Check if Google Assistant Voice Commands Are Working To isolate the problem, start by figuring out if your device’s voice commands are working properly. Try using Google Assistant to perform a simple voice command web search. If Google is unable to complete this task, then you know the problem is not limited to text messaging. If other Google Assistant voice commands are working properly and the problem appears to be limited to text messages, then it is likely because of an error in your contacts....

Though it’s been a couple of years since the introduction of “5G networks,” carriers still seem to offer limited coverage. Additionally, new reports show that the use of mmWave 5G—the most advanced form of 5G available at the moment—is extremely low. While it’s easy to look at the current state of 5G and despair, experts say you shouldn’t get too caught up on how things look right now. Instead, you should look at 5G as a way for carriers to push the network you already have to new levels....

“While AI is improving, mistakes will still be made,” Raymond Ku, director of the Center for Cyberspace Law & Policy at Case Western Reserve University, told Lifewire in an email interview. “As a matter of fairness, I think we all believe that someone being penalized in any way by AI decision making should be made aware of the fact and given an opportunity to challenge the decision.” When the cameras spot possible unsafe driving “events,” these instances factor into workers’ performance scores....

Apple has been gaining a lot of traction thanks to multiple pushes for better user privacy over the past few iterations of iOS. One of the most noteworthy changes that the company has been building toward is the full introduction of its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework. While the ATT system allows you to opt-out of letting app developers track you across multiple apps, experts say it isn’t a complete end to tracking on iOS....

AT&T recently announced changes to its fiber internet plans, offering faster download and upload speeds to two of its plans. The change brings the company’s cheapest fiber plan up to 300 Mbps, a 200 Mbps increase over its original speeds. That’s no small boost by any means, but it doesn’t address the fact that two-thirds of AT&T’s customer base is still without fiber access. “Fiber is the fastest and most reliable internet you can get, so if you can get a sweet deal like this, then yeah, that’s awesome,” Peter Holsin, an internet expert at HighSpeedInternet, told us in an email....

The Google Glass project went down in flames, but Facebook is reviving the idea with its first pair of smart glasses made in partnership with Ray-Ban, called Ray-Ban Stories. I’m hoping to snag the Stories, and I have high hopes that I won’t even look like a “glasshole.” The new Stories are currently available for $299. The frames have two-front facing cameras for capturing video and photos. There’s a physical button on the glasses for recording, or you can say, “Hey Facebook, take a video” to control them hands-free....

Why Is Alexa Flashing a Blue Ring? Why Is Alexa Flashing or Blinking a Yellow Light? You can ask Alexa to “read my messages” and she will read all the new messages you’ve received that day. You can also read messages using the Alexa app on your smartphone or tablet; just tap the message button at the bottom of the app, which looks like a bubble dialog box. It will have a green notification circle when you have an unread message....

In a recent blog post, Sony announced that when the PS5 drops in November, the vast majority of PS4 games, as well as Playstation VR games, will be available to play. Thanks to the extensive catalogs of PS Now and PS Plus, digital versions of PS4 games will be available for streaming, and physical discs can still be played on the PS5’s Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive. Playing PS4 games on the new PS5 also promises to be a heightened experience for gamers; Sony has promised faster loading times and better visuals via the Game Boost feature....

This same address is also the default local address for home broadband routers from Zoom, Edimax, Siemens, and Micronet. Why 10.0.0.2 Is Popular Internet Protocol (IP) version 4 defines certain sets of IP addresses as restricted for private use. You can’t use these addresses for web servers or other internet hosts. The first and largest of these private IP address ranges begin with 10.0.0.0. Corporate networks wanting flexibility in allocating a large number of IP addresses gravitated to using the 10....

Companies are rapidly expanding VR software and gear for passive interactions. Diver-X plans to release a VR headset next month that’s meant to be used lying down. And VR gear is now used for everything from meditation to dental visits. “We are able to adapt to immersive environments much more intuitively than any previous digital, and invariably screen-based format could ever hope to achieve, however passive or active the experience itself is,” Amir Bozorgzadeh, the CEO of VR company Virtuleap, told Lifewire in an email interview....

