It comes in 2 versions, Standards (with disk slot) and Digital (without disk slot). Technically, lots of improvements were made on the console compared to the PS4 predecessor in terms of resolution, speed, and processing power.

One thing I don’t get is the low internal storage capacity. Downloading 4-5 games can fill up the 825GB internal HD. Most games nowadays need at least 16-20GB for basic gameplay and an additional 80-100GB for full play. So it will be annoying managing and plugging the additional external storage devices.

Transferring your games and data from PS4 to PS5 is quite easy and straightforward. All you need is to have both consoles on the same wifi and connected together with a LAN cable. The migration process is automatic and needs a few hours.

Although we updated and upgraded all the games, experiencing the full potential of the PS5 might need a bit of time for game makers to upgrade their games to support 120fps in order for us to enjoy the graphics to the max.

The post Sony PS5: A Stormtrooper In Your Living Room appeared first on Techie Dad - Creative Technologist.

Do you own a mobile device? Do you take pictures and videos? Do you chat with other people? Do you send/receive texts, videos, or images? Do you have social media accounts? Then, just like everyone, your privacy is at risk?

The biggest threat to our cyber-security is ourselves. The way we handle our mobile devices and manage the content on these devices makes all the difference.

Here Are a Few Tips to Better Protect Your Online Presence:

1- Password Protect Your Mobile Device!

Limit access to your mobile devices, and don’t share your password.
Choose a complex password, activate face-ID, enable the wipe-my-phone feature to auto-erase your phone after numerous failed password attempts.

2- Do Not Share Your iCloud, Google Account Passwords!

Your iCloud password (iPhone) or your Google Password is not just used to set up your mobile device, this is your master password.
Sharing this password means giving remote access to all your personal data: Picture, contacts, chats, files, cloud storage, and more. Sharing this password is like giving your home keys to a complete stranger.

3- Clear Your Phone Before Sending it for Repair!

I’ve seen people share their passwords with the phone repair guy!
If you absolutely have to share your device, make sure to remove all your pics, delete chats/notes, and log out of social media apps before sharing your mobile device. Reset your passwords directly after retrieving your phone and set up two-factor authentication.

4- Stop Saving Your Passwords on Notes and Memo Apps!

Nothing drives me crazy more than seeing people’s passwords unsecured and publicly displayed on their devices. People just don’t realize that their privacy, confidentiality, and money are at risk. Passwords should never be stored on the notes and memo apps but rather on specialized secure software (i.e., 1Password, Lastpass, Dashlane, etc.).

Here are a few tips on how to better choose a password:

– Stop using 123456″ or “password” as your password.
– Don’t use your name, names of your family members or birthdays
– Passwords should be at least 8-10 digits long. Make sure you are using lowercase, uppercase, and numbers together. example: Tyi8r32wQ$#@s
– Don’t use the same password across your different accounts
– Use random passwords generated by your password managers
– Use 2 step password protection when available
– Update and change your password regularly
– Use a password management solution/app (more details here)

5- Do Not Share Sensitive Pictures/Videos!

If your photo/video is of sensitive nature, do not share it with anyone, not even with your close friends. Any picture that is shared from your device is at risk of becoming public.
Make sure to regularly download photos from your phone and archive them on your computer, don’t keep all your original pics on your mobile device.

6- Don’t Connect Your Phone to Other People’s Computers!

Many people still don’t know how to download pictures from their devices, they might give their phone to a friend to download the images. This means that for a certain amount of time, that person has full access to your device and data.

7- Nothing is Private!

Private Groups or Chats are not so confidential, after all.
Let’s just agree that private chats are not so secure. What do you do when someone on the group itself screenshots the content of the conversation.

If you really have to engage in a private chat, then make sure you are chatting with a trusted person. Remember to use secure apps like Telegram or Signal. The conversations in these apps are encrypted and can be set to auto-delete after a certain amount of time.

Remember to regularly clear and delete unused, old, or confidential chats.

8- WhatsApp, Telegram, or Signal?

All three apps are secure and encrypted end-to-end. But again, nothing is ever guaranteed. WhatsApp is safe and practical for all our daily usages. But, if you are looking for that extra level of security, Telegram offers a secure voice calling system that supports multiple callers. While Signal has kick*ss secure chatting platform.

9- Protect Your Credit Card Information!

Keep your credit card information safe. It is extremely dangerous to photograph your credit card and share it via WhatsApp. Never email your credit card information. Never write your credit card details on note apps.

10- Beware of Hackers and Phishing Emails!

