Twitter Support first made mention of this feature—referred to as a “soft block”— when it initially was tested in early September. According to Twitter, the purpose of the soft block is to allow users to curate their own followers list and determine who they want to interact with. The company clarified that a removed follower won’t be notified of any changes made unless they go directly to a user’s profile to verify this....

The new iCloud+ premium subscription will include several new privacy-centric features. However, MacRumors reports the service also will add something that wasn’t mentioned in Apple’s recent conference: custom email domain name creation. Detailed on the official iOS 15 features preview page, Apple reveals the premium service will allow subscribers to personalize their iCloud Mail address with a custom domain name. They also will be able to invite family members who use iCloud Mail to use that same domain name....

However, when you send an email message to almost any other group, privacy may be a concern. The recipients of your message may not appreciate having their email addresses revealed to people they may not even know. The courteous thing to do is to use the BCC (blind carbon copy) option to send your message. When the BCC option is enabled, it shows up as an additional field where you can enter recipients’ email addresses....

The Scrabble-like game for phones and tablets is extremely popular but carries its own set of rules and usable words compared to other word-based games. While not always easy to find, there are several hacks and cheats to get you to the top of the Words With Friends leaderboards in no time. Here are the best, easiest, and most-winning ways to cheat at Words With Friends. Use Finders and Word Builders Depending on how you define legality for this game, this is perhaps one of the least-legal ways to cheat at the game, but also one of the most effective....

According to Bloomberg, Facebook is letting some users in select countries (including the US) try out voice and video call features using the Facebook app. This would typically require going through Facebook Messenger, since Facebook separated the functions into the messaging app back in 2014. Though if you use Facebook through your computer’s browser, everything is still contained in one place. As of now, Facebook only has confirmed testing voice and video calls in the main app....

New York City’s Brooklyn is a long way from cornfields, but it may be a little closer due to the efforts of researchers at Cornell University. The scientists claim to have created the most advanced VR urban farm tour ever made. The new software is part of an effort to use VR to broaden the appeal of farming. “It provides a middle ground between an in situ experience and a virtual meeting allowing for remote education but with context and detail that is usually missing from online engagements,” Tapan Parikh, associate professor of computer and information science at Cornell, told Lifewire in an email interview....

What Does the Cache Do? The cache makes it possible for a web browser to load recently accessed images quickly. Memory cache speeds up how screens appear on a computer. The cache in phone apps stores relevant app information, and a router can hold onto data for quick access. Without a cache, computers, phones, and other devices would not perform as quickly as they often do. However, the cache isn’t always beneficial; it can consume lots of disk space, deliver corrupt files, and collect malware....

General Meaning of a Database Instance In general, a database instance describes a complete database environment and all of its components. This system includes multiple parts, including the relational database management system (RDBMS) software, table structure, stored procedures, and other functionality. Database administrators might create multiple instances of the same database for different purposes. For example, an organization with an employees database might have three instances: Production instances: Administrators use these instances to contain live data....

Data Asset Containers At its basic level, a schema serves as a container for data assets. However, different database vendors structure their schemas in different ways. Oracle, for example, treats every schema as a user account. To create a new schema, a database administrator creates a new database user with the intended schema name. Why Schemas Matter Because schemas constitute a basic structural feature of a database, most database environments apply access permissions to objects on a schema level....

One solution for improving TV audio is to install a soundbar. Soundbars incorporate speakers, amplifiers, and connections arranged inside a bar-like cabinet that can be placed below or above a TV. They are also easy to set up. They can improve TV sound, but they don’t always deliver the room-filling surround sound experience you may desire. A better, step-up, but still simple solution might be a home-theater-in-a-box system. A home-theater-in-a-box system can bridge the gap between a soundbar and a high-end option....

