How to improve your iPhone 5S touch ID fingerprint reader

If you've been less than impressed with Touch ID, the fingerprint sensor that comes on Apple's new iPhone 5S, we may be able to help.

Although the fingerprint scanner works well for many people, and has garnered positive reviews from some of the most prominent tech critics, others have found that it doesn't work well for them.

What to do? Apple recommends rescanning your finger (and, of course, making sure it's clean and dry) or trying other fingers if you are having problems. The company also notes that things like lotion, oils and dry skin, or activities like swimming or exercising "may affect fingerprint recognition."

Here we tell some tips to improve your touch ID fingerprint performance.

Scan in multiple fingerprint angles: Touch ID stores up to five prints, and given that my 5s is mine and mine alone, I’ve used those print stores to actually capture multiple versions of my thumbprints—each has been scanned once when angled at 60 degrees, and once while pointing straight up. It ensures that even if your grip is a little different, Touch ID should still recognize your thumb.

Use a different finger: If you have a mark or cut on your thumb that makes fingerprint analysis and reading difficult, you may have to retire that finger from Touch ID use and instead try one of your other digits.

Make sure your finger touches the metal ring: The steel ring around your Touch ID sensor isn’t just there for looks—it helps the scanner recognize your print. As such, if you don’t make contact with it when you try to open your phone, you may have some trouble.

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HDMI Cable Using Guide

Nowadays, most of HD devices have applied the HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) ports. To make a full use of your devices, you wonder what this port used for. Actually, nothing compares to HDMI cables when connecting devices that are intended for high definition viewing, such as cable boxes, gaming consoles, computers, and DVD and Blu-ray players.

Guide to using an HDMI cable in a Home Theater

You can begin your HDMI experience by selecting the right cable that meets your requirements. While it is possible to purchase a flatHDMI cable from a renowned electronics manufacturer such as Sony, Hitachi or Philips, you can advance your search by figuring out the exact type of cable that you need.

Standard HDMI cables can work with the majority of appliances in a home theater since the standard cable transmits 1080i or 720p video. These resolutions are typical for many electronics, such as DVD players, cable and satellite boxes.

HDMI cables can also come with Ethernet that works the same as a standard HDMI cable but is also able to network devices through a designated information channel.  High-speed HDMI cables are required in order to experience 1080p resolutions, or higher. Blu-ray players require these types of cables in order to deliver optimal sound and picture quality.

Once you have selected the appropriate cable, it is time to find the ports for connection on the equipment and connector on the cable that you wish to join. Then connect the equipment by using the designated ports.

It is common for devices to come with an HDMI port, so make sure you connect the cable in the right port. The equipment port is female and the HDMI cable plug is male.

Check the HDMI cables to make sure that they are tightly in the port. The connectors must be secured properly into the ports in order to function. Those that need a line of over 25 feet, and expect 1080p resolution, should invest in a booster box.

Guide to use an HDMI cable with Other Devices

Connecting a TV to a laptop or PC is easy when using an HDMI cable. Simply connect the cable into the computer’s “Output” port if the device is compatible with HDMI. Devices that do not have a specific HDMI Output port will require an adapter and a video card upgrade. 

Gaming consoles are easily connected to a TV by putting one end of the HDMI cable into the gaming console’s Output port and the other cable end into the Input port of the TV. 

HDMI cables also can be used in Car

Automotive HDMI cables are used for more extreme systems of HD viewing, such as in vehicles and onboard. These cables are able to withstand vibration and temperature differences.

What you should do with HDMI 1.4 cable, when HDMI 2.0 comes?

Thanks to 4K Ultra HD, the introduction of HDMI 2.0 is tied tightly to the advancement od Ultra HD, or 4K, television. Last year at IFA, Panasonic and Sony launched their latest 4K/Ultra HD television, and they gave HDMI 2.0 a lot of lip service. As a result, even consumers who don’t own those next-gen televisions are starting to ask questions: Will I have to buy new HDMI cables? Is the connector different? How long until my HDMI equipment is obsolete?

HDMI 2.0 is the successor to the HDMI 1.4a/b standard most of us use today, which works well, so why change it? The main difference between HDMI 1.4 (which is what most equipment is now) and 2.0 is an increase in the possible framerates of the 4K signal. HDMI 1.4 can do Ultra HD at 30 frames per second. HDMI 2.0 can do 60 fps. There are no new cables with HDMI 2.0, this is a hardware change, not a cable change. So your current HighSpeed HDMI cables should work just fine.

