Apple made it easy to pair AirPods across all of its devices in a matter of seconds. But just because AirPods are made by Apple and integrated with Apple products, that doesn't mean you can't use them as Bluetooth earbuds with non-Apple devices.
You can pair AirPods to an Android phone, a PC, or your Apple TV with the same Bluetooth pairing method we've grown accustomed to -- and grown to loathe, for that matter.
Open the Bluetooth settings screen on the device you're going to use your AirPods with.
With the AirPods in the charging case, open the lid.
On the back of the case is a small button, press and hold it for a few seconds.
Once the indicator light between the earbuds begins blinking white, let go.
The AirPods will show up in the pairing menu on your device, select them and follow any prompts.
Naturally, if you aren't using an Apple product you'll lose out on some features. You won't have the simplicity of switching between devices or a battery indicator. But they'll still do the job. When I briefly connected a pair of AirPods to an S7 Edge, a double-tap on either earbud paused and restarted the music.
Repeat this process on each device you want to use the AirPods with. If you run into issues during the pairing process, Apple suggests opening the lid and holding in the button on the back until the indicator light blinks amber. Let go of the button, close the lid, and try again.
Microsoft's much-hyped free upgrade offer for Windows 10 ended months ago, right? Maybe not. The GWX tool may be gone, but all the other upgrade tools still work, and the end result is an apparently valid digital license. Here's how to get yours.
The Get Windows 10 upgrade nags have officially ended, but the offer remains valid, if you know where to look.
Everyone knows the free upgrade offer for Windows 10 ended on July 29, 2016, right?
That's when Microsoft officially ended the Get Windows 10 program and, to the relief of many, stopped forcing the GWX tool onto the PCs of unsuspecting users who were perfectly happy with their current version of Windows and had no desire to upgrade.
As of July 30, 2016, the upgrade notifications stopped and the GWX app began disappearing. In theory, that means the only way to get a Windows 10 upgrade is to pay for it.
The funny thing is, no one told the folks who run Microsoft's activation servers. Which means today, months after the free upgrade offer supposedly ended, you can still upgrade to Windows 10 from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 and claim a free digital entitlement, without being forced to jump through any hoops.
You can also still upgrade Windows 10 Home to Windows 10 Pro by using a product key from a previous business edition of Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 (Pro/Ultimate). That can save you $50-100 in OEM upgrade charges if you buy a new PC with Windows 10 Home preinstalled.
In this post, I'll cover the basics of a Windows 10 upgrade. I'll also talk about the licensing issues involved, which are (as always) confusing.
HOW TO UPGRADE AN OLD PC TO WINDOWS 10
Over the holidays, I did some end-of-year cleanup, including recycling an Intel small-form-factor PC that had previously been working full-time in the living room, running Windows Media Center on Windows 7 Ultimate. When I finally pulled the plug on Media Center last year, I had put this little device on a shelf.
The GWX utility had never been installed on this PC and it had never been offered a Windows 10 upgrade via Windows Update.
As part of my digital clean-up, I decided to run the Windows 10 upgrade from Windows 7. I fully expected that after the upgrade was complete, the system would fail activation and I'd be asked for a product key.
Imagine my surprise when, instead, I was greeted with this screen.
One digital license, no product key required.
I confirmed the same sequence on two different virtual machines, both created from scratch and running clean, fully activated installs of Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, respectively. If you have a PC running a "genuine" copy of Windows 7/8/8.1 (properly licensed and activated), you can follow the same steps I did to upgrade it to Windows 10.
To get started, go to the Download Windows 10 webpage and click theDownload tool now button. After the download completes, run the Media Creation Tool
You can upgrade directly using this tool, or create separate media.
If you've downloaded the Media Creation Tool on the machine you plan to upgrade, and you plan to upgrade one and only one PC, you can choose theUpgrade this PC nowoption and be done with it.
If you're running the tool on a different PC, or if you just want more flexibility, choose the second option and save the installation files to a USB drive or as an ISO file.
After the download is complete, mount the ISO file or open the flash drive in File Explorer and run Setup from there.
