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How to Enable Google Chrome Dark Mode

Google Chrome has had a built-in dark theme like Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge since Chrome 74. You can even apply a dark theme to every web page you visit using third-party themes or an extension.

RAYMOND OGLESBY @RaymondOglesby2
January 26, 2023

Google Chrome has had a built-in dark theme like Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge since Chrome 74. You can even apply a dark theme to every web page you visit using third-party themes or an extension. Let’s explore this dark mode feature.

This is for devices running Windows 11 or 10. Screenshots are from Windows 10

Dilbert and Robot
Copyright Scott Adams, Inc./Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

Chrome offers a built-in dark mode on Windows 11 and Windows 10. It even makes all of Chrome’s context menus dark, too.

Dark Mode for Windows 11

First, open the Settings app and navigate to:

Personalization > Color

Next, click the drop-down menu to the right of Choose Your Mode and select Dark. Refer to the below image:

Dark Mode 1
Setting Dark Mode for Windows 11

Next, close out the Settings app and launch Google Chrome. Unless you have manually set Chrome’s theme, it will match your system.

Dark Mode for Windows 10

First, head to:

Settings > Personalization > Colors

and select Dark under Choose your default app mode. See the below image:

Dark Mode 2
Setting Dark Mode for Windows 10

Apply a Dark Theme

Chrome supports user-created themes, which you can download from the Chrome Web Store. To give Chrome a dark interface, all you have to do is install a dark theme. Google even provides a helpful collection of editor-selected dark themes. This will give your Chrome browser a dark mode on Windows 7, Linux, Chrome OS, and any operating system without a native dark theme.

Note! Google now offers some official Chrome browser themes, including a “Just Black” dark mode theme. You may want to give that a try.

We recommend Morpheon Dark, which is the most popular dark theme in the Store. Unlike some other dark themes, it provides a decent amount of contrast between your active tab, which is a bit lighter, and your inactive tabs, which are darker.

This theme turns darkens the Tab Bar, Title Bar, Toolbar, and New Tab page. That’s all you can theme in Chrome. You can not make Chrome’s Context Menus or Settings page dark, for example. See the following image:

Dark Mode 3
Apply Morpheon Dark Mode

If you ever want to switch back to Chrome’s default theme you can. Head to:

Menu > Settings

Look for the Themes option under Appearance and then click Reset to Default. Refer to the below image:

Reset to the default theme
Disclaimer

Technology is always changing, and rarely is their static tech for smartphones and desktops. Thus, the contents of this post are only valid at the time of writing. Blog posts older than six months may have directions incompatible with your device or OS. Hopefully, older post content will continue to work as advertised. Thank you for reading TechSavvy.Life for Technology at Work For You.

Quote For the Day

Even the technology that promises to unite us, divides us. Each of us is now electronically connected to the globe, and yet we feel utterly alone.

Dan Brown

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Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love to hear from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Just send an email to contact@techsavvy.life. Please mention the device, app, and version you are using. To help us out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

Author’s E-Book

You can access the e-book from a Kindle device, the Kindle App for the desktop or smartphone, which is a free app.

The author’s Vietnam eBook on the Battle for Tra Bong Vietnam: Events and Aftermath
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How to Quiet Notifications on iPhone

Do you feel bombarded by iPhone notifications? If so, there’s a way to silence all of your notifications. Or, you can pick and choose the notifications you want to see and those you want to ignore.

RAYMOND OGLESBY @RaymondOglesby2
January 24, 2023

Do you feel bombarded by iPhone notifications? If so, there’s a way to silence all of your notifications. Or, you can pick and choose the notifications you want to see and those you want to ignore. Let’s examine how to gain control over your notifications.

This is for the iPhone. Screenshots are from iPhone 14 Pro running iOS 16+

Dilbert and Email
Copyright Scott Adams, Inc./Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

Using Do Not Disturb Mode

The easiest way to silence your notifications is to turn on Do Not Disturb mode from the Control Center. Swipe down from the very top-right of your screen. Then, select:

Focus > Do Not Disturb

Refer to the below image:

Focus 1

Accessing the Do Not Disturb button

Using Focus

If you want to schedule Do Not Disturb mode for a specific time, you can use Focus too.