Besides, HDMI 2.0 changes nothing about the size, shape or wiring of HDMI cables. Should you wind up getting devices that are HDMI 2.0 compliant, your existing cables will work just fine. And since HDMI 2.0 is backward compatible with older HDMI versions, you’ll be able to connect your old Blu-ray player and/or A/V receiver to a newer HDMI 2.0-equipped 4K Ultra HD with absolutely no problem.

If anyone offers you so-called ‘HDMI 2.0cables’, turn and run. It will be either a marketing tactic, or expression of ignorance. Either way it is non-compliant. When the HDMI 2.0 specification was first announced, it was accompanied by this statement “ …Current High Speed cable(category 2 cables) are capable of carrying the increased bandwidth”(HDMI Licensing, LLC)

iPhone and Android battery life tips

Here we conclude five tips for saving your iPhone and Android battery life and tell you why they work. You may have already heard some of them, but some are new.

 

Tip 1: Turn off the feature you aren’t using

This might be obvious to some, but this is one of the biggest causes of fast battery drain. Turn off the radio features in your phone you aren't using; even when they are idle, they suck power. That means switching off the WiFi, GPS and Bluetooth when you don't need them.

Tip 2: Turn down the screen brightness. 

The screen is the biggest power sucker on your phone. Keep the brightness low whenever you can and set the auto-lock so it turns the screen off when you aren't using it. The iPhone and Android phones also have auto-brightness settings, but you are still best keeping the screen in the 30 percent to 50 percent range if you can.

Tip 3: Kill the apps you aren't using. 

Close apps you aren't using, or at least some of them. iOS and Android phones do a decent job of not allowing all open apps to suck your battery, but keeping more than 10 open is never a good idea. On an Android phone also kill the widgets you don't use; even if they look pretty, they are constantly updating and draining your battery.

And for those who don't know, on the iPhone, you can close apps by double-tapping the Home button to bring up the open apps. Then swipe up to remove the ones you don't need. Hit the Home button when you are done. On Android phones, you can go to the "Manage applications" area in settings or you can select the open apps menu and swipe to close the app.

Tip 4: Turn off or limit notifications. 

Notifications are very useful, but they can also tax your battery. Be smart about which app notifications are enabled. Do you need notifications from your recipe app or Yelp? Also make sure those apps that are always busy -- like Twitter or Facebook -- aren't always refreshing with new updates and notifying you of them. With email, make sure you don't have notifications enabled for every new message.

Tip 5: Buy a mobile charger or battery-equipped case.

The aforementioned software adjustments will help, but they will only go so far, at least after a day of heavy use. If that extra juice doesn't go far enough, take the plunge: buy a mobile battery charger case to have on hand.

There are a number of mobile chargers with Micro USB or Apple charging connectors, which makes the phone pretty chunky but also doubles your battery life.

Android TV Box – rising star in the TV market

It is expected that 60 percent of the Internet-based services’ income would be from IPTV on OTT by 2016, when the Android TV Box market would see a boom.

SmartTV Box products have been available on the market since early 2013. The products, run on the Android operation system, connecting with TV via the Internet transmission (fiber or ADSL), allowed TV watchers to enjoy a lot of multi-media services.

The “small box”, priced at VND1.6-3 million only, is “powerful” enough to turn a normal TV into a smart TV. Therefore, experts believe that the products would replace smart TVs and dominate the TV market in the upcoming years.

 

 

There are many reasons that prompt people to use Android TV Box instead of smart TV.

The biggest advantage of Android TV Box is the low price, which is 10 times cheaper than a smart TV. An Android TV Box can be bought at VND1.6-3 million, while a smart TV is priced at no less than VND10 million.

While having the small size, Android TV Box is designed with the configuration powerful enough to allow users surf on Internet, play games, read newspapers and access to social networks without personal computers.

Android TV Box allows users watch HD films and use the film stores with copyrighted films, including the 3D blockbuster films updated regularly by the content service providers.

Android TV Box users can save a lot of money as they can watch tens of TV channels free of charge, or with low fees (VND50,000 a month) and enjoy a lot of other facilities.

