How-To Geek

QR codes may not be as prolific as they once were, but they’re still highly useful for quickly sharing information. The thing is, it’s not always clear how to scan one. If you’re an Android user, here’s the skinny.

The Easiest Way: Use Google Lens in the Assistant

You may not realize this, but if your phone has Google Assistant, you have a fast, easy, and native way to scan QR codes baked right into your handset.

First, long-press the home button to bring up Assistant.

Depending on which version of Assistant you have, you might have the Lens button right there as soon as Assistant pops up. Most likely, however, you need to tap on it to stop it from listening for a voice command. Just tap on the colored dots.

Once it stops listening, new options become available: Lens to the left of the mic, keyboard to the right. Tap on the “Lens” button.

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Fatmawati Achmad Zaenuri/Shutterstock.com

If Linux means anything, it means choice. You can achieve even a simple task like identifying the current user in many ways. This tutorial will show you how to use some of the quickest and easiest methods.

Why would you need to find the identity of the current user? In many cases the owner of the computer is the only user and, without getting too existential, they probably know themselves. Perhaps, but it is also common for people to create additional user accounts to allow family members to have access to the computer. And, if you’re connected to a remote shell on a server somewhere, you may need a quick reminder of the username you’re logged in with. If you see a logged in session with no one in attendance, how do you identify the current user from the command line?

Let’s try the easiest option first. All we need to do is look at the command prompt. By default, Linux distributions have the username in the prompt. Simple. We didn’t even have to type a thing.

If the user has changed their prompt to some other format we need to try something else. The who command will give us the information we are looking for.

who

The output from who gives you the name of the current user, the terminal they are logged in at, the date and time when they logged in. If it is a remote session, it also tell us where they are logged in from.

By comparison, the whoami command provides a very pithy answer:

whoami

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SpeedShutter/Shutterstock

While a zombie apocalypse isn’t likely, real disasters can strike at any time, and it’s smart to be ready. If you want to be prepped when a flood or tornado hits, you should start with a 72-hour emergency kit.

What Is a 72-Hour Emergency Kit?

A 72-hour emergency kit is a collection of items you can use to get through an emergency. This includes basics like food, water, and medications. It also includes items you need specifically for certain members of your household, like pets and babies.

The idea is that the kit contains everything the people in your home will need for 72 hours. It’s also important that you put all of those items in containers that are easy to carry. Consider the fact that you may have to walk to somewhere safe. A couple of backpacks or duffel bags are a wiser choice than plastic bins.

What to Put in Your 72-Hour Emergency Kit Radowitz/Shutterstock

There are some specific things you should have in even the most basic emergency kit. These items include:

Food

Mahatma Gandhi proved that you could go 21 days without food in his longest fast, but he had also trained himself in such matters. Yes, humans can survive for weeks without food, but that kind of hunger takes its toll. After a few days without food, you might notice weakness, lack of motivation, and reduced decision-making ability, all of which get worse the longer you go without eating.  

For food, look for non-perishable items that you can eat without cooking. MREs from the military come in handy, and they are safety sealed with extended expiration dates. You’ll need enough for three days’ worth of meals for each person. Invest in mess kits as well, which ensure each person has a plate, cup, and silverware. If you pack canned foods, add a manual can opener.

Water

Your body is made up of a lot of water, around 60%. This makes water consumption even more important than food. The length of time a person can go without water varies. Scientific America explains it well: some people may only survive hours when extremely dehydrated, but others could be fine for a week with no water intake. Going without water can still cause health issues, and it’s important to have a clean source with you in case of emergencies.

Even if you could go without water for an extended period, you shouldn’t. According to a study from the National Institute of Health, even mild levels of dehydration can impact your cognitive performance:

Being dehydrated by just 2% impairs performance in tasks that require attention, psychomotor, and immediate memory skills, as well as assessment of the subjective state.

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Adobe

Adobe pulls the plug on Shockwave—no, not Shockwave Flash, which is different—today. Dating back to 1995 when it was named Macromedia Shockwave, this plugin was used for games, presentations, and other multimedia on the web.

RIP Shockwave

Adobe is discontinuing Shockwave today, on April 9, 2019. You can no longer download the Shockwave Player for Windows from Adobe, although enterprise customers with support contracts can use it for a few more years. The Shockwave Player for Mac was discontinued back in 2017. If you find an old website hosting Shockwave content, it isn’t playable with any officially supported software.