First, launch the Settings app on your iPhone. In Settings, tap:

Focus > Do Not Disturb

See the below image:

Focus 2
Accessing the Do Not Disturb option from Focus

Next, you can set which notifications you allow (if any) and choose a custom Home or Lock screen to use in Do Not Disturb mode. See the following image:

Focus 3
Choosing Lock or Home screen

Now, under Set a Schedule, tap Add Schedule to set when you would like to enable Do Not Disturb mode. Refer to the below image:

Focus 4
About to Set a Schedule

Next, you have three options for setting a schedule. see the below image:

Focus 5
Set a Schedule via three options

Next, you can set a Time, Location, and App to silence notifications. See the following image:

Focus 6
Your three options

Quiet App-Specific

If you want to disable notifications for a specific app, you can manage the notification settings for each app on your iPhone.

First, open Settings on your device. Then, tap Notifications. Refer to the below image:

Focus 7
Accessing Notifications

Next, on the Notifications page, in the Notification Style section, tap the app for which you want to disable notifications. See the below image where we are choosing the ActiveArmor app:

Focus 8
Selecting an App

Now, on the app page, at the top, toggle OFF the Allow Notifications option. See the following image:

Focus 8
Toggle Notifications to OFF

Next, a screen will open showing the Allow Notifications option is OFF. Refer to the below image:

Focus 10
Notifications are OFF for the App

Now, tap the Back icon and notice that notifications for ActiveArmor are OFF. See the below image:

Focus 11
Showing Notifications is OFF for the App

Your iPhone will not send you notifications from your chosen app.

Disclaimer

Technology is always changing, and rarely is their static tech for smartphones and desktops. Thus, the contents of this post are only valid at the time of writing. Blog posts older than six months may have directions incompatible with your device or OS. Hopefully, older post content will continue to work as advertised. Thank you for reading TechSavvy.Life for Technology at Work For You.

Quote For the Day

As technology advances in complexity and scope, fear becomes more primitive.

Don DeLillo

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I Would Like to Hear From You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love to hear from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Just send an email to contact@techsavvy.life. Please mention the device, app, and version you are using. To help us out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

Author’s E-Book

You can access the e-book from a Kindle device, the Kindle App for the desktop or smartphone, which is a free app.

The author’s Vietnam eBook on the Battle for Tra Bong Vietnam: Events and Aftermath

How to Add Copyright, Trademark, and Registered Symbol to a Document on Windows

You can insert special symbols on Windows by pressing its Alt Code on a numeric keypad. Or, press Windows+. to use the emoji keyboard.

RAYMOND OGLESBY @RaymondOglesby2
January 19, 2023

You can insert special symbols on Windows by pressing its Alt Code on a numeric keypad. Or, press Windows+. to use the emoji keyboard.

The symbols are a hint to others that something is protected by law. Windows keyboards do not have a dedicated key to quickly insert the symbol. But there’s a keyboard shortcut for the Windows operating system.

This is for Windows. Screenshots are from Windows 10

Dilbert and Twitter
Copyright Scott Adams, Inc./Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

Using a Numeric Keyboard

The quickest way to insert a copyright, trademark, or registered symbol in your document is to use its Alt Code.

Note: You can only use this shortcut if your keyboard has a numeric keypad, which is usually to the right of the keyboard. You can not use this shortcut with the numbers at the top of the keyboard.

First, place the cursor where you would like to insert the symbol.

Next, press and hold the Alt key. For the copyright symbol © press “0169” using the numeric keypad. Once you release the Alt key, the copyright symbol will be inserted. Repeat the above for the trademark symbol ™ using “0153” and for the registered symbol ® using “0174“.

Without a Numeric Keyboard

If your Windows PC does not have a numeric keypad, you can use the emoji keyboard instead. Press Windows+. to open the emoji keyboard.

