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Plex has launched Watch Together, a new feature which lets you watch movies and TV shows together with friends far away. So, whether you want to watch on-demand content or something from your own library, you can now do so with the people you care about.
The COVID-19 pandemic, and subsequent lockdowns around the world to stop it spreading, have changed everything. Shops, bars, restaurants, and movie theaters have all closed their doors, leaving many of us at a loss for what to do for fun and relaxation.
Some people have turned to hosting quiz nights on Zoom or Houseparty. However, if that sounds too much like hard work for you, perhaps you would prefer to watch your favorite movie with friends. Which is where Plex’s new Watch Together feature comes in.
As announced in a post on the Plex Blog, Plex has launched Watch Together. As the name suggests, this lets you watch content on Plex with your family and friends. However, crucially in these troubled times, they don’t have to be in the same room as you.
Watch Together lets you watch content together with family and friends online. Whether it’s a free, on-demand movie or TV show, or content from your personal media library. And Plex will keep the content in sync for everyone, allowing you to sit back and relax.
To use Watch Together on Plex, just find the movie or TV show you want to watch, click the three-dot More menu, and select Watch Together. Then, just invite your friends and click Start. The content will play on everyone’s devices at the same time.
Everyone watching together can control playback, which means you need to be careful who you invite. Watch Together is supported on Android, iOS, tvOS, Fire TV, NVIDIA SHIELD, and Roku. Just update to the latest release to ensure compatibility.
Plex is keen to point out that this is currently only an experimental feature. So beware that there could be bugs and frustrations involved. Still, the company is actively seeking feedback, so why not give Watch Together a go and let Plex know what needs changing?
Plex isn’t the only platform to offer its users a way to watch content together with friends online. So, for those who are bored while stuck at home, here’s how to watch Netflix with friends far away and how to watch YouTube videos with people online.
Read the full article: You Can Now Watch Together on Plex
Getting on the web is expensive. In the United States, the average cost of a home internet connection is $60 per month. Don’t fancy paying all that money? Don’t worry; even if you don’t have a regular ISP, there are still ways to go online.
Here’s how to get Wi-Fi without an Internet Service Provider.
The best way to make sure you have the internet on your laptop at all times is to use a mobile hotspot.
Of course, there is an upfront cost of doing so—you will need to buy a hotspot device and subscribe to a mobile internet plan. Quite a few companies offer mobile hotspots.
There are three mobile hotspot models we particularly recommend:
Despite being a couple of years old, the Verizon Jetpack MiFi 8800L is probably still the best 4G hotspot available right now. It uses Qualcomm’s X20 modem and supports 11 LTE bands. It provides both 2.4 and 5GHz mobile networks, supports guest connections, and allows you to connect up to 15 devices to the network at once.
The device is only available through Verizon. You can get the device for $99 if you sign up for a two-year mobile internet contract. It is $199 if you buy the device contract-free.
The HTC 5G Hub is the best 5G mobile hotspot on the market.
The device has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 CPU, a Snapdragon X50 5G modem, 4GB of RAM, support for Bluetooth and Ethernet connections, all-day battery life, and the ability to connect up to 20 devices at the same time. It runs Android.
On the downside, 5G is still not available everywhere. If you’re looking for a hotspot that will work when you’re off the beaten path, the HTC 5G Hub might not be for you.
The MiFi 8000 (only available on Sprint in the US), can provide internet speeds of up to 1Gbps while you’re on-the-go.
The device will run for 24 hours on a single charge, supports guest connections, and offers an onboard VPN for added security.
Under the hood, you’ll find 4GB of RAM and the in-house MiFi OS2 operating system.
If you need a laptop internet while you’re traveling outside of the United States, you need a mobile hotspot and internet plan that both work internationally.
We like the Roaming Man U2 Global 4G Wi-Fi Hotspot. It works in more than 130 countries with prices of $8 to $10 per day.
Of course, at those prices, it is not a suitable domestic option. But if you’re on vacation and need to stay connected to home, it remains cheaper than using roaming internet on your smartphone.
If you don’t need regular mobile data and instead just need occasional access to the internet on your laptop, the fastest and easiest way to get online is often to tether your smartphone.
Tethering your smartphone or tablet does have two drawbacks.
If you have an Android device, you can enable tethering by heading to Settings > Network and internet > Hotspot and Tethering, then slide the toggle next to Wi-Fi Hotspot into the On position. iOS users need to go to Settings > Personal Hotspot and slide the toggle.
On both Android and iOS, you should set a new username and password to protect the security of your hotspot.
Depending on where you find yourself when you need to get internet without a provider, you might be able to jump on a nearby public Wi-Fi network. Libraries, coffee shops, restaurants, and transport hubs often have networks you can join.
You can find nearby free Wi-Fi using apps like Wi-Fi Master Key on Android, and Wi-Fi Finder on iOS.
Note: If you decide to join a public Wi-Fi network, make sure you take steps to ensure your security and privacy are both safe. If you would like to learn more, check out our article on how to spot fake public Wi-Fi run by hackers.
Download: Wi-Fi Master Key for Android (Free)
Download: Wi-Fi Finder for iOS (Free)
A Wi-Fi USB dongle, a.k.a., an “internet stick,” is a cheaper and more accessible version of a mobile hotspot. Instead of committing to an expensive long-term mobile internet plan, you can insert a standard 3G or 4G SIM card and use its data connection.
