Electrified ‘fog harp’ could make power plants more sustainable

Each year, hundreds of billions of gallons of usable water are lost to the atmosphere, often billowing out of the giant smokestacks that have become a symbol of humanity’s energy excess.

But this fall, the rooftop of the Central Utility Power Plant at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will be home to an innovative new tool that could someday help make power plants more sustainable.

Developed by a team of MIT engineers, the system improves on the design of “fog harps,” devices that act as nets to capture water vapor when air flows through them. In a study published last week in the journal Science Advances, the researchers show how this system may allow power plants to function more sustainably and fight water scarcity by recycling otherwise wasted water.

Power plants consume a remarkable amount of water to keep them cool. In the United States, 39 percent of all the fresh water pulled from lakes, river, and reservoirs is set aside for this purpose.

“Power plants are one of the largest users of water, mostly for their cooling needs,” Maher Damak, a mechanical engineering PhD candidate at MIT and co-author of the paper, told Digital Trends. “Most plants use cooling towers that make water evaporate to cool down the plant and lose large amounts of vapor that can be seen as a plume coming out of these towers. We have invented a new method to efficiently capture large amounts of that fresh water so it can be reused.”

The technology invented by Damak and his colleagues makes significant improvements on the design of fog harps, net-like devices made of plastic or wire mesh that capture and collect droplets of water as air passes through. But fog harps typically collect just one to three percent of passing vapor, because the airflow — and thus the water molecules — tends to veer around the wires and through the holes.

When the MIT researchers zapped the mesh with a beam of electrically charged particles in the lab, the mesh turned into a sort of magnet, attracting the vapor toward the wires and causing droplets to form in more abundance. The droplets then dripped down the mesh and collected in a pan below. The researchers estimate that, with their system installed, power plants could capture 20 to 30 percent of the water lost from their cooling towers.

“The product will be retrofitted to existing cooling towers in power plants,” Damak said. “It will consist of a dome-shaped mesh that is placed on top of cooling towers just above charging electrodes. The water from cooling tower plumes will collect on the mesh and drip to the periphery, where it can be collected and sent back to the power plant cooling cycle, or to other uses.”

This recycled water may then be used to cool the power plant, piped to water-scarce regions, or offer substitutes for desalination systems.

Moving forward, the researchers will test if their technology works at scale. They’re creating a full-scale version to be installed at MIT’s Central Utility Power Plant, which provides much of the campus’ electricity, and plan to install at other locations through their startup, Infinite Cooling.

Editors’ Recommendations

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• Even in the desert, an innovative device pulls fresh water out of thin air
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Shop Stories, not stores, with Instagram’s latest update

Screenshot by Instagram / Image by Negative Space on Pexels

Stickers are more than just photo bling — inside Instagram Stories, a new sticker makes it possible for fans to shop for the items in the photos. Announced on Tuesday, June 12, Instagram users can now shop inside Stories, expanding the earlier option of shopping from the Instagram feed.

Stories that users can shop are marked with a shopping bag icon inside a sticker. Tapping on the shopping sticker takes users to additional details about the product, with an option to buy. In the first images of the feature, Instagram shared a simple text-free shopping bag sticker along with a shopping bag sticker that lists the product name.

Shopping stickers are first launching to select brands on Instagram, but the platform will begin rolling out the tools to additional businesses soon. For Instagrammers that have tried using Google to find an item inside a photo, the feature is likely welcome, while others may see the shopping stickers as one more way ads are coming to the newer sharing format. 

The inspiration for the new shopping stickers stems from a survey designed to pinpoint what helps capture users attention in the Stories format best. In the survey, some Instagrammers said they watched Stories to stay up to date on brands, get an insider view, and discover new products. Of course, Instagram will likely get a cut of the sales that stem from Stories.

Around 300 million users now use Stories on Instagram, the sharing format that creates a slideshow of photos and videos, then deletes it all to start fresh the following day. As the format grows, Instagram continues to expand the available features, including a share option for Stories, bulk uploads, a type mode, and expanded Stories ads. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Instagram’s parent company Facebook, says that Stories will continue to be a focus for the company as the format continues to grow.

The announcement has the existing shopping options on Instagram bleeding over into Stories. Inside the news feed, businesses can already tag products that are featured inside a photo, allowing users to tap to find more details or navigate to the full online store. The update brings a similar feature to Stories by allowing fast access to details on the products inside the photo by tapping the sticker.