First, tap the symbol icon at top of the emoji keyboard. Then tap the appropriate emoji to insert it. Refer to the below image:

Symbol
Selecting a symbol from the emoji keyboard

You can also insert many other symbols via the keyboard shortcut or the emoji keyboard.

Disclaimer

Technology is always changing and rarely is static for smartphones and desktops. Thus, the contents of this post are only valid at the time of writing. Blog posts older than six months may have directions that are incompatible with your device or OS. Hopefully, older post content will continue to work as advertised. Thank you for reading TechSavvy.Life for Technology at Work For You.

Quote For the Day

Man is a slow, sloppy, and brilliant thinker; computers are fast, accurate, and stupid.

John Pfeiffer

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Checkout TechSavvy.Life for blog posts on smartphones, PCs, and Macs! You may email us at contact@techsavvy.life for comments or questions.

I Would Like to Hear From You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love to hear from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Just send an email to contact@techsavvy.life. Please mention the device, app, and version you are using. To help us out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

Author’s E-Book

You can access the e-book from a Kindle device, the Kindle App for the desktop or smartphone, which is a free app.

The author’s Vietnam eBook on the Battle for Tra Bong Vietnam: Events and Aftermath

You Can Have 500 Safari Tabs Open on iPhone

Among the things that can slow your iPhone down, a big pile of tabs in Safari is not one of them.

RAYMOND OGLESBY @RaymondOglesby2
January 17, 2023

Among the things that can slow your iPhone down, a big pile of tabs in Safari is not one of them.

Safari tabs simply do not slow the iPhone down. In fact, you can have 500 tabs open, and it has zero performance impact. And 500 more if you make a new group. And 500 more if you use private browsing. And 500 more if you make another group. Whether we had 50 tabs or 5,000 tabs in Safari for iPhone, there was simply no difference in performance.

This is for devices using Safari. Screenshots are from iPhone 14 Pro running iOS 16+

Dilbert and Pill
Copyright Scott Adams, Inc./Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

If you dislike the clutter and it feels like your mental burden is lighter if the tabs in your phone’s browser are wiped away, by all means, feel free to tidy up.

Your iPhone automatically manages Safari tabs, and the number of tabs has no impact on the performance of the phone. Open tabs cannot do work or use resources in the background.

There are, in fact, things that can slow down your phone. A really old and worn battery can make a phone feel sluggish. Updating an older phone to a current release of iOS can really show you how old the hardware has become. Stuffing your phone’s storage full of unused apps and undeleted blurry photos will do the trick, too.

View Number open Tabs

To see how many Safari tabs you have open, first, launch Safari and tap the double rectangle icon on the lower right-hand corner of your screen. Next, at the bottom, you will see your number of open tabs. Refer to the below image:

Tabs 1
Your number of open Safari tabs

Close All Open Tabs

It’s easy to close all tabs at once in Safari on an iPhone or iPad. First, launch the browser, then tap and hold the View Tabs button in the bottom-right corner of the screen. Next, choose the Close All Tabs option to nuke your browsing session entirely. This works for the current session, so if you are in a Private browsing session then this will close all open private tabs. See the below image:

Tabs 2
Selecting to close all open Safari tabs

Reopen a Closed Tab

You can also get back any tabs you have recently closed. First, launch Safari, then tap tap the double rectangle icon on the lower right-hand corner of your screen.

Next, long-press the plus “+” (New Tab) button. Now, select a tab to reopen. The recently closed tab will be launched in the new tab. See the following image:

Tabs 3
Launching a recently closed Safari tab

These tabs are limited only to tabs you have closed on the device you are using, rather than another device (like a Mac).

Reopen From History

Using History, you can also get back any tabs you have recently closed. First, launch Safari, then tap the Book icon on the lower part of your screen.

Next, tap the History icon in the upper right-hand corner of your screen. Now, select a tab to reopen. The selected closed tab will be launched in the new tab. Refer to the below image:

Tabs 4
Launching a Safari tab from History

These tabs are limited only to tabs you have closed on the device you are using, rather than another device (like a Mac).

