All posts tagged: default

How These 10 Default iPhone Settings Protect Your Device

How These 10 Default iPhone Settings Protect Your Device

Published by skeptic

Your iPhone is more than just a communication device; it’s a sophisticated tool designed to enhance your daily life, protect your personal data, and ensure optimal performance. Certain settings are so essential that turning them off could compromise your device’s functionality, security, or overall usability. Below, iReviews explores ten critical iPhone settings you should always keep enabled and explains their importance in detail. 1. Face ID: Your First Line of Defense Face ID is a cornerstone of your iPhone’s security system. By allowing the “Require Attention for Face ID” feature, your device ensures it only unlocks when you’re actively looking at it. This prevents unauthorized access, even in situations where someone might attempt to unlock your phone while you’re distracted or asleep. Beyond unlocking your device, Face ID also safeguards sensitive areas such as hidden and recently deleted photo albums, making sure your private data remains secure. Keeping this feature enabled is a simple yet powerful way to protect your personal information. 2. Location Services: Safety and Convenience Location Services play a dual role in …

Google Pixel phones have a useful voicemail feature that’s hidden by default – how to enable it

Google Pixel phones have a useful voicemail feature that’s hidden by default – how to enable it

Published by skeptic

Jack Wallen/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. Years ago, I recorded a voicemail message for my phone that made a lot of people laugh. Some would call just to hear it. But times have changed, and dealing with voicemail these days can be a real hassle, especially if you get a lot of calls. In response, Google last year added a feature to its Pixel lineup called Take A Message. With this feature, you can get voicemail messages, filter spam calls, and view real-time transcripts of missed or declined calls, all in your Phone app’s Home tab, making it much more convenient to use than carrier-based voicemail.  Also: This hidden Pixel camera setting makes my photos absolutely pop – here’s how And when you use this feature along with call screening, the Android Phone app becomes an incredibly helpful tool. However, Android Authority recently found that nearly 60% of Android users didn’t even know that Take a Message exists. But I’ve been using the feature for a while, and trust me, you need …

Windows has a built-in auto-cleanup tool — but its default settings are almost useless

Windows has a built-in auto-cleanup tool — but its default settings are almost useless

Published by skeptic

We’ve all been there: the disk space is running low on our Windows PC and we’ve got failed updates, inability to install new software, and even sluggish performance. The tool that we should all be running is built right into Windows: Storage Sense. TUcked away in Settings, Storage Sense is made to automatically clear out junk files before they become a problem, but the problem is, it’s not configured well on its own. Storage Sense’s cleanup schedule defaults to triggering only when your disk is nearly full. It also ignores your Downloads folder entirely, and it doesn’t even deal with data you keep in the cloud. By the time it finally kicks in, you’re already impacted. Changing three settings takes only a couple of minutes and will turn this tool into the ikind of background maintenance system it should have been from the start. Related I cleaned 200GB of hidden junk using a Windows tool no one talks about A quick storage scan revealed 200GB of junk Windows completely overlooked. What Storage Sense actually does …

Windows might be hiding some of your PC’s storage by default – here’s how to reclaim it

Windows might be hiding some of your PC’s storage by default – here’s how to reclaim it

Published by skeptic

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 11 Aura Edition Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. Have you ever noticed how your PC’s storage never quite seems to add up? Part of that is because Windows reserves a small portion of your storage for system files. A feature called Reserved Storage quietly sets aside 5GB to 10GB on your SSD for update files, cache, and temporary files.  It’s not as nefarious as it sounds — there’s a rationale behind allocating space to streamline updates — but you may want to get that space back, especially if you have a smaller SSD and space is tight.  Also: Do yourself a favor and stop buying these cheap SSD drives flooding the market Most users with 512GB or more of storage don’t need to mess with these settings, but if you really want to maximize your SSD, Windows lets you disable Reserved Storage.  Start here first  If you’re hurting for space on your local drive, there are several other options I recommend exploring first — many …

Windows’ default file copy is embarrassingly slow compared to this free open-source alternative

Windows’ default file copy is embarrassingly slow compared to this free open-source alternative

Published by skeptic

Windows Explorer does basic file operations just fine. Drag and drop a few files, and they move in an instant. However, if you are moving a large folder with mixed file types, it chokes and slows to a crawl. This comes from a design choice in how Windows stages file operations. While you can use a third-party app like FastCopy to move large files faster, Windows has always had RoboCopy, a built-in command-line utility that handles large transfers significantly better. But it’s less popular due to its command-line interface. ChoEazyCopy wraps RoboCopy in a proper GUI, making it accessible without you needing to memorize a single command. What’s RoboCopy, and why is it faster than File Explorer? A powerful built-in copy tool hidden behind the command line There’s a simple reason why File Explorer takes forever to start copying files. It stages every operation before transferring, processing files one at a time. This approach works for a handful of files, but with thousands of small files or deeply nested folders, the progress bar slows to …

Time to end ‘Christian by default’ RE, say Northern Ireland Humanists – Humanists UK

Time to end ‘Christian by default’ RE, say Northern Ireland Humanists – Humanists UK

