Chrome Remote Desktop: Everything you need to know

Chrome Remote Desktop is a great, free way to remotely access a computer.

I have an unusual computer setup: I have a super powerful desktop at home and I carry a Chromebook with me when I’m out and about. The system has served me well over the past year, but there are times when I’m on the go and I need to tap into my extra power at home. This is where Chrome Remote Desktop comes into play — I can connect to my home computer from anywhere, so long as I have an Internet connection. If you’d like to do this, follow along!

Install the Chrome Remote Desktop host on the machine you want to access

Before using Chrome Remote Desktop, the machine you’d like to access needs to be running the Chrome browser and the Chrome Remote Desktop host. Chromebooks and Chromeboxes that need to be accessed can skip this section since the necessary pieces are already built into Chrome OS.

If you have not done so, download the Chrome browser.

Sign into the browser by clicking the picture icon in the upper-right corner of the browser.

Once you’re signed in, download the Chrome Remote Desktop application.
After downloading the app, you will see the Chrome app page. If not, enter chrome://apps into the search bar. Click the Chrome Remote Desktop icon.

Under the “My Computers” section, click the “Get started” button.

Click “Enable remote connections.”
A window will pop up asking you to install the Chrome Remote Desktop Host. Click accept and install.

The host tool will appear in your taskbar. Click to run the tool. If your computer requires an administrative account for installations, the administrator will need to enter their password.

Once the installer is done, you will be asked to create a PIN code to keep bad people from accessing your system without your knowledge. The PIN can only be numbers, no letters and must be at least six digits long. And with that, we’re done with setup!

Accessing the desktop from another device

So long as both devices have an Internet connection, you’ll be able to remote in and access the computer you’ve set up. Now it’s time to get connected.

Download and install the Chrome Remote Desktop application from Google Play, the Chrome Web Store or the iOS App Store.
If necessary, sign into the application with the same Google account used above.
Under “My Computers”, you should see the computer set up before. Click the computer name.
Enter the PIN you created. If you’d like, you can tell the software to not ask for a PIN when connecting from this specific device. And that’s it! You’re connected to your home machine.

Another great use of Chrome Remote Desktop is providing support to other users. With this, I don’t have to drive two hours just to get my mother’s bookmarks bar to reappear. If you want to remotely help a user, have them install the Chrome Remote Desktop Host using the steps above.

Have the user open Chrome Remote Desktop on their device ,
Click the green “Share” button.
Chrome Remote Desktop will generate a code for this session. Have that person tell you the code.
On your machine, open Chrome Remote Desktop, then click the “Access” button. Enter the code the person gave you, and they will need to allow you to access the system. That’s it!

A couple things to keep in mind here: you’ll need a fast internet connection for this, and ping times are very important, since you’ll be connecting in real time. If you’re on LTE, make sure that your signal is strong.

Do you use Chrome Remote Desktop? Let us know down below!

Chromebooks

• The best Chromebooks
• Should you buy a Chromebook?
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• Acer Chromebook 14 review
• Join our Chromebook forums

Nokia 7 debuts in China with Snapdragon 630, ‘Bothie’ camera, and glass back

Nokia is bringing features from its flagship to a more affordable price point.

Nokia kicked off its Android journey back in January with the Nokia 6, which was unveiled in China. The company is once again turning to the Chinese market for its latest budget device, the Nokia 7. The Nokia 7 is also aimed at the budget segment, but it features several improvements over the Nokia 6.

The Nokia 7’s chassis is made out of 7000 series aluminum, but the back features a Gorilla Glass panel with rounded edges. The phone ticks all the right boxes when it comes to the specs: you get a 5.2-inch Full HD display, 4GB or 6GB of RAM, 64GB storage, microSD slot, a 16MP camera with f/1.8 lens and 5MP front shooter, NFC, USB-C, Wi-Fi ac, and a 3000mAh battery.

One of the main drawbacks of the Nokia 6 was the performance: the combination of a Snapdragon 430 and a Full HD display meant that the phone wasn’t as nimble as other options in this segment. Nokia has addressed that particular problem by switching to the beefier Snapdragon 630.

Nokia is also bringing its “Bothie” feature — which made its debut in the high-end Nokia 8 — to the Nokia 7. The feature lets you take photos using the front and rear cameras simultaneously, and the company is clearly turning to Bothies as a differentiator in the imaging department.

On the software front, the Nokia 7 comes with Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box, with an update to Oreo set to arrive shortly. The phone will go up for sale in China starting October 24 for ¥2,499 ($375) for the variant with 4GB of RAM, with the model featuring 6GB of RAM retailing for ¥2,699 ($405).