Disclaimer

Technology is always changing, and rarely is their static tech for smartphones and desktops. Thus, the contents of this post are only valid at the time of writing. Blog posts older than six months may have directions that are incompatible with your device or OS. Hopefully, older post content will continue to work as advertised. Thank you for reading TechSavvy.Life for Technology at Work For You.

Quote For the Day

I’d rather check my Facebook than face my checkbook.

Craig Coelho

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I Would Like to Hear From You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love to hear from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Just send an email to contact@techsavvy.life. Please mention the device, app, and version you are using. To help us out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

Author’s E-Book

You can access the e-book from a Kindle device, the Kindle App for the desktop or smartphone, which is a free app.

The author’s Vietnam eBook on the Battle for Tra Bong Vietnam: Events and Aftermath

Using Focus on the iPhone

The iPhone is generally considered a “simple” smartphone to use, but it has become packed with features over the years. “Focus” is one feature that is particularly jam-packed with powerful tools.

RAYMOND OGLESBY @RaymondOglesby2
January 12, 2023

The iPhone is generally considered a “simple” smartphone to use, but it has become packed with features over the years. “Focus” is one feature that is particularly jam-packed with powerful tools. Let’s take a look at this feature.

This is for the iPhone. Screenshots are from iPhone XR running iOS 16+

Dilbert and VP
Copyright Scott Adams, Inc./Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

What is Focus

Focus Mode, actually called just “Focus” on the iPhone, is essentially Do Not Disturb for specific situations. Rather than having a one-size-fits-all Do Not Disturb mode, Apple made it possible to create a bunch of specialized modes.

The long-standing Do Not Disturb mode is still present, by the way, but Focus makes it more useful. While you may have only used Do Not Disturb while you sleep, now it can be customized for a bunch of different situations.

Related

Five Great iPhone Features You Should be Using

Do Not Disturb

Focus 1
Do Not Disturb Notifications

Distractions management is still a core part of Focus, but it goes far beyond traditional Do Not Disturb. Each Focus Mode you create can be customized with which people and apps you want to allow to send notifications. Maybe you do not care about getting a text from your friend in the middle of your workout, but you might not want that distraction while studying.

The cool thing about Focus is it can go beyond just simply allowing certain people and apps to send notifications. It can actually filter out conversations from the Messages apps, hide calendars in the Calendar app, and limit you to specific Tab Groups in Safari.

That’s part of the reason why Focus is so useful. With other Do Not Disturb modes, you may be able to block notifications, but all the distractions are still on your phone if you look. Focus not only can block notifications, but it can also block the actual distraction too.

Different iPhones For Different Situations

Focus 2
Enabling Focus

Another big part of Focus is customizable screens. You can actually create a specific Lock screen and Home screen setup to use in different Focus modes. It’s like having a different iPhone for each situation.

Let’s say you have a Focus Mode you use while you are at work. You can create a Lock screen with Widgets that pertain to your job and set up a Home screen with the apps you use throughout the workday. You could also create a “Weekend” mode for unwinding with a plain Lock screen and a single Home screen page with only essential apps.

It’s essentially like switching between user profiles. Set up the Focus mode once, then it’s simply a matter of tapping a toggle and you are looking at a whole new phone.

So Much to Discover

If you have not noticed, a lot is going on with Focus. Apple has really fleshed out this feature into a powerful tool, but it does require some poking around to get the most out of it.

For example, you can set up an “Auto Reply” message to text messages when you are in Focus Mode. You can share your “Focus state” across devices, to let people know you are not ignoring them. Focus modes can be scheduled to come on automatically by time, location, or when opening specific apps.

Focus is packed with cool and useful options, and if you have not taken the time to dive in, you owe it to yourself to take a look. You can really make your iPhone more enjoyable to use by setting up a few Focus modes.

Quote For the Day

We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just stuff that works.