Luckily, the web has moved on from Shockwave, so Shockwave is something you’ll only see when browsing web pages from more than a decade ago.

Flash is still around for a while yet. Adobe plans to discontinue Flash by the end of 2020.

Adobe Shockwave vs. Adobe Flash

Both Shockwave and Flash were developed by Macromedia, a company Adobe acquired back in 2005. Each is a multimedia software platform with a web browser plugin. Shockwave content is played by the “Shockwave Player” plugin, while Flash content is played by the “Flash Player” plugin.

Shockwave has become largely irrelevant as Flash gained more and more of its abilities over the years. But the two products have different histories. Shockwave’s pedigree goes back further, all the way to VideoWorks for the original Apple Macintosh. CD-ROMs featuring point-and-click adventures and educational experiences created with Shockwave were popular in the early 90s and were created by Macromedia Director. The Shockwave Player plugin was released in 1995 to bring those features to the burgeoning web.

Macromedia introduced features targeted at the video game industry in 2001, and there’s a good chance you played a Shockwave game in your browser in the years after that. For example, Candystand.com was owned by Nabisco, the company behind Life Savers, and featured a variety of browser games that used Shockwave. The above YouTube video shows an officially licensed Donkey Kong Country game released in 2003. Yes, Nintendo created browser games in partnership with Life Savers candy.

The web was full of experiences like this—most of which have now been lost to time. Habbo Hotel was an online social community/virtual world aimed at teenagers. Habbo started out using Shockwave and later switched from Shockwave to Flash as the web moved on.

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The Hairy Ball Theorem Helps Explain What?

1. Antenna Transmission Models
2. Global Warming
3. Immune System Responses
4. Intersolar Gravitational Fields

Think you know the answer?

Microsoft announced last December it would move the Edge over to the Chromium rendering engine. Leaked builds hit the web a few weeks ago, but now you can try an official build from Microsoft. Here’s how to set it up.

GoodBye EdgeHTML, Hello EdgeChromium

When Microsoft announced it would stop work on EdgeHTML and switch the Edge browser over to Chromium, we had many questions. Some, like if the switch meant gaining Chrome Extensions support, were answered pretty quickly. But the big question has been, “when can we try it?” Microsoft opened up an Insider page to request updates but today, ahead of any emails we’ve seen, you can download an official build from Microsoft.

Just keep in mind that the two options right now are a Dev build (which updates weekly), and a Canary build (which updates daily). The beta option, which will be the most stable and updates every six weeks, is not available. You should probably keep that in mind and not use this browser for anything important. In our very early testing, it at least seems stable enough for casual browsing.

Also, Microsoft states in its blog that this is for 64-bit Windows 10 only for now. They promise support for other platforms, like Windows 7, Windows 8.1, macOS, and other channels, like Beta and Stable later.

How to Install And get Started

Installing the new Edge browser is a pretty straightforward affair. Head to Microsoft’s download site, and pick a channel. Pick Dev Channel for a more stable option, Canary for bleeding edge and a first look at new features and probably new bugs.

Once you’ve installed, you’ll be prompted to choose a new tab page style. This is similar to the new articles options on the traditional Edge, and if you don’t want to be bombarded with news from MSN, or fancy images, choose the focused option.

Next, you can import data from other browsers. Click on the more options in the top right corner (which looks like three horizontal dots) then click on settings.

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Stringify, the IFTTT-like service that helped users build in-depth automated tasks, announced today that it’s shutting down. Stringify’s apps will be removed from stores today, with the service being fully deactivated at the end of June.

In an email sent to existing users, Stringify says it will continue to support the service until the end of June, at which time it will shut down, and all user data will be deleted. Here’s the full email:

Dear Shut Down,

After nearly five years of transforming how people automate their connected lives, I’m sorry to inform you that we are beginning the process of deactivating the Stringify app. This isn’t a decision we made lightly, but as our focus increasingly shifts to developing new connected-home experiences at Comcast, we made a strategic decision to step back from developing the app.

You don’t need to take any action right away. While we will be removing Stringify from app stores today, we will continue to operate and support the service for existing users through the month of June. When we deactivate the app, we will also delete all of your user data.

