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Typing in a person’s name doesn’t tell Google Assistant how that name is pronounced. This can be frustrating when you’re trying to use commands with the name. Thankfully, you can recite the name out loud to teach Assistant how it’s pronounced. RELATED: Google Assistant Is Getting Better at Understanding What You Just Said First, we’ll open Google Assistant on your smartphone or tablet. On Android devices, this can be done by saying “OK, Google,” or by swiping in from the bottom-left or -right corner....

Time travel can be a messy subject for fans familiar with the Animal Crossing series—it’s a game that is meant to be progressed and enjoyed in real time. But what if you could advance forward to speed up the process? Here’s how in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. What is Time Travel in Animal Crossing: New Horizons? Animal Crossing: New Horizons on the Nintendo Switch plays in real time, meaning that a day in the game is as long as a day in real life....

There are a couple of things to consider when choosing a navigation route: Which one will be the fastest? Which one is the fewest miles? Google Maps can also show you which route will save the most gas. Google Maps factors in things like road incline and traffic congestion to figure out which routes are the most fuel-efficient. It’s not as simple as just choosing the route with the fewest miles....

Next, type your Gmail address in the text box and tap “Next.” After you’re done with that, the next screen will say “Setup Complete!” You can now “Go to Inbox.” It will take a few minutes for everything to sync. If you previously added an email account to the app, you can add a Gmail account by opening the sidebar menu and selecting “Add Account.” Silk Browser The second method also doesn’t require you to download any apps, but it’s a little more low-tech....

If you’ve ever used Microsoft Excel’s data types feature for details on geography, stocks, food, and more, then you’ll love the addition of templates. Microsoft offers several data types templates to help you track all sorts of things. These templates help you use the cities data type to plan a relocation, the stocks data type to track your investments, and the food data type to log meals for your diet....

Just like a Chromecast, Android TV, or Google TV, smart displays support “casting” content from your phone. Netflix is one of the many streaming services that can be casted to a Nest Hub, but there are other ways to do it, too. Let’s explore your options. RELATED: How to Watch Netflix with Your Friends Online Cast Netflix to Nest Hub The first method is simply using the Google Cast functionality to manually send a Netflix video to your Nest Hub....

Not only is Lightway available to all users, but ExpressVPN has open-sourced the code for scrutiny, providing more confidence to users that it’s worth a look. What Makes Lightway Stand Out? Lightway is a VPN protocol. That means that it is essentially a blend of transmission rules and encryption standards that the VPN uses. In the case of Lightway, it’s a brand new protocol built from the ground up to optimize connection speed, reliability, and connection speed....

There’s a new vulnerability in Windows 10 called “PrintNightmare.” It was revealed in early July 2021, and Microsoft is already rolling out an emergency security update to fix the problem. You should update as soon as you can. The vulnerability is a critical flaw in the Windows Print Spooler service. It’s similar to another vulnerability that was patched in June 2021. The worse thing about PrintNightmare is that its exploit has been shared publically, making it easier for hackers to employ....

At this point, we can only speculate what Microsoft will do with the new Media Player app. Most likely, the “Media Player” name is just a placeholder, and it’ll retain the name of whichever app it’s replacing. Of course, if Microsoft decides to phase out both Windows Media Player and Movies & TV, it could condense the apps down into an app called “Media Player.” It’s been far too long since Microsoft updated either of its media playing applications, so whatever this ends up being called, it’s nice to see the company finally putting in some work and making a more feature-packed media app....

RELATED: Microsoft Abandons Plans for 3D Emoji on Windows 11 As an example of how beloved the Ninjacat is within Microsoft, there was (or possibly still is) a statue of the feline at Microsoft’s campus in Redmond. A Reddit user named mattbdev (via Windows Central) noticed that the new flat Windows 11 emoji do not feature Ninjacat anymore. Accessing these Ninjacat emoji required special combinations, but they don’t appear to work anymore....

What’s New in Microsoft Start? With Windows 11 right around the corner, Microsoft is looking to rebrand its news efforts with a nice new homepage called Microsoft Start. Microsoft includes more than 1,000 publishers in Microsoft Start. As is usually the case with these sorts of services, the company uses AI and machine learning to sort through the news and then show people the stories it thinks will be most interesting to them....

Phishing attacks are one of the oldest ways for malicious individuals to steal information, and an old-school phishing method has found its way into Outlook. Using characters from different alphabets, people can make victims believe spoofed emails are from genuine contacts, as reported by ArsTechnica. Fortunately, Outlook has received an update that fixes the problem, according to Mike Manzotti from dionach. Make sure to get the latest version, so you don’t fall victim to these phishing attacks....

According to a report from Bloomberg, Sony’s Game Pass competitor is codenamed “Spartacus,” and it will offer a catalog of modern and classic games for a monthly subscription. That sounds a lot like Microsoft’s pitch for Xbox Game Pass. However, the report didn’t indicate whether Sony would offer new releases on day one, which is one of the major selling points of Microsoft’s subscription service. It’s hard to beat getting new AAA games on the day they release without spending anything other than a subscription fee....

Size is one of the most important factors, as it directly impacts the portability of a monitor. If you buy too large a size, you may have trouble carrying it around, which ruins the point! Also, you generally want the monitor to fit in your laptop bag or carry-on luggage. Fortunately, a wide variety of sizes are available on the market. The available input ports on a portable monitor are also crucial to your buying decision....

Don’t Open These Shortcut Files on Your Mac Park Minchan, an independent security researcher, discovered a vulnerability in the operating system that lets threat actors control your device. Basically, shortcut files with the .inetloc extension can have commands embedded inside them, which can execute all sorts of things. If someone sends you a file with the .inetloc extension and you open it on Big Sur or older versions of the OS, the file can execute commands with no other interaction on your part....

Direct Message So, what is a DM? When referring to digital communication or social networking sites, DM stands for “Direct Message.” A direct message is a private communication, usually between only two people. In that way, they differ from other means of communication on a social network, such as comments, status updates, or group chats. You might see the term used during a public conversation on Facebook or another public website when more privacy is needed, such as “send me a DM”....

In Other Words IOW is the shortened version of “in other words.” In literal terms, it means to express something differently. An example of this would be, “My serotonin levels have risen significantly. IOW, I’m pleased about this.” IOW is commonly used to you paraphrase something in more straightforward terms to make sure everyone understands it. For example, if you’re a computer technician explaining a damaged PC to someone, you might say, “Your computer’s boot drive failed, and all your files were corrupted....

What Does “OP” Stand For? “OP” stands for “original poster” or “original post.” While both of these terms are widely used on message boards and internet forums, they mean different things. The original poster is the person who starts a discussion thread, forum topic, or Reddit post. They often kick-start a conversation or ask a question. If they’re asking for advice about a specific situation, they reply to the comments or messages in that thread....

Hamburger Menu—or Hamburger Icon—is a term commonly used when talking about apps. It might make you hungry, but it has nothing to do with food. Where did this silly name come from, and what does the menu do? The History of the Hamburger Icon The Hamburger icon—menu, symbol, button, etc.—has been around since 1981. It was created by Norm Cox, the graphics lead for the Xerox Star, the first commercial personal computer....

Making Sure it Works Beta testing is the process of testing an unreleased piece of software with a portion of its intended audience. It’s one of the final stages of the software development lifecycle (or SDLC) and often takes place before a public release. During beta testing, it’s essential to make sure that the testing environment mirrors the real-world experience as much as possible. Therefore, if someone is beta testing a word processor, they should continue creating the same kinds of documents they make for work....