Category Archives: Blog

Recording a Zoom meeting is a helpful way to stay organized. Being able to refer back to important information at any given moment is almost like having a digital notebook on hand to offer help when you need it.

Here’s what you need to do to record a Zoom meeting:

1. Open up Zoom and start a meeting.

2. In the meeting, find your control bar at the bottom of the window and click the “Record” button, the round button with a circle around it.

Credit: screengrab: zoom

3. You’ll get a notification telling you the meeting is being recorded. You can stop recording at any time by pressing “Pause/Stop Recording,” the square button with two lines (Pause) or a box (Stop) in it.

Credit: screengrab: zoom

4. Once the meeting is over, it will automatically save as an mp4 file that you can access on your computer or within your Zoom account.

5. To find it, navigate to your meetings page.

6. Instead of “Upcoming,” click “Recorded.” You’ll find your recorded meeting there.

The file will probably automatically be titled the date of the meeting or “[insert name here]’s Zoom meeting,” but you can change it to whatever will help you find it when you need it.

You can also schedule a meeting ahead of time and set it to record by scrolling down to “Meeting options” at the bottom of the page and clicking “Automatically record meeting on the local computer.”

Credit: screengrab: zoom

If you are not the host of the meeting and you want to record it, the host will have to give you permission to do so by:

1. Moving the cursor over a meeting participant’s video.

2. Clicking the three dots icon.

3. Clicking “Make Co-Host.”

Or…

1. Finding the control bar at the bottom of the meeting window.

2. Clicking “Participants.”

3. Hovering the cursor over the participant wanting to be a co-host.

4. Clicking “More.”

5. Clicking “Make Co-Host.”

That meeting participant will now have the ability to record the meeting using the same steps as above.

If you want to record a meeting without the host being present, the Zoom Help Center indicates you need to enable automatic Cloud Recording and schedule a meeting with the “Enable Join before host option selected.”

When you do this, recording will start when the first participant joins the meeting.

Magic: The Gathering is crossing over with Dungeons and Dragons, joining these two great houses like a giant tabletop nerd mecha once more. New Magic set Adventures in the Forgotten Realms will introduce iconic Dungeon and Dragons spells and monsters to the card game next month, the collaboration bringing over 261 new cards to the game (excluding lands).

Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons are both tabletop gaming giants — fantasy games boasting huge followings of dedicated fans. Wizards of the Coast has owned both since the company purchased Dungeon and Dragons‘ original publisher in 1997, and the two previously crossed over in Dungeon and Dragons‘ 2018 sourcebook Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravnica.

However, Adventures in the Forgotten Realms will be the first time Dungeons and Dragons‘ iconic spells and monsters will be brought into Magic‘s standard card sets.

Of course, there will also be interesting art variants for collectors to get excited about as well. All booster packs will contain cards with both the normal frame and showcase rulebook frames — those are your average Magic cards and the ones with Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual style art respectively. Art cards will only be in set boosters though, and cards with borderless frames will only be in collector boosters, so you’ll have to open a few of those if you want to pick them up.

In the lead up to Adventures in the Forgotten Realms’ release, Mashable can exclusively reveal two new Magic cards arriving in this Dungeons and Dragons inspired set: Baleful Beholder and Wish.

Baleful Beholder

Magic: The Gathering Adventures in the Forgotten Realms — Baleful Beholder
Credit: Wizards of the Coast

An iconic Dungeons and Dragons monster, the Beholder is a spherical chonky boy with numerous eyestalks capable of firing 10 different magical rays at random. Now introduced to Magic: The Gathering, Baleful Beholder is a bulky Common 6/5 Black Creature that costs six mana to play, including two Black.

It’s a hefty price to pay to get Baleful Beholder on the field, but this many-eyed nightmare orb isn’t just a big ol’ hard-hitting tank. When playing him, you also get to choose from one of two powerful effects.

I spy with my 50 billion eyes…
Credit: Lars Grant-West / Wizards of the Coast

The first is Antimagic Cone, which makes all of your enemies sacrifice one enchantment each. Though they get to choose which of their cards to give up, Antimagic Cone can still have a significant impact on the game — particularly if your opponents don’t have many enchantments to choose from.

