LearningIs4Fun

Questions: Does charging your devices on a computer kill their batteries? Does a computer slow down the charge speed? My opinions: These same old questions keep resurfacing among the skeptical community. Until we fully believe that these smartphones are, well smart. We will keep panting old problems on newer devices. Without getting too technical, an average smartphone battery needs a 5V(volts) adapter to get the electrons moving (charging). Since a computer is capable of delivering so many volts, your device will kind of charge as expected (if it happens to be an average smartphone). Kind of, because some devices support fast charging. Fast chargers charge your device quickly as opposed to regular chargers. If your device has no fast charging goodness, you're okay with using a computer to juice it up. The answer: So the answer is, no and no. The computer doesn't kill a battery and it's not responsible for a slow charge(If your device doesn't support qu...

It might be more often than you would like that your device fails you in public. The best remedy is to know it is capable of before getting it out in the wild. - What makes my device to slow down? To best answer this, we have to answer the question, what slows them down in the first place? 1. Random Access Memory (RAM) The phone's RAM gives apps room to temporarily store files to boost up their performance. It resides closer to the CPU so getting files from RAM is more effective (because of its architecture and other factors). Apps on the foreground apps temporarily store their data in the RAM to speed up the processes, and a few others in the background takes advantage of its presence to do their daily tasks swiftly. (Keep background apps as minimal as possible to reserve more RAM for other apps). This thing is expensive hence why you won't have too much of it on a device. Not all OEMs are confident enough to tell you the amount of RAM your device has but there a...

If you hate waiting for features and don't mind testing some stuff; WhatsApp Beta is here for you. It's important to point out that availability of features in beta doesn't guarantee to make their way in the final build of the app and apps in beta can act funny and your data might be on the line. I have been using a beta version for about a month now and never ran into issues so you might have no problems too. Today we will discuss two features you'd love to try. You can enroll in a beta program in the PlayStore but that gets full too quickly so you can get the app from apkmirror website or just click here to get there quickly. (Version 2.18.301) 1. The first feature is the ability to autohide pictures sent from people(groups) in your gallery. Group members can sometimes go out of hand and share images you wish other people cannot see, so having a peace of mind that whatever is shared on WhatsApp will never reflect on your gallery is a life saver. You c...

If you are using an Android device, this post will change your life for the better. Make sure you have a Google account, and if ever wondering what's this! This is an account associated with Gmail and other popular Google services like  YouTube  and the Google PlayStore  of course. Android devices usually require a Google account at startup, just log in your account and save yourself from misery in case your phone dies, get stolen or anything that could damage your personal data. On Android version 5.0(Android Lollipop) and above, your device will prompt you of a google account that was synced with your device after a reset so make sure to never forget it. The startup menu cannot be bypassed as you might have done before(on older versions of Android). Before talking forever about things you might haven't seen in your life let's discuss a serious matter that almost every individual come across,  Loss of data. Okay, Google claims to be the...

Unless you are familiar with boot loop and know how to get past that, don't upgrade your Smartkika VF685 to firmware  120HJG1. ( Thank you Vodacom for deleting all my data, thank you! ) This is why: I received an OTA(Over The Air) update, downloaded and tried to upgrade but for whatsoever reason my phone was stuck in the boot loop. Restarting it never help, neither is factory resetting the device.  My device was low on memory so I thought that might be a cause, but no it wasn't.  Luckily I know a thing or two about boot loops, so I flashed a stock firmware from the official site and I was able to get out of the loop. After booting up my device, I checked for an update and installed it again but back to square one; my phone was stuck in a boot loop again! So low memory was no issue. I contacted the officials and I'm awaiting a response. What to do: For now, don't upgrade! Here is the thing; our millage may differ. Things like this happen but for un...

If English is not your first language, it may be difficult to get many things right. This app helps you to get rid of those typos that may cause you marks or helps you to build your English score so lets briefly talk about it. Oh! It's Grammarly and you can get the apps Apps here  or an Android Grammarly Keyboard here . Grammarly is free but you can get premium for more than just fixing your spellings. This app is available for almost device; Android, Windows, Google Chrome and more. So I thought It would be helpful to get through the variants individually so let's take a look. Different Variants 1. Windows app: So long as you don't mind to test new waters, this is one of the great apps out there you must try. The design is clean and shiny; the blacks are nicely complemented with the whites and this jaw-dropping. This app can help you correct typos in your writing and some minor stuff. The only caveat is that these apps will need you an i...

