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Get a Taste of Future Versions of iOS and iPadOS Each year Apple updates its core operating systems for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. These arrive as free updates sometime in the fall, with the initial announcement usually coming at WWDC in June. But between the announcement and the final release, there’s a beta phase where you can install pre-release versions of the upcoming software. This may be of interest to you if you’re excited about what’s to come....

We recently found out that Microsoft would allow anyone to download the Windows 11 ISO and install it, even if their PC didn’t meet the requirements. However, there’s a significant catch, as the company may withhold security updates from PCs who update this way. Seriously? Microsoft Won’t Update Some PCs? If you go through the Windows 10 to Windows 11 upgrade process with a PC that meets all requirements, you’ll get updates like usual....

What Information Did the Hackers Get? T-Mobile issued a statement on its website where it addressed the hack. In it, the company said, “that a subset of T-Mobile data had been accessed by unauthorized individuals.” As far as what data was acquired, T-Mobile said that some current, former, and prospective customers had their first and last names, date of birth, social security numbers, and driver’s license/ID information stolen. The company said that it has “no indication that the data contained in the stolen files included any customer financial information, credit card information, debit or other payment information....

“I Don’t Know” IDK is an abbreviation of the phrase “I don’t know,” and it be can spelled capitalized or uncapitalized. According to Grammarly, the abbreviation has been around since sometime around 2002 (or even earlier), when it appeared in text speak. On Urban Dictionary, the phrase is defined as the shorthand form for “I don’t know” in a comment posted in 2003. The abbreviation is most commonly used and understood by younger generations (think generations Y and Z), but don’t bet that someone who isn’t as tech- or text-savvy will understand what the phrase means....

Not Safe for Work The acronym NSFW stands for “not safe for work.” When used correctly, NSFW is a warning that indicates a link to a webpage, video, photo, or audio clip contains inappropriate content. Although the word is usually associated with pornography, it’s often used as a warning label for violent, foul, offensive, or even politically charged content. Despite its literal meaning (not safe for work), the NSFW acronym is used to save you from any kind of public embarrassment (or, you know, from traumatizing your kids)....

Original Gangster Taken literally, OG stands for “original gangster.” If that doesn’t seem to line up with the places you’ve seen this acronym in, don’t worry. While the literal definition might appear different, the abbreviation “OG” has taken on a life of its own in the past few decades — from its origins in the 70s to the present-day on the internet. You can write it in both the uppercase “OG” and the lowercase “og....

The Origin Story The root user is the Linux superuser. They can, quite literally, do anything. Nothing is restricted or off-limits for root . Whether they’re a superhero or a supervillain depends on the human user who takes on the mantle of the system administrator. Mistakes made by the root user can be catastrophic, so the root account should be used exclusively for administrative purposes. The concept of the root user was inherited from Unix, which had a root user as its administrative superuser....

Share Focus Mode Explained “Share Focus Mode” really only affects Focus modes like Do Not Disturb, Work, Personal, Sleep, and any others you have set up. If you don’t use these modes, you don’t need to worry about this setting since it won’t affect anything. The whole point of these Focus modes is to silence non-urgent notifications and contacts. You can choose to allow notifications from certain apps and contacts when setting up Focus mode under Settings > Focus....

Google Maps is an incredibly powerful resource, but it didn’t get that way overnight. A program called “Local Guides” plays a big part in Maps’ accuracy and usefulness. You can be a part of this program if you want. What Is a Local Guide? A “Local Guide” is a volunteer position that allows you to contribute to Google Maps. While it’s possible to contribute without being a Local Guide, there are some added benefits to being in the program....

These days VPNs are really popular, but not for the reasons they were originally created. They originally were just a way to connect business networks together securely over the internet or allow you to access a business network from home. VPNs essentially forward all your network traffic to the network, which is where the benefits — like accessing local network resources remotely and bypassing Internet censorship — all come from....