Douglas Adams

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I Would Like to Hear From You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love to hear from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Just send an email to contact@techsavvy.life. Please mention the device, app, and version you are using. To help us out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

Author’s E-Book

You can access the e-book from a Kindle device, the Kindle App for the desktop or smartphone, which is a free app.

The author’s Vietnam eBook on the Battle for Tra Bong Vietnam: Events and Aftermath

Explore the World of Radio Stations

While radio is not particularly hard to access; you just need a device capable of tuning into radio frequencies; listening to the radio outside of your area can be difficult. This app, however, lets you listen to any radio station in any country worldwide, complete with a colorful interface.

RAYMOND OGLESBY @RaymondOglesby2
January 10,2023

While radio is not particularly hard to access; you just need a device capable of tuning into radio frequencies. Listening to the radio outside of your area can be difficult. This app, however, lets you listen to any radio station in any country worldwide, complete with a colorful interface. Let’s check this out.

This is for computers and mobiles running a web browser. Screenshots are from Windows 10 PC

Dilbert and Dating
Copyright Scott Adams, Inc./Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

Radio Garden is available as a web version, and it also has mobile apps for Android and iOS. Its whole premise is that you can listen to several radio stations in many different countries and cities. You will see a bunch of small green dots all across the globe, and those are radio stations that you can tune into immediately. You do not need a login or any kind of subscription. All you need is a device that can access the internet, like your computer or smartphone. Refer to the below image:

Radio 1
South Carolina

You can zoom in or out, move the round circle to any part of the world, or tap a green dot to listen to a station. Check out the Settings menu for options. We suggest you ignore the ads, they take you where you may not want to go; just close them. You can purchase the app for $2.99 (under Settings) to remove the virtual ads.

Some examples of Radio Garden stations:

Radio 2
Brazil
Radio 3
Ukraine
Radio 4
North Korea

It’s a lot of fun to play around with the app and learn something new.

Disclaimer

Technology is always changing and rarely is there static for smartphones and desktops. Thus, the contents of this post are only valid at the time of writing. Blog posts older than six months may have directions incompatible with your device or OS. Hopefully, older post content will continue to work as advertised. Thank you for reading TechSavvy.Life for Technology at Work For You.

Quote For the Day

Good, bad or indifferent, if you are not investing in new technology, you are going to be left behind.

Philip Green

Tweet Info

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Checkout TechSavvy.Life for blog posts on smartphones, PCs, and Macs! You may email us at contact@techsavvy.life for comments or questions.

I Would Like to Hear From You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love to hear from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Just send an email to contact@techsavvy.life. Please mention the device, app, and version you are using. To help us out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

Author’s E-Book

You can access the e-book from a Kindle device, the Kindle App for the desktop or smartphone, which is a free app.

The author’s Vietnam eBook on the Battle for Tra Bong Vietnam: Events and Aftermath

Checkout James Webb Telescope Photo Gallery

NASA launched the James Webb Space Telescope (JWT) in December 2021, giving scientists a fresh look at the universe and giving the rest of us some cool wallpapers.

RAYMOND OGLESBY @RaymondOglesby2
December 20, 2022

NASA launched the James Webb Space Telescope (JWT) in December 2021, giving scientists a fresh look at the universe and giving the rest of us some cool wallpapers. There’s an easy way to check out the latest images and save them for your device’s wallpaper. Let’s explore how.

This is for desktop and mobile devices

Flicker Main
MACS NIRCam Image – Dense Cosmic Knot in the Early Universe

Processed images from JWT have been published on Twitter, the telescope’s official website (this is a really cool site), and other locations, but there’s another portal you may not have seen. NASA operates a Flickr site for the telescope, which contains images of engineering tests, control centers, and best of all, space pictures. To see all the photos, you need to signup for Flickr in the top right-hand corner. Refer to the below image for an example of their gallery:

Flickr 1
Deep Space – Pillars of Creation – Emerging Galaxies

You can browse through the whole collection in your browser, and saving the full-resolution version of an image is as easy as clicking the Download button (the arrow pointing down). If you have a Flickr account, you can also follow the account to see new pictures. After creating your Flickr account, in the Search box (located in the upper right-hand corner), type in James Web Telescope to view the images.