Don’t fall for scam emails. We regularly receive emails and messages saying that our accounts got hacked and that we need to “Urgently” click here to reset our passwords. Before you click, make sure to check that the sender is a legitimate account. For example, an authentic email from Apple would be: support@apple.com – while a fake mail would be (for example) from email support@appleicloudaccounts.com

In Short:
Delete scam emails, don’t click on suspicious links, and don’t share usernames and passwords.

The post 10 Tips to Better Protect Your Online Privacy appeared first on Techie Dad - Creative Technologist.

Jordan is one of the greatest living-brands and can be labeled the father of modern-day influencers.

Everyone knows Michael Jordan, whether they were old enough (like me) to have seen him play back in the 90’s or a teenager that queues in front of a store to get the latest pair of Jordans.

Back in the 90’s, there was no Facebook, no Instagram, no Snapchat and no Twitter. Way before the Social Media era, Jordan became the most prominent and global influencer, he turned into a walking brand. Whatever shop/logo was seen in the background of any photo of Jordan, became an instant worldwide success.

Products flocked to be part of his success, and Jordan turned into a household name. His face, his gravity-defying flying silhouette logo, or his Chicago Bulls number “23” was on practically every printable surface you can imagine. All brands wanted to associate their names with his, but it was Nike that got the best deal in town and established the Jordan / Air Jordan brand.

Today, MJ has a follower base of around 30M across his official social media channels (these accounts mainly represent the business/retail part). This is not a lot compared to some famous stars. But, unlike any other celebrity, Jordan does not need social media to be famous or stay famous.

Succesful brands = Highly Emotional / Respected brands

Today, no brand can surpass the challenge of time and stay relevant for so long without being highly respected and loved, and Jordan is one of the most respected and loved brands in the world.

Michael Jordan did all this without any social media support, can you just imagine if social media existed when he was still playing?

The post Michael Jordan: the Greatest “Influencer” of all Time appeared first on Techie Dad - Creative Technologist.

Watch below video (Arabic)

The post What is the Momo Challenge? appeared first on Techie Dad - Creative Technologist.

Unfortunately, in Lebanon and across several surrounding countries, violent behavior against children is still tolerated and somehow still considered as part the cultural values and norms in the upbringing of children.

Every one of us has a childhood story to tell that includes some form of violence. We usually recall these stories in a funny way over family dinners or with friends.

But, not everyone has the luxury to recall these memories in a positive way. There is a good portion of the society that has been scarred for life by a supposedly loved one. If you look around you, I’m sure you know or you will find many people with heartbreaking and scary stories of extreme violence and abuse from parents against children.

We all want what is best for our kids, and we are all challenged by the everyday life obstacles and worries. But, violence should not be a tool in order to force our children to better perform or behave. Remember our behavior will stay with them forever and might even transition in the future to their kids.

We are responsible for bringing these children into this world, we owe them love, guidance, support and defenitely not violence.

Follow UNICEF’s pages on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

#ENDViolence

The post UNICEF – End Violence Against Children Campaign appeared first on Techie Dad - Creative Technologist.

As a Lebanese, this triggered a few “HOW” questions of my own, hoping that Google can help me find some answers:

– How is it that with each year forward, Lebanon moves several years backward?
– How can we get electricity, water, and internet at the same time?
– How did we allow the level of corruption in government to reach a point of no return?
– How can politicians understand that they are public servants and not public lords?
– How can my little girl have the same opportunities in life as her brother in this macho patriarchal society?
– How can religion stop affecting every single civil decision we take?
– How are we still paying two bills for everything? One for government and another for neighborhood service provider.
– How can we elect people for a four-year term and prevent them from forcefully staying in power for nine years?
– How are we aiming to extract oil and gas from the deep sea, when we can’t remove the garbage from the streets?
– How is it still possible that after many years, dozens of protests, and hundreds of sick people, the garbage situation and – the pollution level is worse than ever?
– How can we drink noncontaminated water?
– How are we still calling Lebanon a green country when there is not one green space left?
– How is it that Lebanese are model citizens outside the country, while in Lebanon they fail to respect any law?
– How can we stop texting while driving and endangering other people’s lives?
– How is it that our streets are the most dangerous in the world? They are in terrible conditions and not lit at night?
– How are we still burning our trash and dumping the garbage in the sea?
– How is it possible that we still don’t have high-speed internet in 2018?

The list can go on and on, but the biggest question remains:

How are we still letting all these things happen again and again? I guess we can only blame ourselves. In physics, they say that for every action, there’s an equal an opposite reaction.

