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The CAPS LOCK key is probably the most useless key on your keyboard. Netiquette forbids you to use it because it's considered screaming, which is simply rude. And what else would you use it for other than expressing your raw emotions? Unintentional activation of the CAPS LOCK is also a common reason why people fail to type the right password. That's because it sits on the home row, a prime location that is easily hit by accident.
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Apple announced updates to its iTunes Store recently, which now includes the option to download movies, movie bundles, music box sets, TV episodes, and Season Passes at a later time, rather than immediately at the time of purchase. The new "download later" options apply to items purchased on iTunes 11 (Mac or Windows PC versions), or on iOS devices running iOS 6 or later. When you purchase an item it will be added to your iTunes account, followed by a "Download Now?" button giving you the option to download immediately or later.
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Windows 8 uses a new "hybrid boot" feature to improve boot times. When you shut down, your computer doesn't actually shut down normally - it performs a sort of limited "hibernate" that stores a state with drivers, services, and other software loaded into memory. When your computer boots, it doesn't need to reinitialize all your hardware, load drivers, and load services - it simply loads the state from your hard drive and continues the boot-up process.
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Over the past few months I've been getting to grips with Windows 8 in its most ideal format, on a touchscreen device. The experience has been largely favorable, although as far as the new Metro/Modern UI goes, I tend to restrict its use to the tablet display while enjoying traditional computing through an external monitor. This setup works for me, enabling me to get on with work while able to quickly check news, weather or listen to the radio.
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Switch from one DNS server to another quickly. DNS Jumper is a portable Windows app with a long list of built-in DNS services, and you can even add your own. Do so and you can jump from service to service in just a couple of clicks. By default you use the DNS offered by your ISP, but some people switch to a different server for speed or security reasons. Some DNS services even allow you to bypass region blocking.
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IT solution Soluto has launched a brand new version of its simple tech-support system, which brings new features, new plans, and for the first time, an official PC list, rating the best Windows laptops on the market based on Soluto's data. After installing Soluto's client on the supported PCs, you can check them out from your own computer, tablet, or phone, perform actions remotely when needed, and more.
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UK-based PCBundler launched their second Windows bundle on Monday, offering $217 worth of Windows apps for only $29. Users who take advantage of this offer will receive seven top-selling Windows software, including TuneUp Media (which you can also get for free from our Rewards program), PCKeeper, VideoConverter Pro, Audio Recorder, Switch (also available for free download as a MakeUseOf Reward), Phototangler, and PASSWORDfighter.
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Movie files are generally not optimized for the smartphone. They often take up too much space and may be encoded in a format that the smartphone can't play back very easily. If the movie in question is on a physical DVD, it will need to be "ripped" into a standard video file before you can play it. Video conversion isn't as essential as it used to be when playing videos on a modern smartphone.
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Although AirPlay - a system that allows you to stream video and audio between AirPlay-enabled Apple devices - works great in a lot of situations, it isn't a perfect system. Perhaps most importantly, Apple's AirPlay system is proprietary, meaning it's only officially implemented by Apple and thus only available on Mac OS X and iOS devices, leaving a lot of Windows-Apple crossover users out in the cold. Luckily, both of these problems are solved by AirParrot.
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"Will it rain later today?", "What's the temperature outside right now?", "Will it be warm this weekend?" These are just some of the questions we ask about the weather every day. Getting answers to these questions no longer requires turning on the TV and waiting patiently for the next weather forecast. It's all right there at your fingertips, leaving you only to decide how you want to consume it. And there's quite an abundance of choices.
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I used to think that a date imprinted on a photo helped to stoke up nostalgia around that particular photo and gave all the photos in my albums some perspective. Those were the days when my snapper of choice was a simple point-and-shoot. Timestamps don’t really serve a purpose and are a distraction. So, here are some simple techniques to remove them from your old (or new) photos.
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It's increasingly rare, but still occasionally true: sometimes you just don't have Internet access. Whether you're on a plane or your grandparent's place in the country, life occasionally brings all of us to places WiFi and 4G can't reach. With a little preparation, however, you can have the data you need on your hard drive, waiting for you.
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RocketDock has been one of the best choices for a Mac-like dock in Windows for years. That's why it's on our Best Of Windows Software page. In fact, you've probably heard of it. But there's more to it than just being a dock that is easy to use. It's also more customizable, perhaps even more than one of its most popular alternatives, ObjectDock.
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Windows has always had an active community of enthusiasts who customize everything about it, including its desktop theme. Although Microsoft tries to prevent this, Windows 8's desktop can be themed just like Windows 7's. We've covered tweaking your Windows 8 PC's appearance before, but you can go much farther than just changing the desktop theme's colors.
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Wouldn't it be nice to have the ability to just open up an Excel spreadsheet or a Word document, and without having to do anything at all, data gets read directly out of a text or CSV data file and loads directly into a chart embedded onto your spreadsheet or Word document? This is a form of automation using Office products, because if it's possible to automate the charting of data in Office, just think of the possibilities.
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