you may want to know how to use these files to transmit data, whether for work or personal use. Here is how to make a ZIP file on a Mac.
So, what is a ZIP file?
When you need to send lots of data, you might be distraught at how long it takes. This can be especially troublesome with music or video files, which, depending on the format, could take hours to upload or download. The way around this is to compress the files, either by eliminating redundancies in the files, which can then by recreated (lossless compression) or by cutting out unnecessary bits, albeit at the cost of a perfect replica (lossy). Compressed files are packed into various archive formats such as RAR and ZIP. When you download a compressed file, you will need to extract the contents — or “unzip” them — in order to access them.
How to create a ZIP file on a Mac
Creating a ZIP file on a Mac is quick and easy, as MacOS contains a built-in utility for compressing or unzipping files.
First, find a file or group of files you want to compress. For a single file, simply right-click it and select Compress [file name].
You will see a ZIP file appear in the same folder as the original, which will still be present.
To compress multiple files into one ZIP file, select them all, then right-click and select Compress X items, with X being the number of highlighted files.
A single Archive file will appear in the folder the originals are in.
How to unzip a file
Unzipping a ZIP file is about as easy as creating one. Simply right-click the file in question, hover over Open With, and choose Archive Utility (or a third-party unzipping program, if you have one).
MacOS will automatically create a new folder containing the zipped files in the same location as the ZIP file. If you want to secure your ZIP files with a password, we have a guide for that, too.
Need to zip files in Windows 10? It’s easy – and no new software required
If sharing large photos or video filesis part of your daily workflow, you know that file compression is a big part of the process. For instance, if you want to email a large batch of photographs captured during a trip, sending all those files as they are may take a long time to transmit and receive. Plus, the photos will eat up precious space in your outbound box as well as the recipient’s inbox. The same goes if you’re using a cloud service like Dropbox or Google Drive.
In the old days, you were forced to rely on third-party software to compress and un-compress files. You can still use those programs today, but Microsoft baked file compression capability into Windows back in 1998. While Windows 10 (as well as MacOSand ChromeOS) has you covered for ZIP compression, you’ll have to turn to third-party software for file compression formatssuch as RAR and 7z.
Unpacking a ZIP file is extremely easy, but packing a ZIP-based suitcase for your files isn’t quite as obvious. We’ll first show you how to compress a file in Windows 10, followed by an entire folder. After that, we will demonstrate how to unpack a ZIP file, so that you can get access to the uncompressed files again. Let’s get started!
ZIP A SINGLE FILE
You’ll want to use this method if a single file is extremely large, such as video shot with a smartphone or digital camera.
Locate File Explorer on the Windows 10 taskbar (the folder icon).
Locate the file you want to compress.
Right-click on the file.
Select Send to on the menu.
Select Compressed (zipped) folder in the next menu.
Rename your new ZIP file, and press the Enter key.
ZIP MULTIPLE FILES
This method is handy for cramming multiple files together, for both size and organizational reasons. This is smart idea when you’re sending files, and also just to keep files together to free up disk space.
Locate File Explorer on the Windows 10 taskbar (the folder icon).
Locate the files you want to add to a single ZIP file.
Select all files by holding down the mouse button and dragging the pointer across the screen. Your mouse will create a blue selection box. All files within this box are highlighted with a light blue color.
Release the mouse button and right-click on the light blue highlighted files.
Select Send to on the menu.
Select Compressed (zipped) folder in the next menu.
Rename your new ZIP file, and press the Enter key.
ZIP an entire folder
If you want multiple files in a single folder, this is the method you choose. When unpacked, all files will unload in a folder created during the compression process.
Locate File Explorer on the Windows 10 taskbar (the folder icon).
Locate the folder you want to add to a single ZIP file.
Right-click on the folder.
Select Send to on the menu.
Select Compressed (zipped) folder in the next menu.
Rename your new ZIP file and press the Enter key.
Finally, let’s demonstrate how you can unpack a ZIP file in Windows 10.
