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Showing posts with label How to tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label How to tips. Show all posts

Sunday, 13 December 2015

How to use Microsoft's Cortana on Android devices

 

Microsoft's virtual assistant app 'CORTANA' is now compatible with Android devices. Unlike Google's own assistant 'Google now', Cortana offers is richer in terms of offering more services than its contemporary.
Android users can also benefit from this amazing voice activated assistant. Simply go to your Playstore app and search for Cortana - download and install the app and your journey into the world voice activated assistant has begun. Many virtual assistant works better when it knows a bit about its master such as places you like to eat or your favorite sport and so on.
Similar apps like Siri and Google now does this automatically, however Cortana needs to be configured manually. So open Cortana app and swipe from the left to show the Notebook page as seen below





Tap "About Me" to enter information about yourself, such as your name. For the rest of the page you can enter your favorite news, your top bands, the sports teams you support and more.

Note that the more information you give Cortana, the better the app will be providing you with information and suggestions based on your preferences.


Similar to Siri and Google now, Cortana can be used to operate your device with just your voice. While your Android smartphone is not in lock mode you can get Cortana to listen by saying "Hey Cortana." The ability to use Cortana while your phone is at lock mode is exclusive to Windows Phones, for now.

With the app in listening mode you can use your voice to open apps (by saying "Open Instagram,"), and set alarms and reminders.

Users can also use their voice to find nearby hotels or search the internet and bring up weather forecasts.

Have tried this? Share your experience with us

Sunday, 8 November 2015

How to easily delete all photos from iPhone

 

Often times you might want to delete a group of photos or even wipe totally all the pictures in your iPhone. Due to the way the phone is built, users cannot delete all pictures at once. You can only delete a picture at a time, which is stressful and time consuming. However there is a way you can go around this by deleting the pictures in groups by following this simple steps.

 If you happen to have a Mac, deleting all your iPhone photos at once will be very easy. Just connect your phone to Mac using the appropriate cable and then open up Image Capture as seen in your applications folder. You should see a window showing all the pictures on your phone. Click on that window - then press Command + A to select all your photos. You can now click the delete button  - press Delete when the warning prompt pops up. You should have successfully deleted all the pics in your iPhone.

If you do not have a Mac - Go to the Photos app on your iOS device, then ensure Photos is selected at the bottom of the screen. Click on a particular year, followed by a collection - you will observe your photos grouped into Moments, which groups them by date. 

 You can click the Select button in the upper-right corner, then select each grouping by tapping the associated Select indicators that appear. The little setback is that you still have to select each Moments group manually, but i bet you it's much better option than selecting each picture individually. 

 After you've selected all your Moments, tap the trash icon, then confirm that you want to delete the pictures, and all will be transferred to your Recently Deleted folder. To remove totally, go to Albums >> Recently Deleted, then tap Select in the upper-right corner, followed by Delete All in the lower-left corner. Now your pictures should be permanently removed from your device.

How was your experience? share with us be leaving a comment

Sunday, 27 September 2015

How to turn off video auto-play on Twitter and Facebook

 

I was a bit perplexed when i stumbled upon a video on twitter the other day that shows the gruesome shooting to death of two TV journalists by a colleague that was fired earlier. It was a horrific footage, now as Facebook/Twitter user imagine your 12 or 15 year old kid stumbling upon such similar video in the future, i am sure as a parent/guardian we wouldn't want that. Due to the introduction of auto-play by media giants Facebook and Twitter, once you are on your wall, an uploaded video starts to play automatically once your scroll reaches it. If you want this to stop, you can take these following steps to stop the auto-play both on the web and app.

 To disable Facebook video auto-play on the web/PC


Login to your Facebook account and click the upside down triangle on the top right corner of the homepage and select Settings. Go to Videos, as seen on the bottom of the list of selections on the left-hand side. In the Auto-Play Videos page, click the button that says Default, and select OFF. Facebook will save your setting automatically. Turning auto-play back on is simply a matter of reversing the process by selecting ON.

To disable Facebook video auto-play for Iphone, Ipad and Android

Enter the Facebook app on your iPhone or iPad and tap the 3-line icon. Select Settings, and tap Videos => Autoplay. select OFF.