As of now, there’s no information on when the Nokia 7 will be making its way to global markets, but we’ll let you know once we have more details. In the meantime, let us know what you think of the Nokia 7 in the comments below.

This 6-port Lumsing desktop charger is down to just $8

Desktop chargers are insanely convenient, if you don’t have one already.

Is this deal for me?

This Lumsing 60W 6-port USB desktop charger is down to $8.49 with code DS987631 on Amazon. Without the code, it goes for $17, and this price matches a deal we shared once before.

This charger comes with five micro USB to USB cables. Nearly one for every port! If you don’t need that many cables, you can get the same charger with only two cables for $7.99 using the same coupon code. Lose three cords, save 50 cents.

Features include:

• Detects and automatically switches to the right charging mode of the connected digital device for full speed charging up to 3 amps per port or 12 amps overall.
• Via 6 ports, delivers 60 watts of high-power to simultaneously charge two iPad Airs and four iPhone 6s at high speed.
• The built-in Multi-Protection System ensures complete protection for you and your devices.
• Phones and devices can be quite expensive, so we kept that in mind when we designed this desktop charger.

Both chargers come with an 18-month warranty.

TL;DR

• What makes this deal worth considering? – The price is really low, and these chargers come with cables, which is a nice touch.
• Things to know before you buy! – The included cables are all micro USB. If you need something like a Lightning cable, you can get one from Anker for just a few bucks.

See at Amazon

Happy thrifting!

On the Pixel 2 XL, OLED displays, and Samsung

There are a lot of reasons to choose one phone over the other, and the only right choice is the one you make.

The internet is like that big platter your grandmother breaks out during the holidays. The one with little compartments for all the different things, from olives to cheese to onion dip. In our compartment, where everything mobile and all the things that connect to all the other things live, everywhere you look you see that the Pixel 2 XL has a horrible display. Like, the worst ever.

At least that’s what the internet tells me. Tossing out the noise from folks who have never seen it and just like to say things to stir the pot, you’ll find that people have some issue with the overall quality, but very few people who have it or have used it think the display is bad. It’s just not as great as what we find in Samsung’s latest phones. My reaction to this is “duh.”

Nobody makes OLED displays at the sizes used for mobile devices as good as Samsung does. Not LG, not Toshiba, not Sony. Nobody. Nobody can “tune” an OLED display as well as Samsung can. This is because Samsung was one of the pioneers of OLED display tech and it throws away as many panels that don’t meet its standards as other companies make in total. Samsung is the best there is, and anyone saying differently should be offering an explanation why.

No other company comes close to Samsung when making small OLED panels.

Samsung Electronics is a hardware company. It not only makes the best displays but makes other parts that are best-in-class or close to it: processors, memory controllers, solid-state memory, flash memory and all sorts of other electronics. This is what Samsung does, and has been doing since 1987 when Samsung split into groups like Samsung Electronics and Samsung Life Insurance. This is what Samsung Electronics is very, very good at.

Even if you buy a phone from another company that uses a Samsung OLED display, it’s not going to look as good as a phone that says Samsung on the back. This will be an unpopular opinion, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true. Samsung goes the extra mile because it takes pride in its display technology. And it should — as phone enthusiasts, we all know it.

Google is not a hardware company. It is trying to become one and do a reverse Apple thing (Apple started with hardware first), but right now it has four phones that it designed and had other companies build, and one in-house SoC with the Pixel Visual Core when it comes to mobile hardware. The Google Wifi or Chromecast unit you see weren’t built by Google, either. Google is a software company. A software company that earns a very healthy income through advertising.

We need to realize we’re paying Samsung $900 for a superb display and very usable software when we buy the Galaxy Note 8, but we’re paying Google $900 for a very usable display and superb software.

Don’t buy a Pixel 2 XL because you want the best hardware. You’ll be disappointed.

There’s just no reason to buy a Pixel 2 XL that is not related to the software. Even the camera, which has wowed just about everyone, is great because of software. The regular updates — software. No carrier interference — software. Access to new features before anyone else — you guessed it. The Pixel 2 XL only exists as a vehicle for Google’s software. Conversely, the Galaxy Note 8 uses the software as a way to make its superb hardware something you want to buy. Two different companies specialize in two different things, but both use a phone to sell them to you.

If I were to pull out my credit card and buy a phone today, I would buy a Samsung phone if I wanted a great display above everything else. I would tell you to do the same thing if you asked me. But if I cared more about the software, whether that means getting the latest versions of things right away, or staying up to date, or even not having to wade through a bunch of stuff I won’t ever use, I would buy a Pixel 2.

