Smart Homes today are a combination of foundational technologies that are not always well inter-connected. Simon Hill of Wired discusses the challenges he has had with his own smart home and then takes a peek at some of the upcoming technologies in a recent article here.
There’s a hidden Start Menu in Windows 11
Slashgear.com have just published an article about a secret Start Menu available in the new Windows 11 for those of you who are not that keen on the new redesigned Start Menu. Read all about it here.
Rats!! I didn’t mean to close that browser tab
I’m sure I’m not the only one who has done this. You know the situation where you have spent quite a while researching on your Internet browser, navigating down a rabbit hole, and then you accidentally close the tab instead of another. Well now you can restore that browser tab simply by using a very useful Ctrl+Shift+T key combination, saving you a lot of time trying to find your way back to that page. Read all about it and other ways that work in most browsers in an article here from CNET.
Traveling using an eSIM card in your smartphone or device
Best antivirus software for your PC (again!!)
I am always keen to keep a finger on the pulse of the current state of antivirus software to ensure my computers remain protected from the latest viruses, etc., and have regularly blogged about the best ones at various times (type “antivirus” into the Search field to find them). Android Authority have just published their “Best Of” list, which you can read here.
Make your voice sound clearer on iPhone calls
Gear Patrol have just published an article that explains how you can make your voice clearer on calls using a difficult to find secret iPhone setting here.
Conceal secret messages inside text like a spy
Find out how to conceal important private information inside text so that anybody else who might intercept the message will not be aware of the hidden contents, using techniques described by GadgetHack.com in their article here.
Wi-Fi 7 is coming – what is it?
In the 20+ years since the introduction of the technology, Wi-Fi 6 is the most recent incarnation, released back in 2020 with a maximum bandwidth of 9.6 Gbps. The upcoming Wi-Fi 7 is expected to increase this speed to be at least 3 times as fast. Laptop Mag has written a history of Wi-Fi and discusses the advantages of the upcoming new version, read it here.
Change this important privacy setting on your video streaming devices
Automatic Content Recognition (ACR), is software that recognizes the images on your TV to track what you are watching. CNET explains how to turn this off for most major platfoms in their article here.
Linking and un-linking a computer from your Microsoft Account
When you gift or sell your computer you should un-link that computer from your Microsoft Account – Into Windows describes how you can accomplish this here. Once un-linked, the new owner of the computer should link their login with their own Microsoft Account to make re-activation of Windows easier for them – Windows Central explains how to do this here.
Windows 10 digital licensing
The Win10.guru explains everything you need to know about your Microsoft Account and Windows 10 license activation here.
OFORMs: online form format for fill-able forms
Find out why and how you would create an OFORM fill-able form in this article by MakeUseOf.com.
What is a Virtual Machine?
You probably not have used one yet, but there is a good chance you may have heard the term Virtual Machine (VM). Virtual Machines are not a new concept as I was using them on IBM mainframes back in the 70s. Since then VMs have made their way to other platforms such as Windows, iOS and Linux. There are many benefits to using a VM on your computer such as trying out different or new versions of operating systems on your computer. The YouTube video below will help explain the concept in 3 minutes. If that piques your interest and you would like to implement a VM on your computer, checkout this YouTube video too.
What is a Solid-State Drive and how does it work?
We know there is a disk drive in our computer, it is a fundamental part of the hardware that enables the computer to work; but what are these new fangled Solid-State Drives (SSD), why are they replacing disk drives, and how do they work? MakeUseOf.com will tell you all about them here.
Smart home devices should use a separate Wi-Fi network
Android Authority have just published an article suggesting Smart Home devices should run on a separate Wi-Fi network. Find out more here and discover why you wont necessarily need a second router.