Old school cool.
Credit: Justine Jones / Wizards of the coast

However, if there aren’t any enchantments bothering you, you may decide to go for Fear Ray instead. Fear Ray gives all creatures under your control menace until the end of the turn, meaning your opponents will have to use two defenders per creature in order to block your attacks. This can be particularly useful if you keep getting blocked by small, disposable creatures, or if your army is struggling to get past your opponent’s defences.

Wish

Credit: Wizards of the Coast

Wish is an absolutely ridiculous Rare Red Sorcery that costs only three mana to play, including one Red. Play it, and Wish will allow you to play any card you own from outside the game during the current turn. That’s right. Any card at all.

Of course you still have to pay your chosen card’s mana cost, which could be a tricky requirement to meet after paying for Wish. Even so, this card opens up a whole new realm of possibilities, and offers a ton of versatility for adapting to an opponent’s deck.

Building a Magic deck is a bit like playing scissors paper rock. A strategy which is strong against one type of player may be weak against another, and you just have to hope your tactics and build are enough to win you the day. Wish now offers a great answer to those situations where you’re longing to play that one perfect card that you know is just sitting unused in your collection.

Magic: The Gathering‘s Adventures in the Forgotten Realms set will release worldwide on July 23.

The “Live” feature on TikTok allows creators an effective way to engage with their viewers, grow their viewership, and if you’re 18 or older, potentially make a little bit of money.

But first, there are a few pre-reqs in order to have the ability to go live on TikTok.

1. Be 16 years old or older

2. Have at least 1,000 followers

If your account does not have at least 1,000 followers, the Live feature will not be available to you.

Creators between 16 and 18 with 1,000 followers cannot be given “gifts” with TikToks in-app currency, but they can still access the Live feature to stream and interact with their audiences.

Now that we’ve covered that, here’s how you can go live on TikTok:

1. Open your TikTok app.

2. Tap the plus sign (“Create”) button at the bottom of the screen.

Credit: screenshot / tiktok

3. At the bottom, swipe to LIVE.

4. Select an image and enter a title for your live stream.

5. When you’re ready, hit the “GO LIVE” button.

Tap “Go Live” to start a livestream on TikTok.
Credit: tiktok

You’re now live on TikTok! If you want to adjust your settings, tap the three dots icon at the bottom of your screen.

ExactlyNow go say hi to your fans.

A high school valedictorian’s speech was cut short when he began speaking about his experience as an LGBTQ teenager and his mental health struggles. Despite protest from his principal and pressure to stick to a pre-approved speech, he continued anyway.

Bryce Dershem graduated from Eastern Regional High School in Voorhees, New Jersey, on June 17. The 18-year-old adorned his graduation robe with a rainbow flag, and his cap with the Black Lives Matter fist superimposed on the trans flag’s stripes. He hoped his valedictorian address would inspire his classmates, who had completed high school amid a devastating pandemic and difficult remote learning.

Dershem started the speech by thanking his parents, teachers, and classmates, before bringing up his personal struggle with mental health and acceptance.

“After I came out as queer [in] freshman year, I felt so alone. I didn’t know who to turn to,” Dershem began. Then his microphone cut off.

In a video of the speech his father posted on YouTube, Dershem pauses. The school’s principal Robert Tull approaches the podium to replace the microphone with a working one, and takes Dershem’s notes with him as he leaves. Tull gestures to the administration-approved speech before walking away from the podium.

Dershem told the Philadelphia Inquirer that Tull “crumped [the speech] up into a ball,” pointed to the approved speech, and said, “You read this, or nothing else.”

“At this point I’m about to cry,” Dershem told the Inquirer.

Dershem believes Tull and the school’s administrators intentionally cut off his microphone in an effort to censor him in favor of the approved speech, which did not mention his LGBTQ identity, recovery from anorexia, or discussion of mental health issues. Tull repeatedly pressured Dershem to rewrite his speech, and had him work with the school’s head of the English department, Dershem told the Washington Post.

“They started saying things like, ‘This speech is not my therapy session,'” he added in an interview with the Washington Post.

Dershem told the Philadelphia Inquirer that the school’s administration claimed any discussion of LGBTQ issues “would just exclude people.”

“I don’t think it is really exclusionary to say one is queer.”

“But that wasn’t my message at all, and I don’t think it is really exclusionary to say one is queer,” Dershem continued.

Audience members encouraged Dershem to continue speaking as Tull replaced his microphone. Dershem, who memorized his original speech, continued.

