USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 both have their advantages and disadvantages and choosing the right one for you largely depends on your needs and budget. USB 2.0 devices and cables are for those who have a smaller budget and don’t mind slower data transfer and charging speeds. Those who opt for USB 3.0 may accept the higher price tag that comes with it because it can offer blazing fast transfer speeds, faster device charging, and the ability to handle devices with high power consumption needs....

Reading iBooks The most basic aspects of reading books in Apple Books are simple. Tapping a book in your library (the bookshelf interface that appears when you open the app) opens it. Tap the right side of the page, or swipe from right to left, to turn to the next page. Tap on the left side or swipe left to right to go back a page. Those may be the basics, but there are a number of options that can make your reading experience more pleasurable....

The SmartGlass app is also useful when you’re playing games, as you can use it to activate the game DVR feature on Xbox One, and many games use the Xbox 360 version to display critical second screen information like maps. In addition to controlling your console from your phone, the app also provides easy access to your Xbox friends list, achievements and gamerscore, TV listings, and more. How to Get Xbox One SmartGlass SmartGlass is available for both phones and tablets, and it works on Android, iOS, and Windows, so pretty much everyone can take advantage of it....

The screen that will work best depends on: The roomThe projectorScreen distanceSeating positionScreen size.Screen aspect ratioScreen typesScreen material The Room Before purchasing a video projector and screen, take a good look at the room you will be placing them in. Make sure the room is of sufficient size to project a large image on the wall area where you intend to place your screen. Check for ambient light sources, such as windows, french doors, or other factors that would prevent the room from being dark enough for a good video projection experience....

Twitter now requires permission from the subjects of photos and videos published on its network. There are some implementation issues, but the intention is good. However, photographers, especially street photographers whose bread and butter is candid shots of strangers, are not happy. Would photographers like Helen Levitt, Gerald Cyrus, or Vivian Maier be if they had to get permission from every person they photographed? “I can see why street photographers would be frustrated over Twitter’s new image-consent rules,” journalist Nikki Attkisson told Lifewire via email....

What Is an MD File? There are several different file formats that utilize the MD file extension. It’s important to recognize which format your file is in before you decide which program you need to open or convert it. Markdown Documentation Files A .MD or .MARKDOWN file might be a Markdown Documentation file. It’s a plain text file that uses the Markdown language to describe how to format the document. README....

A staggering number of companies manufacture video cards, but almost every one includes a graphics processing unit (GPU) from either NVIDIA Corporation or AMD. Video Card Description A video card is a piece of computer hardware that’s rectangular in shape with numerous contacts on the bottom of the card and one or more ports on the side for connection to video displays and other devices. The video card installs in an expansion slot on the motherboard....

What Does a Wi-Fi Router Actually Do? To understand what a Wi-Fi router is, it’s essential to understand what a traditional, non-Wi-Fi router is. In simplest terms, a router is a networking device that connects your home or office devices to the internet. When your internet service provider (ISP) provides an internet connection to your home or office, it installs a modem. In most cases, you don’t connect your computer, game console, streaming TV box, or another internet-enabled device to the modem (you can, but most people don’t)....

What Is an XML File? An XML file is an Extensible Markup Language file. They are plain text files that don’t do anything in and of themselves except describe the transportation, structure, and storage of data. An RSS feed is one common example of an XML-based file. Some XML files are instead Cinelerra Video Project files used with the Cinelerra video editing program. The file holds project-related settings like a list of past edits made to the project as well as paths to where the media files are located....

What Is Dolphin Browser? The Dolphin web browser is an entirely free app that adapts to how you use it, so its features are always relevant and convenient. It’s one of the oldest web browsers for smartphones, and thanks to features like tabbed browsing, it feels more like the same experience you get on a desktop browser than most alternatives. It works just like other web browsers so you can set it as your default option for when you click a link in a message, providing you with extra options on how to interact with web content....

Defragmentation, then, is the process of un-fragmenting or piecing together, those fragmented files so they sit closer, physically, on the drive or other media, potentially speeding up the drive’s ability to access the file. What Are File Fragments? Fragments, like you just read, are simply pieces of files that aren’t placed next to each other on the drive. That might be kind of strange to think about, and nothing you would ever notice, but it’s true....

Apple iOS uses a multi-touch interface in which simple gestures operate compatible devices, such as swiping your finger across the screen to move to the next page or pinching your fingers to zoom out. There are millions of iOS apps available for download in the Apple App Store, the most popular app store of any mobile device. Much has changed since the first release of iOS with the iPhone in 2007....

Here’s what you need to know about QLED screens. What Are Quantum Dots? The more general term for QLEDs is “Quantum dot displays,” which have two types: photo-emissive (or photoluminescent) and electro-emissive (or electroluminescent). Consumer-level QLED TVs are all photo-emissive displays that exist in direct competition with OLED sets, which produce the same resolutions but work differently. The main difference between QLED displays and their competitors is the former’s use of “quantum dots....

A rumor appeared this week that Sony will shut down the online storefronts for three of its old consoles—the PlayStation 3, Vita, and PlayStation Portable—this summer. Once that happens, owners won’t be able to buy content digitally for each system, which has the potential to take dozens of old video games out of circulation. Sony has yet to comment on the issue officially, but this was inevitable. It’s impressive that Sony held out this long—the PSP has been discontinued for over seven years—before pulling the plug....

A recently discovered AirDrop flaw lets strangers see your phone number and email address just by opening an iOS or macOS sharing pane within the Wi-Fi range of other people. It’s one of a range of privacy vulnerabilities Mac and iOS users should know about. “Our iOS devices are connected to countless social media apps, third-party messaging platforms, and networking sites that allow people to share all sorts of content with each other,” Hank Schless, a security expert at cybersecurity firm Lookout, said in an email interview....

Pen and paper are our most fundamental way of writing and drawing, and the one that is probably the most comfortable. And yet, outside of graphic design and other specialist uses, we rarely use it to interact with our desktop computers. The new Surface Pen might not change that, but it does bring one crazy innovation to the pen-on-glass game: haptic feedback that vibrates the pen to mimic the feel of writing and drawing on paper....

The 49-inch Odyssey Neo G9 costs a jarring $2,499.99 when it goes on pre-order this week. I love small electronics. The iPad mini still holds a special place in my heart. But as I age, my failing eyes are crying for bigger and better displays. Go Big or Go Home I recently transitioned from a MacBook Pro to the 24-inch M1 iMac, and the larger display has made a massive difference in my productivity....

The model I’m most looking forward to is the Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, which has an auto-adjusting light sensor, 32 GB of storage, and wireless charging for the first time. This model comes with a larger 6.8-inch E-Ink display that’s brighter and has an adjustable color temperature, USB-C charging, a faster processor, and weeks more in battery life. Big Screen Benefits It’s safe to say that I’m obsessed with e-readers....

Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently unveiled the automaker’s first humanoid robot. The electric vehicle company will develop a humanoid robot prototype dubbed the “Tesla Bot.” It’s one of a growing number of robots under development that attempt to match the look and abilities of people. “Human-like robots will be useful because they can more easily work alongside or in place of the humans who must perform the many ‘dull, dirty, and dangerous’ tasks that we depend on humans to solve, but are unpleasant for humans to perform,” Brendan Englot, a professor mechanical engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology, told Lifewire in an email interview....

It took him a few seconds to realize that he’d been scammed. The tip-off came with the multiple pop-up ads that burst onto his phone screen and the inability to escape the website he’d been taken to. A reboot, a quick virus scan, and a few choice words later, my very tech-savvy husband sat, stunned, wondering how he had fallen so easily for a text phishing scam more commonly known as smishing....