How to change the background on a Mac

You’ve got a brand new MacBook or iMac, so it’s time to spruce up that desktop background with something other than the stock Apple photos.

The good news is that it’s not hard to change the background on your Mac computer. Whether you want to switch to a favorite new photo, put up a dazzling image you found online, or rotate between a collection of your favorite backgrounds, we can show you how to change the background on a Mac the easy way.

Changing your background to another image

This option is for those of you who recently downloaded an image online or from a similar source and want to make it your background. It’s quick and simple, here’s how to get started:

Step 1: Exit out or downsize any windows on your screen so your Mac is focused on the desktop. In the upper left corner you will see the option to choose and open the Finder window. If you don’t already have a Finder window open, start one by choosing this option or using a keyboard shortcut.

Step 2: In the Finder window, search for the image that you want to use for your background. Make special note of what the image was called when you downloaded it, or just search your most recently downloaded images to find it. Make sure that it is the correct image. If you have saved the image to your desktop, the file icon should be visible out there as well, if you want to save a little time.

Step 3: Right click on the image to show the dropdown menu of everything you can do with it. Toward the bottom of this menu, you should see an option to Set Desktop Picture. Choose this, and this image should automatically be moved to your background. This gives you an opportunity to immediately see how it looks and if the resolution is acceptable.

Changing your background to a specific photo

Suppose you have a specific photo that you or a friend took, that you want to use for your Mac background. Here’s how to do it quickly!

Step 1: Make sure the photo is imported into your Mac Photos app. This may have happened automatically, depending on how your devices are set up. Open your Photos app (you can find it in Applications in the menu bar) and find the photo that you want to use as a background.

Step 2: Right click the photo that you want to use, and select Share. This will create a secondary menu of the places you can share the photo, and at the bottom you will find an option to Set Desktop Picture. Choose this.

Note: Photos also makes it easy to assign photos to specific screens if you have multiple monitors. Just drag the Photos app window to the monitor that you want equip with that background as you are working.

Advanced option: Set your background to rotate images

Can you just not make up your mind about the best image to use? Do you have a lot of favorites and like to switch a lot? It’s easy to set your Mac up to automatically switch between images, although it takes a bit more work. Here’s how to do it.

Step 1: Using the Finder, create a new folder and call it something easy like “Background Images.” Copy all the images that you really want to use as backgrounds, and paste them into this folder. Add any new images or photos that you also want to use as backgrounds. Anything you want for your background needs to be in this folder.

Step 2: Head to the menu bar and open up System Preferences, which you can find under the Apple menu in the top left corner of the screen. Once there, look for the icon for Desktop & Screen Saver and open it up. Make sure you are on the desktop tab and not the screensaver tab.

Step 3: In the select-an-image menu on the left, you should see a small plus and minus sign at the bottom. Select the plus sign, which will allow you upload a folder from your Mac. Choose the folder where your images have been collected, and add it.

Step 4: At the bottom of the window you will see an option to Change picture. Make sure this option is checked and that your folder is the source selected. You can then choose how often you want the desktop background to change. Choose something that works for you – we like changing the image once a day so every morning is something different, but if you want more of a slideshow feel, you can cut that down by a lot. You can also choose whether pictures are chosen randomly from the folder, or if they change in order.

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For American astronauts, the moon beckons once again

On the 45th anniversary of American astronauts’ last visit to the moon, President Trump signed a new directive to launch a plan to once again set foot on the lunar surface.

The signing of Space Policy Directive-1 at the White House on Monday, December 11 authorizes NASA to focus efforts on a moon landing, reinforcing a unanimous recommendation by the new National Space Council, chaired by Vice President Mike Pence, in October 2017.

You may be asking, “So what happened to Mars?” after so much bold talk in recent years of manned missions to the red planet. Well, plans to embark on that ambitious journey certainly haven’t been abandoned, with the moon trip expected to lay the foundations for a future mission to the faraway planet.

“The directive I am signing today will refocus America’s space program on human exploration and discovery,” President Trump said on Monday. “It marks a first step in returning American astronauts to the moon for the first time since 1972, for long-term exploration and use.”