“As I was saying … After I came out as queer freshman year, I felt so alone,” he said. “I didn’t know who to turn to for support, for guidance, for a hug. Every day at school I outwardly smiled while inwardly questioning how we were supposed to link the different facets of our identities.”

Eastern Camden County Regional School District superintendent Robert Cloutier denies the district asked students to remove mentions of their personal identity in speeches.

“Every year, all student speakers are assisted in shaping the speech, and all student speeches — which are agreed upon and approved in advance — are kept in the binder on the podium for the principal to conduct the graduation ceremony,” Cloutier said in a statement to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

He added that the district “focused on social-emotional wellness for the year’s reopening plan” and is “committed to the diversity and inclusion initiatives” established by New Jersey’s Department of Education.

But Dershem believes Cloutier’s statement is disingenuous, and alleged that the administration specifically pressured him to remove references to being queer and recovering in mental health treatment.

“If that were true, would they have tried to censor me and play it off as a mic change?” Dershem asked in a rhetoric statement to the Philadelphia Inquirer. “If that were true, [Tull] wouldn’t have crumpled a speech I worked months on…in front of my face in front of an audience of 2,000 people.”

The use of valedictorian speeches as vehicles for social commentary is on the rise. Paxton Smith, Lake Highlands High School’s valedictorian in Dallas, Texas, gave a charged address on the importance of abortion access in wake of recent restrictions signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbot.

“I am terrified that if my contraceptives fail, I am terrified that if I am raped, then my hopes and aspirations and dreams and efforts for my future will no longer matter,” Smith voiced. “I hope that you can feel how gut-wrenching that is. I hope you can feel how dehumanizing it is to have the autonomy over your own body taken away from you.”

Dershem’s speech was met with support from his classmates, teachers, and even New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who tweeted his encouragement for “speaking truth to power.”

Tweet may have been deleted

Dershem said a teacher whose son died by suicide during the pandemic was especially touched by his speech.

“She hugged me and said that her son had passed away due to suicide over quarantine and my speech had just meant so much to her, and she really wished he had gotten to hear it, too,” Dershem told the Washington Post. “I thought, ‘This is the one person — this is the one person that I made feel less alone in that audience.’ That was everything for me.”

The great Facebook breakup, it seems, is not to be. At least not yet.

It was only in late December that the Federal Trade Commission alleged in a lawsuit that Facebook was a monopoly and that it deserved to be broken up into its constituent parts of Instagram and WhatsApp. The complaint, backed by attorneys general from 48 states, was dismissed Monday by a federal court.

At the heart of the court’s decision Monday is the argument that the FTC failed to conclusively make its case.

“The FTC has failed to plead enough facts to plausibly establish a necessary element of all of its Section 2 claims — namely, that Facebook has monopoly power in the market for Personal Social Networking (PSN) Services,” reads the decision.

Monday’s ruling effectively lets Facebook off the hook for what the FTC called “illegally maintaining its personal social networking monopoly through a years-long course of anticompetitive conduct.”

Sarah Miller, the executive director of the American Economic Liberties Project, a nonprofit anti-monopoly lobbying group, argued that the FTC and the attorneys general need to step up their respective games in light of Monday’s decision.

“The coalition of state attorneys general should appeal today’s decision and the Federal Trade Commission should quickly submit an amended complaint,” she wrote in a statement to the press.

We reached out to Facebook for comment on Monday’s decision, and in response the company made it clear it’s delighted by the news.

“We are pleased that today’s decisions recognize the defects in the government complaints filed against Facebook,” responded a Facebook spokesperson in a prepared statement.

SEE ALSO: How to check if hackers are sharing your Facebook data

Which, of course Facebook is pleased. One substantial but ultimately insignificant fine notwithstanding, Facebook has a long history of avoiding real consequences for its many missteps — be they accidental or otherwise.

While Monday’s decision continues Facebook’s long winning streak — and everyone else’s losing one — all hope is not lost.

The court notably dismissed the specific complaint, not the case itself. In other words, the FTC can plead its case again. Hopefully it does so, and next time comes better prepared.

When all-time heat records break, they usually break by a degree or so. Maybe two.

The heat wave in the Pacific Northwest and beyond, however, smashed Portland’s all-time record by a whopping four degrees Fahrenheit (it may rise more), and in some places the extreme episode broke all-time records by 10 degrees.