By following the same steps, you can switch it on by selecting ON or Wi-Fi only to re-allow video autoplay.

For Android phone or tablet users, enter your device's Facebook app and select the 3-line icon. Next is to tap App Settings. Select Video Auto-play and choose OFF. You can reverse this by following the same steps but select On or Wi-Fi only.

Please note that if you don't see Video Auto-play settings on your smartphone, then log out of the app and then log back in. The option should now be available in App Settings.

To disable auto-play for Twitter on the web/PC




Login to your twitter account and select your profile icon. Select Settings from the drop-down menu. You will be taken to your account page, scroll down or look for the Content section. Beside Video Tweets, 'Video autoplay' is ticked by default by Twitter. Now untick it and tap the 'Save changes' button.

To disable video auto-play for Twitter on Android and Iphone

Enter Twitter app on your smartphone and head to Settings. Go into the General section and select Video auto-play. Several options can  be seen here, like - Never play videos automatically. Now select this to turn off video autoplay.

If you want the autoplay back on, just follow these same steps and choose 'Use mobile data and Wi-Fi' or 'Use Wi-Fi only'.

I hope the steps are straightforward, you can leave a comment about your experience.

Wednesday, 23 September 2015

Block and Unsubscribe features now available on Gmail for Android

 

Google has added two new exciting features to its Gmail platform, they are ''BLOCK'' and ''UNSUBSCRIBE''.This new features are aimed at easing our daily use of Gmail service. 

 The Block service is aimed at blocking annoying or unwanted Emails and its senders. This works by tapping the Block option in the menu if you wish not to receive any more messages from that particular address. By so doing all future messages from that particular address will go straight into your spam folder. You can always reverse this feature if so wish. The update is presently available on the web platform and now on Gmail Android app.

 The other one which is the Unsubscribe feature allows users to directly unsubscribe from a mailing list directly from Gmail app. This is helpful for users who subscribed to newsletters a while back but don’t read it any more. The unsubscribe feature is already available on the Gmail web platform.

 Exciting features right? leave us a comment

Sunday, 20 September 2015

How to find out who viewed your Facebook profile most

 

Most individuals have one time or another been curious about who visits or views their Facebook profile most. Well if you really want to know the individual that views your profile most on Facebook, their is a way out. All you need to do is follow these simple steps:
Note: This can only be done on PC/Laptop.

i. Go to Facebook and click on your profile or directly type facebook.com/yourprofile on your browser to take you directly to that page.

ii. Right click while on your profile page and you will see something like the image shown below


  Now navigate to ''view page source'' and click on it as seen in the image above.

iii. After clicking, a new tab will open with lots of codes as seen in the image below

iv. Press CTRL-F on your keyboard when on that page and a text search box will appear at the top right hand corner as seen in arrow 1 in the image above.

v. Next is to type the word ''initialChatFriendsList'' (do not add the quotes '' '').

vi. You will be taken to arrow 2 in the image above. Now you will notice several list of numbers in front of your search word, copy the first number as seen in arrow 3 and open a new tab in your browser. Type facebook.com/copiednumber and you will be directed to the profile of the person that viewed your profile most on Facebook. The list of numbers shows the profile number assigned to the individual that visited your profile by Facebook. Each Facebook user has this unique number attached to himlher.

To my surprise, when i checked mine, it was a lady. Have you checked yours? Share your experience in the comment box

Friday, 4 September 2015

How to increase the RAM of your Android smartphone

 

Many users low/medium priced Android smartphones have been lamenting about the RAM capacity of their phone. RAM is random access memory of a phone - this is a phone's ability to process different commands randomly at high speed. So smartphones with little RAM are susceptible to freezing and higher time before processing a command.

 A smartphone with 512mb RAM will not run smoothly as one with 2GB RAM, because the latter is limited due to its small memory. With the introduction of an app in Android Playstore, low/medium Android smartphone users with small RAM can now increase their RAM to any desired capacity. All a user needs is a Rooted phone, memory card and Roehsoft ram expander app. This amazing app can boost your RAM to 4GB But before going any further, you can check if your phone is compatible with this application by downloading Swapfile checking app here. 

