Overall Findings Bluetooth is a wireless networking protocol that allows two devices to communicate with each other through a radio frequency (RF). With Bluetooth, you can wirelessly control a speaker through an app on your phone or to print documents on a printer that isn’t physically connected to your computer. Bluetooth is also used with hands-free headsets, wireless navigation systems, and remote mouse and keyboards. A Wi-Fi network is the wireless extension of a wired modem connection....

What Is Streaming? Streaming is a way to watch or listen to content without having to download it. You’ll often hear the term “streaming” in relation to watching movies and listening to music on the internet. What Are Some Examples of Streaming Content? Popular sites and services that stream content include Netflix, Vudu, Pandora, Hulu, YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, and many more. For example, when you select a video on YouTube, you’re streaming that video from YouTube’s site and servers to your own computer or media streamer....

Even the smallest, cheapest iPhone 12 mini gets (almost) all the features from last year’s Pro models, and the iPhone 12 Pro shows what can be achieved when you marry ultra-powerful computers with cameras. But unfortunately, it’s still just a “phone,” which means that many professional photographers will never even consider it. “Regardless of the image quality,” professional fashion photographer Diane Betties told Lifewire via email, “clients do not understand when you shoot a job, or even just portraits, on a phone....

Home Theater Doesn’t Have to Be Expensive Home theater has a significant role in our current entertainment landscape. Still, when times are tough, many believe it’s a luxury that may not be affordable. However, when you consider the cost of taking the family out to dinner and a night at the movies, buying a home theater system may be an affordable family entertainment solution during economic doldrums. An LED TV Isn’t a Different Type of TV There’s a lot of hype and confusion surrounding LED televisions....

TikTok was granted a two-week reprieve by the U.S. government last week to find an American buyer for the Chinese-based app, further extending its deadline to the ban Trump initially gave months ago. Even though there was talk of a ban, it’s almost as if the administration has all but forgotten about the viral app. However, Trump’s executive order did bring about awareness of TikTok’s many security issues and the more significant issue of how Americans handle their own privacy....

If you have another heat source, like a wood-burning stove, you’re better off using that until the power comes back on. And if the situation is really dire enough that you have to use your car inverter to run heaters in your home, you’re probably going to be better off using that gas to get yourself to an emergency shelter or warming station. Running Home Electronics With a Car Power Inverter Car power inverters are great, but they’re designed to be used when the engine is running....

Good video doorbells come in prices ranging from under $100 to upwards of $300, and Netvue’s VueBell Video Doorbell is on the lower end of that range. The VueBell doesn’t have the most impressive spec list, but it’s supposed to provide reliable security for your front porch, and allow you to easily communicate with visitors without having to open the door. Netvue also provides cloud services subscriptions where you can add on motion recording, continuous recording, and ring alerts....

“Microsoft’s move of unifying apps to the Windows 11 store will make it a go-to store for apps,” said Harriet Chan, co-founder of CocoFinder, in a DM to Lifewire. “One can easily get an app with a single search, instead of launching other platforms and trying hard to find our desired apps.” Upside/Downside In theory, this could do a lot to streamline your desktop. It’s not hard for anyone who uses a Windows 10 computer to end up with a half-dozen or more different storefront apps, whether they’re for gaming, graphics, design, or office work....

This term is really just the popularized name for what is technically called a stop message or stop error. The example here on this page is a BSOD as you might see one in Windows 8 or newer. Earlier versions of Windows had a somewhat less friendly appearance. Fixing a Blue Screen Error That [confusing] text on the Blue Screen of Death will often list any files involved in the crash including any device drivers that may have been at fault and often a short, usually cryptic, description of what to do about the problem....

What Is a DAT File? A file with the DAT file extension is usually a generic data file that stores information specific to the application it refers to. Sometimes you’ll find them by themselves, but often they’re with other configuration files like DLL files. No specific program is responsible for creating or using every type of DAT file. A wide variety of applications use them as references to certain operations in their respective program....

