The Best Outlets With USB-C For All Of Your New Devices

You’ve got a shiny new device that charges via USB-C. Why wrestle with yet another power brick an instead go for a dedicated USB-C outlet?

Whether you’re thrilled about another standard or not, USB-C is here to stay. It’s smaller, more powerful, and more convenient than Micro USB or USB-A connections, and it’s quickly becoming the charging standard for cellphones. Even larger devices, like laptops, are adopting the USB-C charging standard. Hey, they’re cheaper than those bulky DC cables and easier to use across devices.

So, how do you plan on charging all of your USB-C compatible devices? You could leave a bunch of USB bricks in the outlets around your house, but not all power bricks are created equally. Some of them charge your phone a lot slower than they should, and they tend to take up some valuable outlet real-estate. No, it would be better to replace your old-fashioned outlets with some new USB-C outlets. That way, you can always charge your devices quickly, without sacrificing any AC outputs.

But if you’ve found yourself in the electronics section of a hardware store, then you know how overwhelming it can be to shop for a new outlet. Manufactures seem to enjoy their confusing variety of USB outlets, and two similar looking outlets can sometimes come at very different price points. That’s why we’ve taken the time to find the best USB-C outlets, and to explain how their minor differences may appeal to different people’s needs.

TOPGREENER 6.0A High Speed Duel USB-C Outlet ($28)

If you’re ready to fall into the loving arms of USB-C, then you should take a look at the TOPGREENER duel USB-C outlet. It has two USB-C ports and two AC outlets, so you can quickly charge your devices without hogging any outlet space. This kind of outlet would be especially useful in a bedroom or office, where you have to charge and power a lot of electronics. It may even save you from having to buy a bulky surge protector.

But if you want the option to plug USB-A cables into your outlets, then this clearly isn’t the way to go. After all, your USB-A or Micro USB powered devices may last for a few more years.

Buy on Amazon

TOPGREENER 5.8A High Speed USB Outlet ($26)

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How to Make a Good Live Wallpaper for Your iPhone

Live Wallpapers are one of iOS’s neat if underused, features. It’s fun—and very Harry Potteresque—to have a bit of motion on your lock screen. But setting any old live photo isn’t going to give you great results: here’s how to make sure you’ve got a good one to use for wallpaper.

How to Set a Live Wallpaper

To set a live photo as your wallpaper, go to Settings > Wallpaper > Choose a New Wallpaper and then select your Live Photos album.

Select the live photo you want to use, make sure “Live Photo” is selected, and then tap Set > Set Both (or either “Set Lock Screen” or “Set Home Screen” if you only want it on one).

And just like that, you’ll have live wallpaper. Now, let’s look at getting a good live photo to use.

Taking a Good Live Wallpaper Photo

A live photo is, first and foremost, a photo. Most of the time your background will be still. This means that you need to make sure the still photo part looks great. You also want the transition to when the wallpaper is in motion to look natural. There are a couple of other key things you need to bear in mind:

• Wallpapers are vertical on iOS. For one of the first times ever, I’m recommending you shoot with your iPhone held vertical.
• A Live Photo records a few seconds before and after when you take the photo. This means you need to have a shot set up before you press the shutter button.
• For the transition to look good between the still and motion parts of the live photo, you need to keep your iPhone as still as possible while you take the shot. If you’ve got a tripod, use it. Otherwise, brace or rest your iPhone as well as you can.

The easiest good live photos to take are landscapes, especially if there’s moving water. You have plenty of time to line up the shot, make sure your camera is stable, and, since the motion is cyclical, they almost always look good.

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How to Create a System Image Backup in Windows 7, 8, or 10

The built-in backup utilities in Windows are pretty solid. Let’s take a look at how to create a full backup image of your PC without the need for a third party utility.

1. Open the System Backup Image Tool. In Windows 10, head to Control Panel > Backup and Restore (Windows 7) > Create a System Image.
2. Choose where you want to save the backup image.
3. Select the drives to back up.
4. Start the backup.
5. Optionally, create a system repair disc that you can use to start your computer and restore a backup image.

Normal backup programs, like CrashPlan or Windows’ built-in File History feature, essentially copy your files to another location. A system image backup, on the other hand, is like a full snapshot of an entire hard drive. The advantage of a system image is that if a hard drive crashes, you can replace it, restore the image, and have your system right back to where it was when the image was captured. No need to reinstall Windows or your apps.

The biggest disadvantage with system image backups—other than taking a bit longer—is that you can’t restore the backup to a different PC. You’re creating an image of your full Windows installation and, since Windows is set up specifically for your hardware, it just won’t work as-is in another PC. It would be like trying to plug your hard drive into another PC and expecting everything to load well. With that in mind, though, image backups can still be really handy.

