Technology
Videoconferencing has become an essential part of the daily lives of most individuals for learning, working, and business environments, especially since the covid-19 pandemic. Although this drastic change could not have been predicted by anyone, it is widely accepted that video conferencing has been effective especially with restricted movement. As such measures should be taken to improve the quality of the activity.
Getting quality videoconferencing tools such as a good camera isn’t as hard as a lot of people think. This is because many online site provide quality equipment for a fair price. Indeed, if Videoconferencing experiences are poor, there’s a high chance that people would not be encouraged to have these meetings at all. In contrast, in a good videoconferencing experience-where the video is crispy clear, and the audio is just as clear, often feels almost like being there in person.
These are some of the reasons you should get a good, quality camera for videoconferencing.
1. Better video quality
Bad cameras, whether embedded or not, can cause poor or substandard video performance. This can be particularly frustrating, not just for you but for the people that have to see and listen to you. With embedded cameras, the video quality can be good on some days and bad on other days. This is why you should just get a highly efficient, quality camera. Having bad video quality can say a lot about a person, just as wearing bad clothes would. Up your conferencing experience with a good camera!
The following are things that make up the bad quality
- Poor resolution: Resolution or clarity is an essential part of video quality. If you wouldn’t watch a video with a bad resolution, why should you keep that bad camera?
- Poor lighting: this is the absolute worst. It can be frustrating when you’re in a room with variable lighting. For instance, a dark room or a heavily lit room. Bad cameras do a poor job of helping to compensate for this.
- Bad angles: if the camera isn’t stationed at the right angle, it would be difficult for other people to see them very clearly
2. Better functionality
Most embedded cameras, especially in laptops and desktops may not always be functional or operational. This is especially true in large work settings or business environments where you want to connect your device to a larger keyboard or LCD screen. If your device is closed, the camera would not be operational. Sometimes, when your laptop or device is open even when it is connected to a larger LCD screen, the angle at which the camera might be positioned might be terrible. This can be weird or awkward depending on the situation, for other individuals partaking in the meeting.
Conclusion
Bad cameras used in videoconferencing will not only make other people stress themselves (due to your bad camera clarity or resolution) but also loses their interest. For teachers and educators who are trying to pass a message across to other people, virtually, effort should be made to improve video quality. The better the quality of your video, the more productive it is.
Apple says the iPad Mini’s jelly scrolling isn’t a problem that needs to be fixed
Apple tells Ars Technica that it thinks the “jelly scroll” effect some users have noticed on the new iPad Mini is normal LCD behavior that the company won’t have to fix. The effect, also known as skewing, can make it seem like one half of the display is slightly behind the other while you’re scrolling, and it’s most apparent while using the iPad Mini in portrait mode. Verge executive editor Dieter Bohn noted the issue in a tweet and in his review of the device published this morning. Despite our requests before and after publishing the review, the company did not respond or comment.
Ars explains that the issue happens because the iPad starts drawing the lines on one side of the screen, and it takes time to go from one side to the other. A tiny amount of time, yes, but it can be noticeable depending on the device.
If you want to see how LCD screens refresh in shocking detail, The Slow Mo Guys on YouTube have done a video showing how it works with TVs and iPhones.
Apple is correct in stating this effect is common in LCD displays. It’s very possible that the screen you’re reading this on right now would display the same effect if you loaded up a webpage that tests for it — my laptop shows it quite strongly. The reason it sticks out on the iPad Mini, though, is that it’s frequently used in alignments where the problem is most apparent — it’s not likely to be an issue on a landscape display where you’re scrolling vertically.
This effect also happens with many video cameras, for largely the same reasons: if you pan fast enough, straight items like poles and trees will slant to one side, as the data is read from the top of the camera’s sensor to the bottom.
While the effect is common (and subtle on the iPad Mini, we don’t think it’s a deal-breaker given how good the screen is otherwise and the inclusion of USB-C), it seems noticeably worse on this particular model than other recent iPads. It also feels unusual that Apple isn’t concerned about it while managing to avoid jelly scrolling on both higher-end iPad models and even my previous-generation iPad Mini (which retailed for significantly less than the new model).
Elon Musk: ‘we probably don’t need’ NDAs for Tesla’s ‘Full Self-Driving’ beta
Tesla has been making participants in the “Full Self-Driving” beta test sign non-disclosure agreements, but CEO Elon Musk said Tuesday “we probably don’t need” them.
The reason? “There’s a lot of videos” being shared of the beta software in action, Musk said on Tuesday during the 2021 Code Conference. “People don’t seem to listen to me” and are “just ignoring it anyway.”
“I don’t know why there’s an NDA,” he said.
Tesla has had a small group of owners testing out the beta version of its “Full Self-Driving” software — which, despite the name, does not make the company’s cars fully autonomous — on public roads for about a year now. But this week, Vice reported that the company makes participants in the program sign NDAs. These agreements even discourage people from sharing footage of the beta software performing poorly because “there are a lot of people that want Tesla to fail.”