And then just follow the prompts to complete the upgrade. You will not be asked for a product key, and when the upgrade is complete, you'll have a digital license to Windows 10, which you can confirm by going to Settings > Update & security > Activation.
The digital license is tied to that device, which means you can reformat the disk and perform a clean installation of the same edition of Windows 10 anytime. You won't need a product key, and activation is automatic.
IS YOUR LICENSE VALID?
And now the big question: If you avail yourself of this upgrade, is the resulting license valid?
The entire "free upgrade" offer was always accompanied by language that was, to put it politely, a bit squishy. And the language around the end of that offer is similarly vague. For example, see the answers I've highlighted here on Microsoft's Windows 10 Upgrade FAQ:
The wording here is remarkably vague.
That's very odd language. The free upgrade through the Get Windows 10 app ended on July 29, 2016. Likewise, the discussion of product keys says a key will be necessary "for this tool to work" (not true) but doesn't say a word about licensing.
And unlike the weasely "Genuine Windows" label on older upgrades, the activation screens for a Windows 10 upgrade specifically confirm the existence of a "digital license."
Anyway, the free upgrade offer has been extended, indefinitely, at least for people who use assistive technologies. The FAQ on a separate page even calls it a "free upgrade offer extension" and pointedly notes that it is not limited to specific assistive technologies.
Personally, I'm a regular user of one assistive technology, the Magnifier built into Windows, which can be triggered by pressing Windows key + plus sign. That makes me eligible for a free upgrade on any device I use. Clicking the Upgrade Now button on that page kicks off an Upgrade Assistant that is functionally identical to the one used by the old GWX app.
This is, I think, a very large nod and wink, designed to make it easy for those who want a Windows 10 upgrade to still get it while placating the OEM partners who were none too happy about the year-long emphasis on upgrades rather than new PC sales.
Of course, I'm not a lawyer, and this column isn't legal advice. But I will say that I am personally confident in the activation status of my newly upgraded PC.
Every Windows power user knows that a Command Prompt window is often the quickest way to get things done. For some tasks, in fact, it's the only way. Here's a collection of ways to get to the command line quickly.
Every version of Windows includes its own command processor, Cmd.exe. Opening that application gives you access to the full range of command-line tools and utilities in Windows.
The slow way to open this essential power user's tool is to dig through the Start menu (Start > Windows System > Command Prompt). Here are a handful of faster ways that also give you control over startup folders and whether you run the command session as an administrator.
Right-click Start and choose Command Prompt or Command Prompt (Admin) from the Quick Links menu. You can also use keyboard shortcuts for this route: WIndows key + X, followed by C (non-admin) or A (admin).
Type cmd in the search box, then press Enter to open the highlighted Command Prompt shortcut. To open the session as an administrator, press Alt+Shift+Enter.
From File Explorer, click to select the contents of the address bar and then type cmd and press Enter. That opens a non-admin Command Prompt session in the current folder.
In a File Explorer window, hold down Shift as you right-click on a folder or drive. That opens a non-admin Command Prompt session in the selected location.
To open an administrative Command Prompt window in the current folder, use this hidden Windows 10 feature: Navigate to the folder you want to use, then tap Alt, F, M, A (that keyboard shortcut is the same as switching to the File tab on the ribbon, then choosingOpen command prompt as administrator).
If you're a PowerShell user, you can open a Command Prompt session from PowerShell by typing cmd and pressing Enter. To return to PowerShell, type exit and press Enter.
Here's a service that boasts a success rate of 84 percent, which is a much higher chance of saving your phone than the popular internet trick of putting it into a bag of rice.
Redux
It seems that people drop their phones a lot, and they seem to drop them more often when they're around the toilet, puddles, or even pints of beer. There are a number of tricks on the web that claim to be able to suck the moisture out of your device, but in my experience they have a less than 50:50 chance of working.
Redux is a lunchbox-sized device that can bring back to life liquid-damaged phones. The device has revived phones damaged by beer, mud, and even soup, and the company boasts a success rate of 84 percent.