We are living the consequence of our actions, if we vote for the same people, we will always get the same results.

How can history not repeat itself in 2018? It’s up to you and me.

The post How Can We Save Our Country? Does Google Have An Answer? appeared first on Techie Dad - Creative Technologist.

As of today, Wissam will be hosting “Ridiculousness Arabia – Season 2” on Comedy Central Arabia. He will be the first Lebanese comedian to host a show on this channel.

Comedy Central was the birth place of great stars and shows, i.e., The Colbert Report with Stephen Colbert, The Daily Show with John Stewart, Key & Peele, Chapelle’s Show with David Chappelle, The Sarah Silverman Program, South Park and more.

Wissam started writing and filming his comedy at an early age; he was creating in-your-face, funny, and satirical work on his youtube channel and sharing them on social media.

Wissam’s comedy makes fun of social situations, issues, and agency ads, in a funny and professional way. He created shows like “Lebanese Ads: F@#k Logic,” “Doppelganger,” “3mela B Baytak”, “Walla?” and my personal favorite “Lebanese Father and Son.”

Follow Wissam on his Channels:
Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube

Don’t miss “Ridiculousness Arabia – Season 2” on Comedy Central Arabia. Wishing Wissam all the best on his new adventure, make us proud.

The post Featured Talent: Wissam Kamal on Comedy Central Arabia appeared first on Techie Dad - Creative Technologist.

Whatever you do, it is always about providing your children with the best education in order to prepare them for the future.

Today, education is not a luxury, it is a basic human right. No child is supposed to grow up without having the opportunity to go to school. Of course, not every parent can afford to send their kids to private schools. But a lot of the public schools are as good as their private counterparts, in many cases, the instructors and the academic programs are the same. It is also important to note that Lebanese kids under the age of 15 are admited to public schools for free.

Now, more than ever, Lebanese families are facing financial difficulties leaving many of them with the unfortunate decision to drop their kids out of school. Other kids are also forced to leave school after the unfortunate loss of a parent and their inability to pay their tuitions.

On a parallel note, we should not of the refugee kids, these abandoned little children that we see on TV, we come across them at every intersection, they are sitting at the edge of the road waiting for the red light to approach you and ask for money. These kids should not be on the street, we cannot get used to seeing them begging for money. They need to be in school, they need to have a decent education, they need to have a better tomorrow.

Unicef and the Ministry of Education launched a social campaign called #AbtalAlMadrasa in order to raise awareness about the importance of education. We all agree and approve about the importance of education for all, it’s time to take action and do something to help out.
check the video below:

Follow the Unicef Lebanon accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) and help build a better future for these kids.

The post Unicef’s New Campaign: A Child’s Education Is A Basic Human Right appeared first on Techie Dad - Creative Technologist.

The beautiful thing about photography is that is mostly a personal experience, most people take photos just for the love of it. Capturing a beautiful image can be a fulfilling and proud moment even for the most amateur photographer using a smartphone.

The post Featured Talent: Moophz.com – The Night Sky Like You’ve Never Seen Before appeared first on Techie Dad - Creative Technologist.

Samar Maalouf is the morning talk show host of “Sabah El Mada” on “Sawt El Mada” (92.5, 92.7 & 92.9 FM). Her segment is a combination of entertaining, informative and most importantly social content.

Every now and then, Samar invites me as a guest on her show whenever she is discussing topics related to the internet and social media.

To be honest, I was surprised to see the immense reach she has and the amount of engagement she gets from her audience. People trust that she will get their voices heard, and her team does a fantastic job in following up on people issues with the relevant parties.

I met Samar over a digital gathering a while back, and we got into a conversation about the creation process of Arabic and Lebanese content. I was happy to see someone pushing to create original and creative localized content versus taking the easy way of adapting foreign material. She was talking out of experience as she previously worked as an editor in chief of several regional online publications.

After graduating from the Lebanese University with a degree in Radio & TV, she hosted her own morning show at radio “Noujoum Loubnan”. She later moved to “Sawt El Mousika” where she produced and presented different talk shows. In addition to that Samar acted in several Lebanese TV series and plays such as Familia, Hawa2 Fil Tarikh, Mitl El Kizeb, as well as being a voice over talent.

In parallel to all the above, Samar is currently the Vice President of “Opera Lebanon” a first of its kind Opera in Arabic. When she told me about the project I thought it was a crazy stunt to have Opera performances in Arabic, but it is truly one of a kind performance, and everyone should watch it.

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