Like the Stories format itself, shopping Stories isn’t an Instagram original idea. Earlier in 2018, Snapchat launched its own store for merchandise that uses the Stories format, with users swiping up to buy.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Instagram ‘music stickers’ could help to spice up your Stories
• Social Feed: Regrams join Stories, YouTube bans guns, Pinterest expands shopping
• Upload Stories faster — or preview the entire thing — with new Instagram tools
• Don’t drown your phone for an Instagram — GoPro now has Stories built in
• Genius teams up with YouTube to support Song Stories, a new discovery feature

How to convert FLAC to MP3

While nearly all audio devices and multimedia players support MP3 playback, only a handful of them currently support FLAC. Thankfully, there are a myriad of ways you can convert FLAC to MP3, if you favor convenience over audio quality. The resulting file may not sound as nice, but at least you can play it. Here’s how to Convert FLAC to MP3.

If you are interested in other specific conversion scenarios, here’s how to convert M4A files to MP3, WMA to MP3, MP4 to MP3S, and even vinyl to MP3. We can also help out if you are looking for video converters.

Note: Some of the following apps are freeware, which often comes with unwanted add-ons. We suggest that you select the custom installation option, and follow along closely during the installation process. Keep your eye open for instructions about installing other apps, changing your homepage, and other actions that may lead to unwanted changes to your machine. Then, choose whether you want to install or forgo these bundled extras.

Use fre:ac — Free

Formerly known as BonkEnc, fre:ac is a free audio converter that offers users a trove of options but is still easy to use. It’s available for download on Windows, MacOS, and Linux. Once you install fre:ac, open it.

Step 1: Select your files

In fre:ac, click the far left icon on the toolbar. This will open a dialog box where you can browse file on your computer and select the specific files you want to convert.

Once you’ve selected all the files you want, click Open.

Step 2: Select the audio quality you want.

Fre:ac will convert your files to what it deems “standard” quality, but if you listen to music on nice equipment and want to get as much quality as you can out of your mp3s, you’ll want to fiddle with the encoding settings.

Go to options, then choose Configure selected encoder (by default, fre:ac should be using the LAME MP3 Encoder).

Under Presets, choose Custom settings.

From here you can decide whether to use VBR (variable bit rate, in which the encoder compresses different segments depending on how demanding they are), ABR (average bitrate, in which the encoder compresses different parts of the file to try and maintain an average bitrate throughout), and CBR (constant bitrate, in which bitrate is the same throughout the file).

Spend even a little time on audiophile forums, and you’ll see some intense fighting about whether VBR is CBR is better (or whether it even matters). To keep things simple, choose CBR and set the bitrate to 320 kbps. This should give you great sound quality, although the file sizes won’t be as small.

Step 3: Choose where to save the new files

Near the bottom of the screen, you should see a field labeled Output folder. Click the Open button to the right to open a dialog box from which you can select the folder you want.

Step 4: Convert!

Once you’ve selected the files to convert and a folder to send the new files to, just hit the button with a play symbol on the toolbar to start the encoding process. Depending on how many files you’ve added and the quality you’ve chosen, this may take a little while.

Freemake Free Audio Converter (Windows) — free

Freemake offers software with multiple options for managing music files and converting them to whatever format you desire. The software is compatible with Windows 10, highly-versatile, and simple to download — the “free download” buttons are a great starting point.

Once you’ve downloaded and installed Freemake, launch the application and import your audio files by clicking on the +Audio button and locating the files on your hard drive. Chose whatever format you want the files converted into, where you want them, and then convert away. You can reconvert them at any time after you’ve downloaded the files, too. Like many converters, Freemake allows you to adjust channels, bitrate, sample rate, and a host of other facets, allowing for greater quality control. You can also upload music to Google Drive or Dropbox, merge songs, and carry out a slew of other basic actions.

Audacity (Windows) — free

Audacity is a different sort of beast, one geared toward those who want to manage their songs and sounds using a full audio suite. The software is free and open-source, which is great for managing a large, customized library with many different audio formats.

With Audacity, you can record live audio and playback, cut and splice audio files, add effects, and convert all of your old formats  — including tapes and vinyl.