“It’s a staggering event,” explained Jeff Weber, a research meteorologist at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, an organization that facilitates and performs earth science.

What happened?

Meteorologists and atmospheric scientists already knew the heat would be oppressive and challenge all sorts of records. A potent combination of events came together: A hot weather pattern (called a heat dome) settled over the region, with temperatures also boosted some 2 degrees F (or perhaps much more) by the continuously warming Western climate (it’s significantly hotter than it was 100 years ago). What’s more, nearly 80 percent of the Pacific Northwest is in drought, and drought exacerbates heat.

But that’s not all. Another weather factor came into play and kicked things up a notch. Dry winds, traveling downslope from the east to west, amplified the heat. These type of winds are commonly known to southern Californians as “Santa Ana winds,” but have different names in different places. Generally, the winds travel down from higher elevations (like mountains in eastern Oregon) and the sinking air compresses, creating even more heat in lower areas, like Portland. (This is also called “compressional heating.”)

“It’s the perfect storm.”

Those hot winds have amplified what already was an exceptional heat event, explained Weber. Many cooler coastal areas weren’t even spared.

“It’s the perfect storm,” said Weber.

Tweet may have been deleted

Tweet may have been deleted

The resulting temperatures are unparalleled in recorded history in the Pacific Northwest. Many people, and buildings, are ill-prepared for this kind of heat. Seattle, for example, is the least air-conditioned metro area in the U.S., according to The Seattle Times.

“It’s hitting an area where people don’t have AC,” noted Weber. “The discomfort level for the population is just overwhelming.” Indeed, illnesses from heat spiked in the Portland region during the extreme weather. Heat illness is serious: Among weather events in the U.S., extreme heat waves kill the most people.

Few heat waves are as anomalous as this Pacific Northwest heat event. As noted above, strong meteorological and climatic events came together at June’s end. But, overall, today’s heat or high temperature records now dominate cold or lower records as the globe warms. For example, twice as many daily heat records are set as cold records.

Tweet may have been deleted

Tweet may have been deleted

Extreme events, hot or cold, happen normally. But climate scientists expect heat waves to grow more intense in a warmer world.

“Climate change is making extreme heat waves even more extreme and common,” Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA and the National Center for Atmospheric Research, told Mashable last week, before the record-breaking heat set in.

Honda announced its first all-electric vehicle, the Prologue, on Monday.

Slated to arrive by early 2024, the SUV will be equipped with General Motors’ Ultium battery platform, which will also be used in the upcoming GMC Hummer EV supertruck and SUV.

The Prologue helps Honda get closer to its goal of selling only zero-emission vehicles in North America by 2040. Acura, Honda’s luxury brand, will also release an electric SUV in 2024, its first EV ever.

Currently Honda only offers hybrids and plug-in hybrid options, like the Insight and Clarity, respectively. After 2024, Honda plans to launch its own line of EVs separate from the GM partnership.

Honda has a separate website for the Prologue and promised more details (and hopefully some photos) of the EV in the coming months.

Not shy? Find yourself here by mistake? Perhaps you’d like our roundup of the best hookup sites instead.

Online dating is kind of the best thing that ever happened to introverts.

Now, you can scan for a potential mate without ever leaving the comfort zone that is your couch. Of course, you’ll eventually need to get up and go on a date. But hey, it’s better than trying to find a single cutie in the dive bar crowd or approaching a random person in a coffee shop looking like the “two fingers touching” meme guy.

Being introverted doesn’t necessarily mean you’re shy, but if you are a little more reserved than outgoing, dating apps can be a great way to make a first move without feeling like you’re putting yourself out there too much, too fast.

Do dating sites for introverts even exist?

Tinder seems to be the go-to for anyone dabbling with online dating, but it’s not automatically an easy place to socialize just because it’s behind a screen. It’s crowded, full of users with unspecified intentions, and has more going on than most introverts will probably feel like dealing with. If endless swiping and next to no filters have you feeling more discouraged than hopeful, it doesn’t mean you’re too much of an introvert for online dating — maybe all you need is a dating site that gives you more control and the ability to take things at your own pace.

If the idea of making conversation in large groups or going up to strangers is your personal idea of hell, there are dating services out there that can cater to your specific needs. Have a hard time coming up with the perfect first line? There’s an app for that. Prefer to make meaningful connections without revealing what you look like? We found a few websites with features that can let you do that too. 

