Visual learner

Thanks to Developer Mode on the Xbox Series X and S, you can install emulators like RetroArch . Turn your Xbox Series X or S into a retro gaming powerhouse and emulate the PS2, GameCube, Dreamcast, and more, all without impacting your ability to play retail games. First, Activate Developer Mode The first thing you have to do is activate Developer Mode on your Xbox . To do so, you’ll need a paid Microsoft Partner developer account. This requires a one-time fee of $19 (pricing is different in other regions). Once you’ve activated your account, you can add your Xbox as a developer console. RELATED: How to Put Your Xbox Series X or S into Developer Mode With a valid developer account, you can download the Xbox Dev Mode app, activate your console in Partner Center, and then reboot in Developer Mode. From there, it’s just a matter of configuring your network connection, and then accessing the Xbox Developer Mode web interface via a browser. For this guide, we’ll … [Read more...] about How to Install the RetroArch Emulator on Xbox Series X or S

iPhone shortcuts help you automate tasks, no matter how simple or complicated they are. But did you know that you can actually run some of your shortcuts directly on your Apple Watch and right from your watch face? If you’re running watchOS 7 and higher on Apple Watch (and iOS 14 and higher on the iPhone), you can use the Shortcuts app on your smartwatch to trigger shortcuts. The Shortcuts app on the iPhone automatically recognizes shortcuts that can run on the Apple Watch and adds them to a separate “Apple Watch” folder. Note: You can manually add and remove Apple Watch shortcuts from the automatically generated folder. Take a look at our complete guide to using the Shortcuts app on the Apple Watch to learn more. RELATED: How to Use Shortcuts on Apple Watch In this guide, we’ll focus on adding existing Apple Watch shortcuts directly to a watch face. Once added, you can simply tap the shortcut and confirm to trigger it. First, navigate to the watch face that … [Read more...] about How to Launch Shortcuts from an Apple Watch Face

One of PowerPoint’s charms is the ability to visually represent information by using its large library of available graphics, such as charts and graphs. If you want to create a timeline, well, Microsoft has just the thing. Here’s how it’s done. Open your PowerPoint presentation and navigate to the slide in which you would like to add a timeline. Once there, navigate to the “Insert” tab and select “SmartArt” from the “Illustrations” group. The “Choose a SmartArt Graphic” window will appear. Here, select “Process” from the left-hand pane. A library of several different process-focused SmartArt graphics will appear. You can choose the style you like best for your timeline. In this example, we’ll use the “Basic Timeline” option. Once selected, information about the SmartArt option will be displayed in the right-hand pane. When you’re ready to insert the SmartArt, select the “OK” button. RELATED: How to Create Star Wars Scrolling Text in PowerPoint … [Read more...] about How to Create a Timeline in Microsoft PowerPoint

Slideshows are an intuitive way to share complex ideas with an audience, although they’re dull and frustrating when poorly executed. Here are some tips to make your Microsoft PowerPoint presentations sing while avoiding common pitfalls. Table of Contents Start With a Goal Less Is More Consider Your Typeface Make Bullet Points Count Limit the Use of Transitions Skip Text Where Possible Think in Color Take a Look From the Top Down Bonus: Start With Templates Start With a Goal It all starts with identifying what we’re trying to achieve with the presentation. Is it informative, a showcase of data in an easy-to-understand medium? Or is it more of a pitch, something meant to persuade and convince an audience and lead them to a particular outcome? It’s here where the majority of these presentations go wrong with the inability to identify the talking points that best support our goal. Always start with a goal in mind: to entertain, … [Read more...] about 8 Tips to Make the Best PowerPoint Presentations

You can’t believe everything you read—or see. Social media is rife with manipulated or “Photoshopped” images. Here are some telltale signs you’re looking at an altered image. Airbrushing Is Easy to Spot Have you ever seen an image that just doesn’t look right? Trusting your gut might not be the most scientific approach, but you’re probably better at spotting a fake than you realize. If you see an image that sounds alarm bells, you might want to look a bit closer. You’ll probably spot some telltale signs that it’s been manipulated. Airbrushed images often fall into “ uncanny valley ” territory. Even if you have perfect skin, most light sources cast small shadows on fine wrinkles, pores, and other slight imperfections. When these imperfections are digitally removed, so is the appearance of natural lighting. Professional retouchers often strike a balance between perfection and realism, but amateurs and mobile apps rarely do. Apps, in particular, depend on existing skin tones … [Read more...] about How to Tell If an Image Has Been Manipulated or Photoshopped

Thirty years ago—on January 15, 1991 —an American college student named Tim Sweeney released ZZT , a low-key adventure game with a revolutionary element: It shipped with a free, built-in game editor. ZZT’s success spawned Epic Games, Unreal Engine, and most recently, Fortnite . Here’s why ZZT was special. What’s a “ZZT,” Anyway? Tim Sweeney’s passion for programming began on his Apple II when he was a kid. After getting his first IBM PC in 1989 during his freshman year of college, he dove head-first into programming the new machine. While creating an MS-DOS text editor using Turbo Pascal in 1990, he decided to make the project more fun by adding game-like elements. That evolved into ZZT , which was released as shareware in 1991. The genius of ZZT in the early 1990s was that it wasn’t just a cute ASCII-based adventure. With every copy of ZZT downloaded, players also got an in-game world editor for free. That’s because ZZT’s text editor roots meant … [Read more...] about Before Fortnite, There Was ZZT: Meet Epic’s First Game