Both are the best phones you can buy, but for very different reasons.

Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL

• Pixel 2 FAQ: Everything you need to know!
• Google Pixel 2 and 2 XL review: The new standard
• Google Pixel 2 specs
• Google Pixel 2 vs. Pixel 2 XL: What’s the difference?
• Join our Pixel 2 forums

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This $300 eero Wi-Fi system is the best mesh networking deal we’ve seen yet

This is, by far, the most convenient and realistic eero bundle we’ve seen yet.

Is this deal for me?

This 2nd generation eero Home Wi-Fi system is down to $299.99 on Amazon. The street price on for this bundle fluctuates somewhere between $350 and $360 most of the time. When we wrote about a similar deal in early September, this system was at $356.

We’ve shared a few deals on eero systems, including this Pro system with 3 2nd gen eeros and this Home system with 3 1st gen eeros. This deal right here is the best one for the average consumer by far. It doesn’t require extensive Ethernet routing like the Pro system and it uses 2nd gen technology with stronger 5GHz bands. The Beacons are far more convenient, too.

This package comes with one second generation Ethernet-powered eero device and two eero Beacons. The 2nd gen eeros have tri-band Wi-Fi, which adds a third 5GHz radio to your system. That makes your Wi-Fi network stronger and faster.

The Beacons just need an outlet to plug into. They aren’t as strong as the signal produced by the base eero, but they make up for that by being more convenient to place around your home. The Beacons help distribute the signal produced by the base eero and keep it strong no matter where you’re looking for it. The three devices work together to create an all-encompassing Wi-Fi blanket.

Never set up a mesh networking system like this? Android Central breaks down how easy the eero is to use and what you’ll need to do it.

Once you’ve got your Wi-Fi setup to your satisfaction, it’s time to add a few Alexa-enabled Echo Dots to the network. Use that stronger Wi-Fi to turn your home into a Smart home.

TL;DR

• What makes this deal worth considering? – Mesh networking systems are expensive! And often oddly inconvenient. This one combines the latest eero tech with the convenience of the Beacons to create the most realistic package for enhancing your Wi-Fi signals. Plus, its at its lowest price ever.
• Things to know before you buy! – Get a $50 Netgear CM500 cable modem to really keep your signal strong. We always recommend breaking free from your ISP rental fees.

See at Amazon

Happy thrifting!

TicHome Mini review: A portable, durable Google Home Mini

Google Assistant is finally breaking free.

When the Google Home was announced, my only problem with it was that it was stuck in one room of my house. While I move about the house doing chores or getting ready for the day, the Google Home has to pick a plug and stick to it. Yes, Google Assistant is on our phones and our TVs now, but it’s an inferior version. It can’t do as much as the version on the Google Home, especially in regards to media control.

What I wanted was a Google Home that could follow me around the house, just as my Bluetooth speakers do. What I wanted, I now have in the TicHome Mini.

The TicHome Mini is an unassuming little puck, available in four colors, including an adorable teal. My review unit is white, which blends unassumingly in my kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and office. No matter the color, it features a silver ring around the top. There are four buttons, four LED lights and two pinhole microphones on the top.

The buttons are easy to spot, and easy to feel for in the dark, as each divot is easy to feel and uniquely marked. The pause/voice command and power/mic mute buttons would make a little more sense reversed, with the command button up front and easier to reach, but three inches isn’t that far to reach for it.

Micro-USB? Really?

The bottom of the unit features the speaker grill and grippy base that keeps the unit from sliding around while you tap it. There’s also a Micro-USB port under the leather carry strap where you charge the device. While Micro-USB isn’t as bad as a proprietary charging system, it’s 2017; a device of this caliber should be charged via USB-C. Having to flip over the device and make sure the cable is the right way up is a pain, and it was exacerbated by the battery issues some TicHome Mini pre-production units had. Because of these issues, which have allegedly been fixed in the final version, I can’t speak much to the battery on the TicHome other than that it was quite short. That’s right, this thing has a battery.

But better keep that charging cable nearby, because TicHome isn’t going to tell you when it’s half-full, only when it’s running empty. The low battery pulse of the light is the only battery warning you get, and since the TicHome uses the same software as the corded Google Homes, there’s currently no commands to get the battery level of your device. This will hopefully be addressed by Google as more portable Google Home type devices are made, but for now, it’s a small pain.

The battery isn’t great, and changing Wi-Fi networks is a pain, but its portability is still handy.

