Techish

Amazon’s Echo Spot is one of the best smart home gadgets, and now it’s cheaper than ever

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Amazon's Echo gadgets are smart home all-stars. Alexa, with her endless skills and abilities, has steadily outpaced all other digital assistants in the smart home race, and Amazon's Echo Spot is one of the most handy Alexa-enabled gadgets. On top of its Alexa powers, it does video calls, runs a whole bunch of media apps like Spotify, Pandora, and Audible, and it can control everything from your thermostat to your lawn sprinklers. Here's a summary of everything the Spot can do, via its Amazon store description: Echo Spot is designed to fit anywhere in your home. Use 2nd generation far-field voice recognition to watch video flash briefings, see music lyrics, weather forecasts, ... Read more

Amazon (and Alexa) know a whole lot about you. Here’s how to download and delete that info.

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 It's not just Facebook and Google that have loads of our personal data. There's also Amazon. The company isn’t only the most popular Internet retailer in the country but it also dishes up content (via Amazon Prime Video, Audible and the Kindle library); runs a successful cloud platform for businesses (Amazon Web Services); sells devices like tablets, Kindle e-readers, set-top boxes and streaming sticks; and lets you access a personal assistant via Alexa-powered speakers and screens. It took the Cambridge Analytica scandal – the unauthorized access of Facebook user data from as many as 87 million accounts — to shine a bright spotlight on how much personal data we’re (over)sharing, and ... Read more

Spring Clean Your Social Apps: Taming Twitter

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Twitter is a whole other beast. I really can’t quite get over the fact Twitter doesn’t have an edit button. Still, it’s my favorite chosen place to follow the musings of some of the brightest people in the world and it remains the best place to follow for breaking news. But there’s a whole lot of other junk in there too now. “When you go into a house that has tons of clutter, how does that make you feel,” asks Dr. Eva Selhub, physician, author, speaker, and executive coach. She suggests blocking Twitter clutter at the source, “Clean up who is coming on your posts, the information that’s coming through to you. Is it lifting you up or bringing you down?” Twitter’s built-in “Mute” feature is ... Read more

My favorite Spring Break travel gadgets will take the stress out of your next trip

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It's been a long, cold, boring winter, but now temps are rising and Spring Break is upon us! I know, I know, you can't wait to get away from it all, but if you're anything like me, you find the most painful part of heading to a sunny destination is the trip itself. Dragging a half-bused suitcase through a crowded airport and then sitting in a cramped plane seat while you watch a horrible in-flight movie sure doesn't sound like vacation to me! Here are a few incredibly awesome travel gadgets to make your travel a bit more pleasant this time around: Bag it! A stress-free trip should always start with some quality luggage. Still wheeling around a hand-me-down suitcase with one bad wheel ... Read more

Facebook is overhauling its privacy tools, and now you can permanently delete any info you want

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You've heard a lot about Facebook's privacy woes in the past couple of weeks — and I've done my best to keep you up to speed on what you need to do to keep your data safe from prying eyes — and now Facebook totally revamped its own privacy and security tools to make it easier than ever to remove private data from your account. Here's everything that Facebook changed, and what it means for you: All-New Settings Navigation Gone is the confusing library of settings prompts and in their place is a new, easy-to-navigate menu system that shows you exactly where you need to go to control the most important security features of your account. You can see both the old and new settings menus ... Read more

Why Apple’s new iPad is going to be this year’s must-have school gadget

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Even though it's only Spring, and most kids (and parents) are thinking more about Spring Break than the next school year, it's already clear that Apple's newly-announced iPad will be the year's must-have gadget for school. Apple held a special, education-focused event in Chicago to announce the launch of the new tablet, and everything they said should be music to the ears of parents and teachers too. Here's what you need to know: What is it? An all-new 9.7-inch iPad. What's so special about it? Glad you asked! Well, for starters, it's more powerful than the previous model and it has full support for the Apple Pencil stylus, which up until now was reserved for the incredibly ... Read more

How to stop Facebook’s facial recognition, and a new extension to ‘wall off’ Facebook

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Mozilla released a Firefox tool called Facebook Container to stop the social network from seeing what you do online beyond Facebook's own site. I was just asking a colleague if this sort of app or extension existed earlier today and sure enough, it does. To add it, open up your Firefox browser, click the link above, and tap + Add to Firefox. The extension logs you out of Facebook, deletes Facebook cookies, and "walls off," your activity from everything else you do online. (Cookies are those text files that websites use to keep tabs on you.) You'll notice that the word "Facebook" appears in blue in the address bar after you add the extension. From Facebook Container: What does it ... Read more

These awesome apps will help you save tons of money on Spring Break

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I have a major case of cabin fever this year — and I live in Northern California. I really can't imagine what folks in snowy states are going through right about now. (Well, I can imagine it, because I grew up in Alaska...) As spring fever takes its hold, dreams of sandy beaches, sunny skies, and sweet umbrella drinks are now fueling my favorite procrastination activity: Spring Break planning! But money's tight this year, so here are the five apps I'm taking on my trip to have a blast and still save a ton of cash. Hopper Hopper's an airfare forecasting app that predicts when to book your flight for the best available price. After you select your dates and destination, Hopper's ... Read more

