Every WatchOS 3 Owner Should Know These 5 Hidden Features

With Apple's third take on its wearables, it didn't take any chances with the WatchOS 3 when it comes to improvements. For instance, the friends circle has been replaced with the dock, and the docked applications load instantly. Aside from that, battery life is excellent, and the system in general has better performance and speed.

Here's a closer look on what the new WatchOS 3 has to offer to its Apple lovers.

The Dock

The dock contains up to ten of your most frequently used apps. To access it, press the watch's side button. Then from here, you can use the Digital Crown to scroll left or right. This is better than sliding through the app selection with your finger. While you can remove dock apps from the Watch app on your iPhone, it's more convenient to slide up on the app from the Dock itself. Once you're at this step, simply tap the big X.

Any applications that aren't in the Dock will appear in the Dock after use as "recent." You can then choose if you want to keep it in the dock.

Siri

In WatchOS 3, along with iOS 10, Siri now offers third-party support since she now has the ability to interact with your applications hands free. This means you don't need to launch those third-party apps separately. Here are some examples:

·         Uber - you can say, "Hey Siri, book me a ride on Uber."

·         Nike+ Run Club - you can say "Hey Siri, start a workout with Nike+ Run Club."

·         Square Cash - you can say "Hey Siri, send my wife Jane $30 for her shopping on Square Cash." You will be then asked to confirm, and it will process away your request. You can also request for money if you wish to.

Workout

Apple's WatchOS 3 is marketed intensively as a workout companion, and it's true to its promise. The heart-rate sensor is more accurate than most fitness trackers in the market, and the built-in workout app itself knows no parallel. Here's what you can benefit from the Workout App on WatchOS 3.

You can now give nicknames to your "other" workouts in the Workout App. Simply select "other," complete your workout, tap Save, and scroll through the list of workout names. Once you have accomplished this, Apple Watch will remember that particular workout's nickname and will keep it in the quick start menu.

When working out, double-tap on your screen to split that workout into a "section." For instance, when running on a track, a double tap could signify a lap. The Watch will save each section with its own data to be viewed after the workout.

Messages

Considered as the most used mobile app in Apple's history, Messages has received the biggest overhaul this time around, ranging from friendly stickers to full-screen effects. All Messages features on the WatchOS 3 are included in iOS 10, except Scribble.

Here are the features you can get:

·         Tapbacks - Double-tap on a message to select a "tapback." Think about a tapback as a quick response message. Instead of responding with "okay" or "cool," you can respond with a thumbs-up tapback.

·         Pre-Canned Responses - Select and send a pre-canned response directly, rather than having to select "respond," like in previous Watch OS versions.

·         Language Selection - Force Touch and select "Choose Language" to change the current language.

·         Directions - Force Touch, select "Details," scroll and then select the contact's address to get directions. The Maps app will then begin to launch.

·         Full-Screen Effects - These effects can't be sent from the Watch, but they can be received from other iOS devices running on iOS 10.

·         Scribble - When pre-canned responses or dictation aren't appropriate for the situation, tap scribble and start scribbling out what you want to send. The best part of this is it's quick, and the letters can be written over one another.

·         Speed - Dictation is overall quicker and more precise. Commands such as "exclamation mark" and "period" are picked up easily.

SOS

Keep in mind that the SOS feature is something you will be using everyday. But if you do, you'll be glad your WatchOS 3 has it. To use this feature, press and hold the side button for six seconds to call emergency services. Apple Watch recognizes what country you're in and dials the corresponding emergency number. After your call with emergency services, Apple Watch alerts selected contacts of your location.

Great Media Streaming Devices You Must Have

There are various methods on how you can watch online content on your TV. You may have a Blu-ray player or game system connected that have streaming capabilities, or your TV itself may have apps with built-in streaming services. If none of those are applicable to you, or if your device does not offer the media streaming features that you really want, you can get a dedicated media streaming hub.

Among the media streamers currently available, here are some platforms that stand out: Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, and Google Cast. These platforms, except for the Google Cast, have on-screen menu systems and dedicated remotes so you can view whatever you want from the couch, without a mobile device to control everything. Google Cast is different since it depends on a smartphone, tablet, or PC with Cast-compatible apps to stream content. Regardless of which device you choose, they each give you access to many of the most popular music and video streaming services available.