Redux works by using a combination of vacuum pressure and heat to revive the wet phone or tablet. The device is then removed and partially charged to be assessed for success. The process can remove all forms of liquid -- not just water -- and it takes less than an hour.
Pricing for the successful recovery of a device is $50 for a basic phone or a data device and $90 for a smartphone, in addition to a $10 diagnostic fee. If your handset is not recoverable, you're only down the $10 diagnostic fee.
If you're particularly clumsy, then Redux offers a $29.99 membership program that comes with two free device recoveries in the price.
In order to give you the best chance of recovering your water-damaged phone, Redux recommend that:
You turn off the device immediately
If possible, remove the battery (some devices like iPhones do not have removable batteries)
Do not charge the device or put it in rice
Take the device to the nearest Redux center ASAP
Nearly 700 Verizon Wireless stores nationwide are now offering the Redux service.
Here's how to get a bigger hard drive in your PS4, plus a few tips we learned along the way.
Storage space is at a premium with game consoles. Even if you're more inclined to pick up hard copies than download full games, patches, DLC and installs can fill up the standard hard drive on your PlayStation very quickly.
If you want to score a little more space, here's how to put a new, bigger hard drive in your PS4. The whole process should take about 15 minutes.
What you need
PlayStation 4 (duh)
Phillips-head screwdriver
USB flash drive (at least 1GB)
2.5-inch laptop hard drive
PlayStation 4's latest operating software
The steps
A quick note before you start: You probably have some data you don't want to lose. If you want to keep that data -- and eventually move it to the new hard drive -- Sony explains how you can back up to a USB drive.
Replace the hard drive
Disconnect your PS4 from the power supply
Remove either the casing on the rear if you have a PS4 Pro or the top left chassis plate on a PS4 classic.
Unscrew the hard drive bracket. It'll be help in place with a screw engraved with the PS4 button symbols.
Take out the housing bracket for the hard drive.
Remove the four screws holding the drive in the bracket (but make sure to keep the rubber inserts).
Replace the existing hard drive with the new one, screwing it in.
Download the software
Download the operating software from the PlayStation support site on your computer.
Connect the USB flash drive to the computer and format it to FAT32, which will erase all the data on the drive and allow it to be recognized by the console. This can be done on Windows by right-clicking the drive, selecting Format, choosing the "FAT32" option from the pull-down menu, and clicking the Start button.
Create a folder on the flash drive called PS4, and a folder within that called UPDATE, both in all caps.
Upload the installer file to your flash drive, dropping it in the UPDATE folder.
Plug the PlayStation back in and start it in safe mode by holding the power button for 8 seconds.
Select "Initialize PS4 (Reinstall System Software)."
Run through the prompts and enjoy your upgraded hard drive!
Some tips
There's some issues with formatting the flash drive with the operating system installer in Windows 8. We butted heads with that ourselves, and had to use a computer with a different operating system to prepare the flash drive.
Speaking of issues with the flash drive, make sure it fits in the recessed USB ports on the PS4. Don't be like us.
Make sure you grab the full operating system install and not just the upgrade to the latest version. Both files have the same name, but the full install will be much larger. It's a sneaky link further down on this page that looks like this:
Laptops may start heating up if you do not regularly blow out the fan that keeps the CPU cool. I cleaned out a friends and there was so much dust the channel between the out take and intake area was totally plugged with dust. It was heating up and shutting down and generally acting wierd, once the dust was removed it worked like new. How do you clean out the fan on your Laptop? First you need to buy a can of compressed air for Computers at your local Computer shop or most big box stores that sell computers. They come with a small straw that you attach to the sprayer head, that way you can get into the grills farther and it has more force.
Every Laptop has a different layout and the type of fan system they use. Mainly you want to find where the air is coming out of the Laptop, that will be the out take grill, not far from that will be the intake grill, that is where you will feel air being pulled into the fan. You need to have the Laptop running to locate these. Just use your hand to feel for the air flow.