Trump added, “This time, we will not only plant our flag and leave our footprints — we will establish a foundation for an eventual mission to Mars, and perhaps someday, to many worlds beyond.”

Vice President Pence insisted America will “lead in space once again on all fronts,” adding, “Space is the ‘next great American frontier’ and it is our duty — and our destiny — to settle that frontier with American leadership, courage, and values.”

Despite the ambitious proclamations, details for the moon mission — or missions — are currently thin on the ground. It’s not yet clear what kind of funding NASA will receive, or whether it will partner with private outfits like SpaceX to expedite the plan. And there was no mention of a timeline for a manned mission to the moon, or indeed to Mars.

NASA nevertheless said it was looking forward to “supporting the president’s directive, strategically aligning our work to return humans to the moon, travel to Mars, and opening the deeper solar system beyond.”

Trump signed the directive in front of a small group of dignitaries, among them NASA astronauts Sen. Harrison “Jack” Schmitt, who landed on the moon 45 years to the minute that the policy directive was signed, Buzz Aldrin — the second human to set foot on the moon back in 1969, Peggy Whitson, the current holder of the record for the longest time (665 days) spent in space by a U.S. astronaut, and Christina Koch, a member of NASA’s astronaut class of 2013.

The White House directive intensifies a new space race between the U.S., China, and Japan to return humans to the moon. Both Asian countries in 2017 outlined separate plans for moon missions. Japan appears to be looking at 2030 for a trip to the lunar surface, while China has outlined plans for a mission soon after that. We’ll have to wait for more details from the U.S. government to find out if it has any hope of getting there sooner.

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Atari’s Speakerhat, a hat with speakers, is now on sale

Yes, Atari’s speaker-equipped hats are very much real. At the last possible minute, the game brand has started selling the Speakerhat to the masses. Pay $130 or more ($100 until January 2nd) and you too can get a cap with Bluetooth stereo speakers that put your phone’s sound inches in front of your forehead. The standard models include a conventional Fuji Blackout cap as well as blue and black snapbacks, while limited edition hats commemorate Pong (above) and the nod to Atari in Blade Runner 2049.

To say this is a novelty would be an understatement. You have to really, truly like the idea of having speakers on your noggin, or at least have enough nostalgia for Atari’s early days to drop $100-plus on headgear. However, there’s no question that you’ll stand out if you splurge on a Speakerhat, especially when you start cranking the beats. Just don’t use this as an excuse to blare music at every given opportunity — a hat with speakers is a privilege.

Source: Atari

Good news: ‘Super Mario 64’ could help save your brain from Alzheimer’s

Do you want some good news? Researchers may have found a drug-free way to help keep brains healthy and free from Alzheimer’s disease, the most common cause of dementia. Do you want some even better news? It involves playing video games — and, potentially, one classic Nintendo 64 game more than others.

In a new study carried out by researchers from the University of Montreal, scientists examined the link between 3D-platform games and growth in different brains areas among older people. They were particularly interested in the gray matter in a part of the brain called the hippocampus, since this is used for memory building. The loss of gray matter in the hippocampus is associated with neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer’s.

The researchers gathered a group of 33 people between the ages of 55 and 75. These participants were divided into three groups; one which did nothing, one which learned to play piano on a computer, and one tasked with working through the classic N64 launch title Super Mario 64 for 30 minutes per day over six months. All 33 members of the group had brain scans before and after the half-year study to see how their brain changed during that time. The results showed that the most positive gains were experienced by those who had played Mario 64.

“What we found was that the Super Mario 64 training led to increased gray matter in the hippocampus, along with another structure called the cerebellum, which is important for motor control and balance,” Gregory West, a professor in the department of psychology, told Digital Trends.

The piano-playing group also benefited from their practice, although they didn’t experience the same gains of gray matter in the hippocampus.

But does our future brain health rely specifically on playing Mario 64? Yes and no. While it doesn’t have to be that game exclusively, the genre of 3D platformers turns out to be more beneficial than, say, first-person shooters — which previous research from the university shows can actually lower gray matter in the hippocampus.

