New Technology : Escaping the iCloud: Leaving Apple’s Ecosystem Behind

escape-icloud

You’ve decided to move on from iOS. Perhaps it was the price of apps; perhaps your iPad or iPhone is simply too old, and the cost of upgrading is too great when you can get an Android device for much less. Perhaps you fell out of love with Apple. But there is a problem: you have invested in iOS. Your data is tied up in iCloud, your email in your Apple email account. In short: things are a bit of a mess. How are you going to escape the iCloud and make your data ecosystem-independent? It Doesn’t Matter Where You’re...

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New Technology : The Differences Between Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi Direct You Need To Know

bluetooth-wifi-direct

If you take a peek into the future, it’s hard not to envision an always-on society that features a multitude of connected devices that work in unison to make your life more convenient. We’re currently not quite there yet – the main reason being the availability (or lack thereof) and the power consumption of an always-on connection between devices. From the convenience of digital wallets, to the entirely connected home; having a secure, reliable, and efficient way to transmit data is truly the last piece to the always-on puzzle. With two relatively new specifications — Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi Direct — we’ve...

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New Technology : 4 Malicious Browser Extensions That Help Hackers Target Their Victims

browser-extensions-hack

You might think that browser extensions are all about helping you, the end-user. You’d be wrong. Although certain extensions such as bookmarking tools, ad blockers, and translation add-ons undoubtedly provide a litany of benefits to the user, many seemingly innocent extensions have a much darker side – with the recent scandal around Hola VPN being a case in point. Whether these are extensions that exploit vulnerabilities in other apps and websites, or simply supply a stream of information to the would-be hackers on their own, there is no question that you need to be increasingly vigilant about what you add...

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New Technology : 9 Lesser-Known Android Apps That Will Change Your Life

undiscovered-android-apps

App lists are a dime a dozen. Most of the time, you go through them and realize that there’s nothing new for you. Doesn’t it seem like everyone is always parroting the same apps as everyone else? If so, we’ve got a surprise for you. We’ve gone through and compiled a list — based on personal experience and user recommendations — of excellent Android apps that most people have never heard of. Just to be sure, we’ve limited the list to apps with fewer than 500,000 installs only. A fair number when you consider the Play Store’s global reach. We’re...

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New Technology : Which Search Engine Do You Use? [MakeUseOf Poll]

magnifying-glass-search

Most of us use search engines to scour the Web on a regular basis. They’re pretty essential when trying to find your way around this huge resource we once naively called the World Wide Web. But which search engine do you, dear reader, personally use most of the time? Welcome to this week’s MakeUseOf Poll. Upvoting Upgrades To answer this week’s question please scroll down the page until you see the poll staring back at you. But first, we need to look at the results from last week, when we asked, “Have You Reserved Your Free Windows 10 Upgrade Yet?”...

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New Technology : 5 Apps to Read Today’s News Headlines, Quickly

cwa-news-quickly

Read the news, fast. Whether you want to know what’s going on in the world of technology or quickly swipe through headlines from around the web, the right site or app makes it easier. Cool Websites and Apps aims to bring you five things never covered on MakeUseOf before, despite our tens of thousands of articles. Today we’re going to point out five news sources we think are well worth installing or bookmarking. Let’s get started. Morning Reader: The Day’s Top Tech Stories If you’re a regular MakeUseOf reader, you probably like keeping up with the world of technology. Morning...

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New Technology : A Quick Look at the History of Windows in Visual Form

WindowsHistory

The release of Windows 10 is just around the corner. As that July 29 date inches closer, anticipation continues to grow for those who have clicked the upgrade button. Whether you’re first computer had and early version of Windows installed on it, or your first foray into Windows was the less-than-beloved Windows 8, you’ve probably used or owned a Windows PC at some point. You have to respect what Microsoft has accomplished with its OS and for how long it has been on top. It seems that with the release of the the new version of Microsoft’s long-running OS, it’s...

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New Technology : The (Remarkably Friendly) Things People Say Anonymously on Twitter

anonymous-twitter

People can now anonymously talk to their friends on Twitter – but what are they saying? We decided to find out. Creating a separate Twitter account to anonymously send messages to people — whether you know them or not — is a little weird. Thanks to a new service called Whisperly, however, anyone can send an anonymous tweet from their own account. With Whisperly regular people get all the “fun” of sending anonymous messages without dealing with secret Twitter accounts. Here’s how it works: you direct message the Whisperly Twitter account and a few moments later it tweets out what...

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New Technology : 8 Creative Home-Based Business Ideas That Anyone Can Pursue

home-business

The Internet has brought with it countless priceless opportunities such as videos of laughing babies, memes of grumpy cats, and sales of uranium ore on Amazon (replete with the required “Back to the Future” jokes). But arguably the Internet’s biggest contribution to the world is in the area of entrepreneurship. In the past, if you wanted the Donald Trump lifestyle, you had to put on your best suit, grovel to the bank manager, and take out a loan that could either make you or break you. Now you can start up online at minimal cost and minimal risk, with just your...

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New Technology : How to Cancel the Windows 10 Upgrade If you Changed Your Mind

windows-10-upgrade-cancel

Microsoft has made it incredibly easy to opt into the upgrade to Windows 10, but it’s equally a breeze to cancel out of it if you’ve changed your mind. All you have to do is use the app you used to upgrade with – we’ll show you how. While Windows 10 offers great new features like Cortana, a modern design, connected Xbox gaming, and more, there’s no need to rush into upgrading when most current Windows owners will be able to get it free within the year. If you had reserved your copy of Windows 10 and have now changed...

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