We know that Stringify plays a big part in our users’ daily lives, and we want to make sure everyone has plenty of time to adjust.

To that end, I’d also like to offer a couple of recommendations of potential technology alternatives. While I’d encourage you to do your own research, our team thinks these solutions each offer unique value.

IFTTT – A great free-to-use service that offers a lot of the same functions and capabilities as Stringify.
Yonomi – Another free-to-use service that supports many connected devices and experiences.
WebCore – For users of Samsung SmartThings platform. Some folks on our team have been using and enjoying it.

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Apple passes Spotify subscribers in the US, Google’s Pixel 3a and 3a XL leak (again), Microsoft makes it easier to remove USB drives, and a whole lot more. Here are the biggest stories from the weekend to start your Monday.

Netflix Kills AirPlay Support Because of “Technical Limitations”

Netflix has supported casting content with Apple AirPlay since 2013, but over the weekend it “suddenly” pulled the plug on the feature. It was originally speculated this was a response to Apple upcoming TV+ service, but it turns out it’s actually…something different

As discovered by The Verge, this has nothing to do with TV+, but rather the fact that AirPlay is no longer limited to Apple TV devices and is rolling out to third-party devices, like Vizio TVs. In an official statement, Netflix claims that it “can’t distinguish which device is which” or “certify devices,” so it “had to just shit down support for it. ” Wow.

Here’s the full statement, as given to The Verge:

We want to make sure our members have a great Netflix experience on any device they use. With AirPlay support rolling out to third-party devices, there isn’t a way for us to distinguish between devices (what is an Apple TV vs. what isn’t) or certify these experiences. Therefore, we have decided to discontinue Netflix AirPlay support to ensure our standard of quality for viewing is being met. Members can continue to access Netflix on the built-in app across Apple TV and other devices.

It’s interesting because you’d think that, as a standard, AirPlay should work the same across all devices—just like Google’s Casting platform. It doesn’t matter if you’re casting to Chromecast, Android TV, or a TV with native casting support, it just works. Netflix clearly sees something different here with AirPlay devices outside of Apple TV.

While it may not seems huge since most device’s have native Netflix support in the first place, this is still a pretty hard blow to Apple TV users since they’re essentially being “penalized” by Apple’s choice to open the AirPlay platform to third-party manufacturers.

Hopefully, at some point there will be a standardized way to test these devices and Netflix can re-enable AirPlay support across all compatible devices. Until then, however, the company recommends everyone switch to the native app.

Apple News: Music Now Has More Paid Subscribers Than Spotify in the US

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If you’ve got an Office 365 subscription, then there might be times you need help from Microsoft. Here’s how to log a ticket from a client app, from a web app, or through your Office 365 account.

All of these methods will create a ticket that goes to Microsoft support, but whichever way you log a ticket, you’ll need to be online.

Note: At the moment the Office 365 mobile apps will take you to the help and support pages, but there’s no direct method to create a support ticket. You can click around the help site until you find a link to a support page, but that’s not the same as having a specific option to contact support. If you get a problem with a mobile app, you’re best off logging a ticket using one of the methods we describe below.

Log a Ticket From a Client App on Your Computer

Logging a support ticket from inside a client app is pretty straightforward. In any of the applications—Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or OneNote—click Help > Contact Support.

Enter the details of your problem and then click “Get Help.”

Microsoft will try to match your description of the problem with suitable help articles, but assuming these don’t help (and they might so give them a try first) click on “Talk to an agent.”

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Amazon, Meh, PC Liquidators

The weekend’s over, but you don’t have to give into the Monday blues. Discounted phones, games, tablets, laptops, and smart devices should help you turn that work-week frown upside down.

Right now, sites like Best Buy, Amazon, Meh, and PC Liquidators are running some killer deals that are hard to ignore. Our favorite deals (by far) are the $89 iPad from PC Liquidators, the $18 Incipio Qi Wireless Charger 3-pack from Meh, and the $40 GameCube-styled wireless Nintendo Switch controller from Amazon.

Laptops and Computer Accessories

Need a new laptop, or a discounted trackball? We’ve got the deals for you.

