Tag: Chill

Weekly Round Up 8/11

 

 

I’m gonna file this under “Doh!”
How to get fired in the tech industry


And the backlash continues…
Tech leaders must stop treating humanity like computer code

 


I’m ashamed to admit to owning most of the items on this list.
9 tech crazes that made us lose our minds in the ’90s

 


Everything old is new again.
3 Things Women in Tech Must Do to Get Ahead

 


Why didn’t they just buy Netflix?
Disney bought baseball’s tech team to take on Netflix

 


Shouldn’t this guy be in jail already?
Martin Shkreli’s ‘stealthy’ tech start-up has a website and says it’s starting to test products

 


What the WHAT?!
Wild new microchip tech could grow brain cells on your skin

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T&T: Tips for keeping strangers off your Wi-Fi network

 

 

Give digital trespassers the boot.

By David Nield of Popular Science

You don’t want neighbors or passers-by stealing your Wi-Fi any more than you want them stealing your water, electricity, or carefully curated collection of Blu-ray movies. In fact it’s more serious than that—if someone can hook on to the same network as you, it becomes easier for them to snoop on your browsing and your locally stored files.

So how do you go about locking things down? Thankfully, keeping unwelcome visitors away from your Wi-Fi isn’t difficult and doesn’t need an IT qualification. Here’s what you need to do.

Keep changing your password

By far the easiest way to boot freeloaders off your wireless network is to change the Wi-Fi password. You need to do this through your router’s settings—either dig out the manual or run a quick web search to find the instructions for your particular make and model.

Change the password to something very hard to forget (for you) and impossible to guess (for everyone else) and you’ve got a clean slate as far as access to your wireless network goes. You do have the inconvenience of then reconnecting all of your devices and computers, but it’s a small price to pay for a clean Wi-Fi slate. Pick something that’s important to you, like a date or a name, but that no one else would think of, so it’s both simple for you to enter and secured against unwanted visitors.

 

The router’s initial password is often printed on a sticker that’s attached to the device itself, so changing it will prevent guests like party goers from spying on the security code. If the password’s only in your head or somewhere secure then no one else can connect up until you tell them what it is.

Actually, that’s not quite true—some routers feature one-touch WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) connectivity, so connecting to Wi-Fi can be done with a push of a button on the router itself. If you’re worried about someone doing this to get on the web, you can usually disable it through the router settings.

Check your router settings

While we’ve got your router configuration page open, a few other settings are worth looking at. First, change the default password used to access the router settings page to something else—this stops anyone who might gain access to your network from changing the Wi-Fi password themselves. As you’ll have realized when you accessed your router settings for the first time, you need a password to get into the menus, and a separate one to connect to Wi-Fi, so changing them both gives you maximum protection.

It’s also worth applying any pending firmware updates, which ensures your router is running the latest and most secure version of its own basic operating system. Again, with so many router makes and models on the market we can’t give you instructions for each one, but it should be simple to do—find the instruction booklet or a guide on the web for your device and it will only take a couple of minutes.

 

Elsewhere in your router’s settings you should find a screen listing the devices connected up to your Wi-Fi: Is there anything there you don’t recognize? You often have the option to disconnect a device, depending on the type of router you’ve got, though you might need to do a bit of detective work to identify the devices your router lists.

Finally, you should be able to find a setting that ‘hides’ your network (the technical term is the SSID or service set identifier) from view, so it won’t appear when your neighbors or visitors scan for Wi-Fi on their devices. If you need to connect a new device, you need to enter the SSID manually. It’s not a huge improvement in Wi-Fi security, but it’s a neat trick that can help you stay under the radar of hackers and Wi-Fi freeloaders.

Other security tips

If you want some extra help spotting who’s on your network who maybe shouldn’t be, beyond what your router offers, try Fing for Android or iOS, Acrylic Wi-Fi for Windows, or Who Is On My Wi-Fi for macOS. All those apps are free (for non-commercial use), and are easy to navigate around no matter what your level of networking know-how. Various other apps are available to do the same job too.