What Is a Viewfinder? A digital camera viewfinder is the part of the camera that is used to frame and setup a photograph. It is usually located on the back of the camera, and can be either an optical viewfinder or a digital, or electronic viewfinder (EVF). Optical Viewfinder: An optical viewfinder is most often found on DSLR cameras. You’ll know it as the eye piece on the back of the camera, usually toward the top....

What Does Hidden Network Mean? A hidden network is what it sounds like: A network hidden from usual detection. Once popular amongst security-savvy users, it was seen as a good way of ensuring nefarious sources could not see your network before trying to access it. It’s like having a secret doorway to your home, not on display to others. However, in recent times, hiding your network has fallen out of favor as many tools are available to help users spot hidden networks....

Because an ad hoc connection doesn’t need an existing infrastructure to sustain the network, it’s decentralized and is considered a peer-to-peer (P2P) network. Instead of using a central managing device (such as a router) where the network’s data constantly flows in and out before and after reaching the child devices (such as phones and computers), every node that makes up the ad hoc network forwards data evenly throughout the entire structure....

Programs such as Adobe InDesign, Microsoft Publisher, QuarkXPress, and Scribus are examples of desktop publishing software. Professional graphic designers and commercial printing technicians use some of these, whereas office workers, teachers, students, small-business owners, and non-designers use others. Their choices depend on capabilities, budget, and personal preference. Among professionals, “desktop publishing software” refers primarily to high-end professional page layout software applications including Adobe InDesign and QuarkXPress. Desktop Publishing Software as a Catch-All Phrase Other applications and utilities often included in the desktop publishing software category are better classified as graphics, web publishing, and presentation apps....

There are three main driving components that drive-by-wire systems typically replace with electronic controls: throttle, brakes, and steering. These systems are typically referred to as electronic throttle control, brake-by-wire, and steer-by-wire.​ Electronic Throttle Control The most common form of drive-by-wire technology and the easiest to find is electronic throttle control. Unlike traditional throttle controls that couple the gas pedal and throttle with a mechanical cable, these systems use a series of electronic sensors and actuators....

There are several smartphones that support the use of inductive charging straight out of the box, including the Nokia Lumia 920 and the LG Nexus 4. Other phones, such as the Samsung Galaxy S3 and iPhone 4s, need to have adaptors attached before they can be charged in this way. However, the rumor mill is chattering furiously that iPhone 8 might be able to charge across the room from its power source so adaptors might not be necessary for the future....

The phrase can also describe travel or city planning initiatives designed to improve access to travel, streamline the user experience, or fill gaps in existing travel infrastructure by embracing alternative forms of transport such as e-bikes and trams rideshare services, or autonomous vehicles. What Is MaaS? Traditionally, when planning a trip, travelers would have to use separate companies or services to book individual parts of a journey. For example, for a trip to the airport, one would need to check the bus schedule via one app, pay for the bus ticket when on the bus, buy a separate ticket for the train at the train station, and then possibly even buy another bus ticket for yet another bus trip to get to the correct terminal after arriving at the airport....

By comparison, black and white photography uses only 255 variations of gray as well as black and white (which aren’t strictly considered colors, but that’s a story for another time). So, you can see why it’s easy to confuse monochrome photography with black and white. Monochrome Means ‘One Color’ The easiest way to remember what monochrome means is to break the word down into two parts: mono and chrome. Mono means one, and chrome refers to color....

At the end of last year, Apple put its M1 chip into the MacBook, resulting in Macs that have incredible battery life, run faster than most other computers, and never get warm. And that’s just the start. What can we expect for the Mac in 2021? “I imagine we’ll get an iMac first in the spring,” Mac and iOS developer James Thomson told Lifewire via Twitter. “I’d love a 13/14-inch MacBook Pro with four ports, and more memory/GPU power....

Email has hardly changed since Gmail shook things up in 2004. Meanwhile, messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram have changed the way we communicate. We’re used to easy-to-follow group conversations, easily blocking senders, and the ability to maintain conversation threads over time. But not with email. But in 2020, email is returning to its rightful place at the center of our communications. “Email is the internet’s common denominator. Think of it as of Internet ID,” Denys Zhadanov, VP of marketing at Readdle, which makes the Spark email app, told Lifewire via email....