Why Use a Roof De-Icer? If you live somewhere that doesn’t get significant snow accumulation (or snow at all!) then there’s a good chance you’re unfamiliar with roof de-icing kits. But if you live somewhere with harsh winters, there’s a good chance even if you don’t have a kit of your own, you’ve at least seen them on other people’s homes. A roof de-icer cable is an electric cable that looks a whole lot like an extension cord....
Microsoft Edge is not only the default web browser in Windows 10 but also the default PDF reader. This is definitely a good thing as we can finally view PDF files without having to install third-party apps, but it’s more of a basic PDF reader. If you prefer to have a feature-rich application as the default PDF reader instead of Edge, then you have plenty of options to choose from....
Rumors abound that Apple will be adding Siri to OS X in the near future, but what you may not realize is you can already control your Mac quite a bit with the built-in Enhanced Dictation feature. Enhanced Dictation isn’t meant to work like Siri. It won’t for example, check sport scores or your e-mail, but it does provide quite a few commands you can utilize to control your computer....
Among Apple Mail’s many and varied features is the ability to define and set signatures so that your email is appended with your favorite quote, out-of-office announcements, or contact information. Creating, modifying, and applying signatures in Apple Mail on macOS is a breeze, and best of all you can create multiple signatures for one account and apply them in different ways. To begin, first open Mail’s preferences by clicking on the “Mail” menu and selecting “Preferences” or use the Command+, keyboard shortcut....
The macOS dock normally appears at the bottom of your screen, but it doesn’t have to. The dock is customizable in quite a few ways you might not be aware of, especially if you’re a new Mac user. In this article, we’ll discuss all the built-in ways to tweak your Dock, though if you really want to go further, you can also install themes and tweak other settings with the third-party cDock utility....
If you use Apple Mail, you may have noticed you can swipe messages to perform certain actions. It’s a useful shortcut, but if you find yourself invoking it accidentally, here’s how to turn this feature off. We’re not strangers to configuring Apple Mail to better suit our purposes. We’ve talked about how to create and modify signatures and append them to the end of your e-mails, how to turn off event and contact suggestions, and even shown you ways to better manage your inbox with rules....
Duplicate files are often seen as a bad thing, but when it comes to photos and videos, that’s not always the case. Fortunately, duplication them is simple to do on iOS. Especially when you’re editing, there are lots of reasons to create duplicate photos and videos. Maybe you want a before version for comparing changes or perhaps you need a slow motion version and a normal speed version of a video....
If you use Apple Mail on OS X, then you know that when you empty the trash, it normally purges all the deleted messages for all your accounts. If you only want to purge deleted messages from one account, however, there is another way. Emptying the trash with Apple Mail is accomplished by right-clicking on the Trash icon in Mail and then selecting “Erase Deleted Items” from the resulting context menu....
Do you still use screen savers on your personal computer? Screen savers aren’t as as necessary as they once were, but if you like the look–or use them for useful things like a “word of the day”–macOS still has quite a few you can set up and configure. RELATED: Why Screen Savers Are No Longer Necessary Screen savers were originally designed to prevent burn-in of images on older CRT and plasma displays....
Much like Google Chrome’s Send Tab to Self feature, you can use a similar hidden flag to highlight and copy text to another device’s clipboard. Here’s how you can enable clipboard sharing across devices in Chrome. How Clipboard Sharing Works Once you’ve enabled the flag, you’ll find a new “Copy to your device” option when you right-click highlighted text on a web page. It’ll list all the devices with the flag enabled that you’re signed into with your Google account—on Windows, macOS, Linux, Chrome OS, and Android....
Once you get the hang of installing apps on your new Apple Watch it’s no big deal, but if you’ve just peeled the protective film off you’re probably left a bit puzzled as to how your new watch works. Let’s take a look at how to get apps from your iPhone to your watch. RELATED: How to Add Third Party Complications to your Apple Watch If you’re smartphone veteran, be it on iPhone or Android doesn’t matter, you’re used to the routine....
Not everyone speaks only one language. Maybe you learned Spanish in school, or your parents are from Germany. Whatever the reason, it’s really annoying when you’re trying to send a text in a language other than English and autocorrect keeps trying to change “boire” to “Boise”. Nobody goes to a bar and orders a small American city. Thankfully, on iOS it’s relatively simple. All you have to do is add the keyboard of the language you want and autocorrect will work regardless of which keyboard you actually use....
Many Samsung smartphones have a feature called “Smart Select.” You can use this to select specific parts of the screen, but it also includes a GIF tool. Smart Select used to be exclusive to Galaxy Note devices, but now it’s available for many more. RELATED: How to Screenshot on a Samsung Galaxy Smartphone Smart Select is only accessible from Samsung’s “Edge Panels” feature, so you’ll need to enable that first....
Keeping your monthly finances in check (no pun intended) isn’t always as easy as it sounds. With bills that vary every month, surprise expenses that pop up at the worst possible moment, and grocery tabs that seem to be growing larger with every season that passes, asking for a little help from your phone or desktop isn’t so absurd. These are some of our favorite mobile apps and software that you can use to make managing your monthly finances a breeze....
Tools like FRAPS and NVIDIA’s ShadowPlay are great for monitoring your game performance on Windows, but they don’t work with Microsoft’s Universal Windows Platform (UWP) games. Thankfully, a few tools will let you monitor your framerate and benchmark games made for Windows 10’s new application platform. Some individual games may have integrated FPS counters you can use instead, but most don’t. The tools here will let you monitor your FPS in games like Quantum Break, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, Forza Motorsport 6: Apex, and the Windows Store version of Rise of the Tomb Raider....
Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, iCloud Drive, and other file-syncing services are convenient, but they also sync deletions and changes. You can often recover deleted files or undo changes, but they shouldn’t be your only backup method. Most cloud storage services offer a way to undelete files via the web and many allow you to undo changes to your files and get older versions back. But they only keep these old files for so long....
Ransomware is a type of malware that tries to extort money from you. There are many variants, starting with CryptoLocker, CryptoWall, TeslaWall, and many others. They hold your files hostage and hold them for ransom for hundreds of dollars. Most malware is no longer created by bored teenagers looking to cause some chaos. Much of the current malware is now produced by organized crime for profit and is becoming increasingly sophisticated....
Here’s how to pair your Xbox controller with more than just an Xbox. How to Pair Your Controller with an Xbox To pair a new controller with your Xbox Series X or S, or an older Xbox One console (including the One S and One X), put two AA batteries or a rechargeable battery pack in the controller. Microsoft provides a set of disposable batteries in the box, but you can grab a play and charge kit for around $20....
Maybe you have a contract you want to share without all the particulars. Or you might have a social security number, health information, or something else you want to censor in the PDF you’re sharing. Mask the details and feel secure that your information is safe using Mac Preview’s redaction tool. Redact a PDF in Preview on Mac If Preview is the default viewer for PDFs on your Mac, you can simply double-click the file to open it in the app....
The first row in the new Share sheet serves as a shortcut to quickly sharing something with recently-used contacts. In theory, it’s supposed to make your life easier. In practice, however, it rarely works out that way. Right now, only contacts from AirDrop and Messages appear in this list (sorry, WhatsApp lovers). RELATED: The Best New Features in iOS 13, Available Now If you rarely (or never) use the feature, it can get annoying quickly....
