Western Digital is a big name in the hard drive space. Though there are inevitably some duds here and there with WD hard drives, the Black series has been the favorite for many over the years, with their boosted performance and reliability. For this particular review, we’ll be taking a close look at the WD Black, specifically the 3.5-inch 4TB hard drive with 256MB cache. There are many other formats, sizes, and variations out there in the Black series, but all these SATA-based drives will deliver roughly the same results thanks to their shared interface....

Local Storage Prime Now Faster, Greener Better still, delivery routes will be shorter. Instead of driving in and out of the city with every load, vans and cars will shuttle goods from the mall to offices, and to downtown apartments. Ideally, this would be combined with greener delivery vehicles. I mentioned the electric-powered trikes above, but there are other options. In Dublin, for example, UPS is testing electric-powered handcarts, with drop-in containers full of parcels....

Perfectly efficient diodes appear to be open circuits with a negative voltage and they look like short circuits otherwise. But because diodes admit to some inefficiency, their current-to-voltage relationship is nonlinear. As such, you’ll want to consult a diode’s datasheet to see a graph of the curve of any given diode’s forward voltage relative to its forward current, so that you pick the right diode for your particular project....

Minecraft lets kids flex their creative muscles by building and exploring. It also allows them to interact with others on a social level. In fact, they seem to develop a whole other language that becomes increasingly foreign-sounding to parents. Even if you have no idea what half of the things are that they’re talking about, it’s easy to see that they’re having a good time. While Minecraft doesn’t seem to be too terribly violent — save the occasional exploding sheep or pig — you shouldn’t be too worried about it....

What Is a VST Plugin? In the case of VST plugins, they are designed to work within the sort of digital audio workstation (DAW) applications that you can use to make music in home and professional studio settings. While VST plugins are designed for use with DAW applications, different types of VST plugins have different purposes. VST instrument plugins allow you to insert a variety of virtual instruments into an audio recording without having access to physical versions of those instruments, and VST effects plugins allow you to alter sounds in new and exciting ways....

The Meaning Behind Yahoo’s Full Name This odd name was coined in 1994 by two electrical engineering Ph.D. candidates at Stanford University, David Filo and Jerry Yang. The original name for what is now known as the Yahoo search engine was “David’s and Jerry’s Guide to the World Wide Web.” Realizing they needed a better name, Filo and Yang turned to the dictionary and chose “yahoo” because it was a word that anyone can say and remember with ease....

G was ratified in June of 2003, replacing the older 802.11b (“B”) standard. 802.11n (“N”) and newer standards eventually replaced G. How Fast Is 802.11g? 802.11g Wi-Fi supports a maximum network bandwidth of 54 Mbps, significantly higher than the 11 Mbps rating of B and significantly less than the 150 Mbps or greater speeds of N. Like many other forms of networking, G can’t achieve the theoretical maximum rating in practice; 802....

1080 refers to the number of horizontal lines of visual information displayed on a television screen. For comparison, the Wii, like pre-HD TVs, offers a measly 480 lines. The more lines, the better-looking the image. The “p” in 1080p stands for progressive scan, as opposed to “i” for interlaced, and tells you how the image is output to the screen. An interlaced scan outputs every other line then lays in the other lines in the gaps left by the first scan....

How to Change Your Bio You can change your Twitter bio by editing your profile. You can also optimize it with hashtags and @usernames. Other Parts of the Twitter Profile The bio is coupled with optional descriptive items that let people know where you’re from, when you started using Twitter, your birthday, and your personal or business website address. When someone clicks one of your tweets in their Twitter feed, they are sent to your profile screen and can see your bio there....

Basic Functionality The bass reflex speaker is designed so that the back wave of a speaker cone is routed through an open port (sometimes called a vent or tube) in the enclosure in order to reinforce overall bass output. These ports are generally located on the front or rear of the speaker cabinet and can vary in depth and diameter (even wide enough to reach your hand through). Channeling the speaker cone’s rear sound wave through such a port can often be an effective way to increase output volume, reduce distortion, and improve bass response and extension (versus sealed enclosure speakers)....

