These apps are only as good as the hardware you’re using, however. You may need to adjust your microphone settings for your environment and get it ready to speak with friends, family, and colleagues. To make this easy, Windows 11 includes a built-in tool to help you test your microphone. If you’re unsure how, here’s how to test a microphone on a Windows 11 PC. How to Set Up a Microphone on Windows 11 Before you begin, you’ll need to make sure your mic is working properly on your PC....

Sometimes, however, you just want good old light mode back again. If you’re ready to turn away from the dark side, then you’ll want to know how to turn off dark mode on Google. How to Turn Off Dark Mode in Google Quick Settings If you want to turn off dark mode on Google without affecting the rest of your apps, you can do so through Google Quick Settings. This allows you to quickly switch between a light theme and dark theme or to match the mode your computer is currently using....

When you use your AirPods, you’ll need an Apple device like an iPhone or iPad to switch this feature on or off. You can also cycle between three different noise cancellation modes. If you recently got a new set of Apple’s in-ear buds, here’s how to turn on noise canceling on AirPods (or turn it off again). How to Turn On Noise Canceling on AirPods One of the cool features of the AirPod Pro is you can use Control Center on your iPhone or iPad to turn on the noise canceling feature or disable it....

I realized this was the case yesterday when I read about Google’s new “conversational search” feature. You can only use it with the latest version of Chrome. Update Google Chrome – Option 1 To manually update to the latest version, click the Options > Help > About Google Chrome. There, you’ll see the current version you’re running and that an update is available. Click Relaunch, and you’ll be running the latest version in no time....

Private listening mode is perfect for those living in an apartment to listen to shows without booming surround sound and bass that shakes the walls, floors, and ceilings. Headphones are a perfect compromise allowing you not to disturb other people within earshot. So here’s how to use private listening mode on Roku. Use Private Listening Mode on Roku You can use private listening mode on the physical remote that came with the Roku itself....

Update: Microsoft is no longer supporting Windows 8.1 Search Apps and Programs If you’re on the desktop, hit the Windows Key on your keyboard to get to the Start screen and start typing in the name of the app you’re looking for. The Apps Search box will automatically open. Then you’ll see a list of the desktop and/or modern-style apps listed under the results. Display All Apps If you want an easy list to see everything, right-click on the Start menu and select the All Apps icon in the lower right corner....

Hulu on Apple TV Just fire up your Apple TV, and you will see the Hulu Plus icon on the main screen. If you don’t see it, restart your Apple TV, and it should show up after it reboots. If you’ve used Hulu Plus on another set-top box like the Sony SMP-N200 or Roku, the user interface will be familiar. But, of course, in typical Apple fashion, the UI is a lot more beautiful....

Life Without a Laptop Battery I had a laptop that had a faulty battery, so I removed the battery and continued to use the laptop on AC power, as it rarely left the house. The fact that it seldom left the house made me give up on the idea of buying a new battery for it. It’s mainly being used as a desktop replacement. Did it affect the computer performance or harm it in any way?...

Note: Here I’m using iTunes 11 for Windows, but the steps are the same with the OS X version and newer versions of iTunes. The menus may vary slightly. Change iTunes Imported CD Track Quality Open iTunes and go to Edit > Preferences. Then under General Preferences click the Import Settings button. Since you’ll probably want the album to play on any of your devices or desktop software players. Change Import Using to MP3 Encoder from the dropdown menu....

New Loki Trailer from Marvel Studios Unlike previous clips, this one shows an actual scene from the show that features the God of Mischief himself, Loki, and Mobius introducing himself to Loki. They travel down a corridor of the Time Variance Authority (TVA) headquarters. In case you missed it, you can check out the new trailer below.  Loki appears to be recruited by the TVA leader, Mobius, to help fix the broken timeline....

Schedules and Planners Keep track of homework and appointments with schedules that help you plan. These planners let you know what you have to do and when you have free time. With this college year calendar, you add all of your appointments and events on one tab and then view your free and busy times on the yearly planner. As a bonus, you’ll see your day at a glance. Download or Use in Excel for the web: College Year Calendar Keep up with your homework, classes, and activities with a single tool....

Microsoft’s Movies & TV Needs Movies Anywhere The problem is not adding any of your purchased Microsoft movies to the Movies Anywhere service. Recently I was able to get a great deal on X-men Apocalypse on Google Play. It was cheaper to buy than any of the other services. So, after I bought it, with Movies Anywhere, it shows up in my movie collection on all devices — Apple TV, Fire TV, etc....

When your elite strap won’t charge, this is similar to when your quest 2 won’t charge. The only difference is that the strap is doing the job of charging rather than then the headsets cable. Why Won’t Elite Strap Charge? 1. The Elite Strap is Completely Dead One reason that your Oculus Quest 2 Elite Strap is not charging is because it is not actually fully dead yet. While your Oculus Quest 2 Elite Strap does not need to be dead for it to start charging, there is a possibility that your strap is just having some temporary issues and it will not properly charge until it is actually dead....

Why We Take Off Our Shoes in the United States but not in Israel Anyone who’s flown in the United States knows about TSA security. We take off our coats, avoid liquids, and take off our shoes before going through security. We have a no-fly list based on names. These are reactions to specific threats. That’s not the way a country like Israel does security. I haven’t flown El-Al (Israel’s national airline), but friends tell me about the interviews they go through in security....

Customize What You Have In the Alexa app on your mobile device or the web version, head to Settings. Scroll down to Flash Briefing and see what’s already there. Everything will be turned on, and you’ll get just the basics unless you’ve configured it. If you think you’d like a briefing in the future, but not now, just toggle it off. If you want to permanently disable a Flash Briefing skill, you’ll need to head to the Skills section in the app and tap Your Skills....

Whenever you add someone on Snapchat, your display name is what shows up to them and it allows them to identify your account. Since you first created Snapchat, you probably changed your name numerous times because as people, we sometimes like to update things that we no longer feel represent things. If you’ve had a peak on your friend’s phone and have seen your display name when you Snapchat them, you may have noticed that your Snapchat display name on their phone is different to the display name that you have changed it to....

If you feel like you are experiencing issues with your Snap Map location not updating properly, this guide also contains detailed troubleshooting methods that you can use to help solve your issue. Why is Someone Snap Location Not Updating But They Are Snapping It’s likely due to a bug with Snapchat that’s preventing their location from now updating. In this case, you can only wait for their location to update, you don’t have much of an option....

Sony Shutting Down PlayStation Vue However, even after price hikes across the board for all subscribers, Sony couldn’t make the service cost-effective. It continued to lose subscribers and had difficulty competing with similar services such as Sling TV and others. And by putting “PlayStation” in the name, most people (and potential new customers) thought it was limited to the PlayStation console only. But you didn’t need to own a PlayStation at all....

This can be extremely annoying especially when you’re busy and you don’t have time to change tracks. This means that you constantly have to manually change the songs all because Spotify couldn’t shuffle songs randomly. How Does Spotify Shuffle Work? Spotify’s algorithm was reportedly ‘random until a few years ago they change the algorithm from a completely random to a new algorithm that was intended to appeal more to humans which is why it’s no longer seen as random....

While automatic updates will keep your system up to date, the process can be frustrating. Occasionally, a restart will be required to apply the update, interrupting your workflow in the process. An automatic update can also stop your PC from working correctly, forcing you to try and troubleshoot the issue. Keeping your system updated is important, but if you’re having trouble, you might want to stop automatic updates on Windows 11....