Welcome back to school. These are the times that lectures/teachers will overload us with assignments so lets pack our tools in one place and get ready for the battle. You can also check out 10 Microsoft Word Shortcuts here It's frustrating to discover you need to write citations while referencing your work and having to come up with a bibliography can be daunting. Forget all the troubles you can go through and let us remedy the problem. Open the app, if you haven't already. Assuming you have a source to manage, it can either an internet source, journal, book or of any type of source. Navigate to reference, on the toolbar Click Manage sources to get the ball rolling. If you peek at the below, you should see that you can change a referencing style in your writing, e.g. APA:  Okay, good to know ; you're welcome. Locate the button to create a new source and click it to follow along. Choose a type of source from the drop-down menu; I'll go with a book b...

If you're either a student or someone who is just jotting down some stuff or an employee doing a research; Microsoft Word is a nifty tool for the job. Subscribe to this blog to be notified of good content like this one. The subscribe button is above. So here are the ten shortcuts that will ease your way through the whole typing experience. Ten is a lot, let's waste no time and start our exploration. 1. Saving documents: ctr + S Well, we should start with a feature that is really hard to live without, saving files. ctr + S saves the files for you. Bonus: Bad things happen when least expected so it's a smart move to enable automated saving feature. Okay, this is how it's done: You click File > Options > Save in the pop-up menu. While there, make sure to check the Save AutoRecover information box and choose the lowest time (1 minute). 2. Opening new Documents: ctr + N We use word processors like Microsoft Word to document lots and l...

In this post, I'll walk you through the process of using WhatsApp on a PC. Like the title says, we'll still need our mobile devices. N.B: You can run WhatsApp on a PC with no need for your phone, but that comes with a price to pay. You can download and install an emulator on your PC, install WhatsApp and do all the crazy stuff. We're not gonna get into that now. We can do this in two ways, either through the browser or via an app. Okay, we're gonna hit two birds with one stone and let's get to that. Using the app. We’ll get one from WhatsApp official site. Here is the link but a simple search will get you there also. N.B The installation process might take time, and you might need to agree to some terms, make sure you do that. Using the Web browser. We’ll have to visit web.whatsapp.com. And it's that point that we need our phone . Either using the browser or app (The process is the same, at-leat for now) We open WhatsA...

Credit: Freepik Criteria of choice As much as it’s important to buy a PC that meets your course type, it’s not ideal to stick to that. Take a PC as an investment than a gadget; Purchase a unit that will be helpful in the long run. With that out of the way, my recommendation is to get one that has at least 4GB RAM. RAM alone does not guarantee a better PC but it’s a safe bet to go with. Nowadays a brand doesn't matter much, the reason being the manufacturers import processing parts from the same wholesaler anyway. Course types This article targets the scholars but not limited to them alone. BSC Computer Science For all who wish to or are pursuing their career in Computer Science, you don’t need a high-end PC; a decent PC of 4GB will do just fine. A high end one (8GB of RAM) will be essential if, along the way, you’d decides to work with Image Rendering software like Blender (An open source software to create 3D videos) or run a software development Ap...

Is it okay to leave our phones charged overnight? And the answer is yes. This is why. Long before lithium was adopted to power our devices, nickel-based batteries were the powerhouse of our devices. The problem is they (nickel batteries) had a sick lick memory, i.e. they tend to forget their charge and remember the one they were before receiving a charge. Lithium-ion batteries, on the other hand, do not have this issue so they are a better alternative. Charging our devices for elongated times causes the battery to expand and you might be a victim of this! If you own a smartphone, you're not part of the mix, and we'll explain why in a second. Once the battery is full, it overheats and eventually expands as it cannot hold the incoming charge. Luckily our smartphones have a walkthrough to this problem. Okay, let me explain. When our phones (smartphone) become fully charged, they stop the current from coming through and use a power cord as their primary source of volta...

Ever since the conception of a smartphone, a camera has always been a selling feature. Every year the camera department improves drastically, and there are many uses for cameras than just taking selfies. So let's talk about 4 amazing things we can do with a phone's camera. 1. Working with QR codes Working with QR codes is fairly simple. QR codes are used for things like tracking items on the market, sharing web links and many more. To get them into use is as simple as downloading an app that supports them.   Opera Mini uses this tech as an alternative to following the URLs. WhatsApp and SHAREit use a QR technology too, but for different purposes. WhatsApp lets you clone your conversations on a PC via WhatsApp web while SHAREit uses it to pair up devices for sharing.  2. Taking videos for Sharing We also use cameras to capture exquisite moments for later sharing. So to shoot scenes for large screen consumption; the phone should in landscape mode whi...

