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When the Image Is Going to a Screen Pick one of three on-screen formats: GIF, PNG, or JPEG. GIF: Graphics Interface Format is the original format with transparency support for the web. The problem with GIF is that it reduces the color palette to no more than 256 colors, causing color shifts, posterization or banding of colors, and distortion in high-color images such as photographs. If the physical dimensions of the image are small, or you will be posting the image to a social media site such as Twitter, then using a GIF image is a consideration....

Vizio has carved out its place as the leading budget TV brand in the United States, and while companies such as Hisense and TCL are trying to steal its thunder, Vizio consistently offers some of the best entry-level and mid-range sets around. Part of that comes from the fact that Vizio has so many different models that there’s bound to be something for everyone—even if sorting through the various model numbers and advantages to each can be confusing at times....

How it works: Google says that once you link your Netflix account in your Google Home app, you can ask it to play anything from the service that you want. “Hey Google, play The Witcher,” will get you Geralt’s television adventures, while “OK Google, open Netflix,” will let you scroll through the available videos and watch. You can pause, play, or skip forward with your voice, or even use Quick Gestures on the Hub Max to pause and play your video....

Most people will at one point or another find themselves needing to backup or transport a considerable amount of data. For this task, the best option is an external storage drive, and an SSD is the fastest and most portable kind of drive around. For speed and affordability, the WD My Passport SSD is an attractive option that’s remarkably compact, considering how much data it can pack in, but how does it perform in the real world?...

Android Widgets Overview Widgets are not the same as the shortcut icons that allow you to launch an app. Android widgets generally display data and take up more space than a single icon. For example, weather widgets show data about local weather forecasts. Widgets can also be interactive or resizable, such as a sticky note widget. Some Android phones and tablets come with custom widgets created by the phone or tablet manufacturer specifically for that device....

SharePlay, Universal Control, Legacy Contacts, App Privacy Report, and iCloud Private Relay are among the features announced at WWDC that still haven’t’ shipped. Some of these are implemented as betas in the current version of iOS 15, some are still in testing in iOS 15.1 betas, and others are just MIA. “Staggering feature releases over the lifetime of an iOS update helps maintain software quality,” cybersecurity specialist and ethical hacker Isla Sibanda told Lifewire via email....

Computer Virus Definition Confusion The term “computer virus” is often used incorrectly as an umbrella term to refer to all suspicious programs, plugins, or code that infect software, computers, and files. This misuse of the phrase is likely due to it being so well-known by the general population due to its frequent use in TV shows and movies such as the Star Trek and Terminator franchises. In reality, the correct umbrella term for such malicious software is malware, of which the computer virus category is just one type....

Flash drives connect to computers and other devices via a built-in USB Type-A or USB-C plug, making one a kind of combination USB device and cable. Flash drives are often referred to as pen drives, thumb drives, or jump drives. The terms USB drive and solid-state drive (SSD) are also sometimes used but most of the time those refer to larger, not-so-mobile USB-based storage devices like external hard drives....

Most internet service providers (ISP) offer various plans and typically charge higher prices for the fastest speeds available. But over the last decade, the average residential internet speeds in the US have increased rapidly, to the point where your ISP’s top-tier plans may offer more than you need. This article will help you make sense of what a good download and upload speed are for everyday tasks so you can pick the internet plan that best suits your needs....

Types of Gateways for Homes and Small Businesses Whichever type of network gateway you use in your home or small business, the function is the same. It connects your local area network (LAN) and all the devices on it to the internet and from there to wherever the devices want to go. Types of network gateways in use include: On home networks and in small businesses, a broadband router typically serves as the network gateway....

What Are Peer-to-Peer Networks? A P2P network connects roughly equivalent computers on a roughly equal basis without the mediation of a different computer. P2P differs from client/server networks where many computers connect to a single larger server that directs the communication within the network. Computers in a peer-to-peer network are typically situated physically near each other and run similar networking protocols and software. Before home networking became popular, only small businesses and schools built peer-to-peer networks....

POST codes correspond directly to a test that has failed and can help determine what piece of hardware causes problems, regardless if it’s the memory, hard drives, keyboard, etc. If the system doesn’t encounter an error until later on during the boot process after the video card is activated, then the error can be displayed on the screen. This type of error isn’t the same as a POST code, but instead is called a POST error message, which is a human-readable message....

Windows SmartScreen Features As you browse the web and use Windows, the Windows SmartScreen filter checks out the sites you visit and the programs you download. If it finds something that is suspicious or has been reported as dangerous, it displays a warning page. You can then opt to continue to the page, go back to the previous page, and/or provide feedback about the page. The same principle applies to downloads....

What Is a Trigger? A trigger is a device that facilitates simultaneously powering on and off multiple components within a larger stereo or home theater system. For example, use a trigger to automatically turn on a projector, receiver, amplifier, AV processor, TV speakers, and more when you activate a single device. It’s possible to hard-wire trigger connections between components. Another way is to do it wirelessly via IR (infrared) or RF (radio frequency) signals emitted by remotes....

How TV Broadcasting Has Changed Receiving TV programs began to change in the early 1970s with the widespread availability of cable and pay-per-view TV. This offered more channel selection and program viewing options but required an external box (along with extra fees). In the mid-1990s, satellite TV became widely available, offering another option for receiving TV programs (also requiring additional fees). Despite extra costs, cable and satellite TV eliminated the need for an antenna, especially for those that lived in low reception areas....

How Instagram TV Works Instagram TV is available as a standalone app for your phone, but it’s closely tied in with the base platform; you log in using your Instagram credentials, for example. What sets Instagram TV apart from the plain offering is its focus on long videos instead of shorts and pictures. It’s also designed to make it as easy as possible to watch stuff you’re interested in. When you launch the app, it immediately starts playing a popular or trending video....

IP networks—including the World Wide Web as we know it—lack encryption and privacy. IPSec VPNs address this weakness, by providing a framework for encrypted and private communication on the web. Here’s a closer look at what IPSec is and how it works with VPN tunnels to protect data over unsecured networks. A Brief History of IPSec When the Internet Protocol was developed back in the early ’80s, security was not high on the list of priorities....

What Is Other in Mac Storage? Your Mac conveniently categorizes files into a number of broad containers, including Apps, Photos, Movies, Audio, and Backups. These categories are easy to understand. For example, files included in the Photos section are clearly photo files like JPEGs and PNGs, and your iTunes library probably takes up the lion’s share of the Audio category. By including the Other category, Apple is able to simplify their storage report and make everything look nice and neat....

Qi is not the only wireless charging method available, but it’s the first one that is supported by two of the largest and most-influential smartphone makers: Samsung and Apple. What Is Wireless Charging? Wireless charging allows you to charge a device, like your smartphone, without use of a charging cable. The concept, known as inductive charging, allows electricity to be transmitted through the air by means of a magnetic field....

How to Measure Latency Latency is measured in milliseconds (ms), which are thousandths of a second. A latency of 20 ms is normal for VoIP calls; a latency of 150 ms is barely noticeable and therefore acceptable. Any higher than that, however, and quality starts to diminish. At 300 ms or higher, latency becomes unacceptable. Latency is measured in two ways: One-direction latency is the time a packet takes to travel one way—from the source to the destination....