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Attack of the Germ-Killing Robots Swimming pools are a big deal during the pandemic as people try to find a way to relax while social distancing, but keeping a pool clean takes a lot of work. Ariel is a robot that cleans pools using solar power and algorithms. Its manufacturer, Pivot-Solar Breeze, claims Ariel can maneuver itself to clean up to 95% of dirt, leaves, pollen, dust, hair, oil, and other icky things before the debris decays and sinks to the bottom....

SLAM: Simultaneous Localization and Mapping SLAM is an acronym for simultaneous localization and mapping, a technology whereby a robot or a device can create a map of its surroundings and orient itself properly within the map in real time. This is no easy task, and it currently exists at the frontiers of technology research and design. A big roadblock to successfully implementing SLAM technology is the chicken-and-egg problem introduced by the two required tasks....

Since 1G was introduced in the early 1980s, a new wireless mobile telecommunications technology has been released roughly every 10 years. All of them refer to the technology used by the mobile carrier and device itself. They have different speeds and features that improve on the previous generation. The next generation is 5G, which launched in 2020. 1G is analog technology, and the phones using it had poor battery life and voice quality, little security, and were prone to dropped calls....

What Causes 403 Forbidden Errors Different web servers report 403 Forbidden errors in different ways, the majority of which we’ve listed below (see the Common 403 Error Messages section). Occasionally a website owner will customize the site’s error, but that’s not too common. These errors are caused by issues where you’re trying to access something that you don’t have permission for. The error is essentially saying “Go away and don’t come back here” because the server’s access permissions indicate that you’re truly not allowed access or the permissions are actually improperly set up and you’re being denied access when you shouldn’t be....

A checksum is also sometimes called a hash sum and less often a hash value, hash code, or simply a hash. A Simple Checksum Example The idea of a checksum or a cryptographic hash function might seem complicated and not possibly worth the effort, but we’d like to convince you otherwise! Checksums really aren’t that hard to understand or create. Let’s start with a simple example, hopefully showcasing the power of checksums to prove something has changed....

While this password is called the document open password in Adobe Acrobat, other PDF programs may refer to this password as the PDF user password or the PDF document open password. How to Set a Document Open Password on a PDF Some PDF readers may let you protect the opening of the PDF with a password but it’s usually specialized tools that include that option. There are also some PDF creators that have the option of creating a PDF user password....

Power Amplifier Channel Configurations Power amplifiers come in several channel configurations, from one channel (referred to as a monoblock) to two (stereo) channels. For surround applications, power amplifiers may feature five, seven, or more channels. When nine channels are needed, both seven and two-channel power amplifiers may be employed. When 11 channels are needed, a seven-channel amplifier is teamed with two two-channel amplifiers. A monoblock amplifier can be used for each channel, which calls for a lot of amplifiers....

Broadband internet connections are superior to the classic dial-up method which needed to be manually activated and was limited to performing one task at a time such as making a phone call or connecting to the web. What Does Broadband Mean? The technical definition of broadband is that of a method of data transmission that can support two or more traffic types simultaneously due to its capability of supporting a wide, or broad, band of frequencies....

What Is Clean Technology? Clean technology is a fast-growing concept within many areas. The general term was initially coined in the American financial sector and is also known as green energy or eco-technology. Clean technology is the process in which companies can reduce their negative impact on the environment, such as by using renewable sources of energy, implementing new methods of recycling, or ensuring the resources they use are sustainably replaced....

Shared content can be made publicly accessible, or it can be shared only among a select group of friends or family, or with a single person. How Facebook Began Facebook began in February of 2004 as a school-based social network at Harvard University. It was created by Mark Zuckerberg along with Edward Saverin, both students at the college. It wasn’t until 2006 that Facebook opened to anyone 13 years or older and took off, rapidly overtaking MySpace as the most popular social network in the world....

The idea behind the app was to create a photo scanner that works with existing photo storage and sharing applications. That means you can capture images with PhotoScan and store them in Google Photos, Dropbox, or any other cloud storage service. How Google PhotoScan Works One of the best features of PhotoScan is that as long as you carry your smartphone, you have a photo scanner with you. You could use the camera on your device to capture a picture of a picture, but if you’ve ever tried to do that, you know that fighting glare, ambient light, and flashes is a tricky task....