 

Installing a VPN on your computer doesn’t do anything extra in terms of stopping people from connecting to your Wi-Fi, but it does add an extra layer of encryption between you and the web—so that anyone who does manage to gain access to your network is going to have a much harder time trying to snoop on your activities (which websites you visit, the data you’re sending and so on). While a VPN might slightly slow down your connection speed, it keeps you a lot safer—just be sure to choose a reputable, paid-for service.

Finally, if your computer is close enough to the router to wire it up directly, and you’ve got strong cellular reception on your phone, you could turn off Wi-Fi on your router every once in a while, which can be done through the router settings on all modern boxes. No one’s going to be able to hook up to your Wi-Fi network if it’s switched off.

Do you have any tips for securing your home wifi network? Share them with us in the comments below!

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How to: Fix the 5 Most Common Apple TV Problems

 

 

Previously posted by CNET

The Apple TV is a very capable streamer that has only gotten better over time with the addition of things like the Siri remote, applications and a TV guide. Still, the Apple TV is not impervious to problems. Here are five common problems with the Apple TV and how to fix them.

Just like with your smart phone, things can go awry with apps on Apple TV, they can sometimes lag or freeze up all together. If anything like this happens, the best thing to do is to force close the application. To do this, on the Siri remote Double press the Home or TV button, slide left or right on the touchpad to select that app and then swipe up to force close it.


Sometimes it’s more than just one app that’s acting funky or the Apple TV can act glitchy in general, just not right. If this is the case, then you just need to restart the Apple TV, you can do this by going into Settings > System > Restart or on the Apple TV remote You can hold Menu and the TV or Home button until the light on the front of the Apple TV begins blinking. When this happens release those buttons and the Apple TV will restart.

If the Siri remote just randomly stops working or doesn’t work at all one day it may need to be charged. You can charge it using a lightning cable in the port along the bottom edge of the remote. And you can also actually also check its charge level under remotes and devices in the Settings. You may need to use an iPhone or an iPad in the remote app to get there. If that doesn’t work, you may need to reset the remote and repair it with your Apple TV To do this, hold the remote near the Apple TV and hold the Volume Up and Menu button for a few seconds, and it should repair.

Every so often, audio on the Apple TV will cut out. Obviously this depends heavily on what your own sound system set up is, but if it happens to you, try restarting the TV and any audio hardware connected to the Apple TV such as a sound bar. That should fix the problem but if not try restarting the Apple TV. If that doesn’t work, go to settings, audio and video, and make sure you’ve selected the right speakers under audio output. And then in Audio Mode, make sure it’s set to Auto.

If you’ve installed a lot of applications and games on your Apple TV, storage space might get tight over time. The obvious solution is to remove some of those apps and games. If you do this from he home screen, it’s gonna take quite a few steps for every single application you want to remove. Highlight the application on the home screen that you want to remove. And long-press on the track pad until it starts to wiggle. Then, press the “play/pause” button. Select “delete” and then select “delete” again to confirm. If you’re trying to remove several applications at once, a faster option is to go to “settings”, “general”, and “manage storage’. There you’ll find applications sorted by file size in descending order Think the trash can to the right of any application to remove it and then click delete to confirm.

What are your favorite Apple TV hacks? Let us know in the comments below.

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Netflix Tips You Need In Your Life

 

Ladies,

In the spirit of a winter weekend with no football, I thought I’d give you a few tips to help you Netflix & Chill.

This article was originally posted on TNW by Trevor Nace

“Trends in popular software come and go, but it’s pretty clear at this point which ones are sticking around for the long haul. How else do you end up with the cultural jargon “Netflix and Chill” being so widely accepted? I’m fairly certain you’ve never heard anybody say, “Hulu and Chill.” “Youtube and Chill?” “HBO Now and…” yeah, you get the picture.


Netflix is the premium streaming service for films and television shows, and even though its primary competitors are doing just fine in their own right, there’s almost no way for them to close the distance with this media behemoth.

It helps that a great majority of Netflix’s original programming has been met with critical acclaim, many times over. Daredevil. Jessica Jones. Orange is the New Black. House of Cards. The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Fans of Arrested Development, Full House, and Gilmore Girls can all thank Netflix for picking up the threads of where their favorite shows left off, delivering new content available exclusively through the streaming service.

