Various factors impact a laptop battery’s operational lifespan, including its build quality, how well it’s been treated, its brand, and how often it’s had to deal with high temperatures. Sometimes, it even feels like luck plays a role in the longevity of your battery. How Long Does the Average Laptop Battery Last? The average lifespan of a laptop battery is generally regarded as about 1,000 charge cycles. That number can vary depending on the laptop’s brand and battery, as well as how it’s used....

While environmentalists would argue you should never let your engine idle due to the unnecessary greenhouse gas emissions, such an edict may run thin in sub-zero temperatures. In fact, it can be unsafe—let alone uncomfortable—to drive a car without first warming up the engine. Should You Idle Your Car to Warm It Up? You should warm up your vehicle if it is carbureted. If your car is fuel-injected, then it is a personal matter of how much you can tolerate the cold....

Routers Aren’t Energy-Hungry Routers don’t consume a lot of power. Wireless models use the most, particularly the newer models with multiple Wi-Fi antennae because the radios need certain levels of power to stay connected. In general, routers consume from two to 20 watts, depending on the model. The Linksys WRT610, for example, uses two radios for dual-band wireless support, yet it draws 18 watts of power. When the WRT610 runs in dual-band mode 24 hours per day, seven days a week, it adds three kilowatt-hours (kWh) per week to an electric bill....

The streaming giant announced its plan to roll back its free trials, which have been a staple for the company for the better part of two decades. A Netflix spokesperson told Variety it is “looking at different marketing promotions in the US to attract new members and give them a great Netflix experience.” The new strategy is not as likely to be adopted by other streaming services, experts say. “Netflix takes this specific strategy in the US at a very mature stage,” said Ezra Eeman, Head of Digital, Transforming, and Platforms at the European Broadcasting Union, via email....

A new software tool called Zoom Escaper lets you pretend your video connection is so bad you have to get off the call. The software, and others like it, are a boon to those who’ve had enough with being on camera. “After more than a year of being in a pandemic and face-to-face meetings being limited, people are starting to feel the effects of Zoom burnout,” Kristen Fowler, an executive recruiter at Clarke Caniff Strategic Search, said in an email interview....

Officials warned before the election that foreign states and criminal organizations could attempt to hack voting systems. Since Joe Biden’s victory, President Trump has been spreading accusations about faulty election security, but experts say the concerns about hacking are unfounded. “We saw no evidence of successful hacks by foreign actors to change votes, alter results, or other fraudulent behavior,” Marcus Fowler, a former CIA executive, and currently the director of strategic threat at Darktrace, said in an email interview....

How to Install iCloud for Windows To set up iCloud for Windows for use with the iCloud Passwords Chrome extension, you’ll need to download iCloud for Windows from the Microsoft Store before you can get the extension working. How to Install the iCloud Passwords Chrome extension Once iCloud for Windows is set up and running, all that’s left to do is install the Chrome extension, and you’ll have access to your familiar passwords whenever prompted....

How to Activate InPrivate Browsing Mode in IE As you surf the web, remnants of where you’ve been and what you’ve done are left behind by the browser on your device’s hard drive. This includes browsing history, cache, cookies, saved passwords, and more. IE11 offers InPrivate Browsing, which ensures that private data is not stored on your computer at the end of your browsing session. InPrivate Browsing is a setting in the web browser settings....

How to Get Disney Plus on a Samsung Smart TV Disney Plus is available for Samsung TVs that are 2016 models and later. If your Samsung Smart TV is compatible, here’s how to download Disney+ for Samsung. How to Add Disney Plus on an LG Smart TV Disney Plus is available on LG smart TVs that were manufacture in 2016 or later. Those TVs must be running webOS 3.0 or later....

Bookmarking on your iPad is done directly from the Safari app, and you can do it in seconds from any web page. Once you’ve made a Safari bookmark, you can access it from the bookmarks pop-out menu or from a new tab. How to Bookmark a Website in Safari The key to saving a website as a bookmark in Safari is the share button. How to Find Your Safari Bookmarks The bookmarks you make in Safari are stored in the Favorites folder by default, which you can access by selecting the bookmark button (represented by an open book icon) on the left of the address bar....