 After checking and your phone is compatible, then download and install the app and follow the step by step procedure from the app to easily increase the RAM of your phone. Amazing right ! Leave your comment

Thursday, 23 July 2015

How to detect a hidden web camera in a room

 

Have you ever been in a room or house and wondered whether there is a hidden web camera there? In this write-up, i want to share with you how to easily detect a web video camera in any room you find yourself with your smartphone camera.

 Just follow these simple steps and you will be done in a matter of minutes -

 1.  Turn off all the lights in the room.

 2. Close the curtains in the room.

 3. Just ensure the room is dark enough.

 4. Bring out your smartphone and switch on the camera.

 5. Now ensure that you rotate yourself in full circle while holding your cellphone and pointing it in all directions as if you want to take pictures of the entire room.

 6. If there is a web camera hidden in the room, immediately you turn towards its direction, you will observe a red light blinking on your cellphone screen. Please note that this is still when your cellphone camera is still on.

 You can now trace the origin of blinking light and locate the hidden web camera in that room. Have you tried this before? share your experience with us 

Friday, 17 July 2015

How to easily set a lock screen message on your BlackBerry 10

 

If you are a Blackberry 10 user, i have an amazing tip to share with you today - how to set a lock screen message in your BB10. By following these simple steps, you should be done in a minute...

1. Go to Settings on your BB10 followed by the Security and Privacy
2. Then go to Lock screen.
3. You can now enter your desired message in the lock screen field as seen in the image below.


You are done! Now lock your screen and see your displayed message. 

Wednesday, 15 July 2015

How to take a screenshot on Android Smartphones and Tablets

 

Its no more news that a substantial amount of people in the Amartphone and Tablets world use Android OS, however some users are not too familiar on how to tweak their devices to get screenshots of a particular display they desire - be it chat display, highest score in a game, a particular picture on Instagram or even take a screen capture of snapchat.

 Today i want to show you how to easily do this for all types of Android smartphones and Tablets. It is paramount to note that this process is not the same across all Android Smartphones and Tablets. For instance the procedure for taking a screenshot with your Samsung Galaxy is different from HTC. Not to worry, no matter the Android device you use - if you follow this general method you should be successful.

 When you are on the display page you wish to capture on you Tablet of phone, you can press and hold the power button first - followed by the volume down button. Please ensure not to remove your hand from the button before pressing the volume down button or else your phone screen will shut.

 If you were successful with this process you will notice a brief flash stating that the screenshot has been saved in your gallery.

 If this method did not work for you then try this - hold the power button first then tap the home screen button on the screen of your Smartphone or Tablet. This method is so dynamic that it even works on devices that use Power and volume down key.

 Have you tried this? share your experience with us by leaving a comment...  

Wednesday, 1 July 2015

How to download videos from Youtube to your Smartphone and PC

 
Ever watched a video on youtube, vimeo, myspace etc and wondered how you can download and save the video on your smartphone or Laptop/PC. Sit back, relax and watch as i show the easiest ways to get this done on any operating system you use. 

 With what i want to share with you today, you will be able to download any online streaming video of your choice at anytime using your Android, Iphone, Blackberry10, Windows and laptop/PC.

 The universal method widely used to download from Youtube now from any smartphone (Blackberry, Iphone, Windows, Android) is to add the simple word ''magic'' in the url of the video you wish to download. 

 For example, to download a particular video from Youtube, if the url of the video is https://youtube/9igPCFurOw0 you will now change it to https://youmagictube/9igPCFurOw0. You can see how i inserted magic in the url between you and tube. This will take you to a page where you can download the video in different formats (3gp, avi, mp4 etc)  

 FOR PC/LAPTOP

To easily download a streaming video to your PC/Laptop - just head to http://www.clipconverter.cc . On the website just copy and paste the url of the video you want to download and the format in which you want, ranging from mp3, mp4, AAC and so on. 

 If you are confused on how to get the url or link address of a video, just right click on the video and click 'copy link address' and then paste it on the website given above and you are good to go (follow the instruction on the website for guidance).
Do you have a better way of downloading online streaming videos? Please share with us by leaving a comment

Thursday, 11 June 2015

How to browse unlimited with MTN BB subscription on your PC/Laptop and Smartphone

 

Many of us are not new to the MTN mobile-tweak where you get to browse unlimited for 24hrs or a month with Simple server. But for the benefit of those who are still new to this tweak, let me write about it here. You can browse endlessly on your PC/Laptop for 24hrs with MTN BB10 subscription for just #70 or #1000 for a month by following these simple steps carefully. 