• MacBook Pro 2017 Model, $1500 ($200 off) [Best Buy]
• Extra 50% Refurbished Dell Latitude Laptops (coupon code BUY7250NOW) [Dell]
• Lenovo Ideapad Celeron, $240 ($30 off) [Best Buy]
• HP 2-in-1 Chromebook, $450 ($150 off) [Best Buy]
• Logitech MX Ergo Plus Wireless Trackball Mouse, $60 ($40 off) [Quill]
• ADATA 240GB SSD, $25 ($5 off) [Massgenie]

Phones, Tablets, Smartwatches, and Wireless Charging Pads

Grab a new phone, tablet, or smartwatch at a discount.

• Samsung Galaxy S9 64GB Unlocked, $400 ($200 off) [Best Buy]
• iPhone 6s Plus 32GB Prepaid, $200 ($200) [Best Buy]
• iPad 4th Gen 16GB Refurbished, $89 ($50 off) [PC Liquidations]
• Huawei Mediapad M5 64GB, $247 ($33 off) [Rakuten]
• Apple Watch Nike+ Series 3, $269 ($140 off) [B&H]
• Samsung Gear Fit2 Smartwatch Refurbished, $110 ($90 off) [Best Buy]
• Fitbit Alta HR Fitness Tracker, $60 ($39) [Massgenie]
• Incipio Qi Wireless Charging Pad 3-Pack, $18 ($18 off) [Meh]

Video Games, TVs, and Board Games

Grab a copy of Kingdom Hearts III or Yoshi’s Crafted World at a major discount.

• Nintendo Switch Console, $260 ($40 off) [Massgenie]
• PowerA Wireless GameCube Controller Nintendo Switch, $40 ($30 off) [Amazon]
• Yoshi’s Crafted World Nintendo Switch, $45 ($15 off) [Massgenie]
• Nintendo Switch Labo Robot Kit, $40 ($20 off) [Amazon]
• Diablo 3 Eternal Collection Nintendo Switch, $40 ($20 off) [Amazon]
• Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition Nintendo Switch, $35 ($15 off) [Best Buy]
• Valkyria Chronicles 4 Nintendo Switch, $28 ($32 off) [Best Buy]
• Xbox One S 1TB with Titanfall 2 & Sunset Overdrive, $185 ($35 off with coupon code ALT33X) [Rakuten]
• Kingdom Hearts III Xbox One, $40 ($20 off) [Best Buy]
• Xbox Game Pass 1 Month, $1 ($9 off) [Microsoft]
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition Xbox One, $20 ($20 off) [GameStop]
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition PS4, $20 ($20 off) [GameStop]
• Kingdom Hearts III PS4, $40 ($20 off) [Best Buy]
• Risk Legacy Board Game, $39 ($21 off) [Amazon]
• Samsung 54.5″ QLED Curved TV, $800 ($700 off) [Micro Center]

Smart Home Products

Upgrade your home with these discounted smart devices.

• Blink XT Home Security System 3-Camera Kit, $200 ($120 off) [Amazon]
• Sylvania RGBW Smart Light Strips, $22 ($22 off) [Amazon]
• Echo Dot Kids Edition, $35 ($35 off) [Amazon]
• Google Home Hub, $80 ($20 off) [Massgenie]
• Roborock Smart Vacuum Cleaner, $390 ($110 off) [Newegg]
• Save up to 70% on Sylvania Products (Note: Some aren’t smart) [Amazon]

Everything Else

Need a new Bluetooth speaker or a memory foam mattress? We’ve got the deals for you.

• Rakuten 15% off Sitewide (Coupon Code Save15) [Rakuten]
• Anker Soundcore Flare Bluetooth Speaker 2-Pack, $70 ($40 off) [Amazon]
• Biofreeze Pain Relief Gel 2-Pack, $10 ($10 off with coupon clip) [Amazon]
• Fiskars 3 Claw Weeder, $30 ($8 off) [Target]
• Hefty Quart Size Slider Storage Bags 4-Boxes, $11 ($4 off with coupon clip) [Amazon]
• GranRest 6″ Memory Foam Mattress Queen, $141 ($53 off) [Walmart]
• BioBidet SlimEdge Bidet, $26 ($33 off) [Amazon]
• Mainstays Handheld Steam Iron, $5 ($3 off) [Walmart]

Keep in mind that these deals won’t last forever. Be sure to grab your favorite deals before they disappear into the abyss.

