New Technology : The Oculus Rift Is Real and You Can Have One in Spring 2016

RIFT CONSUMER VERSION

For those of you who haven’t spent the last two years waiting for this day, this post is going to sound a little crazy. For everybody else: praise the lord, Oculus VR has finally announced a release window for the consumer Oculus Rift. According to a blog post that went up this morning, “Since the earliest days of the Oculus Kickstarter, the Rift has been shaped by gamers, backers, developers, and enthusiasts around the world. Today, we’re incredibly excited to announce that the Oculus Rift will be shipping to consumers in Q1 2016, with pre-orders later this year.” This is...

Read the full article: The Oculus Rift Is Real and You Can Have One in Spring 2016



from MakeUseOf http://ift.tt/1IVKegz

New Technology : Find Anything in Your Excel Spreadsheet with Lookup Functions

spreadsheet-search

Most of the time, finding a cell in an Excel spreadsheet is pretty easy; if you can’t just scan through the rows and columns for it, you can use CTRL+F to search for it. But if you’re working with a really big spreadsheet, it can save a lot of time to use one of these four lookup functions. No matter the size of your Excel document, they’ll be much more efficient. The VLOOKUP Function This function allows you to specify a column and a value, and will return a value from the corresponding row of a different column (if that doesn’t make...

Read the full article: Find Anything in Your Excel Spreadsheet with Lookup Functions



from MakeUseOf http://ift.tt/1zRkfVW

New Technology : How to Save Money on Your Next Vacation Package

affordable-vacation-packages-intro

We all need a proper vacation now and then. Maybe you’re feeling stressed, overworked, and on the verge of motivational burnout. Maybe it’s time for a break. If a vacation is on your horizon, consider booking a vacation package. A vacation package is a combination deal that includes airfare, hotel stay, and sometimes car rentals. You could book all of these separately and possibly pinch a few pennies in the process, but vacation packages are extremely convenient (e.g. no risk of mismatched flights) and are usually price-competitive. In addition, some vacation packages are all-inclusive, meaning you pay one price that...

Read the full article: How to Save Money on Your Next Vacation Package



from MakeUseOf http://ift.tt/1EnVJak

New Technology : Get the Skills You Need to Build a Startup for 96% Off – Now $29

startup-bundle

Have you ever thought that you had a really good idea for a tech startup, but you’re afraid that you don’t have the skills and knowledge needed to build your own business? Well, you won’t have to worry about that anymore, because this Build-A-Startup Course Bundle from MakeUseOf Deals will provide you with a strong foundation of the skills that you need to create your own tech startup. Best of all, you can get this course for just $29 for a limited time. That’s a tiny investment in yourself that could lead you to the dream business you’ve always wanted! Buy: Build-A-Startup...

Read the full article: Get the Skills You Need to Build a Startup for 96% Off – Now $29



from MakeUseOf http://ift.tt/1cf0P2a

New Technology : BlockTogether: Why A Tool Built To Stop Harassment Is Now Used By ISIS

app-stop-harassment

Amanda Hess was threatened with rape and decapitation, after a clearly disturbed individual tweeted her saying they were in the same US state and he was “coming to get her”. Even though she called 911, she was not concerned. After all, she said, “none of this makes me exceptional. It just makes me a woman with an Internet connection”. But Zelda Williams didn’t feel that way after her famous actor father Robin Williams committed suicide. At least two users sent her gruesome Photoshopped pictures of her father’s dead body. This led her to announce she was leaving Twitter, although it seems she...

Read the full article: BlockTogether: Why A Tool Built To Stop Harassment Is Now Used By ISIS



from MakeUseOf http://ift.tt/1F3MiS4

New Technology : The Best Chromebook Yet? Acer Chromebook 13 Review and Giveaway

featured

Acer has come out swinging with the Chromebook 13, an Nvidia Tegra K1-powered beast that is easily one of the most powerful Chromebooks out there — and yet it still only costs $299. While Chromebooks began as cheaper, underpowered laptops, they’ve begun to evolve beyond that, and the Acer Chromebook 13 is leading that evolution. So is it the Chromebook you should choose? Read on for the full review, then scroll down to the end for your chance to win one for yourself. Specifications Model Number: CB5-311-T1UU Price: $299 from Acer, $349 from Amazon (a cheaper $259 model is also available with 2GB of...

Read the full article: The Best Chromebook Yet? Acer Chromebook 13 Review and Giveaway



from MakeUseOf http://ift.tt/1bCWC7V

New Technology : Who Is Online: The Best Doctor Who Episodes of All Time

doctor-who-best

“All of time and space; everywhere and anywhere; every star that ever was. Where do you want to start?” This year, Doctor Who celebrates its 52nd anniversary, originally airing on November 23rd 1963 (and repeated the following week just in case people were more interested in the Kennedy assassination, news of which broke in the UK as the show was going out. Over those 52 years, to date, Doctor Who has had 252 televised stories, two 1960s Dalek-centric cinematic spinoffs, two charity spoofs, and a deluge of print (novels and comics) and audio spinoffs. And we haven’t even touched on...

Read the full article: Who Is Online: The Best Doctor Who Episodes of All Time



from MakeUseOf http://ift.tt/1zJkJ02

New Technology : Nintendo Is Back in Black, Sony Abandons SoundCloud, & More… [Tech News Digest]

nintendo-luigi-fabric

Nintendo makes money, Sony sounds off, Spotify chases video, Stan Lee loves YouTube, color-blind Chrome, and a video showing Siri being your mom. Nintendo Makes a Small Profit Nintendo is making a theme park? Cool. http://pic.twitter.com/e1iUCwpwwY — Adam Kovic (@adamkovic) May 7, 2015 After several tough years in the red, things are looking up for Nintendo [PDF link]. Not only has the Japanese company registered its first annual operating profit in four years, it has announced plans to bring rides to theme parks operated by Universal Studios. Nintendo made an operating profit of $207 million on $4.6 billion in revenue...

Read the full article: Nintendo Is Back in Black, Sony Abandons SoundCloud, & More… [Tech News Digest]



from MakeUseOf http://ift.tt/1bCOaFE

New Technology : How Teen Media Consumption Has Changed Over the Years

TeenMedia

Being a teenager in 2015 is very different than it was in 1995. While most teenagers spent their free time watching a little TV in the 90s, there were far fewer screens to put in front of our faces. A social network was the group of friends you hung out with at school. Now, things have changed. Technology has opened all kinds of new things to teens, some good and some bad. So just how as being a teenager changed from the 90s? Are things better or worse? Take a look at the infographic below from TeenSafe that presents true...

Read the full article: How Teen Media Consumption Has Changed Over the Years



from MakeUseOf http://ift.tt/1P58BNO

New Technology : 7 Apps and Websites to Help You Give Money to Charity

apps-sites-charity

There is no better exercise for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up. —John Holmes Charitable giving makes the world a better place, not only by giving support to those who need it most, but by bringing us closer to our neighbors, no matter if they’re next door or around the world. Whether you’ve committed to being more charitable this year or you just want to find a way to build it into your daily life, these 7 apps and websites will help you be a more engaged human citizen. I Can Go Without When you think about...

Read the full article: 7 Apps and Websites to Help You Give Money to Charity



from MakeUseOf http://ift.tt/1zG4D7l