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Chromecast, Modem, DVD

Apps and iPhone Status

By Bob DeLaurentis
What is the best to dip toes into the it can just about any media file format imagina-
world of streaming TV? ble. VLC is listed in most stores or point your
A. Many TVs have built-in stream-ing support for web to videolan.org and click the download
one or two services. you have a TV like that, will one handy ities
start there. time. It deserves a spot on computer
However, want to explore the endless buffet that to media.
menu of online stream-ing services, a Q. I see a small green or dot
Chromecast with Google TV. There are several dif- near the top right of iPhone screen. What does
ferent Chromecast digi-tal media players, but the that mean?
only one worth considering is the newest model. It Those dots appear
sells for about $50 and comes with a remote control. is in The· displays
What sets the Chromecast apart from its competi- dot, the microphone displays an orange dot.
tors is the user interface, which is a fancy of The tiny hardware status dots are same as
saying the part of the product that interact with. large colored. buttons. that occasionally appear.
In this case, is the screen menu and the remote near the top left on the screen. They indicate back-
control. ground activities such as phone calls in progress or
The Chromecast remote is simple and elegant. an active navigation ses
The menus are rea-sonable and easy to un- These new hardware indicators were added as
derstand. The features include more than Internet part of a renewed focus on privacy. Without the indi-
streaming. Chromecast works with Google Photos cators it was possible to quietly the
to present slideshows, and it will video from phone and camera. app is listen-
Android or iPhone to your TV. ing or looking through the camera, know it.
Streaming services are chaotic. services are When dot is visible, to open the Control
bundles that look a lot like traditional bundles. and the name will appear at - the top of
Other services giant libraries of movies and TV the screen.
shows, often mixed with newly produced content. disable any app from using the camera
Chromecast lets you pick the pieces you want, and with a to the Settings screen.
without an expensive hard- purchase. And to- Settings Privacy Microphone (or Camera) and
day, that makes Chromecast the best choice to ex- revoke the app's privileges by tap-ping the switch
plore streaming media. next to its
Q. After upgrading to Windows 10 I can no longer powerful pocket supercomputers
play DVDs with my lap-top. How can I use my com- become, the more vigilant we must be to ensure no
puter to play DVDs again? one abuses that power.
A. remember the 1990s when ing DVD on
laptop felt like magic. No longer chained to the
living room TV, felt like I was living in the
Well, now. we all live in the future, and most new Fear Itself
computers do not handle DVDs very well. Default The ultimate index of phobias and fears converse everything
installations of operating systems no longer include from Arachnophobia to Xenophobia. A fascinating drive into
a utility app to DVDs. Hardware that supports the human mind
DVDs has disappeared from laptop models in Fearof.net
the rush to build smaller and lighter devices.
The easiest option for Windows 10 users is to click
to the Microsoft online store and plunk down Darwin Awards
for Windows DVD from Twenty-five year of stories about people for when a little fear
might have saved them from a terrible fate.
But best option is to check out Darwinaward.com
by
Memory lane
VLC is Army knife media software. Flashback is an iconic collection of vintage photos and post-
th
app is available for free on every platform, and cards from the mid-20 century.
Flashbak.com
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