Third-party apps like like Macrium Reflect or Acronis True Image—at least, the paid versions—do offer some advanced features you won’t find in the Windows system image backup tool. For example, both support incremental backups, password protected images, and the ability to browse backups for individual files. But free is free, and if you don’t need the extra features, the Windows tool offers a solid way to perform a full backup of your system.

Step One: Open System Image Backup

The process of finding the System Image Backup tool is different in Windows 7 than in Windows 8 and 10, so we’ll show you to find the tool in all versions, and then explain how to create and use the system image.

Open System Image Backup in Windows 10

In Windows 10, hit Start, type “backup,” and then select the entry.

In the “Backup and Restore (Windows 7)” window, click the “Create a system image” link.

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Geek Trivia: Los Angeles Is The First Major City To Synchronize What?

Los Angeles Is The First Major City To Synchronize What?

Movie Showings Video Game Releases Traffic Lights Restaurant Hours Think you know the answer?

How to View Song Lyrics on an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple TV

Apple Music is the way to listen to music on Apple’s devices, and while there are alternatives, the integration is second to none. There are some pretty great features, too—like being able to follow along with song lyrics.

Apple Music isn’t the only music streaming service available on Apple’s platforms, but even though Spotify and others are more than capable, there’s something about using software designed specifically for a platform and Apple Music is a great example of that. There’s plenty to love in there, too, and song lyrics is one of those features that you might not use an awful lot but are very glad to have when you can’t quite make out that one word in your new favorite song.

Unfortunately, Apple has a history of failing hard when it comes to making features discoverable, and this may be another example of that. It’s likely that you didn’t even know that Apple Music supports lyrics, so we’re here to not only remind you they exist but also to show you how to get to them. The method differs slightly depending on whether you’re listening on a Mac, Apple TV, or an iOS device, so let’s take a look at both options.

Viewing Song Lyrics on iPhone or iPad

To get started, open the Music app and start playing the song for which you want to view the lyrics. Then, swipe up on the music controls at the bottom of the screen to see the “Now Playing” screen.

Finally, tap the “Show” button beside where it says “Lyrics.”

Viewing Song Lyrics on a Mac

On a Mac, open iTunes (sorry, it’s the only way!) and start playing the song for which you want to view the lyrics. Next, click the “More” icon at the top of the screen and then click “Lyrics.”

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You Can Still Take Advantage of Some Awesome Amazon Echo and Google Home Deals

The holiday shopping season is over, but that doesn’t mean stores have stopped offering great deals. If you’ve been in the market for a smart speaker, there’s still time to grab an Echo or Google Home at a nice price.

Amazon is offering its own discounts on some Echo devices, including the 2nd-generation Echo for $69 (down from $99) and the 3rd-generation Echo Dot for $29 (down from $49).

Google is also still discounting its Google Home lineup in its online store, where you can grab a Home Hub for $99 (down from $149), a regular Home for $89 (down from $129), or a Home Mini for $29 (down from $49).

If you prefer to shop in-store, you’ll be pleased to know that many of these same deals are also still going on at most retailers, including Walmart, Target, and Best Buy. Best Buy even has the Apple HomePod on sale for $100 off.

Granted, these aren’t necessarily the best deals we’ve ever seen (Target recently offered an amazing deal for a Home Hub and two Home Minis for just $99), but if you missed all of the great deals during the shopping season, there’s still time to snag a smart speaker for less than retail price.

PSA: Don’t Download the Fake “Setup for Amazon Alexa” iOS App

If you happened to get an Amazon Alexa device for the holidays, be careful when setting it up. There’s a new fake Alexa Setup app in the iOS App Store that is up to no good.

As pointed out by 9to5Mac, the app, called “Setup for Amazon Alexa,” is quickly climbing the Top Free app charts, even finding its way to the sixth spot in the Utilities section. Oof.

The good news is that it doesn’t seem to be as bad as it could be because it doesn’t immediately ask for your Amazon username and password, which could be catastrophically bad for many users (this is a good time to mention that you should always use 2FA on your Amazon account!). Instead, it simply asks for your Alexa device’s IP address and serial number. What they’re doing with that information is still the bigger question.

What’s more troubling is that the developer of this app, One World Software, has a couple of other questionable apps in the App Store—“Marketplace — Buy/Sell” and “Any Font for Instagram,” the former of which carries the same colors as Facebook. Shady, shady crap.

As always, pay attention to what you’re installing. In this case, if you’re trying to set up a new Alexa device, Amazon will always be the developer of the application (the exact name is AMZN Mobile). If it’s anyone else, it’s not the right app. And if you’re looking for help setting up your Amazon Echo (or other Alexa device), we have you covered.

RELATED: How to Set Up and Configure Your Amazon Echo

via 9to5Mac