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Apple Music, Apple TV, Beats, AirTags support, and FaceTime video calls in the browser—all these are Apple apps running on Android devices. What’s going on? Two things: Apple loves services revenue, and Apple is scared of government regulation. “Apple is playing the market,” Christen da Costa, CEO of Gadget Review, told Lifewire via email. “The more they appeal to Android users, the more money they can get from them. They’re essentially muscling in on Android-specific spaces to secure more market share....

It used to be that you’d buy a TV once in a decade and hook it up to whichever cable boxes you had in your home. Now, the TV wants to take care of as much of that connectivity as possible, with questionable user interfaces and even more questionable privacy practices. It’s not that you can’t get any plain old dumb TV, it’s that they’re an afterthought, a relic of a previous age, like film cameras or cassette players....

The iPhone’s front-facing FaceID camera can read depth. That’s how it makes a 3D map of your face to unlock your phone. Neatsy’s app uses the same 3D scan on your feet. You then tell it the brand and the size of your most comfortable sneakers, and it combines that with the scan to get the perfect, personalized fit every time. That’s the theory, anyway. “It’s essential that we find ways to stop doing so many returns,” Berlin-based fashion stylist Nuria Gregori told Lifewire in an interview....

Blizzard recently revealed a ton of new details about its upcoming action RPG, Diablo 4, including the fact that it will feature zones designed with player-vs.-player (PvP) content in mind. While the idea might sound appealing at first, a closer look at what we currently know about it could lead to more frustration from players. “Diablo 3 missed the mark for a lot of players since Diablo 2 PvP was such a core aspect....

Watch OS 8 brings new looks to Apple Watch with world time and portraits faces. Cupertino’s selection is still far more limited than those available on Google’s rival Wear OS. “Apple has always been selective about watch faces and has taken ‘a less is more’ approach,” smartwatch owner Tim Absalikov told Lifewire in an email interview. “On Wear OS, besides changing the strap, you can customize the watch face as you wish....

The “PrintNightmare” security vulnerability is tied into Windows’ Print Spooler service, which runs by default, and grants attackers remote system privileges across all versions of Windows. This access makes it possible for nefarious actors to install their own programs, create new system accounts, and view/copy/alter data. Microsoft initially released a statement of mitigation measures you could take, as documented by Bleeping Computer, in order to temporarily reduce the threat. Now, it’s moved on to releasing patches for all affected versions of Windows in order to remove the vulnerability entirely....

Windows Latest reports that, despite initial hopes that the missing taskbar functions in Windows 11 were just a bug, Microsoft has confirmed they’re intentional. The aim is to encourage people to use the Windows Widgets panel, instead. The Windows 11 calendar pop-up is one of the more notable changes, as it no longer integrates with events or agendas. Pulling up the calendar form the Windows 11 taskbar will display the dates, but you won’t be able to add new events....

Confused? I’m not surprised! These four terms—wipe, shred, delete, and erase—might sometimes be used interchangeably, but they shouldn’t be. Each word implies something different being done to a file, folder, or even space that looks empty, on a hard drive, flash drive, or some other storage device. Here’s how these concepts differ and why it’s important you understand exactly how they do: Delete: “Hide Me, but I’ll Be Here If You Really Need Me” The word delete is one we use a lot....

What Is an XLS File? A file with the XLS file extension is a Microsoft Excel 97-2003 Worksheet file. Later versions of Excel save spreadsheets as XLSX files by default. XLS files store data in tables of rows and columns with support for formatted text, images, charts, and more. Excel files that are macro-enabled use the XLSM file extension. How to Open an XLS File XLS files can be opened with any version of Microsoft Excel....

MIT researchers have created a new material as light as plastic and as strong as steel. The material, called 2DPA-1, is a type of polyaramide that can be manufactured at an industrial scale. It’s the latest in a wave of innovative materials that could transform personal electronics. “There are a lot of problems being solved by new materials,” Terry Gilton, a materials expert who is a partner at the tech venture capital firm Celesta Capital, told Lifewire in an email interview....

