Do this before swapping out to new router

For Windows, go to command prompt and type in

ipconfig /release *

Read free SPH newspapers via NLB (Circuit Breaker Period)

Update: SPH fixed the issue by loading the correct newspaper viewer for desktop browser.

National Library Board (NLB) is providing free access to SPH newspapers during this circuit period when all libraries are closed, an NLB myLibrary ID account is required. The Straits Times epaper site it uses to display the full broadsheet pages does not work properly for desktop. You can double click to zoom in and out, and swipe (click and drag on mouse) to flip page. It only has one level zoom and pages can't be panned while zoomed which becomes tedious to view the papers. However there is a way around this. ST's own subscribers actually have a better viewer which actually can be accessed after logging into NLB.

1. In your browser, go to NLB ST Newspaper page, log into NLB.
2. Click on "The Straits Times" newspaper. This will open a new page to https://stepaper.straitstimes.com/jr/m/jc.api.m.php
3. Go to address bar and delete away every character except the top domain address, http://stepaper.straitstimes.com/. Hit enter to load page.

After loading the subscriber ST epaper, you can see a page navigation bar at the top of the screen with controls that help to navigate pages. You can also pan when zoomed-in and while zoomed-in there is a slider at the top to control zoom levels.

Navigation bar displayed at top

Recommended ad free QR code scanning apps for Android phones

This is my list of recommended QR code scanners:

Based off the QR code engine from Denso Wave, inventors of QR code. No ads.
QRQR app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.arara.q

From the ZXing dev team of the popular open source barcode decoder used by majority of QRcode apps. No ads, open sourced.
Barcode scanner:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.zxing.client.android

From member of ZXing, enhanced version of original barcode scanner app. No ads.
Barcode Scanner+ (Plus/Simple)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.srowen.bs.android
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.srowen.bs.android.simple

Alternatively, most Android phones that include Google Assistant can use the Lens feature to scan QR code. It may require a few more taps though.
https://www.howtogeek.com/410037/how-to-scan-qr-codes-on-android/

How to force restart Samsung phone without using screen menu

Nowadays you can only shutdown Samsung phone by holding the power button which brings up a menu with options for shutdown, restart and emergency mode. Without a working screen, there was no way to select from the menu.

I wanted to shutdown a Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro that I had the screen changed but it couldn't display anything. Holding down the power and volume down button until the phone vibrated did the trick.

Restart your device

In the unlikely event that your device becomes unresponsive, you can attempt a force restart. This will turn your device off and back on without affecting any data stored on the device.

How do I force my Galaxy S7 to restart when the screen is frozen?

How to trick the heart rate monitor on your fitness tracker

Disclaimer: The following information provided is for educational and experimentation purposes.

You can trick a heart rate monitor that uses optical sensor to spoof a heart rate reading. This should work on trackers that use photoplethysmography(PPG) sensors that usually have a green flashing LED on the back.

The following video presents an example of the trick using pulsating colours. A heart rate tracker is placed with the sensor facing the video and wait for it to detect a reading.

Video URL: Can You Fool A Heart Rate Monitor

Another way to mimic this is to make an alternating image of 2 colours and adjust the speed according to the heart rate you require. You can test a demontration of this with the HTML/CSS code I had made here: https://www.w3schools.com/code/tryit.asp?filename=FWOZYIEUO85Y. You may adjust the code such as the speed by changing the number in the animation element, ie. "animation-duration: 0.4s" and rerun it. Generally 0.4s should take the bpm above 120.

A very basic black and white blinking might even work as shown here.

Tested succesfully on PPG heart rate trackers from National Steps Challenge: Carereach HR and Tempo 2.

Certain static surfaces like tabletops, mats and tablecloths may even be able to trick the sensor to register heartrate.

Source: HPB National Steps Challenge (Singapore)

Other sources of info:
Photoplethysmogram
https://valencell.com/blog/2015/10/optical-heart-rate-monitoring-what-you-need-to-know/