Many like you and I get to the market without the knowledge of what exactly we want to buy. In this advanced world of technology, it is very easy to get maneuvered and without your attention, you realize you have purchased something you did not need or it is not of the quality you expected. It is therefore wise to gather some information on your own and find exactly what you are going to purchase. Put in place all the specifications from the types, models, series and other specifications. You will also need to assess your environment clearly to understand the range and so on. Starlink manufactures are among the best optic manufacturing company that can manufacture quality optic products approved by MSA and other relevant authorities.
Starlink 40G Optical Transceivers manufacturer has stood out unwavering in the market for a long time now. This is because it has outstanding quality features that meet your needs. 40G transceiver is available for you in three types. SR4, LR4 and ER4
Affordable power consumption
The 40G optical transceiver series is one of the most affordable transceivers you can ever have. If in case you are having huge bills to pay power bills will not be a headache for you while using the 40G Starlink transceiver modules series. SR4 consumes power of up to 1.5 W ER4 consumes up to 3.8W while LR4 3.5W and below.
Suitable Distance
Distance is another inevitable factor you will need to consider. It will be very frustrating purchasing Transceiver later to realize that it cannot cover the distance you need to be covered. Starlink 40G QSFP +SR4 can cover a distance of 150 M . This will be favorable for you if you need to operate on a small area such as a building or two. SFP+ LR4 can cover a distance of up to 1Okm which relatively a wide distance area. QSFP +ER4 can cover the largest distance of 30km. This will be the best choice for a large area cover networking.
Wavelength
Light is involved in the transmission of data. There is the Measure of the distance that optical transceivers send data. You will therefore have to make the right choice of the wavelength that you prefer. Starlink 40G QSFP+SR4 has 850 nm, while 40G QSFP+LR4 and QSFP+ER4 has 1310 nm each.
Favorable Temperature extremes
The Starlink 40G Starlink transceivers have the most favorable temperature extremes to work with. They make work so efficient as the systems will never heat up and slow down or malfunction in any way. The 40G Starlink transceiver modules operate from 0 degrees Celsius to 70degrees Celsius.
Compatibility
You do not have to worry if The Starlink 40G QSFP+ will be com[partible with other devices. It is very well compatible with many devices such as H3C, Cisco, Juniper, Alcatel-lucent, Huawei among other devices.
The Starlink 40G transceiver modules are Led free making them very environmentally friendly and thus they are more preferable. They are also compliant with ROHS-6. These qualifications are inevitable for your consideration.
Application
40G Starlink transceiver module is easily applicable in very many sectors such as Institutions for example campuses, Data networking centers, Metropolitan area networks among other areas.
Elon Musk slams Biden as ‘not the friendliest’ after White House EV summit snub
Tesla and SpaceX boss Elon Musk criticized President Joe Biden as “not the friendliest administration” after the White House snubbed his company last month. Musk’s comments came during a Code Conference interview and followed a tweet in which the Tesla CEO mocked Biden using similar insults as former President Donald Trump.
The Biden administration invited auto executives to the White House last month to discuss the shared goal of increasing the production of electric vehicles. Top officials from Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis were invited. But Tesla, which is the largest EV maker in the world, was not.
One potential reason that Tesla wasn’t invited is that its factory workforce is not unionized, while Biden is a big supporter of unions. During the Code interview, Musk went a step further, claiming that Biden’s administration was “controlled by the unions.”
Tesla has been actively fighting against an attempt to organize Tesla workers at the company’s Fremont, California plant. Musk himself was found to have violated labor law when he tweeted anti-union comments in 2019.
Musk has been tweaking Biden on Twitter for weeks. Last week, when asked why Biden didn’t issue a statement about SpaceX’s recent rocket launch, Musk tweeted, “He’s still sleeping,” echoing a Trump nickname for Biden, “Sleepy Joe.”
Facebook’s research on kids even considered turning playdates into growth drivers
Facebook’s interest in understanding and eventually acquiring younger users extends well beyond Messenger Kids or the currently paused plans for a child-friendly Instagram. A new report in The Wall Street Journal’s series on Facebook’s internal research shows the company’s focus on kids goes much deeper, including studying children younger than four years old in the hopes of better designing future products.
The company’s child research is primarily motivated by the success of apps like TikTok and Snapchat in attracting younger users. “With the ubiquity of tablets and phones, kids are getting on the internet as young as six years old. We can’t ignore this and we have a responsibility to figure it out,” a confidential Facebook document viewed by The Wall Street Journal reads. Another possible cause for concern: the WSJ writes that the number of teenagers using Facebook daily has fallen 19 percent in the last two years and could drop an additional 45 percent by 2023, according to a document the publication saw. Suddenly, the directive to “imagine a Facebook experience designed for youth” makes more sense.
Facebook’s child research has led it down several paths. The company reportedly explored encouraging children to use Messenger Kids in person, according to a presentation the WSJ viewed called “Exploring playdates as a growth lever.” Facebook researchers have also tried to
introduce a more holistic understanding of childhood by breaking things down into six age brackets: “adults, late teens ages 16 to maturity, teens ages 13 to 15, tweens ages 10 to 12, children ages 5 to 9 and young kids ages zero to four,” a slide mentioned in the report reads. One presentation set a goal of transitioning younger users from Instagram to the original Facebook, or the “Life Coach for Adulting.”