Android TV

Android TV is Google's dedicated Android-based media streamer menu system, different from the heavily modified version of Android used in Amazon's Fire TV products. Simply put, Android TV is designed to bring the sorts of things you enjoy on your phone to your TV. It offers voice controls -- a staple of Google properties these days -- as well as giving you controls across other devices, like your Android phone and Android Wear watch. The card-based interface behaves in a familiar way, making it easier to do the things you want to do without a convoluted menu system.

Android TV was the first platform to offer Netflix 4K content outside of a TV with the Netflix 4K app built-in, and it remains a powerful system.

Amazon Fire TV

Amazon's Fire TV platform is developed around FireOS, a modified version of Android designed with Amazon's content in mind. Fire TV devices are focused heavily on Amazon Prime content, with Amazon Instant Video and Amazon Prime Music built prominently into the menu system. There are plenty of other content services available through Fire TV such as Hulu Plus, Netflix, and YouTube, but the big advantage of Fire TV is having all of your Prime content right at your fingertips.

Alexa, Amazon's version of Siri, is a useful tool to use with the voice remote included with the current Fire TV and Fire TV Stick.

Apple TV

The Apple TV serves a variety of purposes now, thanks to its tvOS operating system, which has its own App Store. The fourth-gen Apple TV includes a brand new Siri Remote. Included is a dedicated Siri button that, when paired with universal search on the Apple TV, allows users to easily look up content from a variety of sources with a single search. Using AirPlay with your iOS device or Mac, you can stream videos, photos, and music directly from your iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch or Mac to your HDT, as well as mirroring their screens. 

Under some circumstances, Mac can use a TV equipped with an Apple TV as a second display.

Apple hiked up its prices to $149 for 32GB of storage and $199 for 64GB for the fourth-gen. That’s $50 more than the previous model, but with the Siri Remote, tvOS, App Store, and much more, it’s easily one of the best streaming solutions on the market.

Google Cast

The team at Google managed to find a way to improve it with the second-gen release. The most obvious change is aesthetic. The previous Chromecast was a slightly chunky HDMI stick, that's plugged into one of your TV's spare HDMI ports and was never seen again (unless you decided to take it with you travelling).

The new Google Cast is a shiny disc of wireless wonder, that comes complete with a longer (but not too long!) HDMI cable. This allows the streaming dongle to be plugged in to tight HDMI ports a lot easier. There are no remotes, no on-screen interfaces, and no app stores to separately navigate. You just connect your Google Cast to your home network and stream whatever you're watching on your smartphone or tablet.

It's easy to use and economical, too since both the Google Cast and audio-only Chromecast Audio are the least expensive media streamers there is at $35 each, and the Chromecast Ultra is the least expensive 4K media streamer at $69.

5 Cool Things You Can Do Using Only Your Basic Computer Knowledge

You don’t have to be a computer tech guru, programmer, or any of those to be more than productive in your office using only your basic computer knowledge. The fact that you can use your computer pretty well in the office is enough to know a few tips and tricks to increase your work productivity.

1. Manual Task Switching

If you’re in the middle of a typing spree and need to swap programs or windows, you don’t need to reach for your mouse. Use the hold Alt + Tab to quickly swap between programs and windows. On new Windows, users can access another task switcher by holding one Alt button, pressing and releasing the other while still holding the first and subsequently pressing Tab to change windows or programs.

2. Pin Frequent Items Used

For PC programs pinned to your taskbar, it’s easy to immediately access that program’s recently opened files if you right click on its icon. Even more useful, you can pin specific files after right clicking by dragging the file from recent to the pinned section above it. This tip can save plenty of time if you frequently access a document or file on a daily basis. Now it will only require two clicks.

3. Snap Various Windows Side by Side

This can be very useful if you’re writing a document or spreadsheet and at the same time using a background source for information. Rather than swapping back and forth between your document and the Web page or other source by constantly minimizing and maximizing, PC users can fit various windows side by side if they drag a window to the right or left top corner of their screen. This is a great time-saver if you’re writing a research-heavy paper or article.

4. CTRL + Z is the Magic Button for “Undo”

We all happen to accidentally delete something at some point. A quick fix to this, as opposed to digging through your recycle bin or whatever folder you misplaced the file in, is pressing Ctrl + Z. This will effectively undo the prior action. In the same Ctrl-oriented combo, Ctrl + C will copy a file or text, Ctrl + X will cut out, and Ctrl + V will paste it.