Here’s how to see which apps have access to your Facebook data — and ditch them quick

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I’ve spent much of this week getting you caught up on the privacy scandal Facebook is currently neck-deep in. It’s big news, so make sure you’re caught up. Today, let’s take a deep dive into the heart of the problem: third-party apps. Here’s a simple breakdown: Lots of apps, websites, and services use Facebook logins to connect you, but when you agree to log in using those apps, you’re usually also handing over permission to access your private info. Apps can see a ton of information about you, such as who you’re friends with, your favorite Facebook groups, and more. Facebook app permissions never expire, so if you agreed to them years ago, they could still see your data until you ... Read more

How to browse all the information Facebook has about you

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Facebook has been making lots of headlines this week, and for all the wrong reasons. The company is in hot water for the unauthorized use of user information on its advertising platform, and everyone seems to be asking "Does Facebook know too much?" Over the years, you've told Facebook a whole lot about you — from what kinds of music you like and what apps you use to your job history and favorite places to visit — and now's a perfect time examine just how much info you've handed over. Thankfully, Facebook makes it pretty easy to browse all of the stuff you've given it over the years; you just have to know where to find it. Download Your Facebook Archive  A simple tool in Facebook's ... Read more

Don’t #deleteFacebook – Do THIS instead!

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In case you missed it, Facebook's in serious hot water. The social network is embroiled in a privacy scandal dating back months, and information on up to 50 million user accounts was shared with people who never should have seen it. As a result, there's a #deleteFacebook campaign making headlines and gaining steam on Twitter. You can dive into the nitty gritty of all the Facebook drama in this great explainer from Recode, but in the meantime you might be asking yourself "Should you stay or should you go?" I say STAY — but do this right now: Ditch 3rd Party Apps At the heart of the current scandal and many privacy scares in the past is the permissions we give to apps that want to access ... Read more

Three ways everyday tech habits are hurting your body, and how to fix them!

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Americans now spend more than five hours a day hunched over, reading emails, sending texts or checking social media sites, and it’s turning into a real pain in the neck. No really, there’s actually a condition called “tech neck,” and there’s a good chance you — or someone in your family — have it. According to a recent study by Imagine MD, a direct primary care medical company based in Chicago, “tech neck,” is one of the most frequently Googled conditions in the United States these days, right behind “texting thumb,” and “cellphone elbow.”  Sure, the terms might sound funny, but these new tech-related conditions can be serious and painful. Here are the top three — and what to do about ... Read more

HOW TO: Use Micro-Investing Apps like Acorns, Stash, and Robinhood without losing money or your sanity

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgJn5bT_5uk A host of new micro-investing apps including Robinhood, Acorns, and Stash, make it easier than ever to invest on the go — with zero experience and little more than pocket-change to pony-up. Is that a good thing in a fluctuating market? It all depends — on who you ask, what you’re after — and even how addicted you are to your smartphone. THE BACKSTORY I decided to try out a few of these apps after my 26-year old stepson sent me an automated text from stock brokerage app, Robinhood, which lets you buy and sell individual stocks for $0 a trade. ‘Sign up now, and get a free stock,’ the text read. So, I did. I downloaded the app on my iPhone, ... Read more

Think Twice Before Putting These 5 Things on Your Credit Card

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By Ismat Mangla While you can use a credit card to pay for just about anything, that doesn’t mean you should. Here are five purchases to keep away from the plastic, no matter how tempting those rewards points might be: 1. Your Taxes It’s tax season, and if you owe Uncle Sam money, you may be tempted to stick the bill on your Visa or Mastercard and call it a day. Resist the urge. Sure, it’s perfectly legal, but the IRS will charge you merchant processing fees for the transaction, typically anywhere between 1.8% and 2%. If you use third-party software to file your taxes, you’ll likely pay even more. What’s more, you don’t want to incur interest charges on your tax bill, which can ... Read more

HOW TO: Use peer-to-peer payment apps without getting ripped off

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI8DiGuOygw If you’re like more than half of American these days, you’re likely using a peer-to-peer payment platform like Venmo, Zelle, Cash App, to name a few, to send someone cash with the tap of an app. I’ve used them to split the bill at dinner, pay my mom back for an impromptu clothes shopping spree, and divvy-up class project costs for kids. It saves the hassle of stopping off at an ATM every time you go out, the risk of walking around with a wad of cash in your wallet, or eyerolls of telling someone, “the check’s in the mail.” The use of these apps is growing. Nearly 60% of people in the U.S. use them, and that number rises close to 80% for young ... Read more

How do people get sucked into #Fake News? Play this new game to find out.

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I've seen so much truly fake news (as opposed to actual, journalism-based news that certain people like now point to and call "fake news") on lately. Even though we think we're doing a better job getting the word out about what's fact versus fiction, a new online game called BAD NEWS shows you exactly how the fake news game gets played (along with so many people we went to high school with....). The term FAKE NEWS. We've heard that phrase so much across the internet over the past year that it's almost become meaningless.But how do you actually determine the difference between information that's accurate and totally false? Well, good news: there's now a game for it. Bad News is an ... Read more