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Ghost in the iMachine: Spooky Tech Stories

As much as we love technology, we have always been suspicious of it. You only need to look to our horror stories to understand that: from 2001: A Space Odyssey to The Ring to M3GAN, we are captivated by the idea of what happens when technology turns on us. Even Frankenstein, considered by many the first true science-fiction story, is about the dangers inherent in toying with technology whose consequences we can’t fully understand.

How to Change Your Facebook Privacy Settings with a Privacy Checkup on iPhone

  1. Open the Facebook app on your iPhone; this won't work if you're logged into facebook.com on your browser.
  2. Tap the icon in the bottom right corner that looks like three horizontal lines.
  3. Scroll down and tap Settings & Privacy.
  4. Next, scroll down and tap Privacy Shortcuts. 
  5. Tap on Privacy Checkup.

Most of us wear watches they way we purchased them. Perhaps we swap out a band now and then. Some even come with a variety of band colors or styles. But if we own a good watch, such as a Citizen, an Omega, a Rolex, or a Movado, we wear the watch as purchased because of its overall design. Why pay all that money to cover up the cool watch you spent all that money on? The Apple Watch is different; but should it be? Although the Apple Watch is, in most cases, less expensive than the watch brands listed above, the market seems to want us to protect our Apple Watch from scratches and dings  with a rugged watch case or watch screen protector more so than its expensive brethern.

One of the Apple Watch's many benefits is the ability to manage incoming messages and notifications from your wrist. But if you've let the notifications pile up, don't worry about going through and dismissing them one by one; there's an easy way to dismiss all your notifications at once. When your Apple Watch notifications start to pile up, here’s how to clear all of them at once.

Someone tell Casetify to send me a whole collection of these lovely cases. Pairing the beautiful designs Casetify is known for with multi-color grips for drop protection makes for a case that’s a gem to look at and use. I was sent a case for the iPhone 7 Plus; it has a yellow grip with watercolor-like flowers on the back. But you can visit Casetify iPhone 7 Cases Collection ($40) to see a whole array of designs. The latest in the Casetify line are these multi-colored grip cases, which come in mint green, lemon yellow, cotton candy pink & sky blue. I’ve been using my Casetify case for about a week now. I love it because it’s the type of case I can see myself using for a long time. I try out a lot cases, so finding one that I want to keep using well past review time is a fairly rare occurrence that I revel in.

You may have seen some really stunning artwork on Instagram recently that looks like a photo with a really intricate filter. These photos as artwork became a huge trend on social media when the photo editing app Prisma started trending. There are entire Instagram accounts dedicated to sharing Prisma photos and for good reason—they’re stunning. Here’s how to turn your photos into artwork on iPhone.

If you're asking yourself, "Why is my phone so slow?" it's time to learn how to clear iPhone RAM to reset your iPhone. When you clear iPhone RAM, you free up processing capacity and speed up your iPhone. You can clear RAM on any iPhone model, from older phones like the iPhone 8 to the latest iPhone 13. Here’s how to clear RAM on your iPhone to make it faster.

Instagram is one of the largest (and most beloved) social media networks. Creating an Instagram account can be done quickly by downloading the Instagram app on iPhone or iPad, signing up for Instagram within the app, then setting up your account. Once you’re all set up, you’ll be able to post photos and captions to share with your followers. So if you’re ready to get on Instagram, we’ll walk you through it. Here’s how to make an Instagram account for iPhone or iPad.

A new Instagram feature allows you to upload up to ten photos and videos in one post to your Instagram feed. This creates a sort of slideshow on Instagram that you can share with your friends via your Instagram feed. The slideshow appears on Instagram much the same as a regular post, except you have the ability to swipe left and right to view the other photos or videos in the post. I’m sure Instagram users will come up with many creative ways to use this slideshow feature to its fullest. This is another improvement from Instagram on par with its deciison to finally allow users to create a second Instagram account. Nice to see the company implementing requested features. Here’s how to share multiple photos or videos to Instagram in one post.

If you’re ditching your iPhone, whether permanently or temporarily, you’re going to need to deactivate iMessage. This is due to an issue Apple had to solve a while ago, wherein users who switched to an Android, or other non-iPhone smartphone, were missing texts from friends who were sending iMessages. If you still have the iPhone that you need to disable iMessage on, the process is super quick and easy. Likewise, there’s a simple solution even if you’ve already sold or given your old iPhone away. If you switched from an iPhone to another iPhone, this shouldn’t be an issue for you. But if you’re switching (or planning to switch) to an Android device, use this tip to deregister your iPhone from iMessage before or after you’ve gotten your new smartphone. Here’s how to deactivate and deregister iMessage on iPhone.

In most western countries, the Calendar app on the iPhone or iPad has Sunday set as the first day of the week. But considering the work week tends to divide quite distinctly into weekdays and the weekend, with most of our appointments and business meetings taking place Monday through Friday, you may prefer to set Monday as the first day of the week. Or if you have an unusual schedule, you could set any day of the week you prefer to be the first day of your personalized week. Here's how to change what day your week starts in the Calendar app on iPhone.

How Do I Turn Off Facebook Notifications? Here’s How!

If you're wondering, "Why am I suddenly getting Facebook emails?" or "How do I stop Facebook notifications?" don't worry; it's all within your control. You can go into your Facebook Settings to decide which notifications you get from Facebook in just a few easy steps. If you're not getting FB notifications and want them back, you can also use these steps to get your notifications working again!

Before I headed out on a four-month trip to the island of Hawaii this past October, I put a lot of research and thought into what kind of rugged iPhone 7 accessories I would bring. I wanted to ensure the safety of my iPhone 7, as I knew it would be a valuable tool in documenting the trip. The most obvious accessory was a protective waterproof iPhone 7 case. And while my rugged iPhone 7 case ultimately did the job, there were some close calls with water, rocks, sand, heat, and yes, even a volcano. Now, if my iPhone had fallen into a volcano, I seriously doubt any case would have saved me from that loss. However, having been through this adventure with my iPhone 7, I came back to the mainland with a better understanding of what rugged iPhone gear I could have gone a little more “hard-core” with, as well as some ideas about what I could have brought with me but didn’t. Here are the top seven rugged iPhone accessories I will bring on my next adventure, from an outdoor Bluetooth waterproof speaker and portable solar panels to an iPhone camera lens kit and Bluetooth shutter remote.

There are a few different ways you might want to hide messages on iPhone. If you want to keep your messages private, learn how to turn off message preview, which will allow you to still see a text message alert on Lock screen but won’t show any part of what the message says. You also have the option to hide text messages from your Lock screen completely. iPhone message preview is a feature we can easily turn on or off in settings on iPhone. If you’re not trying to hide all of your text messages on iPhone, you can send a text message with invisible ink if you’re using iOS 10. That’s another fairly easy way to keep your text message private while still allowing message previews on Lock screen. Here’s how to hide text messages on iPhone.

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