What are the best dating sites for introverts?

To help you heighten your odds of finding the person to match your awesomeness, we rounded up 13 of the best dating sites for introverts just like you. There are even a couple specifically for hooking up. (Hey, just because you’re introverted doesn’t mean you don’t like to get it on. We see you.)

Looking to add a little personal touch to your WhatsApp? Guess what: You can change your chat background to anything you want. Here’s how:

1. In WhatsApp, navigate to your settings (the gear icon on the bottom right).

2. Tap “Chats.”

3. On the next page, tap “Chat Wallpaper” at the top.

4. Tap “Choose Light Mode Wallpaper” at the top (or “Choose Dark Mode Wallpaper,” depending on which mode you use WhatsApp on).

5. Choose which category of background you want. You can pick “Bright,” “Dark,” “Solid Colors,” or even a custom photo from your phone’s gallery. Just ensure you’ve given WhatsApp access to your photos in your phone’s WhatsApp settings. The app may also prompt you to do so.

Credit: screenshot / Whatsapp

6. Select the photo you want. WhatsApp will give you a preview image and you can adjust it to your liking.

7. Tap “Set” on the bottom right. The photo you chose will now appear on all your chat backgrounds.

You can also change the specific chat background for each individual contact. To do that:

1. Select the contact/chat thread for which you want to change the background.

2. At the top, tap the contact’s name.

3. Tap the “Wallpaper & Sound” option, marked by a pink icon.

4. Tap “Choose a New Wallpaper” and you’ll be given the same options as above: Bright, Dark, Solid Colors, or a custom photo. Again, ensure you’ve allowed WhatsApp access to your photos if you want to pick a custom photo from your gallery.

5. Adjust the image to your liking on the preview page.

6. Tap “Set” on the bottom right. The photo you chose will now appear as the chat background for that specific contact.

It’s summer, your office is still doing the remote thing, and you’re ready to hit the road. You’ll soon be firing off emails at your campsite and setting up a makeshift office in your van by the beach, but there’s a downside to this fancy-free mobile lifestyle. As you likely know, your personal information is basically a free-for-all whenever you use your devices over an unsecured network — like the WiFi at a coffeeshop or an airport. So before you hit it, check out these tips and get your devices road-ready.

Create stealth passwords

It seems obvious, but the power of a strong password is not to be underestimated — especially when you’re traveling and someone might be snooping over your shoulder. Create passwords that contain a combination of letters, numbers, and characters — the days of using your pet’s name are so over — and you ideally want to use a different password for every site or app. That’s a lot of passwords, we know, but a password manager can make it a no-brainer.

Block phishers in their tracks

It’s no surprise that phishing is on the rise, and you’re especially vulnerable while traveling. While you can sometimes weed out those wonky emails with their bad grammar giveaways, what if you didn’t have to deal with them at all? A good cybersecurity software like Malwarebytes will tackle phishing, malware, and even ransomware on Windows, Mac, and Chromebook. The Premium subscription starts at $39.99 per year — a small price to pay for not getting hacked.

Use secure networks when you can

It’s tempting to hop on the free public WiFi when you’re traveling, but it’s even more important to remember that unsecure networks offer up your personal data to any hacker out there who wants it. If you end up camping out of range for your hotspot or if you simply must use your hotel’s “guest” WiFi, be sure to save the online banking and shopping until you’re back home.

Get a VPN

If you want to hop on any WiFi network from the road and not give it a second thought, a virtual private network, or VPN, can be a real lifesaver. A VPN is basically like your own private internet connection. It acts as an intermediary between your computer and the internet, providing an encrypted tunnel that protects you from anyone who wants to spy on you. One tradeoff for using a VPN is often slower internet, but Malwarebytes Privacy VPN offers pretty slick browsing speeds.

Dial in your phone security

While you’re planning your on-the-go security strategy, don’t forget about your phone. How many times a day do you use it to check your work email and basically function? It’s perfectly legal for your mobile service carrier to monitor your internet activity and sell it for advertising purposes. If you don’t want this — and who does — using a VPN on your phone in addition to your laptop will protect you against those intrusions. A good anti-malware software will offer you the same VPN privacy boosts on your iOS or Android phone and block annoying spam calls and texts as an added perk.

Sign up for a 7-day free trial Malwarebytes Privacy VPN and protect your data — now available for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS.