapers, Apple Wallet, and more.
Apple's screenshot feature is a near-perfect tool for saving images of your iPhone's screen to keep for yourself or share with others. But iOS is missing one thing that would make it almost flawless: a way to rename your screenshots from their original IMG_1234.PNG file name.
Handwritten notes are no doubt useful at home, work, and school, but digitizing them with your smartphone will make them easier to edit, organize, and review. You'll also always have a digital copy ready if your handwritten notes get lost or erased. And Google Keep for Android, iOS, or iPadOS makes the conversion from physical form to digital a cinch, especially when it comes to checklists.
There's a feature that every Apple Watch owner should know about — one that makes navigating menus, tapping tiny icons, and interacting with complications, among other things, much easier on the small display.
There's only one thing keeping hackers, thieves, law enforcement agencies, and maybe even the people you thought you could trust from breaking into your iPhone should they ever get possession of the device. Their odds of bypassing that thing are pretty good, but there's an easy way to make it an almost impossible feat.
If you haven't been using Spotlight Search on your iPhone, we've got ten reasons for you to start. Apple's made some significant improvements to the search interface available on the Home Screen and Lock Screen, and it's more useful than ever.
If you use the Apple TV Remote found in your iPhone's Control Center, there's a hidden surprise you'll like on iOS 16 and later — one that lets you use the remote without ever having to open Control Center.
Gmail uses TLS, or Transport Layer Security, by default for all email communications, so all of your emails will use the standard encryption as long as the recipients also support TLS. But there's a way to add even more security to your Gmail emails, and you can use your iPhone's Mail app to do it.
It's easy to lose the TikTok video you were watching when you accidentally refresh your For You feed, but it's not gone forever. TikTok has a new feature for your iPhone, iPad, or Android device that can show you all your watched videos over the last seven days. There are also other, more hidden ways to see your watch history — one that goes well beyond a week.
One of the best recent outings in the Marvel universe is the animated series What If...?, which explores alternate universe takes on various superhero storylines that deliver fascinating scenarios if one single factor had been different in the story.
As the U.S. inches closer to herd immunity and reopening after the pandemic, it may become necessary to keep your COVID-19 vaccination cards on you at all times to gain access to places and events that are prone to spreading the coronavirus. You probably won't want to lose your card, so it may be wise to load a copy onto your smartphone for easy access.
Apple's Find My app just got way more useful. While it's great for locating a lost or stolen iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Apple Watch, Mac, and AirPods, as well as anything attached to an AirTag tracker, it's even better now that it works with third-party accessories and gear.
Saving a chat's history is useful for finding valuable information later on or just reliving a favorite conversation from the past. Sometimes, however, it's good to delete chat threads, and it's even better to have them auto-delete right after you see new messages. While some apps have had disappearing messages for some time (e.g. Snapchat), Facebook Messenger now has it too with "Vanish Mode."
Whether it's an iPhone 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, or 12 Pro Max, know that these devices are the most powerful smartphones Apple has ever made. Still, bugs happen, and you might find yourself with an app that isn't performing quite as it should. When that happens, it's best to force-close (or force-quit) the problematic app instead of waiting for it to fix itself, which may never happen.
Nearly ten years since the first Galaxy Note and yet the Galaxy Note 20 still hasn't solved one of its biggest problems: bloatware. There are still over 20 redundant or unnecessary apps that are on this $1,000+ phone. But while it does require some advanced tools, it's still possible to remove them.
Apple just pushed out iOS 14 to everyone on Sept. 16, but you may not want to jump right into updating your iPhone. If you have Automatic Updates turned on, you may want to turn it off real quick before it tries to download and install iOS 14 before you're ready.
If you've ever been into custom ROMs, you likely know the Dirty Unicorns name pretty well. It's been synonymous with unique features and awesome tweaks when compared to stock. Recently, Dirty Unicorns has returned again in a big way with some neat features for Android 10.
Thanks to Magisk, you don't have to lose root when updating to Android 11. The popular systemless rooting tool already achieved superuser access on Google's latest OS, even before the official release. It's currently in its experimental stages so the process is trickier than usual, but it does work.
After the iPhone X eclipsed the $1,000 mark, phone prices skyrocketed. Android OEMs like Samsung started putting out phones in the same price bracket that were crammed with expensive parts. To appease the folks that didn't want to drop over a grand on even the nicest phones, a new segment was created with devices that are still in the flagship tier, but not top-of-the-line.
OnePlus offers a variety of features that you don't get with some other Android phones. Parallel Apps is one of those standout extras you didn't know you might enjoy until you've tried it. It allows you to clone compatible apps installed on your device, which means you can use the same app with two different accounts, for example.
While the iPhone world's attention might be fixated on Apple's upcoming iOS 14 and all of its new features, it's still in beta. What's not in beta anymore? Apple's latest iOS 13 update — iOS 13.6 — which dropped on July 15.
Dark mode is simply a way of life these days now that both Android and iOS officially support it. Most major apps now use the system-wide setting on Android and iOS, and many had their own dark themes in-app before Google and Apple got with the program. But the social media giant Facebook took forever to implement a night theme, and some of you still may not be able to access it.
So far, iOS 13's major point updates have all been pretty exciting for iPhone. We've seen iOS 13.1, 13.2, and 13.3 come and go, offering more than 60 new features and changes combined to that very first version of iOS 13. While iOS 13.3.1 was a minor update, its successor, iOS 13.4, is a return to form.
Smartphones are vital travel companions. While you're on the go, they connect you with loved ones back home, help you find tickets and passes for tourist attractions, and make it easy to find your way through foreign roads — but even the most powerful smartphone could use help from travel accessories.
Cases and stickers are always great, but they aren't the only way to customize an iPhone. The software on your device is full of customization options, from a better-looking home screen and cooler lock screen wallpapers to app icon changes and a system-wide dark mode. There's literally over 100 ways to make iOS on your iPhone genuinely unique, some of which are hiding in plain sight.
So, someone on your shopping list has an iPhone. Lucky for you, Apple's line of smartphones are practically made for accessories. From AirPods to adapters, there's something for every iPhone user in your life. Are you feeling overwhelmed by the options? You've come to the right place.
Many people don't realize much better audio can sound on their phones. While it's solid to begin with, Samsung has included several options in the Galaxy Note 10+ that will upgrade your listening experience to profound status.
Apple's iOS 13 for iPhone includes new features in Safari that make browsing the web a little bit better when compared to iOS 12. Some changes are small while others add functionality that just wasn't there before. Plus, there are more security enhancements.
OnePlus, whose phones always challenge for the title of best spec-to-price ratio, releases two main devices every year. There's the primary flagship in late spring, then an iterative update with the "T" suffix in fall. Typically, there's not much difference between the two, but this year, OnePlus is mixing up the formula a bit.
Life's pretty good for iOS public testers — we get to check out new iPhone features months before the general public even knows they exist. That said, we aren't first to the party. Developers get priority during beta testing, as evidenced by yesterday's iOS 13 dev beta 6 release. It's not all bad though since Apple just released the public version of that software, public beta 5, this afternoon.
If tradition holds, we're roughly one month away from Apple's big iPhone announcement. While we're excited to see what will mainly be a significant camera upgrade, it's not all about the hardware. Apple will also release the official version of iOS 13 to coincide with the iPhone XI. Before then, however, iOS 13 needs beta testing, and developer beta 6 just hit on August 7.
Every summer for the last 26 years, hoards of hackers have descended on the Las Vegas Strip for DEFCON, the biggest hacker conference in the US. There's a wealth of talks every season (DEFCON 27 has at least 95 scheduled), and there have been some essential topics to learn from in past discussions. We've dug through the last ten years and found the 15 most popular talks you should watch.
Apple just seeded the fourth public beta for iOS 13 to software testers today, Tuesday, July 30. AppleSeed participants saw this beta one day early, alongside the release of developer beta 5. Now, developer and public testers alike are up-to-speed with the latest in iOS 13.