5. SHIFT + CLICK = New Program

Another start menu trick involves holding down the shift key while you click on a program. Whereas not holding down the shift key would minimize or maximize the program, the shift key addition opens up a new instance of a program.

If you can gradually implement the tips above while working at the office or at home, these tips and tricks will eventually become second nature and begin to dramatically increase your productivity for work.

Go Paperless Easily With These 5 Apps and Services

Have you noticed that you're spending too much time hunting for the file or document that you need on a stack of random documents? Not only does it cost the company a lot, it also causes the employees a huge waste of time and space. Did it ever entered your mind that how easier your work would be if you have a paperless office? Well you're not alone.

The idea of paperless office desks and electronic communication began as soon as computers became popular more than 20 years ago. But even though that was a long time ago, it has still been a constant challenge for offices to completely go paperless. It's difficult to achieve this especially if you're thinking about the reasons where you might still use paper. You probably keep your to-do list in a notebook, or you're still used to affixing your signature on hard copies of documents. Besides, a company probably can't be completely paperless. Some papers, like signed, sealed deeds and legally-binding contracts, need to exist in their original form for legal or financial reasons.

Still, many companies will agree that becoming paperless is definitely worth the effort. The following are five types of tools and services that can be used as alternatives in order for an office to become paperless, they are:

• file-syncing services
• e-signature tools
• scanning apps
• to-do apps
• document delivery services

Below are some examples of apps that can provide the perfect alternative to existing paper-based products and services.

1. File-syncing Services

A file-syncing service enables you to access your documents whatever device you are using at the moment. Dropbox, Google Drive, and IDrive are three perfect examples of file-syncing services. They let you save offline copies of documents to your devices. These apps can come in handy when you need to have access to your scanned files and documents and you don't want to bring them all the time.

2. E-signature Tools

When you have a digital version of a document, for example a PDF file the someone emailed to you or that you downloaded, you don't have to print it in order to sign it -- because you can have it digitally signed. In order to digitally sign documents, the first thing you need to do is you must have a signature, which is usually the hard part, since most people have poor penmanship using a mouse, a finger on a touchscreen, and even sometimes with a stylus. With some e-signature tools, there's an option to use pen and paper to create your signature, and then snap a picture of it to upload. Once you have created your signature, you can use it on more than one document, or even better, you can save other variations of it for future use.

Software that include e-signature tools are Adobe Reader, Adobe Acrobat, Hightail, and Preview. Be reminded that some documents are protected from allowing e-signatures. You may need to print and sign those. Documents are usually protected when people want a hardcopy with a live signature mailed to them. However, you can always keep a digital copy of the document as long as you scan the pages and save them using a dependable scanning app.

3. Scanning Apps

These are typically mobile apps that transform your phone's camera into a scanner. Some powerful scanning apps have the ability to automatically detect if you're scanning pages of a document versus business cards versus images. They also include cropping tools, which is a plus. And when they detect text, they automatically save the scanned version in a way that makes the text most readable.

Some of these great scanning apps are Evernote Scannable, Microsoft OneNote, which is a note-taking and syncing app, as well as a scanning functionality.

4. To-Do Apps

You will never realize how easy and efficient a digital to-do app is until you've experienced using one. With the paper version, you have to deal with cross outs in case you made a mistake, you can't easily rearrange items to show priority, and you certainly can't assign a task to someone and know when he or she has finished it. But with a digital to-do list, all of those can be achieved.

Digital to-do lists sync across all the devices you use. They can be shared among a few people. They have tools for helping you organize your to-dos, which means you can better manage your time and activities. When you use a to-do app on your phone, you can get reminders and alerts based on time or your location.

Any.do, Todoist, and Wunderlist are examples of good to-do list apps. While all of these apps have a free version, they also have paid premium ones.

5. Document Delivery Services

While many people paperless deliver documents as email attachments, it's not always the best way to do it. When you send files by email, you rarely have the opportunity to know when or if the recipient got them. You might also find that some files are too large to send thru email, or that your email program automatically downgrades the quality of the original. Many file-syncing services and other cloud storage programs give you a much better way to share files. Ideally, you put the files you want to share into a single folder in your syncing program and click to get a link that you can share. From that link, the recipient can download the files from there. Depending on which service you have, and whether it's a free or paid version, you might have the option to see when the user downloads the file or even put an expiration date on the access. Dropbox and Hightail, have many of these options.

Luckily, there are online fax services that allow you to fax documents and be paperless at the same time, such as MyFax.