The adapter goes hand in hand with the iPad’s display mirroring feature. Although many streaming apps such as Netflix and Hulu Plus support 1080p video output through the Digital AV Adapter, the iPad’s display mirroring allows anything on the display to be mirrored on the television. This means you can use it with apps that don’t support video output. But, is the Digital AV Adapter the best option? Why Shouldn’t You Buy the Digital AV Adapter?...

Details are still sparse, but Xiaomi’s announcement explains a couple of basic concepts the two companies plan to follow with their new collaboration. It’ll be a hybrid of Xiaomi’s smartphone development know-how and Leica’s camera and photography prowess. This isn’t Leica’s first attempt at a joint smartphone venture, but Xiaomi will likely make for a more universally alluring partner than Sharp. According to Matthias Harsch, CEO of Leica Camera AG, “We will provide consumers in the field of mobile photography exceptional image quality, classic Leica aesthetics, unrestricted creativity, and will open a new era of mobile imaging....

What Is an XLAM File? A file with the XLAM file extension is an Excel Macro-Enabled Add-In file that’s used to add new functions to Excel. Like Excel’s XLSM and XLSX file formats, these add-in files are XML-based and saved with ZIP compression to reduce the overall size. How to Open an XLAM File XLAM files can be opened with Microsoft Excel 2007 and newer. Earlier versions of Excel can open one, too, but only if the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack is installed....

How Does Wireless Charging Work With EVs? EV charging uses the same basic smartphone technology, except there’s no physical contact between the EV and the charging station like there is when you set a phone down on a wireless charger. Wireless EV charging works by parking the EV over a charging mat, often with six or more inches of air between the mat and the bottom of the EV. Power is transferred wirelessly from the charging station to the receiver on the EV, and the EV battery charges slowly over time....

This past week I had the opportunity to test the latest winter and all-season tires from Bridgestone at its Winter Driving Experience near Steamboat Springs, Colorado. While I’ve spent years informing friends and family that a pair of good winter tires are far better than all-wheel drive, this was an opportunity not only to see that in action but a chance to feel how far tire technology had advanced. And while spring might be just around the corner now, if we’ve learned anything from HBO’s TV series about dragons, beheadings, and incest, winter is coming....

It’s been plagued by slow adoption, spotty service, and no clear advantage. It’s especially pointless on cell phones, where the most demanding network activity is watching an HD video, which 4G can already manage just fine. Handset makers got excited about 5G because it’s an opportunity to sell new phones to people who may not otherwise upgrade. “5G is supposed to be the next big thing in wireless technology, but so far, it’s been pretty slow to take off....

Likes, follower counts, and ever-shifting algorithmic timelines—they’re all designed to keep you scrolling and opening your social network apps obsessively. When the photo-sharing app Glass launched, it did so without any of these. But in a radical twist, Glass has just added likes, and in typical fashion, it’s done so in a way that doesn’t ruin the app. It’s so sensible you wonder if it would be possible for Instagram, Twitter, and the rest to copy....

How to Get Food in Virtual Villagers The only food source villagers have to start out with is the Berry Bush, but the supply is quickly depleted and sometimes doesn’t re-grow fast enough, so you need to actively pursue other food sources. Children villagers may occasionally gather brown or red mushrooms, but these must be consumed right away or else the sunlight will wilt them. Your only alternative to berries and mushrooms is to unlock Farming Technology level two or three....

Ever since Snapchat introduced filters (or lenses, as they’re officially called) and the world quickly adopted them, similar apps have started popping up to ride along with the trend. They offer selfie enthusiasts a wide variety of fun looks that extend beyond the handful of filters Snapchat makes available on a daily basis. Ready to have some serious fun with warping and animating your own face? Check out the list of fun selfie filter apps below to snap a creative selfie in seconds and wow all your friends on social media....

Many similar features include easy to use slide design and transition effects, tabbed interfaces, spell check, free templates, and much more. You really can create exactly the presentation you want with these free programs. There are premade templates you can load from directly inside the program, or you can of course start a blank slideshow. Lots of popular file formats are supported, so you can import PDFs, PPTX, POTX, XML, and even PowerPoint addin files....