That said, this isn’t a device you should expect to take everywhere. Because changing Wi-Fi networks means completely setting the device back up, the TicHome Mini is a Google Assistant speaker that can follow you to the garage, but shouldn’t follow you into the car as you head off to work. The TicHome Mini can function as a Bluetooth device, just as the regular Google Home does, but you have to already have a phone paired with the speaker before you leave your home Wi-Fi network.

Within the home, though, the TicHome Mini is everything I’d been hoping for and more. Commands have been just as easily and consistently recognized as on my original Google Home (a little better even), and it’s easy to carry this light speaker from room to room as I work on articles, gut a pumpkin, then get ready for bed.

Volume is easy to adjust with the buttons, and the command button works as a pause/play when casting music. Setting up the TicHome Mini is exactly the same as setting up a Google Home, and while the volume does distort a little once you get near max volume, this thing can fill a room with music just as easily as the Google Home Mini. There’s not much bass to be found here, but in a speaker this size, that’s no big shock. The speaker sounds a tiny bit tinny, as a single omnidirectional speaker, but so long as I hadn’t put it on a blanket, sound quality was fine.

Many think that the TicHome Mini’s debut has been undercut by the appearance of the $50 Google Home Mini, but this overlooks the entire point of the TicHome Mini. It’s not enough to get the best version of Google Assistant in a smaller, sleeker packer. The TicHome Mini adds functionality the Mini cannot: portability. And seeing as the Google Home Mini is disabling the touch-to-activate feature after a defect was discovered, the TicHome Mini has another advantage: you can long-press the command button and give your command without waking everything in your house by saying “OK Google”.

Is the TicHome Mini’s portability and that button worth almost double the cost? For many, that answer is probably going to be no. For me, someone who wants the Google Assistant commands “OK Google, fast forward two minutes” and “OK Google, rewind 30 seconds” on literally every platform, I’m willing to pay to get them on a Cast-enabled speaker I can easily take anywhere in my home.

The TicHome Mini has my vote, and a teal one is going on my Christmas list. If you have any kids who like to stream music around the house and having Google help them with their homework, the TicHome Mini might make a good Christmas gift for them, too.

Pre-order TicHome Mini at Mobvoi ($80)

How to prevent lens fog with any VR headset

Clear up your sight with these quick tips to reduce lens fog in virtual reality.

While today’s virtual reality (VR) headsets are more immersive than ever before, a build-up of fog can quickly take you out of the action. With all of today’s leading devices sporting a similar design, featuring two lenses in an enclosed space, fog can be an irritating flaw when first jumping to a virtual space. Here’s what you need to know about fog in VR, as well as how to prevent it.

Read more at VRHeads

NASA study will help identify potentially habitable planets

NASA has already found tons of exoplanets around nearby stars, and will spot countless more once the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) launches. The problem is that scientists aren’t exactly sure which planet-star combinations are most likely to support life. A new NASA study has found that planets orbiting small stars like Trappist-1 could retain their oceans for billions of years, even if they’re quite close — provided the star emits just the right amount of infrared radiation.

For the foreseeable future, astronomers will be scanning red dwarf stars for habitable planets, rather than other types like our sun. That’s because they’re easier to find and small enough that the wobble of small, Earth-like planets is detectable. On top of that, the amount of light dip is noticeable when a planet passes in front, and scientists can detect the composition of its atmosphere based on how much starlight it absorbs.

Because of that, scientists are obviously very concerned about which red dwarf stars and planets can support life. That’s where the new study, done by a team from NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies and the Earth-Life Science Institute at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, comes in.

If a planet is too cold, any water will freeze into ice, making life formation challenging. If it’s too hot, water will evaporate and rise up into the stratosphere, where it will get broken into hydrogen and oxygen by the star’s UV (ultraviolet) light. The latter state, called a “moist greenhouse,” eventually leads to the loss of all oceans, killing any chances for life.

Artist’s conception of the Trappist-1 system (NASA)

Unlike on Earth, planets on red dwarf systems are often tidally locked, with the same side always pointing toward the star. That leads to extreme heating on one side and cooling on the other, but luckily, such planets zip around their stars quick enough to create a circulating atmosphere. That atmosphere can be enough to keep the planet at the right temperature for liquid water, while blocking it from evaporating into the stratosphere.

Using a new, advanced 3D atmospheric model, the NASA and Tokyo-based researchers simulated the atmospheric circulation on a planet in a hypothetical red dwarf system. “We found an important role for the type of radiation a star emits and the effect it has on the atmospheric circulation of an exoplanet in making the moist greenhouse state,” Fujii said.