The idea that Facebook might consider newborns in its product decisions is an admittedly odd one. That the company has children in mind at all isn’t, though. As Instagram head Adam Mosseri notes in a statement included in The Journal’s reporting:
It’s not new and it’s not a secret that social-media companies try to understand how teens and preteens use technology. Like all technology companies, of course, we want to appeal to the next generation, but that’s entirely different from the false assertion that we knowingly attempt to recruit people who aren’t old enough to use our apps.
Facebook responded to The Wall Street Journal’s reporting in a blog post published late Tuesday. Specifically, the company states that its age brackets are a taxonomy used by the “Age Appropriate Design Code and other policy experts” and that the “playdate” language it used was “an insensitive way to pose a serious question” and “doesn’t reflect its approach to building the app.”
The possible effects Facebook’s products have on younger users are now coming to light. Earlier reporting on Facebook’s research shows that Instagram can have negative impacts on younger users’ body image. Concern over how the app could potentially harm children is great enough that Congress is getting involved, and Facebook representatives are slated to testify at a hearing this Thursday. Clearly, the social network will have plenty to answer for soon.
1Password is launching a new feature to let users create unique email aliases for logins, much like Apple’s iCloud Plus Hide My Email function. 1Password is partnering with Fastmail to bring its masked email feature to the password manager, giving all users the option of hiding their email addresses from apps and services.
“Your email address is your online identity,” explains Bron Gondwana, CEO of Fastmail. “If your credentials are compromised in a data breach, having a randomly generated email address adds a second line of defense because it can’t be associated with your primary email address, and therefore, your identity.”
This new masked email feature will be ideal for registering accounts for temporary purposes, like a free Wi-Fi network. But they can also be used to hide your personal email address from any app or service as the aliases don’t expire unless a 1Password user manually deletes them.
Email aliases already exist in Gmail, Outlook, and other email services. If your regular email address is [email protected], you can simply use [email protected] and emails will appear in your [email protected] inbox. Aliases are a good way to cut down on spam, but the 1Password Fastmail integration takes it a step further by making it impossible for scammers to figure out your actual email address.
Attackers often use leaked databases of reused passwords and email addresses to phish people, but they need both your email address and password to access a service. Victims of a leaked data breach are at less risk if both their password and email address are unique.
Services like Have I Been Pwned have been tracking data breaches for years, and affected email addresses often appear in more than just one breach. “My service is now tracking 5 billion email addresses with each one appearing in an average of 2 data breaches,” says Troy Hunt, the founder of Have I Been Pwned and strategic advisor at 1Password. “It’s more important than ever that we protect our privacy; and protecting the primary key to our digital lives – our email address – will have a really positive impact.”
A laptop battery is a crucial part of the laptop. It’s the primary source of power in the absence of a power cord and outlet. How long a laptop lasts depends on the battery level. There are several laptop models available, e.g., HP, each with a specific battery. Switching batteries between laptops can be detrimental; however, few tend to function well. The hp-battery is usually high-quality and rechargeable and is available at an affordable price. In this extract, we discuss how to shop for a laptop battery.
How to Shop for a Laptop Battery
A good working battery allows for portability and other major roles. Factors like being worn out, overheating, or permanent damage lead you to buy a new laptop battery. However, before buying, there are tips to look out for to get the most out of it. They include;
1. Compatibility
Very few batteries can work in another laptop other than its own. Most are model-specific. Identify your laptop model and make by checking its original paperwork or the battery compartment. If you don’t find one that matches your model, pick one that fits the designated space, whose quality is good, and has a long lifespan.
2. Battery Condition
Laptop batteries have various price ranges. New ones are better than refurbished ones as they have more benefits. Refurbished batteries are cheaper and more ideal if you have a low budget. However, most have a poor warranty or no at all and can also be too old. You may end up spending more money to replace it because most tend to stop working suddenly. For you to avoid all the troubles, a new battery is the best.
3. Battery Capacity
It is the amount of energy inside the battery and is measured in milliamperes (mAh). High-capacity batteries are the most suitable, but it depends on your preference or laptop’s purpose. Heavy workloads consume more power causing your battery cycles to run out fast; hence a high-capacity battery is ideal. If your laptop is meant only for simple tasks, a lower capacity battery will work for you.
4. Lifespan
Every battery has cycles, and its number indicates how long it will last. This period can reduce depending on how often you use your laptop. When you charge it till full, then use up all the power down to zero, that a full cycle finished. Most have 350-1500 cycles based on the model. Some laptops have inbuilt software to help you count how many cycles are left, while in others, you have to download it.
5. Specifications
Laptops vary in size; hence the battery slots are also different. Some are large, others are small, and measurement taking is key before buying. Choose a battery that fits perfectly in the slot. Please don’t place a 3-inch battery in a 4-inch slot expecting it to work as intended.
Final Words
The major significance of laptops is their portability and working away from a power source. The correct battery will save you money, work efficiently and in a convenient manner.