How Do I Use Sky Map? After downloading the app from the Google Play Store or navigating to the Google Sky webpage, Sky Map is a relatively intuitive piece of software. If you follow the steps listed below, you should be able to soar through the cosmos in no time virtually. Using Sky Map on Your Smartphone Sky Map operates like most other Android applications. You must sign in to your Google account and download the Sky Map app from the Google Play Store to get started....

What Is Nest Aware? Meant to complement Nest security cameras, Nest Aware is a live service that offers cloud storage for videos, 24/7 event or continuous video recording, and access to activity zones to customize motion alerts. For most people, the video recording and cloud storage features are enough to justify the cost of a Nest Aware subscription. Being able to review video footage can be critical in an emergency or other situation, providing evidence or a point of reference....

There are several advantages to this approach, particularly the ability for each and every pixel to make light on their own, producing an infinitely high contrast ratio, meaning blacks can be completely black and whites extremely bright. This is the main reason more and more devices use OLED screens, including smartphones, wearable devices like smartwatches, TVs, tablets, desktop and laptop monitors, and digital cameras. Among those devices and others are two kinds of OLED displays that are controlled in different ways, called active-matrix (AMOLED) and passive-matrix (PMOLED)....

From Interlaced to Progressive Scanning With the advent of desktop computers, it was discovered that using a traditional TV for the display of computer images didn’t yield good results, especially with text. This was due to the effects of interlaced scanning. In order to produce a more precise way of displaying images on a computer monitor, progressive scan technology was developed. What Is Interlaced Scan? Traditional analog TV broadcasts (along with older cable/satellite boxes, VCRs, and DVDs) are displayed on a TV screen using a technology known as interlaced scanning....

In most ways, Safari is like any other popular browser. Users can browse websites, bookmark favorites, and open multiple sites in tabs. Built using the WebKit engine, Safari was one of the first web browsers to support the new HTML 5 standard. It was also one of the first browsers to have support for Adobe Flash turned off by default, with the mobile versions of Safari having never supported Flash....

The term originates from a time when software and video game developers would try to fill an entire disc by plugging in additional programs or games that the user didn’t ask for. The developers were said to care so little about real quality that it appeared as if they simply shovelled lots of programs into one big bundle just to take up space. Shovelware programs might be demos, ad-filled programs, or actual usable software, but in general they’re assumed to be of little real worth....

What You Need to Know About TweetDeck TweetDeck is a free web-based tool that helps you manage and post to your Twitter accounts. It’s also designed to improve organization and functionality across them. TweetDeck’s dashboard displays separate columns of activity from your Twitter accounts. For example, you might see separate columns for your home feed, your notifications, your direct messages, and your activity—all in one place on the screen. You can also reorder these columns, delete them, and add new ones from other Twitter accounts or for specific things like hashtags, trending topics, scheduled tweets, and more....

Devices that adhere to this USB standard can theoretically transmit data at a maximum rate of 5 Gbps (5,120 Mbps), but the specification considers 3,200 Mbps more reasonable in everyday use. This is in stark contrast to previous USB standards like USB 2.0 that, at best, can transfer at 480 Mbps, or USB 1.1 that tops out at 12 Mbps. USB 3.2 is an updated version of USB 3.1 (SuperSpeed+), though USB4 is the latest standard....

A report from the seemingly clairvoyant analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that the new MacBook will be ready for sale late in 2023, will use the same power adapter as the current MacBook Air, and may not even be called a “MacBook Air.” However this pans out, one thing is certain—a big-screen laptop without the guts (and cost) of Apple’s pro models would be very welcome indeed. “MacBook Airs have long been the more affordable options in comparison to MacBook Pros,” technology writer Kristen Bolig told Lifewire via email....

Recently, the European Commission proposed a five-year minimum for the same things, but Germany wants to go longer. That’s no surprise for people living in Germany, which already has a minimum two-year warranty period for new purchases, and a one-year warranty for used goods. But will this seven-year plan actually make repairing our gadgets easier? Will phone and tablet designs have to change to accommodate it? Or will nothing really change?...