Africa Studio/Shutterstock.com

An electric hand mixer is the perfect accessory in the kitchen for those times when a full food processor is too much but mixing with just a whisk won’t cut it. Here’s a look at the best hand mixers out there.

In each case, we’ve looked at power, precision, and accessibility. After all, you don’t want a heavy mixer that’s cumbersome to hold on to, but neither do you want one that takes forever to actually mix anything properly. Expect great options here whatever your budget.

Best Overall: Braun MultiMix Hand Mixer ($62) Braun

The Braun MultiMix Hand Mixer looks like the mixer that Darth Vader would use and it’s just as effective (at mixing, not furthering the goals of the Empire, that is). Its 350w engine means it’s typically 50% more powerful than most of its competitors so mixing is faster and more effective here.

It has a one-handed control system so you can easily turn the speed dial to adjust between the 9 speeds available to you. Alongside that are multiple attachments so there’s a whisk or beater for every baking or cooking scenario. In particular, its sturdy dough hooks are great for preparing homemade bread or pizza.

It’s far from heavy either, weighing in at just over 2lbs and with an ergonomic handle for extra grip.

Buy on Amazon Best Premium Choice: Breville Handy Mix Scraper Hand Mixer ($130) Breville

The Breville Handy Mix Scraper Hand Mixer is a pretty clever hand mixer. It’s not as powerful as the Braun but it knows how to use its 240w motor perfectly. That’s because of its Beater IQ interface which automatically detects the type of attachment you’re using then adjusts the speed appropriately so you get the most out of it.

Alongside that, it remains quite quiet with scraper beaters that resist clanging the sides in order to maximize contact with the contents of the bowl. Its motor is quiet too, no matter what speed it’s running at. Additionally, there’s a mixing light so you can view ingredients easily while they mix, and there’s a count-up timer for precise mixing. For plentiful features, you can’t go wrong.

Buy on Amazon Best Budget Choice: Hamilton Beach Hand Mixer ($15) Hamilton Beach

A good hand mixer doesn’t have to cost a ton, providing you don’t need all the features possible. The Hamilton Beach Hand Mixer demonstrates that. It has a 250w motor which is good for most mixing tasks. That’s backed up with six speeds and a QuickBurst button for a quick boost. The beaters and whisk are fairly conventional so don’t expect anything too fancy and innovative here, but it’s still good for most regular tasks.

Where the Hamilton Beach Hand Mixer stands out a little is its bowl rest feature so you can easily leave it hanging on the side of a bowl without a problem. There’s a snap-on storage case too which is great for when you need to store it in a cupboard for an extended period of time.

Buy on Amazon Best Lightweight Mixer: KitchenAid 7-Speed Digital Hand Mixer ($55) KitchenAid

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Want to send off a bunch of files in an email, or maybe you received a compressed ZIP file as an attachment on your Chromebook? Whether you want to zip or unzip files, Chrome OS makes it a breeze to do without any additional applications.

RELATED: Everything You Need to Know About Zip Files

How to Zip Files

To get started, open the Files app and navigate your way to the folder with the files you want to zip up.

Once here, highlight all the files you want to add by holding down Ctrl while clicking each file to be added. Then right-click on the selected files and click “Zip Selected” from the context menu that appears.

The files are zipped and added to a file named “Archive.zip” in the current directory. The name is “Archive” by default but can be changed to whatever you’d like after it’s created.

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MacOS applications are installed a bit differently than Windows. Since they’re almost always single .app files, you can move them around your hard drive much easier. Here’s how to track down the ones you lost.

From the Applications Folder

This method is obvious—just open your Applications folder. You can usually find this in the sidebar, at the top of your hard drive, or in your Home folder (the one with your name on it). You can press the “List” button in the top bar to view everything in an easy to read list.

This won’t list every single Application on your drive though, so if you have an app you left in your Downloads folder, it won’t show up here.

RELATED: How to Launch Applications on Your Mac

Better Method: Smart Folders

Smart folders are wonderful. They’re like saved searches that you can pin to the sidebar of Finder. Here, we’ll be searching for all Applications.

Make a new smart folder from any Finder window by selecting File > New Smart Folder from the top menu bar.

