Techish

HOW TO: Help senior friends and family set up their new tech

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All that tech you wrapped and put under the tree seemed like such a terrific idea when you were shopping. A Roku! A new phone! A sweet new laptop! You killed the gift-giving. But now that the presents are opened and everyone is playing with their toys, you are starting to feel like the new guy on the tech support helpline. Answering the first question from Papa was fun. Helping Nana get her new tablet set up was rewarding. But the millionth question? You are seriously considering charging by the minute. Maybe the gift you forgot was an unlimited subscription to online tech support for everyone born before 1993? Because you know what? That’s a thing. Teaching people to use technology when ... Read more

Shipping Deadlines For Holidays 2020

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We’ve reached the final few days before the holidays, and in the interest of getting gifts delivered on time — and not paying handsomely for shipping — you should be wrapping up your shopping as soon as you can. Thankfully, several retailers are making those shopping duties cheap and easy by offering free and fast shipping. It wouldn’t be the holidays without a little stress, but you can avoid at least some of it by finishing up your shopping before the window for on-time delivery comes to a close. We’ve also listed the delivery windows for FedEx, UPS, and the USPS in case you are shipping packages yourself. AMAZON As is always the case, you’ll get your gifts faster if you have an ... Read more

HOW TO: Use Your Phone to Stop the Spread of COVID-19

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At a recent doctor’s appointment, the check-in nurse asked me if I had been exposed to anyone who had tested positive for Covid-19. I said no. But it felt like a lie. How could I know the answer to that with any certainty? What if the person who sat too close to me at the vet last week was sick? What if I inadvertently stood next to someone in the grocery store who had been exposed? And what about all those people who run past me when I take my morning walk? Many of them are breathing hard and not wearing masks. I don’t know that they aren’t spewing virus droplets all over me. It turns out I could know. It’s easy to know. All I have to do is download an app or turn on the ... Read more

BEWARE: COVID-19 vaccine scams on the way

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The good news: COVID-19 vaccines are on the way. The bad news: So are the scammers. The Food and Drug Administration is already reviewing vaccines from two manufacturers, Pfizer/BioNTech, and Moderna. That review could wrap up by Christmas. Experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend the first doses should go to health care workers and people living in long-term care facilities. The rest of us will have to wait. The Federal Trade Commission warns that scammers are already hard at work while Americans scramble to get vaccinated. Here's what you need to know so you don't fall for a scam: 1. DO NOT PAY: You (probably) won't have to pay anything out of ... Read more

SCAM ALERT: FTC warning of fake calls from Apple and Amazon

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You've heard them before, probably dozens of times. "We are calling the vehicle owner about your car's extended warranty..." Click. We don't even waste time to hear the rest of the spiel. We know that's a scam right from the start. But there's a new round of scams that is slightly sneakier. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is warning about a trend of scammers calling people and claiming to be from either Apple or Amazon. There are two versions of this scam. In one, there is a recorded message that says something is wrong with your Amazon account — this could be a suspicious purchase, lost package, etc. The other version of the scam leaves a recorded message saying your ... Read more

HOW TO: Get a PlayStation 5 before 2021

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You want to get your hands on the latest Xbox or Playstation 5? Yep, you and the rest of the world! It's no surprise really, since the last time each company updates its consoles was several lifetimes ago in tech-years. (November 2013 was the launch of the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One – the predecessors to the newest consoles.) Every major retailer – and several you've never heard of – continue to update stock on their websites, and even send re-stock alerts through their apps. Still, within a matter of seconds, these hottest new consoles keep selling out. Here are some top tips to scoring one this year, but as you'll see, it's best not to get your hopes up unless you want to sell ... Read more

CYBER MONDAY BEST: Buy these gadgets now (right after I buy them of course).

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You've waited patiently, now's the time to hit that checkout button online. According to Adobe Analytics, Cyber Monday remains the king of online shopping days and will become the largest online sales day in history with between $10.8B and $12.7B spent online, representing between 15% and 35% YoY growth.    Later today, Adobe predicts that the four “golden hours of retail” (7:00 pm – 11:00 pm Pacific) will bring in a massive 29% of the day’s revenue (at least $3.1B) as shoppers hit buy before deals run out; at least $13 million will be spent per minute during the peak hour (8:00 – 9:00 pm PT). ADDITIONAL INSIGHTS:  Cyber Monday discounts: Even with discounts starting much ... Read more

ONLINE SHOPPING? Watch out for these SCAMS!

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When you’re online shopping on Cyber Monday, it’s easy to get carried away in the excitement and potentially fall for a scam. EMAIL SCAMS Look out for links and attachments in emails or popups that could contain malware that steals your credit card information. For example, if you get an email that says it’s from a retailer with a promotion or "free offer" that looks skeptical or too good to be true, NEVER click on the link. Visit the retailer’s website directly by typing its name in your browser. Make sure the URL (web address) starts with "https" and that there are no other misspellings in the company name. Also, double-check that the company has a phone number to call if there are ... Read more

Simple tech tools to make your holidays feel “almost” normal!