Firstly you will need a simple server software, modem and an MTN sim with #70 credit for daily or #1000 for monthly subscription thats all.


i. Download Simple server here, extract and install the folder on your PC/Laptop.

 ii Send Bblited from your MTN sim card to 21600, this will cost you #70. Wait a confirmation message that you have been successfully subscribed to the Bblited daily subscription.

 iii. Configure your browser as follow

 Just click settings on the right side of your browser and use the search box to search for proxy, click on it and click the LAN settings. Configure it as seen the diagram below. Click ok and you are good to go.
for Chrome browser users

Firefox Mozilla users
iv. Now open your simple server and connect your modem and start surfing the net to your satisfaction.

 For Android users follow the steps below:

 i. Download Android simple server here and install it on your phone.

 ii. Create a new APN on your phone as follows
Proxy: 127.0.0.1
Port: 8080
APN: web.gprs.mtnnigeria.net
Click save and set it as your default

 ii. From your installed Simple server, configure it as follows:
Proxy host: 10.199.212.2
Proxy port: 8080
Injection method: get
Injection query/url: http://web.blackberry.com
Injection host: web.blackberry.com
Injection line: press your enter button four times
Log level: debug
You can now close the settings and click the connect button

 You can start surfing the net endlessly.

Monday, 4 May 2015

How to use your WhatsApp directly on Opera and Firefox PC browsers

 

When WhatsApp released a desktop version of its messaging service in January, it worked only with Google Chrome. But that usage has been extended, as the company has made the announcement that the client is now also compatible with Firefox and Opera PC browsers.

The sign up process remains the same for the process (read here), which means Opera and Firefox users will also have to scan a QR code from within WhatsApp on their smartphone, something which can be done through a new Menu option, labeled WhatsApp Web.

A point worth mentioning is that the aforementioned option is going to be available to you if you use the app on Android,  Windows Phone, or Nokia’s old S60 OS, BlackBerry.

Tuesday, 3 March 2015

How to do a reset for your blackberry10 smartphone without removing the battery

 

Just imagine you want to pull the battery of your Blackberry phone for a reset, then you look at the back cover and discover that the battery cannot be removed, its sealed to the phone. Don't worry you can still reset or rebooth your phone with this simple trick. This situation is connected to all Z30 and Z3 blackberry smartphone, as you cannot remove the battery of these phones.


If you use the Z3 or Z30  and you need to do a hard reset or rebooth, this is easy and possible. All you have to do is just hold down the two volume keys at the same time for about 10 seconds and wait till the screen goes blank, then release. Remember to still press the buttons after it has taken a screenshot. You are done, your smartphone will do a hard reset or battery pull.

 Also take screen shots of anything you want on your phone, be it your Whatsapp chat, BBM chat or even your facebook wall or chat screen with the volume buttons. Just press the two volume buttons at the same time till you see ''screen shot saved in your personal space'' then release. Check your picture gallery for the screenshot Amazing right! leave your experience in the comment box

Monday, 26 January 2015

How to use Whatsapp directly on your PC

 

Whatsapp today released a statement on their blog, stating that whatsapp can now be used directly on your PC. This can be don using your Chrome browser. Read their statement and procedure on how to go about it below...
Read more »

Wednesday, 17 December 2014

How to hide your caller ID

 

Do you wish to hide your Identity or your Phone number from the person you are about to call? Whether you use MTN, GLO, AIRTEL, ETISALAT etc, this is very simple, all you have to do is follow this simple steps...

 i. Make use of Caller ID blocking code

 Many Countries allow their customers to hide their phone no from recipients they want to call. Many Countries have their codes, but the universal code that works in many countries is #31# followed by the persons number. For example, if you want to call 08056565555. You will dial #31#08056565555 and that's it. 

 ii. Use your device settings

 The second method to use is adjusting the settings on your phone. Most phones have this facility.
For Android - Go to settings > tap call > tap additional settings >tap caller ID and then tap hide number and that's it.
Read more »

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