What Are Your Goals? When you buy a consumer electronic device, the best question is what this tool will accomplish. Don’t get me wrong. Let’s be honest, buying stuff because it’s cool, shiny, and new is fun. That’s why I bought my Apple Watch (and later loved it). Starting with your goals, though, prevents you from wasting money. Your goal might be to tinker and not solve a problem. You’re fine if you’ve stated that goal at the beginning....

What is Apple TV+? The Apple TV+ streaming service offers first-run TV shows, movies, and documentaries on Apple devices and supported smart TVs. Since September 2019, Apple has offered anyone who bought a new iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple TV, one year of Apple TV+ for free. Apple extended the promotion during the pandemic twice, which extended the trial for millions who have never paid for the premium service. Until now, current Apple TV+ subscribers have either had no monthly bill or, if they had an Apple One membership, received a $4....

2021 Apple TV 4K Announced on April 20, 2021, the newest Apple TV 4K offers plenty of great features regardless of whether this is a new purchase or upgrade. Thanks to the A12 Bionic chip, it’s much faster than the previous Apple TV 4K model and its A10X Fusion chip. There’s also support for high frame rate HDR with Dolby Vision, HDMI 2.1, and Wi-Fi 6 for the first time. Those using Apple AirPlay will also find support for high frame rate HDR playback, making it possible to watch videos shot on the iPhone 12 Pro in Dolby Vision 4K 60 fps....

While many welcome the feature, some of us just feel more used to Vine. It was first with the short videos, and it did something right. I don’t really know what, but whatever it did, it just works, and it’s fun. Fallon takes that approach, talking about the extra nine seconds you have with Instagram. Vine gives you six, and for some reason, it feels like enough. It’s just fun to make short videos that tell a story sometimes....

Basically, if a would-be-hacker can gain possession of your iPhone, within a few minutes (6 minutes according to Fraunhofer) they might be able to decrypt the passwords stored in the iOS Keychain even if the device is protected with a PIN you’ve configured or your IT guy forced on the phone via ActiveSync. Once hacked, passwords including your GMAIL account, WIFI Passwords, LDAP and corporate accounts including VPN, Microsoft Exchange etc… So getting into the phone is obviously just the first step since most of the Juicy stuff is probably in your mailbox and across your company VPN....

For example, you can’t do conference calls on Zoom or Google Meet. You won’t be able to use other voice chat apps on your Chromebook, either. Luckily, we have some troubleshooting steps you can take to fix the problem if your microphone isn’t working on a Chromebook. Here are seven fixes to try, whether it’s the built-in microphone or an external microphone you plug in via USB. 1. Restart Your Chromebook If the built-in microphone is not working on Chromebook, there are a few basic troubleshooting steps you can try....

Microsoft Office 2021 This new version of Office replaces Office 2019 and is not to be confused with Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365). Microsoft 365 is the subscription service and Office applications are continually updated with new features. Of course, if you don’t pay you will lose access to it. If you buy a perpetual license of Office 2021 you own it forever. But you don’t get new features over time like with the subscription version....

Before you get too excited, there is one small thing to note. Typically, groovyPost only focuses on and recommends freeware to all our readers. Microsoft Math, unfortunately, is not Freeware, and it costs around $20. There IS a 30-day free trial you can use but yeah, it’s not free. Sorry. Now, back to the review: In Worksheet mode you can enter any equation you like, and Microsoft Math will give you a solution....

You needed to install individual mobile apps for Word, Excel, and Powerpoint before this rollout. Now you can get all three in one Microsoft Office app for Android or iOS. If you’re curious about installing Microsoft Office Mobile, the following review should help you decide whether or not it’s right for you. Navigating Microsoft Office for Android The moment you install and launch the Microsoft Office app, you’ll notice how quickly it runs....

The company is not ending the development of perpetual versions of the suite, but users will need to move to the latest versions in order to access all of Microsoft’s Office 365 cloud services. For example, Office 2016 which was launched in September 2015 will have its mainstream support end in 2020. So, if you don’t cut over to a Microsoft Office subscription by then, it will no longer be supported to connect to Microsoft’s cloud services....

