What Are Availability, Reliability, and Serviceability? Availability refers to the overall uptime of the computer system or its specific features. For example, a personal computer is available for use if its operating system is booted and running. While related to availability, the concept of reliability means something different. Reliability refers to the general likelihood of a failure occurring in a running system. A perfectly reliable system will enjoy 100 percent availability....

Differences Between Photos and iPhoto The process of batch-changing image names in Photos differs from the way iPhotos accomplished the task. In iPhoto, changing a group of selected images entailed assigning a common name along with an incremental number appended to the name to make each image unique. It’s similar in Photos, but there’s no way to append an incremental number. Instead, you give the imported camera image names such as “Backyard Summer 2019....

The latest quarterly update for the upcoming action RPG Diablo IV details some of Blizzard’s plans surrounding post-launch content and how it wants to keep things fair for its players. This is particularly with regards to how it relates to online player interactions, as balance for player-versus-player (PvP) combat has been an ongoing concern. Post-release, Diablo IV will receive a steady stream of seasonal content, each with its own unique quest line and feedback-driven gameplay adjustments....

The Bose Sleepbuds II serve a very specific purpose: they’re aimed at customers struggling with sleep issues. While a pair of noise-isolating foam earplugs is a classic solution for blocking out distractions at bedtime, these pricey earbuds provide a decidedly more long-term solution to sleepless nights from a company that knows a thing or two about blocking out noise. The Sleepbuds II don’t use the hallmark active noise canceling (ANC) technology you’ll find in other Bose headphones, many of which also happen to be the best noise-canceling headphones....

SavorEat has unveiled a cooking robot that makes vegan burgers, which an app can control. The automaton, which is meant to be used by restaurants, customizes each patty based on your preferences. However, robots like the one introduced by SavorEat are still limited in their abilities. “The introduction and use of robots or automation were not meant to replace the human worker,” Udi Shamai, the CEO of HYPER, an automated food company, told Lifewire in an email interview....

CES Begins Now Before digging into specifics, know this. CES is already here. While the show officially starts on January 5 and runs to January 8, companies start planning months ahead for the show. However, most announcements go live between New Year’s Day and the first day of CES. Other announcements are embargoed under a non-disclosure agreement but will leak anyway, leading to a steady stream of new information leading up to the show’s first official day....

Nvidia Brings Its Best RTX Hardware to an Affordable Graphics Card The green team wasn’t officially part of CES 2021, as its presentation was held outside the official virtual show, but Nvidia still had plenty to share. The biggest, and least surprising, was the launch of Nvidia’s RTX 3060, RTX 3070, and RTX 3080 Max-Q graphics cards for laptops. These bring the architecture powering Nvidia’s popular 30-series desktop cards, known as Ampere, to mobile devices....

The popular audio-only app describes the Replays feature as “live, but later” since creators can download the audio from a room and listen to it later. To make it even easier to find the clips you want to save, you can skip around from speaker to speaker in an audio clip instead of manually fast-forwarding. The feature is optional in any public room. “When Replays are enabled, anyone on Clubhouse can replay the entire experience whenever they like,” Clubhouse said in its announcement of the feature....

According to a post on the Clubhouse blog, users also will be able to use their professional-grade audio equipment on the app, like mixing boards or a USB microphone. In addition to the feature, the Search functionality is getting an upgrade to make it easier to find certain creators. Music Mode is being added as a new option that can be found under the Audio Quality menu. The mode enables high-quality stereo audio, regardless of whether headphones or a speaker is used....

Convert PowerPoint Handouts to Word When you want to edit PowerPoint handouts, convert the handouts into a document that can be edited in Word. To convert handouts to Word format: Converting PowerPoint presentations to Word documents can be done in five different ways: Notes next to slidesBlank lines next to slidesNotes below slidesBlank lines below slidesOutline only Comparing the options can help you choose the best one for you. Notes Next to Slide on Handout The first option when converting PowerPoint presentations to Word is the most commonly used printout option....

What is the reason for this different design? Some manufacturers (most notably LG and Samsung) and retailers will tell you it’s to create a more “immersive” TV viewing experience, but the real reason is to simply make some OLED and 4K Ultra HD TVs stand out from those plain ole 1080p TVs to further entice you to buy them. Yes, curved-screen TVs do look cool. But what are you really getting for your money if you purchase a curved-screen TV?...

Darkroom uses the same Photos library as the built-in Photos app across all your Apple devices, meaning it also integrates completely with iCloud Photo Library, syncing your edits between all devices. It processes raw photos from your fancy cameras, lets you create and save custom filters, and now—in version 6—adds AI-powered masks for easy local adjustments. “You know that famous Steve Jobs quote, ‘The computer is the bicycle of the mind’?...

Neither the XPS 13 nor XPS 13 2-in-1 are new names in the Dell laptop sphere, but these are the latest iterations of those previous models. So while the new XPS laptops share a name with their predecessors, they aren’t actually the same hardware. The 2022 XPS 13 has an even thinner physical structure than before, so it will take up less space in a bag or backpack. But it can also hold a charge for up to 12 hours of constant 1080p video streaming....

Software for Your Family History Book Whether you use software specifically designed for genealogy or more general-purpose programs you already have comes down to personal preference. For convenience and speed, the former is a good choice; for maximum flexibility and no additional outlay, the latter is better. Family Tree Software Genealogy software typically includes lots of predesigned layouts for printing family histories, including narratives, charts, and photos. That can save you some time and make your book attractive without a lot of fuss....

How Much Energy Do Smart Plugs Use? Typically, a smart plug uses about 1 Watt of power when in standby mode, depending on the type of connection it uses. Because a smart plug is connected to something else in your home to work correctly, it’s always somewhat active. However, if you have a smart plug that connects via Wi-Fi, it’s likely to only ever use about 1 to 2 Watts at the absolute most each day....

Design: Fits in with other Echo products When it comes to looks, there’s not much else to it. Unlike the Echo Plus there are no buttons, microphones, or LED ring on top. The bottom is ported and has a few rubber non-slip pads. The only port is for the power cable and there is one small action button located just above it, and there’s a single LED light in the center of the button....

Play Music Across Several PowerPoint Slides There may be times when you want a single audio file to play during an entire slide show or from a certain slide to the end of the show. For example, you can add a voiceover on PowerPoint that will narrate your slides for you. To play music across several PowerPoint slides until the audio ends: Set Music Playback Options Using the Animation Pane If you want to play several selections of music (or parts of several selections) and want the music to stop after a precise number of slides have been shown, set up the audio files as animations....

The European Commission (EC) has recently proposed new regulations that would require chat apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger to comb through flagged users’ private messages for child sexual abuse material (CSAM). “This is an impressively bold and ambitious proposal to systemically prevent avoidable child abuse and grooming which is taking place at record levels,” Andy Burrows, Head of Child Safety Online at the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), told Lifewire over email....

Recent rumors have Apple readying a new full-size HomePod for release in early 2023, with an updated version of the HomePod mini also expected. But the larger HomePod’s return has tongues wagging because of the original’s excellent sound quality. A refreshed model would likely build on that, but some experts are already worried that the speaker’s Achilles heel will be a lackluster Siri—a smart assistant known for its instability and inability to do as it’s asked....

Apple’s big message is ‘speed,’ and it’s leaning heavily on the new 5G cellular connection to make the point. But 5G is not really widespread enough yet to be useful, and there were far more interesting features announced. The flat-sided design is great, but the real star here is the camera. It’s just plain amazing. “The engineering that Apple has put into both the new iPhone cameras and the post/computational photography is nothing short of mind-boggling,” David ‘Strobist’ Hobby says on Twitter....