What Is a Digital Optical Connection? Digital optical is a type of audio connection in home theater systems and stereo systems for automobiles. Fewer devices are being made with digital optical output ports, so it’s important to understand which types of connections your audio equipment can support. Digital optical is a physical connection that uses fiber optics to transfer audio data from a compatible source device to a compatible playback device using a specially designed cable and connector....

The Trouble With Drowsy and Impaired Drivers Research has found that fatigued and drowsy drivers suffer from slower reaction times and that a large number of both fatal and non-fatal crashes take place during the nighttime and early morning hours when drivers are less alert. With these two pieces of information, it’s reasonable to assume that a general increase in driver alertness could potentially save lives. While an NHTSA study concluded that adequate sleep and proper education on the dangers of drowsy driving are the best solutions to the problem, the reality is that drowsy and impaired drivers get behind the wheel every day....

What Can a Smart Dishwasher Do? Smart dishwashers have the edge over standard dishwashers in two areas. Added features make smart dishwashers more efficient and more flexible, addressing common issues such as food particles redepositing on dishes. Also, technology features enable you to incorporate your dishwasher into a smart home design. New Functional and Flexible Features of Smart Dishwashers Smart dishwashers incorporate features that make this appliance more useful and work better than previous generations....

If you choose a wireless external hard drive, you’ll have all the advantages of an external hard drive without having to plug the device into your desktop or laptop. Wireless hard drives are convenient, versatile, and offer a clean setup. Here’s a look at how wireless external hard drives work, what these drives are used for, and tips for buying one. What Is a Wireless External Hard Drive? A wireless external hard drive looks similar to a regular external hard drive....

What Is an EXE File? A file with the EXE file extension is an executable file used in operating systems like Windows, MS-DOS, OpenVMS, and ReactOS for opening software programs. Software installers are usually named something like setup.exe or install.exe, but application files go by unique names, usually relative to the software program’s name. For example, when you download the Firefox web browser, the installer is named something like Firefox Setup....

What Is an XLTX File? A file with the XLTX file extension is an Excel Open XML spreadsheet template file. This Microsoft Excel format is used to build multiple XLSX files that contain the same layouts, formatting, and settings. The XLTX format replaced the older XLT template format from Office 2007 and earlier (which creates similar XLS files). It incorporates XML and ZIP to reduce the file size. How to Open an XLTX File XLTX files are normally only used with Excel....

How Does Clipping Happen? When clipping occurs, instead of a smooth sine wave being produced as with normal audio, a squared-off and “clipped” waveform is produced by the amplifier, resulting in sound distortion. Similarly, in digital audio, there’s a limit as to how far an input sound can be represented. If the amplitude of a signal goes beyond a digital system’s limits, the rest of it is discarded. This is particularly bad in digital audio, as a large amount of definition can be lost through audio clipping....

Using Bluetooth Bluetooth technology was designed primarily to support networking of portable consumer devices and peripherals that run on batteries, but Bluetooth support can be found in a wide range of devices including: Cell phonesWireless headsets (including hands-free car kits)Wireless keyboardsPrintersWireless speakersComputers How Bluetooth Works Two Bluetooth devices connect to each other by a process called pairing. When you press a button or select a menu option on the unit, a Bluetooth device initiates a new connection....

While Fixd does have its limitations, and there are some vehicles that it will not work with, it is a useful tool for anyone who has ever wanted to know more about what’s going on under the hood of their car. How Does Fixd Work? Fixd works by tapping into the onboard computer in your car, reading information that’s stored there, and relaying the information to an app that you install on your smartphone....

Google Sheets, along with Google Docs and Google Slides, is a part of what Google calls Google Drive. It’s similar to how Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft PowerPoint are each individual parts within Microsoft Office. Google Sheets works best for those who have modest spreadsheet requirements, work remotely from multiple devices, or collaborate with others. Google Sheets Compatibility Google Sheets is available as a web application, accessible through Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer 11, Microsoft Edge, and Safari....