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We have just days remaining until election season here in the United States is at long last over. Still, it seems like the controversies surrounding the Republican and Democratic candidates just won’t rest. Anything can happen in the days to come.

Whether you’re still undecided or passionately in favor of your preferred candidate, there is still time to get involved and stay in the know. Maybe we’re a little biased here at iPhoneHacks, but we think iPhone apps are a pretty good way to do that. Here are some of the best free ones in the App Store for keeping up with the election.

CNN Politics

CNN Politics has a fantastic app that combines the latest news on the election with in-depth poll averages and results from key battleground states. The design is clean and modern with tabs for insights, latest news from CNN and poll results. Plus, the CNN Poll of Polls gathers from four different national telephone polls, so it should be as unbiased as possible.

You can also sign up for notifications from CNN Politics. They’ll inform you of the latest poll results and news so you don’t have to check the app.

➤ CNN Politics in App Store (free)

We the People

We the People lets you get more social with your candidate of choice by joining its community of voters to ask questions and share ideas. You get to choose between Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Gary Johnson and Jill Stein. Post your opinions in the discussions board or comment on others. Plus, see news from the media and Twitter and a heatmap of how users are voting.

The app design isn’t as nice as CNN Politics, but the social aspect here is interesting and informative. Being able to communicate and peacefully exchange with even people of opposing views is a valuable feature.

➤ We the People in App Store (free)

VotePlz

If you haven’t registered to vote or want to check your status and eligibility, VotePlz will give you the hook-up. You can register to vote right within the app by scanning your driver’s license (or manually entering information) plus get your polling place and hours to vote on November 8 or earlier. If you can’t make it to vote, VotePlz can also get you information on how to obtain an absentee ballot to vote by mail ahead of time. Note that absentee ballots are not available without excuse in every state.

Time is ticking to register to vote though. If you’re interested in participating in the 2016 election, you should act quickly downloading the app and registering to vote. Then head to your polling place November 8 to seal the deal.

➤ VotePlz in App Store (free)

Hillary 2016

Are you #WithHer? Well then you need to get the free Hillary 2016 app. The app grants you your very own virtual campaign headquarters. You can navigate around your office to check messages, pick up the phone to invite friends to volunteer, view campaign videos on the television and more. It becomes a bit of a game when you swipe up to see your daily stack of cards and tasks to complete whether that’s quizzes, social media challenges or small donations. The more time you spend in the app completing these tasks, the more stars you earn to upgrade your HQ or get real-life discounts.

The app reminds me a bit of Microsoft Bob where the entire interface was a cartoon. It’s probably unnecessary to have the whole virtual headquarters, but I understand the developers wanting to turn the app into a game. It’s actually overall very nicely designed and offers a lot of fun challenges and resources to Clinton supporters.

➤ Hillary 2016 in App Store (free)

America First

If Trump is your guy, America First is the official app in support of his campaign. The app lets you take action by messaging friends, inviting them to join the app and spread the word, sign up to volunteer or donate, and watch campaign videos. America First also has a news feed with official posts and posts from other users that you can comment and like. The Info & Events tab has links to Donald Trump’s stances on a number of issues and his website. Plus the calendar of upcoming events includes rallies from both Trump and running mate Mike Pence.

Politics aside, it’s a pretty bad app though. It’s a bit laggy and the design isn’t even optimized for the larger screens of the iPhone 6, 6s and 7 or iPhone 6 Plus, 6s Plus and 7 Plus. Still, passionate Trump supporters should be pleased with the amount of resources available here.

➤ America First in App Store (free)

Let us know which one is your favorite app to follow the elections.

Source link: http://www.iphonehacks.com/2016/11/best-iphone-apps-us-election-2016.html

After the first week of setting up Philips Hue lights in my bedroom, I was fantasizing about an ability to have them slowly fade out at night. I thought perhaps it could signal me to start getting nice and sleepy for bed. Well, it turns out this is totally possible and fairly easy to set up — and the end result is pure relaxation.

If you haven’t bought the Philips Hue lights, then you can get started by buying the starter kit on Amazon which comes with 2 bulbs + Hue Bridge hub. All you need is the free Philips Hue app for iPhone and of course some working Hue lights to control. You can set the amount of time it takes to fade, what time they begin to fade, and even have the lights fade in as well. Here’s how.

How to Fade Out Philips Hue Lights

Open the Philips Hue app to view your list of connected lights or organized rooms. In the bottom navigation bar, tap the Routines tab.

You’ll see three presets: Home & Away, Wake up, and Go to sleep. For our purposes, tap the “Go to sleep” one. If for whatever reason you want your lights to fade out even if you are not going to sleep, you can still select this preset.

Tap the + icon at the bottom right to begin a new “Go to sleep” routine. By default, this routine will change the color temperature of your lights to a warmer hue and gradually fade them out for the amount of time you specify. This only affects lights that are already turned on at the time the routine begins. Additionally, if you don’t have Hue lights that support color temperature, your white bulbs will just fade out without changing color.

Select the time you want the fade out to begin as well as the days that this routine should be active. Then tap Fade out to choose the amount of time you want the lights to fade out for. You can choose either 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes or 60 minutes.

Tap Where? to select up to four rooms where you want this routine to take place, or choose Home for your entire residence. Finally, tap Save at the top right to complete your fade out routine.

Create Your Own Custom Routine

If you want different amounts of time to fade out your lights or don’t want the warmer hue, you should create your own routine instead of using the “Go to sleep” preset.

To do this, tap “My routines” on the main Routines tab. Press the + icon to begin crafting yours. Once again, you need to pick a time for the fade out to begin and the days this goes into effect.

However, you now have options for both types of fade. You can have these lights go on instantly at the specified time, or fade in/out for a period of time. Tap Fade to choose a period of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 minutes or instant. If all the lights in the room are on, the effect works as a fade-out. If they’re all off, the effect works to fade them in.

Lastly, select either your entire Home or the individual rooms where this routine applies and tap Save.

Source link: http://www.iphonehacks.com/2016/10/how-to-set-philips-hue-slowly-fade-out-iphone.html