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The tips were created in conjunction with author Akash Karia, who wrote Small Talk Hacks. “This past year of virtual communication has been hard, and it’s normal to feel nervous as you prepare for social gatherings and face-to-face conversations after so long,” Karia said in the announcement. “I recommend listening to the whole series as a crash course in small talk before your first gathering, and then asking for a tip as a reference and confidence boost as you head out the door this summer....

A bike is a great way to get around and is enjoyable. Pulling over to the side of the road to check the map on your phone every few miles is most definitely not enjoyable, which is why turn-by-turn directions made specifically for cyclists are just as big of a deal as satellite navigation was for drivers when it first became good. It’s easier and safer, but we need bigger changes....

What is WWDC? This event is typically held in the summer, with developers from all over the globe coming to attend workshops, learn new skills, and hear Apple’s plans for its various operating systems. This year, it’s likely we’ll see new information about iOS 14 and watchOS 7, as predicted by MacRumors. Virtual reality: Thanks to the global pandemic, Apple and other companies have had to scramble to keep their typical schedules, including developer conferences....

Apple announced the updates on Wednesday, revealing plans to bring eye-tracking support to iPads, image support for VoiceOver, and made-for-iPhone hearing aids and audiogram support. The company also plans to incorporate background sounds into iOS to help minimize distractions for many users. “At Apple, we’ve long felt that the world’s best technology should respond to everyone’s needs, and our teams work relentlessly to build accessibility into everything we make,” Sarah Herrlinger, Apple’s senior director of global accessibility policy and initiatives, said in a press release....

The good news is that it isn’t the only short-form social media video platform out there. Here are the eight best alternative apps you can use instead so you don’t get caught up in the drama. Reels lets you record and edit video montages up to 60 seconds long made from a single video or a series of clips. You can add a soundtrack from a library of options and add a suite of visual effects....

Are Subwoofers Worth It? Subwoofers are crucial to the home theater experience. When you go to a movie theater, you feel the sound emanating around you. Subwoofers are responsible for the deep bass that shakes you and hits you right in the gut. To get this experience at home, use a home theater receiver that provides outputs referred to as a Sub Out, Sub Pre-Out, or LFE (low-frequency effects). The best home subwoofers cost hundreds of dollars....

With a little planning and effort, speakers assigned to the speaker B switch can be used to play audio from another room, a patio area or backyard, or a set of rear surround speakers. The switches can also be used to compare two different speakers. How to Set Up A and B Speakers Taking advantage of this built-in feature requires running speaker wires from the receiver to the desired room or zone and connecting a second pair of speakers....

Stanford University researchers are developing technology for adding voice to the web that any virtual assistant can access. The scientists propose the creation of the World Wide Voice Web (WWvW), a new version of the web that people will be able to navigate entirely by voice. “Most personal computing tasks have up until now been based around a visual interface and typing input via keyboard or touchscreen,” Robin Spinks, the inclusive design and services manager of RNIB, a charity for people with sight loss, told Lifewire in an email interview....

Beyerdynamic revealed its latest set of earbuds on Thursday, showcasing what the company calls its most flexible pair yet. Designed to meet all your daily audio needs, the Blue Byrd is a fantastic set of earbuds that Beyerdynamic promises deliver a fantastic listening experience, whether you’re talking on the phone or jamming out to your favorite music. I’ve had a few days to test out the new Blue Byrd, and I’m happy to say Beyerdynamic’s top-notch audio quality continues to blend with accessible controls and sound personalization options, but it never feels truly ground-breaking....

MIT researchers claim to have solved the puzzle behind the interactions of two neurons, which will unlock a new class of speedy artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms. It’s part of a growing branch of research in which studying the brain is helping create advanced new forms of AI. “Brain research aims to understand the communication between individual neurons or groups of neurons and can help us understand natural intelligence,” Rahul Panat, a professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, who was not involved in the MIT research, told Lifewire in an email interview....

