We combed through every Black Friday and Cyber Monday deal we featured this week. These deals remain—for the moment.
Feed: All Latest
You Can Have a Smart TV Today For Less Than $40 With Chromecast!
Post sponsored by Best Buy
It drives me crazy when people are sitting in their house with their huge TV right in front of them, watching a YouTube video on the teeny tiny screen of their phone. While many phones have pretty large screens, they still don’t hold a candle to the large flat screen sitting right in front of your face on most occasions.
See It. Stream It.
This is why we have a Chromecast device plugged into every single TV in our house, even the TVs that already have Smart capabilities. It is so much harder to search for something with a remote control than it is to search for a show on your phone or tablet. Once you have found the show you want to watch, you just need to press the Chromecast icon inside the app you are using to send it over to the Chromecast.
Dumb TV… Meet Smart TV
One place where my Chromecast is an absolute necessity is our super old TV in the garage. It is mounted above my treadmill so I can enjoy a TV show or movie during my indoor runs. Let’s face it… Utah is cold in the winter, and there is no way I’m running outside. Using a Chromecast device turns this TV into a smart TV, and I am able to watch Netflix or Hulu and more on the dumb TV.
Latest Chromecast Features
We have several Chromecasts spanning a few different generations of the device, but recently the company released a brand new version. The 2018 Chromecast now comes in the standard black and a newly released white version. The device also has a stronger WiFi connection and 1080p 60FPS, but it does not yet support 4K video in the standard model.
How Chromecast Works
The Chromecast plugs into any TV with an HDMI port to provide smart capabilities to even really old garage mounted TV’s. You will also need to provide power to the Chromecast, so make sure you can plug it into a power outlet. Once the Chromecast is powered up, you can pull up the Google Home app on your phone to configure the device. It should find it right away and then you can connect it to the WiFi in your home.
When the Chromecast is not in use, you can set the device to become a digital picture frame showing pictures it selects, or from your own Google Photos. Using it in this mode you can have a beautiful piece of changing art in any room of your house.
Most of the top entertainment apps on your phone can be cast to your TV via the Chromecast including over 2000 apps like Netflix, YouTube, YouTube TV, and HBO NOW. Even Facebook videos have the capability to be cast to your TV.
So stop hovering around a tiny screen to show a video to the rest of your family and go pick up a Chromecast and watch it on your big screen! You can pick one up tonight at Best Buy, and make any TV a smart TV for only $ 35. Honestly, I have purchased at least 5 Chromecasts and I haven’t regretted a single one.
Google Doodle Teaches Kids Coding Today!
To celebrate 50 years of Kids Coding, today’s Google doodle is a short tutorial on some coding basics. It is fun for both kids and adults, so definitely check it out!
You start by learning how to move your bunny forward to grab all the carrots.
The program will gradually step you through learning more complicated commands as you master the previous ones.
Once you complete all of the levels you get to enjoy a nice party with all of your bunny friends…
If you missed it, you can always access the doodle from the archive here. On the main Google page, there is also a link for you to learn how to code your own Google logo.
For more resources on teaching your kids to code, check out these posts.
The post Google Doodle Teaches Kids Coding Today! appeared first on Family Tech Zone.
