About VLC VLC is a free and open-source multi-purpose application for audio and video playback and conversion. VLC plays a variety of video formats, including DVD media, on many operating systems, including Windows, Mac, and Linux. VLC can also encode a live feed of your desktop, called a screencast. Create a screencast to demonstrate a software product or website, instruct viewers on how to use an application, or document an error or bug to help resolve a problem....

How to Access the Dolphin Menu Dolphin has a variety of modes and functions, so you can customize how you use the mobile browser. Here’s a look at how to access the Dolphin menu and what its options mean. How the Dolphin Menu Items Work Here’s a look at the functionality each Dolphin menu item offers. Add Page When you tap Add Page, you have the option to Add Bookmark, Add Speed Dial, or Add Gesture....

How to Clone a Hard Drive on Windows Moving to a new drive or system can be a real hassle if you have to start from scratch, reinstalling all your favorite programs and applications, and copying over all your data. But it doesn’t have to be. There are a number of great tools available to clone a hard drive on Windows, but the most easily accessible free application is Macrium Reflect....

How do Projectors Connect to Speakers? Every projector comes with its own unique set of inputs and outputs, and you can connect a projector to speakers either directly or indirectly, depending on the equipment you’re using. Basic projector setups typically involve just using the built-in speaker or connecting the speakers directly to the projector. In contrast, more complicated home theater systems will normally use an A/V receiver that handles the video end and passes the audio signal to the speakers....

Ways to Connect an Android Phone to a Mini Projector You can connect any Android phone to any mini projector wirelessly, but your options will depend on the capabilities of your projector. Some projectors have native streaming or screen mirroring built right in, but you’ll usually need an external device like a Chromecast. Some phones also can connect via a physical cable, but that isn’t very common. Here are your options for connecting an Android phone to a mini projector:...

Organize Your iPad With Folders The first thing you want to do with your iPad is to learn some of the basics, including how to create folders for your icons. You can create a folder by dragging one app and dropping it on top of another app. When you have an app held just above another’s icon, you can tell a folder will be created because the target app is highlighted....

How to Delete Files From Google Drive You can delete both files and folders from the Google Drive website and the mobile app. It doesn’t matter if it’s a document, video, spreadsheet, image, slideshow, etc.; they’re all accessible through Drive. Use Your Computer to Delete Google Drive Files Use Your Phone to Delete Google Drive Files If you’re working from your smartphone, you can still delete files from Google Drive. In just a few steps, the files will be gone, and you’ll have more storage space available....

For example, you may prefer the freedom associated with Linux, but your job requires you to use applications that only run in Windows. In that case, you would want to dual boot Windows with a Linux distribution like Ubuntu. You can also dual boot Linux with macOS and even dual boot macOS with Windows. You can’t, however, install macOS onto any hardware that Apple doesn’t make. So if you need Windows, Linux, and macOS on one physical machine, you’ll need to buy a Macintosh....

Edit PDFs With Preview Preview is a program pre-installed to your Mac that can open and edit PDFs. It’s about as extensive as any other PDF editor with the exception that it can’t edit pre-existing text. However, it has the added benefit that you don’t have to install anything extra to use it—just open the PDF and start editing right away. It might make sense to think that the Edit menu is what you use to find all the PDF editing tools in Preview, but that’s not the case....

First, Find Out What’s Taking Up Space on Your Phone If it feels like your phone is constantly running out of storage space, it’s important to know what files are taking up so much space. Here’s where to look to find out just how much storage space you have and what type of files are using it up. 3 Quick Ways to Free Up Storage Space on Your Phone There are a lot of different ways in which you can free up storage space on your phone....

Change Your Power Profile to Power Saver Windows laptops come with the option of changing the power profile in the Power and Sleep Settings menu. Select Battery Saver mode to optimize your laptop to focus on efficiency over performance. That can go a long way to extending battery life. Lower Screen Brightness A bright, high-resolution screen is a major factor in draining your laptop’s battery life. While you can’t do much about its resolution once you’ve bought it, you can lower the brightness to make it use as little power as possible....

How to Set up Alexa to Run Your Smart Home Once you enable a particular skill, some smart home devices also require you to pair your device with your Dot or Echo, a process that’s done simply by saying “Pair Devices” to Alexa and letting her do her thing. She finds your smart light bulb, thermostat, smart smoke detector, or other devices and handles the connection process herself. If you’re just getting started building out your smart home, then here’s a list of some of the smart home devices out there that are currently compatible with Alexa, as well as how to get them to work with the Echo or Dot in your home....

Make Voice Calls on Facebook To make a free phone call from Facebook.com, Messenger.com, or the Messenger app, open a conversation with the recipient and select the phone icon at the top of the message box. While you’re in a voice call on Facebook, select the video button to request that the recipient enable video on their side. If they do, your audio call is converted to a video call....

But that’s not all. The way you’ve got your TV set up and even the brand of television you’ve bought can have a real effect on that all-important kill-to-death ratio. The culprit is input lag. Input lag refers to the amount of time it takes a TV to show pictures after receiving image data at its inputs, with factors such as picture-enhancement features and chipset-processing speeds leading to drastic differences in input lag speeds between different TV models....

Activities That Lead to an Xbox Network Ban Microsoft’s Xbox network service upholds strict community standards that all users must follow. Before you begin playing, you should know which types of behaviors can lead to a ban and what to do if your account gets suspended. When you create an Xbox network account, you agree to the Microsoft Service Agreement and the Community Standards for the Xbox network. If another user reports you for violating the rules, a Microsoft employee will attempt to verify the accusation and determine if punishment is necessary....

Don’t Just Throw Your PC in the Trash The Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) and other various computer components are not good for the environment. When you’re ready to trash your old PC, check with your local sanitation department for rules and regulations regarding electronics disposal. Sometimes a disposal fee’s required, but there are many free options out there too. Back-Up All of Your Personal Data Before buying that shiny new computer and ditching your old one, ensure you get all of your data off the old one first....

How to Search a PDF Using Your Web Browser There are several ways to search for a word or phrase in a PDF, depending on the application you are using to view it. The most common way to view a PDF is through a web browser like Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge. Even if the PDF is located on your computer rather than the web, it will often open in your default browser....

How to Stop and Block Spam Texts There are a few ways you can stop spam texts. These are the most common and effective methods including built-in features, third-party apps, and more. Reply with “Stop”—But Be Careful! You can often unsubscribe from text messages by replying with “stop” or “unsubscribe.” But be very careful; this can backfire. A legitimate sender—like a non-profit organization, political campaign, or company—will respect that request. If it’s a scammer, a reply confirms that this is an active phone number to continue to target....

Cloud-Based Storage Apps With file syncing and web-based apps, you can work on a document on one computer and then, moments later, log in to another device (laptop or smartphone, for example) and continue working on that document where you left off. Web apps like Dropbox, Apple iCloud, and Google Drive synchronize folders among your devices while saving copies of the shared folders online. Changes made to files in that folder from one device are updated automatically on the others....

Photos aren’t the only kind of data you may want to move. You may want to transfer Contacts from iPhone to iPhone. If you want to transfer all the data on one phone to another, make a backup and restore the backup on the new phone. Transfer Photos With iCloud The basic idea of iCloud is that all devices are logged in to the same iCloud account. Then, these devices have access to the same data, including photos....