Quick Links Not everything on your Android phone has to be turned on or off manually. You can automate many tasks on your phone, letting it do useful things on its own. Here are some useful automations to use on your device. The exact steps to follow vary by the phone model you use. I have performed the following steps on a Google Pixel 9 Pro XL running Android 15....

Apple’s premium in-ear buds are loaded with features. Whether you have first or second-generation AirPods Pro, you can control what you’re listening to, use gestures, and more. Use AirPods Pro 2 to Control Volume If you have a pair of second-generation AirPods Pro (released in late 2022), you can use the touch-sensitive stem to control the volume with a swipe. First, place your thumb on the stem of an AirPod and then use your index finger to swipe up and down to control the volume....

Quick Links Summary Floppy disks can last anywhere from a few years to a few decades, depending on factors such as storage conditions, handling, and the quality of the disk. Assuming the best case, you can use a modern USB reader to get your data from an old floppy disk. If you owned a computer in the 80s or 90s, you probably remember using floppy disks to store and transfer data....

Summary If you need to know how fast it runs, Hyperfine will tell you. This user-friendly, versatile tool available on Linux takes all the effort out of benchmarking. What Is Hyperfine? Hyperfineis an open-source benchmarking tool for Linux, macOS, and Windows. Likethe time command, which is available in most distros and shells, hyperfine will measure the amount of time it takes to run a program: On the surface, hyperfine does the same job as time, with prettier output....

Summary Coupled with the included backpack,Bluetti’s Handsfree 2is the most portable power supply I’ve had the pleasure of traveling with. It doesn’t sacrifice essentials for the sake of convenience, though an additional AC outlet would expand its usability. Bluetti Handsfree 2 Power Station The Bluetti Handsfree 2 is a fantastic companion for hikers and campers, its 700W AC output and multiple USB delivering enough power to keep small devices, drones, and even the odd camping appliance charged and ready to go....

The Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite network handles location services for everything from phones to planes, but what if the network went offline? The over-the-air broadcasting industry has an idea: using TV broadcast towers as a fallback positioning system. Sinclair Inc is showing off the Broadcast Positioning System, or BPS for short, at the National Association of Broadcasters Show in Las Vegas. The technology uses eLoran, a technique to achieve long-range navigation with terrestrial towers instead of satellites in Earth orbit....

Quick Links It might seem like a question with an obvious answer, but LED bulbs don’t burn out the same way traditional incandescent bulbs do. Here’s what happens instead. LEDs Don’t Burn Out, They Fade Away When it comes to longevity, incandescent lights follow the live big, die young philosophy espoused by Neil Young in his 1978 hit “My My, Hey Hey” when he sang “It’s better to burn out than to fade away....

Quick Links Summary It doesn’t take a lot of processing power to drive multiple displays, so there is no need to buy a premium GPU if you simply want more monitors. Don’t let the high cost of premium GPUs stand between you and your multi-monitor dreams. Here’s what you need to know about using multiple monitors for productivity without breaking the bank. Casual Browsing and Office Work Are Low Demand If you want to go fast, you need a car with a big engine....

Summary Apple HomeKit is great for managing smart products, but if you’re looking to use it for whole-home audio, bringing in legacy audio receivers and stereo systems can be tricky. TheEve Playis an AirPlay 2-enabled device with the sole purpose of adding HomeKit intelligence to your older audio devices. A brief look at the Eve Play shows it as a device aimed at audio enthusiasts, with all the analog and digital outputs you could possibly want....

Quick Links As a long-term Excel enthusiast, I have always enjoyed using VLOOKUP, one of Excel’s best-known lookup functions. However, Microsoft’s introduction of XLOOKUP in 2019 changed everything. Once I realized how useful XLOOKUP is, I knew I’d never look back. I’ll use direct cell references to exemplify my points in this article, as they are clearer thanstructured references. I also won’t talk explicitly about HLOOKUP because—other than its direction—it works in exactly the same way as VLOOKUP....

Quick Links From remote workers to in-office personnel, employees in numerous fields work with PDF documents on a regular basis. While many rely on the barebones options that came with their PC or Mac, an overall lack of features, complexity, and expensive upgrades can leave users with much to be desired.UPDFprovides consumers with a compelling alternative for reading, annotating, and editing PDF documents while boasting user-friendly features and affordable pricing that’s even cheaper at54% off for a limited time....

Google is always working on new features and improvements for its Chrome web browser. The company has now started testing a new Web Printing API in Chrome, which aims to bring more advanced printing to websites and web apps. Google recently created afeature flagin Chrome for the Web Printing API, which has rolled out first to theCanary and Dev Channels. The new #enable-web-printing-api flag is intended to test the Web Printing API, a proposed web standard for more advanced printing from websites and web apps....

Google recently updated the Recorder app on its Pixel phones with enhanced AI summaries. The update has led to an uptick in popularity, according to Google, and the company has shared some details about how it works. Available on the Pixel 3 and later, the built-in app lets you take audio recordings with your Android. You can easilyshare audio recordings with others and sync them across your devicesvia the cloud. The app includes a handy real-time transcription feature, which makes it a cinch to pinpoint specific word mentions and jump to key points with searchable text....