RealStuff

You are not restricted to using Microsoft's suite of apps, even if Windows is still the most popular operating system. Try open-source alternatives that provide freedom, flexibility, and robust features without the cost if you're sick of depending on Microsoft apps that drain your subscription funds and restrict your control. I'll go over reliable open source alternatives to your daily Microsoft essentials in this post. To help you manage your digital life without going over budget, I'll show you my favourite apps for note-taking, cloud storage, workplace productivity, and even video editing. NEXT CLOUD -  convenient substitute for OneDrive There is more to Nextcloud than just another OneDrive substitute. It is a very flexible open-source platform that offers a full range of cloud-based services. You have the freedom to design your own unique cloud storage and collaboration platform with Nextcloud, unlike OneDrive, Google Drive, or Dropbox. Your personal information, su...

Are you aware of the functions of the Option key on your Mac keyboard? It conceals a tonne of additional options and shortcuts and is actually one of macOS's best hidden features. Let's examine it more closely. Is the Function of the Mac Keyboard's Option Key? A modifier key is the Option key on a Mac keyboard, which is frequently referred to as "Alt" on older versions. When paired with other keys, it offers shortcuts and modifies the options available in different menus. Many people find it by accident since Apple doesn't do a good job of explaining what it does. Press the Option key when a menu appears at the top of your screen to see how it operates. You will see some of the menu selections alter in real time. This occurs in numerous programs as well as across macOS. Experimentation is the simplest approach to discover things. Press the Option key when you have menus open, including context menus from right-click, and see what occurs. Here are s...

Although Finder on Mac appears straightforward, it has some strong internal features that can revolutionise the way you handle files. Let's look at a few lesser-known tips that will help you become an expert Finder user. PREVIEW OF FILES WITHOUT OPENING THEM If you want to preview files without waiting for programs to launch, Quick Look is ideal. To view the contents of any file immediately, just pick it and hit the Spacebar or right-click and select Quick Look. Quick Look allows me to quickly preview dozens of photographs while working on a presentation without having to wait for Preview or Pixelmator Pro to start. Even playing films, navigating through PDFs, and copying text straight from previews are all possible. There are also some clever tricks in Quick Look. If you select multi files before utilising Quick Look,  then you can navigate through your selection with the arrow keys. Additionally, in addition to the standard trackpad motions, you can use Command-Equal or Command-M...

Apple's M4 MacBook Pro laptops have surpassed the average computer customer's "value for money" expectations, indicating a potential mistake in their approach. When trying to find the best deal, Apple's configurator tool, which allows you to customise Macs of all kinds, may be a scary deathrap. When a better computer with better value is only a few clicks away, it's incredibly easy to overpay for something. This explains why many YouTubers have earned a fortune by creating spreadsheets whenever a new Mac model is introduced. so that you can easily determine whether options are worthwhile and if purchasing an older model is the better course of action. Seldom do you find a device similar to my favourite M1 MacBook Air basic model. When it was first released, the $999 laptop was more than sufficient for the great majority of users. Even the 8GB of RAM wasn't a concern in 2020, and even though the M4 series was available in stores, Apple continued to sell the...

The iPhone's built-in call forwarding feature lets users reroute incoming calls to a different number; configuration varies depending on the carrier. To ensure that crucial calls are not missed while the user is unavailable, Conditional Call Forwarding allows calls to be redirected when the iPhone is busy or unanswered after a certain number of rings. Keep in mind that although VoIP services used to answer forwarded calls may use data unless they are linked to Wi-Fi, call forwarding is a network-level feature that does not take data from the user's data plan or impact cellular network usage. SETTING UP YOUR IPHONE FOR CALL FORWARDING Are you unable to answer your iPhone and wondering how to keep incoming calls within reach? Setting up call forwarding is your answer. By turning this function on, your phone can forward calls to a different number, keeping you informed. The procedure is easily included into your phone's settings if you're running iOS 13 or later. Just foll...

Microsoft Edge's security measures, although not all are activated by default, can protect your online privacy and enhance your surfing experience. Turn on the Enhanced Security Mode. Microsoft Edge's enhanced security mode applies stricter settings to frequently visited websites, enhancing browsing safety using operating system features like CFG, ACG, and Hardware Enforced Stack Protection. Edge's enhanced security mode is an adaptive feature that adjusts settings based on your browsing patterns. To activate advanced security mode, click the three-dot icon in the top-right corner of the screen and select Settings > Privacy, Search, and Services > Security. Maintain "Balanced" for optimal protection and usability, while setting "Strict" provides maximum online threat protection, as it may impact some website functionality. Microsoft Defender SmartScreen should be used. Microsoft Defender SmartScreen protects PCs from phishing and malware by scannin...