Until now, scientists figured that if a planet’s surface was too warm, around 150 degrees F, it would create an ocean-destroying moist greenhouse state. However, the team found that on red dwarf, Trappist-1 type planets, that wasn’t necessarily the case. If a star emitted enough near-infrared radiation, it could kick off a moist greenhouse effect, even at temperatures around those at the Earth’s topics.

However the model showed that, surprisingly, if an exoplanet was closer to its parent star, the infrared heating would increase moisture in the atmosphere more gradually. That means that, contrary to findings from previous models, it could remain habitable.

If the study proves valid, it will help narrow down habitable exoplanet candidates. Scientists can first measure the radiation of a star, knowing that cooler stars emit more near-infrared radiation. Then, if possible, they could measure its planet’s atmospheric composition using spectroscopic methods. Those methods mostly target a planet’s stratosphere, so the presence of water — unlike what you might think — could be negative for life.

“As long as we know the temperature of the star, we can estimate whether planets close to their stars have the potential to be in the moist greenhouse state,” said co-author Anthony Del Genio from NASA. “If there is enough water to be detected, it probably means that planet is in the moist greenhouse state.” If so, the planet is likely shedding water quickly — so the oceans, and any potential life in them, could be doomed.

Source: NASA, Arxiv

This week’s ‘live’ giant robot battle was fake

We’ve been following the development of the giant robot battle for years now, and it finally took place earlier this week. Engadget writer Saqib Shah said of the live stream, “the entire event may have been as choreographed as a WWE match, but it was strangely watchable regardless.” Well, it turns out that Saqib was right on the nose. Motherboard revealed, in a move that broke all our hearts, that there was absolutely nothing “live” about the “live streamed” fight. The actual epic robot battle took place over days, and the constant repairs were removed from the footage.

It’s worth mentioning that it’s impressive that the battle between the USA’s Eagle Prime and Japan’s Kuratas took place at all. These were two technologically complex robots, and it’s utterly unsurprising that they were delicate enough to need maintenance throughout the process. It’s encouraging to look at this as an experiment, and the start of something fun, rather than being disappointed that it was so scripted. The fact that it wasn’t actually live doesn’t take away from the fact that this did actually happen.

But the flip side is that it is disappointing. There’s no getting around that. You can’t bill an event as “live” and film it over multiple days and edit out important stuff. (Well, clearly you can and they did, it’s just. No.) If we don’t actually have actual giant robots that can fight one another in an epic robot-to-robot battle, then what do we have left in the world? What can we cling to for hope, if not giant robots? It’s a sad, sad day for us all.

Via: The AV Club

Source: Motherboard

You Can Now Pay Friends Through Facebook Messenger Using PayPal

Last year, PayPal launched within Facebook Messenger as a way for users to shop and complete payments directly through the messaging app. Today, the two companies are expanding the focus of this feature and opening up peer-to-peer payments for Facebook Messenger users who have linked their PayPal account to the app.

With a rollout starting today, Facebook Messenger users will be able to tap on the blue plus icon within the app, then select the green Payments button, and choose PayPal to send money. This functionality will work in one-on-one conversations, as well as in group texts. PayPal said this will make it easy to split a bill, pay rent, and more.

Although PayPal’s press release doesn’t specify, the company’s image depicting the new feature confirms that a user’s PayPal balance and linked banking accounts can be chosen for P2P payments in Facebook Messenger.

We’re excited today to announce an expansion of our relationship with Facebook with the addition of PayPal as a funding source for peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, right in Messenger. People will have the option to send and request money using their PayPal account, and this integration in Messenger is starting to roll out to U.S. consumers today.

As the leader in P2P payments with $24 billion in P2P volume during Q3 2017 alone (up 47% year-over-year), the ability to send and request money in Messenger – one of the most widely used apps in the world – gives people more choice and more convenient ways to get things done in different contexts. Whether it’s splitting a bill for a cab ride or a night out, paying for your share of the rent, or making sure you get paid back for Mom’s birthday present, PayPal makes exchanging money between friends and family simple.

There will also be a new PayPal customer service bot for Messenger, letting PayPal customers receive account support without leaving Facebook’s app. Specifically, with the company’s bot PayPal users will be able to reset passwords, ask for help with refunds or payment issues, and other general account inquiries.

PayPal’s new P2P solution in Facebook Messenger is debuting ahead of Apple Pay Cash, which still has an unclear launch date in a future update to iOS 11. When it releases, Apple Pay Cash will let users send money to one another within Apple’s Messages app.

Tags: Facebook, Facebook Messenger, PayPal
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