What Is a PNG File? A PNG file is a Portable Network Graphics file. The format uses lossless compression and is generally considered the replacement to the GIF image format. However, unlike GIF, PNG files don’t support animations. The very similar MNG (Multiple-image Network Graphics) format does, but it has yet to gain the kind of popularity that GIF or PNG files have. PNG files store graphics on websites. Some operating systems such as macOS and Ubuntu store screenshots in the PNG format by default....

What Do Different Sector Sizes Mean? Every sector takes up a physical location on the storage device and is usually made up of three parts: the sector header, the error-correcting code (ECC), and the area that actually stores the data. Usually, one sector of a hard disk drive or floppy disk can hold 512 bytes of information. This standard was established in 1956. In the 1970s, larger sizes such as 1024 and 2048 bytes were introduced to accommodate larger storage capacities....

While it may seem like your only option is to manually swap cables whenever you want to use a different device, there’s a simple solution that requires minimal effort once set up—an HDMI switch. What Is the Use of an HDMI Switch? An HDMI switch is a dedicated piece of hardware that allows multiple HDMI-compatible devices to connect to a television through a single HDMI port. An HDMI switch does this by only sending signals from a single source, despite how many separate sources are connected to the switch....

The benefits of Bluetooth 5 are threefold: range speed bandwidth Wireless Range The wireless range of Bluetooth 5 maxes out at 120 meters, compared to 30 meters for Bluetooth v4.2. This improvement means people can send audio or other data at greater distances to different rooms or the backyard. The extended range also helps it better communicate with the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem (i.e., smart devices that connect to the internet)....

Before you buy a laptop with eMMC storage, consider if eMMC storage has the features you need and if you can accept its limitations. The type you choose determines the overall performance and speed of your computer. What Is eMMC Storage? eMMC stands for embedded MultiMediaCard. It’s a type of internal storage embedded or attached to a device or a PC motherboard. eMMC storage uses the MultiMediaCard standard and is based on NAND flash memory....

Generally, LCD refers to a type of monitor utilizing the LCD technology, but also flat-screen displays like those in laptops, calculators, digital cameras, digital watches, and other similar devices. How Do LCD Screens Work? As liquid crystal display would indicate, LCD screens use liquid crystals to switch pixels on and off to reveal a specific color. Liquid crystals are like a mixture between a solid and a liquid, where an electric current can be applied to change their state in order for a specific reaction to occur....

Do You Need PowerPoint? Presentation software is the easiest way to create and show the kinds of slides you’ve likely seen in meetings or classroom situations. There are several free options, including LibreOffice, Apache OpenOffice, and SlideDog. However, if you need to collaborate with others on a presentation, integrate with other Microsoft programs (like Microsoft Word), or create a presentation that’s viewable by anyone, purchase Microsoft PowerPoint. Microsoft PowerPoint comes with all the features you need to create presentations....

Online collaborators can work together on text documents, PowerPoint presentations, video chats, or detailed brainstorming projects. The idea is that users do not need to be in the same room at the same time to work together. There are many online collaboration tools available. A web conference allows people to meet online and deliver presentations, but it’s not necessarily the same thing as an online collaboration tool. Online collaboration specifically involves a team working together, often at the same time, and on the same projects and documents....

The Google Podcasts app is just one of many podcast apps for Android and iOS. A goal of Google is to use artificial intelligence to improve the listening experience. How Google Podcasts Works The Google Podcasts interface is similar for Android and iOS, while the web version, at podcasts.google.com, is simpler. The app has three tabs: Home, Explore, and Activity. The first time you use the app, your Home screen is blank except for a prompt to add your favorites....

Boot Manager—often referenced by its executable name, BOOTMGR—eventually executes winload.exe, the system loader used to continue the Windows boot process. Where Is Windows Boot Manager Located? Configuration data required for Boot Manager rests in the Boot Configuration Data store, a registry-like database that replaced the boot.ini file used in older versions of Windows like Windows XP. The BOOTMGR file itself is both read-only and hidden. It is located in the root directory of the partition marked as Active in Disk Management....