How Smart Homes Will Work Smart homes have one particular purpose: To make the management of a house more convenient. This is accomplished by unifying all your appliances and equipment in one single platform that will be managed through either your mobile device or desktop. A true smart home would have a cloud-based platform that allows you to manage every aspect of your house, from air conditioning to lighting, from any location....

Gmail is probably the most well-known. In 2016 TechCrunch reported that Gmail had 1 billion active monthly users. Are you one of those 1 billion? Which email service provider are you using and why? Our Opinion Miguel reports he uses two services. He uses Gmail “for work because he is able to hook up other email addresses into one box, unifying all of the addresses” he has. He uses it for personal use as well....

Express Devices The Roku Express line of products are entry level devices. They are marketed to be a super affordable way to start streaming Internet video content to your TV. There are currently two products under the Express banner — the Roku Express and Roku Express 4K+. At the time of this writing, they are priced at $30 and $40, respectively. Buy a Roku Express device if you: Want a budget-friendly streaming device....

Hashing Explained In order to understand SHA, we have to look into the process and purpose behind hashing as a practice. A hash is a string that represents a particular asset but doesn’t substitute it. In simpler terms, unlike most cryptographic algorithms, you can hash a sentence but you cannot “un-hash” it. The only way this is useful is if the destination server doesn’t necessarily need to know the content of the data....

Here is the roundup of all the new features and improvements in the big Windows 10 fall update. Windows 10 Activation Made Easy When Windows 10 was first introduced, the activation process was kind of confusing. The reason for this confusion is simple: there is no straightforward answer to people who want to do a fresh installation for the first time rather than upgrade the system from the previous version....

One you may not be aware of is “Magnifier.” As the name suggests, it magnifies the on-screen content. It’s Microsoft’s own option, and it may be all you need. Alternatives exist, but can they steal the crown away from Microsoft themselves? Windows Magnifier As the most obvious of the tools available in its field, Magnifier can be found in virtually all versions of Windows, though features may differ across them....

This new technology is very exciting, but it also raises a lot of questions. For example, how does wireless charging fare against wired charging? Is wireless charging just a gimmick, or is it time to throw out those five different USB cables you have around the home? Let’s take a look at both and where each one shines. Wired Charging Wired charging has a lot of positives, despite being the less “flashy” variant of the two....

The Demand Before smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) reigned supreme. It was an unstoppable train in the early 2000s, making it easy for busy people who were always on the run to communicate and write emails. PDAs weren’t seen as a replacement for phones, but rather as an accessory for quick communication via text. Then the Blackberry came around and stole the spotlight. The device sported a screen and a keyboard like every other PDA out there but could also act as a phone that didn’t look awkward while you were putting it up to your ear....

All Xbox Game Pass subscriptions give players access to the massive games library. Depending on your subscription you can download and play these games or stream them online, with the option of playing them on an Xbox console, PC or mobile device. This is perfect for gamers who want to branch out and try more games without paying over the odds, but since Game Pass is split into different services, it can be complicated trying to figure out which one is worth your time....

Whether you want to stream NFL on ESPN, kick back with the Golf Channel, see the latest games of the English Premier League, or watch live streams of the UFC and boxing, you can do it all here. Below you’ll find our favorite Kodi add-ons for sports and how to install them. Official Add-ons The process for installing official (or unofficial, but still requiring you to sign in to your subscription account) add-ons is much the same for each of those we have listed in this article:...

1. Sony SmartWatch The Sony SmartWatch hit the market in 2012, and in a way, it embodied much of what people do not like about smart watches. The battery life only lasted 3 – 4 days, the apps were confusing to use, and the screen didn’t remain always-on (limiting its use as an actual watch). But the device is relatively sleek, and Sony has since released an updated model that has an always-on display and an easier to navigate interface....

1. Uninstall Any Leftover/Unwanted Programs First, the most obvious step: get rid of any leftover or unwanted programs left on your system! We don’t recommend doing this manually through Windows. Instead, use IOBitUninstaller or another third-party uninstaller. The benefit of using a method like this as opposed to doing it in Windows is that you don’t have to uninstall programs one by one. You can just check them off a list, and all trace files and folders are actually deleted....

1. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) This Christmas classic stars Jimmy Stewart as a family man considering ending it all – until he gets a visit from his guardian angel. There’s a reason virtually everyone knows this film: it’s practically required viewing come Christmas time. 2. Black Christmas (2006) Fans of the original 1974 version of “Black Christmas” do not hide their disdain for this loose remake. However, 2006’s “Black Christmas” serves up a generous serving of maliciousness and gore....

1. It’s Used on Nearly Every Server Linux is the standard for servers. There’s no way around it. Linux has long been the most popular HTTP server software, and it’s built firmly on top of the Linux kernel. Enterprise users might lean towards Windows for compatibility with Windows’s workstations, but server admins broadly work in Linux. If you want to understand and work with servers, you need to understand Linux....

Why Work Remotely? After years of resisting, the pandemic forced many companies to rethink remote work. What they have learned is that not only are employees happier, but productivity has stayed steady, and work-life balances have improved dramatically. All of the data points to one thing: employees and employers alike are recognizing that the flexibility that comes with remote work has additional benefits like removing non-essential meetings. As commuting to work is minimized, employees are able to better utilize their time to be more productive or take care of their personal errands they might have otherwise needed to do during work hours....

Being a geek in my circle of friends, I am always asked “What should I install on my phone?” Since I just got a Nexus One recently, let me share with you 18 of the essential apps that you should install in your Android phone. 1. WaveSecure In my opinion, WaveSecure is the first app you should install upon getting your phone. WaveSecure is a mobile security software that locks your phone when it is stolen (or lost)....

1. Co-Authors Plus Co-Authors Plus allows a blogging team to assign a blog post (or even a page) to more than one author. It has a search-as-you-type input box that makes it easier to find the authors. This is a great tool because you do not have to know how to write their full name. After installing the plugin, you use template tags to allow the listing of the multiple authors....

If you use your personal email address to sign up for such services, then most probably your email account will be filled with promotional emails. Thankfully, all legit companies offer an “Unsubscribe” button to easily opt out of such emails. Gmail makes it very easy to unsubscribe from such emails, and in this article we will show you three ways to unsubscribe from newsletters in Gmail. 1. Unsubscribe from a Newsletter Let’s go through the basic process of how you can unsubscribe from email newsletters in Gmail....

The team here at Make Tech Easier works hard to provide as much quality information as we can. But we can’t write about everything (though we’re trying!). So, what are some other sources of the information that you’re looking for? Lets take a look at a few of the better ones out there. 1. FLOSS Manuals The goal of FLOSS Manuals is to provide quality free documentation for free software....

Talon Talon is known for keeping up with Android’s latest visual trends. The app originally ran on KitKat, drawing attention for its use of transparent system bars. Now it sports a Material Design-inspired interface intended just for Android 5.0 devices. The app encourages you to make it your own, with the ability to change its colors and tweak other aspects of the user experience. It’s not all about looks. Talon can support two accounts at once, lets you favorite users, and performs other tasks that the default Twitter app doesn’t offer....