While originally set to release in 2020, we could finally see devices with CHIP support by the end of this year. The currently fragmented nature of the market makes it difficult for users to purchase new smart home devices that work seamlessly together, something experts say CHIP will help relieve. “To cut right to the chase, I genuinely believe that CHIP will be a gamechanger in the smart home business,” Charlotte Robinson, a smart home blogger and software engineer, told Lifewire in an email....

Researchers have invented a gadget stretchy enough that you can wear it like a ring, a bracelet, or any other accessory that touches your skin. It works by tapping into a person’s natural heat—employing thermoelectric generators to convert the body’s internal temperature into electricity. The device is part of a growing number of new battery technologies that could jump-start personal technology. “Chips are becoming more efficient, but making it through the day without charging your phone is unlikely,” Andrew Fox, founder of electric scooter charging company Charge, said in an email interview....

Cybersecurity experts are seeing a wide variety of use cases for the Log4j exploit already beginning to appear on the dark web, ranging from exploiting Minecraft servers to more high-profile issues they believe could potentially affect Apple iCloud. “This Log4j vulnerability has a trickle-down effect, impacting all large software providers that might use this component as part of their application packing,” John Hammond, Senior Security Researcher at Huntress, told Lifewire via email....

The first smart home devices to support the Matter standard are hitting stores. Eve Systems is updating the Eve Energy plug and two sensors to talk to any controller supporting the new technology. Experts say the new standard could end compatibility woes. “Users should care because Matter has the potential of making smart home devices interact with one another more seamlessly and open up use cases that have been hard to pull off in the past,” Zach Supalla, the CEO of Particle, a platform for connected devices, told Lifewire in an email interview....

Meta unveiled the $1,500 headset at its Meta Connect virtual event, boasting major improvements. It’s got upgraded visuals, a faster processor, and technology for tracking your facial expressions. The headset also allows you to see your surroundings better while using it. “Experiencing mixed reality through colored pass-through cameras is an entirely new feature set and category. Previous devices offered a low resolution and black and white pass-through camera lenses to help users simply set guides in your room,” Jason Yim, CEO of virtual reality and mixed reality company Trigger XR, told Lifewire in an email interview....

How to Block a User on Snapchat You can block someone on Snapchat in five simple steps. What Happens When You Block Someone on Snapchat? When you block a user on Snapchat, you prevent that user from reaching or finding you. To them, your Snapchat activity and account don’t exist. A blocked user can’t do any of the following: Send you photo or video snaps.Start a chat with you.View your stories....

The Windows Update service has changed over the years as Microsoft released new versions of Windows. While Windows updates used to be installed by visiting the Windows Update website, newer versions of Windows include a special built-in Windows Update feature with more options. Below is the best way to check for, and install, Windows updates based on your version of Windows. You’ll need to know which version of Windows you have to make sure you’re following the correct steps for your computer....

PDF-to-JPG Conversion Tools There are several ways to save whole pages from a PDF to the JPG format. The method you choose to use should depend primarily on the operating system you’re using and whether you already have the converter on your computer. PDFtoJPG.net PDFtoJPG.net is one of the easiest places to convert each page of the PDF to a separate image in the JPG format. This PDF converter works on Windows, macOS, Linux, and any other operating system that supports a browser....

How to Add a Virtual Home Button to the iPhone To configure the virtual Home button, you first have to enable the Home button itself. Here’s how: How to Customize the Virtual Home Button Menu To change the number of shortcuts and the specific ones that are available in the default menu: How to Add Custom Actions to the Virtual Home Button Now that you know how to add the virtual Home button and configure the menu, it’s time to get to the good stuff: custom shortcuts....

Use the Siri Remote to Enter Text When you tap the Search icon on an Apple TV or click in any text-entry field, you can use the Siri Remote that comes with the Apple TV to choose characters from a left-to-right alphanumeric keyboard that appears on the TV screen. This is the device’s default system that people use to search for apps, music, TV shows, or anything else on the Apple TV....

Find Prisoners With a Federal Inmate Locator The easiest way to do a nationwide inmate search to locate which prison an inmate is located at (or where they were held before release), is to search for the person using the Find an Inmate search tool on BOP.gov. It works for any offender incarcerated from 1982 to present day. If you know the person’s BOP register, DCDC, FBI, or INS number, you can search by it for a super-targeted search....

This error is usually the result of the Hulu app being unable to stream data from the Hulu servers, which can be caused by a network or connection problem, or the presence of an ad blocker, but Hulu playback failures like this can also be caused by an outdated app or even a problem with the actual Hulu service itself. How Hulu Error Code PLRUNK15 Appears When this error occurs, you will usually see a message that looks like this:...

How to Get Your Instagram Content to Appear on Other Users’ Explore Page Follow these steps to maximize your chances of having your content show up on the Instagram Explore page: Make Sure Your Profile Is Public It might sound obvious, but it has to be said—you won’t show up on anyone’s Explore page if you have a private Instagram profile. After all, a private account is not meant to be found by strangers and your content is hidden from anyone who isn’t following you....

How to Make Elixirs in Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild All elixirs in Breath of the Wild are a combination of animal parts and monster parts. Get animal parts from catching or buying animals like butterflies, crickets, and frogs. Get monster parts by picking them up after killing monsters. Every elixir in Breath of the Wild has two critical attributes: effect and duration. Effect is what the elixir does....

The Contacts app that is built into iOS contains the same information as the Contacts icon inside the Phone app. Any change you make to a contact in either place appears in both locations. If you sync your iPhone to other devices using iCloud, the changes you make to a Contacts entry is synced to all the other devices signed in to the same account. How to Add Contacts on iPhone Whether you add a contact by tapping on the Contacts app or by select the Contacts icon inside the Phone app, the method is the same, and the information appears in both locations....

Use Shortcut Keys to Change Worksheets in Excel Switching between worksheets in an Excel workbook is done easily enough by clicking on the tabs at the bottom of the worksheets, but it is the slow way of doing it — at least it is in the opinion of those who prefer to use keyboard shortcuts or shortcut keys whenever possible. Using ‘Go To’ to Move Around Excel Worksheets The Go To command in Excel can be used to quickly navigate to different spreadsheet cells in a worksheet....

Home Button Required Touch ID is built into the Home button and allows you to unlock your iOS device by pressing your finger on Home rather than inputting your passcode. After you set up Touch ID, you can forget about retyping your passcode for every iTunes Store or App Store purchase. A fingerprint scan is all you need. How to Set up Touch ID Setting up Touch ID on a compatible iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch requires a few finger presses, and then you’re good to go....

How to Shoot Photos in Strong Wind If you’re a photographer, the wind is not your friend. Windy conditions can lead to camera shake and blurry photos; and can cause leaves, hair, and other objects to move too much, ruining the image; and can lead to blowing dirt or sand, thus damaging the equipment. There are ways to negate the wind and ensure that it doesn’t mess up your photography day....

How to Unlock an iCloud-Locked iPhone Activation Lock is an effective anti-theft measure. Your iPhone or iPad automatically turns on Activation Lock whenever Find My iPhone is active. Once you enable Activation Lock, nobody can delete the device, activate it on a different account, or disable Find My iPhone without entering the Apple ID username and password that originally set up the phone. If you encounter this issue, here’s what to do:...

How to Use ARRAYFORMULA in Google Sheets You use ARRAYFORMULA like any other function, but you never use it on its own. It always precedes another equation or command to tell the program it needs to use and, possibly, return multiple sets (arrays) of information. Here’s an example. What Is Google Sheets ARRAYFORMULA? The ARRAYFORMULA function in Google Sheets works alongside several other calculations to let you include more data points....