New Technology : Don’t Want To Use Facebook Messenger? 6 Slick Alternatives To Try

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I love using Facebook Messenger for keeping in touch with various cohorts and partners-in-crime around the world, but this sentiment is not widely shared by others. A lot of people I’ve come across hate Facebook Messenger as if the app has personally trashed their car, and flooded their house. Even though they use Facebook often, they refuse to touch the Messenger app. I personally don’t understand it. But hey, each to their own. So with that sentiment in mind, I decided to carry out a public service and go out hunting for some Facebook Messenger alternatives. You can use these...

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New Technology : 8 Instances You Weren’t Using a VPN, but Should’ve Been: The VPN Checklist

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A Virtual Private Network will help you protect your right to privacy in numerous areas of your digital life. Global news is dominated by instances of hacking, mass data collection, data snooping and more, and as our lives are now digitally intertwined with our computers, laptops, smartphones and tablets, it might be the right time to consider how you interact with the Internet. There are numerous VPN solutions out there. VPN providers such as ibVPN deliver the most important things in a VPN: reliability, privacy, encryption and anonymity. If you haven’t already considered subscribing to a VPN to secure your...

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New Technology : Master Microsoft Office with 7 Courses for Just $49 for a Limited Time

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Businesses the world over use Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and all of the programs featured in Microsoft Office, and if you want to move up in your current job or get a new one, having a high skill level in Office will help a great deal. But of course, if you want to learn from the experts, it won’t be cheap, right? Wrong! With MakeUseOf Deals you can get access to seven Microsoft Office courses taught by experienced experts for just $49. Sold separately, these courses would cost over $1000, but for a limited time you can get access for a...

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New Technology : How Robotic Parking Garages Will Make Your Life Easier

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If you’ve ever been frustrated with using parking garages in the city, you may be happy to learn that an automated alternative may be coming to a city near you. Automated parking – otherwise known as “robotic parking garages” are not new technology, but it’s a technology few people have heard about because adoption rates are so low. This will probably change as city populations rise, and as space becomes more scarce. In its early stages, the robotic parking garage concept – while exciting and futuristic – was plagued with bugs that led to property damage and bad PR. However,...

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New Technology : Kano: The DIY Computer For Kids To Code and Learn (Review and Competition)

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Can a small child build a computer and learn to code on it? Well, probably, but it depends on a few things. First, ease of building; a DIY computer aimed at children should be easy to put together. Second, attention span; if the computer doesn’t react as expected, then all interest might be lost. Third, and perhaps most importantly, the user interface has to be as interesting and engaging as the learning tools. The fact that Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and Kickstarter co-founder Yancey Strickler are counted among the backers for the Kano project gives some indication of what a great...

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New Technology : 5 Best Dynamic DNS Providers You Can Lookup for Free Today

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Last year, DynDNS shut down its free plans and left a big hole in its place. It’s a shame because DynDNS was always a top mention when free dynamic DNSes were brought up. But now that it’s gone, are there any good alternatives? There sure are. Dynamic DNSes allow a single web address to map to a changing IP address, which is great for home users since IP addresses don’t always stay the same. If you want to connect to your PC from anywhere or set up a home web server, then a dynamic DNS is one of the easiest...

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New Technology : Facebook Favors Friends Feeds, Tweaking Twitter Tackles Trolls, & More… [Tech News Digest]

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Facebook changes things up, Twitter tackles the trolls, YouTube stops working, Vine shares the love, celebrity Apple Watches, and the Age of Ultron trailer recreated in LEGO. Facebook Makes It All About Your Friends Everyone that Facebook suggests I be friends with are people I know and I hope I never see again. — William Haynes (@MrWilliamHaynes) April 21, 2015 Facebook is updating the News Feed to ensure updates from your friends are favored over updates from publishers. From now on, posts published by friends will appear higher up in your News Feed to ensure you don’t miss that oh-so-important...

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New Technology : Take Your Selfie Snapping Skills to the Next Level

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If you’re going to take a selfie, you might as well do it right. Just because you’re taking a photo of yourself doesn’t mean photography principles like composition, exposure, and depth of field don’t apply! With a little bit of skill and practice, you can shed the negative stigma and take selfies that can be appreciated as quality photos. The infographic below gives you some tips that will help you move beyond the realm of blurry, poorly shot selfies and into pictures that showcase you in the best way possible! Via On.com Click to Enlarge

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New Technology : Can Virtual Reality Cut the Cord?

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Let’s not mince words: I am visibly aroused by Valve’s new Virtual Reality headset. The Vive, created in partnership with HTC, boasts perfect tracking of your head and two controllers, a comfortable 2160 x 1200 resolution, and a ultra-sharp 90hz OLED display. It’s coming out this year, and it offers interactive VR experiences that provide a sustained sense of physical presence in the virtual scene. To get a sense of just how good the tracking is, check out this video of “The Gallery,” a VR game being played on the Vive. The Challenge of Free-Roaming Virtual Reality The Vive is fantastic. However,...

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New Technology : Russia Proposes Highway from New York to London

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A record-breaking global infrastructure project could bring The Big Smoke closer to The Big Apple – via The Third Rome. It is a speculative plan, but alluring. Who hasn’t dreamed of taking a car trip around the entire world? In short, the plan is to build  a single highway that runs from London, all the way across Russia, crosses over into Alaska, and then crosses the USA, finally landing in New York City. The project would cost trillions of dollars, millions of man hours, and would cause untold bickering among its stakeholders. Would the outcome be worth it? And how would...

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