Author: Press Room
One of VLC’s best features is its ability to play online videos just as easily as local files. Yet most of us never bother to use that feature, simply because it takes far too many steps to actually move the video from your browser to VLC. Open in VLC is a free extension that solves this problem. Once you install it, sending videos from your browser to VLC only takes a single click. That’s it. One click, and you’re all set to watch the video in a clean, distraction-free player with full control over playback. Why I prefer watching online…
I’ve had the opportunity to test a lot of fitness tech over the years. Most of it gets quickly relegated to a cupboard or drawer, never to see the light of day again. Some kit does stick around, though, and actually manages to motivate me to get out the door, pack a gym bag, or feel good enough to work up a sweat. This is the fitness tech I actually use on a regular (and often daily) basis, plus some kit I’ve yet to be won over by. Fitness tech stuff I actually use Garmin Forerunner 970 or Apple Watch…
In 2011, NASA scientists met at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California and came up with a list of the seven best (and worst) sci-fi films ever made. “Best” doesn’t necessarily mean “most realistic,” and there are a couple of movies on their list — like 1951’s The Day The Earth Stood Still — that aren’t especially scientifically rigorous. But according to contemporaneous reports from the likes of NPR, the scientists were trying to nudge Hollywood producers towards making the science in their movies more plausible, so it was a factor. Classics like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Contact appear…
Every morning, the first thing I do is turn on the TV and play a few spiritual songs. It’s my way of easing into the day, slowly and peacefully. What immediately disrupts that calm, though, is my smart TV’s home screen, which is cluttered and overflowing with ads and sponsored recommendations. Some days I manage to tune it out. Most days, I really can’t. I really enjoy using a browser on my smart TV. It feels freeing and functional, at least until I’m done and inevitably taken back to that same ad-heavy home screen. That constant visual noise eventually became…
Hoarding documents or rendering endless video: the best portable SSDs give your workflow some much-needed breathing space. And if you’re in the market for a storage expansion, this is the list you need. From pocket-friendly plug-ins to rugged drives that can withstand some serious fieldwork, the round-up below features our pick of the best portable SSDs for every user. They’re perfect for upgrading a laptop (which you should have chosen from our best laptops guide). Whether you need somewhere to stash gigabytes of game files or terabytes of 4K footage, we’ve picked out a cache of external drives for different…
Three years ago, I was wrong about Apple – specifically, Apple Arcade. I know, I’m as shocked as you are. But at least I’m self-aware enough to admit my inability to predict the future of tech with any degree of accuracy. And at least this wasn’t quite an “iPod will never take off” blunder (something I once said in MacUser magazine, which one former staffer delights in periodically reminding me about). Still, I did write ‘Why I want Apple Arcade to include classic arcade games – and why that’ll never happen’. But now it has happened, thanks to Retrocade. And here’s the bit…
Netflix has been producing original content for over a decade at this point, and has made lots of easily digestible miniseries you can finish over a weekend. But the streamer’s crowning achievement came last year: the four-episode drama series Adolescence very well may be the best thing Netflix has ever made, and it’s hard to see them topping it anytime soon. If you still haven’t seen Adolescence, it’ll be four hours of your life well spent. Adolescence is a great crime show for the 21st century The drama is thrilling and up-to-the-minute Adolescence is set in a small town in…
Summary About the Song is a Now Playing card that provides details like song inspirations and behind-the-scenes stories for the current track. Stories are summarized from third-party sources. The feature is currently in beta and is available to Premium users on Android and iOS in the US, UK, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia. Spotify has rolled out a ton of useful new features over the last couple of months, and that trend continues today with the announcement of About the Song. This aptly-named new feature “explores the meaning behind the music you’re hearing.” What is About the Song? Credit: Spotify…
Search online for the best Bluetooth speaker and you’ll find plenty of cheap Bluetooth speakers in the list. But how can you tell the bonafide bargains from the low-fi letdowns? We’ve rounded up a range of options that won’t hurt your ears – or your wallet. Decent beats are no longer reserved for premium speakers. Sure, the speakers below are unlikely to satisfy serious audiophiles. And a few favour portability over outright performance. But for the 99% of listeners who don’t have a soundproofed music room, the best cheap Bluetooth speakers make takeaway tunes enjoyable and affordable. From compact music-makers…
Smartphones that transform into sizeable tablets used to be pure sci-fi… but now bendable screens are our tech reality. Besides the obvious wow factor, these book-style foldables offer innovative flexibility that could change the way you use your mobile – while also packing in hardware to rival the best phones with more traditional form factors. Think folding phones are just a hinged gimmick? Think again. The best foldable phones are about as versatile as handsets get, even if they almost exclusively come at prices that make regular flagships look cheap. We’ve tested them all to work out which is best,…