Windows 10 Dark Theme: How To Enable

Windows 10 dark Theme

Windows 10 is actually Microsoft's best operating system by far. The new operating system which is currently running on more than 270 million devices in the world is packed with lots of great features coupled with great innovation like Cortana, the personal Assistant. Ever thought of making almost everything on your computer look darkish? Or do you just love it when you have bright text on a dark background? Either ways, it all makes stuff look great on the device right?

It would have been awesome if Microsoft just introduced a toggle that could enable one apply dark theme to his or her PC without much hustle. Though this is not the case, one can still apply the hidden dark theme feature without really doing anything much complicated. To apply the dark theme,

1. Press the Windows key alongside the "X" key simultaneously.
2. Click "Run" and type "Regedit"
3. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Themes\Personalize
4. Right Click, New/DWORD (32-bit) Value
5. Value Name = AppsUseLightTheme
6. Right click and click on Modify
7. On the pop up, Select Hexadecimal and set the Value data = 0

   

   Editing the DWORD (32-bit) Value

8. Reboot your computer

After you reboot your computer, your Settings and other Windows built in programs should change to dark.

NB: whenever you want to change the theme to light, just change the DWORD value to 0 or delete the Value created.

We just hope that in the not too distant future, Microsoft includes this feature as a simple toggle.

Possible Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge Designs leaked.

As February draws nearer, Samsung lovers as well as tech lovers who aren't so much into Samsung are growing so much impatient and even more as January gets eaten away every second. Well, as this happens, we see loads of teases and well as leaks that claim to be what we should expect from Samsung's S7 and S7 edge flagships which are rumored to be released in February at Mobile World Congress.

In the latest leak by Evan Blass, there seem to be not much difference between the S6, its edge and the S7 and S7 edge. The most visible changes that can be spotted in the S7 and S7 edge are; the corners been a bit more curved and the finger print sensors been a bit taller than their predecessors.

From previous rumors, the Galaxy S7 and the S7 edge would be shipped with Samsung's own Exynos 8 octa processor as well as 4 Gb of RAM though the Snapdragon 820 variants may be available in some regions. The Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge are rumored to be having larger batteries than their predecessors with the S7 possibly bumping up to 3000mAh and the S7 edge 3600mAh. Both devices are rumored to be coming with removable microSD ports unlike the S6 and S6 edge.

Well, these are rumors and we can't say for sure what Samsung is hiding behind the parceling but the sure thing is they aren't going to be anything bad - at least they will be better than the S6 and the S6 edge.

Microsoft Has Released A New Selfie App For iPhone

Microsoft for sometime now has been developing apps and providing its services to not only Windows powered devices but also Android and iOS devices. This is something quite good as the apps and services they provide are good enough to make people use and keep using them. Today, it released an app it named, "Microsoft Selfie", an app that is to make the selfie experience even better.

Selfies are getting more popular these days and its just a good move that Microsoft has developed such an app. Let's now take a look at what the app's got to offer the iPhone user.

This app is packed with features like exposure auto-adjustment, noise reduction and also takes into account factors like gender, age, skin tone and lighting when making adjustments. It also has a slider that can be used to adjust how much processing you want to be done to the picture before you save it. It also has some filters you can apply to already existing pictures or pictures you take on the go. You can download it from iT here.

Have you downloaded the app already? How do you see it.

3 Changes That We Should Be Expecting In The iPhone 7

Apple is known for one thing; changing their design every year with the new iPhones and 2016s version of the iPhone, iPhone 7 and 7S will be no different. New leaks show changes that prove Apple upping their design game with the next version of the iPhone.

Korea's Commercial Times reports 3 fantastic acclaimed already confirmed changes that we would be seeing in the iPhone 7. All the three changes look to make Apple maintain its "cool guy" status in the mobile phones market. These features are:

1.   A "Smart" Allu-body: Korea Commercial Times, reports that the company will be using a ‘New Compound Materials’. In June 2015, Apple was granted a patent for what it calls a "Non-capacitive or radio-frequency-transparent material with anodized metal appearance", a material the company has been working on for sometime now. This material is to allow wireless signals to pass through the material directly without any obstructions. It looks like this material will be used.

Apple did not give any details on the material but uses the patent to describe the material as quoted below:

Composite structures that have an appearance of an anodized bulk metal but that is non-capacitive and/or radio frequency (RF) transparent are disclosed. The composite structure can be part of an enclosure of an electronic device. The composite structure can give the enclosure a metallic look without interfering with the functioning of some electronic components of the electronic device, such as RF antennas, touch pads and touch screens.

