Posts from Online Tech Tips for 10/18/2019

In this issue: How To Control Your Xbox One With a Smart Assistant - [View in browser]( Thursday, October 17, 2019 How To Control Your Xbox One With a Smart Assistant by Patrick Hearn | [Online Tech Tips]( The Xbox One might be one of the strongest gaming consoles on the market (especially if you have the Xbox One X), but for many people it’s also a way to consume media. Through Xbox, you can watch Netflix, Hulu, and Crunchyroll to your heart’s content. You can stream music and watch YouTube. All it takes is downloading the apps to your machine and navigating to them with your controller. Now you have another option – smart assistants. Through Amazon Alexa, Google Home and Cortana, you can turn your Xbox on and off, start apps, control the volume, and much more. Some of these services are still in beta, which means all the bugs haven’t been worked out, but early results are promising. Here’s how you can connect your Xbox One to your smart assistant and try them out for yourself. How To Connect & Control Xbox One With Alexa In our tests, we found the Amazon Echo to be one of the easiest devices to connect with the Xbox One. - Power on your Xbox One console and sign into your account. - Open System > Settings > Kinect & devices > Digital Assistants. - Click the check box to allow digital assistants to connect to the Xbox One. - Open the Alexa app on your phone and search for Xbox in the Skills & Games section. - Tap Enable to Use. - Once you do this, a series of on-screen instructions will help you pair your Xbox One and your Amazon Echo devices. To control your Xbox One, you’ll start by saying Alexa, tell Xbox to… and then follow your command. You can also say ask Xbox. Alexa gives you the ability to start and stop video, turn the volume up and down, launch apps and games, and much more. If you aren’t sure what else you can do, you can even ask Alexa herself with Alexa, ask Xbox what I can say. When you set up the device, its default name will be Xbox, but you can change that name to something like Living Room Xbox or Bedroom Xbox if you want more specificity. This is even more important if you have more than one Xbox One that you want to use Alexa with. The coolest part (in our opinion anyway) is that if you recently used your Xbox and you don’t have any other devices paired with Alexa, you can drop the word “Xbox” from the phrase and just give the command. For example, Alexa, play or Alexa, launch Hulu. How To Connect & Control Xbox One With Google Home The integration between Google Assistant/Home and Xbox One is still new. In fact, the public beta really only started at the end of September. There are still a few bugs to work out, so you might run into trouble setting up this functionality, but it does work. In our experience, Google Home gave a warning that it could not pair with the Xbox One, but the console appeared in the linked devices list and could be controlled via Google Assistant. - The first step to getting started is to join the[Google Group]( with the Google account linked to your Google Home or Assistant. - Next, power on your Xbox. - Open System > Settings > Kinect & devices > Digital Assistants. - Click the check box to allow digital assistants to connect to the Xbox One. - Within your Google Home app, tap Add > Set up device > Have something already set up? - Search for [beta] Xbox and select it. - Sign in with your Microsoft account. - A series of on-screen instructions will guide you through pairing the device. You will be able to choose what room you want to put the console in, change the device name, and much more. The beta test for this functionality is only available in English, but Microsoft plans to broaden language support when the full version releases later in the year. Google Assistant can do to the Xbox everything Alexa can do, and the commands are quite similar. Just say, Hey Google, pause on Xbox or Hey Google, take a screenshot on Xbox. How To Connect & Control Xbox One With Cortana The cool thing about Cortana is that it is built into the Xbox One. If you have a headset, you can enable it and use the functionality mid-game. However, you can also download the Cortana app on your Android or iOS device and control the Xbox One that way, too. How To Enable Cortana On The Console If you want to use the built-in Cortana function instead of going through a secondary device, go to Settings > All Settings > System > Cortana Settings. You will be prompted to enable the assistant on the device. Agree to the terms of service and you’re good to go. Just say Hey Cortana to activate her. Cortana is only available in some regions and more features are supported in the United States than in other countries. The full functionality may expand to other countries, but this has not yet been confirmed. How To