Posts

iOS users who want to make use of multi-factor authentication currently have to download third-party authenticator apps like Google Authenticator, Authy, or Microsoft Authenticator. By providing a built-in system, Apple is making the setup process more accessible, thus encouraging a larger number of people to make use of it. “To have a more centralized system rather than a scattered system will change the game.” said Miranda Yan, founder of VinPit, in an email interview with Lifewire....

Japanese newspaper Nikkei recently asked Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, Fujifilm, and Sony about their strategy with respect to P&S cameras. While they all acknowledged that they’ve dramatically scaled back production and aren’t working on new models, they haven’t ceased production of these compact cameras. “The eulogy for point and shoot cameras has been written too fast,” R Karthik, portraits, location, and product photographer, told Lifewire over Skype. “They may no longer be serving the same size of market as before, but they still have better sensors than what is there in most cell phone cameras....

Answer: 802.11 is a set of technology standards for wireless network devices. These standards are determined by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers), and they basically govern how different wireless devices are designed and how they communicate with each other. You’ll see 802.11 mentioned when you are looking to buy a wireless-enabled device or a piece of wireless hardware. When researching what netbook to buy, for example, you may see some advertised as communicating wirelessly at “ultra-high” 802....

What Is an XPI File? An abbreviation for Cross-Platform Install (or XPInstall), a file with the XPI file extension (pronounced “zippy”) is a compressed installation archive used to extend the functionality of Mozilla products like Firefox, SeaMonkey, and Thunderbird. An XPI file is really just a renamed ZIP file the program can use to install the add-on, whether it be a theme, plug-in, etc. They may include images and JS, MANIFEST, RDF, and CSS files, as well as multiple folders full of other data....

Netflix subscribers have long shared their passwords with friends outside their households, and Netflix has been pretty cool with that. In 2016, the company’s CEO Reed Hastings even called it “a positive thing.” But now, it’s testing ways to force people to stop sharing their account details with others. Or rather, it wants you to pay an add-on fee for every person you share with. “At present, I share my account with two other family members, and we live in three different countries,” Netflix password sharer and web marketer Simone Colavecchi told Lifewire via email....

The supply of iPhone 14 Pro and ‌iPhone 14 Pro‌ Max models is reportedly limited and unlikely to meet demand in the United States. Experts say that the shortage is due to manufacturing issues. “The majority of the iPhone’s manufacturing is based in China,” Biju Nair, an executive at Assurant, a company that provides phone insurance and refurbishing, told Lifewire in an email interview. “A few weeks ago, China’s government enforced a hard lockdown for its citizens based on its zero-COVID policy....

Overall Findings YouTube Music and Spotify have a lot in common in pricing and overall functionality, but there are some important differences. While both have great free options, for example, only YouTube Music allows you to jump right in and listen to music without even signing up. Spotify, on the other hand, is a fantastic source of podcasts. And while it doesn’t have podcasts, YouTube Music does offer up unique and rare tracks from concerts and other sources thanks to the massive amount of user-uploaded YouTube content they have on tap....

These child monitoring features can also limit the types of Xbox video games that they can buy and play in addition to placing restrictions on some online web browsing. To set up parental controls, parents much create an Xbox account for each of their kids, which includes disclosing their ages. Here’s everything you need to know before letting kids play their first video game on an Xbox One console....

How to Activate Zoom Settings on a Mac Zoom is a screen magnification accessibility tool available on all macOS and iOS products. On Mac devices, Zoom can magnify on-screen content (including text, graphics, and video) up to 40 times its original size. Follow these steps to activate and edit basic Zoom settings on macOS. How to Use Advanced Zoom Settings on macOS From Accessibility > Vision > Zoom, use the Advanced button to change the appearance of zoomed images, zoom percentage, and other specific settings....

Start With Filters and Blocked Addresses The way to mark a specific email address or domain as allowed is to make an email filter. Start With an Email Message You can also start the process of making an email filter in Gmail from a message from the person you want to add to the allowed list. Additional Gmail Filtering Tips When creating filters in Gmail, keep these additional points in mind....