Published by Sam Flores

Northern Ireland Humanists has urged the Department of Education (DoE) to end its ‘Christian by default’ approach to Religious Education (RE) in Northern Ireland schools, warning that the current system is outdated, exclusionary, and out of step with modern society. In its submission to the DoE’s Call for Evidence, Northern Ireland Humanists reiterated its concerns that the current RE syllabus is shaped by the four largest Christian denominations. As a result, Christianity dominates the subject, with other religions largely excluded until Key Stage 3 and humanism almost entirely absent. Northern Ireland Humanists also argued that this narrow framework fails to reflect the diversity of beliefs among young people today. Around a third of young people in Northern Ireland now describe themselves as having no religion. In November 2025, the UK Supreme Court ruled in a case known as JR87, that RE in Northern Ireland schools does not meet the requirement to be taught in an ‘objective, critical and pluralistic’ way. The court also ruled that ‘not being objective, critical, and pluralistic’ and ‘indoctrination’ were ‘two …

When KaOS Linux dropped KDE Plasma, I worried – now I’m loving the new default desktop

When KaOS Linux dropped KDE Plasma, I worried – now I’m loving the new default desktop

Published by skeptic

Screenshot by Jack Wallen/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways KaOS Linux no longer defaults to KDE Plasma. In Plasma’s place is the scrollable tiling Niri. KaOS is free to install and use. Over the years, I’ve watched Linux distributions make all sorts of changes — some that made sense and some that didn’t. So when I read that KaOS was dropping the KDE Plasma desktop in favor of Niri (which I’d never heard of), I thought, “Hoo boy, this marks the beginning of the end.” I was wrong. Niri is actually pretty cool. Also: After 30 years with Linux, I switched it for Windows 11 – and found 9 serious problems What is KaOS? KaOS, according to the developer’s website, is a “rolling and transparent distribution for the modern desktop, built from scratch with a very specific focus — focus on one DE (desktop environment), one toolkit (Qt), one architecture (x86_64).” That DE is Niri, a scrollable, tiling compositor. Unlike most tiling window managers, Niri tiles all …

Nano Banana 2 vs Nano Banana Pro: Gemini Default Model Changes

Nano Banana 2 vs Nano Banana Pro: Gemini Default Model Changes

Published by skeptic

With the release of the new  Nano Banana 2, Google’s AI models represent a significant step forward in image generation technology, with each model in its range catering to distinct needs and priorities. As demonstrated by Paul Lipsky below, Nano Banana 2 strikes a balance between the original Nano Banana and the advanced Nano Banana Pro, offering enhanced realism and improved detail. For example, Nano Banana 2 excels in generating lifelike textures and cinematic visuals, making it a versatile choice for creative projects. However, its performance can vary depending on the complexity of the task, with Nano Banana Pro maintaining an edge in areas like character consistency and precise prompt interpretation. Learn how the Nano Banana 2 compares to its predecessors in terms of key features like realism, editing capabilities, and multilingual support. The overview also highlights specific use cases where Nano Banana 2 shines, such as creating immersive visuals or detailed representations of real-world scenarios. Additionally, you’ll see where Nano Banana Pro continues to outperform, particularly in tasks requiring high precision and consistency. By …

This underrated app is my new default for PDFs and documents

This underrated app is my new default for PDFs and documents

Published by skeptic

For years, my app folder was a cluttered mess of PDF apps. There was a separate app for everything: editing, reading, and viewing, an app for an e-book library; and yet another just so I could read my manga on the weekends. The industry-standard “pro” tools are often bloated, resource-intensive, and increasingly aggressive about subscription schemes, while the default viewers built into operating systems are frequently too basic to be useful. But following my journey to change subscription apps with free open-source alternatives, I changed my default PDF viewer to Okular. It’s software that positions itself not only as a reader but also as a universal document viewer. After using it for quite a while, I removed every other viewer app from my system. OS Windows, macOS, Linux Developer KDE Okular is a free, open-source, multi-platform universal document viewer developed by KDE. It supports numerous formats—including PDF, EPUB, DjVu, and comics—offering features like annotation, text highlighting, and form filling. It’s one app for everything It takes care of many of your PDF needs It delivers …

Thai Coffee Chains Cut Default Sugar Content in Coffee and Tea Drinks in a New Health Push

Thai Coffee Chains Cut Default Sugar Content in Coffee and Tea Drinks in a New Health Push

Published by Sam Flores

BANGKOK (AP) — For many Thais, a meal doesn’t feel complete without an iced coffee or tea so sugary it could pass for dessert. The government, concerned about the health consequences, wants them to dial it back. Starting Wednesday, nine major coffee chains across the country have pledged to cut the default sugar content in some of their drinks by half in a government initiative aimed at tackling excessive sugar consumption. According to the Health Department, Thais consume an average of 21 teaspoons of sugar per day, more than three times the World Health Organization’s recommended limit of six teaspoons. Health officials warn that such high intake increases the risk of obesity, diabetes and other diseases. The initiative is the first significant step to change consumers’ sugar consumption behavior, said Amporn Benjaponpitak, the director general of the department. Pakorn Tungkasereerak, the department’s deputy, said 2025 data show that about 45% of Thais aged 15 and older are obese, while 10% of the population has diabetes. A survey by the Bureau of Nutrition found that a …