Use Cortana Through a Mobile Device If you don’t want a microphone or headset plugged into your console all the time, another way to control the Xbox One is through Cortana on a mobile device. - Go to your app store and download the Cortana app. - Power on your Xbox and sign in. - Open System > Settings > Kinect & devices > Digital Assistants. - Click the check box to allow digital assistants to connect to the Xbox One. - Open the Cortana app on your mobile device and sign in or say, Hey Cortana, pair my Xbox. - If you used your mobile device, sign in with the Microsoft account you have linked to your Xbox One. If you used Cortana’s voice command, it should pair automatically. Once you’ve done this, you’ll be ready to go. Cortana has the same functionality as the other two smart assistants, but she might be the go-to option for hardcore Halo fans simply because of her name. You may also like these other posts from OTT: [10 Essential WordPress Plugins For a Small Business Website]( [LibreOffice vs Microsoft Office – Which Is Best For You?]( [How To Use ADB Wirelessly On Your Android]( [How To Connect Your Google Home To Your TV]( [How To Write Professional Emails In Under 5 Minutes]( 5 Easy Ways to Make Money Online - [View in browser]( Thursday, October 17, 2019 5 Easy Ways to Make Money Online by Saphia Lanier | [Online Tech Tips]( The idea of being able to work from anywhere you have internet access is appealing to millions of people. While the concept of making money online is nice, turning this into a reality can be challenging. Most people grew up with parents working in office, trade, and service jobs that required them to be present physically. However, today people are cutting ties with tradition and working remotely. Do you want to do the same? Then check out the easiest, cheapest legal ways to make money online. Go Freelance Freelancing is the way to go if you’re looking to use your skill to make money online (without upfront costs). This is when you work for clients who hire you for one-off or regular gigs. You’re not an employee, so there are no taxes taken from your earnings. This means you’ll have to do taxes yourself – but that’s a small trade-off when you have the power to work wherever and for whomever you want. So how do you become a freelancer? If you have a computer and internet, then you’re already equipped. Here’s a quick list of skills you can turn into a freelance career: - Writing/Editing: Write or edit content for blogs, websites, e-books, paperback books, newsletters, etc. - Programming: Code video games, applications, and software for startups and established companies. - Accounting/Bookkeeping: Manage the finances of individuals and businesses. - Online Tutorials: Teach others what you know (lifestyle, health, business, parenting, etc.) Whatever skill you have, you can likely offer it as a service digitally. You can find potential clients on Craigslist, [LinkedIn]( and other social media platforms. Use Robo-Advisors To Invest Not everyone’s cut out for Wall Street. All the noise and confusion on the floor of the pit can be quite intimidating. Plus, a lot of folks go into it without earning anything, or worse, losing it all. So a safer way to jump into investing without high risk or fear is to use robo-advisors. These AI use an algorithm to advise you on the best investments to make. The fees are also nominal, sitting somewhere between $0.25 annually for accounts over $5,000 and $1 per month for accounts under $5,000. Here are several to check out: - [Betterment]( - [Wealthfront]( - [Acorns]( Now, what if you don’t have a lot of money to invest? Not to worry – you can start with as little as $5. Think of it as flipping your spare change into hundreds. Also, with Acorns, you get a Visa card that invests in you each time you shop with it – pretty cool, huh? Become a Virtual Assistant Are you good at conducting research, making calls, setting appointments, and organizing your day-to-day life? Then there’s someone out there who could use your services. As a virtual assistant, you help businesses and entrepreneurs with small tasks, like booking flights, managing their schedule, and sending business-related emails. So if you have a knack for keeping things orderly and managing long to-do lists (without freaking out), then this could turn into a profitable gig. All you need to make money online in this area is a computer with internet, a phone, and free tools, such as [Trello]( to help keep things organized. You can find such jobs on places such as [Fiverr]( [Upwork]( and [Craigslist](. Become An Affiliate Marketer Ever been to a blog that contained links to a product on Amazon or another marketplace? These bloggers are affiliate marketers. If you click on that link and purchase the item, they receive a percentage of the sale. You can do the