There are lots of free web-based organizers that you can use for any purpose. Maybe you’re collecting interviews for a news story, digging up newspaper archives for a history project, or writing a research paper over a science topic. Research organizers are also helpful for staying productive and preparing for tests. Regardless of the topic, when you have multiple sources of information and lots to comb through later, optimizing your workflow with a dedicated organizer is essential....

Generally, remotely accessing a computer requires that a piece of software be installed on the computer you want to connect to, called the host. Another computer or device with the right credentials, called the client, connects to the host and controls it. The better free remote access programs listed below require nothing more than a few clicks to get started—no special computer knowledge required. Host Side The host has two options: download the DWAgent, and then run it for on-demand, one-time access (great for tech support), or install it for permanent remote access (ideal if it’s your own computer)....

These tricks will get you excited about many of the mundane-sounding Command Prompt commands like telnet, tree, or robocopy—okay, robocopy sounds pretty cool. Some of these Command Prompt tricks are special features or fun uses for the Command Prompt itself, while others are just neat or relatively unknown things you can do with certain CMD commands. If you haven’t actually executed a command, you can just backspace and erase what you’ve typed, but if you’ve already executed it, then you can do a Ctrl+C to stop it....

With any one of these tools, you can’t go wrong. Getting involved in a Twitter chat is one of the best ways to attract new followers, be part of a community and learn new things. Best of all, it’s free and loads of fun. What’s a Twitter Chat Anyway? Users across the globe host chats on different subjects at certain times and days of the week. Anyone with a public profile can participate by following the chat hashtag....

What Are Refurbished Laptops? Refurbished laptops are used or open-box laptops that have been inspected, cleaned, repaired and made ready for sale to a new owner. The original manufacturer of the laptop refurbishes factory refurbished laptops, but third parties also sell refurbished laptops. Refurbished laptops typically sell at a significant discount compared to new laptops with similar specifications. The main question people ask is “Are refurbished laptops good?” The answer? It’s complicated....

There are lots of FTP servers available, but many of them are only usable at a cost. Below is a list of the best freeware FTP server programs that run on Windows, macOS, and Linux. You can download and use them to share files as often as you like without paying a dime. You can choose which ports the program should listen on, how many users can be connected to your server at once, the number of CPU threads the server can use, and timeout settings for connections, transfers, and logins....

You’ll find a wide variety of options through the sites listed below, including templates for games, weddings, business, hobbies, birthdays, technology, Christmas, and tons more. All these templates are free, so just download the ones you want and then open them in PowerPoint, a free presentation program, or some other free PowerPoint alternative. At that point, you can edit the templates however you like to fit your own needs. There are tons of free templates here....

Reasons Why Your AirPods are so Quiet Lots of things can impact your AirPods sound. Because your iPhone controls the volume, there are sometimes issues related to the phone instead of the actual ear pieces. You could also be having pairing issues, problems with various sound settings, or even get lower sound because the AirPods’ power is dropping too low. If you don’t see an obvious problem at first, just move through the troubleshooting steps here until you reach the one that resolves the issue....

What Is Information Technology? A 1958 article in Harvard Business Review referred to information technology as consisting of three basic parts: computational data processing, decision support, and business software. This time period marked the beginning of IT as an officially defined area of business; in fact, this article probably coined the term. Over the ensuing decades, many corporations created so-called “IT departments” to manage the computer technologies related to their business....

Nvidia’s RTX 30 series is the hottest thing in PC gaming right now. So hot, in fact, that it’s almost impossible to buy a desktop RTX 30 series graphics card, and even laptops with the hardware are flying off store shelves. Acer’s Predator Triton 300 SE is, in many respects, a mid-range gaming laptop, but it succeeds at one very important task: it delivers Nvidia RTX 3060 Max-Q at a reasonable price, and it’s actually in stock not just at, but sometimes below, MSRP....