2.   Goodbye Antenna Stripes: It is a known fact that Apple always put some plastic antenna stripes (really buggy by the way) at the back of their devices to allow the free transmission of wireless signals (Bluetooth, WiFi and others) which can be highly affected by the aluminium casing. Samsung takes care of this deadening effect of aluminium by using glass and the Nexus 6P does same using its distinctive 'visor'.

Per the report by Commercial Times, the iPhone 7 will be seen with a uniform finish which means the stripes will finally be gone hence the iPhone will be smoother and even thinner than before. This will be taken care of by using the "Non-capacitive or radio-frequency-transparent material with anodized metal appearance" as mentioned earlier.

3.   Finally, truly waterproof: The iPhone 6S and the 6S Plus have a feature that Apple never really mentioned; they are somewhat waterproof. From discovery, the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus can both survive hours under water without any damage to the device. Apple is will be perfecting this this time around. Just imagine how "cool" it'll be using the iPhone under water - imagine the underwater photography.

It's been speculated that Apple will be abandoning the headphone jack. It seems Apple is making this move in order to make the iPhone 7 fully waterproof - something that rivals like Samsung have already done without abandoning the headphone jack.

It seems Apple as usual is doing their best to stay on top of the design game considering facts that the iPhone will be the thinnest iPhone ever made alongside these three great features.

15+ Useful Google Now Tips

Cortana, Siri, Google Now are personal assistants developed by Microsoft, Apple and Google respectively to help us do some stuff. In today's post, I will take you through 15+ useful things you can do with Google Now.

Google Now does more than just looking up things from the world's largest search engine. You can make it remind you of stuffs, do Arithmetic for you, launch apps or even show you directions.

For Google Now to work, the "Google" app needs to be installed on the device. If it isn't installed already, visit the Google Playstore on your device and install it from there. With that being done, let's get started with what we can do with Google Now on our Android devices.

• Define Words: Not sure of what that word you're thinking about really means or how to really use it? Well, let it bother you no more. Ask Google Now, it will define it for you and show you how to really use it in a sentence.
  
• Call and Text People: "Call Michael", "Text Julian". Want to call or text someone while driving or you just don't want to go through your contacts searching for the individual "Ok Google, text(or call) [contact]" will do the trick.
  
• Send Emails: "Ok Google, send an email to [recipient]". Just say that. There is no need opening you emailing app talk less of typing.
• Navigate: You can ask Google Now to navigate to that place you want to go. Just say the Address to it and it will navigate there and using your speed, tell you how long it will take you to reach that particular distance.
• Check Out Interesting Facts: "Ok Google, which animal is the fastest on earth?" just ask and you'll have the answer. With Google Now, you can check out interesting facts and expand your knowledge. The good part is you don't need to be typing any long sentence - all you need to do is speak it out.
  
• Set Reminders: Never forget anything again. All you need is to tell Ok Google to set a reminder for you based on the time, date, location and many other factors. Just tell it to remind you do "this or that" and it'll be done.
  
• Open Applications: Don't wanna spend valuable time looking through your apps just to open one of them, Google Now will make it easier for you. Just say, "Open Maps" when the Google app is opened and it will open it for you. If you don't have the app, it will open the PlayStore in order  for you to download the app.
  
• Create Notes: You can use Google Now to keep notes. Unlike reminders, notes are meant to last longer. All you need is to install at least one note-keeping app and you can make Google Now to keep notes whenever you want it to. In case you have more than one note-keeping app, you will be prompted to choose one.
• You can also play and control music from Google play music.
• Control Your Device: You can use Google Now to take total control of your device. You can switch on and off Bluetooth, data, WiFi, mute your device and many others. You make it turn on Flashlight, ask it to take a picture or even shoot a video.
• Perform Conversions as well as Calculations: "Ok Google, 46814*46456+48454-8545" or "Ok Google, convert 632kg to lb" just ask and you'll get the answer ASAP.
  
• Check Stock: To see how your stock or a recognized company's stock is doing or has done over a period, just ask Google Now to check it out for you.
  
• You can ask for sport scores and match schedules.
• Search For Images Online: Since Google Now works with the world's leading search engine, just ask it to search for images regarding a particular subject and it'll dutifully do it for you. For example, "Ok Google, search for images of "Albert Einstein".
  