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Everything really is different heading into this Holiday Season. But that doesn't mean it has to suck. Here are 11 simple tech tools to make your holidays feel “almost” normal. 1. FILL YOUR HOME WITH THE SOUND OF MUSIC Piping music into every room of your home used to cost thousands of dollars, but not anymore! The GED LED+ Speaker bulb (on sale for around $25 on Amazon right now) is a bright light with an onboard Bluetooth speaker built-in. Just screw the bulb into any lamp or light fixture, pair it with Bluetooth on your mobile device, and just like that, you get all your favorite tunes in any room you want. You can pair up to ten bulbs and don’t need any extra apps, wires, or ... Read more

Black Friday/Cyber Monday 2020: Insider Tips & Tricks

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Nothing is normal this year, but Holiday shopping is like upside-down-dramatically different. Black Friday sales started in October and most “doorbuster” deals are happening online already too.  Here are some insider tips to save time, money, and stress — while finding the very best deals on the year’s top gadgets. #1. SHOP EARLY AND SHOP ONLINE! Shop early and shop online — that’s the big mantra for true savings this year — as retailers big and small are posting huge deals already.  Amazon kicked off its Black Friday Deals Week TODAY (Friday, November 20)! Target's "Deal Days" span the entire month of November and BestBuy’s rolling out a bunch of deep discounts available online ... Read more

HOW TO: Zoom-free ways to connect with family even when you’re far apart

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A year ago most of us had never heard of Zoom, and no one would have been able to coerce any of us into a video gym class or Sunday dinner over Zoom. But here we are. “Brady Bunch boxes” has become a term we toss casually into conversation, and everyone has a preferred brand of webcam. By next year, Zoom Fatigue will make into the Merck Manual as a real health condition. Zoom pushback has already started. Another Zoom call after a day of school or work on Zoom? No one has it in them anymore. It’s great to see everyone. But sitting in front of a screen to chat is often boring, hard to pay attention to, and exhausting. There are other ways to connect with the people you love. Because you ... Read more

AAA Holiday Travel Forecast: No “home for the holidays” this year.

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No more sitting in traffic for hours or waiting in a mile-long airport security line. The Thanksgiving travel rush will likely be more of a bust this year. AAA is forecasting a steep drop-off in travel for the upcoming holiday season. No surprise here: COVID is to blame. AAA Travel says the combination of health concerns and high unemployment means fewer Americans traveling to have turkey with family and friends. Not to mention, many states, cities, and counties are increasing their restrictions amid a rise in cases. Just how big of a drop will we see? AAA says there will likely be at least a 10% drop in travel — that would be the biggest one-year decrease since 2008. That 10% includes ... Read more

HOW TO: Unsend an email

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Ever had an email fail? Typos, reply-all gaffes, or accidentally sent a note about your awful boss... TO your awful boss? Now there's a way to undo some emails — before it's too late (on Gmail at least). Gmail has an "Unsend" feature. It's both on the app and the desktop version. Here's how it works on a desktop: First, click on the "Settings" button in the upper right corner. That will bring up the "Quick settings" menu. From there, click "See all settings." Next, scroll down on the "Settings" page to "Undo Send." Bingo! Change the time to 30 seconds, then scroll to the bottom of the page and save your changes. The next time you send an email, this bar will pop ... Read more

10 things to do INSTEAD of fighting with “friends” on social media today:

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The first thing I did when I woke up this morning was read ALL the news, then scan ALL the social media. Then, I shared a post along with this personal comment: "It’s hard to believe. What now? Where do we go from here?" I had 56 comments in less than 30 minutes. With the floodgates to politics open, both sides started going at each other. Sigh. Rather than getting into it all over again, I sent thoughts of "love and light and peace" into the page and turned here to write this post instead. Here are ten great things to do right now that don't have anything to do with fighting on Facebook. TURN OFF THE NOISE: Use an app like Freedom or LeechBlock to "turn off" social media ... Read more

HOW TO: Spot fake election news

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I’ve had a ton of conversations on my personal Facebook feed recently where people are genuinely confused about which news outlet to trust. I — and many of my colleagues — have offered several fact-checking and news bias-rating sites, including the Associated Press AP Fact Check, FactCheck.org, Politifact, and AdFontesMedia. USA Today even has its own fact-checking pages and election fact-checking site. Other great go-to’s here include the U.S. Cybersecurity Agency’s rumor control site, web browser plug-in NewsGuard —  which rates more than 4,000 news websites based on their records of publishing accurate information, and Ground News, which shows you how many top outlets have covered a ... Read more

HOW TO: use tele therapy and other online tools to handle #Election2020

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Experts recommend talking with a professional, which is easier than ever these days thanks to “teletherapy.” Online therapy sites such as BetterHealth, Doctor on Demand, Wellnite, Larkr, Real, ReGain, AbleTo and MDLive are affordable, often take insurance, and easy to schedule appointments on. Apps HearMe, Wisdom, and Lyf (iOS and Android) hook you up with a person, or group of people, ready to lend a sympathetic ear and help you talk things through without waiting for an appointment. HearMe lets you chat via anonymous text with a stranger within a minute or two of logging in. Lyf is similar but lets you connect with — and follow — hundreds of other people using the app. Wisdo hooks you up ... Read more