same by creating your own niche blog. It has to be niche so it’ll attract specific people who will be interested in the products and purchase them. For example, you can have a blog about: - Weight loss - Muscle building - Apparel and shoes - Parenting - Babies - Herbs - Small business - Haircare - Beard care (yes, this is popular right now) It’s a good idea to use tools like [AnswerThePublic]( to get an idea of what people are interested in. Type in a few keywords to see what people are asking. For example, “beard care” may bring up questions about how to grow a beard, how to care for a long beard, how to trim a beard, and so on. If there are a lot of queries and questions, then it may be a good idea to use it as a blog theme. You can then turn the questions into topics to cover on your blog (laced with beard care products). Just be sure the niche is popular, so it has a higher potential to be profitable. To get started, you’ll have to sign up to become an [Amazon Associate]( or another affiliate network, such as [Clickbank]( or [Share-A-Sale]( Start Selling Your Advice Maybe you don’t have any skills to offer (or simply don’t want to use them). If that’s the case, then you can choose to sell your knowledge instead. It’s big business to coach others in becoming better at life, business, family, and money. People are looking to become entrepreneurs and improve their lives overall. They’re even willing to pay you for advice to achieve their goals. You can do this in one or more ways. One, you can offer one-on-one calls. Two, you can host group webinars with a handful of people at a time, so you can answer questions. Then once you gain popularity, you can offer an online course or membership site to automate your coaching. This will free up your time and boost your income exponentially. To start coaching, all you need is the internet, a computer, and a reliable phone or VoIP service. Start Earning Money Online Making money online isn’t mysterious, expensive, or impossible to do. It can be as simple as using your existing talents and skills and turning that into an online business. However, if you want to make quick money for inexpensive dates with the spouse or holiday spending, then you may want to consider online surveys, AI-assisted investing, or working with market research companies. Whatever you decide to do, make sure it’s legitimate, cheap, and legal! You may also like these other posts from OTT: [10 Essential WordPress Plugins For a Small Business Website]( [LibreOffice vs Microsoft Office – Which Is Best For You?]( [How To Use ADB Wirelessly On Your Android]( [How To Connect Your Google Home To Your TV]( [How To Write Professional Emails In Under 5 Minutes]( Check out more posts from our publishing family: Help Desk Geek Posts [Best 5 Proxy Servers To Help You Web Surf Anonymously]( Oct 17, 2019 by Joseph Boone A web proxy server alters a user’s IP address without the need for online traffic encryption. This enables the user to privately surf the web making it difficult for malicious forces to infiltrate and acquire your browsing data information. Using a web proxy will also allow a user to access sites that are otherwise inaccessible. 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However, because some data can be sensitive and confidential, this level of protection will not be enough against certain threats or to meet certain requirements such as : External […] [READ MORE]( Switching To Mac Posts [Apple iPadOS Review: First Impressions]( Oct 16, 2019 by Sydney Butler With every major new release of iOS, there are those who have already been using the Beta version for months, those that update the very second the final release becomes available and those who will put off the upgrade as long as possible. It’s the last category of people that should read this article in […] [READ MORE]( [4 Ways To Uninstall Apps On Mac]( Oct 14, 2019 by Mahesh Makvana One of the biggest differences between Windows and Mac is how the apps are uninstalled on these platforms. If you’re also a Windows user, you’ll know that the procedure to uninstall apps on a Mac is significantly different. There’s no Control Panel for you to find and uninstall your apps. Mac actually provides you with […] [READ MORE]( ABOUT ONLINE TECH TIPS Welcome to Online Tech Tips – A blog that provide readers with daily computer tutorials, technology news, software reviews, and personal computing tips. My name is Aseem Kishore and I am a full-time professional blogger. I graduated from Emory University with a degree in Computer Science and Mathematics. Copyright © 2019 Online-Tech-Tips.com, LLC, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you joined our newsletter on our website, www.Online-Tech-Tips.com. You'll get an email whenever we post a new article! [Update Preferences]( | [Unsubscribe](