Best of all, it can edit and convert a range of audio formats, including WAV, AIFF, FLAC, MP3, and Ogg Vorbis. If you’re looking to convert analog to digital, or convert between various digital formats, this is the way to go.

FlacSquisher (Windows) — free

FlacSquisher is a library converter – in other words, it’s designed to convert entire libraries, or at least long lists of audio files, at one time. It’s a very simple setup, but also has some useful tool for people who want to run more complex conversion filters for their music. Choose the FLAC convert option, and then list any file types in the “File extension to ignore” box that you want the conversion to skip over, while listing any file types that you want to make copies of in the “File extensions to copy” box. This allows you to turn only certain types of audio files to FLAC, which may be just what you’re looking for.

To MP3 Converter Free (MacOS) — free

One of the most popular audio converters in the Mac Store is the apt-titled To MP3 Converter Free, an easy-to-use utility for converting from one of 200 audio and video formats to MP3. Of course, the software supports FLAC files, and the process for making the conversion couldn’t be simpler. The software also allows you to change the output from a constant bitrate to a variable bitrate, transfer tags from the source file, and adjust the volume to the maximum level.

To convert a FLAC file to MP3 using To MP3 Converter Free, just select your destination folder and drag the files over. If you need to batch convert folders or files, then you can purchase an annual subscription ($7) that also allows you to load tags and artwork from a network source, add fade in and fade out, and trim silence before and after songs.

MediaHuman Audio Converter (MacOS) — free

MediaHuman’s reliable audio converter is designed to work well with iTunes, and the design itself will probably remind of the iTunes format. In addition to exporting directly to iTunes when you are done, the app also supports batch conversion, audio extraction from video files, and innate Mac folder structure (so files don’t get switched around). If all your songs are based on a Mac, this is a versatile and dependable converter – just don’t expect it to offer much in the way of editing or sound adjustment.

Cloud Convert (Google Chrome) — free

Cloud Convert is technically a web-based converter — albeit, a useful one — but it also lives as a Chrome add-on, which makes this the first stop for Chromebook users. Pick up the add-on, open it, and you’re ready to go.

Cloud Converter isn’t just an audio converter, either. It can convert pretty much everything, including documents, videos, images, ebooks, and a laundry list of other types of content. Luckily, the service can easily handle FLAC and MP3 files. It even works in conjunction with Google Drive, allowing you to pull files from the service and store them online when you’re finished, rendering it another great option for Chromebook users.

However, it’s important to note that Cloud Convert doesn’t house extensive customization options like some of our other picks. You can specify things like bitrate, but more in-depth controls are largely absent. Cloud Convert is, therefore, better when you want to keep things simple.

Online Audio Converter (Google Chrome) — free

There’s simple, and then there’s ultra simple. If you don’t want to download anything and prefer to finish the process in a few seconds, stop by Online Audio Converter. Open the file you want to convert — whether it be via local storage, a URL, Google Drive, or Dropbox — and pick your desired audio format. The Advanced settings button will let you adjust bitrate, sample rate, channels, and other features, while the Edit track info button is self-explanatory. When finished, hit the Convert button.

The only problem is that batch conversions take a little more time with Online Audio Converter than they do with some of our other choices. The site was clearly designed with smaller conversions in mind.

Zamzar (Google Chrome) — free

Zamzar is an oldie but a goodie—a converter that’s been around for a few years but still delivers. While it gets mentioned frequently as a video converter, it’s also handy for audio files. The process is a similar 4-step online setup, and openly asks you to send in emails if you have any questions about a weird file that isn’t converting. Try using it as a resource if you run into problems with other conversion processes.

Xilisoft Audio Converter (Windows/MacOS) — $30

Converters that you have to pay for are well suited for long-term conversions, fiddling with sound editing, and dealing with strange formats. If you work in sound editing or you’re serious about music, it may be worthwhile to pay for something like Xilisoft Audio Converter.

The software handles pretty much every audio file out there, as well as a plethora of video files, and it has customization options beyond anything we’ve mentioned thus far. Xilisoft’s offering also allows you to add new audio effects and specify output size, for instance, and convert both individual files and batches. Needless to say, it takes audio conversion to a whole new level.

NCH Switch (Windows/MacOS) — $30

NCH offers a full suite of audio- and video-editing programs, but the one you should be most interested in is Switch Sound Format Converter Plus for Home. It supports more than 40 audio formats, can import playlists, and automatically adds song information via the web.

