Techish

EVENT HIGHLIGHTS: Samsung Unpacked 2018

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Today’s the day - Samsung Unpacked 2018 is here and there is so much to take in. From the new Galaxy Note 9 to a smart speaker, Samsung pulled out all the stops. Read on to find out all the details. What is Samsung Unpacked? Just like Apple and many other big brands, Samsung holds this event each year to release their latest products. ICYMI, watch the entire video here. Which product did Samsung announce last week? The Galaxy Tab S4. This tablet has an impressive 10.5-inch AMOLED display and complete with Google Assistant. When is the next Samsung event? The next event is the Samsung Developer Conference on Nov 07-08, 2018 where the Galaxy Home speaker is hopefully going to get ... Read more

BACK TO SCHOOL: Helpful Tech-Life Hacks for Busy Families

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It’s been more than twenty years since I’ve gone to school, and yet every August without fail, I have classic back-to-school anxiety dreams: There’s a big test and I forgot to study. I can’t remember my locker combination. I’m in gym class — naked. Sound familiar? Turns out back to school season can be just as stressful for parents as it is for some students. A slew of recent surveys show parents are increasingly anxious about back to school shopping costs, getting kids ready and out the door on time, screen-time, busy schedules, homework, and bedtime, among many other nagging concerns. While new technology might be to blame for some of the stress — like kids playing Fortnite when ... Read more

Plugged-In Families: How to Create Healthier Tech Habits

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Today's kids are totally connected — to surfing, scrolling, snapping, gaming and ‘gramming. According to new Pew Reseach, 95% of teens have access to a smartphone and 45% say they are online 'almost constantly.’  Stats like those give way to rising concern over the addictiveness of constantly checking for social media updates, watching videos and playing games. Some studies tie extended screen time to distraction in classrooms, symptoms of ADHA, sleep deprivation and depression. But what we’ve learned as digital parenting evolves is that the challenge is less about how much screen time our kids have and more about the quality of time they spend online. Research also shows that when you ... Read more

Facebook & Instagram add tools to curb screen addiction: I tried them with my teen.

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This story originally ran in an edited version in USA Today on 8.1.18 If we’ve learned anything from our wired world of late, it’s that we’re all pretty much addicted to our screens and we’re also fairly powerless to do anything about it. Okay, that’s a little dramatic, but it’s pretty close to the truth when you consider that it’s engineered to grab your attention, keep you hooked, and make you crave more. 2.5 billion people now use at least one of Facebook’s apps. As of the latest studies, approximately two-thirds of adults in the United States are active Facebook users, and of those people, three-quarters of them check the social network every day, according to a recent report from ... Read more

Back to School Gadgets: As Seen on Good Day New York

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Here are some fun gadgets to tech kids out: 1.   Go-To Safety Gadget: Relay - For Ages 6-11: (starting at $99, plus $6.99 monthly data charge) This is a screen-less, water-resistant device that works like a walkie-talkie and puts you in direct contact with your child, but with the connection of a smartphone. You can connect to your child’s Relay whenever you want from either an app on your smartphone or from another Relay device, and they can contact you by pressing the large button in the middle of the gadget. The Relay uses 4G LTE connectivity so you can check on them, and talk with them, whenever you want – from anywhere you want. 2. Nokia “Candy Bar” 3310 3G Phone ($60) Iconic – and ... Read more

HOW TO: Take smartphone photos that pop!

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People will take more than 1.3 trillion digital photos this year — according to industry analyst site InfoTrends — and we’ll take nearly all of them on our smartphones… where they’ll likely live until we run out of room on our phones. But using a smartphone as your default camera comes with a whole host of specific problems. Here's how to fix some of the most common smartphone photography missteps. 1. Out of focus The fix: Tap the screen where you want it to focus That’s right. Tap a face or landmark and wait until it becomes really crisp and sharply into focus. This works the same whether you’re on an iPhone or Android. Even if you think your phone's auto-focus feature is doing the ... Read more

Dolby Atmos: Why you should have it, like, right now!

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Even if you're not particularly interested in new audio tech you've probably heard of Dolby Atmos, and you've probably been wondering what it is and why you should even care. It's the hottest buzzword in home theater and mobile devices, and there's a good reason why: It sounds absolutely awesome. Let's break down why it's one of the most talked-about terms in tech! What is Dolby Atmos? Put simply, Dolby Atmos is a new kind of surround sound technology that actually improves upon the concepts of a multi-speaker sound system and can be adapted to something as small as a pair of headphones. If an old-fashioned surround sound system makes you feel like you're right in front of the action, ... Read more

Warning: Scammers with fake gifts cards are hunting for your personal info

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Scammers will try anything to lure you into a trap, from robocalling to blanketing your inbox in spam emails, but their latest trick might be their most devious yet. A new report from the security experts at Kaspersky Lab explains how the scam works, and it's completely evil. Free gift card websites have been pretty common across the internet for some time, but many of them are actually legitimate. Some companies hand out these freebies in exchange for taking surveys, viewing advertising videos, or signing up for various promotions. Now, scammers looking to make a quick buck are launching their own websites that appear to operate the same way, but beneath the surface they're actually ... Read more

The ultimate Prime Day deals mega-list: TVs, Phones, Gadgets, and More!