  WinRAR Another graphical application for dividing large files into several smaller ones on your computer is WinRAR. Visit the WinRAR website, download the utility, then install it to get started. Restart your PC after that. Locate the file to split by using File Explorer. Select WinRAR > Add to Archive with a right-click on the file. Click the "Split to Volume, Size" field in the Archive Name and Parameters window, then enter the size of each file chunk.  From the provided drop-down option, be sure to choose the appropriate unit.  Configure additional settings, such as the archive format, if you'd like. After that, click "OK" to begin file splitting. File chunks of the size you specify will be created by WinRAR and stored in the same folder as the original file. Part 1, Part 2, and so on will be the titles of the chunks.   Right-click the first chunk (which reads "part1") and select WinRAR > Extract components to recombine these components and ...

  You can divide your large files into several smaller ones if you've encountered a file size restriction. The actual huge file can then be obtained by recombining these files. I'll walk you through several methods to accomplish it on your Windows 11 computer. The 7-Zip program, which is free and open-source, is the simplest way to divide huge files on Windows 11. You may extract several kinds of archives and compress your data using this program. This application allows you to turn a single huge file into several archives. To accomplish that, access the 7-Zip website in your preferred web browser. After downloading and installing the software, restart your Windows 11 computer. Next, locate the big file you wish to split by using File Explorer (click Windows+E). Select Show More Options > 7-Zip > Add to Archive with a right-click on the file. The Add to Archive window will appear. To generate each little file, click the "Split to Volume, Bytes" field and enter i...

Determine and Enhance Your Wi-Fi Coverage's Dead Zones. There are probably parts of your home where the network connection is poor, or possibly nonexistent, unless you've already resolved this issue. Perhaps a strange location in your living room, the basement where your theatre room is, or a guest bedroom or restroom in a far corner. In any case, having numerous dead zones is annoying to users who are attempting to connect to your Wi-Fi network. Fortunately, it's not difficult to increase the Wi-Fi coverage in your home. You have two choices to think about. Move the Router to a Better Position The router's Wi-Fi coverage can frequently be increased by simply shifting it to a better location. The router and the rest of your home should be as close to each other as possible. It should ideally be placed high in the middle of the room, away from obstructions like bookshelves or shelving. Although it may seem tempting to conceal the router in a cupboard or something similar...

Key Points: Turn on Enhanced Security for Secure Internet Surfing. Only Use HTTPS for Secure Connections. Manual Password and Autofill Verification. Conduct a Safety Check Frequently. Use Two Steps Verification to Verify Your Google Account and Protect It From improved malware protection to an online safety check, Chrome offers several crucial security features that assist safeguard your browsing experience. I use these basic Chrome settings to make sure I'm online securely. Turn on Enhanced Security for Secure Internet Surfing Google's Safe Browsing feature guards against malware by alerting you to potentially harmful downloads, webpages, and extensions. Its maximum level is advanced protection, which additionally alerts you when you visit a potentially dangerous website or when one of your passwords is found to be compromised. Additionally, it thoroughly scans dubious downloads to make sure they are malware-free. To activate advanced protection in Chrome, select Settings >...

You can have two versions of several programs and a second contacts list on your Samsung Galaxy smartphone thanks to a great function called Dual Messenger, which helps keep personal and professional lives apart. Here's how to utilise this excellent function, which every Samsung user ought to test. Samsung Dual Messenger? This enables you to log in to those applications without having any link to the accounts that were utilised in the original versions. These cloned apps are separate from your primary contacts and allow you to establish a second contacts list. I use it for some work-related apps, but you could also use it to keep friends and family apart or to apply it to two different groups of friends. Set up a Secondary Contacts List Make your secondary contacts list before you begin utilising Dual Messenger to generate cloned apps. This gives your primary list an additional layer of anonymity because, for example, when you make a second Whatsapp account, only the secondary ...

Noise-cancelling and noise-isolating headphones are the two types you'll find if you're looking for new headphones that can block out sounds. They both seek to eliminate noise, but they approach the task differently. What distinguishes the two, then, and which approach is best for you? Difference In actuality, when someone refers to "noise-cancelling headphones," it means Active Noise Cancellation, or ANC. It's a remarkably advanced device that continuously records outside noise using microphones, then processes it to produce an inverted sound wave. The majority of the time Noise-Canceling headphones are also noise-isolating headphones. The two sound waves effectively cancel each other out when this inverse sound wave is played back through your headphones, so you don't hear any of the noise.  Different headphones have different levels of ANC quality; whereas more costly models can block out noise entirely, entry-level models only dampen it and occasionally ev...