Windows 10 Preview Build 17713 Microsoft Edge is getting updates to its autoplay video blocking as well as to the PDF toolbar. Also, the ability to lookup definitions while using Reading View for sites, eBooks, and PDFs. Notepad is getting many new user-requested improvements including Wrap-around, find/replace, Text Zooming, and Line Number with word-wrap. There are also new features for IT admins including improvements to Windows Defender Application Guard, Web sign-in to Windows 10 that supports non-ADFS federated providers, and Remote Desktop with Biometrics that works with Windows Hello....

Windows 10 19H1 Build 18356 Screen Mirroring allows you to send your Android’s screen to your PC. The company says: “Whether scheduling a ride to the airport or checking your social updates, do it with ease from the comfort of your PC without having to take your phone out of your bag or go back and forth between devices.” The feature is set up via the Your Phone app via what Microsoft calls “phone screen” and is still early development....

Windows 10 20H1 Preview Build 18965 This build is starting to offer more control over restarting apps at sign-in. Microsoft writes: “Windows now puts you in control with a new app restart setting. When turned on, Windows automatically saves your restartable apps when signing out, restarting, or shutting down Windows, and restarts them next time you sign in.” The feature is turned off by default, but you can turn it on in Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options....

Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17123 New in this build is Introducing High Efficiency Image File Format (HEIF) which is an image container that “leverages modern codecs like HEVC to improve quality, compression, and capabilities compared to earlier formats like JPEG, GIF, and PNG.” To use it you will need this latest build as well as the latest version of the Photos app. The Mixed Reality feature continues to have issues as well as bug fixes, too....

According to the blog post by Donna Sakar: New Features in Windows 10 Creators Update Build 15025 Braille support in Narrator, currently in beta, is a new feature that allows you to attach a USB or serial-based braille display to your PC and use it with Narrator. As the final release gets closer, head to the Narrator User Guide to get detailed info about braille display key mappings. This feature is still in beta and the company also notes that “there are coexistence issues with braille support and third party screen readers....

Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17127 Cortana now includes a new profile page that you can add and edit your favorite places. “The places you add are used to give you traffic updates for your daily commute, and let you easily set reminders when you arrive or leave your places,” notes Dona Sarkar in today’s announcement. Cortana’s Notebook has received an updated design and support for more international languages. It also will learn to use a default Skill lie Weather, Sports, or News and provide a set of tips for easier management of the digital assistant....

Windows 10 Redstone 5 Build 17763 Here is the list of fixes, changes, and improvements for this latest build: The build watermark at the lower right-hand corner of the desktop is no longer present in this build. This doesn’t mean we’re done…We fixed an issue where touching a Flash element in Microsoft Edge with two or more fingers could result in the tab crashing.We fixed an issue where thumbnails and icons might not be rendered if there were any video files saved to the desktop....

The MSE Pre-release Program lets you access and test new builds of MSE before they are released to the general public. You’re also able to test the new builds out and provide feedback to Microsoft. Here’s a few excerpts from the Microsoft Connect site about the Pre-Release Program. Before installing the MSE Pre-Release version of Security Essentials, you’ll need to uninstall the current version if already installed. If you try to install it without removing the current version you have installed, you’ll get the following message....

Since it’s often hard to find a Bluetooth keyboard that will work with you mobile device, and Microsoft hopes this one will allow you to get more done on your tablet or even your smartphone. In fact, according to the company you can pair this one keyboard with three different devices, with each running on a different platform. Microsoft says the keyboard is light and was built with portability in mind....

From Nov 23 to Nov 29, one can subscribe to Newton at $24.99/yr, that’s just $2/mo. Update: An earlier version of this post stated that the $24.99/yr price would be valid for life. This is no longer part of the offer. I’ve tried Inbox. I’ve tried Boomerang. I’ve tried lots and lots of email apps, trying to recreate that seamless, supercharged productivity that my Outlook command center gives me at work....