What Does Auto Low Latency Mode Do? ALLM is a feature found in many modern TVs, gaming consoles, and other devices that enables a source (e.g., a gaming console) to send a signal to the compatible connected devices (e.g., a television) to automatically activate their lowest latency setting. This ensures the TV disables any graphics post-processing and displays the game content with the least possible delay. Pretty much all modern televisions use image post-processing to enhance the visuals displayed on your screen....

What is Spotify? Spotify was founded in 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon in Stockholm, Sweden. This was at a time when file-sharing services were very popular. A lot of people were illegally downloading music for free. The founders of Spotify wanted to “create a service that was better than piracy and at the same time compensates the music industry.” That was the main idea behind the service: Make it so easy to buy music that people will prefer it over piracy....

Voice Calls Over Wi-Fi As its name suggests, Wi-Fi calling or VoWiFi (short for Voice over Wi-Fi) is a feature that allows you to call or text over Wi-Fi. Calling over Wi-Fi and the internet is nothing new. For years, we have used apps and services like Skype and WhatsApp to send messages or make calls over the internet. But what separates Wi-Fi calling from these apps is only the medium of last-mile connectivity....

Debian, the progenitor of many other Linux distributions, has made release 11 available in the testing stage. Are you weighing the virtues of upgrading, or are you just curious about the changes? Today, we’ll take a look at the highlights. Debian is one of the most stable and versatile Linux distributions that you can find, with a storied history dating back to 1993. Its age and stability explain why many other popular distributions like Ubuntu, Linux Mint, elementary OS, and Raspberry Pi OS (formally called Raspian) can trace their roots to Debian....

Windows 10 and Windows 11 won’t hassle you to install an antivirus like Windows 7 did. Since Windows 8, Windows now includes a built-in free antivirus called Microsoft Defender. But is it really the best for protecting your PC — or even just good enough? Microsoft Defender (formerly Windows Defender) was originally known as Microsoft Security Essentials back in the Windows 7 days when it was offered as a separate download, but now it’s built right into Windows and enabled by default....

Today’s Question & Answer session comes to us courtesy of SuperUser—a subdivision of Stack Exchange, a community-driven grouping of Q&A web sites. The Question SuperUser reader Andrew Keeton is curious about what exactly he’s supposed to put in the allocation section when formatting a drive. He writes: While the default setting is usually the best choice for most users, let’s dig a little deeper. What should I choose for the allocation unit size setting?...

What To Do When You See This Message You’ll receive this warning as a push notification, either on your lock screen or as a pop-up at the top of the screen. Tap on it to open the Find My app with more information. You’ll have a few options available to you, including a “Play Sound” button which will cause the AirTag to emit a high-pitched noise. You can keep tapping this button until you are able to locate the AirTag in question....

For as long as the Windows 11 preview builds have been available, they’ve required you to upgrade from Windows 10. Now, Microsoft has announced that it is releasing Windows 11 as an ISO, which means you can do a fresh Windows 11 install or an in-place upgrade. Upon installing the ISO, you’ll go through what Microsoft calls the “out of box experience,” which is the installation process that’s designed to get you excited for all things Windows 11....

All-Day Battery Life When Apple ditched Intel in favor of its own Apple Silicon processors like the M1 and M2, battery life improved dramatically. The first MacBook Air with an M1 processor ran for around a third longer than its predecessor, while the 16-inch 2021 MacBook Pro doubled battery life in video playback compared to the 2019 model. You should expect around 17 hours of “wireless web” with a 13-inch MacBook Pro with an M2 chip and similar performance from the revised M2 MacBook Air released in 2022....

There are a number of fun things you can do with a Linux-based command line for those who love a little geekery. Here are three starter projects to incorporate the command line into your daily routine. We’ve ranked these projects in terms of difficulty from the easiest to the hardest, but all of these projects are still easy enough for beginners. They’re also an excellent way to see what the command line can do....