UNPACK A ZIP FILE
Zipping files is only helpful if you can extract them as well. Windows 10 uses an algorithm to scan your file, temporarily remove all repetitive information, and create a new file with a smaller size and a new file extension: ZIP. To revert the file back to its former state, Windows 10 scans the file to see what was removed, and inserts the repetitive information back into the file. Here’s how to do it:
Locate File Explorer on the Windows 10 taskbar (the folder icon).
Locate the file you want to decompress.
Right-click on the file.
Select Extract all on the menu.
On the next pop-up screen, select where you want Windows 10 to unload the files.
Once you choose a location, click the Select Folder
Magnetic smart material stitched into clothing is the future
Smarthomes and all their gadgets are lovely but without easier ways to control said gadgets, what’s the point? Enter smart clothing that can do things like unlock doors.
The big brains over at the University of Washington has come up with a new use for conductive thread. It turns out the material isn’t just conductive but can also be magnetised meaning it can store data, just like a hard drive. The conductive fabric can have codes stored in it to unlock doors or even, potentially, make payments.
Since the fabric is weaved into the clothes it is also built to last. You will be able to wash and dry the smart clothes the same as you would any other clothing (up to 320 degrees fahrenheit), all without losing the magnetic data stored in them.
While door codes stitched into a sleeve to easily unlock doors is a cool idea the researchers did more. They also weaved the conductive thread into a glove and found that it was recognised by a smartphone. This made it possible to interact with the phone while locked away in a pocket or bag - a great way to skip tracks while listening to music without unlocking the phone, for example.
The next step is to create new textiles with even stronger magnetic fields so they can store even more data. Who knows, flash drives could soon be a thing of the past, replaced by smart clothing.
SpaceX has been making steady progress with its reusable rocket system and a successful launch of the Falcon Heavy would mark another notable step forward.
SpaceX has been launching and landing its Falcon 9 rocket on such a regular basis recently that the missions hardly make the news these days, a testament to the impressive progress made by Elon Musk’s private space company in recent years.
So now attention is turning to the Falcon Heavy, which Musk says will be “the most powerful operational rocket in the world by a factor of two.” Sporting not one, or two, but three boosters with nine engines each, the Falcon Heavy will have twice the thrust of the next largest rocket at lift-off — equal to about eighteen 747 aircraft — and space enthusiasts are eagerly awaiting its maiden mission. But no one is quite sure when it’ll be.
NASASpaceflight this week confidently claims SpaceX is planning to launch the Falcon Heavy for the first time “in the late-December time period.” Specifically, it says Musk’s company wants to perform a static test-fire of the boosters in the middle of next month, followed by a launch on December 29.
The report takes into account the length of time it’ll take to convert Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A for the Falcon Heavy, with one rocket launch remaining before the work can begin. In September, Musk said during a presentation in Australia that he hoped the Heavy would launch “toward the end of the year.”
Musk, a man who comes up withideas of huge ambition like most of us come up with ideas for breakfast, recently teased space fans with an animation showing how the Falcon Heavy launch might look. It shows the extraordinarily powerful rocket leaving the launchpad before the start of various separation steps, and ends with its booster cores landing back on Earth, a maneuver once considered as wildly ambitious but now pretty much perfected by SpaceX. But mindful of the issues experienced with the Falcon 9 over the years, Musk noted that a lot “can go wrong” with the Heavy in its early, complex missions.
SpaceX’s rocket system, which has been in development since the company’s founding in 2002, is designed to enable the reuse of rockets as part of a plan to dramatically cut the cost of space travel and pave the way for manned missions into deep space.
Fingers crossed SpaceX can get the Heavy off the ground in December — it’d certainly be a spectacular way to end what has been a successful year for the company.
Apple has unveiled a new edge-to-edge display iPhone which will go on sale as the most expensive handset the tech giant has ever made.