The first few photos from JWT were already excellent wallpapers, but the Flickr gallery is being updated with the latest images. There are the Pillars of Creation, two galaxies merging, Jupiter in infrared, and the fiery hourglass.

In the 32-year run (and counting) of the Hubble Space Telescope is any indication, the JWT should continue giving us fantastic images for years to come.

Disclaimer

Technology is always changing and rarely is there static for smartphones and desktops. Thus, the contents of this post are only valid at the time of writing. Blog posts older than six months may have directions that are incompatible with your device or OS. Hopefully, older post content will continue to work as advertised. Thank you for reading TechSavvy.Life for Technology at Work For You.

Quote For the Day

Technology means you can now do amazing things easily; but you couldn’t easily do them legally.

Lawrence lessig

Tweet Info

That’s it. Please feel free to share this post! One way to share is via Twitter.

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I Would Like to Hear From You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love to hear from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Just send an email to contact@techsavvy.life. Please mention the device, app, and version you are using. To help us out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

Author’s E-Book

You can access the e-book from a Kindle device, the Kindle App for the desktop or smartphone, which is a free app.

The author’s Vietnam eBook on the Battle for Tra Bong Vietnam: Events and Aftermath

What’s the Difference Between Google Wallet and Pay

Google has confusing named products, and that might be most apparent with Google Wallet and Google Pay. These two apps have taken a convoluted path to get where they are today. So, which one should you be using?

RAYMOND OGLESBY @RaymondOglesby2
December 15, 2022

Google has confusing named products, and that might be most apparent with Google Wallet and Google Pay. These two apps have taken a convoluted path to get where they are today. So, which one should you be using?

This is for diPhone and Android. Screenshots are from iPhone XR running iOS 16+

Dilbert and Rumor
Copyright Scott Adams, Inc./Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

Both Google Wallet and Pay have seen some pretty drastic revamps over the years. Their purposes have changed a lot and confused many people in the process. Let’s see what these products have to offer.

Some History

You may be surprised to learn that the original version of Google Wallet was introduced way back in 2011. The service was primarily for sending money to people and there was a physical Google Wallet credit card as well.

The Google Wallet card allowed people to pay for things in physical and online stores with the funds in their accounts. This was before mobile payments with tap-to-pay were widely supported. The Wallet card was a very clever solution.

Eventually, tap-to-pay gained enough traction that Google launched Android Pay in 2015. It maintained Google Wallet and Android Pay separately until 2018 when the two were combined into a single service called Google Pay. The Wallet card was discontinued in 2016.

Then, in 2020, Google Pay got a massive overhaul with a bunch of new features. All of Google’s mobile payment services were under one umbrella… for a while. In the summer of 2022, the service was split in two, with the Google Wallet branding making a return.

That’s where things stand as of September 2022. Google Pay and Google Wallet exist as two separate products; sometimes. More on that later.

Google Wallet

Google Wallet can most easily be summed up by its name; it’s a digital wallet. You can add credit cards, debit cards, loyalty cards, transportation passes, event tickets, vaccine cards, and gift cards.

Basically, Google Wallet is for paying for things online and in physical stores with tap-to-pay. It features a very simple interface that shows your cards, tickets, and passes. Google Wallet is only available for Android since the iPhone does not allow non-Apple apps for tap-to-pay.

Google Wallet can generally be used with any card reader that has an Apple Wallet, Google Pay, or the contactless tap-to-pay icon. For online purchases, look for the Google Pay or Google Wallet buttons at checkout. It will take some time for the Wallet branding to replace Google Pay. Refer to the below image:

Google 4-5
Google Wallet

Google Pay

Google Pay received a massive overhaul in 2020, and it’s pretty much the same experience now. The tap-to-pay functionality is still present in Google Pay, but that’s not the only thing it can do.