Once you locate the out take and intake grills turn the Laptop off. Once the Laptop is off, unplug the Power cable and remove the Battery, you do not want power going to the Laptop. I lay mine on a towel on the kitchen table or you could do this outside because you should get some dust coming out the grills. Next there may be a removalable cover for the fan, you would need a small philips screw driver to remove the screw and then remove the cover (You do not need to take the cover off to spray it out). Next take the can of compressed air with the straw thing attached and spray into the intake grill, move the sprayer tip around, you want to blow the dust off the fan blades and also direct the spray towards the out take area, then spray the out the out take grill, move it from side to side so you are getting at all the dusty areas, you should be blowing air directly towards the intake area. Keep spraying short bursts of spray in each areas until you have all the dust blown out, there maybe a lot of dust or just a little keep spraying until you do not see anymore dust coming out. You do not want to soak the area you are spraying so use short 2-3 second burst of air. Below is my Laptop, yours will probably look different but they all have a grill where air comes out and air goes in those are what you are looking for. The first picture is a shot of the bottom of my Laptop, notice the Battery is removed and Power cord is unpluged:
This is a picture of the bottom of my Laptop showing where my intake and out take grills are:
This is a closeup picture of my intake grill and the fan under it, I need to blow mine out lots of dust on the fan blades, out of compressed air, lol, putting on shopping list:
As I mentioned above that dust builds up on and in the fan area this can make your Laptop heatup causing problems with the Laptop it can over heat the CPU and permanently damage the Laptop. So a little prevention can make your Laptop last a lot longer. A can of compressed air cost around $5-8 dollars, you can also use it to blow off the Keyboard at the same time you clean the fan. Once you are done let the Laptop set and dry for 5-10 minutes before you put the Battery back in and plugin the Power cable back in, then turn it back on.
Note: If you are uncomfortable doing this take it to a Computer repair Tech. Like I said in the beginning of the article one of the Laptops I cleaned out, the dust had literaly plugged up the channel between the Fan and out take grill, on that Laptop I had to take it apart in order to clean out all the dust. I had to use a twizzer to pull the dust out of the channel. If your Laptop is very hot and is shutting down or no air is coming out of the out take grill, it maybe plugged with dust. If doing this does not clean it out you may need to have a Tech clean it for you.
It's time to seriously consider deleting your Yahoo account. Can't? OK, here's what you can do to protect it. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. It's time to kiss your Yahoo account goodbye before Yahoo reveals all your data again.
One billion Yahoo user records revealed! It's time to bid Yahoo adieu.
Yahoo blew it again. First, it disclosed that in late 2014 500 million Yahoo accounts had been hacked open. That was the biggest hack ever. Except, it wasn't. It turns out that in August 2013 hackers had cracked 1 billion (that's billion with a "b") Yahoo accounts.
In other words, if you had a Yahoo account in 2013, hackers stole names, email addresses, telephone numbers, hashed passwords (using the mindlessly simple-to-crack MD5 algorithm), dates of birth, and in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers.
Enough.
Yahoo has shown itself completely unable to protect its customers' data. The company claims that your credit card and bank account data wasn't stolen. But why should we believe it? It took the company years to realize that crooks had stolen every last user's data.
So, what can you do?
How to delete your Yahoo account.
Let's start by downloading your Yahoo mail to your PC. Set up a local mail client to use Post Office Protocol (POP). Yahoo Mail uses the following POP settings:
Incoming Mail (POP) Server
Server - pop.mail.yahoo.com
Port - 995
Requires SSL - Yes
Outgoing Mail (SMTP) Server
Server - smtp.mail.yahoo.com
Port - 465 or 587
Requires SSL - Yes
Requires TLS - Yes (if available)
Requires authentication - Yes
Your login info
Email address - Your full email address (name@yahoo.com.)
Password - Your account's password.
Requires authentication - Yes
E-mail programs that support POP include Outlook, Outlook Express, Windows Live Mail, OS X Mail, and Thunderbird.
You can also export your Yahoo email to Gmail without too much trouble. To do this go to Gmail. Once there, click thegear-iconin the upper-right corner, and then clickSettings. Next, clickAccounts and Import and follow up by clicking on Import mail and contacts. From there, enter your Yahoo email address and import your Yahoo data to Gmail. This will import both your contacts, your old mail, and new mail for 30 days.