There are useful features, too, such as automatic audio normalization and the ability to listen to the resulting audio before you actually initiate the conversion. There’s even a free version of the software if you don’t want the full set of features, though, it is nice to be able to mix and match to create your own sound-editing solution.

Editors’ Recommendations

• The best free recording software
• How to convert your videos from MKV to MP4
• The best MP3 music player you can buy (and 3 alternatives)
• The best free music players
• The best PDF editors

Apple’s MacBook Pro problem will make you want to backup your files ASAP

After user outcry over keyboard issues on the latest MacBook Pro laptops, Apple has another problem on its hands. This time, the issue affects the laptop’s logic board and the solid-state drive. Apple claims that the problem is only present on the entry-level MacBook Pro with the function row and isn’t found on higher-end configurations with the Touch Bar.

Due to an internal glitch in the laptop, when either the solid-state drive or the logic board fails, both components need to be replaced. “Apple has identified a specific population of MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, two Thunderbolt 3 ports) units requiring both solid-state drives and the main logic board to be replaced when either has a functional failure,” Apple said in a repair document that was obtained by MacRumors.

It’s unclear what is causing the simultaneous failure of both components if only one component is replaced during a repair, but Apple advised its authorized technicians that repair systems will display a message that “indicate both the SSD and MLB must be replaced when either component has a functional failure.” The issue is covered under Apple’s warranty and AppleCare Plus extended warranty as long as the MacBook Pro was not taken in for service due to water or accidental damage.

It’s speculated that Apple was able to identify the problem prior to the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference event earlier in June, resulting in shortages and extended shipping times for only the entry-level MacBook Pro model. Due to delayed delivery estimates at that time, some had hoped that Apple was winding down MacBook Pro inventory ahead of a hardware refresh, which could have delivered upgraded Intel eighth-generation processors. However, that wasn’t the case and Apple made no hardware announcements during its developer-centric WWDC keynote.

If you’re affected by system failure due to a faulty logic board or a defective solid-state drive, you can visit Apple’s support page to schedule an in-store Genius Bar appointment at a local Apple retail store or talk to a service representative over the phone. Fortunately, if you bring your MacBook Pro for either an SSD or logic board repair, both replacements would be completed at the same time, with a turnaround estimated at five to seven days. Given that the SSD is affected, MacBook Pro owners should maintain current backups of their files in case of a failure affecting either the drive or the logic board.

Prior to the simultaneous SSD and logic board failures, users have complained that due to the new butterfly key switch design on the redesigned MacBook and MacBook Pro, the keyboard was twice as susceptible to failure, and out-of-warranty repairs are more costly than with Apple’s older keyboard design. Buyers in the market for a new laptop can also visit our guide to the best laptops.

Editors’ Recommendations

• MacBook Pro 13-inch with Touch Bar review
• Failure rate of MacBook Pro ‘butterfly’ keyboards is double that of older models
• MacBook Pro owners file class action lawsuit over keyboard issues
• The best MacBook Pro you can buy is on sale for $1,000 at Best Buy
• Another Mac-less Apple event has come and gone

U.K. drone company sets flying record that could be a big boost for autonomy

You probably don’t need us to tell you that drones are going to be huge. Whether it’s deliveries, mapping, surveillance, or myriad other applications, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have the opportunity to be transformative in our lives. But for that to happen they will need to be let off their leash by regulatory authorities — and prove that they can be trusted to be used in a way that doesn’t abuse the faith that we are putting in them.

Lately, it seems that authorities around the world are starting to loosen up. Recently, the U.S. government introduced a new drone experimentation program that loosens certain restrictions on 10 tech giants. Now the U.K. government has awarded SenSat, the country’s largest drone data provider, permission to carry out flights beyond their pilot’s visual line of sight inside complex airspace, which is a major limiting factor in current commercial drone operations. As a result, SenSat this week set a new record, with a fixed-wing drone flying 7.5 miles (12 kilometers) beyond the pilot’s visible line of sight, breaking the country’s existing record by a factor of 10.

While other such flights have taken place on offshore in very remote areas, carrying out one this ambitious in one of the world’s most complex and crowded airspaces is an enormous step forward for drone operations.