How to Authorize a Computer to Play Apple Music or iTunes Media To authorize another computer to play your Apple Music or iTunes purchases, follow these steps: Now, Apple Music or iTunes on that computer can access and play all the content you purchased with your Apple ID—and only that content. What Does Apple Music and iTunes Authorization Do? Authorizing a PC or Mac in iTunes or Apple Music grants the computer access to and permission to play any media you purchased using your Apple ID....

How Do You Block No Caller ID Calls on an iPhone? There are lots of ways to block no caller ID calls on the iPhone. The phone includes some features specifically designed to block these calls and it also gives you some tools you can adapt to this use. You can also get help from your phone company and the national Do Not Call registry. Silence Unknown Callers on iPhone The simplest way to block unknown callers on iPhone is to use a built-in feature by following these steps:...

Job Titles in Computer Networking Several professional positions exist in computer networking, each with varying salaries and long-term career potential. Unfortunately, networking and Information Technology (IT) job titles can often create confusion among beginners and experienced folks alike. Bland, vague, or overly bombastic titles often fail to describe the actual work assignments of a person in this field. Standard job titles one sees for computer networking, and networking-related positions include:...

How to Buy Kindle Books for Your iPad Although you can browse through and read Kindle Unlimited books through the Kindle app, you cannot actually buy Kindle books with the app because Apple limits what can be sold through an app. As a workaround, use the Safari web browser and go directly to amazon.com. Then follow these steps: How to Use the Kindle App to Read iPad Books The app is divided into five tabs that are accessed using the buttons at the bottom of the screen: If you do not want to use the 1-Click option yet, click Kindle Edition underneath the title and star rating for the book....

How to Change Alexa Voice to Samuel L. Jackson’s How to Switch Between Explicit and Clean Versions of Samuel L. Jackson You can’t make this change using your Echo device; you need to use the Alexa app by following these steps: How Alexa Celebrity Voices Work Once enabled, you can ask Sam questions on any Echo devices connected to your account. In addition to Samuel L. Jackson, you can opt for Shaquille O’Neal or Melissa McCarthy as your Alexa’s celebrity voice to answer particular questions and speak certain phrases, for example in weather reports or jokes....

How Do I Transfer My WhatsApp Account to a New Phone With the Same Number? The easiest way to migrate your WhatsApp data from one iPhone to another is to create a cloud backup that’s associated with your account and saved on Apple’s servers. All you need is an active internet connection and the same Apple account in use on each smartphone. How Do I Transfer My WhatsApp to My New Phone on Android?...

How to Change Safari’s Default Search Engine To change the default search engine used by Safari on iOS devices: Search Settings in Safari The Safari Settings screen includes other options you may want to use with your new default search engine. You can toggle each of these options on or off: Search Engine Suggestions presents suggested search terms as you type, obtained from the default engine.Safari Suggestions offers suggestions as you type, derived from a combination of sources including iTunes, the App Store, and the internet as a whole....

How to Change the Wear Watch Face Here’s the easiest way to change your smartwatch background: Change the Wear Watch Face Through the Watch Settings It’s also possible to customize the watch face through the Wear settings: Change the Watch Face Through the Wear App on Your Smartphone It’s also possible to change the watch face through your smartphone rather than the smartwatch itself. Open the Wear app on your phone and look for a selection of watch faces under the image of your watch....

How to Change Your Name in Roblox You have two names on Roblox: your Username and your Display Name. To change your Username, you’ll need to spend 1,000 Robux, which is the equivalent of around $14.98 USD. You can change your Display Name at any time for free. However, you can only change your Display Name once every seven days. How to Change Your Display Name on the Roblox Website The first way you can change your Roblox Display Name is from the main website....

Change Your Password in Windows 11, 10, and 8 Follow these instructions to change your password in Windows 8, 10, or 11. Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP Tips and More Information Now that your Windows password has been changed, you must use your new password to log in to Windows from this point forward. In Windows 8, choose Change from the Password section. If you’re using Windows XP (or some versions of Windows Vista), this link is instead called User Accounts....