If you use another email service you're out of luck. Only Google offers a simple way to import Yahoo mail.
You'll also want to grab your Yahoo contacts. To export them, take the following steps:
In Yahoo Mail, click theContacts icon.
ClickActions and selectExport.
Select a format to export. Your choices are Microsoft Outlook, Netscape/Thunderbird, Yahoo CSV, or two vCard variants
ClickExport now.
If you use Yahoo Calendar, you can export its data to an iCal (ICS) file with the following steps.
Go to Yahoo Mail and click the Calendar tab.
If you don't see your calendar, click My Calendars in the left-panel menu to show them.
Click the more options arrow next to the calendar you want to export.
Click Export.
Save the ICS file to your computer.
If you have photos in Flikr, it's time to export them as well. To do that, go to theCamera Roll view and select each group of photos you want to download. After that, click theDownloadbutton at the page's bottom. Then click Download zip in the pop-up window.
All done? Ready to delete? Now:
Go to Yahoo's Terminating your Yahoo account page. If you use a phone number to login, use the alternative account termination page.
Read the information about deleting your account to be sure you want to proceed. This is a one-way trip. If you delete your account, it's gone for good.
Enter your password.
Enter the recaptcha code.
Click the button labeledTerminate this Account.
Your account is not going to disappear immediately. Yahoo takes approximately 90 days to process your departure. This is to keep enemies or hackers from deleting your account out from underneath you.
Since your account is going to stick around for almost three months, you'll want to go ahead and protect your account as well.
Protecting your Yahoo account
First, if you get an email saying your Yahoo account may have been hacked and to click this link to re-secure your account, it's bogus. Yahoo's official, "you're screwed" emails have the subject line: "Important Security Information for Yahoo Users". Anything else is just a phishing scam.
First, you must change your Yahoo account password on Yahoo services such as Yahoo Mail or Flickr. To do this, go to your Yahoo account page. Once there, go to Account Infoand click on Account security. Then, on that page, choose Change password. While you're at it, you should turn on two-step verification.
Make sure you pick a good password. For example, I like random nonsense phrases passwords. Say, "YahooSecurityIsStillAWFUL!!" Most password crackers aren't going to get it, and you'll be less likely to forget it.
If you, as many people do, use the same password for multiple accounts, stop that. You're just asking to be hacked. If someone breaks into any of your accounts, lazy hackers can try your most common user name or email with that known password on multiple systems. To be safe, you must use a unique password for every site.
Too much work? Then use a password manager such as LastPass, Google Smart Lock,1Password, or RoboForm. They'll make your online life much more secure and easier.
Yahoo has another login authentication option called the Yahoo Account Key. With this, instead of entering passwords, every time you login to your Yahoo account, you'll get a notification on your Android or Apple device. Personally, I find this annoying, but it might work for you.
Finally. Yahoo's security questions were also cracked... again. If you still have them, after changing your password, click "Disable security questions" on the Account Security page. Then, disable all of them.
At this point, I urge you to consider disabling Yahoo once and for all. I've used Yahoo since it started in 1994 under the name, "Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web," but I've had it. Yahoo is just too insecure for me. Goodbye Yahoo.
If you own a laptop, you might have experienced "hot bag" syndrome. You put the sleeping laptop into your travel bag and then hours later, discover that it woke up at some point and has been madly using up your battery (and heating up your bag) as it tries to do whatever task it woke up for.
On a PC running Windows 10, one simple solution is to change the behavior of the system so that closing the lid causes the system to hibernate instead of sleeping, saving the system's state to a hibernation file. A hibernating system won't wake up until you tell it to, which means you can count on your bag staying cool and your battery fully charged.
The trade-off, of course, is that getting back to work takes a bit longer as the system loads the contents of the hibernation file instead of resuming from sleep. But on a modern laptop with an SSD, that difference is typically only 10 seconds or so.
To make the change, open the Control Panel (or use the search box on the taskbar) and search for Power Options. That opens the dialog box shown in the upper right of this article. From the list of links on the left, click Choose what closing the lid does.