The Google Pay app has peer-to-peer payments, shopping deals, cashback offers, and a full-blown banking experience with personal finance insights. You can think of Pay as a combination of services similar to Venmo, PayPal, RetailMeNot, and Mint.

Unlike Google Wallet, Google Pay is available on both Android and iPhone. The tap-to-pay functionality does not work on the iPhone, but the other features do. It’s a feature-packed app that tries to do a lot of things. In fact, it might be too much for some people, which is why Google Wallet exists. See the below image:

Google 1-3
Google Pay

Which App to Use?

Depending on where you live, you may not even need to decide which app to use. Google Pay and Google Wallet only exist side-by-side in the U.S. and Singapore. In every other country, Google Wallet entirely replaced Google Pay, and India does not have Wallet at all (as of September 2022).

Google Pay can do everything Google Wallet can do, but Google Wallet can not do everything Google Pay can do. If you are in a country that has both, you can choose between the full experience (Pay) or just mobile payments (Wallet). There’s no reason to have both.

Use Google Pay if you want peer-to-peer payments, deals, rewards, or personal finance tools. If you only care about mobile payments, Google Wallet is a much more streamlined experience for that. The choice is even simpler for iPhone users; Google Pay is the only option.

In closing, Google Wallet is for mobile payments, Google Pay is for mobile payments, and more. In the author’s opinion, it’s still too complicated.

-Courtesy of other tech blog posts

Quote For the Day

Books don’t need batteries.

Nadine Gordimer

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How to Delete Duplicate Photos and Videos on iPhone

Duplicate photos and videos take up precious space on your iPhone. Since iOS 16, Apple has offered the ability to easily find and delete duplicates in the Photos app; no third-party app is required.

RAYMOND OGLESBY @RaymondOglesby2
December 13, 2022

Duplicate photos and videos take up precious space on your iPhone. Since iOS 16, Apple has offered the ability to easily find and delete duplicates in the Photos app; no third-party app is required. Let’s explore how to do this.

This is for the iPhone running iOS 16+. Screenshots are from iPhone XR

Dilbert and Network
Copyright Scott Adams, Inc./Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

iOS 16 Required

This feature was released with iOS 16. You can see your current iOS version under:

Settings > General > About > iOS Version

Refer to the below image:

Duplicates 1
Your iOS version

If you need to, you can upgrade to iOS 16 by going to

Settings > General > Software Update

Find and Delete Duplicates in Photos

Note! After updating the iOS. It could take anything from a few hours to a few days for the Duplicates album to appear.

First, to find duplicate photos and videos, open the Photos app on your iPhone and tap the Albums tab at the bottom of the screen. See the below image:

Du;licates 2
Selecting your Albums

Next, scroll down to the bottom of the page to the Utilities section where you will find the Duplicates album. See the following image:

Duplicates 3
Selecting Duplications option

Now, tap on Duplicates to see a list of all the duplicate photos and videos found on your iPhone. Refer to the below image:

Duplicates 4
Your Duplications total

Next, you will see a preview of each image and the relevant file size. You can review each duplicate entry individually, then tap on Merge to save one of the photos or videos. iOS will automatically keep the higher-quality version.

Now, you will need to confirm that you wish to merge the photos or videos in the pop-up window that opens. See the below image:

Duplicates 5
Merge the current Duplicate

Next, if you do not have time to merge each duplicate individually, you can merge everything at once. To do this, tap Select at the top of the screen followed by Select All. Then, tap Merge at the bottom of the screen. See the following image:

Duplicates 6
Merge all your Duplicates

Processing Your Photos

You might find that after merging all of your duplicates, more appear as your whole library finishes processing.

Apple states that the detection process requires your iPhone to be locked and connected to power. The size of your library and the tasks running on your device will influence the speed at which the process completes.

If your photos are stored in an iCloud Photo Library, removing duplicates is a good way of freeing up precious iCloud storage.

Quote For the Day

Cars will soon have the Internet on the dashboard. I worry that this will distract me from my texting.

