Remembering VRML: The Metaverse of 1995 (Plus: Why Use Bing?)

January 12, 2022

Did You Know?

The hotel scenes in the movie Inception weren’t created with CGI. The hotel set was constructed in a giant frame that rotated during filming.

In the early 1990s, futurists and corporations combined forces to create VRML, a Virtual Reality Modeling Language that promised to bring 3D graphics and virtual worlds to the web, heralding the dawn of the metaverse. Here’s what it was—and why it didn’t work out. Read More »

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One of the best things about Android is the ability to choose “default” apps for certain things. For example, you can make it so tapping a Twitter link opens your preferred Twitter app. But how do you reset these choices? Read More »

Microsoft is bringing a new feature to Microsoft Teams on iPhone and to frontline workers through Zebra devices that’ll let them the workspace app as a walkie-talkie. Read More »

There’s a new generation of PCIe coming, and it’s a big one! PCI Express 6.0 promises to double the bandwidth for SSDs and GPUs, which could revolutionize computers in the future. Read More »

Just like you can wrap text around an image in your document, the same is possible with tables. If you have a small table and want a more pleasing appearance, here’s how to wrap the text around it in Microsoft Word. Read More »

There’s a vulnerability making the roundS for macOS called “powerdir” that could lead to unauthorized access, which is precisely what most computer users would like to avoid. Apple fixed the vulnerability in macOS 11.6 and 12.1, but you need to update your devices to keep yourself safe. Read More »

Home security systems are excellent for keeping your residence safe from trespassers. They’re easy to install, are affordable, and give you peace of mind whether you’re away or at home. Here are our picks of the best home security systems you can buy. Read More »

The Linux find command is great at searching for files and directories. But you can also pass the results of the search to other programs for further processing. We show you how. Read More »

People often call me a “techie.” I know the latest version of Android, how many cameras the new iPhone has, and I actually care about the taskbar in Windows 11. So how can a person like me use Bing on purpose? Read More »

If you’re trying to stay organized, you don’t have to look much further than an app store. There are countless tools designed to help you remember the important things in life. But what if the best way is to simply write it down? Read More »

The Consumer Electronics Show was last week, which meant I got to play with lots of fun gadgets. But it also meant a long flight filled with deafening aural assaults. To combat the noise, I tried QuietOn 3 Sleep earbuds, and surprisingly they tackled the job well. Read More »

Docker containers are usually treated as immutable once they’ve started running. You can update some configuration parameters dynamically though, such as the container’s name and its hardware resource limits. Read More »

The latest version of macOS is macOS 12.0 Monterey, which Apple released on October 25, 2021. Apple releases a new major version roughly once every year. These upgrades are free and are available in the Mac App Store. Read More »

Wordle is everywhere right now. The popular word-guessing game has inspired ad-filled copycats and other scams on iPhone and Android. Watch out: There are no official Wordle apps. There’s only one official way to play the game. Read More »

If you don’t like Facebook’s light interface, enable dark mode to turn the entire app dark. Your profiles, pages, and everything else will adapt to this dark theme. Here’s how to turn it on. Read More »

If you need to add some line spacing to your Word document or write an APA style piece, double spacing is a useful feature. You can quickly double space your documents with just a few clicks or a keyboard shortcut. Read More »

Controversy abounded when reports showed that T-Mobile was blocking Apple’s new iCloud Private Relay feature on its network. However, T-Mobile has put those claims to bed by asserting that it’s not blocking anything. Read More »

If you want to create a Google Form with some answers already filled in, you can do this and send a unique link to your respondents. Rather than creating forms that are only slightly different, just use the prefill option. Read More »