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Hexgears

After an impressive debut with the low-profile X-1, I was eager to check out some of the other designs from rookie keyboard maker Hexgears. The Impulse, a mid-range model with Kailh’s Box switches, doesn’t disappoint.

This design is missing some of the more whiz-bang features of more expensive options, notably any kind of programming function. It makes up for it with a combination of utilitarian features and excellent build quality.While a less than perfect, the Impulse offers a light show that should appeal to gamers and a selection of switches that will make your fingers jump for joy. For under $100, it’s an easy mechanical keyboard to recommend for both beginners and connoisseurs.

BOX Switches Highlight the Hardware

Hexgears sent us the Impulse equipped with Kailh BOX White switches and “pudding” caps. The first point first: this is one of the only pre-built keyboards available with the BOX switch designs.

Hexgears offers smooth, splash-resistant BOX switches. Michael Crider

Broadly similar to the familiar Cherry key switch and its innumerable clones, Kailh’s BOX switches add a plastic square around the stem. This keeps the keys compatible with standard keycaps, while also making the travel much more stable and smooth. Hexgears is offering the keyboard with BOX Brown (middle stiffness and tactile, a noticeable bump with no click), BOX White (middle stiffness and clicky) or “Hako Clear,” a more niche and much stiffer tactile switch.

The Kono store sells the Impulse in only one size, but with combinations of single-color white and RGB LEDs and the “pudding” two-tone keycaps featured in this review, with prices ranging from $80-100 depending on those options. The keyboard is marketed as “spill proof,” but that’s more a function of the key switches themselves than anything else. With those stems extending all the way around the entrance of the switch and keycaps firmly in place, it’s very difficult for water (or Coke, or coffee, or beer, et cetera) to get to any of the delicate mechanisms inside. Hexgears says the keyboard is IP56 water-resistant, good for anything short of a full dunk into liquid.

The Impulse is offered in a full size format, with RGB or white-only LEDs. Michael Crider

Other charms of this design include per-key LED lighting and a full ring on LEDs around the plastic casing, PBT (read: fancy) plastic keycaps with shine-through legends, and a six-foot braided cord.

All the Lights and Sounds

In a word, this keyboard is solid. While you don’t get the full metal body, detachable USB cord, or modular switches of more premium designs, its excellent build quality surpasses most of the better-known keyboard builders in this price range.

Optional “pudding” PBT keycaps show off the key lighting. Michael Crider

Kailh’s BOX switches make for a smooth, even travel on the keys, and the two-tone pudding keycaps make for dramatic lighting even at lower intensities. While not explicitly a “gamer” board—the lack of linear options will surely bum some out—the independently-controlled light show for the keys and the LED ring will surely delight users who like to make their desk into a miniature rave. The key stems and standard layout are compatible with all ANSI-formatted keycap sets, so the Impulse is a good board if you’re looking to customize it after purchase.

The BOX switches and plastic case can repel spills and splashes. Michael Crider

Underneath you get the usual fold-out riser feet, though the keyboard is thick enough that I doubt many users will want an even taller profile. A gently curving deck, with a rather large printed logo on the top edge, is the only other adornment. If you need to open the plastic case (see the water resistant testing below) it’s easy to remove the screws and expose the circuit board.

Programming Could Be Easier

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Alexey Rotanov/Shutterstock

According to Microsoft, Windows 10 no longer optimizes external storage devices for “better performance” as of the October 2018 Update. Instead, it optimizes them for “quick removal.” Here’s what that means—and how to change it if you like.

We don’t think every Windows user has to change this option. Despite how tempting “better performance” sounds, the default “quick removal” policy is fine for most people.

Quick Removal vs. Better Performance

Windows has different “policies” you can select for external storage devices connected via USB or Thunderbolt, whether it’s a USB thumb drive or external hard drive. Each individual storage device has its own specific policy setting so that you can select different policies for different devices.

By default, Windows 10 now uses the “quick removal” policy. Whenever you write to the drive, Windows writes the data to the drive as quickly as possible. This ensures you can remove the USB drive without using the “Safely Remove Hardware” option—in theory. A program may be writing to your USB drive in the background anyway, so we recommend against it. This does dramatically reduce the risk of data corruption if you’re in the habit of safely removing storage devices before unplugging them.

However, this can slow down your applications. For example, when you’re saving a file to the external drive, the program you’re using may stop and wait for the save process to finish before you can continue working.

