On Monday, Facebook and several other related sites experienced a prolonged outage, lasting roughly six to seven hours. Following hundreds of thousands of reports worldwide, Facebook addressed the issue Monday afternoon, noting that changes made to the backend of its systems were the primary source of the outage. “Our engineering teams have learned that configuration changes on the backbone routers that coordinate network traffic between our data centers caused issues that interrupted this communication… This disruption to network traffic had a cascading effect on the way our data centers communicate, bringing our services to a halt,” Santosh Janardhan, vice president of infrastructure at Facebook, wrote in the apology....

The latest version of the Xcode comes with a Fix-It feature, which can do away with most of the little problems that could otherwise hold up the approval process. See to it that your app is error-free both technically and otherwise. Test your app thoroughly before submitting the same to the App Store. Your name, contact, telephone/mobile number and email IDThe APIs used, with a description about themWhether images or icons are used and if they are used in other appsLinks to external Websites where necessary, with a description of the same, if need be...

Local news stories, interviews, or press releases frequently linked to by other news publications will get a ‘highly cited’ label in search results. Google will also be adding tips on trending topics to get people to think more critically about a story and expanding its About This Result feature. The highly cited label will appear on Top Stories and will be a small box in the corner of an article’s thumbnail....

It’s been about a month coming, but after its initial tease of adding iOS 16 lock screen and home screen widget functionality to many of its iPhone apps, Google delivered. Now you’ll be able to add quick-selection tools, app shortcuts, and the like from seven different Google apps—with some getting more than one widget option. Gmail will show you how many unread messages you currently have through your lock screen and their categories, while Drive will let you open suggested and starred files with a single tap....

The big G is rolling out a plethora of enhanced video calling features to Google One subscribers, most of which were previously only accessible to paying enterprise users of Workspace. What’s on the docket? Google has removed the much-loathed one-hour time limit for group video calls, switching it up to a full 24 hours. The system also now includes robust audio filters to weed out background noise like construction sounds or dogs barking....

What Is a GRD File? A file with the GRD file extension might be an Adobe Photoshop gradient file. These files are used to store presets which define how multiple colors should blend together. Use one to apply the same blending effect to multiple objects or backgrounds. Some GRD files may instead be Surfer grid files, a format used for storing map data in either a text or binary format. Others might be used as encrypted disk image files in PhysTechSoft’s StrongDisk software....

With the return of HBO Max, Prime members can enjoy (or revisit) several popular shows like House of the Dragon and Succession. Or they can check out the upcoming fourth season of DC’s Doom Patrol, or see how the live-action adaptation of Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us turned out when it releases in January. “Warner Bros. Discovery is committed to making HBO Max available to as broad an audience as possible, while also advancing our data-driven approach to understanding our customers and best serving their viewing interests,” said Warner Bros....

Why Pandora Stations May Not Be to Your Liking Pandora uses all of the qualities of a playlist’s seed song—the song or artist you used to create the station—but does not match every quality to every song it plays. Music is unique and no two songs have the exact same qualities—or, in Pandora’s terms, the same DNA. It could be that Pandora isn’t matching the qualities that you like from the seed song....

Waze announced recently that it is integrating its map software with Audible. The move means you can access your audiobooks through the Waze app’s built-in audio player. Drivers say they’re happy to have a safe way to get their audiobook fix. “For me, an audiobook transforms a routine drive into a valuable learning experience,” Rob Howard, CEO of web development firm Howard Development & Consulting, said in an email interview....

How Wi-Fi Extenders Work These devices connect wirelessly to the router and expand the Wi-Fi signal to areas the router doesn’t reach. You might have to go through a bit of trial and error on physical placement before settling on a location for yours. Wi-Fi extenders come in two types: small ones that plug into a wall outlet and larger desktop devices that often include ethernet ports. Regardless of the type you choose, it will expand your router’s coverage area....

As unprecedented heatwaves continue to impact parts of the country, keep in mind that your electronics are suffering as much as your body temperature. But there are things you can do to keep your gadgets working this summer, experts say. “Protecting your cell phone from excessive heat is important for the proper functionality of your device and battery life,” Jason Fladhammer, the director of quality assurance at Batteries Plus, told Lifewire in an email interview....

Google is introducing new notifications to alert users when their search results might be inaccurate due to rapidly developing situations—a move experts say could help thwart misinformation and boost media literacy. As part of a larger effort by Big Tech to counter online misinformation, the tech giant announced in a blog post that it has trained its systems to detect when there isn’t enough information about an evolving situation online to provide reliable results....

Anyone can read your posts, subscribe to them, and reply to them (via your Hey email). It’s so simple that it could be the perfect antidote to locking your thoughts away in Twitter or Medium. “We’re absolutely targeting what the long-form writing people have been doing in tweet storms and on Facebook,” Hey co-founder David Heinemeier Hansson told Lifewire via email. “Liberating their words from being used as bait for targeted ads, protecting their readers from being tracked up the wazoo....

Various factors impact a router’s operational lifespan, including its build quality, thermal handling capabilities, use patterns, installation locations, and eventually technological obsolescence. How Long Do Routers Really Last? At the current pace of change, the average lifespan for a router is probably about five years. Upgrading every five years ensures that you’ll always have the best features and performance without unnecessary side-grades. However, a router can last a whole lot longer than that if it’s well maintained and meets your needs....

Here’s how a scanner takes a physical document, reproduces its content, and then transfers the data into a computer file that can be uploaded and shared digitally. Charged-Coupled Device (CCD) Array While scanners are made up of several different parts, the core component is the charged-coupled device (CCD) array. A CCD array is a collection of light-sensitive diodes that converts photons (light) into electrons or electrical charges. These diodes are known more commonly as photosites....

According to a study from the National Science Foundation, women only earn 18% of computer science bachelor’s degrees and only 20% of engineering degrees in the US. And, while women make up 50% of the college-educated workforce, they only hold 28% of science and engineering positions. TechGirlz is a nonprofit giving young girls the tools and the confidence to enter into the tech workforce, whatever that may look like for them....

How to Set Up a Second Monitor in Extended Display Mode Use a second monitor to extend your MacBook Pro display setup and give yourself two screens. How to Set Up a Mirrored Display In some cases, duplicating what you see on your MacBook Pro could be most desirable. How to Add a Second Display Via AirPlay Apple AirPlay makes it convenient to mirror or extend your MacBook Pro display with a compatible smart TV....

How to Add Apps to a SmartCast TV SmartCast TVs come with a broad selection of more than 100 preinstalled core apps available on your SmartCast home screen. There’s no functionality for downloading additional apps; however, new apps become available periodically and are available immediately after an update. If there’s an app you want to use that isn’t available on your screen, you may still be able to access its content by downloading the app to your mobile device and using the TV’s built-in Chromecast or AirPlay technology....

Create an Inner Text Shadow in GIMP There isn’t a simple one-click option to add inner text shadows in GIMP, but this tutorial shows you how you can achieve this effect, which makes text appear as if it was cut out of the page. If you have a copy of GIMP installed, then you can get started with the tutorial. GIMP vs. Photoshop Anyone used to working with Adobe Photoshop will know that inner text shadow is easily applied through the use of layer styles, but GIMP doesn’t offer a comparable feature....

How to Change Keyboard Brightness on a MacBook Air Your MacBook Air has an adjustable keyboard backlight, but the method you use to adjust it depends on which model you have. If your MacBook Air pre-dates the introduction of Apple Silicon, it has dedicated keys to increase and decrease the keyboard brightness. MacBooks released after that don’t have dedicated keys, but you can still adjust the brightness using the Control Center....