Techish

#MothersDay GIFT GUIDE: What to buy for Mom for in 2021

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7LfuQ7CmXI&t=4s   Mother's Day is May 9th this year. I am a mom, and I love gadgets. Every mom I know not only likes gadgets, but relies on them every single day to keep her informed, connected, and entertained — not to mention sane! Here are a few of our favorite things for the big day and beyond!   Tribute Video Montage Tribute is a service that helps you create a video montage with everyone in your family sharing their love, admiration, and respect for mom. It simplifies the collaborative process — no need to track down family members for their videos, request different file formats, or email reminders. Just choose the occasion ... Read more

New Apple gadgets are here! Here’s what’s worth your money:

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After a year of incredible loss, Apple's going all-in on making sure we can find our keys. And wallets. And maybe even the family dog. At its first product unveiling of 2021 on Tuesday, Apple showed off an array of new, rainbow-colored, and more impressive/expensive gear including a Tile-tracking competitor called AirTag, new iPad Pros, refreshed iMacs, and more. Here's what's worth your money. iPad Pro If you've been contemplating the purchase of a new iPad, I would like to introduce you to Temptation! The new iPad Pro is here to separate you from your money with its M1 chip — the same one that's in the MacBook Air — and a 12-megapixel camera that tracks you as you move about ... Read more

These are the safety gadgets women need right now!

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When Sarah Everard was abducted and killed while walking home at night, the women of social media (and London, where she lived) exploded in anger. Authorities responded by telling women not to walk alone or go out at night and every woman felt the frustration of being told that attacks by men are our fault. We have all been there, heart pounding, clutching our keys, with the knowledge that, probably, keys will do nothing to stop anyone who is determined. What happened to Sarah is what we all fear every day. Let’s face it, talking on the phone, holding your keys, wearing sensible shoes, and avoiding walking at night are not that helpful—as self-protection goes. And if bad men in the world ... Read more

This “tech support scam” is stealing millions from seniors, including my own mom:

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My 76-year old mom is an incredibly tech-savvy senior who commands her gadgets more like a Millennial than someone born the same year the ballpoint pen was invented. She also has an array of built-in tech support experts all around her — including me — her own daughter! Still, when a giant yellow “alert” covered half of her MacBook Pro screen a few weeks ago, warning her that hackers had taken control of her device and to call the “Apple Support” number on the screen immediately or else...she did just that. But the real danger wasn’t a virus on her computer. It was the man who answered on the other end of the phone. A NEW VERSION OF THE OLD TECH SUPPORT SCAM  “I’m so embarrassed,” she ... Read more

10 Online/Cyber Scams You Need to Know About Right Now!

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A plague is terrorizing the nation. No. Not that one. A cyber plague! The cyber plague is a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic, but its target is your wealth and identity, not your health. For scammers, the pandemic is a perfect storm of opportunity. Entire workforces went from working on company networks – protected by security pros – to working from home. People are home, constantly online, already scared, and often slipping into debt. Then came stimulus checks. Next came vaccines. And then more stimulus checks. It has been a rough year for law-abiding citizens. But it has been a gold rush for scammers, hackers, and cybercriminals. Scammers reach you through any means available to ... Read more

HOW TO: Make Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri into Your Personal Assistant

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If you watched any science fiction when you were a kid, you probably expected that, by now, you would have a robot assistant and appliances to do all the work for you. You know what? If you have a computer, an Amazon Echo or Google Home, and a cell phone, you do have a personal assistant, and it will do a lot of the work for you. This is when you need it, too, right? After a year of working from home while trying to manage kids and be a homeschool teacher, you need some help. Here are seven tips for making the technology you already have -- do your work for you. 1.      Use Reminders How can you focus on your own work if you need to remind your kids to go to class, get someone to ... Read more

FTC SCAM ALERT: This Covid Vaccine “Survey” is a Scam!

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*Written by Colleen Tressler, Division of Consumer and Business Education, FTC and shared with permission to Techish.*   Scammers are using a new trick to steal your money and personal information: a bogus COVID vaccine survey. People across the country are reporting getting emails and texts out of the blue, asking them to complete a limited-time survey about the Pfizer, Moderna, or AstraZeneca vaccine. (And no doubt, there may be one for Johnson & Johnson, too.) In exchange, people are offered a free reward, but asked to pay shipping fees. If you get an email or text like this, STOP. It’s a scam. No legitimate surveys ask for your credit card or bank account number to ... Read more

Consumer Reports: Treadmill safety warnings follow tragic death of a toddler

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***This article was shared with us by Consumer Reports. You can read the original here.*** By James McQueen, Consumer Reports Peloton's disclosure Thursday of a child's death involving the company's treadmill is a reminder of the dangers home exercise equipment can pose to children and adults alike. Company CEO John Foley told customers in a letter posted on the company’s website about the “tragic accident,” and advised Peloton owners to “take care to review and follow safety warnings and instructions” that come with the company’s exercise equipment including the treadmill called Tread+. Foley did not provide any details of the accident, but did note that the company was aware of ... Read more

This gear is as good as the expensive stuff but is a fraction of the price!