“It has to do with the design of the game and what it asks gamers to do,” West said. “We hypothesize that 3D platformers are good because they ask people to explore a new environment, and to memorize it. When people do that, they form a cognitive map, meaning an internal representation of the environment, which they can then use to navigate. We know from past research involving both humans and rodents that this promotes activity in the hippocampus.”

A paper describing the work was recently published in the journal PLOS One.

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Verizon will help you watch the NFL … even if you’re not a Verizon customer

Verizon and the NFL have been bedfellows dating back to 2010, and until now, only customers of Big Red — the largest mobile service provider in the country — were able to stream pro football live from their mobile devices (categorized as devices with screens smaller than 7 inches).

Big change is on the horizon. On Monday, December 11, Verizon has announced the completion of a previously rumored deal that gives the company exclusive rights to stream in-market games live to any device, regardless of size (!) or mobile carrier (!!). The most obvious beneficiary of the deal — reportedly worth $2 billion over five years — is Yahoo, which Verizon purchased last year for nearly $5 billion (though the sum was reduced earlier this year following a series of hacks at Yahoo). In addition to the NFL mobile app and the go90 app, a Verizon property, fans will be able to stream games live via Yahoo.com or the Yahoo Sports app, even if they’re not Verizon subscribers.

The deal will take effect in January 2018, and includes the following contests, regardless of network: In-market Sunday games, nationally televised games (Sunday, Monday, and Thursday, preseason and regular season), playoff games, and even the Super Bowl, which is scheduled for February 4 this season. To view out-of-market games that aren’t nationally televised, you’ll need to go through a different channel.

Interestingly, Verizon has decided to sacrifice its exclusive rights to streaming NFL content in favor of a more holistic approach, perhaps designed to drive traffic to Verizon’s Oath subsidiaries (including Yahoo and AOL; Yahoo’s traffic has declined considerably over the past few years) while simultaneously building good faith among non-Verizon football fans. Given the NFL’s ratings crisis — the media-averse league (which still doesn’t allow highlights on YouTube) seems to be on the decline, compared to millennial-friendly leagues like the NBA — this could also signal intentions to reach a younger, more smartphone-dependent market.

The Yahoo Sports app is available on both iOS and Android devices, as are the go90 app (iOS here, Android here) and the official NFL mobile app (iOS here, Android here). You can also watch via the Yahoo or NFL apps on various streaming devices, like any Roku or the Amazon Fire TV. In addition to live game streams, the deal grants fans access to NFL highlights, weekly coverage, and “a robust set of jointly developed original content.”

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Every PlayStation VR game enhanced through PlayStation 4 Pro

The Playstation 4 Pro is incredible in more ways than one, but what games does it improve through the VR headset? Let’s find out!

PlayStation VR games already promise a rock solid framerate and a quality experience, but not every game plays exactly the same through each version of the PlayStation 4 console. Some games are made to play in what Sony calls “enhanced” mode if you have a PlayStation 4 Pro. These improvements can make a big difference, but before you go diving into a console upgrade you should see what games are already available in this new and improved mode.

Here are all the games that have been enhanced for newest PlayStation 4 Pro!

Read more at VRHeads!

Paris cracks down on unregistered Airbnb properties

Airbnb has a long history of legal struggles in various cities in which it operates. Now, according to a report in AFP, Paris has requested that Airbnb comply with new regulations to register with the city. If the company (along with four other competitors — HomeAway, Paris Attitude, Sejourning and Windu) won’t de-list apartments that owners haven’t registered with the city, Paris plans to take them to court.

AFP reports that the city has received complaints that short-term holiday rentals like Airbnb’s have increased property speculation, pricing hotels out of the market. The new registration allows Paris to make sure that apartments and other housing spaces aren’t rented out for more than the maximum of 120 days per year. According to the report, only a fifth of existing properties have been registered. Officials have flagged around 1,000 Airbnb listings (along with 400 or so from the other companies) that are not in compliance. “The least they can do is respect the law,” Ian Brossat, deputy to Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo, told AFP.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: AFP

American Express will stop requiring signatures for purchases

Mastercard and Discover both announced in recent months that, starting next year, they would no longer require signatures for credit card transactions. Now, the Verge reports, American Express has announced it’s also moving away from signatures. As of April 2018, American Express signature requirements will be no more and the company says it’s because technology advances have made them obsolete. “Our fraud capabilities have advanced so that signatures are no longer necessary to fight fraud,” American Express Executive VP Jaromir Divilek said in a statement.

Mastercard and Discover both pointed to similar reasoning and they’ll also be discontinuing signature requirements in April of next year. However, while Discover is eliminating signature requirements in the US, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean and Mastercard is ending them in the US and Canada, American Express is ceasing signature requirements globally.

However, though these companies will no long require merchants to collect signatures, those merchants may still choose to do so, and they’ll have to if it’s required by law in any region. But fewer and fewer transactions require signatures anyway, so for the diminishing number of purchases that still demand them, this move could make checkout times just a tad bit quicker.

Via: The Verge

Source: American Express

Ford exec: Hybrids are better suited for self-driving cars than EVs

Automakers like Nissan and Mercedes-Benz, as well as Lyft, have been bundling their autonomous car experiments into electric vehicles. But Ford will keep one foot in fossil fuels, at least for now. An executive from the company told Automotive News that the self-driving car Ford intends to release in 2021 will be a completely new hybrid.

While Ford is making a conservative choice to stick with gas-powered autonomous cars, it’s hoping to eke out an edge with longer ranges than competitors’ electric vehicles. After all, it’s a lot quicker to fill up a gas tank than fully recharge an EV. More to the point, that time off the road is time spent not making money. Ford plans to keep its autonomous hybrids driving for about 20 hours per day, Ford’s president of global markets Jim Farley told Automotive News:

“Anytime you’re not carrying goods and people, you’re losing money,” Farley said. “The most important thing is uptime and profitability. What we see is the [hybrid] is a much better cost-of-ownership model.”

Unlike other automakers, Ford isn’t planning to slide its autonomous cars into the ride sharing business. Instead, it’s looking for other commercial opportunities that require cars on the road around the clock. The company started testing its tech earlier this year when it deployed self-driving Ford Fusions to Domino’s locations in the Ann Arbor, Michigan area to gauge customer enthusiasm for AI-controlled pizza delivery.

Via: CNET

Source: Automotive News

Apple Watch GymKit syncing arrives in exactly one US gym

GymKit syncing on the Apple Watch technically arrived with watchOS 4.1, but there’s been one main obstacle to using it: actually finding a gym that supports it. Only one fitness center each in Australia and the UK have enabled it so far, while Americans have had to go without. At last, though, it’s available stateside… sort of. One solitary gym in New York City, Life Time Athletic at Sky, now has 13 GymKit-capable machines (including treadmills, bikes, ellipticals and stair steppers) that will pair with your smartwatch.

Rarity aside, CNET notes that it works as promised. Bring your Apple Watch close to the machine and it’ll ask you to confirm your activity, and syncs activity after that. All the data your watch would normally collect shows up on the exercise equipment’s display, including activity-specific data like flights climbed on a stair stepper. The info reflects the Apple Watch’s heart rate measurements as well as the height and weight you supplied in the Health app, so you don’t have to keep a firm grip on handlebars or punch in stats like you do with conventional fitness hardware. And if you forget to sync before you start, don’t panic — you can still pair later into a session, including afterwards.

Support will spread soon enough, with 130 other Life Time gyms (focused initially on gyms opened in 2017) across the US getting GymKit starting in 2018. Equinox gyms are also upgrading in 2018, starting with New York City. However, it could be a very long while before the technology becomes ubiquitous. As any gym rat can tell you, facilities tend to hold on to equipment until the bitter end, waiting until it either breaks or is woefully outdated. Your local gym probably isn’t going to upgrade just to make sure its machines and your Apple Watch exist in perfect harmony.

Via: AppleInsider

Source: CNET