The options available under the Power Button And Lid Settings section might look a little different depending on how your PC maker implemented this feature, but every modern laptop has the option to define settings for When I close the lid.
Change the behavior under On Battery to Hibernate and then save your changes. The next time you close the PC's lid (or, in the case of a Surface Pro, fold the Type Cover up over the screen), your PC will be guaranteed to keep its cool.
Hy everyone!Welcome again to your blogspot:'Tech-Player'!the blogspot where you can find all the latest technology and gaming news,and also reviews and tutorials about technology devices and a lot of useful things.And all what you have to do to get all theses things and more,is to join our followers!
Today,we brought to you something that a lot of people ask about how to do it;it's how to connect my TV to my computer?And actually it's a simple thing,all what you have to do,is to continue reading to know how to do that!
Connecting our TV to our computer is something that we have been doing for so long that sometimes I just assume that everyone else does it too! this is so easy anyone can do it! Not only that, but most people have 99% of what they need to make this work in their house right now.
But why would anyone want to connect their TV to their computer anyways?
Here are the benefits we have enjoyed:
Not paying for a cable subscription
Not wasting time with channel flipping
No exposure to commercials
Ability to watch all of our home movies on our TV
Ability to access all of our downloaded files
Ability to be purposeful about what we watch with Netflix, YouTube, PBS, and more (Check out what we watch instead of TV in my blog here.)
How to Connect Your TV to Your Computer
If you have a newer laptop or desktop computer (post 2007) and an HD TV (post 2005), this will be a very easy set up. I am going to explain the two basic set ups which are:
Connecting your TV to a laptop
Connecting your TV to desktop computer
If you have an older TV or computer/laptop, I will cover some of your options in the FAQs and/or you can check out this very handy tutorial that will walk you through exactly what you need to do, and this article can help to fill in the gaps.
Option 1: Laptop to TV
If you have a newer laptop and a newer HD TV,all you need is one cable and you’ll be set to go!
Laptop to TV Connection
Pros: Very easy set up with just one cable, easy to disconnect and use as just a laptop again meaning that you only need one computer, doesn’t take up much room, won’t turn off if the power gets turned off
Cons: Can be more expensive, ties a laptop down instead of letting it roam free (albeit temporarily), not the best permanent option, this is not the option we use…see the next section
Materials Needed
Suggested TV: This is just a sample of what you might want to get. You can really get any HD TV and it will work perfectly fine. Just make sure it has an HDMI port, which just about any newer TV will have, and stay away from LG Electronics, they display computer graphics terribly. Also, don’t waste your money buying a computer monitor for this purpose. It’s not worth it.
Recommended Laptop: At $167, this Lenovo 100s will do everything you need and more. While this is the best and cheapest option currently available, you can make just about anything work. Just make sure any laptop you get has an HDMI port.
HDMI to HDMI Cable: You can get a shorter or a longer cable depending on your needs.
*For Mac Users: If you have a Mac with amini display port/thunderbolt,you’ll want this cable.
Keyboard and Mouse: Or get a wireless keyboard and wireless mouse if you want to get really fancy.
Directions
Laptop HDMI: Connect the HDMI cable to your laptop.
HDMI Port on a Laptop
TV HDMI: Connect the other end of the HDMI cable to your TV.
HDMI Port on TV
Using Just the Laptop: The easiest thing would be to use the keyboard and mousepad on your laptop to navigate, unplug it when you’re done, and there you go!
Adding a Keyboard and Mouse: Plug in a keyboard and mouse or get a wireless keyboard and mouse. (The wireless option is MUCH more convenient, but you WILL lose them from time to time!)
Permanent Set Up: For a more permanent set up, adjust the power settings on your laptop to allow it to stay on while it’s closed.Close it, and put it somewhere out of the way. (*Note: We have used laptops with broken screens for this, and it totally works.)
Option 2: Desktop Computer to TV
If you have a newer desktop computer and a newer HD TV,all you need is one cable and you’ll be set to go.