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If you live on a normal person’s budget, a phone that costs $1000, a pair of easy-to-lose headphones, or a speaker you can take to the beach might seem completely out of the question. But you don’t have to pay as much money as you think for the tech you love. All you have to do is separate fashion and marketing from specs and features and buy the technology you really want, not the name brand you think you want. Honestly? You don’t even have to do that because I did it for you. If you're hankering for AirPods, a new smartphone, smartwatch, or smarter-home, I totally get it. Money is tight, but we still all want all the things. And there is a secret in the gadget world that I’m about to ... Read more

Ten tech-ish tips you’ll wish you knew about yesterday!

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Are you sure you know everything your phone, computer, and apps can do? I’ll be you don’t. Because they all change so fast that no single human can keep up. Here are ten useful tech tips that will do everything from search Google better to turn your phone into a scanner. 1.      Find your stimulus check online Is there a second economic stimulus payment? Should you have gotten it? Has it gone awry? When will I get it? The answers to these questions – and many more -- are a click away. Just go to irs.gov/coronavirus/get-my-payment. You can read up on what the government is doing and how it’s going or just get right to the point and click that big, “Get My Payment” button. Then click ... Read more

How the latest fitness apps can hack human motivation (in a good way)

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This article and video originally appeared in USA Today 2021 https://youtu.be/9kyVtwP8Kwc More than 50% of Americans made the same New Year's resolution this year – to “do more exercise and improve their fitness” – according to a recent poll by international data and analytics group YouGov. By the second week of February though some 80% of us give up, and go right back to bad habits and old excuses. My longtime go-to: “Tomorrow, I’ll exercise tomorrow.” Sound familiar? Yeah, it did for me too until I spent the last few months trying out more than 20 different fitness apps and gadgets. I used each one at least three times, adoring some, abhorring others. Within the first week, some clear ... Read more

HOW TO: Use a Zoom filter (but not get stuck as a cat!)

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Sometimes the bloopers are the best part of the show. If you haven’t seen the best #zoomfail of all time yet — click here first. So what happened? An attorney accidentally showed up as a cat in a virtual hearing in Texas. The lawyer said he was using his secretary's computer, and she has a young daughter — which may have led to the mishap. Now — check out how to do it yourself — but not get stuck as a cat! (Or a potato - yep that happened too!) Pro tip: Don't get carried away with the filters - some bosses say it makes them crazy! That said - you show me your best filters and I’ll show you mine! ... Read more

What Apple says we should do about our privacy and security right now:

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Here's are some tips Apple shared with us around Data Privacy Day (1/28/21): Review the many built-in privacy and security features on your iPhone that help keep your personal information safe:  Set a strong passcode to unlock your device. Use Face ID or Touch ID for a secure and convenient way to unlock your iPhone, authorize purchases and payments, and sign in to many third-party apps. Turn on Find My to locate your iPhone if it’s lost or stolen. Use Sign in with Apple to limit the information shared about you when you log in to apps and websites. Tap the privacy icon in Safari to view a Privacy Report that shows you all the cross-site trackers that are being ... Read more

It’s National Data Privacy Day! What to consider from the FTC:

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by Rosario Méndez Attorney, Division of Consumer and Business Education, FTC Today is National Data Privacy Day, when many organizations and government agencies, including the FTC, join together to raise awareness about privacy issues and to offer tips and information. As more and more of our devices are connected and share information about us, privacy is increasingly important. There are things you can do to help protect your privacy and limit how you share your information with others. National Data Privacy Day is the perfect time to review some of those steps you can take: Know what’s on your device. Do an inventory of all the applications that are on your devices. ... Read more

Pandemic Taxes

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What a year! Everything was terrible. Things will be so much better in 2021 (we hope)! But first? Taxes! Oh, yay. (Sigh.) Taxes are never fun. But this year — in addition to the usual dread — there is a lot to think about that none of us has had to consider before. But don’t put it off. There might be money in this endeavor for you. Even if you collected unemployment, there are opportunities here.  “Over 40 million people were unemployed and received expanded unemployment benefits under the CARES Act,” explains Lisa Greene-Lewis, TurboTax CPA and tax expert. Even though you may not have had taxes withheld and are not entitled to a refund, you still have to file. “And you may be eligible ... Read more

Ten Tips to Keep You Sane and Productive While Working from Home

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I have been working from home since my daughter was born. This week, she turned 22. So I’ve had plenty of time to explore all the delights and dangers of working where I live. If you, like 42 percent of U.S. workers right now, are working from home, you have probably already experienced the productivity boost that comes with eliminating your commute, in-office interruptions and meetings. But you are about to — if you haven’t already — run into the anxiety, irritability, and complete failure to get anything done that comes next in this adventure. The reason for the upcoming mood plummet, according the WHO, is that working from home has eliminated every built-in trigger that helped you gear ... Read more