Andy Borowitz

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Checkout TechSavvy.Life for blog posts on smartphones, PCs, and Macs! You may email us at contact@techsavvy.life for comments or questions.

I Would Like to Hear From You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love to hear from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Just send an email to contact@techsavvy.life. Please mention the device, app, and version you are using. To help us out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

Author’s E-Book

You can access the e-book from a Kindle device, the Kindle App for the desktop or smartphone, which is a free app.

The author’s Vietnam eBook on the Battle for Tra Bong Vietnam: Events and Aftermath

How to Customize the SendTo Menu in Windows

The SendTo menu in Windows has been a useful feature for a long time. It may be buried in the right-click context menu in File Explorer, but you can use it to send files to a specific location, copy photos to a new device, or print your work in moments. It also comes with default entries you may never use and lack certain features you may want.

RAYMOND OGLESBY @RaymondOglesby2
December 8, 2022

The SendTo menu in Windows has been a useful feature for a long time. It may be buried in the right-click context menu in File Explorer, but you can use it to send files to a specific location, copy photos to a new device, or print your work in moments. It also comes with default entries you may never use and lack certain features you may want. Let’s explore tweaking what appears in the SendTo menu.

This is for Windows 11, 10, and 8.1. Screenshots are from Windows 10

Dilbert and Approved
Copyright Scott Adams, Inc./Distributed by Universal Uclick for UFS

Open the SendTo Menu

The SendTo function works the same in Windows 11, 10, and 8.1. First, open File Explorer and right-click on a file, such as a word processing document, spreadsheet, text file, or image file. From the pop-up menu, move your mouse to the SendTo command. menu.

The SendTo menu opens, revealing various locations and applications to which you can send the file. First, click a specific entry, such as a Bluetooth device, a compressed zip file, a Mail recipient, or your Documents folder. The file you selected is then sent to the chosen destination. Refer to the below image:

Send To 1
Your SendTo menu

Remove Entries

Next, press the Windows Key + R to trigger the Run window. At the Open field in the window, type shell:SendTo and then click OK. See the below image:

Send To 2
Accessing SendTo via Run command

Now, the File Explorer opens to the SendTo folder for your user account. From here, you can delete any entries you would never use by right-clicking on them and selecting Delete from the pop-up menu. See the following image:

Send To 3
Delete a SendTo option

Add Entries

When adding new entries to the menu, you need to know the path of the executable file for the app you want to add. Let’s say you wish to play songs from Windows Media Player and want to add them to the SendTo menu. First, you would create a SendTo entry for it in the SendTo folder. To do so, open File Explorer, then right-click on any empty area of the folder.

Next, select New > Shortcut. In the window that opens to create the shortcut. Refer to the below image:

SendTo 4
Create a shortcut

Now, browse to or type the following path: C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player\wmplayer.exe, then click Next. See the below image:

SendTo 5
Location of the shortcut

Next, you would then change the name for the shortcut to Windows Media Player and click Finish. See the following image:

SendTo 6
Name the shortcut

Now you can send any type of audio file to Windows Media Player if you right-click on it and open the SendTo menu. Refer to the below image:

SendTo 7
Send a file to your new entry

Quote For the Day

To err is human, but to really foul things up you need a computer.

Paul Ehrlich

Tweet Info

That’s it. Please feel free to share this post! One way to share is via Twitter.

Just click the Tweet icon below. This will launch Twitter where you click its icon to post the Tweet.

Checkout TechSavvy.Life for blog posts on smartphones, PCs, and Macs! You may email us at contact@techsavvy.life for comments or questions.

I Would Like to Hear From You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love to hear from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Just send an email to contact@techsavvy.life. Please mention the device, app, and version you are using. To help us out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

Author’s E-Book

You can access the e-book from a Kindle device, the Kindle App for the desktop or smartphone, which is a free app.

The author’s Vietnam eBook on the Battle for Tra Bong Vietnam: Events and Aftermath
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