This is the set up we have in our living room. We put the TV on a table (so the kids can’t touch it) and cover it with a big piece of fabric so that everything is concealed. We built a little table to make storage more organized and keep all of our gaming stuff under here too.
Our TV Connected to a Computer
Pros: Very easy set up with just one cable, perfect for a permanent set up, easy to keep external hard drives connected for more storage, cheapest option.
Cons:Turns off if the power goes out, not ideal if this is your only computer…unless you go with a much smaller TV, and/or set up a dual monitor system.
Materials Needed
Suggested TV: This is just a sample of what you might want to get, and it’s the same recommendation for a laptop set up. You can really get any HD TV and it will work perfectly fine. Just make sure it has an HDMI port (any newer TV will have this) and stay away from LG Electronics, they display computer graphics terribly. Also, don’t waste your money buying a computer monitor for this purpose. It’s not worth it.
Recommended Computer: This mini desktop computer has everything you need and more for just $145! It’s small, has 32 GB of storage, has bluetooth, and plenty of USB ports for connecting to anexternal hard drive if you need more than 32 GB of storage.
HDMI to HDMI Cable: You can get a shorter or a longer cable depending on your needs.
*For Mac Users:If you have a Mac with amini display port/thunderbolt, you’ll want this cable.
Keyboard and Mouse: Or you can get a wireless keyboard and wireless mouse if you want to get really fancy.
Directions
1.Computer HDMI: Connect the HDMI cable to your computer tower
HDMI Port on a Desktop Computer
2.TV HDMI:Connect the other end of the HDMI cable to your TV.
HDMI Port on TV
3.Keyboard and Mouse:Plug in a keyboard and mouse or get a wireless keyboard and mouse. (The wireless option is MUCH more convenient, but you WILL lose them from time to time!) 4.Speakers: The TV speakers should work just fine in this set up, but you could always get some even better like these speakers…your choice!
FAQs
What if my laptop or desktop computer doesn’t have an HDMI port?Look to see if it has a DVI port, and if so, get a cable like this. The DVI (Digital Video Interface) cable does not carry sound, so you’ll also need an audio cable to connect to your TV speakers.
DVI and VGA Ports on a Computer
What if my laptop or desktop computer doesn’t have an HDMI or DVI port?All laptops and computers will at least have a VGA (Video Graphics Adapter) port. Unfortunately, there is no VGA to HDMI cable, and even if you find one, it won’t work. Basically, the VGA port is outdated and won’t work in this situation. What you’ll need to do instead is either just buy a new laptop or desktop computer or buy something like this that you can plug into your USB drive and create an HDMI port, but it’s $60, and for $150 you could actually buy a basic computer that has everything you need.
What about those TVs for sale that have computer options built in?You can get a “Smart TV” like this, and if all you want to do is watch Hulu, Netflix, and YouTube, then it’s a pretty good option. But if you want to watch any of your own files, you’re better off just wiring a regular old TV to your computer.
Are there any wireless options?Just like with the “Smart TV” options, if all you want to do is watch online TV and none of your own files, this is a pretty good option. You can get the Amazon Fire TV Stick for $40, a Roku Streaming Stick for $40, Google Chromecast for $35, and Apple TV for $150 if you have a Mac just to name a few.
Is there any way to keep my cable AND connect my TV to a computer?Yes. All you have to do is hit the input button on your remote to select the correct input and you can have both! Your cable should come in as “TV” and your computer will come in as “HDMI 1” (or something like that). This is also how you would select your gaming system.
In Conclusion
I highly recommend connecting your TV to your computer. It’s not as hard as you think it would be, and once you get through the set up and adjustment period, you will love it! There are TONS of resources online and once you start doing this, you will find that you become more purposeful and more selective about what you and your family watches. In an era where technology threatens to take over all of our free time and interactions, this is definitely a good thing.
*So,here we are!this was everything for today,but there's more to see and to read tomorrow and all the time!just follow us to be able to do that!And don't forget also to tell us what you think,and to share with your friends to let them also become of our followers!By for now!!
Laptop to TV Connection
HDMI Port on a Laptop
HDMI Port on TV
Our TV Connected to a Computer