In the last post, I talked about WhatsApp Adding features.  Check the post here. The recent update lets you mark messages as "read" without opening a message. This is present on Version 2.18.248 . How to: First, check if your WhatsApp is up-to-date; Go to Settings , then Help and finally App info . If you have an older version, visit either  Google PlayStore ,  ApkPure  or their  website  to snack a free copy. Assuming your app is up-to-date. When a friend sends you a message: navigate to the notification and an option to mark as read should be present. You tap that and that's it. What to expect next: Ability to watch YouTube videos without leaving the app. Until next time have a wonderful day. Like our Facebook Page here @learningis4fun

Now WhatsApp decided to add a feature that will be more controversial than any other feature. It's not as bad as I could make it seem but people will definitely form sides. The app gave group admins control over messages too. It initially gave them the power to allow who to change the group's icon, name; essentially the group details. So the new update means admins can finally control the conversations in the group(how much power do we need?). Group admins can now allow who to send messages to a group. If the admin chooses to disable participants from sending messages; their only involvement would be via comments of course. Oh boy! Isn't that Facebook's pages. To have all this power, your app needs to be updated to Version 2.18.203 and also be a group admin. Here is the link. That's it from us LearningIs4Fun tech tips until next time, have a wonderful day.

Besides big enhancements made in group chats, there are a few bigger improvements. We only have two so let's talk about them. 1. Voice records now have hands free record mode ; its a fancy way of saying you can record voice messages without constantly holding the record button.  Tap and hold the record button as you'd normally do and the lock button pops for you; you drag your finger there and that's it. The cancel button resides near the send button in case you need to rerecord your note. 2. Arguably; we all love our privacy and always want to know what others know about us. With privacy in mind, WhatsApp wants to be transparent with its users by letting them see what info it has on them. To request the data, navigate to Settings > Account then select Request account info and finally tap Request report. The report is extensive and construable; Your info will be tabulated in a nice fashion. The info includes things like your device model, device Manufacturer and al...

Third-party apps like WhatsApp +, GB WhatsApp and others are great so long as you don't might getting your hands dirty and probably your whole body exposed. The first caution is those apps are not hosted in Google PlayStore ( which is the official AppStore). They're hosted on fluffy websites that are full of ads and oddly designed environments. However, those apps are great at what they offer. Users can give the app a new look, change things around and even make an app function differently. Control is the name of the game. But should we overlook security in the name of power? By no means! Ultimately it's you who has to make a decision. If you went that route because you needed a second account on the same phone, Parallel space is one of the apps that should save the day. How? You'll, of course, need to install the app, Parallel Space. The setup process is fairly easy so you shouldn't have problems. You can double accounts for other popular apps too, which i...

Vodacom is over the mountain again; show casing their app. The update makes a few old things to behave well and it is a reasonable update. Should you download the app? The answer is not a simple yes or a no; in fact its a mixed yes and a no. This is why. N.B. I tested this app on Vodacom SmarkKika (Android Kitkat 4.4) and Mobicel Plum (Android Marshmallow 6.0). Good things: To get started with the app is fairly simple. After installing the app, you open it and give it your mobile number; a code will be sent to you which you'll have to enter in the provided field to verify if its really you. And that's it. Maybe its worth pointing out that the app can be installed on one phone while your sim is on another one. If your main concern is data, well don't be. Vodacom gives you free data to download the app( if it does!), the app is just around 28MB and the carrier is generous enough to give you 100MB which should be more than enough to get you started. And...

Downloading videos on YouTube was not as simple as one would've hoped for. Luckily, awesome folks have done the hard work for us so its fairly easy to get started. You may need to fork out a few bucks for fast downloads but there are free alternatives. Hey! I love free stuff, so let's talk about those. 1. YouTube Go: This one is from Google, It's part of a lightweight apps family so it should run smoothly on any device. This app is basic; just watch, download and call it a day. Not only can videos be downloaded in seconds but can also be skimmed through to see if that's what you need. The only caveat though is you cannot download high-quality videos and downloaded videos cannot be transferred to PCs. Install Youtube Go 2. VidMate : I'm one of the billions of active users of YouTube. I usually don't stream videos, I download and enjoy them offline. So VidMate is my daily friend. VidMate enables its users to download from a wide range of sites includ...

Our smartphone's batteries can and will one day fail us. But there are a few things we can do to give them an extra life. So here are five ways to improve your battery's life. 1. Keep the battery charged between 10% and 90%. It's no risk to let it fully deplete or to fully charge, but keeping it juiced up between 10% and 90% will elongate its life. 2. If you don't live near a power socket, turn the battery saver on. Background processes will be reduced and the device's brightness will be lowered for you. You'll have more juice to do other activities. Just make sure to read the warning before using the feature. 3. You can even take things up a notch and turn the airplane mode on. All data connections will be stopped! On this mode, the battery will last you longer and charging it will take only a fraction of the normal time. 4. What about the use of lightweight apps? Try Facebook lite in place of a bulky, power-hungry Facebook app. Light variants ...