While Amazing Video and Hulu have certainly been playing the same ballgame, neither can boast the profile or namesake that Netflix now claims amongst its users. From the forecast of upcoming content that we’ll soon be seeing from Netflix, that paradigm isn’t likely to shift anytime soon.

Still, just because a service is popular doesn’t mean that every nuance of operating it is visible, right on its service. People have criticism in abundance for Netflix, and much of it has to do with streaming, organization, geoboundaries (more on this, later) and the ways that different devices and web browsers seem to affect the playback of Netflix content.

Crafty users have found a way around most of this complaints, and below, I’ll share ten of the most frequently used (but infrequently known) tricks that will help you to become truly Netflix-savvy. (I can’t help with the “chill” part. That’s on you, friends.)

HIDDEN SUBCATEGORIES


I’ll admit, I find Netflix’s content organization to be borderline atrocious.

Sure, you can find your way into genre-sorted listings of all available films and television shows, but by and large, the landing screen that always greets you upon signing in is a damned mess. Instead of a simplified, streamlined listing of content we see “Romance-fueled horror thrill-ride movies” or “Funny splatter-fests that will melt your heart.”

You’re not the only person that’s been left scratching their head, wondering how to wade through it all.
Thankfully, there’s a way to take advantage of this organization scheme for your benefit. See, those odd genre amalgamations aren’t just for you, and they’re not just for show. They’re actually specifically compiled lists that you can drag up on demand…as long as you know how. Head over to the Netflix ID Bible and check out the immense list of subcategories that are available to view.

It works like this. Take your base URL of ‪http://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/INSERTNUMBER‬, and replace the obvious part of that URL with one of the subcategories that you’d like to view. For example, if you want to watch Asian Action Movies, the finished URL would be ‪http://www.netflix.com/browse/genre/77232‬.

Easy, right?

Take advantage of this trick whenever you’re feeling digitally peckish, but don’t know what to watch.

CUSTOMIZE YOUR SUBTITLES


One of Netflix’s fantastic features is the huge library of foreign-language films that it constantly offers. However, unless you’re fluent in the languages that you’ll be hearing, subtitles are going to become your best buddy.


Raise your hand if you’ve ever been irritated by the size or font style of Netflix’s subtitles.

Well, my hand is up, but if you haven’t been yet, there’s a chance you might be in the future. It’s handy to know that you can change those settings as often as you want from within your Netflix settings. Simply click into your account, then scroll to the bottom of the list of settings. Select “Subtitle Appearance” and be amazed by how much you can customize them!

Don’t get stuck squinting at your screen ever again.

CUSTOMIZE YOURSTREAMING QUALITY

 

360p. 720p. 1080p. 4k. The list of increasing streaming resolutions is getting a bit mind-boggling, but what stands to boggle the mind even more is how these settings can affect your viewing experience.
Whether you’re on a slower internet connection at home or using your mobile data to catch a quick television episode, this is one of the most important things that you can learn to customize. (Your patience and your phone bill will both thank you.)


Once again, from within your account settings, scroll down until you find the “Playback Setting” option. From within that menu, you can choose between several preset data-usage ranges, from automatic (which selects it for you, based on connection speed) and high (which enables HD and Ultra HD playback.)

Even if you have a blazing fast mobile connection, however, the GB of data used to stream HD or Ultra HD are going to chew through your data allowance uncomfortably quick. Additionally, if your home internet connection is being particularly sluggish, try reducing the playback settings to accommodate it.


GETFLIX (SKIP GEOBLOCKING)

There are a few justified reasons for geo-blocking, but they have never mattered that much to Netflix users who just want to be able to view the same content as Netflix users in other countries. US availability in particular is often desired by viewers in other countries, and through clever DNS routing, Getflix can get you past the usual IP address blockade and give you access to Netflix (and more!)
The only catch? It’s going to cost you if you want to keep on using it.


Though each pricing bundle comes with a 14-day free trial, you’ll need to pay a recurring monthly subscription fee to maintain the service.

In my opinion, the added entertainment value you’ll get for such a small investment is totally worth it.

