Tausi Insider

Photo : Tada Images ( Shutterstock ) Who remembers the games that shipped with classic iPods? You could have a pixel war in   Parachute , smash blocks in Brick , play cards in Solitaire , and test your knowledge of your own iPod’s library with Music Quiz . Of course, Apple has since discontinued the iPod, but they seem to have trouble letting go of the past.   Music Quiz lives on as a hidden iPhone game. The hidden music quiz hasn’t been around forever, but isn’t all that new either. Apple first added it to the iPhone not as a game but as a shortcut, back in 2020 with iOS 14 . The game w as part of a small series of “Starter Shortcuts”—the idea, I assume, was to offer users a quick look at what was possible with shortcuts (even though the app launch two years prior with iOS 12). Either way, it doesn’t seem to have been a wholly effective marketing campaign— I had no idea this music quiz existed. It’s just the kind of hidden feature that’s a pleasant surprise to discover ....

Photo : Kicking Studio ( Shutterstock ) Spotlight, once an essential tool in your iPhone productivity arsenal, has become nearly unusable on iOS 16. It sometimes displays search results almost instantly, but more often than not it takes a few seconds (or more) to find things. The latency is particularly noticeable on older iPhones, and the inconsistency of a once-reliable tool is pretty sad to see. The same feature has been facing similar issues on Mac, but at least there are alternatives—such as Alfred and Raycast — that make up for it. On your iPhone, you can’t replace Spotlight with an alternative, but you can try a couple of workarounds. Use your iPhone’s App Library If you keep swiping left on your iPhone’s home screen, you will find the App Library at the very end . Once there, swipe down to open the search bar and type the name of the app you want to find. You’ll see that this search box instantly loads the results you’re looking for. We’ve tried this on a three-year-o...

Photo : redart14 ( Shutterstock ) Unlike most of the apps on this list, BeReal is a viral sensation . If there’s one app that defined 2022, it’s the one that got us all to take a photo at the same time each and every day. The best part? It’s the same app it was when it blew up: No frills, no new features, just a simple concept that makes it fun to use whenever the notification goes off. For the uninitiated, here’s how BeReal works: The app sends a notification warning users they have two minutes to BeReal. To BeReal, you take a photo of where you are and what you’re doing, both through the front camera and the rear camera. Then, you see what all your other friends are up to. You don’t have to BeReal within the two minute window, but it will mark your post as late (though it’s no big deal). You can BeReal on iPhone and Android . https://www.tausiinsider.com/tausiinsiders-22-favorite-apps-of-2022/?feed_id=327830&_unique_id=641876db86ea6

Photo : Chikena ( Shutterstock ) When your smartphone starts to slow down, you may wonder whether it’s the be ginning of its end . However, it could just be digital junk accumulated throughout the year gumming up the works. As 2022 comes to a close , now’s as good a time as any to clear the clutter from your Android and start the new year with faster phone you can hold onto for longer . W e’re talking about Android here , so keep in mind that nearly every smartphone has a different interface. Some of our suggestions may not apply to your particular phone, and others will be available under different menus. You can always use the search function on your device or within the Settings app to apply this advice to your situation . Turn it off and back on Perhaps the most clich é advice of all, but it’s first on the list for a reason: A good number of Android problems (and tech problems in general) can be fixed with a simple restart. If your phone has been acting slow for a while...

Photo : morrowlight ( Shutterstock ) On a computer, selecting multiple things at the same time is easy—y ou obviously click and drag to highlight whatever you want. On your iPhone, though , it’s a different story. Depending on the app, your obvious options are to hit “Select All” or choose the “Edit” button and tediously tap away at each item you want to select. But, as it happens, your iPhone has a hidden trick that lets you select items in bulk: Instead of tapping to select multiple items, you can use a simple swipe to breeze through your selection. As long as the app supports it, take two fingers and swipe over the items you want to select, and iOS will select those items . You can even drag down to the bottom of the screen to scroll and select, or lift off the screen and repeat the gesture to highlight another group of items. It’s a lot of fun. Once you’ve selected multiple items, you can tap and hold the screen to reveal bulk actions like delete, share, and copy. Right now...

Image : spacedrone808 ( Shutterstock ) Windows 7 launched in October of 2009 . Barack Obama was president, Avatar was soon to hit movie theaters, and swine flu was officially declared a global pandemic. The world has changed a lot since then (for example, Avatar 2 is set in the water instead of the forest), and so has Windows. While Microsoft “ officially” ended support for Windows 7 on Jan. 14, 2020, this week, it’s truly, officially dead. If you’re still using it (or Windows 8.1, for that matter) you really shouldn’t be. As reported by Bleeping Computer , Microsoft will pull the plug on software support for the Extended Security Update (ESU) program for Windows 7 on Tuesday, Jan. 10. This program provided a three-year paid exception to Microsoft’s abandoning of Windows 7 for Professional and Enterprise users who relied on the operating system to run specific software. As of this week, however, even ESU customers will find their versions of Windows 7 as unsupported as the res...

Photo : Formatoriginal ( Shutterstock ) If you have an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, your Apple ID is among your most important digital accounts. If it is compromised, bad actors can access your iCloud information, see your location, or outright steal your devices from you. Keeping your Apple ID safe is obviously paramount. While code-based two-factor authentication (2FA) has been Apple’s go-to way to protect your account for years , with the latest update to iOS 16.3 , you can now use physical security keys to lock up your Apple ID from would-be intruders. It’s the best way to protect your account. What are security keys? Security keys have been around since long before Apple decided to implement them into Apple ID. In short, they’re a small piece of hardware resembling a USB thumb drive that can be used to authenticate yourself when signing into an account or device . Once set up, you can use a security key as an alternative form of two-factor authentication (2FA). Rather than rely on ...

Photo : g0d4ather ( Shutterstock ) My friends, it’s been a great run—but Microsoft will stop selling Windows 10 on Tuesday, Jan. 31, one week from this article’s publication. The news isn’t necessarily shocking , since the company has been full-steam-ahead with Windows 11 since October 2021. However, it’s still a sad development. Windows 10 is the preferred OS for many PC users who still can’t stomach upgrading. Of course, Windows 10 isn’t dead . Microsoft will continue to support both Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro until Oct. 14, 2025, giving plenty of us on PC an excuse to keep running the OS until then. If you already have Windows 10 running on your PC, you’re good to go. But if you’re going to build a PC, you’re going to need a new license to install the beloved OS. Here’s where you can get one. Buy Windows 10 from Microsoft directly (while you can) As of this article, Microsoft is still selling Windows 10 licenses on its website. You can buy Windows 10 Home for $139, a...