The “Better performance” option eliminates this slowdown. With this option, Windows will cache write operations to the drive and let applications proceed as if they had already written the data. Windows then performs the write operation in the background. That can make applications snappier.

On the other hand, this can result in data loss in some situations. Users think their files are saved and remove the drive—but the data wasn’t actually saved, and now the files on the drive may be corrupted. That’s why you should use the “Safely Remove Hardware” option before unplugging a drive in Windows. It tells Windows to write all that cached data to disk, ensuring all your data is safe before removing the drive.

It’s unclear how much “better performance” you’ll experience in practice. This will depend on the speed of your external storage device, how the application you’re using handles writing data, and how much data you’re writing at any given time. Microsoft clearly thinks the default “quick removal” is good enough for most people and that avoiding data loss is a priority. After all, many people don’t bother with “safely removing” devices before unplugging them. That makes “quick removal” a superior solution for many people, as it will reduce the risk of data loss when not safely removing a drive.

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Wink

We love Wink’s smarthome hub and have recommended it highly in the past. But the Wink Hub has been “temporarily unavailable” in stores for over five months now, and Wink won’t say why. What’s going on? Is Wink done for?

A Brief History of the Wink’s Many Owners

Wink has been around for years now and was formerly the product of a company named Quirky. Quirky began life as a startup company in 2009 with several, well, quirky but useful sounding ideas. They announced a mirror that eliminates shower steam fog, a set of wheels designed to turn any object into a remote-controlled car, and more. In 2014, Quirky partnered with GE to create a new company named Wink to focus on internet-connected devices.

Unfortunately, Quirky itself didn’t do well; it spent a lot on development with little return, and then Wink suffered a significant setback. Every Wink owner came home to find a hub “so secure that it is unable to connect to the Wink servers” (those were Wink’s words). The problem centered on an expired certificate, and unfortunately, solving it required a recall of many hubs. Between the cost of the recall and other financial difficulties, Quirky went bankrupt in 2015 and the Wink assets sold to Flextronics (now called Flex), which had been the leading supplier for Wink’s hardware and firmware. Flextronics, in turn, sold Wink to i.am+ in mid-2017, where the company remains to this day. If you’re not familiar with i.am+, it’s a company owned by will.i.am, with a focus on wearable technology. Quirky did come back to life but remains separate from Wink.

Wink Development Has Slowed to a Crawl

Smarthome hubs live and die by their product integrations. If a smarthome hub doesn’t work with as many smart devices as possible, then users will abandon it for a competitor that does support their gadgets. So it’s disconcerting that Wink last announced new product integrations in September 2017.

In any tech industry, let alone the smarthome sector, that’s an enormous amount of time without iteration. To illustrate that fact, the very next announcement from Wink was support for Cortana, complete with pictures of Windows Phones and mentions of the Harmon Invoke Cortana speaker. In the last four months, all of Wink’s blog post updates described firmware updates designed to fix issues. The last new feature, which realistically is an enhancement of Lookout, came over a year ago. But worse than lack of updates and features, it’s almost impossible to buy a Wink Hub now.

Wink’s Supply is Nonexistent

Wink’s online store has been entirely out of stock since at least November 2018, which isn’t a good sign. Any attempt to add a Wink product to the cart at its website led to “temporarily unavailable” errors. This is true for many of the third-party products on the Wink website as well, like lightbulbs and smart plugs. Even Amazon.com and Home Depot had little, if any, Wink products available.

We reached out to Wink about this back in November 2018. Wink said the problem was only temporary, and that it was working on restocking its online store soon:

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What Determined The Direction Of Clock Hand Movement?

1. Religious Tradition
2. Sundials
3. Right-Handed Clock Makers
4. A Royal Decree

Think you know the answer?

Josh Hendrickson

The Google Home Hub is exceptional for controlling smarthomes, checking weather and news, and setting alarms or timers. But, if you don’t have the Ambient Display set to show your photos, you’re missing out on one of its best features.

Google Home Hub Is More Than a Voice Assistant

You probably use voice commands quite a bit with your Google Home Hub, but that’s neglecting the main feature that separates the Hub from other Google Home devices—the display. The Home Hub’s display can show you the weather, play news with video, offer step by step recipe instructions, control your smart lights, and even play YouTube videos. But one of the Home Hub’s best features, ambient display mode, only appears when you’re not using the hub.