How to Enable Windows Nearby Sharing Nearby Sharing is included only with the latest builds of Windows 10. If you don’t see the option on your PC, you must install Windows updates. To enable Nearby Sharing, select the Windows Action Center (the speech bubble icon) on the Windows taskbar, and then click Nearby Sharing. How to Share From Microsoft Edge To share with others using Nearby Sharing in Microsoft Edge, they must have a compatible Windows 10 PC and Nearby Sharing enabled....

What Is S-Video? S-video technology transmits standard-definition video with 480 pixels or 576 pixels resolution. S-video cables have a variety of uses, including connecting computers, TVs, DVD players, video cameras, and VCRs. S-video is an improvement over composite video, which carries all the video data (including brightness and color information) in one signal over one wire. S-video carries brightness and color information as two separate signals over two wires. Because of this separation, video transferred by S-video is of higher quality than composite video....

Learn more about what differentiates both iPad categories and how iPad Air and iPad Pro models compare. Model Overview In 2022, Apple sells five models of iPads: iPad Pro, 5th generation, 12.9 inchiPad Pro, 3rd generation, 11 inchiPad Air, 5th generation, 10.9 inchiPad, 9th generation, 10.2 inchiPad Mini, 6th generation, 8.3 inch Although the sizes decrease as you go down the line, the main differences between iPad Pro and Air models are more about power and price than size....

If you’re interested in playing games via Facebook, then you might want to find out how you can find, add and start using apps via the Facebook App Center. Where to Find the Facebook App Center On Facebook, look for the Explore section in the left vertical menu, then select See More… at the end. Select Games. On the app, tap the menu icon in the main menu (at the bottom of the screen on the iOS app and at the top on the Android app)....

The Basics of the Pixel Slate There are a four models of the Slate available in all, which differ in the processor, RAM and storage they offer. Check the product page in the Google Store for its different configurations and related prices. Manufacturer: GoogleDisplay: 12.3 in “Molecular” LCD touchscreen, 3000x2000 resolution @ 293 PPIProcessor: Intel Celeron, 8th Gen. m3, 8th Gen. i5, or 8th Gen. i7 Core Processor (depending on model)Memory: 4, 8, or 16 GB (depending on model)Storage: 32, 64, 128, or 256 GB (depending on model)Wireless: 802....

The Original iPad Air The iPad Air was the first tablet powered by a 64-bit chip. While the jump from 32-bit to 64-bit was originally dismissed as being more a novelty than a technological leap, the improvement turned out to be a nice boost in power for the iPad. The iPad Air is roughly twice as fast as the iPad 4 that preceded it. The iPad Air also includes the M7 motion co-processor, which is dedicated to processing signals from the various motion-detecting sensors in the iPad....

What Is Midori? “Midori” is the Japanese word for green. That name doesn’t actually hold any significance to the web browser, other than the logo is a green cat paw. Name aside, Midori is a minimalist web browser that focuses on being lightweight by reducing the number of features. In other words, it’s simple to use (with a few caveats) and renders websites very quickly. As you might expect, the feature set for Midori is pretty bare bones....

What Is Twitter Auto-Follow? Twitter auto-follow refers to various methods, software programs, and incentives used to generate followers automatically for an account on the social network. The most common characteristic among these tools is automation. Typically, many follower connections are made automatically on Twitter by software, rather than manually by the Twitter user. Auto-follow methods usually rely on reciprocal following, which means following the people who follow you. That’s a common practice on Twitter and auto-follow tools make it easier to do....

The Details Are Vague Most of this acronym refers to LEDs, or “light-emitting diodes,” a lighting technology you’re probably familiar with. It’s the same LED technology found in modern home light bulbs and automotive headlights. The “Ultra” in ULED is a marketing term created by Hisense to describe a range of in-house technology. Hisense only applies the term to its mid-range and top-tier LED televisions. ULED lets you know the television you’re looking at is among the company’s best LCD TVs....