The iPhone X, pronounced 10, features wireless charging, an infrared camera and improved battery life, and will cost £999 when it is made available on 3 November.
Unlike previous models it has no physical home button, and will include facial recognition software which replaces the fingerprint sensor used to unlock the phone.
The Face ID technology can also be used to create Animoji - animated emoji controlled by the user's face.
Image:The model also features wireless charging, an infrared camera and improved battery life
Announcing the iPhone X at the company's new Steve Jobs Theatre in California, Apple chief executive Tim Cook described the model as "the biggest leap forward since the original iPhone".
However, the launch did not go fully to plan as Apple vice president Craig Federighi initially failed to unlock the device using Face ID.
As well as the iPhone X, Apple also announced the new iPhone 8 and iPhone Plus 8, which will cost £699 and £799 respectively.
Both will feature wireless charging capabilities, while the 8 Plus will include new camera technology called portrait lighting.
Image:The launch included a tribute to late Apple chief executive Steve Jobs
The software uses artificial intelligence to automatically improve the lighting effects of portrait photographs.
Both models are dust and water resistant, and feature 12-megapixel rear cameras.
Away from smartphones, Apple also announced the Apple Watch Series 3, which includes its own mobile signal.
The new feature will enable users to make calls, send messages and stream music without being connected to a smartphone.
The new Apple Watch Series 3 includes its own mobile signal
Image:
The new Apple Watch Series 3 includes its own mobile signal
An enhanced version of the Apple TV which supports 4K resolution and high dynamic range (HDR) was also revealed.
The Watch and TV will go on sale on 22 September, alongside the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.
Tech analysts were split on the appeal of Apple's new iPhone X model.
Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research described it as "a far bigger upgrade" than previous devices, adding it would become "the object of desire for many users".
However, Ernest Doku, from uSwitch.com, said Apple "still faces a challenge in convincing both the uninitiated and long-term fans alike that these new devices are the true innovation the market has long needed".
We also know that it is going to be Apple's most expensive handset ever, setting consumers back £999 when it hits the shelves on Friday.
But what we didn't know was how well its edge-to-edge screen would work, if its Face ID unlocking system would be accurate, and whether it could possibly be worth that much money.
Many reviewers have complained about the limited time they had with the phone due to delayed deliveries - and all criticised the continued lack of a headphone jack, which was discontinued after the iPhone 6.
Apps which aren't designed for the iPhone X leave the edge-to-edge screen looking odd, with the iOS autolayout feature meaning icons are blocked or obscured.
Image:The queue outside Apple Regent Street for the iPhone 8 launch
A particular issue for US technology news network The Verge is the sensor housing at the top of the screen, which breaks the typical layout for iPhones of a perfect rectangular display.
It would fall to the app developers to handle this display oddity, but when the apps worked the results were complimented by all reviewers.
The iPhone X is Apple's first phone to use an OLED (organic light-emitting diode)display rather than LCD and uses the technology to keep the screen's colours sharp.
The edge-to-edge front means the iPhone X was set up to be billed as the most attractive smartphone ever made, but it fell short for The Verge, whose reviewer gave that title to the iPhone 4.
The Telegraph went so far as to say the design took a backseat, despite the full screen being billed as an achievement for Apple's chief design officer Sir Jony Ive.
Video:iPhone X launch not entirely smooth!
Face ID worked for all of the reviewers, despite a wobble during the launch event which risked embarrassing the company.
The biggest issue with Face ID, which uses infrared light to map users' faces and unlock the phone, was the difficulty of using it in bright environments.
It was "a little inconsistent" in bright sunlight and in the presence of fluorescent light, reported The Verge, although Forbes claimed to find it worked well in bright light.
For all this, Apple will be hoping the iPhone X launch on Friday will be less muted than that of the iPhone 8, for which a paltry 13 customers queued outside of its Regent Street store.
Those rumoured supply demands will almost certainly play in Apple's favour come Friday morning when customers who have not pre-ordered a device will be queuing to pick one up in person.