“The largest challenge was regulatory rather than technical,” James Dean, founder of SenSat, told Digital Trends. “That is why it is so significant — a lot of the technologies exist in raw format, so being able to be accommodated by a fairly slow-moving regulatory framework, and indeed accelerated, really highlighted the U.K. government’s [focus] on this.”

SenSat

For the flight, the U.K.’s Civilian Aviation Authority set up a temporary danger zone, barring other aircraft from entering the airspace during the 40 minutes in which the record-breaking flight was carried out.

According to Dean, the main technical challenges of the flight involved maintaining communications links and battery life. Communications remained at 99.8 percent uptime during the flight, thanks to the drone being linked into the 3G cellular network. Since this is the same connection as mobile phones, it provides strong connectivity wherever there is a mobile signal. The drone, meanwhile, had a possible 120 minutes of maximum flight time using its batteries, meaning that the record-breaking flight consumed just one-third of its potential flight time.

“Drones to date have been largely stunted in their impact because there is still a significant regulatory need to have a human supervise the autonomous robot,” Dean continued. “The point in an autonomous robot is to increase machine automation and reduce manual labor. This allows us to do that at over 30 times.”

Editors’ Recommendations

• Switzerland’s new air traffic control system to put drones, planes in same skies
• Yuneec Breeze review
• A sensor-packed exosuit lets you fly a drone by pretending to be one
• University of Michigan hopes new drone facility pushes students to great heights
• Halo Drone Pro review

Common Motorola Moto G6, G6 Plus, and G6 Play problems and how to fix them

Simon Hill/Digital Trends

The Moto G6 is a fantastic smartphone if you need something capable on a budget. But no phone is perfect, and whether you’re using the Moto G6, the G6 Plus, or the G6 Play, you might still run into some issues.

If you’re experiencing a technical hitch on your beloved Moto G6, check out this list of the most common Moto G6 problems and issues, and see whether there’s an easy fix to get your phone running smoothly again.

Issue: Wi-Fi disconnection issues

Some Moto G6 Plus owners are reporting the Wi-Fi connections on their phones are extremely unreliable. Connections are lost to local Wi-Fi networks every five minutes or so, disrupting streaming services and generally being a nuisance. While it’s claimed that the connection reconnects almost immediately, it’s still enough to cause issues during day-to-day use.

Unfortunately for Moto G6 owners, this seems to be something of a problem within the Moto G’s lineage, as the Moto G5  range also had its fair share of this same issue last year . It’s an issue which, as of this writing, have not yet been fully resolved.

Possible solutions:

• While an official line on the problem doesn’t seem to have materialized yet, some random dude on the internet may have struck upon a possible solution. While not endorsed by the official forum moderators due to the user’s phone being the wrong model, this was the method that worked for them.
  • Boot your device into Recovery Mode by shutting off your phone, then hold down the volume up and power button until Fastboot Mode appears on your display. Use your volume keys and power button to select Recovery mode.
  • Then select the option to Wipe cache partition. Be careful not to hit the factory reset option just above it.
  • Reboot your phone.
  • Once restarted, you need to reset your network settings. To do this, navigate to your Settings menu, then hit System > Reset > Network Settings Reset > Reset Settings. At this point, you may be asked to enter your security password or PIN. Then tap Reset Settings again to confirm.
  • Finally, open your Wi-Fi settings, by heading to Settings > Network & internet > Wi-Fi > Wi-Fi preferences > Advanced > Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep > Always.
• For the Moto G5’s problem, some people suggested turning off Wi-Fi Scanning. Go to Settings > Location > Options (three vertical dots icon) > Scanning > Turn off Wi-Fi Scanning.

Solution:

• If the above solutions don’t work for your device, then there’s nothing else for it — it’s time to contact your vendor and get the phone replaced.

Issue: Slow Wi-Fi

While having spotty internet can be bad, having consistently slow internet can be even worse. One Reddit user has reported shoddy speeds of 1Mbps on their Moto G6 Plus. Thankfully, that same user reported a simple fix that should resolve issues you’re encountering.

Solution:

•  Just hop over to your Settings app, then hit Wi-Fi > Wi-Fi Preferences > Advanced, then change Network Rating Provider from Google to None. No-one’s yet been able to say why this fix works, but it’s certainly worth a shot if your speed is struggling.