In its early years, the iPhone’s back was made from aluminum and plastic. Then came the iPhone 4, with its steel rim and glass back, which set the template for the heavy, breakable iPhones of today. Apple saw sense with the iPhone 5, 6, and 7, which were made of light, thin, tough aluminum, but ever since the iPhone 8, we’ve had to live with this nonsense. What’s Wrong With Glass?...

Elgato just announced the Stream Deck MK.2, a 15-button unit that sells for a very reasonable $150. Like previous units, its flexibility means you need to spend a little time getting set up, or even deciding what to do with it. But once you do—so its fans say—you won’t want to go without it ever again. The MK.2 adds interchangeable faceplates to go with the custom icon packs that are already available, and you can set up a screensaver for those little buttons that match these faceplates....

Film photography is undergoing a serious revival. Part of that is retro-hipster fashion, but today film photography has a solid and growing base. Kodak has unofficially announced two new films for this year, and the price of used film cameras continues to rise. Surprisingly, disposable film cameras also are popular, as are a new wave of non-disposable models, which essentially are the same cheap plastic boxes, only with a door on the back to swap in new films....

Virtual reality and augmented reality could allow players and fans to engage more closely with the game, proponents say. The release of more capable virtual reality headsets like the Oculus Quest 2 is driving more interest in VR. But VR technology isn’t having the impact that was expected in esports. “People were expecting VR to take a more central role in entertainment, but it won’t take a quantum leap until there are more titles and the hardware becomes more accessible,” Yaniv Sherman, senior vice president and head of US at gaming group 888 Holdings, said in an email interview....

WhatsApp will now encrypt your backups, along with the existing end-to-end encryption it uses for sending messages. This means that there’s no way to access your messages without physical access to your device. The encryption applies to the backups stored on Apple’s or Google’s servers, which means that your iCloud backup is safe, for example, even if Apple is compelled to hand over your otherwise unencrypted backups to the police....

The BackBlaze Hard Drive Stats for 2020 have been published, and they show us exactly which models are the most reliable under heavy use. But why would you use a slow, spinning HDD today, when faster, smaller solid state drives (SSDs) are the norm? “Even though hard disk drives may seem like old technology, they still hold a firm position in our daily lives,” Gregory Maksiuk, software engineer at CleanMyMac X, told Lifewire via direct message....

Overall Findings There are two major differences between the two Xbox One models: price and performance. The consoles are evenly matched in almost every other department. If you own an Xbox One S, upgrading to the X model isn’t worth the money. However, if you’re purchasing your first Xbox One system, it may be worth the extra money to get the higher-end model. Performance: Xbox One X Wins Hands Down Both the Xbox One S and Xbox One X support HDR for games and videos....

If you have a personal or business account, here’s what you can do to improve your content and interaction with your followers on Instagram. Why photo collages? Collages are perfect ways to tell stories through photos. Rather than posting each photo separately, combine those pictures to showcase different scenes of a related event. Why hashtags? People search for hashtags all the time. Instagram users who have attractive photos or videos and incorporate a few hashtags relevant to their posts have a higher chance of increasing their following and engagement....

Similar to how 5GHz and 2.5GHz devices conform to a particular 802.11 wireless standard and use a specific name (e.g., Wi-Fi 5 operates on the 5GHz band), 6GHz devices have their own name, called Wi-Fi 6E, to differentiate them from other devices. Wi-Fi 6E-capable routers and phones became commercially available in January 2021, but the rollout will be gradual. The hardware update also comes at a hefty cost. For example, Netgear’s Nighthawk RAXE500 was released with a $599....

It’s a fairly recent trend, but yes, even the youngest of students can benefit from the wide range of mobile apps that are available today for both smartphones and tablets. Perhaps one day, even all textbooks will come in app format. Here are nine apps for every primary, high school, and even college student in your family to check out that are productive and not just full of jokes and memes about school....