Quan of VTC Multimedia quoted the survey of Informa, a market survey firm, as saying that 60 percent of income would be from IPTV services on OTT by 2016. Traditional pay-TV would become cheaper and cheaper, while service providers would focus on collecting fees from added value services.

What a Lightning to 30-pin Adapter Used for?

Since September 2012, Apple’s Lightning connector has been the smaller replacement for the 30-Pin Dock Connector introduced in 2003 -- a reliable plug that has been used in thousands of Apple-specific accessories, including everything from chargers to speakers, video projectors, and blood pressure monitors. Unfortunately, that means any accessories or cables you have that use the 30-pin connector won't fit.

However, the lightning to 30-pin adapter lets you adapt your older gear. According to Apple's site, the adapter will support analog audio output, USB audio, as well as syncing and charging. Video output is not supported, however, and not all 30-pin devices will be supported, either, so you may still need buy new accessories to use with the iPhone 5 and 2012 iPods.

You may disappointed that the lightning to 30-pin adapter only wors for audio, and not video. We tried the adaptor with a 30-pin to HDMI Adaptor and got the “This accessory is not designed for this iPhone” message. Sometimes this is displayed while the video plays, but in this case there is no video (it just continues to play on the iPhone screen as normal). We also tested it with a monitor with a 30-pin dock built-in, so it’s not a compatibilty issue the the HDMI adaptor – there’s simply no way to  get video from it.

Thus, you should keep in mind that lightning to 30-pin adapter will not send video from 30-pin connector to a lightning connector. You also should note that with some very old accessories made for the iPod, charging is not supported because that device used Firewire charging and this adapter only support USB charging. Besides, if you have an accessory that supports the special iPod-out mode in which the iPhone generated a menu that was displayed on a device such as a car, that also doesn’t work with this adapter.

How to Clean Canvas Oil Painting

People like to have some oil paintings for decoration in house. However, when the oil paintings are long exposed in the air, they get dust and colors fade away. In order to keep your canvas oilpainting fresh and vivid, there are some tips for you to clean and maintain the paintings.

 

 

Steps to remove the dust:

1.       While the painting is in the vertical position, gently go over it with a soft brush to remove loose debris. Work from the top down and from side to side in a consistent motion.

2.       Lay the painting on a horizontal sturdy surface.

3.       Remove the crust from a piece of soft white bread.

4.       Press the bread to the surface to get rid of smoke residue, hair, and stubborn dust. Lift and repeat. Replace bread with a fresh piece when it’s soiled.

5.       Stand the painting up and repeat step one to remove any lingering crumbs or remaining debris.

If your canvas oil painting are very old, and need to do some deep cleaning, the best way to clean an oil painting is by purchasing an art restoration kit from the supply store and following the instructions carefully. It is good to avoid the introduction of moisture to the paintings' surface as it can get inside the invisible cracks and cause damages.

How to Connect your Xbox 360 Wireless Controller to PC

A part of Xbox gamers are fond of Xbox 360wireless controller, as you can stand and sit anywhere you want to play games without the limitation of cable. If you got a wired controller, it’s easy to connect the controller to a PC due to the common USB port. However, if you want to connect your wireless controller to PC, it’s not so simple just to plug the device in. First of all, you need to purchase an Xbox 360 wireless gaming receiver.

After you buy the gaming receiver, just plug it into a compatible USB port on your computer. The receiver can syncs the controller to the PC just like the Xbox 360’s internal receivers sync controllers to the console. As soon as you plugged in, if you see a green light appears, which indicate the device is working properly.

The second step is to install software. It’s necessary because the software guarantees the wireless gaming receiver and the wireless Xbox 360 controller to properly sync with one another. You can download it via Microsoft’s website, or the bundled installation disc packaged with the receiver.

 

The final step is to sync your wireless Xbox 360 controller with the receiver plugged into your computer. To do so, first turn on the controller by holding down the Xbox Guide button in the center of the controller and wait for the green backlight to turn on. Then, press the connect button on top of the wireless receiver until it begins flashing green, then press the connect button on top of the Xbox 360 controller. The pairing process will then begin, and when finished, both lights will remain on signaling the connection. If the devices do not properly sync with one another, you can always reference Xbox’s support website, or double check the required software was installed successfully.