With the Home Hub, Google introduced the “Ambient EQ” light sensor, and this allows the device to change its brightness and color temperature to work best with the current environment. Essentially, the Hub should look good no matter what room you put it in. It’s hard to overstate just how well this works, but you will almost swear you’re looking at a printed photo instead of a screen.

So, when you’re not working with the Google Home Hub (which is probably most of the time), why not have it display your photos? Think of those digital photo frames from a decade ago—only, in this case, the final product isn’t terrible.

If you have more than one Home Hub, you can even have them show the same set of photos without adding them one at a time to each device—your photos just need to be stored in Google Photos. You can even choose which people and pets show up on your Hub.

Upload Your Pictures to Google Photos

To view your photos on your Home Hub, you’ll need to upload them to Google Photos. If you just want to see some beautiful art, however, you can skip straight to turning on Ambient Mode on your Google Home Hub.

If you haven’t already, you’ll want to start by uploading your pictures to Google Photos. It’s possible that all the photos you care about are already there, especially if you use an Android phone to take your pictures. But if you haven’t, start by going to Google Photos and logging in with your Google Account. Then upload any images you want to display on your Hubs. You can do this from the Google Photos iPhone and Android app as well, but if you already have all your photos on a computer, then you can load up everything at once from the browser.

Once you do have your photos uploaded, click on the search bar at the top of the screen (to the left of the Upload button). You’ll see a row of faces—click on them and label those faces to group your photos by people. This is useful later if you want your Google Home Hub to display specific people (like family members or pets).

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Who Invented The Countdown?

1. A Filmmaker
2. A Rocket Scientist
3. A Boy Scout
4. A DJ

Think you know the answer?

Hamilton Beach

If you use a lot of canned goods in your house, you’re really doing yourself a disservice if you don’t have an electric opener. Read on to find out more about the best options out there.

Many cans offer ring-pulls now but there are always plenty of exceptions too. A manual can opener is ideal if you’re camping, but when at home (and with a power source), it’s so much easier to plug in a can opener and let it do all the hard work. That’s even more important if you have any disabilities or weaknesses that make it hard to do things with your hands.

A good electric can opener doesn’t have to cost a fortune, so here’s a selection of the best devices out there, along with details on how they can help you out.

Best Overall: Hamilton Beach Smooth Touch Electric Automatic Can Opener ($30) Hamilton Beach

Hamilton Beach is a regular go-to place for good quality kitchen gadgets and it’s certainly the case here with the Smooth Touch Electric Automatic Can Opener.

It’s the priciest can opener here but it’ll last you a long time. Simply place your can at the top of the device then hold down the large lever above it, and the can opener does the rest. The pushdown lever is just the right size so that even if you have mobility issues, you won’t have trouble finding it. There’s no need for holding onto anything fiddly here.

The device has a side-cutting system that removes the top while leaving a smooth edge, so you limit your risk of cutting your finger at any point. It works on standard-size cans as well as cans with pop-top lids meaning there’s little it can’t handle. It looks pretty appealing too.

Buy on Amazon Best Combo Can Opener: Hamilton Beach Classic Chrome Heavyweight Can Opener ($20) Hamilton Beach

Two times where Hamilton Beach rules the roost? Well, yeah. In the case of the Classic Chrome Heavyweight Can Opener, that’s because it also has the bonus of including a knife sharpener on the bottom of the device. Is it as good as a dedicated knife sharpener? Not exactly, but for the average user, it’s far better than just leaving your knives to go dull which is far too common for many people rushing around their kitchen.

As well as that, its can opener is safe and sturdy and able to tackle any can you try it with. It has a magnet on the top so your can clings to it as it does its magic. The cutting unit is also removable so you can wash it safely and easily away from the rest of the device. It’s a high-quality combo unit.

Buy on Amazon Best Handheld Can Opener: Instecho Electric Can Opener ($20) Instecho

A handheld can opener can be pretty useful if you have limited space in your kitchen and you don’t want to need room for yet another electrical unit. The Instecho Electric Can Opener is small enough to store in a drawer while still competent enough that you don’t have to worry about using manual effort to open a can.

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