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Prime Day is finally here! It's Amazon's biggest sales day of the year, rivaling even Black Friday and Cyber Monday for the sheer number of deals and discounts. There's a lot of stuff on sale right now, and it would take you all day to sift through every Amazon page in search of the best stuff, but lucky for you I've done a lot of digging and here's the best stuff at bargain prices: Toshiba 50-inch 4K Ultra HD Smart LED TV with HDR - Fire TV Edition - $289.99 (normally $399.99) TCL 32S305 32-Inch 720p Roku Smart LED TV - $129.99 (normally $199.99) Echo - $69.99 (normally $99.99) Echo Dot - $29.99 (normally $49.99) Echo Plus - $99.99 (normally $149.99) Echo Show - ... Read more

Prime Day is almost here, so use these tips to avoid package thieves!

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Even if you're not a big Amazon shopper, there's a good chance you're going to be loading up on big discounts when Prime Day hits on July 16th. That means there's probably going to be one, two, or even three or more Amazon boxes headed for your house in short order. According to a recent survey by Wakefield Research, 30% of Americans say they've had a package stolen from their own home, and over half say they know someone who was a victim of such a theft. That's nearly one-third of Americans! If you want to make sure your precious Amazon Prime Day purchases aren't nabbed by pesky "porch pirates" before you get a chance to grab them, here's what you should do: Hello Neighbor! Have a ... Read more

I just cheated on my MacBook Pro for two weeks and I liked it

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It took me a lot of years to be able to afford the most souped-up, best-in-show — with a cherry on top — MacBook Pro. The last one I bought cost about $3,000 all-in. That’s the most money I’ve spent on one thing at one time — ever — and it stung for sure. I justified it as the single most important work expense I have though, and hoped it would hold up at least five years. That was early 2017. Fast forward to the summer of 2018. The “S” is nearly worn off my keyboard, and it makes it just five or six hours on a single charge. I hardly ever use the “revolutionary” Touch Bar. Still, cheating on my trusty MacBook Pro was no easy feat. It’s traveled around the world with me, helped me file ... Read more

HOW TO: Amazon Prime Day 2018 Do’s and Don’ts

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Black Friday might be the biggest shopping day of the year, but Amazon’s exclusive annual sale, Prime Day, has just as many huge discounts and deals. Prime day started off in 2015 — and in a few short years has become a sort of national holiday — for bargain hunters at least. 2018’s Prime Day is expected to be nothing short of epic. When is it? It's official -- Prime Day starts at noon on July 16th. It runs for a day “and a half,” which means exactly 36 hours -- making it  the longest Prime Day ever, beating out 2017’s which was roughly 30 hours. Avoid Price Scams Just like with any big sale day — including Black Friday and Cyber Monday — there will be a ton of products ... Read more

Here are some of the best deals for Amazon Prime Day 2018 so far

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Don't you just LOVE when you get better deals than anyone else? Here's the latest scoop, and we'll keep updating this list as we're able to confirm these ahead of the big day - which starts July 16th! For more on the do's and don'ts of one of the biggest deal-scoring days of the year - read this next! Amazon Echo  Amazon's Alexa-enabled smart speakers and hubs are some of the company's most popular gadgets, and they're going to get big price cuts for Prime Day. Here are the low prices you can look forward to: Echo - $69.99 (normally $99.99) Echo Dot - $24.99 (normally $49.99) Echo Plus - $109.99 (normally $149.99) Echo Show - $129.99 (normally $229.99) These are some of ... Read more

How to dramatically increase the chances of finding your smartphone again if you ever lose it

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We may not like to admit it, but our smartphones are our one-stop communication hub for our entire lives. Having your phone die on you in the middle of the day is a scary thing, but straight up losing it is practically a tragedy. With summer day trips and all the awesome outdoor activities that come along with warm weather, your chances of misplacing your phone rise in a big way, but there's something you can do to up the chances of recovering it if you find yourself phone-less. Keeping your phone locked and secured with a passcode, fingerprint, or facial recognition help deter thieves, but it also makes it much harder for someone to return your phone to you if you ever lose it. How will ... Read more

A Wearable Mosquito Repellent That Doesn’t Suck?

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I hate mosquitoes so much that I would happily bathe in DEET if it truly makes them leave me alone. Hopefully, a new wearable called Bandito can keep those little suckers at bay, without slathering yourself in toxic chemicals. Chicago-based company Guarden launched the $29 wrist-worn device on Indiegogo, where's it's raised more than 200-million dollars so far, which is some 836% of its original goal. According to the company, you just slap the Bandito on your wrist, and it uses a cocktail of  Citronella, Peppermint, and Lemongrass scents that mosquitoes hate AND emits a sonic sound that is like nails on a chalkboard to teeny-tiny-mosquito ears. (Do ... Read more

How to keep in touch with kids too young to own a smartphone

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https://vimeo.com/277168596 Let’s face it, parents, most of us lose our kids at least once or twice while they’re growing up. Sometimes they just get a little too good at hide-and-seek, as my then-four-year-old daughter did for a few heart-stopping moments inside a department store several years ago. Or maybe they just aren’t where we expect them to be — even for a minute or two — and it’s absolutely terrifying. Apps on smartphones like Life360 and even Find My Friends work great to help track down teens and older kids mature enough to manage the responsibility of owning a smartphone. But what about for younger ones? What’s the best way to keep a watchful eye — that isn’t a ... Read more