• Check the Weather: The weather is one of the biggest contributing factors to our daily life. If you want to know how the weather will be like in your location or your destination, just ask Google Now to do it for you. You can just ask "Okay Google, will I need an umbrella tomorrow" and voila! there your answer goes.
• Perform Translations: Want to translate from English to another language or vice versa? Just ask Google Now. No need downloading Google Translator or Microsoft Translator (may become handy if you want to learn a language) just to do that one translation.
  
• Check Places Nearby: Wanna know where the nearest post office is? No problem, ask Google Now.
• Display your flight information provided you have the message in your email.

How To Flash Custom ROMs Onto Any Android Device

Android is fun - you can do anything you want with your Android device provided you have the needed knowledge. Flashing custom ROMs is one of the fun things you can do with your Android device. Whiles this gives you the opportunity to upgrade to a newer version of Android, it allows you to add more power to your device; improving speed, battery life, using custom fonts, using a custom bootloader, increasing the device processor speed just to mention but a few. In this post, I will be taking you through the general steps in flashing customs ROMs onto any Android device. First thing you have to do is get a custom ROM ready and you're good to go. Check out Android Custom ROMs; What They Are, Their Advantages, Disadvantages and Where One Can Find Good Ones.

1.   Flashing A Custom Recovery: All Android devices come with a preinstalled recovery which you'll need to change to a custom one. The recovery is similar to BIOS found on a computer where you perform Administrative tasks. This is the most difficult step when it comes to flashing ROMs - once done, its easy to flash the ROM from here.

There are many ways of doing this depending on your device. Samsung users have Odin and Heimdall while others may use a tool called fastboot to load recovery onto their device. There are two main types of custom recoveries you can use to do the flashing; CWM (ClockWorkMod) recovery and TWRP (TeamWin Recovery Project). It is very important to follow the instructions of the ROM provider when flashing any ROM to save your device for getting bricked.

2.    Flashing The ROM: The final stage is flashing the ROM. Once you've downloaded the ROM in the .zip format from the internet and have saved it in the root of your Android device, you'll then need to boot into recovery in order to install the ROM. Booting into recovery depends on the device you're using - it requires the use of different key combinations that is Power button + Volume down + Home button(if it's a physical home button). Once you're in recovery, wipe data, wipe dalvik cache, factory reset and flash the ROM from your device storage.

Once, done flashing ROM, it is advisable to flash Google Apps Package (Gapps) onto your device. For legal reasons, this is kept separate from the ROM. Once done with this, reboot your device and enjoy your new ROM.

Hope this has given you the general idea on How To Flash Custom ROMs onto Any Android Device? If you have any problem, don't forget to put it in the comments. Don't forget to subscribe via email for free tips and gist.

Android Custom ROMs; What They Are, Their Advantages, Disadvantages and Where One Can Find Good Ones

Android is undeniably the most used mobile operating system in the world and also the most customizable OS as well. OEMs (particularly Samsung) don't like rolling out updates - they want you to change device every year unless you're a Nexus user. This is the main cause of the rise of customized ROMs by third parties - to give users who don't want to buy a new device but want the latest version of Android to install it without much hustle. In this post, I will take you through What custom ROMs are, their advantages, disadvantages and where one can get them.

What are custom ROMs?

Custom ROMs are developed by individuals or companies (Oxygen OS, Cyanogen OS) independent of the official device manufacturers (though they sometimes customize the OS for OEMs like One Plus) (third parties). Since Android is highly customizable, it makes it easier for anyone to customize the OS and make it run on supported Android devices.

What are the advantages of custom ROMs?

Flashing customs ROMs have numerous advantages that come with it. Let me take you through some of them.

• Update to a newer version of Android that OEMs may not offer.
• Get a faster device since custom ROMs are lighter than stock ROMs.
• Improve battery life
• Get rid of annoying bloatware forever.

What are the disadvantages of custom ROMs?

Every good thing has its own downside and custom ROMs are no different. Though customs ROMs do help a lot, there are prices that one is likely to pay especially if they are not from good sources or the process goes wrong.

• You may end up bricking your device if you don't go about the flashing process correctly.
• Lack of hardware support; camera, microphone and some other things MAY not work.
• Your warranty will be invalidated.
• You may experience battery drain if there are some few problems with hardware support.

Where Can You Get One For Your Device?

