Here's How to Use Your Smart Home to Fool Burglars

December 30, 2022

Did You Know?

Billy Hippopotamus (William Johnson Hippopotamus) was a pygmy hippo given to U.S. President Calvin Coolidge in 1927 by none other than tire titan Harvey Firestone. Billy was housed in the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. and is the common ancestor of nearly all pygmy hippos in American zoos.

Happy Friday! Another country will soon require all smartphones to have USB Type-C ports, following in the European Union’s footsteps. Speaking of legal stuff, the state of New York just passed the first “Right to Repair” law in the US, but it’s a bit complicated.

Finally, New Year’s Eve is tomorrow, and the company that owns the giant light-up ball in New York City that drops at midnight has an official “Metaverse” experience.

– Corbin

Smart home gear isn’t just for showing off to friends and automating your life. It’s also really handy for making your home look occupied when you’re away. Here’s how to use your smart home gear to fool burglars. Read More »

VideoProc is one of the top names in the DVD/video/audio software market. In 2022, it got 6 major updates, added 10+ new output profiles, and 10+ presets in Bitrate, Crop Toolbox, etc. It’s one of the few that can preserve Alpha transparency while converted to ProRes 4444 or WebM (VP8/VP9).

For a limited time, HTG subscribers can save 62% on VideoProc Lifetime License for 1 PC or Multiple PCs, or save more by getting a heavily discounted bundle. Go get it while the offer is still available! (exclusive discount coupon XMAS2022 | instantly delivery | 30-day money-back guarantee)

The PlayStation 5 launched with 4K and 1080p output modes, but the ability to output 1440p has since been added via a firmware update. This output bridges the gap between HD and 4K displays, but there’s one drawback you should be aware of. Read More »

Telegram is perhaps one of the best instant messaging apps, as its developers are constantly adding new features and improving existing ones. Now, the app is adding a set of new features and improvements, just in time for 2023. Read More »

There are plenty of Bluetooth speakers on the market, but when it comes to a great, budget portable speaker, Sony’s SRS-XB13 is a good choice. Currently on sale for $48, you’ll get a great Bluetooth speaker with an IP67 water resistance rating, a multi-use strap that makes it easy to carry and attach anywhere, and that sounds great.

You also have five colorways to choose from, all at the $48 price point. Pick one up, and you’ll have an easy-to-pack speaker for wherever you go next.

While radio isn’t particularly hard to access — after all, you just need a device capable of tuning into radio frequencies — listening to radio outside of your area can be difficult. This app, however, lets you listen to any radio station in any country around the world, complete with a fun interface. Read More »

Anker sells some of the best phone chargers around, but the company has so many overlapping options that they can be difficult to narrow down. The Nano II 65W charger is a standout choice now, as it’s on sale for just $35. Read More »

GPUs tend to get hot processing millions of pixels for you, so cooling fans going quiet can be understandably concerning! If you notice your GPU’s fans aren’t spinning, here’s how to assess whether there’s a real problem or not and then how to fix the problem. Read More »

The longest-running college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl showcases two of the sport’s top teams. The 109th edition features Utah taking on Penn State, at 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT on January 2, 2023. Here’s how to stream it live. Read More »

A New Year’s tradition since 1890, the Rose Parade returns to the streets of Pasadena, California, on January 2, 2023, at 11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT, with 80-plus floats, marching bands, and equestrian units. Here’s how to stream it live. Read More »

Laptop stands come in all different shapes and sizes. Some are portable, others replicate standing desks, and more still have integrated cooling pads. We found the best. Read More »

Buying the right Ethernet cable is important. Getting the wrong cable will slow down your network performance and speed—and it might apart quickly to boot. The right Ethernet cable will be fast and durable. Here are the best ones to buy. Read More »

For over a century, the Times Square Ball has lit up and slowly dropped each New Year’s Eve in New York City, marking the end of the year with an impressive LED display. Now there’s an official “Metaverse” experience. Read More »

Discord is one of the most popular messaging services around. Even though it was originally designed with gaming in mind, it’s now a great general-purpose chat and organization app, with plenty of features you might not know about. Read More »

Many people use their phone until the moment of falling asleep, then it’s literally in bed with them—or charging nearby—all night. Using your phone before bed is already not great, but is the close proximity bad too? Read More »

It’s been a long road for New York’s Right to Repair bill. It could have (and now does) serve as the first statewide law granting fundamental requirements to make repairing devices easier. But after six months of waiting for a signature, we almost lost hope. That changed today: with a big catch. Read More »

There are many clones of the Steam Deck, the handheld console that’s taking the gaming scene by storm. But what’s fun about that? The true nature of PC gaming is to build your own machine. And someone just took that philosophy to heart and made a DIY gaming handheld that can run Windows games. Read More »

The European Union recently passed a rule that will require phones, tablets, and other devices to have a USB Type-C port, to cut back on proprietary chargers piling up in landfills. It’s such a good idea that other countries are now joining the party. Read More »

The right to repair your own devices has been a growing issue around the world, as some companies make self-repair increasingly more difficult. The US state of New York just passed the first modern Right to Repair law, but what does it actually do? Read More »

When you walk around an office or café, you’ll often see people using an array of items to cover up their webcam. Sometimes it’s tape, post-it notes, folded business cards, stickers, their thumb, or a marlin. I smear peanut butter over my webcam, but chunky peanut butter. It’s more secure than smooth. Read More »

Need to print something? You can connect a printer to your MacBook or desktop Mac in several ways, including over Wi-Fi, a USB cable, or a Bluetooth connection. Here’s how. Read More »

Look no further! UPDF is here to help you edit and manage your PDF files like a pro. With advanced OCR technology, you can easily extract text from images, scanned documents, and make edits as if it were regular text. For a limited time, you can get UPDF for 56% off now! Be sure to check out the full story here for more details