Technologies

Want to take better iPhone selfies? Use this iOS 14 trick on your front camera

Apple gave the iPhone’s front camera a cool mirroring feature in iOS 14, and it’s easy to turn on.

The latest version of Apple’s iPhone operating system, iOS 14.7, is now available to download (and iOS 15 is just around the corner, likely along with the iPhone 13). No matter what version of the OS you’re running, you’ll find lots of updated camera tools and features, including improvements to Night Mode and burst photos. But one smaller camera feature may make the biggest difference for your selfie needs: a setting called Mirror Front Camera.

Mirror Front Camera comes after the iPhone 11‘s «slofie» slow-motion selfie feature to bring us a subtler — and, dare I say, more useful — selfie tool. (It should be noted that it’s one of many iOS 14 features that’s already been available on Android devices for some time.)

Read on for everything you need to know about the Mirror Front Camera feature, and how to use it to up your selfie game.

What exactly does Mirror Front Camera mean?

You may have already come across this setting in your camera preferences and wondered what it was. When you turn it on and change to your front-facing camera, it will snap a photo that’s your mirror image, instead of flipping it as the camera usually does. Some people find this jarring because the photo you take doesn’t match the image you see in the viewfinder.

Ultimately, it may not change your selfie much, but some people may prefer the more familiar reversed version of your face, like looking in a mirror.

How to use the Mirror Front Camera feature on your iPhone

With iOS 14 installed, the Mirror Front Camera setting is disabled by default. Here’s how to turn it on:

Go to Settings > Camera. Under Composition, toggle Mirror Front Camera on. Head back to your camera app, and turn the camera to face yourself. The image will appear as you see yourself in the mirror, instead of flipped as it usually is.

Here, you can see the side-by-side comparison of a regular selfie and one taken with Mirror Front Camera turned on.

You can follow the same instructions to turn Mirror Front Camera off and go back to the default selfie setting.

For more, check out iOS 14’s best hidden features, every rumor we’ve heard so far about iOS 15 and all the best WatchOS 7.4 features.

Technologies

Facebook Brings Back Local Job Listings: How to Apply

One of Facebook’s most practical features from 2022 is being revived by Meta.

On the hunt for work? A Local Jobs search is being rolled out by Meta to make it easier for people in the US to discover and apply for nearby work directly on Facebook. The feature is inside Facebook Marketplace, Groups and Pages, Meta said last week, letting employers post openings and job seekers filter roles by distance, category or employment type.

You can apply or message employers directly through Facebook Messenger, while employers can publish job listings with just a few taps — similar to how you would post items for sale on Marketplace.

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Facebook offered a Jobs feature before discontinuing it in 2022, pushing business hiring toward its other platforms. Its return suggests Meta is attempting to expand Facebook’s usefulness beyond social networking and to position it once again as a hub for community-driven opportunities.

«We’ve always been about connecting with people, whether through shared interests or key life events,» the press release states. «Now, if you’re looking for entry-level, trade and service industry employment in your community, Facebook can help you connect with local people and small businesses who are hiring.»

How to get started with Local Jobs on Facebook

According to Meta, Local Jobs will appear as a dedicated section in Facebook Marketplace starting this week. If you’re 18 or older, you can:

Tap the Marketplace tab on the Facebook app or website.
Select Jobs to browse available positions nearby.
Use filters for job type, category and distance.
Tap Apply or message the employer directly via Messenger.

Businesses and page admins can post jobs by creating a new listing in Marketplace or from their Facebook Page. Listings can include job details, pay range, and scheduling information and will appear in local searches automatically.

The Local Jobs feature is rolling out across the US now, with Meta saying it plans to expand it in the months ahead.

Technologies

Tesla Has a New Range of Affordable Electric Cars: How Much They Cost

The new, stripped-back versions of the Model Y and Model 3 have a more affordable starting price.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 22 #598

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 22, No. 598.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a fun one — I definitely have at least two of these in my house. Some of the answers are a bit tough to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Catch all.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: A mess of items.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

BATE, LICE, SLUM, CAPE, HOLE, CARE, BARE, THEN, SLAM, SAMBA, BACK

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

TAPE, COIN, PENCIL, BATTERY, SHOELACE, THUMBTACK

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is JUNKDRAWER. To find it, look for the J that’s five letters down on the far-left row, and wind down, over and then up.

Quick tips for Strands

#1: To get more clue words, see if you can tweak the words you’ve already found, by adding an «S» or other variants. And if you find a word like WILL, see if other letters are close enough to help you make SILL, or BILL.

#2: Once you get one theme word, look at the puzzle to see if you can spot other related words.

#3: If you’ve been given the letters for a theme word, but can’t figure it out, guess three more clue words, and the puzzle will light up each letter in order, revealing the word.