There are many places that you can get custom ROMs for your device. They are not something that you'll need to search for your whole life. The first place I recommend you check is Cyanogenmod - they've been in the business for quite long and you'll be able to get very stable ROMs from there. In case you don't find one for your phone, you can head over to XDA developers forum and get the latest AOSP-Based ROMs which are well tweaked for devices. Other places you can  check are MIUI (pronounced mee-yoo-eye). Slim ROM and many others.

Hope this post has enlightened you on Custom ROMs? If you have any problem, please drop it in the comment box. Don't forget to subscribe for free updates.

Windows 10 Touchpad Gestures

Windows 10 was released by Microsoft on July 29th, 2015 with the aim of giving people the best experience on Windows. Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella said, "we are moving from the era of people using Windows to the era of people choosing and loving Windows". True to his words, Windows 10 comes as something "cool". Today, I will be taking you through one of the "cool" features; the Windows 10 Touchpad gestures.

Not all existing laptops that have been updated to Windows 10 will be able to use these gestures. More modern Windows 10 devices should be capable of doing so. For one to be able to use these gestures, one requires a “Precision Touchpad” (Some PCs don't meet the Microsoft precision touchpad but their manufacturers have installed drivers to activate this feature.) You can check if your PC has a precision touchpad by opening the Settings app, selecting Devices, and selecting Mouse & touchpad. You’ll see the line Your PC has a precision touchpad under the Touchpad heading here if it does.

When done checking and your PC has Precision Touchpad, try the following gestures.

• Launch Cortana: Tap the Touchpad with three fingers to launch Cortana.
  

  

• Show Desktop: Swipe three fingers down to show the desktop.

• Open Task View: Swipe three fingers up to open task view and see all your open apps.
  

• View and Select Opened apps: Swipe three fingers either left or right to switch between your open apps. Slide your fingers slowly across the touchpad to flip through them all.
  

• Zoom: To zoom in and out, place two fingers on the touchpad and pinch them together or stretch them apart — just like you’d zoom in or out on a touchscreen.
• Scroll: To scroll around in a document, web page, or anywhere else you might use a scroll wheel, place two fingers on the touchpad and move them either horizontally or vertically.
• Right-Click: Tap the touchpad with two fingers.

How To Configure Windows 10 Touchpad Gestures

Windows 10 comes with new features some being Cortana, Microsoft Edge, touchpad gesture support and more. In this post, I will take you through how to enable touchpad gestures on your device.

Gestures won't work on all existing PCs but will work near perfect (if not perfect) on devices with precision touchpad. Some PCs may not have precision touchpad but its manufacturer could have installed some drivers that will make gestures work.

To enable or disable gestures, go to Settings > Mouse & touchpad. Here you can switch on the gestures that you want and off the gestures you don't want. You can also select what a three finger tap does (on default it opens Cortana) and also what a three finger drag should do (on default, you can switch between apps).

If your PC doesn't have precision touchpad but gestures do work, then you will be able to do your set up somewhere in touchpad utility settings on your PC.

In order to enjoy the usage of gestures on your PC, check if your PC has precision touchpad before you purchase.

Microsoft Microsoft Surface Hub's Price has Sky-rocketed As Release Date nears

In August, Microsoft announced that their mega sized Surface Hub, a successor to it's large-screen Perceptive Pixel display will cost $6,999 for the 55-inch model and $19,999 for the 84-inch model but on Tuesday, Microsoft, via e-mail, announced changes in prices of the two devices stating $8,999 and $21,999 as prices for the 55-inch and 84-inch models respectively.

The Microsoft Surface Hub, a Video Conferencing system running a custom version of Windows 10, are preassembled , customized multi-touch, digital-link-enabled displays. This mega sized devices include custom-designed versions of OneNote, Skype for Business and Microsoft office apps. Both models will be able to run Universal Windows apps available from the unified Windows store. Two styluses and a wireless keyboard come with both models.

Both devices were expected to be available on September 1st, 2015 but Microsoft said, "We are still on track to ship the first Surface Hub devices to customers earlier next year" and according to a company representative, the devices will begin shipping in the first quarter.

The company is "finalizing our manufacturing plan with a view towards delivering the best product experience" and "After evaluating the market opportunity and considering the unique collaboration scenarios Surface Hub offers, we believe these are the right prices to drive the business and the category forward." are statements made by the company in Justification of the increase in prices.