ZTE MF833V USB Dongle Adapter ZTE MF833V USB Dongle Adapter Buy Now On Amazon $59.99Because internet sticks for laptops are lighter and smaller than mobile hotspots, they are better suited for people who need a web connection while traveling. On the downside, don’t expect signal strength, Wi-Fi speed, or range to be as good as when using a hotspot device.
To learn more, check out our piece on the best Wi-Fi USB adaptors.
There’s a chance that someone else in your party might have an internet connection on their machine. For example, perhaps they have login credentials for a nearby private network, and you do not.
In those cases, you can share the bandwidth with a Windows or macOS machine.
To share an internet connection from a Windows computer, go to Settings > Network and internet > Mobile Hotspot. Choose the connection you want to share and slide the toggle into the On position.
If you need to share an internet connection from a macOS device, go to Apple > System Preferences > Internet Sharing. Choose the connection you want to share in the Share your connection from the drop-down menu, then select how you want to share the internet from the list of options underneath.
The best way to get Wi-Fi without an internet connection depends on where you are and how you want to use the connection.
People who do a lot of work on-the-go should consider a fully-fledged mobile hotspot. Occasional casual users might want to use tethering or buy an internet stick. In rural areas, you can get online through wireless internet.
If you would like more information about using Wi-Fi, check our articles on the different types of Wi-Fi security and how to fix slow Wi-Fi speeds.
Read the full article: How to Get Wi-Fi Without an Internet Service Provider: 5 Methods
Music makes the world go around, but do you actually know what it is? To really understand music, here are some of the best ways to learn music theory online for free.
If you love music but you never learned music theory, you’re doing yourself a great disservice. The more you understand the basics, the more you will appreciate your favorite songs and artists.
Do yourself a favor and use one of these great sites to learn a little bit more about what makes music what it is.
If you know nothing about music theory, this is the place to start. Ableton, a maker of musical instruments and a community for artists, created this course specifically for beginners to learn music theory for free.
The course takes you step by step through the different stages of making music. It’ll teach you the differences between drums, bass, chords, and melodies, and teach you the basics of beats, notes, and scales.
The whole exercise is interactive, which is great since you are learning by doing. Once you finish with the course, you can go on to advanced topics like major and minor scales, triads, and so on.
Ableton’s course is noteworthy for how easy to understand it is, and how quickly you will learn the nuances of music theory. And all you need is a web browser, nothing more.
Learning music is not just about what you read, it’s also about what you see. LightNote is the most beautiful site to learn the basics of music theory.
It’s a step-by-step tutorial to understand sound waves, harmony, scales, chords, and keys. The entire course is presented like an FAQ, answering the common questions that a beginner will have.
For example, while teaching harmony, it plays two pieces of music and asks why one sounds good while the other bad. And then it explains the answer, followed by a short test to see if you got it.
LightNote is not as in-depth as Ableton’s course is, but it is much easier for a newbie. There are eight free courses right now, with a few more that you need to pay for.
Musician Michael New has an innovative style to give free music theory lessons on YouTube. New uses the combination of a MIDI keyboard and a whiteboard to great effect.
He plays notes on the keyboard, and writes what he is explaining on the whiteboard. As the lesson continues, the whiteboard has the information you’ll always need in that lesson, perfectly complementing the keyboard it sits above.
As far as visually learning music goes, there’s nothing better you will see on the internet.
You should probably start with the Music Theory Fundamentals playlist, but check out the rest of the channel too. There’s plenty of great stuff, especially the “How Rhythm Works” playlist.
Even some accomplished musicians can’t read sheet music. What are those weird looking things anyway? Kevin Meixner is here to teach you all about it in a single web page at ReadSheetMusic.info.
That’s right, Meixner’s tutorial is so effective and thorough that he doesn’t need to drone on for pages upon pages. Every lesson comes with an audio file to better understand what he is talking about. You’ll learn everything from note durations to time signatures, and how to read or write it.
Take your time with Meixner’s lessons, even though it’s only one page. And once you’re done, try out his friend Jason Silver’s add-on tutorial on the basics of counting rhythm with sheet music. After that, test your new music sheet reading skills at Notation Training.
One of the oldest and easiest music learning websites, MusicTheory.net has taught millions of people, from beginners to pros. Divided into three sections, it caters to everything you’ll need.
Lessons is all about learning music theory. It covers basics, rhythm and meter, scales and key signatures, intervals, chords, diatonic chords, chord progressions, and Neapolitan chords. It’s almost a textbook and one of the best ways to learn music theory.
Exercises make you identify notes, chords, intervals, and signatures. It also has an excellent “ear training” section to listen to a sound and figure out the note, interval, scale, or chord. Tools have calculators for all types of musical needs, like a matrix calculator or a tempo tapper.
Music is primal, and you don’t need to know music theory to love a song. However, you’ll find that learning music theory greatly improves how much you appreciated what you are listening to. You’ll gain a whole new understanding of why a song you liked is that awesome.
Apart from learning music theory, the internet is also happy to teach you how to play music. From no-instrument things like singing and beatboxing to strumming the guitar, check out these musical skills you can learn online for free, with or without instruments.
Read the full article: The 5 Best Sites to Learn the Basics of Music Theory
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