Issue: Battery not charging

Regardless of the model of the Moto G6 you pick, you should be getting at least a day’s worth of usage out of it without too much trouble. If you’re finding your Moto G6’s battery just isn’t holding up anywhere near as well, or is refusing to hold charge even while recharging, then your battery might need recalibrating. There’s an easy way to calibrate the Moto G6’s battery.

Solution:

• Battery calibration is easy, but it can take some time. Motorola recommends doing this just before you go to bed at night, to make sure it has enough time to fully run through the process.
  • Turn off your Moto G6 by holding down the power key for around 7-10 seconds.
  • After letting go of the power key, the phone should automatically reboot.
  • Plug in the original charger that came with your phone and let it charge fully overnight.
• If the above process doesn’t work, it could simply be that you’ve ended up with a damaged battery somehow. Don’t panic; contact your vendor or Motorola, and you should be able to swap it for a functional phone.

Issue: Speaker issues/speakers not working

While seemingly not a common issue, there have been reports of Moto G6 speakers cutting out during use, and refusing to turn back on until headphones are inserted or a Bluetooth speaker is connected. This issue seems unrelated to current usage of the speaker, and users have reported the issue happening during YouTube videos, music streaming, and phone calls.

Solution:

• User Jourdansway seems to have figured out a way to fix the issue by forcing the phone to combine stereo channels into a single, mono channel.
  • Access your Settings app, then Accessibility > Audio & On-screen Text > Mono Audio. From here, simply turn on the option for Combine channels when playing audio, and your phone’s sound should be completely restored.

Issue: Colors not showing properly

This one’s more difficult to spot, and if you don’t have reason to compare your Moto G6’s screen with another, then you might not even notice it at all. However, in some cases it’s more than obvious there’s something afoot — such as red colors on a Moto G6 showing as orange or brown.

Thankfully, this one’s simply a rogue color correction gone wrong — and it’s easy to fix.

Solution:

• Color correction is a vital part of accessibility options for users who can’t see certain colors, but when accidentally activated, it can look like there’s a bizarre fault with the display in action. Turning it off is easy.
  • Access your Settings app once again. Then tap Accessibility and make sure Toggle Off Color Correction is set correctly.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Motorola Moto G6 review
• Moto G6 vs. Moto G6 Play: Is the G6 worth the extra cash?
• Moto G6 Plus review
• Moto G6 vs. Moto G5: Is it time to crown a new budget king?
• Here’s everything you need to know about the Moto G6 and G6 Play

How to enable dark mode in MacOS Mojave

If you like dark themes, Apple is making your dreams come true with an all-new dark mode that’s coming with MacOS Mojave. Previous versions of MacOS allowed you to switch to a dark menu bar and dock, but this left many people unsatisfied. This new feature will provide an OS-wide dark theme that affects pretty much all the native MacOS features with a classy black/gray look.

If this is exactly what you’ve always wanted for your Mac, we can show you how to access and enable this mode with just a few steps.

Step 1: Get MacOS Mojave

This dark mode is only available to the average user through MacOS Mojave. At this time, Mojave is not yet available as a free download to everyone, the way the other MacOS updates are. Apple will make it available for all in fall 2018.

If that feels too long for you to wait, Apple will be releasing a public beta in June 2018 that you can download to check out the Mac dark mode. Sign up for Apple’s beta software program here, and you will be able to get the beta and test it out. Of course, betas aren’t always stable, so there is some risk in getting involved in the public beta. Make sure you back up all your valuable data before you begin the process – or download the beta on a Mac machine you don’t use for important purposes to test it out.

When MacOS Mojave comes out later this year, it’s certain to be free like the other recent MacOS versions, which means you will be able to download it and access the new dark mode at no additional cost.

Step 2: Head to System Preferences

Okay, so you have a version of MacOS Mojave and you’re ready to go. What next? Don’t worry, switching to the dark mode is very easy! Start by heading to “System Preferences,” which you can find as the gear icon in your dock, or in the drop-down menu if you click the apple icon in the upper left corner of your Mac screen.

Step 3: Go to General

Once System Preferences is open, look at the top row of icons. All the way to the left, you should see the icon for General, which is a little File drop-down menu icon.

General is where all the basic settings connected to your Mac’s look and color are located. Select it.

Step 4: Switch your Appearance

The very first option in “General” should be “Appearance.” In Mojave, Appearance is divided into two icons, a “light” and a “dark” option. Simply select the “dark” icon to switch MacOS over.

That’s it! If you decide you don’t like the dark mode very much, simply switch back to the normal icon in “Appearance.” You may also want to spend a little more time in General to check out other options for adjusting icon size, highlight color, and so on, so that everything matches your new dark color scheme perfectly.

Editors’ Recommendations

• MacOS Mojave brings Dark Mode, stacking, and a redesigned App Store to Macs
• How to stream on Twitch
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• How to print from an iPhone and iPad
• How to convert FLAC to MP3

Nomad’s new cable kicks up battery capacity for the same price

Nomad is stepping back into the limelight. After a few months without any new products from the company, it looks like it’s gearing up to launch a slew of new products — starting with a refreshed version of the Nomad Battery Cable.

The new battery cable offers many of the same perks as the previous iteration, but steps things up to a 2,800mAh battery instead of the 2,350mAh battery found on the previous model. Unfortunately, there’s still only an iPhone model of the cable.

If you’re unfamiliar with the battery cable, it’s essentially a charging cable that also has a battery module, so you can connect your iPhone to the cable without plugging the other end into a computer or USB port to charge. There are a few reasons you might want this. For starters, it means you have one less thing to worry about bringing on the road with you, but it also means you can charge your phone and external battery at the same time without having to worry about charging them separately. So, if you’re someone who forgets to charge things like external batteries, this should help eliminate that issue. The cable also charges the phone before it charges the battery — so if you plug your low-battery phone in when the cable’s battery is low, it’ll charge up your phone first.

There are a few other upgrades too. For example, Nomad has done away with the plastic battery housing in favor of an aluminum one, which should help ensure that the device is able to withstand some abuse. The cable itself is also protected with a braided nylon. Nomad isn’t raising the price of the device, thankfully — it’ll stay at $50.

As mentioned, Nomad is promising to update many of its other products too, and it says they’ll land in the second half of this year. We’re hoping to see updated versions of products like the Nomad Wireless Hub, which acts as a USB hub while simultaneously acting as a wireless charger for devices like the iPhone X, which support wireless charging. It would also be nice to see the company upgrade its battery packs, like the Nomad PowerPack.

Here’s everything we know about the 2019 iPhone

Julian Chokkattu / Digital Trends

While it’s still early, rumors for the 2019 iPhone are already surfacing. While the information has yet to be confirmed, it seems Apple’s 2019 flagship could include a variety of upgrades ranging from a new design to enhanced features. Here’s everything we know about the device so far.

Design

Past reports have been claiming that the 2018 iPhone will ship with a Lightning-to-USB-C cable — which means iPhone users will be able to join in on Type-C fast charging without having to spend money on extra accessories, 9to5Mac notes. According to the latest rumor, this could also mean the 2019 iPhone will include a USB-C port as well. Apple is reportedly redesigning chargers for its next-generation iPhones and iPad devices, Digitimes reports. By incorporating the interface into its iPhones, Apple would completely ditch its Lightning connector.

Similar to how the Apple’s MacBook series encouraged other notebook vendors to adopt the USB Type-C port, sources close the matter claim the company hopes to do the same with the iPhone. Incorporating it into the iPhone will apparently help to increase the popularity of the Type-C interface within other smartphones on the market.

While the notch has been a trend for the smartphones of 2018, that trend may be dying down. Earlier in June, Apple filed for a patent that specifically connected to displays that have openings in between pixels for sensors — which suggests the 2019 iPhone will ditch the notch. According to the patent application notes, it seems to hint the notch was placed there to begin with in order to accommodate the sensors needed in the front of the phone. Other reports indicate these openings would be embedded into the display itself, and too small to see.

Another patent from Apple relates to manufacturing ceramic iPhone bodies in a variety of colors — which could alter the way future iPhones look. The patent shows a device with colored bars on the back of the device — specifically on the top and bottom. It’s also possible the Apple logo could be a different color than the rest of the iPhone.

Display

As of right now, the only iPhone model to feature an OLED display is the iPhone X. But according to rumors that have extended across the past few months, all iPhone models in the future will feature the same display.

A report by South Korean news source ETNews, anonymous Apple officials close to the matter stated the company has started planning its 2019 iPhone models and have chosen OLED screens for “all three models.” This means that in addition to the traditional iPhone and iPhone Plus versions, there could also be a third iPhone thrown into the lineup.

Camera

Back in May, it was reported that the flagship 2019 iPhone is set to include three camera lenses. Taiwanese publication Economic News Daily claimed each of the three cameras could boast 12 megapixels — which could mean additional camera features such as increased detail or greater zoom mode.

The latest rumors come from Deutsche Securities analyst Lu Jialin, who believes Apple will incorporate two stereo vision lenses and a telephoto lens into its three-lens camera. That way, the cameras will be able to understand 3D space in a manner similar to the iPhone X’s TrueDepth front camera — which in turn means there could also be new augmented reality features at well.

It’s clear Apple is continuing to work on its ARKit, having introduced ARKit 2.0 as part of iOS 12 at this year’s Worldwide Developer Conference. The new version delivers improved face tracking, support for 3D object detection, and realistic rendering. Users can also play AR games against other users in the same virtual environment with multi-user augmented reality. With a three-lens camera, it will be interesting to see what features Apple will release for future versions of ARKit.

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Updates to Google Assistant could make it the most natural digital helper yet

Google is making Google Assistant a whole lot better. At Google I/O 2018, the company announced a few new changes to Assistant that should help make conversation a lot more natural and conversational.

Most recently, on Monday, June 11, the Made by Google Twitter page posted a tweet (that was later deleted) noting that Google Home “can perform up to three queries at a time, so you can get more done.” For the time being, Multiple Actions are only available for Home users who have set their language preferences to U.S. English, but support for other languages is also planned.

Google previously announced that Assistant will be getting six new voices later in 2018 — and one of those is none other than musician John Legend. In other words, if you’re not a fan of the current Google Assistant voice, you will soon be able to change it to make it a little more personal.

New voices aren’t the only update to Assistant. Users have long wanted to be able to have a more natural conversation with Assistant, and Google is making that happen. For starters, the company is adding a feature called “Continued Conversation,” which allows you to chat with Google without having to say “Hey Google” every time you make a request. You’ll say it the first time, but after that, you’ll be able to continue talking to Google the same way you would any other conversation.

Google also recently rolled out a feature called Multiple Actions. As the name suggests, you will soon be able to ask Google to perform multiple actions in one sentence. No longer will you need to make different requests to change the thermostat and turn on the TV — now, simply say, “Hey Google, set the thermostat to 68 degrees and turn on the TV,” and it should be able to recognize the two separate actions it needs to perform. But it’s no longer just two actions that you can string together — rather, Assistant will now obey up to three commands at a time.

Ethics in technology was also a big theme at Google I/O, and along those lines, Google Assistant will now reward polite interactions with positive reinforcement. This is particularly important for kids, who are still learning how to be polite in their interactions. Now, if someone says “please” in their request, Assistant will say something like “thank you for asking so politely.” The feature is called “Pretty Please,” and is rolling out later this year.

On your phone, Google Assistant is also getting a few visual tweaks that should help make it more helpful. For starters, when you make a request, you won’t only get audio responses — you’ll also get rich visual responses in Assistant on your phone. Swipe up from a response, and you’ll also get a rundown of your day — including things like flight schedules, weather, and so on. Along with those visual changes, Google is making Assistant a little more helpful when you’re navigating in Maps. Assistant is now featured in Maps, so if you’re driving and ask for music, it won’t switch to a different screen while you’re navigating. It should be a helpful feature, and will make using Assistant in the car a little safer.

Google Assistant will also soon be able to order food for both pickup and delivery. Not only will you be able to order food using the chat-style interface like before, but you’ll also now be able to ask Assistant to simply order your usual from Starbucks, for example.

As a digital assistant, Google Assistant can do things like book tables at restaurants and book haircuts — and soon it’ll get a whole lot better at doing so. The new feature is called “Google Duplex,” and basically involves Assistant actually calling businesses to get things done. In other words, if you ask Assistant to book you a haircut, it may actually call the hair salon, and book the haircut by talking to whoever picks up. It actually sounds very natural and represents a pretty big step forward for digital assistants in general. Google has put a lot of work into ensuring that Assistant can understand the nuances of language — and based on the examples Google gave, it seems to be able to do this pretty well.

Updated on June 12: Google Home can respond to three queries at once.

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