What Is a CDR File? A file with the .CDR file extension is most likely a vector image created by CorelDRAW to hold text, images, effects, shapes, etc., usually for the purpose of creating letters, envelopes, web pages, banners, and other documents. Other files with this extension could be Macintosh DVD/CD Main files that hold folders and files in a single archive for the purpose of burning data to a disc, much like the ISO format you might be familiar within Windows....

The new book, “Fauxliage” investigates the wonderful and sometimes wacky ways that companies disguise the necessary towers to beam phone calls and data to phones. Photographer Annette LeMay Burke showcases cell towers that have been designed to blend into their surroundings, including airbrushed cacti and church crosses. “Cell phone towers were initially considered visual pollution,” Burke said in an email interview. “The first disguised tower, a pine tree, was created in Denver in 1992 to appease the NIMBYs [aka Not-in-My-Back-Yards]....

Overall Findings Think of a smartphone as a miniature computer that can place and receive calls. Most smartphones connect to a virtual store with thousands of apps that turn the phone into something much smarter than a regular cellphone. Smartphone apps include games, image editors, navigation maps, budgeting apps, word processors, and multiple web browser options. Some phones provide a built-in virtual assistant, such as Apple iPhone’s Siri, that responds to verbal instructions....

What Causes Audio/Video Sync Problems? The most common reason audio and video gets out of sync is due to audio processing speed. Audio often processes a lot faster than video, particularly when it comes to 4K videos. High-resolution video files take up a lot of space, and as a result it can take longer to process a video signal than an audio signal. If your receiver or display is set to do a lot of video processing to the incoming signal (such as upscaling), the audio and video can get out of sync, with the audio arriving before the video (or vice versa)....

Corsair’s stated goal is to create a laptop that would act as a single piece of hardware for gaming, streaming, and/or video editing. The Voyager a1600 AMD Advantage Edition is loaded with powerful components, along with Elgato gaming capture technology, so games will play and stream well. Its AMD Ryzen 7 6800 (or Ryzen 9 6900) 8-core processor and Radeon RX 6800M graphics card work together to boost game performance and handle intensive applications....

Much of this software is free, or you may find this functionality built into the graphics programs you already own. Many photo editors and image management tools include web publishing features these days. Tools to Automate Your Web Gallery Linked below is a roundup of tutorials for creating web photo galleries in popular software, plus links to more software with features for creating HTML photo albums and thumbnail index pages, all complete with hyperlinks and ready to upload....

Social media has been ablaze with a #CancelNetflix brigade and new data shows a high rate of subscription cancellation for the streaming company. The asymmetrical conversation brought about by the film’s perceived content has become the latest in a long line of cultural hedge issues igniting conversations on cancel culture and the ability of social media to bend corporations to their will. “I wanted to make a film in the hope of starting a conversation about the sexualization of children,” auteur and Cuties director Maïmouna Doucouré wrote in an op-ed published in The Washington Post....

In a virtual event in February, Meta showcased a new neural model for digital assistants called Project CAIRaoke, which it claims will be capable of having much better contextual conversations. “The major issue with digital assistants is [they’re] supposed to adapt to user behavior and environment, but they work the other way round,” Vivek Khurana, Head of Engineering, Knot Offices, told Lifewire over email. “Project CAIRoke appears to be the right step in the direction of an assistant adapting to user behavior and conditions....

Does iPhone 13 Come With Headphones? Simply put, no. The iPhone 13 only comes with a charging/syncing cable—a USB Type-C to Lightning cable for basic functionality. If you want to use headphones with your iPhone 13, you will need to supply them yourself. No matter which model of the iPhone 13 you buy, headphones are not included. Also, because the iPhone 13 uses a Lightning port for connectivity, you will need to make sure any headphones you do use are either Bluetooth headphones or have a Lightning connection....

Here’s what you need to know about follower limits, including the number of direct messages you can send, the maximum API requests you can make, and more. Twitter Daily Update Limits You can publish up to 2,400 updates to your Twitter account per day from all devices combined (web, cellphone, and other methods). When you surpass this number in a 24-hour period, you can’t make additional updates until the time period passes....