“Companies have used employee monitoring tools for decades, but with advancing technology, they are becoming more invasive,” Aimee O’Driscoll, a security researcher at technology comparison website Comparitech, said in an email interview. Be Watched or Get Fired “This includes recording every time the subject yawns or scratches a sensitive area,” he added. “A driver has at least some right to a semblance of privacy while inside their vehicles.” Employee surveillance by AI is a growing issue....

Design consultancy firm Softroom has designed a virtual reality (VR) news studio intended to blur the boundaries of the traditional studio. The News Pavilion uses a booth where presenters and guests can gather around a table in VR. The software could blur the line between news and gaming, experts say. “People are used to using VR for entertainment and not to gather information, especially breaking news,” Kathleen M. Ryan, a journalism professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, told Lifewire in an email interview....

How Does Vudu Compare With Netflix and Hulu? Vudu is an online streaming movie service that bears more resemblance to iTunes than Netflix or Hulu. Rather than stream movies based on a monthly subscription, you are able to rent individual titles in either standard definition (SD) or high definition (HD). If you really like a movie, you can purchase it outright. Vudu also has hundreds of movies and TV shows that you can stream for free with ads....

All iCloud accounts come with 5 GB of storage by default. Music, photos, apps, and books don’t count against that 5 GB limit. Mail, documents, account info, settings, and app data count against the cap. How Does It Work? To use iCloud, users must have an Apple ID Account and a compatible computer or iOS device. When you add or update information in iCloud-enabled apps, the data automatically uploads to the user’s iCloud account and then downloads to the user’s other iCloud-enabled devices....

The company just announced its first-ever dedicated webcam, the Insta360 Link, packed with innovative features and interesting tech. First up, the image sensor is large, at 0.5-inches, which should allow for increased accuracy and a better dynamic range when compared to other webcams. The real meat and potatoes here, however, are the integrated AI and 3-axis gimbal system. The camera’s AI constantly tracks your face to keep you in the frame....

Instagram is going even further by officially changing all videos into reels, which is the company’s version of a short TikTok-esque video. The change affects any video under 15 minutes and arrives “in the coming weeks.” Footage uploaded before the update will, however, remain as videos. Instagram says reels offer a “more immersive and entertaining way to watch and create videos,” as an explanation. Those who prefer the old-school Instagram video experience over short-form reels may not appreciate the change, but the social media giant is adding a spate of features to make the transition go down smoother....

Instagram recently introduced a suite of changes for direct messaging as a way to protect the app’s younger audience. One of the biggest additions is a restriction on direct messages (DMs). Adult users now will find themselves blocked from messaging users under the age of 18 if those users aren’t following them. While the feature seems like a good move on paper, experts say it doesn’t offer nearly enough protection to make a difference without outside help....

Starting on August 30, Instagram is getting rid of the “swipe-up” link in favor of a sticker that will direct your followers to a link of your choosing, as spotted by app researcher Jane Manchun Wong on Monday. However, the new link feature will still only be available to certain accounts that are either verified or have at least 10,000 followers. The Link Sticker initially was announced as a small test in June, but the platform was also testing letting anyone—regardless of verification or follower count—add a link to their Stories....

Every Apple OS update brings new privacy-protecting features, and iOS 15 is no exception. For example, there are new settings to block tracking pixels in emails; generate throwaway, anonymous email addresses; and enable Private Relay. It’s a way to hide your location and to block yet another way that bad actors can track you across the web. “[Private Relay] will become the first step towards cybersecurity for many users who wouldn’t have considered taking action otherwise,” Daniel Markuson, a privacy expert with NordVPN, told Lifewire via email....

It’s unclear exactly what the problem is, but several people are experiencing issues with the tap-to-wake feature. Reports of the bug are popping up on Reddit, on Apple Support, the MacRumors forums, and in various tweets on Twitter, with no official response from Apple yet. Sometimes, simply pressing the power button to “wake up” the phone is enough, other times a full restart is necessary. Reddit user paranoidaditya says tap-to-wake on their iPhone 13 hasn’t worked consistently since launch, and installing the iOS 15....