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    How to send RCS messages from your iPhone to your Android user friends

    Adam Breeden/ZDNETLooking for a way to send rich text messages from your iPhone to your Android counterparts? With the launch of iOS 18, the long-awaited RCS messaging option is now a reality. Thanks to the new RCS support, your iPhone texts to Android users can include larger file attachments, higher-quality photos and videos, audio messages, read receipts, more types of emojis, and smoother group chats.Also: 6 reasons why iOS 18 makes the iPhone 16 a must-upgradePromised by Apple last year and top among the desired new features in iOS 18, RCS (Rich Communications Service) is a messaging standard released by Google a few years ago. Designed to replace SMS messaging, RCS is a more modern standard that can handle richer content.Apple had long resisted the calls to enable RCS but finally gave in amid demand for greater interoperability between iPhone and Android. Until the release of iOS 18, Apple users could only send rich text messages to each other through iMessage. Any texts exchanged with Android users would be limited to SMS, thereby stripping out the rich content, or relying on MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service), allowing certain types of media in a message.Also: iOS 18.1 beta adds photo ‘Clean Up’ AI tool and notification summaries – how they workTo send an RCS message, your iPhone needs to be running iOS 18, currently in public beta. You must also be on the right carrier. Though Apple has enabled RCS at its end, the carriers must also activate it on their networks. At this stage, all three major US carriers — Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile — have turned on the RCS switch. Other carriers in the US and around the world have done likewise. But fear not, there is an easy way to check.Here’s how it works.How to send RCS messages from iPhone to Android1. Upgrade to iOS 18First, you’ll need to install the iOS 18 public beta on your iPhone. Go to General and select Software Update. Tap the option for Beta Updates and choose the one for iOS 18 Public Beta. Return to the previous screen, and the beta is downloaded and installed on your phone. More

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    Grab a Microsoft Office for Windows license for $40 right now

    Download a lifetime license to Microsoft Office at a deep discount with this deal. Stack Social If you need access to Microsoft Office but don’t want to pay the yearly fee to access Office 365, you’re in luck: Stack Social is offering a lifetime license for Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows or Mac, starting […] More

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    Android earthquake alerts expand to all US states. Here’s how they work

    Max Buondonno/ZDNETThe next time you get an alert on your Android phone, it might just be life-saving information. Google has announced the expansion of its earthquake alert program, which was previously only available in a handful of states.Starting today, earthquake alerts are available in all 50 US states and six territories, including American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and Minor Outlying Islands.Also: 7 essential tech prep steps to take before weather emergencies strikeHere’s how the alerts work. Since 2020, Google has made earthquake alerts available in California, Oregon, and Washington thanks to a partnership with the United States Geological Survey (USGS), California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES), and the USGS’ ShakeAlert system. Those alerts relied on traditional seismometers to detect earthquakes.  More