WATCH NETFLIX TOGETHER

Long distance relationships are difficult. Whether we’re talking friendship or romance, sometimes its nice to spend a few hours watching something good with a person who means a lot to you, but buffering times and stream availability can make this difficult, resulting in out-of-sync viewing experiences and more frustration than fun.


Though a few online web portals and apps purport being able to fix this, the best of them is Rabbit. Get signed up, then start enjoying shared viewing experiences again.

It even has pretty stellar chat support, so you and your dearest can yak it up while the movie is playing.

USE MULTIPLE PROFILES


Most assume that the ability to create multiple profiles for your Netflix account is only useful when multiple members of a household are using it, but this isn’t true! There’s one other handy organization tip that I can give you, and it revolves completely around the way that Netflix profiles work.

Some may not realize it, but the viewing recommendations that Netflix gives you are based on what you’ve viewed on a particular account. This works great for separate people using separate accounts, but you can also use it to shape the recommendations that you want to see based on other circumstances.
Let’s say, you want certain movies to show up as options for “date night.” Make an account for it! Your viewing experience on your “date night” profile will lead to you finding more films and television shows that are applicable to that occasion.

What about those times when you want to sit down for a couple of hours and watch a documentary? Make a “Documentaries” profile, during which you only watch informative, interesting content.
Your recommendations are going to follow suit.

 

ONLY WATCH THE BEST


You’re cuddled up on the sofa (alone or with company; it’s the sofa that’s important, right?), and you want to know what’s new, what’s good, and what’s available to watch. Where do you turn? You could do a quick search for “Best Movies On Netflix” and hope you snag a new favorite movie to watch.
Netflix’s “star rating” system is notoriously unreliable, and thankfully, crafty Netflixers have stepped up to provide a service that will help you out.

Though many like it are available, I find Best Movies On Netflix (What is On Netflix?) to be the best place to look.

With it, you can see what’s recently been added to the streaming service, and also use common directories and other resources to determine whether or not a particular film or television show is any good, in the first place.

LISTEN TO THE CRITICS

I already mentioned how widely unreliable Netflix’s rating system can be for finding the content that you want to watch, but thankfully, there’s a way around that particular problem. As long as you’re browsing from a web browser, you can use extensions like NEnhancer to add a great deal more information to each listing in your Netflix queue. Imagine being able to see IMDb information, trailers, Rotten Tomatoes reviews, and more without ever having to leave Netflix.

Though the Netflix algorithms are good at some things, it can be decidedly difficult to figure out what exactly you’re in the mood to watch.

Take out a little bit of the guesswork, reclaim some of that lost browsing time, and give NEnhancer a try.

KEEP TRACK OF WHAT’S COMING AND WHAT’S GOING


One thing that long time Netflixers know by now is the fact that what’s available is always changing. Movies and TV shows that have been around for a while hit the road, while new items are brought in.
One thing that Netflix doesn’t do a particularly good job of letting you know when all of these changes are taking place, which makes it hard to know when you’re running out of time to watch something. Inversely, it’s nice to know when you have upcoming content to look forward to.

There are quite a few online resources that will keep track for you. Whats-On-Netflix keeps up-to-date listings of what will soon be leaving the popular streaming service as well as what’s on the way.

CLEAR YOUR VIEWING HISTORY


This one might only apply to users that want a little bit more privacy than Netflix affords by default, but it’s absolutely possible to wipe your viewing history from your account. Whether you want to clear it all out or just remove certain items, it’s a simple process.

Pop back into your Netflix account settings, and once again, scroll down to the bottom where you can select “Viewing History.” From this menu, you’ll see a listing of every movie or television episode that you’ve recently watched on your Netflix account.

In addition to being able to report any problems you might have had while streaming, you can click the “X” off to the right to delete any entry that you’d like. Use this to keep your viewing history a little more clean, a little more concise, and a little more private.

Netflix is here to stay. We can make that claim with a fair amount of confidence, now that the service has weathered several competitors moving in on its offerings while still remaining on top.

Considering the surprising amount of hype that now surrounds and follows a majority of Netflix’s original programming, it’s hard to see any of this popularity taking a nosedive anytime soon.

That doesn’t mean the Netflix experience can’t stand to be enhanced, though. The above 10 tips are enough to get you started on the way to Netflix mastery.”

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