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Complete with the complexities and connections of a long-form jigsaw puzzle, this world created by a small cadre of live broadcasters on Bigo Live is a complicated one that moonlights as a digital reality show. And the self-dubbed “main girls” are the leading attraction. The Singapore-based live-streaming app is a little-known secret here in the West, not even cracking the top 20 most-used social media platforms, according to data compiled by Statista....

Synthesizers are all pretty much the same, in principle anyway, so a basic, well-designed unit like the Mavis is a great way to learn. The twist here is that, just by plugging cables from one section to another, you can radically alter how it sounds and behaves, allowing even the most advanced player to go wild. “I produce synth-based music quite extensively, and I have been mentioning the Moog Mavis to a bunch of friends who produce music in the past few days....

Take USB-C; it’s finally becoming a more universal option and can transmit lots of data and provide plenty of power for devices. The list goes on, but the fact is the side of my desk is a tangled mess of charging cords. I realized how bad the situation had become when I was packing for a summer vacation trip. Admittedly, I’m not a light packer when it comes to technology and travel, but the cord situation was ridiculous....

I picked up a brand new iMac G4 keyboard on eBay for less than $30 the other day, and I couldn’t be happier. The keyboard that comes with the M1 iMac is tiny, sleek, and runs on Bluetooth, but it’s unusable with its small keys. The G4 keyboard, on the other hand, is massive and connects via USB, but it’s perfect for people who need to type. The G4 keyboard hit the market in 2003 when Bluetooth was a wild and futuristic idea....

The creative community in Hollywood clapped back hard. Director Judd Apatow took to Twitter to denounce the idea. “No. That’s not how it works. Distributors don’t get to change the way the content is presented. Doing so is breaking a trust and won’t be tolerated by the people who provide it. Let the people who don’t care put it in their contracts that they don’t care. Most all do,” he tweeted last October....

Netgear’s Nighthawk X4 Wi-Fi Mesh Extender (EX7300v2) hits a sweet spot when it comes to Wi-Fi signal extenders. It has a wall-plug design yet hits higher speeds than some of the simpler plug-in models out there, however, it isn’t as large as some of the extenders that are nearly as sizable as routers themselves. It also has advanced technologies such as MU-MIMO and beamforming, so it feels like a fully capable device....

E Ink is launching the Gallery 3, the next generation of color ePaper screens for the eReader and eNote markets. The company claims that new technology allows for a full-color gamut at each pixel. The advance could finally make the low-power display technology suitable for a wide variety of tablets. “Color eReaders allow a richer reading and viewing experience in the eBook store,” Timothy O’Malley, the assistant vice president of US business operations at E Ink, told Lifewire in an email interview....

The recent iPad 15 OS update features support for third-party eye-tracking devices. The software enables a new gadget called the TD Pilot that claims to bring the tablet experience to people who need communication help. “Using eye tracking-enabled communication aids, individuals with limited voice or movement capacity due to conditions such as cerebral palsy, ALS or spinal cord injury can type messages using only their eyes and have the computer speak those messages out loud,” Fredrik Ruben, the CEO of Tobii Dynavox, which makes the TD Pilot, told Lifewire in an email interview....

A new acoustic archery game will allow people living with blindness to experience virtual reality technology for the first time. It’s part of a small growing number of experimental technological options for the visually impaired. “VR is useful for [people with vision impairments] for the same reasons it is useful for others,” Michael Hingson, of the tech accessibility company accessiBe, told Lifewire in an email interview. “With games, it provides a broader sense for playing....

Multihoming Broadband Routers The most direct method for using two high-speed internet connections on a home network is to install a router specifically designed for this purpose. Multihoming routers feature two or more WAN interfaces for internet links. They handle both the fail-over and load balancing aspects of connection sharing automatically. However, these high-end products are designed for use by businesses rather than homeowners and can be complicated to set up....