Taking a shortcut to do something is really cheating but not most of the time. In fact, we tech geeks, cheating is the best win for doing things. You don't have to be a tech savvy to operate your PC using shortcuts, you're saving time plus that's what everybody wants. So let's get started with those shortcuts you should sink your teeth into right this very second. 1. Taking A Screenshot: Taking a screenshot on our Smartphones is something we do almost every day, so while on a PC we can save some screen shots too, use this key combination Windows key + prt sc (near the delete key). 2. Navigating across multiple open apps: Well this is is clear, those apps should be open and navigating between them we use the combination alt + tab . There are some other ways, but this is a shortcut. 3. Permanently delete: This key combination shift + delete will permanently delete files, and they'll be gone for good. But you can move files to a recycling bin usi...

Most people buy their phones and never get it why they should have a Google Account. Well, it's about security and without that, you'll miss out. Losing a device is painful, and even worse if someone can have access to your data. Lay your worries to rest because we come with a way to avoid those painful moments. So let's get started. If your device is running the latest Android OS( Android 5.0 Lollipop or above) you are part of the mix. Even those on earlier versions of Android( Android 4.4 KitKat and below), we'll include some Info on how to safe guard yourself from prevailing times. The introduction of Android 5.0 came to the game with a security feature that blocks thieves from accessing your data and your device, even if the device is factory reset. You might be locked out of your device too, and that is if you don't know your Google Account; so keep reading along, you'll find a solution. Before explaining what goes on to Android 5.0 devices and ab...

My Vodacom Lesotho app has just been launched and its available on the PlayStore, despite having only 500 downloads( at the time of writing ), its one of those apps one must have. Vodacom subscribers have been notified about this app and below is why you must give it a try. Through the app, you can do everything that would be done via codes like *111#, *100# and *111*100# . It lets you check data, voice, SMS and account balance with single or no tap. It saves you from those long periods of taps and waiting times. There are bugs, and the app could sometimes not show anything at all, or maybe on slow phones like mine ( Vodacom SmartKika VE ). Its a shame since the app on their(Vodacom) devices is as bad as it could be. Recharging through this app is frictionless, and those who make a living out of this will win most customers. We can just hope the M-Pesa functionality to be implemented soon. It could save a lot of headaches and make smooth purchases to companies, we w...

Disabling anonymous apps from consuming data has been a long cry for many and finally!!! the remedy is here, but those apps that aim at remedying the problem won't magically save all your data but using them will tremendously save you from a data headache. Goodbye to frequently disabling mobile data. 1. Glasswire : Glasswire app doesn't disable apps from using mobile data but lets you view how much apps consume, so it will be clear which apps to keep an eye on. Data usage can be viewed at reasonable time frames, starting from 5 min all the way up to 90 days. The fun doesn't stop there, you get reminded once a limit has been reached, assuming it was initially set. There is a Windows software besides this Android app, for those who love to see how much data their desktops consume. The app is free to use and I never encountered any ads. 2. Network master : This one works more like Glasswire, it won't stop apps from using mobile data either. If all it does was tracki...

Valentine's day is around the corner, and that's obviously why everyone is talking about it. There is so much you've heard, and there is even more to hear; I am not gonna reinvent the wheel here, but this is some interesting news about Valentine's day in a form of Apps. Without any delays let's get right into it. 1. MusixMatch : Signing for your significant other is one of the things that can spice up the day, and lyrics displaying apps can help you become a professional singer in just few trials. MusixMatch app gets you all that, its interface is clean and pleasing to the eye. Simply open an app, play the song and lyrics will be display on the screen. An internet connection is required though. There are ads on a free app but updating to a pro version removes ads and also gives you the ability to save lyrics offline. There are a few alternatives but this one does what it's meant to and does it right. 2. Kamasutra : The day is special, and to no on...

Even though smartphones are walking their way up the ladder, PCs are a piece of tech that don't seem to die anyway. Editing photos, videos, music and doing more intensive tasks always find their way to bring us back to PCs. So, PCs still have their place in our life. Then following are Windows apps that will change the way you browse through your computer. 1. Films & TV Films & TV is a basic video app from Microsoft. With this you'll be able to create a nice looking collection by adding folders to an app, also those folders can be removed if need be. Picture-in-picture improves more on multitasking. Android Oreo, Apple TV are a few of those who brought picture-in-picture to consumers and Microsoft has officially caught up. This feature is useful to people who like to simultaneously watch videos while doing something different. It’s only for those on Windows 10 to try it out though, ouch! 2. VLC Media Player VLC Media Player is an open source media app form Vi...