What Is an ORF File? A file with the ORF file extension is an Olympus raw image that stores unprocessed image data from Olympus digital cameras. They aren’t intended to be viewed in this raw form, but instead edited and processed into a more common format like TIFF or JPEG. Photographers use the ORF file to develop an image through processing software, adjusting things like the exposure, contrast, and white balance....

What You Can Do in the Displays Preference Pane Depending on your monitor’s configuration, some of the parameters you might be able to set in the Displays preference pane include: Set the resolution of one or more monitors attached to your Mac.Control the display’s orientation (landscape or portrait) if your display supports rotation.Set the brightness level.Arrange multiple monitors in one cohesive virtual display.Set secondary monitors to mirror the primary display or extend the desktop across the displays....

In the battle of PS4 Pro versus PS5, should you upgrade early, or take a wait and see approach? We look at all of the most critical factors to help you make an informed decision. Overall Findings The PlayStation 4 Pro supports ultra high definition (UHD) gaming, but with a few caveats. For example, it can do 4K or 60 FPS, but not both at the same time. Its 4K 30 FPS gameplay mostly uses checkerboard rendering instead of native as well, while the much more powerful PS5 is capable of native 4K 60 FPS gameplay....

Even as researchers are working to turn skyscrapers into giant batteries, Polar Night Energy (PNE) in Finland has installed the first commercial sand battery, which can store energy for several months, to warm homes in winter when energy needs rise. “Production of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power is highly volatile, and only partly overlapping with the consumption in time,” explains PNE on its website. “Our technology provides a way to refine cheap and clean surplus electricity to valuable heat in an affordable way to be used when most needed....

Why You Should Change the SSID Typical default SSIDs are simple words like Wireless, Netgear, Linksys, and Default. There’s a good chance that your neighbors have the same type of router you have using the same default SSID. That could be a recipe for a security disaster, particularly if neither of you uses encryption. Check your router’s SSID, and if it is one of these defaults, change the network name to something only you know....

The app’s clean and well organized menus are backed up by a solid set of useful features that will surely come in handy for hiking, backpacking, mountain biking, horseback riding, trail running, and other activities. You can visit AllTrails.com to search for trails from a computer or download the app for iOS or Android. What You Can Do With AllTrails Here are some quick-hit features available through the free version of AllTrails:...

The Silver Ticket STR-169100 is a fixed frame projector screen that’s built around an extruded aluminum frame. Silver Ticket is known for products that exude a premium look and feel without the premium price tag, and the STR-169100 projector screen lives up to that standard. We assembled an STR-169100 and installed it in a home theater environment to get some hands-on experience. Read on to see how easy this screen is to assemble and install, how well it performs in terms of picture quality, and whether it really stands up to more expensive screens....

Known by their Twitch screenname, MermaidUnicorn, Sterling is drawn to the dramatic, the expressive, and the theatrical, with high-powered performances adorned with their signature rainbow hair and a patchwork background giving thousands a near-daily dose of live entertainment. Sterling came to Twitch in 2018 and has become a staple in the music scene with innovative performance art pieces. A young artist with something to prove, they knew they were meant for something greater and seized the opportunity to fulfill a dream deferred....

A new paper finds structural racism in academic STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) programs. The problems with education often mean obstacles to hiring minorities in STEM fields. Experts say the results of the report tally with their own experiences. “I persevered through undergraduate and graduate courses where professors and peers dismissed my presence and contributions,” Ivory Willams, the vice president of STEM Teaching, Learning, and Innovation at Liberty Science Center in New Jersey told Lifewire in an email interview....

Temple Run 2 Tips and Tricks Like the original, Temple Run 2 is an endless runner game in which your character, an explorer, flees from an ancient shrine after obtaining an artifact. The sequel does away with the trio of monkeys that pursued the hero in the first game in favor of a single, huge monkey that is just as bent on revenge. Along with a different antagonist and a new setting, Temple Run 2 introduces some different obstacles that require you to pay even more attention to stay alive....